Hollystar and Her Life as a WaterClaner

[Holly]

Hollykit opened her eyes for the first time. She looked around. She saw a huge cat, at least that's how she saw her, that had a beautiful golden pelt. Next to her was a white cat, about her size. Is this... life? she wondered. The golden she-cat must be her mother, and the cat next to her must be her sister. A cold wind tugged at Hollykit's soft fur. She curled closer to the golden cat. She was tired, so she closed her eyes and slept.

"Hollykit," mewed a soft voice in her sleep. "Hollykit, wake up," it mewed again. She opened her eyes, and saw the golden cat staring down at her. "Oh, look!" she meowed to another cat. "She has her eyes open already!" "Can she understand us yet?" meowed the other cat. "Let's see," mewed the big, golden cat. "Hollykit, I'm your mother, Sunpelt," she paused to point her tail towards the other cat. "and this is your father, Branchtail. This is your sister, Snowkit," she then licked the top of the white cat's head. Hollykit looked around the den. "We're in the nursery; that's in the WaterClan camp," she mewed, noticing Hollykit looking around. "Are dar oter cats her?" Hollykit tried mewing. "Yes," meowed Branchtail. Snowkit stirred and finally opened her eyes. Sunpelt went over everything just like she did when Hollykit had awoken. Hollykit was still tired, since her mother had woken her up, so she went back to sleep, listening to her sister and mother mewing.

Hollykit woke up in the nursery. She was about 4 moons old. Leafbare was starting to end, but it was still cold outside. "Hello Hollykit," meowed her mother. "Hi Mom," she replied. Snowkit was roused by their conversation. "Can we go out and play?" Hollykit asked. Snowkit, before looking like she hadn't gotten any sleep at all, suddenly looked like she could run all the way to the lake. "Yeah, can we mom, can we?" she begged. "Oh, alright. Just don't get into to trouble. And if it gets too cold, come back in here. And don't get in the way of the warriors!" Sunpelt shouted after them, for they had already taken off. "I'm gonna get that leaf before you!" challenged Snowkit. "Wanna bet!" shouted back Hollykit as she darted forward towards the leaf. She shot past Snowkit, although she had had a headstart, and pounced onto the leaf. "No fair!" wailed Snowkit. "Yeah it is! You even had a headstart!" bragged Hollykit. "Let's find something else to do," mewed Snowkit. "Okay," replied Hollykit. They wandered around the camp. "There's nothing to do here. How about we go OUTSIDE of the camp?" asked Snowkit. "Oh, I don't know... what if we get in trouble?" wondered Hollykit. "Don't worry, we'll get back before they even notice that we've gone," replied Snowkit simply. Before Hollykit could object, Snowkit was bounding towards the entrance. "If they ask where we're going, we can just say that we're going to make our dirt," mewed Snowkit. They made it out of the camp in no time, with no cat knowing that they had gone...

Hollykit looked around. This was her territory, her home, and she suddenly felt a little safer. Snowkit darted through the trees. Hollykit didn't want to be left alone, so she quickly hurried to catch up. "Snowkit?" mewed Hollykit after some time. "Snowkit?" Hollykit mewed scaredly. "Snowkit!" she cried. Nothing. "Where are you?!" Hollykit wailed. She ran through the trees, calling and looking for her sister. Suddenly, Hollykit was falling through the air, into blackness. She landed with a thud. "Who's there?" mewed a startled voice through the darkness. "Snowkit?" Hollykit asked. "Hollykit!" mewed the voice happily. "Where are we?" asked Hollykit. "I don't know, but it's dark and cold and scarry here," mewed her sister. "Well, let's see if we can climb out. Snowkit got half way up, then fell. Hollykit tried after Snowkit, and didn't get any farther up. "What are we going to do now?" wailed Snowkit. "I guess we should just make noises until some cat hears us," suggested Hollykit. So they waited and waited and waited. They waited half the day away. When the little light they did have that was coming from the top of the hole was slowly vanishing, they thought all hope was lost. They kept mewing though. Soon after darkness had fallen, though, a patrol led by Branchtail heard their desparate cries for help. They were able to jump down into the hole, pick up the kits by their scruffs, and carry them out one after the other. "Are you alright? Your mother and I have been so worried. You should be ashamed of yourselves," meowed Branchtail. Beavertail carried Hollykit and Branchtail carried Snowkit back to camp. A cold wind blew through the air. Hollykit secretly mapped her surroundings, just to be safe. When they got back to camp though, both Hollykit and Snowkit though were anything but safe...

"How could you have just run off like that!" Branchtail yowled when they got back to camp. "Don't be too harsh, they're just kits!" insisted Sunpelt. "Why don't you let Rainstar handle this?" mewed Duckfeather, one of the newly named warriors, quietly. Branchtail turned to Duckfeather and looked as though he was about to yowl into her face that she had no say in how he handled his kits, but he swallowed his words and said,"Well, where is Rainstar?" "I think she's in her den; she might still be out on patrol though," meowed Grasspelt from the nursery. His mate, Flowereyes, was expecting kits that were due any day now. "I'll go and check her den," mewed Sunpelt. Just as Sunpelt was about to turn and head for the Highledge, Rainstar appeared from the Elder's Den. "Did you find them?" she asked. "Yes. They had fallen into an old rabbit den when we found them," meowed Branchtail. "What do you think we should do?" meowed Sunpelt worriedly. "I think we should have them do apprentice duties for a few days, since they want to be apprentices so badly and want to get out of camp," meowed Rainstar. "I think that would do them good," meowed Branchtail sternly. "Very well; Hollykit, Snowkit, you are going to start apprentice duties tomorrow before sunhigh. Go and get some rest now, because you'll have a busy day tomorrow. We'll decide when you're ready to be a kit again," mewed Rainstar. And with that she stalked away to her den, not waiting to be approved. Hollykit saw Frogleg, the new deputy since last moon when Eaglefeather, the old deputy, died, creep into the camp. He had been late yet again and had missed a chance to have a say in something, like punishing herself and her sister. She wondered why Frogleg was always somewhere else when something important was happening. She wasn't sure if he'd be a good deputy, or make a good leader. Hollykit scampered over to the nursery and flopped down to sleep.

[Holly]

"Hollykit," a voice was saying, just like her mother had been when she had first seen the world. "Hollykit," it said again, so Hollykit opened her eyes. She was dreaming, she knew. Before her was a beautiful forest, with butterflies and flowers, birds singing in the trees, and the scents of prey. She liked this place. Hollykit saw a small she-cat trot over to her. Many more cats followed her. "Hello, Hollykit. I am Littlestar. You might hear of me in stories, for I am a StarClan warrior," meowed Littlestar. "You are?" Hollykit squeaked, and then she noticed the silver glow shining from Littlestar's pelt. "Yes. You are young now, so you might not understand this. You, Hollykit, have a destiny greater than most cats before you. There have been cats like you before, cats that have had great destinies that StarClan have laid down for them. The last cat like that was Firestar. You have probably heard of him. The cat before him was Scorchstar, and the cat before him was me. Littlestar," meowed Littlestar. "You know Firestar? Is he here?" asked Hollykit. "Yes I know him, and yes, he is here," Littlestar mewed. "Can I see him?" asked Hollykit. "I'm here," meowed another cat. It was Firestar himself. It was true, Hollykit noticed, that his pelt looked like it was on fire. "It's so nice to meet you, you're a legend!" mewed Hollykit. "You will see me many more times, but for now you must get some sleep," he meowed. "Oh alright, but do you promise that we'll meet again?" asked Hollykit. "I promise," meowed Firestar, and as he said these words, the cats of StarClan began to pad away. "Goodbye!" Hollykit called after them. "Goodbye!"

