Chapter 1- Bitter Uncertainty

Beams of sunlight pierced the sparse clouds, highlighting the shimmering pelts of BurnClan cats stretched out below. Mates were sharing tongues and kits were exploring the camp. They appeared serene, but a closer look revealed the shining eyes of apprentices, an impatient twitch of a warrior’s tail, an elder’s gaze intent on the setting sun.

The return of the dawn Border Patrol interrupted the tense excitement. The BurnClan cats rose and stretched, watching excitedly, as the returning cats reported to Thornstar’s Den.

“Sunpaw!” A white apprentice with grey stripes on her head and back bounded over to an orange red-striped cat.

“What now, Brightpaw?” Sunpaw hissed, glaring at her sister.

Brightpaw seemed unphased. “Come on Sunpaw! This could be our first gathering! Aren’t you excited?!”

“No,” Sunpaw snarled. She knew as well as any BurnClan cat that she wasn’t going. Why did her sister have to be so mouse-brained?

“Well I am,” Brightpaw mewed, tail twitching.

“Really? I had no idea,” Sunpaw spat sarcastically and then rested her head on her paws, hoping Brightpaw would leave her alone.

“Brightpaw! Sunpaw!” the familiar voice made Sunpaw cringe with annoyance, Amberpaw had joined them.

“What?” called Brightpaw, matching Amberpaw’s high-pitched excitement.

“Come on! Thornstar’s about to announce who’s going to the Gathering!” The medicine cat apprentice mewed before turning and darting away.

Brightpaw jumped to her paws, then looked back at Sunpaw, who hadn’t moved, “Aren’t you coming?”

Sunpaw glared at her, “ I wouldn’t waste my time.”

Brightpaw hesitated, then sprinted off. Sunpaw snorted, and then shivered. The sun was starting to set, Thornstar and whoever he chose would have to leave for the Gathering soon. She wondered which apprentices he would choose.

Thistlepaw, of course. The older apprentice was one of the best fighters. Amberpaw would be going with Owlpelt, they almost always went. If Sunpaw looked at it objectively, she and Brightpaw should be going. They had been made apprentices only a couple moons ago and were the only apprentices that hadn’t been to a Gathering yet.

But Sunpaw didn’t like to lie to herself, she knew she wouldn’t be going. Thornstar had only made her apprentice because her father, Marblepelt, had insisted.

You can’t really even call me an apprentice, she thought, What with useless old Darkfang training me. Darkfang was a loyal enough warrior, but he was nearly an elder and any cat knew his hearing and sense of smell were almost gone. He would probably retire to the elder’s den in a couple of moons.

Thornstar didn’t expect her to be able to do much of anything. With a resigned sigh, Sunpaw turned her gaze behind her, studying herself. She had a glossy sun-tinted orange pelt with slashes of darker orange-red along her head and back. Her muscles were beginning to show too, rippling beneath her fur. But then her eyes, like always, caught sight of her hind legs.

Or hind leg, actually. She had been born with three legs, a birth defect even Owlpelt couldn’t help. No cat believed three-legged Sunpaw could ever finish her training, much less become a warrior, and they wouldn’t embarrass the Clan by bringing her to a Gathering.

“Not that I care,” Sunpaw murmured, glaring at her front paws.

“Care about what?”

Sunpaw looked up, startled, to see her mother looking curiously down at her. She sat up quickly, wrapping her tail around her so it halfway covered where her leg should have been. “Nothing,” she growled.

Gingerpool held her daughter’s defiant gaze evenly, but then had to look away. Is she ashamed to look at me? Sunpaw wondered. She watched as her mother nodded her head, “Suit yourself.”

I bet you wish I had never been kitted, Sunpaw thought bitterly, staring at her mother hard now.

“Sunpaw!” That was Brightpaw again.

Gingerpool gave Brightpaw a swift lick of affection when she reached them; Sunpaw remained silent, glaring at her sister.

Brightpaw ducked away from her mother, then announced, “I’m going!”

“I’m proud of you,” Gingerpool murmured, eyes glowing.

