The Gathering
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The moon was full and no clouds filled the sky. A huge tree loomed above the cats who gathered underneath the sturdy branches.**************************
"Let the Gathering begin!" a huge tom yowled. Five leaders sat upon a rock near the large tree as they looked down at their Clanmates.
A silver tabby stepped forward. "The Clan of mist shall speak first," she mewed. "We've been hunting well, but our prey pile has lowered, but not raised. Other than that inconvenience, MistClan is well."
A white tom sighed. "We'll just say prey isn't running well, Streamstar."
A calico laughed. "Moonstar, I think everyone understood that." She turned to a brown tom. "Rabbitstar do you want to go next?"
He shook his head. "No, TunnelClan will go last. You should go, Petalstar."
Petalstar nodded and sighed. "FlameClan is also seeing a prey shortage. One of my warriors saw a cat disappear into the tunnels. I'm not accusing TunnelClan, Rabbitstar. My warrior said he didn't find any sents that smelled like TunnelClan. But I am saying that the cat or cats know about the system under our paws, so they can strike anywhere."
The cats below the five leaders started murmuring to each other about this creating rumors among themselves.
"SILENCE!" The huge tom shouted. His pelt was ruffled with agitation, so he flattened it before continuing. "I, Bigstar of CloudClan will go next." The other leaders said nothing to object him. In fact, they looked pretty bored. "CloudClan is also experiencing a shortage of prey, and unlike Petalstar, I blame TunnelClan. Think about it, TunnelClan is known for stealing prey, why would they not be responsible?"
Petalstar yowled, "STOP!" She looked up at the sky, along with many other cats. Seeing that StarClan had not covered the moon with clouds, she looked back at Bigstar. "There's no evidence that shows TunnelClan is responsible!"
"You did say a cat disappeared into the tunnels," Bigstar hissed.
"I also said that the cat couldn't be identified as TunnelClan!"
Rabbitstar glared at Bigstar. "Thanks, Petalstar, but I am the leader of TunnelClan, I should defend my own Clan's honor."
"What honor? The honor of prey stealers?"
Rabbitstar frowned. "Let's save this until after the Gathering Bigstar."
Bigstar gave a low hiss but backed off, Moonstar taking his place. "NightClan too has a prey shortage." NightClan's leader glared at Rabbitstar. "Other news, we have a new warrior, Willowshadow. She isn't here tonight though."
The cats gathered started chanting the new warrior's name in respect.
Moonstar took a step back, his eyes fixed on Rabbitstar. Bigstar also glared at Rabbitstar, probably looking for a reason to blame him for the prey shortage.
"Prey in TunnelClan is running well. There's no other new from the tunnels" Rabbitstar did not look like he was hiding anything, so Bigstar jumped to his accusations once more.
"Because you're stealing our prey! Petalstar, you can't still think TunnelClan is innocent!"
Petalstar shook her head. "No, I do still think they are innocent. No proof has been given, Bigstar. FlameClan will stand by what was said earlier. We will not blame TunnelClan!"
Moonstar padded up to Petalstar. "What proof do you need? TunnelClan are born prey-stealers."
"Just like every FlameClan cat is fifty percent kittypet?" Petalstar resorted. "I'm afraid that fact is false, therefore not every TunnelClan cat steals prey." Shimmerstar nodded to Petalstar's statement.
Rabbitstar unsheathed his claw in the tensions between the five Clans grew. Fourntuntly the clouds covered the moon, signaling StarClan's displeasure. The Clans, now torn into two sides, glared at each other as they left to their own territories.
