Bear was already awake when Snowpaw woke up from her nightmares that had disturbed her all night. Something just hadn't felt right, and she felt like she had to stay in the forest, though she knew it would never happen.

Snowpaw stretched and dug her claws into the ground, letting out a large yawn as she padded over to Bear.

"Good morning. Anything you want to do today?" Bear asked.

"Actually, I'm going to spend the day in the woods by myself," Snowpaw said. "I'll see you in the evening."

Bear's face twisted into an odd look, but soon he turned away, allowing her to go into the woods.

Snowpaw padded into the woods, remembering the first time she had ever stumbled upon them so long ago. She wondered if Wavekit had ever really found her when she had been running, but she doubted that she had.

"Wavekit? Oceankit? Are you still alive?" she whispered. She hoped they were. Wavekit had tried to kill her, but Snowpaw wanted her alive so that she could successfully take Oceankit to her home.

Snowpaw passed by the ground where her plant had stood. It was gone now, only a brown withered leaf behind. Snowpaw let out a sigh, blowing the leaf into the air where it disappeared.

"I guess I'm just like that leaf," she said. "Disappearing from here…"

Snowpaw looked into the sky, wondering if Stonecloud and Silverwhisker could hear her. If they could, they probably would've just ignored her anyway. It wasn't like they were too happy with her at the moment.

Snowpaw continued walking through the woods, flashbacks of training flashing through her mind. She knew every nook and cranny of this place, and it felt wrong to leave when she hadn't finished training.

Her warrior name! Would she ever get it? Could she make one up? Could she just go by "Snow"? Snowpaw was unsure.

She noticed a young rabbit pouncing around on the forest floor. "Arch your back," she whispered, crouching down to catch it.

With a sudden pounce, she sprang upon the rabbit, landing on top of it. The rabbit squirmed under her and ran off. Snowpaw followed after it until she tripped on a stone, beginning to roll down a grassy hill.

Snowpaw didn't know why, but she began to laugh as she tumbed down. Once she reached the bottom, she smiled, still laughing. Brushing the grass and leaves off of her, she made her way back up the hill, her stomach growling.

But Snowpaw had known hunger before, and she knew that she could go a little longer before she ate.

As she reached the top, she heard a growl from behind her. She turned, seeing a ginger tabby tom who glowed dimly. At first she thought he was a StarClan cat, but the way he barely glowed showed that he was not.

"W-Who are you?" Snowpaw stammered, beginning to walk backwards.

The tom walked forward, and Snowpaw continued to walk backwards. Suddenly, her foot landed on top of a branch, and she fell over it, the tom coming face to face with her. Snowpaw nearly gagged at the stench of his breath. It reeked of blood.

"Don't be scared, my dear. Stand up," he breathed, his stench still holding strongly over Snowpaw.

Snowpaw slowly got up, growling at him. "Who are you?!"

"You don't recognize my scent?"

"All I can tell is that you reek of blood," Snowpaw growled back at him.

The tom towered over her, a malicious smile across his face. "It's the BloodClan scent," he laughed.

Snowpaw could've sworn that his eyes flashed red, the kind of evil that Silverwhisker had described seeing in her daugher.

"Who are you? You're dead, aren't you?"

"My name is Lightningstar, an old BloodClan leader. Shame to see a great warrior ditch her clan," he said, beginning to circle her.

"What do you want? BloodClan was a terrible clan. I watched a cat die before my eyes. My mother was made a nursery queen! Why do you think I'm a loss?! I'm a runt."

"Yes, you are. But BloodClan is what you are. Are you not loyal? If your clan was to…be invaded…somehow, would you come back?"

"No, BloodClan gets into too much trouble. Wait, h-have they been invaded?" Snowpaw asked nervously.

"I don't know. Shouldn't you go find out?" he said.

"What happened to my family?!" Snowpaw hissed.

He let out a small evil laugh. "I knew you were still loyal. Let's just say your family was perhaps." He traced his claw over his throat, laughing.

"NO!" Snowpaw screeched. "You're lying."

"Perhaps, but I can still be telling the truth, can't I?"

"Maybe," Snowpaw hissed. "I'm not loyal to you or BloodClan."

"Come back to us," he grinned. "Maybe then you can find out what happened to your mother, your father, and your siblings."

Snowpaw leapt on top of the tom, growling at him. "DON'T YOU DARE HURT THEM!"

"Hurt them? They're my descendants. Why would I hurt my own clanmates who came after me? Look at you, Snowpaw. Already following the ways. It seems you could kill me right now."

Snowpaw's eyes widened, and she slowly got off of Lightningstar, allowing him to get back to his feet.

"Maybe we'll see each other again." He then vanished into darkness, leaving Snowpaw alone in the woods, petrified with fear.

"StarClan, please help me," she breathed, padding back into the forest.

It was still light out, and Snowpaw spent some time catching prey and standing next to the river while she thought.

Maybe Bear and her could stop by, just to make sure of course, that her family was okay. Snowpaw still didn't trust Lightningstar…

Snowpaw sighed and looked down at the pawprint her paw had made in the soil. She removed it, then looked at it. My, had she grown.

She layed down, resting her head on her paws, looking up at the sky. Clouds had begun to cover the sun, and Snowpaw felt anything but happy.

She knew it would begin to rain soon, so she glanced into the forest one last time, knowing this was the last time she would ever step foot into it. "Good-bye, forest," she said. "Thank you for raising me. Thank you, Silverwhisker and Stonecloud."

She then turned her head and padded back into her camp, nearly crying as she left her home behind.

"There you are," Bear said. "I was wondering when you would return. We're still leaving tomorrow, right?"

"Bear, I don't think we can. I love it here. This is my home."

Bear looked at the ground for a second. Snowpaw wondered if he would just leave her. He had a life, and he probably didn't want to stay there.

"I'll stay," Bear replied.

"Y-You're serious?!"

"Yes. Anywhere you are, I'll be there," Bear purred.

Snowpaw smiled. "Thank you, Bear. It means a lot to me."

As the sky got darker, and the clouds fully covered the sky, Snowpaw layed down next to Bear, happiness overcoming her. She couldn't have asked for a better mate, and she wondered what adventures might happen the next day.