Warriors: A Twisted Path

Chapter 15

  Talonpaw walked beside his brother, his eyes shining with excitement. They were heading towards the gathering, and this was going to be his first time going!
  "I wonder what the other clans are like." Talonpaw mewed.
  "I don't know, but I can't wait to meet some of the other apprentices!" Finchpaw exclaimed.
  Talonpaw twitched his ears, suddenly listening to the elders talking behind them.
  Grassclaw spoke first. "I hope that there will actually be a Pin Battle this gathering. We haven't had one of those in ages."
  Talonpaw heard Bramblevision whisper as she replied. "Ever since Drizzlestar combined the clans using that ancient tradition, we haven't used it. You can always count on those rouges to mess things up."
  Talonpaw decided not to listen in anymore. He was told countless times that FireClan was truly loyal to the warrior code, and was a clan just like WindClan.
  Those elders are just keeping their heads in the past. Talonpaw thought bitterly.
  "Look, we're here!" Finchpaw nudged Talonpaw.
  Talonpaw watched as his clanmates began to cross a fallen tree that led to an island. When it was his turn to cross, he went without any fear.
  He turned to his brother once he was at the other end, and noticed that he seemed a bit frightened.
  Finchpaw jumped down beside him, panting. "That was easy."
  Talonpaw purred with amusement before walking in the crowd of cats. His eyes were wide with amazement.
  "There's so many cats here!" Finchpaw exclaimed. It was so loud, it was hard to hear his own thoughts.
  Orangepelt came up from behind them, and dipped his head in greeting. He soon pointed to a group of smaller cats in the way back. "Those are the other apprentices. Why don't you guys meet them, then tell me what you think of the different clans?"
  "Okay!"
  Finchpaw and Talonpaw raced over to the group, stopping a few inches away from them.
  A brown tabby tom with green eyes looked over to them first. He seemed to be a bit big for his age.
  Beside him was a white she-cat with gray-tabby markings.
  "Er, hello." Talonpaw greeted. "I'm Talonpaw, and this is my brother Finchpaw. We're from WindClan."
  "Hi, I'm Brokenpaw." The tom replied. "This is my friend Dizzypaw."
  Dizzypaw just lowered her head as the two brothers looked at her.
  "We're from ShadowClan." Brokenpaw added.
  Suddenly, a gray tabby apprentice shoved Dizzypaw's side, growling.
  "Come on, you really need to show your weakness in front of another clan?" The tom snarled.
  "Boulderpaw, leave her be. Go find some other foxhearts like yourself to be friends with." Brokenpaw snorted.
  "Fine. It's not like I'd ever want to be friends with WindClan fleas." Boulderpaw spat, storming away.
  Talonpaw's fur bristled. How dare that ShadowClan cat speak to him that way!?
  "Don't mind Boulderpaw, he's always like this." Brokenpaw sighed, shaking his head.
  "It's fine." Talonpaw mewed.
  "Is this your first gathering too?" Finchpaw asked.
  "Yeah, and we haven't been training for very long." Brokenpaw replied.
  "Same with us!" Finchpaw said.
  "I will start!"
  Talonpaw didn't recognize the voice, and he turned around towards the leaders to see a ginger-orange tabby she-cat standing forward.
  "That's Squirrelstar, leader of ThunderClan. My father told me all about the leaders before we got here." Brokenpaw whispered to him.
  Talonpaw nodded and listened to Squirrelstar's news, which was just about prey. Talonpaw couldn't help but yawn. Is that seriously all the news she had to share?
  The leader of RiverClan shared next. Brokenpaw had told him that the brown tabby's name was Blizzardstar.
  Talonpaw instantly recognized Drizzlestar as she stepped forward. She had visited Blackstar every so often. Talonpaw also had heard the stories of FireClan and it's past. He wondered what had happened with Jaggedclaw, Drizzlestar's sister.
  "Everything is well in FireClan. We have plenty of prey and the apprentice's training is going well." Drizzlestar yowled. "But recently a patrol has found a few rouges scents near the border, so I warn all clans of the dangers that might be."
  The other leaders dipped their heads and Drizzlestar stepped back, a huge gray tabby taking her place.
  "That's my father, Tigerstar!" Brokenpaw whispered with pride.
  Talonpaw looked at Brokenpaw with wide eyes. Was Brokenpaw really his leader's grandson!?
  Tigerstar didn't seem to have much to share either. Once he was done speaking, Blackstar stepped forward to share her news.
  "WindClan is thriving, and I couldn't have asked for a stronger clan." Blackstar began. "We have some new apprentices-"
  She was soon cut off by a yowl near the gathering entrance, and everyone turned their attention towards it.
