Frost-coated undergrowth cracks under my paws, slowly giving way into heavy droplets of dew. The chilly air runs cold claws through my pelt, ruffling the golden fur on my back slightly as I run. The icy shards on the ground crack even more under my heavy pawsteps. The forest stretches around me, dried pine needles cloaking the ground, and the last few aspen leaves clinging plaintively to the branches in their groves. Branches sway in the light breeze, laden boughs threatening to drop their burdens of snow on me.
Leafbare has put our home into a cold, dreary sleep. Soon more snow will come to tuck it into a cozy nest until newleaf arrives. Everyone hates this time of the year, the bright, warmer seasons rolling down the hills and off to somewhere else, and the cold invading. Prey runs short, and the illnesses leafbare brings will kill off many. But now I am the happiest any apprentice could be.
My heart thumps wildly in my small body, refusing to slow down. My blood races, burning through my veins like liquid fire. Just moments ago, I was trapped in a little den with my littermates, caged off from this outside world. Now it has unfurled beneath my paws, to reveal a new wild world to learn of and explore.
Honeypaw and Sorrelpaw, my littermates, received their mentors alongside me today, and the entire time I felt like my chest was going to burst, my heart about to fly out. Of course, that would have left me as dead as a heap of fox dung, and I would have no fun in the forest.
In front of me, the Clan deputy races ahead. Even though the Clan knew her as the strong, steady she-cat who is next in line to become leader, I had already discovered another, different side to her. Every shadow seems to distract her, shifting her attention to some form only she could see. Every bush, every path, seem to harbour an unseen enemy. Her dark green eyes are narrowed, watching, searching, seeking, for something that no one can see. No one but her. I can see the visible effort she makes to smooth her mottled brown pelt, and I wish I could also see the silhouettes, the silent specters in the shadows that Pinestep always seemed to find.
I keep running close behind the troubled she-cat, a low branch almost catching me. In an attempt to avoid it, I run into the stock-still body of Pinestep. Beneath her dense brown fur, her muscles tremble in coils of tension.
"Watch where you're going, Sparkpaw," Pinestep grumbles.
"Sorry," I squeak, mortified. I shrink back, cautiously keeping a safe distance away in case Pinestep lashes out at me for my lack of attention. She'd earned herself an irritable reputation through her seasons as deputy. Also a reasonable distance away was Redfeather, who sat as still as her deputy.
"What is it?" I ask; both she-cats cautiously tasting the air.
Redfeather, being the more kind she-cat of the two, answers me. "Just...don't worry, Sparkpaw. You stay here, and we'll handle it."
Obediently, I stay behind as the two moved off into the forest to confront whatever it is. But, my curiosity tempts me, and I taste the air as well, needing to know what Redfeather and Pinestep want to hide from me.
It is then that a thick, tangy scent reaches me. Blood. But from where? Or who, even? My fur bristles and I take an uncertain step in the direction my mentor had gone. The icy forest floor chills my paws, and suddenly the world does not seem quite so bright, so vibrant and happy. My chest tightens with fear, but my paws move me forward, driven with a mind of their own.
The forest seems dimmer than before, more claustrophobic. The shadows are darker, black tendrils reaching out of the dark, beginning to choke me as I ventured deeper. The trees taller, the canopy thicker, the pale light trying to trickle through feebler. And everywhere, I can smell blood.
Back, my instincts warn. Go back before it's too late. But my curiosity overrules. I continue down the winding path, following the warriors' scents as best I can.
I am almost completely overwhelmed by the murky smells of the forest, spiked with the pungence of blood. That is where the path forks into two separate, winding trails.
I hesitate. I can no longer pick out the scents of my mentor from the odors of the forest. I know that it is foolish to continue forward; I could be lost down one of these lonely paths, or set upon by by a hungry predator. I'm more kit than apprentice. Why do I find my paws starting to move once more? One step, after another, golden paws against the frozen ground. I find myself taking the left trail, where at least there is a thin feline scent.
