Through her haze, a vague voice entered her mind.

"Willowpaw! Do I need to fetch Fawndapple? Willowpaw!"

Sky blue eyes, tinted with worry.

She shook her head. She felt as if she was floating outside her body.

Fear-scent entered her nose, sharp and bitter.

"Look at me, Willowpaw! Can you look at me?"

It took all the strength she had to meet the cat's gaze.

"Good. Just focus on my eyes. Are you okay?"

Willowpaw did not know how to respond. The truth? Or a lie? I don't think I could lie my way out of this.

She shook her head again. Almost at once, she felt a warm pelt at her side. The cat's scent swept around her and she recognized it instantly.

"Sunpaw?" She mumbled.

The tom nodded, and the two stayed there until Willowpaw's panic subsided.

It was like a heavy fog slowly being lifted and she felt clarity return to her mind after some time. She became aware that Sunpaw was still there, flanks rising and falling steadily

"Sunpaw?" She called shakily.

He lifted his head. "Yes? Are you feeling better?" His voice was tight with concern.

"I am. Thank you." Willowpaw said. She noticed that the tom had dragged her further up the shore, out of the water's reach.

Sunpaw shifted so he wasn't pressing against Willowpaw anymore. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." He said, breaking the silence. "But if you do, I will listen."

Willowpaw took a deep breath. She had sunk under the waves that time. I need to learn how to deal with this. She would rather have told Brightblossom or Frostpaw, but Willowpaw could not bear it any longer. She just needed to tell somebody.

And so she did.

Willowpaw began with the death of Jaykit and Pouncekit, and how it had been silently weighing on her for moons. The state her mother had sunken into since. The ever-present fear of traps. The secret of the tunnels. The drought.

All the while, Sunpaw listened. He nodded for Willowpaw to continue when she hesitated and agreed when Willowpaw became distraught.

Finally, she came to the prophecy. She paused, unsure if she should really be telling the young tom all of this. If I really want to ease this burden, I have to include everything.

Willowpaw slowly recalled the events of her dream as she did with Frostpaw, feeling uncomfortably self conscious. Will he think I'm crazy? What if he makes fun of me?

When she had at last finished, it seemed as though a tree had been lifted off her shoulders. She glanced over at Sunpaw, who had a shocked expression on his face.

"Are...you being serious?" He breathed.

Willowpaw felt a spark of anger. "Why would I be making this up?" She lashed her tail irritably.

Sunpaw quickly shook his head. "That's not what I meant. It's just.... This is a big deal and I'm surprised..." He trailed off, casting a guilty look at Willowpaw.

She sighed. "It's okay, I know what you mean. That's another reason why I'm so distraught. I have no idea why they wanted me to receive this prophecy." She rested her head on her paws.

He patted her shoulder awkwardly with his paw. "I'm sure it was for a good reason. You just have to trust StarClan."

He had echoed her thoughts exactly. Willowpaw nodded, letting her eyelids flutter down. "You promise you won't tell anybody?" There was a threatening undertone to her question.

"You have my word."

There was a nudge at her flank. "Er, you can't stay out here."

Willowpaw sighed, heaving herself to her paws. She noticed her legs were still shaky. Sunpaw did too, and helped support her.

"Thanks," she mumbled. Some part of her pride was suffering, having another cat see her so vulnerable.

Sunpaw shrugged. "Yeah, no problem."

Willowpaw locked her gaze on the ground. "No," she lowered her voice. "Thank you for helping me, listening to me... You really didn't have to do that."

The red tom continued to help her back to camp. "Well, I couldn't just leave you there," he sniffed in amusement. "But seriously, if you ever need to talk again, I, uh.. I'll be here."

They continued in a comfortable silence, each reflecting on their own thoughts.

Sunpaw could possibly be just the cat I need. Willowpaw realized. I could talk things out before they overwhelm me. The notion lifted her spirits. After all, he did offer.

When they arrived back, the two quickly retreated to their den. ThunderClan camp was silent, broken only by the occasional snore. How long was I out? A glance up at the moon told her. Half the night.

Soon enough, the entire camp was asleep. And Willowpaw rested easy, for the first time moons.

---

Chilling winds heralded the bitter leaf-bare weather. It brought itself upon the Clans, turning grass thorny and the earth firm. Apprentices and warriors alike turned their heads skyward in hopes to find flakes of snow falling.

The lake had shrunk, leaving behind freezing cracked earth. At the most recent Gathering, the leaders discussed the state of their Clans. It was not pleasant. The prey and water shortage made for frayed tempers. The only progress they made was agreeing that the lake was to be neutral territory.

