“Dovewing?” She turned at the soft touch of a tail-tip on her shoulder, and turned to see Bumblestripe. “Don’t let those ShadowClan cats upset you,” the young tom went on. “They’re all fox-hearts!”

Dovewing murmured agreement. When Bumblestripe angled his ears toward their own Clanmates, she let him lead her into their midst, though she couldn’t resist a last glance back at Tigerheart. He was deep in conversation with a RiverClan cat she hadn’t seen before.

Probably another Dark Forest warrior, she guessed with a shudder. How could I ever have trusted Tigerheart? He is Tigerstar’s kin, after all. And every cat knows how evil Tigerstar was!

Then guilt gusted over her as she remembered that Brambleclaw was Tigerstar’s kin, too. And Brambleclaw isn’t evil! He’s ThunderClan’s loyal deputy!

By now all four leaders had taken their places in the Great Oak. Firestar was balancing in the fork of a branch, with Mistystar crouched on the branch below. Onestar sat on a higher branch, his tail hanging down. At first Dovewing couldn’t see Blackstar at all, until she finally spotted him in a clump of dead oak leaves that clung to the bough, casting dappled shadows on his white pelt; his eyes gleamed, glaring down into the clearing.

Dovewing sat beside Bumblestripe, shivering in the chill, damp air, as Onestar called the Gathering to order.

“Prey is running well in spite of the cold weather,” he reported. “And Whiskernose has been made a warrior.”

“Whiskernose! Whiskernose!” WindClan welcomed the young tom, who ducked his head, looking pleased and embarrassed.

Dovewing joined in, though she noticed that not many cats from other Clans were doing the same. Gatherings should be a time for the Clans to be at peace with one another. What is happening to us?

Onestar sat down again, his gaze raking across the cats as if he was asking himself the same question. Blackstar emerged from his clump of leaves. He surveyed the cats below him in silence before he spoke. “Our medicine cat Littlecloud had a brief attack of whitecough,” he announced. “But he is now as strong as ever, and so is ShadowClan.” He closed his jaws with a snap and retreated.

“Huh—brief attack of whitecough!” Dovewing muttered. “Littlecloud was dying, and all ThunderClan knows it. Would it have hurt too much for Blackstar to thank us?”

Bumblestripe blinked at her. “That’s ShadowClan for you.”

Mistystar rose to her paws. “RiverClan is happy to see the ice gone from the lake,” she meowed. “It’s good to catch fish again. And our Clan has welcomed two new warriors this past moon: Rushtail and Troutstream.”

“Rushtail! Troutstream!” More cats from the other Clans joined in this time, as if they were beginning to relax. Or perhaps, Dovewing reflected as she joined her yowls to theirs, Mistystar’s confident and friendly manner had begun to win them over. The RiverClan leader had always been willing to work with other Clans.

“Also,” Mistystar went on when the noise had died down, “a badger was seen in our territory, but Reedwhisker tracked it with Robinwing and Petalfur, until it went away.”