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Recap: Frostpaw and Willowfall talk about Icepaw. Then, later that night, Willowfall sneaks out of camp to meet Blacktail, who had told her that there was something he wanted to talk to her about. She's annoyed with herself for still thinking about him so much. When they meet at the docks, he tells her that he has a new mate from RiverClan, Maplenose, and that they had two kits, Nightkit and Willowkit. After Blacktail leaves, Willowfall begins to drift off and sees Badgerkit. She tries to ask about the cat who had fed him deathberries, but he doesn't tell her who it is and tells her instead that she has to be careful because Emberheart is planning something, and that Snowcloud mustn't go to the next Gathering.

Chapter 24

Before Her Eyes

[Frostpaw]

As usual, it was freezing that day. Everything was coated in a fresh white from the storm the night before, and the sun that now so rarely showed itself was gleaming brilliantly against the snow. The forest was unusually silent for midday, except for the crows that would screech at each other every few minutes, always followed by loud fluttering sounds.

Frostpaw slowly blinked her blue eyes, a frown on her face as she walked silently through the trees. She knew that she shouldn't have been out here alone, that Minnowstar would surely be angry, but she found that she didn't really care. Willowfall had told her that she needed to talk to Onespot and that Frostpaw could go occupy herself elsewhere. It was a bit strange having Onespot in the den with her and her mentor; she hadn't quite gotten used to the fact that now, ShadowClan had three medicine cats. But she liked him, and Willowfall seemed to, too.

She let out a long sigh, and a moment later, she came to a halt. She was at the snow-covered Twoleg path that separated ShadowClan territory from ThunderClan. Or, at least, it used to. Now it meant nothing. The two Clans had joined.

But for some reason, she still hesitated to cross it, worrying that she'd get in trouble. After a moment of hesitation, however, she brought herself to cross it. This was the first time she'd really be able to explore these woods. Maybe she'd even be able to find something to hunt. Then, Minnowstar couldn't get mad at her, right?

As she walked through the dead trees, she remembered that tonight was the night of the halfmoon, when she would go with the other medicine cats to the Moonpool. She felt a surge of excitement rush through her. StarClan would surely talk to her, right? She frowned, bluntly aware that, as far as she could remember, StarClan never seemed to talk to Willowfall.

Maybe she just keeps what they tell her a secret, the apprentice thought, satisfied with her own explanation.

She wondered, briefly, when she would ever get her medicine cat name. She supposed that training to become a medicine cat would take longer than training to become a warrior. I guess all the other apprentices will get their warrior names before I get mine, she thought, tail flicking.

Lost in thought, her paws carried her through the forest, though she wasn't quite aware of where it was she was going.

Then, she paused, tense, blue eyes wide. Several foxlengths away, by a tree root, was a mouse. It was small and scrawny, but she knew that during Leafbare, they needed to catch all the prey they could.

She slowly crept forward, the skills she'd learned as a warrior still reflected in her movements. Closer... Closer... The mouse paid no notice.

Crouching and ready to pounce, Frostpaw took a deep breath, when suddenly-

Bushes rustled loudly and a dark shape shot out of the undergrowth and flew towards the mouse, landing neatly on top of it. The cat quickly bit its neck, and it died in an instant.

Frostpaw blinked, tail lifted in surprise.

"Ratpaw?"

The tom jumped and turned around, the mouse still hanging in his jaws. Dropping it to his feet, he mewed, "Frostpaw? What're you doing here?"

"Hunting that mouse," Frostpaw replied, laughing lightly. "Looks like you beat me to it."

Ratpaw grinned, amber eyes glowing.

"Sorry about that."

"Are you on a hunting patrol?" mewed Frostpaw, taking a few steps closer to him and sitting down.

"Yeah, with Furzetail, Redwhisker, Grasspaw, and his mentor, Ferretheart." His eyes seemed to darken at the mention of Grasspaw, the apprentice who had been in ThunderClan. Frostpaw had never talked to him, but he seemed quite reserved and hadn't made much of an effort to communicate with the other apprentices.

"Is he nice?" Frostpaw asked. "Grasspaw, I mean. He seems lonely."

"I wouldn't know," Ratpaw said quietly. "I've never talked to him."

The she-cat raised an eyebrow, looking at him suspiciously.

"Is something wrong?"

"...No."

