Masked in Snow

by Jaystripe

Newleaf should have come. But it's still snowing, and it won't stop. While three Clans struggle to survive in the absence of newleaf, the fourth seems to be growing, but not for the better. They only want control, and they will stop at nothing to get it.

2. Chapter 1

Well, here is Chapter 1 everyone! Wow. Say "Chapter 1 everyone" out loud and it just sounds weird.

The brown dappled tom dashed wildly through the forest, enjoying the way the frost crackled under his paws and the softly falling tiny snowflakes brushed his pelt as they floated onto the ground, where they immediately melted. After weaving between a close knot of pine trees, he reached the wide stream that was the LeafClan border with StreamClan. It was called Willowcreek because of the tall, sweeping willow trees on LeafClan's side of the border. Some of the long, slender branches even trailed in the water, and the tom often wondered how the current of the swiftly flowing stream didn't wash away such skinny limbs.

He heard distant crackling from the forest. His eyes danced with excitement as he shimmied up one of the willow trees and crouched down on a low branch, his dark pelt blending in perfectly with the bark. Suddenly, a large black and white tom erupted out of the forest. He peered around suspiciously with narrowed amber eyes before padding closer to the stream, right under the willow tree that the tom was crouching on.

He tensed his muscles and leaped down. "Surprise attack!" he yowled, bowling the large tom over with the force of his leap. They lay on the ground, side by side, panting. Then the dappled tom looked over at the other tom and burst out laughing. They rose to their paws, both of them laughing now.

"Pinepaw," scolded the black and white tom. "We're supposed to be on a hunting patrol. You probably scared away all the prey between here and StoneClan with that yowl." The amusement in his eyes showed that he wasn't really angry.

"But I was hunting, Badgerpelt," he meowed innocently. "I was just hunting a different sort of prey: you."

Badgerpelt rolled his eyes. "Alright. Now, what can you scent?"

Pinepaw tasted the air, letting the scents of the forest flood over his mouth. The mix of smells easily organized itself in Pinepaw's mind, and he named them aloud. "Pine needles and sap," he mewed, flicking his tail to the clump of pines nearby. "Ferns." He nodded at the dry, brittle plant opposite the pines, which were not faring well in the cold. "I'm pretty sure I can smell the snow, and the frost. It's almost like a cold, airy scent." He looked at Badgerpelt for confirmation, but his mentor simply stared at him, his face unreadable. "There's a mouse near the ferns, a squirrel up a tree in that direction, and a blackbird behind those bushes." He pointed out each place before turning to Badgerpelt again.

The large tom was beaming. "Excellent," he purred warmly. "And you've only been an apprentice for a quarter moon."

Pinepaw's fur prickled with pride. "I'll go catch the squirrel!" he meowed excitedly, dashing away. He heard Badgerpelt's irritated grumble as he ran off, but he didn't care. Badgerpelt wasn't easily angered. When he reached the tall tree that he was sure the squirrel was in, he scaled the tree and crept up onto a branch just below it. The squirrel was eating something, completely oblivious to its certain death.

Pinepaw crept farther out onto the thick, sturdy branch, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He would jump up and grab the squirrel, then land back on the branch. It was risky, but he had better balance than most cats.

The brown tom froze directly underneath the squirrel, and then tensed. He pushed off the branch with his strong hind legs and reached with his forepaws, just gripping the top of the squirrel's branch. Before the creature could react, Pinepaw pulled himself up farther onto the branch and fastened his fangs in the squirrel's back. He heard a snap, and his prey went limp in his jaws. The apprentice landed back on his own branch without stumbling, and quickly shot down the tree with the fresh-kill in his jaws.

He purred with happiness at his impressive catch as he buried it, seeing that it was actually a very large squirrel. While he wondered if he should return to his mentor, he heard a rustling in the frosty undergrowth.

It must be Badgerpelt! he thought gleefully. Maybe I can show him my squirrel.

Pinepaw opened his mouth to call out to his mentor, only to see the glint of unfamiliar bright blue-green eyes staring at him. "Who's there?" he growled menacingly, fluffing out his fur.

