It was as if the sky was falling around them. Thunder roared above them, the unseen stars crying out in unison. A trail of blood followed the FireClan leader as he limped, slowly padding across the wet grass. SunClan's territory was no drier than the rest of the island, the grass clinging to his pelt as Firestar, breathing heavily, marched ever diligently onward towards SnowClan. His breathing was ragged, clearly paining the tabby to even take the shallowest of breaths, like claws still gripped around his throat. His ears pinning back, Firestar recalled what had transpired just an hour ago in his own camp. A call to fight. An uprising. C

The Gathering was bustling with chatter, as always. From within the crowd, the leaders emerged to take their place on the Gathering Rock. Rainstar was the first to climb, followed by Moonstar. Seastar was sitting contentedly at the lowest point of the rock, watching as Sunstar and Snowstar climbed to their positions. A hush fell over the crowd as Firestar limped forward. No one had seen him all through the Gathering, with some rumors that his deputy Strikefrost would be giving the report instead. But here he was, looking worse for wear, a large wound now over his neck. Something had happened, and the FireClanners knew about it. Climbing pa