Hah! I'm back! I was going to update yesterday, but oh my freaking God, I had so much homework! Anyway, read!

Chapter Six

"So, what happened at this Gathering?" I asked Whitepaw as I settled in my nest. "I didn't really have time to ask."

The white she-cat let out a sigh. "RiverClan has brought in two rogues," she mewed. "They're warriors now: Hawkfrost and Mothwing."

"Well, that's good!" I exclaimed. "Now RiverClan's seeing that even outsiders can be good warriors."

"But Mothwing is Mudfur's apprentice," added Whitepaw. "And he's the medicine cat."

"So?" I snapped. "I see nothing wrong with that."

Whitepaw shrugged. "It's just bothering me."

I put my head on my paws and quickly fell asleep.

In the next moon, I learned so much about Flamepaw and Dragonpaw. Flamepaw was not as rude or as disobidient as I had thought. Like all apprentices, she was eager to learn, but learned very fast. I was surprised when she and Sootfur returned from patrol, her mentor's tail held high and a pleased expression on his face.

As for Dragonpaw…well, she's a very nice cat and reminds me of Leafpaw, but she is a bit of a klutz. She fell in the river on her first visit to the Owl Tree and had come back to camp cold and wet. She must have been a bit embarrassed about it, and even more surprising, Flamepaw did not make fun of her.

All in all, they were becoming incredible warriors. To be honest, I was kind of jealous. I liked being the newcomer in the Clan for a moon. But at least I had made friends with Dragonpaw. I wasn't so sure Flamepaw liked me.

Surprisingly, there had been no more attacks from the rogues and Graystripe's patrols thinned. Now I had my training sessions with my usual mentor, Brambleclaw, instead of Mousefur.

But the thing that I had most been looking forward to was the Gathering coming up. I had been training hard to make sure that Firestar would notice it, and maybe he'd choose me to go.

Dragonpaw, Whitepaw, and I returned from a hunting patrol, each of us carrying mouthfulls of prey. I held my tail and head high and prayed that Firestar was watching us as we placed our catch in the fresh-kill pile.

My tail shot up as he padded over. "Well done, all of you," he mewed. "Glacierpaw, you can come to this Gathering. I'm sorry, Dragonpaw, but not you," he added. "You have been in training for just a moon. Tell Flamepaw this as well."

She'll rip his ears off, I thought as Dragonpaw nodded and stalked away.

"Congradulations, Glacierpaw!" exclaimed Whitepaw, purring. "The Gathering's amazing. You're going to love it!"

"Thanks, Whitepaw," I mewed. "What about Spiderpaw and the others? Are they coming?"

"Probably not," she answered. "Firestar would have told us to tell them."

"Can we tell Shrewpaw? I can't wait to see his face!"

"No!" exclaimed Whitepaw. "That's rude. Shrewpaw's not that bad, Glacierpaw. Anyway, let's hunt for the Clan until we have to go. Which is in a couple of hours."

"Great!" I mewed, not exhausted at all. I ran after Whitepaw, outside the camp.

Our hunting patrol went very well. Once, both of us were stalking a crow – and didn't know that we had both scented it! So the stupid bird flew away just as both of us launched in the air to catch it. We hit each other in the stomachs and rolled down the hill, purring with laughter.

"That was brilliant!" exclaimed Whitepaw, her fur bristling with excitement. "I had no idea that was you!"

"You should have scented me, you stupid furball!" I teased, pouncing on Whitepaw, my claws sheathed. Squealing, the other cat knocked me onto the ground, pinning me down. But I was purring to hard to hear.

"We should get back," meowed Whitepaw, standing up and shaking dirt off her pelt. "Come on."

I collected the prey I had buried and headed back to camp with Whitepaw beside me. Firestar was just gathering up the cats to leave as we were arriving, so we dropped our catches in the fresh-kill pile and joined them.

