From Kit to Warrior: Part 8

They slowly made their way through the forest. With deep snow it was nearly impossible to walk. The night was still and every now and again a slight breeze would come sending a brilliant shimmer of snow into the air and sparkle in the full moon's light as it settled back down onto the earth.
Luckily the clouds had cleared and you could now see the stars and the beautiful moon in the black night. Everything sparkled in its light. Tigerpaw had never seen anything so stunning his entire life.
At one point he stopped in his tracks to watch the glittering light completely forgetting where he was and where he was going. After a minute he realized he had fallen behind the rest of the group. He quickly dashed through the branches and caught up to the rest of the cats. Tigerpaw nearly ran over Willowpelt as he broke through the brambles. He felt his fur get hot with embarrassment. Willowpelt laughed and smiled at him.
Tigerpaw didn't know Willowpaw too well. Willowpelt wasn't much older then him and had recently became a warrior. She was close to Spottedpaw, they were almost like sisters, but other then that Tigerpaw didn't talk to her much. Unlike the others she never made fun of him, but she didn't stand up for him either. It was almost like she didn't know he existed.
"I'm sorry." He managed to mumble.
"It's okay." She said and her smile got bigger.
Tigerpaw nervously looked down at the ground and started to walk away.
"Wait." Willowpelt said. Tigerpaw stopped and she came up next to him. "Want to walk together?"
"Um, sure." Tigerpaw said confused. Why would she want to talk to him? Everyone hated him. This was the first time anyone had been so nice to him other then his sister. He wondered if it was just because she felt sorry for him or that maybe she really did care and maybe even wanted to be friends with him.  He really did hate being so alone so he saw no reason not to try and become Willowpelt's friend.
She smiled and they started to walk together. They stayed towards the back of the group and talked to each other. Mostly the pair talked about how hard this leafbare had been and how food was so scarce. With how bad it had been so far it was likely some cats were get sick. Everyone knew that Sunstar had only one life left. If he died Tawnyspots, who was the deputy now, would become leader. They both agreed that Tawnyspots probably isn't the best cat to run the clan. Although she was a great warrior and was very wise, she just didn't seem to have what it takes to be a clan leader. The clan was just going through some hard times.
Before long they came to the river. They could barely tell where it was with all the snow piled on top of it. Luckily it was completely solid and the ice was so thick that no one would fall though. One by one they crossed the river and continued on to their territory's border.
Two of the four great oaks stood before him. Their leafless branches reached out in every direction into the dark sky. The roots entwined together in one big knot almost creating what looked like a tunnel into the center of the trees. Surrounding the trees and the roots was underbrush blocking the view inside Fourtrees. The created a tunnel of branches leading inside. Tigerpaw could hear cats talking beyond the brush and mingling scents of the other clans. His jaw dropped, stunned.
Willowpelt giggled at his dropped jaw and flicked him with the tip of her tail.
"Well what are you waiting for? Let's go!" She exclaimed.
She didn't need to tell him twice. Without a pause he hurried behind the rest of his clan through the tunnel. It was short but felt like he was walking through it forever. Then finally he stepped out into the clearing. Again his jaw dropped too stunned to speak. It was more amazing then he had imagined.
The clearing was packed filled with cats. His nose tingled with the scent of Thunderclan, Shadowclan, Riverclan and Windclan mixed together into one. Directly above the full moon shone brightly into the circle of the clearing and made all the show shimmer. It was so stunning that Tigerpaw couldn't find words to describe its brilliance.
"It's amazing, right" Willowpelt said, her blue eyes wide and shining bright in the moon.
Tigerpaw simply nodded still too amazed to speak.
"Well come on! Let's go talk with cats from other clans."
Tigerpaw came back to reality and went down into the clearing and the groups of cats. Cats of different clans gathered together. Some apprentices sat and listened to the stories of the wise elders, while some warriors discussed how prey was running and about all the snow. It was the one night of perfect peace where every clan got along.
Willowpelt went with a warrior from Riverclan. They must have been friends because they touched noises like they were old friends then sat down to talk together. Tigerpaw walked and eventually joined some other apprentices from Shadowclan and Windclan.
After a short while he heard Sunstar call out to all the cats gathered.
"I guess it's time to start the Gathering. He said loudly. "Who would like to go first?