Willowpaw's POV

She padded tentatively into the clearing, not quite sure what to expect. Of course, she'd heard the same tales as all the other kits about what the Meeting was like and heard accounts from the other warriors about their friends from the outside world, but it wasn't something she had experienced before.

To think of it, she hadn't even seen a cat from outside the Clan before. Cody and Yellow Eyes didn't count, in her mind, since they had both been in the Clan since she had been born.

Nervousness wasn't something Willowpaw felt often, but the telltale butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she tried to breathe and appear confident, befitting of her status and figure. She wasn't the kind of cat that looked good sulking, and without her assured, measured steps, she knew she would just present herself as scared, young, and sloppy. Mallowsun taught her better than that: appearance is everything.

Willowpaw took a moment to gather herself before joining the clearing proper, making sure to take that first step like she belonged there. That first confident step would be the basis of all opinions formed about her, and she was determined to make those opinions good ones. It would allow easier diplomatic ties when she was leader if the others respected her now.

Immediately more cat-scents washed over her than she could hope to process, making her lightheaded. She was in a different world now. She looked around, trying to commit the different pelts to memory. She'd eventually know each of the cats by name -she'd make it a point to introduce herself and make small talk with as many of them as possible that day- but for the first hour or so she would just walk around and gather information from her Clanmates. Hopefully she could gather some connections, and that would lead her to more connections.

She felt more confident with that string of thoughts. Everything was orderly and mathematical. It made sense that way; she enjoyed that sense of correctness. Her senses began to file away all the information, and her conscious mind began to notice things again: two tabby toms, identical, chatted beside each other, Stormfeather and some other cat she didn't know.

Curious, Willowpaw looked for cats she knew rather than those she didn't. Mallowsun, obviously, was mingling with the others. She was smiling more than Willowpaw had ever seen before, although Willowpaw knew Mallowsun could change how she acted easier than a snake shedding its skin and doubted this was just Mallowsun's soft side.

Adderthorn was there too. Willowpaw noticed him as he stood beside a whole cluster of cats she hadn't seen: a silver tabby, a black and white tom, a blue she-cat. So was Stonepaw, looking uncomfortable beside his mentor.

"Excuse us, but do you know a she-cat named Stella?" Willowpaw turned to find two other she-cats had cautiously approached, both around her age. The black she-cat looked wary and her blue eyes were wide, but the calico had some confidence. Willowpaw couldn't help but to be entrapped in her eyes, mismatched ember orange and jade green. "Dee -he's my brother- he told us Stella would be here, but we can't find her."

Willowpaw shook her head. "No, sorry. It's my first time here," she admitted. Looking closer, the two other she-cats were older than they had first appeared. They'd be warriors if they'd have been in a Clan. Feeling suddenly young, Willowpaw stood taller and cleared her throat. "If you know what she looks like I could help you look. I'd been meaning to get to know some cats."

"Great! She's a lilac point. Tall, dainty. Kinda like yourself, but cream. I'm Pepper, by the way. She's Karma, but we all call her Kit ever since she was a kit." The calico grinned, and I had the feeling that this was a long standing joke.

"Willowpaw."

"A Clan cat, huh?"

"In training, but yes."

"Don't you have some factions or something like that, yeah? Like hunters and fighters?"

Willowpaw nodded. "We each have a specialized job so that each cat benefits most from the system. Cats that are good at hunting are hunters and cats that are better at healing, heal. That way, the whole Clan is safe and each member can do what they do best for the good of the group. Is our structure common knowledge outside?" she asked, trying to fish for information of her own.

The calico shrugged, the black she-cat stayed silent at her side. "Dee's been coming here a lot. He's fascinated by the ideas of a Clan since we lived in the city as a family without seeing many outsiders."

"Just you and your siblings?" Willowpaw asked, curious. She couldn't imagine being forced to be around Tempestpaw all the time, let alone with Scarletfang. She loved her brother and respected their mother but to see just them every day?

Pepper gave a little mrow in amusement. "It's a bit more complicated than that, but yeah, that's the idea of it. You couldn't imagine living with just your family, yeah?"

"My brother's a daft fuzzball."

"So is mine," Pepper agreed, but Willowpaw felt neither of them meant it. "Wait, I think that's her there. Stella!" A cream colored she-cat turned her head from across the clearing, then flicked her tail to call them over. "Yeah, that's her. Well thanks for the help. Willowpaw, wasn't it? Keep your fuzzball in line for me, yeah?" Pepper said with a wink before jumping away.

