Warriors Forbidden Kits

Chapter 6

Smokepaw walked alongside Maplestep. They were on their way to the gathering. Smokepaw had no idea what to think. She was nervous, but also excited. She was about to meet cats from other clans! Would they be mean? Nice? Suspicious?

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Maplestep said encouragingly. Smokepaw smiled weakly. She knew that she shouldn't be worried. Starpaw was going to be there, and Stonepaw too. She wouldn't be the only apprentice introduced.

The clan stepped through the bushes and entered the clearing. Tons of cats were already there. Smokepaw opened her mouth and took a deep breath. So many different scents! She could pick out Airclan and Waterclan, and the other one must be Fireclan. Morningstar jumped onto a rock where three other cats were. Stormstone sat at the foot of the rock.

"Our clan sits over here." Maplestep said, leading Smokepaw to one side of the clearing. Smokepaw noticed a young cat watching her as she walked by. A moment later, they were seated. The gathering began. A cat with orange fur and black markings stepped forward on the rock. He cleared his throat.

"That's Burnstar. Fireclan's leader." Maplestep explained. Smokepaw nodded to show she had heard her mentor.

"Fireclan is pleased to announce the birth of two new kits, Ivykit and Tinykit. We also want to announce a new warrior, Petalear." The Burnstar announced. All eyes turned to a cream colored she-cat, who sat up proudly under the gaze of the cats.

"Petalear, Petalear!" The cats of all of the clans cheered. Then attention turned back to Burnstar.

"That is all Fireclan has to report." He said, stepping back. Morningstar stepped forward.

"Earthclan is proud to present three new apprentices before Pastclan. Starpaw, Stonepaw, and Smokepaw." Morningstar said. All eyes turned to Smokepaw and her siblings, and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Starpaw! Stonepaw! Smokepaw!" The clan cheered.

"That is all Earthclan has to report." Morningstar said, stepping back. A black she-cat with a white belly stepped forward.

"That's Ravenstar." Maplestep whispered.

"Airclan is sad to announce that one of its elders, Tigertail, has joined the ranks of Pastclan." Ravenstar said sadly. All of the clans bowed their heads respectively. Then Ravenstar spoke again.

"Airclan has nothing more to report." She finished, stepping back. A black tom stepped forward.

"That's Jaggedstar." Maplestep growled.

"Waterclan is also pleased to announce three new apprentices. One could not be here tonight, as she is very injured. But allow me to present Shadowpaw and Cloudpaw." Jaggedstar announced. All eyes turned to two apprentices. One was a black tom, and the other was a tom that had plain gray fur. They both looked subdued and worried.

"Shadowpaw! Cloudpaw!" The clans cheered.

"Didn't you forget to mention the name of the last apprentice?" A voice called out. All eyes turned to watch the speaker. It was the cat Smokepaw had noticed watching her earlier. His silver for looked almost blue, and his sapphire eyes shone defiantly. Jaggedstar glared at him.

"The final apprentice was Snowpaw." He finally spat out. There was no cheer of Snowpaw's name. Only deadly silence. Finally, Jaggedstar looked away from the apprentice.

"That is all Waterclan has to report." He said. Then the leaders jumped off of the rocks, and the cats all stood up and wandered around.

"Go meet some other apprentices. I'll be nearby if you need me." Maplestep said. Smokepaw sighed, then stood up. Who would she talk to? She didn't even know these cats! Finally, she settled on speaking to the blue cat who had been watching her when she walked by. She spotted him by a small bush, and hurried over. He looked up when she arrived.

"Hi. I'm Smokepaw. That was really brave of you to talk to your leader like that." Smokepaw stuttered.

"Thanks. Someone had to stand up for Snowpaw. After all, she was just trying to stop a fight." The tom said.

"This is my first gathering. What about you?" Smokepaw asked.

"This is my second. I'm Bluepaw by the way." He said.

"The name suits you." She laughed. Bluepaw grinned.

"Funny how it works out like that. Like your name. Your fur looks like you could just be a piece of mist drifting around. I've never seen fur as amazing as that before." He told Smokepaw. Smokepaw felt her fur heat up.

"Thanks." She finally managed. There was a loud yowl, and Bluepaw grimaced.

"That would be Jaggedstar. Boy, I bet I'm going to be in big trouble. I guess I should get going." He sighed.

"Yeah, me too. Maplestep will be worried." Smokepaw added. She turned to walk away.

"Wait! Can we see each other again?" Bluepaw asked. Smokepaw turned back around.

"But we're from different clans. We can't go on each other's territory." Smokepaw pointed out.

"That's fine. I'll meet you at the border. I'll stay on my territory, you stay on yours. Neither one of us is allowed to cross the border." He explained.

"Isn't that breaking some kind of rule?" Smokepaw asked nervously.

"Nah. Warriors do it all the time to yowl insults at each other. Why can't apprentices do it to talk to each other? I have some questions for you, and I'm sure you have some for me." He pointed out. Smokepaw flicked her tail, then glanced over her shoulder.

"Ok. Tomorrow at moonhigh. Border." She said. Bluepaw smiled, then padded away into the crowd. Smokepaw stood alone, wondering why a simple meeting felt so wrong.