Chapter 10
As the full moon hung above the treetops, Rainpelt zoomed to the bottom of the Highrock where her friends awaited her.
"... Can at least try the spell, right?" Duskshine was asking.
"Hey guys," meowed Rainpelt as she approached the four other cats. She stopped in her tracks. "Where's Brightfeather? She's coming to the Gathering, isn't she?"
"Of course she's coming, darling," meowed Icefur. "She should be here soon. She may still be sleeping."
"Anyways," meowed Dawnlight. "Duskshine thinks we should try the spell she came up with at the Gathering!" She bounced up and down. "Oh, this'll be so exciting!"
"But we're cats!" meowed Rainpelt. Trying a spell as a cat had to be the most mouse-brained idea she'd ever heard of!
"That's what I said!" added Dawnlight. "I told her 'But we're cats, silly!' and then she asked 'We can at least try the spell, right?' and then you came and the-"
"I think Rainpelt gets it, sugar cube," meowed Appleheart, putting her tail over Dawnlight's mouth.
After a moment of silence and slight giggles, Brightfeather walked up to the group with her head slightly down. Rainpelt squinted at her. Was Brightfeather smiling?
"Hey Brightfeather," meowed Rainpelt. "Where'v you been?"
Brightfeather stopped and turned her head away from her friends. "S-Sleeping..." she mewed. For a moment, Rainpelt thought it sounded like she was lying, but pushed the thought away. Brightfeather would never lie!
"The Gathering is to come soon," yowled Lionstar above the six cats' heads. "Silvertail, Crowtalon, Nightleaf, Stormheart, Spottednose, Badgerfang, Icefur, Appleheart, Duskshine, Rainpelt, Brightfeather, and Dawnlight, you're coming to the Gathering." Within moments, all thirteen cats were lined up and marching out of the clearing.
The trip to the Gathering seemed to take moons, maybe even years. But finally, WoodClan entered the Gathering where ValleyClan already awaited. The WoodClan cats poured into the clearing, which made it seem like one huge Clan. Rainpelt followed her friends to the abandoned fox den, where she slipped on her element of loyalty.
"Ready?" asked Duskshine, her element of magic on her head.
"Ready," replied everyone else, their elements being worn.
Duskshine took a deep breath, and recited, "Clans of two, cats of many, prey of plenty, nearly empty, for survival's needs of many, to prevent starvation upon any, may the sun and the moon gift us all, return the prey, the prey of plenty. Bring the spring, for now or never, or else this is the end of many."
All six of the Elements of Harmony shone brightly in blinding, vibrant, rainbow colors.
Then the unimaginable happened.
Ravens, voles, squirrels, mice, thrushes, sparrows, every type of prey that lived on land flew, hopped, or skittered out of the six elements, plump and fresh, bringing the fresh scent of newleaf.
Though it lasted long moments, it seemed like moons until the lights on the elements dimmed and the last creatures skittered, hopped, or flew away from the clearing to escape the stunned cats. Glancing around, Rainpelt saw that every cat was staring at either the prey, the quickly growing leaves on the trees, or the six cats with their odd garments.
There was a long, spine chilling silence.
A lanky, smoky gray tom with dark amber eyes stepped up to the six cats, and turned to face the crowd of cats. After a moment, he called out, "These six have a purpose for being here and doing what they did. Look around you all! Even StarClan are here!"
As Rainpelt blinked, she gasped, realizing the old tom was right. Many starry cats stood among the crowd with happy, cheery, and even thankful faces. Every cat in the clearing then moved, in shock or in certainty, to let through two starry cats. One was a golden brown she-cat with darker patches and glowing, amber eyes. The other, who matched the she-cat step by step, was a large, muscular, dark gray tom with pale yellow eyes. They walked straight up to the seven cats.
As the lanky old tom left the front, the two StarClan cats looked over the six cats with pride.
"Our children..." sniffed the tom, putting his face in the she-cat's fur. "Our children have stepped into their destinies, their fate."
Many gasps rang out throughout the clearing, and then silence. Rainpelt nor her friends knew what to say or ask.
"I am Mapleshade, an old WoodClan warrior," purred the she-cat. "This is my mate, Ashwhisker. We were once your parents. You were just kits then..." Mapleshade stopped for a moment and closed her eyes. "Then, one day," she went on. "Every cat in WoodClan had a dream. In it, our ancestors told us that we must give you up so you could soon find your fate. We laid you down by the Moonpool, and our ancestors came and took you. Really, they did."
"I remembered and recognized them," meowed Lionstar after a moment of silence.
"We know," meowed Ashwhisker in a stronger yet gentle voice. "And we thank you for giving them the warrior names they would have deserved."
A small, brown tabby tom with bright green eyes walked up to the cats. "I'll take it from here," he meowed, turning to the six stunned cats as Mapleshade and Ashwhisker left the front of the clearing. "You were meant to fulfill the prophecy given to the Clans' medicine cats and their leaders. Six must become one." There was a long, silent pause. "You, from this day forth, will become TwilightClan. Six other cats will join you."
There was a long silence.
This was all going too fast. Rainpelt's head whirled in circles and the ground shifted beneath her. She then felt as if she were floating in the middle of absolutely nothing. Her mind, blank moments before, was bound to explode with emotion, information, and more questions than answers. Only the reassuring murmur of Duskshine helped her to focus again.
By the time her mind restored, the six cats had already walked up. But Rainpelt had heard their names.
Spottednose, the calico tom was first. Thornbranch and her two kits Darkkit and Whitekit were next. The last two cats were littermates; one was a long haired tortoiseshell tom with amber eyes named Redspots, and the other was a black and brown tom with brown eyes named Mouseears.
"Come," meowed the three cats who had revealed Rainpelt and her friends' past as well as destinies, turning and padding away through the woods. As Rainpelt and everyone else reluctantly followed, she heard the other StarClan cats telling the Clans they could go home.
Rainpelt then realized what was going on fully; she was one of the founders of a third Clan.