The Gathering was full of cats. Jaypaw had never quite gotten over the attack of mingled scents that always assaulted him at the full moon Gatherings; it made him nervous, made him feel unprotected and defenseless. But he held his head high where he sat alone in the back of the crowd.

It always made him remorseful when his brother and sister insisted on sitting with him, so tonight he had slipped away from them, carefully mingling to get to the back. But now it seemed some cat was coming towards him. He opened his jaws ever so slightly to let the scent rush over his glands, and from the smell of open air and grass he knew it was a WindClan cat, and a she-cat at that.

Jaypaw was generally amazing with scents, and it didn't take him long to place hers - it was Heatherpaw, the supposedly pretty she-cat who Lionpaw had recently rejected. He bristled slightly.

"Hi, Jaypaw," said Heatherpaw shyly. "It's been a while, huh?"

No, thought Jaypaw none-too-kindly. He meowed, "Yes. How are those kits?"

"Oh. They're fine, fine," she meowed.

There was a pregnant silence, then Jaypaw meowed finally, "If you're looking for Lionpaw, I ditched him and Hollypaw somewhere back there." He waved his tail vaguely in the direction of ThunderClan scent.

"Oh, well, I...I don't think I should bother him," meowed Heatherpaw evasively.

"Is there something you wanted?"

He could feel a sudden wave of hurt from the WindClan apprentice at his brusque words, and he let out a delicate sigh.

"No, I just wanted to talk," she meowed quietly.

"Oh." Jaypaw flicked his tail impatiently. Did she want something important, or didn't she? He bit his tongue to keep from voicing the question.

He felt indecision roll off of Heatherpaw's pelt, then she meowed finally, "What's it like, being a medicine cat?" But, probing her mind, Jaypaw sensed that that was not what she wanted to talk about.

"It's just like being a warrior, only more boring," he said cautiously.

"It's no fun at all?"

"Why do you ask?" Jaypaw tried to frame the question carefully so he wouldn't hurt her feelings again. She-cats were so ridiculously fragile. "Why don't you ask Kestrelpaw?"

Thankfully, only confusion clouded her thoughts now, and a little smudge of anger. "I'm only trying to make conversation," she meowed defensively.

He blinked at her, waiting for her answer to his actual question.

"Well, it seems different for you," she said finally. "You seem like a really brave cat, being blind and all." She meowed this with determination in her voice.

"Well." Jaypaw didn't know how to reply to that. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She sounded relieved.

"You know," said Jaypaw tentatively, "I can see. Just with my other senses. I already knew you were female and a WindClan cat, and then I could tell you were Heatherpaw by your own distinctive scent and because of your voice."

"I bet you wish cats would understand that instead of treating you differently," meowed Heatherpaw quietly.

"Yes. I do wish that."

Before Heatherpaw could reply, a voice boomed, "This Gathering is ended!" and there was a flurry of motion. Jaypaw couldn't help it; he bristled away from the action speeding around him, and he felt Heatherpaw press against him.

"It's fine, they're all avoiding you," she whispered in his ear.

"I know that!" he snapped.

That didn't deter Heatherpaw's helpfulness. She gently pushed against his shoulder until he was facing another direction. "There's your Clan," she told him. "I'll see you next Gathering?"

"I - yeah," meowed Jaypaw, bewildered, unsure what he was agreeing to. But Heatherpaw was already gone, and Honeypaw and Poppypaw were bounding toward him to help him back home.