1 moon later..

"Let all cats old enough to run the moor gather beneath the Tallrock to hear my words!"

Snakestar's voice echoed throughout camp, summoning every cat old enough to the meeting. Zinniakit and Sagekit peeked out from the apprentice den in time to see their leader leap up onto the rock in the center of camp and sit regally upon it. All around camp, cats of all ages heeded his call and raced to join the crowd. The deputy, Snakestar's son Tackleboulder, took his place next to the rock.

"Snakestar's calling. I've gotta join the meeting, but you two can wait here." Breezepaw meowed. Zinniakit looked up at her best friend as she darted out of the apprentice den and joined the others in the meeting.

Once Breezepaw was out of sight, Zinniakit whirled around to look at Sagekit. "Let's get closer and listen in!"

"What? Why? Fine." Sagekit's arguments quickly subsided after she gave him a stern look.

She took the lead, galloping out of the den. Her target was a thick gorse bush just adjacent to the tall rock. As long as she was quiet and stayed out of the way (and generally out of sight), most warriors didn't care if she listened to the meetings. She didn't even have to be completely hidden. Just non-disruptive.

A minute later the sound of Sagekit's pawsteps followed her. They both slid under the gorse bush, but while Zinniakit came to a stop Sagekit stumbled forward. Small paws trodded over her tail and she let out a tiny hiss, glaring back at him.

"Sorry! Sorry." He apologized.

"Shh!" Zinniakit warned him, gesturing out to the gathered cats. Snakestar was beginning to talk, but her uncle, Venomwing, was glaring at the kits.

She flicked her tail around herself and crouched down, pleading with her golden eyes for Venomwing not to have them removed from the meeting. For a second she was worried that he'd walk over and kick them out. To her relief, he simply rolled his eyes and looked back up at the leader.

"Alright, listen up." Snakestar was saying. "We have our once-a-moon Gathering this evening. At sunset, myself, Tackleboulder, and the cats I'm about to list will leave to go to the Fourtrees."

Zinniakit looked up at the sky. The sun was started to trail towards the west. It wouldn't be long before they left for the Gathering.

She hadn't remembered that there was a Gathering tonight. Which cats would get to go? Zinniakit often wondered what the Gatherings were like. Maybe she'd be chosen when she was an apprentice. It was an honor to be selected to go.

"I've picked only our best to attend this Gathering. Tonight, we're going to show the clans that WindClan is still the strong, abundant clan we've always been. We won't let them forget the extent of our power." Snakestar announced. Proud hisses and meows rippled through the clan.

There was a strange expression in his narrowed orange eyes that sent shivers down Zinnia's spine.

Sagekit leaned closer to Zinniakit, whispering, "I overheard our mums talking the other day. They said Snakestar's been tense because of RiverClan. I guess our clan and RiverClan have been arguing."

"So this is really just a display of power to scare RiverClan." Zinniakit murmured back. "What are the clans arguing about?"

"I don't know. My mom says it's most likely over borders or something. Or like, the RiverClan leader and Snakestar hate each other." Sagekit shrugged.

Zinniakit looked back up at the Tallrock. Snakestar flicked his tail sternly, commanding silence.

"Firstly, my chosen warriors." The leader said. He paused, then started calling out names. "Blazerunner, Quickbite, Waspclaw, Stormeye, Beetleflash, Venomwing, and Orchidbelly. You will all attend the Gathering, while the rest of our warriors will stay behind and guard camp."

Zinniakit's eyes darted to Blazerunner proudly. Her father was one of the strongest warriors in the clan. She knew he was; she was just happy that everyone else knew it too.

"Apprentices." Snakestar meowed. "Pinepaw, Valleypaw, and Breezepaw will attend the Gathering tonight."

Breezepaw!! Zinniakit let out a soft purr, looking over at the apprentice. Breezepaw nodded gracefully at Snakestar.

Snakestar went on to mention that the elders may come along if they wish, and that the medicine cat Dawnberry would accompany them. He ended the meeting by saying,

"Remember that tonight you represent all of WindClan. Act with dignity and do not disgrace your clan."

The moment the meeting was over and cats began to disperse, Zinniakit gleefully ran back to the apprentice den to meet Breezepaw.