A dark gray, almost black tom padded out, casting wary glances around him. "Are you from LeafClan?" he whispered nervously.

Pinepaw nodded slowly, tasting the tom's scent. His eyes widened. "You're StoneClan!" he snarled. "Leave or I'll chase you off!" The apprentice crouched down, ready to spring at this intruder.

The tom's eyes grew huge in his dark face. "No, please, don't," he begged. "My name is Lakepaw. We have a group of cats here, we just got here a few nights ago during the blizzard. My sister fell into a snowdrift and then she got a chill but now she's really sick and Brightdawn is going to have her kits soon, so we really need a medicine cat. And we can't go back to StoneClan, Eagleclaw is acting as leader these days and he's just so horrible. And we had to leave Wolfpaw and Seedpaw and Redpaw behind…" The tom trailed off, his mew becoming a whimper.

Pinepaw forced himself to flatten his fur. This frightened young cat was no threat, and the fear in his bright eyes was obviously real. "Come with me," he meowed shortly, setting off into the undergrowth. He glanced over his shoulder occasionally just to make sure that the tom, Lakepaw or Riverpaw or whatever his name was, kept following him. The apprentice jumped at every crackling noise, and Pinepaw's whiskers twitched with amusement. This cat was definitely from StoneClan, where they lived among boulders and pebbly grounds, without the comfort of thick foliage overhead. Pinepaw followed his own scent trail back toward Willowcreek, where he was pretty sure that Badgerpelt was probably still waiting. He was proven right as he emerged from the trees and saw Badgerpelt laying next to the creek, his eyes half-closed.

His mentor rose to his paws as Pinepaw approached, and his eyes glowed with happiness. "Welcome back, PInepaw!" he rumbled warmly. "But where's your squirrel? I can smell it on you." Suddenly, a growl came from deep in his throat. "Who is that behind you, Pinepaw?"

Pinepaw glanced over his shoulder at Lakepaw, who was hanging at the edge of the trees, obviously terrified of the large, muscular Badgerpelt. He flicked his tail , beckoning for Lakepaw to come closer. When the other apprentice halted next to him, Pinepaw could feel that he was trembling with fear. Whatever had caused him and the other group that he had talked about to come here, it must have been quite scary.

Pinepaw laid his tail gently over Lakepaw's shoulders. "I buried my squirrel, but that's not what is important. This is Lakepaw," he meowed calmly. "I met him while I was hunting. He's from StoneClan, and he said that there is a group of StoneClan cats here. They've been here since the night of the blizzard, two days ago. And he mentioned something about not being able to return to their Clan…" The dappled tom trailed off uncertainly, as he didn't know what to say.

He was surprised to hear Lakepaw suddenly speak up. He had thought that the scared apprentice would have been very flustered and tongue-tied. "P-Please sir, hear me out," he stammered. When Badgerpelt nodded, his face betraying nothing, Lakepaw nervously continued. "Duststar is -or was- a very wise leader. But now he's very old, older than our elders, and Eagleclaw, our deputy, started to act like leader when Duststar started to…well…lose his mind, I guess. But Eagleclaw isn't like Duststar; he only wants the Clan to run his way, without any other options. If you don't agree with him, then you are punished severely. And he has it into his head that if you punish apprentices, they will work harder and train better, and become more eager to learn. So he has our mentors attack us if we don't do something right, and if our mentors won't, then he will. But the clawings, as he calls them, only makes us more tired and gives us scars." Lakepaw turned to the side and used his tail to push back his fur, and Badgerpelt and Pinepaw sucked in their breath when they saw the long, thin pink scars running across his side. "And Eagleclaw could easily do the warrior ceremonies, and no one would challenge him because nobody would want Duststar to do it anyway, but Eagleclaw likes it when Duststar gives really stupid warrior names. Duststar named my mentor Ivybuzzard and her friend Crownest. We don't hate Duststar for it, we just feel bad for him that he's become so…so…different than he used to be. So we left, but we had to leave behind some of my friends, and came here. My sister Tinypaw got ill during the blizzard and Crownest's mate, Brightdawn, is very close to having kits. Please let us stay," he finished quietly.

