"No, no, no, Wish, you're doing it wrong." Rowanpaw looked over in interest as Brownear padded over to the ginger she-cat, once a rogue and now his Clanmate. "Your balance is way off—you look like a badger trying to hunt."

"Oh, sorry! My paw just really hurts from—" she was cut off the senior warrior.

"No excuses! You're a part of this Clan now, and you need to pull your weight. Now, give me that crouch-and-leap again. Keep steady this time!" The brown tom was shaking his head, annoyed. Rowanpaw knew he didn't like having the new cats in the Clan, which is one reason Dawnstar had told him to help with Wish's training, to get him to accept them more. He couldn't mock Wish's future warrior skills if he had taught them to her.

It wasn't fair for the she-cat, for she had injured her paw a few days before jumping from the camp entrance. She had landed awkwardly on her paw and sprained it. That didn't stop Brownear, though, and Rowanpaw assumed he was trying to push her to get her to leave the Clan. It was rude, but it would turn her into a real warrior.

Realizing he had been distracted, Rowanpaw slipped into the nursery, feeling the tough bushes tug at his fur. Inside, the den was crowded with cats, more crowded than it had been for quite a while. Lakeshine still had her nest in the corner, while Ashbreeze's had been moved farther into the back to make room for both Emberheart and Rain, who were expecting their kits before the next moon past. Both their stomachs were swollen, but still quite small. They were being fed the best though, and the thoughts made Rowanpaw's stomach growl in pain. Near them, Fern, Meadow, and Primrose were curled in their own nest, which was made small and tight to help them stay warm. Originally, it had been bigger, but Aspenheart had decided to sleep in the warriors' den instead since her kits still saw her as the cat who had left their brother and may have left them too. It was unclear if she actually would have before, but Rowanpaw had seen how quick she had given up when her kits left her side.

Emberheart, Rain, and his three sisters were sleeping, so Rowanpaw moved back to Ashbreeze, and the she-cat looked at him for a moment before moving her body so he could see her kits. Breamkit and Bluekit were both moving softly, mewling as they suckled, which they did constantly in attempts to get more milk, but Bramblekit lay still. He could've been mistaken as dead if it weren't for his sides moving ever so softly.

He looked small, smaller than he should at almost a moon old. He was skinny and weak. Ashbreeze leaned over and nudged him to her stomach with her nose, but he was too weak to even lift his head up. Ashbreeze mewled in grief and pain, knowing there was nothing she could do for the poor kit. She didn't have much milk, and because his siblings were slightly stronger, they took it all before Bramblekit could get anything, even if Ashbreeze tried to hold them back for him to feed alone. It was almost time for them to give up milk anyway, and the queen was hoping he'd survive long enough.

Rowanpaw felt a flash of fear as Bramblekit took a shuddering breath, but then he calmed himself when the small kit still breathed softly. Ashbreeze curled protectively around them, deciding they had enough open air. Rowanpaw nodded and took his leave, sniffing Emberheart for a moment to make sure she was alright on his way out.

Out in the clearing, Brownear was watching Wish practice with a lashing tail, and now Hickory had joined them and was practicing a leap-and-twist move. Rowanpaw decided to join them, knowing he needed the practice. Hazelfur, his new mentor since Emberheart went into the nursery, was assessing Rohan's progress, and Rowanpaw had decided to stay at camp then go with his mentor and face his father, who he been avoiding since they returned from their journey only half a moon before. He had been doing well so far, and even better with not seeing Aspenheart.

The she-cat was always hunting or, more likely, patrolling, staying out of camp to get away from the stares she got by most cats. Most of them sided with Rowanpaw in the fact that she was a traitor to the code and didn't deserve to return, so she took to leaving the camp to hunt and patrol in the attempt to gain back her Clanmates trust—without even speaking to them. Rowanpaw shook his head in disgust as the thoughts of the retched she-cat came to mind.

"Brownear, do you mind if I join you?" Rowanpaw asked, and the senior warrior looked relieved.