"Ratpaw..."

The tom let out a sigh. "Alright." He lowered his voice, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. "Russetpaw told me about him about half a moon ago. I'm almost positive that she was in love with him. She still might be."

Frostpaw, though she was touched that Ratpaw trusted her enough to tell her this, felt some sort of lurch in her stomach.

"So, you're still not over Russetpaw?"

Their eyes met, and when they did, Frostpaw flattened her ears, for some reason feeling... embarrassed. Why did she care so much if he liked Russetpaw? Why did the idea even make her a little... angry? It must have been because she was just looking out for him. It was forbidden love, and Frostpaw didn't want him to get hurt. That must have been all it was. She swallowed.

Ratpaw broke their gaze and he looked away awkwardly. "Sometimes I still think about her," he said quietly. "About how it was in the beginning. Everything was so... simple. But it got complicated, being in different Clans. And you saw what happened at RiverClan. She'll never forgive me after what I pulled."

Frostpaw found herself talking before she could even think. "If she was a decent cat, then she would have forgiven you. You were only trying to protect your sister. I'm sure she would have done the same for her brother. If she loved you, then she would have understood that." She blinked, slightly surprised with her own words. But as Ratpaw lifted his head and studied her, he didn't look angry.

"Maybe you're right," he murmured. "I think it's just best that I forget about her. She isn't the cat I thought she was, anyway."

"You'll find someone else," Frostpaw mewed quietly. Ratpaw gave her that same, slightly curious look. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, a voice called out, "Ratpaw?"

The tom flinched, flattening his ears. Frostpaw thought that he looked disappointed.

"That's Furzetail," he murmured, straightening himself up. "You'd better get out of here, your mom might get mad to see you here alone."

"R...Right," Frostpaw stammered getting to her paws. As Ratpaw turned to leave, she mewed, "Ratpaw, don't forget your mouse!"

He stopped, glancing over his shoulder, amber eyes shining. A small smile appeared on his face. "...You keep it."

And without another word, the tom darted back into the undergrowth, vanishing from sight and leaving Frostpaw standing there for a few moments, slightly bewildered.

. . .

Night had finally come, and the halfmoon lay high in the sky, giving the three cats light as they marched through the trees.

Frostpaw, Willowfall and Onespot were walking close together as they made their way through the old ThunderClan territory to meet with the other medicine cats in the moors. Willowfall and Onespot were talking quietly to each other; the apprentice wasn't really listening.

"...I'll have to ask Forestwind and Bluebird how they're doing," Willowfall was saying quietly. "And I hope Jaguarpaw's alright. You heard how RiverClan had abducted him, right? They used him to bribe Greenstar to join them."

"I know," Onespot sighed, shaking his head. "Though Greenstar's only Greengaze, now. I hope he's doing alright. He's always been a bit... feeble."

"Everything is so different, now," Willowfall murmured. "I wonder what StarClan thinks of all this. That there are only two Clans, now. They surely can't be supporting Blossomstar..."

"Do you think they'll strip her of her nine lives?" Onespot asked, glancing at the light gray she-cat.

"Don't get your hopes up too high," Willowfall muttered bitterly. "Frostpaw? Are you alright?"

The apprentice flinched, looking over to see the two medicine cats staring at her.

"Wh... Oh. Yeah, I'm... I'm fine."

Willowfall raised an eyebrow, but she didn't say anything else.

The three cats broke from the trees and stepped out onto the open moors, the wind ruffling their fur as stars twinkled brightly overheard.

A few minutes passed before, in the distance, Frostpaw spotted the shadows of two cats approaching them. Blinking, she glanced at Willowfall; the apprentice's worry was reflected in her mentor's face. Onespot shifted uncomfortably, and after a moment, he asked what everyone was thinking.

"Why are there only two of them?"

Willowfall narrowed her eyes. "I see Bluebird and Brightpaw. Where are Forestwind and Jaguarpaw? Don't you think they would have all traveled together?"

"Maybe they had something to do and will catch up," Onespot said, but no one was reassured.

The three cats walked forward to meet with the others. Bluebird's gray tabby fur was ruffled, her blue eyes shining anxiously. Brightpaw, a tan and white she-cat, had her green eyes averted towards the snowy ground, ears flattened.

"What's wrong?" Willowfall asked at once, eyes shining in the darkness.

