Chapter 10

After finishing the story, Wetpaw leaped off the rock. Many cats swarmed around him. Sparrowpaw ran up to him and stuck her face in his. "I am so glad you didn't kill Icepaw. He was my favorite. If you had killed him, you would have died! I'd be so angry you'd wake up dead!" she said.

"Last I heard it's impossible to wake up if you're dead." Oakpaw said to Sparrowpaw, and then turned to Wetpaw. "Great story. The only thing I don't like about it is how unreasonable it is. Why would another Clan leader have kits in a totally different Clan." Wetpaw shrugged. He wasn't in a talking mood. He was about to walk away when a voice behind him made him stop.

"Wetpaw, go tell your sister that you and her will be going to the Gathering tonight!" Snowstar purred. Wetpaw's ears perked up. Tonight would be his first gathering!

Wetpaw nodded excitedly, then headed to where Blackpaw was viciously tearing at a vole. "Hungry, much?" Wetpaw asked. Blackpaw nodded since her mouth was full. "We're going to the Gathering tonight." Blackpaw swallowed and leaped to her paws.

"Really?!" She cried, vole forgotten. "Oh, wow! Our first gathering! It's going to be so exciting! I'll have to get Leafpaw to introduce me to some cats, since she's gone before. And Treepaw could show me that weird little nub of a tree he was telling me about. And I can-"

"See you later, Blackpaw." Wetpaw called over his shoulder. As Blackpaw continued to ramble about her plans, he stalked over to the medicine cat den. It would be nice to talk to Leafpaw first, just so he didn't make a fool of himself. He reached the wall of briar's and roses that marked the medicine den and inhaled deeply. Poking his head into the entrance, he spotted Leafpaw speaking to Cinderheart.

"And make sure you dig up the roots, too." Cinderheart instructed. "But be sure the leaves don't get hurt, either. Mousear is running low on milk and her kits are still too young." Leafpaw nodded, then turned to the entrance.

"Oh, Wetpaw!" She smiled; making Wetpaw's heart beat a little faster. "Do you want to come pick herbs with me? I need an extra pair of paws to carry the herbs back." Wetpaw nodded, glad that he would be out of eavesdropping range. If Sparrowpaw heard him asking Leafpaw for advice, it would be all over camp by tomorrow morning. The two walked side by side as they headed into the entrance and the forest beyond. Birds chirped in the lofty trees above as the leaves cast dimpled green shadows on the forest floor. The soft gurgling of a creek added to Leafpaw's explanation of which herbs to pick and reminding him not to break them. Finally, the two reached a meadow where the stream made plant life flourish.

"This is where we gather the most part of our medicines." Leafpaw explained, then motioned to a stand of marigolds.

"Um, Leafpaw?" Wetpaw looked down at his paws.

"Yes?" Leafpaw turned to the apprentice.

"I'm afraid that I'm gonna make a fool of myself at the gathering tonight." Now that he had introduced the subject, going on was much easier and the words came much faster. "What am I supposed to do? What happens if another apprentice challenges me to a duel? When do I speak and when do I not? What if I trip down the incline or-" Wetpaw broke off abruptly when he saw Leafpaw lower her head and giggle. "What?" He demanded.

"Oh, Wetpaw, you don't need to worry. I'll introduce you to some of my friends." Leafpaw smiled again. "As long as you don't interrupt the leaders when they give the news of their clans, you'll be fine."

"What if another cat challenges me to a duel?" Wetpaw clamped his mouth shut when he heard his voice squeak on the word 'duel'.

Leafpaw giggled again. "There's no such thing. Just don't lose your temper, or you'll make a bad impression, okay?"

"What if they call me short?" Wetpaw asked firmly, standing up to his full height.

"Then you close that witty mouth of yours and walk away." Leafpaw gave him a hard look, and then turned to her work. "We'd better get to work or Cinderheart will have my tail." Both cats bent down and started to collect certain herbs.

