The full moon bathed the lake in a silver sheen as Pearpaw followed the ThunderClan patrol across the shoreline. They were heading for the island for the monthly Gathering. It would be Pearpaw's first Gathering, and he was glad that Rootpaw was able to come. Even though his brother had been recently released from the medicine den, with a bit of convincing by Coalshadow, Flintstar had reluctantly agreed to allow Rootpaw come. Pearpaw frowned with sympathy as he noticed Rootpaw flinching any time he got too close to the water.

Pearpaw doubled back and pressed his pelt reassuringly against Rootpaw's. "Don't worry," he said comfortingly. "You know better now. Just stay away from it!"

"I hope I'm not afraid of it forever," Rootpaw murmured. "Even just coming to the Gathering is scaring me. What if I fall in the lake again?" He focused his scared amber eyes on Pearpaw.

"You won't." Pearpaw headbutted his brother's shoulder affectionately. The silver moonlight cast a soft glow on Rootpaw's sleek black-and-white pelt. "Plus, I'll drag you out if it happens again."

"Thanks, Pear." Rootpaw nuzzled Pearpaw and quickened his pace. Pearpaw realized that their patrol was making good time, while they had lagged behind in talking. Flintstar's big ears were stark against his body, his dark stripes the only indication that he was not a cat made of moonlight. Behind him, Sootfall flicked his tail, and the ThunderClan cats followed him in a straight line. Longbranch's brown-and-white fur glowed dimly in the moonlight, and he was accompanied by Heatherice. Coalshadow's muscles tensed, and Pearpaw caught a glimpse of his unsheathed claws. Brookfeather padded next to Foxstorm, their pelts brushing. Tinyfire and Falconheart exchanged hushed words, while Sorrelfur and Yellowheart kept casting glances behind them to make sure they weren't followed. Pearpaw and Rootpaw were taking up the rear.

The scents of WindClan drifted towards them as the ThunderClan cats trekked through their territory. Pearpaw was thankful they were granted passage as long as they were three fox-lengths from the shore—he knew that the WindClan leader, Swiftstar, was not very accepting to outsiders. He had heard from Coalshadow that many ThunderClan cats had fallen victim to his claws, more than once. He and Flintstar were bitter enemies, and even just the stories of the fierce ginger-and-white tom sent a chill through Pearpaw's spine. But I'll become strong enough to face him, the tabby thought.

As the ThunderClan cats traveled closer, Pearpaw could see the small patch of land near the center of the island come into view. He narrowed his eyes to see the fallen tree that created a passage from the shore to the bank of the island. Luscious green trees sprouted from all sides of the island. Pearpaw glanced over his shoulder to see Rootpaw's fur bristle.

Flamepaw looked over his patched ginger shoulder. "Scared?" he asked Rootpaw.

"No," Rootpaw replied calmly. "It's my first time here, so I'm just nervous. I'm sure you were nervous your first time, too."

The ginger-and-white tom looked briefly taken aback, as if he hadn't expected Rootpaw to stand up against him. He let out a brief shrug and quickened his pace to join the ThunderClan warriors.

Pearpaw glanced at Rootpaw. "We better hurry up too, unless we want to get left behind," he said, hoping Rootpaw could detect the warning edge in his voice. Rootpaw dipped his head and turned his walk into a trot. Pearpaw bounded after him until they reached the ThunderClan patrol, waiting at the roots of the tree. Flintstar gave the apprentices a narrowed look from yellow eyes, and when they approached, he leaped onto the tree and crossed it easily. Sootfall was right behind him.

The rest of the ThunderClan warriors were on their heels. Pearpaw felt his pelt fizzle with excitement. My first Gathering! I've been waiting for this for so long! When all of the ThunderClan warriors had crossed, and even Flamepaw had dragged himself across the tree, Pearpaw leaped on the roots first. He steadied himself so he wasn't trembling and looked over his shoulder, making sure Rootpaw had climbed the roots safely. Rootpaw moved slowly and Pearpaw took the lead. He was so steady on his paws that it shocked even him as he easily cleared the trunk of the tree until he reached the fallen branches. He leaped from the branches and onto the sandy island floor. Rootpaw was several mouse-lengths behind him, but Pearpaw waited until he safely crossed the tree and was on the island.

