Redstar led TideClan out of camp. The reddish-brown tabby tom looked more red underneath the moonlight, and his heavy steps made fine paw prints in the wet grass path. Swiftpaw slightly glared at the back of Redstar's head, and a growl came up under her breath. He's not old, but he's so slow! Swiftpaw could easily outrun the leader, but she stayed close to Blizzardtail and Pricklepelt.
They traveled to the Grand River, breaking through the tall grass into the light yellow shore nearest to TideClan. Across from it, the clear Shiny Shore of glittering sand and blazing, silver rocks sat. Swiftpaw wondered if they needed to cross the Grand River and into the moors of DriftClan to get to where the Gathering was held, but the red leader began his march towards the uprooted willows, where Swiftpaw and Blizzardtail hunted.
Now parallel to the river, Redstar led them through the land of the willows, sometimes his paws leading them into those shallow streams of water, sometimes leaping over them and rocks. Snaketail was right beside him, and sometimes the skinny deputy would do the exact opposite of the leader. Swiftpaw followed Snaketail's movements.
Soon, they left the willows and came upon a large bend in the river. Swiftpaw was very unfamiliar with the part of TideClan territory they were in, and her amber eyes looked over at Blizzardtail. He briefly spoke, "We're near the very edge of the whole land. Almost closer to the StarRock,"
"The StarRock?"
"Yes, a beautiful valley with a large, almost clear rock in the middle. It is StarClan's territory, and once the moonlight is at it's full peak, the light will make the rock shine softly. It is also the place where medicine cats and future apprentices go to speak with StarClan," he explained, before Baydawn slid in between the two. "Correction, for warriors, too," he meowed, directly looking at Blizzardtail. The mottled tom averted his gaze for a heartbeat, and Baydawn chuckled. Swiftpaw felt awfully confused, but decided not to push her elderly mentor.
The group of TideClan cats approached the Grand River. Not too far away was some stepping stones, and a pathway of shrubs leading to them. Redstar seemed to hesitate, looking down into the water that reflected himself, before he dove in. The cats followed, even Snaketail, as they suavely entered the water.
"Ready to swim?" Pricklepelt meowed to Swiftpaw, and the calico apprentice nodded, before she dived into the cold waters of the Grand River. Her head submerged, and her eyes opened to bright blue waters, and the moving legs of her clanmates. It's just like running, she remembered from her lesson as a kit, and Swiftpaw began to move her legs. Easily, her head emerged from the waters, and her eyes blinked away droplets.
Her legs propelled her forward, and in what seemed like heartbeats, she and her clanmates have crossed the more thinner yet deeper part of the Grand River. Her paws touched wet grass, and once she was out of the water, she shook her fur to rid herself of extra water.
"Hey, watch it!" Mistfur growled from behind her, the gray tom stepping back a bit from her flying droplets. Even though the water was cold, Swiftpaw felt heat rise to the tip of every fur in her body, "Sorry, Mistfur," before she retreated to Blizzardtail's side, away from the young warrior.
Swiftpaw gazed up at the tallest hill she had ever saw. Directly above her was a young, birch tree, its silver bark glimmering white in the moonlight. The hill had tall grass, tall enough to hide Swiftpaw, but she could easily see a clear pathway of flattened grass, leading up the hill. Huh, StarClan thought ahead to make the StarRock much above the waters, in case of flooding.
"Hold onto my tail, apprentice. Sometimes this pathway can be slippery," Blizzardtail meowed, and his shredded tail lashed in front of her mouth. Swiftpaw gently clasped it between her teeth, and the much larger warrior began the hike up the pathway. The glass was shorter and flattened, with some stones flattened on the way, too. Swiftpaw felt confident to let go of her mentor's tail, but when she almost did, her paws slipped on a wet rock surface, thanks to her wet paws. On instinct, her claws unsheathed and dug them into the grass, and she did slide a bit, tearing some grass up below her. But Blizzardtail remained still, and became an anchor for her to regain her footing and continue up the trail. Her tail lashed a thank-you.
What seemed like forever, finally the cats reached the top of the hill. Swiftpaw let go of Blizzardtail's tail, and her mentor faced her, "You know the Warrior Code, Swiftpaw. You may be friendly to the other cats, but know your loyalty lies to your clan. Also, keep confidential ideas and plans to yourself," he warned her, before the senior warrior began to pad towards the clearing of the StarRock. Swiftpaw nodded her head, and hurried after her mentor, only to brush by Pricklepelt.
