Hayguiz. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been super busy slash writing other thingz. But now that Bleeding Hearts is finished, I'll be updating this much more often (: Or I'll try to, anyway?

Recap: It's Leafbare, and Reedfur, a highly respected warrior of ShadowClan, had just died when he slipped into the stream and drowned. The Clan is all mourning for him, and Olivepaw, a young apprentice, tries to comfort Cedarpaw, the son of Reedfur. Later, Olivepaw is in the medicine den with her brother, Ratpaw, and her mother, Bramblestripe, as she rests with her new kit, Oakkit. The family talks about Reedfur with a few others in the den. Olivepaw mentions that it must be hard, especially considering what had happened to Waterkit, but Bramblestripe quickly cuts her off. Olivepaw leaves and sits beside Cedarpaw, trying to comfort him, but the only thing the tom says is "Dead," over and over.

Yeah, uh, in case you didn't know, I like to include little recaps, just to keep the story fresh in everyone's mind (:

Here we go!

Chapter 2

An Encounter

[Ratpaw]

It was a beautiful day, and though it was sunny and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, it was still freezing.

Through the snow marched several cats, heads bent low and ears flattened against the icy winds. Winding through the pine trees they went, none of them- other than two particular apprentices- were saying much.

Ratpaw had been selected to go on a border patrol that morning, and he'd been glad to get out of camp. Though it had been a whole week since Reedfur's death, it was obvious that it would take the Clan a while to get over it, and he didn't care much for the depressing vibe that was being given off by nearly every cat there.

Leading the group were two cats; one was his mentor, Furzetail, a skinny white she-cat with several black patches. The other was a large white tom named Icewhisker, who was blending in perfectly with the snow- unlike Ratpaw's dark gray pelt.

Cheerily trotting behind the tom were two other apprentices- sisters Frostpaw and Snowpaw. They kept whispering and giggling to each other, and whenever Ratpaw would look back at them, they would just smile innocently. They were Furzetail's daughters, and the mother was constantly telling them to keep it down during the whole patrol.

"Hey, Ratpaw," chimed Frostpaw as she ran up to the tom's left side. He looked at her, smiling politely.

"What is it, Frostpaw?"

"Snowpaw has something to tell you."

"No, I don't!" wined the other, running up to his right side. She shot a grin at him. "But Frostpaw does."

"Nuh-uh," meowed the other, glaring at her sister before a grin crept onto her face.

Ratpaw blinked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Uh...?"

"Frostpaw likes you!" blurted out Snowpaw before she smiled, innocently widening her eyes in fake surprise. "What? Oopsies, did I just say that out loud?"

"So not true!" protested Frostpaw, mouth hanging open. "As if!"

Ratpaw blinked a few times, but before he could say anything, the two sisters broke into a sudden fit of laughter before they ran up ahead of him, playfully batting at each other.

"Snowpaw, Frostpaw, please quiet down," begged an exasperated Furzetail. "It's still morning. You might wake up WindClan across the lake."

"Oops," whispered Snowpaw, smiling broadly. Then, at the same time, the two of them chimed, "Sorry, Mama!" Meanwhile, Ratpaw could tell that Icewhisker was trying to keep his sanity as he rigidly lashed his tail back and forth in a mechanical manner.

"Furzetail," began Ratpaw, trying to change the subject, "have you heard anything about who will be attending the Gathering tonight?"

"Not a thing," the she-cat admitted, head lowered slightly as she trudged along through the snow. She looked over her shoulder, sending the apprentice a quick smile. "I'm sure that Minnowstar will select you, though, Ratpaw. You've been progressing superbly with your training. You and your sister will be warriors in no time."

"Hey, I wanna be a warrior, too," wined Frostpaw. "Me and Snowpaw are older than Ratpaw and Olivepaw! How come we're still apprentices?"

Ratpaw could have sworn that he heard Icewhisker mutter something under his breath about he and his sister being, at least, less annoying, but he could have been imagining it.

"With an attitude like that, you'll never be a warrior," Furzetail sighed. "And maybe if you stopped putting off your duties or didn't make Cedarpaw clean out the elders' den instead of you..."

"What?" gasped Frostpaw, eyes huge. "I never made Cedarpaw clean out the elders' den!"

"Oh, there was only that one time two moons ago," Snowpaw began, tilting her head as she tried to think, "and that other time when Silvermist was mad at you so you wanted to avoid her, and that other time when-" the she-cat was put to an abrupt stop when her sister roughly shoved her.

"I hope you're not doing that anymore," their mother murmured. "Cedarpaw has a lot to deal with, right now."

"As if I don't know that," muttered Frostpaw. "I've been really nice to him, you know. I even gave him my leftovers last night. I don't think he ate them, though..."

"Your... leftovers?" snorted Snowpaw loudly. "Wow, how kind. Who wouldn't want to eat scraps of food you've already slobbered all over?"

"Snowpaw, Frostpaw, please," meowed Furzetail. "We're almost at the ThunderClan border."

The five cats continued traveling through the snow, and Ratpaw's growling stomach reminded him of how hungry he was. But lately he found that there usually wasn't enough food for him to eat lunch, so he'd probably have to wait until dinner. He tried not to think about it.