When Rootpaw joined him, Pearpaw tasted the air. The scents of WindClan and ShadowClan were already heavy in the breeze, but there was another scent he didn't quite recognize. Considering he could make out WindClan and ShadowClan, he guessed the last scent was RiverClan. The muddy aroma from RiverClan, briny and bitter, made Pearpaw's nose wrinkle. Ugh!

"I wonder what cats we'll meet?" Rootpaw asked as he and Pearpaw pushed through the ferns enclosing the island. When Pearpaw stepped foot behind the ferns, he gasped as he looked around at the gathering cats. More cats than he had ever seen in his life—even at Clan meetings—were congregating in the expanse of the sand. There were all sorts of cats—some with long limbs and wiry bodies, others with sleek, long fur and bulky shapes, and the remainder had broad, taut shoulders.

I'm not going to sit here like a frozen rabbit! I need to talk to some of these cats. Rootpaw was frozen in his tracks, staring around the clearing with angled ears. Pearpaw glared at his brother.

"I'm going to see if I can find any RiverClan cats," Pearpaw told him. "Are you going to come with?"

Rootpaw shook his head.

Pearpaw shrugged. "Fine." Then he wouldn't have to explain his brother's eccentric behavior to other Clan cats. Leaving Rootpaw to his own devices, Pearpaw squirmed through the gathering cats to search for the RiverClan warriors. He had heard plenty of stories about WindClan and ShadowClan from his mentor, but he didn't know much about RiverClan, considering that ThunderClan didn't share a border with them. Know your enemy and you can win a hundred battles. It was possible that ThunderClan could be in a war against RiverClan.

He didn't know the names of any cats—he could only guess who was a warrior and who was an apprentice by the relative size of the cats. He focused his gaze on a thick-furred snow-white cat—smaller compared to the rest of the cats. An apprentice? He padded towards the cat and stopped in front of her. It's a she-cat.

"Hello," Pearpaw greeted the white cat. She looked up at him and sniffed disapprovingly. But when Pearpaw angled his ears and twitched his whiskers, trying to show her that he was no threat, she relaxed her muscles and lifted her head. Pearpaw's whiskers twitched. "Does RiverClan think every other cat is an enemy, even at Gatherings?"

"When you live with WindClan and ShadowClan on your borders, you start to see every cat as your enemy," the white she-cat replied, her blue eyes glinting. "I'm Snowpaw. What's your name?"

"Pearpaw," Pearpaw replied. "Are you a new apprentice?"

Snowpaw nodded. "I haven't been training long."

"I've been training for nearly three moons," Pearpaw meowed, wrapping his tail around his paws. "I'm a ThunderClan apprentice."

"I could tell." Snowpaw's whiskers twitched.

"You know, we live with WindClan and ShadowClan on our borders too, and we're not nearly as jumpy as foxes in a fit," Pearpaw pointed out. "Maybe that means we're braver than you?"

Snowpaw's blue eyes blazed, and for a moment, Pearpaw was worried he had offended her. But he noticed that it wasn't genuine anger—it was determination and resolve that burned in her blue depths. "RiverClan cats are braver than any ThunderClan cats!"

"Name the bravest thing you've done!" Pearpaw challenged her.

"I've fought off a fox." The beautiful RiverClan apprentice fixed Pearpaw with an exigent glare. Pearpaw's fur pricked with uneasiness—he hadn't done anything nearly as impressive as that!

"I caught a pheasant," Pearpaw told her.

Snowpaw tilted her head. "What's a pheasant?"

Okay, I need to come up with something to impress her. Pearpaw raked his mind for ideas, wondering what could impress this brazen white she-cat. Then he choked out the first thing that came to his mind. "I saved my brother from drowning."

Snowpaw's blue eyes widened with shock. Admiration shone in them. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "That's so brave, especially if you're a ThunderClan cat." She twitched her bushy, snow-white tail. "That means you can swim?"

There was a single beat, and Pearpaw found himself in a tie. One lie leads to another, he thought, embarrassment flooding his pelt. He'd tell Snowpaw he knew how to swim, then he'd teach himself how to swim. What was so hard about that? Brookfeather swam when she saved Rootpaw. It couldn't be that hard. "Yeah!"

The RiverClan apprentice's whiskers twitched. "Show me, then."

