Patchedpelt trudged through the snow; the warrior's eyes squinted from the wind whistling through the forest.
"Why do we have to go on a border patrol in the middle of a blizzard?" complained Yewpaw, twitching her muzzle to get the snow off of her whiskers.
"We don't want to be invaded while we're weak do we?" asked Swiftmist, smiling at her apprentice.
"Hurry up!" Shouted Patchedpelt from up ahead. "I don't know about you guys, but I want to get this over with as soon as possible so I can get back to my warm nest!"
"We're coming!" Swiftmist laughed at the old warrior. Patchedpelt was old enough to become an elder, but he wanted to spend as much time as a warrior as he could. Most of that time, however, he spent complaining about everything. Swiftmist pushed onwards through the snow, trying to catch up to Patchedpelt. But suddenly, the light grey she-cat stopped dead in her tracks. "Patchedpelt, wait!" she said. "Do you hear that?"
Patchedpelt tensed, swiveling his ears around to try to pick up what Swiftmist was talking about. And then he heard it, a heartbeat. But it wasn't just a mouse or some other prey; it was the heartbeat of a cat. "Yes!" He said, and started running towards the source of the sound.
Sure enough, he saw the body of a tiny orange and white tabby kit curled up in the snow. It must have been abandoned here. He thought, and looked around. But by who?
Swiftmist and Yewpaw ran up to Patchedpelt, their eyes widening as they saw the kit. Patchedpelt turned to face them.
"Don't just stand there with your mouths open!" he yelled. "Can't you see that this kit is hurt? If we don't get her back to the camp soon, she may die!"
The two cats snapped out of it, and Swiftmist gently lifted the kit by the scruff of her neck. The three of them set off again, desperately trying to preserve the life that Swiftmist had in her jaws.