Angry blue-white streaks crackled against the starless blanket, illuminating the sparse woodlands with blinding light for a span of mere seconds before total darkness once again. Dark lumps of shadowy gray loomed at the corners of the sky, shifting across the flat expanse at a rather rapid pace, plump with unshed water. The arid dryness of the air mellowed, wafted away with the mixture of oncoming rain. Another flash, dimmer than the one before, appeared in the sky a bit further away. As thunder rumbled to signify the closeness of the rainstorm, the lightning cries diminished- less violent than the first few strikes. Fat drops descended from the leaking black cotton balls, not unlike the original storm that led a tight knit group of six from their homes.

Now those same six- ahem, five- felines scattered in patternless chaos, thick and thin coats dappled with a quickly increasing amount of water globs. The minimal amount of trees in this certain area proved to be a bit of an inconvenience as they remaining foliage wasn't nearly enough to provide substantial cover. The dry earth materialized into mud, squishy but strangely comforting to the fleeing apprentices. It gave three in particular a sense of home. The feelings of water, mud and sand seemed to be their elements of choice to endure. The other two were less accustomed to the rain, preferring their thick pelts to shield against the cold weather rather than clump heavily with water, forcing them to drag excess weight along on their journey.

Said duo of waterlogged pelts hobbled along in the rear, urging the sleeker pelted trio to take the lead and seek out a form of shelter for the night. There was no way in StarClan they were waiting daybreak in this weather. Not if any of them wanted to avoid developing a sickness overnight.

Through the falling drops, the BlizzardClan pair spotted the trio from the ocean, slouched and huddled close together beside one of the thicker looking trees. Splashing up to their proximity, the orange and white patchwork tom delegated himself to speak the question: "Find anything?"

His answer was a bout of shivers and an appropriate flick of a thin tail, aiming towards the base of the tree. Leaf green optics that glowed midst the rainfall glanced in the mentioned direction, said optics narrowing in confusion. The tree itself was fairly average for this area, the ending tendrils weren't uprooted like their previous tree home was. There wasn't a dug out hollow with enough room for everyone to fit in snug and warm.

"Mistpaw tripped," Anemonepaw spoke, voice wavering as the liquid continued to beat down mercilessly. Every moment they were stuck out in this storm, the longer it reminded them of that night. "She stumbled over this hole." Indeed, there was a hole at their paws. Decent sized- probably rabbit dug- but clogged with water in all honesty.

"You're kidding us, right?" the soaked cream tom bellowed; it seemed the weather was affecting everyone similarly. "How are we going to fit in that tiny hole? It's barely big enough for a kit! Last time I checked, we're not kits!"

Mistpaw- or the silhouette that was perceived as Mistpaw- shrank back in the heavy downfall out of shame. Anemonepaw did likewise, clearly ashamed he had failed in his quest to find a suitable place for rest. His sodden tail slunk back around his sleek frame, sage eyes despondent and void of emotion save for disappointment.

"No sense in getting angry at one another Wildpaw," Fallenpaw stepped in between the one-sided argument, his own crown hung loose with fatigue. "Let's just get up to the cliff face, surely we can find some rock shelter or something." Leaving those words to sink in their heads, the orange and white tom trudged ahead in the lead, closely followed by the OceanClan brother and sister. Wordlessly, both the remaining toms shifted to their paws, moving as quickly as possible to catch up with the disappearing felines, their shapes almost hidden by ways of rain.

By now the lightning storm had fallen silent, but that didn't mean any less water flooded the earth in gallons. Puddles formed in the dips in the ground, mixed with the dirt to create the muddy substance everyone walked through with great disgust. The hulking figure of the mountains loomed in front of them, the craggy faces easily able to host some form of shelter for one night. Through the darkness, the shadow figure of Fallenpaw stood atop a large boulder, nosing Mistpaw up the cliff side with the help of her brother. From the far back, Wildpaw heard her squeak and stilled a sigh of sympathy. Mistpaw and Floodpaw were still very young compared to the others on this journey. Their pads had yet to accustom to the sharpness of the rugged terrain. Shooing away help to climb, the brown medicine cat insisted he could scale the first few jumps by himself, denying any form of aid- even from his fellow OceanClan 'paws.

No one argued and the party of five bounded from rock to rock in silence, sans the pebble clattering as a certain boulder fell unsteady and shifted, therefore resulting in an action of movement of other tiny stones among the mountainside.

"Ouch!" the sharp wail of piercing pain echoed from a few fox lengths from the feline taking the rear- Fallenpaw.

The urgency in the adjacent's voice cut through the rain as easily as the cry itself. "Floodpaw! What's wrong? Did you hurt yourself?" Her voice cracked with unlimited worry- not quite hysteria, but definite concern.

"Fine," came the strained grunt of the dark gray tom, wincing as he looked at his injured paw pad with distaste. "Just hurts a little." At this point, the other scampered as quickly as they could, lurking in a semi circle around the young 'paw. Floodpaw tried to press on, putting weight on the scarred pad and hissed loudly. "Ok, it hurts a lot."

"What happened?" Wildpaw asked, breathy from the quick sprint uphill while Anemonepaw was at his compatriot's side to inspect the wound.

"It appears to be a cut pad- just a slice," the med cat surmised, squinting in the rainfall. "But I can't very well treat it in this condition. Nor should you be walking on it. We have to find some sort of shelter."

Five pairs of eyes darted around, but only one able body split from the group in search for a safe haven. The next few jumps toward the right were fairly straining on his already thick pelt, but regardless, he was determined to make something of himself. Fallenpaw asserted the role of leader quite well; Flarepaw, when she was here, seemed to serve as the "loyal" deputy; Anemonepaw was obviously well versed in the medical district; and Floodpaw and Mistpaw were on their way to be the carefree warriors with soon to be discovered hunting and fighting skills. But what was he? Was he just shoved to the side and assigned the "flirting" title? Was that all the others saw him as- a huge flirt?

