Icepaw sighed at Songfeather's words. The silver tabby had not gotten enough sleep last night, due to her being awoken by Blackpaw repeated times. "Fine, Songfeather," Icepaw mewed reluctantly. She followed her mentor to begin her hunting session. She felt the snow under her paw pads crunch slightly under her, as if she were walking on thin ice. A gust of wind blew directly into her face and she sank into the snow with an "Oof!" Scared by her experience, she started to cry out for her sisters, her brother, her father, her mother, anyone.
At the sound of Icepaw crying, Rainfrost sprinted over to Icepaw. Though it did look a little funny to her, Rainfrost couldn't help feeling sorry for her kit. "There, there, you're fine Icepaw," Rainfrost said soothingly, picking her up from the snow hole that Icepaw fell into and she started to lick her to comfort her and make her warmer. When Icepaw stopped crying, Rainfrost gave her a hearty nudge and purred to her. "I love you, Icepaw, your sisters too and your brother and father. Now, you must join Songfeather to begin your hunting session," Rainfrost purred to her with a warm smile. "Thank you, mom." Rainfrost saw her daughter pad away into the forest with her mother. Almost immediately, Stormstripe joined her.
Stormstripe was about to take a bite out of fresh-kill when he heard Icepaw cry. After Rainfrost had soothed her, he padded over to his mate and sat next to her. "What was wrong with Icepaw, Rainfrost?" he asked her, concern in his voice.
"Icepaw fell into the snow, but she's alright now, dear."
"Ah. I hope that leaf-bare will end soon. The fresh-kill is running out and all. Wait, should we ask Nightstar if we can have a dawn patrol? The sun is just rising and-"
"Yes, we shall. Would Mudfur like to be a part of it?"
"I'll go check." After giving his mate a quick lick on the cheek, Stormstripe padded over to his brother, who was sleeping in the warrior's den. Why was Mudfur acting so lazy now? "Mudfur, wake up," he whispered. "Do you want to be a part of the dawn patrol?"
"Sure. How's Songfeather doing?"
"Just starting to train Icepaw. Anyways, let's go."
"Okay."
The black tom led his brown brother to Rainfrost and said, "He wants to come."
"Good. Hopefully we can catch some fresh-kill along the way or something. Make sure the apprentices don't follow us."
Stormstripe was a little confused at why Rainfrost didn't want an apprentice to come along with them. Well, some patrols are dangerous, especially during leaf-bare, where you can catch greencough or you can slip, Stormstripe thought. Now everything made sense.
Blackpaw watched as Songfeather and Icepaw padded away to hunt, and his parents and his uncle were starting the dawn patrol. Blackpaw froze at his mother's words. He, Mintpaw, Icepaw, Stripedpaw, Dovepaw, and Brackenpaw were all apprentices, but why couldn't they come? He then thought about Icepaw slipping into the snow hole. For some reason, the thought of sneaking out with them appealed to him.
Dovepaw woke up to see that her brother was awake and Icepaw was gone. She noticed how Blackpaw stared at her parents and uncle with longing in his eyes. The thought confused her. Why did Blackpaw want to join them? Now it was too late, since the three cats had disappeared into the forest.
