Pebbleshore stood by her den, looking down at her three kits.

"Please, let us go!" Fernkit pleaded as her brothers crowded around their mother.

Pebbleshore gently nudged her aside. "You're still to young for a gathering. You'll be able to go in a few moons."

Ashkit flopped on the ground. "But we want to go now!"

Rainstar turned her gaze from the kits onto Starwish. "You're sure about this?"

Starwish nodded. "Starclan wouldn't lie." A dream had led her to the Moon-tree, a place where she could communicate with Starclan. She had been told of a nearby clan, and the first gathering would be held on that night.

Flamepelt padded over, nodding at Rainstar. "Ready?"

Rainstar nodded, allowing Starwish to take the lead. Flamepelt followed, giving his mate and kits one more farewell. Snowspray and Sparrowpelt walked in the back, looking out for any danger.

Before long, the cats arrived in a clearing. A large tree stump sat in the middle, and various stones surrounded it.

Rainstar sat down by one of the stone clusters, and the others did the same. Each cat looked at the trees, waiting for the arrival of the other clan.

Just as the moon was starting to rise, a pure black cat stepped through the trees. Four other cats followed her, sitting near the Rainclan cats.

Flamepelt gasped when a she-cat with pale orange fur stepped by. She met his gaze, and soon had an equally shocked look on her face.

Rainstar looked at Flamepelt, and he leaned over. "That's Rosecloud." He whispered. "My half-sister."

Rainstar thought back, remembering when Flamepelt's father had taken her away, wanting her to be with her real mother. They had never seen either one of them again.

The black cat looked around for a moment before walking over to Rainstar.

"Are you the new clan that Starclan told us about?" She asked.

Rainstar nodded, and the black cat ginned. "Good. I'll go ahead and start."

With that, she jumped on the stump, looking at the surrounding cats. "My name is Darkstar." She announced. "I lead Darkclan, along with Blackstream, my deputy, and Rosecloud, our medicine cat."

A white-chested black cat nodded as she was introduced, and Rosecloud did the same.

Darkstar stepped off the stump, allowing Rainstar to take her place.

"I am Rainstar, leader of Rainclan." She started. "Our deputy is Flamepelt, and our medicine cat is Starwish."

She looked at the crowd, a shiver running through her when she saw several pairs of eyes staring at her. "We are here to honor Starclan by arranging a gathering, a time of peace." She repeated the words that she had heard before at previous gatherings. "May they watch over us tonight."

"Our clan is here because we left our old clan, and the leader that was making those terrible decisions." She continued. "I hope that you will be able to welcome us into this land, and that you will respect us as we will respect you." Silently, Rainstar cursed herself. Did she sound too formal? Was this what she was supposed to say?

Signaling to Darkstar, Rainstar jumped off, eager to be back with her clan. How am I going to be a good leader when I can't even make a simple speech?

However, no one else said a word as Darkstar stepped up. "We welcome you, Rainclan, and hope that you can find solace here." Darkstar dipped her head towards Rainstar.

"However, we still expect you to follow the same code, and obey the rules that have been passed down through several generations." Darkstar said, making Rainstar sigh in relief. At least she wasn't the only one paranoid about losing her dominance as leader.

The gathering didn't last much longer. The clans went over simple rules, agreeing to work with and respect each other. No arguments started up, and every cat seemed at peace.

However, as they were walking back, Snowspray paused in mid-step. Rainstar opened her mouth to question, but was silenced with a sweep of Snowspray's tail.

Snowspray stepped forward, and Rainstar started hearing rapidly approaching steps. She narrowed her eyes, bracing herself for attack.

Suddenly, two cats burst forth from the shadows, panting, fear clear in their eyes.

The smaller one took a step closer to the Rainclan cats. "Please, can you help us?"