"Hey, Hawkpaw!"

Narrowing my eyes, I frowned, grumbling as I turned my head to the source of the noise. It was Rainpaw, a dark blue-gray tom with lighter flecks all over his pelt. He stood nearby, smirking at me.

"Stop being such a kit, Hawkpaw. Apprentices don't try to catch snowflakes," he taunted. His brother, Oakpaw, laughed appreciatively from the apprentices' den.

"Shut up," I hissed quietly, turning away and staring at the cloudy gray-white sky. The snow drifted down around me in little flakes. This was the first snow I had ever experienced in my life; the new weather dazzled me beyond belief.

"What was that?"

Looking back at Rainpaw, whose tilted head betrayed the sarcasm of his question.

"I said, shut up," I mumbled, beginning to stare at the ground as the snow grew a little stronger.

"Say it again, I can't hear you," Rainpaw snarled, laughing. Standing, he looked towards the entrance of camp, calling, "Hey, Snowpaw! Swanpaw!"

Snowpaw and Swanpaw, two pure white sisters, bounded over. Snowpaw tilted her head.

"Yeah, Rainpaw? What's up?" the smaller of the two asked.

"Hawkpaw's acting like a kit. Do you think Swanpaw might be able to sort her out?" Rainpaw hissed, eyes gleaming. Snowpaw shuffled uncomfortably.

"Well, um…." The she-cat's voice trailed off after a moment.

"Well, what?" Rainpaw growled, shoving his head close to hers, green eyes glaring into her copper ones. "I thought you were on my side."

Snowpaw stumbled away, eyes wide. "Well, er, it's just…."

"Whatever." Rainpaw turned, looking back at me. "Swanpaw, could you do me a favor?"

The larger of the sisters perked her ears, looking at Rainpaw. "What is it?"

Rainpaw's eyes narrowed as his mouth shaped into a winning grin. "Let Hawkpaw know how an apprentice fights."

Swanpaw nodded, amber eyes shining as she pounded across the ground towards me. Yowling in surprise, I could hardly roll away as she landed on top of me, cuffing my ears and scratching at my belly with unsheathed claws, growling with battle fury.

Rolling to the side a few times, I tried to throw the large apprentice off, but found no success. Not me, Rainpaw, Crowpaw, Ashpaw, or Patchpaw had ever been able to throw Swanpaw off.

"Swanpaw! Get off of Hawkpaw right now!"

The stern voice coming from nearby belonged to the Clan deputy, Squirrelheart. The ginger tom stood over us, glaring at Swanpaw with a very severe, serious expression.

The apprentice immediately scrambled off of me; sighing with relief as her weight vanished, I got to my paws. Blood dripped from my belly; seeing it, Squirrelheart's eyes narrowed.

"Swanpaw, in Tornstar's den now. Hawkpaw, visit Blizzardleaf for your belly," the deputy ordered. Swanpaw stalked off to Tornstar's den as I headed into Blizzardleaf's.

Blizzardleaf, the medicine cat, padded over, stumbling a little. Everyone knew he was getting old, but the gray tom denied his age, refusing to retire, even though his former apprentice, Brightberry, was starting to do most of the work.

"Ah, a fight? Apprentices," Blizzardleaf huffed, though I caught a twinkle in his eyes. "Lie down here," he mewed, pointing his tail at a nest while he bustled off to get herbs.

I settled in the moss, reviewing Squirrelheart's intervention, sighing quietly and happily as I remembered Swanpaw's annoyed stalking to Tornstar's den.

"Okay, you'll be fine. Come back later so I can check on your wound again," Blizzardleaf mewed, snapping me out of my reverie. Standing and nodding gratefully, I bounded outside, immediately snarling quietly at the sight that greeted me: Rainpaw and Swanpaw standing nearby, looking mildly interested as I emerged from the den. The two apprentices got to their paws, striding over to me.

"So, Hawkpaw," hissed Swanpaw. I backed away, eyes wide as she continued.

"Do you know what you've done?"

I shook my head.

"You delayed my warrior ceremony," hissed the apprentice, moving closer to me.

"H-how-"

Before I could continue, Rainpaw bounded up, pushing his tail in front of my mouth.

"Shush, Hawkpaw," he hissed. "Just listen."

The two waited for a moment before they could be sure I wouldn't talk. As if I would in that situation!

"Okay." Rainpaw sat down, gazing at me with serious green eyes. "We've got a dare for you."

I perked my ears slightly. "What is it?"

"The elders are saying the snow will get worse at night. Spend the whole night out in the snow, and you can come back as a true apprentice of OakClan. I won't make fun of you, and Swanpaw won't fight you again," the dark-furred tom explained, eyes gleaming. "So, are you in?"

I nodded almost immediately. "Of course I am."

Rainpaw stood, grinning. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow morning, then."

Tails twined in the air, the two apprentices marched back to their own dens as the sun began to set.

My teeth chattered against each other as I ran through the forest. Sure, the snow had gotten worse, but I never thought it would be this bad.

It was becoming a full-on snowstorm: my vision was swamped with white as snow roared down from the skies, covering my pelt with white and wrapping its chill around me.

I stumbled through the forest, my short legs moving slowly through the thick snow on the ground. For a moment I thought longingly of the apprentices' den, my moss nest, the warmth of the other apprentices spreading over me.

Then I shook my head. A true apprentice can last out a night in the snow, I thought. Then an idea hit me; instead of wallowing and trudging through the snow, I could just leap quickly enough that my paws wouldn't sink into the snow. Smiling to myself - A true apprentice also comes up with great ideas - I pummeled the snow with my paws, eventually rising to the top of the snow layer.

I began to leap through the forest, commencing a plan to find a tree to climb up into. If I were safe among the branches, I could just fall asleep and pass my night off as a deadly exploration only a proper apprentice would survive.

Bumping into a birch tree, I dug my unsheathed claws into the bark, making my way up the trunk and onto a branch. Settling down, I smiled to myself.

See you in the morning, Rainpaw.

When I woke up, I felt different.

I couldn't really feel my paws or my ears or anything at all. Raising my head from my paws, I saw a horrible sight only a tail-length away.

My own body.

The only sign that it was even there was the lump of snow poking up from the ground. Bounding over, I kicked some of the snow off of it.

Yep.

It was me.

My dark brown tabby pelt - with a pang, I remembered my mother's fond compliments on it - was cold to the touch, and the green eyes of my body were closed.

The chill of leaf-bare crept into my heart as I realized what had happened.

I had died.