“There’s a truce!” Brambleclaw reminded him sternly.
Hollypaw glanced up at the moon. Thin wisps of cloud were drifting in front of it. Her heart lurched. Had Berrypaw and Owlpaw upset StarClan?
Berrypaw shook out his pelt as Brambleclaw dropped him unceremoniously to the ground. “Owlpaw started it,” he growled. “He called me a kittypet!”
Hollypaw felt her pelt bristle. Berrypaw had been training for moons to be a ThunderClan warrior. And yet he wasn’t truly Clanborn. He had been born in horseplace with
Hazelpaw and Mousepaw, not in the hollow. Daisy had brought them to ThunderClan only to stop the Twolegs from taking them away.
A yowl sounded from the Great Oak. “Let the Gathering begin!” Firestar called.
Hollypaw wove her way through her Clanmates to sit between Leafpool and Brambleclaw. Lionpaw squeezed in beside her.
“Look at the way Blackstar is glaring at us!” she gulped.
The ShadowClan leader was staring down at the ThunderClan cats through slitted eyes, his lips twitching as though he only just suppressed a snarl.
Leopardstar spoke first. “RiverClan has suffered this past moon.” The golden-spotted tabby gazed solemnly around the Clans. “Just when we hoped newleaf would bring an end to the hard season, new frosts brought more hunger, and with it, sickness.”
Cats from all four Clans murmured in agreement.
Leopardstar narrowed her eyes. “Who knows what the next seasons will bring? Twolegs invaded our territories last greenleaf. Will they come in greater numbers this time and destroy our land, just as they did in the forest?”
“Why should they?” Ashfoot called from among WindClan.
“Why should leaf-bare have brought so much tragedy?”
Leopardstar shot back. “Is StarClan trying to send us a message? Could it be that we do not belong here?”
“I’ve had no signs from StarClan to suggest anything like
that!” Leafpool put in quickly.
“Nor I!” Barkface agreed.
“We’ve always had to endure times of hunger and sickness,” Squirrelflight pointed out. “Even back in the forest!”
“Squirrelflight’s right!” Onestar agreed.
Leopardstar glanced sideways to Blackstar, and Hollypaw noticed her flick her tail, as though she was prompting the ShadowClan leader to do something.
Blackstar’s eyes grew thin and hostile. “Littlecloud has had a sign!” he announced.
All eyes turned to Littlecloud. The ShadowClan medicine cat’s pelt was ruffled, and his eyes were clouded with anxiety.
“I dreamed that a warrior brought strange new prey into the camp, a bird I had never seen before. I bit into it and found its belly writhing with maggots.”
Anxious whispers rippled around the Clans. They were silenced by Blackstar. “StarClan is warning us that strangers are poisoning the Clans!”
“They might be warning us to be wary of unfamiliar prey!”
Leafpool objected.
A shadow fell over the clearing, and Hollypaw saw with dread that more thin clouds were passing in front of the moon. StarClan was definitely unhappy.
Blackstar glared at Firestar. “You have given a home to so many cats born outside the forest that you are weakening Clan blood,” he accused. “Why else would StarClan let us suffer?”
He stared accusingly at the ThunderClan leader, then let his gaze sweep over Stormfur, Brook, Berrypaw, and Millie.
Outrage churned in Hollypaw’s belly.
Even she had distant kittypet blood, but she was Clanborn through and through.
“Kittypets and outsiders!” Oakfur sneered.
“You are destroying the warrior code!” Owlpaw yowled.
Brambleclaw’s pelt bristled, and Stormfur got to his paws, curling his lip in a snarl. But Firestar’s fierce gaze flashed across the Clans, silencing them.
“We will not be blamed for bad weather!” he hissed.
“We suffered worse things in our old home. StarClan led us here. Did any cat expect that they would lead us to an easy life?” The Clans listened in silence at first; then some cats began to murmur in agreement as he went on. “Surely it is our struggle against hardship that makes us true warriors.”
He glared at Blackstar. “You think fresh blood in the Clans will weaken us? A life without hardship would weaken us more.”
Onestar nodded. “Blackstar talks as though StarClan should grant us nothing but blessings. Does he want us to live the spoiled life of kittypets?”
Blackstar shot him a look of cold fury.
Ashfur got to his paws. “Pure blood is no guarantee of virtue!”
“May I have permission to speak?” Hollypaw turned and saw Squirrelflight padding her way to the front of the Clan.
Firestar nodded.
Squirrelflight gazed calmly around the Clans. Hollypaw felt pride warming her pelt.
“We have all suffered,” Squirrelflight acknowledged. “But
we must look forward, not back. Newleaf has come. Our territories are warming up and filling with prey. Thanks to Mothwing, we all have a good supply of catmint.”
As she spoke, a warm breeze swept across the island. The clearing brightened as the clouds started to drift away from the moon.
“StarClan agrees with her!”
“It’s a sign!”
Pelts smoothed and tails fell still as the cats began to calm down.
Squirrelflight went on. “This is the start of our second newleaf by the lake. We should mark its return with a special Gathering.”
Hollypaw leaned forward, puzzled.
“While the moon is still full, we could meet in daylight.”
“Why should we do that?” Blackstar snapped. “The truce comes only with the full moon.”
“The moon is as full during the day as it is at night,”
Crowfeather pointed out.
“We should meet,” Squirrelflight pressed, “to share skills and training methods. To show that we have not forgotten the Great Journey that brought us here, when the warrior code protected us as one.”
“We could have contests!” For the first time Pebblepaw spoke. The RiverClan apprentice’s eyes were shining with enthusiasm.
“The apprentices from each Clan could compete against
one another to see who has the best skills!” Heatherpaw called out.
Even Owlpaw looked interested. “I bet I could beat any ThunderClan cat at hunting!” he boasted.
“No cat could beat Pouncepaw at catching fish!” called Mistyfoot.
“That’s cheating!” Lionpaw mewed. “Every cat knows only RiverClan enjoy getting their paws wet!”
Hollypaw realized that the Clans’ fear and anger had turned to excitement and friendly challenge. Her mother had distracted them from accusations of impure blood by reminding them of the time they had united to make the Great Journey, and of how much they could still offer to one another. Hollypaw glanced up at Firestar. The ThunderClan leader sat in silence, his eyes gleaming with pride as he looked down at Squirrelflight.
Even Onestar seemed keen. “Where should we hold this competition?”
