Snowpaw awoke the next day to see a new layer of snow had covered the old, and the ground was soft with snow again.

            Snowpaw yawned and padded out of the log. Today would be her first day of training to be an apprentice. She was anxious to begin. She had always dreamed this day would someday come, even if it wasn't in BloodClan. She preferred here in the woods much better than the vicious clan.

            Snowpaw looked around, trying to see Silverwhisker or Stonecloud. Had they left? Had it all been a cruel joke? Thoughts spurred into Snowpaw's mind like crazy, making her think the StarClan she-cats had abandoned her, just like her clanmates had done.

            She was relieved to see Silverwhisker padding out of the bushes with a water vole in her mouth. She dropped the vole at Snowpaw's paws.

            "For me?" Snowpaw asked.

            The silver she-cat let out a gentle nod.

            "Thanks!" Snowpaw exclaimed, biting into the fresh piece of prey, her previous hunger now exchanged with satisfaction.

            As Snowpaw finished up the vole, she gazed at Silverwhisker. "Where is Stonecloud?"

            "She'll be here shortly," Silverwhisker said.

            "What will we do first?" Snowpaw asked.

            Silverwhisker let out a gentle mrrowl of laughter. "Well, we can't teach you all the aspects of the clans. Normally, we would show you around the territory and show you how to fetch moss for the elders, but since you aren't in a clan...we'll just be showing you some herbs to heal wounds, some hunting techniques, ways to find shelter, and more. It'll be helpful to you out here."

            Snowpaw opened her mouth, ready to argue that she wanted to join a clan, when Stonecloud padded through the bushes just like Silverwhisker had.

            "Good morning," Stonecloud said. "Are we ready to begin?"

            Snowpaw nodded, bouncing up and down with excitement. "Yes, Stonecloud!"

            Stonecloud purred. "Good. Follow me. I'll be showing you some herbs. Silverwhisker will show you some more later."

            Snowpaw told Silverwhisker good-bye and padded off with Stonecloud, ready to learn about herbs that would heal her.

            "Now, I'm not sure what you'll face out here, but we'll be reviewing every day, so that way you'll know what to do," Stonecloud smiled.

            "Alright," Snowpaw said.

            Stonecloud sighed. "Unfortunately, it's leaf-bare, so not all the plants are in bloom. But with the power of StarClan, I'll be able to show you what it looks like. Now, what do you think could be out here in the forest?"

            "Foxes, badgers, other cats," Snowpaw said.

            "Good," Stonecloud replied. "But, you never know what you'll face. Foxes and other predators are the least of your problems. You could be bitten by a rat, stung by several bees, come down with whitecough or greencough."

            "Wow," Snowpaw said. "There are lots of ways to get injured."

            Stonecloud nodded. "Maybe one day you'll eat poison by accident too. There are cures for everything."

            "Were you a medicine cat?" Snowpaw asked.

            Stonecloud shook her head. "No, I was a warrior like any other cat, but we StarClan cats know a lot."

            "What other challenges will I face?" Snowpaw asked.

            "Maybe one day you'll have a mate and you'll expect kits. There are herbs that can help you too. Now, let's say you run into a fox. You fight it off, but you're terribly injured. What do you do?"

            Snowpaw shrugged, not really sure. Her mind kept drifting back to what Stonecloud had said earlier though. What if she did have a mate and kits one day? She had never really thought of it. She had always just thought of seeing her mother and family again. But she was growing up fast, and she wouldn't need her mother anymore.

            Stonecloud's words interrupted Snowpaw's thoughts. "There are many things to do if you become severely injured. First, cobwebs."

            "Why cobwebs?" Snowpaw asked.

            "They stop or slow the bleeding of your wounds," Stonecloud explained, leading Snowpaw to some nearby bushes.

            As Snowpaw came closer, she noticed the familiar sticky, white substance on some bushes.

            "Just grab some of this and place it on your wounds," Stonecloud said. "They're fairly easy to find, though look in trees and bushes, the snow will cover most."

            "What else?" Snowpaw asked, curious to know more.

            "Marigold," Stonecloud said.

            "Marigold?"

            "Yes, it is a flower that grows in the forest. It stops infection. But since it is not growing right now, come over here," Stonecloud said, leading her to a spot in the woods that was purely snow, no trees or bushes covering over it.

            Stonecloud gazed at the ground. Snowpaw couldn't tell what she was doing. Suddenly, Snowpaw gasped as the sun pointed towards the snow, melting away at it. A yellow flower then began to sprout from the ground.