Bluebird sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Jaguarpaw has fallen ill. Forestwind stayed behind to take care of him."

"Is he alright?" Onespot asked quietly. Frostpaw, frowning, was glancing at Brightpaw, who looked absolutely defeated. She felt a pang of sympathy for her; she knew that she had always been friends with Jaguarpaw.

Bluebird hesitated before letting out another sigh.

"It's greencough."

Frostpaw pricked her ears, looking at the medicine cat in alarm. Everyone was silent for a few seconds.

"And?" asked Willowfall quietly. "How does it look? Will he make it?"

Bluebird hesitated again, this time sending a glance towards Brightpaw, who had seemed to sink even lower into the ground.

"We're trying," Bluebird murmured.

"Does anyone else have it?" Onespot mewed anxiously. "This could be the beginning of an outbreak-"

"A few have already been treated for whitecough," Bluebird mewed. "But we're afraid that Jaguarpaw isn't the only one that will fall ill. ShadowClan had better be careful, too, you don't want it starting to infect your cats in the midst of Leafbare."

Frostpaw saw Willowfall and Onespot exchange worried glances, which didn't help her anxiety.

"Oh," Bluebird said quietly, "and our deputy started showing symptoms this morning... He told me he felt ill, that his throat was hurting, and he's close to running a fever... But don't tell anyone I said that, I'm sure Blossomstar wouldn't want anyone to-"

"Blacktail's sick?" Willowfall suddenly cut in, and the loudness of her voice seemed to surprise everyone else, who all looked at her curiously. Frostpaw blinked, staring at her mentor, who refused to catch her eye.

Bluebird looked at Willowfall for a moment before murmuring, "Yes. Hopefully we'll be able to stop it before it gets bad."

"Do you and Forestwind have enough catnip?" Willowfall pressed, tail lashing and whiskers twitching.

"For now. Thank you, though. If we need some, I'll be sure to let you know."

There was a pause, and an odd, slightly uncomfortable feeling hung in the air.

"Well, then," Onespot mewed, straightening up. "Shall we head to the Moonpool?"

The others nodded, but said nothing.

The five cats made their way through the snowy moors, owls hooting all around them, a freezing wind sending a chill down Frostpaw's spine. She walked behind Onespot, Willowfall, and Bluebird; they were talking to each other in low voices. Several mouselengths behind her, Brightpaw was dragging her feet.

They grew nearer and nearer to the Moonpool; Frostpaw could hear the soft trinkling of the stream that flowed nearby. Suppressing a shiver, they approached the path that spiraled down to the silver pool.

Frostpaw followed after the others, her paws fitting into the ancient pawprints that had been left behind centuries ago. Her heart began to race with excitement as they reached the edge of the water, which reflected the half-moon above. She just hoped that she would learn how to help her Clan, and even RiverClan. Cats were getting sick, and even though none of the others were saying it, she knew that it would only be a matter of time before an outbreak erupted in ShadowClan, too.

The five medicine cats leaned over and lapped up some of the water. It was so cold that it almost burned Frostpaw's throat as she swallowed, but a second later, a calm tiredness came over her. She lay down, curling into a tight ball as her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

Her head seemed to be pounding even before she opened her eyes. And when she did, she was so confused and shocked that she didn't even know how to react.

She was standing in the middle of a huge fire. It was engulfing everything, spreading through the trees which withered and fell to the ground with huge crashes, black smoke everywhere. There were low booms that seemed to shake the ground; she couldn't tell whether it was thunder or something else. Cats were everywhere, but most of them lay sprawled out on the ground, blood everywhere, staining the snow as they called out for each other, groaning in pain, trying to lift themselves to the ground but falling back down.

A few cats were coughing violently and had lost much of their hair, but their faces seemed to be blurred so Frostpaw couldn't recognize any of them. Elsewhere, cats were fighting, lashing out at each other, seemingly unaware of the blazing fire that was tearing the forest apart. From afar, she caught sight of a white cat battling a black cat until they had both collapsed to the ground; unconscious or dead, Frostpaw wasn't sure.

Then, without any warning at all, a fiercely violent snow began to fall, so thick that all that Frostpaw could see was white. The wind was so strong that she found it hard to stay on her feet. Her eyes and teeth were clenched together as she struggled to remain on the ground, but the wind was too strong, she was suddenly in the air-

When she opened her eyes again, she was underwater. She drew in a weak gasp, finding that she could breathe. It was black all around her, but she could feel herself floating there. Above her, the moon was shining. It was nearly, but not quite, full.

