Lightpaw padded back into camp after Crowmia, carrying the day's catch. She had learned how to do the hunting crouch, and had successfully managed to catch two, fat pigeons, with the help of her wings. Her invisible wings that no one knew existed.

She trotted over to the fresh-kill pile, her chest starting to puff in pride as she added her first ever catch to it. Lightpaw looked up, and saw that it was already long past sunhigh. The camp was starting to fill up as all the afternoon patrols came back, followed by the apprentices and their mentors.

Echoblossom padded into camp after Clouddrop and Mapleheart, her jaws laden with prey. She dropped her catch onto the pile, then turned to Lightpaw and asked "Do you want to come sit with me?"

"Sure." Lightpaw responded, sitting next to the she-cat, curling her tail over her paws.

The two cats sat together until the sun disappeared from view, leaving the full moon shining brightly overhead.

Lightpaw gave herself a quick wash after she had finished eating, rasping her tongue in long strokes across her spine. Once she was done, she looked up again, and saw Sparkstar on the Highrock, opening her jaws to yowl the summoning of the Clan.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" The leader's voice rang around the camp.

Most of the cats were already in the clearing, either eating or sharing tongues. The cats positioned themselves closer to their leader, their ears pricked in anticipation.

"All the cats who I mentioned come with me. The moon is full, and there is a Gathering tonight." Sparkstar meowed, stepping down from the Highrock and swishing her tail to gather the mentioned cats.

"Have fun!" Echoblossom called to Lightpaw as she joined the group.

Lightpaw nodded, waving her tail to say goodbye to her friend. Sparkstar started to lead the way out of camp, and Lightpaw found herself falling in beside Poppyheart.

"This is your first Gathering, isn't it?" the pretty tortoiseshell she-cat asked.

"Yes," Lightpaw replied "Echoblossom was going to introduce me to the other cats, but she's not coming."

"I can show you the other Clans," Poppyheart mewed "I've been to a lot more Gatherings than she has."

"Thanks!" Lightpaw mewed, her tail lifting.

The two cats padded side by side, following their leader to Fourtrees. Sparkstar suddenly stopped at the lip of the hollow, scanning the cats that were already gathered there. Then, she flicked her tail, signalling that ThunderClan could enter the hollow.

Poppyheart instantly dragged Lightpaw to a silver tom and a ginger she-cat. They were sitting next to each other, in the shadow of a massive rock.

"This is Finheart," Poppyheart meowed, pointing her tail at the ginger she-cat "And this is her mate, Pikefin."

The silver tom nodded, his ears twitching a bit. Lightpaw nodded back, pleased that she had already met some new cats.

"We're from RiverClan." Pikefin mewed.

Lightpaw remembered seeing Finheart in the nursery when she had seen Stormpaw's apprentice ceremony.

"How's it going with Stormpaw?" Lightpaw asked Pikefin.

"She's here somewhere," Pikefin replied "Maybe you can go find her."

Lightpaw purred, pleased to hear that she'd have a friend at her first Gathering. She soon spotted the dark grey she-cat, sitting nervously beside her mentor, Mottledwish. When she saw Lightpaw, she jumped up and rushed over to her, her tail raised happily.

"Lightkit!" she purred as she reached her friend "How's it going in ThunderClan?"

"Actually, it's Lightpaw now," Lightpaw replied "And it's going great! Echopaw became a warrior after your apprentice ceremony, and now her name is Echoblossom."

"That's awesome!" Stormpaw mewed "That name fits her perfectly!"

Lightpaw nodded, purring happily as she chatted to her friend. After a while, Stormpaw said goodbye and turned back to Mottledwish. Lightpaw sat back down next to Poppyheart, her stomach fluttering with nervous energy.

Lightpaw watched as the leaders went to sit on the massive rock in the middle of the clearing.

"Who's that?" Lightpaw asked Poppyheart, pointing her tail to a beautiful blue she-cat.

"That's Morningstar," the tortoiseshell mewed "She's the SkyClan leader. The cinnamon tom is Shadestar, the ShadowClan leader, the blue tabby is Hurricanestar, who you met when you met Stormpaw, and the pale golden she-cat is Dawnstrike, the WindClan deputy."

