Loudpaw's eye was fixed by the time of sundown. The fluffy cat bounded around his mentor. 

"Duckpaw became a warrior? No fair! Can I become a warrior? Please please pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaase???"

"Quit your whining. You'll be a warrior when I decide it fit. How is your eye?" Swanfeather hushed him.

Loudpaw groaned. "It's fine. Coppermelt said I had to keep this cobweb on it." He gestured to the clod of fine threads bundled onto his face.

"Great. Now, go play with your friends or something." Swanfeather said, ushering him towards his fellow apprentices. 

Loudpaw took a few steps, then stopped for a moment. He turned around.

"Swanfeather, can I ask you something?"

Swanfeather flicked her tail, surprised. "Of course."

Loudpaw paused. "Do I look fierce? Or... Impressive? Like, hypothetically speaking, would someone like, oh, Hillpaw, be impressed by me?"

Swanfeather laughed. "Yes, you look very heroic, you lovestruck little kit. Go play with your friends." 

Loudpaw nodded and scampered off. 

The sun dipped into the horizon.  Swanfeather called it a day and retired to the warrior den. She curled up in the moss and let sleep fall heavy on her.

------------------

The night of the Gathering. Swanfeather padded alongside her fellow warriors, over to the island. Reedstar blandly chatted with Snowface, who would purr and nod. Ew.

Loudpaw bounded up to Swanfeather. "Hello!! Oh, I'm so excited! This is my first Gathering!" 

Swanfeather chuckled. "Well, you'll have to learn some manners. Number one, don't speak until spoken to, and number two, don't talk to other Clans."

Loudpaw looked puzzled. "Why not?" Swanfeather sighed. 

"Because it never ends well. I should know." she told Loudpaw in a nostalgic voice.

"Should you? Why?" the apprentice asked. Swanfeather sighed once more.

"I was once an apprentice, you know. Ah, Swanpaw. Many moons ago, I went to my first gathering. Oh, StarClan. I sat with my friends, by the apprentices of RiverClan. There," Swanfeather lamented, "I met Furzepaw."

"Oh boy." Loudpaw grumbled, under his breath. Swanfeather paid no mind.

"Furzepaw. Well," she continued, "It's the classic story. Apprentice meets apprentice at Gathering, they blossom love, but other apprentice becomes warrior and has a different mate."

Loudpaw groaned. "That sounds just awful." Swanfeather flicked her tail.

"Well, that's why I advise you away from it." she said, ending her cautionary tale. 

"Ooookay. I'll go and walk with the apprentices." Loudpaw said, stepping back. Swanfeather sighed. 

At the island, Swanfeather sat as far as she could from the RiverClan warriors. Reedstar sat on the high branch above his Clan, tail waving. 

Streamstar coughed loudly. The Clans fell silent.

"Thank you," the silver feline purred. "I think everyone knows about the recent greencough epidemic?" 

There was a ripple of murmurs. Swanfeather peered over at the RiverClan side. Her heart sparked unwantedly when she saw the gray tabby twine his tail with a fluffy sand she-cat.

She shook it off as Thornstar, the ThunderClan leader spoke. "Indeed. Many of our strongest have fallen."

Reedstar called out. "Yes, yes. I have something to announce. My medicine cat, Coppermelt, recently had a vision from StarClan. Coppermelt, why don't you-"

The WindClan leader was cut off when there was a shriek in the RiverClan area. Several cats moved around and hissing erupted from many places. 

Swanfeather, however, was interested in the look Snowface had. Her eyes were narrowed and she seemed to be muttering something to herself. 

Another scuffle in the RiverClan vicinity. Swanfeather whirled her head around to see a super dark gray cat streak through the crowd of cats and up a tree. He perched himself on a high branch where everyone could see him. 

Swanfeather gasped along with the Clans. This tom was unfamiliar and impossibly skinny. One could see his ribs and bones, sticking through his worn-thin fur.

Snowface immediately clawed up the tree to whisper with Reedstar. The leader nodded and shimmied aside onto the thinner part of the branch. It almost looked like Snowface was trying to kill him. 

"And who might you be?" Snowface yelled at the newcomer. The ashy tom blinked.

"I-I am Ashenface!" the tom called out. "I-I am here to represent TreeClan!"