Pinepaw looked over to Badgerpelt. The black-and-white tom meowed, "Can you bring us to the rest of your group, Lakepaw?"

The dark tom nodded and quickly loped back into the trees, with the LeafClan cats following. They wove between a few bushes and trees until they reached a tall tree with an extremely wide base. Lakepaw poked his head into a narrow opening in the base and called softly, "Crownest, Ivybuzzard, Puddlelizard! I found some LeafClan cats, come out!"

First, a thin black tom with bright yellow eyes slipped through the entrance, followed by a tawny-colored she-cat and a white she-cat with splotches of all different colors on her pelt. The black tom dipped his head to Badgerpelt. "Greetings," he meowed. "I take it that Lakepaw has explained everything to you?"

Badgerpelt nodded quickly. "Yes," he replied in his deep, smooth voice. "I believe that you are Crownest?"

"Yes," Crownest mewed, turning to the she-cats. "And this is Ivybuzzard"-he nodded to the tawny she-cat- "and this is Puddlelizard." He flicked his tail at the pretty calico she-cat. "Yes, I know, our names are horrible," he meowed, and Pinepaw was surprised to hear amusement in his voice. "Poor Duststar just can't give a proper name these days, can he?" When no one chuckled, Crownest sighed and looked down at his paws. "I was just trying to ease the mood a bit," he mewed quietly. He glanced back at the hollow in the tree. "With Tinypaw and Brightdawn so ill…" He trailed off, and Puddlelizard pressed against him comfortingly.

"Do you mind if Pinepaw and I take you all to our camp?" Badgerpelt meowed questioningly. "Then Spottedstar and the rest of the Clan can discuss what to do next. I'm Badgerpelt, by the way."

It was Ivybuzzard that replied this time. "Follow me." She whisked into the tree, and Pinepaw squeezed in after Badgerpelt. Crownest and Puddlelizard remained outside with Lakepaw. The inside was like a cave, in a way, with an arched roof of deep brown bark, and a wide floor space. Over in one corner, three she-cats lay, one curled around three tiny kits. "These LeafClan cats are here to take us to their camp," Ivybuzzard mewed gently to her companions. "They have no intention of hurting us."

Ivybuzzard beckoned them over with her tail, and Badgerpelt immediately padded toward the small tabby that could only be Tinypaw. Her eyes were half-closed, her fur matted and her frame gaunt. Badgerpelt helped her to her paws, and had to support her as they made slow progress out of the hollow. Pinepaw remembered Lakepaw saying something about how she had fallen into a snowdrift and caught a chill that had developed into a full-blown illness. Pinepaw shivered; he didn't know Tinypaw, but he hoped that she would be okay. Then he turned toward the other she-cats in the corner.

Ivybuzzard had a kit clutched in her jaws, and was helping a pregnant she-cat with an extremely swollen belly struggle to her paws. Brightdawn, he thought, Crownest's mate. Brightdawn walked awkwardly out of the hollow, as did Ivybuzzard with the kit. Pinepaw was left with a dappled brown she-cat, and he glanced at her nervously, unsure of what to do. He was surprised when she blinked kindly at him, as if sensing his uncertainty. "You can take Acornkit," she mewed in a soft voice, flicking her tail at the brown tom by her paws. "I'll take Shadowkit." She picked up the other tom, who was dark gray, and waited while Pinepaw gently picked up Acornkit by the scruff. Then they both exited the hollow, and Badgerpelt set off toward camp when he saw that everyone had emerged.

Acornkit kicked feebly in his jaws, and Pinepaw murmured soothing words to the kit, his voice muffled by Acornkit's fur. When Acornkit settled down, Pinepaw counted each StoneClan cat in the group. Crownest, Puddlelizard, Lakepaw, Ivybuzzard, Brightdawn, Tinypaw, then the dappled queen, and the three kits… he thought. That's ten cats! If we let them join the Clan, how we will ever provide for ourselves? We're already struggling because newleaf won't come. The fur prickled along his spine. He felt that these were good cats, but he suddenly wasn't sure if they would be able to join the Clan. Spottedstar would surely take into account that LeafClan was already having enough trouble finding enough prey for all of them, let alone another ten cats.

