Did you like the first chapter? Well try to enjoy this one ^_^

Chapter 2: Newcomers

Hawkpaw was sitting by the camp entrance. It had been a couple hours since Hawkpaw was on his first patrol. He was thinking about the unknown cat when a voice interrupted him.

"Hawkpaw are you ok?"

Hawkpaw looked up to see Lightpaw standing in front of him.

"Oh yea, I'm fine never better." He lied putting on a fake smile.

Lightpaw still seemed worried but she didn't ask any more questions.

"Hey, why don't you come eat with Darkpaw and me?" Lightpaw meowed.

Hawkpaw didn't feel that hungry but he didn't want to disappoint Lightpaw so he agreed.

"That would be great!"

Lightpaw smiled. "Ok come one."

Hawkpaw obeyed. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. He thought.

Hawkpaw grabbed a piece of fresh kill for himself and sat down in-between Darkpaw and Lightpaw.

"Do you think our mentors like us?" inquired Darkpaw.

"Why wouldn't they like us?" Lightpaw replied.

"Maybe because I'm so mouse-brained I walk right on to another clan's territory." Hawkpaw responded with a huff.

"Yea, what were you thinking anyway?" Lightpaw asked

Hawkpaw paused. "I thought I…saw something." He was still unwilling to tell them about the cat he saw. He still thought that it could have been just his imagination.

His friends didn't ask questions anyway, Lightpaw just blinked and Darkpaw was looking in the direction of the Highledge.

"Looks like Eaglestar is going to talk to us." He meowed.

Hawkpaw grimaced "Great."

Lightpaw blinked at him. "You should really try and talk to him."

"Well, maybe he should try talking to me!" Hawkpaw retorted.

Lightpaw shook her head. "At least you have a father."

"At least you have a mother!" Hawkpaw spat back.

Darkpaw and Lightpaw stared at him his eyes wide. Hawkpaw suddenly realized that his pelt was bristling. He started licking down his fur. "Sorry." He said between licks.

Darkpaw sniffed. "It's fine."

Lightpaw didn't say anything. Hawkpaw turned his attention to the Highledge where Eaglestar was listing the names of all the cats that would be attending the gathering. Hawkpaw felt a shiver of excitement as his name and Darkpaw and Lightpaw's name was called.

"Before I break up this meeting I have one more thing to say." Eaglestar continued. "A rogue cat was scented in our borders. This cat could just be passing through or it could be looking to cause some trouble so everyone keep your eyes peeled."

Eaglestar stepped off the high ledge and walked over to the fresh kill pile. Hawkpaw was surprised that Eaglestar already knew about the cat. Then he spotted Yellowfur who had a knowing look on his face. Lightpaw and Darkpaw were bouncing up and down with excitement.

"We're going to our first gathering!! We're going to our first gathering!!" they cried.

Just then Sharpclaw walked up to the apprentices. "You better not go to the gathering yelling that the whole time." He said with a playful growl.

Darkpaw and Lightpaw giggled. "We won't."

Sharpclaw smiled and walked away.

Hawkpaw walked up to his friends his tail held high.

"I can't wait this is going to be awesome!"

"No doubt." Darkpaw agreed.

A yowl came from the camp entrance. Eaglestar had signaled to all the cats that were going to the gathering that it was time to go. The cats started appearing from all corners including the trio of apprentice's mentors. Silverheart came up to Darkpaw and Lightpaw.

"Now you two behave." She told them. "I don't want to hear that you set the island on fire or anything."

Darkpaw laughed. "You won't, trust me."

Silverheart purred then licked Darkpaw's, Lightpaw's and, to Hawkpaw's bewilderment, Hawkpaw's head. Silverheart must have seen his confused face.

"I may not have given birth to you, but I took care of you for four moons after your mother died. I'm your mother as good as any other cat."

