"Oh my gosh!" gasped Acornpaw, collapsing on the ground. "You're so fast." 
            "Thanks," grinned Willowpaw. 
            "Wow," grinned Acornpaw, shaking the grass of his fur. They had just raced across half of WindClan as their mentors had let them off early. 
            "Want to do it again?" suggested Willowpaw with a sly smile. 
            "Maybe tomorrow," huffed Acornpaw, rolling onto his back and staring at the blue sky. 
            "It's almost leaf-fall,"grinned Willowpaw. 
             "I know!" nodded Acornpaw. "I can't wait for leaf-bare. I really really really want to see snow!" 
             "Me too!" exclaimed Willowpaw. "Imagine just rolling around in snow." 
             "I know and it would be so nice and cold and everything will be white and I just can't wait!" agreed Acornpaw excitedly. Just then Snailpaw appeared. His eyes went from Acornpaw to Willowpaw. 
              "Want to play with us?" Snailpaw asked Acornpaw, ignoring Willowpaw. "We're going to see who can hunt the most prey. Whitepaw and Dovepaw are playing too."
               "Sure," nodded Acornpaw then he turned to Willowpaw. "If you want to." 
               "I don't mind," shrugged Willowpaw, she looked down at her feet. She knew that Dovepaw, whitepaw and Snailpaw didn't want her. "It's ok. You can go alone."
                 "Nah come on. If you don't want to, I won't either," said Acornpaw. 
                "If it wasn't clear before, I'm only asking you, Acornpaw," Snailpaw pointed out, rolling his eyes at his brother. "Are you coming or not? Dovepaw and Whitepaw aren't going to wait around all day." 
                "It's ok then. I'm not playing with you if you're not letting Willowpaw join too," Acornpaw said, puffing out his chest indignantly.  Willowpaw didn't need his protection. She burnt with embarrassment. She knew Acornpaw hated turning down a challenge but he was doing it for her. Somehow, she felt as if it wasn't right. Why would he chose her over Dovepaw, Whitepaw and his own brother? How could he still be her friend if she held him back? 
              "Go with them. I was going to go back to camp anyways," Willowpaw urged Acornpaw. 
              "Nah. It's fine. We can have our own competition. Race you to the otherside?" asked Acornpaw. Willowpaw looked at him to see if he was serious. His eyes were twinkling and he had a mischievous smile that made Willowpaw's stomach flip. She couldn't help but smile. 
             "You're on!" she grinned but before she could count, Acornpaw was off. He shot off into the tall grasses and was gone. Willowpaw bounded after him, her feet barely touching the ground. She was nimble, swift and extremely fast. The wind whipped past her and tickled her nose. Her muscles tensed, pushing her forward, faster and faster. She was free. She could run like that forever. Finally, she reached the other side of the field and halted, her chest heaving and her eyes gleaming. A few moments later, Acornpaw tumbled to the ground, breathing heavily.
             "Oh great StarClan," he gasped. Willowpaw giggled a bit. 
             "I'll let you win next time," Willowpaw said with a smile. After a break, they set off for camp where their mentors announced that the Gathering was going to take place that night. 
               "Are we going!?" cried Acornpaw with excitement. Willowpaw wanted to jump up and scream. A Gathering! Wow! That sounded awesome. 
               "Yes. You are both coming. But you must behave yourselves," warned Acornpaw's mentor. Willowpaw and Acornpaw nodded quickly. Of course they would behave. Acornpaw couldn't wait to finally attend a Gathering with Willowpaw. The rest of the afternoon was spent talking excitedly about the Gathering to come. 

Willowpaw stood on the cold ground, feeling the night breeze on her pelt. Crickets chirped and owls hooted. Acornpaw stood beside her, buzzing with excitement. Their mentors, Sootwhisker and Brownclaw, were talking to each other in low voices as they awaited the last few warriors and Gorsestar. Snailpaw, Whitepaw and Dovepaw were not going to the Gathering which made Willowpaw feel much better. Doestripe and Troutfur were conversing together, glancing at the camp entrance with growing impatience. Coming along to the Gathering as well were Spottedcall, Fernspring and Halestorm. Finally, Gorsestar, Ravenstripe and Moosetail appeared. Gorsestar flicked his tail. 