We slipped quietly through the trees, murmuring excitedly to each other about what this moon's Gathering would bring. My fur was fluffed up with excitement. I couldn't believe it – I was going to see a Gathering!

A few minutes later, after we had crossed the river and passed the Owl Tree, we were staring down on a slope that lead down to four enormous oak trees. At least fifty cats were below, with three other cats on a rock in the center.

"That's the Great Rock," explained Whitepaw. "Look! There's Blackstar, leader of ShadowClan."

I peered closely at the rock and saw a huge white tom with black paws sitting on the rock, with a horrible expression on his face. I couldn't help but notice that he looked incredibly thin.

"He looks really smug and all," I mewed.

Whitepaw shrugged. "He's not the nicest cat around. And there's Leopardstar, of RiverClan, and Tallstar, leader of WindClan!"

"Hurry, apprentices," called Brackenfur as the rest of the Clan ran down to the Gathering. "This is a good time to meet your enemies. Learn how they move and behave."

"Yes, Brackenfur!" exclaimed Whitepaw, nodding to her mentor. The two of us tore down the slope toward the Gathering.

There were so many new cats with new smells that I thought I would collapse on the ground from the dizziness that came with it. Whitepaw and I moved toward a group of apprentices.

"Look!" exclaimed a gray tom, "isn't that the new apprentice of ThunderClan, Glacierpaw?"

"Yeah," mewed another before I could speak. "Her mentor's Brambleclaw, right?"

"Brambleclaw?" repeated the gray tom before I could say anything. "I would be careful if I were you. Stay away from him. Ask Firestar for a new mentor."

I hissed. "Brambleclaw's as loyal as you or me!" I snapped, mimicking what Whitepaw had said to Shrewpaw.

But the gray tom just shrugged. "Whatever. I'm Crowpaw, by the way, of WindClan. And this is Breezepaw, also of WindClan."

"Hi," he mewed, a brown tabby tom, "please excuse Crowpaw. He's never in a good mood."

"Hey!" protested Crowpaw indignantly.

"Well, it's true…"

"Come on," mewed Whitepaw. "You've got to see Mothwing."

"Mothwing?" I repeated as we stood up. "You mean, the RiverClan medicine cat apprentice?"

"Yeah."

Whitepaw lead me through the crowds toward where most of the RiverClan cats were. I spotted a golden tabby she-cat sitting alone, flicking her tail nervously. Whitepaw and I padded over to her.

"Oh, hello," mewed Mothwing. "And who are you?"

"We're ThunderClan apprentices," answered Whitepaw. "I'm Whitepaw, and this is Glacierpaw. Glacierpaw wanted to meet you."

"Er, hi," I meowed awkwardly.

"Oh, you're the new apprentice of ThunderClan!" exclaimed Mothwing. "I've heard so much about you. Congradulations on getting Brambleclaw for a mentor!"

I nodded, liking this cat already. "He's an excellent one."

Mothwing nodded, but I could see a flash of something else in her eyes – admiration. I blinked. What was between Brambleclaw and Mothwing?

"Shh!" hissed a ShadowClan elder. "The Gathering's about to start."

I looked up on the Great Rock. The four Clan leaders – Firestar, Tallstar, Leopardstar, and Blackstar, were sitting with their heads held high, gazing at the cats around them.

"I will go first," mewed Firestar, stepping forward. I could see that his tail was twitching nervously. "We found two kittypets in the forest that have agreed to train as ThunderClan apprentices."

Yowls of protest rang through the clearing. I saw humiliation written all over Firestar's face.

"They have earned the names of Flamepaw and Dragonpaw," he continued. "Their mentors are Sootfur and Graystripe."

There were no yowls of approval from the Clans. I wasn't surprised. Firestar stepped back, dipping his head in shame and embarrassment.

But now Blackstar stepped forward, swaggering. I narrowed my eyes as he spoke.

"I believe that ThunderClan has a missing cat?" he mewed.

Firestar looked up. "Rainwhisker?"

