The days grew shorter and the nights colder as I found myself getting lost in my thoughts of troubling things on a daily, especially at night when I was sitting in the snow staying guard and staring into the depths silently.

Ribs were showing on every cat here.

Midnight and Aspen grew closer every day, making me feel left out on occasions.

Hannah and Fallan wouldn't even look at me.

I didn't know where I stood with Storm anymore- he wasn't a bad cat, but why was I too hesitant to let myself really talk to the tom? And when I didn't, why did I feel a twinge of regret or continuously think about it all the time?

Meanwhile, it had hit the first snow. Thinking about the tom seemed to be the least of my troubles as I squared my shoulders against any oncoming challenges that would surely show.

The stone stung my pads as I pressed down, pushing onward and up, around and under rocks and steep structures. A light layer of had snow covered everything, causing the only prey to hide in their holes and wait for the warm light of the strong Great Paw to return. Light flakes fell down down, landing on noses and ears and leaving a chill in their wake. The wind blew our whiskers this way and that, swiveling snow around and up into the dark blue-grey depths as if it couldn't decide what direction to take.

"This sucks," Fallan complained as I looked up to the dark grey mass above. Promising was more snow and cold weather, for Cold Paws had finally come.

Diamond shivered from on my back; I'd decided it was only fair for us to take turns letting the kitten burrow into our neck-fur for warmth, huddling to keep out the worst of the wind.

Midnight had begun to get too big to totter on my shoulder-blades, and stayed on the ground close to Aspen to share warmth.

There was no doubt in my mind that this Cold Paws season had come early because of the conditions we were in.

Higher up the rocky slopes, deeper snow could be seen. Just a few days ago, Fallan and Hannah had gone hunting together and come back talking about seeing it begin to fall down the slope, tumbling faster and faster until it landed in a heap just a while way's from their paws. The thought had scared me, because what if a cat would have gotten buried under all the snow? They almost surely would have frozen to death before any other cat found or dug them out.

"Well, I was born in the Cold-paws season," I heard Midnight meow from a few paw-steps behind. Her, Aspen and Storm had bunched together behind me, but only now did their conversation rise loud enough to break me out of thought.

"I would have never liked that- to have your first view of outside being cold and bleak," meowed Storm with tired eyes. The tom's dark green gaze had spirit in their depths, but like all of the rest of us we'd been weary and paw-sore from cold stone on dry pads. My paws had hardened, but that didn't ease any aches from the all-day traveling and constant hunger pains.

"But the snow only makes the ground colder," meowed Aspen, the fur around his neck rippling with the bright red lace it held. Midnight tilted her head towards him from the corner of my vision.

"It was always the best season for stalking at night. I remember watching my mother leave the tree-stump and blending in with the white snow," mewed Midnight with a sudden far-away look. I jerked my head back forward before any cat could realize I'd been eaves-dropping and watching their conversation, though a feeling told me that Midnight already knew.

It grew into silence for a moment, and I could tell Chris and Storm were giving Midnight a silent moment of respect and understanding. Midnight said something else about her pelt being black, though, but I was no longer paying attention. I couldn't remember how they had come to be standing so close behind, yet I was still padding directly in front of the three cats.

"Were you born in the Cold-paws season, Spirit?"

I was taken aback for a moment that Midnight had asked me, who was walking ahead of everyone. The little black cat came up to stand beside me, leaving Aspen and Storm only to follow. They all drew up on either side, ears pricked and awaiting my response.

"U-um, yes," I meowed, so used to the common quiet and stiff walking on cold, hard stone. Taken aback was hardly the word- but already I could feel a bit warmer from the closeness of other bodies and using my breath more than normal to speak.

I watched the bleak landscape in front of my whiskers, pausing to sniff under a small patch of bramble but smelling only stale scent. If only there was prey, I thought with a sigh.

"When I first looked out of the den everything was covered in white, and I thought that was how the world was for awhile." Midnight and Aspen gave a small noise of amusement, moving closer to avoid a jutting rock in their path. We were padding up and around the side of a mountain, close to the dip where the jagged edges of the bottom path would end. The white fluff that layered the land seemed to hide all the stone and show a softer atmosphere, but I knew it'd made everything harder.

Though I disliked Cold-paws season for it's cold and harsh weather, things were pretty when snow layered the ground.

"I much prefer to feel soft grass and undergrowth cover beneath my pads than hard, cold stone and snow," Storm said, to which Aspen and I agreed.

