The full moon floated in the sky, shedding its cold light over the forest. A faint breeze murmured through the leaves of four massive oak trees; dappled light and shadow moved over the pelts of many cats as they slipped into the hollow below.
A muscular, bracken-colored tomcat emerged from the bushes that lined the sides of the hollow. He bounded across the clearing and leaped to the top of the great rock that stood in the center.
Three other cats were waiting there. One of them, a she-cat with a brown tabby pelt, dipped her head in greeting.
“Welcome, Redstar,” she meowed. “How’s the prey running in ThunderClan?”
“We’ve plenty, thank you, Birchstar,” the ThunderClan leader replied. “Is all well in RiverClan?”
Before Birchstar could reply, one of the other leaders interrupted, scraping his claws on the harsh surface of the rock. His gray-black pelt was a shadow in the moonlight. “It’s time this Gathering started,” he rasped. “We’re wasting time.”
“We can’t start yet, Swiftstar,” the fourth cat mewed. Her 1
WARRIORS SUPER EDITION: FIRESTAR’S QUEST
creamy brown pelt held the frosty shimmer of starlight.
“We’re not all here.”
Swiftstar let out an impatient snort. “WindClan have better things to do than sit about waiting for cats who can’t be bothered to come at the proper time.”
