Moonpaw headed for the camp's entrance, but halted when she remembered that she was supposed to go to empty the elder's den before tree-training. She sighed in disappointment. I'm not the only apprentice, yet I'm still stuck cleaning out the den. She padded toward the elder's den and ducked under the few branches of the fallen beech tree. The sweet scent of honeysuckle hit her nose and she purred warmly.

"Moonpaw?"

She jumped back at the sound of a tom's voice. She squinted her eyes and made out the mottled gray pelt of Jaypaw.

"Why are you here?" He asked

"I..I was supposed to clean the elder's den."

Jaypaw came toward her, the scent of mouse-bile rolling off him and made her gag. He looked at the ground. "I..I know you hate cleaning the elder's den. But, I thought I'd help out a bit by taking care of Sorrelheart's ticks." He whispered

Moonpaw smiled and licked his ear, "That's very nice Jaypaw."

He looked at her with beaming blue eyes. She heard a snort come from behind her as Sorrelheart shakily got up. "I've been waiting a half-moon to get these stupid ticks out of my fur." She grumbled, "Now I have to wait even longer?" Jaypaw rolled his eyes and headed over to the tortoiseshell.

"Come outside then." He instructed

Sorrelheart muttered something under her breath that Moonpaw couldn't hear. She unsheathed a claw and sliced through the old moss, feeling it come up from the ground. Uck! This stuff reeks! She tossed it outside and gripped the other piece. Thank Starclan Sorrelheart's the only elder. She gripped the final piece of moss in her claws and tossed it outside.

"Hey!" Jaypaw shouted

She turned and saw the tom shake the moss off of him. She let out a mrrow of laughter and gingerly laid down the fresh, dry piece of moss.

"Alright, she can come in."

Moonpaw left the den as Jaypaw yanked a tick from her patchy pelt. The she-cat glanced over at her, happiness gleaming in her eyes. "That's the last one." She said, "Thanks." Moonpaw was taken aback. She never thanks anyone. Sorrelheart padded back into the elder's den and Moonpaw watched Jaypaw scamper off toward the entrance. As he ran off, Moonpaw felt a spark of curiosity ignite in her belly. He's been acting weird lately...I wonder why.

...

Moonpaw trotted out of the camp and headed for the climbing area. She could easily smell Snowshade's scent, but it was also mixed with Cedarfall's and Jaypaw's. A breeze ruffled her fur and chilled her body. The sun wasn't out today, but the dark gray clouds were swarming around the sky, blocking any trace of sunlight. Stupid wind..She thought.

"Moonpaw!"

She watched Jaypaw run over at her and he nuzzled her flank. As he did, he jumped back. "Uh..Sorry about that." He mewed, sounding embarrassed. But, Moonpaw didn't mind it. She actually liked the feeling of his fur on her side.

"Come on you two!" Cedarfall called

Moonpaw walked over with Jaypaw at her side. Snowshade was sitting there, grooming her face and Cedarfall was padding over. "Where were you Jaypaw? I simply asked you to go get Moonpaw." Jaypaw shifted in place, "I..I wanted to help her out with Sorrelheart. So, I got the ticks out of her pelt." Cedarfall's eyes lightened a bit at the mention of Sorrelheart. "Very well."

Snowshade stood up. "Alright, Moonpaw, try and climb up this oak tree to the fifth branch from here and back down."

The white she-cat nodded and bounded over. She stood on her hind legs and dug her claws into the bark. The fresh, sweet scent of the oak tree hit her nose as she pulled herself up. Her arms strained to lift her up. I haven't done this in almost a moon! She pulled harder and managed to grip her hind claws into the bark and she started climbing.

"Come on Moonpaw!" Jaypaw cheered

What's with his new peppy attitude. She wondered, He's usually a bit pessimistic. She started getting used to the climbing and soon reached the branch. "Alright!" She meowed down to her clanmates. Snowshade padded over to Cedarfall and whispered something in his ear. The tom nodded and his gaze flickered to her.

"Okay Moonpaw." Snowshade said, "Climb down."

Easy. Moon paw unsheathed her claws and ran down the tree, lightly gripping the bark. She skidded across the ground for a few moments and looked at Snowshade with pride.

"Excellent."

Moonpaw looked over at Jaypaw, who's eyes were wide with amazement. She puffed out her chest and strutted over to Snowshade and sat next to her mentor. Moonpaw wrapped her tail around her paws and watched Jaypaw start to climb. As she did, she suddenly remembered the dream of the tom padding away from a white she-cat. The cave had seemed familiar to her in some way, but she'd never seen it before. She thought back to the tom's voice and the image of a mottled gray tom came to her mind. It..It looks like Jaypaw. She thought. But...How could it be Jaypaw if we've never even left Thunderclan territory? The tom's image sat in her mind as she watched him slide down the tree again.

"No no no!" Cedarfall meowed, "I said to grip there, not inside there! What are you, blind?"

Jaypaw's blue eyes widened for a moment and she saw something odd flicker in his eyes. His blue eyes seemed to grow cloudy for a moment and he swung his head around violently. They were wide and Moonpaw saw nothing but a clear blue color, no black pupil in them.

"Jaypaw!" She began

His gaze hit her and the cloudiness drifted away and his pupils returned. He seemed to relax a bit as he looked at her, but the lingering darkness of fear swarmed in his eyes. Moonpaw looked at the mottled gray tom with surprise as he walked over to her.

"What just happened?" She whispered

"I..I couldn't see anything. I was blind."