Looking back, I realize that Brokenstar is right in the middle of Tigerstar and Whitestorm in terms of age, but I don't want to go back and rewrite this. Instead this is an AU so anything is possible? Sorry if you don't like it but I thought having Hopepaw being a sister to Whitestorm would be interesting. She doesn't know she's adopted, by the way. Nobody sees any point in telling her… except Thistleclaw… and every time he tries Bluefur just does something to distract him because what kind of monster does that to a child?

Hopepaw was nervous.

She'd only been an apprentice for a short time, but already she was going to a Gathering. Icepaw and Whitepaw were going, too. Bluefur had to stay behind to help protect the camp and Hopepaw wished that she was going, too. Maybe then the Gathering wouldn't be so uncomfortable. She stuck by her brother and fellow apprentice in hopes that it would be better for her. Icepaw had already been to a Gathering so he'd offered to introduce her to a couple cats he knew in other Clans.

Upon reaching the clearing, she felt a strange sense of ease. Like she'd been there once before. But she knew that was impossible. She'd only just become an apprentice and she'd never been so far away from camp before. The farthest she'd gone before now was Sunningrocks. ThunderClan was first to arrive with WindClan following shortly after. ShadowClan arrived, leaving only RiverClan unaccounted for. Hopepaw gazed around at all the other cats. There were so many…

"Come on," Icepaw said. "I'll introduce you to a couple cats I met last time."

She and Whitepaw followed him and as they went they heard arguing. Hopepaw stopped to see a pair of ShadowClan apprentices facing some ones from WindClan. Icepaw looked concerned. The she-cat from ShadowClan had her tail in front of her Clanmate, saying something that Hopepaw couldn't quite make out. What was obvious was that the WindClan apprentices were goading the ShadowClan tom into a fight. Icepaw sighed and padded over.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing. Just some teasing," one of the WindClan cats stated, averting his gaze.

"Well, maybe you should stop. This is a Gathering. As long as the moon is uncovered…"

"We have to keep peace," sighed a she-cat. "Come on. Let's go find a good spot."

The WindClan cats walked away, but instead of looking grateful, the dark brown tom looked angry.

"I could've handled it!" he spat.

"Brokenpaw…" the she-cat next to him said in a warning tone. She was a pale brown tabby with long thick fur. Her amber eyes met that of Hopepaw. "I'm sorry for my brother. We had a battle with WindClan not too long ago and he wasn't allowed to participate."

"I could've beaten those scrawny rabbit-chasers!"

"I think you'd best go find Father. Tell him what they said."

Brokenpaw narrowed his orange eyes and skulked off, leaving his sister with the three ThunderClan apprentices.

"My name is Wishpaw. And who are you three?"

"I'm Icepaw, and this is Hopepaw and Whitepaw."

"Hi," Hopepaw greeted her.

"Hello," Whitepaw added. "Your brother doesn't seem very pleasant."

"He isn't to most. He only really gets along with me and our father." She sighed. "What you saw… that's pretty normal in our camp. I keep the peace."

"You're good at it," chuckled Icepaw. "I don't think I'd be able to keep him from leaping on those apprentices." Wishpaw tilted her head.

"Icepaw… are you the kittypet?"

Icepaw stiffened.

"I used to be. But I decided to join ThunderClan instead."

From the tone of his voice it wasn't something he wanted to talk about. Hopepaw had asked him many times to tell him the story of how he joined the Clan but he always brushed it off. Maybe he'd tell her one day but that day wasn't today.

"My father's father was a kittypet." Wishpaw curled her lip. "Some cats say that Brokenpaw and I shouldn't be warriors and that we should go join our grandfather in Twolegplace."

"Don't listen to them!" Hopepaw spoke up fiercely. "You deserve to be a warrior as much as anyone else!"

"Thank you."

A yowl sounded from the Great Rock and it was clear that it was time for the meeting to begin. The apprentices separated to go to their respective Clans and Hopepaw scanned the leaders, deputies, and medicine cats. Her gaze lingered on a gray she-cat sitting next to Featherwhisker. She felt an odd… closeness with the she-cat she'd never seen before. The same was true for the dark brown tom sitting with Tawnyspots. She guessed he was a deputy, too.

