Silverstorm yawned as he walked alongside his Clanmates in the darkness of the forest. He could hear the stream running close by so he knew they would be coming to the clearing where the Gathering was held soon. He'd already been out hunting all day and watching some of the apprentice assessments, and now he was going to be forced to stay awake for most of the night because Flowerstar had chosen him to accompany her to the Gathering. Just his luck.

He glanced a little up ahead to see Smokecloud keeping an eye on his apprentice, Wasppaw. His brother sure had a lot to handle with such an apprentice who seemed to always be buzzing with excitement. Just looking at the young she-cat made him feel like dropping to the ground and letting sleep take over. He, himself, had not been given an apprentice since Wasppaw's littermate, Honeykit, had sadly not made it through the first night after their mother's kitting. He would've liked his own apprentice, but he was fine just helping with others where and when possible.

Wasppaw had had a lucky escape. FogClan had not been doing well with new kits as of late. Silverstorm partly blamed the Battle of Cold Blood that had ended not long ago. He had been an apprentice himself during that time and had seen many of his Clanmates fall at the bloodied claws of the other Clans. His mentor, Dappledflame, and his mother, Palepelt, had been only a few to mention.

The silver tabby tom flattened his ears slightly at the memory when he felt someone brush along his pelt. He blinked his dark blue eyes in the dark to see it was the medicine cat, Puddlefoot. His brother was their deputy, Patchshade. He could seen the dark brown tom's darker ears flick slightly, his amber eyes holding concern in their depths. Silverstorm shook his head silently, motioning that he was fine to continue. He liked the tom. The medicine cat had always been skilled at treating any wounds the Clan received, even in their toughest times. But then again, Silverstorm supposed that that's what made those sorts of cats so great. Not that he could ever see himself in the role, of course. He was a warrior through and through.

The trickling of the stream grew a little louder as the group continued onward. Silverstorm flicked his ear as a spot of water dripped off a leafy branch he passed under. He supressed the urge to grumble under his breath, instead sucking in the breath to puff his chest out slightly. Soon enough their territory spread out and connected with the other three Clans' territories in a wide, open clearing bathed in the light of the full moon. FourStones. Four towering stones circled half the area lined with trees, one for each Clan leader to sit upon as they spoke their news. Silverstorm remembered the first time he had come here. It had been breathtakingly beautiful.

He immediately saw Flowerstar give the signal for them to splay out and to go and talk with others while she made her way over to where the leaders would talk for awhile before starting the Gathering. Only SnowClan and ForestClan were there so that meant they were still waiting on LakeClan to join them.

Silverstorm felt Riverwhisker stalk past him, his former mate, and he had to roll his eyes at the glare she sent him on her way. It wasn't his fault that they hadn't worked out well enough. He'd been young and had felt a spark of interest but in the end realised that it hadn't been love. There was no way. Perhaps he hadn't been ready enough, but all in all, Riverwhisker near enough wanted his pelt for it.

After a soft sigh, he looked around. He saw his brother talking to a couple of SnowClan cats by the shade of a tree. He would've joined them had he been even mildly fond of his littermate. The two had always been on bad terms with one another, not knowing how it had even started anymore, just knowing that the other made their fur prickle with a soft heat. His dark blue eyes continued to look around until a brown and white pelt caught his attention.

There, sitting beside a white tom with ginger patches and a grey-and-white she-cat, was a young, handsome brown tom with a white chest and underbelly as well as his tail tip. His vibrant green eyes seemed to almost glow in the moonlight and Silverstorm felt his heart begin to race in his chest. His paws felt frozen as he realised that this was the same attraction he had felt with Riverwhisker before. Gulping, he slowly made his way over. Something told him to introduce himself at the very least.

Puffing out his chest slightly as he grew closer, Silverstorm made sure to soften his blue eyes and dipped his head a little, stopping when he was noticed.

"Hi, I see you're ForestClan warriors. I've never seen your faces before".

"Hey, a FogClan cat..." The ginger-and-white patched tom almost growled but the she-cat's tail brushed along his flank to calm him. He stood to his paws and walked off with a flick of his tail, muttering as he passed by Silverstorm. "I'm going to find Sandblaze and Stormstripe..."

The grey-and-white she-cat sighed softly. "Sorry. Don't mind Gorsefern. He's just...cautious" She apologised.

"No worries about it. I...heard about the incident about a moon ago with Aspenflower and Featherpelt. They received the punishment of having wounds treated and apprentice duties for a few days, I assure you. So, what's your name if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm Wolfheart," she replied with a relieved mew. "And this is Sparrowheart" Her tail flicked the brown-and-white tom beside her.

"Pleased to meet you!" Sparrowheart's cheerful meow shot through Silverstorm's heart, making it thud harder in his chest. "And yours?"

"It's Silverstorm".

"That's an awesome name! I mean, I like my name but yours is way cooler!" Sparrowheart's paws twitched as if he was ready to spring up and prance around in pure joy at such a simple thing as another cat's name.

