Chapter 1

The night of the Gathering was dark and grey. Wisps of the clouds threatened to cover the moon. Several members of the throng of cats that marched through the forest looked up at the sky warily, wondering if StarClan was on their side.

It was the beginning of newleaf, and life sprung around them from the underbrush, alive and running even this late. The full moon was all they had to light their path.

Thorncloud crept along at the back of the group. It was her first night attending the Gathering as a full warrior. Gone were the days of her apprentice training; now, she truly felt at peace in the forest. It took all her willpower not to run ahead full speed. She trotted at a light pace beside Copperfur, her former mentor.

Thorncloud noted how he glanced over at her every few moments, the ghost of a smile twitching behind his whiskers.

"What are you looking at?" she teased.

Copperfur opened his mouth to reply, but another voice sounded from Thorncloud's left. "Your ugly face!" came the voice, a playful growl. A bundle of fur bumped her flank, and then a brown tabby pelt came into view.

"That's funny, Tigerfang," Thorncloud meowed coolly, "but I don't remember asking you."

"While you're mooning over Copperbutt, we're falling behind," Tigerfang sniffed, and bounded ahead towards the front of the group. "At your pace, we won't make the Gathering at all!"

Thorncloud narrowed her eyes, watching Tigerfang go. She glanced over at Copperfur, ears twitching with embarrassment. "I wasn't mooning over you," she muttered.

"I know," Copperfur said. "She says whatever she can to cause the most trouble. Your sister's tongue is nearly as sharp as her teeth."

It was true. Ever since Thorncloud and Tigerfang had been kits in the nursery, Tigerfang was causing trouble. As a young, fretful apprentice, Thorncloud was always worried about getting into trouble because of her sister. Tigerfang followed the warrior code, but she had a certain air of nonchalance that made Thorncloud wonder at how she ever finished her training.

"Nearly there," Copperfur said.

Thorncloud looked around. It was true–they were nearing Fourtrees. The group of cats that were travelling to the Gathering that night was fairly small. Besides Thorncloud, Copperfur and Tigerfang, there was also the SnowClan leader Rainstar, of course, as well as her deputy Blizzardpelt, his apprentice Twigpaw, two elders Crowpelt and Pinetail, and Berryleaf, another warrior. Normally there might be a few more cats, but it had been a rough leaf-bare, and SnowClan was still recovering from losing kits to the weather. Still, they had to appear strong in front of the other clans.

At the top of the ravine, Rainstar pause, letting the other cats fall in behind her. Thorncloud sat behind Blizzardpelt, vibrating with anticipation. The scents of other clans filled her nose; RainClan and StormClan were already waiting below.

With a flick of her ears, Rainstar made the signal for SnowClan to descend to the clearing. Thorncloud rushed down the slope, her clanmates around her, and landed on the soft grass at the base of the Great Rock.

The Great Rock stood below four massive trees that grew up from the bottom of the ravine. Here was where the clans met at every full moon under a truce to discuss clan matters. Thorncloud separated from Copperfur with a kind look, and dispersed to talk with the other clans.

She found a space to sit beside two unfamiliar RainClan cats who were talking to a StormClan apprentice and warrior. "Newleaf is promising this year," the StormClan warrior was saying as she arrived. He was a white tom with ginger accents around his muzzle, ears and paws. "Our side of the forest is already filled with prey." He puffed his chest out proudly.

"It is nice to have the Gathering held on such a warm night," one of the RainClan cats agreed. He was almost the mirror of the StormClan cat, except with grey inside of ginger on his paws, and he stood much larger. "I hear StormClan has been granted with a new leader this newleaf. Is this true, Flameclaw?"

The tom, Flameclaw, twitched his orange ears irritably. "You'll find out soon enough, Pebblefoot. If CloudClan would only hurry up…"

"The winds are pushing up into the uplands tonight," said the other RainClan cat, a handsome tom whose black nose was startling against his white fur. "It could be that CloudClan is taking longer to arrive due to the resistance." Thorncloud realized that this was Junipernose, the RainClan medicine cat. She had heard of him before, but never met him formally.

The StormClan apprentice shuffled his paws and shivered as a breeze swept through Fourtrees. "I'm cold," he whined quietly to Flameclaw.

Flameclaw cuffed him around the ear. "Don't complain, Shadowpaw," he ordered, and the apprentice fell silent.

Junipernose seemed to finally notice Thorncloud's presence. "Hello," he greeted warmly.

"Nice evening," Thorncloud mewed awkwardly.

"Thornpaw, is it?" said Pebblefoot.

"Thorncloud now, actually."