"You can join, and maybe show these two how a real leap is made." His eyes narrowed on the two former rogues for a heartbeat. While Wish looked down, upset by the fact, Hickory looked back at Brownear with a challenging gaze. Rowanpaw felt a flash of respect for the tom for standing up against the older cat, even for doing it silently.

Rowanpaw nodded to the senior warrior and crouched, testing his claws a few times and stretching out his spine. He kept his breathing calm, then he launched himself up and through the air. He landed smoothly right in front of the camp entrance, looking back at the three cats to see he had crossed the entire clearing. Of course, that wasn't too much of a good feat. The clearing was small and most kits at four or five moons old could leap just halfway across.

"Good form, great landing!" Brownear meowed happily, seemingly calmed by Rowanpaw's show of training, though it got tough again when he looked at the former rogues. "All right, you two. Can you do as good as Ratpaw?"

Rowanpaw hid a winch as he was reminded of his real name, and wished it could be changed. But recently, he had realized he might never be able to, at least not without troubles. The warrior code said cats could change their name, but only with the acceptance of an older kin member. Since Rowanpaw before didn't have any parents, he would've been able to change his name with small troubles.

But now Aspenheart was back and was clearly not going to agree to his wishes. As long as she was around, he would never get to change his name. He cursed his mother in his head, hating her to his very core. He had no pity for the she-cat and wished she would disappear so he could claim his real name. Rohan would have to disappear too, and Rowanpaw was fine with that. All the rogue cats could leave, except for his sisters—Aspenheart didn't deserve them.

Rowanpaw looked over as Hickory leaped through the air, moving smoothly and landing on incredibly soft paws. Rowanpaw was surprised by the move, it looked like it had been done by a warrior training for moons. It had been beautifully performed, but Brownear was shaking his head before Hickory had even landed.

"No, no, no! You'll never learn!" His tail lashed, and Rowanpaw decided the tom was being unfair on purpose. Surprisingly, Hickory turned to the tom with anger in his eyes, but he remained calm, his fur staying down and his tail still.

"I believe it was rather nice, don't you, Ratpaw?" He turned his yellow eyes to the young apprentice, locking gazes.

Rowanpaw felt another flash of respect for the tom for standing up for himself, and he couldn't help but say to Brownear, "it wasn't a bad leap. Better than mine."

Brownear lashed his tail. "Are you a senior warrior?" the brown tom asked, but didn't give time for an answer. "No, you're not! And I say the leap was all off!"

"Oh, lay off!" Leafpelt padded up on soft paws and flicked her tail dismissively over Brownear's muzzle. He jerked his head back and snorted, but, wisely, he stayed silent. Even he, as argumentive as he was, wouldn't argue with Leafpelt. "He did it perfectly. Good job, Hickory." She turned back to her mate, eyes shining with amusement. "Come on, grumpy mouse, let's go hunting." She nudged him for the entrance of the camp. Grumbling in reply, he followed her along.

"Thanks for agreeing with me," Hickory meowed, flicking his ear as his eyes calmed from the confrontation.

"Good job standing up for yourself." Hickory was clearly a confident tom, and it would help him to stand up against unjust warriors.

Hickory nodded in agreement, then went to see his mate without another word. Rowanpaw watched after him, then turned to attention when he saw Dawnstar leaving her makeshift den under a small overhang. She padded across the clearing and jumped onto the pathway of the camp, her mud-stained paws standing out from her tan fur.

"Let all my Clanmates listen to what I need to say," she called calmly, and the voice traveled through the entire clearing. From the edges of the clearing, cats sat and looked over, not needing to move closer to hear clearly, for the clearing was tiny and as the rest of the Clan appeared, it became crowded and hard to slip through the warriors of the Clan. "I have decided who to take to the Gathering tonight," she meowed but was cut off as Brownear stood, hitting Bloomcloud's shoulder, and she snorted and shifted away, pressing against her sister Juniperfur.

