A/N: Waterpelt here! I would just like to say, this is my first fanfic so be nice. Reviews are for my story and my story ONLY, ok? Ok.

Chapter One

The shining silver moon shone down through the apprentices' den, bathing the furry sleeping bodies with a white silvery mist. A young apprentice stirred uncomfortably in her sleep, unknown to the other soundly sleeping apprentices. The she-cat apprentice was squirming, dreaming a dream so real she could feel it.

Dark clouds blocked the moon threateningly, turning the sky a menacing black. She hastily scampered behind a tall, looming bush as it began to rain--huge, watery raindrops the size of gray pebbles. She mewed pitifully, her yellowish coat beginning to get soaked to the skin. Suddenly the blackness closed her in, and she could see no longer. Just before the night swallowed her, however, a streak of bright yellow thunder lit up a piece of the barren landscape. She saw a mattered and bleeding clump of wavy, light brown fur, staggering and limping, yowling for help that would never come. She gasped, and then--saw no more.

Lilypaw jolted out of her dream unexpectedly, panting heavily. Her heart was thudding like a mouse's, and she was sweating as if she'd just jumped out of a puddle.

"Whatsa . . ?" A grumpy white tom, Whitepaw, who was sleeping a few fox-lengths next to her, mumbled. He half-opened a sleepy eye and muttered, "Lilypaw, what are you doing? I was just catching a plump, fat vole . . ."

Another indignant voice rose out: "What in StarClan's name happened? Is that your fear-scent I'm smelling, Lilypaw?" It was Hailpaw--a tom apprentice that Lilypaw was none too fond of. "Ugh, don't tell me you had those disturbing dreams again! Leave it to you to wake us up every single night . . ."

Lilypaw said nothing, just stared at her white paws in obvious embarrassment. It seemed that Lilypaw was the only apprentice with "loud"--as Hailpaw so clearly described--dreams." I. . . I'm sorry," she whispered to her paws.

"What did you just say?" Hailpaw meowed irritably. "Really, Lilypaw. You are so quiet in real life, but in your dreams you're as loud as a fighting badger!"

At this remark, some apprentices smirked along with Hailpaw. Lilypaw's fur bristled, but she was in no mood to fight. Besides, she was used by Hailpaw's taunts by now; after all, he had teased her since they were kits, for reasons unknown to Lilypaw.

Hailpaw grumbled some more in his usual grumpy way but soon fell back into a sound, motionless sleep. The other apprentices followed suit, but Lilypaw was sound awake. She didn't want to risk dreaming again, just in case Hailpaw might tease her again . . . and not just because of that. Lilypaw didn't know what the dream meant--but she did know one thing . . .

She made herself stand up in four paws, and made her way through the ferns that protected the apprentices' den. She peeked out and saw the camp stand still with the silver moon bathing everything in a delicate shade of silver. Just to be sure, she sniffed to see if any danger was present. She couldn't bear to think what they would to her if they found out she'd been sneaking out of the apprentices' den at midnight. No threat could be detected. Breathing a sigh of relief, Lilypaw stepped out from the den and trotted over to the overgrown tree by the edge of the ThunderClan camp. That was her "secret place"--where she came to think, to daydream, to just be alone. Lilypaw only came out when the moon was up, if she couldn't sleep or if she had a puzzle to figure out--like now.

Lilypaw sat down at the tree's roots and breathed in the sweet scent of flowers--lilies, to be exact. But she didn't think of that for long. Lilypaw shuddered. In her dream, she had passed out; that much she knew. But before that, didn't a streak of loud lightning light up the barren landscape? And then she'd seen a cat--an apprentice, perhaps?--bleeding and limping through a clump of wavy light brown fur . . . Lilypaw gasped as realization hit her. She felt as if someone had hit her in the head with a stiff-necked rabbit. Only one cat, out of all the apprentices, warriors, queens, elders, and kits, had that wavy light brown fur. Only one cat . . . and that would be Brownpaw, the medicine cat's apprentice.

Yeah, right now it's pretty boring, I guess this is a sort of prologue. Well, R&R!