Dewpaw padded after the patrol in the direction of the stream. They were heading home, or at least trying to. He tried to focus on Frostheart's silver pelt, but found it hard to. He had no idea what they would find when the reached the clans, or how they would cope with it. The small grey tabby tom looked up at the sky. He saw dark clouds beginning to mass, and shivered at the thought of rain.

"Oaktail?" Dewpaw asked. "Look," he added, nodding his muzzle in the direction of the sky. Oaktail shot him a nervous look, then smoothed down his chest fur in embarassment.

"We'd better hurry if we're going to make it back before the rain," Oaktail mewed. "I'm beginning to think that's what caused the floods." Dewpaw nodded in agreement. He followed Frostheart on a patch of rough muddy ground. There were stalks of tall plants here or there, formed in neat rows. Weird, because it was right next to a river. Twolegs, I'm guessing, Dewpaw thought.

"Frosheart," Dewpaw whispered suddenly remembering the cat who had looked out at them at the lake. "I saw something, at the lake." She fell pack to pad alongside the medicine cat apprentice.

"Okay, what did you see?" she questioned.

"Well," Dewpaw began, shuffling his paws. "I'm pretty sure of it. It was a cat, a black cat I think, and it was peeking out of the bushes in the direction of the moor. Its piercing yellow eyes looked at me! I thought we were in trouble, but then he dissapeared. Maybe it's one of the clans in the legend you told me. Probably not, I was probably just seeing things..." he trailed off. Frostheart nodded.

"It's a possibility," she meowed. "You never know, though. He maybe thought you were tresspassing, so went to get his leader. Too bad we left, they'll never know who we are." Dewpaw's head drooped.

"I kind of wanted to meet them," he murmured. Frostheart let out a snort of laughter.

"It's okay, Dewpaw," she told him. "Maybe they'll be another time. Say, maybe your watermint supply gets destroyed, then where are you going to find some? I'd guess there was some back at that lake, and it's not far from our territory." Dewpaw nodded absently. "For now," the silver she-cat added, "We better focus on this journey. We need to be prepared for what we might find back home. Mind you, I reckon it won't be pretty."

"I know," Dewpaw sighed. "But I'm scared! What if something happened to Jaywhisker, or, or Mistleshade and Lightningtail!" His voice rose to a wail. "I don't want my parents to be dead!" Frostheart put her muzzle on top of his head.

"I'm sure they're fine. They're strong young warriors, and when you were born, they had just been made warriors three days before! It's crazy, they were in love as apprentices. Don't worry too much," she added. "We'll find out together."

"Together," Dewpaw murmured. Frostheart dropped back behind him to take up the rear, so Dewpaw was left to his own thoughts. The sun was beginning to dip in the sky, and he was wondering if they would make it back before sundown. The grass grew soft under their paws, and the going became easier. A few trees dotted the sides of the bank, and up ahead, Dewpaw thought he could see a grove. It would be a good place to stop and eat.

"We should stop and see if this is a good place to eat," Oaktail mewed, echoing his thoughts. "Birchstripe and Doefur, would you scout ahead to see if we're sharing the place with badgers or foxes?" The two warriors nodded and headed into the trees. Dewpaw settled down in the grass to wait for the warriors to come back. 

After a short while, Oaktail called the cats back together, telling them he could see Doefur and Birchstripe racing back, their tails held high in the air.

"Oaktail!" Birchstripe screeched. "There's another scent back there, I've never scented it before, but I'm sure it's danger. Sure of it." Oaktail nodded and gathered the patrol together.

"We'll all face the threat, whatever it is. Follow me!" The tabby tom began to creep silently along the bank until he and the patrol reached the grove of trees. Dewpaw sniffed the air. Birchstripe was right, there was an unfamiliar smell. Oaktail gave the signal to crouch, and his warriors obeyed. Suddenly, as if on command, the biggest creature Dewpaw had ever seen came lumbering out of the woods. It was big and brown, with huge paws that had sharp claws attatched. Its face had small fuzzy ears, a huge snout, and big beady eyes.

"What is it?" Dewpaw whispered to Frostheart.

"I've heard about this in elders tales," Frostheart old him. "It's a bear," she added raising her voice so Oaktail could hear. "Bears are huge creatures that roam forests, and they have huge paws that could kill a cat in one swipe. As for those teeth, well, they're pretty deadly."

"What will we do?" Doefur fretted. 

"Everyone, try to stay calm!" Oaktail ordered. "We will have to face this bear together." The creature suddenly rose up, stood on its hind legs to be twice its normal size. It brought its paws up to look like a twoleg, and growled ferociously. Giving the command, Oaktail leaped, grabbing one of its legs. The rest of the warriors were right behind him, jumping and giving the bear some nasty scratches. The bear roared and swiped with its paws. Dewpaw prepared to join the fight, but then he heard Frostheart yowling.

"Dewpaw stay back! It's too dangerous for you!"

"Bu-" he tried to protest.

"No! We can't risk you getting hurt! Hide in a bush!" Dewpaw obeyed, racing to the nearest bush he could find. The medicine cat apprentice peered out of the bushes leafy branches to look at the fight. Oaktail was in the lead, jumping and charging every so often. Appleleap was right by his side, fighting with the strength of Starclan warriors.

"Lightclan, to me!" Oaktail yowled, doubling back to join his warriors. With one last furious swipe, the team launched to attack the bear, sending it lumbering away into the trees in the other direction. Oaktail panted, breathless.

"Wow!" Dewpaw mewed, jumping out of his hiding place. "You guys were great!"

The traveling cats had eaten and got their wounds dressed by Dewpaw, and now they were trekking on through the grove. Once on the other side, Dewpaw thought he could see something on the horizon. It was the forest, far far away in the distance! They were almost home! Dewpaw went to the front to walk beside Oaktail. They trotted on past the swift flowing river. It became more swollen and swollen with every step.

"We're almost there," Frostheart whispered, coming up to stand beside him. Dewpaw nodded. Soon enough, They had reached the Moonclan scent markers. But something wasn't right. Dewpaw ran ahead of the other cats, and peered over the edge of the hill. He gasped, for what he saw was the most terrible thing he'd ever seen.

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Ooh, I've left you in suspense! Thanks for reading!

-IMtmystlcal_fawn