A/N: Well, this is my first attempt at a serious Warriors fanfic since year 9. Wish me luck! ^.^ Oh, and in this fic the cats know words like "summer" and "car". Restriction destroys my muse ;_;

CHAPTER 1

Dustpaw

Where do I begin? I suppose I should begin with who I am; well, who I was when this story began, anyway. I was Dustpaw, apprentice of ShadowClan, aged eleven moons and nearing my warrior ceremony. It's easy to distinguish me from the rest of the Clan, as I am the one that keeps mostly to the background. That is not to say that I dislike fighting, or am particularly soft – it's always just appealed to me more. While my Clanmates will argue amongst themselves, I will escape to my own little world in a quiet corner.

This isn't a recent thing, of course. I was always the shy one, who no one ever found themselves making eye contact with because my dull grey eyes were always turned to the floor. I was the cat with the stutter, the one always off in a daydream. And I was quite content with this – well, until the events in this story began to unfold. Otherwise I would have no story to tell.

Now that we are done with who, the next topic I need to deal with is when. As stated earlier, this story took place (or rather began, as it spans many moons) when I was eleven moons old; simply a naïve apprentice, perhaps ready, perhaps not, to be released into the world of a warrior. Perhaps ready in the sense that my skills were up to scratch, but on the other hand, I was always mentally wandering off somewhere, and it wouldn't have surprised anyone if I'd been run over by a parked car. That was how absent-minded I was.

I was not typical of my Clan; ShadowClanners are known for being proud and smart, while I was more reserved and foolish. Whether I was afraid of my fellow felines or simply longing for acceptance, I didn't know – perhaps neither. I was always awkward with any sort of confrontation, and to this day I am thankful that another cat made the first move, and got to know who I was behind this wall of dreams. But how did it all happen? Well, how is the next question.

It was early spring when this story began, around March. The time of year when kits were being born, when the weather could change in an instant, and when everything was springing to life. The scene was a familiar one, that of a soggy clearing, covered in long grass and nettles, but still less overgrown than the space around it. In one corner was a pile of fresh prey, more plentiful than it had been for weeks. Around the edges were various clumps of brambles and dried mud – these were the dens of the cats living here. In another corner was a tall mound of grass, more sturdy than the waterlogged ground that surrounded it.

It had been a slow day and the evening was drawing to a close, and as usual, I sat at the side of the camp, my work for the day finished. That day I had been on the afternoon patrol and trained with Hawktail, my mentor; he'd told me my fighting skills were coming along well, not making a comment on my hunting. Hawktail was never a cat to speak his mind, and my hunting skills were frankly rubbish. Though he was a strong cat, his personality had something of a weakness in that he didn't like to criticize his Clanmates. That said, there was no problem when it came to criticizing cats from other Clans.

It was the night of the full moon, and once Ashstar had returned from hunting, some of the cats would be going to the Gathering. I had been once before, and hardly spoken except to the members of my own Clan, and even then I hadn't had a lot to say. I sat patiently, waiting for the leader to show herself, and she eventually did.

The ashen cat padded swiftly through the camp entrance, a rat clamped in her jaws, and deposited her catch on the fresh-kill pile, and without another word (Ashstar was the type of leader that liked to get to the point) she scrambled up onto the mound of grass in the westernmost side of the clearing. "Cats of ShadowClan," she called. "Coming with me to the Gathering tonight will be Stormwhisker, Littlefoot, Fernstripe, Flowerheart, Puddlefur, Dustpaw, and Coalpaw. The rest of you can stay here and guard the camp, though if it gets too rainy, go inside – we've had enough illness this year without you all catching colds." She was right; the number of cats in ShadowClan – all the Clans, for that matter – had diminished in the past few months, mainly due to the greencough outbreak in late January.

I followed the rest of the cats silently as we set off for Fourtrees; the authoritive cats (Ashstar, Stormwhisker, and Littlefoot) went first, followed by Fernstripe, the most senior of the warriors present. Puddlefur followed, then Coalpaw, the plucky apprentice; then Flowerheart, the youngest of the warriors, then me. The weather seemed to be rather unpredictable at the moment; right now the sky was clouded over apart from a small area where the full moon shone through, and it could rain any minute. We all ground to a halt as we reached the Thunderpath, and I was just glad to step onto dry ground as we began to cross. While I was used to the damp territory of my Clan, it sometimes seemed like we'd end up with webbed feet before long.

We were the second-to-last Clan to arrive; ThunderClan was the only one that wasn't there, though I could see a few specks in the distance that looked like it could be them. I caught sight of the leaders gathering on the Great Rock; Ashstar was there, along with Cloverstar of WindClan and Otterstar of RiverClan. ThunderClan arrived, their warriors spreading out across the clearing to talk to their friends, and I kept to the side, sheltering by one of the huge oak trees.

Snowspirit

ThunderClan – my Clan – was last to the Gathering that night, mainly because we'd been held up by that idiot Rockfur, who kept getting distracted. I was near the front of the group, the first of the non-senior warriors in the crowd of ThunderClanners, despite being the youngest of them. "What're you staring at?" I hissed at a WindClan warrior as the rest of the cats stared impatiently at us. He shrank away, glaring at me, and I went and sat down, sprawled messily on the grassy ground. My eye was caught by a scrawny tabby at the edge of the clearing, sitting by herself, but I chose to ignore her for the moment, concentrating instead on the leaders as Mousestar, leader of ThunderClan, hopped up onto the Great Rock.

