Warriors #2: Warrior Rising

Chapter 15

Lilypetal's POV

"Lilypetal," I heard Firestar's yowl come from the front of the traveling cats. "Could you come up here, please?"

Oh, no. I wonder what this is about? I asked myself as I lightly shouldered through ThunderClan cats to join Firestar beside him.

"Hi, Firestar! Did you need something?" I asked the ThunderClan leader in a friendly voice.

Firestar turned his head to meet my gaze. "It was brave of you to take on that snake," Firestar meowed, giving me a brief nod.

"Oh, goodness," I meowed back, still not enjoying the fact that me killing the snake brought some of the attention of the ordeal towards me. "Well, thank you, Firestar. I only did what I felt like I had to do."

"You typically do, don't you?" Firestar teased, and after I purred with amusement, he went on. "I remember back when I was an apprentice in the old forest, Ravenpaw - you know of Ravenpaw, right?"

I nodded, trying to recall in my mind what I knew about the black tom. Ravenpaw had been a former ThunderClan apprentice, but Firestar and Graystripe had had to send him to a Twoleg farm, away from ThunderClan. Tigerstar, his mentor at the time, would've killed him so that Ravenpaw would keep quiet about Tigerstar killing Redtail, a former ThunderClan deputy. But as far as I had heard, Ravenpaw was much happier living at the barn with his dear friend, Barley, assisting any cats who needed their help.

"Oh, I know Ravenpaw!" I purred. "He seems wonderful from what I've heard. I know Clan cats have taken shelter in his barn numerous times, and he was even the one to send my mother this way when she was finding her way back to the Clans!"

Firestar's green eyes glittered with fondness as he thought back to his old friend. "He certainly is a cat like no other, and such a true friend. Anyway," Firestar went on, "When Ravenpaw was an apprentice, he once killed an adder at Snakerocks. He came back to camp with the creature right in his jaws! I have to say, I was very surprised. Adders are very dangerous, and Ravenpaw wasn't the bravest cat at the time."

"Did he? Wow!" I exclaimed after Firestar had finished his story. "Well, I'm glad to be able to say that I'm following in Ravenpaw's pawprints!"

Not too long after Firestar and I's conversation, ThunderClan arrived at the island, the tree bridge sitting there, waiting for us. Firestar and Brambeclaw hopped onto the large log first and the rest of the Clan followed right behind them.

I flicked my ears as I noticed that the other Clans were already at the island. Leopardstar, Onestar, and Blackstar were sitting on their branches of the large oak tree. Firestar padded forward and leaped onto his branch to join them.

Leopardstar, the RiverClan leader, watched Firestar settle himself in before turning to face the gathered cats, letting out a yowl. "The Gathering has begun," she announced, her voice ringing across the clearing. "RiverClan will report first. Prey is running well. Mistyfoot, Reedwhisker, and Rainstorm drove a fox out of our territory."

As Leopardstar then stepped back, allowing Blackstar to speak, I realized that I had never washed my paws. I haven't licked them, have I? I asked myself. Praying to StarClan that I hadn't done it without thinking, I quietly slithered out of the crowd to pad towards the lake. I tried to keep one ear open just in case I was missing any important information from the Gathering.

I stopped once I was right at the edge of the island, right beside the water. I put my forepaws into the water and rubbed them together for a heartbeats.

Once I felt satisfied, I lifted one of my paws up for me to look at as I nodded sharply. There!

When I arrived back, Onestar had just finished speaking, and was stepping back to his spot on the branch. Now, it was Firestar's turn.

The ThunderClan leader stepped forward.

"Unfortunately, ThunderClan faced some tragedy just before we left for this Gathering," Firestar began solemnly. "A snake has taken the life of one of our young warriors, Honeyfern."

Some shocked murmurs and gasps came from the gathered cats, and lots of them lowered their heads with grief. Many cats loved and respected the optimistic, kind she-cat.

Firestar lowered his head for a few heartbeats before going on. "Honeyfern died bravely, saving one of ThunderClan's kits, Briarkit," I then flinched as Firestar nodded his head towards me. "One of our other warriors, Lilypetal, courageously killed the snake to avenge Honeyfern."

I then felt as if I had to look down at my paws as some cats from the other Clans looked at me, giving me murmurs of praise and nodding their heads. I simply gave them warm looks, praying to StarClan that Firestar would beginning speaking again as soon as possible.

Luckily, I didn't have to deal with the attention for very long. "We will grieve for Honeyfern tonight," Firestar announced. "Besides that-"

"Wait!"

I let out a quiet gasp as a familiar voice came from the crowd. I exchanged a glance with Brightheart and Birchfall, who I was sitting next to, before trying to peer over the crowd of cats to see who had spoken. Full-moon Gatherings these past moons have been quite interesting, haven't they? I thought. I wonder what's going on this time?

I scanned the clearing for a few heartbeats, and I thought that I felt my heart skip a beat when I saw Hollyleaf just a few fox-lengths away, Lionblaze nudging at her, as if to tell her to be quiet.

My heart was pounding. I couldn't have known for sure what Hollyleaf was going to say, but I grew increasingly more nervous as my mind came up with a possibility.

I then watched as Hollyleaf hissed something to her brother before standing tall and looking around at all of the cats in the clearing. "You think you-"

"Hollyleaf!" I flinched at Firestar's sharp call. "If you have anything important to say here, it should have been discussed with me first. Be silent now, and whatever's troubling you, I'll talk to you about it tomorrow."

I tried to keep my breath steady as I looked down at the ground. I would much prefer that myself.

My mouth dropped at what Hollyleaf said next. "No!" She insisted, gasps of shock rippling around her. "I will speak now!"

I was so tempted to pelt over to the black she-cat and give her a good cuff over the ear. I was shocked that Hollyleaf was speaking to kin, let alone her leader, like that.

"Yes, let her speak," I heard Leopardstar meow, and I looked up to see that she had stepped forward on her branch. "I'd like to hear what she has to say."

I really don't know if you do.

"So would I," Onestar agreed.

I'm not sure about that.

"Or has ThunderClan got secrets that they're too scared to reveal?" I heard Blackstar taunt, narrowing his eyes towards Firestar.

I then let out a startled yelp as yowling broke out among the clearing, cats clearly challenging ThunderClan and their supposed "secrets". I turned my head over to look at Hollyleaf to see that she looked oddly serene. Maybe... she isn't going to do what I think she is? I thought hopefully.

Firestar finally raised his tail for silence. "Very well, Hollyleaf," the ThunderClan leader meowed warily. "Say what you have to. And StarClan grant you don't regret it."

I second that, I said in my head as I took a deep breath, bracing myself for what was to come.

The island fell completely silent as Hollyleaf began to speak, so silent that I almost thought that the cats close to me would be able to hear my heartbeat.

"You think you know me," the ThunderClan warrior began. "And my brothers, Lionblaze and Jayfeather of ThunderClan."

I screwed my eyes shut. Oh my StarClan, this is actually happening, I thought in panic. At this point, I couldn't be more sure of what Hollyleaf was going to announce, right here in front of all four Clans.

"You think you know us," Hollyleaf went on, "but everything you have been told about us is a lie! We are not the kits of Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight!"

Well, I think that me possibly having licked my paws with snake poison on them is the least of my problems now.