[Holly]

"Goodbye? Where are we going?" meowed a voice. Hollykit woke up. She saw her mother and Snowkit, who was still asleep. "What?" asked Hollykit, confused. "You we saying,'Goodbye, goodbye,' in your sleep," mewed Sunpelt. "Oh, I must have been dreaming," mewed Hollykit. "Well, can you stop dreaming long enough to eat some freshkill?" asked her mother. "Yes," squeaked Hollykit. She crept over to the vole, belly to the ground, and... pounced! She landed right on the vole, and with a satisfied grin, started to eat. Snowkit woke up a little while later. "Do we have to do apprentice duties, because I mean, we're still kits, and we'll have plenty of time to do apprentice duties when we're APPRENTICES," mewed Snowkit. "Yes, it's your punishment," answered Sunpelt. "Oh, alright," Snowkit mewed unhappily.

For the next few days, both Hollykit and Snowkit worked and worked and worked. Rainstar had been noticing how hard they had been working, so she called together Frogleg, who again wasn't there, Sunpelt, Branchtail, Snowkit, and Hollykit. "I have been watching Hollykit and Snowkit the past few days, and I think they have worked off their punishment," meowed Rainstar. "I also think so too," mewed Sunpelt. "What do you think Branchtail?" asked Rainstar. He paused to let his gaze travel over Snowkit, Hollykit, then back to Snowkit. He let out a sigh and meowed,"I guess they have worked hard, so yes, I agree with you." "Then it's settled; Hollykit and Snowkit are done with their apprentice duties and can go back to the nursery," mewed Rainstar. She began to pad toward her den, but she paused, thought for a moment, then called over,"Have any of you seen Frogleg today?" "Yes, this morning by the nursery, but I can't imagine why; he doesn't have any kits in the nursery," mewed Flowereyes. "Yes," she paused again. "Thank you Flowereyes." Rainstar stalked back to her den. "I'll race ya to the nursery!" squeaked Snowkit. "Oh yeah?" challenged Hollykit, like she always used to. She let Snowkit get a big headstart, and then charged after her. Like always, Hollykit won. "No fair!" wailed Snowkit. "It is too! I even let you get halfway to the nursery before I started chasing after you!" mewed Hollykit, like she always did.

Hollykit woke up in the middle of the night by the sound of an owl hooting. She was a little scared, and she almost jumped when the entrance to the camp started to rustle and out of it appeared a cat. Hollykit relaxed a little when she realized it was only Frogleg, but then she wondered, Why is he out so late? and, Where has he been all day? She decided that she would stay away from him for now, because he might be spying for ShadowClan or something like that. Hollykit felt a little worried for Flowereyes, Frogleg's sister. They were both young, and looked a little alike, Hollykit thought as she looked over to see Flowereyes and her belly full of kits. Flowereyes was so nice, she just didn't want to see Frogleg betray her in any way and break her heart in doing so. Hollykit snuggled closer to Sunpelt and fell asleep.

Hollykit was nervous and excited all at the same time. She was almost six moons old! In a few more days she would be apprenticed, and she could hardly wait. "Can we be apprentices NOW?" Snowkit kept asking our mother. "Not yet," Sunpelt would always say. "Why do you want to be apprentices so badly if you didn't like doing their duties and kept complainning about it before?" she would ask. "Because, I don't think it's fair that we have to do apprentice duties when we're not apprentices and not gaining anything." Finally, the day off the naming ceremony came...

Rainstar padded out of her den at sunset. She went straight towards the Highrock, again without a deputy at her side. She didn't have to yowl to call the Clan meeting to start, for most of the cats were already coming out of their dens. Thunderpaw and Wrenpaw came out of the Apprentice's Den, while Beavertail, Grasspelt, Duckfeather, Icefoot, and Smokeheart came out of the Warrior's Den. Flowereyes just sat by the entrance to the nursery, not wanting to go too far from her newborn kits. Branchtail and Sunpelt came to sit near the Highledge. "I call upon my warrior ancestors to look upon these kits. They are now six moons old, and need to be apprenticed," Rainstar began. "Hollykit, from this moment on, until you are given your warrior name, you will be Hollypaw," she paused to look around her Clan. "Since my first choice of mentor is not here, I will mentor Hollypaw," Hollypaw knew who Rainstar meant, Frogleg. Hollypaw was speechless though when Rainstar said that she would be mentoring her. Rainstar bent down to touch noses with her. Hollypaw then licked her shoulder respectfully. "Now, we have another kit that needs to be apprenticed." She looked at Snowkit. "Snowkit, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be Snowpaw, and your mentor will be Smokeheart," Snowpaw looked like she was about to burst. Smokeheart padded towards her and touched noses with her. Snowpaw was too proud of herself to like her new mentor's shoulder. The Clan meeting slowly started to break up. "So, Sunpelt?"asked Hollypaw. "Yes?" she mewed. "I have to sleep in the apprentices den, without you?" Hollypaw asked. "Well, I won't be in the nursery anymore, I'll be sleeping in the Warrior's Den," Sunpelt meowed. "Oh, okay," mewed Hollypaw. Hollypaw padded over to the Apprentices Den. It would feel strange not to be sleeping in the nursery, but she knew that Snowpaw would be sleeping there too. Snowpaw and Wrenpaw were still in the clearing, but Thunderpaw was inside. She found a clump of moss next to Thunderpaw and fell asleep...

[Holly]

Hollypaw dreamed she was in a beautiful forest, a forest that looked fimilar to her in a way. Hollypaw saw flowers blooming at the bases of the tall trees, and butterflies of all different colors pestering her to chase them. She then saw different cats that had a silver glow shining from them trot forward. She saw a small, brown tabby she-cat pad towards her. "Welcome, young Hollypaw," mewed the she-cat. "I am Littlestar. You may remember me from somewhere, because I visited you once when you were a kit in your dreams," meowed Littlestar. Then a flame colored cat stepped forward. "I am Firestar, and I once promised a young she-kit that I would meet her again," meowed the cat. "You're Firestar?" asked Hollypaw, and then she remembered that he too had visited her in her dreams. A new cat, one that Hollypaw had never met, padded forward. He was a white cat that had a yellowish tint to it. "I am Scorchstar," he meowed firmly. "It's nice to meet you," mewed Hollypaw. "What have you come to tell me?" Hollypaw asked. Littlestar looked at Firestar, and then at Scorchstar, as if asking them what to say. Then she turned her gaze to Hollypaw. "Young Hollypaw, you have a destiny greater than most cats before you. There have been cats like you before, cats that have had great destinies that StarClan have laid down for them. The last cat like that was Firestar." She paused to look at Firestar. The cat before him was Scorchstar, and the cat before him was me," meowed Littlestar. "What does that mean? That I will do things like Firestar and Scorchstar and you did?" Hollypaw asked. "Similar things, yes," mewed Scorchstar. "No two cats destinies are the same though, so yours will be different than ours," meowed Firestar. "I think we have told you enough for one night," meowed Littlestar. "Get some rest, for tomorrow you will start your trainning to be a warrior," she mewed, and as if her words were a signal, the cats of StarClan began to pad away.