"Congratulations. I remember seeing you at a Gathering a few moons ago." He smiled in a friendly way that made Thorncloud sit up a bit taller. A warrior had remembered her?

"Thank you," Thorncloud said. She wanted to talk more to the other warriors, but the stampede of CloudClan descending into the ravine was enough to shut her up. As soon as they reached the clearing, the CloudClan leader, Galestar, jumped up onto the Great Rock.

The other leaders followed her lead. Rainstar sat beside Galestar; on her other side was Goldenstar, the RainClan leader. Last to climb upon the rock was a cat that Thorncloud recognized as Raventail, the StormClan deputy. Thorncloud supposed he would be called Ravenstar now.

The clearing fell silent as the throng of cats examined the new StormClan leader. Rainstar broke the silence. "Ravenstar, as the new leader of StormClan, would you care to address the Gathering first?" she asked politely. Thorncloud could tell from her calculating look that she was sizing him up.

"Thank you, Rainstar," Ravenstar said politely. He looked almost like a silhouette, completely black beside the other leaders. His yellow eyes surveyed the clearing. "As of seven nights ago, I was appointed the new leader of StormClan. I have already taken the journey to Highstones and been accepted by StarClan, and granted my nine lives. Woodstar died nobly in the heat of battle."

At this last statement, several StormClan cats bristled. Thorncloud felt her own hackles begin to rise, and several other SnowClan cats around her straightened defensively. It was on SnowClan territory that Woodstar had died; Thorncloud had been just an apprentice then, and it was this battle that had granted her warrior status. She had wrestled with Woodstar herself moments before Copperfur had pinned him down and given him the killing blow.

Ravenstar flicked his tail, and the StormClan cats fell silent. "I acknowledge that Woodstar's leadership often lead StormClan to unnecessary disputes. This border fight was one of them. However, we will not forget that it was SnowClan who took our leader down." His yellow gaze flashed threateningly. "Other than this, StormClan has no more news to share."

The introductory speech had ruffled the cats below. Even Rainstar was looking unhappy. She stepped forward. "SnowClan is thriving this newleaf," she began, which Thorncloud only knew was half-true. Thriving in comparison to leaf-bare, maybe, but not in the general sense of the word. "We would like to remind the other clans that we are prepared to defend our borders should any more disputes arise. We have two new warriors this moon – Thorncloud and Tigerfang."

Celebratory yowls came from the surrounding SnowClan cats. Thorncloud lifted her chin proudly. She could see Tigerfang doing the same on the other side of the clearing.

Rainstar carried on, followed by Galestar. Finally Goldenstar of RainClan stepped up. Thorncloud listened intently, but there was not much of interest from any of the clans that moon. She tried not to be disappointed; there would be other Gatherings. She had just hoped her first Gathering as a warrior would be one to remember.

Goldenstar announced that RainClan had two new warriors, as well. Thorncloud swung her head around to see a proud yellow and black tortoiseshell tom named Bumblestripe as his name was called. She was amused by his name. With the yellow in his pelt, he did sort of resemble a bumblebee. The other warrior was named Cloudstorm. She was a beautiful white she-cat, her fur marked by large grey and black splotches on her back.

"RainClan has other news as well," Goldenstar said, his voice lowering slightly in a way that made every pair of ears prick up with interest. His gold pelt shone ominously in the moonlight. "RainClan has a new deputy, Brookpelt."

Yowls of congratulations came from several cats. Underneath, a murmur of surprise echoed through the hollow. Thorncloud shared their apprehension. What happened to Sunstream, the previous RainClan deputy?

Goldenstar waited for the murmurs to subside before continuing. "As you are all aware, our deputy was Sunstream until very recently. He is now in exile." Gasps of shock echoed through the ravine. Thorncloud couldn't suppress a meow of alarm. "Peace," Goldenstar said quietly. "Sunstream was a great deputy, but his ambition got the best of him. He and a few other warriors attempted to kill me to take over the clan, but RainClan is strong. He did not succeed."

Goldenstar paused, and Thorncloud thought she spied pain in his eyes. A shiver ran up her spine.

"Rest assured, he is no longer a threat to our clan," Goldenstar continued. He and his allies are gone from our territory. If you scent him on your territory, we encourage you to turn him away, or better yet… kill him."

Goldenstar leapt down from the Great Rock at once, and Thorncloud knew the Gathering was over. The clearing erupted into chatter, and Thorncloud said a hasty goodbye to the cats she had met – Pebblefoot, Junipernose, Flameclaw and Shadowpaw. She trotted over to Bumblestripe and Cloudstorm.