The clouds in the sky were beginning to clear – StarClan must've been rather pleased for some reason or other. I yawned in impatience, as if I had been there all night, and waited as Otterstar, a sleek brown tom, began to announce RiverClan's news. "Prey has been increasing rapidly this moon," he declared, "and our supplies of fish are plentiful. However, we sadly lost two of our warriors after a dog attacked camp." Mews of anxiety and fear rose up throughout the clearing, but Otterstar remained calm. "Our warriors fought bravely and we managed to chase the dog off our territory, though let this be a warning to all of the Clans in case it chooses to move in any other direction." He stepped down, and Mousestar was next to speak.

"ThunderClan have had something of a disappointing start to the season, as prey goes. It was poor compared to last year, though not altogether bad. We're hoping it will pick up soon." I rolled my eyes – why did Mousestar always have to tell the whole truth? Now the other Clans would think we were weak. On the other hand, it would minimize risk of enemy cats invading our territory. "In other news, we welcome our newest fully-trained warrior to the Clan. Her warrior ceremony was last week, and she has completed her apprentice training well." I smiled crookedly but mentally rolled my eyes as the surrounding cats stared at me. The brown-and-white tom receded, ShadowClan's leader Ashstar stepping forward in his place.

"ShadowClan has not much news to report – prey has been steady and we don't currently have any new warriors. Though we do have some new additions to the Clan: Brindlefrost gave birth to two healthy kits, and we wish them all the best in their lives." The creamy she-cat moved away, leaving Cloverstar to finish off the announcements.

"For WindClan this has been an eventful moon," the soft-voiced leader began. Cloverstar had always fascinated me – it was interesting how someone so subtle and calm could lead a Clan. Then again, it didn't seem much of a surprise as she could get along with almost anyone. "Our deputy, Rainheart, retired and is now an elder, and Hollyclaw has been appointed in his place." My eyes drifted over to a dark grey tabby tom who was looking rather proud of himself. "Also, we have two new warriors: Lilytail and Rabbitfur." The black-and-white leader curled her tail around her paws, and raised her head, her whiskers twitching into a smile. "That's all." She turned around to talk to the other leaders, and the silence was broken as the warriors in the four Clans began to talk to each other.

I decided this would be a good time to speak to that tabby I'd seen earlier. I didn't particularly want to be at this Gathering – I'd had a long day and was rather tired – but I thought it wouldn't do any harm to make a new friend. I wandered over to where the cat was sitting, washing her paws. "Hey!" I called, my voice coming out lower than I'd expected. "You alright?" I asked. The she-cat seemed a little lonely; perhaps she just needed someone to talk to.

She blinked a few times, quickly glancing at me before turning her head back to the floor. "Um... s-sure," she stuttered, shuffling her feet uncomfortably. "I... I'm fine," she added, nodding.

I breathed in deeply, catching a breath of ShadowClan scent. "You're from ShadowClan, right?"

"Yeah," the tabby replied. "And... you're from ThunderClan?" she guessed in her tiny voice.

"Yep!" I mewed enthusiastically, trying to think of something to talk about, just to get this cat out of her shell a little. "I haven't seen you much – are you an apprentice?"

The stranger nodded. "Yeah, I'm... I'm Dustpaw," she stammered, glancing at me again. It seemed she couldn't make eye contact for more than about half a second. "You're... S-Snowspirit?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out," I commented, smirking. "Yeah, I am. This is only my second Gathering, though; they wouldn't let me go last time because I stole some of Lilacstream's catnip," I said quietly, looking sheepish.

Dustpaw chuckled softly. "So... Snowspirit – that's an unusual name."

"I know – they named me it 'cause I'm spirited and lively," I explained. "I think you'd make a good Dustsong, because you've got a cute voice," I complimented.

The ShadowClan cat smiled, shrinking back a little. "Thanks," she replied gratefully. "Yours is good too." Though I knew she didn't mean it – my voice was too rough and too loud, but it didn't really bother me.

"So how long have you been an apprentice?" I asked, curiously.

"Um... five moons," the shy cat replied. "It was delayed a bit... 'cause there was the greencough outbreak, and my mentor was ill... b-but I'll hopefully become a warrior soon."

"I'm sure you will," I encouraged, suddenly distracted by Redpaw, another friend of mine; he was from RiverClan. He was like a little brother to me, though all I really had was an older sister called Smoketail who was always busy having kits. I often saw him when I was out hunting near the border, and we'd talk occasionally.

"Hey, Snowspirit, well done on becoming a warrior!" the ginger tom congratulated.

"Thanks!" I replied cheerily. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks," Redpaw answered, sitting down. "Who's this?" he asked, pointing to Dustpaw with his tail.

My whiskers twitched. "This is Dustpaw," I introduced. "My new friend from ShadowClan." The tabby blinked her colourless eyes, looking a little more cheerful to hear that I thought of her as a friend. "Dustpaw, this is Redpaw, my honorary brother."

Dustpaw nodded, emitting a quiet laugh. "N-nice to meet you."

"You too!" Redpaw chirped. "Hey, I think I hear Otterstar calling." He was right – the tom was calling for him in the background. "I'd better go. Bye!" he concluded, bouncing off back to his leader.

"I ought to go, too," I admitted; Mousestar didn't look too comfortable, and was gathering up the rest of his warriors. "See you soon. Maybe at the border."

"Sure," the greyish-brown feline replied. "That... um... that sounds good." She smiled, and I smiled back, and she looked at me for a few seconds before looking away again. "Bye." I walked away, leaving Dustpaw on her own; I hoped she wouldn't be too lonely.