"Well, that's just fine," mewed Midnight with a twitch of her whiskers, just as another stream of cold air surged and turned one of her black ears inside out. Aspen and Storm began laughing, while Midnight chucked shyly and drew her paw over to turn her ear back to the normal way. Then Aspen and Storm began talking about something in the middle of their laughing so Midnight sided up to me.

"Spirit, are you alright?" she whispered fiercely. I looked down, faintly surprised. What could be wrong with me? Before I asked what the little black cat meant, she looked through me with wide, gleaming eyes.

"You seem to have lost your sense of humor. You barely ever laugh anymore or talk to me and Storm, and you always look at the ground and-"

"Oh, yeah." I looked on absent-mindedly. Midnight had spoken about this before, but I wasn't worried about my demeans.

"I'm fine, just cold and worried is all," I meowed like I did every other time. I hadn't closed Midnight off; it wasn't that. I'd already shared my worries about the winter- how could my mood not be somber if I knew it was only getting worse from here?

I had let the pride hunt this morning before setting out, but everyone had come back empty-pawed. The pangs of hunger seemed to be nipping us on the heels at the same time as the wolves, driving me to push everyone in their strides through the mountains while walking on hungry paws. It was all a circle of struggle, and left me wondering when the ends of the peaks that clawed up at the Sky-cat would grow to a close. So far, they only seemed to get bigger and wider. Even now, we were traveling around one that loomed bigger than any oak tree ever would.

"We'll get through this, you know," Midnight mewed matter-of-factly. I didn't protest, but the sad feeling that had thickened my chest eased a bit. There was hope.

On my shoulders, Diamond stood up, only to be nearly blown off by a gust of wind and become unbalanced by the uneven path ahead.

"Diamond, you're awake!" purred Midnight as the little kit laid down with her head stuck up, paws draped over my shoulder.

"What's it like up there?"

The kit gave a small sneeze, and peered down at the black kitten with huge icy blue eyes.

"The wind is cold!" She clambered over my spine to jump down beside Midnight.

And it will get colder still.

Why was the Sky-cat sending us gusts of wind and freezing rain to travel in, instead of bright light and cloudy breezes? I shivered involuntarily as a gust almost blew me off my paws, almost wincing as the action caused me to graze my tail on the stone rock. At least it was healing.

But why did it have to be so frigid out today? Raising my head to the Sky-cat, I tried to glimpse some sort of understanding from above, but the wind only blew harder, buffeting my fur.

"It's so cold out today..." meowed Storm, who I'd just realized had came to walk beside me. The black tom's large flank blocked most of the harsh wind as he stood close. Too late I realized he had brushed his fur up against mine- and was walking next to my shoulder with comfortable ease like it was normal.

How did that happen? I took a step back with unease, and realized too late I hadn't watched where I was putting my paws. Back legs scrabbling wildly, I felt myself slipping and let out a yowl of alarm, fear bushing my pelt. What if I fell all the way down into a valley and tumbled down rocks on the way there?

Teeth grabbed my scruff, sending a jolt of relief through my veins as I was being pulled up. Shame burned my pelt as I straightened and prepared to look at Midnight and Storm's reaction, ears flat and eyes low in defense. It hadn't been my fault he'd almost pushed me off the rock!

"Are you okay?" Storm began sniffing me all over, my hackles rising in unease.

"Sorry..." said the tom with a wounded look, for which I immediately felt bad for. Storm turned away, to sit far off on the side from the whole pride now.

"He was trying to make you a bit warmer!" hissed Midnight in a low tone as she swept past me to usher Diamond towards Hannah. I bit back a response; Midnight hardly ever used such a tone with me unless there was a reason. But what reason? I had simply wanted my own personal space, so I wasn't in the wrong.

As Midnight returned, I caught a glimpse of Fallan's jaws open from laughing, and Hannah's unnerving gaze fixed on me. Blaze had a fixated stare, and I wondered how long it'd been like such. Did he stare at me all the time? Even Diamond had turned a curious tilted-head glance my way, as if she too hadn't understood my reasoning in falling off the rock.

"Spirit," Midnight said with an exasperated sigh, and sat down on her haunches while facing the opposite way of the others. I silently thanked her for the opportunity to turn my back on all the intimidating eyes, but didn't sit down.

"You don't have to push everyone away when they're trying to help," she began softly, just as my blood flooded with anger.

"He was trying to push me off the rock!"

"He was trying to help you be a bit warmer by sharing his fur-warmth."

The word seemed silly until I couldn't help but flatten my ears and begin walking away, because she might've been right.

But I don't need any cat to keep me warm, and I don't need to be thinking about this foolishness right now, I thought. Midnight's pattering of paw-steps could be heard as she bounded up beside me.

