Snowheart had no clue where she was supposed to go. Emberpool said the old twoleg nest, but where was that? Tasting the air, she caught the faintest scent of twolegs... And something else... There was the unmistakable scent of cat. Not just any cat. The cat she smelled was Emberpool.

*******

Snowheart had followed the twoleg's scent all the way out of the forest. She realized that she had somehow managed to end up at the top of a mountain. She only realized this after going down several steep slopes and seeing two twin mountains at an old twoleg's cabin. Following the faint scent, she finally managed to work her way down to the old barn. But it was nearly dusk, and Emberpool had said to meet him at sunhigh. Snowheart felt as if she should be relived. He might have been dangerous. But Snowheart really wanted to find out more. He said he had the power to walk in dreams. What other strange powers could he have? Snowheart, then, with all her instincts screaming to go back, she walked up to the barn.

**********
"Hi!" A she-cat called across the way. "Are you new to the barn? I'm Dapple!" Snowheart could see where the she cat got her name from. Her pelt was white, but gorgeous orange and red marks were... Well, dappled across her fur. And she seemed friendly enough. " I'm looking for a cat named Emberpool. Have you seen him?" She asked. Dapple grimaced, then looked at her disbelievingly. " Why would you want to see him?" Dapple snarled, her daughter friendliness suddenly gone. "He's so mean! He keeps the entire hayloft to himself, even though that's the best place to raise kits! He even kicked poor Pearl out of it, after she had just kitted little Fawn and Timber!"

"Well," Snowheart tried to explain herself. It looked like her instincts had been right. Emberpool was an evil cat. What kind of cat kicked a nursing queen and her kits out, just so he'd have the hayloft? "I- um, uh, he's the only cat I know here, and he said he wanted to meet me, not the other way around." Dapple seemed to relax. "Alright then, but you can't see him now. He takes a long nap after sunhigh, and then he hunts at night. But you can meet some of the other cats!" "That sounds good." Snowheart decided. And she followed the dappled she cat into the crowded fields of cats.

********
"Let me introduce you to Pearl and her kits!" Dapple exclaimed. The queen, Pearl, seemed quite unconcerned by this. She had two beautiful kits by her side, both of them barely bigger than the tiny food bowls set out by twolegs that Snowheart had seen on the way to queen's new nest. Snowheart could see how they got their names. Fawn, the female, was a light brown with white speckles, just like a baby deer. Timber, on the other paw, was a much darker brown than his sister. He looked like the bark of the many oak trees in the forest. "They're beautiful, Pearl. You must be so happy to have them." Pearl nodded, then gestured to the big field where many cats were crowded about, playfully tustling and teasing one another. " I have another daughter, Cloud. You couldn't tell she's mine, because she looks like my mother, Petal. And my mate Rabbit is trying to rustle up some prey for us. He's one of the only cats who really knows how to catch something!" The queen's green eyes lit up with delight, just thinking about her mate. Snowheart could remember doing that once, too. But now, instead feeling delighted about it, she felt ashamed. Dapple suddenly bounced in front of Snowheart,
Causing the fluffy white she cat to jump in surprise. "Come on, lazybones!" The young cat called. "There are some more cats I want you to meet!"

********
"I hope meeting this cat is worth it." Snowheart growled. She was tired from meeting with all the cats, and she was starving, as she had refused the kittypet food Dapple had so politely offered. "I promise, this is the last cat you'll meet. She's so nice, even though she's really old. And besides, Emberpool should be waking up soon. Then you can meet him!" Snowheart wondered where her young friend got all her energy. She was nowhere close to joining the elders den, but trekking around the entire farmyard would have tired out even Snowheart's former leader, and she had nine lives! Snowheart walked on in silence, letting Dapple do the talking. From the way she was babbling on, Snowheart could tell that Dapple really admired whoever she was taking her to see. "We're here!" Dapple cried gleefully. "Moss and Sleek should be here!" Snowheart glanced around. It was a very sheltered area, with lots of bushes for protection. Brambles were twined just right around the den so that all the spikes poked outward, and none
Threatened the two cats who lives here. Long vines of honeysuckle snaked down from the entrance, and Snowheart smelled the distinct scent of lavender. Dapple led her inside, and Snowheart saw two small nests lined with feathers and bits of wool from the sheep that grazed in fields nearby. Near the back of the den, two old cats were grooming each other. The she cat was dark gray with white paws, and the tom was a handsome silver color that went just right with the thin white stripes running down his back. "Hello!" Dapple called her usual greeting. "This is my new friend, Snowheart! She came to visit Emberpool, but only because he wanted to meet her. And I introduced her to a bunch of the others, and I wanted to introduce you to her, and her
to you, because Emberpool will wake up soon!" The two old cats looked like they wanted Dapple to repeat everything, but they just nodded as if they understood. "Hello." The tom, Sleek, his name was, introduced himself first. "My name is Sleek, and this is my mate, Moss. We were the first cats ever on this farm." Moss continued her mates words. "Several of the cats here are our kits!" She said proudly. "'Like Shimmer, Slate, Dove, Feather, Silver, Fern, Heather, and Boulder!" "Wow." Snowheart breathed in awe. She could barley imagine raising one kit, and this cat had raised so many, Snowheart lost count! She was about to nod to the elders to go on, but a voice interrupted her. "Stand aside, foolish elders!" The voice called. "I believe that Snowheart and I have some... Things to discuss...