"Exciting, hm? I remember my first time going to the Gathering," Pricklepelt's yellow eyes marveled handsomely, before the youthful tom bounded into the clearing, the shorter grass blazing beautifully in the moonlight, and his pelt glossy. Swiftpaw held no romantic feelings towards her friend, but she had to admit that even though he wasn't the most handsome tom in the land, tonight, he looked grand and majestic. It made her sick to think that Dapplefur would ever betray him.
Ripplepaw padded beside her, her larger brother anxiously panting, "Look's like TideClan is here first! That means I have time to look nice for the other clans!" Swiftpaw noticed his ruffled fur from the river, and immediately she began to groom herself quickly as well, flattening her calico pelt and making sure she looked glossy. Her eyes gazed around herself, and saw that her clanmates were chattering amongst themselves, while Redstar leapt upon the StarRock. Tch, look at him, being so arrogant and looking as if he owns the rock!
The full moon had some time before it would reach its peak, before Swiftpaw's eyes caught movement from the line of birches that was to the right from where TideClan entered the clearing. She could see white glimpses of moonlight on pelts of approaching cats, and she could hear the meows of those cats as well. Her nose caught the smell of dead leaves and tree bark--BoulderClan.
"Oh, more cats!" Ripplepaw meowed in more fear than excitement. But Swiftpaw felt a bit of resentment against the clan of forest hunters and climbers, yet the young apprentice showed no emotion other than surprise. "I'm surprised DriftClan isn't here yet. They're usually first, for being fast cats," scoffed a nearby Bloompelt, who sat with her mate, Minnowstream, Thrush-heart, and Crowbite. Swiftpaw exchanged glances with her brother, "Oh no, more tensions with DriftClan?" the female apprentice remarked, before the thundering cats came towards the TideClan cats.
Swiftpaw could hear many greetings being exchanged, but she didn't really personally identify any other cats that swarmed around her. Ripplepaw and Swiftpaw sat closer together, more out of shyness. They got a myriad of strange looks from the BoulderClan cats; who were these new apprentices? And Ripplepaw, embarrassed, buried his cheek a bit into Swiftpaw's shoulder. "Thrush-heart told me to try to at least talk to other apprentices to get to know them-- oh, speaking of which, look over there!"
A small group of what seemed to be apprentices were together in a patch, and Swiftpaw saw Fallowpaw part of them. A BoulderClan tom was on his hind legs, showing off a move. "Well, let's go over there!" Ripplepaw encouraged his older sister, and the gray tabby tom began off towards the pocket of apprentices. "Wait up!" Swiftpaw called, before another scent hit her nose, of pinecones and honeysuckle; DuskClan.
Her brother had a head start, because when Swiftpaw went after him, a flood of many cats of different pelts were in the way, a mix of both DuskClan and BoulderClan. "Excuse me! Uhm, excuse me!" Swiftpaw meowed, as she slid past and against other cats. She nearly ran into three DuskClan toms, who snickered at her, and it made her slightly angry that they were making fun of her. The sight of her large brother soon disappeared in the swarming of cats, and Swiftpaw felt very lost.
"Ripplepaw?" she called for him, raising her chin to try to see past the taller, much larger cats, before she walked behind them to try to reach where she thought the destination of her brother was. Her pelt brushed against a cream tabby's she-cat, who snapped at her. "Sorry!" Swiftpaw apologized, looking back at the she-cat as she now began to run. The only thing on her mind was finding Ripplepaw, because she was lonely.
But, being as fish-brained as she was, Swiftpaw crashed into another cat. "Oof!" From how much bigger the cat was, she stumbled to her side, and she shook her head. Oh my StarClan, I just made myself look stupid! Her pelt felt hot, and she closed her eyes, flattening her ears as she slowly got unto her paws, her shoulders hunched a bit.
"I-I'm so sorry!" she meowed, and her amber eyes opened and lifted up to whoever she bumped into. Her nose caught the scent of a BoulderClan tom, but when her eyes rested on his face, she felt her heart skip a beat.
His green eyes were wide in astonishment, and his ears perked a bit. His handsome face were light gray in the moonlight, and his tall, muscular black tabby structure was light gray as well. He looks more...mature...and handsome than before. As Swiftpaw gazed up at his familiar face, staring into his green eyes, never in her life has her heart felt more differently towards anyone. It also seemed that his green eyes read someone as well, but she couldn't tell.
Swiftpaw opened her mouth to say his name, but she wasn't sure if she would say his kit name, or possibly his apprentice name.
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-Morgan