I'm so sorry for being late on this update! I got a new computer, and I'm trying to figure out how to use it :U It doesn't have Microsoft Word, but I'm working really well with Pages, so I'll be using that for now on ^^ Even though the pretty background I used to help me write doesn't exist anymore, I shall try to finish this story as thoroughly as if I had my old computer! Also, how do you guys like the new cover? Do you like this one or the other one? Review on what you think :) Anyways, onto the review replies!

FrostFall37: Thank you so much! It's very nice to hear that :) And your welcome!

Silverstar: Thank you! ^^

Leo-Valdez-I-Love-U: Thank you so much! :3 And thanks you for favoriting and following me as well :)

Snowsong of SnowClan: Yeah, me too xD

famousyoutuber (Guest): Thank you for the suggestion, but I am already reading Leafsplash's stories :3 They are amazing and I've been trying to pick up a few tips xD

Leafsplash-Of-ThunderClan: It's alright! I lose track of stories sometimes too xD And thank you! Here's your update!

bluefrost of RiverClan: Thank you! ^^ Here's your update!

Chapter Eight

There was something wrong with Snowpaw.

Firepaw narrowed her golden eyes at the white apprentice as he shared a plump brown rabbit with Amberpaw. He said he'd caught it himself, but weren't rabbits only in WindClan?

And she'd also noticed that Snowpaw would always avoid her now. What happened to Firepaw being the one avoiding him? And he smirked way more often. Wasn't he supposed to be shy?

…What happened?

"How long have you been staring at Snowpaw?" an amused voice asked.

Firepaw turned around to see Dewpaw, his dark gray fur looking like a silver veil in the sunlight. She rolled her eyes in feigned annoyance. "It's only been about three minutes, Dewpaw," she replied, flicking her tail.

"Yeah right," the dark gray tom answered, walking up to settle beside the ginger tabby. "I'd say you like him."

"No way!" Firepaw said indignantly. "There's just something wrong with him!"

"Oh? And what would that be?" Dewpaw asked, lowering his head to lick a paw.

The ginger apprentice puffed in annoyance, not replying to the dark gray tom's mocked question. She narrowed her golden gaze again and continued staring at Snowpaw. Her pelt prickled slightly as he took another bite out of the rabbit.

Something is wrong here… I can feel it.

But how was Firepaw supposed to figure it out?

Just then, Snowpaw got to his paws, shaking out his fur. The look on Amberpaw's face was questionable, but her white littermate didn't seem to notice. The tom turned around, his dark amber eyes immediately meeting Firepaw's light golden ones. The ginger tabby she-cat flinched as she saw angry fire blazing in their depths. What happened to his warm, dazzling eyes that seemed to light up the whole world?

Snowpaw's fur started bristling slightly and he started towards Firepaw and Dewpaw, a dark look crossing his face. Honestly, Firepaw had never felt so afraid of the white tom.

Dewpaw's ears pricked, seeming to notice something off about his littermate as well. The gray tom's amber eyes glowed in confusion and he got to his paws, stretching out his limbs as Snowpaw approached.

Finally, Snowpaw stopped in his tracks, only about one mouse-length away from them. His cold gaze rested on Firepaw for a moment, before it turned to Dewpaw. "Toadstep said that he wanted you to come with us to hunt because Poppyfrost wanted to spend the whole day with Whitewing today."

Firepaw flinched at his voice. The way it sounded… it was like Blossomfall's voice, except more harsh and cold. It was like Snowpaw had completely changed!

She wracked her brain for a reason on why this was happening, completely missing Dewpaw's reply. When did this start and why…?

Suddenly, she remembered something important. Something she shouldn't have forgotten in the first place….

The thing that had grabbed her placed her unto smooth sand. Firepaw blinked open her golden eyes, looking around. When she found what had saved her, her fur immediately started bristling.

"Snowpaw!" she hissed.

The white apprentice didn't seem to hear her. He looked at her, as if analyzing her, and then his dark amber gaze met her golden one shyly. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

Firepaw puffed at him, her gold gaze angry. "Yes," she muttered. But at her next statement, her voice rose. "Why did you save me?"