Bumblestripe noticed her presence first. He eyed her curiously. "Greetings, Thorncloud. Congratulations," he said.

Thorncloud glanced between the two warriors, her eyes lingering on Cloudstorm. "I just wanted to say the same to you both, and sorry about the troubles with your old deputy."

"Thank you," Cloudstorm said. "But we should probably go with the rest of our clan now."

"Right. I–"

"Thorncloud!" Tigerfang was a few fox-lengths away, whipping her tail back and forth with annoyance. "We're leaving!"

"Coming!" Thorncloud called. To the RainClan warriors, she smiled. "See you around," she said, and bounded away up the slope to join the rest of her clan.

At the top, Tigerfang narrowed her eyes. "Why were you talking to them?" she demanded.

"Just figured it would be a good idea to be friendly," Thorncloud said. "Not that you would know anything about that."

Tigerfang scoffed and ran to the front of the group. Fine, Thorncloud thought. Leave her to pester Rainstar. Copperfur slipped in beside her and purred with amusement. "I think it's nice you're so kind to the other clans," he said. "Compassion comes in handy. It's better to have friends than enemies."

Thorncloud didn't reply, deep in thought. "What do you think of Sunstream's exile?" she asked.

"Shocking, to say the least," Copperfur murmured. "I didn't know him personally, but he never seemed hostile to me. Did you know he was Goldenstar's brother?"

Thorncloud's eyes widened. That explained how troubled Goldenstar was. She shook her head. "Such needless fighting. If only all cats had common sense…"

Copperfur purred with amusement. "Careful, Thorncloud. If you keep talking like that people will think you're becoming an elder too early."

Thorncloud swatted him with her tail and bounded away towards camp, excited to spread the news about the exiled RainClan deputy.

Chapter 2

Like all gossip, the news spread quickly. Rainstar ordered a few extra patrols just in case Sunstream and his followers were in the area, but after a few days the threat was forgotten. Things returned to normal.

Thorncloud crouched low in the underbrush and wiggled her haunches in anticipation. A starling was shuffling under some leaves just a few tail-lengths away, unaware of its hunter. Thorncloud held her breath. Ready… pounce!

Snap! The starling squawked loudly and took flight, escaping Thorncloud's grasp easily. She whipped her head around to see who was responsible for losing her prey.

Tigerfang strolled out from behind a tree. She paused at Thorncloud's glare. "What?" She asked innocently.

Thorncloud just huffed and walked away. There was a bite to the air today as the last of leaf-bare made its last stand. Most of the prey was in hiding, and it was hard enough to be on a hunting patrol without Tigerfang interfering.

"I thought I told you to hunt near the Owl Tree," Thorncloud said, padding away in the direction of Sunningrocks.

"And I thought you weren't my mentor," Tigerfang retorted, plodding along after her noisily. "I wanted to hunt over here."

"Act like it then, instead of scaring all the prey away." Thorncloud flicked her ears in annoyance.

"You've become uptight since we became warriors," said her sister. "Let's just enjoy the day!"

"The Clan needs food. Or have you forgotten that part of your duties?" Thorncloud saw Sunningrocks ahead and sped up. Perhaps there would be some prey between the rocks.

Tigerfang was more concerned about lounging. She went ahead and splashed across the rocks. What little sun that poked through the clouds reflected off her tabby pelt.

"Blizzardpelt sent us to hunt, not relax."

"Blizzardpelt is an old badger," said Tigerfang, shutting her eyes tiredly.

Thorncloud shook her head. There was no use arguing with Tigerfang. Instead, she started listening for prey.

"Why were you talking to all those RainClan cats at the Gathering?" Tigerfang asked, breaking the silence.

Thorncloud sighed. "The Gathering is a chance to get to know the other clans. You're not meant to stick by your own clan all night."

"All I'm saying is, I don't trust RainClan right now," said Tigerfang. "Who knows how many of them are secretly in cahoots with Sunstream?"

Thorncloud looked at her, bewildered, and sat up straight, curling her tail around her paws. There was no use hunting now; the prey would be scared away by their voices. "But all of Sunstream's allies went with him."

"That we know of," Tigerfang said. "If I was him, I'd leave a few behind to gather information."

Thorncloud started at her. Tigerfang opened an eye, then closed it. "What? Don't look at me like that. I'm just trying to think from his perspective."

"SnowClan!" A voice ripped through the air from the other side of the river. Tigerfang leapt to her paws, bristling. Thorncloud padded closer to the border between their territory and RainClan's, remaining calm. She recognized one of the two cats padding towards them; Pebblefoot, the massive RainClan warrior.