[Holly]

Hollypaw awoke the next morning feeling refreshed. Thunderpaw was looking at her with dreamy eyes. When Hollypaw started to stir, he almost jumped. He quickly started to groom himself. "Good morning," mewed Hollypaw. "Morning," mumbled Thunderpaw. "I suppose we should start our training," meowed Hollypaw. "Yeah," Thunderpaw mewed, so they walk out into the clearing together. "Hi Thunderpaw!" yowled a voice from the freshkill pile. It was Snowpaw. She came running up to them. "Hi!" Snowpaw mewed excitedly. "Do you want to go hunting with me Thunderpaw?" "Ummm, I think I have to do some training with Beavertail," Thunderpaw meowed. "Oh," Snowpaw mewed in a surprised voice. "Okay," she mewed and she stalked off. "So, would you like to train with me Hollypaw?" Thunderpaw asked. "Sure!" she replied excitedly. "But I think I'll have to ask Rainstar," Hollypaw mewed. "That's okay; I'll probably have to ask Beavertail too," Thunderpaw meowed, and he padded away. Now I have to find Rainstar, Hollypaw thought. She stalked over to the Highrock and called into Rainstar's den. Rainstar appeared right away. "Are you ready for your first day of training?" she asked. "Yes, and I was wandering if I could train with Thunderpaw..." Hollypaw mewed. "I think that on your first day of training, I should be helping you. Once you've learned more, you could train and exchange different technics with Thunderpaw," Rainstar mewed sternly. Hollypaw tried not to look to disapointed. Thunderpaw came bounding up to them and meowed,"Beavertail said that since it's your first day of training, you should probably train with your mentor." "That's okay; that's what Rainstar said too. I'll see you later," Hollypaw mewed. "Okay, bye!" Thunderpaw meowed as he bounded away. "Ready?" Rainstar asked. "Yeah," Hollypaw mewed.

Hollypaw trotted back through the camp entrance feeling refreshed, yet exhasted. The sun was begining to sink behind the trees. "Wow! I mean, all of those landmarks, and special places, all on our territory!" Hollypaw meowed to Rainstar. "Yes, and there are even more special places beyond this territory, but you can't explore them yet," Rainstar replied as they trotted into camp. Snowpaw wasn't back from her training yet, and neither was Wrenpaw. Bluekit and Sparklekit were chasing each other while Creamkit had fallen asleep by the entrance to the nursery. Beavertail was talking to Icefoot and Crabclaw was sharing tongues with his sister, Duckfeather. Everything seemed normal. Everything was peaceful. Hollypaw saw Thunderpaw across the clearing by the fresh kill pile. She ran over to him and asked,"Would you like to eat with me?" Thunderpaw mewed,"Sure!" Hollypaw chose a vole and Thunderpaw chose a finch. After they were done they shared tongues. "I never knew our territory was so... amazing!" Hollypaw meowed. "There are lots of neat things out there, but there are also dangers. I try to avoid most of them," Thunderpaw replied. After a while of randomly chatting, the sun began disappearing over the tree tops and it began to grow dark. "I guess we should be heading for the apprentice's den," meowed Thunderpaw. "Yeah," agreed Hollypaw. They trotted side by side to the den. Snowpaw and Wrenpaw had returned and were at the other side of the den. When Thunderpaw slipped through the curtain of leafy vines, Snowpaw began to sit up, but when she saw Hollypaw follow him, she just laid back down with a look of pure jealousy. Thunderpaw and Hollypaw slept side by side.

The next few days brought hard work for the apprentices. Every cat seemed a little more jumpy than usual. Fog soon covered the forest. Cherryheart was the jumpiest of all, being the medicine cat. She was worried about something. Hollypaw soon knew that the warriors and everyone else must be hiding something from the apprentices and the kits. Mabe they're all hiding... A prophecy! Hollypaw thought. Snowpaw avoided Hollypaw, but didn't avoid Thunderpaw. Snowpaw was always trying to impress him. She had made friends with Wrenpaw during this time. Days and weeks and months passed. Rain fell and all of the plants and trees thrived. Hollypaw was soon 11 months old. Soon, very soon, I shall be a warrior! Hollypaw always told herself. Thunderpaw always stayed by Hollypaw's side, as Hollypaw always stayed by Thunderpaw's side. One gloomy day, Basilheart came running into camp. "TreeClan!" she yowled. "TreeClan! They're coming! I smelled them coming this way!" Basilheart cried. "Rainstar!" Beavertail yowled. "I'm here," Rainstar mewed. "Did you smell a lot of them?" she asked. "I think so. I don't think that a little group is coming to have a meeting with us," Basilheart meowed. "Frogleg!" Rainstar called. Frogleg was no where to be seen. "Beavertail!" she called again. "Yes?" he answered. "Gather together some warriors to go out and see what is going on. Branchtail! Gather two or three warriors or apprentices to guard camp and take some apprentices you think are ready to fight and the rest of the warriors to be a back up," Rainstar meowed. Every cat then split up. Beavertail called Basilheart, Icefoot, Duckfeather, and Wrenpaw to go with him to be the first cats to see what was going on. They pounded out of camp. Branchtail called Sunpelt, Crabclaw, Thunderpaw, and... Hollypaw! They were to be the reinforcements of the first patrol. Grasspelt and Snowpaw were going to guard camp. Snowpaw looked furious. Branchtail and his patrol pounded out of camp. Hollypaw got so caught up in the moment that she hardly noticed that her patrol had left without her. She charged after them into the open forest. Branchtail and the rest of the patrol didn't go as far as the first patrol. They just slowed down and followed the first patrol's scent. It lead them to an open clearing. They stayed hidden in the undergrowth and watched. Beavertail's patrol stood out in the open. There were TreeClan scents drifting towards them on the breeze. There were a few shinning eyes creeping closer on the other side of the clearing, and 3 TreeClan cats emerged. Hollyllpaw didn't reconize any of them. Two were brown, and one was white with black paws and a brown tail. "What are you doing on WaterClan territory?" Beavertail meowed calmly. "We have come to claim territory. We lost 3 kits and a warrior last leafbare, and we don't want that to happen this leafbare. We want to claim from the boarder to this spot here," one brown cat meowed. "I'm sorry, but we cannot give away any territory, for we too lost an elder and 2 kits," meowed Beavertail. "We want this territory, even if we have to fight for it!" meowed the brown cat angrily. "Voleheart, like I said before; we cannot give away any territory," Beavertail meowed. The brown cat whose name was Voleheart leaped at Beavertail and the battle began. Fur flew as more TreeClan cats sprung from the bushes. There were 5 WaterClan cats against 9 TreeClan cats. "Should we go out and help?" Sunpelt mewed. "Just wait," Branchtail replied. Hollypaw watched helplessly as her Clan mates cried out and yowled in pain. "Shouldn't we go out? They're badly out numbered!" Sunpelt cried, almost giving away their cover. Branchtail paused. "Since they have so many cats, they probably don't have any reinforcements... Alright," he meowed and Branchtail let out a feirce battle cry. They came charging out of the bushes. Hollypaw didn't know who any of the TreeClan cats were, except for Voleheart. Every cat was in battle now except for her. Hollypaw looked around at all of the cats. All of a sudden a big, heavy furball came flying at her. Hollypaw had only a few fighting lessons, but she faught of the big apprentice with ease. He went running for the bushes. A bigger cat, a warrior, pounced on her from behind. He squished her until she could hardly breathe, and then everything was dark and quiet.