"What about the rogues? You said in one moon you would decide if they would join the Clan or not, but shouldn't we decide now before going to the Gathering in case someone lets it slip that we have outsiders in our camp?" he asked.

Rowanpaw could see his point and looked expectantly at his leader. She also seemed to understand his reasoning, and her eyes narrowed in thought.

Brownear decided to push his point further. "The other Clans are sure to find out soon enough, they may already know. If you don't mention the rogues, they'll think you're scared of announcing them. We need to decide before we leave."

Dawnstar nodded and flicked her tail to show him she understood his claim. "What Brownear says is true, we do need to decide now." She looked at her Clanmates, but they seemed to be fine with her speaking. She had clearly hoped they would help her out with the decision. But it was up to her. "The former loners have helped us—" she made sure to avoid the term "rogues" when she spoke "—and have done a lot for our Clan over the last half moon. Some of them are having troubles adjusting to Clan life, but they are still bringing in more prey. With more cats, it is easier to corner prey, and Rohan does have good ideas when it comes to hunting."

Rowanpaw noticed his father and new mentor had returned when the Clan was gathering and felt a flash of hate as he saw Rohan next Aspenheart. He was glad they were all the way across the clearing. But he felt out of place in the middle of Heronclaw and Duskfang, so he quickly slipped past them and sat next to Blazepaw, Frondpaw, and Carppaw, who welcomed him with quiet mews of greeting. The apprentices then focused back on their leader.

"The rogues have given us future warriors," Dawnstar was saying, "and even a future medicine cat," she added, for Fern had already started training with Sandflight and was already a natural. "That is why I will allow the loners to stay, and join our Clan as real members." Most of the warriors murmured agreement, though Brackenfoot looked angered and Brownear rather surprised. He had most likely suspected the loners would be turned away.

"To fully accept them," Dawnstar continued after the noise died down, "is to give them true warrior names. Rohan, bring your cats to the front of the group, including Rain and your kits." She looked at the nursery entrance, where Rain and Emberheart were both sitting. Rowanpaw's old mentor egged Rain onward gently with a friendly nudge—they had both gotten close after their journey and being in the nursery together.

Once Primrose had led her sisters up and Rain settled next to Hickory, Dawnstar continued. "Some of your names do not match with our customs, so I ask now if I may have permission to change your names as I see fit." Rohan looked at his cats, and after each of them nodded—Primrose and her littermates seemed the most excited—he gave a dip of his head for the BatClan leader to continue.

"StarClan," she said, looking up at the sky, "I ask you to look at these former loners. They have chosen to join our ranks, and I believe you accept our wishes. Now, I will reward them true names for them to belong in our ranks, truly and completely. Rohan." She looked at the dark brown tabby for a long moment before finally saying, "I name you Hawktail for your fierce determination to prove yourself and your wise way of words." She leaped down to stand in front of the tom and touched her nose to his forehead. She murmured softly, and he licked her shoulder. She stepped back and dipped her head to him.

The newly named Hawktail returned it then moved closer to Aspenheart, who obviously wouldn't need a name changing ceremony except to take away the warrior name she didn't deserve. And so, Dawnstar passed over the she-cat and looked at Hickory.

"Hickory, you will now be known as Hickoryclaw. Your quick taking to battle moves will surely help us in the future." She touched his forehead and he licked her shoulder, having seen Hawktail do it as well. Dawnstar drew back, then looked at Rain. "Rain, soon you will birth future warriors of my Clan, and for your future moons as a queen, I name you Rainsong. I hope your kits will honor our Clan as much as I believe you will." After the respectful exchange of the newly named cat licking the leader's shoulder, Dawnstar stood in front of Wish.

She seemed to stand there for an unusual amount of time. While the rest of the cats had proven themselves as strong warriors, Wish was farther behind.

"Wish, you have taken to our rules without complaint, but your skills at battle and hunting could easily be improved. This is why you shall be called Wishpaw, and as soon as your mentor believes you fully trained, you may join your friends as warriors." Surprisingly, the ginger and pale-ginger she-cat dipped her head in respect. She was older than maybe half the other warriors but seemed to accept the fact she wasn't as good as her fellow Clanmates. "You shall be trained by Brownear, but you may sleep in the warriors' den."

