River (book)/Chapter 4

==Chapter description==
:Flamepaw is with his Clanmates on their way to the Gathering, listening half-heartedly to the conversation around him regarding the changes to the warrior code. The young tom focuses on his belief he was only going tonight because Lilyheart had felt bad he'd failed his warrior assessment and that she wanted to cheer him up. He feels disconnected from the feeling and the feeling of being a proud ThunderClan cat, pushing some of the blame to Ashfur's reign as the impostor. He feels as though no cat understands him. The apprentice pushes past the bushes on the island and is greeted with the sight of many cats. He mumbles a greeting to some cats before sitting at the edge, not wanting to hear his Clanmates talk about themselves passing their assessments. Flamepaw notices Ivypool with Rootspring, internally finding their found closeness over the loss of Bristlefrost strange. He muses on it further, wondering about the situation that had unfolded not too long ago and that he'd only been young when it all started with Bramblestar acting strangely. Internally he wonders if ThunderClan had simply shifted the blame to another cat for everything that had gone wrong and quickly thinks if he ever voiced that aloud his kin would kill him.
:Tigerstar soon starts the Gathering, announcing new kits in ShadowClan born to Cinnamontail and that they were joining his own kits in the nursery. At the mention of the leader's kit, Birchkit, Flamepaw spares a glance to Birchfall, who he and others assumed the young kit is named after. The older tom appears proud as Bramblestar announces new warriors in ThunderClan as the Clans' cheer their names. Beside Flamepaw a young cat asks why he wasn't a named warrior alongside them and he explains he had failed his assessment. The young cats snort and mrrow with laughter at his expense before a brown-and-white tabby tells them to shut up. She puts them in their place to avoid missing the important changes to be announced by the Clan leaders. The she-cat asks his name, to which he states Flamepaw and she is taken aback as she notes he doesn't look like one. The tom goes to make a comment, however, Mistystar takes her place on the branch and begins her address. Flamepaw notices how old she looks and wonders how she had survived the journey to the Dark Forest. 
:The RiverClan leader begins by introducing her Clan's new medicine cat apprentice, Frostpaw. She pauses while cats cheer the young she-cat on before continuing with the proposed changes to the warrior code. The leader describes the change to allow cats to change to be with a mate and that an official process would be in place to officiate it. As Mistystar explains cats from each Clan cry out their disagreement, before the leader harshly reminds them that all the Clans' leaders had discussed the process. Rootspring shares his approval of the process as Flamepaw thinks it over before calling out his suggestion for it all to be harder, such as temporary demotion to an apprentice. A nearby apprentice teases him for his outburst, leaving the tom to sit with his shame and embarrasment. Mistystar calls for silence before continuing with the other changes, such as a leader being deposed of. Flamepaw stops listening, feeling the changes were useless and that even at the height of the problem Bramblestar likely wouldn't have been demoted. He realizes that these changes were to be brought forward to StarClan, despite the open objection many cats had shared.
:As the Gathering ends and cats begin to disperse, Lilyheart joins Flamepaw's side. She murmurs into his ear that usually apprentices don't speak at a Gathering and he feels embarrassed all over again. She leaves him be, promising more training the following day. The apprentice lingers to avoid his former denmates and soon spots Bramblestar gazing around as though lost. The tom reflects he had found it hard to connect with the tom as kin, due to the impostor's reign. He hesitantly approaches the leader after he doesn't move which shakes Bramblestar from his daze. The two walk over the tree-bridge together, sharing a moment as Bramblestar asks him to try his best with his next assessment. Flamepaw promises he will, realizing that he wants ThunderClan to be proud of him. The tabby leader seems happy with the response as they leave the island.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Notes and references==
Category:River (book)
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:A Starless Clan arc