[Holly]

Hollypaw opened her eyes and found herself in a beautiful forest. No! I can't be dead, I just can't! Hollypaw thought. Some starry figures aproached her. "Welcome," mewed one. Hollypaw reconized her as Littlestar. "Hello Littlestar," Hollypaw answered. "We have called you here to tell you of the future. It is not good," Littlestar mewed. "We don't know exactually what will happen, but we do know something. You must careful for someone you know and is close to, will turn evil in the moons come, no matter what you do," Littlestar resited the prophecy. "That is all I know." Hollypaw thought for a moment. "I just have one question: Why do you always tell me things?" "It is because I was chosen to help you through life. Mabe, if one of your loved ones die, they will tell you of things to come. Every destined cat has a cat like me to watch over them," Littlestar meowed. "Oh. Well, I'll remember that someone I know will turn evil... That doesn't sound too good," Hollypaw mewed. "I know... I think you should get back to your Clan," Littlestar mewed. "Okay. Bye!" Hollypaw meowed as she watched Littlestar and the rest of StarClan disappear.

[Holly]

Hollypaw awoke in pain. She looked around. The air smelled sweet and strong at the same time. I must be in the Medicine Cat's Den, Hollypaw thought. Cherryheart trotted over to her as she noticed Hollypaw had awaken. "Oh, thank goodness you're all right!" Cherryheart mewed. "Yeah, hi Cherryheart," Hollypaw replied. "Here; eat this," Cherryheart mewed as she pushed a little packet of leaves toward her. "It should help with the pain." Hollypaw ate the packet of leaves, but it tasted horrible. Sunpelt came running through the entrance to the Medicine Cat's Den. "Hollypaw! Are you all right? Is she going to be okay? How do you feel? Have you given her any herbs?" Sunpelt asked Hollypaw and Cherryheart. "I have given her some herbs and it looks like she's going to be okay," mewed Cherryheart. "I'm fine, mom," Hollypaw mewed. "That's good. I better go tell everyone that you're okay," meowed Sunpelt as she raced once again out of the den.

The next day Hollypaw was feeling much better, but she was still hurting. She was able to go back to the Apprentice's Den, but she would have to wait until she felt better to continue with her training...

A few days later, Hollypaw started her training again. She practiced hunting and fighting. She also learned the territory and the scents of other Clans. "Rainstar?" Hollypaw asked. "Yes, Hollypaw?" replied Rainstar. "When will I ever visit the Sparkle Stone?" "Well, most newly made warriors visit the Sparkle Stone to let StarClan approve of them," mewed Rainstar. "Oh, well I can't wait to go there!" mewed Hollypaw. Days past, until finally the night of the full moon came. Rainstar appeared from her den. It seemed as though she had already chosen most of the cats that were going to go to the Gathering. She headed for the entrance to the camp. Icefoot, Beavertail, Duckfeather, Crabclaw, and Smokeheart followed her. "Thunderpaw, Wrenpaw, you may come to the Gathering as well," Rainstar mewed. "Is Snowpaw coming also?" Wrenpaw asked. "I think she should stay here for this Gathering," answered Rainstar. "Since I've gone to a Gathering before, I want to stay here, with Snowpaw," Wrenpaw mewed. "Very well. Hollypaw; you may come to the Gathering in Wrenpaw's place," Rainstar meowed. Hollypaw silently yowled in joy. Her first Gathering! Every cat that was going was getting to leave. Snowpaw looked astonished. Anger spread across her face, and she didn't try to hide it. Once again, as the group of cats pounded out of camp, Hollypaw was so caught up in the moment that she was almost left behind. She sprinted after them out into the night. The full moon lit the forest with a pale, silvery light. Hollypaw was excited. She caught up with the rest of the Clan and ran beside Thunderpaw. He looked at her with a feeling that Hollypaw did not know. She tried to give him that look back, but she didn't know if it worked. They continued their trek through the forest. Finally, WaterClan reached Fourstreams. Each stream represented one of the Clans. The streams were all small enough to be jumped by most cats. All the Clans had to either swim or jump across the streams, for in the middle of where the four streams meet, is an Island that contains the Greatrock and the sacred grounds of Fourstreams. Rainstar jumped clear over the stream that separated WaterClan from the Island, for she had been here many times. Most of the stronger cats, such as Beavertail and Smokeheart, were also able to make the jump. The rest swam. Thunderpaw tried leaping over the stream, but his hind paws landed in the water. This was his second time doing this. Next was Hollypaw. She didn't want to show Thunderpaw that she was weak by just swimming across, so she crouched down. Hollypaw wriggled her tail, and jumped! She soared through the moonlit air and... Thud! Hollypaw landed on the other side, but tripped and fell flat on her face. "Are you okay?" Thunderpaw asked. "Yeah," Hollypaw mewed as she stumbled up. "That was a good jump for someone that's never done it before," Thunderpaw praised. "I guess, but I tripped," she protested. "That's alright!" mewed Thunderpaw. They both ran after the rest of their Clan to the sacred grounds of Fourstreams. "Why, hello there," an unfamilar voice mewed. Hollypaw turned and looked at the cat. The young she-cat, most likely an apprentice, was a TreeClan cat. "Hi," Hollypaw replied. "I'm Flutterpaw, Shineheart's apprentice. She's the Medicine Cat. I've just started my training a few moons ago, and this is my second Gathering," Flutterpaw meowed. "I'm Hollypaw. I want to be a WaterClan warrior when get older. This is my first Gathering," mewed Hollypaw. "How nice! I remember my first Gathering, which was just last moon!" Flutterpaw mewed as she began giggling. Hollypaw was amused by her new friend.

