“C’mon, Twigpaw! We’re going to the gathering!” Twigpaw finished stocking up the herbs, as it was the last thing Cloverleaf asked him to do for her before he left for the gathering. It was the four newest apprentices' first time going to a gathering, so they were all very excited. The oldest of the quadruplet litter, Asterpaw, had been waiting with her mentor, Robinsong, and the second oldest, Chestnutpaw hadn’t been too far from his sister, waiting with Oakpelt. Twigpaw walked over to them with Scorchpaw by his side. “Hey Aster! Chestnut!” He meowed with a grin. “Are you guys ready for the gathering?” “Well of course we are. We were just waiting for you,” Asterpaw snorted with the flick of her tail. “Seriously, you couldn’t have gone any slower, furball.” Twigpaw’s tail drooped slightly as he began quietly, “Sorry, Asterpaw, Cloverleaf ne-” “Lay off, Aster! He was simply doing some work for Cloverleaf before we had to go,” Scorchpaw snapped at his older sister. Twigpaw was never really too close with Asterpaw, and never made a case for himself to stand up to her snootiness, which was something his big brother Scorchpaw understood, making it his job to pretty much speak for him, which Twigpaw was grateful for. “Whatever, now let's go,” the ginger she-cat huffed, before she heard her mentor’s stern voice command, “Now Asterpaw, that’s not how we treat our clanmates. And you don’t boss people around, either.” This startled Asterpaw and she instantly recoiled back into her turtle shell, cowering a bit. “Yes, Robinsong…” she mumbled, kicking at the dirt. When Asterpaw was first apprenticed by Robinsong, she had surely assumed that she’d be able to boss her around, seeing that her mentor was the daughter of a former kittypet, not taking into account that she was nothing like her happy-go-lucky mother and her timid, deceased father. It was just what the spunky cat needed; someone to give her a taste of her own medicine, and Robinsong, being the no-nonsense, fiery cat she was, did just that. Flintstar had paid no mind to the commotion as he made sure he had everyone accounted for. He was only taking the apprentices and their mentors, not counting Cloverleaf, to the gathering that evening. Scorchpaw gave Twigpaw a light nudge with a smile. “C’mon, bud, you can stay with me during the gathering.”
Twigpaw smiled gratefully, brushing up against his brother. “Thanks, Scorchpaw,” he’d say. “Don’t mention it.” Upon walking to the Highstones, Scorchpaw noticed a cat stalking the group from the sidelines, yellow eyes staring back at him, startling the young apprentice. Scorchpaw’s fur bristled as he turned to Twigpaw, pressing up against him. “Twigpaw!” He whispered. “Twigpaw, did you see that?!” He was no Duskclan cat with good night vision, but he knew what he saw. Looking at Scorchpaw, then around, Twigpaw raised a brow, tilting his head. The figure was nowhere to be seen. “See what, Scorchpaw?” He asked, as Scorchpaw’s jaw dropped. “Wh- but he was just there!” He’d say, looking back to where he’d seen the eyes, only to find they were gone. “No-!” he groaned, as Twigpaw brushed his tail over his brother’s back. “C’mon. Maybe waking up at Moonhigh isn’t the best for you,” he’d say, as Scorch just walked ahead, dumbfounded. “I know what I saw…” Scorchpaw muttered, stalking ahead, his fur still on end. “Maybe you just saw Chestnutpaw or something, he tends to sneak up on us, what, with him being the quiet one and all,” Twigpaw would say, but Scorchpaw wasn’t convinced. But he nodded in agreement and ran to catch up with Rainwhisker. ‘Maybe I was dreaming… yeah… I was dreaming. Most definitely,’ He thought repeatedly. “Are you excited for your first gathering, Scorchpaw?” Rainwhisker interupted his thoughts. Right! His first gathering! He’d been so occupied with the figure as of late he almost forgot why he was up past Moonhigh in the first place. “Mhm, very much so, Rainwhisker!” He meowed enthusiastically, as Twigpaw caught up with his brother and said brother’s mentor. “That’s good. What about you, Twigpaw?” Rainwhisker questioned further, as the sandy colored tom’s tail stood erect. “Hmm-? Oh! Y-yeah!” he beamed happily, not expecting to be confronted by such a high status cat for anything besides a checkup, his naming ceremonies, or if he was in trouble, which was rarely ever on the last part. Ranwhisker flashed him a relaxed smile, nodding simply as she trotted ahead. “I wonder if we’ll meet any other apprentices at the gathering,” Twigpaw murmured softly, as Rainwhisker answered, “You most certainly will. I doubt that the other clans have assessed all of their apprentices just yet. With that said, we aren’t here to make friends. Not initially at least. While it’s nice if you make acquaintances and even friends in other clans, we’re here to represent Dawnclan, so it’s important you be on your best behaviour.”
