COTS: Chapter One

"Your Clan will fall, Nightwatcher," a spiky-furred mottled gray tom snarled, his ears pressed against his head as he stood on a tall boulder, his claws scraping against it. His amber gaze blazed with fury and hostility as he met the young black tom's gaze.

Nightwatcher remained calm despite the tom's threats to him. "Need I remind you this is a Gathering, Thistlefang," he meowed, cool as ice. "This is a time of truce not lashing out threats. The Pine has always been reserved to its own prey and we would not change that for rabbits the Moor offers."

Thistlefang let out a snort. "Tell that to my cats who tell me you can't respect our boundaries. And before you accuse my fighters of lying, they're not. I trust their judgement more than I could ever trust yours in a lifetime. You Pine Cats are shiftier than the Shadow Cats."

Nightwatcher's gaze swung to the crowding cats. "Thistlefang, we've barely started the Gathering. There is no time for old quarrels. We need to do what we came here for."

"Yeah, to settle old scores." Thistlefang lay low and gave the impression he was about to pounce down to Nightwatcher and claw his fur. Part of his tail hung off of the boulder as he stood on the edge of it. "Don't bother cowering away."

Nightwatcher ignored him as if he hadn't spoken at all. "Cats of the Groups, we are here for a Gathering!" he yowled, cutting off what Thistlefang started to say. The Pine leader's amber gaze swivelled to Willowstream. "Would you mind speaking first for the River, Willowstream?"

"My pleasure," Willowstream answered, her voice a purr. She stood onto her paws and stared down at the cats. "All is well in the River. We still have fish swimming in our rivers and enough to thrive as usual. But some cats can't learn to keep their paws off what doesn't belong to them."

Petal noticed her blue gaze flickering to a group of Shadow Cats. ''No wonder she's staring at them! They're the foxes of the forest and you can never know what they're up to! ''The Shadow Cats stared back at the River leader, their pelts bristling.

"We didn't do anything with your stupid fish!" one of them, a black-and-white she-cat, snarled.

"Yeah! Stop accusing us just to clear up your problems, you pathetic leader!"

Willowstream's eyes widened slightly and then her ears flattened against her head. "What did you just say? Don't you dare mock me! If being leader's so easy like you may as well think, then I dare you to try it for a single heartbeat and then we'll see who's pathetic!"

Petal admired the River Cat as she got the Shadow Cats to keep quiet, all of them staring at each other before looking back at her coldly. Willowstream gave a roll of her eyes. Her second in command, Frostleaf, stared through a narrowed gaze.

"Willowstream, how dare you accuse the Shadow of doing such a thing with your stupid fish!" Shadewillow growled though there was a look of shock on her face. "I'd never let my cats do such a thing. Have some deceny in you."

Willowstream let out a snort. "I hardly believe what you'd say to me. You'd do anything to protect your Group by acting innocent. Too bad you've lost your innocence long ago minnow-brain."

There was a flash of amusement in Shadewillow's eyes. "Maybe you can take your minnows and train them to be fighters. Your cats aren't even worth shredding a claw over, you know. I bet minnows will be more of a challenge than cats."

Shadewillow and Willowstream have always been rivals, Petal thought, frowning as she watched the two leaders bickering. Then Shadewillow unsheathed her claws and, swift as a snake, lept from her position and raked her claws across Willowstream's ear, slicing it while she was caught off guard.

<p align="CENTER">Willowstream yowled and staggered back, almost falling off of her boulder. "Frog-heart!" she spat, unseathing her claws and propelling herself forward to lock into battle with the Shadow leader.

<p align="CENTER">"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Cats began chanting in unison as they encouraged the leaders. None of the deputies budged. Even Frostleaf stayed where she was, watching intensly, while the Shadow's deputy, Eagletalon, watched blankly, as the two she-cats tried killing each other.

<p align="CENTER">Nightwatcher's gaze widened. "Stop it! Stop it at once!" he screeched. Thistlefang stared at him from the corner of his eyes and he then flung himself at the black tom, landing on top of him and squishing him. The Moor leader held him down with so much force that Nightwatcher could barely fight back no matter how much strength he tried to summon.

