A few last stars twinkled out as the sun's first rays glinted onto the ground. Fawnstar stretched in her nest. A paw prodded her in the side. Two green eyes stared excitedly at her.

"Cloudpaw," Fawnstar grumbled.

"Can we start the assessment, please?" Cloudpaw begged.

"We will if you stop begging like a starved mouse," Fawnstar meowed. She carefully got out of her soft nest, and padded out into the warm clearing, with Cloudpaw following her. Fawnstar sniffed the air. Bushtail and Robinpaw had not yet woken up. "Cloudpaw, go wake Robinpaw," She ordered. Cloudpaw scampered off to the apprentice's den. Fawnstar ducked into the warriors' den. Quietly, she padded over to her brother's nest.

"Bushtail, wake up," she whispered. The tabby tom blinked open his eyes. He laughed.

"Does every warrior's sister have to wake him up?" He sniffed, then followed Fawnstar out of the den. The sun had broke through the horizon, dappling the green leaves of the forest. Robinpaw and Cloudpaw were chatting excitedly. "Time to go!" Fawnstar called to them, already padding out of camp with Bushtail. The apprentices raced after them. The late greenleaf sun shone brightly on the cats, casting shadows on the ground.

"Alright. Bushtail and Robinpaw are going to head to the Skyclan border, and we will head to the mossy hollow," Fawnstar meowed to Cloudpaw. Robinpaw and Bushtail were already gone. 

Cloudpaw pushed his way past Fawnstar and headed into the forest. Fawnstar stuck to the undergrowth, peering out of the bushes to watch him. Cloudpaw had cut his way through the forest, heading for the mossy hollow. The scent of mouse drifted through the trees. Cloudpaw made sure to stay downwind of it, placing his paws down lightly on the ground so as not to alert the mouse. As he got closer, Fawnstar could see the mouse. It was nibbling on a few beechnuts that were scattered on the ground. Cloudpaw pounced. His paw came down on the mouse hard before killing it. He flicked his tail in excitement. Cloudpaw buried his mouse underneath an oak tree for later. The breeze shifted, so any animal he was stalking would know he was there.

Cloudpaw acknowledged it, heading in the other direction. He saw something, and the tip of his tail disappeared into a bush. Fawnstar quietly trotted after him, so as not being seen. She padded past a rasberry patch, skirting the big twoleg den. She could barely see Cloudpaw's sandy grey pelt as it hurried through the trees. Fawnstar heard a crash, than a scared squak as Cloudpaw brought down a bird. He buried his prey then headed back into the trees.

Maybe he'll catch a squirrel, Fawnstar thought. She knew that all eager apprentices were hoping to catch one. A short while later, Cloudpaw appeared once more, his gaze flitting through the treetops. He's found one! Cloudpaw's tail quivered. He dug his claws into the bottom of a maple tree. He stealthily climbed upward, his eyes locked on a bushy tail. The bushy grey tail twitched, as if sensing Cloudpaw. He kept climbing, until he was level with the squirrel. The squirrel could see him now, and was shooting into the next tree. Cloudpaw flew after it, nimbly jumping from tree to tree. What! Sorrelpelt hasn't taught him that! Cloudpaw was still pursuing the squirrel, and finally caught up to it. He swiftly gave it a killing bite. Cloudpaw slithered down the tree with his prey, and Fawnstar was waiting at the bottom. "That was awesome," Fawnstar purred.

"Did I pass?" Cloudpaw asked hopingly. Fawnstar flicked her tail.

"Of course you did," she meowed. He purred, than followed Fawnstar to pick up the prey he had buried. Halfway back to camp, they found Bushtail and Robinpaw. Robinpaw was carrying two starlings and a plump vole.

"Wow," Cloudpaw meowed as he saw Robinpaw's catch. Robinpaw blinked. They all padded into camp, and the two apprentices dropped their prey on the fresh-kill pile.

Whiteface was watching nearby. "You caught us enough prey to last us a whole moon," he joked. Bushtail smiled.