All the while Willowpaw looked on with dismay. Her Clan, her family, was struggling with the lack of water. Several trips each day had to be made for collecting, using vital warriors that otherwise were needed to hunt.

---

Midway through leaf-bare, Willowpaw was awoken by excited gasps and chatter. She saw all the apprentices clustered at the entrance to the den, clambering for a view outside.

"What's going on?" She blinked sleep from her eyes and joined the cats.

Birdpaw was at the front of the cluster, looking on with amazement. It was Woodpaw who answered.

"Snow! Willowpaw can you believe it?" He bounced on his paws.

Frostpaw met her friend and led her next to the others.

What met the gray tabby's gaze was an image she would remember for seasons to come. Her first snow. Given, it was only several pawfuls of lazy flakes, her excitement overwhelmed any previous expectations. She pushed through the others and burst into the camp.

A very thin layer of snow dusted the ground, cushioning her paws. She relished the cold touch as several flakes met her nose and fell upon her fur. Willowpaw turned to her friends, who watched with amazement.

"You look like you have stars in your fur!" Woodpaw called out.

Frostpaw screwed up her nose and stomped up to Willowpaw. "I can be a StarClan cat too!" she said indignantly.

Sunpaw stared for a heartbeat longer then joined the two, closely followed by Woodpaw. Birdpaw reluctantly copied the rest. Willowpaw was surprised to notice a light hearted joy in the dark she-cat's eyes.

The five frolicked around the gorge until the warriors began to assemble dawn patrols. By then, their paws felt frozen solid.

While out patrolling the WindClan edge of the border, Driftbreeze spoke up. "I have noticed a decrease in the number of traps on our territory." The deputy swept her gaze around the undergrowth. "Perhaps the twolegs have tired?"

Her words made the rest of the patrol wear thoughtful expressions.

"I believe you're right." Brightblossom mewed. Her mismatched eyes flashed in relief.

"But does that mean the other Clans still suffer from them?" Beeflight flicked his tail.

After some discussion, they came to the agreement of telling Badgerstar the news.

He had dipped his head for several moments. His weary frame drew in a deep breath. "Such news is like a ray of light in the darkness. Thank you." The old leader rose to all fours. "I will make a note of announcing this at the next Gathering. Hopefully this is the end of our trap trouble."

As Brightblossom and the others turned to leave, Badgerstar called behind them, "Organize a trap patrol to check, just to be safe."

Driftbreeze had a meager pool to select from. Many of the warriors were already out hunting or collecting water. And the others had just returned from their dawn patrols. She sighed.

"Scarletfang. I want you, Willowpaw, Birdpaw and Ashpelt to scout the territory and check for traps. As always, take upmost caution."

Though the gray apprentice had just been with the deputy's patrol, she relished the thought of returning to the forest. Snow still formed a thin layer on the ground that Willowpaw was more than happy to trod through.

And by the time they arrived back at camp, their moods were considerably lighter then when they had left.

"Only one." Driftbreeze proudly reported. A murmur of approval rippled through the camp.

Willowpaw padded up to Birdpaw. The dark gray apprentice made no acknowledgement of her approach. "Hey," Willowpaw said.

Birdpaw met her eyes, amber against green. "What?"

Willowpaw inwardly sighed. She is not easy to talk to... "It's great that the traps are going away." She watched the apprentice from the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah." Birdpaw kept her face forward.

A flash of irritation struck Willowpaw. I don't know why she is so stand offish to me. It became her goal to fix that.

"Want to share a mouse with me? I'm starving." Willowpaw gave an exaggerated sigh and nodded towards the fresh-kill pile.

Birdpaw shrugged. "Fine."

The gray tabby bit back a remark and padded up to the meager prey pile, taking a medium sized piece. She led Birdpaw to a sunny spot in the camp. Both of them fluffed out their pelts to absorb the last of the weak rays the sun offered before sinking below the treetops.

Birdpaw was quiet as she ate.

"So, how's your training going?" Willowpaw asked between bites. It took all her willpower not to swipe at Birdpaw's ears for being so stiff.

"Good. My assessment is coming up." She kept her eyes downwards.

Wow, a full sentence. Willowpaw thought bitterly. That's progress.

"Oh really? That must mean Sunpaw and Woodpaw's is too." Willowpaw chewed thoughtfully. Sunpaw, a warrior? He's such a mousebrain. She mrrowed to herself.

Birdpaw shot her a glare.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine." Willowpaw said.

"Yeah." Birdpaw swiped her tongue over her whiskers and stood. Without another word, she padded over to the apprentices' den and vanished.

"Furball." Willowpaw muttered.