Tallstar’s Revenge

A familiar scent wafted over him as a pelt brushed his flank. “You’ll get used to it.” Cloudrunner nudged him. “Next time won’t seem so strange.”

Tallpaw straightened up. “How can any cat live under trees?”

Cloudrunner shrugged. “I guess a cat can get used to anything.”

Pale fur moved at the side of the Great Rock. Heatherstar was jumping to the top with Cedarstar, Pinestar, and Hailstar close behind.

“Follow me.” Cloudrunner headed into the crowd.

Tallpaw kept close to the pale gray warrior, his whiskers brushing pelts as they weaved between the Clans. He flattened his ears, trying not to breathe too deeply amid the jumble of scents. He pretended he was moving through heather, relieved when Cloudrunner stopped beside Stagleap and Doespring.

Tallpaw nosed in beside Stagleap. “Can I sit here?” he whispered.

“Of course.” Stagleap shifted to give him room.

Doespring leaned around her brother and blinked at Tallpaw. “Can you see from there?”

“Just about.” As Cloudrunner squeezed in behind him, Tallpaw stretched to peer over the heads of Hareflight, Shrewpaw, and Appledawn, who were lined up like stones in front of him, their eyes lifted toward the Great Rock. Larksplash, Ryestalk, and Dawnstripe flanked them while Hickorynose wheezed as he settled down behind.

Cedarstar stepped forward and spoke first. “ShadowClan is well,” he declared. Tallpaw watched his amber eyes glint in the moonlight as he scanned the Gathering. “Our nursery is full.” The ShadowClan leader’s gaze warmed. “Three new kits have been born to Silverflame.”

Tallpaw noticed the ShadowClan cats around him exchange knowing, worried glances. Was there a secret behind this good news?

“Prey is plentiful in the forest and greenleaf has been kind.” Cedarstar stepped back and nodded to Pinestar.

As the ThunderClan leader began to speak, his Clanmates shifted below, fluffing out their fur. Why are they so pleased with themselves? Tallpaw wondered. They lived in a forest, hiding like prey among the trees. No Clan lived like WindClan, on top of the whole world, close to the sky with their tails in the wind.

“Greenleaf has been kind to ThunderClan, too,” Pinestar meowed. “The woods are prey-rich. StarClan blesses us this moon.” His gaze darkened. “There have been dogs in the forest, but our patrols have driven them back into Twoleg territory.”

Stagleap leaned close to Tallpaw. “Perhaps I should offer to scent mark their borders for them,” he whispered. “That would scare the dogs away.”

“Hush,” Dawnstripe hissed. Stagleap sniffed and turned his gaze back to the Great Rock.

Hailstar had stepped forward. “The newleaf rains have fed the river, bringing more fish this greenleaf than RiverClan can eat.”

“Don’t the other Clans ever go hungry?” Tallpaw whispered.

Cloudrunner’s breath touched his ear. “That’s what they want you to think,” he muttered. “No Clan would admit to hunger.” He nodded toward two burly ThunderClan warriors. “Look at the scars on their muzzles. They’ve hardly had time to heal.”

Tallpaw peered through the half-light. Cloudrunner was right. The warriors’ noses carried the mark of fresh injuries.

“It looks like those dogs put up a fight before they were chased back to Twoleg territory,” Cloudrunner commented. “Pinestar didn’t mention that.”

Heatherstar was taking her place at the front of the Great Rock. “Prey is running well on the moor. Stagleap, Doespring, and Ryestalk have become warriors. And we have a new apprentice.” Tallpaw froze as her gaze locked with his. “Tallpaw!” Heatherstar called proudly.

“Tallpaw!”

“Tallpaw!”

“Tallpaw!”

Around him cats raised their voices, calling his name. Tallpaw shrank beneath his fur. No one had warned him about this! Eyes glowed warmly as they fixed on him. Tallpaw tried to sit up straight, forcing his ears not to flatten as his name rang around the hollow.

He sagged with relief when they fell silent and Heatherstar spoke again. “The nursery is empty, though with StarClan’s blessing, not for long. The long, warm days have brought health and full bellies to WindClan. Soon it will bring kits to make WindClan even stronger.” Tallpaw leaned forward, waiting for her to announce WindClan’s greatest achievement: the tunnel leading to the gorge. But the WindClan leader stepped back, nodding to the other Clan leaders.

In the hollow, the cats stood up and began to move, breaking rank and clustering into groups.

“Is that it?” Tallpaw blinked up at the Great Rock. “Isn’t Heatherstar going to mention the tunnel?”

Stagleap stared at him. “Why should she? It’s just a tunnel. The other Clans wouldn’t understand.”

“We never tell them about our tunnels.” Ryestalk flicked her tail.

Doespring stood up and shook out her pelt. “They’d think we’d turned into rabbits.”

Tallpaw narrowed his eyes. Surely news about the latest tunnel would just prove WindClan’s strength? Why keep it a secret, if the aim of a Gathering was to make the other Clans think WindClan was as strong as they could possibly be?