Chapter 34: Stay Safe... v2

All of the cats that were in the clearing, were all giving each other looks, and it was clear that none of them knew what to think, nor did they really understand all that was going on. Besides the guilty looks that were on the faces of the Shadowclan cats, and the angry and disgusted looks that the Skyclan cats were giving Dust.

I did my best to keep my calm on all of this as well, as I did my best to try not to choose sides in all of this. It was hard not to feel bad for Piper, and not be angry at Dust and Kevin. I just had to tell myself the truth though. These cats still did not know how the clans worked, and to be completely honest, I was still trying to get a grasp on it as well.

I shook my head though, as it was hard to think correctly with all of the voices of the cats that were speaking in the clearing. I looked around for a few moments, and I saw Dust. He had a bit of a smile on his face for some reason, almost as if this was what he had wanted to happen.

I looked away from him, as I told myself that I was not going to let him get the worst of me. I looked around for a bit, trying to spot the face of one of my friends, or one of my clan mates, that might be able to calm me down.

I looked around for a short period of time, but I did not have any sort of luck, trying to get all of the voices out of my head. I closed my eyes, as I did my best to try to clear the voices of the cats in the clearing, before I could try to think to myself.

I sat there for a short period of time, as it seemed to do me no such sort of luck. I then gave up, and then I opened my eyes, and I looked around. I then spotted one cat in particular, that stood out to me as well. I looked at the cat for a short period of time, as I saw him do the same, with his eyes squinted as well.

It was almost as if he was telling me something, though I was not sure what it was that he was trying to say to me. I stared there for a few moments longer, as I then understood what was going on. It made sense now... He was trying to see if I would crack under all of the pressure.

I breathed in a deep breath, as I now knew what it was that I had to do. I then sat there for just a bit longer, as I looked around at all of the cats in the clearing. I saw that none of them were looking up at the high rock, and none of them were paying me any attention.

I gulped, and then I began to walk forward, just as I had done a few moments ago. I looked one last time at all of the cats, and then I looked over at Youngtail. I saw him nod to me, with a bit of a grin on his face as well, as it was clear what it was that he was telling me to do.

I blinked a few times, just doing my best to try to relax myself, and keep my nerves calm. I saw Dust look at me from the corner of my eye with a much different grin than the one that Youngtail had. I took my focus away fron him though, as I then began to speak up loudly to the clearing.

"Everyone... Calm down... The gathering is a time of peace, and I want everyone to just talk to some cats, and meet some new friends... That goes for both the Skyclan and Shadowclan cats too. I know you have had your differences." I said to all of them.

I looked at the Skyclan cats, as I saw that many of them were looking around, now with their gaze off of Dust, as they realized now that he was not the only cat that was in Shadowclan. They nodded to each other, and they began to split apart around the clearing.

It made me feel a bit better, and a bit more relaxed, as I saw that a few of the Skyclan cats were actually speaking to some of the Shadowclan cats now. I nodded to myself, and then I moved back a little, to give the cats a bit of some time.

I came over to Piper, as I could now see that he had a bit more of a happy look on his face now, since I had finally gotten that over with. I saw the others as I saw that Kevin looked a bit guilty, but the others could care less clearly, as it had nothing to do with their clan.

I wish that I could feel the same as well, but I also knew that it was my job, not just as the leader of Windclan, but also it was my job to teach the cats how to settle their differences, without starting a war between the clans. I nodded to Piper however, as he had begun to speak to me.

"Thank you for that Moon... You are a great leader... Never doubt yourself, you are certainly doing a lot better job than me... My camp is chaotic a lot of the time, and hardly anyone listens to me, as if I were not their leader." He said to me. I looked at him, with quite a bit of a surprised look.

It was not really much of a problem around the camp of Windclan, to get my cats to listen to what it was that I had to say to them. Maybe that was just it for me, as I saw that the other leaders were nodding in agreement with what he had just said.

I blinked a few times, a bit surprised, as I had not thought that Kevin had his clan like that, based off of the short time that I had been in there. I had not heard much from Youngtail to tell me that either. Maybe he just did not want to give me the satisfaction of being a good leader.

It made sense now though, as I was sure that it had a lot to do with the fact that Dust had so easily gotten the Shadowclan cats to rally an attack on a Skyclan patrol. I shook my head at the same time as well, as I was trying my best not to worry about it.

It was all in the past now, and based off of the voices that I could hear in the clearing, the cats were getting along with each other at the moment, so it was clear to me that they were over the little mishap as well. I shook my head, and then I looked at the leaders, and then nodded to them.

