I fast forwarded a little, so it's now the gathering! yay! Well, hope you like it!

Hawkpaw scurried with his clanmates to the gathering, his fur fluffed up from the cold. They were in the middle of leaf-bare, but thankfully, there was no snow yet. From a distance, he could see the blurry shapes huddled together near the great oaks. He wanted to hurry ahead, but knew he would get a scolding when he got home if he really did. Tonight, the four will meet again. Hawkpaw had somewhat of an idea what the bad thing was. The rogues who have been prowling clan territory, ripping the clans of its valuable prey supply. Graystar flicked his tail, and the clan followed him down to the gathering.

"Hawkpaw! Over here!" He heard Skypaw hiss. He looked around, making sure his clanmates were not looking, then dashed over to her.

"Hey! Where's Deadpaw?" He asked

Skypaw replied "I don't …" but someone interrupted her. "Right here. And it's Deadheart, thank you very much!" A voice meowed from behind Hawkpaw.

They both turned to see a very happy Deadpaw, wait no, Deadheart. His tail sticking straight up and head held high. Skypaw bounced towards him and licked his cheek affectionately.

"Congrats!" She cried.

"Yes, congratulations!" Hawkpaw agreed

"Thanks! It'll be your turn soon!" He added to Hawkpaw.

"I hope so."

Skypaw interrupted them "Let's meet at the edge of BreezeClan territory tonight!"

The two toms nodded. "Cloud will be there tonight, right?" Deadheart asked

"She should be, we did decide it last time." Hawkpaw meowed

"And she will be! Cloud wouldn't forget." Skypaw assured them.

Shadowstar yowled to get the gathering started. Their attention turned to the leaders on the great oak. Shadowstar started.

"DuskClan welcomes our new medicine cat, Raingaze. He will be helping along Coalfoot. We've spotted carcasses along the edge of our border, near the twolegplace." His green gaze searched the cats. "I will just say that DuskClan will not tolerate any trespassers."

He stepped back, still glaring at the cats below.

"Gee, what got into his fur? It's obviously rogues." Skypaw hissed.

Hawkpaw nodded in agreement. "True, all clans have been sighting rogues."

"He's trying to pick a fight, isn't he?" Deadheart looked around the clearing. Most cats were bristling, shooting hostile glances at DuskClan cats.

"FireClan has also spotted carcasses, but we strongly believe that rogues have invaded. They leave no clan scent, and we have spotted them." Thornstar calmed the cats, sensing tension.

"RippleClan also. Shadowstar, are you sure that they aren't rogues?" Graystar questioned, but the DuskClan leader did not reply.

"Anyways, Leaftail has given birth to two healthy kits. They are Toadkit and Adderkit. FireClan is blessed with more prey than average this leaf-bare."

Thornstar nodded at Graystar. The RippleClan leader coughed a couple times, and Hawkpaw narrowed his eyes. Graystar's cough was not getting any better. There were whispers around the clearing.

"Is he okay?" Skypaw and Deadheart's gaze was on him.

"I don't know." He meowed "He hasn't been getting better since greencough was caught in our camp…"

Deadheart didn't know why Hawkpaw would expose so much information. Isn't he afraid that people would attack his camp?

"Oh…" Skypaw looked at Hawkpaw with sympathy. She felt so bad for him. Hawkpaw had been through so much… almost drowning, seeing his mentor die…. Skypaw felt guilty, since she was the reason why Whitewater had died. Graystar regained his composure, and began to speak.

"RippleClan was affected slightly from an outbreak of greencough, but we are all fully healed." He looked around the clearing, daring anyone to contradict him "Otherwise, the river has been filled with fish."

Skypaw looked at Hawkpaw. He was extremely fit and sleek, so Graystar wasn't lying…

"BreezeClan has a new warrior, Deadheart!" Featherstar announced. Cheers rang across the clearing, but Deadheart didn't seem pleased.

"What's wrong?" Skypaw asked him

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

His voice was empty, but his eyes were like chips of flint.

"How's your clan?" Hawkpaw meowed, hoping to break the ice.

"Sweetsong's been causing trouble." Skypaw growled

"What'd she say?"

"She's been telling everyone that I'm betraying the clan." Skypaw hissed

"What! I told her to not say anything!" Deadheart growled.

"She's not scared of you."

"I'll make her scared of me!"

"She's probably going to follow me tonight. She's been keeping an eye on me every night."

"Good. She'll taste my claws."

"You can't taste claws." Hawkpaw meowed.

"You know what I mean!"

Skypaw rolled her eyes. They had missed The rest of Featherstar's announcement, but neither of them seemed to care.

"My clan's leaving, I got to go. See you tonight!" Skypaw scurried off, joining Thistlepaw and Mosspaw.

Cloud stretched her back and forced herself out of the warm nest. Thumper opened his eyes.

"Where are you going?" He yawned

"Nowhere. Go back to bed." She snapped

"Oh, alright. Better get back early, or I'll eat your food too."

Cloud ignored him and pushed herself through the cat-door. She breathed in the chilly air. Inside the twoleg nest, it smelled extremely spicy. It started smelling like this since the beginning of leaf-bare, and it always made her head spin. The clean air cleared her head, and she followed the path down to the Ancient Oak. She needed to tell someone about the strange dreams she had been having.