Most of the meeting passed fairly uneventfully. News was shared by all four Clans and she felt sleepy. The most exciting part was when Sunstar announced her and Whitepaw as apprentices and the other Clans chanted their names. She made sure to cheer for Wishpaw and Brokenpaw when they were announced. But other than that, the most eventful part of the Gathering was when Brokenpaw broke the truce and got into a fight with one of the WindClan apprentices from earlier. Wishpaw was frantically trying to call her brother off with no success.

By the time it was settled it was time to return to camp.

"What did you think?" Icepaw asked as they walked.

"I think… I'm ready to sleep."

"I know I'm ready to sleep," Whitepaw added. Icepaw chuckled.

"Well, you'll both sleep well tonight. It's a tiring journey."

There were no more words exchanged.

Wishpaw sighed as she entered the medicine den.

"What's wrong?" Runningpaw asked.

"Is Yellowfang here?"

"Not at the moment, no. Why?"

"I need to talk to her about something."

"I'm here. You can talk to me." She shook her head.

"It's about my brother."

"Oh. In that case… she went out to gather herbs. I think she said something about marigold? We need some."

"I'll go find her then."

Wishpaw padded back out, only to run right into Deerpaw. He gave her a rather cocky look that made her slightly annoyed. He always treated Brokenpaw badly, as he had since they were kits, and she had little patience for him. It was made worse by the fact that Deerpaw was clearly fond of her. He didn't make it a secret, which annoyed her more than anything else. Of course she didn't voice this out loud because he was her Clanmate and she at least had to tolerate him. He was a pain in the tail but she was willing to tolerate him if it was what the Clan required.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I was hoping you'd come hunting with me. That's all."

"I'm going to help Yellowfang gather herbs. Sorry."

"Maybe later, then."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his self-assured ways. Just because she kept the peace between her brother and their Clanmates didn't mean she had to care for Deerpaw as anything beyond that. And she didn't. Brokenpaw hated Deerpaw and she had her own reasons for disliking him. Somehow to Deerpaw Wishpaw was a future mate and she didn't want that. Not with him. Any cat other than him would be better.

Outside camp, Wishpaw picked up Yellowfang's scent. It was familiar and comforting and she'd known it since before she opened her eyes, it felt like. Following it to the patch where Yellowfang usually gathered marigold was easy. Yellowfang was there, taking the leaves carefully and glancing up as Wishpaw approached.

"Come to help?" she asked playfully.

"I need advice. It's about… it's about Brokenpaw."

"Help me carry these back to camp and I'll help you out." Wishpaw nodded and picked them up the way Yellowfang had taught her as a kit. "So, what about your brother?"

"I've always kept him out of the worst trouble, but lately it seems like I'm unable to do as much."

"You're older now," Yellowfang sighed. "I think he wants to be more independent and stop relying on you as much."

"I'm his sister. I'm the only one who likes him!"

"Not true. Your father likes him. And I like him, too."

Wishpaw flicked her tail. It was somewhat comforting but she still worried. Brokenpaw was more concerned with fighting than the care of his Clan. She was more concerned with the care of her Clan than fighting. They were opposed, yet she couldn't bring herself to stay out of his business. If she tore herself away from him he might get into trouble and end up hurt or worse. So she couldn't leave him alone. And she wouldn't, no matter how much he pushed her away.

Joining ThunderClan was the best thing that had ever happened to Icepaw.

Before that, living with his mother and brother and sister in Twolegplace, he'd always felt like he was an outsider. Socks and Ruby had held no love for him as a brother, leaving him alone unless they were mocking him or bullying him. All he wanted was to be accepted by someone, anyone. And ThunderClan had done that. Sure, he still had to deal with Tigerpaw—now a warrior named Tigerclaw—but he pushed the hate he felt for the dark brown tabby deep down in his belly and focused on becoming a warrior.