Blackstar nodded. "We found him. He's in our camp."
"Rainwhisker!"

Sorreltail and Sootfur pushed through the crowd to reach Blackstar.

"Is he okay?"

"What happened to him?"

"He had been ripped to shreds," answered Blackstar. "We were not sure he was alive when we found him. He's not so much better now. But we will give him back to you…"

"Yes!" yowled Sorreltail.

"…under one condition."

ThunderClan cats exchanged nervous glances.

"Our Clan is starving," mewed Blackstar. "We will give you back your warrior after you have given us enough food to recover."

Yowls of outrage rang out not just from ThunderClan – but from WindClan and RiverClan as well.

"If you do not comply to our conditions," added Blackstar, "we will kill Rainwhisker."

ThunderClan, WindClan, and RiverClan growled with anger, unsheathing their claws and scraping them on the hard ground. ShadowClan stayed silent, listening to their leader.

Tallstar stepped forward, fur bristling and tail lashing. "It is unheard of!" the black and white tom snarled. "You can't use a warrior to make ThunderClan give you prey!"

"I will do anything for my Clan," was Blackstar's answer.

Tallstar snorted and stood next to Firestar. "I will help you attack ShadowClan, if you wish, Firestar," he mewed.

Firestar bowed his head. "Thank you for your offer, Tallstar, that is very kind. But this is ThunderClan's problem. I will not want your warriors to be hurt because of us."

Tallstar nodded and continued to glare at Blackstar.

"Look!" yowled a she-cat; the ShadowClan deputy, Russetfur, "clouds are covering the moon! StarClan is angry."

I looked up and saw that she was right. Smoky clouds were obscuring the moon, making it darker. Interesting, I thought, was that really a sign from StarClan?

The Clans murmured nervously to each other. Blackstar rose to his feet.

"This meeting is over," he mewed. "StarClan has told us so."

"I wonder why," snarled Leopardstar. She leapt down from the Highrock and padded over to her Clan.

Firestar jumped down, walking over to Graystripe, his tail twitching nervously. He said a few words to the Clan deputy before beckoning his Clan to follow him. ThunderClan raced quickly out of the Fourtress and toward the river.

"Well, that was…interesting," panted Whitepaw. "I can't believe Blackstar said that!"

"Nor can I," I agreed. "Poor Rainwhisker…he must feel terrible…"

"And Sorreltail and Sootfur too," added Whitepaw. "Their parents, Willowpelt and Whitestorm, are already dead. If they lose their brother…" She shivered.

I nodded in understanding.

As soon as we were back in the familiar ThunderClan camp, Firestar leaped up on the Highrock and didn't bother calling his Clan.

"Blackstar's demand to give him our prey will never be met," he yowled. The Clan mewed their agreement. "But the fact still stands about what we will do to ShadowClan – and for Rainwhisker."

"We attack!"

The voice had been Flamepaw's, leaping to her feet. Her mentor, Sootfur, didn't even bother telling her off. "Fight ShadowClan! It's the only way! We can free Rainwhisker! There are more of us than them!"

Dragonpaw, her sister, padded over to her and whispered something in her ear, willing her to be silent, but Flamepaw went ranting on.

"ShadowClan will never think that we'll attack them! They will never expect us. We should attack now! While they're least expecting us!"

Firestar listened calmly, but with his ears pricked with interest. Flamepaw stared up at her leader, a striking resemblance to him. Maybe Flamepaw is Firestar's daughter too. No, that's mouse-brained, I thought.

"Your words make sense, young Flamepaw," mewed Firestar. He nodded, raising his voice to the Clan. "We will attack ShadowClan."

Dragonpaw sent a worried glance at her smug-looking sister that I could not help but notice.

"Graystripe, Cloudtail, Thornclaw, Ashfur, Sorreltail, Sootfur, Mousefur, Dustpelt, and all the apprentices are coming," he continued. "And Brackenfur. And Brambleclaw. Sandstorm. Brightheart."

