Dawning Vengeance

Chapter 2 - The Gathering

 "Let all cats dauntless and daring gather around for a clan meeting!"

Hearing Sunblaze's yowl coming from the clearing, Stardust and the other apprentices jumped out of their grassy nests and rushed out the Apprentices' den. Dawntreaders streamed out of their dens and gathered to sit around Sunblaze. His orange pelt and amber eyes shone in the bright morning sunlight, making Sunblaze appear like a cat made of fire. Stardust followed Beesting and the others through the crowd of cats, they sat down together at the front where they could see Sunblaze and hear him clearer. The cats at the back would have to strain to hear every word Sunblaze meowed. 

"Is everyone here?" Sunblaze asked as he scanned the crowd of Dawntreaders around him. Stardust glanced around and saw Cliffleap and Flower sitting nearby, all the apprentices were present and all the warriors seemed to be here. The crowd nodded in unison.

"Good. As all of you know, this afternoon is the Gathering of all the existing Cat Clans." Sunblaze began. "According to Dawntreader tradition, ten cats of our clan will go to the gathering; the Clan Leader- me, the Clan Deputy-" Sunblaze turned and nodded at Cliffleap- "the Clan Doctor"- Sunblaze smiled at Flower and she nodded at him- " and seven special cats who have worked hard serving our clan throughout the year."

Sunblaze gazed around at his clan, "I know that all of you have worked hard serving our clan so don't fret if you're not one of the seven cats because there's the Winter Gathering and there's always a next year. The seven cats chosen to attend this year's gathering are Greytail, Driftclaw, Stardust, Beesting, Redstorm, Streamtail and Brightflame."

The crowd murmured their approval but a small group of cats muttered and stared in confusion at Stardust. 

Sunblaze noticed the group and raised his tail for silence. When the crowd was quiet, Sunblaze meowed, "Some of you may think that one of our apprentices is too inexperienced to have gotten a place among our chosen ones but remember, this apprentice -no matter how young or where her origins were- was one of the bravest heroes in that recent war against the scarred wolf. She was the star in that prophecy, the one who ended the war and brought justice and peace to the North once again. If any cat still has a reason to object, please say it out right now."

The group stopped muttering and stared at the ground.

Sunblaze looked at Stardust and she smiled in thanks at him. 

                                                          ***

"Stardust, that leap was amazing. You're doing really well." Greytail praised.

After the clan meeting, Greytail and the other mentors decided to do some battle training with their apprentices. They followed Cliffleap to a sandy clearing near the camp to train. During the lesson, they were learning to do the Spin and Leap; swiping the opponent then spinning on their forepaws whilst kicking out their hind paws at the enemy and then leaping on top of their opponent. 

Stardust's paws ached from training but she managed to stay standing. The other apprentices were panting, their fur was damp with sweat but they were all smiling as their mentors praised them.

"To improve, I think you could try to spin a little faster so that you can kick your opponent harder." Greytail advised her.

"Okay, I'll be faster next time." Stardust promised.

"Good." 

"Alright everyone, well done. Take a break and get some rest before the gathering," Cliffleap meowed.