"What about us?" Dawnstar looked slightly disapproving as Primrose spoke out of turn, though she turned to the young kit with patience.

"Fern and Meadow," the leader meowed after a moment, "you will now be called Fernkit and Meadowkit until the age of six moons. Primrose, I have chosen to award you the new name—" before the leader could continue, Primrose cut her off.

"Can I keep my name? It already kinda sounds like a warrior one!" Her tail rose high in the air and her eyes shined excitedly.

"That is why it must be changed," Dawnstar explained, "Primrosekit and Primrosepaw would be a mouthful, don't you think?" Her eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Why not Primkit?" she asked kindly. "Then when I get my warrior name, I can be Primrose again!" Dawnstar seemed surprised by the answer the kit gave and thought about it for a moment.

After a few heartbeats, she nodded acceptance. "Alright, Primrose, that is fair. I name you Primkit, so you one day may be known as Primrose once again." The kit mewled in excitement but went quiet as Dawnstar went back to the top of her rock. "It is time to choose who will go to the Gathering. I will take Heronclaw, Hazelfur, Bloomcloud, Clovertail, Sandflight, Ratpaw, and Blazepaw."

Rowanpaw felt a flash of excitement as his name was called, and his spine quivered at the thought of entering EchoClan's forest. Blazepaw stiffened beside him and nudged his brother. When Rowanpaw looked over, he saw the same look of happiness he had from his littermate. Then they hurried to join the group getting ready to leave for the Gathering, and both the apprentices moved to their mentors, knowing they were meant to stay next to them on the way there and back.

"Brackenfoot, take care of patrols while we're gone." Dawnstar nodded to the senior warrior, and after he returned it, the she-cat turned and led the way up to the camp entrance. She disappeared as she leaped down, and her warriors quickly followed her. When Rowanpaw made it to the top of the rocks, he leaped down and tried to ignore the suckling mud at his paws. A pang went through his heart as he left his sisters behind at camp but then felt light with the knowledge they now were true Clan members.

He shook his head to clear the thoughts of the camp from his mind—he focused on following his Clanmates through their murky territory. As they went on, quickly making their way to the Gathering area, they passed a fallen, hollow log, and a shiver went up Rowanpaw's spine. As they went past he eyed it for a long moment, and Blazepaw slipped away from Heronclaw and pressed against his brother, fear and sadness coming off his fur.

It was the log they had sheltered in as kits with Sparkkit, after she was injured from falling from a tree. It was where she had taken her last breath, and where Blazepaw had almost done the same. Rowanpaw remembered their first trip to the Gathering, where his breath had caught in his throat when he saw it. He always avoided this place and the bad memories it gave him. Finally, it was lost from his vision, and he cleared his mind enough to look ahead of him. He caught Hazelfur's eyes and saw the sad gleam in the she-cat's yellow gaze. She understood his pain and gave him a small nod.

Soon enough, they reached the Old Thunderpath, and Dawnstar started up the side of the path. Rowanpaw stepped onto the surface to get out of the mud and continued alongside his Clanmates. Bloomcloud gave him a side look of disapprovement, knowing his dislike of their territory's ground, but she didn't say anything. Rowanpaw tried to take his mind from her and looked at the EchoClan forest across from them, staring into the dehpts of the trees. The shadows seemed endless, but he could also see where patches of light shone through the heavy trees.

Orange and yellow leaves were floating to the ground even as he watched, coating the forest floor in their varities of color. For a moment, Rowanpaw saw a flash of a bird as it dived through the trees, and his stomach growled in starvation, wishing for the sweet taste of prey. He looked to see if his Clanmates had noticed, but they were all used to the sound of a growling stomach and didn't give him a single look.

