Frostfeather had been startled awake, her senses alert. It had been several days since her strange dream, and she still tried her best not to forget. Deep down, she was positive that she wasn't meant to forget. She narrowed her eyes as she gazed around the pitch black den. It must still be dark, the sky would be shrouded and studded with stars if she could see through the thick branches of the den. Then she heard what had woken her.

That sounds like Nightvolt, she thought as a low wail drifted to her ears. The noise didn't seem to have woke any of the other warriors, they were all still fast asleep. With a short sigh, she got to her paws and picked her way out of the den. The air was crisp with cold against her muzzle as she made her way across the camp clearing. With every step, Nightvolt's wails became louder.

Frostfeather poked her white snout into the den, wary of what she may find. "Brokensong, is everything alright?" her tone shook with a frightful tremor. It sounds as though Nightvolt is in a lot of pain, she thought. The medicine cat did not answer right away. After a few moments of silence, Brokensong leaped out of the crevice in the rock and came to stand beside Frostfeather. Her fur was ruffled and covered in shreds of herbs.

"You shouldn't be here," Brokensong stated abruptly, her tone harsh. Frostfeather flinched at her words, her eyes growing wide. Why shouldn't I be here? A frosty chill swept up her spine, her anxieties flared anew.

"I just wanted to come see what was wrong with Nightvolt..." she explained. It felt like she had been scolded like a troublesome kit.

"Nightvolt is very sick," Brokensong rasped as she shook her head, "you mustn't get close to him. No one should." Frostfeather felt completely baffled at what Brokensong had said. Surely Nightvolt hadn't caught greencough?

Suddenly, the elder's distressed wails had changed to an angry growl. The fur all along Frostfeather's back started to stand on end. She glanced at Brokensong and saw that her face was frozen with horror. "What's happening?" Frostfeather asked. She didn't take her eyes off of the one-eyed she-cat.

Without any indication, a dark shape exploded from the mouth of the medicine den. Claws and teeth flashed in the moonlight as the attacker fell upon Brokensong. Its eyes were wild and filled with hate, it seemed like the entire forest was filled with the intense sound of slaughter.

