Chapter 3

Things were hard in leaf-bare, not enough food, barely any water. Stickpaw looked up from where she was lying with her sister, Snowpaw. "When do you think leaf-bare will end? When will it get warmer?" Stickpaw mewed to her sister, and Snowpaw shugged.

"I am not sure, Stickpaw." Snowpaw mewed. "Let's hope in a moon or two," Snowpaw said as Stickpaw picked up the snow and let it flow down. "Just thought of this, I would be a good hunter in the snow. My pelt is the same color as the snow." Snowpaw meowed as she watched her sister play with the snow; she purred.

"Maybe, you might be able to, not sure though. Wouldn't it be hard to hunt in the snow?" Stickpaw mewed.

"Maybe? It might." Snowpaw answered. Stickpaw is still taking snow and letting it flow down. Snowpaw had a great idea. She took a small ball of snow and lobbed it at her sister.

"Hey!" Stickpaw yelpt as cold snow hit her sensitive nose. "I am going to get you back!" Stickpaw said as she made a snowball and threw it at Snowpaw. They kept up doing it till Dirtynose walked over.

"What are you two doing? We must start going to the gathering soon!" Dirtynose said to the two she-cats. The gathering is where both clans meet and talk about how things are going in each other's clan. This was Stickpaws' and Snowpaws' first gathering! "We expect you to be your best, meet everyone else in front of the camp at sun-high." Dirtynose mewed as he slowly walked away. It was almost time. Stickpaw and Snowpaw walked over to where everyone else was.

"Hi, Stickpaw!" Poppypaw mewed to her. Stickpaw knew Poppypaw but not enough to be friends, but why should that stop her from talking to Poppypaw? Poppypaw trotted over to Stickpaw.

"Oh, hi there, Poppypaw!" Stickpaw mewed. Wiskterstar headed to the front with Jumper. "Why was Jumping joining this gathering?" Stickpaw asked herself out loud. Poppypaw shrugged.

"He did give us good information. At least we think he did." Poppypaw mewed. 

"Something about all of this is fishy," Snowpaw perked up. Poppypaw and Stickpaw looked at each other, they didn't really know what to say, but they did feel the same. Why would a random cat come to the clans and tell them this? It all didn't make sense, but Wiskerstar seemed to trust him, so she might as well.

Stickpaw walked to the Great Tree and sat underneath it but not right underneath it. "Hi! You are from Stormclan, right?" A voice asked. Stickpaw looked over to where the voice came from, and a tall cat was sitting next to her. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I am Leappaw." Leappaw mewed, Stickpaw smerked.

"I am Stickpaw! And yes, I am from Stormclan. How is life in Flowerclan?" Stickpaw asked.

"It is ok, could be a little better, but oh well, we all are having a hard time trying to find prey." Leappaw mewed. Before long, Wiskerstar and Flowstar got on top of the biggest branch on the great tree, which wasn't too high up.

"Let the gathering start!" Wiskrstar yowled, the murmuring of cats quickly died down. Jumper was sitting on one of the roots of the Great Tree. The two leaders talked fast, but then Flowstar stepped out. "Flowerclan is doing well as ever this leaf-bare. But as for any cat, we have some troubles, but Flowerclan is strong and will live on longer." Flowstar yowled and stepped back, bowing to Wiskerstar. He bowed back.

"Cats of all clans, I bring with me some not-so-good news. A rouge came to me about a quarter moon ago and gave me information about a pending attack." Wiskerstar mewed, Stickpaw looked at Leappaw, and she looked back at Stickpaw. Jumper stood up and addressed all of the cats about what was happening.

"This is fox-dung! Why do you believe in what that cat is saying?" A voice yowled. Stickpaw agreed with what that they said, and it seemed right but didn't. Wiskerstar looked at all of the cats.

"Silence! I do not fully agree, but we will see. So in till then, we will wait and get ready." Wiskerstar mewed. He bowed his head. "I think this gathering is over." Wiskerstar mewed as he climbed down from the Great Tree. Stickpaw and Snowpaw walked to Wiskerstar as they were working on getting out of the island.

"Wait!" A voice mewed. Stickpaw remembered it; it was Leappaw. "I Uhm, just want to say goodbye." She mewed to Stickpaw.

"Bye!" Stickpaw mewed and made her way out of the island. "That cat was weird." Stickpaw mewed when Snowpaw got to her side. Snowpaw nodded in agreement.

"Maybe he was just being nice?" Snowpaw questioned. Stickpaw shrugged. Maybe he was. Mostly he was, but something felt kind of off to her. Stickpaw shook her head.

"Yeah, he was just being nice, I guess." Stickpaw mewed, hanging her head. The two sisters walked and talked until they got into camp. "That was an interesting gathering." Stickpaw mewed. She was kind of confused about what happened, not in the wrong way but that one cat. What was their name again? I think it was something like Jumppaw? Stickpaw thought to herself. It wasn't necessary to her now.

"Hey, Stickpaw! You are walking around like a zombie!" Snowpaw teased. Stickpaw looked at her with narrow eyes and just walked away. Maybe she just needed a mouse to clear her mind. Stickpaw trotted over to the fresh-kill pile and took a fat mouse and took a bite. It tasted bitter. She knew something was wrong with it, but Stickpaw didn't care. She ate quickly and stood up. Something still didn't feel right about that mouse. Her sight started to blur, and Stickpaw flopped over.

"Lightpelt! We need you over here!" A voice yowled. Stickpaw didn't know who it was. Slowly she felt her eyes close. Stickpaw saw one thing before her eyes closed, a blurred cat, claws out. They laughed and looked down at her. The last thing she saw was the cat bring up its claw, trying to slice her throat. What was happening? The voices slowly stopped.

"Hey, hey! Wake up, Stickpaw." A voice mewed to her ear. Stickpaw opened her eyes. Her sight was still blurred, but Stickpaw could see a little better. "Good, you are alive, come." The voice mewed, and it was dark. Darker than a night in leaf-bare.

"W-Who are you?" Stickpaw mewed. The voice didn't respond, but her paws made her follow. "Hello?" She asked, but the voice still didn't respond. It felt like forever before they stopped. 

"I am guessing that you are wondering who I am." The voice mewed, "I am Nuvernfeather," He mewed. "You clan cats will be killed sooner or later, and I will be there. I hope you Clan cats see how powerful we are." He smiled. Stickpaw looked confused. But before she could ask anything, Stickpaw slipped away to a different place, wherever it may be.