The distinct scent of ThunderClan began to wrap itself around the cats. Up ahead, Ratpaw could see where the trees parted to make way for the small Twoleg path that divided the two Clans. He remembered that when he was a kit, ThunderClan and ShadowClan were often fighting about territories, and the border had changed places quite a few times. It was agreed that the path should remain as the border, and there hadn't been any dispute about it since.

The cats emerged from a clump of snowy ferns, stepping onto the path. The Twolegs seemed to only use it during Greenleaf, so it was still covered in snow, not even visible. Ratpaw looked to the right, his eyes going down the trail, tall trees on either side. He knew that it lead down to the lake. He looked to the left; he hadn't been too far down there, and he was a bit curious as to what lay a bit further out, beyond the territory.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, Ratpaw?" a voice called in his ear. He jumped a bit, turning to see Snowpaw and Frostpaw, grinning at him and blinking in unison.

"Nothing," he murmured, tacking on a smile. "Just thinking about dinner."

"Already?" purred Snowpaw. "You're always hungry, aren't you, Ratpaw?"

"Hey, a tom's gotta eat," pointed out Frostpaw, licking a paw.

"Quiet down, you two," Furzetail meowed again. "I think I smell a ThunderClan patrol coming."

"Me, too," Icewhisker confirmed, his sturdy white head lifted into the air. "They're definitely coming this way."

"Ooh, this is so exciting," Frostpaw whispered to the other apprentices. "I wonder who it is?"

"Calm down, it's just a patrol," Snowpaw snorted. Frostpaw shot her a glare.

A few moments later, three cats appeared from the trees on the other side of the snowy path. The first was a tall, lean she-cat, her short, pale gray pelt neat and recently cleaned. This was Sagewhisker, ThunderClan's deputy. Another was a light brown tabby tom with rather short legs and bright amber eyes. This was Bumbleclaw. Ratpaw had heard that this tom had once been a kittypet, but he'd ran away from his comfortable life, and ThunderClan had let him in. It seemed as if that was all ThunderClan did, anymore. The last cat was a small ginger she-cat named Russetpaw.

The deputy's head was held high as she studied the ShadowClan group, her face nearly expressionless. The warrior stood beside her, looking at them curiously, while the apprentice stood a few feet behind, shyly avoiding their gazes. Ratpaw noticed that they were all quite thin, and could see all of their ribs. But he supposed that it wasn't just them; Leafbare was hard on everyone.

"Hello, Sagewhisker," Furzetail meowed, bowing her head. She nodded to the other two. "Bumbleclaw, Russetpaw."

Sagewhisker flicked her tail, not returning the gesture. She simply gave a small, curt nod, her eyes cold.

"Greetings, Furzetail."

"How are things in ThunderClan?" persisted the ShadowClan she-cat, attempting to keep the conversation going.

As she spoke, Ratpaw caught the gaze of the apprentice several taillengths in front of him. She looked at him, green eyes sparkling with just a bit of curiosity before she sheepishly turned her head away. Ratpaw blinked, tilting his head slightly.

"They're fine, Furzetail," replied Sagewhisker. "But sadly, we've no time for idle chat. We need to get back to our patrol."

Ratpaw's mentor flicked her ear, before asking, "I haven't seen or heard from Honeystar in quite a while. Is everything alright?"

Ratpaw could have sworn that he saw the ThunderClan deputy wince, just a little, though it could have been his imagination. But he noticed that Bumbleclaw was lowering his head, slightly, and Russetpaw was looking back and forth between her two Clanmates, looking slightly anxious. The black tom narrowed his eyes just a bit; was there something going on with ThunderClan's leader?

"Yes, Furzetail, everything is fine. Now if you'll excuse us." The deputy turned, nodding to the others before flicking a tail and leading them back into the forest. Russetpaw glanced back at Ratpaw, who blinked, watching her curiously. The she-cat quickly turned away and followed behind the others.

When they'd disappeared from view, Furzetail let out a long sigh, shaking her head slightly.

"Sagewhisker can be so disagreeable."

"She seems like a good deputy, though," Icewhisker pointed out. "She's only being protective of her Clan."

"Something's not right, though," she murmured, her voice dropping into a whisper. Ratpaw wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear. "They all reacted strangely when I asked about Honeystar."

"It's probably nothing," grunted the white tom. "And anyway, it's none of our business. It's not our job to deal with whatever goes on in their Clan. Besides, don't forget that the Gathering is tonight. We'll see Honeystar there."

Furzetail nodded, though she didn't look fully convinced. After a pause, she quickly shook her head.

"Come on, Ratpaw, Snowpaw, Frostpaw. Let's keep going." The apprentices all silently glanced at each other, all of them thinking the same thing. But they followed after the two warriors, and within a few minutes, Furzetail had to keep reminding her daughters to keep quiet again.

Sorry, I know it's a bit short. The chapters will be getting longer once we get further into the story. (:

It would be lovely if you could drop a review (; Ratpaw plushies for all!

Till next time,

Pearly