It had seemed as though they had their minds focused on a different subject that might have been at hand for them. Probably what it was that we had just been speaking about, if I had to take my best guess. They turned their attention to me however, as I then began to speak to each of them.

"Alright... Now that we have all of that over with, lets just get this back to a normal gathering... Alright?" I said to all of them. They looked at each other for just a few moments, as they looked a bit confused for some reason, as to what it was that I had just said to them.

I rolled my eyes, as I was not so sure as to what it was that they could be confused about in the first place, but I nodded to Summer, as she decided to speak up to all of us for once. I listened to what it was that she had to add on to all of this as well.

"What exactly is a normal gathering if I might ask?" She said to me. I looked at her a bit surprised for a few moments, as I saw the others nod to her as well, as it was clear that it had been around the same thing that they had been thinking about too.

I was just surprised, at the fact that they did not know what it was that they must do. I had in fact not ever told them what it was like, but I had at least thought that Youngtail would have... It then all hit me at the same time as well however.

Maybe Youngtail did not know what it was like to have a gathering, and maybe he had hardly even heard of it. He was a bit young when he had taken over the role as a leader. At that point as well, the clans were near their end. Based off some of the stuff that he had told me, about war and what not, it made sense that they did not have gatherings.

I then nodded to all of them, as it was finally beginning to make a bit more sense to me. They still looked a bit confused, as I knew that they had no clue what to do, or what was going on right now. I thought of the best way to explain it to them, and then I began to speak.

"We just need to tell all of the cats, what has been going on in the last few moons, all of the new faces, new cats, and new kits that are in the clans... Its as simple as that." I said to them, doing my best to try and explain it to them in a way that would make sense.

I might have missed some parts, but that was the major point of what it was that these were all about. They looked at each other for a bit longer, as they were trying to see if the others had gotten the point at what it was that I was trying to say to them.

They all nodded to each other, as it made me feel a bit better as well, that they had finally split apart their differences in the bit of fight that they had gotten in to, not too long ago. I nodded back to them as well, and then I turned my head over to Kevin, as I heard him begin to speak to me.

"Can you go first? Just so we know how to do all of this?" He said to me. I looked at him for just a few moments, and then I nodded to him. I was probably not going to be the best example for them, as I had to tell them about Heart being the medicine cat for Shadowclan, and that was not normal for the others, but I suppose that I would do my best.

They all looked at me, as they all had their eyes on me. It was clear that they were now waiting for me to step up, and speak to all of the cats from all of the other clans. I looked at them for a bit longer, and then I nodded to myself.

I had to do this, and I had to set a good example for the rest of them, so that they knew what it was that they had to do. I then walked up to the top of the high rock, as many of the cats already had their eyes focused on me, and it did not take long for them all to grow quiet.

It made me feel even more nervous than I had before, now that I was stepping up as a leader, and speaking to all of the cats that were in the clearing. I looked at all of them for just a bit longer, and then I closed my eyes to relax myself.

It seemed to do a fair bit to help me as well, as I remembered that I had just spoken up to speak to them not too long ago. I just had to keep this in mind, that speaking to these cats, was like speaking to all of my clan mates, at a normal meeting that I would call.

I then opened my eyes, with that thought in mind, and I looked around one more time. I spotted lots of faces that I did not recognize, and it completely got rid of what it was that I had just been thinking about, that might have calmed me down just a bit.

I shook my head to myself, as I had to go ahead and get this over with. I could tell that many of them had looked away, as they had gotten tired of waiting for me to speak to all of them. I had to do this now, and I had to set a good example to the rest of them. I then nodded as I then began to speak to all of the cats.

"Windclan has been doing great... We have 2 new cats... Shilo and Steve... Hunting has been a bit rough on us over the last couple of days, but we make it through. I had a ceiling collapse on me at a twoleg place, luckily my deputy and Silent, Shrivel, and Venom got me out of there... With a bit of help too of course." I said to all of the cats.

They looked around, a bit surprised, and a bit amazed that I was okay, and that I was in decent condition. Then they looked over at the cats that I had just mention as well, as I saw all 3 of them with their heads held high. I wish that Venom had come with us.

I smiled at them, as I let them have their few seconds of spot light. I saw Kettle nod as well, as it was clear that he was the only one that I had understood what it was that I had meant by a bit of help. I really did not want to get into that much detail, as I knew that a lot of the clan cats still did not believe in a Starclan.