“For doing what?!” Sunpaw snarled, “It’s not as if she accomplished some great goal! Thornstar picked her because she’d never been, not because she earned it!” Why was her mother praising her sister for nothing?!

Gingerpool kept her gaze straight ahead, but Brightpaw simply responded cheerfully, “Well you must not have earned it either, because you’re going too!”

Sunpaw flicked her tail with amusement, though she was a little annoyed, and then nodded when Gingerpool murmured that she was proud of her too. She got to her paws, splaying her front ones a little and letting her one back leg land in the center of her bodyweight, to balance.

“Who else is going?” Gingerpool asked; probably to distract herself from me.

Brightpaw recited the names easily, “Thistlepaw of course, Sparrowpaw, Lilacpaw, Owlpelt but I think Amberpaw’s staying to look after Darkfang’s breathing. Marblepelt, Thornstar… duh!, and Redfoot, Greyleaf, Snowtail, and Tanglestripe. I think that’s it? I’m not sure.”

Gingerpool nodded and then turned towards the nursery, “I’m going to see Fernflower’s kits.”

“Bye!” Brightpaw called after her, turning her eager gaze to Sunpaw, “Can you believe this?! Our first gathering!”

“Probably my last, I don’t even know why Thornstar is bothering with this one,” Sunpaw snapped irritably. Why had he? Probably wanted to be nice.

“Oh come on Sunpaw! Don’t you think you’ll be able to fight?” Brightheart was trying to put it delicately, but Sunpaw could tell she was curious.

“Of course I can! I could take you right now!” Sunpaw flexed her shoulder muscles, then continued, “But no other cat knows it just yet.” Without waiting for a response, Sunpaw turned and headed for the entrance to Camp. Thornstar and several of the others were already there.

Brightpaw couldn’t help watching Sunpaw walk with interest, she had a sort of limp. She would get on fine with her front legs, but her back leg sank close to the ground and then pushed off hard to result in a hopping motion.

Sunpaw’s tail twitched, a warning, Brightpaw knew she hated when cats stared at her so she looked away quickly.

Ahead, Thornstar had started out towards Red Bluff, the Gathering spot. His long, brown and black striped pelt faded into the darkness that was starting to encompass the camp. Sunpaw glared at the back of his pelt, wondering why he had chosen to bring her. She didn’t want any sympathy!

She didn’t have much time to think about it, however, as the apprentices were gathering around her and Brightpaw.

“Brightpaw! Is this your first Gathering?” Lilacpaw mewed, twining her tail with the excited apprentice.

Brightpaw nodded, “Mine and Sunpaw’s! I can’t wait!”

The beautiful, long-furred, black she-cat bounced on her paws, “Me either!” Sunpaw flicked her tail with annoyance and hopped past them.

Sparrowpaw joined her, much to her dismay, “First Gathering huh?”

Sunpaw nodded, keeping her eyes away from the brown striped tom and concentrating on the ground in front of her instead.

“Nervous?” he mewed quietly, a touch of sympathy in his voice. She saw his eyes flick to her back leg.

She rounded on him, snarling in his face, “NO I am not nervous, so don’t worry your stupid little head about it.” She picked up her pace.

He muttered sorry and dropped back to join her sister and Lilacpaw, who were much more hospitable. She focused on the landscape now, determined to learn it. She had been on a border patrol with Darkfang but that was only by RockClan territory. There was the valley grass of BurnClan stretched before her, and she could make out Red Bluff ahead. The craggy rocks of RockClan lay on her right, and a small Twolegplace and footpath to her far left.

BurnClan were lucky, they were at the open end of the bluff; StreamClan had to follow the waterfall of their stream down into the bluff, RockClan had to either cross BurnClan territory (Let them try!) or clamber down the rocks, and BreezeClan had to circle around a little to get to the open end.

Sunpaw glanced over her shoulder at the apprentices clustered together behind her, but she barely cared. I’m going to a Gathering! She allowed a little excitement to well up in her step, urging her forward.