A/N: So I've noticed that a lot of peeps were surprised that Hollypaw earned her warrior name so early. Well, I did so for more interesting events which will be enfolding very soon XD You'll just have to keep on reading! Anyways, I've got 24 reviews! So those special reviewers are: Hollyleaf_supporter_985, allygirl55, Emberheart0, FallingEchos, and Featheredwing. You guys are the best, and thanks for reviewing!

~Chapter 8~

Frost covered Hollyheart's whiskers, making them twitch as she looked at them. She was trying her best not to shiver, as a cold wind pierced through the hollow. It had been a cold, bitter night as she sat vigil. During the night, white specks had begun to fall to the ground. Hollyheart had heard one of the elders call the white stuff 'snow', but she wasn't sure. Either way, she didn't like it. It felt damp and cold, just like the air around her.

The sun was beginning to rise, and Birchfall was the first to emerge from his den. Behind him were Thornclaw, Spiderleg and Hazeltail. They headed out towards the entrance, and Birchfall mewed, "you can rest now that the sun's up." The four cats squeazed through the gorse tunnel, leaving Hollyheart behind.

She sighed in relief, and began to pad towards the fresh-kill pile. It had meeger pickings, since the Clan had a feast last night in honor of her. The pile consisted of only a skinny sparrow and a small mouse. The black she-cat shook her head, knowing she would have to go hunting today in order to help restore the pile. She grabbed the mouse, knowing someone who was hungrier then her could take the sparrow.

"Hey Hollyheart, you wanna go hunting?" Muskedfur meowed. He was pacing alongside Icestorm, who had just woken up. Her green eyes blinked with sleep as she stared at Hollyheart.

Surprise flashed in her eyes. She had never really gotten along with Muskedfur. Was it because she was younger then her, and the fact that he was about to become a warrior? Hollyheart gazed at him, then nodded.

He led the way out of camp, then headed towards the Ancient Oak. Hollyheart knew this was a good place to hunt, Brackenfur had told her that himself. She followed him at a fast pace, eager to warm her cold paws. The snow beneath them was still fresh, and occassionally some snow fell from the branches of the trees. At one point a large pile of the white stuff landed on top of Muskedfur's head, making Hollyheart giggle. He grunted and shook it off; some of it landed on her, making her jump back in surprise.

Soon they reached the Ancient Oak, and Hollyheart could already taste prey in the air. Her fur prickled with anxiety as she wondered what would happen if she heard a mouse talking again. But when she killed one, she was relieved to feel only the pain that the creature felt as it died. She had gotten quite used to the feeling. It was as if the pain had become so great, that it numbed her limbs in order to adapt.

Later she caught a squirrel that had been busy chewing on an acorn. It had been completely unaware of her presence, only chittering to itself about something called 'long sleep'. She pricked her ears, wondering what that meant. But after a short while, she gave up and lunged. The squirrel had squealed in surprise, but fell quickly to the ground under her claws.

"Wow, that was a good catch," Muskedfur meowed as he approached. In his jaws was just one tiny shrew. It barely looked like it could feed a kit. "I haven't had so much luck," he muttered as he placed the shrew on her catch.

"Well we could always hunt near the abandoned Twoleg nest," Hollyheart mewed. "There's also always something there." She also wanted to check and see whether or not they had any catmint left. Even though she was not a medicine cat, she had heard Rainpaw say that the Clan needed the stuff in order to face the worst of leaf-bare.

Muskedfur nodded, and he let her take the lead. Hollyheart was well aware of the looks he was giving her. They were looks of confusion, excitement, and something else that she couldn't understand. Her pelt crackled with a strange feeling as she padded towards the area where she knew catmint would grow. To her dismay, it was covered in snow, and most of it was wrinkled and rotten looking.

"What's that?" Muskedfur asked as he wrinkled his nose at the scent.

Hollyheart sniffed it more carefully, wishing that she could find a fresh patch. "Catmint," she replied as she began to dig up the rotting leaves. "We need to dig this up and show it to Jayfeather - erm, Rainpaw," she quickly corrected herself. Jayfeather was blind, so he wouldn't be able to see how devastated their herb stock was.

Muskedfur nodded and pushed in front of her, helping her dig up the plant. When they were finished, he argued with her to carry it, saying that she should carry the prey. Hollyheart grumbled to herself, wishing that he would stop acting like a mouse-brained tom and bounded forward.

As they reached camp, Hollyheart noticed there was another scent filling the hollow. It smelled of rabbits and moorland, and for a terrible moment, Hollyheart wondered if the Clan were in battle. But when they entered, she saw that Ashstar was sitting in front of Bramblestar, with Harespring, a brown-and-white tom, and Leaftail, a dark tabby tom. She flicked her tail to Muskedfur, hoping he wouldn't show the WindClan cats the herb they had collected.

"Don't let them see," she whispered.

He nodded, and she led the way, slinking past the WindClan cats and into the medicine cat's den. Both Rainpaw and Jayfeather were organizing their stock, but it looked as though Jayfeather's tail was lashing in frustration.

Suddenly the gray tabby's ears pricked and he whirled around on them. "Why do I smell rotting leaves?" He hissed.

Hollyheart exchanged a surprised glance with Muskedfur, then turned to Jayfeather. Rainpaw was slowly approaching. "Erm, we found them near the abandoned Twoleg nest," she explained. "Jayfeather, I'm sorry but it looks as though we're fresh out of catmint." Her voice cracked under the weight of those words.

She knew just how important catmint was. It was the best remedy for whitecough and greencough. Jayfeather didn't say anything, he just sniffed the leaves and sighed. Rainpaw looked more worried as he looked at the plants.

"Jayfeather, what are we going to do if we have no catmint?" He asked in a worried tone.

The gray tabby didn't respond at first. Then Hollyheart felt a cold determination roll off of him in waves. She knew he had come up with a plan, and it was a dangerous one at that. "We'll do something," he finally replied. "First I want you to find out if there are any left," he added to his apprentice. "And if you can't find anything, I'll tell you what to do."

Rainpaw nodded and whisked away, leaving the three cats behind. Hollyheart stared at the rotten leaves, wondering what to do with them. She didn't want WindClan to see them, just in case. "I'll bury these," she murmured.

She dragged them out of the den, avoiding contact with the three cats who were in the clearing, surrounded by several ThunderClan warriors. Muskedfur was close by, as if he didn't want her to be alone. After she buried the plants, she padded over to see what was happening. Ashstar was meowing something to Bramblestar, who looked furious. His tail was lashing from side to side, and Spiderleg let out a hiss that sounded annoyed.

"Ashstar, I've told you before, we do not intend to cause an uneccassary fight," Bramblestar growled. "ThunderClan will not side with WindClan to attack RiverClan." With that, the dark brown tabby stalked away back to his den under the Highledge.

Ashstar hissed and padded away, with the two warriors following her. Hollyheart stared after them, wondering what could have caused Ashstar to bring this up. One thing was certain, there was a battle looming over head that ThunderClan was likely to become involved in. She just hoped that Bramblestar was wise enough to avoid the conflicts between WindClan and RiverClan.

-------------

A/N: Well, there you have it. I hope you like it, after all, I worked hard on it!