With him was a smaller cat - a grey tabby apprentice - and a smoky grey she-cat. The she-cat spoke again, looking on them suspiciously with her piercing amber eyes. "What's your purpose here?"

"Sunningrocks belongs to SnowClan!" Tigerfang hissed.

"Peace, Tigerfang!" Thorncloud warned, being careful to keep her voice calm. "We are not here to fight."

Pebblefoot eyed her thoughtfully. "They mean no harm, Brookpelt," he said to the grey cat.

"Don't forget some of this land belongs to us," Brookpelt said. "Sunningrocks is SnowClan's at the moment, but not forever."

"Yeah, we'll take it back soon!" piped up the apprentice.

"Quiet, Scalepaw," Pebblefoot said, not unkindly.

Scalepaw lowered her head slightly. Thorncloud understood that Scalepaw's words were a threat - perhaps RainClan had plans to attack sooner than SnowClan had suspected. Brookpelt was certainly looking ruffled at the slip-up.

"Brookpelt, I assure you we will keep to our territory," Thorncloud promised. "Right, Tigerfang?"

Tigerfang hesitated, her tail lashing. Thorncloud feared she might refused, but slowly, she stood up from her attack stance. "Right," she said through gritted teeth, as if it had taken her a great effort.

"Thank you, Thorncloud," Pebblefoot mewed. "RainClan wants no quarrels with you. We will leave you."

"For now," Brookpelt added, and turned to leave. Pebblefoot followed, nudging Scalepaw along. Once their pawsteps had faded, Thorncloud turned on Tigerfang.

"You just have to pick a fight wherever you can, don't you?" She shook her head and padded back towards the trees. "Come on, we need to catch something before we return to camp, or we'll be cleaning out the elders' den for the next moon."

Thorncloud returned with a squirrel and a chaffinch clutched between her teeth. Tigerfang caught two mice and a rabbit, which was impressive considering SnowClan wasn't known for their rabbit-catching.

After depositing their haul on the fresh-kill pile, Tigerfang padded away towards the warrior den to catch up on her sleep, while Thorncloud shouldered the responsibility of reporting to Blizzardpelt.

She found him at the base of the Highrock, sharing an impressively fat robin with Rainstar. Their conversation ceased when Thorncloud came near, and Blizzardpelt smiled warmly at her. Thorncloud felt self-conscious as she approached.

"Good afternoon, Thorncloud. How was the pray running this afternoon?" He asked.

Thorncloud dipped her head respectfully to Rainstar as she said, "Just fine, Blizzardpelt. The fresh-kill pile is looking good."

"Excellent," Rainstar said. She wasn't a very warm cat, but Thorncloud could see approval in her eyes at the very least.

"Anything else to report?" asked Blizzardpelt.

"Actually, yes." Thorncloud recounted the run-in with RainClan at Sunningrocks. When she had finished, Rainstar's tail was twitching irritably.

"It seems we should be doubling our guard at the RainClan border," she said. Thorncloud knew why this bothered the clan leader so much; SnowClan was short on forces after leaf-bare and the battle with StormClan. Doubling the patrols would run the warriors into exhaustion.

"Thank you for the report, Thorncloud," said Blizzardpelt, looking troubled. "You handled the encounter well. Take some fresh-kill to Tallfeather, and then you can rest."

Thorncloud nodded and padded away. She stopped at the fresh-kill pile and then headed to the medicine den.

Tallfeather was shuffling around some herbs when Thorncloud arrived. He looked up as she entered, and gave a wide smile. "I wondered if I might see you today, Thorncloud," he said, startling the young warrior as she deposited a thrush on ground.

"Really?" Thorncloud asked, surprised that he was thinking of her.

"I had a dream about you last night. Nothing serious," he added when he saw the alarm in her eyes. "I saw you by the river, talking to some RainClan cats. You're very diplomatic," he teased.

"That's funny, I just spoke to some RainClan warriors," Thorncloud said. "A minor border dispute."

"Then it seems my dream came true." Tallfeather nodded at the thrush. "Thank you for that. I haven't had a chance to eat today; Crowpelt isn't feeling well again." The elder had been losing fur since the beginning of leaf-bare. Thorncloud had heard him complaining of a chill on the way back from the Gathering, too.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It comes with the job!" He paused to lick a paw and swipe it over an ear. He was an unusually patterned Tom - a calico. Usually calicos were female; other than Tallfeather, Thorncloud had never seen another calico tom.

"Well, I'll leave you to work," Thorncloud said, feeling awkward in the medicine den. Tallfeather was much larger than her, and she felt small under his gaze.

"Thank you again, Thorncloud. And be careful by the river," he added, a playful glint in his eyes.