Slowly, their territory narrowed, the mountains that made a wall on one side of their territory coming closer and closer until he could make out the cracks and moss lining the edge of the mountainside. Only then did Dawnstar lead her Clan onto the Old Thunderpath, though their soft pads were pained by the hard, scratchy surface. 

Only Rowanpaw and Hazelfur were completely unaffected, for their pads had been hardened by their journey into the Twolegplace. Dawnstar didn't lead them directly across, but instead at an angle, so when they finally reached the forest the Gathering hollow was just in front of them. Dawnstar pushed through some thick brambles, looking uncomfortable, though it already had a hollowed area from countless BatClan cats going through to reach the hollow. When Rowanpaw finally followed, slipping from the cold sunlight and underneath the trees, where the air was kept warm, he suddenly felt a wash of strange relief.

He passed through the bracken without too much trouble, feeling it slip over his fur smoothly. Blazepaw followed behind him, and together they hurried after their leader down a small slope, then they looked around the hollow with wonder. It seemed much bigger than their first journey, though Rowanpaw remembered feeling small and helpless under the gaze of the ancient oak tree to one side of the hollow, towering over the other trees like a watchful mother. He knew one reason it seemed bigger is because they were the first Clan there, leaving open spaces where the other Clans would stay.

Dawnstar instantly headed over to sit at the bottom of the trunk with Clovertail and Sandflight, while the rest of the BatClan cats spread out and tried to find the best spots to settle down at to wait. Rowanpaw and Blazepaw went over to the small stream and took a few laps of the water, and feeling the cool water go down his throat reminded him of the water in the Twolegplace garden.

After the warriors had found a spot to lay during the Gathering, they went over to join the apprentices at the river and took their fill. Acornstar, despite her dislike of the other Clans, allowed them to drink at the stream, though any attempt at hunting would be met with claws, truce or no truce. Rowanpaw shivered as he remembered the story from Lakeshine of when Acornstar scared the fur off a CrowClan apprentice when he tried to catch a mouse that ran right under his paws.

The EchoClan leader was a fierce warrior, and his spine tingled at the thought to meet her in battle. As far as he knew, Dawnstar was still planning to attack EchoClan for a share of their territory, most likely the land around the Gathering area, which was a large chunk of their territory, but it would be nessecarry for survival. Perhaps she would only fight for a part of it, though. It would be up to her and her senior warriors to decide.

Rowanpaw was startled when the underbrush on the other side of the Gathering hollow shivered, and a heartbeat later the broad-shouldered Acornstar appeared, her ginger-brown fur glowing, freshly brushed. A light brown she-cat with lighter unders appeared after her, and Rowanpaw remembered her as Eagleclaw from the last Gathering, Acornstar's deputy and daughter.

The leader scanned the clearing with her amber-brown eyes with a dark look, then finally decided to head off to where Dawnstar sat. Eagleclaw followed, as did a small gray tom with a white patch over one ear and eye. Rowanpaw guessed he was the EchoClan medicine cat, and noticed a small shape slipping after the gray tom. He was small, a new apprentice, probably, with jet black fur. Rowanpaw got a glance of large, glowing yellow eyes that reminded him of an owl's.

More cats appeared until their group looked the size of Rowanpaw's entire Clan. A few were apprentices, and they moved together in a group, looking threatening. Three were small like the black tom from before, while another apprentice was a dark fiery-red tom and the last a pretty tortoiseshell that looked almost ready to be a warrior.

Rowanpaw rolled his shoulders to hide his fear, and looked at his brother. "Come on," he said, then led a determined pace towards the other apprentices. Blazepaw mewled in fear but quickly followed his brother. One of the cats noticed him quickly—a small thick-furred white she-cat with silver along her back, her light green eyes glowing in hostility. She let out a soft growl, and the oldest cat looked over.

"Blossompaw, stop," the tortoiseshell scolded, her eyes kind, but the small apprentice let the growl continue in her throat. Rowanpaw saw another tortoiseshell cross the clearing, this time a warrior with a black patch splashed over her eyes, making her face dark and her green eyes stand out brilliantly.

