A/U: To sum things up, I'd like to say that a Gathering happened while Stormpaw was made an apprentice. Obviously he wasn't allowed to go because he was too young. This isn't exactly a long chapter, but I figured I'd try to get as much in as I could. Thanks Mistsong for reviewing all of my chapters :D

Chapter 16

Stormpaw felt thrills of excitement as he followed his Clanmates towards the island. It felt like a moon since he'd met with Flowerpaw and Copperpaw. In reality, it had only been a half moon. Memories of the meeting still burned within him.

He could imagine the shocked expression on Copperpaw's face when she saw him for the first time. Clearly she hadn't expected him to amount to much. Her sharp green eyes were what had stood out the most though. Stormpaw could still picture her fierce gaze burning through his own as he watched her change back. There was just something about the way she acted that caught his attention. Her graceful movements had attracted him the moment she changed back into a cat.

Most of his life had been sheltered in the fronds of RiverClan ways. But after watching Copperpaw for some time, he wanted to learn more about the cats of ThunderClan. Her very existence had changed his way of thinking.

I wonder if she'll be at the Gathering, he thought as he followed Nightpaw towards the lake. His sister's head was held high as she padded forward.

Ever since Mistystar had taken him on as her apprentice, Nightpaw had ignored her brother. Stormpaw knew that she was just fuming with jealousy. Nightpaw had expected to become the next deputy when she was a kit. Somehow all of that planning had ended when she became an apprentice. Now she was just quick-tempered and ready to fight if she needed to. Only Streampaw was able to put up with her foul attitude.

Duskfire and Loudstorm were trotting together, chattering about what would happen. The two toms had been made warriors only a day ago. It was easy to tell that they were still acting like apprentices. Loudstorm whispered something to Duskfire, and the two cats suddenly burst out with laughter. Mistystar glared at them over her shoulder before plunging into the water. The elders took a bit more time than warriors and apprentices. They crossed the treebridge like other cats who weren't used to water.

"This is gonna be fun," Nightpaw mewed as they entered the icy water. "I'll meet my first ShadowClan cat...Maybe I can even become friends with it. Or I can learn secrets from WindClan. They can catch rabbits and chase dogs all day."

Stormpaw ignored her constant chattering. He focused his attention on the island as they drew closer. She wasn't aware of the fact that he'd already met a ShadowClan apprentice. Flowerpaw had seemed like a friendly enough cat, but his instincts kept him from telling her anything that could be used against him or his Clan. Instead he had only told her what she needed to know. That he was Marked cat just like her.

Soon the entire island came into view. The shadowy outlines of cats moved about as the RiverClan cats emerged from the water's edge. Immediately the forest scent of ThunderClan wreaked havoc on Stormpaw's nose. He looked through the crowd of cats to see if there were any familiar pelts. Much to his dismay, only cats he didn't recognize were among them.

"You must be the newest apprentices." Stormpaw's ears flattened when a golden tabby with amber eyes spoke. The golden tabby looked between Stormpaw and Nightpaw, whose eyes had widened in surprise when she reached the island. Clearly she hadn't expected the Gathering to be so big. There were more cats here than there were in RiverClan. "You smell like RiverClan," the golden tabby added with a wrinkle of his nose.

"Stop scaring the apprentices Lionblaze," purred a small gray and white she-cat. She had been listening from the sidelines and padded over to join them. "Don't mind him. He's just all talk and no fight."

As soon as Stormpaw flicked his tail in agreement, a growl came from the cats of WindClan. He whirled around as they entered the clearing. His eyes widened when he recognized Onestar from his mother's description. As usual he was big and scary looking. Stormpaw made a mental note to avoid the WindClan leader.

Instead his gaze flickered towards a brown and black apprentice. The tom looked like a ThunderClan cat, much to Stormpaw's surprise. His sharp amber eyes gleamed as he stepped off of the treebridge. Stormpaw gasped when he spotted something familiar on the tom's paws. It looked like a marking of some sort. Like a boulder.