Things had become even better now that Hopepaw and Whitepaw had joined them in the apprentices' den. Hopepaw was a ray of sunshine in leafbare, and Whitepaw was far kinder to him than Tigerclaw had ever been. Bluefur acted like a mother to him as much as she had for her sister's kits, not caring that he wasn't Clanborn. A few cats still weren't comfortable with a former kittypet being a member of the Clan but with the exceptions of Tigerclaw and Thistleclaw none were openly hostile.

He stopped in his tracks. Something was in the bushes. He crouched and listened. The noise stopped and he opened his mouth to scent the air. Before he could do anything, a blur leapt from the bushes and tackled him. On instinct he fought back and then a mrrow of laughter sounded from his attacker. He knew exactly who had attacked him and he playfully batted at her ears. Hopepaw leapt back off of him and stared at him with her amber eyes.

"I got you good!" she purred.

"Yes, you did. Good job! Where's Goldenflower?"

"She said I could hunt on my own, but I caught a bunch of prey and I was bored."

"Maybe you should take it back to camp instead of attacking your Clanmates?"

"I scented you and thought I'd play a joke." She padded back into the bushes and he followed her. The 'bunch of prey' was a squirrel, a mouse, and a vole. He was impressed; clearly Hopepaw was a good hunter.

"I can help you carry it if you like?"

"Have you caught anything?"

"Not yet." Instead of accusing him of stealing her catches, she nodded.

"I've caught enough to count as shares for three cats. It's not a problem."

"But I should still—"

"You're a good hunter, too. You're just having bad luck… and I scared off all the prey with my joke, so it's the least I can do."

He hesitated, then took the vole. She balanced the squirrel and mouse in her jaws and began padding back towards camp. Icepaw followed her closely, and he could hear Bluefur complimenting Hopepaw as they entered. Goldenflower was purring with pride for her apprentice.

"Icepaw!" called Lionheart. "Put down the prey and come see me."

He deposited the vole and headed over to his own mentor, who was beaming with pride. Sunstar was next to him.

"I think it's about time for your warrior assessment," the leader of ThunderClan told him. "You've done well since you joined the Clan. Especially given you were a kittypet. I don't think a Clanborn cat could've done better."

Icepaw felt pride brimming beneath his pelt. He was the oldest apprentice at the moment, and he desperately wanted that honor Tigerclaw had been gloating about since his ceremony. It was the final step to earning respect in the Clan. But that would mean leaving Hopepaw behind in the apprentices' den. He reminded himself that she'd be a warrior soon enough.

"Thank you, Sunstar. It's an honor."

"Go and eat. Your assessment is tomorrow."

Icepaw hesitated to let his leader know that now he was too excited to eat, but Lionheart swept him away with his tail. Clearly his mentor understood the excitement, still being a relatively new warrior himself. From what Icepaw had heard, he was Lionheart's first apprentice.

"What did Lionheart want?" asked Hopepaw as he approached the fresh-kill pile.

"My warrior assessment is tomorrow!"

Whitepaw jerked his head up, his eyes glowing with envy and admiration. Frostpaw and Brindlepaw had the same emotions in their gazes. But Hopepaw looked proud of him and that was all that mattered.

"I hope I do well."

"You'll do brilliant. Whitepaw and I will have ours soon enough."

"And us after that!" Frostpaw mewed.

"Thanks. I'm still nervous."

"You should be, kittypet," snarled a voice. They turned to see Thistleclaw standing nearby.

"Father!" Whitepaw gasped in horror.

"A kittypet become a warrior… ha. It won't happen."

Irritation buzzed beneath Icepaw's pelt. He couldn't believe that cat was Hopepaw and Whitepaw's father. He was so unpleasant and rude. His former apprentice was much the same, sneering at Icepaw from across the clearing as Thistleclaw joined him. Hopepaw gave him a comforting lick on the ears.

"Don't listen to Father. He doesn't know what he's talking about. You're great and you'll make a great warrior."

He hoped she was right.

WHOOP THERE IT IS

Second chapter done. Next time we'll see Icepaw's warrior assessment.

…can you all tell I'm building a ship…?

So long and thanks for all the fish!