"Um, you were drowning?" Snowpaw flicked one of his front paws for emphasis. "Listen, I know you're mad at me, but—"

"Yeah, I am mad at you!" Firepaw interrupted him. "And there's nothing you can do about that. Unless you can prove that you don't care."

For the first time ever, Firepaw swore she saw bitter anger flash in Snowpaw's eyes before disappearing. The ginger tabby blinked, suddenly confused.

Snowpaw stayed silent before hissing, "Look, if you would have rather drowned, that's fine with me." With a huff, the white apprentice stormed off.

That was it! Snowpaw was acting differently because Firepaw had yelled at him when he rescued her! She looked up to tell Dewpaw what she had figured out, but the dark gray tom was exiting camp with Snowpaw and Toadstep flanking him.

Firepaw sighed. She would have to tell him later.

The ginger tabby got to her paws, wincing as she felt her paws stiffen as they touched the dusty ground. She carefully stretched each of her legs, effectively loosening the pain in them, but not enough that she was perfectly fine.

"You seem like you need to stretch out your legs some more," a gentle voice commented, and Firepaw looked up to see the medicine cat apprentice, Lilypaw. Her dark brown and cream fur looked like it was glowing in the sunlight.

"Yeah," the ginger apprentice admitted. "What were you thinking I should do?"

"You should come collect herbs with me and Jayfeather!" the apprentice exclaimed, puffing out her cream-colored chest. "It'll get you on his good side, that's for sure!"

"Collect herbs?" Firepaw snorted.

Lilypaw frowned. "It's not that bad," she meowed quietly. "I just wanted to help."

Firepaw immediately regretted her words. "Oh, it's alright!" she said quickly, her tail lashing. "I can go collect herbs with you if you want."

The dark-furred she-cat's face immediately brightened. "Okay! I'll go get Jayfeather!" She turned around and sped off towards the medicine cat's den.

The ginger apprentice sighed, staring at her paws. What had she just gotten herself into? She hated herbs!

A moment later, Lilypaw returned, her blue eyes bright. An irritated Jayfeather walked alongside her, his fur fluffed up in obvious annoyance.

"Lilypaw told me you're coming with us just so you can stretch your legs," the gray tabby medicine cat meowed, flapping his long, fluffy tail behind him.

"Yes," Firepaw answered, her spine prickling.

"Then let's go," he hissed, twitching his whiskers angrily before turning around and padding towards the exit of camp. Firepaw and Lilypaw exchanged glances before following the angry gray tabby.

They stepped out into the forest, and Firepaw breathed in the fresh morning scent. Forgetting her earlier predicament with Snowpaw, her spirits were lifted. The sun glowed warm in the sky, lighting up Firepaw's pelt like a fire as she traversed through ThunderClan's territory. The apprentice purred, relishing the heat radiating on her fur.

Suddenly, Jayfeather stopped, making Firepaw ram into him. "Hey!" she hissed, fluffing up her fur angrily. "Why'd you stop?"

Jayfeather didn't respond; his whiskers twitched in the small breeze that blew through the forest, and his tail flicked gently. He sniffed the air, and then murmured something inaudible under his breath.

Lilypaw pressed closer to Firepaw. "He senses what herbs we're going to find," she muttered into the ginger she-cat's ear.

"Senses?" Firepaw asked, confused. "Can't he see the herbs?"

Lilypaw stiffened a bit, and her blue eyes dimmed slightly. The ginger apprentice's back prickled, thinking she had said something wrong. Relief flooded her when the medicine cat apprentice smiled again, returning to her usual self. "No, he was born blind," she meowed, flicking her tail.

"Oh." Firepaw pulled back and returned her gaze to Jayfeather, who now had a look of confirmation on his face. He turned his gray tabby head towards the two apprentices and nodded.

"The yarrow and marigold should be around here," the medicine cat meowed. He flicked his fluffy tail. "Firepaw, you search for marigold. They're yellow flowers. Do not go for anything else."

The ginger tabby apprentice bobbed her head, her golden eyes glowing, and then shot off into the trees, trying to find a yellow flower.

The sun blazed down unto the forest floor, making it feel cracked and dusty. Firepaw's fur felt hot, and her fur was frizzing up at the edges.

