"That's it, you've got it!" Brightfire panted. She skidded as she landed on the clearing floor, the leaves still wet beneath her paw from the rain earlier that day. Across from her Juniperpaw stood looking proud, his blue eyes bright.

Brightfire had taken it upon herself to do some extra training with him when they both had the spare time. Juniperpaw was already improving. His battle moves had become quicker and more thought out, and the stinging of Brightfire's ears told her so. She sat, licking a paw and drawing it over them.

"Thanks!" Juniperpaw breathed, tail twitching with anticipation. "I can't wait to show Redstar! I'll be a warrior yet!" He puffed out his chest, beaming, and as the light caught his fur Brightfire thought he looked the spitting image of his late father, Lionstar.

Brightfire purred. "Why don't we practice a few more moves? Then we can hunt on the way back to camp."

Juniperpaw nodded. "Sounds good," he mewed, crouching and readying himself.

Brightfire grinned, launching herself through the air at her opponent. Juniperpaw ducked beneath her quick as a rabbit, nipping at her hind legs as he slipped beneath her belly. Brightfire growled playfully, fruitlessly attempting to batter his back with her paws but stumbling as Juniperpaw quickly shoved himself upwards and unbalanced her.

"Oof!"

Juniperpaw turned, pinning her down before she had the chance to get back to her paws. He purred, his tail curling up in amusement. "You look like such a dork right now," he teased.

Brightfire swiped her paw across his nose. "Whatever, mousebrain!" she shot back, wriggling out from beneath him and shaking the moss and earth from her fur. She blinked at Juniperpaw, feeling a blush rise to her cheeks. "That was good."

Juniperpaw nodded shyly, shuffling his paws and looking down at them.

"Ready to hunt?" Brightfire asked, stretching before padding towards the undergrowth in search of prey. "Whoever brings back the most gets to pick first from the fresh-kill pile," she added, prowling forwards as she caught the scent of a mouse scuffling under the leaves.

Juniperpaw didn't reply. Brightfire scowled, casting a glance his way and abandoning her hunt. "Juniperpaw…?"

He hadn't moved. Still staring at the ground, he mumbled, "What do you thinks going to happen to Amberfall?"

A shiver passed through Brightfire. It had been several days now since Amberfall's return and the injured warrior was still unconscious. It terrified Brightfire to think that something – or someone – had been powerful enough to inflict such wounds.

"I'm sure she'll be ok," she said quietly, trying to reassure herself as well as Juniperpaw. "Whiterabbit and Mothpaw are doing everything they can."

"But what if it's not enough?" Juniperpaw asked, looking up with worry in his eyes. "If TwilightClan really did attack her, shouldn't we be retaliating?"

"Gorseclaw said there was no scent of them near the border where he and Fawnpaw found Amberfall," Brightfire pointed out, shifting her paws. "It could've been rogues."

"If it were rogues, they'd still be around," Juniperpaw argued, "but no one's seen or heard anything out of the ordinary since."

He was right, Brightfire realized. It could have been one rogue, she considered, but Amberfall was a skilled warrior; Brightfire could vouch for that, having been mentored by Leafgaze as well. She'd have been able to hold her own against a scrawny invader.

"I don't know," she admitted at last, blinking sadly at him. "Only Amberfall knows, and she can't tell us."

The full moon hung low in the night sky as the AmberClan cats made their way towards the Island, following the bank of the river that cut through their territory. Brightfire padded after Redstar with Mothpaw and Juniperpaw at either side. Excitement coursed through her from her nose to the tip of her tail. Her first gathering as a warrior!

It should have been Juniperpaw's first gathering as a warrior, too, Brightfire thought somewhat bitterly. Before they had left camp earlier that evening Silverpaw had been sure to voice her displeasure; "How come Juniperpaw gets to go and not me?" the young apprenticed had complained to her sister before Mothpaw had left the medicine cat's den. Brightfire knew Silverpaw hadn't meant anything hurtful by it, but it had left Juniperpaw visibly stung.

As they approached brambles and undergrowth surrounding the Great Oak, Brightfire caught the scent of the other clans in the air. TwilightClan and DuskClan she could see were already finding spots, while just ahead of them WhisperClan crossed the tree-bridge.

Before their turn approached, Brightfire gently brushed her pelt against Juniperpaw's. It would be his first gathering without his father, Lionstar, sitting on the roots of the Great Oak amongst the other leaders.

Slipping through the brambles, Brightfire soon began to look for a spot that was not as crowded. "It looks like almost everyone's already here," she mused, but found that Juniperpaw had a distracted look on his face. The young tom merely nodded, a faraway look in his eyes before he said, "It'll be weird not to see him on the Great Rock."

