When Soot woke up, the den he was sleeping in was deserted. He let out a sigh of relief, his breath billowing out a cloud. He shivered, disturbed by the coldness of the air. His tongue swiped over his fur, rubbing it the wrong way. It made him feel warmer. He stood and stretched, his limbs already feeling awake, though his mind was fuzzy. It felt as though he was trying to remember something, though he couldn't quite put his tail on it. His thoughts were disturbed by Berryheart walking through the den opening. Her whiskers were twitching in annoyance.

     "Are you ready to leave, Soot?"

     Soot was surprised by the coldness in her voice, but he didn't reply. Merely nodded his head and followed her out of the den and into the camp clearing. A thin layer of frost covered the grass. Very few cats were laying in the clearing, for most of them were staying warm in their nests. Soot couldn't blame them either, if he had the choice, he would still be curled up in his, probably sleeping away the day.

     His stomach growled, though he couldn't bring himself to complain because he wanted to get going as soon as possible. His fur was fluffed up against the cold. Yesterday the air was warm and the grass green, today all life seemed to have withered without a trace. It was like claws of destruction had gripped the forest while every cat slept. But none of the clan cats seemed to notice. They acted as if it was normal for this sort of thing to happen. The wind brought an eery feeling with it, which brought goose bumps to Soot's skin. He felt like someone was looking at him and he turned his head. Nothing.

     Am I going crazy? Soot thought. Berryheart was waiting by the camp entrance, clearly becoming impatient. Soot put an extra skip in his step to will himself to go faster. He didn't want Berryheart to get more upset than she already was. The closer Soot got, he realized that Berryheart wasn't alone. There was a white she-cat sitting next to her. She stared at Soot with a smile on her face.

     "Hello Soot. My name is Snowpaw. I will be accompanying you back to your home." She said in a sophisticated voice. She looked pretty, with pitch black paws that looked soft and smooth, and bright yellow eyes that reflected the sunlight that shone weakly in the forest. She was bigger than Soot, but considerably smaller than Berryheart. They must have some relation, but Soot couldn't figure out what it was. They could be related, but Berryheart didn't seem like the kind of she-cat who would have kits. Snowpaw answered his question before Soot could ask it. Almost as if she took the words out of his mouth.

     "I'm Berryheart's apprentice. I'm training to become a warrior!" She sounded proud of herself. And she was right to be. It seemed pretty impressive to be a warrior. Or at least that's the impression that he got.

     Snowpaw trailed behind Soot, with Berryheart in the lead. Soot didn't know where they were, he was passed out the whole way to the Moonclan camp. He didn't know how anyone found their way around this place. All of the trees looked identical, and in every aspect: the looks, the smell, probably every thing else too. But his companions seemed to have no trouble finding their way. He didn't know how they did it.

     All of a sudden, Berryheart and Snowpaw stopped in their tracks, causing him to bump in to the gray and white warrior. Her ears were pricked, and her jaws slightly open. Like she was searching for something, or someone.

     Then, a yowl cut through the silence of the forest. With the scream came a swarm of cats. Pelts of all different colors swam through the trees. They were all heading through the forest to one place. The camp!