It was pretty clear that the landscape was in trouble, not only is the soil very sandy but also very dry and loose seeing it could bury an animal alive. As the sun began to set, animals seemed to be more active in the cool air than baking underneath the blazing sun.

Many cats it seemed were not only thirsty, but they were also becoming very hungry as well since the prey has either moved or died. This forced the clans to look harder for prey, and they began attacking whatever they could find, no matter how well defended they were. Many cats were getting hurt just to get food for them and it was clear by their cuts and bruises.

As for the dogs on the other hand, it was clear it was time for their gathering as many of them gathered in the open spaces on the farm. The moon was at its first quarter signaling to them it was time to gather and talk. As they settled down, some of the dogs were agitated and stressed. Soon the leader barked out signaling the beginning,

"It's getting worse out there." The leader barked.

"I know, there is less and less water to drink." Another mutt barked worried.

"And we don't have enough prey to give to our friends the long claws." The Labrador said feeling sorry.

"It's clear that Tyranno would be enjoying this time while everyone struggles." A mutt said. "Plus his jaws can crush just about any type of bones that it locks onto."

"I know but we need to make sure that the long claws can trust us since I heard a fight broke out with one of those clans." The leader sneered turning his head to the gold and white mutt.

"We still must do something. Any mutt got any suggestions?" The leader barked at his members.

"How about we invite them all into the lake?" One of the mutts suggested."

"That would be a great idea." He yapped happily.

Gastonia was doing nothing but looking at the moon as it began to set across the horizon. He was too nervous to speak about anything He thought about his friends across the drying up lake but it was clear that the others were planning on drawing in the cats to the lake. It was clear that he wasn't planning on speaking for this meeting.

As the sun rose the next day it was clear that the heat was going to be at its worst. The dogs decided the best course of action was to go into lake to cool off the heat from the burning sun. as they dipped into the lake it was cooler than they had realized and it was still more than a foot deep in some areas so it was refreshing for the dogs as they drank and swam in the cool water. It was clear that today would be a scorching day.

Bramblestar soon woke up feeling the air more stuffy than normal, it was clear that today was a very hot and stuffy day. Other cats began to walk up as they began to groom the moss that had stuck to their fur. After organizing the orders for today he went back to rest in his cool den. It was clear that Molewhisker was leading out today's patrols as they went along marking the borders of the crumbling territories. When the temperature in the air finally reaches a blistering 104 degrees Fahrenheit, it was clear that they needed water and fast. Alderheart sadly collapses due to a heatstroke a few moments before and a couple of other cats were sent to find water to bring down the heat stroke. Molewhisker came back with good news so they had to act quickly to save him.

"I found the lake come on!" He mewed as he lead the overheating cats to the lake as they splashed water on Alderheart waking him up as well as cooling him off. As he woke up, he spotted a large group of dogs wallowing around in the lake as Molewhisker ran off to gather the rest of the clan.

"What's going on?" Alderheart mewed as he spotted the dogs happily walking and rolling around in the water.

"It's too hot our so we're heading into the lake to cool off from the heat." One of the mutts barked as he tossed him a freshly killed mouse to him.

"Okay and thank you." Alderheart mewed as he happily ate the fresh mouse.

Soon more Thunderclan cats gathered at the lake thinking the lake was a giant pool of sanctuary. As they dipped their paws in, the water was about 16 degrees cooler than the air around them. They soon began to hop in happily as the mutts greeted them warmly as well as giving them some prey to eat. Even the kits were brought out from their hot dens to roll around in the smaller puddles around the lake's edges while the adults kept an eye on them. Soon more cats from other clans followed trying to find a way to escape the hot sticky air. The other clans were greeted warmly as they soon began to swim in the water happily. However, not all the cats were in the water, Cherryfall was frightened to step into the water worried about her kits.

"What's the matter?" He mewed as he swam over to her.

"I can't get in, I might drown my kits." She mewed a little frightened.

"It's okay I'll help you in the water." He mewed to her as he gently helped her into the water staying by her side. The water finally cooled off the she cat as she felt more comfortable as they headed into the deeper section of the lake.

"So you finally came to enjoy yourselves?" One of the mutts asked as he gave her a fresh rabbit to eat.

"I'm fine but thank you." She said as she promptly ate her prize happily.

Gastonia on the other hand was not socializing with the others since his fur only absorbed the water but it didn't change the shape of this thick steel like fur. It was clear that if he had gotten someone to take care of him, he would need a serious grooming to look normal. He was busy patrolling the lake making sure a fight didn't erupt between the clans. However, as the day came to a close and the air softened to a less humid state as everyone soon got out of the water and headed back to the camp.

"That was a fun day?" Asked Cloudtail; he feeling happy about being cooled off by the lake.

"No conflict." Mewed Alderheart as he felt better by being cooled off by the lake.

"Yeah no fights we were just desperate to get wet." Joked Squirrelflight.

As everyone was heading back to their camps, one of the mutts looked up seeing that the clouds were gathering over the horizon. The clouds got thicker and darker as the minutes wore on and the dogs and cats dried themselves off from their day of peacefully wading around in the drying up lake. One of the mutts looked up and saw the clouds.

"Finally this parched land is going to get some much needed rain." He said happily.

"Yep things will get better." The leader of the mutts told him feeling the cool breeze drift over them.

However, they were both wrong. The clouds were not bringing them rain but another nasty surprise was looming over them. As the skies got darker, the storm got stronger when all of the sudden a lightning rod came down and started a fire in the forest. The dry vegetation only acted as tinder fueling the flames as they rapidly grew. There was no warning only mounting smoke and heat and the clans didn't know they were in trouble.