Reviews: yay! I have enough to do this!

Goldenmoonrider-thanks!

Warriorcats1234-I'm one of those people who obsess over grammar and spelling, so generally my writing it mechanically and grammatically correct.

Lightsun-I really like those name suggestions, especially Willowpaw's.

I suggest you go check out Goldenmoonrider's warriors trilogy, The Dream of Sisters. It's well written and has an interesting storyline.

Chapter 7: Sisters and Leaders

Stormpaw was panting by the time Pinestar reached the bottom of the small hill on which the Moon-Rock stood. Pinestar stopped, turning her head to her clanmates.

"Ready?" she asked. When murmers of "yes" reached her, she nodded and bounded up the slope. At the top Stormpaw gasped. The Moon-Rock, which had looked like any normal rock during the day, provide much bigger, glowed softly. The dappled gray had turned silver and the white shone. But one look at what gathered around it made her hackles rise. Below her were cats. Lots of cats. More cats then were in Dawnclan. She felt Willowpaw stiffen beside her.

"Go meet the other apprentices," Firelight urged. "Just don't get involved in a fight. Remember, there's a truce."

Stormpaw bit back a retort. I know! I'm not a mousebrain! But she simply nodded and hurried down the slope of the hollow. She scanned the crowd for Hazelpaw and was relieved to see her familiar face next to a pretty white she-cat with a long, plumy tail.

"Hi! You're Stormpaw, right? This is my littermate Snowpaw. Who's that cat? Is she your sister? You two look similar!" Willowpaw looked a little overwhelmed and the white she-cat next to Hazelpaw laughed.

"That's how most cats react to my sister when they first meet her. As Hazelpaw told you, I'm Snowpaw," Snowpaw meowed, whiskers twitching. "It can be a pain at night, with her jabbering like a blackbird when you're trying to sleep."

"To bad Foxpaw didn't come this moon, Hazelpaw and her would be best friends," she snorted. "My name is Willowpaw by the way."

Snowpaw nodded. The two she-cat's started a conversation revolving around toms and soon Stormpaw and Hazelpaw looked uncomfortable.

Hey! Let's go find some other cats to meet!" Snowpaw exclaimed. Stormpaw didn't find this suggestion in the least appealing, but went anyway. "There's Swiftwind, my mentor. You should meet her. She's the best mentor any apprentice could ask for!" Hazelpaw meowed proudly. She'll need to be, to train someone like Hazelpaw, Stormpaw thought wryly. Hazelpaw was impossible to hate, but was slightly annoying all the same.

Swiftwind was talking to a dull black she-cat. They seemed to be arguing, but not in a hostile way.

"My fur is grey! Dark grey, not black!" the black/dark grey she-cat snapped.

"No, it looks black," Swiftwind was meowing.

"Does my fur look black or gray?" the unfamiliar she-cat turned to them.

Hazelpaw leaned over and declared, "it's black." Three pairs of eyes rested on Stormpaw, waiting for an answer.

Uncomfortable, Stormpaw squirmed slightly. "Well..." she started, trying to buy time. "It does look black now, but I guess that depends on the light...it's dark now so it might make the fur look darker then it is in normal light...but the moon could also change the fur's look...so I guess it depends on the light," she finished lamely. Stormpaw hated talking to cats she didn't know, it made her feel uncomfortable and exposed. To her relief, the other cats nodded in agreement.

"That makes sense, and my name is Pebblefoot of Streamclan, if you want to know," the decidedly dark grey she-cat meowed. Stormpaw dipped her head but Pebblefoot stopped her. "None of those formalities," she scolded gently. "What's your name?" she pressed.

"Stormpaw," she answered automatically. Pebblefoot nodded once as she padded away.

"That went well, didn't it?" Hazelpaw meowed cheerfully. Stormpaw shrugged, unwilling to answer.