They arrived at the tangle of boxwood, holly, and bramble bushes that was the entrance. Badgerpelt pulled back a few twigs and revealed the wide track that was set into the bushes like a tunnel. He quickly padded through, followed by the rest of the group. When they emerged into the heart of camp, enraged yowls suddenly sounded through the air, and the StoneClan cats stiffened as tension crackled through the air.

"Intruders!"

"Why is StoneClan here?"

"Badgerpelt, why did you bring them to our camp? They shouldn't be here!"

"Enough!" Spottedstar called out, springing from his den onto the Crookedtree. There was no need to call together the Clan; every single cat was gathered in the clearing to see what the commotion was about. "Badgerpelt, what reason do you have for bringing StoneClan cats into the middle of our territory?" he mewed calmly, sitting on a thick sturdy branch and wrapping his tail around his paws neatly.

Badgerpelt nudged the StoneClan cats forward, and Pinepaw carefully placed Acornkit between the brown queen's paws. She flashed him a grateful glance as she curled her tail protectively around her three kits and looked up to see what Badgerpelt would say. The large tom started from the beginning, from how Pinepaw had met Lakepaw, and everything that Lakepaw had told them about what Eagleclaw was doing in StoneClan. When he had finished explaining, a hush had settled over the crowd as they waited for Spottedstar to speak.

"Well," he meowed slowly. "It seems we have quite a predicament on our paws. You say that Eagleclaw is basically torturous toward those who oppose him?"

Crownest nodded solemnly. "He thinks it is the only way to make cats respect him."

Spottedstar frowned. "As you know, newleaf should be here, but the cold weather has driven all the prey down their burrows. We are having some trouble catching enough prey for ourselves. If you stayed, you would have to contribute, too, and you must prove your loyalty before you can truly become LeafClan cats. Is that what you wish to do?"

"Hold on a moment, Spottedstar," a voice called out from the crowd. Pinepaw recognized the voice as Birchclaw's. He was a loyal warrior, but very outspoken and opinionated. "I respect your decisions, but I really think that this is the worst time for more cats to join our Clan. I mean, how do we know it's not a trick? How do we know that the rest of their Clan isn't waiting at the border for one of these guys to go up and tell them they can come attack us?" His eyes were narrowed as he waited for the StoneClan cats' response.

Puddlelizard was bristling, and hissed at the golden brown tom. "Why would we be telling you everything that's happening in StoneClan? Why would we leave with a she-cat close to having her kits? Because everything we told you is true!" Her tail lashed back and forth. "I had to leave behind my mate, my parents, and my sister. Why else would I leave behind everyone that I love?" Her voice was trembling now, and Ivybuzzard pressed against the calico she-cat.

"We understand that LeafClan is having a hard time," she meowed evenly. "But we would help hunt for your Clan. We would aid you in anything that you need help with. But you must understand that every cat here-and no, we are no longer StoneClan- is fiercely loyal. Never accuse us of tyranny or being traitors." She flashed an angry glare at Birchclaw. "And by my whiskers, I sure hope that you will launch a raid on StoneClan. They need a lesson. And StarClan bless it, I'll lead the patrol myself." With that, she sat down, eyes blazing with a strange passion. No one spoke. Ivybuzzard's speech had had some sort of effect, and each cat was probably thinking it over.

Spottedstar blinked thoughtfully. "You bring up a good point, Birchclaw," he meowed, acknowledging the warrior. "But it is quite obvious that these cats mean everything they say." He looked down at the StoneClan cats. "Does LeafClan agree that they may stay here, and, if they prove their loyalty, become real members of our Clan?"

