"Gather around!" Rippedstar called out. The other leaders, Coldstar, Waterstar, and Waspstar leaped onto the Great Rock.

I was proud to have a leader like Rippedstar. As a kit, as legends say, he was smaller than his brothers. Now, Rippedstar is one of the most muscular cats in the forest. It's incredible how training could really pay off.

"Coldstar, would you like to speak first?" Rippedstar asked.

Coldstar launched right into his speech. "Windclan is well," Coldstar mewed. "More rabbits than usual, now that it's finally Greenleaf. We also have two new kits, strong and healthy. Their mother, unfortunately, is unwell." Coldstar nodded to Waspstar.

"Shadowclan is well, too. There have been no more signs of Twolegs in the area. An apprentice, Stripedpaw, just received his warrior name, Stripedpelt. However, an elder passed away," Waspstar rasped.

"Thunderclan's fresh-kill pile is full," Rippedstar meowed. "Prey is rich in Thunderclan. Hopefully, we will become as strong as our last Greenleaf."

"Riverclan is as good as ever. The river is stocked with fish. Other than that, we have no news to report."

Suddenly, the four leaders stiffened. I stood up and bared my teeth, because I smelled a cat scent. It was unfamiliar, and if all four leaders were so objective to it, I figured it must be some rogue.

"Who is that?" Waspstar started to yelp, but then was taken over by a fit of coughing. All four medicine cats hurried to the leader's aid.

The rogue, who I could see clearly now, had dark gray fur and a torn ear. His eyes seemed to change colors as I looked at him. He stared up at the leaders, and then dipped his head in respect. I guessed that the other cats were taken aback by this sudden gesture, because I sure was.

"Leaders of the clans," the rogue called out, loud enough for us all to hear. "My name is Ash. I have been traveling for quite a long time, and I'm looking for a place to rest for a moon or so. Can one of you kind leaders provide me with shelter and prey?"

Rippedstar bared his teeth. I wanted to cheer him on, because I certainly didn't want a strange rogue in the forest. This 'Ash' cat was freaking me out.

"We'll take you in," Waterstar mewed. She gave a challenging glare for all the cats to see. "After all, Riverclan is a kind clan. Unlike some others."

Waspstar hissed, and Coldstar glared.

"Remember the truce!" Rippedstar yelped. "We must not upset Star Clan! The full moon is a time of peace, remember? Not a time for special battles!"

"Star Clan already is upset!" Coldstar sneered. "This rogue…this rogue…"

Rippedstar snarled, but kept his claws sheathed.

"I call this Gathering to an end," Waterstar yowled. "Riverclan, back to camp. Rippedstar, Coldstar and Waterstar, until next time. Or sooner, if you wish to fight. But Riverclan will protect this rogue until he will be on his way."

Rippedstar shrugged, but flicked his tail. My clan and I followed him. Shadowclan and Windclan filed out quickly on our heels. I think I wasn't the only one nervous about Ash. He made me feel nervous, but I guess that's ridiculous, right?

When we got back to camp, everyone was anxious to know what happened. Every time we have a Gathering, the cats who don't go want to know what occurred. I don't blame them. I'd want to know what happened, too.

Rippedstar explained that a rogue named Ash had joined Riverclan.

"If he's not gone by the next Gathering," Rippedstar growled, "We will attack Riverclan and drive Ash out ourselves. I'm sure that Coldstar and Waterstar will agree."

The next morning, I heard Coalpelt call me from the apprentice den. Coalpelt had a dark, glossy pelt and green eyes. He was thin and excellent at hunting and battle training.

"Thornpaw!" Coalpelt called. I groaned, but rolled over and walked obediently to my mentor.

"Battle training today in the clearing," Coalpelt mewed.

The clearing was a big circle of dead grass and dirt, perfect for practice battles. Coalpelt clearly just wanted to practice fight, so I lunged.

He batted me to the side, with sheathed claws, but since his black paw was so big it left my head spinning. I got up before he could settle on top of me, and we started to circle around each other, hissing. Coalpelt made the next move, leaping onto my shoulders and pushing me over. I kicked up with my hind legs and felt Coalpelt fall off me. I rolled over and back on to my paws, breathing hard. I let down my guard and underestimated Coalpelt's speed. He leaped over me – over me – and before I could turn around, he knocked me off my feet and pinned me to the ground.

