Bloodshed

Chapter Twenty

By the time the gathering came, Shadepaw had no luck in persuading Blurrypelt to join him. Frozenstar still hadn't visited him, and he was afraid that she'd be angry to find that he hadn't been able to convince Blurrypelt.

"Come on, come on!" Flamepaw squealed to Owlpaw as they bounded out of the cave. "We're going to the gathering!"

Shadepaw flattened his ears as they bumped passed him. He could barely sleep with the two new apprentices in his den. Even worse, Flamepaw was doing incredible in his training. Blurrypelt said that if he'd kept it up, Flamepaw would be a warrior at the same time as Shadepaw.

"Hey, fox dung!" Morningpaw greeted him once he got to the gathering. "Any luck with Blurrypelt?"

"None." Shadepaw slumped over. "He says that he doesn't want to betray his Clan. He even has an apprentice now.."

"That's tough." She ran her tail over his shoulders. "But guess what?"

"What?" Shadepaw felt suddenly optimistic.

"I got a cat on our side. Not just any cat..." She glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "A warrior! The very first actual, senior warrior to join ShadeClan."

Shadepaw's eyes went wide. "Who is it?"

She flicked her tail towards a black tom who was sitting beside Skywing and Coldstream. "That's Nightwing. He's Skywing's father.. She was named after him. He hates Coldstream."

Shadepaw's whiskers twitched in amusement. He didn't particularly like Coldstream either. He turned as he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Morningpaw." It was Blurrypelt. Shadepaw remembered that they were kin. "What are you talking to Shadepaw for?"

Morningpaw glanced around again. "You know what."

"I do?" He wrapped his tail around his paws as he sat down. "It isn't that silly ShadeClan thing, is it? You're in on that too?"

"It's not silly!" Morningpaw hissed. "It's very real. Shadepaw isn't the only one in it. I'm going to be a warrior of ShadeClan."

"This will never work, you guys. You can't be serious!" Blurrypelt's green eyes went wide.

"I'll prove to you how real it is!" Morningpaw spat, "Join us in the dark forest tomorrow night."

"How do I do that?" Blurrypelt demanded.

"Just sleep. The dark forest will come to you." Morningpaw's tail curled in delight when she saw that Blurrypelt was actually considering. Shadepaw felt a pang of envy.

A yowl from the gathering tree interrupted their conversation. They all turned to see that Stripedstar and the new leader, Hawkstar, had climbed the tree.

"Cats of all Clans, I am glad to finally join you today as the leader of GreenClan. Stormstar was killed in the recent battle, and has gone on to live in StarClan. He will be remembered for generations to come. He died a warrior, in the midst of battle. He was always a strong and brave leader, and the son of the GreenClan creator Green Eyes. I hope that he is happy in StarClan, reunited with his parents at last." Hawkstar meowed. Mews of approval sounded all around the gathering.

Shadepaw shifted his paws. He needed to talk to Morningpaw. He flicked his ears as Hawkstar began to talk about the new deputy and how they'd moved back to their old camp; nothing Shadepaw was interested in.

"Hey, Shadepaw." Someone whisper-yelled. Shadepaw turned to see that Nightwing had crept up behind them. "You're the cat who the dark forest wants to be leader?"

"That's what I said." Morningpaw spat. "Don't believe me?"

"Oh, I do." Nightwing said quickly, bowing his head. "But you're only an apprentice."

"Exactly. They have a longer time to train me." Shadepaw shrugged, "Apprentices grow."

"That's smart," Nightwing murmured, "But also foolish. Who would put an apprentice in charge of the Clan?"