Shattered Roots #1: The Last Leaf

Chapter 12

The ivory sun set, turning snow into flakes of gold. Leafpaw's legs grew sore from the continuous fighting. On the contrary, pride swelled in her body. She had so much fun training her fighting skills all day long.

"Wow, you sure are a tough nut," Doehoof pointed out, letting out a huge sigh. "But you know what they say, 'a nut's gonna crack open if you smash it with a rock for too long'. Let's get back to camp before you turn into a pulp."

"Do we have to go back now? I want to try more moves!"

"You're gonna need that energy for going to the gathering. It's a long walk to get there and I can see you're almost worn out."

Leafpaw admitted to herself, 'Well, she's not wrong. My legs are killing me!' "Gee, alright then."

The two she-cats made their way back to camp. As Leafpaw strolled through the frost-covered forest, she spotted a cat between the trees. Immediately, she recoiled her head back and crouched to the ground.  She flattened her ears, anxious of whatever that cat was doing there. Doehoof gave Leafpaw a confused look.

"Leafpaw, what are you doing?"

"There's a cat over there!"

Doehoof squinted at the trees, then laughed. "Oh, that looks like Birchpaw. He's probably out on a hunting mission. I like your instincts, your alertness could be a life-saver. But you should improve on how you recognize others."

Leafpaw's fur prickled with embarrassment. She stood up straight again. "What's a gathering like? This is my first time going and it seems really fun."

"Ah, you see, every full moon, all four Clans join together at Tall Oak. Each Clan makes announcements and updates about how each of them are doing. It's a great opportunity to bond with cats from other Clans, find out a bit about how they live, or even make some friends. It's nice to see multiple Clans join together without having to break into a fight."

"Without breaking into a fight? How's that possible?"

"There's a truce in every gathering, meaning everyone must interact without violence. Everyone who attends is already aware of that."

"And everyone keeps the truce?"

"Of course! Our ancestors created gatherings as a non-violent meeting, not a battle field. If someone where to start a brawl, LightClan would surely be angered." Leafpaw was fascinated. She wondered about what LightClan could possibly do if a battle broke out during a gathering.

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"Leafpaw, can you help me with something?" Molestripe asked, carrying a cluster of herbs. Leafpaw nodded in response. "Nightpaw needs more cobwebs for her leg. I could use some extra help wrapping them up!"

"Has she woken up?"

"Unfortunately, not yet. She should gain her consciousness again soon based on my predictions, though!"

The fur-less medicine cat trotted away as Leafpaw entered the medicine den. She found a stack of cobwebs lying on the ground. Pulling one of them with her mouth, she carried it over to Nightpaw. The injured apprentice laid completely limp on her moss bed, breathing ever so slightly. Her leg was completely amputated by the badger. Leafpaw couldn't imagine the immense pain she must have felt during the incident. She gently wrapped the cobweb onto her leg. Without warning, Nightpaw's eyes shot open.

"Sandclaw! Sandclaw!" she shrieked, gasping for air. She whipped her head around rapidly like a mother bird who had just lost her eggs.

"Hey, Nightpaw, it's just me! Leafpaw!"