Hollypaw met a lot of new cats at the Gathering. She now knew Fuzzypelt, Stoneheart, Lavaheart, and Flypaw of HillClan, Swiftwind, Talonclaw, Cheetahclaw, and Cheesepaw of GrassClan, and Redclaw, Goosefeather, Purplepaw, and Flutterpaw of TreeClan. She also knew Voleheart from a recent battle. Hollypaw had heard of the other three leaders as well from other cats. As she was having a conversation with Swiftwind, Hollypaw heard a great yowl from one of the leaders. Every cat became silent and turned towards the Greatrock. "Welcome to this Gathering!" Windstar yowled. "It is a great pleasure of mine to start this Gathering." He looked around. "GrassClan suffered a great loss when Grayclaw died from old age. He was an elder who served his Clan well, and should be very welcome to join the ranks of StarClan... GrassClan is also celebrating that four new kits have been born this past moon. Prey is running through the open moar and we are all well fed," Windstar meowed. He stepped back to show that he was finished. Speckledstar stepped forward. "HillClan has also been well fed... Herbpaw was made Lemonfur's apprentice, and will be going to the Moonfall this half moon." The HillClan cats nodded to each other in approval. Oakstar was next. "All is the same with TreeClan, except for the fact that we had a hard leafbare, and don't want to experience another one like it. So this moon, when it was warm and we would be able to recover, we decided we want more territory," Oakstar announced. The cats of WaterClan didn't look suprised. "We are not going to give up part of our territory," Rainstar mewed for the first time tonight. Oakstar continued as though Rainstar had never spoken. We have fought WaterClan already with no sucess." Oakstar looked at Rainstar for a moment, then at Windstar. "Now we ask Windstar. Will you give us some of your territory?" Oakstar asked. "Oh course not! We suffered just as much last leafbare as you did, and mabe even worse!" Windstar yowled. "Stop this nonsence," Rainstar meowed. "Oakstar. Every Clan has to suffer some each leafbare. WaterClan hardly had enough prey to fill the whole Clan." "But you did!" Oakstar snapped. "No, we didn't! Leave GrassClan alone. They hardly have enough prey in the newleaf and leaffall let alone in leafbare. Leave us alone as well. TreeClan has just as much and mabe even more prey then WaterClan in leafbare," Rainstar meowed. Dismissing the subject, Rainstar reported what was happening in WaterClan. "WaterClan has two new apprentices: Snowpaw and Hollypaw. Prey is running through our territory and all is good." Rainstar stepped back to show she was done. "I guess that's it. This Gathering is finished," Windstar concluded.

Hollypaw followed her Clan back to camp. When they got back, every cat went to their den. A few cats who had stayed behind came out of the darkness and adked how the Gathering was. Hollypaw just followed Thunderpaw into the Apprentice's Den. Snowpaw and Wrenpaw were sleeping side by side. Snowpaw opened one of her eyes and stared Hollypaw down. Why does she hate me so much? Hollypaw thought. Is our sisterhood going to be ruined now? Hollypaw didn't want to think about it, so she curled up beside Thunderpaw and closed her eyes.

[Holly]

Hollypaw dreamed that she was at the Berry Meadow. She had never been there before in real life, but cats who had had told really neat stories about it. Hollypaw ran through the berries, felling them squish beneath her paws. She then came to the Berry Pond. She looked down into it. If there would've been any fish in the pond, she might've tried to catch one. But there were none. Hollypaw could see her reflection though. Her reflection was her, but yet it wasn't. In her reflection, she looked older and wiser. She looked noble and fearless. Then Hollypaw blinked and she awoke.

[Holly]

Moon after moon past. Hollypaw and Thunderpaw felt closer and closer. Gatherings came and TreeClan got more and more anxious to get more territory. Snowpaw did get to go to some Gatherings. It soon became late Greenleaf. It was early in the day. Hollypaw and Thunderpaw were sharing tongues while Wrenpaw was talking nonstop to Snowpaw who just sat and watched Hollypaw. Everything was peaceful until Grasspelt exploded from the nursery. "Cherryheart!" he called. Cherryheart came running from her den. "What is it? Is it Flowereyes?" she asked. "Yes, her kits are coming! But something's wrong, terribly wrong!" Grasspelt explained. Cherryheart hurried into the nursery with Grasspelt one pawstep behind. "Oh, no!" Hollypaw meowed. "I just hope her kits are going to be alright," Thunderpaw replied. "Well, I hope Flowereyes and her kits are going to be alright," Hollypaw mewed. Hours past and every cat hardly moved. Finally Cherryheart appeared from the nursery entrance. "Flowereyes's kits are doing just fine, although they are very tiny. Flowereyes is okay too," Cherryheart reported. The whole camp sighed a sigh of relief. "Can I see them?" Hollypaw asked. "In a little while, when Flowereyes is rested up a little," Cherryheart responded. "What are their names?" Duckfeather asked. "The biggest is a tom named Bluekit. Sparklekit is a she-kit. The smallest is another she-kit named Creamkit," mewed Cherryheart. "What nice names," Icefoot meowed. "Yes," agreed Beavertail. Every other cat nodded.

Hollypaw got to see the kits as the sun was setting. Flowereyes was on her side with three very tiny kits scrabling around by her belly. "Hello Hollypaw," Flowereyes mewed. "This is Sparklekit," she meowed as she pointed with her paw to the gray and white kit. "This is Creamkit," she explained as she pointed to the cream colored kit. "And this is Blue kit," she mewed as she pointed to the dark gray kit. "They're beautiful," Hollypaw meowed. Thunderpaw had entered the nursery while Flowereyes had been telling Hollypaw the kits's names. "They are," Thunderpaw agreed. "You should be going now," Cherryheart mewed as she entered the den. "It's getting late." "Okay," Hollypaw meowed reluctantly. Thunderpaw and Hollypaw padded towards the Apprentice's Den. Snowpaw and Wrenpaw weren't there yet, and Hollypaw was glad. She and Thunderpaw curled up together as night settled in.

Greenleaf was in the forest and prey was found in every bush. Flowereyes's kits grew and grew. Thunderpaw and Hollypaw trained as hard as they could. Hollypaw became farther and farther away from Snowpaw's heart. One day Rainstar jumped up onto the Highrock and announced,"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan Meeting." Cats streamed out of the dens and sat down to listen. When ever cat was quiet, Rainstar began. "We are gathered here to name Thunderpaw and Wrenpaw warriors. Beavertail, are you satisfied that Thunderpaw is ready to become a warrior?" "Yes, he is ready," replied Beavertail. "I, Rainstar, leader of WaterClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him a warrior in his turn. Thunderpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Rainstar asked. "I do," Thunderpaw meowed proudly. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Thunderpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Thunderclaw. The Clan honors you for your courage and open mind, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WaterClan." Every cat yowled,"Thunderclaw! Thunderclaw! Thunderclaw! Thunderclaw!" "We have another apprentice: Wrenpaw. Icefoot, do you think Wrenpaw is ready to become a warrior?" Rainstar asked. "Yes," Icefoot mewed. "I, Rainstar, leader of WaterClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her a warrior in her turn. Wrenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Rainstar asked. "I do," Wrenpaw replied. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Wrenpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Wrentail. The Clan honors you for your patience and understanding, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WaterClan." Once again every cat yowled the new warrior's name. "Wrentail! Wrentail! Wrentail! Wrentail!" "You will both sit vigil tonight," Rainstar finished. She leaped down from the Highrock and rested her head on Wrentail's head, and then on Thunderclaw's. They both licked her shoulder in respect.

