It was a bright, snowy morning in the RiverClan camp. Flurrypaw blinked the sleep out of his eyes and yawned. The other apprentices were all still asleep. A cold breeze blew through the mouth of the den, making Flurrypaw shiver. He turned to walk out when he noticed that the entrance of the den was coated with ice. He jumped up and down, giddy with excitement. Flurrypaw rushed out of the apprentices' den at top speed, almost running into his leader, Pebblestar. Flurrypaw licked his white and gray spotted coat, embarrassed. "Sorry," he muttered. Pebblestar flicked her tail in amusement.

 "What's all this excitement about?" she asked. She shook flurries of snow out of her calico coat.

Flurrypaw bounced up and down. "It's snowing!" he exclaimed. He gazed thoughtfully at the white flakes falling from the sky. Flurrypaw turned back towards Pebblestar. "Don't you think-" he started to say. But she had gone back to the comforts of her den, leaving only fading pawprints behind.

 It wasn't long before the camp woke up. Cats milled about, waiting for the sandy furred deputy, Sparkbounce, to organize them into patrols.

 "Larksong, Berrystem, Brisknose and Featherfall, you can go on border patrol. Take the ShadowClan side. They might be tempted to steal prey, as scarce as it is. Leafwhisker, Ripplewave, Dewspot, Flurrypaw, and Reedshallow, you're assigned to a hunting patrol. Reedshallow will lead." She paused. "And be careful. I've heard rumor that WindClan chased a fox out or their territory. It may have crossed over to ours. If you find anything, report it to me as soon as possible." She walked away briskly.

 Flurrypaw thought this morning couldn't start off any better. Not only was it snowing, but he got to go on a patrol as well! What would he catch? Maybe a rabbit? Two rabbits? Flurrypaw was so enveloped in his thoughts that he didn't notice his mentor, Dewspot, until he was right next to him.

  "Are you coming?" he asked. Flurrypaw jumped.

 "Did you have to sneak up on me like that?" Flurrypaw hissed.

 Dewspot acted like he hadn't heard. He casually licked the one white spot on his chest that stood out from his gray fur. "The rest of the patrol is waiting on you. Unless, that is, you don't want to come. You can always clean ticks out of the elder's fur." 

 That did it. In a flash, Flurrypaw was on his feet and running through the snow towards the patrol. His mentor followed closely behind. Leafwhisker, a pretty she-cat with a cream and orange dappled coat, and the newest warrior, leaned down to him. "What did he threaten you with to make you run so fast?" she whispered teasingly. 

 "Cleaning out ticks," Flurrypaw whispered back.

 Leafwhisker nodded. "I would have run that fast if I was threatened with tick duty too," she said. " Nightwhisker seem to pick them all up."

 Their conversation was interrupted when the patrol finally left camp. "It's so cold," Ripplewave complained as they walked. "I bet all the prey are hiding down their holes." She fluffed out her sliver-gray fur against the snow.

 Reedshallow gestured towards the river. "We might have some luck if we stick along the banks of the river." The tabby sneezed. "It's cold, and the kits and elders need food. If all else fails we can try to break the ice on the river and see if any fish are around." He gritted his teeth grimly.

 The snow started to pick up. Flurrypaw didn't mind, but it was clear that his fellow clanmates did. Ripplewave looked especially cold. Flurrypaw halted as he scented a water vole. His clanmates hadn't noticed it yet. This was his chance! He crouched down, creeping slowly at first. The water vole was sniffing along the banks of the river. Flurrypaw pounced and smoothly bit its neck. The apprentice held up his catch proudly. Dewspot came over to him to congratulate him of his catch when his mentor stopped, sniffing the air. He raised his hackles. "Fox," he whispered. Flurrypaw whirled around. There, pushing through the reeds was a white fox.

 A kit.

 Leafwhisker arched her back in challenge, but she looked terrified. Flurrypaw shrank back towards her. "What are we going to do?" he whispered, slowly laying his catch down at his feet.

