"What's a Gathering like, Brookpaw?" Rosepaw asked the tabby she-cat. Brookpaw flicked her tail, and said, 

"Well, it's a lot of fun. You get to meet cats from all of the Clans, chat with them, and-" She was cut off by Jayclaw, her mentor. 

"Remember not to give away anything too personal about Thunderclan, things the other Clans could use against us. That's very important." Brookpaw flicked her tail again, this time quicker. 

"Anyway, its very-"

"Loud." Spotpaw interjected. Brookpaw rolled her green eyes. 

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway..."

Cherrypaw ignored them, her head filled with both joy and anxiety. Meeting all the other Clan cats, sounded, well, scary. 

"Has there ever been a fight at one of the Gatherings?" She asked Cloudfoot. He cocked his head, thinking about it. 

"Well, there's been average squabbles. But if things get too serious, Starclan lets us know. The full moon will be overshadowed by clouds, and that's how we know they are displeased." Her mentor was so wise. 

"Almost there!" Smokestar said. Cherrypaw felt her heart skip a beat. Already thousands-ok not thousands, of cat scents flooded her nose. She heard Rosepaw let out a little squeal, and Jayclaw shush her. 

And then, there they were. Two cats Cherrypaw recognized as Falconstar of Shadowclan and Cinderstar of Windclan were talking together. 

"Remember to act respectively." Smokestar whispered to Rosepaw and herself. "And please, for Starclan's sake, behave yourselves." Cherrypaw and Rosepaw nodded quickly, and dispersed from the other Thunderclan cats. But with all the commotion, Cherrypaw found herself torn away from Rosepaw. She was feeling very nervous when a small black and white Windclan cat came up to her. 

"Hiya." He said. "I'm Badgerpaw! Who are you?"

"Cherrypaw." She whispered. Badgerpaw blinked. 

"You're Smokestar's kit, aren't you?"

"Umm, yeah." 

"So, what's Thunderclan like? You guys sure do stink up the border!" Cherrypaw found herself laughing and talking with the young tom, until Rosepaw ran up to her. Badgerpaw's eyes widened at the sight of her. 

"Cherrypaw! Where have you been? Skyclan is here!" 

"Oh, I gotta go. See you around, Badgerpaw." He nodded good-bye, still staring at Rosepaw. 

"Cherrypaw, c'mere. This is Bluepaw, Petalpaw, Elmpaw, and Acornpaw. And you know Spotpaw and Brookpaw." The apprentices smiled at her. Cherrypaw smiled back, shyly. 

"We're all waiting on Riverclan, I guess." Acornpaw, a pretty pale brown she-cat said. Cherrypaw nodded.

"They take forever." Petalpaw, a calico Skyclan cat said. Cloudfoot strided over to Cherrypaw and Rosepaw.

"Cherrypaw, Rosepaw, Brookpaw, and Spotpaw,  Smokestar wants me to let you know to come back with the Thunderclan cats. Riverclan is here, and the Gathering is starting." The four apprentices obediently followed the senior warrior back to the Thunderclan cats. 

"Cats of all Clans," Falconstar said, "welcome. Shadowclan is well, though we are having some trouble with a Twoleg's dog that is continuing to get loose. However, no warriors have been seriously injured. We hope it will stop soon, though. Anyway, Shadowclan has three new warriors: Wolfleap, Greystone, and Twigleaf." 

"Wolfleap! Greystone! Twigleaf!" Cherrypaw yowled with the rest of Thunderclan. 

"Cinderstar, you are free to go next." Falconstar dipped his head to the pale grey Windclan leader. Cinderstar cleared her throat, and said,

"Prey is running well in Windclan. However, I must announce the tragic death of one of our elders, Barkwhisker. He was a loyal Windclan warrior." Windclan dipped their head in respect for the dead warrior. Cherrypaw did, too. It felt right. Cinderstar began again, "Windclan also has four new apprentices: Hailpaw- he is not with us tonight, as he is a medicine cat-, Rockpaw, Acornpaw, and Badgerpaw! " 

"Hailpaw! Rockpaw! Acornpaw! Badgerpaw!" Cherrypaw yowled along. She snuck a glance at Badgerpaw, and saw the black and white tom was grinning from ear to ear. Smokestar stepped up, and Cherrypaw fell silent as she listened to her father speak.

"Thunderclan is thriving in this newleaf season. We also have new apprentices: Rosepaw and Cherrypaw." Cherrypaw blushed and lowered her head as the other Clans called out her name. Rosepaw looked like Starclan themselves came down and dropped a rabbit just for her, her eyes gleaming with pride. Smokestar stepped down as Sprucestar, the Skyclan leader, arose. 

Suddenly, Cherrypaw thought she saw a shimmery pelt slip through the trees. Was it just her imagination? No way there was a cat there- right? That would be crazy. Have I got bees in my brain? She nudged her sister.

"Rosepaw, did you see that?" Rosepaw was watching Sprucestar, and turned to her littermate. 

"Huh? I didn't see anything. What, did you see something?" Cherrypaw shook her head hastily 

"Uh, no. No, I didn't." Rosepaw rolled her eyes. 

"I know when you're lying, Cherrypaw. Tell me later, back at Thunderclan camp, ok?" Cherrypaw nodded, and tried her best to pay attention for the rest of the night.