Wow! Thanks for everything, everyone! Over 1K views! It just hit me... Oh my StarClan. So many people following and favoriting this fanfic! I'm flattered! :D

To Wood Cats, thanks for the review! I'm trying to improve on my writing; this is my first fanfic after all.

iiDuskk Spectre 7, thank you for the favorites and follows on both Unreal and me! THANK YOU!

This is kind of a filler chapter. Still.

Enjoy!

"Wake up." A stern voice coupled with a jab to the ribs woke Warmpaw up from his slumber. Eyes sticky with tiredness, he stood up. He licked a paw and ran it across his face. Outside, it was still fairly dark, with a dark blue tainting the camp.

"It's still too early," he mewed grumpily before yawning.

"So what?" The voice became laced with frustration. It was only then that Warmpaw realized that he was talking to Goldenfur. The apprentice's eyes widened in shock; he was rendered speechless.

"Dawn patrol. We're going out now." The warrior rolled his eyes before exiting the den. Warmpaw quickly followed.

The moment he stepped out, cold air enveloped his body, catching him in its vice grip. He shivered as a frigid wind blew past his whiskers. It's a lot colder than yesterday! Out in the center of the camp, Maplebranch and Rainstorm were waiting.

Warmpaw settled himself next to both of them. Another draft rolled by, making Warmpaw crouch, curling his tail around his paws. They're going to have to change my name to Freezingpaw if this continues, he thought.

Goldenfur excused himself, "I'll just be informing Redstep." He headed for the warriors' den, leaving Warmpaw with the two other warriors.

"Hello, Warmpaw," Rainstorm greeted him affably, waving her tail.

"H-hi," Warmpaw replied shakily, noticing how relaxed she was. She showed absolutely no signs of shivering, and she didn't even flinch when a breeze passed by. Wasn't she feeling cold too?

"So, you're coming along, aren't you?" Maplebranch meowed brusquely, curling his tail over his paws. His voice froze Warmpaw in place, and he turned to face him.

"Yes, I am."

At this, the warrior simply nodded then resumed looking up at the sky, flicking his tail. Surprisingly, the only emotion Warmpaw could see in Maplebranch's eyes was just impatience at Goldenfur, who was spending a lot of time talking with Redstep, who was just outside the warriors' den.

What caught Warmpaw's attention was his lack of attention towards him. He was along with Goldenfur when they brought him to Ivystar, and their attempt to get him out of the clan failed. Goldenfur got angry at that, and he was probably enraged when he found out that he was going to be mentoring him. Maplebranch, though… why wasn't he angry?

"Lick your fur," suggested Maplebranch. "It helps."

Warmpaw was still for a moment before starting to smooth down his fluffed-out pelt with his tongue. Within a few moments, he was beginning to feel warmer. It does help.

"Thanks," he mewed. In response, Maplebranch gave him another curt nod.

Goldenfur padded over to them, tail straight behind him. "We'll be patrolling the WindClan border today."

"Sure then," Maplebranch acknowledged, getting up.

The cats filed out, with Goldenfur at the lead. Outside of the camp, it was even colder. It surprised him to know that the grass was coated with a layer of frost. The hardened ground underpaw felt like ice.

"This is weird." Rainstorm echoed his thoughts, opening her jaws to take in the scent. "It's the middle of greenleaf, isn't it?"

"It's going to be another cold season," predicted Maplebranch as they skirted a frostbitten bush. "Just like the last one."

"And the last one, and the one before that," continued Goldenfur dryly.

Rainstorm smirked. "Looks like you're starting to return to your old self. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad to see this side of you again."

Goldenfur glanced furtively at Warmpaw, who was behind him. The ginger-pelted cat transfixed him with a glare. But almost as soon as it started, he turned away.

Maplebranch huffed. "This isn't the topic to make fun of. Last leafbare nearly killed all of us."

Goldenfur and Rainstorm fell silent. The patrol continued on their trudging pace, and after a few more fox-lengths of walking, they reached the WindClan border. Maplebranch started marking.

"WindClan hasn't been much trouble, thankfully," remarked Goldenfur. "Not a lot of trouble with the other Clans as well."

"We still have to mark our borders though," reminded Rainstorm as she investigated for any signs of trespassing. When she was satisfied, she returned. "Nothing to see here."

"There is now." Goldenfur said as he spotted an incoming WindClan patrol. When the patrol got nearer, and they spotted them, they intercepted each other.

The first one Warmpaw noticed was a cream she-cat at the lead. There were also other cats in the patrol. There were two other warriors next to her, an orange she-cat and a brown tabby tom.

Behind them were their apprentices. One was light brown and the other was… Warmpaw couldn't quite describe it. She was nearly black, but with a golden band covering her neck.

They passed by; Maplebranch shared a brief exchange of greetings with the she-cat, who was apparently named Larkfoot. The entire time, Warmpaw felt the stares of the two WindClan apprentices on his pelt, and he wanted nothing more than to hide behind a bush.

Don't be such a coward, he told himself, and he chanced a quick look at them.

Immediately, he found himself lost in brilliant amber eyes. The colour filled his vision, and he couldn't bring himself to stare away from the golden smoke apprentice. Her light brown friend seemed to notice, and he whispered something in her ear. The apprentice's ears perked as she quickly turned away.

"Okay." Larkfoot meowed as she signalled her patrol to move on. They walked away, and it was onlt then that Warmpaw noticed that Larkfoot walked with a limp. She wasn't walking; she was hopping.

Maplebranch called the patrol to continue. But Warmpaw was walking on instinct. It was almost as if he couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet.

His thoughts were still on the pretty cat and her tantalizing eyes.

. . .

Warmpaw was still in a daze when he got back to camp.

"We've got some practice to do later," Goldenfur reminded Warmpaw. He raised his tail dumbly in response. Goldenfur looked Warmpaw up and down. "I've no idea what has happened to you today, but snap out of it. Approach me when you feel ready." He walked away, and Archkit saw her chance.

"Hey, Warmpaw!" She hopped from paw to paw. "How are you doing? How was the patrol?"

Twigpaw appeared behind her. "Yeah, how was it?"

"It was great," Warmpaw said simply.

"So…" Archkit and Twigpaw shared a look, "did anything interesting happen?"

"Yeah." Warmpaw smiled, eyes brightening as he remembered the WindClan apprentice.

"What?" The ears of both his friends perked in curiosity.

"I'm not telling."

Warmpaw relished in their dismay as both of them groaned. "C'mon!" Archkit protested.

"Say it!" Twigpaw shoved him with a paw.

Sandkit trotted up to them out of nowhere. "Say what?"

"Warmpaw went on the dawn patrol!" said Twigpaw. "Something happened on the patrol…"

"But he won't tell us!" Archkit inveighed, finishing his sentence.

"What happened, Warmpaw?" Sandpaw probed, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing." He suddenly rose to his paws. "Oh, wait! I just remembered! I have practice with Goldenfur today." He purred as he turned tail and walked away.

He could just imagine the looks on their faces. He let out a little purr. "I have practice with Goldenfur today!" he mimicked himself.

Wait. I have practice with Goldenfur today?