After every cat had congratulated Thunderclaw and Wrentail, they both padded over to Hollypaw. "Congratulations Wrentail," Hollypaw meowed. "Thank you," mewed Wrentail, and she stalked over to the Warrior's Den. "Congrats," Hollypaw mewed to Thunderclaw. "Thanks. The only part of being a warrior now that I don't like is that we'll hardly get to see each other," Thunderclaw mewed. "And now you'll be sleeping in the Warrior's Den," Hollypaw agreed. "Well, soon you'll be a warrior, and everything will be good," meowed Thunderclaw as he nuzzled her. "Good night," Hollypaw mewed. "Night," replied Thunderclaw as he reluctantly padded over to the middle of the camp. Hollypaw, with her head held low, padded over to the Apprentices Den. Since Wrentail had been made a warrior, Snowpaw was all alone. "Hi Snowpaw," Hollypaw mewed. Snowpaw just grunted and turned away. Hollypaw laid down beside her. "Snowpaw, what's with you? We used to be such good friends when we were kits. Why don't you want to be by me?" Hollypaw asked. "You knew I liked Thunderclaw, but you just had to have him. When there was a fight between us and TreeClan, I couldn't go but you could. You were able to go to a Gathering when I couldn't," Snowpaw meowed. "I didn't know you liked Thunderclaw. And I... I'm not able to choose who Rainstar chooses to go to Gathering's and fight and... Snowpaw... I love you," Hollypaw mewed. "Hollypaw... I want to be friends with you... but something inside of me pulls me away from you. It picks out every little thing you do wrong to me and holds it against you," Snowpaw explained. Hollypaw thought for a moment, and then figured Snowpaw would just blow up in her face if she asked more questions, so she meowed,"Night." "Good night," Snowpaw mewed as she snuggled closer to Hollypaw, then a force made Snowpaw move away.

[Holly]

Hollypaw was surrounded by a glowing forest. Littlestar padded up to her. "Welcome Hollypaw," Littlestar meowed. "Hello Littlestar," Hollypaw mewed. She almost laughed out loud because she was getting to be taller than Littlestar. "Hollypaw, I have brung you here because things are getting worse. The cat that is close to you is trapped. Their spirit is telling them to hate you, and soon they will give up. Your Warrior Ceremony is coming. Soon after you are a warrior, that cat will choose not to like you. Not because their spirit is telling them to not like you, but they realize all of your faults. They will fight you, so be ready," Littlestar meowed. Firestar padded up to Hollypaw. Scorchstar followed him. "Things are getting worse," Scorchstar meowed. "Yes. You are being warned now of this dangerous time," Firestar added. "We cannot tell you any more for now," Littlestar mewed. "We must leave you now. Get some sleep, for days to come will bring joy, sadness, and disaster," Littlestar concluded. The three great leaders padded away, back into the mists...

[Holly]

Hollypaw grew more and more excited that her Warrior Ceremony was coming. She hunted and made the elder's bedding as well as she could. She practiced fighting with an open mind, ready to learn everything. Then one sunset, Rainstar leaped up onto the Highrock and yowled,"Let all the cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan Meeting." Every cat came out of their dens to see what was happening. When everyone was quiet, Rainstar continued. "We are gathered here to name Hollypaw and Snowpaw warriors. Smokeheart, are you satisfied that Snowpaw is ready to become a warrior?" "Yes," Smokeheart replied. "I, Rainstar, leader of WaterClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her a warrior in her turn. Snowpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Rainstar asked. "I do," Snowpaw mewed sturnly. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Snowpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Snowpelt. The Clan honors you for your good will and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WaterClan." Every cat yowled,"Snowpelt! Snowpelt! Snowpelt! Snowpelt!" "We have another apprentice: Hollypaw. And I think Hollypaw is ready to become a warrior," Rainstar meowed. "I, Rainstar, leader of WaterClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her a warrior in her turn. Hollypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Rainstar asked. "I do," Hollypaw replied. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Hollypaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Hollytail. The Clan honors you for your courage and understanding, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WaterClan." Once again every cat yowled the new warrior's name. "Hollytail! Hollytail! Hollytail! Hollytail!" "You will both sit vigil tonight," Rainstar finished. She leaped down from the Highrock and rested her head on Snowpelt's head, and then on Hollytail's. They both licked her shoulder in respect.

Hollytail was overwhelmed with cats saying,"Congratulations, congrats, congratulations, and CONGRATULATIONS!" When the cats started disappear, Thunderclaw came up to Hollytail. "Hey, congratulations," he meowed. "Now I've heard that so many times that I'll probably be hearing it in my mind while I sit vigil!" Hollytail mewed. Thunderclaw purred as he rubbed against her. "Now you'll be able to sleep in the Warrior's Den," Thunderclaw mewed. "Yeah, and now there isn't any apprentices to help with the Elder's," Hollytail replied. Snowpelt padded right by Hollytail and Thunderclaw. "Congratulations Snowpelt," Thunderclaw meowed after her, but she didn't respond. Thunderclaw just shrugged. "Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning then," he mewed. Hollytail licked his ear. "Yeah, okay," she meowed. Thunderclaw walked over to the Warrior's Den and disappeared inside. Hollytail sighed and padded over to where Snowpelt was sitting so they could start the vigil.

It was a long, peaceful night. Hollytail watched the stars. They were so bright tonight. She tried counting them all. By dawn, she had counted so many that she had lost count in the hundred thousands. Hollytail could see the sun starting to peak out from behind the horizon. The sky became yellow, orange, red, pink, and purple. Cats began appearing from their dens. "You may go and get some rest now." Hollytail almost jumped out of her skin when she heard one cats voice pearce through the silence. It was Rainstar. "Go on. Go and get some rest in the Warrior's Den," Rainstar meowed again. Hollytail obeyed without question. Snowpelt followed far behind. Most of the warriors were still asleep, including Wrentail and Thunderclaw. Snowpelt hurried over to Wrentail and curled up beside her. Hollytail padded over to Thunderclaw and slept beside him.

[Holly]

Hollytail opened her eyes and saw the beautiful sparkling forests of StarClan. "Welcome Hollytail." Littlestar approached Hollytail. "You are now a warrior. Congratulations. But soon, sooner than you think, darkness will come to the forest and rule over the Clans," Littlestar mewed. Even though Hollytail was almost twice as tall as Littlestar, she looked at her with respect. "Thank you for warning me. Thank you." "You had better rest now," Scorchstar meowed. He and Firestar had approached them when Littlestar had been warning Hollytail. "Yes. You must work hard to be a good warrior, so you must rest," Firestar agreed. "Good bye," Littlestar mewed. "Good bye," Hollytail meowed to all of them.

[Holly]

"Wakey, wakey!" Hollytail felt a sharp nudge from Thunderclaw. "It's almost sunhigh!" he meowed. Hollytail reluctantly got up, still half asleep. She padded out into the sun and had to blink a few times to get used to the bright clearing. "Do you want to go hunting?" Thunderclaw asked. "Sure. Should we ask someone else too?" Hollytail asked. Thunderclaw looked around. "Let's asked Duckfeather," he replied after seeing her sitting near the fresh-kill pile licking her paw. "Hey Duckfeather!" Thunderclaw called. "Do you want to go hunting with us?" Duckfeather looked up from her paw with shining eyes. "Yes, I would!" she mewed as she bounded up to them. "Okay then, lets go," Hollytail meowed. The three cats trotted out of camp. Hollytail loved to go out into the forest and hunt. Almost right away the group split up, all scenting different prey. Hollytail crouched low to the ground and stalked quietly up on a vole. She saw it crawling through the fallen dead leaves. She caught it with great skill. By the time they all had met up again, they had each caught a fair amount of fresh-kill. As Thunderclaw, Duckfeather, and Hollytail padded back to camp with their fresh-kill, a cold wind blew through the trees that chilled Hollytail right to the bone. Leafbare was on its way, and it was never merciless...

