The sun was rising, it shone it's golden rays upon the field of tall grass. Field mice scurried around the tall fronds of grass whilst singing sparrows flew overhead. It was Midsummer; the time when prey was plentiful and when the weather was warm. The fresh scents of field mice wafted around the Dawntreader's camp as the Dawntreader cats aroused.

Stardust felt something tickling her left ear. Slowly she sat up, opened her amber eyes and saw a black striped pale ginger tom with emerald green eyes. It was her friend, Beesting. His long striped tail whisked over her head once more before he stopped and mewed, "Oh, you're up. It's time for training, the others have already left."

Looking past Beesting, Stardust sleepily glanced around the Apprentice's den. The morning sunlight filtered through the doorway of the den, lighting up the den's walls and turning the den's ground to a pale shade of gold. Stardust felt her nest's soft grassy texture beneath her paws. Nearby to her's, four other grassy nests were spread out around the Apprentice's den; they belonged to the other Dawntreader apprentices- Brightflame, Redstorm, Streamtail and Beesting. Stardust yawned and stretched, then she briskly groomed her ruffled silver grey fur to make herself look presentable for the day. She licked her paw to wash her face before following Beesting out of the den.

Two months had passed after the terrible war against the scarred wolf, Scarface. Stardust remembered her kittenhood with her beloved stepfather, Moonshadow. The snowy owl had looked after and protected her ever since her parents were murdered by Scarface and his wolves. Moonshadow and her had joined forces with old friends and new. Struggling through difficulties, they all finally managed to defeat Scarface. After the war, Stardust decided to join the Dawntreader cats whilst Moonshadow and the others decided to stay with the rebellion. Stardust deeply missed Moonshadow but as long as she knew that he was happy about her decision to be a Dawntreader warrior, she felt content and blissful.

Following Beesting, Stardust stepped out of the Apprentice's den. The camp, a sandy clearing surrounded by tall grass, was full of bustling cats going about and doing their jobs; hunting, border patrolling and apprentice training. Cliffleap, the clan deputy, was busy organising hunting and border patrols for the day whilst Sunblaze, the leader, was chatting with Flower, the doctor of Dawntreader. Cats paced around the clearing waiting for Cliffleap's orders. Usually Sunblaze would be the one to organise patrols and give the cats orders instead of Cliffleap; the deputy usually takes care of the apprentice's training. Maybe Sunblaze is busy today. Stardust thought.

"Hey you two! Over here!" A voice yowled.

Stardust looked around to see who was yowling and saw her friend Brightflame, a ginger and white she-cat. Two ginger toms with blue eyes- one dark ginger and one bright ginger; Redstorm and Streamtail were waiting beside her. Stardust and Beesting trotted over towards their friends.

"Guess what? We're going out hunting today!" Brightflame told them, stars shone in her pale blue eyes.

"Cool! Today's weather is great, the prey will be out and about ready to be caught," Beesting purred, his green eyes bright with excitement.

"Well, if Brightflame wasn't so loud, there could have been more prey." Redstorm meowed mischievously. His brother Streamtail nodded in agreement, "Yeah."

Brightflame shot a glare at the twins, "You two better not mess up my day or else." She hissed.

"Oh come on! We were just joking," Streamtail protested.

"You three better stop bickering or we won't be hunting," a strict voice meowed from behind them. "We might as well be cleaning out the elder's bedding."

Without turning around, Stardust knew who the voice belonged to. It was Driftclaw, Redstorm's mentor. Stardust looked around and saw that she was right. Driftclaw's striped ginger fur and yellow eyes made him look as intimidating as a tiger but deep inside, Stardust knew that he was a kind and caring mentor.

Brightflame and the twins immediately stopped and sat down. 

"Is every cat ready?" A voice mewed and three sets of pawsteps padded towards them. Stardust turned and saw the other mentors heading towards them. It was Greytail, Stardust's mentor, who had spoken. His grey and white pelt made him stand out among the other Dawntreaders, Stardust didn't know why he wasn't ginger like the others. Colour doesn't matter, Greytail's a great mentor and a brave cat just like any Dawntreader warrior should be, Stardust thought to herself. 

The other mentors; Leopardclaw- a spotted furred tom who was Streamtail's mentor- and Sparrow- a brown tabby she-cat who was Brightflame's mentor- padded towards their apprentices and stood beside them. Driftclaw looked around and saw that Beesting stood alone without his mentor. Turning to Greytail, Driftclaw asked, "Is Cliffleap coming?"

"I don't think so. Sunblaze had matters to discuss with Flower so Cliffleap had to take over Sunblaze's tasks. I told Cliffleap about us taking all apprentices out for a hunting expedition and he was fine about it." Greytail replied.

"He might come later," Sparrow mewed.