"Blossompaw!" she hissed, and the apprentice looked over coldly. Rowanpaw was surprised by the look, knowing that no warrior would accept that from such a young cat. He was right, for the old warrior's eyes narrowed and she growled, "we don't pick fights with the other Clans, this is a night of truce!"

"Well that's mouse-brained," the apprenticed spot back hotly, fur puffing, and she looked at Rowanpaw like he had stolen her kill from under her nose. "He's the enemy! In our territory!"

For that, she got a paw smacked over her ear, though her eyes still shined defiantly at the cat Rowanpaw assumed to be her mentor. "On this night, this hollow is StarClan's! You remember what Acornstar told you, don't you?" Her eyes shined with anger as the apprentice shrugged uncaringly. "If you cause one more problem you're going straight back home," she reminded the apprentice coldly.

Blossompaw scoffed. "That was a useless threat! No cat is going to leave the Gathering just to bring me back to camp! Besides, she's calling out my name to announce my apprenticeship, so I have to be here." She looked like she knew she had won the point, but it was clear by the warrior's face that she hadn't.

"Your father has agreed to bring you back to camp if you behave badly," the warrior hissed, and suddenly, the apprentice's eyes glowed with sadness and fear. But it was whisked away quickly.

"My name's still being called out!" Her tail lashed.

"If you're still acting like this when the other Clans get here, then you won't be here to listen to it! Maybe I'll even ask Acornstar to leave it out." Lashing her own tail, the tortoiseshell warrior turned, flicking her ear for the apprentice to follow. After a moment, the white and silver she-cat stomped after her mentor.

Rowanpaw coughed to get the attention of the cats in front of them, and they looked over, seeming embarrassed. "I promise not all our cats are like that," the young tortoiseshell said.

Rowanpaw nodded, feeling bad for the apprentices. He would hate to have a cat like that in his Clan. "It's alright," he said, sizing up the she-cat. If BatClan did go to battle with EchoClan, by the time it happened this apprentice would likely be a warrior. Hopefully, she would stay away from apprentice fights that way, if she was fair. On how she talked, Rowanpaw guessed she would fight fair.

"I'm Brightpaw," the she-cat said to change the subject. "This is Firepaw." She looked at the dark red tom, and Rowanpaw remembered meeting him at his last Gathering—he was the cat who treated him differently just because of his name. "And that's Willowpaw and Jaypaw." She nodded to the last two apprentices, who were both still staring after the white and silver she-cat, giving each other glances. "That was Blossompaw," Brightpaw explained. "Their sister. She's always had troubles with orders. That was her mentor, Maskdapple."

Rowanpaw nodded a greeting to them, and hesitated before saying, "I'm Ratpaw, and this is my brother, Blazepaw." His brother looked up from his paws and mewled a nervous greeting. He was spared from talking because of a new group of cats entering, led by a small and lithe cream-colored tom with a glowing white chest, legs, belly, and tail tip. His yellow eyes scanned the clearing as he took in the scene around him.

Rowanpaw knew he was the SageClan leader, but his name slipped from his mind. Next to him was a black she-cat with dark eyes, and he guessed that was the deputy. They both walked for the large oak tree, and a tan-brown tabby she-cat bounced after him. She was their medicine cat by the look of it, but he still couldn't recall their names. The SageClan warriors moved off to speak with the other Clans, meowing soft greetings, though Rowanpaw noticed few EchoClan and SageClan cats spoke to each other, and there was a tension between all of them.

Two cats seemed unaffected by it all—one a red-brown SageClan she-cat and the other a gray tabby tom from EchoClan. After a moment of talking, the tom slipped off into the bushes, and, after looking around her to make sure no cat was looking—her gaze went right over Rowanpaw—she quietly stalked after the gray tabby. Rowanpaw felt a soft urge to follow them, then decided against it. It likely had nothing to do with his Clan, so it didn't matter.

