Shifting Stars

The full moon’s light seeped through the leaves, lighting up the forest floor. All around Lightpaw, cats walked in silence, following the path to the Moonhollow, where the gathering was held. Her pelt prickled with nervousness and excitement. This would be her first gathering. She had become an apprentice less than a half moon ago, her mentor said she was a very quick learner, but she often wondered if he was just being kind. 

Ahead, she could hear the chatter of the other clans, Brookclan and Farmclan. Her clan, Gladeclan, must be the last to arrive. She walked alongside her mother, Silvermoon, a beautiful silver tabby with long, flowy fur, which glowed brilliantly in the moonlight. Lightpaw looked at her own fur, which was long and flowy like her mother’s, glowing in the moonlight, but instead of silver, it had orange patches, like her father’s fur. Her thoughts were interrupted as she reached the top of the rise, below was the Moonhollow, it was huge. Lightpaw- her nervousness evaporating for just a moment- left her mother’s side, dashing down the slope. She stopped at the bottom and looked around for cats her age. Lightpaw was determined to make at least one friend, no matter how hard it was. She had her cousin, Ravenpaw, who was a few days younger than her. She loved him dearly, but they didn’t have much in common, and lately he seemed to be hanging out with the older apprentices quite often. Lightpaw wasn’t usually invited to do things with them, and when she was, it was always because they wanted to make fun of her. And though Ravenpaw never joined in with the bullying, he didn’t really defend her either. But if she could make a friend here, even if they could only meet at gatherings, it would make everything so much better, wouldn’t it?

She looked over to an area with a large rock, and smaller rocks dotted around, all big enough to jump from one to the other. A few cats, who Lightpaw assumed were apprentices, gathered around below the rocks, showing off battle moves. Maybe I can talk to those cats..

“Lightpaw!” Her mother’s yowl broke into her thoughts. “Don’t wander off like that, you could get hurt!” Lightpaw rolled her eyes. Yeah, hurt at a gathering. Though she didn’t speak the words aloud. “Stay by me.” Her mother meowed. Great, I’ll spend the whole gathering listening to my mom and her friends talk. She thought with a sigh as she followed her mother through the crowd. As her excitement faded, the meows of the cats around her seemed to become deafeningly loud. She pressed against her mother, feeling her comforting, silky fur. They stopped at the edge of the clearing, it seemed to be a little quieter here. Two she-cats sat, their conversation left unfinished as Lightpaw’s mother approached them. The three cats purred greetings to one another, then one of the cats, a brown tabby with thick, curly fur gasped. “This must be your daughter, Lightpaw! Oh, she’s beautiful!” 

The second cat, a black and white she-cat with short, spiky fur, nodded her greetings, her eyes glowed kindly.

Lightpaw ducked her head in embarrassment as her mother introduced her. The three cats began talking, mostly about their kits. Proudly announcing good catches their kits had made, how well they’ve done in training, and other boring things Lightpaw didn’t care about.

After some time she began to back away, once she was a few fox-lengths apart from the group, she turned and fled. She expected to hear her mother’s yowl, but she didn’t, so she continued pushing her way through the crowd. The deeper in she went, the louder it got, so loud it became overwhelming. She flattened her ears in an attempt to block out the sound. Her gaze fell to her paws as she walked, and over time the sound seemed to grow quiet and muffled around her, almost as if she was drowning in a sea of cats. Her gaze was only lifted from her paws when a clearer, more friendly meow was heard.

 “Hey!” 

Surely the voice wasn’t talking to her? But still, she looked up. A silver-gray tabby pranced towards her, her tail lifted in greetings. She had warm amber eyes, and her sleek fur looked soft, but beneath it she could see the cat’s muscles. She assumed this cat was an apprentice, a few moons older than her, but she looked as if she could take on a badger by herself. Maybe it was how confidently she walked, or just the fact she was older than Lightpaw, who still looked like a kit in comparison.

“Is this your first gathering?” The silver tabby asked, to which Lightpaw nodded, only a moment later wishing she had actually said something. Cats often saw it as rude when she didn’t speak- which, she guessed made sense- or even worse, they’d start treating her like a kit, simply because she wasn’t as noisy as a tied up dog.

“…How about you?” Lightpaw meowed, wishing she had sounded even half as confident as the silver tabby.

“This is my third gathering, I practically know my way around like I know the stripes on my pelt!” She meowed.

