Melting snow numbed the paws of the patrol, which sank into the ground with each step. Though newleaf was upon them, a weak, watery leafbare sun glinted overhead, and the season's first buds had yet to sprout. The strong, lithe warriors kept up a steady pace, while the Clan's newest apprentice, on her first-ever outing, trailed slightly behind- but they all straggled behind the old, grizzled medicine cat, whose determined gaze was betrayed by his stumbling, weary gait. Still, he plowed on without a moment's rest.

A gray warrior halted. "Graymane, we'll be late for Ebonypaw's warrior ceremony if we don't head back soon."

The massive tom turned on the warrior, gold eyes blazing, and the young cat flinched.

"Then you can all head back. I told Lotusstar myself, I don't need an escort in our own territory!" he snapped.

Both cats bristled; a black tom wove between the two before the warrior could retort. "Graymane has his reasons, Ashwhisker." his gaze- one eye sliced through by a thin white scar, but the other amber- fell to his apprentice. "Brindlepaw," he ordered. "Keep up- we're on patrol for now, so pay attention. I don't want to lose you in these woods.

"Incidentally," he mewed to Graymane, "Where are we headed?"

Graymane hesitated, eyes guarded and hawk-like. "Northern woods." he finally grunted without meeting Breezeheart's gaze, and turned to continue on his way.

"We'll never make it back to camp in time." Ashwhisker whispered, but his companion shot him a warning glance. Graymane climbed the slope without waiting for them- with his long, thick fur and large build, it was easy to forget how ancient he was.

"Come on." he said bracingly. He especially looked forward to Ebonypaw's ceremony and didn't wish to miss it, but nor was he keen to desert the medicine cat. "The less we quarrel, the faster we get back." In an undertone, he murmured, "remember the meeting last quarter-moon. We don't leave him alone out here."

Ashwhisker's tail drooped; the two warriors followed, Brindlepaw dashing close behind.

All the cats had been shocked to hear Graymane's announcement. Without the traditional Clan call, he'd leapt upon the Highroot and begun to speak- yet all eyes were immediately upon him.

"Cats of FrostClan… I have had a dream." he began.

Of course Graymane was anxious, even desperate- the entire Clan was, with the death of their medicine cat prophesized and no apprentice to take his place. Lotusstar had seemed especially troubled- but of course, Graymane had been medicine cat since Cloudstar was leader. The young leader must have been terrified to lose his advice and support. She had sent a guard wherever the old tom went, until he'd growled at her so harshly she'd retreated to her den until sunhigh. Ashwhisker let out a sigh- if Graymane didn't find a sign or solution soon, the entire Clan would be in jeopardy. But what was he looking for?

Breezeheart caught his eye and, as if he knew what the younger warrior was thinking, began to speak.

But an excited squeak cut him off, and the two whirled around to see Brindlepaw crouched on the ground, a dead leaf pinned beneath her.

"Mousebrain!" Breezeheart meowed, batting her impishly on the nose. "You'll scare off all the prey from here to Sunpools."

The apprentice shot him her best withering glare, though her whiskers twitched in amusement.

Suddenly, there was another loud yowl, echoing past the trees. All three cats froze, exchanging a brief glance of panic before rushing to the top of the pine-clad hill as fast as their legs could carry them.

Graymane stood beneath an old cedar, his pelt dappled with what dim light filtered through the branched overhead.

"What is it?" Brindlepaw's eyes were as wide as full moons.

The three paced around the medicine cat, who refused to move but continued to stare to the ground, where a strange pebble lay. It was clear as ice, the colour of tree sap, a perfect oval. Inside was trapped a tiny flower. Breezeheart prodded the stone with a forepaw- it was warm.

"Back off!" Graymane hissed.

"What is it?" Ashwhisker demanded. "Does it mean anything?"

"A sign… Let it be a sign."

Breezeheart noticed his apprentice trembling, and pressed his pelt to hers reassuringly. She was too bewildered to object.

"It's like a little Moonstone…" she murmured, though she had not yet been to the mystical place where leaders and medicine cats shared tongues with their ancestors.

Graymane lowered himself into a crouch, his eyes fixed on nothing, as if he were truly elsewhere. A shiver went through the fur of all three cats. Breezeheart felt the impulse to cry out as the medicine cat, closing his eyes, pressed his nose to the stone.

Immediately he fell to the ground, writhing and shuddering. The stone seemed to glow slightly- or was it just their imagination, fed by horror and unease? None of the warriors moved, every muscle tensed and all thoughts of returning to camp forgotten.

Gradually, the old cat's spasms died down. He lay on the ground, breathing labored. No cat knew what to do- Ashwhisker started forward, but before he could help Graymane, the tom's eyes had opened. He rose shakily, not bothering to shake off the dust matting his pelt.

"Graymane…" Brindlepaw's heart hammered in her chest. She unsheathed her claws and dug them into the ground.

"Have you had a sign from StarClan?" Breezeheart said quietly.

Graymane looked back to the stone. It had shone like a drop of liquid flame, blinding him to the forest and wrenching him into a vision. The flower at its core was a pale violet in colour, but even that was fading. Only the fierce light in the medicine cat's eyes shone on as evidence of what had just happened.

A crow cawed out harshly; all jumped, but for Graymane. Slowly, as if his joints were bothering him, he turned to them. Brindlepaw's eyes widened at how old he looked just then.

"The cat with the purple eyes…. That is who will take my place."