Rainpaw sat staring at the cats below him. He gulped, unsure of whether he should have climbed the gathering tree or not. Only leaders were meant to climb the tree, but he wanted all attention on him.

"Cats of the clans," He started, his voice shaky. He spotted his sister, Echopaw, watching from where she sat with a few GreenClan cats.

"I come to t-tell you that I am sorry for leaving the c-clans." He took a deep breath, "Last night, Thorncloud, the moon cat, visited me in a dream." He saw the startled look on Owlpaw's face, and confusion flooded his head. "He asked me to train as his apprentice, so that... So that one day, I'll be m-moon cat too."

The moon cat was the messenger of StarClan, a cat that had no clan and was friendly to every cat, no matter where they came from. Moon cats had even more power than StarClan, and it was a huge honor for Thorncloud to choose Rainpaw as his apprentice. It wasn't an offer he could just turn down.

"S-so I am no longer an apprentice of MudClan, but an apprentice.. Of.. StarClan." He was reciting what Thorncloud had told him to say, but he was too nervous to say them as confidently as Thorncloud had said them.

"Thank you, Rainpaw. GreenClan honors your choice to be a moon cat. We hope that you will do well." Hawkstar said.

"As does MudClan," Stripedstar added.
Rainpaw leaped off of the gathering tree, aware that all eyes were on him as he trotted over to his sister, who wore a heartbroken look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Echopaw." He murmured. "This wasn't something I could just say no to, you know?"

"I understand." She said, her voice cracking. "It's just.. I'll miss you."

"You can come visit me anytime!" He said, lashing his tail. "I'm leaving MudClan, not the island! We can still be friends. It's not like I won't be your brother anymore."

That seemed to cheer Echopaw up a little. She blinked gratefully at him, then turned and padded off towards Firepaw and Owlpaw.

*

Owlpaw couldn't believe what he'd seen at the gathering. He was shocked that Rainpaw had left the clan, and even more confused that Thorncloud had visited both Rainpaw and Owlpaw in the same night. Why had Thorncloud visited Owlpaw anyway? To warn him of danger? Why hadn't they visited a medicine cat?

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the panic that swept into the clan as something splashed into the water. Then Firepaw let out a cry of distress and he turned, seeing a white head bobbing up and down in the river.

"Echopaw!" Firepaw called frantically. Echopaw had fallen in, Owlpaw realised. They were on their way back to camp after the gathering, walking along one of the narrower, stronger parts of the river.

Firepaw had jumped in after Echopaw, and without thinking, Owlpaw did the same. He gasped as the cold water lapped around him, making him ice cold in an instant. He barely managed to stay on the surface. The water crashing around him made it too hard for him to see, and soon both Echopaw and Firepaw were out of sight.

Then he caught a glimpse of white fur, and he desperately padded towards it, but the water kept crashing over his head, making him lose sight of the apprentice again.

Then he heard Firepaw calling, "Over here!" And she repeated it over and over, letting Owlpaw follow her voice. He saw that she was holding Echopaw by the scruff of her neck, trying to keep her head above the surface.

Soon, they found themselves back by the gathering tree. The water was calmer here, and with Firepaw's help, Owlpaw was able to pull Echopaw out of the water.

Stripedstar raced along the banks, with Brownfur, the medicine cat, at her side. "Are you alright?" She asked Firepaw and Owlpaw. Brownfur began to nuzzle Echopaw, his ears flat against his head.

"That was terrifying." Firepaw panted. "But it was worth it, right, Owlpaw? We saved Echopaw's life."

Brownfur stopped nuzzling Echopaw. He looked up, catching Firepaw's eye. "I'm afraid not... I'm sorry, Echopaw is dead."