"Hollytail!" Hollytail was crouched over a small fish that she was eating when Beavertail approched her. "Rainstar wishes for you to go to the Gathering tonight. We'll be heading off soon, so finish up," he meowed. "Oh, and tell Thunderclaw and Snowpelt that they'll be going as well." Beavertail padded away to talk with Grasspelt. Hollytail swallowed the last piece and bounded over to Snowpelt. She was resting while Wrentail groomed herself beside her. "Snowpelt, Rainstar wants you to go to the Gathering." Snowpelt looked up as Hollytail told her the news. "Fine by me," Snowpelt meowed. She began to get up and head over to the Greatrock. "Wait, Snowpelt," Hollytail meowed. Snowpelt turned around. "Yes?" She mewed impatiently. "Why are you alway avoiding me?" Hollytail asked boldly. "I'm not avoiding you, I am just alway doing something you aren't," Snowpelt meowed simply, lowering her gloomy eyes to look at her paws. Hollytail looked at her sternly. "We were such good friends when we were kits. Why does our friendship have to end?" Snowpelt looked up, a new brightness in her eyes. "Who said our friendship would have to end? How about we sit together at the Gathering," Snowpelt meowed happily. Then the brightness drained from her eyes, leaving behind a gloomy blue. "That is of course, if I'm not talking to a cat from another Clan," Snowpelt meowed. "Hollytail!" Hollytail turned around and saw Thunderclaw bounding over to her. "We're getting ready to go," he meowed. They both headed over to the entrance to the camp, which was a tunnel of thorns. Rainstar and every cat that was going to the Gathering was padding over to the thorn tunnel. Before she knew it, Hollytail was racing through the dark forest beside Thunderclaw.

WaterClan was the first Clan to arrive at Fourstreams. But as soon as Hollytail was settled, TreeClan and HillClan cats began crossing and jumping the streams. "Hi!" Hollytail jumped and turned around to see Flutterpaw. "Oh, hi Flutterpaw! If that's still your name." "It's still my name alright. Even Cardinalfur passed me up! And he's younger than me! I still have paw as a name..." Flutterpaw sighed. "Don't tell me that you've passed me up too?" she asked sadly. "I'm sorry, but I'm Hollytail now." They both sighed. All of a sudden a very young, dark brown tabby apprentice bounded up to the pair of cats. "Hiya!" he mewed. "Oh, hi Pinepaw! This is Pinepaw," Flutterpaw explained to Hollytail. "He's one of the newer apprentices. This is his first Gathering." "Yep!" Pinepaw mewed excitedly. Hollytail sniffed. He was a GrassClan cat. "Sooo... How do you know him if this is his first Gathering?" Holllytail asked. "Oh, he and some other GrassClan cats traveled into our territory to discuss some important issues with Oakstar," Flutterpaw meowed. "This is so cool!" Pinepaw meowed, changing the subject. His ear flicked this way and that, trying to hear every cat at once. "There are so many cats here! I can't believe that I actually get to see cats from different Clans!" Pinepaw sniffed Hollytail awkwardly. "You're a... WaterClan cat!" Pinepaw announced proudly. "Yes I am," Hollytail meowed. A brown tabby she-cat came over to them and called,"Pinepaw, get over here!" "That's my mom. She wants me to stay over by our Clan. I guess I'll see you guys around?" "Sure," Hollytail replied. "Awesome! Bye!" Pinepaw called over his shoulder as he bounded away. "Bye!" Flutterpaw called. Hollytail chuckled at the way Pinepaw had been so energenic.

Flutterpaw had been meowed about how the two kits in her Clan, Lightkit and Darkkit, had wandered out of camp when one of the leader's yowled for the Gathering to start. "Welcome to this Gathering," Speckledstar announced. "I would like to start. First of all I would like to announce that HillClan has two new warriors: Flywind and Aquaheart." The cats of HillClan yowled their approval. Speckledstar waited for the cats below to quiet down, then meowed,"Even though we no longer have any apprentices at the moment, we have three kits in the nursery that are nearing their sixth moon. Prey is plentiful and all is well in HillClan." Speckledstar stepped back to show he was through. Rainstar was next. "WaterClan is doing good as well. The river is full of fish and the forest is humming with life. We also have two new warriors: Snowpelt and Hollytail." The cats of WaterClan seemed very pleased at that. Rainstar then mewed,"That is all I have to say." Windstar stepped forward. "Well, I would like to announce that Jasmineheart has just given birth to four kits." GrassClan yowled with joy. "I would also like to say that we have a new warrior: Silverpelt." With that Windstar backed away. Oakstar was next. "In TreeClan we are all grieving Leafpelt's death. He was the oldest cat in our Clan, and will be well remembered for generations to come." Everyone seemed to bow their heads in respect. "Now, I would like to discuss something with you all. Last leafbare TreeClan suffered badly. We would like to ask for more territory, and hope that no cat dies this leafbare." All the cats on the ground looked at each other. "Oakstar, we cannot give you any territory," Rainstar mewed. "We suffered just as badly as you, and you know it." "Yes. The Clan that should be asking for more land should be us!" Windstar cried. "We have always had to live out in the open. We've survived through blizzards and hunger. We only caught a mouse a day or less! And yet you have a mouth to complain!" The cats below yowled their agreement. "Like I care! I don't want another leafbare like last year's," Oakstar yowled. "None of us do!" Speckledstar spoke up. "We had it just as bad as GrassClan! Although we had a few hills and trees to shelter us, it didn't help our hunger!" Now all of the cats were yowling. "Silence! You fools!" Oakstar interupted the yowls from below. All of the cats were shocked that Oakstar had the nerve to speak to other Clans like that. "All we want is some more territory, and we'll fight to get it!" The TreeClan cats stared menacingly at the other Clan cats. All of a sudden a cloud covered the bright full moon. All of the cats gasped. Some yowled,"We've upset StarClan!" and "Oh no!" The four leaders, now just shadows on the Greatrock, looked at one another. Then Speckledstar meowed aboved the shocked mews below,"The Gathering is over!"

[Holly]

A few days after the Gathering, Hollytail dreamed that she was in the Berry Meadow. It was very peaceful. The beauty of the mountians surrounding the Berry Meadow enchanced her. She breathed in the scents of raspberries, blue berries, strawberries, and many other kinds of berries. Hollytail padded around, until she saw the Berry Pond. At first she was somewhat frightened, for the last time she had looked into the Berry Pond, which was in a dream, she had saw herself as an older cat. Then Hollytail crept forward. She looked into the pond. There was nothing unusual, so she decided to get a drink. As she stretched her neck forward, her reflection changed and she jumped backward. When she looked back at the pool her reflection was her again. What the pool had showed, was an image of herself, only she had a glow shining off of her fur. Was the pool prophecizing that she was to join StarClan soon?

