"Already?" Squirrelflight asked. Leafdawn nodded.

"Kestrelkit's interested," she said. "It's different than warriors – not every cat can become a medicine cat." Whitetail's litter would be leaving the nursery soon. Squirrelflight had not spent a lot of time around the three kittens, she had not realized that the tom-kit had become interested in the medicine den.

"It just feels early," Squirrelflight commented. "Barkface didn't have an apprentice before you, did he?" Leafdawn looked up at her. They were in Leafdawn's den, avoiding the heat of the day.

"He didn't find an apprentice before," She replied. "Mothwing's already got an apprentice, you know that. Runningnose is getting old, too. He's probably going to have to choose whichever kit becomes the next ShadowClan medicine cat."

"Why not send Willowpaw over to ShadowClan then?" Squirrelflight asked. She could not imagine if Barkface had had to choose an apprentice in that way.

"Mothwing still needs to show that she can be a medicine cat," Leafdawn replied. "Anyway, Littlecloud only went to ThunderClan because there was no other choice. ShadowClan has some kits but it's not something we like to do." Squirrelflight tilted her head.

"She's still under scrutiny?" the assignment of Mothwing as RiverClan's medicine cat had not been popular when it happened. However, it had been seasons. If Leopardstar thought she was unfit she certainly would have had her step down by now. She had been given an apprentice, for StarClan's sake!

"Falconpaw and Tigerpaw becoming apprentices opened it up again," Leafdawn sat back on her haunches. "None of this was liked and now she's got to look her kits in the face at Gatherings. It's hard for her, too." There was a slight glimmer in the tabby she-cat's eyes.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Leafdawn and Mothwing had gotten close. Leafdawn certainly went to RiverClan to help more than ThunderClan or ShadowClan. The medicine cat nodded.

"She'll be alright," Leafdawn meowed. "She still has Leopardstar's support." Squirrelflight went to respond when a voice came from the den entrance.

"Leafdawn!" The sisters turned at Brambleheart's call.

The warrior appeared, ushering Berrypaw into the den. The apprentice was walking on three paws, his shortened tail moving from side to side. His mentor looked exasperated. Both of them smelled of soil, they must have come right from the tunnels.

"What happened?" Leafdawn asked, rising to meet them.

"A rock shifted onto his paw," the warrior explained. Berrypaw's ears flattened as he looked up at his mentor.

"I was trying –"

"I said that I and Sandstorm were going to move it," Brambleheart interrupted. His voice was stern. "It was too big for you. You were supposed to be moving that dirt."

"But –"

"If you're going to disobey orders down there, you can stay up here and clean out dens until you realize how dangerous that is." The warrior's tone left no room for argument.

"Yes, Brambleheart." The apprentice hissed as Leafdawn examined his paw, putting pressure on part of it.

"It doesn't seem to be any more than a bruise. Are you going to the Gathering?" Leafdawn asked. Brambleheart shook his head and Berrypaw's whiskers drooped.

"Would I not be going if I was?" Squirrelflight had to hold in a chuckle as the medicine cat turned to her patient.

"It doesn't matter if you weren't going in the first place," Leafdawn replied. "But, rest for the next day. Head off to your nest and Brambleheart's right. No repeats of this, you were lucky it's not worse." Berrypaw nodded.

"Yes, Leafdawn."

"Thank you," Brambleheart added, tapping his apprentice's side with his tail. The apprentice echoed his mentor's words. Leafdawn blinked.

"Of course." As they headed out of the den, Squirrelflight could hear the warrior beginning to speak sternly to his apprentice again.

"I'm still surprised Firestar paired them up together," She remarked. Hazelpaw and Mousepaw were more relaxed than their brother. It seemed like Brambleheart was having to chase Berrypaw around half the time. The young tom had always been a pawful.

"Gives him something to fuss over," Leafdawn replied. Squirrelflight laughed.

Brambleheart set a loach in front of Squirrelflight as they settled. The sun was low in the sky, it would not be long before the Gathering. She eyed the tom.

He was being too nice. They both were. "How are you doing?" The tabby asked, lying next to Stormfur. He was pulling feathers out of a quail.

"I'm fine." She asked, "What's going on?"

"Why don't you eat?" Squirrelflight gave the older warrior a pointed look and Brambleheart turned to his mate. Stormfur paused in his plucking before he began.

"We wanted to ask you a favor."

"We're fine with whatever your answer is," Brambleheart added. "No one's going to be upset." Squirrelflight curled her paws under her chest.

"Well, I won't know," she said. "Until you guys tell me." The toms exchanged a look and Stormfur continued.

"We've been discussing kits," Squirrelflight's eyes rounded. "And we wanted to know if you would be willing to carry them."