            "Sorry for the delay," he said in a gruff voice and led the group of cats toward the four trees. Acornpaw glanced at Willowpaw, unable to contain his enthusiasm. His eyes were glowing. Willowpaw shared his emotions. Together, the group of cats started to run. They were swift and silent, their paws barely making a sound as they flew through the grass. Finally, Willowpaw smelt many different and new smells and heard commotion. She couldn't believe it. She was at a Gathering. 
             "Great StarClan!" she muttered under her breath, her eyes lighting up. Gorsestar turned to check on his Clanmates then padded out of the cover of the grasses. Brownclaw turned to Willowpaw. 
             "Don't stray too far. Reveal as little as possible. And have fun," Brownclaw told Willowpaw. She nodded enthusiastically. She followed him and stood in the middle of a clearing where four large trees stood majestically, casting dancing shadows. The other side of the clearing was lit up by the bright round moon in the sky and a large rock sat there. Like shadows, cats mingled around the clearing. The smells of ThunderClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan and Willowpaw's own Clan was a strong mixture in the air. Murmurs of conversations and laughs dotted the clearing. Willowpaw's heart leapt. She saw that to each Clan had chosen a side and most of them remained chatting in low voices with their own Clanmates but some cats had run to meet others and to socialise. Acornpaw stood beside Willowpaw, taking it all in. Gorsestar and Doestripe headed for the rock while Troutfur made a beeline for a fluffy snow white cat. They greeted each other warmly. 
            "whos that?" asked Willowpaw, motioning to the cat Troutfur was talking to. 
             "I don't know," shrugged Acornpaw. 
            "That's our medicine cat," a voice came from behind them. Willowpaw almost jumped. She turned around and came face to face with a sleek golden brown tom. He looked young. "Her name is Laurelstep." 
              "And what's your name?" responded Acornpaw, tensing up a little, afterall it was their first time meeting and talking to a cat from another Clan. Willowpaw found herself feeling slightly cold toward the apprentice. The strong scent wafting from him reminded Willowpaw of RiverClan. 
               "Are you RiverClan?" asked Willowpaw. 
               "I'm Brackenpaw," grinned the apprentice, flashing them a smile. "And I am indeed from RiverClan. What's your name?" Brackenpaw was looking straight at Willowpaw. She was caught off guard. She never was one to socialise. her mother had always told her to keep to herself. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to shrink away into the shadows and hide. She wanted to be at the Gathering but she didn't want to talk to anyone. She just wanted to be there, to watch and to witness. Acornpaw stepped up for her. 
             "Her name is Willowpaw. She doesn't talk to RiverClan cats," answered Acornpaw. 
             "Ok," chuckled Brackenpaw with a shrug. "How about you macho tom?" Acornpaw frowned. 
            "I'm Acornpaw," he said. 
             "Oh, are you Snailpaw's brother?" asked Brackenpaw, his eyes lighting up with recognition. "He's great. You're not- you're not like him." 
             "No. I'm not," huffed Acornpaw. 
             "Right. Right," Brackenpaw said then spotted a cat in the crowd. "Hey! Smokepaw! Come here!" A smokey grey tom with dark sunken eyes trotted towards them. His fur was messy and unkept. 
              "What is it?" he asked. "I was talking to Steampaw. She's finally stopped ignoring me," huffed Smokepaw. 
             "For the last time, she doesn't like you," Brackenpaw said, giving his friend a pointed look. "She likes Rootwhisker." 
              "But he doesn't like her!" exclaimed Smokepaw. Willowpaw was intrigued by this. She had never thought of the other cats in other Clans similar to the cats in her Clan but they did seem the same. They had crushes and they had best friends and they even had arguements. 
