Protection: A Warriors and Object Shows Crossover Fanfic

Chapter 2

The night sky was dark with the pale moon as the only source of light. Such a small circle being able to reflect the sun's light and give the Clans enough light to have the Gathering tonight, Applestem couldn't be more or less thankful for that.

Applestem felt her pelt brushing Breezeheart's. The young tom's red fur blending in with her own ginger. Beside her, Marshmallow with her pure white furred coat stood out strangely among the night's darkness, as if she could glow like StarClan cats.

Up upon the Great Oak, the five Clan leaders perched on the branches like birds. There were BrightClan's Brightstar, OrangClan's Orangestar, StripeClan's Stripestar, PrimClan's Primstar and GrayClan's Graystar.

At the roots of the tree were the Clan deputies Bristleflame, Rockheart, Whitestripe, Copperheart and Yellowfur, and medicine cats Greenfern, Clearheart, Needlefrost, Silverleaf and Brooktail.

"-Snowberry is expecting kits, and her sister Silverleaf has now taken her place as medicine cat." Otangestar announced to the Clans.

Primstar looked at the orange tom from where she was sitting up on the tree. "Who's kits is Snowberry having?" the red-and-gray she-cat asked, tilting her head.

From the crowd, Applestem felt worry radiating from Snowberry's pelt from behind her. Why was she worried?

Orangestar's gaze swept over the crowd of Clan cats, catching Snowberry's escaping gray eyes.

"Mine," the OrangeClan leader replied dryly. 

Gasps and hisses came from GrayClan and PrimClan like a Thunderpath in the daylight. With monster roaring over it.

Graystar raised her tail for silence. 

"We should welcome the kits that the queen is going to have, not hiss at them." the spotted gray she-cat mewed gently.

Orangestar dipped his head to Graystar gratefully.

Since when did that bossy GrayClan leader turned into a heroic peacemaker? Applestem wondered as she shifted around, impatiently waiting for the leaders to end their announcements.

Brightstar stood up. The golden-and-silver she-cat was the last leader to speak at this Gathering.

The leader's gaze settled on her and her sister. "Great news in BrightClan; we have two new warriors-- Applestem and Marshmallow." Brightstar announced to all the Clans.

Cheers and murmurs of welcome sounded from all the Clans. Applestem can feel her littermate puffing up with pride. Of course! She is way better than me. How can she not be proud of herself?

Applestem began tearing at the grass, hoping that the leaders would just end their speeches soon.

She saw Stripestar's neck fur bristling. What's wrong with him? she wondered.

The white-and-red tom stood up. "I have something to report first." he announced to the Clans.

As the murmurs of welcome died away, Stripestar's gaze darkened.

The other leaders turned their heads to face the StripeClan leader, who seemed to be trying to calm down. 

"My patrols have scented OrangeClan and GrayClan scents in our territories. Strangely faint and fresh, as if the cats trespassing came during night and hardly tried to disguise their scents."  he hissed, even though he was facing the warriors in the crowd, Applestem noticed that his gaze was sternly and only fixed on OrangeClan cats and GrayClan warriors.

Yowls of protest sounded from the suspected Clan cats. Applestem saw Graystar and Orangestar unsheathing their claws as well. A battle was bound to start on the Great Oak until someone hal-ted it with a loud call.

"ENOUGH!" called Brightstar, her usual cheerful gaze turning into anger. That seldom happens, and when it happens, it means that the golden-and-silver she-cat is raged to her limit. And that isn't a good sign, at all.

"This is a full moon! Remember the truce! We're here to gather, not quarrel." she nodded toward the other leaders. "My Clan has scented the same scents as well," she added in a soft voice.

Then the other Clan leaders started nodding and agreeing.

"Us too,"

"Uh-huh,"

Graystar and Orangestar had both reported that their Clan had scent each other's smells.

Primstar eyed the two leaders, "And you both are 100% sure that you really haven't been intruding?" there was an edge in her mew.

They nodded.

Applestem heard sniffing, snarls and hisses coming from the deputies. They were soft and quiet, but loud enough for her to hear their annoyances. The medicine cats were silent, but their they also shared the same feelings with their deputies, as shown obviously on their expression-ful faces.

"Psst!"

Under the shade of a tree, Graygrowl heard a hiss. Could it be calling for me? She wondered. Curious as a kit, she followed the sound and found a she-cat in a bush.

Her fur was pure cream, and her eyes striking green; except for a bit of bloodshot in both eyes. The she-cat smelt of Clan cats, but the smell was the mixture of all the Clans and rouge, as if she had been trekking through all the territory like a warriors as a rouge or loner.

But the smell of OrangeClan on her was the strongest...

As if...

Realization struck Graygrowl dead in the face. Could this cat be the infamous...Lemonheart? The cat who had fought her own Clanmate only just over the spot for deputy?

As being able to read her mind, the cream she-cat growled. "By the look on your face, you know who I am." she guessed correctly.

Graygrowl shook away her shock and replaced it with frustration. "What do you want, Lemonheart?" she demanded in a hushed hiss.

Lemonheart bounded onto a log and sat up like a leader. "I," she paused, raising tension, "only want to help." she replied.

The dark gray tabby she-cat took a step backward. "And, you want to help me...How?"

Suddenly a dark pelt flashed through the shades. To normal cats, that smoky gray fur would've been nothing but the shadow of a plant being blown by the cool night's breeze. However, to Graygrowl, that color is way too easy to recognize. It was the pelt of her Clanmate, Sharpsnarl, who treats her like a kit all the time; being overprotective, giving her fresh-kill first thing after hunting or always trying to stay close to her. It was irritating, really, to have a tom watching over you like he's your father or mentor, when the only reason why he does that is because he wants to be your mate.

Lemonheart seemed to recognize Sharpsnarl too. Because she gasped and pelted away. But before she disappeared into the shadows, she whispered something.

"Meet you in your territory after the Gathering."

The words echoed in Graygrowl's mind. An evil cat who's supposedly gone by now had asked to meet her tonight. Her fur stood up when she heard Sharpsnarl's mew.

"Graygrowl? What are you doing here?" the smoky gray tom asked.

She spun around to face him. "Uh, um... Oh, hey Sharpsnarl! What's up?" she replied instead, pretending to be innocent.

Sharpsnarl seemed to buy it. "Clearheart and Rockheart asked me where you went, so I went to look for you." he answered.

Graygrowl sighed. Couldn't have the medicine cat and the deputy find her themselves? As if if Sharpsnarl hadn't  found her first, a catastrophe would happen. She stood up and padded away to the Great Oak to find her sister and deputy.

Meet you in your territory after the Gathering.

Sure, I will. Graygrowl promised silently.