Firestar leapt down from the Highrock and yowled for his Clan to follow.

"I can't believe we're going!" I whispered to Whitepaw as we tore through the trees, on our way to ShadowClan.

"I know," mewed Whitepaw. "Our first battle! This is incredible!"

I purred, but it caught in my throat as we faced the Thunderpath. I had never crossed this horrible thing before.

Cloudtail, Sandstorm, Dustpelt, and Mousefur ran across it at the same time. All the apprentices – except Ravenpaw – waited nervously on the other side.

"You're not afraid of a Thunderpath, eh, Dragonpaw?" asked Flamepaw, her tail lashing defiantly, facing the Thunderpath.

Dragonpaw shivered. "Maybe I am," she mewed. "But as should you, Flamepaw – FLAMEPAW!"

The tricolor she-cat's voice rang to a horrified yowl as Flamepaw raced across the Thunderpath, just in front of a monster. I held my breath – but Flamepaw made it across safely. Dustpelt and Mousefur scolded her.

"The mouse-brained fool!" hissed Shrewpaw, his fur bristled out from worry. "I can't believe she did that!"

"I know," whispered Spiderpaw. "She's crazy."

"Hush, apprentices," mewed Thornclaw. "We're close to enemy territory."

The six of us fell silent and watched as Brackenfur, Brambleclaw, Ashfur, Sootfur, and Sorreltail crossed the Thunderpath. A few more warriors followed him, and finally, it was the apprentices' turn.

I dug my claws nervously into the ground, watching the monsters race across the Thunderpath. There was a parade of them. I waited until the coast was clear before racing as fast as I could across the Thunderpath.

The hard, black ground scraped at my paws and I ran. I almost ran into my mentor, Brambleclaw, before steadying myself and turning around to look at the others – but then Squirrelpaw actually did run into me, and then Whitepaw.

"Ouch!" hissed Squirrelpaw crossly. "Get off me, you great lump!"

"And what about me?" I snapped. "You ran into me first, Squirrelpaw!"

Whitepaw fell back off of Squirrelpaw, and scrabbled to get to her feet. Squirrelpaw slowly stood up.

"She-cats," muttered Shrewpaw.

"Toms," we retorted.

"Quiet!" snapped Graystripe.

The Clan padded on. I winced as the swampy, dirty water touched my paws, sinking slowly. It got worse the more we walked until we were up to our necks in the water. At last, the water became shallow – or the ground began to rise – and we were climbing up a small slope that lead into ShadowClan camp. The first cat we saw let out a surprised mew.

"ThunderClan!" he hissed, and stepped backward slowly, waiting for an instruction from his leader.

"Firestar!" snarled Blackstar, sitting in the center of the clearing next to his deputy, Russetfur. "You will never get your warrior back. Now I suggest you leave, if you want to be ripped to shreds."

Firestar growled. "I think not," he mewed, and flicked his tail at his Clan. "ThunderClan, attack!"

"Attack!" yowled Blackstar, and the ShadowClan warriors flung into battle with ThunderClan.

A small gray tom tackled me roughly, barreling me onto my side. I leapt to my feet, snarling. It was Smokepaw, a ShadowClan apprentice. I dropped into a battle crouch and tried to remember the fighting moves Brambleclaw had taught me.

I waited for Smokepaw to strike before I attacked. He leapt at me, claws out, teeth biting. I jumped back, landing in the water, put all my strength into my back legs, and leaped. I sailed through the air and landed on Smokepaw, clawing. The apprentice hissed frantically, in pain and fear. I gave him a warning bite and sent him yowling into the bushes.

I glanced around the clearing of tussling cats. Graystripe and Oakfur were fighting fiercely, while Ashfur tried to help him, but a ShadowClan warrior barreled him over. I saw Sorreltail and Sootfur fighting with three cats as they tried to enter the medicine cat's den to get Rainwhisker.