"Wha…?" Pearpaw's voice trailed off as he stared at Snowpaw. "But it's a Gathering."

"Yes, and my mentor told me all about them," she said, flicking her tail. "All the leaders do is try and step on each other's tails to find some reason for battle." She rolled her brilliant blue eyes. Pearpaw dug his claws in the ground. Although he had the sense that Snowpaw was probably right, this was his first Gathering, and he didn't want to miss it. He was also afraid of messing up in front of her. But the challenging look in the stunning she-cat's eyes made Pearpaw give in.

"Fine," he said. "I'll show you."

"The water near the island shore is really shallow," Snowpaw explained, brushing her tail against Pearpaw's side and leading him through the ferns that surrounded the island. The two cats stopped at the island shore, and Pearpaw winced as he saw the waves lapping at the sand.

All his fears subsided when Snowpaw's thick white coat brushed against his side. Pearpaw turned his head and gazed at her, his breath taken away by her stunning, angular face, the white fluff around her cheeks, the neat shape of her ears.

"It's okay," Snowpaw mewed softly. "If something happens, I'll save you. I'm probably a better swimmer than you are, anyway."

The ThunderClan apprentice flexed his shoulders. I really want to impress her. It can't be that hard. Pearpaw touched the water with his paws, flinching at the bitter chill that lapped around his toes. He glanced over his shoulder at Snowpaw, whose eyes were glittering with a challenge. Flicking his tail, Pearpaw paddled in further and further until the water covered his shoulders. His gray tabby fur was thick and was sodden with water, and his ears pounded with blood as he no longer felt the lake floor beneath him. The pebbles that had once sank beneath his claws were no longer there. It can't be that hard. Pearpaw started to paddle with his powerful front paws, his tail streaming behind him. He kept his chin above the water and was surprised to find how easy it was to keep swimming further and further. Even though his coat was waterlogged, his muscles were powerful enough to keep him from sinking down.

He glanced over his shoulder to see what Snowpaw thought of it. To his pleasure, her blue eyes were glowing with admiration and her voice was thick with approbation as she meowed, "Great job, Pearpaw! I've never seen a cat that wasn't RiverClan swim like you. But you should come back before your Clan misses you."

She's right, but I don't really hate this. Pearpaw forced his paws to turn him around and he swam towards the island shore, crawling onto the sand. He shook out his thick gray tabby fur and Snowpaw leaped out of the way before the drops hit her own fur. He sat down and started to lick his gray tabby coat—he probably didn't look like the most handsome cat to Snowpaw. But wasn't she used to seeing water-sodden cats?

"I'm impressed." Snowpaw chuckled. "I knew you were lying when you said you saved your brother."

Pearpaw's fur fluffed up.

"Your voice was shaking and you took too long to say it," Snowpaw went on. "I wanted to see if you would either admit you lied or keep going. And quite frankly, I'm genuinely impressed that you decided to swim rather than confess. Even though I should box your ears for lying about something like that, you're definitely brave, I'll give you that."

"You're not mad…?" Pearpaw asked.

"Of course not." Snowpaw purred. "I don't know any cat who isn't a RiverClan cat that would willingly go into water just to prove a point!" Her sweet scent drifted into Pearpaw's nostrils as the white-furred she-cat padded around him. "I admire you, Pearpaw. I really do."

Sparks lit in Pearpaw's heart as he gazed at the brazen, strong-willed apprentice, whose eyes were only on him at the moment. He let out a soft purr that radiated throughout his entire body. At least some cat likes me, he thought, rather than just bossing me around like all the other warriors in ThunderClan. He angled his ears towards the island and realized that he and Snowpaw had missed the entire thing. Oh no! My first Gathering, and I didn't pay attention! He was sure his dismay showed in his eyes when Snowpaw brushed against him.

"Don't worry about it," Snowpaw meowed. "You'll go to the next one, if you're as impressive with your Clanmates as you are with me." Even though this must be Snowpaw's first Gathering, she didn't seem to be as upset as missing the leaders speaking as he did. Pearpaw flicked his tail and realized that her cheerfulness was making him feel better. There are always other Gatherings. And I wonder… would I rather have sat down and listened to all the leaders argue with one another, or swim with a pretty she-cat?

"We'd better get back before our Clans worry about us," Pearpaw meowed, even though his paws were dragging him towards Snowpaw and not away from her.