I shook my head, trying not to worry about that at the moment either. It just took one step at a time, I had already found out at this point, that it was not just all going to happen in one day. I then turned my head over to Kettle, as he spoke loud for all of the cats in the clearing to hear.

"We are glad that you made it out of there in good shape Moon. Your clan, and our clans, we need you." He said to me. I looked at him for just a few moments, and then I smiled, as what he had just said to me, had certainly made me feel a lot better.

I spotted a cat out of the corner of my eye, roll his eyes, but I did not try to focus on Dust, nor let him get the best of me. I was not willing to give him that satisfaction. I shook my head though, and then I turned my head back over to all of the cats that were below the clearing.

A lot of them still had their eyes focused on the cats that I had just mentioned, as I saw them nodding back and forth a bit happily. I looked up at the sky though, as I knew that many cats were looking a bit tired, and we had to go ahead and get this over with. I then began to speak to all of them.

"One last thing, I also want to say, is that Kevin... Heart, I want him to be the next medicine cat of your clan. He knows a lot about herbs, and there is a lot that Limp can teach him... He seems a lot more happy with that role too." I said, turning my head over to Kevin, to make sure that he had heard every word that I had just said to him.

He looked at me a bit surprised for a few moments, as he then turned his head over to the cat that was over at the other side of the clearing, that I had just spoken about. A lot of the cats were a bit confused at the name that I had just said, but they saw where both me and Kevin were looking to.

It did not take them that long to find out the cat that I had been talking about, as they saw that he was a bit scared to have to step up like that, as far as I could tell as well. He looked around, and then he focused his eyes on us, as he then nodded to us.

Me and Kevin then in turn, both nodded back to him. It made him feel a bit more relaxed, and a lot more calm as I could tell. He tried his best not to focus on all of the other cats. I smiled at him, and then I looked away from him.

I then moved back from the high rock a bit, as I waited for another leader to step up, and give them their own time to shine. They all looked at each other, as it was clear that they were just as nervous as I had been. It made me feel a bit better about myself as well.

Piper looked at me, and then he nodded, as he had been the one that had first spoken up to all of the cats, so it made sense that he would be the first one to do so as well, though last time was quite a bit different. I watched as he began to walk up to the top, but just as he was near the top, I heard the familiar loud voice of Dust begin to speak.

I rolled my eyes a bit, as I was starting to get a bit tired of this cat now. I just wanted to go ahead and get on with the meeting, so that I could go home, and get some more rest. I shook my head though as well, as I remembered about what Youngtail had said to me. I thought about it for a bit, until I remembered that Dust was speaking, though I did not want to hear him, I listened to him anyways.

"What makes you think that Shadowclan needs some useless cat such as a medicine cat? Much less a cat like Heart... He can't do anything right!" He said loudly for all of the cats to hear him. I heard a few angry voices as a response to him this time.

I saw that many of them were queens and elders, along with some cats that might have been sick as well. It was not what I would have expected, but it made me feel a lot better, as I grinned over at Dust. He did not seem to notice me do so however.

I saw that Heart had his head down low to the ground, as I could tell that it had hurt him quite a bit, what Dust had just said about him, and the fact of being a medicine cat. I looked over at Dust a bit angrily, and I was about to step up and speak, but Kettle stole the show once again.

"Medicine cats help queens give birth, help elders remove tics, help cats with splinters, cuts, and sicknesses... You will need them to save your life, after you get torn up in a fight... Mind you Dust... The gathering is for leaders to speak..." Kettle said to Dust. Lifting his head up, just as angry as the others were, with what Dust had just said.

Kettle was not quite as big as Dust was, but he at least gave him a run for his mice. It made Dust move a bit back, as he had finally gotten the jest of what Kettle had just said. I nodded a bit happily for Kettle, as he had finally gotten that cat to shut up.

Once the clearing began to grow quiet, I saw a lot of them giving Dust some grins, but he was just ignoring all of them, as he had his eyes locked on Piper for some reason. I wondered if it were because he was angry at the cat, or if he was waiting for him to speak.

I looked over at Piper for a few moments, just trying to clear out all of the thoughts of Dust from out of my head, as Piper then nodded back to me, and then he began to step up to all of the cats once again, so that he may speak to all of them.

"Other than the attack, which has left us short for some land to hunt, for the most part, Skyclan has been doing okay. Our medicine cat has dealt with the wounds of our cats. We have 1 new cat in the clan, which is, Viper." He said, pointing his head over to a bit of an older she cat.

