"Rainpaw is missing!" Echopaw's panicked mews woke Owlpaw the next morning. He poked his head out of the warriors den, confusion clouding his brain. Rainpaw? Missing?
"What happened?" Stripedstar appeared from her den, stopping to stand next to Moonbeam, who was sniffing the air to try to catch Rainpaw's scent.

"I woke up at moonhigh last night and he wasn't there, now it's almost sunhigh and I still haven't seen him!" Echopaw explained, her voice shaking with worry.

"We'll send a patrol to look for him. Moonbeam, find three warriors to come with you, and two apprentices." Stripedstar ordered, settling down outside her den for a wash.

"Jaytail, Flamefur, Snowstorm. And.. Echopaw, and Owlpaw. You come with me!" Moonbeam said, already leaving the camp. The rest of the cats followed. Echopaw walked close to Owlpaw, her head down as she worried about her brother.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Owlpaw tried to reassure her. "What could have happened to him?"

"Perhaps GreenClan captured him.."

"Why would they do that? Hawkstar is one of the friendliest cats on the island. He would never capture a cat, let alone an apprentice. What could he possibly want with Rainpaw?" He asked, lashing his tail.

"Alright, I suppose you're right. The gathering's tonight! Moonbeam said that I get to go." She brightened up a little. "Are you going?"

"I don't know." Owlpaw shrugged. I
He would become a warrior very soon, so he attended almost every gathering at this point. "Probably!"

She let out a purr of happiness. "It'll be so cool!"

"I bet." Owlpaw stopped suddenly, an unfamiliar scent filling his nostrils.

"Who's there?" Moonbeam hissed, her stomach pressed low to the ground. A moment later, two ginger and white cats appeared, their fur fluffed up.

"Stay away from us, wild cats!" The smaller of the two hissed. The larger one narrowed his eyes, but stayed silent.

"Get off of our territory!" Moonbeam hissed back. The tom tilted his head, blinking slowly.

"Territory? Is this.. Your island?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yes!" Jaytail spat before any other cat could answer. "Get lost!"

"But Sha-" The she-cat started.

"Quiet! Let's go, Pixie." The tom cut her off. "Goodbye!"

The clan cats growled in reply. "Wait!" Echopaw called after them. "Have you seen any silver and white toms around?"

"Saw one near the river!" Pixie called back, already leaping into the ocean and swimming off towards twolegplace.

"Near the river... The border with GreenClan.." Snowstorm said suspiciously.

"Let's go!" Flamefur said, bounding off towards the river. The others followed more slowly, seeming tired.

"What would he be doing at the river?" Jaytail asked.

"Perhaps he was fishing." Snowstorm shrugged.

"What if he fell in?" Owlpaw gasped, his heart suddenly hammering. "We have to save him!" He bounded off after Flamefur, who was already standing at the river's edge, tasting the air.

"Can you scent him?" Owlpaw asked.

"No." Flamefur sighed. "Should we ask GreenClan if they have seen him?"

"Send some apprentices." Moonbeam commanded. "It will seem less like a battle patrol that way. Owlpaw, you go-"

"Can I go?" Firepaw was bounding down the river, a freshly caught fish dangling from her jaws. "Echopaw can take this back to camp to feed Olivefur."

"Good idea!" Snowstorm said, touching his muzzle to Firepaw's.

Echopaw flattened her ears, but didn't say anything as she picked up the fish and headed upstream towards the waterfall. Firepaw purred with delight, already heading towards steppingstones.

"Do you think they would have seen him?" Owlpaw asked, following her.

"Nope!" She said cheerfully. "But we do get to go into GreenClan territory, that's cool!"

"Yeah, I guess." Owlpaw had been hoping to find his friend, though. Firepaw, on the other paw, didn't seem to care at all that the apprentice was missing.

The two apprentices crossed steppingstones, bringing them right into enemy territory. The scent of GreenClan was strong, and Owlpaw guessed a patrol had just gone by.

"Intruders!" Came a voice upstream, and moments later the patrol appeared, fur fluffed up. Owlpaw studied the patrol. Hawkstar, Foxclaw, Nightwing, and Vinepaw.

"Hawkstar!" Firepaw said, sounding relieved. "Moonbeam sent us to talk to you."

"Apprentices? Why?" Hawkstar asked.
"Because we wouldn't look like a battle patrol. We're almost warriors anyway!" Owlpaw added. "We're looking for Rainpaw. He went missing yesterday."

"What makes you think we have him?" Nightwing hissed.

"We don't!" Foxclaw added.

"We were just wondering if you'd seen him." Firepaw said sadly. "I miss him!"

"None of my warriors have reported enemy cats on our territory." Hawkstar's voice sounded sympathetic. "We'll tell Stripedstar right away if we see him."

Owlpaw sighed. "Thank you, Hawkstar." He wished that Hawkstar was his leader. He always felt like he should belong in GreenClan, because his parents, Coldstream and Skywing, were warriors of GreenClan. They had given him and his brother to MudClan as a gift to Stripedstar, Coldstream and Hawkstar's mother.

*

There was no sign of Rainpaw for the rest of the day. By the time the sun had gone down, Echopaw was defeated, laying near the apprentices den and hardly moving.

Owlpaw was delighted to hear that he would attend the gathering. He went with Echopaw and Firepaw, following them down to the river, where the gathering tree sat in the widest part.

GreenClan was already waiting when MudClan arrived. Hawkstar sat at the base of the tree, a small island only big enough to hold the two leaders. Around it, cats gathered on rocks jutting out of the river, or on the banks.

"I always forget how many cats there are on the island." Firepaw muttered. Owlpaw pressed close to her, the warmth of her body oddly comforting even though one of his best friends had gone missing.

"Let's go talk to your parents!" Firepaw suggested, wading to the other side of the river. Owlpaw followed hesitantly.

"Hello, Skywing!" Firepaw greeted the white she-cat.

Skywing purred with delight. "Hello! Oh, Owlpaw! You have grown so much!" She padded over to her son, licking his head. Owlpaw shifted uncomfortably, disliking the fact that he was so close to a GreenClan cat.

Flamefur appeared, bragging about his warrior ceremony to Skywing, while she nodded happily. Then, suddenly, a yowl broke out among the MudClan cats.

Owlpaw turned to see what they were looking at. Then, he nearly leaped out of his fur. A small silver and white cat sat in the gathering tree, something that only leaders were supposed to do. Then, Firepaw said what he had been thinking.

"Rainpaw!"