The ginger tabby apprentice puffed, her throat dry, and looked around, frantically searching for that flower now. She felt as if her fur was on fire!

Flashing out of the corner of her eye, Firepaw saw something red. She whipped around, her tail fluffing up slightly, but then dropped her posture when she saw what was there. Growing, red and bright upon a luscious green bush, were berries.

Hunger pierced her stomach, making Firepaw run forward with super speed. She skidded to a halt, kicking up dust in the process, and leaned her head down to sniff the red berries. They smelled good, and they looked good too.

Nodding her head, Firepaw opened her mouth, about to close it around the red berry when suddenly, a meow of shock made her drop back, gold eyes huge. The apprentice turned around, spotting Lilypaw on the far side of the clearing. Her blue eyes were wide with fear, and her dark pelt was bristling.

"Firepaw, did you eat one of those berries?" the medicine cat apprentice asked, her voice shaking.

"Um, n-no," Firepaw stuttered, instinctively backing away from the bush. "Why?"

"Those are death berries!" Lilypaw exclaimed, her whiskers twitching wildly. "One bite of those and you'll be dead!"

Firepaw reeled back in shock, her fur fluffing up in alarm. Shock tingled in her paws and her tail was bristling slightly. I could have died!

The dark-pelted medicine cat apprentice's tail was flicking, and she looked panicked for a moment before her frightened look slowly transformed into a calm composure. "Well, it's great you didn't eat one of them," Lilypaw meowed, her voice seeming to be smaller now. "Did you find any marigold?"

The apprentice shook her head, frowning. She hadn't seen any kind of flower around here, actually. Scanning around, Firepaw saw a few buds growing from a few bushes, but no yellow flowers.

"Oh." Lilypaw stared at her for a moment, and then whisked her tail, blowing a few stalks of flowers from behind her. "I found some yarrow."

Firepaw stared at the white flowers, blinking a bit before meowing, "Should I hurry and find the marigold before Jayfeather comes?"

Lilypaw snorted a bit, pawing the yarrow near her paws. "Of course you should."

Firepaw, Lilypaw, and Jayfeather arrived at camp, the herbs dangling from their mouths. The ginger apprentice looked around, spotting Amberpaw's gray and white pelt in the apprentice's den. She held back a laugh as she saw leaves showering her fur.

Jayfeather dropped the yarrow in his mouth, turning his blind blue gaze to Firepaw. "Good work," he meowed, twitching his whiskers.

Just then, she spotted Snowpaw stretch out of the medicine den. Firepaw's whiskers twitched in confusion, her fur prickling. Nobody was in there… Jayfeather and Lilypaw were with me.

Dread pricked her paws. Snowpaw could have grabbed a dangerous herb in this sort of state. She wasn't even sure if he was right in the head anymore.

The white apprentice stopped, turning his head and staring at Firepaw with his cold, dark eyes. The ginger apprentice flinched back, dropping the herbs in her mouth in the process. Pinning her ears, Firepaw lowered her head to pick them back up.

Lilypaw looked at her strangely, her tail flicking, but then must have chose to ignore her. She carried her herbs over to the medicine den, dipping her head at Snowpaw. He only stared back, not even making a move to do anything.

Jayfeather sniffed the air for a moment before padding after his apprentice, his tabby pelt rippling in the light.

Firepaw stared after them, a cloud of confusion fogging her brain. Snowpaw was in the medicine den… but why?

Snowpaw finally blinked, padding his way towards the warriors den. Firepaw followed him with her eyes and spotted that he was heading towards Toadstep, his mentor.

…Didn't he already train with him today?

Shaking her head, Firepaw padded towards the apprentice's den, her legs filled with exhaustion. She would have to take a nap before finding out anything else. But, as she shifted into her moss-filled nest, she couldn't shake the thought of Snowpaw's dark, cold amber eyes.

Whoa, end of chapter! I worked really hard on this, almost like three days combined xD If you see a typo, please tell me! I'll fix it immediately :3 Most of the typos should be at the end if there are any, since I kind of rushed that part lol~ Anyways, don't forget to review!