              "Come on. He obviously does. They're just waiting for her to become a warrior," Brackenpaw said then sighed. "Anyways look. This is Acornpaw. He's Snailpaw's brother." Smokepaw's eyes scanned Acornpaw, he did not look impressed. 
              "I thought you'd be more like your brother," he said then his eyes went to Willowpaw and he grinned a little. "And who are you?" Willowpaw felt uncomfortable once more. She didn't like the way he looked at her, his eyes taunting. Once again, she wanted to hide in the shadows. 
              "The Gathering has begun!" yowled a cat. Smokepaw and Brackenpaw darted back to their Clan. Brownclaw appeared beside Willowpaw and Acornpaw. 
               "Come on," he said, leading them under the shadow of a huge tree where the rest of WindClan was nestled. Willowpaw sat down beside Acornpaw, her eyes glued to the four dark shapes standing proudly on the rock. Gorsestar stood there, looking down at the other Clans, his eyes calculative. His tail twitched slightly. Beside him, a flaming orange cat stood, eyes lit by the moon, glowing green. He looked majestic, like a real king. Willowpaw wondered who he was. 
               "That's Blazestar. He's the ThunderClan warrior," Acornpaw whispered in Willowpaw's ear, as if reading her thoughts. A she-cat, sleek with a coat as dark as night and flaring eyes stood beside Blazestar. They contrasted each other, whit Blazestar's proud gaze and her dark piercing eyes. She seemed to be watching every cat in the clearing. 
               "Who's she?" asked Willowpaw, thrills running down her spine. 
               "That's Batstar. She's the leader of ShadowClan," shuddered Acornpaw. The last cat, RiverClan's leader, was a she cat with gentle blue eyes and a well groomed stripped light grey coat. 
              "What's her name?" asked Willowpaw. 
               "Who?" asked Acornpaw. 
                "RiverClan's leader," replied Willowpaw. 
               "Wildstar."

               "ThunderClan, is thriving. Although leaf-fall is quickly approaching, we have plenty of food and our training is going extremely well. We are proud to announce two new kits, Pricklekit and Plumkit. They are healthy and strong. Both kits of Sprucefern and Frognose," Blazestar declared, his voice ringing out far beyond the Clearing. ThunderClan cheered and hollered, making Willowpaw jumped slightly. A few cats from other Clans joined in slightly less enthusiastically. Blazestar took a step back but his coat still burned bright and it was hard to take his eyes off him. 
               "ShadowClan, is stronger than ever. We are not afraid that leaf-bare is approaching. We have a new medicine cat apprentice, Sloepaw and a warrior apprentice Blossompaw. ThunderClan, attempted to cross our borders and steal prey from our border. Of course, our warriors were more than capable of chasing them back to their side. Hopefully, they'll know not to cross the boundaries next time," Batstar announced, her voice like silk laced with poison. Blazestar glared at her and he tensed. Willowpaw held her breath. She could feel all the Clans, staring up at the rock, either accusingly or in anticipation. Finally, Blazestar smiled a little but his glowing green eyes remained cold. 
              "Mmm. Yes, it was a small misunderstanding. I hope your warriors recover from it," Blaze star answered. Batstar showed her fangs, they were white and sharp but she did not make a move for the ThunderClan leader. 
             "Right," interrupted Wildstar. "RiverClan, I am glad to announce, is doing just as great. We have good food, the fish are plenty this year! And we've had the best weather. I'd like to also announce some great news! Burredge has become a warrior!" RiverClan leapt up, yelling out Burredge on repeat. Willowpaw tilted her head. Finally, it was Gorsestar's turn. He was older than the other leaders but he held wisdom in his eyes and all the Clans respected him. As soon as he stepped forward, silence reigned in the Clearing. Gorsestar's light brown pelt was lit up perfectly by the moon, making his eyes shine. 
              "WindClan is glad to hear such great news from all the other Clans," Gorsestar begun. Willowpaw watched proudly. That was her Clan leader. Acornpaw was smiling slightly. "We do not have any new kits or warriors but I am happy to announce that we are healthy, strong and booming. StarClan is on our side."