"Cloudpaw, Robinpaw!" Fawnstar called them over. The two of them came scampering over. Fawnstar curled her tail around her paws. "You both passed your assessment." Robinpaw smiled. Cloudpaw did a little jump. Bushtail beckoned Robinpaw over with his tail.

"I'm proud of you," he meowed. Cloudpaw had scampered off to his parents, and now Fawnstar was pretending not to listen.

"I wish my parents were here," Robinpaw whispered. It was true. Robinpaw had been an only kit. Her parents were kittypets. She left them to be with Cloudpaw, because she loved him too much. Cloudpaw was back with them now, and he was licking Robinpaw's cheek. Fawnstar left them and padded into her den. The assessment had gone well.

A short while before sundown, Fawnstar called the clan together from her place on the high stump. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the high stump for a clan meeting!" she yowled. Most cats were already gathered. But, Appleleap and Rockfur pushed their way out of the warriors' den, plus Sorrelpelt and Bushtail were bringing the apprentices. They were both groomed, looking proud as they sat below the high stump. Fawnstar's whisker's twitched. "We have gathered here today to celebrate one of the most important things in the warrior code. The naming of new warriors." Fawnstar raised her head high, letting her voice echo around the clearing. The clan broke out in yowling approval.

"Robinpaw, Cloudpaw!" Honeyfur yowled. Fawnstar silenced them with a flick of her tail. She beckoned Cloudpaw and Robinpaw forward. "I Fawnstar, leader of Lightclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices.They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Cloudpaw, Robinpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this clan, even at the cost of your lives?" Cloudpaw and Robinpaw's voices were shaky as they meowed, "I do."

"Then by the powers of Starclan I give you your warrior names: Cloudpaw, from this moment you will be known as Cloudblaze. Starclan honors your curiosity and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Lightclan." Fawnstar paused, letting Cloudblaze lick her shoulder. "Robinpaw, from this moment you will be know as Robinwing.

Starclan honors your compassion and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Lightclan. Even though you were once a kittypet, and struggled to fit into clan life, you have earned your place as a warrior." Robinwing licked her shoulder. The clan began yowling, "Cloudblaze! Robinwing!" Fawnstar looked down at the young warriors. Their eyes were full of pride. Fawnstar looked around at her warriors. They were all cheering for the new warriors except one.

Rockfur was glaring at Robinwing through amber slits. Fawnstar sighed. When Robinwing had first arrived, most of the warriors didn't welcome her. Especially Rockfur, and even though she had earned her warrior name. He had teased her and been hostile to her. Fawnstar shivered. Some warriors were just like that. Was it right to accept Robinwing? Fawnstar thought gravely. No. She shouldn't think like that. Robinwing was a loyal warrior through and through. Fawnstar shook out her thoughts and jumped down to congratulate the new warriors.

"Cloudblaze, come here!" Doefur was beckoning him over with the flick of her tail. She began licking her kit fiercely. Cloudblaze's face turned red. He was clearly embarrassed.

"Doefur, you'll make me look like a fish by the time you're done!" he growled. Doefur snorted.

"Like I would," she meowed cheerfully.

Fawnstar padded away from all the commotion, and over to a nice shady spot at the edge of the clearing. Fawnstar sat down and licked her front paws. A grey tabby shape appeared next to her.

"Hi Dewpaw," Fawnstar meowed. Dewpaw twitched his ear.

"I don't know how we'll do it," Dewpaw meowed quietly.

"Do what?" Fawnstar asked. Dewpaw turned away and stared at a bramble bush. He dipped his head.

"Without Frostpool, we are nothing," Dewpaw meowed sadly. Fawnstar placed the tip of her tail on his shoulder.

"We'll manage. For now. Jaywhisker is a very experienced medicine cat," Fawnstar meowed.

"It's not like that," Dewpaw growled. "It will never be the same without Frostpool." He turned and stalked off to the medicine den. Fawnstar sighed. It must be hard for Dewpaw, losing his brother and his mentor. I would be devastated. Fawnstar padded quietly over to her den and fell into a deep sleep.