"No! Someone help!" Frostfeather yowled as she attempted to grab a hold of the dark shape on top of Brokensong. At her touch, the face of the attacker turned to look at her. She was shocked to find herself stare into unfocused, crazed yellow eyes. It was Nightvolt.

~~~~~~~~~~

Frostfeather jolted awake for the second time. Her fur was hot and sweaty and it stuck to her skin like a layer of cobweb. Her breaths came in rapid gulps, her heart slammed in her chest. Did that really just happen?

It was still the dead of night as she exited the den for what felt like the second time. But there wasn't even a whisper to disturb the silence. Nothing moved at the mouth of Brokensong's den. Frostfeather felt foolish, to allow herself to become so frightened from a bad dream. You're not a kit anymore, she reminded herself.

Even though she knew that the camp was safe, she was aware that she would not be able to go back to sleep. Her nerves still shook like a leaf trapped in a storm. She wrapped her tail close to her side and sat down in the sparse grass outside the warrior's den. The light cover of snow melted at her touch and made the tips of her paws and tail damp.

With a deep breath, she stared up at the clear night sky. The stars danced with a magnificent light. It helped make her feel just a bit more relaxed after her dreadful dream encounter. She hadn't sat there for long before she eventually did hear something move inside the medicine den. She sat alert and glared hard at the entrance. She hoped she could make something out in the night's darkness. To her relief, it was just Brokensong.

As the brown and black she-cat gracefully leaped out of the entrance, Frostfeather trotted over to greet her. "Hey Brokensong! I thought I would have been the only one awake at this time of night," she purred. As Frostfeather looked closer at the medicine cat's features, she noticed that her face was creased with worry. This made Frostfeather's stomach clench with foreboding.

"Yes, it is rather late. I just had a bad dream and was hoping to get some air," she mumbled. Frostfeather noticed her ruffled fur and the twitch of her tail at every small sound from out in the forest. Brokensong didn't scare easily, whatever must have startled her must have been serious. I'm sure my worries are nothing compared to hers, she told herself.

But now Brokensong had turned her attention to Frostfeather. She tilted her head slightly and her nostrils flared as she took a sharp intake of breath. "What brings you out so late?" she inquired. Inwardly, Frostfeather wondered just how much she should explain to her. After all, it had been a rather troubling dream. And it had involved Brokensong, as she was slaughtered by Nightvolt.

"I also had a bad dream," she replied. But it did really feel like it was actually happening, like it wasn't a dream, she recalled. The stench of blood still lingered in her nose. Her heart skipped with terror as a flash of psychotic yellow eyes filled her mind.

"What kind of bad dream?" Brokensong insisted. Frostfeather was surprised to find her voice tinged with curiosity. Maybe I should tell her about the dream.

"Well... it started out that I heard Nightvolt in your den. He sounded very distressed and in pain, so I came out to come and check things out," she began, "as I got closer, you came out to meet me. You told me that I shouldn't be there, and that I mustn't get close to him."

Brokensong had grown very still while Frostfeather retold the events of her dream. Her eyes were wide and serious as she continued. "All of a sudden, I could hear growling and then Nightvolt attacked you!" She could feel her heart start to race faster as she got to the worst part of her nightmare. She could remember so vividly, the flash of his claws as he tore at Brokensong. The harsh yellow venom of his eyes filled her vision as he whirled around to gaze into her stunned face.

"I think we need to consult Blizzardstar," Brokensong stated simply, her voice low. Frostfeather held back a gasp. Blizzardstar didn't have time to soothe her from her nightmares. She was a warrior, and that meant that she shouldn't run to her father every time she was frightened.

"What? Why would we need to tell him about some nightmare I had?" she asked, baffled. Brokensong had a very distressed look on her face, her eyes darted around the clearing as she turned to pad to Blizzardstar's den. She's hiding something from me, she deduced after a few moments of icy silence.

"We should tell him because I had almost the exact same dream. The only difference is that instead of me being attacked, I saw my old mentor, Tinypool. She told me that I needed to escape, and that we couldn't be here. That was right before Nightvolt ripped her throat out..." her voice cracked on the last couple of words. Her eyes reflected immense pain and sadness. Frostfeather knew that Brokensong still cared for her old, dead mentor. So that's why she's acting so spooked, Frostfeather reflected.

"What do you think that means?" Frostfeather wondered as she started to follow Brokensong to her father's den. The night was still enveloped in a eerie calm. Crickets chirped from their perches in the foliage that surrounded the camp.

"I'm not sure," she whispered, "but I do know that whatever will happen, it will be at the paws of Nightvolt."

Frostfeather shuffled her paws. She wondered how it was possible for an elder to cause any kind of harm. All her life, Nightvolt never seemed to cause trouble. She had heard stories about when he was a BreezeClan cat, but that was many moons ago. Nightvolt is an IceClan cat now, she thought, surely he wouldn't want to hurt us?

Brokensong stood at the tall hole in the rotten, toppled tree trunk that Blizzardstar called his den. With a soft meow, she padded through the entrance and vanished from sight. Frostfeather hesitated before she also padded inside, not sure of what she would say to Blizzardstar about her dream. This is just all so strange.

"Welcome, Frostfeather," he purred as she came to sit beside Brokensong in front of him. "Brokensong seems to think that you two may have shared a prophesied dream," he remarked. His eyes were gentle, perhaps hoping to ease her visible anxiety.

She opened her mouth to reply, but only nodded her head. It felt awkward to talk to him about this strange matter. "Yes, we both had a dream that Nightvolt turned savage and attacked," Brokensong cut in. She must have realized that Frostfeather was reluctant to speak in the stern presence of her father.

"Nightvolt turning savage? But the forest has been peaceful for so long. I don't think that even he would want to break the serenity," Blizzardstar grunted. He turned to Frostfeather, his blue eyes narrowed in thought. "Is this really what you saw in your dream?" he demanded. He almost sounded displeased, like they might be making it up.

"Yes," she admitted. Her voice came out like a squeak, wound tight from her increased anxiety. Blizzardstar's features softened once more. He must have noticed how much this nightmare had effected his daughter.

He turned back to Brokensong, "what do you think this dream means?"

To Frostfeather's dismay, all Brokensong did was shrug. "I can not be sure what this dream means," she meowed softly, "all I am certain of is that Nightvolt could be dangerous."

"I could never imagine that one of our elders would be dangerous. But I can't deny that your dreams were not a coincidence," Blizzardstar remarked.

Brokensong lifted up a paw and pointed to her missing eye, "I know that all BreezeClan cats were once dangerous," she hissed. Her abrupt change of tone shocked Frostfeather. Had a BreezeClan cat been the cause of Brokensong's missing eye?

Blizzardstar gasped with shock at his medicine cat. "We are all IceClan now! I will not listen to these mousebrained ramblings about my warriors," he growled, "now, go back to your dens and get some rest. You both must have had some crowfood to have had such wild dreams."

Frostfeather's jaw dropped. Wild dreams? He had just said that hey clearly couldn't have been a coincidence! She looked desperately to Brokensong in the hopes she would object. The medicine cat's eye glittered with rage, but she didn't think it was about his comment towards their dreams.

"Those BreezeClan cats would have been better off dead in the forest," she snarled over her shoulder before she whirled around and exited the den. Frostfeather was left alone with her father. She could see that her father's whiskers quivered with rage.

"Why would Brokensong say those things about our Clanmates?" she asked, her voice thick with confusion. Blizzardstar turned away from her to face the back of his den. It felt like a wall of ice had formed between them.

"Brokensong has had a lot of misfortune at the paws of BreezeClan cats," he explained, "she lets her anger control her."

"But..." Frostfeather began to object. She had never known Brokensong to have anger. There seemed to be a lot that Frostfeather didn't know about her Clanmates. But Blizzardstar held up his tail for silence. He turned back towards her, his blue eyes dark with untold secrets that swam just beneath the surface. "Just go back to your nest. I'm positive that Nightvolt is not a threat," he soothed, his face an emotionless mask.

She knew there was no point to try and argue. StarClan would need to wait a bit longer before she could attempt to convince him to leave the forest. Frostfeather dipped her head and turned to leave. As she padded out of Blizzardstar's den and crossed the clearing, she could hear a faint voice in the medicine den.

"But my head just won't stop hurting," the male voice complained. That's Nightvolt.

"Just take this ginger leaf and go back to sleep," that was Brokensong's soft feminine tone. Her earlier aggression had evaporated. She sounded like the same gentle medicine cat that Frostfeather had known her to be.

Everything sounds normal, she decided before she picked up her pace and pushed her way back under the warrior den's sweeping branches. She glanced at all of her Clanmates as they slept around her. The familiarity of her home helped to soothe her anxieties. And everything will stay normal, I hope.