"Snowfeather, wake up," the gentle mew from Rivertail rang in Snowfeather's ears. She opened her eyes to see the sun had nearly risen, and all the nests were empty in the warriors den.

"You're going to be late for patrols," Rivertail said, letting out a smile.

Snowfeather smiled a little too, and she got up from her nest to pad outside into the MoonClan camp. Cats were already gathered by the deputy who issued cats to each patrol.

Snowfeather could already see Lionstripe's ginger pelt glow in the sunlight, though her stomach churned as she noticed Skyblossom next to him.

"Snowfeather, Rivertail," the voice of the deputy, Fishstorm, boomed. "You're on the patrol with Lionstripe."

Snowfeather couldn't help but give a little hop of excitement as she went over to where Lionstripe and the others stood. She watched as Skyblossom was assigned to another patrol. She issued a quick good-bye Lionstripe then padded off.

Lionstripe's face lit up as he saw Snowfeather and Rivertail. He gave a small nod to Rivertail, then gazed down with his green eyes at Snowfeather. "So, you decided to stay?" he asked.

Snowfeather nodded. "I decided to give MoonClan a chance for awhile. Who knows? I might love it here."

Lionstripe gave a nice nod as the patrol began to pad off. Snowfeather stayed by Rivertail's side as they patrolled the borders.

"You like Lionstripe," Rivertail whispered.

"No!" Snowfeather denied. "He's just very nice, that's all."

Rivertail suppressed a small giggle. "Come on, Snowfeather. I've been watching the way you've been staring at him. I saw when you looked at him the first time. Come on, you obviously like him."

"Hush down," Snowfeather whispered. "Alright, I like him, but what about Skyblossom? She obviously likes him too. It's probably too late."

Rivertail kept her mouth shut for a moment as they continued across the terrain of the forest. Then she spoke. "Yes, you're right, Skyblossom does, but Snowfeather, isn't it obvious that Lionstripe does not have a liking towards her? He never has! He's always thought they were just friends- that we were all best friends. I've known Lionstripe since kithood, and believe me, he'd probably think of it to be the oddest thing if he and Skyblossom became mates."

"But, they always seem to be by each other's sides. Their nests are even pushed together," Snowfeather complained.

"Skyblossom's idea, no doubt. But look, Snowfeather, you've got to believe me. Lionstripe is looking for another cat, not Skyblossom, and that cat is you."

"M-me? He said so himself?" Snowfeather asked, surprised.

"Well, no, but trust me, I'll help you out," Rivertail spoke, placing her tail on Snowfeather's shoulder.

"You really would do that for me?" Snowfeather asked. She'd barely known this she-cat for a day, and now suddenly she was beginning to understand friendship.

"That's what friends are for, right?"

"Oh, thank you!" Snowfeather exclaimed, jumping up and down. A few cats turned to around to oddly stare at the new member, but they turned away within a few moments.

"Better catch up to him. You don't have Skyblossom to hold you back," Rivertail pointed out.

Snowfeather nodded, facing ahead of the patrol to catch up with Lionstripe. She padded up towards him, beginning to walk by his side.

Suddenly, her knees became shaky, and she felt her throat clog. How could she talk to Lionstripe right now? With Bear, it had all seemed so easy.

No, don't think about Bear, she thought. Lionstripe is not Bear. He's different.

"Hey," Snowfeather said weakly.

"Oh, hey. Didn't see you catch up," Lionstripe chuckled. There was a pause before he spoke again. "You still somber about your family?"

"I'll find them when the time comes," Snowfeather admitted. "Maybe StarClan will send me a message with better directions this time." This comment made Lionstripe laugh, and Snowfeather giggled too.

"I just needed to take some time off from looking for my family. Relax a little, you know? It's so nice to be in a clan," Snowfeather spoke.

Lionstripe nodded. "Of course. How long were you journeying?"

Snowfeather shuffled her paws at this. She had not become this close with Lionstripe yet to let him know the truth "Eleven moons, I guess."

"What clan did you come from?"

"SnowClan," Snowfeather blurted out. It had been the first clan to pop into her head. "It's a long way away from here."

"Sounds like it," Lionstripe replied.

Throughout the rest of the patrol, Snowfeather continued to chat with Lionstripe about MoonClan. She was able to learn more about him, and he was able to learn more about her. Needless to say, they had become better friends during the day.

As mid-day neared, Snowfeather shared a squirrel with Rivertail as she watched Lionstripe chat with Skyblossom. Had Rivertail truly been telling the truth? It seemed they were caught up in each other.