Zinniakit pounced on Breezepaw's paws excitedly. Breezepaw laughed, playfully cuffing her over the ear with her paw.

"I'm so glad you got picked to go to the gathering! You excited? How many gatherings is this for you now?"

"Yeah, of course I'm excited!" Breezepaw smiled, sprawling onto her side in a relaxed manner. "This is my second gathering. I've gotten to go to every gathering since becoming an apprentice, which is lucky."

"Wow, two in a row." Zinniakit beamed. Breezepaw was awesome. Even the leader must see her potential, picking her for two gatherings in a row.

"Yup! You'll see how fun gatherings are when you become an apprentice in a couple moons. You get to meet apprentices from all the other clans. Like last moon, I made friends with a cute Riverclan tom that I sat near to." Breezepaw commented as she began grooming her pelt.

Zinniakit sat back with a slight frown. That didn't sound legal. "Cute? What do you mean cute?"

Breezepaw paused, looking sort of embarrassed. "Uhm, well, he wasn't ugly! He was a decent looking cat."

Zinniakit flicked her tail back and forth. Breezepaw wasn't implying what it sounded like she was implying, right? "Don't let Speckleshadow hear you say that. You know she hates RiverClan. And also you know relationships with cats from other clans are forbidden, right?"

Breezepaw grimaced and sat up, continuing to groom her pelt clean. "Obviously! Lighten up, flowerbud. Nothing would ever happen between us. Just because I think he's cute doesn't mean I'm gonna betray my clan for him. And I don't even know his name."

"Alright, I get it. But Breezepaw.. if you really loved a cat from another clan, why is that a bad thing?" Zinniakit asked curiously. "Can't all the clans just be friends?"

That was one thing that didn't make sense to her. Why was it such a big deal when cats wanted to be friends or mates with cats from other clans? Surely it was simple enough to just move to another clan to be with someone you loved.

Breezepaw froze. There was an uncertain expression on her face. "It's.. hard to explain. You have to stay loyal to your clan. The clans aren't enemies but we aren't friends either. We all have a purpose within our born clan. That means no relationships outside your clan, and no switching clans either."

"Oh, I see. I guess that makes sense." Zinniakit finally replied. Was Breezepaw right? Did she really believe that, or was that just what Breezepaw was told?

Either way, it wasn't worth questioning anymore.

Zinniakit sat with Breezepaw in silence for the rest of the time. She was lost in her own thoughts, oblivious to the time that was passing and how the sun's fire was going out. Eventually, they heard the call to head out for the Gathering.

"Tell me everything when you get back! I'll wait up for you!" Zinniakit walked with Breezepaw to the exit before she left. The apprentice smiled softly and nodded in agreement.

Zinniakit backed away and sat in the middle of camp, watching as the group filed out of the exit. A peaceful darkness was gradually settling over camp as the sun bid them all goodnight. And now, with half the clan gone.. it was very quiet.

Suddenly, she realized that there was nobody else out there around her. She twisted around, scanning the open clearing. There was one warrior posted by the exit to guard it. Other than that, everyone else seemed to have retired for the night.

Were her mom and siblings already in the nursery? Zinniakit got up and scampered quietly over to the nursery and peered in. Her mother, Speckleshadow, seemed to be dozing off already. Asterkit and Dhaliakit were still awake, whispering quietly in a corner with Singekit. On the other side of the nursery, Runningbreeze was completely asleep with Sagekit curled up against her side.

Oh. Well, I guess nobody will mind if I wait in the apprentice den until Breezepaw gets back.

With a final glance towards her resting family, Zinniakit left and went to the apprentice den.

"Hey flowerbud, you're supposed to be in the nursery. Not in my nest."

She didn't remember falling asleep. But apparently she had, because the next thing she knew, Breezepaw was nudging her awake. It was pitch dark all around her.

"It's fine, nobody minded. I was just waiting until you got back. So tell me what happened!" Zinniakit insisted quietly. She'd gone to too much trouble to try and wait for her to be sent away now.

Breezepaw sighed, then smiled softly and settled down in her nest. "Very quickly, but then you gotta get out of here. So, I DID sit with my Riverclan friend again.."

"Oh, the cute one?" Zinniakit interjected, halfway teasing her. "Did you find out his name?"