"He looked a bit hurt from you-"

"I don't have to talk about this," I meowed, and sped up to march away from the kit. My pelt prickled with uncertainty as I resumed the lead again, tense from the small dispute with Midnight. Me and her never argued, so why had she chosen such a non-important thing to make a big deal about? I was going to sleep early tonight.

After we'd stopped to rest for the night, it was another empty belly rest and I laid my head on my paws right away, keen to sleep. For once it wasn't hard to get there.

As I drifted off into sleep, my pads felt lighter. My whole body did- even my head in some odd way. Why did I feel as if I were awake, not asleep?

I couldn't see anything yet, but a cool breeze was tickling my whiskers and I could feel long grass itching my legs. No need to have any cat explain it to me- I already knew I was dreaming.

When my eyes finally opened, it felt as if I was seeing in a whole new way. There was many, many stars above, all twinkling and bright and seeming to stare down at me through warm rays of light. The grass under-paw was soft and tickling, and all around me I looked there was endless streams of it gently stirring with the wind. The dried-out stems reached up past my heels while off in the distance, an owl hooted.

Almost gasping, I took in the sight of the Great Spot. It was huge and yellow against the Skycat's pelt, glowing like a million night-bugs. The Spot seemed to be as close as Midnight and Aspen had been laying; a few tail-lengths away as I drifted into sleep.

All I could think was: What is this place?

The rustle and smell of prey could be detected just a few tail-lengths away, and even in the distance all I could see was the endless hills of rolling grass. I wondered how I must look now, wide-eyed with bristling fur. Why was I here alone?

Opening my mouth to catch scents on the breeze, I twitched my ears back as the only scents flooding my mouth and nose were that of the grass and prey surrounding.

Why was I here? Even though it was just another dream, I swished my tail over the long golden grass stems, realizing there was no pain at all even as I twitched it back and forth. Why was I dreaming here? Was there going to be more animals that I had to find?

"Hello."

I spun around quickly, taking a few steps back and flattening my ears as a cheetah seemed to step from the shadows. She took a few tentative steps forward, blue eyes shining back like deep ice chips.

She has blue eyes like me? I made an attempt to flatten my hackles, wondering if I should be wary or not. But curiosity overcame me. I sniffed for any smell of the cheetah, who had the rounded eyes and face of a female. No scent came off of the mysterious cat, who's paw step's had made no sound or rustle in the grass.

Never before had I seen another cheetah but my own mother and sisters. It was weird, and I felt my throat dry from the prospect of asking the cat what was going on, who stood only an ears length higher than me. She stared, intense blue gaze seeming to burn through my pelt. Like me, her legs and tail were long and just a shade lighter, like gold, but the cat clearly had age on her.

"W-what am I doing here?"

I flattened my ears at the nervous tone I'd allowed to escape my lips. But it hadn't been my fault- this was just so unusual from my previous dreams, and I hadn't had one in a long time.

"I am here to give you a message." The she-cat leaned forward, her muzzle just a hair away from mine and causing me to scramble back in alarm. What sort of message was the cheetah going to give me? It certainly seemed serious and daunting.

Her voice dropped to a low, intense whisper, and as she leaned forward the only thing in my vision was the smoldering blue eyes that held fire in their very depths.

"Accept your fate, for once paws have been set in their path they cannot be changed!"

My head reeled, and all I could do was sit on my haunches and stare at the old cat like she might've been crazy. What did she mean, accept my fate? Hadn't I done that already? The she-cat stared, her eyes cold and warm at the same. Her neck fur had risen a bit, causing me to wonder who in the Skycat's world I was talking to and what she was meowing about.

"What do you m-"

"You cannot change what cannot be undone! The future set for you is the one of your best interest. Do not falter your steps into another path, or it will lead to your doom!"

I scrambled to my paws in alarm, wondering what she meant.

Another path will lead to my doom? Was I doing the wrong things in taking care of my pride-mates?

"What path? Have I messed up?" I searched the she-cats gaze for some sort of recondition, sympathy or understanding, but her gaze remained the same shade of cold blue it had been before.

"That is all I can tell you now," she meowed, her gaze growing solemn in front of me. Without anymore words, the cheetah turned and began walking back in the other direction, where the shadows would swallow her up. A desperate need for more information clawed at my chest.

"Wait! What do you mean?"

But the she-cat kept walking, her paw-steps making no noise against the grass stems she stepped through, weaving around her like water.

Could that have been... Was it possible?

No.

Maybe...

Had I just spoken to the Sky-cat?