Hi again! I'm not going to include the allegiances anymore for a while at least. Please do let me know if you have a specific idea for a cat's mate (after all, I do need future kits) and I will still be doing a Q&A so if you have questions, make sure to ask.

Chapter 7

WindClan

Irispaw bounced on her paws. She grinned up at Brownfur, her mentor, who chuckled at her excitement.

"Remember to stay close to your clanmates, alright?" he said. Irispaw nodded, unable to get words out.

"I need a vocal answer." Brownfur said.

"Yes, of course." Irispaw squeaked. Brownfur smiled and rolled his eyes, then turned back to his conversation with Ashenwing. Irispaw looked around for her friends and caught sight of Rainpaw walking beside her sister. She bounded over to them.

"Is this your first gathering?" she asked when she'd reached Rainpaw and Stormpaw.

"This is my first gathering," Rainpaw said. "But Stormpaw's second."

"Are they fun?" Irispaw asked. Stormpaw glanced at her mentor, Sunpatch briefly before looking back at Irispaw.

"They can be. The last one was fun. I got to meet tons of apprentices from other Clans." She paused. "I can introduce you if you'd like."

"That'd be great." Irispaw squealed.

"Shh!" Flowerfoot hissed from behind her. "I'm trying to speak to Dashfoot but you're being loud!"

Irispaw flattened her ears and quickly muttered an apology. Rainpaw rolled her eyes.

"Ignore her." She whispered. "Flowerfoot is just annoyed at Murkpaw. He forgot to check the elders for ticks."

"We're almost there." Stormpaw said. "It's a good time to stop talking anyway. This is something you'll want to see."

Just as she said, the three she-cats stopped talking as they padded towards the Gathering place. They finally reached the edge of the slope and Irispaw could see all the way down into the Gathering.

"There are so many cats!" Rainpaw breathed as her clanmates began to race down. And she was right. There were at least fifty cats all in groups huddled together or talking with their clanmates. Irispaw grinned as she, Rainpaw, and Stormpaw made their way down.

"Come on," Stormpaw yelled as they ran. "I'll introduce you to the other apprentices!"

She ran through the crowd of cats, weaving between them, her tail streaming out behind her. Rainpaw and Irispaw followed. Stormpaw finally slowed to a halt at a group of cats that looked about their age.

"Stormpaw!" A dark ginger she-cat exclaimed. She smiled at Stormpaw and then blinked in surprise when she noticed Rainpaw and Irispaw. "Who are your friends?"

"Hi," Stormpaw greeted the she-cat. "This is my sister Rainpaw, and our friend Irispaw."

"It's nice to meet you." the she-cat that Irispaw realized was of ThunderClan due to her stench. "I'm Russetpaw from ThunderClan."

"Hi," Rainpaw offered.

"Are you the only ThunderClan apprentice here?" Stormpaw asked, sitting down.

"No." Russetpaw glanced around and then beckoned for a two toms to come over with her tail. "These are my clanmates, Sootpaw and Breezepaw. Breezepaw is a new apprentice." One of the cats, a black tom waved his tail at them.

"So am I!" Irispaw exclaimed.

"What's your name?" the black tom asked. "I'm Breezepaw."

"Irispaw." She said. "I'm from WindClan."

Breezepaw sat up straight and his ears twitched excitedly. He grinned at her suddenly and turned to face her. "Really? What's it like in WindClan?" He asked, leaning forwards eagerly.

"It's great." Irispaw said. "My dad is Moorstar. He's the leader and my mum is Whitesong, the deputy."

"Wow!" Breezepaw said, his eyes round in awe. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah." Irispaw smiled. "What about your parents?"

"My mama's the best warrior in all of ThunderClan!" Breezepaw meowed proudly. "Her name is Honeyflower."

"That's a really pretty name."

Breezepaw and Irispaw turned to see a small grey and white she-cat approach them. She cocked her head as she watched them.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "I just got here. I'm Snowpaw by the way."

"Hi!" Irispaw said. She and Breezepaw introduced themselves and were quickly in a deep conversation when a white she-cat tapped Snowpaw on the shoulder.

"Shh," the she-cat said. "The gathering is starting."

"Sorry, Icepaw." Snowpaw whispered and the three of them settled down. Irispaw looked up towards the Great Rock and sure enough, all six leaders stood upon it. Silverstar was perched on the lowest area of the Great Rock and noting by her expression, she wasn't happy about it.

Irispaw thought briefly that it would've been interesting to see the other leaders reactions at the first gathering of LightningClan six moons ago.

"Hey," a quiet whisper caught Irispaw's attention. She glanced beside her at Breezepaw. A pretty golden tabby had come up to him and was smiling at him. Irispaw blinked. This must be Honeyflower.

"Hi," Breezepaw whispered. He turned to Irispaw. "Irispaw, this is Honeyflower, my mama. Mama, this is Irispaw. She's from WindClan."

Honeyflower glanced at Irispaw and immediately she stiffened. She seemed frozen for a moment but quickly recovered, blinking in surprise.

"Oh!" she smiled but Irispaw could tell it was forced. "You look just like your mother."

Irispaw frowned. As far as she could tell, she and Whitesong didn't look much alike. She supposed she'd gotten her eyes from her mother and sometimes when she stared into her mother's amber eye, it was like staring back into her own. Other than that, she'd gotten most of her colouring from her father.