Snowpaw nodded. "My sister is probably wondering where I am, anyway."

Pearpaw led the way through the ferns until he emerged through the barrier and into the massive expanse of sand where the cats were saying their goodbyes. A twinge of irritation worked its way into Pearpaw's heart as he realized he missed everything—meeting other cats from different Clans, learning their strengths and weaknesses, and not seeing the leaders and deputies when he could. He saw four cats on the Great Oak who were starting to leap down from the branches. There was Flintstar, a ginger-and-white tabby tom, a big golden tabby tom, and a pale brown tom. I heard that Swiftstar is ginger-and-white, so maybe that one is him. Coalshadow told me that Lionstar has green eyes and a pelt like the sun, so the golden tabby tom must be him. And that must mean the brown tom is Reedstar. But who are the deputies?

"That's Rushcloud, our deputy," Snowpaw meowed as she pointed her tail towards brown-and-white tabby tom who was approaching Flintstar. "And the deputy near him is Toadstep. They look alike, don't they? One could mistake them for kin."

A shiver passed through Pearpaw's pelt. Kin in different Clans… that can't turn out well. "The gray one is our deputy, Sootfall," Pearpaw told her.

"Then that must mean the ginger cat is Berrysplash," Snowpaw finished the sentence, her blue eyes keen as she gazed at the WindClan apprentice. "I heard she's the fastest cat in WindClan."

"She could never outrun me!" Pearpaw boasted.

"Like Rushcloud can't outswim you?" Snowpaw's blue eyes glowed, and Pearpaw felt as if he could be lost in the lake-like waves in her gaze.

"One day," Pearpaw vowed.

"I'm sure I'll see you at the next Gathering," Snowpaw meowed, her white tail tickling Pearpaw's chin. "Next time we'll listen to the leaders."

"But swimming was more fun," Pearpaw objected. He'd much rather swim with Snowpaw in the lake than listen to the leaders, and the dejection that had filled his heart was all but gone when he gazed at the beautiful white she-cat.

Snowpaw shrugged. "We should learn what we can." Her ears twitching, she mewed, "Goodbye, Pearpaw. I can't wait to see you again."

"Wait!" Pearpaw called out just as the white she-cat was leaving. She looked over her shoulder and twitched her ears.

"What?" she asked.

"I want to see you again." The words were out before Pearpaw could take them back, and he was shocked with himself as he heard them. He was afraid that Snowpaw would bat him with her paw and turn away, but Snowpaw met his gaze steadily.

"I'd like that," she meowed. "At the half-moon, when the medicine cats are gone, meet me back on the island. I'll wait for you there." With those words hanging in the air, she plunged into the throng of cats below until she joined a gray she-cat that looked just like her. That must be her sister, Graypaw.

Pearpaw waited as Snowpaw left with her Clanmates. Goodbye, Snowpaw. He had been completely enthralled by her, and he couldn't wait to see her again. There was a quiet longing in his heart, a tugging that nearly brought him near her—he wasn't sure he could wait until half-moon. But he had to go with his Clan. Forcing his paws towards where he could see Sootfall and Flintstar, he spotted his brother's lithe black-and-white pelt near Flamepaw.

Rootpaw narrowed his yellow eyes as Pearpaw approached them. "Where were you?" he asked when Flamepaw skipped further into the crowd.

"Oh, I was just exploring the island," Pearpaw fibbed.

His brother gave him a long look from yellow slits. "I saw you with that white she-cat," he meowed after a few moments. "Is there anything I should know?"

The fur on Pearpaw's shoulders bristled at the slight accusatory tone in his brother's voice. "She's just a friend," he growled. "That's what we're supposed to do at Gatherings, right? Make friends?"

"You aren't up to anything, are you?" Rootpaw pressed.

"No." Pearpaw quickened his pace so he was in front of Rootpaw. Venom crawled in his voice as he shot back over his shoulder, "And, even if I was, I wouldn't tell you. Maybe you should go talk to Dovepaw. You're so enthralled with her that you wouldn't see what's before your own very eyes." He heard a hurt mewl from Rootpaw, and he could only imagine the pain in his brother's eyes at Pearpaw's words. But he had to stop Rootpaw from asking any more questions.

He wanted to see Snowpaw again, and he would not let his brother stop him.