Stormpaw searched the crowd of cats for her sister. But there were so many different scents and fur colour it was impossible to find one cat. Next to her Hazelpaw meowed, "there they are!" Stormpaw craned her head in the direction Hazelpaw was pointing to with her tail. Hazelpaw's long legs made it a bit easier to see over the top of cat's heads. Stormpaw followed the brown Rippleclan apprentice and was surprised when Snowpaw and Willowpaw came into sight.

"Let cats from all clans gather beneath the Moon-Rock for a Gathering!" a brown and white tom yowled from the Moon-Rock. From his long legs and narrow muzzle Stormpaw guessed he was the Rippleclan leader. Murmurs faded away and was replaced by an expectant silence. "I will start," he meowed, not as loud as before, but loud enough for every cat to hear.

"Rippleclan is strong and prepared for leafbare. Kestrelwing's kits, Snowkit and Hazelkit and now Snowpaw and Hazelpaw!" He stepped back and nodded for a white and grey she-cat to step forward.

She gave her report, "Streamclan is healthy and fish still plentiful. Brindlefoot has moved to the nursery, expecting Troutclaw's kits."

Pinestar went next, mentioning the new apprentices. She didn't say anything about the attack however, which caused a couple Dawnclan warriors to mutter among themselves. Next spoke the cat Stormpaw remembered as Emberflight. But what was she doing on the Moon-Rock?

"I am sorry to announce Cinderstar is dead," the black she-cat bowed her head in grief. Stormpaw sensed it was genuine and not forced. Murmurs of sorrow rippled through the clans. "Frogleap is my new deputy," she indicated a solemn black and white tom.

"Frogleap, Frogleap, Frogleap," cats chanted. Emberstar nodded and finished, "that's all Marshclan has to say. The Gathering is over!"

Stormpaw looked at the Rippleclan apprentices. "Well, bye," she muttered awkwardly. They nodded and hurried over to where Rippleclan was leaving.

She looked up to where Pinestar and Emberstar were talking. She was struck by how alike they were. Both had graceful, narrow heads, long tails, and black fur, with a greenish tinge. The only difference was their eyes. While Pinestar's were a delicate green, Emberstar's were darker and flecked with amber. Stormpaw watched them jump off the Moon-Rock and retreat into a bush. Curious, Stormpaw crept forward.

"Graywater asked to talked to us, together," she heard Pinestar whisper. Now Stormpaw was confused. Why would Graywater want to talk to them? I understand Pinestar, but Emberstar too?

"Why?"

"She wouldn't tell me," Pinestar growled softly. "Just come, please?" There was silence and Stormpaw assumed Emberstar was nodding because Pinestar said, "Thank you Emberstar. And good luck with your leadership." There was a rustling of leaves and Stormpaw slipped out and disapeared into the crowd of cats, thankful for once of the many scents that would disguise her own.

"Willowpaw!" she hissed.

"What?" Quickly Stormpaw told her everything she had heard between the two leaders. Willowpaw widened her eyes. "Why?"

"If I knew, I would have told you!" Stormpaw meowed irritiblely.

"Okay, okay, keep your fur on! Did they say when?"

"Mouse dung!" she swore. "No."

"Then we can take turns watching."

"Pinestar will probably have a secret way out though," Stormpaw grumbled.

Willowpaw cocked her head, "In the den?"

"Well maybe...yeah! That would make sense!" Stormpaw swished her tail in excitement. "And if not, she'll have to go through the entrance tunnel!"

"Stormpaw, Willowpaw, time to go," Silvermist hurried toward them. She nodded to where Pinestar was gathering the rest of Dawnclan. As Stormpaw raced among her clan, back to the camp, she felt a thrill of excitement. Although her apprenticeship was interesting, it felt good to finally do something different for once. She missed the carefree days as a kit when she didn't have duties, but could put thorns in some cat's nest or play catch-the-tail. Pinestar would most likely go out before dawn, or at moon-high, when the rest of the clan wouldn't be out.

