Sunpaw:

Sunpaw watched Shadowpaw take off after Ashfire, and her heart twinged at a sense of betrayal. She would meet Shadowpaw tomorrow night, against the warrior code, at the border, but she knew it was for the best. Then why did she feel so guilty?

It was still against the warrior code, even if it was for a good cause.

Sunpaw sighed and felt someone fall into her, and she yowled in shock as she was easily bowled over. "Watch where you're going!" she snapped. She looked into the face of a handsome gray tom, probably an apprentice, who blinked his blue eyes at her. "Sorry," she mewed, getting to her paws and shaking out her ginger fur, embarrassed at her outburst.

"Hello," the tom mewed. "I'm Sootpaw. Sootpaw of ShadowClan."

"I'm Sunpaw of RiverClan," Sunpaw mewed, feeling herself getting a little hot under her fur. "This is my first gathering."

"Oh. This is my second," Sootpaw mewed. "I mean, it shouldn't be, because I became an apprentice almost the day before the last gathering..."

Sunpaw purred. "Great!" There was something about this apprentice that wasn't there in Cloudpatch... she'd never admit it to anyone, but she thought he was a little cute. But of course, she wouldn't fall head over heels for him. "Who are the leaders?"

"As you know, Streamstar is your leader, Adderstar is my leader, Jaystar-see that gray tom over there?-is ThunderClan's leader, and the last one is the WindClan leader, Wolfstar."

"Oh." Sunpaw glanced over his soft fur, a dark gray coat over his features. Did he feel the same way about her? She just found Sootpaw cuter and nicer than most of the cats in RiverClan. Maybe more than Cloudpatch. "How's life in ShadowClan?"

"Spottedfern's expecting kits," Sootpaw mewed. "She's my mentor, or she was, and now I've got Grayfoot!" He puffed out his chest. "He's the ShadowClan deputy!"

"Really?"

Sootpaw's eyes pricked with self-consciousness as he nodded. "Yes."

"That's amazing!" Sunpaw exclaimed, once again, lost in Sootpaw's blazing blue gaze.

There was a pause as the two of them simply stared at each other in silence. "Well, what's the news in RiverClan, then?"

Sunpaw shrugged. "Nothing much. My littermates and I became apprentices. My mentor's Silversplash, the she-cat over there." She flicked her tail over to where Silversplash was sharing tongues with a ThunderClan warrior.

"Hush!" a ShadowClan elder snapped, passing by. "The Gathering's about to start, now that WindClan's here!"

Sootpaw dipped his head to her. "Sorry, Featherlight."

Featherlight snorted and padded away, and Sunpaw realized that she was right. Jaystar padded to the edge of his branch on the Great Oak. "Let the Gathering begin!" Adderstar flicked his tail toward Jaystar, motioning for him to speak first. Streamstar nodded, and so did Wolfstar, bending her head elegantly. "ThunderClan has been faring well this moon. We have one new apprentice. Shadowpaw!"

Sunpaw's eyes were bright as she called out Shadowpaw's name louder than any other cat near her. "Shadowpaw! Shadowpaw!" She spotted her friend in a group of cats near the edge of the island, where the medicine cats sat. Shadowpaw smiled as she met her gaze.

Sootpaw frowned. "Is she your friend?"

"Yeah," Sunpaw admitted. "We... we met on a border patrol, more than once."

"Oh." Sootpaw seemed satisfied with her response.

"We also have two new warriors," Jaystar announced. "Ashfire and Silvergaze!"

Sunpaw joined in as the cats began to call out for ThunderClan's newest warriors. "Ashfire! Silvergaze! Ashfire! Silvergaze!" Jaystar dipped his head to Adderstar, indicating that he must speak next.

The dark brown tom dipped his head. "We, too, are faring well. We have no news to share, just that we are well." Sunpaw shot a glance at Sootpaw, who shrugged and nodded. He nodded to Streamstar. Our turn! Sunpaw thought excitedly.

"RiverClan is well," Streamstar mewed. "We have three new apprentices: Sunpaw-" Sunpaw puffed out her chest "-Icepaw, and Brightpaw!"

Beside her, Sootpaw cheered loudly for her. "Sunpaw! Icepaw! Brightpaw!"

"Thanks," she murmured. Sootpaw simply dipped his head.

By now, Wolfstar had been silent, but as she spoke, her vocie was cold and angered. "Cats of all clans, I bring news of theft. ThunderClan has been stealing WindClan's prey!"

Sunpaw automatically looked to Shadowpaw, who shook her head fiercely, and was on her paws, yowling indignantly at the WindClan leader. Sunpaw watched as Jaystar waved his tail for silence. "Wolfstar, I can swear by StarClan that none of our warriors have set paw on your territory."

Wolfstar spat. "You have! Then where did the scent come from?"

"It may have drifted over the border," Jaystar mewed calmly.

"You think my warriors cannot tell the difference?" Wolfstar hissed. "If this goes on, Jaystar, there will be a battle, I can assure you." Sunpaw tensed as she thought of Shadowpaw. An image of the black she-cat torn apart in battle filled her mind, but she pushed it away.

Jaystar sighed. "ThunderClan have not been stealing prey."

Wolfstar simply sniffed and shook her head. "We have no other news to share."

"Then the gathering is over," Streamstar mewed, leaping down from her branch in the Great Oak and landing neatly on all four paws. "RiverClan! To me!" she yowled loudly, for all the cats to hear.

Sunpaw murmured a goodbye to Sootpaw and padded away. She turned and followed Streamstar out of the island.

I need to meet Shadowpaw tomorrow night at the border, she thought, unable to believe that she was breaking the warrior code already. She knew that it was urget, and that the two had to meet, and that StarClan themselves would have willed it, but... she didn't know if she was doing the right thing by meeting Shadowpaw. She had seemed urgent, and she needed to figure out so much...

"So, how was it?" Silversplash mewed.

"It was great!" Her voice dropped. "But I cannot believe that Wolfstar started a fight!"

Silversplash shrugged. "That's Wolfstar for you. Always hostile. But, it's not our problem for now."

But it is! Sunpaw almost exclaimed aloud. If Shadowpaw dies in the battle...