A/N: Second chapter of the day, as promised! Will be taking a little break ^_^ Hope you guys enjoyed the double feature.

CHAPTER 5 – EarthClan POV

At the gathering, Dawnstar had climbed up the large cliff. It was more so of a ledge, technically, but they had taken to calling it a cliff, since it was so

large. Scrambling her way up, she sat near the top, and looked down with her orange eyes, at the cats assembling below. Nobody spoke to one another, and

everyone was quiet. Seated on the right side, closer to the edge, was Hawkstar. A shiver went up her spine at the thought of the tom; he was one who had

made her lose a life in past conflicts. Strange as it was, to have a leader take another leaders life, it had happened. Near her left, Kinkstar and Ashstar were

seated, not necessarily close to each other. Down below, more or less directly underneath their clan leaders sat the deputies. She smiled at Mousetooth. What

a trusty tom he was. Riverclaw was sitting, and so were Mossbird and Redfang. What a strange she-cat, Redfang…. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud

yowl from Hawkstar, to begin the gathering. It's not like anyone was speaking anyway. "Who shall begin?" He mused, flicking his tail. The leaders looked at one

another, before Kinkstar stepped up. "I suppose I will." He said, grinning slightly. "Emberclan is doing extraordinarily well. Willowcloud is growing more plump,

and will be expecting soon." He said, flicking his tail. "Acornbelly, not to long ago, gave Rippleear is warrior name." Kinkstar stepped back, smirking to himself.

Dawnstar rolled her eyes. He was such a cocky tom, especially after being named leader, when the sickness had passed. In her opinion, he didn't deserve it. In

fact, he didn't even deserve to be leader! Pouting slightly, she shrugged it off, and waited for another cat to step up. No sooner did Ashstar, flicking her tail with

her step. "Everything for AirClan is going well. Vixenstep has successfully given birth to three healthy kits; Rainkit, Stormkit, and Thunderkit. However, on

other news, Redfang had filed a report that there were scents of Serpentclan on the border; may we remind you to keep distance, or we will attack." She said,

glaring specifically at Hawkstar. The tabby leader seemed not to notice, and yawned, licking his paw and dragging it over his ear. Dawnstar gulped, and stepped

up. She still didn't like public speaking; it was a small fear she had, except for when she was speaking to her clan mates, but even then, she still felt a little

awkward inside, that was for sure. "EarthClan is doing quite well. Woodpelt's kits, Webkit, Starkkit, and Fuzzykit are growing up quite well, with Fishpaw

earning his new name, Fishleap." There were cheers from the crowed, as they chanted Fishleap's name. The tom himself, had ears folded back in

embarrassment, and Vixenstep smiled, flicking her tail, before stepping back. Hawkstar paused mid-lick of his pelt, and then realized it was his turn. He

straightened up, and coughed slightly. "Right then. Well, to begin first of all, SerpentClan is doing quite well, with Ravenear's kits, hopefully coming soon." He

began, moving his paw around for emphasis. "Lynxpaw has successfully earned the warrior name of Lynxtuft," a pause for the cheers, "and that is all."

Dawnstar looked at her leaders, smiling. "Is that it for everyone?" She asked. With nods and grunts from the leaders, she nodded, and looked down. The four

leaders spoke at the same time. "Let the Clans become one!" They said, jumping down, as all the cats meowed in excitement, and moved to talk with one

another. It was a nice system they had developed, allowing each cat to speak to one another after they had finished the gathering. Then, each clan would

leave one by one, at any time they deemed fit. It was nice, to unwind, and share news, and secrets with friends and best friends of each and every clan.

Mousetooth flicked his tail, looking around. He trotted up to Frostpelt. "Hey Frostpelt." He said, smiling. Frostpelt looked at the deputy. "Er… Hello." She

said, looking off to the side. Mousetooth moved his paw in the dirt. "…I'm sorry." He said, looking off to the side. Frostpelt stood up, and moved away. "Right,

I'll see you later." Mousetooth looked after her, and sighed. He looked off to the side, and shrugged. "Oh well." He said, smiling. If she wanted to leave, she

could. It wasn't his responsibility to go after her and track her down. He looked out at all of the Clans. SerpentClan brought the same cats again. Shrugging his

shoulders, he trotted over to Icewind. "Hey Icewind!" He said, smiling again. The she-cat turned and looked at him. "Oh, hey there…" She said, blinking.

"What's up?" "Nothing really, I was just wondering, how's your clan doing?" "Oh, we're doing good." "I noticed you picked the same cats." "Huh? Oh yeah,

everyone else was out hunting again…" She said, smiling awkwardly. Mousetooth frowned. "You sure?" She nodded her head vigourously. "Well, maybe next

time you can bring them?" He offered, smiling. She shook her head. "No, I'm not sure what Hawkstar's going to do…" She said, shifting her paws. "Oh… Well,

okay. I'll see you later!" With that, Mousetooth bounded off. 'Their clan is small… I'll convince Dawnstar to help them out, or at least try." Thornheart, on the

other hand, was smirking at his opportunity. He just had to get Ravenear, and that would be it; their clan would be broken. Then he would take out the foot

soldier warriors. Letting out a low cackle, he turned on his paw, and headed back to his clan, whom were leaving already.