Fawnstar woke to the leaf-fall birds twittering, and the morning sun slanting into her den. She stretched in her nest and padded out into the bright clearing. Warriors were emerging from their dens, and Oaktail was starting to organize the hunting and border patrols. Lightleaf and Starflower watched the kits while Fernfall slept. Dewpaw sat in front of the medicine den, looking at his paws. Fawnstar padded over to the apprentice's den to wake Patchpaw. He was on his back and snoring heavily.

"Patchpaw?" Fawnstar said, shaking him with her paw. Patchpaw turned over onto his stomach and pawed the air. Fawnstar shook him once again, and he finally woke up. Patchpaw stretched, then followed Fawnstar out of the den. Out in the clearing, more cats were active. Birchkit and Honeykit(the two oldest kits) were talking to Blossompaw. The rest of the kits were play-fighting(except Fernfall's kits of course, who were too young.) Patchpaw trotted over to Blossompaw and started meowing.

"Oaktail!" Fawnstar called to her deputy. Oaktail stopped yowling orders from atop the high-stump and came to sit by her. "Help me choose cats to go to the gathering tonight," Fawnstar meowed. Oaktail sighed, and started helping her.

The moon shone brightly overhead as the Lightclan cats made their way through the trees, and to the gathering. Hushed whispers spread through the cats. Their pawsteps were merely as quiet as a mouse's heart. Fawnstar led the way, her gaze trembling. Who knows what tonight's gathering will hold. I sure hope we survive. The warriors around her were eyeing each other suspiciously, as if they were from different clans.

"Enough," Fawnstar whispered. "If were going to survive this gathering, we must stand tall, as one." Oaktail nodded. Their trek continued into the night, and finally, they reached the thick bushes that surrounded the Riverpool. LightClan pushed their way through the bushes, and out into an open space. Sand covered the ground around a shimmering pool of stars. In the center of the pool, a large branch jutted out. Cats from other Clans sat around the pool and meowed quietly to each other.

Fawnstar turned from the LightClan group and sprang onto the large tree trunk jutting out of the center of the Riverpool. Nightstar, Rabbitstar, and Amberstar were already seated on the High Branch, while MoonClan had yet to show.

Fawnstar shifted restlessly in her seat. Her paws twitched and flailed as she waited for MoonClan's arrival. She could see that the

clans seated around the Riverpool were also beginning to fidget. They whispered hastily to each other, clearly annoyed at the fact that the Gathering hadn't started. They glared angrily up at their leaders.

"Well?" Nightstar huffed to the other leaders. "Can we begin?" Amberstar shook her head.

"We must wait for MoonClan," she meowed. Nightstar rolled his

eyes at her.

"They're never gonna show," he meowed hastily.

"So what?" Amberstar meowed angrily. "We have always waited for the rest of the Clans to make an appearance. It shouldn't be any different tonight."

"Yeah," agreed Rabbitstar. "It won't harm any cat if we wait just a bit longer."

"Fine," Nightstar meowed firmly. The time seemed to seem a lot longer as they waited there. But no matter how hard they stared, the bushes never announced the arrival of MoonClan.

"May we begin?" Fawnstar meowed. "It's getting late, and MoonClan isn't showing up."

"Yeas," meowed Nightstar. "Cats of all Clans!" his meow alerted the other cats that the Gathering was about to begin. "DarkClan is flourishing. We have caught lot's of prey in the last few moons, despite the harsh leaf-bare. Our warriors are strong and healthy, and we have two new apprentices, Firepaw and Whitepaw." The Clans cheered loudly as they welcomed the new apprentices. It seems that it was yesterday that I was an apprentice at my first Gathering. Fawnstar thought happily.

"However," continued Nightstar. "I've had reports of many skirmishes along the SunClan border." Rabbitstar's eyes flashed in

anger before he realized that he must stay calm, for it was forbidden for any fighting to happen at a Gathering.

"What kind of reports?" Rabbitstar meowed defensively.

