Just splitting chapters - not actually an update.

Scarclaw, who was making to follow Owlstar towards the Leader's Tree, mewed to Treepaw, "I'll leave you to it, Hawkears - sorry - Hawkscreech wanted me to tell him about the Rogue Battle. See you, kids!" he waved his tail and disappeared between a golden tabby with pointy stripes and a sleek dark brown tom.

"Who's Hawkears?" Rockpaw asked his sister.

"Hawkscreech." She mewed in a matter-of-fact tone, grinning, then she continued, "He's NightClan's medicine cat. He used to be a warrior called Hawkears. StarClan changed his name when they called him to be a medicine cat."

The four young cats started trotting through the crowd, dodging all kinds of cats. Tabbies of every colour and pattern. Tortoiseshells of varying shades and patches. Cats of every colour, size and shape.

"Yeah, yeah, so- Tell me about all of the leaders!" Rockpaw didn't mind that he sounded a bit desperate. Who cares, only if he could find out as much as he could.

Treepaw looked ready to burst in laughter, "Have you only just noticed that I'm older than you, and you should listen to me?" Rockpaw growled and she mewed lightly, "Fine, sheesh."

"So, can you see that big black tom, sitting under the roots of the Leaders' Tree? That's Deadstar." Treepaw mewed, as they neared the great oak.

"Why's he called-?" Rockpaw broke off as the shadowy figure came out under the tree roots to greet a pale blue tabby.

A giant, muscular tom stood next to the tabby, his jet-black pelt shining silver in some places. He had pearly white paws and a thick, white tail, which was twisted into a branch-like, half-bloody mess. His right ear was ravaged in the same way, cleaned up the best Hawkscreech, or any medicine cat really, could do. He had a stubby muzzle with pointy ears and sharp, gleaming fangs.

When he saw Deadstar, Rockpaw gasped.

Treepaw nodded and meowed, "I know. I nearly had a heart attack when I first saw him!"

Rockpaw stared at the mighty tom. Deadstar turned his head to look directly at Rockpaw. After a few moments, Deadstar blinked and returned to his conversation with the she-cat.

"Why are his eyes... different colours?" Rockpaw asked, still gazing at Deadstar. One of the black tom's eyes had been a vibrant blue, while the other a dull orange.

Treepaw half-laughed, half-shivered, "It's apparently really common in NightClan, with all of their black pelts." Rockpaw tilted his head and she added, "I'll explain in a moment."

His sister pointed her muzzle at the she-cat sitting with Deadstar, "That blue tabby who's talking to Deadstar is Flowingstar."

"LakeClan's leader." A quiet voice whispered close to Rockpaw's ear.

Rockpaw jumped and whipped around to see Blossompaw hovering next to him. He mewed angrily, with a hint of fear in his voice, "Great WindClan, Blossompaw! Can you make some sounds?!"

She was silent for a moment, looking at her white paws. Then she stared up at Rockpaw and meowed as loudly as she probably could, "I'm mute. Remember?"

Treepaw tried hard to hold back her laughter, she pfffted with it and she stopped sharply when Rockpaw glared at her. The tabby mewed, her voice cracking, "S-s-sorry. Ekhem. See that tortoiseshell sitting on one of the roots?"

A black she-cat with muted ginger patches sat on one of the roots, upright and regal, gazing down at the gathered cats. As she wrapped her bright orange tail around her paws, Rockpaw saw its immense size. It was quite spindly but covered in extremely long strands of fur.

"Holy StarClan. That's a big tail!" Rockpaw gasped.

"Isn't it? That's Pheasantstar of LeafClan." Treepaw meowed.

"A very fitting name."

"BLOSSOMPAW! I swear, scare me one more time and I'll-" Rockpaw snarled, he turned around and broke off.

A quite startled-looking black she-cat stood behind him. Her pelt had a glossy brownish-ginger sheen to it and her eyes were a deep blue colour. They were wide with surprise. She mewed in an apologetic, gentle voice, "I am sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She looked at Rockpaw, her blue gaze locking onto his, clearly expecting an answer.

Rockpaw couldn't move. He tried to open his mouth to fire a sharp retort, but his jaw wouldn't budge. He couldn't rip his pale gaze from her.

Treepaw waved her tail and poked him with a claw, "Rockpaw? Hello?"

He snapped at her, feeling his embarrassment like one of those heat waves, "WHAT?!"

"What did I do?" Treepaw asked, offended, "So, do you want me to continue?"

Rockpaw barely heard her, he tried to not look at the black-brown she-cat, but there was something about her. He mewed, twitching his ears, "What? Oh, yeah, sure."

Treepaw scoffed and pointed at a bright red tom sitting in the middle of a group of three cats near the tree, one was Flowingstar, another Deadstar and the last an unfamiliar dark brown tabby. "Well, that ginger tom, that tabby over there, is Redstar."

"Leader of SunClan." The glossy she-cat put in with a calm meow.

Rockpaw was rolling an idea over in his head.

"I was about to say th-!" Treepaw began.