Brightfire's eyes flashed with sympathy as she gave his ear a swift lick. "Come on, I see a spot," she offered, brushing her tail-tip along Juniperpaw's spine. Mothpaw said a quick goodbye to the two of them before bounding off after Whiterabbit to join the other medicine cats.

One by one more cats began to gather. The strong, fishy scent of CurrentClan made Brightfire's nose wrinkle as the sleek-furred cats joined their neighbours, and before she had the chance to say anything to Juniperpaw, a white-furred she-cat was padding over to them with an awe-struck expression.

As she drew closer, Brightfire noticed her eyes were two different colours – one green and one blue. Instantly, recognition struck her. The snowy apprentice had been present at the last gathering as well, though Brightfire hadn't spoken to her then. The torbie-and-white she-cat knew what lineage she came from – it was hard not to. Leafgaze had mentioned before the white-furred warriors of CurrentClan, known for their battle prowess. "Best to get to know your enemies well," her mentor had informed her.

"It's the invincible Brightfire!" the she-cat cheered. So the rumour had gotten around. Brightfire felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. Brightfire knew that apprentices from more than one clan disliked Cardinalclaw – Silverpaw must have been bragging to her friends about his embarrassing defeat. She'd mentioned seeing Mosspaw across the border the other day. Couple that with the fact that Brightfire had returned unscathed from the battle with TwilightClan, and Brightfire could understand why cats might put stock in such gossip.

"I'm Iceflower," the white she-cat introduced, sitting before the two AmberClan cats and curling a fluffy tail around dainty paws. "It's so nice to finally meet you!"

Brightfire gave her a tentative smile. "StarClan has blessed me with a great talent," she replied. Letting an enemy clan think she was a strong opponent wasn't the worst thing in the world, after all. "It's good to meet you, Iceflower. I've heard about your family from my mentor. It seems they are very well respected."

Iceflower seemed to glow with pride. "Yes, they are," she meowed. "My father Sleetstrike and sister Snowstorm are here tonight as well. My father says AmberClan and TwilightClan are on the verge of battle," she added more curiously, peering at Brightfire with her mismatched eyes. "Hopefully the warriors remember to keep the peace tonight. It is the full moon, after all."

Brightfire noticed Juniperpaw bristle out of the corner of her eye. She gave Iceflower a forced smile. "I hope so too. It would be best if the tensions between the clans lessened."

Iceflower nodded and opened her mouth to reply, but Juniperpaw had got to his paws. "Well, maybe if cats weren't so nosy about others' business, there wouldn't be so many stupid squabbles these days," he hissed.

Iceflower's demeanor quickly changed. "Excuse me?" she shot back at the ginger apprentice, her white fur fluffed up. For a moment she looked as if she might swipe her claws across Juniperpaw's nose, but just like that she had forced her fur to lie flat again, and the fire in her eyes died. "This is a gathering. You shouldn't be causing so much trouble for your leader and your clan," she sniffed, turning to Brightfire. "Can you believe the nerve of him?"

Brightfire's expression grew a little stony before remembering to uphold her polite disposition. Juniperpaw was always a bit of a soft spot for the golden-eyed warrior, and she would always step up to defend him. That's how her four on one battle assessment for her warrior name happened in the first place, the other apprentices had been picking on him, and she took it upon herself to right a wrong he could not.

Before she could open her mouth to voice her disagreement and support Juniperpaw without starting a fight, the smell of pine wafted over her pinkish-red nose. TwilightClan. Brightfire turned to see a lanky, large-eared black cat.

"I can," the TwilightClan warrior meowed cooly, taking a seat a few pawsteps away and curling her thin tail over her paws. She turned to Iceflower, her ears twitching. "Maybe you didn't realize, but you're speaking to Lionstar's only son."

Embarrassment flooded over Iceflower it seemed as the white she-cat shrank back slightly and said nothing.

Brightfire cast the black warrior a grateful glance. "Nightshade, isn't it?" she recalled. Brightfire had seen her across the border a few times, but only because of her yellow eyes. She was quiet and blended in with the shadows left by the tall trees of her clan well. "How's the prey running in TwilightClan?"

"Fine," Nightshade answered, giving no hint that TwilightClan's recent battle with AmberClan had in any way affected their warriors.

Before Brightfire could reply, a loud yowl sounded from the roots of the Great Oak. The four of them turned and began to rejoin their clanmates. "It was nice meeting you," Brightfire called to Iceflower and Nightshade as they left. Nightshade said nothing as she slipped away, but Iceflower acknowledged Brightfire with a stiff nod in her direction.

"They seemed friendly," Juniperpaw muttered under his breath, sighing as he padded alongside her towards the other AmberClan cats.

Amongst the roots and lower-hanging branches sat the nine leaders of the clans, their gazes sweeping over the cats that gathered before them. Brightfire's fur prickled with anticipation.