The little black she-cat paused for a moment, gazing at me with her wide blue eyes. "Thanks," she whispered, so quietly Willowpaw wasn't sure she had said anything at all. She blinked those blue eyes and followed Pepper across the clearing, leaving Willowpaw to watch the three from a distance.

She twitched her whiskers in silent laughter, then looked around for other cats to talk to.

The Meetings were more entertaining than she could have ever imagined.

By sunhigh, she had talked to over two dozen outsiders.

By dusk, she had made more friends than she could remember their names.

It was exhausting work, but when she managed to pry herself away from the last group, she couldn't help but to feel proud. Exhilarated. It was almost time for Mallowsun's speech, and the whole clearing was packed full of cats. Clan cats, yes, but at least three times as many outsiders as well. The speech was a traditional end to the Meeting, and every cat in the clearing could feel the anticipation.

"Hey, sis." Tempestpaw flicked Willowpaw on the shoulder with his tail before sitting beside her, obviously appreciating the vantage she chose for the speaking tree.

"I haven't seen you all day. Did you just arrive?" Willowpaw asked, only now realizing that out of the many cats she had talked to, her brother had not been one of them.

He licked his chest, setting the fur straight. "Nah, been here before you came. Ghostflight's been putting me through some serious training with the crowds. Same as Mallowsun and you, I suppose." She was a bit surprised to hear that. What did a Night Stalker learn from training in crowds? Unless it were to identify each cat by scent, in case they crossed the borders at night?

"Excited for the speech?"

"As much as I can be." She didn't need to add how it would be she who would be giving the speeches in only a few short seasons.

Tempestpaw turned to her with a grin. "Yeah, well, I'm excited for what'll happen after the speech."

"What happens after-"

"Hello and welcome!" Mallowsun interrupted, as if on cue. Tempestpaw just winked at her before turning towards the tree Mallowsun perched in, leaving Willowpaw struggling to come to terms with the new information. There was nothing after the speech, right? The Clan cats would escort the others out of the territory and then go back to camp, just like the warriors told it to be.

"-however with the trees beginning to bud and the air becoming warm with the touch of summer, we can all hope for bountiful hunting. With summer comes peace, and with peace comes prosperity. Today we have come together as one to share in words and prey, regardless of our differences. - Thank you for joining us in our time of bounty, and may the stars light your path wherever it leads you."

Mallowsun jumped out of the tree and the clearing gradually began to fill with miscellaneous chatter once again. Some cats were sticking around the clearing, but most were already headed west, back to MapleClan's border.

"So what happens after the meeting?" she challenged Tempestpaw.

Her brother shrugged. "I don't know exactly, but Ghostflight told me to make sure you wouldn't leave."

"So what are we waiting for?" Tempestpaw just shrugged again and worked on cleaning the dirt from between his claws.

Willowpaw debated whether or not she should press her brother to give up more information, but decided he probably didn't know any more than she did. Either that, or he'd already decided not to tell her more, which, knowing Tempestpaw, meant she wouldn't learn anything from pushing him. So instead she decided to gather what she could from her surroundings.

Only a dozen or so cats were left in the clearing, most of them gathered beneath the large oak Mallowsun used for her speech. Oddly enough, the only cats she recognized were the Night Stalkers -all three of them- and Mallowsun. The others were unknown to her, even with all the cats she had met earlier in the day, a fact she noted as particularly curious.

Even as she watched, one of the cats broke off of the group and trotted over to them. A calico she-cat, her green eyes sparkling in the dusk light. "Hey, don't you two have somewhere to be?" she asked, not quite kindly. Willowpaw opened her mouth to reply, but Tempestpaw beat her to it.

"We're with Ghostflight."

The she-cat's face lit up, her demeanor changing in a heartbeat. "So you're the newbies! Icepool never mentioned you two were siblings. Well come on over, don't just sit around here being all shy! My name's Leaf by the way, like the tree." She turned and yelled back over to the cats gathered around the maple: "Hey guys! It's just the newbies!" Then turned back to us, and in a slightly softer voice -emphasizing slightly. "We're going to have to wait until it's darker to have the meeting, but you guys should come on over."

"Isn't the Meeting over?" Willowpaw asked.

The calico she-cat looked confused. "Of course not, it hasn't even started yet. But we'll miss it if we keep sitting here! C'mon!" Tempestpaw followed, and after a slight hesitation, Willowpaw joined the group beneath the tree.