A light gray she-cat with darker patches came over to Rowanpaw and the EchoClan apprentices, mewling a happy greeting to Brightpaw, who returned it. Though the new apprentice was SageClan, it seemed the apprentices had no quarrel with each other. "Hi, Lilypaw," Brightpaw meowed, then added, "this is Ratpaw and Blazepaw."

"Hello!" The she-cat gave a little bounce, and Rowanpaw suddenly realized how healthy the other Clan cats looked. Looking at both the Clan cats together, he looked at their muscular legs and healthy weights. He was suddenly aware of his lanky body and wished he could even have the tiniest more weight on him to make him look stronger.

Soon enough, the last Clan entered the hollow, with a small group like BatClan's, but their warriors were plump. Small and compact, the CrowClan warriors trotted into the hollow on short, thick legs, but Rowanpaw could see the long, curled claws that were sheathed but still visible. He could even see gleams of their long teeth from their muzzles, and he knew how bad a bite from even one of their kits was.

The lead cat was a little larger than her Clanmates, with shining white fur. A russet she-cat was next to her, persumedly her deputy. Near them was a ginger she-cat. Rowanpaw looked over to the large oak tree as EchoClan's leader climbed up the trunk with ease, going to the second lowest branch that was thick, and soft marks of old clawmarks were visible from past Gatherings. SageClan's leader climbed up after, struggling with his muscles rippling, until he reached the same branch. Acornstar didn't give him a single glance, even when one of his paws slipped as he moved past her.

Dawnstar followed him up, going slow and carefully with trouble. But she made it up soon enough and sat next to Acornstar, who then shifted away meaningfully. Her muzzle was curled, showing she believed Dawnstar smelled too bad to be right next to. Dawnstar hid any embarrassment she may have felt by holding her head high, ignoring the other leader meanfully. As soon as Whitestar, the CrowClan leader, joined them on the branch, sitting next to Dawnstar proudly to show Acornstar she was being unfair, the EchoClan leader yowled to signal the Gathering was to begin.

Brightpaw mewed a quick goodbye and moved off, and Rowanpaw led his brother back towards the river, where he took a quick few laps before settling down by his brother's side. The deputies had crawled onto the branch underneath the leader's one and sat, while the medicine cats settled at the base of the tree. Acornstar stood up, not looking at her fellow leaders to decide who went first, taking that for herself.

"EchoClan is well," she began proudly. "Our medicine cat Goldenpool has had a litter of three strong kits, and we have added four new apprentices to our ranks—Willowpaw, Jaypaw, Ravenpaw, and Blossompaw." Because Rowanpaw knew the troublesome Blossompaw wasn't on good terms with her leader, he could detect the small hesitation in the leader's meow as she announced the apprentice's name, but if he hadn't known Blossompaw he knew he wouldn't have heard it. "Ravenpaw has decided to follow the path of a medicine cat, and has already proven himself to have a great skill."

Rowanpaw saw the small black tom at the EchoClan medicine cat's side slowly draw himself behind his mentor, ears down and large yellow eyes at his paws. Meanwhile, his three littermates—Rowanpaw assumed Blossompaw was his sister—stood proudly in the crowd. The one called Willowpaw seemed a little more hesitant than her brother and sister.

Acornstar turned to Whitestar and asked, "would you like to go next, Whitestar?" There was a note of hostility in her voice, and Rowanpaw guessed the EchoClan leader wasn't on good terms with the other three Clan leaders. Whitestar ignored the tone and dipped her head softly before standing, while Acornstar took her leave and sat.

"We also have a new litter," the white she-cat meoewed, "Fawnriver has given us Mistkit, Otterkit, and Twigkit. Prey is running well. We have nothing else to report." She nodded respectfully to Dawnstar to take over, and Rowanpaw could see a glare in Acornstar's eyes. 

She's not a very good leader, he thought, knowing she should be making peace with the other leaders and not staring war. No wonder Dawnstar had chosen to attack EchoClan. Acornstar's arrogance was going to be her downfall sooner or later.