I need to help them, I thought. I raced across the clearing toward them, but another ShadowClan warrior tackled me. I hissed with anger and sprang at him, but he was fast. He leapt away from me, and jumped on me just as I was landing – clawing my back. I yowled in pain.

Then, suddenly, it was the tom that was yowling. A cat had pulled him off me! I looked gratefully into the amber eyes of Ravenpaw, and nodded my thanks.

"We have to get Rainwhisker!" I yowled.

Ravenpaw nodded. "Let's go."

We raced again toward the medicine cat's den, where Sorreltail and Sootfur were still fighting ferociously. I leapt forward and pulled Rowanclaw off Sorreltail, and gave her a sharp bite in the neck. Rowanclaw yowled in pain and raced into a den. Ravenpaw gave a tom another bite and he ran as well.

Cautiously, we entered the medicine cat's den, where Littlecloud, the ShadowClan medicine cat, was sitting beside another cat.

"Take him," he mewed. "I won't stop you. I know what my Clan is doing is wrong."

I looked down at Rainwhisker…and let out a shocked gasp. His entire face was scarred horribly, with long, deep scratches running down the mouth onto his neck and back. His ears were chipped, and his tail crooked slightly. If I had seen Brightheart after her accident, then this was what she probably would have looked like. Except, she had been hurt by dogs – this was definitely cats.

"Rainwhisker…" whispered Sorreltail, crouching next to him.

"Sorreltail…Sootfur…" he rasped. He was alive! I never would have guessed. "You…came."

Sootfur nodded vigorously. "Yes, Rainwhisker, we're here. We've come to get you out."

"How did you…know I was…here?"

The four of us glanced at each other nervously.

"Never mind that, Rainwhisker," mewed Ravenpaw gently. "Now…let's just get you out of here."

Rainwhisker struggled awkwardly to his feet. He could barely stand. I rushed forward and put my shoulder on his to steady him.

"Right," mewed Sorreltail. "Let's get him out of here."

We walked him slowly out of the den. Ravenpaw, Sorreltail, and Sootfur protected him fiercely from the ShadowClan warriors wanting to take Rainwhisker back, or kill him. When we reached the water, it became more difficult. Rainwhisker kept falling over and we could only keep him upright when Ravenpaw helped. At last, we reached the side of the Thunderpath. More ThunderClan warriors were rushing toward us, having noticed that we had freed Rainwhisker.

Mousefur grabbed Rainwhisker by the scruff of his neck and hauled him amazingly across the Thunderpath, with cats racing next to them.

I padded close to Mousefur and made sure that she could carry Rainwhisker okay after we were across. The brown she-cat did seem to be having trouble. Mousefur was panting heavily and was slowing down with each step. So I grabbed Rainwhisker's scruff with my teeth and helped her along. She sent me a grateful glance with her eyes and the two of us trudged on.

The Clan made it back to camp, exhausted by victorious. We hastily brought Rainwhisker into Cinderpelt's den where she would care for him with Leafpaw.

Firestar leapt upon the Highrock and yowled all the call for the cats to come to the Highrock below.

"Today, our Clan has shown incredible courage," he mewed. "Rainwhisker is back with us, and looks as though he will survive." Mews of appreciation rang through the Clan. "But there is a single ceremony to perform."

He flicked his tail at Ravenpaw, who stood up slowly, his fur bristling with excitement. The black tom sat next to Firestar.

"I, Firestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice," yowled Firestar. "He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn."

So this is a warrior ceremony, I thought, watching Firestar closely. Interesting. ThunderClan's leader looked at Ravenpaw.

"Ravenpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Ravenfur. StarClan honors your loyalty and your intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Firestar bent forward to touch noses with Ravenfur as the Clan chanted his new name.

"Ravenfur! Ravenfur!"

Okay, sort of boring…sort of…not a lot happened. But the next chapter will be better. They might be made warriors.