<p align="CENTER">"What's the matter, a Moor cat sat on you like a lopsided badger?" Thistlefang sneered. "I expected a much better fight from a cat like you, Nightwatcher. Looks like you're getting old after all."

<p align="CENTER">"Fox-dung!" Nightwatcher spat.

<p align="CENTER">''He's going to hurt my father! ''Petal thought with alarm. "Stop it! Please!" she shrieked, running forward. Shadewillow had Willowstream pinned at the edge of the boulder they had fought on. They had several wounds on each other, their blood dripping onto the silver surface.

<p align="CENTER">Willowstream let out a hiss and kicked Shadewillow off her with a lot of force that she flipped her over the boulder and made her fall into the crowd, cats gasping and backing away. The River leader stood up, wincing slightly, and stared down.

<p align="CENTER">"Back off trainee." A Moor cat, a sleek black she-cat, shoved Petal back before she could do anything.

<p align="CENTER">Some of the crowd began heading towards Shadewillow, whom stayed on the ground and didn't move, and Petal began wondering if she had been killed by the impact of the fall. "This is what happens when you be an ignorant cat," Willowstream meowed, licking some of her wounds.

<p align="CENTER">"Is she dead?" one cat asked.

<p align="CENTER">"She's dead! The Shadow has been defeated! Run for it and save yourselves before Willowstream kills us all!" A gray tom, supposedly the one who had shrieked, began scrambling into the bushes to get away.

<p align="CENTER">A Moor trainee, Night, slid into a small gap next to Petal. "Hey," she meowed. "Is Shadewillow okay?" Her blue eyes were full of worry.

<p align="CENTER">A bright ginger tom flanked Petal on the other side, his eyes wide. "Wow, that was some fight!" he meowed excitedly. "I thought Shadewillow had Willowstream but then--"

<p align="CENTER">"Furball! Do you think this is funny?" Night hissed at her Clanmate, walking over to him and cuffing him by the ear. "Hare-brain!"

<p align="CENTER">Blaze shrunk back. "Sorry," he muttered. "But it was fun to watch, okay?"

<p align="CENTER">Thistlefang, who still had Nightwatcher held down, leaped down boulder-to-boulder and headed over to where Shadewillow lay, his gaze narrowed. "Shadewillow lost a life. She's dead, thanks to Willowstream." A lean ginger tom stared up at the River Cat, who had stiffened. If there were any signs of regret, Willowstream refused to show it.

<p align="CENTER">"Who's that?" Petal wondered. She hadn't seen the cat before at previous Gatherings.

<p align="CENTER">"That's Ryewhisker," Blaze answered proudly, standing tall and puffing his chest fur out. "He's our new deputy because Birdsong injured herself so badly, she had to step down."

<p align="CENTER">"You look even more like a furball now," Night told her campmate.

<p align="CENTER">"Hey! It's not my fault. . ."

<p align="CENTER">"I'm only kidding." Night gave him a friendly nudge, purring.

<p align="CENTER">"Dead?" Thistlefang's mew held unexpected sadness as he jerked back slighlty. "No, she can't be! She's a leader! Shadewillow, wake up right now! Shadewillow!" Thistlefang's voice was nothing more than a wail.

<p align="CENTER">Why did the Moor leader seem so sad? Had there been something between the two cats before that would have made him so upset if she had died? "Serves her right for being mouse-brained," Reedtail, one of the newest fighters, grunted, his voice unsympathetic.

<p align="CENTER">Petal shot a cold glare up at him. She had known him since kithood and he was the biggest pain in the tail in the entire Pine and forest. "You're happy Shadewillow is dead?"

<p align="CENTER">"And what are you going to do about it?" Reedtail questioned, his nose touching hers as he showed his rotting yellow teeth. "You're nothing more than a trainee and I'm a full-grown fighter. Think you'd be a good match for me, eh, Petaldung?"

