Chapter 8

The first snowfall of leaf-bare had come, the cold and frigid air moving briskly through the leaves of the trees and the wind beginning to howl. The clan remained on their best guard, Fallingpaw's eyes watching as the snow fell from the sky. A flake brushed against her nose, melting on the pink skin and Fallingpaw sneezing loudly.

A laugh erupted from Dovewing. "I forgot that you haven't seen snow yet."

Fallingpaw laughed as well, watching the flakes slowly begin to gather against the stone. The trees around the hollow looked frozen and bare against the cloudy gray skies. "Not until now…" Fallingpaw murmured, continuing to watch as the flakes fell, glassy and shining like stars, but much, much closer to her now. It was something more tangible than the stars, it was closer and made Fallingpaw tremble. There is little power these cold flakes can't achieve, Fallingpaw thought, knowing the season of leaf-bare was a hard season for all the clans.

"You'll have an easier time hunting," Dovewing meowed after a heart-beat, the she-cat's pretty gaze glistening against the white of the snow. "Fallingpaw, you have the perfect pelt for this weather. A white pelt like yours will be a great asset to the clan, both you and your littermate have the perfect pelts. When the snow thickens, I will have you begin hunting again. Besides, you no longer need the paw work in your battle training, and I doubt that Rowanstar would attack with leaf-bare right here. A war in leaf-bare…" Dovewing sighed and her tail flicked. "Rowanstar would have to be mouse-brained to attack anytime soon."

Fallingpaw nodded, agreeing with her mentor as she watched Hollypaw and Jayfeather pad out of the medicine den. "I wonder how Hollypaw is fairing," Fallingpaw meowed, head slightly tilted.

Dovewing laughed again. "When I last talked to Jayfeather, she's doing fine. Apparently she has a knack for remembering herbs, the way Jayfeather did when he was younger. She just recites them every day, and Hollypaw has been a rather huge help, curious to learn." Dovewing looked up to the sky, Fallingpaw glancing over at her. "Jayfeather says at this rate, she will be a better medicine cat than he will ever be. I certainly hope so, medicine cats should only get better and better as the generations continue on."

Tilting her head again, Fallingpaw asked, "How many generations have the warriors been around?"

There was a small pause, Dovewing closing her eyes, as if deep in thought. "Well… More generations than any warrior knows currently," she meowed. "The only cats who would have that knowledge are either the leaders of each clan or the medicine cats. They are the ones that Starclan talks to, after all." Dovewing brought her gaze to Fallingpaw now, soft. "Jayfeather might know best… I'd ask him."

Fallingpaw nodded once more and looked at her paws, which were beginning to feel the ice on the stone. The clans must have been here for quite some time…

"However," Dovewing added, pausing a moment. "I think Jayfeather might be a little reluctant to tell you, he has a long past with visions from many, many moons ago."

"A past?"

Dovewing looked over towards Jayfeather, who was speaking to Hollypaw now. Fallingpaw couldn't hear the voices well enough to know what the conversation was about, Fallingpaw's blue eyes remaining on the two cats.

"I don't know much about it," Dovewing mumbled with a slight yawn. "I'm going to go take a nap, don't stay out too long or you'll get sick. I need to train you and we need all the warriors and apprentices at full strength for leaf-bare ahead."

"I won't," Fallingpaw promised, hopping down and looking over towards the fresh-kill pile. Better eat something before the snow kills off what little I'll be able to eat in the season… I should get something for Sandstorm and Graystripe first, Fallingpaw thought, smiling to herself and grabbing a couple mice in her teeth by the tails. The elders were sitting by their den, sharing tongues with each other for the moment. It'll be nice to actually see them again, Fallingpaw thought to herself as she began to climb the gentle slope. I haven't talked with either of them in a while… Dovewing doesn't make me do their bedding or anything of the sort.

Fallingpaw reached the two cats, who glanced over and smiled towards her. "You didn't have to bring us anything!" Sandstorm meowed with a mrrowr of amusement as Fallingpaw set the prey in front of them.

"Of course I did!" Fallingpaw meowed with a bright smile and purr. "You are our elders, you deserve this!"

Graystripe rolled his eyes. "Seriously, do the apprentices think we are that old? I mean… At least I don't act like Mousefur did." Sandstorm whacked Graystripe's ear with her tail, the elder groaning gently. "That's exactly what I mean! You're rude!"

"And it's fun," Sandstorm purred, picking up the mouse in her teeth. "Now come inside, it's cold and I don't want to stand out here any longer." Sandstorm's ears perked and she brought her gaze to Fallingpaw. "Thanks for the meal, you should get something too; and get something for your littermates. You apprentices have been working very hard as of late, especially with the Shadowclan threat lurking over us."

"Dovewing says they won't, hopefully," Fallingpaw meowed, her tail flicking across the stone and kicking up a bit of snow together. "She hopes Rowanstar is smart enough to keep his clan safe for leaf-bare."