Hawkpaw smiled at that and Darkpaw's and Lightpaw's eyes lit up. The patrol was already starting to leave and with one last look back at Silverheart the apprentices followed. The forest was very different during twilight then it was during the day. In the light of the sinking sun the shadows were stretched for several fox-lengths and it gave the impression of giant cats that were walking towards the island where the clans would be doing their gathering.

The patrol reached the lake and Eaglestar led the way along the lakes edge. Hawkpaw soon found himself next to Rabbitpaw, the medicine cat apprentice for ThunderClan.

"Hey, Rabbitpaw I haven't talked to you in a while."

Rabbitpaw looked at Hawkpaw. "I'm not surprised. Rockfur's a slave driver." He said with a purr of laughter.

Hawkpaw laughed. "Well, at least that means he's teaching you everything he knows."

To Hawkpaw's surprise Rabbitpaw's smile slipped.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Rabbitpaw replied in a grim voice.

"Why?" said a confused Hawkpaw.

"Take a look at Rockfur." Rabbitpaw replied.

Hawkpaw obeyed. To him all he could see that was wrong with Rockfur was that he seemed to have to try to stay at the head of the group.

"I don't see anything wrong with him." Hawkpaw decided.

"He's getting old." Rabbitpaw meowed. "I'm afraid he is going to leave me before I am ready."

Hawkpaw could see Rabbitpaw's distress being a medicine cat was very important.

Hawkpaw gave him a playful nudge. "You shouldn't worry even if Rockfur leaves us, no one will doubt that you will try your best to serve your clan."

Rabbitpaw glanced at Hawkpaw. "Thanks Hawkpaw you're right I worry too much."

With that Rabbitpaw raced ahead to walk beside his mentor. By now they were well into WindClan territory. Hawkpaw breathed in deep and long. The scent of WindClan was a mix of grass and rabbits. In the distance the island was getting closer and he could see cats walking across an old log to get to the island. Redfur, one of ThunderClan's senior warriors, came up to Hawkpaw as they were leaving Windclan territory and getting into the neutral zone of the abandoned horseplace territory.

"Hey Hawkpaw…you ready?" he asked.

Hawkpaw took a deep breath. "Absolutely!"

"Hey don't sweat it all the cats can be kind of overwhelming but… Hey who are they?"

Hawkpaw looked in the direction that Redfur pointed. By the abandoned horseplace five cats were watching the clan cats pad on. In the dim light it was hard to make them out. Hawkpaw squinted to get a clearer picture until his eyes adjusted and what he saw terrified him. He recognized the cat that he thought he had imagined sitting among the other cats in the horseplace. The cats' eyes met his and he thought he saw his whiskers twitch. After getting a better look he saw that the cat was a mud brown tabby tom with amber eyes. Sparrowtail sat beside Hawkpaw.

"Guess the horseplace isn't so abandoned anymore."

Hawkpaw didn't respond. The brown tabby meowed something to his companions and they all went inside the horseplace. Eaglestar ignored the newcomers and signaled to his clan to start heading across the log. Hawkpaw forced himself tear his gaze away from the horseplace. He would think about this later. Right now the most important thing was making it across the bridge without slipping into the water below, and that's almost exactly what happened. Hawkpaw wasn't the one who fell into the water instead it was Sharpclaw who took a dive. Everyone who saw howled with laughter. Sharpclaw crawled his way out of the water as dignified as he could.

He started licking himself dry as he said. "Yea, keep laughing just remember I'm the guy who sets all your patrols." He gave the surrounding cats the evil eye.

Even Eaglestar, who always looked like he had a thorn in his side, couldn't suppress a chuckle. When everyone had stopped laughing and Sharpclaw had successfully dried himself off the cats headed deeper into the island. Suddenly Eaglestar stopped and pricked his ears.

"Seems we are the last ones to arrive." Eaglestar commented over the noise the other clan cats were making up ahead.

"Well let's do it!" called Woodfur somewhere in the back.

Eaglestar paused for a moment then raced into the clearing. Cats rushed by Hawkpaw. Hawkpaw paused took a deep breath the raced along with his clanmates into the gathering.