            "Marigold," Stonecloud said.

            "How do you do that?!" Snowpaw gasped as the brightness faded and the snow covered the ground up again.

            "It's all StarClan's power," Stonecloud said. "Now, let's learn some more."

            Throughout the morning, Snowpaw went over and learned about herbs that healed wounds from foxes, badgers, or other cats.

            It was confusing trying to remember all of them, but Stonecloud was a great mentor, helping her out. She had shown her every herb with StarClan's powers, just like she had done with the marigold.

            As they headed back to find Silverwhisker, Snowpaw reviewed all the herbs she had learned in her head.

            Cobwebs for bleeding. Marigold for infection. Chervil for infected wounds. Comfry roots for soothing wounds. Dock for scratches. The list went on forever, and it was only her first day of learning the herbs!

            Snowpaw smiled to see Silverwhisker walking around their small camp. Her face lit up into a smile when she saw Snowpaw and Stonecloud.

            "There you are! How was learning about herbs?"

            "It was great!" Snowpaw squeaked. "Stonecloud taught me everything about healing wounds."

            Silverwhisker twitched her whiskers in amusement. "Great. I'll be teaching you some valuable hunting lessons today."

            Snowpaw smiled as she left with Silverwhisker, leaving Stonecloud behind in the camp. Snowpaw breathed in the fresh fumes of the forest, her paws touching the soft snow beneath her paws.

            "So, what do we do first?" Snowpaw asked.

            "Well, I heard you know how to catch fish and other prey, right?" Silverwhisker asked.

            Snowpaw nodded.

            "Well, new-leaf to leaf-fall shouldn't be a problem for you. But it's leaf-bare that you must learn how to catch prey. Later in your training we'll review how you normally catch prey. Anyway, in leaf-bare, prey is scarce which is why most cats struggle in the season. But you mustn't worry because there is always some prey," Silverwhisker said.

            "Like what?" Snowpaw asked.

            "Birds, voles, mice, anything really. You just have to find their burrows," Silverwhisker explained.

            "But won't you confuse them with snake holes?" Snowpaw asked.

            Silverwhisker nodded. "Many prey live in the ground until leaf-bare is over. Some live in the trees. Most birds fly south for the winter. We'll only be checking out burrows today. And you don't have to worry about snakes just yet," she laughed. "They don't come out in leaf-bare."

            "Where are the holes?" Snowpaw asked.

            "We'll look around," Silverwhisker said, beginning to walk.

            Snowpaw followed after the silver she-cat, ready to hunt for some prey. Snowpaw gazed around the white forest, thinking about what her family was doing right now. Were they in BloodClan, killing other rogues? Was her father leader now since Shadowstar was on his last life? How were Redpool's kits? Had they moved on from their father's death?

            Snowpaw was interrupted as Silverwhisker came to an abrupt stop, making Snowpaw almost run into her.

            "Found a hole," she whispered.

            Snowpaw carefully stood on the other side of her, looking at the hole. It wasn't that large, but a rabbit or mouse could easily fit in it.

            "What do we do?" Snowpaw whispered.

            "Dig."

            Snowpaw and Silverwhisker began to dig at the hole, trying to see if any prey lived in it. Snowpaw's eyes lit up when a mouse quickly scurried out of the hole. Snowpaw leapt, capturing the mouse in her paws, killing it in one bite.

            "Great job!" Silverwhisker reassured her. "You're really good at hunting."

            "Well I've been doing it for nearly two moons now," Snowpaw said, dropping the dead mouse at her paws.

            Although they had successfully found the mouse hole, they were unable to find any other holes that contained prey. Snowpaw didn't really care though because she had a delicious mouse to eat, and that would surely fill her empty stomach.

            Snowpaw padded back into camp with Silverwhisker, carrying the dead mouse in her jaws.

            "That was all you caught?" Stonecloud asked.

            Silverwhisker nodded. "We didn't have much luck today, but there's always tomorrow."

            Snowpaw smiled, sitting down and beginning to eat the mouse that she had caught.

            "Did Snowpaw catch that?" Stonecloud asked.?

            Before Silverwhisker could reply, Snowpaw answered her question for her. "I sure did!"

            Stonecloud smiled at her apprentice.

            Snowpaw smiled back, glad these StarClan cats had taken her in when no one else would. She was really enjoying it here.