The cold, glaring moon stared down at the crowd of cats that gathered at the hollow every full moon.

Birdstar finished her report and signaled the end of the Gathering. The Clans were more silent than normal and the tension that hung over every cat was thicker than fog.

Troutpaw stood up and followed her Clan back to the WaveClan camp. It had been around two moons since the rogue announced the battle and WaveClan has changed drastically since.

The dens were fortified with thorns and the barrier was even thicker to block out attackers. Shellstar's reason for increasing the defenses of the camp was that the rogues could not be trusted to just fight at the Oaks.

Troutpaw agreed with it as it sounded reasonable. The news at the Gathering were rather dark. Birdstar lost a life to a fox roaming around - the same one that attacked Echospring some time ago.

Luckily, the SunClan medicine cat is recovering well with help from Mistystream, RookClan's medicine cat.
Other reports include the death of Shadowstep, who happened to be Sorrelpaw's father. The enthusiastic BrambleClan apprentice seemed upset and regretful when Troutpaw talked to her that Gathering.

Troutpaw also noticed that Stonestrike looked rather uneasy at the news. It made her wonder if he had anything to do with Shadowstep, though it was unlikely.

Hoppaw seemed to be struggling with his battle training. Despite Watershadow's supposedly effective teaching methods, Hoppaw still looked awkward as he tried to do a simple paw swipe.

Through the increased battle training, Troutpaw found herself improving gradually. She learnt how to fight as a pair and becoming more observant in the mini assessments her mentor was giving.

"What are you thinking about?" Smallpaw asked, rushing to her side. "You seem to be deep in thought."

"It's none of your business," Troutpaw mewed, irritated.

"Sorry," her denmate rolled his eyes, speeding up and leaving her in the dust.

Troutpaw watched Smallpaw walk off with narrowed eyes. Recently, the older apprentice had been pestering her about various things, such as how was her training and etcetera. It was becoming annoying.

She didn't understand why Smallpaw was talking to her so much. He never really paid attention to her in the past.

When they returned to camp, Shellstar leaped onto the Tall Rock, his fur ruffled by the wind.

"WaveClan!" he yowled. "As the threat of every cat's safety looms closer, we need to step up our training. Mentors, make sure that our apprentices are able to handle the rogues. Stick with them throughout the battle if necessary. Sleep well tonight, because every cat is counting on you, for the future."

The crowd of WaveClan cats who stood in front of the Tall Rock yowled in agreement.

Shellstar always know how to motivate us.

Troutpaw looked at Hoppaw, who had a strange expression on his face. He must be worried. I better look out for him.

The Clan was dismissed and Troutpaw padded back to the apprentice den. When she walked past Hoppaw, they did not exchange words. Instead, Hoppaw rested his tail on Troutpaw for a moment before settling to his nest to sleep.

Leafpaw, who was not chosen to go to the Gathering, was sleeping soundly. Troutpaw quickly settled into her nest and closed her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.

Before she fell asleep, she felt a nudge. Opening her eyes reluctantly, she looked around.

"Troutpaw? We need to talk," it was Hoppaw's voice. He sounded anxious and upset.

Troutpaw rose to her paws, and face her littermate. "Sure," she mewed, following him out of the den.

"Let's talk as we walk," Hoppaw meowed.

Silently, Troutpaw nodded. She decided to hold back her questions and let Hoppaw explain.

"Troutpaw, I... don't know how I should tell you this," he started to speak, sounding very sorrowful. He looked directly into Troutpaw's eyes. "I have been having nightmares," his words seemed to be stuck in his throat.

"Go on," Troutpaw encouraged.

"Nightmares of you dying," Hoppaw forced out the words.

"It's just a nightmare," Troutpaw reassured him, though his words filled her with dread.

"Remember the day when my paw got injured?" Hoppaw asked, holding up his broken paw. "I had a nightmare of that too. Sea water lapping at my face, the dull impact of the rock onto my paw, it all came true!" His voice became high and panicky.

"It's okay, Hoppaw," Troutpaw responded. "I will be fine. Just talk to me if you have anymore nightmares, okay?"

Hoppaw nodded, sitting down on the sand. Troutpaw followed. As they watched the stars, Troutpaw couldn't help but think whether Hoppaw's nightmares would come true.