"Hey Sparrowheart, you don't mind staying with Silverstorm alone, right? I'm just going to go cuff Gorsefern around his ears once or twice for being so rude".

"That's fine Wolfheart. Just give him a few from me as well!"

Wolfheart mrrowed in amusement before trotting off to find her friend. Silverstorm watched her go before turning his attention back to the handsome tom that had originally caught his eye. Those vibrant green eyes glistened in the moonlight, making them shine even more. It took Silverstorm's breath away. This simple handsome tom had for sure captured his heart. Ensnared it in a trap that he was thankful for.

"So is this your first Gathering?" Sparrowheart asked with a flick of his tail tip.

Silverstorm shook his head in response and quietly cleared his throat. "No, I've been a warrior for quite a few moons now. How about you?"

"This is only my second Gathering. I became a warrior the night Aspenflower and Featherpelt attacked..." His ear twisted slightly in embarrassment before Silverstorm gently butted his head against his shoulder.

"Relax," he murmured softly in his ear before he pulled back. "Say, do you think we could perhaps meet? We could meet here, on neutral territory, of course".

Sparrowheart's posture did relax and his green eyes shone with fondness that made Silverstorm's heart leap in his chest unsuspectingly. The ForestClan tom nodded his head with a purr. Silverstorm suggested they meet the next night just as LakeClan finally arrived. Marigoldstar apologised for the late arrival of her Clan, receiving Cloverstar's friendly lick to her shoulder. The ForestClan leader sure had established quite the connection with the other leaders. Silverstorm wondered how he managed it.

The Gathering soon began after the LakeClan cats had a chance to also mingle like expected. Sparrowheart stayed with Silverstorm, their pelts brushing ever so slightly. Silverstorm could see Wolfheart and Gorsefern sitting with three LakeClan cats around their age he knew as Cinderleaf, a pale grey tabby she-cat, Lionpelt who was a golden tabby tom with a thick-furred neck, and Hazelclaw, a dusty brown-and-white tabby she-cat.

Cloverstar's dark brown tabby pelt seemed darker at night as he announced the beginning of the meeting. He told how his Clan had been doing well with prey in their territory and how they had received two new apprentices; Lightpaw and Shinepaw. Sparrowheart then explained that the kits had lost their mother and father and how Creamtail had taken over their nursing.

Marigoldstar's thick ginger tabby pelt ruffled in the slight breeze as she announced how Twolegs had been scented around the edge of LakeClan's territory and that all the Clans should keep a watchful eye for any Twoleg activity on their own. SnowClan's leader, Frogstar, went on to announce how his Clan had been suffering a sudden loss of kits and how two of their apprentices had gone missing. His jet black head bowed in silent mourning before he shifted himself backward on his white paws to let the final leader speak.

Flowerstar did not feel the need to add anything of her own Clan other than introduce Smokecloud's apprentice and briefly mention that SnowClan were not the only ones with a loss of kits. Silverstorm's ears flattened a little as he remembered seeing the tiny young bundles being taken out of camp to be buried by the elders. He half-jolted in surprise when Sparrowheart rested his white paw on his own, green eyes staring at him with great sympathy. Silverstorm managed to smile reassuringly at him.

Silverstorm stalked through the rock formations with slow, quiet pawsteps as he kept his eyes locked firmly on a mouse sitting not far away. He stopped and crouched low to the ground, rocking his haunches and licking his lips silently before springing into the air and landing squarely on the mouse, it's alarming squeak cut short with the end of its life. Silverstorm purred to himself as he picked up his catch and continued on his way. He was on his way to another one of his and Sparrowheart's meetings, and would off to share the little creature hanging from his jaws.

As he padded onward, he caught Sparrowheart's scent that sent his heart flipping around and around inside him. But he also caught the scent of another cat. Gorsefern. What was the other warrior doing here? Silverstorm's pelt prickled with unease and he crept into a clump of ferns nearby. From there he could see the two ForestClan toms standing a fox-length away from one another, both glaring with hard eyes and lashing tails.

"I'm going to talk to him about this," Gorsefern's meow was rough and firm.

"There's no need! We're not doing anything wrong, Gorsefern. Besides, what I do shouldn't be any of your concern right now. Daisytail is your mate, she needs to be your priority. Even though it's clear as the whiskers on your muzzle that you love Wolfheart" Sparrowheart near enough spat back.

"This isn't about me," the ginger-and-white tom growled. "Just get back to camp, Sparrowheart. I'll tell Silverstorm that you're sick or something and couldn't make this little meeting of yours".

Sparrowheart's ears flattened and he grumbled something about how Gorsefern wasn't his mentor or even his leader. He stalked over to the other tom and raked his claws across the side of his face but not enough to draw blood on his friend. With a final hard look, he bounded away back to his own camp.