Before the entrance tunnel, Stormpaw excused herself, claiming she needed to use the dirtplace. Actually, she was scouting for a place to Willowpaw to hide and watch the back of the hollow, where Pinestar's den was located. She chose a bushy spruce that would hide Willowpaw's silver fur well. Stormpaw would have her own place to hide. Treading light and silent, Stormpaw hurried back to the hollow before any cat missed her.

The other apprentices were seated in their nests, bright and alert. Foxpaw and Falconpaw looked curious, and so did Sparrowpaw, though Stormpaw could tell she was trying not to. Willowpaw was also waiting.

"What happened at the Gathering? Did Cinderstar challenge you? Did Pinestar mention the attack?" Foxpaw burst out as soon as Stormpaw's white paws hit the ground of the apprentice den. "Willowpaw wouldn't tell us until you came," she made a face at Willowpaw who in return looked indignant.

"How was your first gathering?" Falconpaw meowed from his nest of moss and feathers.

"Thank you! At least someone decided to be nice!" Willowpaw meowed. "And it was great."

"What about Cinderstar? Did he say anything?" Foxpaw prompted.

"Actually, he died, leaving Emberstar as leader. Her new deputy is Frogleap," Stormpaw stepped in.

"Cinderstar is dead?" Falconpaw exclaimed. Willowpaw nodded.

"Emberstar probably didn't want to stir up any trouble, with her being a new leader," Willowpaw said. Sparrowpaw narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but simply nodded and curled back up in her nest.

"Well, I'm tired from staying up so late. Mossheart said we were going on the dawn patrol tomorrow," Foxpaw announced. Stormpaw rolled her eyes. Either Foxpaw and Hazelpaw would be best friends, or consider each other a threat to their loud reputation. Falconpaw meowed in agreement. When she was sure the three littermates were asleep, she prodded Willowpaw.

Ready? She mouthed. In answer, Willowpaw nodded and silently jumped out of the den. Stormpaw followed suit. Quickly, Stormpaw directed Willowpaw to the tree she found. Then, when Willowpaw's white tipped tail disappeared, she bounded up the rock face where the warrior and medicine cat den was built. There she slipped in a small alcove, where Stormpaw lay, unmoving. Her bluish gray tabby fur blended in well with the rocks and was almost impossible to see.

Stormpaw yawned, then shivered. The moon was sinking and there was still no sign of Pinestar or Graywater. She was about to go back to the apprentice den when a soft scrape against stone made her ears prick. Instantly she was awake, but still as the rock she was laying on. From above the high-stump, a black shadow emerged. It darted up the steep stone sides and went out of sight. When she was sure Pinestar was gone, Stormpaw followed her, careful not to send a rock or pebble tumbling down. Pinestar's scent wound and twisted, making it difficult to follow. But at last she was able to hear voices.

A tail tapped her on the shoulder. Startled, Stormpaw spun around. The same tail clamped over her mouth. Immediately she recognized it as Willowpaw's. Shoulder to shoulder, they crept closer so they could hear what was being said.

"Why did you bring me here?" Emberstar asked sharply.

Graywater sighed. "Cinderstar said he was your father, correct? And Pinestar, Lightflower claimed to be yours?"

"Claimed?" Pinestar meowed.

"Both Cinderstar and I had very loyal littermates. Your father wasn't Cinderstar and your mother wasn't Lightflower," her voice dropped to a whisper.

"You mean-" Emberstar broke off.

"Yes, I am your mother, and Firetail was your father."

Somehow, this news didn't surprise Stormpaw that much. She had seen the similarities between the two leaders and it made sense. Realizing that they would be coming back soon, Stormpaw meowed softly, "come on, roll in some leaves and cover up your scent." After rubbing some mulch around the spot she was laying in, Stormpaw led the way back to camp. Her body was tight with tension. Every noise made her jump and she was relieved when the camp came in sight.

Suddenly a weight landed on her back. Amber eyes glared from above. Stormpaw froze, not daring to move. This cat was in a position where he or she could rip her throat out easily. The cat spoke in a voice equal to rustling leaves.

"What are you doing here?"

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