For a moment, everyone remained silent, and Puddlelizard hung her head, as if already thinking that they were going to be forced to leave. Pinepaw surprised himself by raising a paw. "If I may, Spottedstar?" he inquired. When the leader nodded, his face showing that he was curious about what Pinepaw would say, the young apprentice padded forward and stopped just in front of the line of StoneClan cats. He cleared his throat, but oddly he didn't feel nervous about speaking in front of the whole Clan.

He swept the crowd with his dark green gaze. "Even though it's only been a short time," he began clearly, "I've known these cats for longer than any of you. And if you look into their eyes, you will see the color, yes. But look beyond that and you will see revenge, a desire to seek vengeance against those within their Clan who made it so truly horrible. There is sorrow, too, for those they left behind, those they wish to be safe. Kindness, loyalty, and love are there also. Are not LeafClan cats like this, too? Wishing for vengeance against those who have wronged you, love for your Clanmates, and the desire to protect and defend your Clan? If they remain here, they will not need to become LeafClan cats. As far as I'm concerned, they already are. So I agree, they should stay." He padded back toward where he was sitting beside Badgerpelt before, and his mentor looked down at him, obviously impressed.

Before he knew it, every cat was shouting out their answers to Spottedstar's question.

Not a single cat said no.

"It's settled then," Spottedstar said, satisfied. "I would like to speak with my senior warriors and our newest additions about what to do about StoneClan." He leapt down from the Crookedtree, and the former StoneClan warriors padded over toward him along with LeafClan's senior warriors. Pinepaw noticed that the dappled queen, Brightdawn, Lakepaw, and Tinypaw remained where they were, looking nervous and confused. He padded over.

"You and Tinypaw should go and see Rosefur," he addressed Brightdawn, nodding toward the tunnel in the ground leading to medicine den. "She's our medicine cat. She can look you over, Brightdawn, and she can care for Tinypaw." He noticed that the sick apprentice was laying on the ground beside Lakepaw, her eyelids fluttering gently and her flanks rapidly rising and falling. Brightdawn looked surprised to be ordered around by Pinepaw, but she obeyed and quickly entered the medicine den without hesitation. Badgerpelt came over and helped Tinypaw inside, too.

"You should go to the nursery," he mewed, now talking to the dappled queen. "Our queens will be glad to have you, though it's a bit crowded in there right now." As he spoke, Feathersong and Cloverfrost, two of the queens, quickly trotted over and began speaking kindly to the dappled queen. The she-cat immediately relaxed in their presence, and they each brought a kit to the nursery.

Then Pinepaw turned to Lakepaw, who seemed to be staring into space. "Come on," he meowed, nudging the apprentice playfully. "I can getcha something to eat." He guided the apprentice over to the hollow log that was the apprentice den. He told Lakepaw to stay put, and quickly trotted over to the freshkill pile, wondering what to get Lakepaw.

What do StoneClan cats eat? he wondered, before choosing a blackbird and going back to Lakepaw. He sat down and they wordlessly shared the prey together. When they were done, Lakepaw licked his lips and opened his mouth to speak. "I wanted to say thank you," he said quietly. "For standing up for us, you know. I don't think the Clan would have accepted us without you saying all that stuff."

Pinepaw shrugged, embarrassed. "It was nothing, but you're welcome." He rose to his paws and showed Lakepaw an unoccupied nest in the corner of the wide hollow log, and he waited until the dark tom had curled up and his breathing had slowed. Pinepaw quietly crept back into the clearing and sat, gazing up at the rising moon. He hadn't realized that the day was already over.

The apprentice heard a rustle beside him and looked over to see a dark brown tom settle next to him. It was Brackenpaw, Pinepaw's foster brother. Brackenpaw's mother, Thrushfeather, had suckled Pinepaw when his own mother's milk wouldn't come. They had been raised as kits together, and had become very close. Pinepaw had also become friends with Brackenpaw's sister, Driftpaw. However, Brackenpaw and Driftpaw had been three moons older and been apprenticed long before Pinepaw. "Hey," Pinepaw purred. "Exciting day, right?"

Brackenpaw nodded distractedly. Pinepaw blinked, worried. "Is everything alright?" he asked his friend uncertainly.