"How come the WindClan leader isn't here?" Lightpaw asked, confused.

"He's fallen ill," Poppyheart explained "The WindClan medicine cat, Adderstrike, thinks that he might not make it."

Lightpaw stared at her, shocked. She knew that the leaders had nine lives, but she hadn't realised that they could all be claimed by something as simple as an illness.

"What's that big rock called?" Lightpaw asked, trying to change the topic.

"That's the Great Rock," Poppyheart replied "It's where the first ever battle between the Clans was fought."

Lightpaw nodded, slightly mesmerized by the importance of the rock.

Just as Poppyheart finished talking, Sparkstar yowled "Let the Gathering begin!"

The cats all around the clearing fell silent, gazing up at the leaders. Sparkstar sat back down on her haunches, nodding to Hurricanestar to begin.

"RiverClan is doing well," the tom mewed "The river is full of fish, and every cat is well fed. We have had a new cat join our Clan, who has become an apprentice, with her new name being Stormpaw."

The cats around the clearing chanted the grey she-cat's name, making her give her chest fur a few embarrassed licks.

Hurricanestar waited until the noise died down, then continued "Finheart and Pikefin have had a litter of kits. Blazekit, a ginger tom, Minnowkit, a silver tom, and Silverkit, a beautiful silver she-cat."

The cats all murmured congratulations to the new parents, making them both seem to expand with pride. Hurricanestar stood back, letting Shadestar take his place.

The cinnamon tom swept his gaze over the Clans, then meowed "ShadowClan is thriving. Duskkit is almost ready to become an apprentice, and Smokepaw is nearing the end of his apprenticeship. Prey is running well, and the rats have started to return to the Carrionplace."

Shadestar sat and nodded to Morningstar, and the blue she-cat mewed "Copperwhisker is expecting a new litter of kits with Cinderbee, and Dawntuft and Patchleaf's kits are almost six moons old. Rosepaw and Owlpaw are going to become warriors in a few moons time, but regret that they cannot share this excitement with their father and littermate, Crookedtalon and Robinpaw. Hootflower has said that he will be retiring to the elders' den at the next full moon."

Morningstar stopped and turned to Dawnstrike as the murmuring of congratulations and farewells slowly faded out.

The pale golden she-cat dipped her head respectfully to the SkyClan leader, then mewed "WindClan is starting to recover from last Leafbare's greencough outbreak, though Blackstar is still unwell. Mapledusk's kits are almost ready to leave the nursery, and Goldenlily and Hailnose are expecting their first litter."

The gathered cats whispered anxiously at the update on Blackstar, clearly hoping that the WindClan leader would be OK.

Dawnstrike dipped her head to Sparkstar, then jumped down from the Great Rock to sit with the other deputies.

Sparkstar nodded to the she-cat, then mewed "Prey is running well in ThunderClan. Two of Hollycloud's kits have been made apprentices, Lightpaw and Brokenpaw."

Finheart turned to Lightpaw, a shocked look on her face. "You're Hollycloud's kit?" she asked.

Lightpaw nodded, and the ginger she-cat's eyes darkened with hatred. She turned her back on Lightpaw, her neck fur bristling. Lightpaw looked back at her, offended. She was almost nothing like her mother. Why was Finheart suddenly so mean?

Sparkstar waited until the chanting had quieted, then continued "We also have a new warrior. Echopaw has become Echoblossom. She's not here at the moment, but she will appreciate it if you congratulate her at the next Gathering."

The clearing buzzed with congratulations on the new warrior's success, then waited silently as Sparkstar continued, her voice suddenly quiet and ominous.

"Duskmoon has received a prophecy. It has said that the sun will swamp the stars, sending StarClan away forever."

Every single cat in the entire clearing suddenly gasped, then fell silent. The same feeling of dread that had crept up on Lightpaw on the night Duskmoon had received the prophecy haunted her again, staying at the edges of her mind, making her fear the worst.

The Clans were doomed. StarClan was doomed. Every cat that called the Forest home was doomed.