"BatClan will be strong this leaf-bare," Dawnstar began. "We have a queen with three kits, and two more queens with kits on the way," she meowed, and suddenly snorts and growls went through the clearing.

"Dawnstar, we know you want to pretend to be strong, but don't lie," Acornstar growled. "You don't have enough cats in your Clan to have that many queens."

"I didn't before," Dawnstar admitted. "But I have recently sent a few of my cats into the Twolegplace, and they returned with new warriors for my Clan."

For a moment, there was silence. Then Acornstar growled, "you mean rogues?"

"Loners," Dawnstar corrected, always hating the bad vibe the word "rogue" gave when spoken. Acornstar curled her lips in disgust, but she, surprisingly, allowed Dawnstar to speak. "They fought with my warriors against a fox attack, and one of their cats were killed while another gravely injured. My warriors made the right decision and invited them to join my Clan."

Rowanpaw made notice that she didn't mention Aspenheart was one of them, and felt a flash of happiness that his leader believed Aspenheart as much as a loner as her groupmates. 

The leader continued: "They have been with my Clan for almost half a moon, and I found them all worthy to be a Clan cat. Just before we left, they received true Clan names. Their names are Hawktail, Hickoryclaw, Rainsong, Aspenheart, Wishpaw, Frenkit, Meadowkit, and Primkit." Some warriors seemed impressed by the number of cats, and the SageClan leader and Whitestar nodded acceptance, but Acornstar still looked distrusting.

"Aspenheart!" she growled mockingly. "Wasn't she a renegade warrior?" Acornstar's eyes glowed rudely. But Dawnstar didn't seem affected, which may have angered Acornstar more.

"She has learned her mistake of leaving, and I am giving her another chance. Three of the cats with her are her young kits, making them half-BatClan." She seemed to add the last part out of spite, to give more reason on why she allowed the newcomers to stay in her Clan.

"Acornstar." The SageClan leader stood and looked at the other leader with a strong, respectful gaze. "Dawnstar has all reason to gain more cats for her Clan. You may not like it, but it is not your choice." Acornstar stared at him coldly, her fur bristling slightly, but after a moment she forced it back down and turned her head away.

Dawnstar looked at the SageClan leader, nodded a small thanks, then meowed, "you may speak, Robinstar."

Robinstar! That was his name! Rowanpaw wondered how he could've forgotten it.

"Our queen Hailsong is expecting her litter any day now, we have no new apprentices or warriors. Our prey is running well." The tom dipped his head to signal he was done speaking. Rowanpaw guessed he had wanted to finish quickly to avoid any more possible arguments.

"The Gathering is over," Acornstar meowed fiercely, getting to her paws. "Every cat that is not EchoClan, leave." There was no kindness or suggestion in her voice. It was a command. Normally, the other leaders wouldn't be subject to follow Acornstar's orders, but the sensitive leader was already on edge and they decided not to mess with her.

Hazelfur appeared through the cats and jerked her head for Rowanpaw to follow her, and Blazepaw joined them, though he departed when he saw Heronclaw. Dawnstar had leapt down from the tree and led the way through the bracken, with her small Clan following. Rowanpaw looked back into the clearing and watched the other Clans leaving, though EchoClan stayed and watched them go with guarded eyes. Except one.

A white she-cat with a black face, tail, ears, and legs was staring after his group. Her large eyes reminded him of the medicine cat apprentice's, and he decided she must be his mother. Hazelfur noticed his staring and meowed, "that's Snowfern. She was born in BatClan but joined EchoClan to be with her mate."

Rowanpaw felt a shiver go up his spine. If he was right about her relationship to Ravenpaw and Ravenpaw's relationship to Snowfern, then that meant the four young EchoClan apprentices were half-BatClan, just like his sisters. He felt repulsed when he realized that meant the apprentice Blossompaw had his Clan's blood flowing through her.

Question #1: What are your thoughts of Rowanpaw in this new book?

Question #2: Do you think the loners deserved Clan names, and what do you think of the names they were given?