"Okay," She answered. Squirrelflight was not expecting this. She had always figured, that had they wanted to do this, they would have gone to Feathertail. Had she rejected them? That would surprise her but it was possible.

It was also possible that Feathertail just could not have kits. She had not heard one way or another. "How would this work?"

"However you want it to," Stormfur replied. Brambleheart meowed his agreement.

"If you don't want to suckle them, Daisy can do it." His tail was curled against his side, and a level of anxiety was present in his amber gaze. He looked much more nervous now than he had earlier with Berrypaw. "I want to be in the nursery from when they're born onward – just, so one of us can be with them." Squirrelflight interrupted.

"You're becoming a queen?"

"Yes," Her brother replied. "Or you can suckle them then leave or you can be a mother-like role to them. We're…we're fine with it all." Squirrelflight nodded.

"There's no pressure," Stormfur reiterated.

"How…soon?" Thoughts were racing through her head as she regarded Stormfur.

He was good-looking and they were friends. There were certainly worse options.

There were also better options than her brother's mate. There were cats she would need to talk to about this. She did not know what he would think.

But she did want kits. She always had. It had been something Squirrelflight had been certain of since she was young.

"Hazelpaw and Berrypaw have about two more moons of training left," Stormfur replied. "We were thinking after they were made warriors – so, leaf-fall at the earliest."

"Or, Newleaf," Brambleheart added. "Since Leafbare can be harsh." There was a pause before the she-cat responded.

"Can I think on this?"

"Of course!" A chorus of agreement rose from the toms before silence fell between them. Squirrelflight's tail twitched, surprised as she was at a loss for words. The three of them turned suddenly as Firestar yowled from the Tallrock. Squirrelflight pushed herself to her feet, the loach abandoned.

"See you guys later."

The moon was halfway up when WindClan arrived to the island. Squirrelflight opened her mouth, taking in the scents around them. The nights were still cool and a particularly cold gust of wind made her shake out her wind-flattened pelt. ThunderClan and RiverClan were here.

The RiverClan cats were eying WindClan, cautiously. Leopardstar's amber gaze narrowed as Firestar approached, Duststar was seated by her side. The tabby did not look pleased by the WindClan leader's arrival. Leopardstar must have already told him, Squirrelflight figured.

"See you after," Leafdawn meowed, pulling Squirrelflight's attention back to her. The medicine cat was looking toward the base of the oak, where Mothwing, Willowpaw, and Littlecloud were already situated. The golden tabby had risen to her paws and Squirrelflight waved her tail at her.

"See you," Squirrelflight echoed, stepping toward the gathered warriors.

The decision to make this island into the Gathering place had been a good one. The previous stump could not hold more than three warriors at a time and this location was more hidden from the Twolegs. A few warriors chatted with one another, but this felt different than the Gatherings in the old forest had been. At least, from what Squirrelflight understood.

Squirrelflight had always heard stories about those Gatherings. She had grown up hearing about this truce. Of how, for one night, there could be comradery amongst the Clans.

That was not how these Gatherings felt. Few warriors spoke to members of the other Clans before the announcements were made. There was tension in the air. One which could snap in a heartbeat. Squirrelflight opened her mouth, taking in the scents around her as she tried to find a particular one.

"Hey." The WindClan warrior turned at the voice. She was near the edge now.

"Hi."

Ashfur padded up to her. "There's not going to be an interruption, is there?" His voice was hushed. She gave him a reproachable look.

"He's still my brother," Squirrelflight reminded the ThunderClan warrior. "And, no. He's back at camp." Ashfur nodded.

"Of course." He added, "I missed you last time." Squirrelflight's tail curled.

"Can't be at every Gathering." Ashfur hummed, she heard him take in her scent.

"We don't need to wait for Gatherings." They were not touching. The Clans were too suspicious of each other. That felt like too much in front of watching eyes. They had not had a moment alone together since they had reached the gorge all those seasons ago.

They had also discussed this before. But Leafbare had been harsh – there were times when the snow was past their ears. WindClan was lucky to have only lost Beechkit and Morningflower to Greencough which had arisen during this time. Raccoons had also taken to fishing along the border brook during the night, and that was before mentioning the tension between the Clans. And now there was Stormfur and Brambleheart's request in the way. "Things have settled down a bit," Ashfur continued.

"Just you wait," Squirrelflight replied, her tail swishing. "Leopardstar's got some grievances with us today." The gray tom turned his attention to the leaders as they settled, snorting.

"She doesn't look too happy. But, it's not between our Clans." Blue eyes turned back to her and the look in them made Squirrelflight's ears burn.

She still had not made a decision about it yet, but she should tell Ashfur about her talk with the toms. If the situation was reversed, she would certainly like the same. Squirrelflight's mouth opened but a yowl drew their attention to the oak.

