So without Jaypaw's excursion into WindClan's territory, he never fell into the gorge so he never met Breezepaw, Heatherpaw or Crowfeather. That changes a lot since it means WindClan will meet Jaypaw for the first time here at the Gathering. Lot's of complicated story archs that could spin out of control in the future if I do this wrong. Anyway, I'm picking the story up immediately where the last chapter.

As always, I don't own Warriors, but instead, I own something far more valuable; CREATIVITY©. Rawr, yes I do own that.

Lionpaw, Alone now with Jaypaw and Mousepaw, glanced around the clearing. He spotted a tightly clustered group of cats watching from the foot of the Great Oak. The shadows disguised the color of their pelts, and something about the way their eyes shone in the gloom made him shudder.

"Are they ShadowClan?" he whispered to Mousepaw.

The older apprentice nodded. "Don't let them scare you. They like to look like they are enemies with all the world, but once you start talking to them, they're okay."

"Are you sure?" Lionpaw wasn't entirely convinced. To his side, Jaypaw's fur rose slightly as he picked up the ShadowClan cats' strong scent.

But Mousepaw didn't hear him. "Minnowpaw!" he mewed. He was staring at a young gray-and-white RiverClan she-cat whose pelt looked as downy as kit fur.

"She looks barely out of the nursery," Lionpaw remarked.

Mousepaw's ears twitched. "She's a whole moon older than me," he corrected. "Come and talk to her," he went on. "You'll see she's not as soft as she looks."

Lionpaw was about to follow his Clanmate over, but Jaypaw nipped him on the tail, pulling him back.

"You don't want to have any part of that," his brother mewed knowingly. "I'm not getting in trouble at my first Gathering, and I don't trust where Mousepaw is going. He should know better than to have his whiskers so far in a RiverClan cat's business."

Lionpaw eyed the gray tabby curiously. "They're just friends, Jaypaw. And this is a Gathering. we're all supposed to be making friends."

But Jaypaw's only response was to narrow his eyes, and he flicked his tail for his brother to follow.

Lionpaw didn't object, even though there was no way Jaypaw could know anything about Mousepaw's relationship with the RiverClan she-cat. Jaypaw lead him over to where small group of young cats were chatting at the edge of the clearing, and Lionpaw suddenly wondered if Jaypaw had just made up an excuse so he wouldn't have to be surrounded by so many cats. It must be overwhelming for him with so many new scents everywhere.

"Look who it is, Heatherpaw. The newest ThunderClan kits have joined us."

A small growl escaped Lionpaw's lips as he faced the three other apprentices. Jaypaw's face was barren of any kind of emotion as his sky-blue eyes fell upon the cat who had spoken; a thin black-furred tom whose amber eyes glittered with contempt.

"Easy there, Breezepaw," mewed the light brown tabby she-cat named Heatherpaw. "You'll make them think we aren't friendly. This is the Gathering after all, no reason to make them feel unwelcome."

"ThunderClan thinks every cat is a friend," mewed the third apprentice, a brown tabby tom who reeked of ShadowClan. "Every cat around the lake knows how ThunderClan is half kittypet because they invite every single lost kitty they run across into their camp."

A hot worm of anger rose up in Lionpaw's belly at the insult. He opened his mouth to spit back a bitter reply, but Jaypaw was faster.

"Firestar may have been born a kittypet, but he is living proof that what you were born as doesn't dictate your fate." Jaypaw's mew was calm and his blind eyes fixed on the young ShadowClan tom with such intensity, it was hard to believe he couldn't see at all. "You're a fool if you think a cat can never be more than what he is born as."

Lionpaw stared at his brother, closing his mouth after realizing it had fallen open. First Hollypaw and now Jaypaw? Where did these cats come up with this stuff?

But the ShadowClan apprentice didn't seem impressed. Instead, he shoved his face into Jaypaw's. He was bigger than Jaypaw, his broad shoulders strong from more moons of training. "Who are you calling a fool? ThunderClan should teach its cats when to hold their tongue or they might get hurt."

Jaypaw flinched and stepped back as the other apprentice's hot breath rattled his whiskers, but he didn't look away and held his ground.

"Leave him alone, Owlpaw," Heatherpaw hissed. "You know if Blackstar catches you ruffling other cats' fur at the Gathering, he'll be mad."

Owlpaw snorted angrily, his gaze never leaving Jaypaw's. "Just showing the new kits there place." He narrowed his eyes. "After all, the Gathering is a place for- Why won't you look me in the eyes?"

Jaypaw clamped his mouth shut and looked away in haste.

"No really why-" Owlpaw waved his paw in front of Jaypaw's face. "-Can you not see?"

"Of course he can see, Owlpaw," Breezepaw sneered. "Not even ThunderClan would stoop so low as to train a blind cat to be a warrior." Breezepaw's ear twitched. "Actually, on second thought, I wouldn't put it past them. Let me try."

Owlpaw moved aside, more shocked than anything else so Breezepaw could inspect the ThunderClan cat.

Lionpaw wanted to dive forward and protect his brother from the other apprentice's searching gazes, but he knew there was nothing he could do now. He forced his paws to remain still as Jaypaw faced the WindClan cat. Jaypaw needed to fight this one on his own.

