That night at the Gathering, I said a quick goodbye to Smokefur and Seastorm and slipped away to find Jetfur, as I always did during Gatherings. It was my only time to talk with her without going against the warrior code. To my disappointment, she hadn't come this evening, but I saw, over by the WindClan area, a brown tabby warrior, his muscles rippling beneath smooth pelt, with bright amber eyes. He must be new, I thought.

Smokefur came up and nudged me.

"Come on. They're starting." I followed reluctantly, disappointed that I hadn't at least learned the cat's name. Just as I sat down, Tidestar cleared his throat, and I looked up at the RiverClan leader.

He began, "All is well in RiverClan. The fish have been plentiful, and the clan is healthy. One of our elders, Mudcloud, died of old age." He paused as the disappointed yowls of WindClan cats and a few others rang through the night, and then he turned to Swiftstar. "Anything to report?"

"There has been an outbreak of whitecough, but none died so far, and none are terribly weak. We are hoping that WindClan will recover soon. Also, a new warrior, Wildfur, has been appointed."

Meows of appreciation rang out, including chants of, "Wildfur! Wildfur! Wildfur!" I noticed the tabby warrior beaming with pride. Now I knew his name, Wildfur.

"Robinstar?" Swiftstar asked. The she-cat had an angry look in her eyes. "Littlefern, a brave warrior, walks with StarClan now. The reason of her death? One word. ThunderClan."

There were gasps from RiverClan and WindClan; ShadowClan looked smug; and ThunderClan let out yowls of protest. Daystar said nothing, but looked down at her paws as if ashamed. I couldn't believe it. ShadowClan attacked us! Finally Daystar spoke.

"I am sorry for your loss, Robinstar. But let me explain, for the sake of all cats. It was not as one-sided as you make it seem."

Robinstar opened her mouth to protest, but Daystar continued, "A week ago, the ThunderClan evening patrol ran back saying that ShadowClan was getting ready to attack. We readied ourselves at once and set off to meet them halfway. When we discovered them we surrounded them and attacked. Yes, we attacked. We attacked those who were planning to attack, and said it, before they knew we were here, loud and clear. Do you deny this?"

This last question was directed to Robinstar, who shook her head glumly.

"Well. A battle was fought, and while Littlefern did die, as did Blackclaw, a loyal and strong warrior." This summed it up for the other clans. "Also, Rainpath and Spottedpelt were severely injured." Hisses and yowls broke out, some directed toward ShadowClan, some toward ThunderClan. I was glad to see Wildfur yowling at Riverwhisker.

"Silence!" Tidestar called. Instantly the clearing was quiet.

"This Gathering is dismissed," he announced.

A moon later, I found myself gazing into Silverpelt, thinking of Wildfur. Since my Gathering view, I hadn't seen him, but I had learned that he was ambitious and powerful.

Also, I found myself staring at Rockfur. The tabby warrior had been a lot nicer to me, and stood up for me twice when Redstripe bullied me.

I was glad to be fully healed and back in the warrior's den, snuggled against Seastorm. Elmfur, Owleyes, and Birchpelt were all warriors, and Rabbitpaw and Thistlepaw had become apprentices. Thistlepaw was my apprentice now, and Rabbitpaw was Rosebriar's. Smokefur was a queen now, thanks to Owleyes, but had no kits yet. Rockfur no longer had an apprentice, and on days when I was busy, Thistlepaw often went off with the dark gray tom. We had developed a kind of bond, though Seastorm teased me as loving him. Lately, I was suspecting that it was true.

I noticed Seastorm's outline against the moonlight, just before full.

"What's wrong, Rainpath?" she whispered, concerned.

"Oh, nothing," I replied. "Just thinking."

The next day, I wasn't chosen to go to the Gathering, but Seastorm was. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see Wildfur or Jetfur, but Rockfur was also staying behind, so I was happy. I could also talk to Windpelt or Smokefur, and that was a relief.

When Daystar and most of the warriors left, Rockfur came up to me. But Thistlepaw was there first. She wanted to practice some hunting, and I only got away with the excuse that it was too late for that. Waterlily was gone, so Grayclaw, the next most experienced warrior, was in charge. He didn't give a hoot what cats did with their apprentices, so he left us alone.

Hazelpaw came up saying that she would play with Thistlepaw, who agreed readily. That out of the way, I turned again to Rockfur.

"She's such an eager learner," I said softly. He touched his nose to my flank, nodding. I returned his gesture, and we shared tongues. All was quiet, except for the shouts of Hazelpaw and Thistlepaw and the occasional bird song.

Suddenly, I heard a yowl. It came from the nursery. Fearing the worst, I broke away from Rockfur and ran to where Smokefur lay. She was gasping, sweat streaming down her flanks. Her kits were coming!

"Take deep breaths," I told her quickly, and tried to get my head around the situation. Dawnflower and Larkpaw were at the Moonpool. When my mother's kits came, Dawnflower had come just to make sure she was all right. She hadn't needed to give her any herbs. Maybe I wouldn't either.

Smokefur closed her eyes and opened them again, and when she did, they were bulging. I gave her a stick to bite down on, which she took gratefully. Finally, a small tabby bundle was lying on the moss, next to a squirming gray kit. Smokefur nosed the tabby, but it didn't move.

"No," she whispered. The gray got up on stubby legs and tottered around, and I caught it before it fell over.

"It's a girl," I whispered to Smokefur, trying to get her to pay attention to her living kit. She ignored me, touching the body of the tabby with her nose and prodding it with her paws, trying to urge life into it.

"It looks like Owleyes," she murmured. Just as she did, snow began to fall outside, and the gray kit shivered. I took her in my paws, then nosed it over to Smokefur, where she began to suckle. Smokefur took no notice.

"You should name her," I coaxed quietly. Rockfur was standing nearby, and he nodded.

"Call it Mistkit," Smokefur said dully. I exchanged a glance with Rockfur.

Was Smokefur ever going to acknowledge her kit?