"Once again we join together under the full moon, in the peace of StarClan," Redstar began, his russet pelt gleaming under the starlight that filtered down through the oak's branches. "AmberClan is proud to announce that it has several new warriors amongst its ranks. Brightfire, who is here in attendance tonight," he meowed, his gaze resting on the torbie-and-white she-cat with a smile, "as well as Pinefur, Firfoot, and Cedarstone."

The names of the new warriors rose up as cats from all clans cheered their congratulations. Just like when her clanmates had celebrated her, Brightfire beamed with pride.

"Lastly, we do have some unfortunate news," Redstar added once the cheering had died down. "One of our warriors has been attacked. We believe that rogues may be hiding somewhere in the forest, although we have not seen or heard anything out of the ordinary since." He dipped his head, stepping back to let the other leaders speak.

Murmurs of discontent spread throughout the gathered cats as Duststar began to speak. Brightfire noticed that many of them seemed to be discussing the possibility of what to do should the rogues be found on their territory. Juniperpaw fidgeted, seeming just as uncomfortable as the others around them.

"As everyone knows, the snow melt from the mountains has caused the water levels of the river to rise," CurrentClan's leader announced. "However, this has not hindered CurrentClan in any way. We remain as strong as ever. Tonight with us is our newest warrior, Iceflower." The white she-cat puffed out her chest and gave it a few swift licks.

"We will keep watch for these rogues you have mentioned, Redstar, and CurrentClan offers its condolences to you and yours."

As Duststar's turn ended, the other leaders began to share their news. Falconstar reported nothing out of the ordinary for RunningClan, WhisperClan's medicine cat had taken on an apprentice – "about time" Brightfire heard Whiterabbit grumble in the audience, DawnClan, MountainClan and StormClan all had new apprentices, and the TwilightClan queen Poppynose had delivered a healthy litter of kits. Almost all the leaders had something to say about the rising water levels in their territory, but each made sure to state their Clan's independence and strength in the face of adversity.

Finally, Canarystar of DuskClan spoke. "DuskClan is proud to announce it has two new apprentices. Sparkpaw and Pouncepaw, who are here with us tonight," The apprentices, a ginger tom and a tortoiseshell she-cat, looked shyly at their paws. "But we also have some sad news," Canarystar added, "Our medicine cat Pearsplash drowned this last moon. Pearlcloud is now DuskClan's medicine cat."

Mews of congratulation and sympathy spread throughout the cats. Brightfire noticed Mothpaw touch her tail-tip to the shoulder of a dilute calico she-cat, whom she guessed to be Pearlcloud.

"That concludes our gathering," Redstar meowed once things had quieted down. "May StarClan grant us all a safe journey home."

Brightfire gathered herself to her paws. "Go ahead without me," she told Juniperpaw, "I just want to give Pearlcloud my condolences."

Juniperpaw shrugged but said nothing as she walked over to where the medicine cats had gathered. The dappled golden tabby of AmberClan was seated between Pearlcloud and silver tabby Brightfire didn't recognize, though the scent of fish coming off her was strong enough to tell her what clan she belonged to. "Hello, Mothpaw," she called.

"Brightfire!" Mothpaw's mewed cheerfully, smiling as her friend approached. "Pearlcloud, Codpaw, this is Brightfire. Brightfire, this is Pearlcloud of DuskClan and Codpaw of CurrentClan."

"It's nice to meet you," Pearlcloud meowed, dipping her head. "Are you the same Brightfire that was at the battle where Lionstar died?"

Brightfire took a step backwards. "Er…yes. How did you know that?"

Pearlcloud blinked round blue eyes. "Everyone's been talking about how you fended off two full-grown warriors and didn't even take a hit! Leafgaze told Batwing so tonight."

Brightfire's ears burned hot with embarrassment. "I was very fortunate," she replied sheepishly.

Pearlcloud's whiskers twitched thoughtfully and she gazed at Brightfire a moment longer before turning her attention back to Mothpaw. "As I was saying, Mothpaw, when we found Pearsplash's body…it didn't seem as if he'd drowned. I found fur between his claws."

Mothpaw's expression suddenly grew intense, Brightfire noticed, as she leaned closer to listen to the DuskClan cat.

"It didn't have the scent of any clan I know," Pearlcloud continued, "but I thought you should know since – "

"Mothpaw, Brightfire!"

Whiterabbit's scathing mew interrupted the conversation. "It's time to go! You two are keeping the clan waiting!"

"Sorry!" Mothpaw squeaked in reply, quickly giving Pearlcloud's ear a lick "Thank you, Pearlcloud," she meowed, though the look in her eyes suggested she wished she had more time to discuss things.

Pearlcloud dipped her head. "Farwell," she murmured. "See you, Mothpaw," Codpaw called, as Mothpaw and Brightfire hurried to rejoin their clan.