"Thank you." she said at the same time as Breezepaw asked, "Do you know her mother?"

"Yes." Honeyflower said quietly, glancing briefly at the Great Rock where the leaders were still calling attention. "We were friends as apprentices."

"Quiet!" a sleek white she-cat with yellow eyes snapped, glaring back at them. "The leaders are speaking."

Irispaw ducked her head and turned back to the Great Rock. Sure enough, Foreststar of ThunderClan had stepped forwards.

"Greetings everyone," he howled, catching everyone's attention. "I can tell there is tension among us tonight so I would like to remind everyone to ignore any grievances you have for the night."

"I agree." Silverstar called, shooting an even glare at Foreststar.

"Alright, then. I shall go first?" Moorstar asked. Then, not even bothering to see if the other leaders agreed, he stepped forward. "WindClan is flourishing. Hunting is good, despite the cold weather. Newleaf is almost here and WindClan shall thrive along with its arrival."

"We have one new apprentice." Moorstar smirked. "My daughter, Irispaw!"

Irispaw felt a rush of pride as cats everywhere began to yowl her name to the sky. They soon fell silent as Moorstar continued, "That is all." He stepped back and dipped his head to Silverstar who stepped forwards.

"LightningClan, as well, is thriving. Prey has been scarce but we are surviving. We will push through these hard times." Silverstar said. "That is all for now."

Alderstar then stepped forward. "I dearly wish I could say the same for RiverClan." He said, then, lowering his head he announced, "RiverClan has been suffering through a series of murders."

Gasps of shock and yowls of horror rang around the clearing. As Irispaw looked around, she noted that many cats' eyes were wide with fear and worry. She glanced towards the apprentices and a chill ran through her when she noticed that Icepaw sat with her tail curled around her paws and a smirk on her face. The white she-cat's eyes floated around as she took in everyone's expressions. She met Irispaw's gaze and smiled, the tip of her tail flicking back and forth in the dust.

Irispaw quickly looked away and focused her attention on the leaders again but she could feel Icepaw's eyes boring into her back.

"We are searching for the killer and we assure you all that we have this under control–"

"How can you have murder under control?" Moorstar demanded. Alderstar glared at him.

"We are dealing with this." He said firmly. "All I ask is that all the other clans be on the lookout for any suspicious behavior."

"We will." Foreststar said. Alderstar stepped back and Foreststar stepped up. "ThunderClan is struggling through Leaf-bare but as Moorstar said, Newleaf is just around the corner and we will survive."

"We also have a new apprentice," Foreststar said. "Honeyflower's son, Breezepaw!"

Cats everywhere began to chant Breezepaw's name and Irispaw grinned at him as he sat beside her, chest puffed up with pride. She glanced at Honeyflower, shocked to see that while the golden she-cat was chanting her son's name, her eyes were fixed on Moorstar.

Irispaw glanced at her father to see him glaring at Breezepaw. Feeling her gaze on him, Moorstar turned to her and shot her a smile before turning back to the leaders. Irispaw swallowed back her fears as the chants died down once more.

"That is all." Foreststar said and he stepped back.

"Prey is running well in SkyClan." Stormstar said. "Nothing else has changed."

Irispaw blinked. Were his reports usually that short? As she looked around, it appeared that they weren't as many cats looked just as confused as she felt.

Finally, the last leader, Redstar stepped up. "ShadowClan is doing well." He said. "We have four new apprentices, Firepaw, Icepaw, Snowpaw, and Waterpaw!" Everyone cheered and Irispaw grinned at Snowpaw. She refused to look at Icepaw but she also smiled at the ginger tom standing next to Icepaw who must've been Firepaw if the proud look he wore was anything to go by.

"Unfortunately, I have an accusation to make." Redstar said. He turned to look at Foreststar. "ThunderClan has been stealing prey."

Foreststar blinked and his eyes hardened. "I assure you that none of my warriors have been stealing your prey." He said.

"Well some of them have." Redstar retorted. "Just the other day, one of my warriors found a thrush from our territory on your side of the border."

"None of my warriors–"

"Are you sure?" Redstar asked. Foreststar glared at him and leapt down from the Great Rock.

"Come on, ThunderClan." He called. "We're going home!"

Irispaw let out a sigh as everyone began to disperse. She turned to Breezepaw.

"Bye, I guess." She said.

"Bye." Breezepaw returned.

"Hopefully we'll see each other on patrol and at the next Gathering." Snowpaw said.

"Yeah. See you next time!" Irispaw called as she ran back towards her clan. She caught up with Whitesong as WindClan made their way back to camp.

"Did you like your first gathering?" Whitesong asked, giving her a quick lick to the cheek.

"I loved it!" Irispaw cried in excitement. "It was so fun! I made so many friends!"

Whitesong smiled at her but fell silent when Moorstar fell back to walk with them. As her parents talked, Irispaw was left alone to her thoughts.

I can't wait to see Breezepaw and Snowpaw again at the next Gathering!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm hoping to start uploading every day but it might be every other day. It just depends. I have so many more ideas for this fic now that I'm back and I hope that people continue to read.

What do you guys think of Icepaw and Irispaw? Who are your favourite characters so far? Also let me know if you have kit name suggestions (again, I need couples/ships with the current cats).

Hope you enjoyed,

- Hollyshade 3