He must be Rockpaw, Stormpaw guessed. Quickly he glanced at his own mark. It was located near his legs, and it was the shape of lightning.

"You must be the RiverClan Marked," Rockpaw growled as he approached.

"Yeah," Stormpaw replied. He was surprised by how bold Rockpaw was. "You must be WindClan's Marked," he added more confidently.

Rockpaw lifted his head as a pale brown she-cat with black patches approached. Her green eyes narrowed slightly when she spotted Stormpaw.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"My name is Stormpaw," Stormpaw meowed.

"Come on Rockpaw, we're supposed to meet with Harespring and Sunstrike," she added to her companion.

Stormpaw lashed his tail irritably as Rockpaw nodded. He could tell that the WindClan apprentice wanted to say more. But Rockpaw just followed the she-cat towards the WindClan cats who sat by themselves. Stormpaw stared after him until his name was called.

He sighed and shook his head. This must have been what Copperpaw had told him about. That Rockpaw was just an arrogant furball waiting for an accident to happen.

The dark gray apprentice padded over to his own Clanmates. He could feel Nightpaw's scorching glare as he groomed his unkempt pelt.

"Who was that you were talking to?" she asked.

"A friend," he lied between groomings.

Nightpaw sniffed and continued to glare at him. "I'm surprised any cat would want to be friends with you," she muttered crossly.

It took all of his strength not to fight back. Instead Stormpaw concentrated on his powers. He could feel the strong pull of electricity coursing through his body as anger boiled within him. If Nightpaw was looking for a fight, than he would give her one she'd never forget.

She jumped back with a startled yelp when a spark landed on her pelt. Stormpaw chuckled in amusement when his powers ebbed away. In reality Nightpaw was nothing more than a bully looking for trouble. She was one bully he could easily handle.

Suddenly a yowl from the Ancient Oak sounded. The four leaders were sitting on each of its ancient branches, staring down at the Clans that surrounded them.

"Welcome to the full moon Gathering," Bramblestar announced. The crowd almost immediately grew silent. All eyes were focused on him as he spoke. "Each full moon we come here to speak in peace, without fighting. Tonight is no different." He turned his gaze towards Rowanstar, who nodded in some sort of agreement.

"All is well in ShadowClan," he began. "Littlecloud, our former medicine cat, has retired to the elders' den. May many moons of peace fulfill his wishes. Hawkflash is now our full medicine cat, and Flowerpaw is her apprentice."

Cheers of congratulations quickly followed his words. Littlecloud had been popular amongst all of the Clans. Stormpaw was almost surprised that he had retired so quickly. He knew that Flowerpaw had been longing to become Hawkflash's apprentice for some time now.

When Rowanstar finished speaking, he stepped back to allow Onestar to speak.

"All is well in WindClan," he meowed calmly. "We have a new warrior, Yellowtail."

Once more yowls of congratulations filled the air. Stormpaw tried to peer past the throngs of WindClan cats. Sure enough, a handsome golden brown tabby tom was lifting his head high as his name was chanted. Stormpaw noticed that there were distinctive markings on the end of his tail.

Soon the Gathering had drawn to an end as Mistystar made her announcement. Not much had happened in ThunderClan. The only problems they faced was a curious fox that had almost found their camp. Copperpaw had quickly taken care of the fox, according to Bramblestar.

The moon was already sinking behind clouds. Stormpaw yawned as exhaustion quickly seeped in.

The touch of his mother's tail tip was what had kept him from falling asleep. "My first Gathering was the same way," she murmured gently. "You'll get used to it as time goes on."

Despite the fact that other Clans were watching, Stormpaw nuzzled his nose into her fur. It was moments like these that really made him glad she was his mother. She may not have kept Nightpaw and Streampaw in line when they were kits, but she truly cared about her son. And that was all Stormpaw cared about.

A/U: So what did you think? You'll find out more about Copperpaw's adventure with the fox in the next chapter. Anyways, please remember to review!