I used the Gathering from The Sight as a reference. Technically, that's incorrect, because this is six moons before that, but oh well. That is also the reason for the WindClan OCs. Lakepaw and Sandpaw were originally Heatherpaw and Harepaw, until a deviantART reader pointed out that if it was Heatherpaw and Harepaw, that would make them warrior-aged by the time the Three became apprentices, so HeatherLion wouldn't make any sense. Yes, there might be some HeatherLion. I haven't decided yet...

Disclaimer: I...still don't own Warriors.

"Littlecloud! Littlecloud!" Tawnypelt's shrill mew sliced through the air. The medicine cat bounded out of his den, eyes wide.

"What? What is it?"

"It's Prairierush!" Tawnypelt gasped. "Her kits are coming!" Littlecloud looked up at the full moon and muttered something under his breath, then vanished into the medicine den. He reappeared a few moments later with some herbs and a stick, rushing past Tawnypelt into the nursery.

Prairierush was lying in her nest, breathing rapidly. Littlecloud could see the muscles on her flanks rippling. He set down his bundle and placed a paw gently on her side.

"I'm sorry that I can't give you poppy seeds, but you need to be completely awake for this," He said apologetically.

"It's...okay..." Gasped Prairierush. "I'll be...fine..." Littlecloud waved at Tawnypelt with his tail.

"Leave." Tawnypelt dipped her head and exited the den. Littlecloud pressed an ear against the queen's flank, then mewed,

"There's going to be three. Ready?" Prairierush nodded weakly. Littlecloud pushed the stick into her jaws.

"Bite down when the pain comes."

A little while later, three tiny kits were lying on the ground beside shattered shards of wood. Littlecloud licked the final kit to life.

"Two toms and a she-kit," He told Prairierush. "What will you name them?" Prairierush purred as she nudged the she-kit closer to her belly.

"I'll the name the black one Hollykit, and the golden one Lionkit." She paused. "Littlecloud, you can name the last one." Littlecloud blinked in surprise.

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Well, let's see..." Littlecloud inspected the kit.

"Oh. Well, that's interesting." Prairierush's eyes widened, and she began to panic.

"What? What's going on? Is something wrong with him? Is he going to die? Will he-" Littlecloud slapped his tail across her mouth.

"Be quiet! You'll disturb them!" He hissed. "And no, nothing's wrong, but...this one is blind." Prairierush sighed with relief.

"Okay. Just checking." Littlecloud smiled.

"You should call him Jaykit- after the sharpest-eyed bird in the forest." Prairierush purred.

"That's a beautiful name. Thank you, Littlecloud. Welcome to ShadowClan, Hollykit, Jaykit, and Lionkit." Littlecloud stuck his head out of the nursery.

"Tawnypelt! Get the apprentices, would you?" Tawnypelt nodded, and vanished into the apprentices den. A few heartbeats later, Ivypaw and Owlpaw were bounding towards the nursery.

"What is it, Littlecloud?" Owlpaw asked breathlessly.

"May we see the kits?" Ivypaw added. Littlecloud nodded.

"You may. But the reason I called you is because I need you to get the broken pieces of stick out of the nursery. I don't want the kits to get splinters. Oh, and don't get splinters yourselves!" Owlpaw nodded.

"We're on it!" He and Ivypaw slipped quietly into the nursery, so as not to wake the sleeping kits.

"Aww," Littlecloud heard Ivypaw coo. "They're so cute!" He left the apprentices to their work, and padded to the fresh-kill pile. I'm glad that's over with. But how will she react when we send her kits away in three moons?

Littlecloud had just settled down with the frog that Owlpaw had caught, when Blackstar emerged from his den, followed by Russetfur. They caught Littlecloud's eye, and he flicked his ears towards the nursery. Russetfur gave a small smile at the thought of new kits, and the pair crossed camp to meet ShadowClan's newest members.

The medicine cat bit thoughtfully into the frog as he contemplated what the Gathering would be like. I wonder what news the other Clans will have. Just as he finished the frog, Blackstar and Russetfur reappeared. Blackstar padded to the center of camp, and announced,

"As you all know, the Gathering is tonight. The cats going to the Gathering will be Russetfur, Littlecloud, Tawnypelt, Rowanclaw, Ivypaw, Smokefoot, Owlpaw, myself, and Cederheart, if he wishes to come." Cedarheart stood up.

"You young cats always act like we can't take care of ourselves," He rasped. "Of course I'm coming!" Blackstar dipped his head to the elder respectfully.

"Let's go, ShadowClan!" He called. The chosen cats ran out of camp after him, and towards the island.

Leopardstar yawned.

"Can we start yet?" She asked, irritated. Firestar shook his head.

"Sorry, not until Blackstar gets here." The moment that the words left his mouth, there was a sharp yowl. Every head in the clearing turned to see ShadowClan streaming across the fallen tree, onto the island. Blackstar launched himself into the tree.

"My apologies," He meowed calmly. "We had a minor delay." Onestar bobbed his head in greeting the the large white tom.

"May WindClan begin?" He asked. The other three leaders nodded agreement, so Onestar stepped forward.

"WindClan has two new apprentices," He announced. "Lakepaw and Sandpaw." When their names were called, the two apprentices, a she-cat and a tom, straightened up and gazed proudly around the island. There were mingle calls of "Lakepaw! Lakepaw!" and "Sandpaw! Sandpaw!", then the noise died down as Onestar concluded his report.

"Other than that, WindClan has no news. Blackstar, would you like to speak next?" Blackstar dipped his head and stepped forward.

"ShadowClan has two new apprentices," He meowed. "Ivypaw and Owlpaw." Ivypaw and Owlpaw beamed at the attention, eyes shining with pride as their names were shouted by all the Clans.

"Also," Blackstar was finished yet. "One of our queens, Prairierush, has given birth to three beautiful kits: Lionkit, Jaykit, and Hollykit." The was a general murmur of congratulations, and pleased mews. Nobody noticed as Firestar's expression darkened and he turned away. But there was still more to report.

"Hunting has been excellent lately," He mewed smoothly. "We thank Firestar gratefully for letting us have such a prey-rich piece of territory." Firestar narrowed his eyes and looked back at Blackstar.

"I'm glad to hear that you are getting much out a piece of land with poor hunting by ThunderClan standards," He mewed frostily. Meows of agreement rippled around the clearing.

"ThunderClan has three new apprentices," Firestar continued, with a smug look on his face. Blackstar snorted and looked away.

"Berrypaw, Hazelpaw, and Mousepaw."

"Berrypaw! Hazelpaw! Mousepaw! Berrypaw! Hazelpaw! Mousepaw!" The Clans cheered. Firestar turned to Leopardstar, who nodded and began her report.

"RiverClan has two new apprentices as well. Pebblepaw couldn't come, but Minnowpaw is here." Minnowpaw ducked her head and licked her chest fur in embarrassment from the attention.

"Is that all?" Onestar asked. The other leaders exchanged looks, and when nobody spoke, the WindClan leader leaped down from the tree. He was followed shortly by Leopardstar. They gathered their Clans and left.

Firestar and Blackstar were left on the rock, facing each other.

"You do know," They hissed at the same time. Blackstar nodded. Firestar narrowed his eyes.

"We will not forget- we'll be there. Three moons' time." He jumped down and led his Clan away. Blackstar followed, slowly. Am I doing the right thing?