 Lightpaw had only known this apprentice for a few moments, but already she was admiring her kindness and confidence. 

“I’m Frostpaw, and you are?”

“Lightpaw.”

Frostpaw smiled, and Lightpaw returned the smile. Frostpaw was about to say more when a loud, challenging yowl sounded somewhere nearby. 

Lightpaw followed Frostpaw’s gaze to see the same rocky clearing as earlier, only now, the apprentices who had been showing off were stalking away, their tails twitching angrily, their fur ruffled as if they had just fallen from a tree. Another cat lay farther off, looking dazed. While another apprentice sat over them, meowing in alarm.

On the highest rock, two apprentices stood. They looked identical, their fluffy, pure white fur shining like stars under the moonlight, making them look like they belonged to Starclan itself.

The two white-furred apprentices were the ones who had been yowling, now the bigger one- a tom- yowled again. “Does any other apprentice dare to challenge us?” The smaller one, a she-cat added in. “No cat can beat us, Farmclan is superior to all clans!”

Frostpaw narrowed her eyes, clearly unimpressed. “Typical Farmclan for you. Only one paw in the forest, yet they think they own it.” 

Lightpaw would have liked to agree, but she hadn’t really met any cats from other clans yet.

 “Hey, let’s show them how real clan cats fight!” She growled, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

Before Lightpaw could reply, Frostpaw dashed off. Startled, Lightpaw raced after her. 

I don’t know how to fight, I’ve only learned a few defense moves!

She knew there wouldn’t be any real fighting, but the idea still frightened her, and she didn’t want to disappoint Frostpaw.

“Hey, kittypets!” Frostpaw yowled, standing below the rock.

The two white-furred apprentices gazed down at her, one’s eyes wide with surprise, while the other glared down in annoyance. They both leapt down from rock to rock with synchronized movement, which Lightpaw thought was kind of strange. 

By now Lightpaw was standing beside Frostpaw, who stood tall and confident, her tail raised and a challenge in her eyes.

Lightpaw tried to look equally confident while facing the two apprentices, though she was smaller than the two of them, and her short, stubby tail probably wasn’t even noticed as she lifted it. 

“Why, if it isn’t Frostpaw!” The she-cat meowed as she approached, the other apprentice-who Lightpaw guessed was her littermate- stood beside her, a smug look on his face. He thinks he’s already won! 

“Look Daintypaw, she brought a kit to beat us!” The tom purred in amusement. “Frostpaw, are your own clanmates so boring your only choice is to befriend Gladeclan kits?”

Daintypaw gave a mrrow of amusement. Lightpaw looked down at her paws.

“Hm, and where’s your friends, Sheeppaw? Aside from your littermate, I never see you hanging out with any cat. I could make friends with anyone here!” Frostpaw meowed calmly, she looked amused when Sheeppaw and Daintypaw growled.

“Oh, and Lightpaw isn’t a kit, nor is she just any other cat.” 

“Typical Brookclan! You don’t know the meaning of loyalty.” Spat Sheeppaw. “Fine, let’s fight. We’ll prove once and for all, Farmclan never loses!” 

Frostpaw nodded in agreement, both her and Sheeppaw looked as proudly as if they’d already won the fight. While Daintypaw just seemed to be enjoying the insults being thrown around.

Gatherings aren’t as.. peaceful.. as I thought.

Sheeppaw and Daintypaw headed towards one side of the battle clearing, while Frostpaw and Lightpaw headed for the other. Frostpaw leaned over and whispered to Lightpaw. “Sheeppaw and Daintypaw are great at fighting, but only when they’re together. If we can separate them they won’t stand a chance.” Lightpaw nodded, but she couldn’t help but feel nervous. There’s no way I can fight one of them, especially not alone!

She tried to go through everything her mentor taught her-  which wasn’t very much- but before she could even steady her breath, Sheeppaw let out a yowl that told Lightpaw the fight had started. 

“Remember, claws sheathed!” Frostpaw called, leaving Lightpaw as she raced towards the Farmclan cats.

The apprentices sprang towards each other, after a short hesitation, Lightpaw followed.

Frostpaw went for Sheeppaw, pouncing on him, and the two rolled across the dusty floor.

Lightpaw spotted Daintypaw preparing to leap onto Frostpaw and dashed forward, barreling into her and slamming her to the ground. Daintypaw quickly kicked her off, her attention immediately turned back to where her brother was pinned to the ground by Frostpaw. 

