I see Firepool in my den next to me when I wake up, and somehow, I feel reassured. Pressing into his pelt not only nullifies the cold flooding through the den, but somehow makes the bleak sunlight streaming in feel a bit brighter, a bit warmer. I purr, and he nods to me, getting up.

"Well, did you hear the rumors?" He asks me, shoving me playfully.

"Oh, you know I don't listen to gossip." I roll my eyes at him, sticking out my tongue.

"Well, Moonblaze told me that her kits might be apprenticed today, and Mothstar has some ideas for who the mentors might be." He looks over at me, and gives me a sly smile. "I think we all know who the obvious choices are?"

"Well, Flintfang might want to, for one..."

"Oh come on, Icestorm. You know perfectly well who I mean." He chuckles to himself. "There's a cat here more qualified than your brother... and she's right next to me right now."

I look at him, giving him a disapproving smile, and say, "If that's what Mothstar wants. She practically owes me an apprentice. She did a terrible job teaching me, after all." I scowl a bit at this, struggling not to burst out.

"Icestorm..." Firepool says, then shakes his head. "You know what? Let's go." He nudges me towards the Hightree, where already most of the clan has gathered, mewing happily and grooming each other.

Mothstar waits on her branch, lazily taking in the sunshine. Late leafbare is a hard time, but she knows that newleaf will be here soon, bringing the prey with it.

"As many of you know, three kits are now ready to become apprentices."

Everyone murmurs, expecting it but still buzzing with excitement. "Dawnkit, Foxkit, and Cobrakit, step forwards."

The three kits step forwards side by side. "Dawnkit, you will now be known as Dawnpaw. Your mentor will be Icestorm. Foxkit, you will now be known as Foxpaw. Your mentor will be Firepool. Cobrakit, you will now be known as Cobrapaw. Your mentor will be Flintfang."

Firepool licks my cheek, then we step up to touch noses with our new apprentices. Dawnpaw's beautiful golden eyes glimmer in excitement.

"Before I announce patrols, Lionpelt has gone missing. Any clues to his whereabouts will be heavily rewarded." On that slightly ominous note, Mothstar steps down and lets her new deputy, Blazefur, yowl out the patrols to the rest of the clan.

"So what are we going to do?" Dawnpaw asks, jumping back and forth as if she's dodging something.

"Well, I thought we'd go hunting, or would you rather patrol the territory?"

Dawnpaw looks from me to all the other cats, and says finally, "I've never been in the forest. Can we go see it? All of it?"

I nod to her, "All in good time. Come on."

We leave camp, and head out into the forest. I teach her how to walk quietly, and she obeys to her best ability. "See, do you smell that?"

She sniffs the air. "I smell wet fur... and ew, yuck!"

"That's FrostClan. We're approaching their territory now."

I walk along the line, and then see in the distance three cats. At first, they're small, then the black one notices us, snarling and charging forwards. Unwilling to back up, I glare her down, and then recognize her. It's Moonpaw, from the gathering. My eyes widen in shock. "Moonpaw?"

"It's Moonwing now. Not Moonpaw. Icepaw, you need to get off the territory... Or wait, are you a warrior now? Is that your apprentice?" She says, slightly amused.

"Icestorm. We're not on your territory."

"Yeah! I wouldn't want to go on your territory! You smell like a wet dog!" Dawnpaw chips in. I look back at her, gesturing that this may not be a good idea.

Moonwing glares, and says to a cat besides her, "Dawnflare, what do you say we teach this apprentice a lesson."

"I'd like to help." says an apprentice besides them with a smile.

"Well, Owlpaw, we'll give you the first move."

Before we can back up and run, Owlpaw is at Dawnpaw's throat, roaring in outrage.

Dawnpaw screeches, batting him across the nose, and then I run forwards, slamming Owlpaw off with my back paws, then ignoring my bleeding apprentice, run at Moonwing. "Get off!"

"You're on our territory!" She hisses, slashing my flank, drawing oozing blood.

Dawnpaw sputters in pain, but then out of the bushes, Blazefur and two other warriors come, and Moonwing, glaring at us all, says finally, "FrostClan, retreat for now. These cats will have to learn a lesson the hard way." She backs into the frigid pine forest, and disappears without a word.

"Fox-hearts!" Blazefur yells, gritting his teeth, but they're gone.

Dawnpaw groans in pain.

I look down at her, terrified. "Are you okay?"

She nods feebly, and with Blazefur, I carry her back to camp.

I sit outside the medicine cat den, and Volcanoheart works carefully, and then comes out. "She'll be fine, at least for the time being." I nod, relieved.

"Don't work her too hard until she's better."

"Of course, Volcanoheart. Thank you so much."

"No problem."

Firepool walks to me, his eyes glittering with concern, "Tough day?"

"I should've just gone hunting, like you did."

"She'll be okay. You didn't know it would happen, so it's not your fault. Don't beat yourself up, you're a great mentor."

Mothstar walks past me, and then smiles, "Firepool's right, and I've come to apologize for not being the best of mentors. I hope you can forgive me, Icestorm. You are a great warrior, and a huge asset to our clan. Losing your trust would be a pretty tough blow for me."

"Of course I forgive you!" I say, taken aback, even if resentment still stirs in me, just below the surface.

She nods and walks away, "Thank you."

Dawnpaw hobbles out of the medicine cat den, and my eyes glaze with pity. "Dawnpaw, I'm so sorry..."

"That was fun!" she exclaims, "Can we do it again tomorrow?"