<p align="CENTER">"And when I'm a fighter, I'd be more of one than you'd ever be, Reedface," Petal growled back.

<p align="CENTER">Reedtail snorted and barged past several cats. Petal stared after him with hatred. A newly-made fighter and he acted as if he owned the Clan. Just wait until someone attacks him for being so disrespectful about Shadewillow!

<p align="CENTER">"This Gathering is over," Thistlefang snarled. He looked up at Willowstream, who had Frostleaf comforting her, with hatred. "I hope a fox eats you, Willowstream. You will never get away with this until you die."

<p align="CENTER">"Slowly and painfully," Ryewhisker added. "The Moor won't stop until every last drop of your blood is spilled onto each blade of grass in the whole forest."

<p align="CENTER">Willowstream flinched as Thistlefang and Ryewhisker turned to walk away, probably back to their territory since the Gathering would be over because of Shadewillow's unexpected death.

<p align="CENTER">"Ryewhisker seems like a nice cat to be around," Petal muttered as she caught his ginger pelt disappearing amongst the crowd.

<p align="CENTER">"He's nicer to us than the other Groups," Blaze meowed. "Apparently he's sweet and innocent towards Fawnspots. At least that's what the whole Group's been saying for the past few sunrises."

<p align="CENTER">"We better go," Night meowed. "Thistlefang will kill us if we end up coming back to the Moor after everyone else."

<p align="CENTER">"Goodbye!" Petal called to her friends as they began racing away. Blaze almost tripped over his own paws and Petal's whiskers twitched with amusement. Mouse-brain, she thought.

<p align="CENTER">"Snow!" Petal caught the flash of her campmate's white pelt, noticeable among the crowd. The white cat halted, her green gaze looking nervous. Petal didn't question it as she approached her campmate. "Hi."

<p align="CENTER">"Hi, Petal," Snow answered shyly. "It's so shocking to hear Willowstream killed Shadewillow. I didn't think she could do that. . ." Her mew made her sound frightened and as Petal examined her, she noticed her friend's legs were trembling beneath her.

<p align="CENTER">At once the cats in the clearing began to slip away to head back to their territories. Willowstream leaped down from the boulder, Frostleaf on one side, and eventually only the River Cats were left. She padded forward until she stood over the broken body of Shadewillow that had been twisted awkwardly from the fall.

<p align="CENTER">Slowly she bent her head and nosed Shadewillow's black pelt, several bones jutting out that had been dislocated from the impact. If she meowed a last farewell to her long-running rival, Petal didn't hear it, and after a moment she turned and began guiding her Group through the reeds.

<p align="CENTER">''Does Willowstream regret killing Shadewillow? ''Petal tipped her head as she watched the gray tabby pad slowly away.

<p align="CENTER">"Petal!" The young black trainee was snapped out of her thoughts by Jaggedclaw.

<p align="CENTER">"Coming!" she answered to the silver tabby as she began running to catch up with her campmates, who were already leaving.

<p align="CENTER">"You seemed interested in those River Cats," the fighter commented, his blue gaze staring up at her with interest. "More than what a Pine Cat usually would be of an enemy Group."

<p align="CENTER">"I have no enemies," Petal answered. "Why can't we all be at peace? No cat would have to die like Shadewillow did."

<p align="CENTER">"Peace? You wish there were no battles, a natural part of the wild?" Jaggedclaw's mew was full of disbelief. "My, Petal, you have a lot of learning to be doing otherwise you won't last a single heartbeat as a fighter."

<p align="CENTER">"It's stupid! It's not fair how we all have to be at conflict because of some stupid rule of us being Groups! Why can't we all be friends and be one rather than four?" Petal complained.

<p align="CENTER">"Because that isn't how things should be," Jaggedclaw answered.

<p align="CENTER">"What are they going to do about Shadewillow's body, anyway?" Petal then asked, changing the subject. She didn't feel like arguing with the fighter.