She’s not even trying to fight me!

 Lightpaw grabbed Daintypaw by the tail, dragging her back. I guess in some ways not having a tail can be helpful. She thought, thankful for the first time of her short, stubby tail.

Finally, Daintypaw turned to fight her with a hiss of annoyance. She clearly saw Lightpaw as more of an interference than a threat. And Lightpaw proved this to be true by her clumsy fighting moves, which she only got from the few glimpses she’d seen of Frostpaw and Sheeppaw fighting, or when she played with Ravenpaw when the two were kits.

Daintypaw swiped a paw at Lightpaw’s face, sending her reeling back. Lightpaw was relieved her claws were sheathed. 

“Aren’t you a bit too young to be at a gathering?” Daintypaw sneered.

Lightpaw growled, leaping at her, only to land with a thud on the dusty earth. 

Daintypaw pounced on top of her, but at the same moment Lightpaw rolled over, revealing her soft belly fur, and kicked her hind legs, throwing Daintypaw off before she had a chance to pin her.

While Daintypaw lay on the ground, Lightpaw sprang up, ready to pin the white she-cat to the ground. But Daintypaw was ready. She grabbed onto lightpaw, throwing her, then leaping onto her. Lightpaw struggled under the older apprentice’s grip, fighting back panic. She knew this wasn’t a real battle, Daintypaw wouldn’t really hurt her. But still, she was frightened. 

She heard a defeated yowl. Was that me? She thought.

Then Daintypaw turned her head with a surprised squeak, which sounded like a mouse to Lightpaw. A flash of gray fur flew across Lightpaw’s vision, throwing Daintypaw off. Lightpaw turned her gaze to where Daintypaw had stared, Sheeppaw crouched on the ground, a clear look of anger and humiliation on his face. His pure white fur now pale brown with dirt, the fluffy curls were messy and spiked up. Lightpaw couldn’t help but laught at the sight. Turning back to Frostpaw a moment later, who was fighting Daintypaw now. Lightpaw pounced forward, Daintypaw seemed to distracted fighting Frostpaw to noice her. She lashed out with a paw, tripping Daintypaw, and Frostpaw placed her forepaws on the beautiful white apprentice’s shoulders. “Okay okay! You’ve won! Just get off me!” Daintypaw spat after a moment. 

Frostpaw let her up, and Daintypaw met her brother who was a few tail lengths away, grooming her fur quickly. Through the chatter of the cats around her she could hear Sheeppaw’s wail. “Our housefolk will never let us in their bed looking like this!”

Frostpaw and Lightpaw shared a purr of amusement, though it seemed strange for a warrior to want to be in a two leg nest. Farmclan was weirder than she thought.

“We showed them!” Frostpaw laughed. “Thanks for fighting on my side.” 

Lightpaw dipped her head in a way of saying “you’re welcome” then paused, would Frostpaw understand? To Lightpaw’s relief, Frostpaw did seem to understand.

 “Do you think you-“ Frostpaw was interrupted once again by a yowl, but this time it was older and held more authority. It was Brookclan’s leader, Birchstar. The tom was white with black spots, his fur was soft and well groomed despite his age.

“Let the gathering begin!” His yowl rang around the clearing, the other leaders stood on the large rock, which had a small pool at the front of it, forming the shape of a crescent moon. Lightpaw wondered if they were afraid of falling in, she knew she would be.

“Oh, I have to get to my clanmates. See you later Lightpaw!” Frostpaw pushed her way through the crowd, and Lightpaw watched her go, feeling disappointed. She would have liked to spend more time with Frostpaw. After a few moments she spotted her mother in the crowd, looking around with a worried expression. She padded up to her, and the two shared a few words. Her mother gave her a quick lick on the head, then they sat down to listen.

Birchstar gave an update on his clan, claiming prey was bountiful-which Lightpaw found hard to believe, it was nearing the end of leaf fall, after all-, and some kits had been born. 

Next was Hazelstar of Farmclan, she stepped forward with a proud look on her face and began to speak. “Farmclan is doing just wonderful. Unlike Brookclan and Gladeclan,” she cast scornful looks at the two clans below, “Farmclan has plenty of prey in every season thanks to the barn on our territory, there’s so many mice we never have to go hungry.”