  Blackstar let out a shocked gasp as she looked a the black she-cat who was walking into the clearing, her head up high.
  "Midnightkit, is that you?" Blackstar said, her voice shaking.
  How does Blackstar know this cat?
  "I think that she-cat came from the city." Finchpaw hissed. "I can smell it even from here."
  The black she-cat looked up at the WindClan leader. "It's just Midnight now. But yes, mother, it's me!"
  Blackstar jumped down and raced to her grown kit, pressing her muzzle into the cat's fur. "I've missed you so much! I thought I'd never see you again!"
  Midnight pulled away, her eyes full of joy. "I was finally told about who my real mother was and how I was stolen from the clans. FeralClan's new leader, Rayne, let me go."
  Tigerstar jumped down and landed beside Blackstar, looking at Midnight.
  Midnight looked Tigerstar up and down. "And you are?"
  "This is Tigerstar, your little brother." Blackstar purred.
  "Little brother huh?" Midnight said with a smile. "I always wanted a brother."
  Blackstar's eyes shown with grief. "You weren't the only one in your litter, you know."
  Midnight's eyes brightened. "Really? Are my littermates here?" She looked around.
  Blackstar took a deep breath. "They hunt with StarClan now."
  Drizzlestar rested her tail on her friends shoulder, and Midnight lowered her head.
  Flamestrike, Starpool, and Shadowpelt padded over to comfort their mother and sister.
  "This is Flamestrike, Starpool, and Shadowpelt." Tigerstar introduced. "They're my littermates."
  Flamestrike nodded his head in greeting while Shadowpelt gave Midnight a quick lick on the ear.
  "It's nice to meet you." Starpool greeted to her.
  "Yes, you must tell us what it was like to live with those city cats!" Flamestrike meowed.
  "Oh, it's really not all that bad." Midnight admitted. The clan cats began to crowd around her, each wanting to know what she had to say. Talonpaw, his brother, and the two ShadowClan apprentices stayed next to each other as they listened. "From what I heard about the clans, FeralClan works a lot differently. There's a bunch of different groups, but we all follow one leader and their second in command. Instead of gatherings like this, we meet each full moon to share prey while we chat with others. But the rule is you have to be at least twelve moons before you can go to one."
  "Sounds pretty boring to me so far." Finchpaw whispered in Talonpaw's ear.
  "In the city you are free to do whatever you want. There are no rules to follow."
  Shocked murmurs rippled throughout the clan.
  Blackstar lifted her tail up to silence them, then nodded to Midnight to continue.
  "I was treated well as a kit. I had no idea that I was clan born, but I felt right at home in the city. A cat named Mist took care of me until I was five moons old. By then, the leader would come visit me and test me of my skills to see what rank I would get. I was chosen to be a Guard, so I was apprenticed to Mist and she trained me until I was twelve moons."
  "Why did they just let you go if they stole you in the first place?" A FireClan cat, Scorchpelt, called out.
  "Rayne said that it was all just a misunderstanding. The previous leader would steal kits and make them part of the clan, but she thought I had the right to follow my own destiny. She told me everything I needed to know and let me return to my true home." Midnight answered. "You have nothing to worry about FeralClan. Rayne said as long as the clans don't bother them, they won't bother you."
  "That's good news." Tigerstar mewed.
  "How can we be sure to trust them?" Darkwillow hissed, who was in the front of the crowd.
  "I trust Midnight, therefore I trust FeralClan's agreement." Blackstar said.
  "It's time we headed back to our camps." Squirrelstar meowed.
  Blizzardstar and the other leaders nodded.
  Blackstar looked at her daughter, a smile on her face. "And it's time for you to come home."
  Snowleaf suddenly raced up to Blackstar and Midnight, dipping her head. "Sorry for interrupting, but may I speak to Midnight for a moment?"
  "Of course." Midnight replied, looking at her mother. "Just wait for me at the entrance."
  Blackstar nodded and padded away. Midnight turned to Snowleaf. "I've seen you before, haven't I?"
  "I'm Snowleaf, medicine cat of FireClan. You only saw me when you were first born." She said.
  Midnight tilted her head. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
  Snowleaf shifted her paws. "I wanted to ask about the cat, Mist, that looked after you."
  "Yeah, what about her?"
  "She didn't happen to be white with gray spots?" Snowleaf mewed.
  Midnight narrowed her eyes. "Do you know her or something?"
  Snowleaf's eyes brightened, and she let out a shocked gasp. "She's my sister, and I thought she was dead!"