"Why do we have to clear out all this mess?" Oakpaw sat back on his haunches. His fluffy brown tabby pelt twitched as he stared at the twigs littering the camp.
Leaf-bare was approaching and it brought forceful winds with it. For the past couple days, the apprentices has been clearing up camp, tedious work even for the most determined warrior.
       Cloverpaw's jaws hurt from carrying the sticks for the past couple days. The white diamond on her forehead creased down the middle as she frowned.
    "We've been working at it for days!" The cream and white she-cat let go of the stick she was dragging and blinked impatiently at her mentor.
  The gray and white Siamese sighed. "We have to clear the camp if you want to practice battle moves."
    "Why can't Peachpaw and Olivepaw help?" Oakpaw complained. "And Thunderpaw's stronger than me. He'd be better at dragging sticks."
"Thunderpaw is hunting with Olivepaw and Peachpaw, and their mentors, today." Condorstrike meowed gently, flicking her ear.
"Why can't we hunt?" Cloverpaw grumbled.
"You don't know enough hunting moves."
Cloverpaw flicked her tail. She wanted to help her clan, but clearing sticks was tiring.
"Lightstar wants the camp cleared. The storm left a mess and she wants us to clean it up." Oakpaw's mentor Quickwater, a plain gray Tom with gray eyes, said.
Condorstrike glanced at Hollypaw, who was helping a fluffy back and dark gray Tom, Shadestep, haul a branch across the clearing wordlessly. "See, your littermate isn't complaining."
     Hollypaw, a black and orange calico with green eyes, dropped the stick."Shadestep told me that if I want to be the strongest warrior in the clan, I have to do some heavy lifting." She puffed out her chest, a smug look on her face
    Cloverpaw scowled. "Don't get too strong, or Lightstar will make you clear every branch in the forest." She hissed under her breath.
     Condorstrike cuffed her ear, giving her a look of warning that said teasing would not be tolerated.
    Cloverpaw's eyes traveled to her mentors stomach.
     It was hard not to notice the Siamese's belly, which swollen with kits. She would be due in a couple of moons. There were many queens in the nursery this season, to the joy of Thunderclan.
     None of them has kept their apprentices when they found out they were bearing kits. Condorstrike insisted that she continued training Cloverpaw, and she was very grateful for that.
   Cloverpaw liked Condorstrike. She was a very good mentor and was very patient with her.
Condorstrike blinked at the apprentices sympathetically "You've worked hard all morning." She caught Quickwater's eye "Why don't we teach them a few battle moves?"
Oakpaw pricked his ears "Really?"
"Please!" Cloverpaw bounced past the sticks and crouched excitedly. Sticking her hindquarters in the air, she bared her teeth and lashed her tail. "Look! I'm ready to attack!"
With a purr, Oakpaw rushed to join her.
Exasperated, Hollypaw closed her eyes and sighed. "We'll never never clear the camp at this rate!" She looked up at her mentor.
Shadestep shrugged and kept lugging sticks across the ground
"Fine," Cloverpaw meowed "You can stay here and clear sticks, while me and Oakpaw become real warriors!" Oakpaw nodded in agreement, his eyes teasing Hollypaw.
Sticking out her tongue, Hollypaw trotted over to another pile of sticks.
Quickwater chuckled, sharing a look with Condorstrike. The warrior purred a laugh. "Hollypaw can stay here if she wants, let's go to the training hollow."
"Yay!" Oakpaw and Cloverpaw exclaimed in unison. They raced out of camp, earning a disapproving look from the clan deputy, a large brown Tom named Brambletooth.
   Finally! I'm going to learn how to be a real warrior! Cloverpaw thought, pelting after Oakpaw.
      Although she had been apprenticed a few moons ago, along with her littermates Springpaw and Hollypaw, the bad weather hadn't permitted them to learn anything new.
        Oakpaw was also apprenticed at the same time, only being a few days younger than them. Oakpaw was like a brother to Cloverpaw, they were always playing together. They weren't the only apprentices, though. Olivepaw, Peachpaw, and Thunderpaw were all three moons older than them. They would be taking their warrior assessment's any day now.
      Petite snow flakes floated down from the sky, gray clouds overshadowing the sun.
Panting, the two apprentices stood in the clearing, heaving in the cool air, stinging Cloverpaw's lungs.