The forest creaks around me. Wind threads through the treetops, stirring the limp leaves. Distant bird calls warble in my ears. They are far-away, small sounds. In my small portion of the woods, the only noise is the faint breeze and the rustling leaves. It strikes me as odd that none are perched above me, around me. Surely I haven't made that much noise, to scare half the forest away.
The fact that someone else was the perpetrator does not reach me until a twig snaps with a brittle crack behind me. I snap around, claws slipping from their sheaths- but no one is there. I study the path for a moment, yet I can see nothing but the trees, the wild undergrowth, two small twigs lying carelessly on the dry, dusty trail. The air reeks of blood. Suddenly, it's all I can smell, and it invokes a primal panic in me. I whip back around, thinking to run, but I find my path blocked.
"Calm down," a voice soothes. "You're wearing your fear like a second pelt."
Sitting in front of me, head quirked, is a thick-furred gray she-cat. Her wide eyes are a piercing shade of blue. Her long tail is wrapped around paws which might have once been white, but now are stained with mud and dirt. There is blood on her fur, but no visible wounds.
"Finally," she purrs, stretching a forepaw languidly.
I shrink back, but try to make my mew strong and firm. "Who are you, and why are you trespassing in LeafClan territory?"
Another purr rumbles in her throat. "Ah, kitten. Names aren't important in times like this."
She stretches out, her old bones creaking under her ragged pelt.
"What do you mean, 'times like this'?" My curiosity is getting the better of me. I should be yelling for my mentor, but instead I'm sitting here, chatting with a crazy old trespasser like she's an old friend.
"Oh, but don't you know? Ignorance, kitten, isn't always bliss, you know." She clears her throat and flings her tail in the air with a dramatic flourish.
"Blood, swirling through the clouds and sinking into the hearts of the weakest. No one can escape this alive. Their fates will be changes and renewed, a bloodbath to cleanse the hearts of the proud. No one will escape unscathed."
She purrs again, a rough sound, and I stare at her, dazed.
"But that's irrelevant. Those other cats are looking for you, you know?"
My head is no longer with her now, however. Thoughts entangle in my mind, intense webs of thoughts slowly spinning. What could it mean? And how does this loner know about Redfeather and Pinestep? Have they come this way, or is she speaking of someone else? My paws begin to smear the leafbare frost into the dirt, pushing me off the ground and into the air as I run. It doesn't feel like I am moving at all, my feet scraping the same place, and my body suspended in the air. Still the forest spins around me.
"Wait," the grey she-cat snaps. "I haven't finished here. There's one more thing I want to tell you. Don't have to, but I want to. Remember- a spark can light a blaze."
A spark can light a blaze? What does that even mean?
I turn. This cat is crazy. I just need to get back to my mentor and away from this flea-bitten rogue.
I run through the forest, keeping my head down and only looking at the ground in front of me, scenting my way back to where I was supposed to wait. It feels like my paws churn empty air while I sprint, my kit strength pulling me back. Does the rogue's mocking laughter echo behind me?
Finally I stumble back into the clearing. It's exactly the way I left it, with one welcome difference; the heady tang of blood has gone.
I take a seat on the fallen leaves and pine needles that carpet the forest. When I lift one golden paw, I can see it tremble. Nothing was scary, was it? Yet I am chilled to the bone, shaking all over, shivering violently.
I hear voices coming through the trees on my left. Both are lowered, soft, and female. I quickly swipe my tongue over my ruffled pelt before the she-cats enter the clearing.
"There you are," Redfeather says, twitching her whiskers in relief.
"Um, where else would I be?" I ask nervously, my voice hitching at the end of the sentence. I plaster a look of blank innocence on my face; both warriors are openly staring at me with bemused curiosity.
"We should be getting back, Sparkpaw," Pinestep mumbles, casting a dark glance at the forest behind her.
She turns around and shakes her head. "I have to teach you how to remove ticks, don't I?"
I groan, following on heavy paws, the prophecy burrowing into my heart with tendrils of ice and frost
So, yes, this story is being written and edited by eight of the wonderful members of our forum, LeafClan! We have had many polls, debates, and long nights of sorting out things for this to be posted. Thanks to those who helped by typing, editing, voting, suggesting ideas, our readers, and reviewers! Have a wonderful day!