<p align="CENTER">"Bury it, I suppose," Jaggedclaw sighed. "They can't leave it here forever otherwise it would be a very unpleasant sight to see. But you're a trainee, and it's best you stopped asking stupid questions you know the answer to."

<p align="CENTER">"But--"

<p align="CENTER">"Don't." Jaggedclaw silenced her with his tail. "I don't need to hear your arguments this time, Petal. You're nearly a fighter. I'd expected you to snap out of it by now."

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<p align="CENTER">***

<p align="CENTER">The forest shimmered in bright sunshine, the undergrowth rustling with prey. Beneath an ash tree, a reddish tabby stretched and let the sun slanting through the branches bathe her belly. With a purr, she lapped at her chest, paws curling in contentment.

<p align="CENTER">There was a sudden gust of icy wind that carried flurries of rain with it, the sunshine suddenly fading into oblivion. The reddish she-cat's paws were flecked with stars as she murmured something Petal couldn't hear to herself.

<p align="CENTER">A tortoiseshell she-cat padded from the bushes on the edge of the clearing, barely more like a shadow; starlight flickered at her paws. When she stepped into the lighter patches of the clearing, the starlight than shone around her made her seem like a cat formed out of droplets of rain.

<p align="CENTER">She hissed something at the she-cat, making her leap onto her paws with fright, and then the two cats noticed Petal. The long-legged Pine Cat wondered where she was as it seemed like unfamiliar territroy, though several scents that hit her nose were familiar to her.

<p align="CENTER">"Welcome at last." The reddish cat's voice was warm as her gaze stared through Petal. The tortoiseshell stood next to her, her green eyes serious as they blazed like a bright and angered fire tearing through the forest. "We've been expecting you, Petal."

<p align="CENTER">"What?" Petal sounded confused. She had never seen these cats before. As she tasted the air a second time, she picked up the fresh scent of the Shadow and River. ''Are these cats dead? ''she wondered. They were visible and almost see-through. ''They smell like they came from the Shadow and River. . . ''"Who are you?"

<p align="CENTER">"I told you!" the tabby hissed with annoyance to the tortoiseshell. "I knew you'd end up scaring the fur off this cat! Thanks, Shadowed Flame. The least we want is her to wake up terrfied because of you."

<p align="CENTER">Shadowed Flame didn't seem to care, but she sounded contempt. "So what? I'd be very flattered if I scared a cat. Wouldn't you be, too, Ruby Shiner?" Ruby's tail twisted to what was the base. "I'm very sorry. Could you ever forgive me?" Shadowed Flame's voice was taunting.

<p align="CENTER">That cat definitely sounds like a Shadow Cat, Petal commented to herself. ''And the other looks as fat as a River Cat. She then added as if she expected the cat to hear, No offense. ''

<p align="CENTER">Ruby then let out a sigh. "You never do what any cat tells you, don't you?"

<p align="CENTER">"Exactly." Shadowed Flame's voice held a deep purr. "I'm glad you caught onto that, my old River friend."

<p align="CENTER">Ruby gave a roll of her eyes. "Minnow-brain," she mumbled. "Anyway, young one, we have come to warn you about--"

<p align="CENTER">'''"Wake up!" '''Petal yowled as Reedtail shouted into her ear, waking her up from her dream, her heart pounding quick enough to the point she believe it would burst out of her chest. "Get a move on! You're late."

<p align="CENTER">Teeth sunk into her scruff as Petal was yanked from her nest, standing onto her paws. Reedtail seemed amused.

<p align="CENTER">Redleaf, who stood in the cave with them, stared at Reedtail without any expression. "Stop being cruel to the trainees, Reedtail," he scolded. "You were one not long ago."

<p align="CENTER">"Whatever, trainee fawner," Reedtail muttered before stalking out of the cave. Petal seemed too lost in though to even care about what went on around her. She wanted to know who the cats--Shadowed Flame and Ruby--were, and what they had wanted to tell her. ''They were dead. ''She blinked, her holly-leaf green eyes clouding. ''I was visited by dead cats in my dream. . . Sky Cats?''