Lightpaw padded into camp after Brokenpaw, her head and tail held high in the air. She headed straight to the nursery, feeling quite smug. Inside, sunlight was filtering through, dappling the floor of the warm den.

"Lightpaw!" Petalkit yowled, flinging herself onto her sibling. She was followed by Sandkit and Firekit, with Swallowkit trailing at the back.

"What did you learn today?" Firekit asked, his eyes shining with excitement.

"We learned how to flip each other over!" Lightpaw mewed "And I flipped Brokenpaw so far that Sparkstar said I could already be a warrior!"

"That's not fair!" Sandkit mewed, offended "We're not even apprentices yet and you already get to be a warrior?"

"No, it's not like that," Lightpaw explained "Sparkstar said that I can do it as well as a warrior can, not that I can be a warrior already!"

"Oh." her littermates mewed in unison.

Lightpaw nodded then sat down again as Marshkit approached them, a sour look on his face.

He glared at Lightpaw and her littermates for a minute, then politely asked "So what's it like being an apprentice? Is it too hard for you? I could take your place."

"No it's not hard at all, well, it might be for you." Lightpaw replied, turning up her muzzle to Marshkit. The little tom huffed then turned back to his mother, Lizardfang.

He whispered something into her ear, which earned Lightpaw a nice, hard glare, then they both turned their back on the others and kept talking.

Lightpaw didn't care that Marshkit was being so rude. She was just excited about being an apprentice. She backed out of the nursery and said goodbye to her littermates, then dashed over to the apprentices' den, her pelt starting to fluff in excitement.

Inside the little den, Dapplepaw and Jaypaw were talking with Dovepaw, their heads close together. They looked up at the sound of Lightpaw entering, then they all greeted her.

"So what did you learn today?" Jaypaw asked "I saw you heading out with Brokenpaw and Sparkstar on the way to the SkyClan border."

"We learned a battle move." Lightpaw meowed, demonstrating how she'd kicked Brokenpaw off her. "Sparkstar said I was so good that even a warrior might not be able to do better!"

"Oh wow!" Dovepaw purred "No one ever gets praise from Sparkstar. You must have been amazing!"

"I can try it on you, so you can see." Lightpaw suggested. Dovepaw nodded, then clambered on top of her, pinning her to the ground.

Lightpaw waited for a moment as Dovepaw pretended to be triumphant, then kicked her off so hard that the grey she-cat hit the wall of the den. She landed with a thump, then stood up, breathing heavily.

"Wow! Sparkstar was right!" she meowed "You'd make an awesome warrior!"

Lightpaw could feel her ears getting hot as the other apprentices showered her in praises, then she mewed "I can't be that good, otherwise I'd already be a warrior."

The other apprentices agreed, giving helpful tips to make sure that Lightpaw would be the best warrior she could possibly be. By the time the apprentices had stopped practicing, the sun had already started to sink to the horizon, and the Clan had started gathering outside to start their evening meal.

Sparkstar and Crowmia were sitting under the Highrock, discussing some Clan matters. Flamewisp and Mapleheart were chatting with the elders, who were seated just outside their den. Lightpaw spotted Echoblossom just next to the warriors den, and decided to go sit with her, after getting herself a mouse.

"Hi, Lightpaw!" Echoblossom greeted her, beckoning with her tail to come sit next to her. Lightpaw settled down, sharing her mouse with the silver she-cat.

"There's going to be a Gathering tomorrow night," Echoblossom mewed "I hope Sparkstar lets us come. I could show you all the other apprentices, and all the other cats in the Clans! You'll like Smokepaw. He's my brother."

"That sounds so fun!" Lightpaw replied "Maybe you could even show me the other leaders!"

Echoblossom and Lightpaw kept chatting until the sun had completely set, leaving the camp in darkness. Sparkstar jumped up onto the Highrock as the moon began to rise, raising her voice over the quiet chatter of the Clan.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" she yowled, beckoning all the cats over.

Lightpaw sat back on her haunches, watching from the side. Echoblossom, Jaypaw, Brokenpaw and Petalkit came to sit with her, all of them staring expectantly at their leader.

"As you all know, tomorrow night there will be a Gathering. The cats who I'll be bringing with me are Crowmia, Duskmoon, Slipstream, Silversplash, Mapleheart, Blazeglow, Slashfur, Clouddrop, Poppyheart, Cinderpool, Crookedtalon, Applepaw, Jaypaw, Brokenpaw and Lightpaw. The remaining cats will stay to guard the camp." Sparkstar meowed, her gaze resting on every cat she mentioned.

Lightpaw's paws fizzed with excitement, before she realised that Echoblossom wasn't coming.

"Doesn't look like I'll be able to show you the other cats." Echoblossom mewed, her shoulders slumping and her tail drooping.

Lightpaw put one wing around her, hoping to comfort her. Instead, Echoblossom whirled around wildly, her pelt twitching.

"Something just touched me." she gasped, her eyes wide with fear.

Lightpaw looked at her, puzzled. Hadn't she noticed that it was her wing? She looked around, confused.

"Maybe you should tell Sparkstar," Brokenpaw suggested "She might know what it was."

Lightpaw followed Echoblossom and Brokenpaw helplessly as they led the way to the leader's den, their eyes still wide with fear, and their pelts still bushed.

When they reached the den, Sparkstar was still sitting outside with Crowmia, so they approached her, staying a respectful distance until she gave permission to talk.

"What's wrong?" Sparkstar asked as she saw the cats' fluffed fur.

"Something invisible was touching me," Echoblossom mewed, checking behind her to see if she could see anything "I think it might be a ghost."

"If it comes back, you should talk to Duskmoon. She'll know whether it's a ghost or not." the leader replied, her eyes troubled.

Lightpaw was still confused. She was the one who had touched Echoblossom, not a ghost. Then it hit her, hard and painful. She was the only cat, other than Crowmia, who could see her wings.