I wondered if she was an elder, if not, than she must be getting near that age at least. I wish that Venom had come to the gathering, a felt like those 2 would have gotten along quite well, having such familiar names. The cats looked at her for a few moments.

She looked a bit embarrassed just as Heart had been, having all of the cats look over to her. This time they did not look for long though, as we all then turned our heads over to the next cat that was going to step up and speak.

I noticed that it was Kettle, as he had a bit of a happy look on his face, as it seemed that he had good news to tell us. I wondered what it was that it might be, as I looked around for his mate, but I could not see Oister anywhere for some odd reason.

I shook my head, as I tried not too worry about it. Surely it could not be anything bad, with the big smile that was on the face of Kettle, right? I took my thoughts off of that, as I focused them on what it was that he had to say to them clans, as he stepped up to speak like me and Piper had.

"Riverclan as been doing great! Though its a bit harder to catch fish now, so we have stuck to hunting land animals... We have 2 new cats... Puffer, and Gold." He said, pointing his head over to 2 cats. Just before we had time to look, he kept on speaking. "Also... My mate, Oister, she is pregnant with kits!"

I looked at him, a bit surprised for a few moments, as it was not what I had expected at all. I had thought that something had been a bit off, with him not bringing his mate to the gathering. After the initial shock, I then put on a big grin on my face.

I was so happy for my friend, as I saw that he had his head lifted high, as I heard a lot of cheering from many of the cats that were in the clearing. It kind of stole the show for Gold and Puffer, but I did not have my thoughts on them at all at the moment.

I was just so happy for my friend, as he stood at the top of the high rock for a bit more time, until he felt like it was his time to step down, and let another leader step up, to speak. He then moved back, and began to walk back over to where I was standing.

I smiled at him a bit more, and then I nodded to him. I saw Summer begin to step up to the high rock to speak this time, and I quickly begin to speak quietly to him, before she got the chance to address all of the cats about what had been going on in Thunderclan. He nodded to me, as he listened to what it was that I had to say to him.

"Congrats on that Kettle! I can't say how proud I am for you... Tell Oister that I wish her the best of luck through that." I said to him. He looked at me with a big smile on his face, and then he nodded to me. I nodded back to him as well, as I tried to shake off the thoughts of what Oister had said to me, quite a long time ago.

I remembered briefly about her telling my what had happened with her last mate, and her kits. I felt a bit bad for her, but I also knew that Kettle was going to treat them a lot better than her last mate had. I shook my head, and then I focused my thoughts on Summer, as she stepped up to speak to the cats this time.

I could tell that she was a lot more nervous than the rest of us had been, as I could tell it was getting the best of her, seeing there being so many cats that were in the clearing, looking up to her, waiting for her to speak. I watched as she breathed in deeply, just as I had, and then she began to speak.

"Cats of the clans... Thunderclan has been doing great, hunting has been fantastic for us, and we hope that carries into leaf bare. Lavender, has 3 new kits, Lion, Melon, and Trample, as well as 3 new cats have joined our clan! Thorn, Lightning, and Scar." She said, but unlike the rest of us, she did not look over to where they were.

I knew why that was so as well, as it was clear that she had decided not to take them to the gathering, which might be because they could be a bit scared to meet so many new faces. I did not blame her either way though, as she turned her head away from the cats, and nodded back to me as she walked over to us.

I looked at her a bit surprised to hear that as well, as it sure seemed like Thunderclan was doing a lot better than the rest of the clans were. I wondered if she might have lied about it, but based off of her belly, I had to assume not.

I shook my head, as I remembered that I had not talked about Shilos kits at all. I suppose there was no reason to though, as I was not sure if she was even going to join Windclan in the first place, nor did I know the names of any of her kits either.

I looked away from her, as she sat down beside the other 2 that were with me, and then I turned my head over to Kevin, as I saw him begin to walk up to the high rock, so that he could address all of the other cats, just as we had done not too long ago.

I spotted a look on the face of Summer, and a bit of an excited smile, as she saw that Kevin was going to speak. I had remembered that she had been friends with Kevin before all this, so it made sense as to why she might be excited for him.

Kevin, somehow seemed to be the one that was the least nervous than the rest of us had been, which was saying a lot, considering the subject that Piper had gone on to speak about. He spoke every word clearly, without stumbling over a single word.

