WITHERING HERBS || A Warriors Fanfiction

|| chapter fourteen

"Owlpaw, get up. We're going to be late!"

A familiar-sounding hiss filled with nothing but irritation woke the apprentice out of his long, quiet, pleasant slumber. Shaking his fur out, he licked his fur clean with swift movements. They could not be late to the Gathering. Coldness filled him and he squeezed his golden-yellow eyes shut.

"Come on!" The hiss turned into a furious, fierce snarl. His eyes opened as quick as a flash and he ran out of the den, his tail streaming wildly behind him. It was Stonestar. Suppressing a flinch, he glanced around. Sedgestorm, Flintpath, and Hazelberry were standing impatiently at the entrance.

"I-um-?" Owlpaw didn't finish.

Stonestar hissed. "Come on. Let's go."

The tom, with a swish of his plain gray tail, disappeared. Sedgestorm and Flintpath shared a blank look as Hazelberry sprinted after him, and then Sedgestorm and Flintpath were soon to follow. Owlpaw murmured something under his breath, trying to gain understanding.

"Go on," a voice came from behind him. It was Heronleap. "Tell everyone I said hello."

Startled, he turned around. Heronleap looked oddly calm and happy. His eyes were glittering, his tail curled neatly over his paws. His fur was groomed nicely, his ears perked.

He repeated himself. "Go on."

Owlpaw blinked and ran, following the other's scents. Quickly navigating himself around rocks and tussocks of snow-covered grass, he soon found himself a few fox-lengths away from the rest of the group. He slowed down, attempting to keep his breathing steady. For all they knew, he hadn't stayed behind. He'd followed them like he was supposed to the entire time.

"Heronleap said hello," he meowed, flicking his tail, still a bit confused about the strange encounter with the tom.

Sedgestorm asked, "Is that all he said?"

"Well, yeah, he just said to tell you all he said hello," Owlpaw replied.

"Ah," Stonestar murmured and whispered something to his medicine cat. She nodded.

Owlpaw thought back to all the Gatherings he'd been to before. When he was born, his mother and father had both gone to the Gathering, leaving him and some other warriors he didn't know at the camp. Plodding on, he recalled asking one of the warriors where everyone went. The warrior had replied with something sarcastic that he couldn't remember.

He remembered his first Gathering, too. The Clans had just gotten word of the sickness and around ten warriors per Clan had come. Members of his Clan had told him about the sickness and he had just shrugged it off, guessing the medicine cats would just heal it.

The next Gathering was even worse. There was around five or six warriors per Clan, and at least two of them had the beginnings of the sickness. He remembered that one clearer. He'd stuck to the outsides, away from the sickness, with his mentor, Sedgestorm. Everyone was so close back then. 

As he looked up, he spotted the Gathering island looming over him. Shadows fell over the MudClan cat's forms and before he knew it they were walking into the Gathering.

He squeezed through the small, leafy hole that was the entrance to the clearing. Leaves surrounded the Gathering island. There was a huge tree in front of him, and beneath it were four roots for the deputies of Clans to sit in. An assortment of rocks lay next to the deputies, slightly elevated from the ground - a place for the medicine cats.

The huge tree seemed as if it wanted, or was trying to, claw its way into the dark sky, its spindly branches reaching up to the black blanket. The stars seemed to inch away from it. In the clearing was some grass, which was waving up to the tree in a friendly hello. A cold wind rushed around, excitably racing from place to place, blowing up the grass. Unfortunately for the grass, it was about to get trampled by the cats of MudClan.

There were already cats here. Observing their red, brown, and white pelts, and glancing up at their leader, he guessed it was PetalClan. Hazelberry broke away from the group and headed over to where a reddish-brown tabby tom sat, near some rocks. She tilted her head up, murmuring something to the tom, who nodded.

Finchtuft, Sorrelflame, and Mousewhisker were huddled in one of the corners.

Sedgestorm began to pad over and Owlpaw flicked his tail nervously. Following his mentor, he spotted Quailnose emerge from the shadows that covered the leaves. Owlpaw surveyed them, their gazes blank. Frustration pulsing inside of him, he searched their eyes.

"Hello, PetalClan," Sedgestorm mewed politely, inclining his head.

Finchtuft stood up, returning the kind gesture. "How is MudClan?"

Quailnose glanced at Owlpaw, offering a smile. The apprentice wasn't sure if it was meaningful.

"Fine," replied Owlpaw, catching a glimpse of his mentor, "And how is PetalClan?"

Sorrelflame bent her head to murmur something to Finchtuft and he nodded, while Mousewhisker brewed in his own thoughts. His brown fur was raised slightly, and Quailnose's brown-spotted nose was tipped towards the sky.

Sorrelflame calmly answered, "Fine. I'm glad to hear MudClan is doing the same."

Then, Owlpaw pricked an ear, hearing pawsteps pounding nearby. Sedgestorm had clearly noticed this, for he apologetically dipped his head at the other cats, murmuring a goodbye as the two headed for their own group.

A mottled gray she-cat squeezed through the entrance of the Gathering, followed by several other toms and she-cats, gray and brown pelts almost identical until a calico shoved through.

It's PineClan, he realized.

One of them scuffed their paw against the ground, seemingly unwanting to move, but a strong, brown-furred she-cat nudged the ashy-gray tom from behind.

Robinstar strolled over to the huge tree, glancing up at it and then launching herself up. Lilybreeze, the medicine cat, trotted over to where the others were sitting, plopping herself down on the rock. As everyone turned away, the PineClan cats settled in the other corner of the Gathering. Owlpaw turned to look at the empty corner of the last Clan - SquirrelClan.

"I apologize for our lateness," Robinstar meowed, her gaze sweeping over the cats, "However, it appears SquirrelClan has not arrived yet. We may start without them or we could wait."

Stonestar kept his head down, tail flicking, seemingly deep in thought.

Heatherstar, after seeing that Stonestar was not going to speak yet, observed all the cats. Some were talking softly to another - mostly Finchtuft and Sorrelflame, and some of the cats from PineClan. The medicine cats spread whispers throughout them, looking at one another.

"I think we wait," decreed Heatherstar, "All of the Clans have been late before, and it wouldn't be fair to start without them. Of course... the sickness may be keeping them back... and that would not be their fault."

Stonestar murmured, "But we do not want to keep StarClan waiting if they truly are not attending this Gathering."

Whispers of agreement spread through the crowd as the cats glanced around. Owlpaw scented the air, catching cat scent. He pricked his ear curiously. All heads turned towards the entrance, and everyone seemed to gasp.

Cats with matted fur and dull eyes stumbled into the Gathering clearing.

"Yellowstar?!"