Breezepaw flicked her with the tip of her tail. "Yeah, we exchanged names this time. His name's... uh.. StarClan, I forgot it. It was some tree name. Oak? Maple? I don't know. Anyways, we talked together the whole time until the meeting started."

"Did anything interesting happen in the meeting?"

She looked hesitant to tell her. "Sort of.. okay, don't tell anyone I told you. But Snakestar and the Riverclan leader were being snarky to each other all night, and during the meeting an argument broke out between them. That caused their two clans to start bickering, and finally we just ended the meeting and went home."

The clans weren't supposed to fight at Gatherings. StarClan forbade it. Zinniakit's eyes widened. "I wish I coulda been there to see that! It must have been cool to be there during that."

"Honestly, it was just nerve-wracking." Breezepaw admitted. "Things are getting pretty tense between WindClan and RiverClan, Zinniakit."

"Breezepaw! Get her out of here, we're trying to sleep!"

Zinniakit's head whipped around to see who the upset one was. It was Pinepaw. The glowering she-cat had just stalked in and was curling up in her nest.

Zinniakit saw Breezepaw grimace at the other apprentice before looking back down at her. "Alright, go on back to the nursery. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight." Zinniakit sighed. She didn't want to go back to the nursery. But there was no other option. At least next moon when she became an apprentice, she'd have more freedom to do what she wanted to do.

~

"Zinnia!! Wake up!"

Zinniakit jolted awake to her name being frantically called. It was hard to see straight at first, what with the sunlight streaming right into her half asleep face. Even though she was mildly disoriented, she still knew that voice by heart.

"Sagekit..? What's.. what's going on?" Zinniakit mumbled out around her yawns. The amount of sleep she'd gotten was not nearly enough for her liking. And yet she wasn't interested in going back to sleep. The urgency in Sagekit's voice was enough to bring her to her senses.

"There was just a battle at the RiverClan border this morning, come on! Everyone's getting back right now. We gotta go see what's happening!" Sagekit said. While she was still processing what he was saying, he came over and nosed her side harshly.

"Wait, what?! A battle? Did we win? Where's my mom and dad??" Zinniakit asked frantically. Sagekit didn't answer her questions, he just turned and ran out of the nursery. Zinniakit followed him out while her mind was racing through all the information.

If there was a battle at the border between RiverClan and WindClan, that must mean that all the able warriors and apprentices had gone to fight. She felt sick to her stomach. Were her parents alright? Was Breezepaw alright?

She hoped Breezepaw hadn't had to fight that RiverClan tom she fancied. Zinniakit knew Breezepaw as well as she knew herself. If Breezepaw was forced to fight that tom, it would seriously mess with her mind.

Out in the camp, the uproar and yelling was loud enough to make her want to hide for the rest of her life. She could barely make sense of anything she was seeing. Whirls of fur rushed around her, barely noticing the small kit weaving between the crowd to follow her friend. Shouts to her left called for a medicine cat, while other angry clanmates were talking loudly back and forth.

Suddenly, there was a grief-filled yowl coming from the camp entrance. Before Zinniakit could see what was going on, several cats rushed forward to get to the scene, blocking her view. She let out a yelp as a pale-furred warrior nearly trampled her.

"Snakestar, we have two more coming!"

"Fangwhisker, over here!"

"It's no use, they're gone."

Zinniakit cowered away from the crowd, desperately searching for her parents or Breezepaw. Who were they talking about? They had to be okay. Where was her dad?

Silence gradually started settling over the camp. It looked like they had everyone finally accounted for, except for whoever had died. She still couldn't see who she was looking for, though.

Zinniakit scrambled up onto the Tallrock to see over the heads of the other cats. She could see Sagekit greeting his mother, whose paws were stained with blood. To her relief, she spotted her father and her mother together, helping tend to each other's wounds. But where-?

No.

No. No. No.

Any air she had in her lungs was stuck in her throat. She couldn't breathe.

A sudden sob escaped her throat, drawing the attention of most of the clan. Everything went deadly quiet. As the crowd shifted to look at her, all she could do was stare at one of the bodies lying on the ground. Fur stained red with blood. Scratched up face and a torn throat.

Breezepaw..