Just thought I'ld remind you, I know Birchclaw's real warrior name is Birchfall! I just called him Birchclaw before I found out, and I decided to keep the name.

Anyway, enjoy! (And leave a review!)

Appleheart was filled with excitement. It was her first Gathering as a warrior! She exchanged glances with her brothers, Toadfoot and Marshpelt. They looked equally excited.

But Appleheart couldn't shake off the feeling that something was missing. She ignored it, concentrating on the Gathering ahead.

"Hey, Toadfoot," Marshpelt laughed. "How are you feeling?"

Toadfoot leapt onto the fallen tree trunk. "Never better."

"And you, sis?" Marshpelt flicked her lightly with his tail.

Appleheart tilted her head to one side. "Are you kidding?" She and her brother jumped on the trunk after Toadfoot. The full moon shone down, turning Appleheart's usually light pelt a beautiful silvery colour. Marshpelt's brown flecked fur was also silver.

"We look like StarClan warriors," he laughed. Lowering his voice, he whispered. "Look who Toadfoot's with."

Appleheart stared at Toadfoot. The dark brown warrior was talking to a RiverClan apprentice.

"Oh, that's..." Appleheart searched her mind. "Minnowpaw."

Marshpelt gazed at the black she-cat. "Minnowpaw, huh? What a beauty."

Appleheart leapt gracefully onto the island, tripping her brother with a forepaw. "Too love-struck to think straight?" she teased.

Marshpelt got to his feet. "Ha ha, very funny," he groaned.

"You know, it's nice seeing you two play like kits," a she-cat said behind them. "You act so serious in camp that you deserve a bit of play."

"Tallpoppy!" Appleheart purred as she recognised her mother. "We were just playing."

Her mother nodded, her eyes twinkling. "Do you remember Ferncloud?" she meowed suddenly, as a light grey ThunderClan she-cat joined them.

Appleheart felt that she had seen Ferncloud before, but she couldn't remember when. "Sorry, no."

"You and your brothers used to play with my son, Birchclaw," Ferncloud mewed, swelling with pride. "He's just been made a warrior."

"They've just become warriors too," Tallpoppy cried. The two she-cats started chatting about their children.

"Shall we leave them?" Appleheart whispered to Marshpelt. No reply came. "Marshpelt?"

She soon spotted him, chatting to Minnowpaw. Appleheart starting strolling over to them when a cat stood on her tail.

"Owww!"

"Sorry!"

Appleheart gathered her tail around her and started inspecting it. She could tell that the cat who'd stood on it was still beside her. She could smell that it was a ThunderClan tom.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. He had a deep, strong voice. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean it."

"I'm sure you didn't," Appleheart replied, still checking her tail. She gave it a few quick licks. "It's not really..."

Her voice died away as she looked at the tom sitting beside her. He was a young, handsome brown tabby with a strong build. His amber eyes flashed as he stared at her in surprise.

"Applekit?" he meowed, staring at her straight in the eyes.

Appleheart stared back. It didn't feel frightening. "Birchkit?"

"I'm Birchclaw now," the tom corrected her. "You'd probably be a warrior too, come to think of it."

"Yes," Appleheart replied. "My warrior name is Appleheart."

Birchclaw nodded approvingly. "Wow, you've... grown."

"So have you," Appleheart blushed a little.

"And not just that, you've grown beautifully."

"Thank you," Appleheart smiled, dipping her head. "You're not so bad yourself."

A familiar yowl broke out. Both cats turned to see the leaders getting ready to start the meeting.

"Do you want to sit together?" Birchclaw suddenly blurted out. He gave his chest a few self-conscious licks. "I mean, what with us both being new warriors and all..."

"Okay," Appleheart said quickly. She nudged him gently with her shoulder. "Come on."

The two cats sat down together. Appleheart kept glancing around. There was Marshpelt, next to Toadfoot and Minnowpaw.

"We have three new warriors," a voice said. Appleheart suddenly realised she'd missed the beginning of her leader's talk. "Appleheart, Marshpelt and Toadfoot."

Appleheart sat up a little taller, curling her tail around her front paws.

"Birchpaw has also become a warrior," Firestar announced later. "He will now be known as Birchclaw."

Birchclaw raised his head, his amber eyes gleaming. Before she knew what she was doing, Appleheart gave the ThunderClan warrior a friendly lick on his ear.

Birchclaw froze for a second before cautiously reaching down and gently rubbing his cheek against hers. Appleheart began to purr with delight. She felt happier than she'd ever felt before.

She'd forgotten that she was from ShadowClan and he was from ThunderClan.