 Dewspot crouched, ready to spring at the fox, when he was tackled by Ripplewave. "Don't! You might hurt the kit."

 Reedshallow frowned. "What kind of fox has white fur?"

The answer hit Flurrypaw suddenly. He had only heard tales of this animal. "That's not a fox," he breathed. "It's a wolf. And when there's one..." 

 "There's a pack," Dewpaw finished. The wolf howled. Not far off, numerous howls echoed from across the stream. The sound chilled Flurrypaw to the bone.

 "We have to do something," pleaded Leafwhisker. "If we don't, that wolf will take the kit to who knows where."

 "What if we try surrounding it?" ventured Flurrypaw. "One of us might be able to rescue the kit."

 Ripplwave whisked her tail back and forth. "Won't hurt to try," she hissed, then dashed at the wolf. The wolf snarled and lunged, but Ripplewave was too fast. She dodged to one side and raked her claws along its flank. The wolf howled in pain. Flurrypaw and Dewspot snuck up behind it. Leafwhisker took the right flank. Reedshallow jumped in front of it, blocking any escape routes.

 The kit started to whine. The howls of the wolves grew closer. Flurrypaw could see a few running towards them on the other side of the river. "We've got to hurry!" he shouted. Flurrypaw lept onto the wolf's back and dug his claws in. The wolf howled. It landed a blow on Dewspot, sending him sprawling. Barks of excitement came from the other side of the stream. A mass of wolves stood on its bank.

 A grey wolf gently tested the ice that stretched across the stream. It barked in triumph and bolted across the ice. The other wolves followed. Ripplewave sprung and barreled into the leading wolf. She bit hard into its hind leg. Another wolf joined the fray and slashed her side. Ripplewave hissed and leapt off the leading wolf. "I can't hold them off for long," she shouted. She was right. The wolves were quickly overpowering her and pushing her back. Try as she might, Ripplewave was being beaten easily. She squealed in pain as the leading wolf, fully recovered, bit her front leg. Ripplewave wrenched her leg free and stumbled dazedly back towards her clanmates.

 A grey wolf gently tested the ice that stretched across the stream. It barked in triumph and bolted across the ice. The other wolves followed. Ripplewave sprung and barreled into the leading wolf. She bit hard into its hind leg. Another wolf joined the fray and slashed her side. Ripplewave hissed and leapt off the leading wolf. "I can't hold them off for long," she shouted. She was right. The wolves were quickly overpowering her and pushing her back. Try as she might, Ripplewave was being beaten easily. She squealed in pain as the leading wolf, fully recovered, bit her front leg. Ripplewave wrenched her leg free and stumbled dazedly back towards her clanmates.

 "Quickly!" shouted Dewspot. Reedshallow hissed and clawed the white wolf's muzzle. The wolf yelped and dropped the kit. Leafwhisker caught it. "Run! Back to the camp!" shouted Dewspot. Flurrypaw leaped off of the wolf, trying to join the rest of the patrol, but the wolf caught him in midair with its paw,The white wolf turned its attention to the fleeing patrol. "No!" shouted Flurrypaw. He rushed at the wolf and dug his sharp claws into his opponent's shoulder. The wolf turned on him, anger buring in its eyes. In a flash, the wolf had pinned the small apprentice to the ground. Flurrypaw was dimly aware of Ripplewave shouting at him, trying to reach him through the group of wolves. sending the apprentice sprawling.

 The pack spread out behind the wolf that had pinned Flurrypaw. He felt terror as the wolf loomed over him, blasting his face with foul breath. The wolf opened his jaws in triumph and lunged at Flurrypaw's throat. Flurrypaw braced himself for the killing bite. But it never came. Ripplewave barreled into the wolf, knocking it back. "GO!" she shouted, fire in her eyes. "Run!" Flurrypaw joined the fleeing patrol ahead of him, leaving the pack of wolves far behind.

Hope you enjoyed!

I would appreciate if you wrote a comment or voted.