"Okay everyone, let's go before the day gets too hot and the prey will hide." Leopardclaw meowed. The four mentors and five apprentices raced out the camp's entrance and out onto the grassy fields full of prey.

                                                   ***

Padding back towards camp with the others, Stardust carried her catch- two plump field mice and a pigeon. Her paws ached but the happiness of how successful the hunt was cheered her up and soon she forgot about her aching paws. 

When they arrived at the camp, Driftclaw ordered the apprentices to distribute their catch to the retired elder cats and the mothers with their kittens before resting. Redstorm and Streamtail went to give their prey to the elders whilst Stardust, Beesting and Brightflame went to give theirs to the mother cats. After distributing the prey, the apprentices gathered in the centre of the camp and waited until the other hunting patrol returned with more prey. 

"I'm tired." Redstorm meowed flatly.

"Same." Streamtail yawned.

"I wonder when the patrol's coming back," Beesting mewed.

"What's taking them so long?" Brightflame complained.

"I'm sure they'll be back soon," Stardust told them. "Just be a little patient." Just then, Stardust's stomach growled. Even though she tried, she couldn't help feeling a little impatient.

Soon, a delicious scent of prey drifted through the camp entrance and the pounding of paws drew closer. At last, the hunting patrol returned. 

"Finally!" All the apprentices rushed forwards as the patrol dropped their catches in a neat pile. Stardust watched as Beesting picked a pigeon from the pile and padded off towards a shaded patch under a cloud of tall grass. One by one, the other apprentices took their pick and walked off towards where Beesting was eating. After Streamtail, Stardust picked a field mouse and joined the others.

                                  ***

The sun and it's glorious golden rays faded behind passing clouds and night began to fall. All the patrols had returned and all the cats had eaten their meals. The warm summer weather made hunting easier, furthermore, every cat was well fed and content.

Just before the apprentice's bedtime, Sunblaze wanted to have a word with Stardust in his den. Slowly, Stardust entered the leader's den. Sunblaze sat waiting for Stardust with his orange tail curled neatly over his front paws. He smiled and dipped his head at her and Stardust returned the greeting. She sat down in front of him with her silver tail wrapped over her forepaws.

"Good evening Stardust," Sunblaze meowed warmly.

"Good evening to you too Sunblaze," Stardust mewed quietly. "Am I in trouble?"

"No," Sunblaze purred in amusement. "Quite the opposite in fact. I just wanted to tell you about tomorrow. Since you only joined our clan two months ago, you may not be aware of the events that happen during the year. Every year, there are two gatherings that every cat clan has to attend, one in summer and one in winter. Tomorrow is the Summer Gathering; it takes place every year on the Summer Solstice and there's a sacred truce; no fighting against another clan. At the gathering, there are three other clans that we are going to meet; the Sageclaws, the Seekers and the Serenity." Suddenly, Sunblaze's amber eyes darkened. "There used to be five cat clans in the North- us Dawntreaders, those three clans I just mentioned and... and the Silver Viels."

Stardust felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Whenever she heard the name of her parent's clan, she had tried fighting back tears. This time, unlike the others, Stardust couldn't stop one tear from rolling down her cheek. 

"You're a brave young cat Stardust, that war you fought in with Moonshadow proves that. News of your victory has reached every corner of the North; the other clans know what you did and they admire you." Sunblaze comforted her.

Stardust nodded and wiped the tear away with her paw. Tilting her head up to meet Sunblaze's gaze, Stardust changed the subject, "Who's going to the gathering?"

"Ten cats; The clan leader, deputy, doctor and seven special cats who have worked hard during the year."

"Who are the seven special cats?"

"I'll announce their names tomorrow morning." Sunblaze flicked his tail to dismiss her, "good night Stardust, sleep well."

"Good night," Stardust mewed before getting up and padding out of Sunblaze's den.

Silver moonlight flooded the clearing and a soft breeze blew from the east. Most of the Dawntreaders had already gone back to their dens and only a few cats were still awake. Looking up, Stardust saw a full moon glowing in the dark night sky. A small star glittered beside the moon and Stardust smiled. The moon and the star reminded her of her kittenhood with Moonshadow- especially that night when she had stayed up late with him and together they had gazed at the stars and the moon. 

"Still missing that owl?" A voice meowed beside her.

Stardust turned and saw Greytail, his gentle blue gaze was filled with sympathy. "Yeah."

"I know how that feels. No matter how long you try not to miss them, you find that you can't. It's like trying to know someone you've never met."

Before Stardust could ask what that meant, Greytail got up to leave. Before padding away, he meowed, "don't stay up too late, you've still got training tomorrow morning just before the gathering. Okay?"

"Okay." Stardust answered. Turning back to the sky, she continued to gaze at the moon and the star.