As the nearly full moon washed the chilly leaf-fall night in a pale light, a terrible wailing cry pierced the still air. Water whispered softly around the small island of broken reeds as other voices rose to replace the initial wail. Several cats sporting bleeding scrapes and gashes or limping on wounded limbs padded into the center of what was once the Riverclan camp. The entire camp lay in shambles with patches of reeds ripped up and tossed about the sandy island, feathers and odd rocks strewn about, and nests completely destroyed. In the center of the clearing, a pale tortoiseshell she-cat crouched over another cat. At her paws was the cold form of the Riverclan leader; his white fur stained with mud and blood and his stomach torn wide open. The tortoiseshell had been by his side as his final life was ripped from him by the flashing teeth of a fox; one of the three that had torn into the camp earlier in the evening. Turning blue eyes, deep with sadness, up as her clanmates approached, the she-cat moved away as others pressed their muzzles into the former leader’s fur and shared tongues with him for the last time. Her mournful gaze shifted up to the bright moon as it cast its light over the grieving cats. Tomorrow would be the gathering, she would have to go in Froststar’s place to detail the recent events of the clan; Fernheart wasn’t ready.
The Riverclan cats sat vigil with their fallen leader that night and looked on with heavy hearts as the elders removed his body for burial at dawn. Fernheart found herself giving the orders for dawn patrols and sifting through names in her head for a new deputy before she realized it. The night of the gathering approached far too quickly, and the young female’s pelt prickled with anxiety as she raised her tail and led her warriors towards fourtrees;
her warriors. The tortoiseshell’s lithe form glided silently across the soft earth running next to the river as he mind worked frantically to put together the words she would need to report what had happened to her clan to the gathered cats she would meet. As she thought about it, her mind flashed back to the events of the attack, to the visions of the smooth shadows of those sneaky flea-bags as their long legs carried them over the shallowest part of the river, to the small island concealing the camp. It was the scent of a new litter that had drawn the slavering beasts. Pushing noisily through the reeds, they had busted into the nursery and descended upon the yowling queens without hesitation. Every cat fought with all they had and finally the three had been driven from the camp, but not without taking their toll of the warrior cats. Glancing back at the small band she had with her, Fernheart was reminded in the bloody patches of fur and the limping gaits of how great their loss had been.
As Riverclan spilled over the final ridge and entered fourtrees, the eyes of several other clans were instantly on them. They had arrived at about the same time as Windclan, and so the tortoiseshell leader had no time to rest and collect herself before her clanmates were nudging her towards the great rock. The grey tabby form of Windclan’s leader was propelling himself to the top of the rock to settle in beside Dawnstar and Thornstar, leaders of Shadowclan and Thunderclan, as Fernheart made her way to the base of the rock. Murmurs of confusion and concern rose from the cats assembled around them when the young tortoiseshell sprang up to join them. With her ears settled to the sides of her head with worry, she dipped her head respectfully to the other three leaders and wrapped her feathery tail about her paws as she sat down. Thornstar yowled loudly to silence the commotion of Fernheart’s action and to begin the gathering. Turning piercing green eyes on the younger she-cat, he meowed with obvious suspicion and curiosity,
”Fernheart, we are all surprised to see you up here. Why don’t you begin?”Her fur bristled and her paws pricked with irritation that she had to go first, but she responded with another dip of her head before turning out to the searching eyes of all four clans and sucking in a deep, shaky breath.
”Riverclan has no good news to report to this gathering, I’m afraid.” She began, swiftly gathering her thoughts and throwing them into some semblance of order,
”We were attacked by a pack of foxes last night. Our warriors fought them off successfully, but not before one of them could claim Froststar’s last life. Our losses are great; two newborn kits join our leader in Starclan, but our clan is strong enough to overcome it. As deputy of Riverclan, I will become its new leader and will be making my journey to highstones in a couple days.” As if she hadn’t breathed at all during her report, Fernheart cut her voice off in a small gasp and panted lightly for air. Her ears trembled as she fought to retain her collected composure before the other clans. The other leaders had to believe that she was strong enough to lead in Froststar’s place or else she could be facing more attacks in the near future.
”We all mourn the loss of Froststar,” Dawnstar began, her eyes clouding slightly with sorrow,
”we will not soon forget his contributions to the forest.” Despite the rocky background between Riverclan and Shadowclan, the pale-orange leader showed great respect for Riverclan’s former leader. When she was still an apprentice, Froststar had rescued her brother from the raging river. The Shadowclan medicine cat had been sent to Riverclan with a message and his sister had accompanied him.
”You showed courage in your report,” Thornstar added,
”and we realize this must be tough for you, only having been newly appointed deputy after Swiftpelt’s capture by twolegs. We honor you as new leader of Riverclan.” The Thunderclan leader’s green eyes shone on her with warmth and sympathy as he dipped his head to her. The Windclan leader, Sagestar, brushed his tail across her flank and purred in agreement,
”May starclan light your path and show you better days on your visit to the moonstone.” Yowls of agreement rose up among the rest of the gathered cats, and Fernheart felt her heart thudding wildly in her chest at the response of the others. She let out a wavering purr as warmth spread within her from ears to tail tip; maybe she did have what it took to make this work. Dipping her head to the others again, she myewed quietly,
”Thank you. I shall do my best to fill in Froststar’s pawsteps.”
