i don't think you understand just how excited i got when i saw that first review, like, it was beautiful, thank you so much x3

i got so excited that I just had to sit myself down and write the next chapter then and there, so here you go~!

Chapter 2

She didn't get the chance to see what happened.

Tinsel quickly scooped them up, shoving them deep into the bush closest to them. The bush was a hardy thing, and still had most of its leaves to ward off the snow, but despite that, the three kits still had to huddle together for warmth as Tinsel backed away, pushing snow in front of the tiny hollow. "No matter what you hear, you need to stay quiet. Not a peep, ok?"

Coal and her litter-mates nodded with wide eyes as Tinsel gave them one last strained smile before completely covering up the hole.

All was silent.

Coal shivered, and snuggled closer into Winter's thick pelt. She was close enough to feel all their heartbeats, beating frantically in fear and confusion. What was going on? Why did they have to hide?

Coal opened her mouth, but clenched it together as a faint scraping sound drifted through the branches of their bush. She needed to stay quiet, like Tinsel said.

Suddenly, several yowls broke through the still silence, and all three kits flinched. Streak squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face deeper into Winter's fur. He was shaking even more than he was earlier, and a pang of worry coursed through her and she glanced over at Winter, but the tom was too busy staring at the opening of the bush with wide eyes.

The cries and yowls and hisses never seemed to stop, and at one point there was a loud thumping sound right in front of the opening, which caused all three kits to jump and quake even more.

She didn't know how long it all lasted, but the noises slowly died off, and the only thing she could hear was their labored breathing, and her own pounding heart.

She swallowed nervously and looked over at Winter, who was still stiff and wide-eyed, and then at Streak, who seemed to have passed out from fear.

After a few moments of silence had passed, she untangled herself from the other two and walked with shaky legs to the pile of snow that separated them from the rest of the world.

"Coal, stop!" Winter hissed behind her, his voice quiet and trembling.

She didn't. I need to know if they're okay.

She began digging out of the snow, but stopped when something big blocked her way.

"Coal, please. We should wait until Tinsel and Rowanheart come." Winter pleaded again.

"They would have come by now." She growled, trying to climb over the thing that was in her way.

"Maybe they're chasing what ever it was away." He said, but it sounded as if he was trying to convince himself of that as well.

With a grunt, she pulled herself over the barrier and pushed away the snow until she could see outside the bush.

It was snowing.

"Rowanheart?" She called quietly, eyes squinting against the white fluff. There was red everywhere. It coated the snow and made the crisp air clogged with a thick scent that made her gag.

"Tinsel?" She stepped forward, but her paws slipped out from under her and she fell, tumbling head over paws before landing in something wet and sticky.

She blinked gazing down at her herself, which was covered in the same redness that was soaked into the snow. Grimacing she looked up, and stiffened.

The once-beautiful white fur which had been so warm and so soft, was now coated in the sticky redness. It came from a slash in the she-cats neck, and from where she crouched, huddled against the cold chest, she could see the lifeless blue eyes that once held so much love for her and her litter-mates.

Her mind went blank. All she could do was remain still as she gazed into those empty eyes, refusing to believe the truth that stared her in the face.

"Tinsel?"

It came out as a squeak, muffled by the falling snow that began to coat both Tinsel and herself, sending chills all through her body.

She didn't care.

"Tinsel?" She tried again, dragging her numb body closer to the she-cat until she was pressed against the red-coated white fur of her chest. Finding a spot free of the red, she buried her nose deep into the thick fur, but the familiar scent was faded, replaced by a coldness that squeezed at her heart.

There was no telling how long she stayed there, crouched against Tinsel's unmoving form, but before long she fell into the dark embrace of sleep.

.

"ShadowClan scum! Who do they think they are, invading RiverClan territory like that!"

"Hush, Gingerpaw." Flamewave growled, sending the apprentice a sharp look. "Go back to camp and tell Goldenstar that Ripplestep and myself will be investigating the matter."