Graystripe's gaze darkened slightly but he nodded with a soft smile. "I hope Dovewing is right too, but we shall see." Both elders disappeared into the den, smiling and laughing after a moment as they began eating, leaving Fallingpaw alone.

Maybe I will eat with my littermates, Fallingpaw thought with a smile as white as the snow, climbing down into the clearing and towards the medicine den now. "Hollypaw!" she called out, the black apprentice bringing her dark green gaze over to her with a smile. "Come eat with me, I'm going to bring Frostpaw as well."

Jayfeather chuckled. "Apprentices… Always interrupting conversation." He nudged Hollypaw. "You've worked hard these past couple moons, go with your littermates. I have some things to take care of anyways, I'll be out in the forest." Jayfeather yawned before standing, Hollypaw purring a "Thanks!" before standing and padding over towards Fallingpaw.

"I see he is less of a grouch than he used to be," Fallingpaw purred.

"He is rarely a grouch," Hollypaw laughed. "Now let's get Frostpaw, I want to hear about both of your trainings, I want to know how well you're both being trained!"

Fallingpaw quickly paced up towards the apprentices den. "I'm sure you'll enjoy the stories we have to tell about how hard we are training," she laughed as another snowflake landed on her nose. Fallingpaw instinctively took a deep breath, the flake going into her nose before melting and causing another harsh sneeze. "Snow makes me sneeze, apparently…" Fallingpaw mumbled. She kept her gaze forward as she went into the apprentices den, Frostpaw laying in her thick moss bed and curled up warmly, tail covering her face. "Frostpaw! Come on, we are getting something to eat off the fresh-kill pile!"

Frostpaw groaned and shook her head. "But I'm tired… I want to nap…"

"Get up, mouse-brain!" Hollypaw purred and nudged Frostpaw, who buried herself in her fluffy tail. "We want to eat together, we don't get a chance that often!"

There was another groan of resistance, Frostpaw lifting a paw and pushing Hollypaw away. "Alright," Fallingpaw meowed with a playful smirk. "Let's lift her up on three. Okay?" Hollypaw purred and growled playfully, Frostpaw instantly becoming deadweight in her bed, not wanting to go outside. "One! Two! Three!" Fallingpaw purred and gripped Frostpaw's scruff in her teeth, Hollypaw gripping Frostpaw's tail the same way.

"No! Not my tail! That's not fair!" Frostpaw growled.

"Life isn't fair!" Hollypaw mumbled through her fur. "Now get up or we will drag you through the cold snow!"

"I don't want to!"

"Too bad!" Fallingpaw growled, starting to drag Frostpaw out of her bedding. She was a rather heavy-set cat now, her muscles were much heavier than they used to be. Fallingpaw grinned slightly as Frostpaw remained deadweight, continuing to protest against this. "You're eating with us whether you like it or not!"

Frostpaw lifted a paw, trying to hit Fallingpaw now as her tail flicked in Hollypaw's mouth, continuing to drag her across the den until they pulled her outside into the cold, freezing air.

"Nope, too cold!" Frostpaw tensed up, her weight feeling heavier, Fallingpaw dropping her scruff. Frostpaw pushed up and slammed Fallingpaw out of the way, doing the same to Hollypaw, who laughed as Frostpaw bolted back into the den. "I am done with the cold for today, thank you!"

Fallingpaw looked at Hollypaw and laughed again. "How about we drag her bed out here instead? If we can't drag her out, let's drag out the one thing she loves most."

"Don't you dare!" Frostpaw growled from inside the den, Hollypaw smirking in response.

"Let's do it."

"No! Stop it, both of you!"

Fallingpaw darted in, sliding in towards Frostpaw and almost barrelling into her. Faking left, the small she-cat rolled past Frostpaw, who was then hit by Hollypaw. Fallingpaw gripped the moss bed in her teeth. "I got it, run!" Fallingpaw ran backwards as fast as she could, Frostpaw trying to get her bedding back while Hollypaw blocked her every which way she tried to come in from.

"You're both mouse-brains!" Frostpaw growled as she tackled into Hollypaw, bowling her over and jumping away, knocking into Fallingpaw with full force. Fallingpaw hit the stone hard, knocking the breath out of her as she started to laugh. Her lungs hurt, she couldn't breathe, but she was having so much fun as she tried to laugh, never having experienced so much fun and pain at the same time.

"That's what you get," Frostpaw meowed with a purr and dragged her moss back to her spot in the den. "Lay there and laugh out any air you breathe in."

Hollypaw stood and looked over, her ear flicking as she quickly checked over Fallingpaw for any injuries. There was none and she laughed. "Give yourself a few more heartbeats, you'll be able to laugh normally."

"I-I know!" Fallingpaw breathed out - barely - between each laugh. She then began to cough, her body suddenly feeling warm and relieved as Fallingpaw shuddered and laughed more. "Stupid mouse-brain!" she looked up at Frostpaw, who was back to laying in her bed. "What if we bring the prey to you?"

"Delicious…" Frostpaw meowed quietly with a purr.