"Great!" Leaf exclaimed when she had found a spot in the circle between Tempestpaw and another tom. Willowpaw felt Mallowsun's tail flick her shoulder as she sat beside her mentor, and felt a little better for her reassurances. "Time for introductions! I'm Leaf."

The circle fell silent until Leaf poked the dark brown tom beside her. He narrowed his eyes at her, speaking more towards Leaf than at the two apprentices. "Shadow."

The dark ginger she-cat beside him was much quicker to offer her name up as Ruby. And around the circle they went until each of the other four cats now had names: Ivy, Breeze, Holly, and Glimmer.

"And we're the Svans who help keep MapleClan safe, alongside your Night Stalkers!" Leaf concluded.

"Svans?" Willowpaw asked, looking first at Leaf and then at Mallowsun beside her. "Who are they?"

"You haven't told them about Siva." Ruby mewed, a statement, not a question.

"They'd only been apprenticed four days ago, and since then Tempestpaw's been ill."

"It's no matter," a grey tom spoke as he stood, "we still must travel, and this will pass the time."

With that, Willowpaw quickly received a crash course in the world of Siva and the war the Night Stalkers fought every night to keep the rest of MapleClan from knowing about it.

She didn't know what to think. Willowpaw closed her eyes, letting the words sink in as the other cats explained, trusting Mallowsun to keep her paws on course. It was nonsense, surely, but each fact had a place in her mind, fitting perfectly into the gaps of the stories she had been told since she was only a kit.

Willowpaw hardly noticed when they stopped, so immersed in the story as she was, and then Holly fell silent and it was over. Desperate, Willowpaw looked to her brother for support, for something to help her ground herself in this new reality.

She found him twisting his claw in the dirt, drawing little circles, unphased by the way her world had just been thrown upside down. He wasn't shocked?

"You knew?" she whispered, eyes wide, and though she intoned it like a question, both of them knew it wasn't.

Tempestpaw shrugged. "Yeah."

"You knew and you didn't tell me?"

"Ghostflight told me not to tell you yet."

"You're horrible."

"Sure I am, sis."

"We should leave before the moon fully rises," Holly mewed before disappearing into the face of the stone. Only Willowpaw recognized they had stopped in the same clearing they had drawn their stones from, the stones behind them riddled with tunnels leading deep down to the belly of the earth. She followed the group inside, and though she wasn't blindfolded this time, the darkness made her surroundings invisible all the same.

They were silent as they followed the trail down deeper, and Willowpaw was acutely aware that every pawstep made the Rose at her chest pulse. It wasn't quite painful, nor was it particularly uncomfortable, but Willowpaw didn't enjoy the feeling either. It felt powerful, uncontrollable, which put her on edge.

Just when she thought she couldn't take another pawstep, her nose touched a cool wall. She pulled away, breath coming in short gasps. There was a soft hiss, like the rustle of dead leaves, and suddenly she could see. It was as if the room were covered in grey fog, both reflecting the light and consuming it. The effect made it so that everything she could see was blurry and her sight was limited to only a few pawsteps in any direction. Willowpaw spotted Mallowsun's familiar calico fur -or at least the white and ginger patches- glowing in the grey, and quickly hurried to her mentor's side.

Mallowsun didn't break the heavy silence, only allowing her to come closer with an amused smile and a flick of her tail. With Mallowsun to guide her, the two joined the others at the far side of the cavern.

The back wall was the next thing of interest, and, feeling safer among the other cats, Willowpaw took a step forward to watch it. It was glowing faintly of greyness, calling it silver would have been too generous; it was too dark, and not at all shiny. It pushed away the fog so that the cats closest to it were clearly defined. But the fog pushed back, she noticed when she finally turned away from the shimmering wall, leaving those farthest still blurred at the edges.

"We've stayed here long enough. It's too dangerous for us to stay on this side for long on the new moon."

"Ooh! I can show those two around! Let's go!" Leaf dashed forward, pushing her paw against the wall. It ripped apart with the sound of an avalanche, the rock dripping with the grey-silver light. The Svans hopped through the gap and disappeared, leaving only Willowpaw and Mallowsun and a hesitant Tempestpaw at her side. He gave her a small smile and followed his mentor as they both went into the light.

"What are you guys waiting for, winter?" A paw appeared from the light and before she knew it, Willowpaw was pulled through the gap and into another world.