"See anything down there, Fallenpaw?" Wildpaw heard Mistpaw shout from beside her brother. Fallenpaw had trekked back down a few fox lengths, scanning the path behind them to see if they missed anything potentially useful.

"Not yet!" came the gargling reply and the cream tom turned back to the task at paw.

"We're all going to catch white-cough if we stay out here any longer!" Anemonepaw warned, already wary upon watching the young OceanClanners start shivering. Their pelts firmly pressed together like siblings would, desperate and fearful for one another. Even through the haze their glassy orbs glimmered with shuddering anticipation.

Determination flooded through the BlizzardClanner's veins. His eyes narrowed tightly, leaving a bare crack in which to see out of. From there it was only a matter of finding a discrepancy in the surroundings.

Rock.

Rock.

Stone.

Pebble.

Moss.

Crack.

Cave.

Rock.

Wait!

"Up here!" Wildpaw's voice split the noise of the downpour much like a shattering bolt of lightning. Suddenly, all eyes turned to him. His eyes, along with his head, turned to the left, indicating his recent find. Closest to the destination, he let the others follow him scrambling over the obstacles to the mossbed front. His large paws pressed against the flat of the rock, clumsily bouncing from boulder to boulder. With each stride, his hulking figure moved closer to the pinpoint shelter. His body relaxed in relief as the soggy moss squished against his rough and calloused pads. Wildpaw shook his great shaggy coat as he stumbled inside; blood pounding in his ears, preventing him from noticing the immediate entrance of Mistpaw and Anemonepaw as they herded the limping Floodpaw to the cave's rear. A great sigh of satisfaction echoed from the cave mouth, the silhouette of their self appointed leader last to enter.

"Great find, eh?" the orange and white tomcat chuckled to himself, water droplets cascading from his pelt in spastic patterns as he gave a few violent shakes of said coat. Similarly, the others found it appropriate to do so as well and within seconds, the only sounds in the cavern were those of thrashing fur and flying water drops hitting the rock walls and floor.

Mostly free from their liquid bonds, the party of five shuffled to the far end. Floodpaw crashed on his side unceremoniously, grunting as his injured appendage scuffed against an unseen protrusion from the ground. His sister squealed in panic, only calmed when Anemonepaw assured her he wasn't going to die from a bump on the paw. It was unfortunate that being on the constant move meant less time for gathering medical supplies, so there wasn't anything to sustain the faint crimson dribble. Anemonepaw regretfully admitted the 'paw would have to endure it until morning where they would hopefully find something useful. Strained and tired, Floodpaw remained on his side, yellow orbs slipping shut as the comforting wave of fur that was his sister settled down beside him, at ease. Warmth rippled at their underbellies, an odd comfort that lulled them to sleep easily.

"Why's it so warm in here?" Fallenpaw yawned, the effects of heat and nighttime steadying his frazzled nerves.

"We've officially reached the MagmaClan mountains. I'm sure you've heard the stories," Anemonepaw piped up, leaving a few paces from his patient. "The insides are composed of large magma pools. The heat must be seeping through the rock. Not unnatural. I doubt we'll suffer. If anything it will be faintly pleasurable. Am I taking watch tonight?"

"I thought I'd do it," the patchwork tom interjected, legs bunched as he moved toward the rainy entrance. He was stopped as the sleek furred medicine cat apprentice moved quicker.

"No really, I'll take it. You've been taking too many late shifts and hardly wake up anyone else at all. As a medicine cat, I order you to get some rest. Now, go join the others." With a tail flick, he pointed to the sleeping siblings as well as the bedraggled lump of cream fur signifying Wildpaw as he also joined them in the realms of dreaming. Meanwhile, the brown tom slithered to the entrance with silent paw steps. The rainfall continued to beat down, forcing the sage-eyed feline a few steps back unless he fancied a cold shower while on watch. He sniffed the moving liquid, craning his head over her shoulder to peer back at the group.

So peaceful. So serene.

It was hard to imagine all of them had been through so much. It was almost unbearable. How much more would they need to endure to make the final stretch home?

With a final stretch of his parting jaws, Anemonepaw guarded his friends from the fiendish wonders of the night, dutifully ignoring the repetition in the downpour- a lullaby of magic.


Dawn.

Daybreak.

Sunrise.

However you prefer to describe it.

A damp, panting figure forced themselves up and around the rockier part of the mountain, desperately trying not to lose the morning's catch now firmly clamped in said figure's jaws. An all to eager mouse had been today's early morsel- hopefully enough to last a few hours. Its reddish fur blended with the colors of the rising sun, charcoal paws hidden by the shadows.

Another few mighty leaps over disturbed stones and the slender bodied feline found itself slinking inside the dark abode, tripping over an unseen lump on the way in.

"Gah!"

"Oof!"

Came the cries, both shaking away hazy minds before staring eye to eye.

"What are you doing here?" Bitterness clung to the female's icy tone, clearly in no mood for humor as her green eyes narrowed. Instant confusion marred the second's face, muzzle contorted in shock, fear, and realization at the same time.

"Flarepaw?!"

A startled gasp sounded from behind them. Whirling around gave sight to two small cats- one pale gray, the other dark. The pale gray screamed. The dark gray fainted.


Nope nope nope. Not saying a word. You figure it out yourself. Though I left a pretty big clue as to who this other cat is not. Guess you'll have to find the discrepancy in the chapter.

- Snarky