"What is that move?" I asked. "That's incredible!"

Coalpelt shrugged. I was more than a little surprised Coalpelt could do those moves. He wasn't really a violent cat, and he never accepted suggestions from anybody. But he'd never used that move before, so you couldn't blame me for wondering how he learned that.

After a day of training, Coalpelt let me rest. I was so tired; I collapsed into my moss bed as soon as I could. Sharkpaw, my best friend and favorite apprentice, was already there.

"Hunting since before sunhigh," Sharkpaw moaned. "You were gone the whole day."

I nodded. "I'm going to get some fresh-kill," I winced as I stood up. I was almost too tired, but I was very hungry. Icestorm, the best hunter in Thunderclan, hurried up to the fresh-kill pile.

"Hello, Thornpaw," Icestorm said cheerfully. "Not a very nice day, isn't it?" It wasn't a beautiful day, like it'd been yesterday. Rain was starting to come down heavily, and soon the fresh-kill pile would be soaked.

"Yeah," I sighed. My joints creaked as I staggered back to the den.

When I awoke, I was still sleepy. My paws were sore from battle training. I must have woken in the middle of the night, because nobody except Icestorm and his apprentice Foxpaw, the night watch, was awake.

I stepped out of the den, and if I thought my pelt was already soaked, well, I'd been wrong. I couldn't see very well, because water was in my eyes. I think Icestorm of Foxpaw called out in warning, but I couldn't tell.

It all happened very quickly. Rain was coming down fast, and all I could think about was getting away. Icestorm and Foxpaw were alerting the others.

Then I heard it. It sounded like a twig snapping when I stepped on it while hunting, only a hundred times louder. I looked up just in time to see the pine tree fall. It didn't land on me, thankfully. It didn't land on any cat, or den, I think either. It hit the middle of the clearing, so thank Star Clan it was during the night when no one was running around.

Then, because the camp was on a tilt, the tree started to roll in my direction. I wanted to yelp, but this wasn't a free-for-all. I was part of a clan, and I had to warn the others. There was no telling where Icestorm and Foxpaw were. I could only hear the yelps of other cats.

I rushed to the warrior den. Good, nobody was inside. I checked the apprentice den. It was empty. Then, I ran for my life.

I ran so far, I didn't realize I'd crossed the border to Windclan territory.

I was caught by a border patrol and taken to Windclan camp. Every one of the Windclan warriors was ultra-thin, like a stick. They had wild eyes and unkempt fur. Coldstar, who was unusually thin even for a Windclan warrior, was so thin he almost wasn't there. He was very angry when he saw I was no longer on Thunderclan territory.

"What are you doing here?" Coldstar snarled. "This is Windclan territory."

"Yes," I said, panting. I tried to smooth out my fur. "I am Thornpaw. A tree fell in our camp, and I got scared and ran. I ran so far that I came here. I must have been so scared I didn't smell the border line."

If anything, Coldstar only glared more. "You aren't the only clan with problems," Coldstar sneered. "All our prey is gone, due to Twolegs. They've scared everything off, everything! Riverclan is ready to battle us, and we're too weak to battle. You think a mere tree is bad? Try staying in our clan for a day." Coldstar motioned to the border. "Go home, apprentice."

I knew I was lucky I got off so easily, but I wished I could help Windclan. Something bad was happening, for sure.

I told Rippedstar what happened. He was disappointed I missed the borderline, but now we knew we weren't the only clan that was suffering.

"Coalpelt almost got crushed," Rippedstar muttered.

I wondered how a mighty tree could fall because of rain. It had tough roots, I couldn't imagine them failing like they did now. I looked up at the half moon. Soon, the next Gathering would occur.

It was the day of the Gathering. Several times, we found Windclan scents inside our borders and prey blood-spills on our territory. I knew it was because Windclan cats would die otherwise, but something had to be done. Hopefully, by tonight, everything, everything would be over.

"Eaglepaw, Thornpaw, Reedwhisker, Coalpelt, Icestorm…" Rippedstar listed who was coming to the Gathering. After my name, I wasn't really listening. I was only thinking about what would happen at the Gathering. Would Windclan mention anything? Would Rippedstar? Was anything happening to Riverclan and Shadowclan?