Hollypaw's whiskers twitched, amused. "We probably should've done that the first time, would have saved a lot of trouble."

Fallingpaw rolled her eyes and padded out of the den. "I'll get you both something, just stay here then! I'll go into the treacherous and dangerous snow!" Snickering, Fallingpaw left the den behind and went down towards the fresh-kill pile, picking out two more mice and a rabbit. It filled her mouth to lift all three and she lifted her head as high as she could, the rabbit still being dragged along the stone.

Ivypool had appeared from the nursery, her pelt glossy as she padded over towards Fallingpaw. "I certainly hope you don't plan on eating all that! We don't need another Graystripe!"

Above, in the elder's den, came Graystripe's voice. "I heard that!"

The queen snickered and stretched a moment. "For your littermates?" Fallingpaw nodded. "Then hurry up, get used to not eating too much as well. We won't have full bellies all leaf-bare, know that. Now, I am trying to find your father. Have you seen him?" Fallingpaw shook her head. "Alright, see you around, Fallingpaw!" Ivytail purred and licked between Fallingpaw's ears, then padded away towards the warriors den.

I wonder if she was checking on Cinderheart… Fallingpaw thought to herself before padding back up to the den, a cold wind sliding through her fur and down her back with ease. It made her shiver.

"I was beginning to wonder where you had gone!" Hollypaw laughed as Fallingpaw entered the den. "How can you stand the cold?"

Fallingpaw dropped the prey in front of her littermates. "Ivypool talked to me for a bit," she replied, sitting down and curling her tail around her cold paws, trying to warm them. "She was looking for Dewstep, I'm sure he's around. Although…" Her ear flicked, and she thought about Dewstep volunteering to be on the Shadowclan border patrols. "Have you noticed he's taking a lot of patrols on the Shadowclan border?"

Frostpaw yawned and sat up, looking warm and comfortable as she tried to take the rabbit, the biggest piece of prey. Fallingpaw flicked her nose with a tail. "You get a mouse, the rabbit is mine." Frostpaw rolled her eyes now, then grabbed a mouse and began to eat quietly, nodding a bit at Fallingpaw's first question.

"Oh, I noticed," Frostpaw meowed. "It is a bit weird, he used to avoid the Shadowclan patrols but now he wants on them? I wonder if he is waiting for something, or if he is planning something."

"I doubt it," Fallingpaw replied with a shrug, taking a bite out of the rabbit with ease. "It doesn't matter, right now, anyways. Hollypaw wants to talk about our training, and how we are doing…"

Linebreak

Fallingpaw yawned as the night slowly gained momentum, the nights becoming darker for longer periods of time already. The wind brushed through her fur as she sat outside the apprentices den, Frostpaw sleeping inside now. The stars were shining much brighter than normal as Fallingpaw looked up at them.

Starclan… do you really watch over us…? Fallingpaw asked, though she did not speak out loud. For the first time, a small part of her was too afraid to speak out loud about her thoughts, especially to a force as powerful as her own ancestors. Are you watching over Thunderclan now…? Will you keep us safe from war? Fallingpaw found herself thinking about how she was going to be a leader. If I become a leader, what will I do…? Will I resolve conflict as peacefully as I can, or will I fight for what needs to be fought…? Can I do both?

"You're out fairly late," Dewstep meowed, making Fallingpaw jump out of her fur and look towards him. She was just his height now, Fallingpaw looking into his eyes. "Mind telling me what you're thinking about?" Dewstep smiled, the wind blowing through his fur and revealing more of the scar around his neck. Fallingpaw couldn't help but cringe at the sight, knowing the injury must have hurt for a decent amount of time.

"I just want the clan to be safe," Fallingpaw meowed, her gaze looking towards the other dens. Can cats stop sneaking up behind me when I'm thinking about stuff? Fallingpaw thought with slight annoyance. "Everyone is obsessed with the thought that Shadowclan can attack at any moment, but some of the warriors and Jayfeather agree that Shadowclan wouldn't, since leaf-bare is here…" Fallingpaw looked down towards the clearing, not a single other warrior in sight, before her gaze went up to the leader's den. "What would a leader do in this situation…?"

Dewstep didn't respond, his tail brushing her back.

"I think a leader would take a defensive step, keeping more patrols on the border with Shadowclan but not too many as to spook them," Dewstep finally meowed. "To show we have strength, and to prove we can defend ourselves. But we will not attack first, a true leader knows that fighting in this weather would prove fruitless."

Snow had stopped falling since sundown, the clouds clearing from the sky and giving way to night. Fallingpaw found it peaceful, she glancing around at the entire sky above her.

"What about Starclan…? What is it that they have the power to do…?"

"That… that is a hard question to answer, certainly not one that I can answer," Dewstep responded. "Bramblestar and Jayfeather would know more than me, I am a warrior who joined the clan not too long ago. I believe in Starclan, but I don't know what they do, and how they do it. They are powerful, for sure, but I don't know…"

Fallingpaw nodded, feeling as if she would never get the answers to her questions…