"Cats of the clans... Shadowclan has been doing good, and I except the idea that Moon has given me... Heart will now be the next medicine cat." He had begun to say. I looked over at Dust, expecting him to look angry, but it seemed as though he could care less at this point now. I then turned my head over to Kevin, as he continued to speak. "We have 2 new cats as well, Silver and Heart... Which you already know Heart."

This time none of the cats looked over at Silver, which I could tell that she was fine with as well. It seemed that all of the cats were quite a bit tired, and they all wanted to go home, and get some rest now. I felt like that as well, but I knew what must be done first.

Once Kevin walked down from the high rock, and back to the rest of the leaders, I then stepped up to the high rock, to speak to the sleepy cats that were in the clearing this time. I felt like saying a quick few words to them, that I meant more towards the leaders.

Once I had gotten up to the top of the high rock, just as I had done, not too long ago as well. I then coughed, to get all of the cats attention on me, as it was loud enough, since most of the cats were not speaking to each other right now, then I began to speak loud enough for them all to hear me.

"Everyone, you may go ahead and go back home... However for the leaders, I ask that you please stay, as there is something that is very important that I must tell you." I said to all of the cats. All of the cats nodded, without even hesitated to begin to group up with their clan mates.

I then turned my head over to the leaders, to make sure that they all had in fact heard what it was that I had just said as well. They looked at me a bit confused for quite a few moments, wondering if this was normal clearly, but they nodded anyways.

I nodded back to them, as I looked over at the cats that were now all grouped up into their clans, ready to leave the island, and waiting for their leader to go ahead and give the go ahead. I saw that Dust was standing up front of us, squinting his eyes, as it was clear he was confused what to do.

I felt like giving him some sort of smart comment, but I chose not to, as I saw that he was not the only deputy that was confused as to what it was that we were to do. I saw all 4 of the other deputies were right beside him. Luckily it was not me that had to speak up this time, as I turned my head over to Kevin, hearing him talk.

"Dust... Just take our clan mates back to camp, you have the job as the leader tonight." He said to Dust. Once Dust had heard him say that, it lit up a bit of a smile on his face, as he nodded, and with the other deputies, they headed off to lead their clans off of the island.

I once again felt like saying some sort of smart comment about it, such as him potentially planning an attack on another clan, but I felt like it would be a lot more smart if I were to just not instigate any sort of fights. I did not want to fight that cat at all, I knew that for a fact.

I felt bad for whatever cat had to feel the wrath of him, whenever Shadowclan had attacked the Skyclan patrol. I shook my head, as I watched them begin to head off of the island, each deputy taking turns taking cats out walking down the bridge.

Once it was safe for no cat to hear what it was, that was about to be said, I saw Youngtail step up to all of us, and then he nodded to us. I nodded back to him, as I nodded to the other leaders, to let them know, that it was going to be him, that was going to be the one to talk.

They nodded back to me, as they all turned their heads over to Youngtail, waiting for him to speak. He did not look nervous one bit, as it seemed normal for him to have to step up like this. He lowered his head, and then he began to speak to all of us.

"There was a prophecy from Starclan, that they had given to me... I know many of you still do not believe that there is a Starclan, but you just have to trust me." He said over to us. I looked over at the leaders, as I saw guilty looks on the faces of Summer and Kevin. I squinted my eyes at them, but then I turned my head back over to Youngtail, as he heard him speak once more.

"I am still not sure what it means, but I knew I must tell all of you. It goes such as this, In the minty air, there will be terror... Near the ice, there will be a fright, but the future is bright, there is light Always care, for after lives will be mirrored!" He said to all of us. I nodded back to him, as I then turned my head over to the others.

I hoped that one of them might be a bit understanding of what the prophecy might have meant, but it seemed as though they had the exact same initial reaction that I had. I stared at the ground for a bit of some time, a bit disappointed.

We all sat there, as it were clear that all of them were trying to get what he had just said, but all of them seemed so lost. But there was one cat that looked a bit surprised, though he was still confused, as he stepped up to speak. I nodded as I saw that it was my friend Kettle.

"Maybe it has something to do with Riverclan... Though Im not quite sure they would not have given me the prophecy... Who knows..." He said to all of us. Each of us nodded to him, as he had a bit of a good point, and then we all turned our heads over to Youngtail, waiting for some kind of response.

He looked at all of us for a bit of some time, as I could tell that he was a bit disappointed that it was the only response that he was going to get clearly. He shook his head to himself, and then he began to speak back to all of us.

"It might be the case, but it makes more sense for it to be sent to me... I just want you all to keep that in mind... You all look tired, so go back to your clans... And you all stay safe..."