[Holly]

A few moons past and it grew colder. The trees became bare and one day it began to snow. Hollytail had seen snow before, but she had been only a tiny kit in the nursery and all she had seen through the undergrowth that sheltered the nursery was a blanket of white specks that covered the camp. There were only a few flakes on the ground when Hollytail padded into the Warriors Den for the night. She curled up close to Thunderclaw. "Goodnight," she whispered. "Goodnight," Thunderclaw mewed back. Hollytail awoke the next morning as a cold wind blew a gust of snow onto her pelt. She blinked her eyes open to find that she was covered in snow, even though she was inside the sheltered Warrior's Den. Thunderclaw still asleep and he was buried in snow. Only his head wasn't buried. Hollytail got up and nudged him. "Hey, you big snowy furball! Get up," she whispered. Thunderclaw opened his eyes and jumped awake. "Wow! I was almost buried alive!" he exclaimed. Hollytail let out a mew of laughter. "Let's check out the rest of the camp!" she meowed and she shot out of the den. The only thing that stopped her was a wall of snow that separated them from the clearing. "Oh no!" Hollytail exclaimed. "We'll have to dig ourselves out," Thunderclaw meowed, and without waiting for a response started digging in the snow. Hollytail helped, and soon after her paws started aching from the cold. Finally, they both had made a tunnel that went horizontally and then diagonally. When they got themselves out, they noticed that the whole clearing had been covered with a thick layer of snow. "Everyone is buried!" Hollytail meowed in alarm. "I'll dig out the Elder's Den; you dig out the nursery," Thunderclaw meowed as he bounded over to the Elder's Den, suprisingly not falling through the snow. Hollytail ran over to the nursery, noticing how the layer of snow was not only thick, but was also hard. She started digging a tunnel to get into the nursery. When she finally reached it her paws were frozen. Hollytail was relieved to find that Flowereyes and her three kits were alright. Bluekit opened his eyes and exclaimed,"Hi Hollytail! What are you doing in here?!" Flowereyes and the rest of her kits opened their eyes. "Hollytail, what are you doing in here?" Flowereyes asked. "It snowed over night; a lot. I dug a tunnel to get to you and to see if you're all alright," Hollytail explained. "Well thank you Hollytail," Creamkit mewed. Creamkit was the smaller of the three kits. "Yes, thank you! I wouldn't have wanted to die today!" Sparklekit mewed in agreement. Flowereyes gave Sparklekit a stern look and then lifted her gaze to Hollytail. "These kits took the words right out of my mouth! I just hope that it doesn't snow anymore," Flowereyes meowed. Hollytail thought for a moment. The prey! All of the prey might be buried under the snow! They might just die and the rest of the Clan could starve! Hollytail shook the thought away. She couldn't discuss such a terrible thought with a nursing queen, so she nodded and went back up through the tunnel. Thunderclaw was still digging out the elders, so she went over to the Leader's Den. Just as she was about to start digging a head popped out of the snow right under her nose. Hollytail jumped back in surprise. It was Rainstar. Climbed out of the snow with a grunt and shook the snow from her fur. "This is horrible!" she exclaimed. "I know. Me and Thunderclaw have been digging everyone out of their dens," Hollytail mewed. Rainstar nodded in approval as she saw the holes leading to the different dens. Just then Thunderclaw appeared out of the Elder's Den. "Are any of the elders hurt?" Rainstar asked. Thunderclaw shook his head. "No, but they're complaining that it's too cold out." Hollytail then remembered Cherryheart. "We forgot to dig out the Medicine Cat Den!" she exclaimed as she turned to go and dig out Cherryheart. "There's no need." Hollytail saw Cherryheart padding over to them. She had dug herself out. "This is horrible. I have never seen the forest like this before," Cherryheart mewed. "Me neither. And the bad part about this is the prey. They are probably buried in their dens and won't be able to dig themselves out. The only hope we have is the river. Thunderclaw, Hollytail, go and see if the river is frozen or not," Rainstar demanded. Hollytail followed Thunderclaw out of the rose tunnel that led out of camp. They ran a few fox lengths to the rocks that surrounded their camp. Their camp was surrounded by a river, so it was an island. They both looked over the edge. The river was frozen. "Oh no!" Hollytail mewed. Thunderclaw shook his head in defeat. Then he looked at Hollytail with bright eyes. "Stay here," he meowed. He jumped from rock to rock to the river's edge. "Be careful!" she called after him. He flicked his tail to show that he had heard. Thunderclaw touched the ice with caution. Then he pressed with his paw harder. The ice broke into a swirling mass of black water. Thunderclaw jumped back as the ice cracked and the whole sheet of ice seemed to melt away into the river of flowing, black water. Thunderclaw, with a satified smirk, bounded up to Hollytail. "Look at that!" he meowed. "Let's go back and tell the rest of the Clan," Hollytail meowed. She lead the way back to the camp. When they bounded back through the rose tunnel, they noticed that some of the warriors were walking around. Duckfeather was walking over to investigate the freshkill pile when she fell through the snow. She disappeared completely. "Duckfeather!" Crabclaw, Duckfeather's brother, ran over to the hole she had fallen through. He dipped his head in to try and grab Duckfeather's scruff, but he was unable to reach. Hollytail ran over to the hole and looked down it. Duckfeather was at the bottom. She was far down, and although she seemed fine, there was a frightened expression on her face. "Can you jump out?" Hollytail called down to her. Duckfeather bunched her hind quarters together and jumped high into the air. Her front paws grasped the top, but the snow gave way and she fell back down...

"Duckfeather!" Crabclaw yowled. She laid still at the bottom. "Cherryheart!" Hollytail called. Cherryheart appeared from her den. She saw the hole in the snow and rushed over. "Who's down there?" Cherryheart asked. "Duckfeather," Thunderclaw mewed. "Oh dear," she replied. "I'll go get her," Crabclaw meowed. Before anyone could protest he leapt down into the hole. There was a thud. Hollytail peared down. Crabclaw was down the hole, with Duckfeather's scruff in his mouth. "Help me!" he mewed through a mouthful of his sister's fur. "But how!" It was Basilheart, who was one of the cats that had come to watch. There was a moments silence. Then Beavertail meowed,"We should dig a slanted tunnel over to the hole." Could it work? "Then no cats can be standing above where the tunnel is going to be," Hollytail pointed out. "Branchtail, Smokeheart! You two start digging right..." Beavertail looked for a spot to start digging that was close enough to the hole, yet farther enough. "Here," he mewed, pointing to a spot. "Thunderclaw and I will dig after your paws are too cold." "Sunpelt, Basilheart," Beavertail meowed again. "You two help clear away the snow that they dig out." "Grasspelt, you get together some cats for a hunting patrol." Hollytail was amazed. It was like Beavertail was the deputy. That reminded her of Frogleg. Where was he? Grasspelt called to Wrentail and she trotted over to him. He also called Snowpelt. She had been watching the warriors dig, but she got up reluctantly and padded over to him.

Hollytail watched as Crabclaw and Duckfeather were finally out of the hole and safe. Duckfeather was taken to the Medicine Cat den for she was a little dizzy from the fall. Hollytail then decided to go out and find Frogleg. She padded out into the forest and sniffed around. Nothing. Frogleg was no where to be seen. The sun started to set later on and Hollytail padded back to camp. She laid down in her nest, thinking about how Duckfeather had fallen through the snow. Then she thought about Frogleg. There was something mysterious about him; she knew it. He couldn't just be taking walks in the forest all of the time. He needed to be taking care of his Clan. Hollytail's thoughts were interupted when Thunderclaw laid in the nest beside her. "We've had a long day." Thunderclaw smiled. "Good night." "Good night," Hollytail meowed.

[Holly]

Hollytail had no special dreams that night. She only dreamed of hunting and going on patrol with Thunderclaw.