* * * * *

Later that night, Jaggedtooth gathered all the cats who were going to the Gathering. "Come on," he said impatiently. Wetpaw and Blackpaw said goodbye to Sparrowpaw and promised to tell her everything, then turned to the group. Roanfoot, Mintfoot, and Rippletail came from their dens, being the last cats to arrive. Jaggedtooth grunted, then took off running toward the one chunk of land that belonged to no cat, Silverland (named after Silverclan), Snowstar was right in front of him. Finally, after running through the forest for a while, they came to the dip in the land. It was at the corner of each clan territory, giving equal access to all cats. The hollow was bathed in the full moon light, brightly illuminating the cats milling below. There were so many! The cats came in all sizes; old and young; strong and weak; all shades from bright white to dapple brown to fiery orange to midnight black. Wetpaw wondered how he would ever survive, but he swallowed his fears and started down the steep incline after the rest of Iceclan.

"Hey, guys!" Oakpaw pushed through the crowd to sit next Blackpaw. "I want you to meet some other apprentices from Darkclan!" He motioned to two young cats that sat behind him. He pointed at the tom, who smiled back at him.

"I'm Shadepaw," he mewed. The apprentice was dark gray with a black belly and paws. His dark green eyes met Wetpaw's with an almost defiant stare.

"I'm Ravenpaw." The she-cat mewed, bowing her head slightly in greeting. She was midnight black with frosty white paws and chest and bright blue eyes.

"Hi!" Blackpaw smiled. "I'm Blackpaw, and this is my brother, Wetpaw. We're brother and sister, as if you couldn't tell." The conversation moved on from pleasantries to interests and news, Wetpaw adding in his two cents worth every now and then. They were soon joined by a Lightningclan apprentice, Flowerpaw. Her left eye was blinded, but she got along well with the others. She had just finished with a story when Wetpaw noticed Treepaw ambling over to where some of the Gustclan warriors sat. Hmm... Must be sharing tongues. Wetpaw thought.

"Aren't you excited?" Blackpaw asked. Wetpaw started to answer but felt eyes boring into the back of his head. He turned and saw Treestar staring at him with a mixture of confusion and hatred splattered on his face. "Well?" Blackpaw prodded.

"Fine." Wetpaw answered distracted.

"That's got nothing to do with my question..." Blackpaw gave him a funny look just as Snowstar yowled, "Let the Gathering begin!"

Wetpaw was still confused about Treestar but shook it off as Snowstar started reporting. "We have two new apprentices, Wetpaw and Blackpaw!" All the cats cheered except for Treestar who just smiled. Flowerpaw gave him an excited smile that clearly read 'Congrats!' "The prey has been good and we've been flourishing in the Greenleaf harvest." She sat down and Ninestar, leader of Darkclan got up.

"I am proud to say that we have a new kit in our Clan. He is my son, Patchkit." Ninestar said, his chest puffing up with pride. The Clans cheered as Shadepaw rolled his eyes with a smile and whispered in Wetpaw's ear.

"And he won't let us forget it, either." Wetpaw snickered.

"Our prey is always fresh, but there have been scents of dogs on the boundary between us and Lightningclan." He then sat down and Stonestar, leader of Lightningclan, stood up.

"Thank-you, Ninestar. We also have scented the dogs. My deputy, Bluepelt, scared off a badger with the help of our new apprentice, Snakepaw!" All the cats cheered for Snakepaw and whispered admirations of Bluepelt. "We also are feeding well and have run off two foxes past the old path." Stonestar then sat down while Treestar, leader of Gustclan, stood up.

"Our Clan has been thriving quite sufficiently. There are multitudes of prey and we have had no problems. There is nothing else that I need to say." With that he sat down and all the Clans started talking again.

Wetpaw was talking to Flowerpaw about the badger when he noticed Treepaw sharing tongues with Treestar. That's weird. Most cats don't talk to other leaders. But he quickly dismissed the thought when Flowerpaw started describing the battle with the foxes. A little while later Snowstar called them to leave, so Wetpaw said his goodbyes and followed Oakpaw out of Silverland.

"How'd I do?" Wetpaw asked the older apprentice when they were well into the woods.

"Great!" Oakpaw smiled. "You didn't give anything away, but made friends anyway! That takes skill for a first timer." He bumped shoulders with the smaller apprentice. When they returned to camp, Blackpaw started to tell Sparrowpaw all the news, but Wetpaw went off to his nest. Relieved that he didn't mess up and flattered at Oakpaw's praise, Wetpaw slipped into a deep sleep where he battled off a fox and became a warrior.