"Wazoonam?" Rockpaw said quickly.

The black she-cat looked at him, puzzled, and slightly worried, "Excuse me?"

Rockpaw cleared his throat, "What's your name?" He said this quite quickly, trying to not meet the she-cat's eyes, but still look at her.

"My name's Silentbird. What about yo-" she meowed.

"That's a nice name!" Rockpaw couldn't stop himself and his ears felt like they were on fire.

"Thank you. I got it only just yesterday. What's your-?" Silentbird started proudly, smiling gently at Rockpaw.

Treepaw barged in and shoved Rockpaw towards the Leaders' Tree, "You must be so proud, Now, come on!"

Rockpaw turned and mewed over his shoulder, "My name's Rockpaw. Nice to meet you!"

Silentbird looked very confused at she glanced half-angrily at Treepaw as she replied, "Same over here!"

Blossompaw and Skunkpaw followed Rockpaw and Treepaw to a secluded area near one of the largest roots of the tree. The light brown tabby looked like she was losing her temper, she asked, fairly loudly, "What was that?"

Rockpaw asked innocently, "What?"

"Tha- Oh, never mind. So, do you wanna know more or not?"

"Yeah," Rockpaw replied, rolling his orange eyes.

He, Blossompaw and Skunkpaw settled down in a line, waiting for her to continue.

Treepaw sat down in front of them and started, "Alright then, NightClan cats are mostly black. They smell of rot and are really sneaky."

A shadow fell over her and Rockpaw looked up. A shiny black tom loomed over Treepaw, his bright green eyes glowing with menace. Treepaw jumped out of his way and leaped to join Blossompaw. The ebony tom slid out his claws and let them sink into the grass. They were twisted and yellowed, cracked with tiny lines. He bared his teeth and snarled, "Talk for yourself frog-pelt. Everyone knows that AirClan cats will steal your pelt for a tuft of rabbit fur."

A tall blue tabby padded up to the black tom and meowed gently, "Now, now, Crackedclaw. These four are barely kits..."

Rockpaw sensed Silentbird watching from a few fox-lengths away, and he growled at the tabby, "I've been an apprentice for two moons, now!"

"They probably still screech at the sight of a spider and squeal in fear at nursery tales." The tall she-cat grinned broadly. She turned her head and looked directly at Rockpaw. A long, jagged scar covered the left side of her face, parting the silverish fur either side.

Crackedclaw leered at them, "Too right, Streamingmist. But, hey, all AirClan cats are fox-hearts."

Treepaw whispered in Rockpaw's ear, "Ignore them, they're trying to provoke us."

Still sneering, the two cats walked away to a group of cats that smelt of mould and mud to Rockpaw.

Treepaw snarled under her breath, "You can't trust NightClan cats!"

Skunkpaw, who's eyes were narrowed to slits, stammered, "You were saying, Treepaw?"

Bad-temperedly, Rockpaw meowed, "Finally spoken up, have you?"

"It's scary here." Skunkpaw muttered, looking at his white paws.

Rockpaw opened his mouth to mock Skunkpaw more, but Treepaw cut in, "Rockpaw...!" she turned to Skunkpaw, "I guess it is, but you'll get used to it."

After Rockpaw gave her a nod, she sat back down and started again, "So, NightClan cats live in the marshes. They eat lizards and icky frogs."

He tried to imagine how eating frogs everyday would taste like. A few days before, he has caught a frog near the fence of the farm. It had nearly escaped Rockpaw as it jumped over the stream. He caught it, but only just, falling into the stream in the meantime.

"SunClan's forest is South of the marshes. They eat squirrels and mice and other rodents. Usually, they're either ginger or tortoiseshell and they're really good trackers." Treepaw was saying. "LeafClan live among the sequoia trees. Sequoias are the tallest trees ever! LeafClan cats are amazing at climbing, so they hunt birds. Most of them have glossy brown pelts, or tabby and white patched fur." At this, Treepaw turned to look back at Silentbird.

She was talking to a brown tabby, probably an apprentice, who, even at this distance, smelt of fish. As Rockpaw gazed at Silentbird, he noticed the tabby's stripes seemed very familiar. The shade of his fur, under its ginger tinge, also stirred Rockpaw's memories. But why does a random LakeClan apprentice seem familiar...?

Treepaw's voice snapped his back to attention. She meowed, "LakeClan eats fish, that's why their fur is so shiny, and they swim so well. They live on an island in the middle of the lake, hence the name. Usually, they're blue-furred, but half of them have markings like leopards or jaguars. I mean, leopards are the ancient cats who are best at swimming. Finally, there's us. AirClan! We are the smallest, but the fastest of all the Clans. We eat rabbits and we climb the mountains to catch eagles and hawks. Our pelts are..." Treepaw broke off and suddenly looked sad.

Rockpaw asked, "What?"

Treepaw took a breath and mewed, "Well, the other Clans say AirClan is a bunch of kittypets and loners. That's why we have such a variety of pelt colours."

