Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors or Christmas, of course. Okay, I know Christmas is months away, but I decided to go ahead and post this now, and hopefully it will be finished by Christmas. This is just a story I wanted to write for the holidays. I've been wanting to write a story for a holiday so I decided to write this one. It's a fun little story, and I don't plan for it to be that long. I'm not sure. I'll see where it goes. Anyways, enjoy! I hope you all like this story! :)

All was quiet except for the crunch of snow under Firepaw's paws. Every now and again he would stop to sniff the air in hopes of prey scent. But there was none. He hadn't even had the slightest taste of food since yesterday. Even then it was just a morsel that he had shared with Graypaw and Ravenpaw. It hardly took the edge off his hunger.

Now he was hoping that he'll find a mouse that was stupid enough to leave its hole on a snowy day like this. Crouching behind a stump, the flame-colored apprentice stared at a trail of tiny pawprints. He sniffed the marks.

Vole.

Firepaw lifted his head and narrowed his eyes when he saw the small creature scraping snow out of under a root of a tree. The apprentice crouched lower in the snow, hoping his bright pelt wouldn't give him away. The prey was skinny but it was the best one the Clan has seen in moons.

Very slowly Firepaw began to stalk the vole, putting his paws down lightly. He tried not to make any noise on the snow, making sure he put his feet down so gently that it wouldn't disturb the white blanket. It wasn't until he was almost upon the creature that it realized it was being hunted. But it was too late then.

One jump and a neat bite to the neck ended the vole's life. Firepaw looked up with the limp body in his mouth. The smell of the prey made his stomach growl and his mouth watered at the thought of warm meet. He couldn't eat it though.

The Clan must be fed first. What Lionheart had told him time and time again echoed in his head. He already broke that rule before when he hunted and gave Yellowfang ThunderClan's prey. He had learned his lesson, and the prey he just caught has to go to the Clan.

Turning around, he started heading back to camp. He went through Tallpines on the way back. He suddenly came to a halt when he heard something behind him. Firepaw looked over his shoulder, the vole's body still in his mouth, which cut off all other scents.

Another Clan? he thought, unsheathing his claws and digging them into the cold snow. Are we being invaded?

He gently laid his prey down as he sniffed the air. Nothing but ThunderClan scent, which wasn't unusual. What's that rustling though? The young apprentice turned to a bush that was moving even though there was no wind to disturb it.

Now alerted, Firepaw got in a battle crouch and stalked over to it. He felt the fur along his spin pricked up as he looked into the bush, wondering what's on the other side. It wasn't prey since there was no prey scent. It was definitely cat scent. The smells of flower and yew covered the cat's smell. If it was a cat from another Clan, what was it doing this far into ThunderClan territory?

Suddenly something jumped on Firepaw from behind, pinning him in the snow on his belly. Firepaw let out a surprise squeak as his attacker pushed him farther into the snow. The apprentice tried to twist to see who was attacking him, but whoever it was had a strong hold on him.

A deep, unfamiliar voice spoke in his ear. "Don't move, ThunderClan cat."

Now panicking, Firepaw lifted his paw and reached out to the unknown cat, about to scratch him. All of the sudden the weight was lifted off of Firepaw.

"Whoa!" a young voice mewed. "Sheath your claws, Firepaw. I was only joking."

Graypaw!

Firepaw spanned around to see the gray apprentice staring at him with round eyes. "I was only joking," he repeated, shaking his head. "Gee, Firepaw, you need to be more careful next time." His voice was serious, but Firepaw could see that his eyes were shining with excitement and that there was something the other apprentice wanted to tell his friend.

"Well, you shouldn't have sneaked up on me like that," Firepaw countered, holding back a purr of laughter at the fake indignation that crossed his friend's face.

"I wasn't sneaking up on anyone!" Graypaw protested, flicking his tail at Firepaw. "I was coming to tell you something that couldn't wait until your hunt was over." His eyes brightened even more.

Firepaw rolled his eyes playfully and nudged the other apprentice, meowing," Well, then? What is it?"

"What is it?" Graypaw suddenly looked confused as if he forgot about he was going to say.

Firepaw put his head to one side, not understanding his friend's sudden change of attitude.

"I'm only messing with you." Graypaw's eyes lit up again. "You should have seen your face!" He broke into a purr as he roared back on his legs, hitting the air with his paws. Firepaw shook his head and sighed. Suddenly Graypaw lost his balance and fell back, landing right in the bush that Firepaw had been inspecting before his friend's arrival.

A yowl sounded from the bush as soon as Graypaw landed on it. Without warning a black cat jumped out of the yew bush and started running around, crying," Attack! Run for the hills! Run for your life!"

Firepaw and Graypaw exchanged a glance. Then Graypaw pushed himself up and called to the black cat," It's okay, Ravenpaw! I was only me. We're not being attack!"

"Attack?"

A deep voice made all the apprentices spin around, and Firepaw found himself looking up at Lionheart, ThunderClan's deputy.

"It's nothing." Graypaw dipped his head at his mentor. "We're not being attack. I just fell on that bush." He pointed to it with his paw. "And Ravenpaw had jumped out of it, thinking we were being invaded. But we're not," he added quickly, glancing at the black apprentice who still looked pretty frightened.

