It was freezing the next day. The scent of the oncoming rain was thick in the air. No one wanted to do anything, especially Graypaw. She was still feeling mortified and violated. The tabby she-cat was thankful that Skypaw was the apprentice that had to go on the dawn patrol.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here under the Highledge!" Goldenstar yowled over the roar of the wind.

Graypaw flicked her frozen ears, reluctant to leave her mildly warm nest. She felt a tail brush her flank and looked up. Sandpaw stood there.

"You had better get up. 'The leader's word is law,' after all," The sand-colored cat meowed plainly.

Stonepaw walked past her with a half-smile on his face. "You're such a killjoy, Sandpaw!"

"And how is sitting in a cold nest any form of joy?"

"You have a point," Stonepaw muttered, flicking his sister with his tail. Graypaw gave a weak laugh, stood, and shook the cold from her limbs. She hurried out of the apprentice den, quickly followed by Sandpaw and Stonepaw.

The three were the last ones to gather in the clearing, and they attracted a few stares. Feralheart hissed at them softly. It was just Graypaw's luck that that scary old warrior was sitting outside her den.

Goldenstar stared, but didn't reprimand them. The gray-speckled she-cat's face was grim. "Cats of ThunderClan! I know that with Deadlily's…" Goldenstar's voice dropped for a split second. "…loss means that one of our apprentices is mentor-less. I would like Scarletquake to be Graypaw's new mentor."

There were several uncertain murmurs throughout the Clan, but no cat outright disagreed. Scarletquake was a good, loyal warrior, even if he was a bit young. Graypaw walked toward her older friend. There was an ecstatic shine in his eyes, but the rest of his face remained blank.

The two tapped noses while Graypaw hissed so quietly that no other cat would hear:

"I need to tell you something…"

Scarletquake gave an imperceptible nod. "During our next lesson, okay, my little Graypaw?" She agreed just as Goldenstar started to meow.

"And, as the full moon is supposed to be tonight, I have chosen the cats to go to the gathering if the weather clears up!" Her voice rose louder than before as thunder cracked and lightning flashed. Rain started to pound down on the cats in the clearing. "These cats are Twistedfire, Rainspot, Spiderpelt, Mudfoot, Scarletquake, Skypaw, and Graypaw!"

Graypaw scowled angrily, shaking her drenched pelt. 'Of course… The one time I'm chosen for the gathering, there's no chance of going to it…'

.xXx.

But there was indeed a chance. Before the sun had even begun to set, the storm had cleared up and the clouds were being blown from the sky. With this miraculous change in weather, the cats of ThunderClan prepared to leave for the gathering.

Graypaw stood rigidly at her mentor's side. She didn't move, though her whiskers twitched. Her little chest felt like it was going to explode from the sheer lack of speaking her secrets.

For a moment, Graypaw smelled Graystream's scent. The tabby's head snapped to the side fearfully. Graystream sat next to her, amusement dancing in her eyes. "We need some serious closure, don't we little Graypaw?"

The apprentice looked around, startled that no other cat waiting to leave could see her elder.

Graystream's expression turned to one of distaste. "Great StarClan, you're an idiot. I'm trapped in the mind of an idiot!" Before Graypaw could reply with a hiss, or perhaps tooth and claw, Graystream continued with a chuckle. "I stem from your mind right now. Technically, I'm not even here."

'What?! Get out of here, now!' Graypaw thought fiercely, forgetting that she was supposed to be scared for a second. She didn't say anything, for fear that the already concerned looking Scarletquake would think she was crazy.

That made Graystream sober up quickly. Her broad-shouldered form started to fade away. Graypaw shivered. Looking at Graystream was too much like looking at herself in a few moons. 'Will I look like that…?'

"Alright, alright… I just came out to warn you," The older she-cat glared with contempt at Scarletquake. "Be careful who you tell about this…"

It was painfully obvious what she meant.

As her head began to fade, though, she gave a sly smirk. "And yes, you will look like me. My presence in your mind influences your appearance."

Graystream disappeared back into Graypaw's brain, leaving the latter to be broken out of her focused trance by Scarletquake and Rainspot.

"Graypaw, are you okay?" Rainspot asked in a genuinely concerned voice. "If you're not feeling up to the trip to the Island, you can stay in camp…"

Scarletquake nodded, anxiety shining in his eyes. His apprentice shook her head vigorously.

"No, I'm fine Rainspot," Graypaw meowed, and Scarletquake grinned. All of the unease flickered out of his face, making her smile. She barely noted Rainspot's lingering concern.

'Oh, I don't give a mouse-tail what you think, Graystream. I'm telling Scarletquake!' Graypaw mused defiantly, getting over her fears. Graystream wasn't all that scary.

The small group of cats started to move with a flick of their leader's tail. Graypaw would have raced to the front of the group, had she not noticed Skypaw falling behind and muttering to himself. She turned around and bounded over to the brown-pawed tom.

"What's wrong, Skypaw?"

His large blue eyes turned up to her, before his gaze fell back to his paws. Skypaw's face was filled with shame and worry. "Nothing…"

Graypaw stared for a moment, frowning. "I'm not a mousebrain, you know. Any cat with eyes could see something is wrong with you!"

Skypaw flinched. "Alright… it's just… This is the first gathering I've been to on Spiderpelt's recommendation, you know? I'm afraid I'll mess it up in front of him."

Every cat in ThunderClan knew that Spiderpelt, Skypaw's mentor, was critical. Spiderpelt wasn't harsh or unfair, though, so Graypaw had no idea why Skypaw was so worried. When she voiced this, Skypaw just shook his head.

"I know you're a pretty new apprentice, so you probably don't know this… but when your mentor just looks at you, disappointed, sometimes you wish he'd yell instead. I just know that's what Spiderpelt is going to do to me!"

Mildly indignant rage boiled through Graypaw's veins, partially because Skypaw was being so insecure. The other reason was that he had implied she didn't know anything… hadn't he?

The gray tabby snarled just a little bit, making Skypaw wince. "If you believe it, it will be so!"

Just like that, the anger drained from Graypaw's face, leaving her skin paler than before. Those weren't her words. It wasn't that she hadn't meant to say them. It was that she hadn't said them at all.

Sure, her lips had moved to them, but Graypaw had a feeling that that advice had not come just for Skypaw.

'Stop using me as a puppet, Graystream!' She thought, racing away and leaving a rather shocked Skypaw in her wake. Although, Graypaw didn't know why she was inwardly talking to the cat in her mind. It wasn't like Graystream was able to talk back.

Graypaw stopped walking quickly once she was next to Scarletquake.

'Yes, I can talk back. It just uses energy.'

The tabby jumped into her mentor with a gasp, drawing curious stares from those nearby. Scarletquake asked no questions, only wrapping his tail around her middle as he walked.

A/N

I hope that was understandable! It was difficult to write, truly. Next chapter… Gathering! And a few other interesting things… Okay, a message to whoever reads this story:

I like feedback. Please, tell me what's right and wrong with this story through a review!