Gingerpaw huffed, her white and ginger spotted pelt fluffing out against the cold. "But I-"

"Now."

The apprentice hissed, but turned and raced back towards the camp, leaving Flamewave and Ripplestep to watch after her retreating form.

"Where do you think they're going?" The light brown tabby she-cat asked beside him as they started after the retreating forms of the ShadowClan cats.

"If I remember right, Twolegplace lies in that direction."

"I wonder why they need to go there." Ripplestep thought aloud as they bounded through the snow.

Flamewave remained silent, eyes trained on the distant form of the cats ahead of them. He was also curious, but he kept his thoughts to himself as they ran.

.

By the time the two cats reached Twolegplace, the ShadowClan cats had disappeared, but it wasn't hard to track their prints through the snow.

"There." Ripplestep said, pointing towards a fence a couple of nests down. The paw prints led up to it, then reappeared a ways off, along with a spattering of blood that vanished into the forest.

The two cats were silent as they padded up to the fence and shared a look, before jumping up and crawling over the wall.

A slight gasp escaped from the she-cat beside him, and Flamewave narrowed his eyes at the view that greeted them.

Blood and bodies littered the ground, but they were slowly getting covered up by the falling snow.

He started towards the first body that rose out of the ground and sniffed at it. It was one of the cats they had been following.

"Flamewave, I think...I think this is the deputy of ShadowClan."

The ginger tom looked up as his name was called and padded past another snow covered form to Ripplestep's side.

He peered down, taking in the reddish-brown tabby coat and the handsome features splattered with blood. The strange thing was that he smelled of ShadowClan blood, and it wasn't kittypet bodies he was surrounded with. Was he fighting his own warriors?

Flamewave nodded once. "It's Rowanheart."

A shudder passed through the she-cat beside him and he glanced at her. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I just...I don't like it here, it doesn't feel right."

He blinked, turning his attention on the dark twoleg nest that loomed over them. It was empty, which was good for them he supposed, but it still made the entire scene gloomy and dark.

He continued toward the next body, another ShadowClan warrior. His blue eyes roamed over the wounds. They were sloppy, but had been fierce enough to kill. So this one was felled by a kittypet then.

"Do you hear that?" Ripplestep whispered beside him and he perked his ears, lifting his head to gaze around the clearing.

His eyes locked onto a bush, where a small, almost unnoticeable cry was heard.

He padded forward, and Ripplestep hesitated for a moment before following, her pale green eyes wide. He stopped just in front of the white mound, which he realized after a second glance was a kittypet, and peered over the body and into a small hollow.

A young tom, who couldn't be much younger than six moons, was mewling. His ice-blue eyes were foggy, and he looked like he could barely remain conscious. He was curled around another, smaller form, but the red-brown tabby seemed deathly still.

Flamewave latched his paws around the white-and-gray she-cats back and heaved the body away from the bush, allowing Ripplestep to reach in and drag out the pale gray kit, who had finally passed out.

"The other one?" He asked, but Ripplestep merely shook her head, eyes downcast as she licked the small kit roughly, trying to get warmth back into the small thing.

"Let's get back then, and see if Minnowfin can do anything for the kit."

Ripplestep nodded and picked the kit up, padding quickly towards the fence.

He was about to follow when his eyes caught on a dark splotch beside the body he had moved earlier. He blinked as he made out the small form of a kit. It was covered with blood and snow, and at first he thought it was dead, but then its sides rose with a tiny shudder and he realized with a start it was still alive.

He reached forward and plucked the kit from the still body of the kittypet and hurried after Ripplestep, his eyes glancing once over the ShadowClan deputy's still form before he bunched his muscles and leaped on top of the fence, wobbling for a moment with the unfamiliar weight of the kit, before jumping down to the other side.

Ripplestep gave the kit in his mouth a curious glance before the two of them started back towards RiverClan, leaving the twolegplace and the death filled scene behind them.

and remember, i love love love to hear what you think

seriously, it inspires me to write

thanks for reading! see you next chapter~! ^-^