Silverstorm dropped his prey to bury it before stepping out of hiding. Gorsefern's lips curled back in a fierce snarl to which Silverstorm simply flicked an ear in dismissal of the threat. "What is it you want?" he mewed with a tone of no interest. "Though I suppose you're here to stop me from seeing Sparrowheart".

"Too right I am. It's wrong on all levels of the warrior code".

"To my knowledge, there's nothing said in the warrior code about how two toms or two she-cats cannot be mates. Or am I wrong?" His dark blue eyes sparkled with mischief and he saw Gorsefern's claws dig into the ground. "If Sparrowheart wants to stop seeing me then he's free to. Other than that, there's no problem with the two of us wanting more than just a mere friendship over the border".

"He's not your Clanmate for starters," Gorsefern lashed his tail from side to side with flattened ears and narrowed yellow eyes. "I just don't want him getting hurt by the likes of a FogClan cat".

"What is it with you being so against FogClan? First because Aspenflower and Featherpelt attacked you during your vigil, and now me because I just so happen to have fallen in love with your friend? How do you honestly sleep at night, Gorsefern? I bet even Wolfheart can't keep you calm enough these days".

"Leave her out of this. I've had enough. I'm warning you, Silverstorm, if you come anywhere near Sparrowheart again or he ends up hurt because of you then I will make sure my claws are sharpened enough to pierce through your fur and draw your blood. Understand?"

Silverstorm snorted before he turned tail and paused just before retrieving his prey from earlier. "Well heard, Gorsfern. But we'll let Sparrowheart decide". He heard the other tom hiss at him as his delved back into his territory and made his way back to camp.

Silverstorm hissed as he threw Sandblaze off his back, immediately whirling around and pinning the sandy-coloured she-cat down. Her light green eyes flashed with fury up at him before she kicked at him, raking his belly with her hind claws. Silverstorm soon had no choice but to rear back and swiped at her when she went for his throat. Luckily he managed to knock her aside and then before he knew it, Riverwhisker had her pinned again. He nodded his quick thanks to his Clanmate before bounding off to help drag Softfoot off of Bearclaw.

Suddenly there was an ear-splitting screech that Silverstorm immediately recognised as Sparrowheart. His heart lurched in his chest, thumping wildly. He hadn't known the tom was even part of the ForestClan patrol his own had stumbled upon! His dark blue eyes searched around wildly as the fighting came to a halt and every cat shared worried looks with one another.

"Sparrowheart! Get away from him you flea-bitten fluffball!" Gorsefern's snarl was rough with anger and Silverstorm saw him stood over his friend, giving a warning swipe at the cat who had attacked him - Tigerfur.

Sparrowheart lay almost still if not for his heavy and ragged breaths of shock and pain. His stomach was sliced with a deep wound gushing blood and staining his white fur. Tigerfur backed away with flattened ears although it was clear from his eyes that he did not entirely regret wounding the other warrior so. Gorsefern moved to crouch beside his friend, placing a ginger paw gently on his flank as it heaved up and down.

"I-I'll go and get Thornberry and Maplepaw!" Wolfheart said in a panic before she and the rest of her Clanmates bounded away to go and fetch their medicine cats.

"Come," Bearclaw meowed deeply, "This border dispute is over. Let's return to camp, FogClan".

His cats quickly followed him all except Silverstorm. Riverwhisker gave him a suspicious look as she past, noticing he wasn't moving, but said nothing. When they were gone, Silverstorm padded closer to his injured mate with flattened ears, tail dragging between his legs and sorrowful eyes. Though his eyes were fixed on his mate, he heard Gorsefern's protective growl before the ginger-and-white warrior pounced at him to get him to back away.

"Gorsefern, I promise you, I won't hurt him" Silverstorm pleaded.

"I told you before that I would draw your blood with my own claws if he ever got hurt because of you! And look what one of your Clanmates did to him!" Pure rage radiated off Gorsefern as he curled his lips back to bare his sharp, pointy teeth and whipped his tail side to side behind him, claws curling into the soil. "You did this to him really".

"How?!"

"If he hadn't been seeing you then maybe he would've fought your Clanmate harder! Apparently he's so in love with you that he's not willing to hurt your Clanmates all too much either!"

"I didn't know!" He sighed and looked around to Sparrowheart. The tom's eyes were closed, his jaws slightly parted. He would've looked lifeless had he not been heaving his flank so much. The grass blades were also stained with his blood as he lay there. Silverstorm closed his eyes in a grimace before turning tail and slowly walking toward his Clan's border. "Gorsefern...please tell him I'm sorry. I won't stop loving him, but I hope someday someone in your Clan can make him just as happy..."

Gorsefern said nothing, just snorted and looked away. As Silverstorm walked back through his part of the forest with his head hung low and all the emotions whirling inside him, he knew he did not have an ounce of regret for what he and Sparrowheart had made of themselves together. The only thing he did regret was that he hadn't realised his mate had been part of the patrol, and therefore he hadn't the chance to stop his Clanmate from causing both of them so much pain.

He only prayed that StarClan could forgive him, and Sparrowheart too...