The medicine cat frowned. "By your faces, any cat would think it was poisoned."

Emberpaw's head snapped towards her. There's no way she can know...

"Have you never seen a frog before? I think I've heard that ThunderClan cats don't eat them."

He heard Swiftpaw sigh in relief. "Yeah we don't. I've never seen one before," she added after a moment, trying to cover her sigh up.

The cream she-cat nodded. "Its not as unappealing as it looks, I promise. Eat up. You need to regain your strength."

Emberpaw forced his paws to move closer to the slimy looking blob. He felt Swiftpaw's pelt brush against his as she joined him. She looked at the thing with alarm. Emberpaw wished they could melt through the ground.

With Softpetal's gaze resting on their backs, they had no choice. The two apprentices took a mouthful, hardly noticing the taste with how painfully hard their hearts were pounding. It was gone after a few gulps, and Emberpaw's belly even growled, signaling his impending doom. Nodding in satisfaction, the medicine cat turned to start medling with her herbs. Emberpaw dragged his paws to his nest, his friend right behind him. They sunk low into the pine needles and moss, feeling dread from the tips of their ears to the ends of their tails.

They could do nothing about their fate. Emberpaw knew that when they fell asleep, the medicine cat would know what they had done. He gulped when he thought of the big tom, Blizzardstar. Who knew what the ShadowClan leader would do to them as they slept? Would he kill us? Or worse, would he wait to until they woke up?

Emberpaw already started to feel drowsy, his thoughts slowing. No! He willed himself to stay awake, forcing his eyes open. Swiftpaw's head beside him bobbed down, then jerked back up. She shook her head roughly, also trying to push back sleep. It worked for a while, and Emberpaw calmed down, thinking that it had worked. But then a wave of tiredness hit him, causing his head to fall down. His eyes seemed to close of their own accord, despite his objections. He was quickly sucked into sleep without warning.

He opened his eyes to find himself in his clearing with the Sky Oak. Instead of being meeted with the familiar territory, however, he was greeted with something new and unexpected, making Emberpaw's eyes widen in alarm.

It was like his dream world had been divided in half. His beautiful forest was on the left side, its birdcall enticing and its colors brighter than life. Prey rustled around in the bushes, and the sun warmed that side of his pelt. The other side, however, was completely different. The trees were without leaves and the branches intertwined so tightly that no light from the sun shone through. A dark mist seemed to suspend above the dead grass, weaving its way around the trunks. It was ugly and foreboding, and no prey could be heard within the evil looking forest. The cold draft coming from it sent a shiver down Emberpaw's spine.

"Emberpaw!"

His head looked to the left, and standing a couple tail-lengths from the border was Kestrelskip. Her small body was tense and on-edge. "Come over here."

Emberpaw gladly did so, not because he was afraid of the dead forest, but because he was confused at why his dreamland had been interrupted. Hasn't Kestrelskip said herself that he would always be safe in his dreams? That forest didn't look very safe.

"What is that place?" He asked, looking back.

"Don't look back," she snapped, and Emberpaw tore his gaze from it and looked at her in surprise. Kestrelskip had been nothing but kind to him before, and her harsh tone only further confused him.

Once they were far enough away that the dead forest was out of site, Kestrelskip sat down. He sat a tail-length away from the she-cat, not knowing if she was still angry. Her eyes gave nothing away. "You must never go there," she meowed seriously.

"Why? What is that place?" He tilted his head to the side and frowned. Wasnt this his dream? He could do whatever he wanted.

"That place is an evil one, full of fury and death. Things in there will try their best to influence you, and turn you away from the warrior code." Her gaze was strong, and Emberpaw couldn't look away. It was like she trying to implant her words in his head.

"What's in there?" From what he saw, there was no sign of life whatsoever.

She sighed. "There are things in there that would come from your worst nightmares. Listen to me, Emberpaw. You go in there, and you won't ever come back out the same." The silver she-cat's voice turned ominous. Emberpaw flattened his ears, no longer liking where this was going. "Those nightmares will not just effect your dreamworld either. They will haunt you for every step you make when awake."

He widened his eyes, alarmed. "How can a nightmare possibly have any power over me when I wake up? I thought this was just a dream," he whispered, his pelt fluffed out in fear.

Kestrelskip gave him a wry look, an expression that didn't fit her face at all. He backed away slightly, realizing for the first time that he didn't know this cat. "Little Ember," she meowed, her voice flat. "Dreams are hardly ever just dreams."

"W-who are you," he stammered. He suddenly wanted to run and never see this place again. Its enticing looks weren't comforting anymore. The bright colors were too bright, and they made his eyes ache.

"Your only friend here."

At that, he was yanked out of the world, colors spiraling like a whirpool, spinning and spinning into nothing.