That night was the Gathering. As part of the Clan's - not only WaveClan - tradition, all apprentices get to go to their first Gathering at the next full moon.

Hoppaw was trembling with excitement. Originally, Shellstar was hesitant to let Hoppaw go, but he agreed if Troutpaw was watching him at all times.

"Do you think any cat would make fun of me?" Hoppaw asked. "Because of my injury?"

"I wouldn't let them," Troutpaw replied.

Shellstar soon appeared out of his den. He jumped on the Tall Rock and called, "Let all cats who are old enough to swim to gather around the Tall Rock for a Clan meeting!"

It didn't take long for the WaveClan cats to gather. It was obvious that many were excited to go to the Gathering.

"The cats who will be going to the Gathering are Minnowshine, Stonestrike, Leafpaw, Troutpaw, Hoppaw, Orangefur, Watershadow, Blazefire, Nutberry and myself. The rest will guard the camp," Shellstar announced.

Troutpaw heard Smallpaw's disappointed groan from behind her.

"Lucky you," Smallpaw mewed, padding in front her. "It's only because of all the Clans' tradition that you got to go."

Slightly offended, Troutpaw got ready to throw a retort at the slightly larger gray and white tom.

"Ignore him," Leafpaw, Smallpaw's littermate, mewed as she pushed him aside. "He just acting like a grumpy elder these days."

Troutpaw nodded and kept her mouth shut. "Troutpaw, come on!" Hoppaw called, already at the camp entrance. "We are going to leave for The Oaks soon!"

"I'm coming," the light gray tabby she-cat padded to her littermate's side.

Shellstar was leading the way. Troutpaw quickened her pace to catch up with Minnowshine, who was walking beside Stonestrike.

"What's a Gathering like?" she asked her mentor.

"You will see," Minnowshine replied.

Disappointed that her mentor wouldn't tell her, Troutpaw padded towards Leafpaw.

"What happens at a Gathering?" she asked the older apprentice.

"All four Clans gather at The Oaks every full moon," Leafpaw explained excitedly. "The leaders would come up to the tree branch in the middle and report about their Clans."

"Wouldn't that reveal our Clan's weakness?" Troutpaw questioned.

"Yes, but Shellstar is not a fish-brain," she replied, jumping over a fallen log in her path.

"Did-" Troutpaw began.

"Hush!" Watershadow snapped. "SunClan is coming. You would not want to let the other Clans to see you chattering like a starling."

Troutpaw and Leafpaw stopped talking and Troutpaw tried to make herself taller so that she could see the SunClan cats.

She spotted a tom leading the Clan - possibly the SunClan leader. She realised that the SunClan cats were much more slimmer than typical WaveClan warriors like Orangefur.

Shellstar gestured for the Clan to stop. "You may go first," he told the SunClan leader politely.

"Thank you," he replied curtly.

As WaveClan waited for SunClan to leave, Troutpaw found herself staring into the eyes of a SunClan apprentice.

The SunClan apprentice looked away quickly when he noticed that he was staring, licking his chest fur in embarrassment.

Troutpaw felt her pelt burn and she quickly switch her gaze to face the front. Soon, WaveClan reached the Gathering place.

She picked a random spot and sat down among her Clanmates, too anxious to sit with strangers.

"Troutpaw!" she heard Leafpaw's voice. "Come and meet the other apprentices from the other Clans! Hoppaw is already there!"

Her denmate was waiting with a group of apprentices. Troutpaw saw the SunClan apprentice from before and she avoided his gaze.

"Let's introduce ourselves," a SunClan apprentice mewed. "I'm Kinkpaw."

Kinkpaw nudged the apprentice beside him. "Oh, I'm Shadowpaw," the black tom mewed quickly.

"My name is Falconpaw," a grayish white tom meowed. Troutpaw recognised him as the SunClan apprentice from before.

"I'm Sorrelpaw," a brown she-cat with white paws mewed cheerfully. Sorrelpaw seems to be the enthusiastic type, Troutpaw thought.

"I'm Redpaw and this," a ginger tom nudged a light gray tom, who Troutpaw recongised as Jaypaw, "is Jaypaw, my best littermate in the entire world."

"Hi," Jaypaw mewed awkwardly.

"My name is Troutpaw," she introduced herself next.

"And I'm Hoppaw!" her littermate exclaimed breathlessly.

"Now that we have all introduced ourselves," Kinkpaw mewed, "let's share exciting stories! Jaypaw, why don't you go first?"

The light gray tom looked surprised and nodded hesitantly. He seemed to be thinking of which story to talk about.

Troutpaw got herself comfortable as Jaypaw began to speak.