A chilly wind blew across the meadows and the cats shivered. They sat in front of deadtrunk, waiting for Barkstar's news. It was a full moon that night. Ghostface was excited to see Fawnshadow without having to sneak off. Mossclaw sat beside him, licking his massive paw and saying, "I wonder what Barkstar's going to say."
"Yeah." Thunderpaw said from his other side. "I get to go to the gathering tonight though!"
Suddenly Barkstar spoke out from deadtrunk, "Cats of GrassClan. Before we go to the gathering, I wish to name one apprentice a warrior. Thunderpaw, come here."
The blue gray apprentice, eyes wide with surprise, padded forward.
"I, Barkstar, leader of GrassClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained long and hard to understand the ways of your honorable and noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn." The tom's voice was crisp and clear in the chilly air and it rang out above the cats. He looked proud as he gazed down at the young cat and recited the words. "Thunderpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend and protect this clan, even at the cost of your life?"
Thunderpaw nodded and managed to squeak, "Yes!"
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you you're warrior name. Thunderpaw, from now on you will be know as Thunderhawk. StarClan honors your heart and bravery. We welcome you as a full warrior in our Clan." Barkstar leapt down and said, "Thunderhawk, you will stay at camp for the gathering and sit vigil until dawn." He padded forward and touched her shoulder with his dark brown head.
The clan cats chanted proudly, "Thunderhawk! Thunderhawk! Thunderhawk!"
Mottledsong purred loudly and rubbed up against her former apprentice. Ghostface smiled and gave her a lick on the head. "So much for going to the gathering, huh?" Thunderhawk chuckled and shrugged.
Soon the cats dispersed and the cats that were to go to the gathering grouped by the entrance. All of the elders were going along with Barkstar, Shadedpelt, Mossclaw, Icetail, Mottledsong and Shrubfoot.
"Good luck. Stay warm!" Ghostface said to Thunderhawk who nodded in reply. It was a chilly night to sit vigil. Soon the cats were running toward the Gathering.
When they arrived, Ghostface immediately headed through the crowd to find Fawnshadow. She was sitting among a group of warriors, chatting. Ghostface joined them, trying to act as if he didn't know her.
"…Gorsestar has gotten better, but several other of our warriors seem to be getting sick." Said a black and white tom from WoodClan.
"It's so strange. It's nothing like I've seen before." Said Mudwhisker, Marshclan's medicine cat.
Fawnshadow spoke up, "Yes, this is very strange. Even HillsClan has noticed it too."
Ghostface was beginning to get nervous as they talked. No cat from GrassClan was seriously sick yet, but how long would it be? Was the prophecy encroaching upon the clans faster than he thought? He stood up and looked around. There seemed to be less cats then the last gathering. He noticed that Foxtail, the Woodclan deputy wasn't there.
The other cats padded off to talk to other cats. Ghostface stayed where he was. Fawnshadow turned to him.
"Ghostface."
"Fawnshadow." He dipped his head respectfully and then said in a quieter voice, "GrassClan hasn't detected any HillsClan on Boulder rock place for awhile."
"Longstar has decided to stop for now, our clan is getting sick and we haven't the strength to bring upon ourselves a fight we cannot win."
"I'm sorry. Our clan seems to be untouched by the sickness so far." Ghostface said. His tail wrapped around hers and they sat together, talking quietly until the cats quieted and a yowl rose from the four hills.
Gorsestar, a tortoiseshell tom and leader of WoodClan spoke up first. "As you know, I was sick and unable to make it to the gathering last time. I am now healed and healthy, but unfortunately there have been some sickness going around the clan. Our medicine cat can't identify it, though it seems mild so far."
The other leaders had similar reports of sickness, and when it was time for Barkstar to speak, the brown tom took his time. "None of our warriors have gotten sick. It sounds horrible, and precautions will be taken to keep our warriors healthy." The other clan leaders stared at him with narrowed eyes.
Suddenly Longstar yowled, "It must be Grassclan spreading the sickness! Why else are they the only clan with no sick cats?!"
Barkstar remained seated as he said, "That is absurd and you know it Longstar. What reason would Grassclan have for spreading a disease? And how would we do that?"
Before Longstar could reply, Leekstar said, "It's got to be Woodclan, don't you see? The last gathering was proof! Gorsestar was unable to make it because he was sick! He started this!"
"Why would we spread a disease if it would harm my clan? It's got to be HillsClan that's spreading it!" Gorsestar said, his fur standing up.
Soon all the leaders were yowling and blaming each other. The cats all began to hiss at the cats that, moments before, they had been talking with peacefully. Ghostface was forced to join the GrassClan cats that crowded around the hill that Barkstar stood on. As the yowling grew louder, the hills were plunged into darkness. All the cats stopped and looked up. A black cloud had covered up the moon and it began to rain icy droplets.
Barkstar's voice rose up, "StarClan is angry! This gathering is over!"
With that he ran down from the hill and they ran out of the peace hills. Ghostface wished he had a chance to say goodbye to Fawnshadow, but he knew he'd see her again soon. The cold droplets stung his back and began to seep through his thickening coat. He shivered even more as a blast of icy wind hit him. The clan cats raced back to camp, eager to curl up in their nests. Ghostface felt sorry for Thunderhawk at that moment, but he knew that the new warrior was probably sitting beneath deadtrunk for shelter during her vigil. Leaf-bare was just around the bend.