When we arrived at the Gathering, the other clans were already there. Windclan was thinner than when I'd last seen them. There were much less Riverclan cats than at the last Gathering, and all the Shadowclan cats were coated in mud and were soaked with something green and slimy. Maybe the green water from the swamps.

Coldstar didn't wait for the other leaders to let him start. "Windclan is suffering," Coldstar yelped. Instantly, he softened his voice after a series of coughs. "The two kits that were born a moon ago have both died. Prey is gone because of Twolegs." Coldstar narrowed his eyes. "Or maybe it is Riverclan's fault."

Waterstar hissed. "Riverclan is also suffering, thanks to Windclan for poisoning the fish. An elder is dead thanks to the fish."

Waspstar glared at the leaders. "Behave yourselves! There is a truce!" He coughed. "The swamps have flooded." The old leader was shivering. "All five kits that are almost apprentices have bad colds. All of the herbs have either died from too much water or have been washed away."

"Thunderclan has gotten off easy compared to all of you," Rippedstar yowled. "A large oak fell, crushing three of our dens. Luckily, no one was hurt thanks to Icestorm, Foxpaw, and Thornpaw for making sure everyone got out. Waspstar, we have herbs you may use. Riverclan and Windclan, you are welcome to send a few warriors each day to our fresh-kill pile. Do not hunt in our borders, or we will attack."

We had all forgotten about Ash. Weren't we going to drive him out?

The other leaders nodded. "It's the most you can do, Rippedstar. You need to feed your own clan. But you cannot share prey with three clans. There simply isn't enough," Waspstar rasped.

"Not for a Greenleaf. If we don't share prey, you'll attack us. And even if we won't have as much prey as we normally would, we will survive."

"So all the clans are suffering, huh?" I asked, jogging beside Rippedstar and we went back to happen.

"Apparently," Rippedstar replied. "Clearly, they were all in pain. Unless Windclan and Riverclan purposely stopped eating and Shadowclan purposely jumped into the swampy water. That's a messed up plan if I ever saw one. Besides, you went to Windclan camp not too long ago. Did you smell any scent of prey? A single rabbit or mouse?"

"No," I said, puzzled. "Why?"

"Unless Windclan killed all the prey, they're really starving. Honestly and truly."

The next morning, Coalpelt was gone. I was last in the apprentice den to be woken up, because Coalpelt wasn't there to wake me. In fact, I slept so long I was really energetic. Rippedstar made me clean out the elder's den because I was so energetic.

"Where's Coalpelt?" Rippedstar asked me when I had finished.

"I don't know," I reported. "I haven't seen him all day. Maybe we could send a patrol to follow his scent?" I shifted on my paws. "I'm really nervous, Rippedstar. He's my mentor, you know?"

Rippedstar shrugged his broad shoulders. "Maybe you should follow his trail. You're a good hunter, Thornpaw. Maybe you can find Coalpelt."

I followed Coalpelt's scent to the abandoned Twoleg nest. I saw his black tail swish at the entrance, so I ran inside.

"Coalpelt!" I lashed my tail. "What are you doing?"

Coalpelt jumped at my voice. "Just chasing away a rogue," he growled. "Turns out this cat's been camping in this Twoleg nest."

I looked to the left and saw a shivering brown cat.

"Let him speak," I mewed coolly. The brown cat looked about ready to nuzzle me. Thankfully, he didn't.

"I'm Porcupine," the cat introduced. "Did a cat named Ash come by? He's gray-furred, with a sing-song voice that sometimes gets into a cat's head. According to Star Clan, Ash was sent by some cat in the Dark Forest. I'm the anti-Ash. I chase him wherever he goes and try to stop the evil he produces. I guess he can't help it, but he enjoys himself."

I hissed. "Ash is here. In Riverclan. But what do you mean about evil?"

At the next Gathering, we brought Porcupine with us. He explained to the leaders with Ash watching that Ash was what brought their sufferings. Ash made the swamp water flood in Shadowclan; he poisoned the fish in Riverclan, and sent Twolegs to poison the prey in Windclan.

All four clans and Porcupine helped drive Ash out. We offered Porcupine a place in Thunderclan, but he refused. After all, Porcupine was sent by Star Clan to stop Ash's evil. Porcupine would have to follow Ash for the rest of his life, preventing the Dark Forest from coming to life.

The End.

~VoleTooth