Leaf-bare is definitely here. The chill in the air is unmistakable. Cloverpaw thought, her nose in the air. She could smell the frost in the atmosphere.
     Condorstrike and Quickwater padded into the clearing, the Siamese leaning against the gray tabby.
     "Condorstrike, are you ok?" Cloverpaw meowed, striding over to her mentor, concerned.
      Condorstrike nodded, flicking her ears. She sat down, panting lightly. "Yes I'm fine. These kits are certainly fighting me, though." She laughed, shaking the snow off her pelt.
      Cloverpaw purred, rubbing her cheek against her mentors.
      Quickwater flicked his tail, padding into the middle of the clearing. Oakpaw and Cloverpaw followed.
    Quickwater crouched into a battle position. Cloverpaw's pelt tingled with excitement
"Alright," Quickwater meowed with anticipation. "Let's begin."
———————————————————————————

Thick gray clouds hid the sun, casting a dark shadows across Thunderclan. Snow was falling in thick flakes, settling on the ground.
     The first snow storm of the season was always the worst, according to Quickwater. Cloverpaw didn't have much experience with the snow, but she could sense something was off about this storm.
She trudged through the snow, the white powder climbing up her legs. Cloverpaw was tall cat, and she was struggling to fight her way through the trees.
Wind whipped around the cats, tugging their fur. In just an hour, the landscape has completely changed.
     There was something otherworldly about the forest covered in snow.
Cloverpaw's teeth chattered, the freezing wind chilling her to the bone. Her thin pelt did nothing to protect her from the gale.
Ahead of her, Quickwater took the brunt of the trek, Cloverpaw following his large paw steps.
Oakpaw was right behind her, and behind him was Condorstrike. They traveled single file, nose to tail tip, in order to not get lost.
The apprentices hadn't been training long before the small flurry had turned into a forceful snow storm.
The snow was so thick, Cloverpaw could barely see in-front of her whiskers.
She could make out the camp in the distance, snow obscuring the entrance.
Trees creaked as even their ancient roots were taking a toll from the storm. Weaker branches had already fallen, littering the ground with even more sticks.
Great, Cloverpaw though with distain All that work for nothing. I hope Lightstar doesn't expect us to clean all this up.
    Padding into camp, Oakpaw and Cloverpaw broke off from their mentors, walking into camp. The gorge protected the camp from most of the high winds, but the snow had started to pile up.
     Cloverpaw spotted Lightstar's tail disappear into her den, Brambletooth at her heels. I wonder what that's all about? Is Lightstar concerned by the storm? Or is something else going on?  Cloverpaw thought, suddenly uneasy.
     Condorstrike stopped next to her, sensing her apprentices change in mood. She ran her tail down Cloverpaw's flank. "Condorstrike, do you think everything's ok? Why is Lightstar talking with Brambletooth? Is the storm really that bad?" She meowed in a worried tone.
    Condorstrike smiled at her flurry of questions. "It's no use worrying. We've been through enough trouble the last few of moons with the storms, and the clans been fine. Just try not to think about it."
     Cloverpaw padded after her, comforted by her easy tone. The clans has survived storms before. How was this one any different?
Cloverpaw dipped her head to her mentor, as Condorstrike padded to the nursery. A small golden head kept popping in and out of the nursery entrance. Cloverpaw blinked, recognizing the kit.
    Lionkit has been born a few weeks early, at the tail end of green-leaf.
      There hadn't been much of a Leaf-fall this season. The weather had transferred from golden rays of sun, to cloudy sky's, which was very unusual.
     The daughter of Brambletooth and Tigerlily had been born and only child, and she seemed to hold a lot of potential.         
    Cloverpaw has seen the deputy show Lionkit a few battle moves, and she had picked them up easily and with grace.
    Cloverpaw watched Condorstrike duck into the nursery, disappearing among the branches. Once she was satisfied her mentor was safe, she turned to look for the other apprentices.
    Cloverpaw looked around for her friends, her eyes searching the camp. She immediately spotted Olivepaw, her dark brown pelt and long limbs standing out among the snow. Olivepaw's eyes narrowed for a moment, niticung the cat staring at her. As soon as she recognized Cloverpaw, a smile broke out on her face.