"Well," meowed Nightstar. "Juniperheart, Hazelpelt, and Ivypaw reported to me that one of your patrols chased prey on DarkClan land." SunClan erupted into loud yowls of protest.

"Silence!" hollered Rabbitstar. "Which patrol?"

"Um," Nightstar began. "Um, Hazelpelt!" he called out her name. "Who was on the patrol that you ran into?"

"Uh-uh, I think it was Milkflight, Ryepaw, and Oatfur," the pale tabby she-cat meowed nervously. The SunClan cats stared at them with pure hatred. Hazelpelt shrank back anxiously, eying the crowd.

"We didn't do that!" growled Oatfur. "They're liars," he said, pointing at Hazelpelt. "I've always known DarkClan as the Clan who's sticking their noses in other Clan's business." Nightstar growled softly at the SunClan tom.

"Then what did you do?" Nightstar meowed firmly. Oatfur sprang forward.

"We were simply chasing a rabbit when we heard a screech. Juniperheart leapt out in front of us and accused us of being on DarkClan land when we were nowhere near the border! He growled at us, and Hazelpelt's nosy apprentice attacked Ryepaw!" Ivypaw's eyes widened.

"I did not!" she screeched. "Those wretched furballs attacked us first! They're lying!" Hazelpelt silenced her with a flick of her tail. Rabbitstar stared motionless at the DarkClan leader.

"I'm sure my warriors are right," he meowed. "But until now I haven't heard about these border skirmishes." He looked down at the

SunClan cats.

"Of course!" meowed Nightstar. "Your warriors are not being truthful! I'm surprised, Rabbitstar. I thought SunClan was always the best Clan," he said with a wry smile. "What will you do to punish them?" Rabbitstar glared at him defiantly.

"What I do in my Clan is not any of DarkClan's business," he meowed. Nightstar shot him a look of disgust.

"What I'm saying is, that I think some warriors are not telling the truth," he meowed. SunClan growls rose around the clearing in a strange fashion. "Not just SunClan cats," Nightstar meowed, eying Fawnstar suspiciously. She was taken aback.

"I doubt that any of you would even think of accusing LightClan of lying," Fawnstar meowed. "We are strong and loyal cats, and I'm sure none of my warriors would ever betray their Clan. Besides, this isn't LightClan's buisness. Why doesn't DarkClan and SunClan settle their own disputes?"

"This is every Clan's business," Nightstar meowed. "A Gathering is the time when all five Clans come together and share what has happened in the last moon. RockClan and LightClan are a part of the Gathering too. If you wish to leave, then do so. But I'm sure some other cats would not approve of the idea."

"LightClan has no intention to leave," Fawnstar meowed calmly."We will stay here and listen to what the other Clans have to say." Amberstar twitched her ears.

"Can we move on with this matter?" she asked.

"I suppose so," Rabbitstar meowed. Amberstar and Rabbitstar continued to share about their Clans. Finally, it was Fawnstar's turn.

"LightClan is doing very well. Our Clan has two new members.

Fernfall gave birth to Larkkit and Moonkit. However," she said, looking at Dewpaw. "We have also lost two members of our Clan. Frostpool and Lionpaw have passed away." She dared not to tell anymore, for their families privacy. Shocked mews spread across the Clans. Dewpaw looked down at his paws.

"We will mourn their loss," Rabbitstar meowed. He looked at Fawnstar sympathetically.

"One more thing," Amberstar added. "Does any cat know why MoonClan isn't at the Gathering?" Her gaze flitted around the leaders.

"I have no knowledge of what MoonClan does," Nightstar meowed. "DarkClan!" he yowled. "Let's go!" Nightstar jumped off the High Branch, his paws barely finding soft sand. After the DarkClan cats gathered around their leader, he signaled with a flick of his tail for them to follow him through the bushes and out into the night...

"Fawnstar? Fawnstar, wake up!" A voice cut through Fawnstar's dream. "Fawnstar!" She quivered in her nest, opening her eyes slowly. "Fawnstar?" The voice spoke again.