 According to Lightpaw’s clanmates, and the annoyed, unimpressed looks from both Gladeclan and Brookclan cats, this was something Hazelstar liked to announce every chance she was given. Hazelstar ignored the frustrated groans of the clans below, continuing on, “We have a new daylight warrior, Pickletail!”

 Lightpaw wasnt sure what a “pickle” was, but she didn’t dare ask, and as the cats cheered Pickletail’s name, Lightpaw was aware of the confusion in their voices. Did any cat here know what a pickle was? What a strange name!

“At this point Farmclan has more kittypets than clanborn warriors!” Some cat whispered nearby. 

Lightpaw had to agree it was odd, Gladeclan never had any daylight warriors. She wondered how Frostpaw felt about it, did Brookclan have daylight warriors? She wished she could talk to the kind gray tabby again, she wanted to know what Frostpaw thought about everything. But would she ever see her again?

Lightpaw suddenly realized her own leader, Brightstar had begun talking. 

“Gladeclan is doing well, we have two new apprentices. Ravenpaw, who unfortunately couldn’t make it, and Lightpaw.” Brightstar’s warm gaze rested on Lightpaw, and many eyes followed it, burning into Lightpaw’s pelt. She looked to her paws as cats cheered, was that Frostpaw’s voice she heard? Her heart warmed at the thought.

Brightstar waited for silence, then went on. “Prey is running well, and I do believe…”

Concerned murmurs fills the air, Lightpaw felt her mother tense beside her, her nose raised to sniff the air. Lightpaw did the same, but all she could smell were the mingled scents of the three clans. Brightstar stopped speaking, her eyes narrowed as she gazed into the distant shadows. The murmurs only grew louder and more worried.

“What is that strange cat scent?”

“Rouges?”

“Are we being ambushed?”

Suddenly, cats from the edges of the crowd yowled in alarm, backing away with their back arched. Around the edges of the clearing, shadows of cats moved, one after another. How many were there? Their eyes glinted in the moonlight, cruel and battle hungry. Lightpaw felt her heart beating quicker than it ever had, she felt her mother’s tail wrap around her.

The strange cats seemed to surround the entire hollow, sticking to the shadows, barely visible. Just over the fear scent Lightpaw could pick up their scent now, it smelled almost like crow-food and thunderpaths. Where had these cats come from? What did they want?

Out of the shadows, a huge gray tom appeared, he walked forward calmly, as if he belonged in the hollow, stopping in the moonlight with his head lifted to the leaders on the rock. “So surprised to see us back?” He asked, with an amused look on his face.

The three leaders stared down, all equally shocked, but while Hazelstar looked curious, Birchstar held a look of guilt on his face, and Brightstar looked completely horrified.  

“Well?” Hazelstar glanced over at the other two leaders, raising a brow. “Why don’t you introduce your friends to us?”

Brightstar flattened her ears against her head, her hackles raising. “Mossclan! You are fools to show your face here again!” She hissed, while Birchstar simply looked to his paws.

The gray tom strode forward, the cats in the crowd moved away with hisses and growls.

“You are the fools for driving us out!” He growled. “Mossclan has suffered for seasons because of Brookclan and Gladeclan! And now..” The Gray tom’s eyes gleamed with pleasure. “We have returned with warriors who are stronger, crueler, and more skilled than your greatest warriors.” 

Lightpaw watched in horror, he was surrounded by cats, didn’t he fear being attacked? There’s no possible way for him to survive. A stick cracking on the edge of the clearing reminded her of the Mossclan cats surrounding the three clans, if their leader was attacked, they were sure to join in the fight. Lightpaw looked up at the moon.

There’s a full moon truce! What can we do if they attack us now?

Finally Birchstar cleared his throat and spoke in a rasping voice. “It’s been seasons, only the oldest warriors remember Mossclan’s exile, and they were only kits then. Surely it’s best we all forget and move on?”

“I will not forget! Mossclan will not forget! Your actions have taken our old and young, we wandered in unfamiliar territory for moons! And soon your clans will do the same. Take this as your final warning… by the next full moon, if you still live so peacefully in this forest, you will be driven out, killed, held prisoner.. Whatever we see fit.” His gaze raked across the gathered cats, “I am StarlessFog, leader of Mossclan! Remember my name, remember my clan’s name, because this will not be the last you hear of us.” With that, he whipped around and disappeared into the shadows once more, the cats surrounding the clearing following in silence, until the three clans were alone once more.