     "Hey Cloverpaw!" Olivepaw touched her nose to the other apprentice.
   Suddenly, a lump of snow start to move behind Olivepaw. Cloverpaw let of a meow of surprise and fear as the snow rose and took shape of a cat.
    The shape started to shake, revealing patches of orange underneath. It was Peachpaw! The falling snow had covered the orange parts of her fur, making her already white pelt blend into the snow even better.
    Shaking with laughter, Olivepaw fell to the ground. Peachpaw joined in her laughed, and after a few moments Cloverpaw did too. "You should have seen your face!" Olivepaw exclaimed, hauling herself out of the snow.
   Cloverpaw's pelt felt hot with embarrassment, but she shook it off. In the corner of her eye she could see Oakpaw's whiskers twitch, holding back laughter.
   Cloverpaw beckoned him over with her tail, but the larger Tom shook his head. Oakpaw didn't really like to socialize. Cloverpaw was convinced the only reason he talked to her was because they were as close as littermates.
   Cloverpaw shook out her fur. "So where's Hollypaw?" Peachpaw shrugged.
Cloverpaw was a little sad that her littermate wasn't outsides. She was very anti-social and had given up on trying to make friends, which disappointed Cloverpaw, but there was nothing she could do.
Peachpaw walked over to the fresh kill pile, snow crunching underneath her paws.
   The white and orange patched she-cat wrinkled her nose at the scrawny sparrow covered in snow. She muttered something about hunting when the storm lessens, and flicked her tail dismissively.
     "You will not believe what happened today." Olivepaw meowed, her tail twitching with excitement.
    Cloverpaw's eyes widened in excitement "What?" She said with anticipation. Cloverpaw sat down, hissing when her hindquarters touched the snow.
    Peachpaw sat next to her as Olivepaw continued. "Crowbriar told me if the wind isn't too bad tomorrow, Peachpaw, Thunderpaw, and I can take our warrior assessments!" She exclaimed.
     "Really? That's great! Congratulations!" Cloverpaw breathed, pushing the jealousy back into her throat. She was happy for her friends, but she felt it was unfair they got apprenticed before her. They weren't that much older than her, and she was aching to be a warrior.
    Peachpaw shivered with excitement. "Thank you! I'm so excited! Hopefully the snow lets up, or they'll be no prey to hunt! Or maybe we'll do a mock battle instead. I'll have to talk to Stonedust." She said thoughtfully.
     The apprentices engaged in conversation, babbling about gossip and the cute golden kit in the nursery.
    "Cloverpaw," a cat called, interrupting the conversation. The cream apprentice turned towards the sound, wondering who could be calling her.
     She turned around, facing Quickwater, Oakpaw's mentor. "You should probably head to your nest. We have dawn patrol tomorrow."
    Cloverpaw groaned, but nodded. She hadn't realized how late it had gotten, not being able to see the sun due to the clouds overhead.
    She meowed a good bye to her friends, and padded to her den. Cloverpaw shook of her pelt, ducking into the den.
    In the far back corner, Thunderpaw lifted his head as she entered. He narrowed his eyes at her, laying his head back on his paws.
     Thunderpaw wasn't a hostile Tom from what Cloverpaw had seem of him, but granted she hadn't really socialized with him much. Maybe they would become closer as she got older.
    Her eyes fell on Oakpaw, who was snoring gently next to Thunderpaw. Ever since he was a kit he had snored, and the teasing was restless.
      In nest adjacent to Oakpaw's, Hollypaw was curled up, her back facing the snoring apprentice. Hollypaw's paws were over her ears, trying to block out the sound.
   Cloverpaw chuckled to herself, taking her place next to Hollypaw. The sleeping apprentice didn't notice Cloverpaw slip into her nest.
    Exhaustion crashed over her. Cloverpaw hadn't realized how tired she was until she had finally stopped to rest.
    Her body quickly began to feel more fatigued the longer her eyes were open, but her mind was restless. She couldn't shake the feeling that something dreadful was about to happen.
   As Cloverpaw's eyes begged her to shut them, she fell asleep at last with an awful feeling remaining in her stomach.
     Something was about to happen, Cloverpaw could sense it deep in her bones, like nothing she'd ever felt before. Something was about to happen, and it was going to be devastating.