Skunkpaw tilted his head and inquired, "What do you mean?"

The she-cat meowed quietly, "Well, Greyshard is part, something what kittypets call, Persian. That's why she has such a flat face. She and Crystalwing were farm cats when they were kittens. Icefang's, Snowtail's and Frosttail's grandparents were kittypets. They're called albinos, those are especially white cats will pale blue or pink eyes. Even Owlstar has kittypet blood, that's why she's such a peculiar shade of brown. It called 'fawn' apparently. Her father's, Dustystar's, ancestors joined the Clan and became really good fighters."

Rockpaw turned this other in his head. If Owlstar was related to kittypets then... "So... we have kittypet-"

A croaky mew interrupted him, "Did ya' say 'Dustystar's ancestors'?"

The group turned around to see an old, golden she-cat laying, stretched out, in the grass. Her slightly darker tail was split in two, the edges bloody but neatly healed. She gazed at them with faded green eyes. Rockpaw smelt the traces of herbs on her pelt, along with the fresher scent of fish.

Treepaw spoke first, "Yes, we did. Who are you?"

"I'm Twotail of LakeClan." The golden she-cat mewed quietly.

Skunkpaw spoke up, his eyes glittering with excitement, "I've heard of you! You're the oldest cat of all the Clans!"

Twotail nodded and smiled, "Yeah, ya' would of, youngster." She stretched her front legs and sat up, meowing, "Back to the poin', I was an appren'ice when Beanclaw and Copperflower go' their warrior names, Bean and Copper they used to be called. Them two cats 'ad came o'er from the Twolegplace as ki'ypets. Once they joined AirClan, they became grea' figh'ers, some o' the best I've ever seen. Soon after, they 'ad a son named Nutfoot an' a daugh'er called Hazelwhisker. Little Hazel wen' on to give birth to three kits: Honeystep, Milkecho an' Dustystripe. Honeystep became a wonderful medicine ca'. Milkecho became one of the best trackers in the 'ole forest. And Dustystripe... well, one day... he became Dustystar... the leader o' AirClan..." She sighed, closing her eyes, "Ahh... I remember i' well..."

Rockpaw saw Treepaw gaping at Twotail. What was so impressive about her? Treepaw purred, "Wow... Thank you for the story!" Skunkpaw and Blossompaw murmured in agreement.

Rockpaw scowled, but after a look from Blossompaw, hastily mewed, "Yeah, it was cool, I guess..."

Twotail didn't look at all disgruntled, instead she chuckled, "Young'uns these days... You don'' appreciate how easy life is in these times..." She stood up and yawned, "Well, see ya'. I wanna sit a' the fron' when the Gathering starts."

As she started to pad away, Treepaw, Blossompaw and Skunkpaw mewed, "Goodbye! Thank you!"

When Twotail had gone, Treepaw asked, "So, what did you think of her?"

Rockpaw sneered lightly, "Meh. She could barely talk properly, let alone tell a good story. I don't know what you three were so interested in."

Treepaw looked aghast as she meowed, "Don't be so mean! Twotail is the oldest cat of all the Clans!"

Exasperation filled Rockpaw, "And? Who cares if she's the oldest? I bet she can't even stand up to get a piece of fresh-kill. They probably had to drag her to the Gathering, like an old-" Something sharp flicked Rockpaw's ear. He turned around.

A grizzly black tom with brown streaks stood over Rockpaw, one of his paws raised, claws unsheathed. The tom snarled, "Shut it, kit! Show some respect to your elders. And I'm trying to have a conversation over here. So, stop talking, before I fill your ungrateful mouth with thistledown!"

"Hey, Ravenstorm, take it easy on the young 'paw." a pure white she-cat with blue-grey eyes mewed, coming up to stand next to the black tom.

"Fine, Swanspark. But if he opens his mouth one more time, I'm filling it with nettles. I've had enough of these tiny furballs chitter-chatting! Why did I even have to come to the Gathering?" Ravenstorm growled, glaring occasionally at Rockpaw.

"Cause you wanted to talk with them and plan the next mee-" Swanspark began, but noticed Rockpaw still looking at her, "Hey, what you looking at!"

Ravenstorm snorted, "I told you they were a bunch of over-puffed hedgehogs! C'mon."

Swanspark and Ravenstorm padded off to a group of three cats. Rockpaw only recognised Frosttail, along with a white tom with grey stripes and a brown she-cat.

Treepaw licked Rockpaw's ear, which, he only just realised, was bleeding, "What was that about?"

Rockpaw shrugged, "I don't kn-"

Blossompaw nudged him and whispered, "Hey, look!"

Skunkpaw was staring at the large oak, "The leaders have started the Gathering!"

Deadstar was sitting on the biggest root, Flowingstar on his right, Pheasantstar on his left. Owlstar was standing further around the tree, on one of the smallest roots. Redstar was crouching underneath her. He leaped onto the root next to her in one strong spring. As soon as all the leaders were present, Deadstar yowled loudly, so every cat in the hollow could hear his summons.

Word Count: 2584