Before he could move, Brackenpaw's dark brown, almost black face was right in front of his eyes. His lips curled up in a snarl, and Pinepaw remained still, shocked.

"You idiot," Brackenpaw hissed. "You just had to go up there and give your little speech to the whole Clan, didn't ya? Now everyone thinks that you're such a wise, kind little tom. Well, listen here, mouse-brain. I like Heatherpaw a lot, and we had sort of a thing going, until you did your whole speech. She was staring at you like you were sent down by StarClan. I know that you were just trying to impress the she-cats, but don't try to impress Heatherpaw. She's mine, understand?" He was literally breathing wrath in Pinepaw's face. "And second. Driftpaw really likes you. While you were eating with that black apprentice, she was off on her own closer to the apprentice den. She was looking at you with big eyes, and she was looking so sappy. Then she got up and walked by you, and I saw her open her mouth like she was saying something to you, but you just ignored her. You and that useless black tom were just so busy bonding," he sneered. His ice-blue eyes were flaming with outrage. "Then her eyes got all bright and weird, and I wasn't close enough to really see, but it was really obvious that she was upset and embarrassed. So she went and sat with pathetic Graypaw, and made it look like she was going over there all along."

Pinepaw dug through his memories, back to when he had been sharing prey with Lakepaw. He remembered seeing Driftpaw out of the corner of his eye, and she had been staring at him, but not really at him, over him. When she got up, she did open her mouth and she had spoken. But it had been to call out in a friendly tone, "Graypaw!" Then Graypaw had invited her over with a flick of his tail, and her eyes had lit up. But not with sadness, with delight. Pinepaw hadn't made anything of it at first because he had known that Driftpaw and Graypaw both liked each other. Apparently Brackenpaw had been far enough away that he couldn't hear anything, but he must have seen Driftpaw's actions. His anger must have caused him to come to such conclusions.

Pinepaw blinked when he realized that Brackenpaw was speaking again, this time with an icy edge to his tone. "You stay away from Heatherpaw, understand?" he snarled. "And if you break my sister's heart, I'll tear your pathetic little body to shreds, you mange-pelt!"

"Wait, Brackenpaw!" Pinepaw spoke up suddenly. "Driftpaw doesn't like me, she likes Gr-" But it was too late. Brackenpaw was already stalking away and disappearing into the apprentice den.

Pinepaw was utterly bewildered by his foster brother's behavior. They had been so close, but it seemed that the bond they had shared had been shattered by things that had never happened. He had never intended to impress Heatherpaw; he had only wanted the StoneClan cats to stay. And he knew for a fact that Driftpaw loved Graypaw, not him.

Pinepaw quietly moved into the apprentice den, and curled up in his nest beside Lakepaw. He was happy to see that the tom was sleeping peacefully in his new camp. As he settled down for the night, he decided that he would try talking to Brackenpaw tomorrow and make him see sense. Maybe he would ask Driftpaw to help him.

Even though he was exhausted, he shifted uneasily, unable to sleep. He felt like he was being watched. When he raised his head and looked around, he saw one ice-blue eye opened wide and staring at him menacingly across the den.

"Remember what I said," Brackenpaw hissed quietly. "You wouldn't want to be in tiny pieces, now would you?" Then he closed his eye and pressed up close against Driftpaw.

As Pinepaw curled up once more, he shivered involuntarily. He hoped that Brackenpaw would believe him tomorrow. If he didn't, Pinepaw just hoped that Brackenpaw wouldn't remain true to his word.

Well, well, well…apprentice rivalries and love already. And between foster brothers! Honestly, I feel bad for Brackenpaw. He's rather blinded by his love for Heatherpaw and his care for Driftpaw.

I guess that Pinepaw's squirrel is forever forgotten in the forest, rotting in the ground where he buried it.

I know that this is very late, or at least much later than I planned, and I am very sorry. :( Just so you know, not all of the chapters are going to be this long. This is just to get things started. Please press the Review button, it is currently screaming:

"If you don't click me, you die!" Hehe. Next update, I dunno when. We'll just have to wait and see. :)