Chapter One

Sunpaw ~

This was not a good idea at all, but Sunpaw was reluctant to turn back now even as he followed Frostpaw across the moor. The stink of the borders had faded behind them and the moon casted shadows on what few bushes dotted the mostly open space. As amber eyes took in the surrounding landscape, Sunpaw found himself wondering (like many cats before and would long after him) how WindClan did it.

He could smell rabbits, but to live in a place without any trees to offer shelter from the weather? And to have to eat only one kind of food every day? The golden tabby didn't think he could ever handle that. He loved the taste of rabbit, but also enjoy eating mice, shrews, and voles. He was always up to sharing a bird or squirrel with his denmates or siblings.

If this was the kind of life that WindClan offered, then Sunpaw was glad that he had been born in ThunderClan. Even if it meant that there was no chance of him hooking up with Skypaw, the pretty WindClan tabby who had won his heart from the moment they first met.

Frostpaw ~

Glancing over her shoulder, Frostpaw had to stifle a giggle as she saw her brother's eyes develop a moony glaze. Being a smart cat, she knew who he was thinking about. It was that one apprentice, the tabby who they had met at the Gathering. Her name...was it Bluepaw? Kind of fitting given the shade of blue that her eyes were.

Nope. Smokepaw? Not that one either. Brindlepaw?

Oh wait! It was Skypaw!

It was pure, honest truth that Frostpaw was not that fond of Skypaw, as the brown tabby had been snide and snobby. Acting as if she was a deputy instead of being a cat who had only seen her second Gathering. Frostpaw did not like her at all, but she found Ravenpaw to be more tolerable.

Still...it was rather cute that Sunpaw had a crush, even if it were on a cat from a different Clan. Of course he would deny it to the moon and back, but his sisters were not fooled at all. They enjoyed gossiping about it behind Sunpaw's back.

A fresh, pleasant scent suddenly filled the air and Frostpaw paused to taste it. At once her fur prickled in delight.

At last!

Rainpaw ~

Deep within the forest beyond the camp, an owl hooted. A small pair of gray ears twitched, before Rainpaw opened his eyes and lifted his head to listen. It didn't come a second time, and he shook his head in slight annoyance. Turning carefully in his nest in order to avoid waking his denmates, the young cat laid back down with his tail just barely touching his nose.

And yet he was not able to go back to sleep. There was something about to happen, but he could not put a claw on it. Maybe it was that mouse that he had ate, it had been kind of stale...but it had tasted pretty good. Maybe he could sneak some poppy seeds from Jayfeather and be gone before any cat noticed.

He waited a little while longer, but finally conceded defeat. Slowing rising from his nest and carefully padding around his fellow apprentices, Rainpaw left the den without noticing a small, but important fact.

Two nests were empty.

Goldenpaw -

That mouse had indeed been bad.

That was the only thing Goldenpaw could think of as she slowly crept down the tunnel that led to the Dirtplace, her stomach still sore and uncomfortable. She really needed to stop listening to Thrushfur, the creamy brown she-cat was full of bad advice. It was pretty clear from the day that both she and Frostpaw had ran away from camp and nearly died from falling into an abandoned rabbit hole.

Still...shouldn't Lightningpaw also be looking like a complete wreck? And also Thrushfur, just to be fair. Expecting to see both cats in the clearing, making their way in her direction, Goldenpaw was surprised to see her brother instead. Rainpaw was slipping out of the apprentice den and strolled across the clearing. Following him with her eyes, the young she-cat saw that he was going towards Jayfeather's den.

Was he sick? Did he eat something bad as well? Or did he have one of those strange dreams again? Goldenpaw was seriously hoping that it was not the latter. She was not a fan of the idea of strange visions and special powers, even if her father was famous because of both.

Rainpaw must have seen her, because Goldenpaw saw her brother come to a halt in the center of the clearing. He waited as she slowly moved to join him, not wanting to unsettle her stomach any more than it already was.

"Can't sleep?" Rainpaw asked her in a low mew.

Goldenpaw shook her head. "Bad belly." She said.

Blue eyes shone with sympathy. "Come on, lets get you some herbs for that then." "But what about Jayfeather?" Goldenpaw asked, "I don't want to wake him up." Looking over his shoulder, her brother smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, we don't need him to get what we both need."

"And what do 'we both' need?" Goldenpaw asked.

"Herbs for your bellyache and my lack of sleep." Came the reply as Rainpaw slipped around the thorn barrier that shielded the medicine den.