A/U: This chapter is a bit short, unfortunately. Don't worry, the Gathering will be described later on. Thanks WildCroconaw for reviewing so quickly :D

Chapter 15

Rockpaw ground his teeth together as he pictured the smug expression on Leafpool's face as she slipped away. The memory stilled burned within his mental images. Despite the fact that a moon had passed since his failed assignment, Rockpaw couldn't forgive Crowfeather. The WindClan deputy had betrayed him and Harespring by protecting Leafpool from her fate.

He snorted as he chewed through the tough meat of a rabbit. On top of all that, a ThunderClan apprentice had come snooping in his territory. Harespring had been the one to spot her, but he stopped in his tracks when he noticed an unusual marking on her ear. Rockpaw had spotted it as well, but he only grunted in annoyance. It was in the shape of a pawprint. The shape reminded him of his own Mark.

I can control the earth, he thought smugly. I bet she can't even think properly. He felt rather pleased with himself as he continued digging into the rabbit. No cat could outsmart a WindClan warrior. Rockpaw would make sure that his Clan was strong and well-fed every leafbare. He wouldn't let ThunderClan cats ruin their chances of survival.

"Are you finished?" Harespring's annoyed mew broke his silent thoughts.

The black and brown apprentice looked up at his mentor. Harespring was lashing his tail as he waited for Rockpaw's response.

"Yeah," he replied after pushing away the remains of his prey.

Harespring nodded and padded out of camp. Sootpaw and Onestar were already at the training clearing. Their sounds could be heard from the hill as Harespring approached. Rockpaw blinked as he wondered why Onestar would have chosen Sootpaw as his apprentice.

The WindClan leader was getting old now. Sooner or later his final life would ebb away, leaving Crowfeather as the leader. Rockpaw grimaced at the thought of listening to Crowfeather as a leader. He couldn't imagine what would happen to WindClan. Crowfeather would most likely accept Leafpool into the Clan, and bring with that acceptance chaos. The other Clans would never forgive Crowfeather or WindClan.

Rockpaw tried to force the thoughts away as they padded into the clearing. Onestar had sat down on the sidelines. His amber eyes gleamed as Harespring entered.

"We're here for some training," Harespring muttered.

"Good," Onestar meowed. "Sootpaw could use a training partner."

He nodded to the pale gray she-cat, whose pelt was bristling with uncertainty. Rockpaw bared his teeth. She was nothing but a coward to him. Her flattened ears told him that she was afraid of fighting him.

"Take it easy on each other," Onestar ordered. "I don't want any apprentice injured."

The two apprentices stared at each other. Rockpaw knew what sort of move she would use before it happened. He leaped into the air before she could roll towards him with lightning speed. Without waiting for her to recover he landed on her back with equal force. She yelped in surprise as his paws touched her back.

Sootpaw began to spin around in a fast motion. She was trying to throw her attacker off. Rockpaw hissed irritably and leaped off of her back just before she jumped.

Without thinking about what could happen he felt power rise within his paws. Soon a couple of pebbles around him began to wobble. It took Sootpaw a few heartbeats to realize what was happening. Not until she felt the stinging of pebbles flinging towards her did she screech in fury.

She spat at Rockpaw and raced towards him, ignoring the pebbles. He could see patches of blood starting to stream down her face.

"That's enough!" Onestar's yowl broke their fight.

Rockpaw blinked as Sootpaw skidded to a halt. The WindClan leader gave him and Sootpaw furious gazes.

"I said no injuries," he hissed.

When Rockpaw flattened his ears, Harespring looked mildly pleased with his progress. "All the same I think he's ready to see his first Gathering," he mewed.

Onestar and Sootpaw looked at him in disbelief. Than he suddenly held a strange gleam within his amber eyes. The brown tabby nodded in agreement.

"Yes," he purred. "He's ready for a Gathering."

Rockpaw couldn't help but stare at them in shock. He never expected to see a Gathering during his apprentice training. Stories had been told of Gatherings. Apparently cats could meet under the gaze of the full moon without fighting. Even ShadowClan would stop themselves from fighting, for a somewhat short amount of time.

As the sun began to dip behind the mountains, Rockpaw felt a sense of growing excitement course through him. He wondered if Goldenpaw was going as well. She had been progressing well in her training, despite having less muscles than him. She seemed to use the power of speed rather than attack. Rockpaw knew that she would make a fine hunter when the time came to feed the Clan.

Most of the Clan was gathered around a smooth boulder where the sun scorched it. Elders often came to the boulder to warm themselves. This usually happened more often during the coldest parts of leafbare. Now he could see Yellowtail sitting on top of the boulder. Goldenpaw was staring up at him with an awed expression as he described one of the common dog attacks that happened during the sunhigh patrol.

Gorsetail's kits, who had arrived a couple of moons ago, were peering out of the nursery. Their expressions were that of an eager kit as they listened.

"Can we go out and play momma?" asked Redkit. Her ginger-gray dappled fur was still fuzzy with kit-soft fur. Rockpaw watched with interest as her brother and sister paced around eagerly. Mousekit was a tawny colored tom with the same blue eyes as Gorsetail. Spottedkit was tortoiseshell with patches of gray, and she too had those dark blue eyes like Gorsetail.

"It's getting late," she purred as she joined them. "Lets go back inside."

The three siblings quarreled some more before giving in to their mother's orders. Rockpaw couldn't help but purr at their boisterous actions. He and Goldenpaw had played the same way when they were kits. That all seemed so long ago now.

He joined his sister shortly after most of the warriors who were leaving got themselves ready. Goldenpaw nudged him playfully.

"Going to the Gathering as well?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied with a widening grin. Goldenpaw flicked her tail.

"Guess we'll be going together," she murmured. "Like it should always be."

Is she referring to my Mark? he wondered. He'd begun to notice how jealous Goldenpaw was growing since he discovered his power. Onestar paid more attention to his training, and Harespring was less difficult with him. In fact his mentor had allowed him to practice using his powers. Rockpaw knew that one day he would protect his Clan with everything he had. And that included using his abilities.

Onestar let out a cry that was carried by the other cats of WindClan. It was time for them to go. It was time for their first Gathering.

A/U: I hope you enjoyed the little bit with Goldenpaw. Actually she was an interesting character to write about. Please remember to leave a review, they're greatly appreciated!