Straining to see something, anything, she tried to swim forward, but it was impossible to tell whether or not she was going anywhere. Then, she saw it- in front of her was a gray tabby cat, slowly sinking through the water. Was that... Minnowstar?

She tried to swim forward to get a closer look, but the vision had suddenly vanished. She felt land below her feet again, but that same blackness still surrounded her, nearly choking her. Several taillengths in front of her, a brief image of a pure white cat flashed. A few seconds passed before it flashed again, and this time, Frostpaw recognized this cat as her sister.

"Snowcloud," she tried to say, but words seemed unable to escape her throat.

When Snowcloud flashed before her eyes the third time, her snow-white coat was suddenly painted with splatters of blood, and her leaf-green eyes seemed to bore into Frostpaw's mind to the point where the apprentice found that she was cringing with an odd pain now coursing through her entire body. It grew worse and worse until she opened her mouth to cry out, but again, no noise was made. She fell to the ground, eyes shut tight, heart beating faster and faster... She had never felt a more intense pain in her life and wondered, briefly, whether or not she would die. When she opened her eyes again with a gasp of pain, she found that it was not Snowcloud before her, but Willowfall... And then she, too, dissolved into blackness.

She woke up at once with a loud shriek, springing to her paws, heart beating faster than it ever had in her life. She looked all around her, just to make sure that she had escaped that dream or nightmare or whatever that had been, and to her relief, the Moonpool shone beside her, as calm and serene as ever. Everyone else was still asleep.

Fear still pounded in her head, her breathing rapid and uneven. Shakily, she sat down, blue eyes huge. It took her a few minutes to even begin to process what she had just seen. That couldn't have just been a nightmare. She had drank the water from the Moonpool, after all. It had to have been sent from StarClan, right?

But what did it all mean? A fire, a blizzard, sickness, fighting... And then she had been underwater, watching a gray tabby drown... And then Snowcloud and that unbearable pain she'd felt... Willowfall...

"Frostpaw, what's wrong?"

The apprentice let out a tiny cry as she whirled around, eyes huge, her fur fluffed up. Willowfall was standing there, staring at her with concern. She hadn't noticed her getting up.

"Frostpaw," he mentor murmured, voice soft yet full of worry, "are you alright?"

The apprentice warily glanced around, still panting. The others were still asleep.

"Frostpaw," Willowfall said lower. "What did you see?"

Frostpaw stared at her mentor, shaking her head softly.

"I-I... I..."

But before she could say anything, she heard as Bluebird began to stir. She glanced at the RiverClan she-cat and tried to swallow. She didn't want to say anything around anyone else.

Willowfall followed her gaze, seemingly reading her thoughts. When she turned back to Frostpaw, her eyes were narrowed, and something seemed to spark within them. She took a step forward and brought her lips to Frostpaw's ear.

"Frostpaw, when we get back to camp, I want you to tell me everything you saw. Do you understand?" Her voice was low.

The apprentice managed a nod, the scenes she'd witnessed still flashing before her eyes.

Only a few minutes passed before Onespot and Brightpaw had woken up, too, so the group began to make its way back through the moors. Everyone was unusually quiet and reserved, not that Frostpaw would have wanted to speak to anyone then, anyway.

When they reached the shore, the group split up, going their separate ways. Frostpaw walked close to Willowfall and Onespot; she felt exhausted and still quite shaken. They journeyed back to camp in silence.

When they got to the clearing, Frostpaw immediately sensed that something was wrong. Quite a few cats were awake, talking anxiously to each other; Minnowstar was talking to Swallowflight and Harestep, her eyes narrowed.

When Frostpaw spotted Ratpaw talking to Olivepaw, the dream she'd just had vanished from her mind. The tom looked up and caught her eye; he murmured something to the clearly distraught Olivepaw before bounding over to Frostpaw.

"Ratpaw," she rasped, glancing around, frowning. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

The dark gray tom let out a sigh, looking troubled.

"It's Cedarpaw," he murmured. "...He's missing."

I love y'all (:

I'll post the allegiances next chapter.

TNT

Pearl!