"Cloud!" She turned around, holding her breath. Is it Thumper? She let out a sigh of relief, it was only Skypaw. She wasn't alone. Hawkpaw was behind her, stomping through the undergrowth.

"Hi Skypaw." Cloud meowed back cheerfully. Skypaw always seemed so happy and content, but Cloud couldn't help but wonder if the happiness was real or not.

"Let's go, Deadheart will definitely be annoyed if we dawdle any longer." Hawkpaw meowed

"Deadheart? Who's that?" Cloud was extremely confused

"It's Deadpaw, but he was made a warrior, so now his name is Deadheart." Skypaw explained "When you're a kit, your name ends with a kit, then when you reach six months, you're a paw. When you're a 'paw, you train to be a warrior. After you pass your training, you're a warrior and you receive your final name… That is, if you're going to remain a warrior. If you become the leader, then you're a 'star."

"Okay…" She pretended to understand, but she really didn't. These clan cat terms are too confusing.

"Skypaw, I don't think she understands a single word you're saying." Hawkpaw meowed "I don't either."

Skypaw used her shoulder to push Hawkpaw, but he didn't budge.

"That's mean!" Skypaw whined

Hawkpaw looked over his shoulder "Is Sweetsong following us?" He hissed

"Surprisingly, no. I saw her making dirt, and she told me that she didn't care anymore. After I left, I hid in the bushes for awhile and I made sure that she wasn't following me."

"Really? Last time, she seemed keen on ratting you out."

Skypaw was silent. Cloud had a feeling that she didn't want to talk about this.

"There's Deadheart." Hawkpaw meowed, noticing the awkward silence.

Deadheart waved his tail in greeting. The three cats scurried to join him.

"What took you so long?" He meowed

"Nothing." Skypaw muttered

"Okay, well we should get going."

They padded up the hill, the chilly winds of leaf-bare piercing their fur. Cloud fluffed up her fur, making her twice the size she actually is. She glanced at the others, but they didn't seemed bothered by the cold.

"Aren't you cold?" She asked Skypaw

"No, not really. It's actually quite warm for leaf-bare." Skypaw replied. Cloud reminded herself that they live outside, so they must be used to the cold.

"Look!" Hawkpaw meowed.

The Ancient Oak was surrounded with wispy blue shapes.

"What is that?" Cloud breathed

"I don't know…" Skypaw meowed, her blue eyes wide with awe.

"It's StarClan." Hawkpaw answered. True enough, the wisps formed shapes like cats.

"Look! Pebbleclaw!" Hawkpaw exclaimed. A gray cat appeared.

"Welcome, young ones." The voices blended into one. "You will uncover many secrets and mysteries as you fulfill your destiny. Some will be nerve-wracking, but don't worry, because StarClan will always be with you."

"Don't talk in riddles! We need your help, not more mysteries to figure out!" Deadheart meowed angrily.

"The rogues are really kittypets, led by a dark cat. However, we can't see any further than that. Beware of a traitor lurking near you…" The voice chanted.

"That's all?"

"All we know, young one. StarClan can't see further than you can."

"Fine…"

The cats faded away.

"Deadheart, how could you talk to our ancestors like that!" Skypaw scolded

"Well, we needed information! They obviously wasn't going to give us any if we didn't ask." He snapped back.

"True… But a traitor lurking near us? Who could that be?" Hawkpaw meowed

"Probably Sweetsong." Deadheart grumbled.

"Sweetsong might be horrible, but she would never, ever betray the clans!" Skypaw protested.

"Just a suggestion…"

"Well, it's not a good one."

"Enough!" Hawkpaw snapped "We should tell our leaders! Without them, we can't possibly do anything!"

"I agree, but how are we going to tell them? I'm not just going to walk up to Featherstar and go 'Hey, I've been seeing cats from other clans, and StarClan told me that we are in grave danger'" Deadheart meowed

"Of course not. We should tell our medicine cats, they'll know what to do." Hawkpaw replied, and Skypaw nodded in agreement.

"Fine…" Deadheart grumbled.

"Hey guys… I've been having strange dreams lately…" Cloud meowed quietly

All eyes turned to her

"What kind?"

"I see blood everywhere, and then cats crying out 'Cloudkit'…" Cloud looked down on her paws.

Hawkpaw was deep in thought. "Where was this?"

"I don't know… It had pine trees though."

"Cloudkit? That's a clan name… and pine trees… seem like DuskClan territory…" Skypaw mumbled.

"I remember Flufftail talking about a fox attack on DuskClan territory…" Deadheart muttered, half to himself.

"We should ask our elders, they'll know something." Hawkpaw decided

Deadheart opened his mouth to argue Who made you leader? But decided against it.

"I'm tired. Let's go home and meet again next full moon." Skypaw declared

"Why don't we just do that every moon?" Deadheart meowed

"You know, that would be nice. It'd be like our own gathering." Hawkpaw meowed

"Well, it's decided then." Cloud meowed "See you all next time."

The cats padded off in their separate ways, their minds bubbling with fear and questions.

I sure lie a lot, but I was bubbling with ideas! Hope you all liked this chapter, and please R&R!