"Rivertail," Snowfeather said, swallowing her bite if squirrel. "Are you sure they don't like each other? I mean, you're Skyblossom's best friend, are you not?"

"Trust me, Lionstripe has no interest towards her, and yes, Skyblossom and I are good friends. I've known her since kithood too," Rivertail said.

"Well, not to be rude, but, aren't you kind of turning against her by helping me?" Snowfeather asked.

"Well," Rivertail said slowly, "it's not to be mean, not to be cruel. We're good friends, I assure you, but, well, Lionstripe and Skyblossom don't seem right for each other. I don't want Skyblossom's heart to be set out on a tom that'll probably never love her back. There are so many young toms who like Skyblossom, but, Lionstripe doesn't seem right for her, and I don't think Lionstripe can deal with her all the time. She can be a bit...obnoxious and rude at times. Lionstripe isn't like that."

"Oh," Snowfeather said. She was interrupted as she saw Lionstripe approach.

"Hey," Lionstripe said, sitting down.

"Hey," Snowfeather and Rivertail both replied in unison.

"So, Skyblossom doesn't want to go hunting because a small thorn was stuck in her foot earlier today, so I was asking if you guys wanted to go hunt," Lionstripe said.

Rivertail and Snowfeather both exchanged glances, and before Snowfeather could speak, Rivertail spoke. "I'm supposed to be on mid-day patrol, but I'm sure you and Snowfeather cold go."

Snowfeather nodded vigorously.

"Well, alright then. Ready to go, Snowfeather?" Lionstripe asked.

Snowfeather nodded and rose from her spot on the ground. As she began to pad away with Lionstripe, she turned around and smiled at Rivertail, mouthing "thanks".

Rivertail replied with a wide grin, and Snowfeather and Lionstripe padded away into the forest.

"I've never been hunting in these woods before!" Snowfeather exclaimed, looking around the majestic woods. A small bird flew from up above and landed on the gentle branches of the tree. The first leaf fell slowly on Snowfeather's nose, and she knew leaf-fall had arrived.

"It seemed leaf-fall would never come," Lionstripe admitted, laughing a little as the leaf slowly floated off Snowfeather's nose.

"Isn't that a bad thing? I hate leaf-bare," Snowfeather admitted.

"Don't like getting your paws wet in the snow?" Lionstripe joked.

"No, it's not that. It's--" Snowfeather paused, remembering the struggle for food at the time. She remembered the cold nights, the nights before StarClan had cared for her. "It's just prey is scarce, and it's so cold."

"But you've got that huge coat!" Lionstripe exclaimed.

"I guess so," Snowfeather laughed "So, are we going to hunt?"

Before either of them could speak, a mouse slowly crept out of a hole, and Lionstripe motioned for her to be silent as he crept slowly then leapt, missing the mouse in its entirety.

"Nice fail," Snowfeather laughed.

"I nearly had it," Lionstripe complained.

"You were way off. Don't deny it!" Snowfeather giggled again.

"I'm going to get you for that!" Lionstripe said, beginning to run towards Snowfeather.

Snowfeather giggled once more, beginning to run off. "Can't catch me!" she laughed, beginning to run.

She giggled and laughed, and suddenly Lionstripe appeared beside her. How had he gotten to her so fast?

She ignored this thought and continued to run, though Lionstripe seemed to appear every time. Without thinking, Snowfeather quickly changed into mist form and landed on the nearby branch of a tree.

She gasped in shock, not meaning to reveal her powers. She had worked so hard during her journey in the mountains to control and practice with them, and now her secret had been blown.

She noticed Lionstripe's look of confusion, and she sighed, a misty haze rolling over the tree as she appeared back down by Lionstripe. "Sorry," she spoke slowly. "I have powers...mist powers..."

She watched as Lionstripe's look of confusion curved into a smile. "Really?! I've got powers too!"

"No way!" Snowfeather exclaimed with excitement. "What can you do?"

"I can run at lightning speed," Lionstripe said, quickly running around a tree only to appear at Snowfeather's side in a few seconds.

"I can transform into mist," Snowfeather said, turning into mist and then appearing on the other side of Lionstripe.

"Wow, I never thought any other cat had powers. I thought I was the only one. Only Nightstar knows about it," Lionstripe admitted.

"You're the first cat I've revealed my powers to," Snowfeather admitted. "Please promise you won't tell. Not even to Nightstar."

"I promise," Lionstripe said. "Promise you won't tell mine either?"

"I promise," Snowfeather said, smiling at Lionstripe. His green eyes gazed deeply at her, and she she grinned even more. She and Lionstripe had something in common, a secret. Though her powers were only a small part of her secret.