Warriors: The Chosen Warrior: Way of the Stars (Book 2)

Chapter 6

Leafsong woke up in her nest, moss all over her ragged pelt.  She thought about her dream from last night.  Lichenheart and Stoneclaw were her sister and brother?  And they wanted to kill her!

Leafsong shivered, not by the cold draft that blew into the den, but by the thought.  Her stomach grumbled.  She forgot how hungry she was.  She groomed herself thoroughly and went out into the clearing, hoping there was some prey.  There was only one small vole left on what was supposed to be the fresh-kill pile.  Leafsong took it and headed to the nursery.

“Hello, Ferncloud and Squirrelflight,” Leafsong greeted the queens with a nod.

“Hi, Leafsong,” Ferncloud greeted the warrior back.  She saw the prey.  “Oh, don’t give that to us.  We already had some.  Give it to the elders.”

Leafsong nodded and turned to go to the elders’ den.  A tail-length before she got into the hazel bush, Leafsong heard Longtail shout, “Is that prey for us?  It’s about time!”  His blindness made his senses stronger—if he concentrates enough, he could tell that a cat is coming badger-lengths away.

Leafsong pushed into the bush and set the prey down.  “It’s the last of the pile,” she told them.

“Great StarClan,” Mousefur murmured.  “This is going to be a long leaf-fall.”

Longtail snorted.  “Just wait until leaf-bare,” he muttered.

Mousefur changed the subject.  “Are you going to the Gathering tonight, Leafsong?  I would like to know how the other Clans are doing.”

Leafsong nodded.  “I think so.  I won’t be surprised if there are half the cats normally there.”

The two elders began digging into the small prey; Leafsong took that as a sign to leave.  She went over to the halfrock and laid down on it.  The coldness seeped through her fur and to her skin.  Leafsong relaxed her head on her paws and closed her eyes.  By the time she had opened them again, the stars were out and the moon was glowing brightly above.  It will be time to leave for the Gathering soon.

Cats were joining in the center of the clearing, waiting for Firestar to tell them who will come.  The ThunderClan leader came out of his den and bounded down the rocks to the bottom, his dark ginger fur silver in the moonlight.

Firestar’s meow echoed in the stone hollow, “Dustpelt, Brackenfur, Ashfur, Spiderleg, Birchfall, Leafsong, Hazelpaw, and Mousepaw, you are coming to the Gathering tonight.”

The cats filed through the thorn tunnel and trekked through WindClan territory along the lake.  Leafsong walked carefully across the tree-bridge and waited on the edge of the island for the rest of the cats.  When Firestar gave the signal, they went through the bushes to the large clearing.  Two Clans were here—WindClan and ShadowClan.  Leafsong automatically looked for Tawnypelt, but then remembered the battle.  Is that really how our friendship ends? Leafsong thought.

ShadowClan were sitting on the opposite side of the clearing, glaring at the ThunderClan cats with hatred.  Leafsong followed her Clanmates and sat across from the rival Clan, some warriors glaring back at them.  She saw Tawnypelt staring right at her with narrowed eyes.  I can’t believe she’s still angry!  The fight’s been almost two days ago.

Leafsong looked at her paws, uncomfortable about being stared at.  Something moved in the bushes behind—RiverClan has just arrived.  They looked as skinny as WindClan cats, maybe even skinnier.  Leapordstar, the RiverClan leader, hurried to jump on the Great Tree with the other leaders.

“I’m truly sorry we are late,” she panted.  “But we are starving.”  The proud leader looked ashamed as she hesitantly announced, “Rogues have been stealing prey from us.”