"You can't see!" Breezepaw mewed in surprise after a moment. "I've never heard of a blind cat training to be a warrior before. What's your name?"

Jaypaw lifted his chin, Breezepaw, Owlpaw,and Heatherpaw's gazes focused on him intently. "My name is Jaypaw and Brightheart is my mentor. Yes I'm blind, but that won't stop me from being the greatest warrior in ThunderClan."

Breezepaw and Owlpaw stood dumbfounded, as still as oak trees on a windless day. Lionpaw could only imagine what was running through the apprentices' heads.

Heatherpaw was the first to break the silence. "That is very brave of you, Jaypaw. I don't think there has ever been a blind warrior before."

Jaypaw's gaze flickered to her. "It's not a matter of being brave," he growled. "I'm not afraid of being a warrior."

Heatherpaw purred in amusement and rolled her heather-colored eyes. "I didn't mean it like that. I just know it has to be a challenge not being able to see. It's hard enough training to fight and hunt, but I know I couldn't if I were blind. You are brave for not letting it stop you when most cats wouldn't have the guts to try."

Jaypaw's ears twitched at the compliment, but he only adamantly grunted, "Thanks."

"But you can't really think you will be the best warrior in your Clan," Breezepaw mewed loudly until some of the other cats around the Gathering heard and pricked their ears in the apprentices' direction. "I mean, if you are made a warrior at all. There has never been a blind warrior before, what makes you think you can do it?"

Lionpaw saw his brother's shoulder's tense but before Jaypaw could speak, a thin black-furred warrior from one of the other Clans joined them.

"Breezepaw, you had better not be tormenting the other cats again," he mewed sternly, giving the apprentice a cuff over the ear with a paw. Lionpaw caught the sarcastic edge in the warrior's mew. "Especially cats from ThunderClan. You know they are the proudest Clan around the lake. We don't want to make them think they aren't better than all the other Clans."

"Greetings, Crowfeather. I hope you are teaching your son respect at the Gathering."

Lionpaw turned around to see Leafpool padding through the crowd of cats, Hollypaw scampering at her heels. She must have heard the commotion Breezepaw had made when he announced Jaypaw's blindness. More cats were starting to stare at the small jumble of cats that was forming at the edge of the clearing.

The warrior named Crowfeather narrowed his dark blue eyes as the she-cat approached and his whiskers twitched with an emotion Lionpaw couldn't make out. "It's none of ThunderClan's business what I tell my son, Leafpool," he growled. "WindClan knows better than to meddle in other Clan's affairs."

Lionpaw didn't know what that could mean, but Leafpool obviously found the hidden meaning in his words because she flinched as if the WindClan cat had struck her. "Well, obviously you don't care about keeping out of other cat's business because you're son just announced to the whole Gathering how one of ThunderClan's apprentices is blind, and you didn't reprimand Breezepaw for it."

"I don't need the medicine cat to defend me!" Jaypaw spat, his cold gaze raking Leafpool's pelt. "I can speak for myself!"

Lionpaw's fur crawled with unease as he realized how his first Gathering was slowly falling apart around him as more and more cats noticed the quarrel. He caught Heatherpaw's eye and noticed she looked just as uncomfortable as he felt. He spotted Hollypaw's shocked expression as she hid behind Leafpool, obviously surprised about her mentor's anger.

"Breezepaw was only speaking the truth," Owlpaw added, his eyes narrowing in amusement as the fur of the cats around him began to fluff out. "Every cat knows a blind cat would make a lousy warrior."

"How dare you speak about my apprentice that way!" came Brightheart's furious mew as she stomped through the crowd, abandoning Cloudtail and Brackenfur at the base of the Great Oak. Her one, normally cheerful blue eye was alight with fury. "Jaypaw is doing spectacularly in his training sessions. Your mentor should have taught you when not to speak your mind."

"Enough!"

Lionpaw flinched and spun around at Firestar's commanding yowl as the Clan leader spoke over the clearing. The four leaders sat like owls in the lowest branches of the Great Oak, and all four of their gazes raked the group of arguing cats with such authority that almost instantly, the fur began to lie flat and the cats shuffled back into their respective Clans. Lionpaw joined his Clanmates as they separated from the others and rejoined their Clanmates at the base of the leader's tree. He quickly nodded a farewell to Heatherpaw and she nodded back before padding off with Breezepaw and Crowfeather to join the rest of the WindClan cats beneath some bushes at the edge of the clearing.

"We must respect the truce," Firestar added loudly so all the cats could hear. "StarClan looks down upon us with shame as we squabble over nothing beneath the light of the full-moon. Leafpool, please take your apprentice and join the other medicine cats."

Leafpool dipped her head, ashamed for being called out in front of all the Clans.

Lionpaw weaved between the cats and squeezed in between between Jaypaw and Spiderleg with the rest of his Clan at the base of the oak. He looked up at the leaders sitting regally in the branches high above his head. Firestar's green eyes swept the gathered cats, meeting his for a moments before flickering away. The cat beside the ginger tom was much thinner, a lithe brown tabby who had to be Onestar, the leader of WindClan.