ShadowClan had arrived. They were still crossing the tree bridge and yet Leopardstar had started up the tree. Duststar and Firestar followed after her with Tawnystar rushing to follow.

As cats settled, the spotted tabby began.

"WindClan has breached our borders and stolen our prey!" Yowls rose at the RiverClan warrior's proclamation. Tornear had sprung to his paws.

"It was a mistake from an apprentice!" Ashfur glanced at Squirrelflight as Firestar signaled for silence.

"What'd the apprentice do?" The ThunderClan warrior hissed.

"He chased a mouse over the border," Squirrelflight responded, tail flicking. "We almost went to war over it!" Ashfur's eyes widened but she turned her attention back to the leaders.

"I do apologize on behalf of Frostpaw," Firestar bowed his head to the RiverClan leader. "And he has apologized after the prey had been returned to RiverClan. I assure you; we will not allow this to happen again." Leopardstar glared back at him.

"And what of the fish?" Firestar raised his head, surprise obvious on his face. "We all know you fish in the lake. Will you answer for stealing prey from RiverClan's mouths in that way?"

"Leopardstar," Tawnystar spoke up. "No one owns the lake, should we ask your permission to drink from it next?" Squirrelflight snorted and the RiverClan leader turned to Tawnystar.

"RiverClan eats fish," She replied. "No other Clan." Call of support rose from the RiverClan warriors. Some WindClan warriors let out a few hisses. Squirrelflight's tail lashed, glancing toward the angered warriors. This was not a big deal!

"Tell me, Leopardstar," Firestar sat, ears flattened. "Have your warriors been fishing on our shores?" Leopardstar shook her head.

"Unlike yours, my warriors know better than to cross borders."

"I do not believe that our hunting patrols are sent to fish." Firestar looked down at Tornear. The WindClan deputy spoke, dipping his head to his leader.

"Our patrols are sent after land prey." The leader spoke his approval.

"However, I am also not going to stop my warriors from hunting what they want on our territory during their free time. Prey does not know borders," Firestar continued. "If a squirrel wanders over the brook, it becomes WindClan prey. Tawnystar is right, no Clan owns the lake." Duststar jerked his head toward the WindClan leader. His brow creased.

"Have you been hunting squirrels?" Firestar turned his attention to the ThunderClan tom, startled. Ashfur glanced at Squirrelflight. Her ears were back. This was not going to be good.

"It is not my fault whose territory the prey ends up on," Firestar replied. "I haven't seen one on our fresh-kill pile in a while."

"The Clans hunt different prey," Duststar's tail flicked as he growled. "Leopardstar is right. Squirrels are ThunderClan prey."

"We hunt squirrels in ShadowClan," Tawnystar put in, giving Duststar a confused look. "There's certainly more in our fresh-kill pile than what they can find in WindClan."

"ShadowClan lives in the forest," Duststar meowed. "It's different than a ThunderClan squirrel temporarily on WindClan territory." The tortoiseshell turned to Duststar, her tail swishing.

"Duststar –"

"We are not talking about squirrels," Leopardstar glared at the WindClan leader as she interrupted. "RiverClan has been fishing since the dawn of the Clans, I will not have your warriors continue to steal from my warriors' mouths!"

"We gave you the mouse," Tornear looked up at the tabby she-cat. "And the fish go wherever they want. It's no more stealing than when they're on ShadowClan or ThunderClan's shores." Meows were beginning to rise again from the gathered Clans. Squirrelflight looked to Ashfur. This was getting ridiculous. What was happening in RiverClan to cause Leopardstar's reaction?

"It should never have been caught in the first place!"

"It is Greenleaf, Leopardstar," Firestar's tail tip flicked as he rose to his paws. "One piece of prey is not worth all of this."

"One piece of prey quickly becomes more," Duststar answered. His eyes were narrowed at his fellow tom. "WindClan warriors don't eat fish nor forest prey."

"We eat what is on our territory." Tornear's fur was beginning to bristle, as was Mudclaw's. Mistyfoot and Russetfur remained seated.

"This is ridiculous," Squirrelflight hissed. They kept fighting and arguing over arbitrary things. It felt like something new every moon. How was this worth arguing over? Ashfur turned to her, shrugging.

"It's not like we can do anything about it," He meowed. Squirrelflight glanced at him. An idea was forming in her head, maybe they could. She rose to her paws, waving her tail at Ashfur as the tom began to speak. Squirrelflight padded forward.

"May I speak?" All eyes went to the warrior. Squirrelflight kept her gaze on her father, intently. The leaders looked surprised by the interruption. Firestar blinked at her.

"You may." She stepped to the front of the crowd.

"This is not what the founders intended Gatherings to be," the warrior began. "Our Clans keep getting into these arguments over things that mean very little." She looked at the surrounding cats, "No one here seems at a loss for prey right now. This is not what StarClan intends! This is not how the Gatherings in the old territories went. I know we used to intermingle more – warriors had friends in other Clans! We need a way to get back to the old Gatherings."

