Snowkit shivered, wind ruffling through her pelt. Usually her mother kept her warm, but she felt more cold than ever, especially in the blazing wind. Snowkit yawned, wondering why the nursery was so cold.

            When she opened her eyes, she gasped, realizing she wasn't in the nursery any longer. She had thought that the trip to the forest had only been a dream, but she was wrong. She was alone in the woods. She slept on the solid ground, her moss flown off of her body since the wind refused to stop.

            Her mother. She had promised to return, hadn't she? Snowkit looked around, sniffing the air. The wind had taken most of the scent away. The little scent of her mother that she could pick up was stale. Where had her mother gone?

            Snowkit paced around. She didn't recognize these woods at all. None of the scents were familiar. They all lacked the familiar BloodClan scent. She knew she wasn't in BloodClan territory, but she had no idea how to return to BloodClan either.

            "MOMMY!" she yowled through the howling wind. "MOMMY, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

            Snowkit frantically ran through trees, looking for her mother. Where had her mother gone?

            Faster and faster. Her pace began to quicken. She raced through the forest, frantically looking for her lost mother. Snowkit ran, but soon halted as she edged near a cliff. There were no cliffs near BloodClan. She was in an entirely different forest!

            Snowkit backed away from the cliff, scared. Where was she? How could she return? "HELLO?!" she yowled, knowing that no one would answer.

            She was correct. Not a sound came. Only the wind whistled through her ears. Snowkit shivered, looking frantically for a place to cover from the wind. She paced around, going to each tree she could find, none displaying any signs of shelter.

            Tired and lonely, Snowkit groaned, now just walking slowly through the forest. She looked down at the ground, seeing no pawsteps whatsoever. Abandoned. She was abandoned.

            Why hadn't her mother returned? Was her mother dead? Surely a BloodClan warrior would notice and come finding her.

            "I'll just wait here," Snowkit said, sitting on a rock. "They'll come looking for me. I know they will."

            Snowkit sat on the rock, knowing it would take a while. But the morning sun was already rising to the middle of the sky. Surely they would have known by now.

            Sighing, Snowkit curled up on the rock, shovering her tail over her nose, trying to protect herself from the cold breeze. Showering her eyes from the rushing wind, Snowkit somehow slept.

Snowkit opened her eyes. Her stomach was growling loudly. She had only realized how hungry she was by now. Snowkit looked around, seeing that it was nearly late afternoon now and no cat had come and found her.

            "I have to keep waiting here," Snowkit said, not wanting to leave her rock. She sighed as her stomach growled again. She could wait there all day, but her stomach couldn't. She had to find some food and water.

            Snowkit padded around the forest floor, ducking as bird flew by, stopping as a sound came. She was scared, lonely, abandoned. Her stomach groaned once more. She was starving. She had gone almost a day without food. She realized she had gone to bed without dinner and this was the price she paid.

            The wind had died down, flowing in a gentle breeze. She no longer shivered in her own pelt, despite the continuous wind. She sniffed the ground, hoping she would find some type of food.

            Snowkit gasped, seeing large paw prints in the dust. These were no cat pawprints. These prints belonged to a much bigger animal. Much bigger.

            Snowkit began to follow the tracks, hoping they would lead to someone who could help her, or maybe even some food. She followed them constantly, stopping every once in awhile to make sure she was still following. She sniffed the air, smelling some type of animal.

            Crouching down, Snowkit edged forward, seeing a large object ahead of her. But as Snowkit neared, she noticed no large animal. She noticed a dead animal. This animal had been dead for about a day or so. What animal was it? It posessed a dark brown color, its paws replaced with hooves. Thin antlers stuck up from its head. "A deer?" Snowkit asked.

            Its carcass was mostly gone, only a little bit of meat left on the old piece of prey. Snowkit was about to turn away, but her growling stomach reminded her of how hungry she was. Sighing, Snowkit turned to the meat. It looked disgusting and hard, but she was starving.

            Snowkit bit into the meat that was left on the deer. The meat was hard and stale, filling Snowkit's mouth with a gross flavor, but it filled her belly. But she gobbled the rest up, her belly slightly filled. Snowkit groaned, still tasting the disgusting flavor in her mouth. She hoped another cat would find her soon.

            Lacking water, Snowkit searched around for a pond. She stopped, thinking of the pond the other day. The one that had killed Redpool. Poor Briarstorm and the kits. It was entirely her fault. She should've stood up to the kits, refusing to play their dangerous game.

            Snowkit sighed. There was no time to be sentimental. She had to find water. She searched around, but found none. Her mouth was dry from the deer, but she was tired. The sun had already begun to set due to the season of leaf-fall. She had to find a place to sleep.

            Snowkit padded around, looking for a nice dry spot to sleep. But there was none. She sighed, laying down between some tree roots that provided a comfortable spot to rest.

            "Mommy, why aren't you here?" she whispered. She looked into the sky, almost seeing her mother in the stars. Her mother couldn't be dead. But if her mother wasn't dead, why did she leave Snowkit alone?