"We meet beneath Silverpelt commanded by the truce of the full moon," Onestar called, his eyes narrowing slightly as he spoke the word 'truce'.

Jaypaw shuffled beside him, prodding him in the side with a paw.

"Cut it out," Lionpaw hissed back, shoving his paw away.

"Who is speaking?" his brother whispered, his blind blue gaze trying to seek out the leaders in the tree.

"Oh, sorry," Lionpaw mewed apologetically. Of course Jaypaw would need some help identifying the new voices. "That's Onestar I think, WindClan's leader."

Behind Firestar sat a sleek, spotted tabby she-cat who Lionpaw guessed had to be Leopardstar, RiverClan's leader, and beyond her lurked a huge white tom with jet-black paws- ShadowClan's leader, Blackstar.

"WindClan has a new apprentice this moon," Onestar announced. "Breezepaw."

The black-pelted apprentice lifted his chin from where he stood among his Clanmates, apparently quite undaunted by having cats from all four Clans turning to stare at him. Lionpaw's heart began to race. He hoped he could act so coolly when it was his turn to be named.

"Leafbare has been kind to us this last moon," Onestar went on. "The rabbits are running, but not too fast to catch, and the windy weather has made it hunting hard for the buzzards and hawks, which leaves more prey for us."

Lionpaw couldn't help but twitch his whiskers in disbelief. Every single WindClan cat looked as skinny as a freshly sprouted sapling. But then he remembered what Squirrelflight had told him about how fast WindClan cats had to be to chase after the rabbits they hunted.

"Other than that," Onestar added. "WindClan has nothing else to report."

Lionpaw glanced over at his brother, curious what he might get out of Onestar's words, but Jaypaw just stared fixedly up at the cats in the branches.

Onestar turned to Blackstar, nodding for him to speak next.

"ShadowClan has one new apprentice as well," the big white tom began. "He looked down at a wiry brown she-cat sitting among the ShadowClan warriors. "Ivypawl."

Ivypaw nodded, her eyes narrowed. She didn't seem pleased or proud to be announced as a new apprentice as Breezepaw had.

Do ShadowClan cats ever show their feelings? Lionpaw wondered, but then he remembered Owlpaw.

"Is that Blackstar speaking?" Jaypaw mewed beside him, fidgeting with discomfort as if he knew they were going to be the next apprentices to be announced.

"Lionpaw nodded, so awed to be listening to the other leaders, that he forgot Jaypaw couldn't se him. "Yes, it's Blackstar," he blurted, realizing his mistake a moment later.

But Blackstar had not finished. "Hunting has been good for ShadowClan since we enlarged our territory."

Lionpaw stiffened as he heard a gasp from the ThunderClan warriors around him. Was Blackstar really going to make out that they had seized the land by the river from ThunderClan?

"Our new stretch of territory is a great source of prey," Blackstar announced.

Liar!

Spiderleg muttered under his breath, "Firestar would never have given it up if it were!"

"Shadow/clan would like to thank Firestar for his generosity in granting it to us," Blackstar finished with poisonous gratitude.

Firestar stared levelly at him. "I am pleased to hear that you are getting so much out of a piece of land prey-poor by ThunderClan standards," he mewed.

"Yes!" Lionpaw hissed. A subdued ripple of approval passed through the ThunderClan cats.

Then Firestar turned his green gaze on the crowd. "ThunderClan are fortunate to have more than one" he lingered over the word- "new apprentice this moon."

Lionpaw's ears twitched. Pride and anxiety churned in his belly.

"All three of them are here tonight and I am proud to say Hollypaw is training under Leafpool to become a medicine cat."

Lionpaw caught his sister's green eyes shinning like stars among the other medicine cats across the clearing, her black pelt almost invisible in the gloom..

"And Lionpaw," Firestar added, his gaze flicking down to Lionpaw.

Lionpaw could hardly hear anything for the blood rushing in his ears. He puffed his chest out and held up his chin, feeling his pelt burn under the stares from the other cats. In a moment that was at once too long and too short, it was over, and Firestar continued.

"And of course, Jaypaw," the fiery leader concluded, his gaze falling upon the gray tabby who sat as still as a stone among his Clanmates.

Jaypaw didn't move, not so much as even a twitch of his ear as whispering broke out among the surrounding cats. Obviously, they all had heard Breezepaw's announcement earlier that the ThunderClan cat was blind. But Jaypaw still didn't move or say a word and eventually the whispers quieted and Firestar continued.

"We were lucky this leaf-bare," he meowed. "There has been frost but little snow, and the prey has continued to run."

Beside Lionpaw, Jaypaw suddenly trembled and sniffed the air.

Lionpaw opened his mouth to taste the air too, and was surprised when a new scent filled his mouth. Some of the other cats clearly scented it too- he could see their heads turning, searching the edges of the clearing.

And then you discover Graystripe. I would just be copy-pasting the entirety of the rest of the chapter, so there you have it.

Hope you enjoyed! This story is immensely tricky to work on and feedback would be spectacular for me to keep writing.