"Times have changed, Squirrelflight," Duststar's eyes were slits. "I assure you; they weren't quite as perfect as nursery tales make them out to be." Squirrelflight's tail lashed. She did not believe they were perfect but they were certainly better than this. Tawnystar spoke to the ThunderClan leader.

"Let's just hear her out," Curious green eyes turned to Squirrelflight. "Go on." She dipped her head gratefully to Tawnystar.

"We need a way to make a connection again between the Clans," She continued, "A way to create comradery again."

"What do you suggest we do?" An elder Squirrelflight recognized as Mousefur spoke up. "You know, that sort of talk is what led us to TigerClan." Snarls came at the she-cat's words and the fur on Squirrelflight's back rose.

"The moon!" Squirrelflight turned at Littlecloud's cry. A cloud had moved in front of the full moon. Horror filled her, causing a chill down her spine. Was that directed at her? How long had it been covered? Mousefur could not be right.

"I'm not talking about combining the Clans," She spoke loudly, determined to see this through. "Something friendly – a way to show off our skills as warriors."

"What are you suggesting?" Leopardstar had crouched, her amber gaze focused on the WindClan warrior.

"What's it matter?" Duststar's tail lashed. "StarClan has shown their opinion."

"A competition," Squirrelflight continued on. "Or a few different ones. It will be a few days before the moon starts to get smaller. We can continue the truce." The words came out of her mouth quicker than she could think. Murmurs were rising from the Clans and Squirrelflight looked to the moon again.

The cloud had moved on. Relief came over her.

Duststar was wrong. StarClan approved.

"We can't ignore that, can we?" Tawnystar remarked. The ShadowClan leader was looking to the sky. "I'm willing to give this a try."

"As am I," Firestar spoke up.

"If StarClan approves, I do too." Leopardstar meowed, her tail flicking. Duststar begrudgingly meowed his agreement.

"Where would we do this?" the RiverClan leader's gaze was focused on Squirrelflight. "Not all of us are quite as comfortable with the uplands as you are."

"There's that decent-sized clearing on ThunderClan territory," Tawnystar put in. "Near the Sky Oak." Duststar's pelt bristled at the idea.

"Why does it need to be our territory?"

"It has to be someone's," Firestar replied. "And Leopardstar's right, three of the Clans are not comfortable under open sky."

"It's on the water," Tawnystar meowed. "On another Clan's territory, we are supposed to stay by the water." Meows of support were rising. Duststar's tail twitched. The tom looked displeased but he spoke his approval.

"At the Sky Oak, then. In two days. We could start at Sunhigh, perhaps?" The other leaders meowed their agreement at Duststar's words. Squirrelflight's heartbeat quickened. This was happening!

"Is there anything else that needs to be announced?" Firestar rose to his paws, "Or is this all set?" As heads were shaken, the meeting ended and the leaders descended.

Squirrelflight paused in her step as Tawnystar called out to her. She turned, meeting the ShadowClan leader's eyes as she approached. Despite their time together to the sun-drown-place and back, there had never been a place to truly call Tawnystar or Crowpaw a friend. However, a respect had formed between the WindClan cats and Tawnystar. Squirrelflight did not think it would have been any different with Crowpaw.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I'm…intrigued by this," Tawnystar replied. "It's atypical but a lot of the ideas out of your Clan are." Squirrelflight did not bristle, the tortoiseshell's words almost felt like a compliment. "I look forward to what you come up with." A ball of energy was beginning to form in Squirrelflight's stomach, it was somewhere between anxiety and excitement.

"Thank you." The ShadowClan leader regarded the younger she-cat.

"I have my eyes on you, Squirrelflight." Squirrelflight's eyes widened, surprised. Her mouth opened but the warrior had already turned away. She watched Tawnystar start to where her Clan had gathered. The WindClan warrior turned, heading toward her own Clan.

"Squirrelflight."

She moved to her father, her tail twitching. Firestar raised his tail over his back as the last ThunderClan cat disappeared over the log. They started out.

Firestar was silent when they crossed the bridge. They had agreed to this. It was happening. It was StarClan approved! There was nothing anyone else could say otherwise. Squirrelflight could feel their Clanmates looking at them, curiously. Firestar glanced back at the Clan as the other Clans disappeared from sight. When he spoke, his voice was low.

"Do you know what you just did?" Squirrelflight turned to her father, studying him. What did he mean by that? He did not look upset, though, nor pleased.

"Yes." His green gaze moved to her.

"I'm not angry," he said. "We're going to have to talk in the morning. Stay in camp." Squirrelflight bowed her head.

"Yes, Firestar."