Lionheart narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What were you doing in a bush, Ravenpaw?" he asked the nervous cat. "I thought you were with Tigerclaw. You had left with him this morning."

Ravenpaw had jumped when the deputy started speaking to him, and when Lionheart said Ravenpaw's mentor, the black apprentice crouched down, eyes as round as the full moon.

"H-he had s-sent me on a h-h-hunting assessment," he stammered, starting to shake.

He's usually scared, but never this much. Firepaw frowned, worry for his friend gripping his heart. Perhaps he'll tell me what's wrong with him if I asked him. But he couldn't ask the black cat now. I'll talk to him later, when we'll alone.

"That's right," another voice spoke up. The scent of Tigerclaw suddenly surrounded Firepaw, and the ginger apprentice looked over his shoulder to see the dark brown tabby tom shuddering his way through some bushes. The massive cat stopped beside Lionheart, eying the deputy with cold yet respectful eyes.

Lionheart dipped his head at the warrior. "As long as your keeping an eye on your apprentice," he meowed evenly.

"Of course." Tigerclaw's eyes switched to Ravenpaw, the respect in them draining out, leaving only the coldness.

Does he still think Ravenpaw is weak? Firepaw wondered. It's not Ravenpaw's fault that he has a mentor who expects him to be more than he can!

Ravenpaw drew into himself as his mentor carried on glaring at him.

"Come on," Tigerclaw growled. "Let's hunt before the little prey that's out decides to go back to their homes." He turned his back on his apprentice, murmuring under his breath," It's ridiculous being out in this cold whether when we should be in our nest trying to keep warm. It seems even the prey has more sense than we do."

He said that so quiet that Firepaw thought he didn't want anyone else to hear it, so he pretended that he heard nothing. But he understood what Tigerclaw was saying. It was freezing, the kind of whether that shouldn't be spent in the forest longer than you have to.

Once Tigerclaw and Ravenpaw was gone, Lionheart turned back to the remaining apprentices. "You two should get back to camp," he meowed. "We'll be leaving for the Gathering soon." He glanced down at Firepaw's vole and added," Bring that. It's not much, but it'll fed the queens." Without another word, the deputy turned around and started padding away, heading in the direction to the camp.

Firepaw glanced at Graypaw. "Was that what you were trying to tell me?" he asked. "That we were going to the Gathering tonight?"

Graypaw nodded, giving a tiny bounce, his eyes brightening. "Ravenpaw's coming to," he mewed. "So surely Tigerclaw wouldn't take it hard on him right before we leave to go on the journey to Fourtrees?"

The two looked at each other, and Firepaw knew that his friend was thinking the same thing he was: That Tigerclaw couldn't careless about what tonight was. He will train his apprentice as hard as any other day. Firepaw was glad that Bluestar was now his mentor. He didn't think he could live with Tigerclaw contently on his heels, growling at him or telling him that since he got a move wrong that there was no way he would be a good warrior. Firepaw felt sorry for Ravenpaw.

"Come on." Graypaw's voice broke into Firepaw's thoughts. "Let's get back to camp."

Firepaw nodded and bent down to pick up his vole. But he stopped when the ground started shaking. He looked up at Graypaw to see his friend crouching low, his eyes wide. Firepaw looked at where his denmate was staring.

Two grown twolegs were walking by only fox-lengths away from the Clan cats. A younger twoleg ran to catch up to its companions. Firepaw waited for a dog to appeared, stiffened, and was relieved when none arrival. He looked back at the twolegs, crouching beside Graypaw. The creatures were holding something in their frontpaws: It was a long, fat stick that, on one end, a sharp looking object stuck out, glittering in the pale leaf-bare sun.

All of the twolegs wore large pelts. Firepaw watched as the creatures walked around the trees, putting his head to one side, wondering what they were doing. He knew twolegs were mad, but the way they went from tree to tree, pointing to them, and calling out to each other remained him of something an old kittypet had told him once.

Could it? he thought. Is it here already? Firepaw felt excitement wash over him as he began to think about everything the kittypet had told him: Lights on all the nests, trees that are placed in the twoleg home, the most delicious food you had ever tasted.

There was one thing he had to check out, to see if the day had really came. Firepaw bashed off in the direction of Twolegplace. Pawsteps behind him told him that Graypaw was running after him.

"Where are you going, Firepaw?" he called to his friend, panting. "We got to get back to camp to get ready for the Gathering!"

Firepaw didn't answer. He kept on running, his heart pounding with raising joy. I've been waiting many moons for this holiday! he remained himself. And it's really finally here!

He skidded to a halt when the first fence of Twolegplace crossed his path. He jumped on it and looked into the garden.

"What are you doing, Firepaw?" Graypaw's voice sounded distance as the ginger apprentice stared at the light covered nest. The setting sun allowed the colorful lights to fill the slowly approaching night. He switched his gaze to the bushes that were also covered with lines of lights, glowing.

It is here!

Claws scraping the fence made Firepaw look down to see Graypaw climbing up beside him. "What are you—" He cut himself off as he stared across the garden, widened his eyes when they landed on the nest. "What happened here?" His mewed came out as a squeak.

Firepaw purred, turning back to the decorated yard. "Christmas," he meowed, remembering the word as if that kittypet had just told him that morning. "Christmas is what happened here."

Review, please, and tell me what you think of this story! No flames, though! :)