The Life And Adventures of Ivyshadow

Chapter 17 - Moon 11

"The cats going to the gathering will be Violetpaw, Pebbleclaw, Birchpaw, Snowpaw, Blackstripe, Ivypaw, Runningmouse, and Winterthorn. I will be leaving Branchfall in charge."

Ivypaw noticed that Acornstar had purposely left out the more reactive cats, like Oakwhisker and Riverflower. She doesn't want a battle. Ivypaw flexed her claws in the dirt. She personally wouldn't mind a chance to avenge Nightkit's death.

She padded up to walk beside Winterthorn and Snowpaw. "I cat wait to rub the loss in that fleabag Quartzpaw's face," Snowpaw seethed.

Ivypaw nodded, but when the image of Quartzpaw flashed in her mind, she faltered. Quartzpaw had always been skinny, but over the last gatherings she and her clanmates had all but withered away. Ivypaw remembered Rockwhisker coming to his daughter's defense during the battle, and unintentionally tried to picture what it was like from Quartzpaw's point of view. Her clan was starving, she was starving. Just like Ivypaw, she would do anything for her clan. Could Ivypaw really hate a cat that was so similar to herself? What if Ivypaw had been born in the Clan of Falling Rock... see? You must help us.

Ivypaw jumped, whirling around. That was a VOICE in her HEAD! We are cats too, the voice whispered. Ivypaw shook her head wildly. She recognized the voice, was it... "Crystalpelt?"

"What?" Snowpaw asked, her and Winterthorn coming to a stop.

I'm going crazy, Ivypaw panicked. She listened, but Crystalpelt's voice was silent. The Clan of Rising Stars gave Ivypaw the creeps. "Um, nothing." Ivypaw meowed in response to Snowpaw, but her sister had already turned back to Winterthorn.

Ivypaw studied them as she walked. Since when did Winterthorn actually respond to cats when they talked to him? Snowpaw was telling him about the battle, and how she'd chased Granitepaw into the forest, but Winterthorn wasn't listening. He was zoned out, staring at... Snowpaw?

"Winterthorn, you saw me do that, right?" Snowpaw asked him.

Winterthorn blinked, his ears turning pink. Ivypaw smirked. "Yeah." He meowed, then straightened his posture and put on his haughty air again, "I also saw you running away from Amberstone."

"I wasn't RUNNING, I was TACTICALLY RETREATING," Snowpaw huffed.

Winterthorn smiled, then promptly tripped over a log.

Ivypaw smothered her laughter as he got to his paws, his ears turning nearly scarlet. Snowpaw burst out laughing, but helped him up all the same. "Look where you're walking, you mouse-brain."

The light mood quickly faded as they approached the gatheringplace, and the clan naturally tightened their ranks, putting the more vulnerable cats in the middle, like Windfur and the apprentices. Ivypaw could physically feel the tension in the air. The Clan Of Falling Rock had killed one of their own last night, and now they had to stand next to them. Ivypaw was certain now that the sympathetic thoughts she'd had earlier about Quartzpaw were all Crystalpelt's doing.

Ivypaw glanced towards Windfur, curious what he thought of all this. He not only had kin in the Clan of Falling Rock, but had old clanmates from before the split. Windfur's normally twinkling eyes were clouded with worry, and he kept looking over at his grandson, Runningmouse. Runningmouse was walking by himself as he usually did, his ears perked for any sign of danger.

They entered into the gathering in one group, and settled under the rock in one group. Both other Clans were there, and Ivypaw turned to glare at the Falling Rock cats. She recognized a few cats she'd fought in the battle; Rockwhisker, Quartzpaw and Granitepaw. The rest of the cats were a sea of unknown hostile faces.

"Prey has been well," Reedstar began, prompting everyone to look back up at the rock. Acronstar was just settling down, sitting close to Boulderstar. Ivypaw admired her unafraid leader, "We have three new apprentices, Spiderpaw, Pondpaw and Frogpaw. We have been recovering well from the wolves." He paused, but Boulderstar stepped forward, taking that as his cue.