"Who is it?" she quivered. Fawnstar looked up to see the pale grey face of Dewpaw. "What is it?" she asked sleepily.

"Come on!" meowed Dewpaw. "I have to show you something!"

"Can it wait?" Fawnstar yawned.

"I-I don't think so," Dewpaw whispered. "Come on!" Fawnstar gathered herself together and hurried out of the den after Dewpaw. He was running fast now, flicking his tail in a worried way. The morning sun pierced through the branches of the forest, covering the cats' pelts in a blanket of warmth. The birds and squirrels chattered and tweeted. There was only one patch of snow still gleaming on the leaf-strewn

ground.

"Hurry!" chortled Dewpaw. The grass was getting softer as they neared the Twoleg nest. Her paws flying along on the path, Fawnstar's head began to be aware of what Dewpaw needed to show her. The Twoleg nest? A kittypet? No, it couldn't be. The sun rose higher in the sky now, bearing down through the trees like a vicious hawk or owl. Finally, Fawnstar could see the vine-encircled Twoleg nest fence. It was glowing in the sunlight.

"Dewpaw?" Fawnstar questioned as he scrambled his way up the fence.

"Just follow me!" Dewpaw meowed urgently. "It's important!" With a quick sigh, Fawnstar scurried after him. Dewpaw jumped down and landed with a thump in the garden of the Twoleg nest. The grass was thin and scraggly, and the stone path had a strong Twoleg stench. Suddenly, a hiss sounded behind them. A bushy black head popped out of the flowers.

"What are you doing?" snarled the black cat. Fawnstar began to circle the hostile kittypet, keeping her eyes forward.

"Dewpaw!" Fawnstar hissed. "Get behind me!" But the kittypet's eyes lit up.

"Dewpaw?" she meowed. He threw himself between the two fighting cats.

"It's okay, Fawnstar," Dewpaw meowed. "This is what I wanted to show you." Fawnstar's head whipped around to face him. Her eyes were burning with anger.

"Why are you talking to a kittypet?" she growled. Dewpaw shrank back, his eyes frightened.

"Okay,okay," the black she-cat stepped forward. "I had

something to tell you, Fawnstar. My name is Jessy. " She looked at Dewpaw. "That little fella ran into me just the other day."

"It's true," he meowed.

"Alright," Fawnstar agreed. "What is it that you wanted to tell me?"

Jessy smiled.

"Well, I wanted to tell you about my son, Night. He was born here in this very garden, but had a hard time growing up." The light in her amber eyes dimmed. "When he had grown a little, he decided to move. He decided to move in with the forest cats." Fawnstar's eyes widened. "That day, when he left, I was sad. Finally, after a few moons, a black cat walked out of the bushes. He was thin and scraggly. I hardly recognized my son. Night said he'd lived with the forest cats. Their leader was named Foxstar." Fawnstar gasped. Foxstar! "So," Jessy continued, "he told me about everything that had happened to him. Fighting and hunting for his own food. He was very brave. But he said that life just didn't work for him. After a few more days with my son, he decided to leave for good. Night said he was traveling to the mountains to find a better life. I've never heard from him since. But he did say one thing before he left. 'I will always be loyal to LightClan, if they ever need me.'" A smile spread across her face.

"Wow," Fawnstar meowed. "I had no idea." She thanked Jessy and took off with Dewpaw. His eyes showed no emotion as they walked back to camp, but Fawnstar knew he was feeling something.

"Fawnstar," he meowed, "I think Night can help us."

"How?" Fawnstar asked.

"You heard what Jessy said. 'I will always be loyal to LightClan, if they ever need me.' Don't you see Fawnstar? We must travel to the

Mountains. It's our only hope of saving all the Clans." Fawnstar sighed.

"I'll think about it," she meowed. As they neared camp, the sun sank below the horizon, casting a red glow through the trees. Fawnstar's thoughts were jumbled up in her head. I think Dewpaw's right. I think we must travel to the mountains to find Night.