Author's Note: Sleetfur is not my name, even though my warrior name does start with Sleet.

Chapter 1

NorthClan POV

Darkness crept through the trees of winter; icy winds blew mercilessly, changing the direction of the falling snow. Snow rabbits shivered as they tried to return to their homes. However, one rabbit wasn't fast enough. A flash of dark fur and a blurred shape dashed out from his hiding place, leaping upon an unfortunate hare. The rabbit knew death moments later.

Hailstorm shook the snow out of his fur, carrying his prey proudly. Even though the rabbit was extremely thin, it was still quite a catch in these cold times. In the north, it was always cold, but there are times when the north is at its coldest. He shivered against the icy winds. Even though his fur was long, he was still thin and suffered from the bitter snow. He looked up and saw the northern lights forming against the night sky. AuroraClan is watching them. With a surge of hope, he bounded across the endless snow, hoping to return to camp as soon as possible.

As soon as Hailstorm reached camp, he knew something was wrong. An air of grief and shock hung over the camp and he ran quickly, a growing sense of dread inside him. Thin, ragged cats were gathered in the middle.

Quickly, Hailstorm pushed past them and stopped dead. In the middle lay the body of a thin cat, the gray tabby fur, the white paws…

Hailstorm threw back his head and wailed. "Glacierclaw! Noooo!!!"

A pale gray tom made his way to the grief-stricken warrior. "Hailstorm," he meowed gently, touching his tail on the warrior's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. He died partly because of the snow, and partly because of an artic wolf."

Hailstorm stopped wailing and looked at his leader with blank eyes. "Blizzardstar… Glacierclaw was my best friend…"

"I know…" Blizzardstar bowed his head in memory of his best warrior. "He was a wonderful cat... a great friend, a loyal warrior. His loss will be felt by NorthClan for a long time."

Hailstorm sat down in the snow, his heart gaining weight. Memories of the times they spent together rushed through him. However much he knew that there was no use grieving, sadness had pierced his heart.

He began to groom his friend's fur for the very last time as Blizzardstar leaped up on a frozen rock. "Cats of NorthClan, you have witnessed how cruelly the north has taken Glacierclaw away from us. We will now perform the ritual, and I will make some important announcements. Take over, Frozentail."

The blue-gray medicine cat dipped her head and pressed her nose against the dead warrior's head. (A/N: Made this up myself) "I, Frozentail, medicine cat of NorthClan, ask AuroraClan to look down upon this warrior. He had given up his life in service of his Clan; we honor his courage, we remember his spirit, and we commend him to you in our turn. May this noble spirit find sanctuary in AuroraClan run with his warrior ancestors."

Her words were firm and assuring, but many cats looked at each other uncertainly. Blizzardstar dipped his head in grief for a moment before looking up again. "We will bury his body at dawn. Now, I will break some news to you." He hesitated, flashing a glance at his deputy, Icefur. The white warrior blinked and nodded.

Blizzardstar went on. "The North is approaching its coldest. Artic wolves roam more freely than before, and they have stolen our prey. To make things worse, fish in the lake is becoming more scarce, and we barely have anything to eat. You have seen the death of our strongest warrior. The North is going to get much more colder in a few moons time, and if I didn't predict wrongly, we will not survive."

Shocked yowls broke out from the Clan and a smoky gray apprentice wailed. "We're dead!"

Blizzardstar suddenly drew himself up tall. "We are not going to die, Smokepaw." he meowed firmly, his tone sending little but precious message of encouragement to the Clan. "I will do what I need; I promise we will make it to new territory."

Smokepaw still wasn't convinced. "Blizzardstar, in this cold, kits can't survive."

The leader met the apprentices gaze. "I promise you, Smokepaw, I won't allow you to die."

Smokepaw held his gaze for a long time, his blue eyes defiant. Finally, he dipped his head and sat down, his fur still bristling.

Hailstorm kept his eyes to the ground. Leaving his home meant much more to him; it meant leaving the memories he shared with Glacierclaw behind.

Blizzardstar kept his eyes on the apprentice, his blue gaze sad and thoughtful. "AuroraClan have sent both me and Frozentail a sign." Briefly, he described his dream about the forest. Hailstorm looked up at Frozentail and Blizzardstar. There's still hope. His mind drifted in wonder at the forest his leader mentioned. Would it be warm?

"I hope it would be warmer…" A voice beside him murmured. Hailstorm craned his head, flashing the gray and white she-cat a sideway glance. Sleetfur was looking upset, her ear twitching uncomfortably. Numbly, Hailstorm recalled how Glacierclaw had shown his affection to the she-cat.

Hailstorm padded beside his friend, the fish in his jaw limp. Glacierclaw had a weird expression on his face. "What's wrong?" Hailstorm tipped his head to one side.

"Hailstorm…" he murmured. "I—I think I am falling for a she-cat."

Hailstorm was taken aback. For a moment, he felt a prickle of envy towards the lucky she-cat. Glacierclaw would probably spend more time with her now. "Who is the lucky she-cat?"

His friend lifted his head, his eyes glowing. "Sleetfur."

An image of a beautiful long-furred silver and white she-cat entered Hailstorm's mind and he purred. "Congratulations, Glacierclaw!" Strangely, he felt almost disappointed. "Have you told her?"

Glacierclaw shook his head, his face fallen.

Hailstorm nudged his friend. "It's not like you to be so shy. I thought nothing can bring you down!"

Glacierclaw locked gazes with his friend and nodded. "You're right, I'll go tell her!" Shivering, he started to walk away.

Hailstorm was reminded of his own chill. Determined to hunt more, he trudged through the snow deeper into the woods.

Oh, why hadn't he followed Glacierclaw back to camp? Then at least they can suffer together. It was because of his stupid hunting decision that his friend left. Even a thousand rabbits can't make up for his lost friend. All the same, he felt a twinge of pity for Sleetfur. She never got the chance to learn of the tom's strong feelings for her.

Hailstorm stretched his head to touch Sleetfur's cheek with his nose, trying to comfort her. The she-cat recoiled and stared at Hailstorm, her eyes deep with grief and loneliness. She dipped her head and stepped away from him.

"I have discussed this with Whitestorm and Icefur, and we agreed that it is time for us to return to this forest that AuroraClan have shown us. We will leave tomorrow at dawn. Icefur, is our cats fit?"

Icefur stepped forward, his eyes glittering. "All of us are hungry, but fit enough to travel. However, I am worried for the safety of Frosttail's kits, Sealkit and Flakekit. Also, Silverpelt is expecting kits." A cloud of anxiety covered his icy blue eyes, and Hailstorm was reminded that Frosttail is the deputy's mate.

"And how would we know the way?" Snowcloud called out.

"A guide will be sent to us," Blizzardstar assured her. "AuroraClan have shown it to me. If there are no more arguments, we will now proceed in building up our energy, and in dawn, we will set out, and meet our promised guide, to new territory." He sighed and bounded down, heading towards his den, Icefur close behind.

Hailstorm sat down in the light snowstorm, his pelt blowing in the strong wind. Bending down, he licked the snow out of Glacierclaw's pale pelt. A shuffle sounded beside him and he looked up to see Sleetfur, her eyes fixed on the body of the cat that had once loved her. She sat down quietly, her leaf green gaze filled with such sadness it can break a cat's heart.

"Did you know how he feels about you?" he murmured, his question directed to the only cat by his side. No one else wanted to stay in the snowstorm to grief.

Sleetfur kept her eyes on Glacierclaw. "I loved him," she whispered, her voice filled with pain.

Glacierclaw would be overjoyed if he can hear this.

A/N: Please review!