Snow drifted onto the cold ground, sprinkling the earth with white. Leaf-bare had arrived. Iceslide sat near the reed bed, watching the flurries fall to the ground. It had been a quarter moon since Lilynose's death. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her, or shake the feeling of guilt weighing him down like a stone. It's my fault she died...

Shimmerstar and Salmonstripe were still recovering from the loss of their daughter. As leader, Shimmerstar had to remain strong in front of the clan, and she often did a good job of hiding her grief. But sometimes Iceslide saw her laying by her den, staring at the cats in the clearing with a numb look on her face. And he understood why. A cat was missing. One of the most important cats in her life. Her own kit. When it became too much to bear, Salmonstripe would gently guide her into her den, and they would talk for a while. They also spent more time with their remaining kit, Creekleap. Iceslide could see the desperation in Shimmerstar's eyes whenever she looked at her son, afraid of losing him too.

The golden tabby tom was sitting at the side of the clearing now, looking at his paws. Heartsong sat beside him, murmuring to him. The loss of his sister had effected Creekleap deeply. The usually funny and playful warrior was very sad and quiet these days. He joined hunting patrols often, but around camp, he would sit around trapped in his grief. The only cat able to cheer him up sometimes was Heartsong. The silver and white she-cat spent as much time as she could with Creekleap, trying to take his mind off of Lilynose.

Heartsong pressed her head against his shoulder, and Creekleap looked at her, letting out a small purr.

Swanpool's kits were peering out of the nursery, their eyes wide as they watched the snow.

"Wow!" Dovekit gasped, staring out into the clearing. "What is that stuff?"

Their mother and leaned over her, licking her head. "That's called snow," She purred. "It comes every leaf-bare."

Arctickit tilted his head as he studied the snow on the ground. "Snow?" He cautiously stepped out of the den, hesitantly stretching out a tiny white paw and dabbing the frosty earth. A snowflake fell onto his nose, and he let out a startled squeak, scrambling back into the den. "It's attacking me!"

His sisters looked at him in alarm. "Is it dangerous?" Risingkit gasped as Arctickit rubbed his nose with his paw.

Swanpool chuckled. "Not at all, dears," She assured, gently nuzzling Arctickit. "There's nothing to be afraid of. It's a bit like rain."

"Ooh!" Risingkit stepped out and dabbed at a falling snowflake, and the other kits slowly joined her, fascinated by the flurries.

Lilynose loved kits. Iceslide thought as she watched them. She wanted to have kits... Probably with me. But I never would have let that happen. He felt a pang of guilt. I didn't know I was hurting her so badly.

"Iceslide."

He flicked his ear and turned to see Blizzardfur padding up to him, his thick fur covered in snowflakes that could hardly be seen against his mottled white and pale silver pelt. He sat beside Iceslide and looked at him as he wrapped his fluffy tail around himself. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly.

Iceslide sighed. "I don't know."

"Lilynose?" Blizzardfur guessed. He nodded, and his brother looked at him sympathetically. "It wasn't your fault, Iceslide," He meowed quietly.

"Yes it is." Iceslide closed his eyes. "I never should have taken her to twolegplace." Blizzardfur and Sunripple were the only cats who knew the details about Lilynose's death and where they'd been. Any other cat would have been furious if they knew Iceslide's twolegplace adventures had gotten Lilynose killed. He expected that Shimmerstar would have driven him out of the clan immediately.

Blizzardfur shook his head. "You couldn't have known what was going to happen." He paused, glancing around. "You shouldn't go there anymore," He meowed quietly. "I don't know why you would after Frostedcloud caught you last time."

He felt a flash of annoyance. "You don't understand," He muttered. My friends and the cat I love are there... He saw movement from the corner of his eye and turned to see a hunting patrol returning to camp. Dipfoot and Divetail were in the lead, each carrying a small fish. Frostedcloud padded over to greet them.

Dipfoot dropped his fish on the fresh kill pile before looking up at the deputy. "We caught as much as we could," He meowed, shaking snowflakes from his whiskers. "Divetail thought it would be best to stay by the river."

Frostedcloud nodded approval. "Good thinking," He meowed. "We won't be able to fish anymore once the river freezes over." He glanced up at the falling snow with a look of annoyance on his face. "And it looks like leaf-bare is arriving early."

"Yes, and-" Dipfoot broke off as Divetail tossed a pawful of snow at his head. He shook snow from his face and glared at his brother. "Hey!"

Divetail chuckled, twitching his dark gray tail. His blue eyes gleamed with amusement. "Come on, let's have some fun!"

"You'll pay for that!" Dipfoot growled playfully and charged after him, and the two brothers darted across the camp, their paws skidding across the snow.

Shadepath watched from outside the elder's den, shaking her head in amusement. "Those two have been playing around like fools since they were kits!"

Blizzardfur purred and looked at Iceslide. "The river will be freezing over soon," He meowed. "Remember when we were apprentices, we'd slide on the ice together? You loved it more than all of us." His blue eyes gleamed with amusement. "I still can't believe Shimmerstar gave you that name because of it." He purred at Iceslide, but he wasn't phased. "Come on, Iceslide," He said quietly. "What could you feel guilty about? You did nothing wrong."

"I should have realized how she felt about me," Iceslide meowed quietly. "I don't know how I could have been so blind."

"Would it have made a difference?" Blizzardfur asked. "You didn't love her back. What were you supposed to do?"

He thought about this and searched for an answer. I couldn't have been her mate... Not when I didn't love her. But I could have respected her more. He felt a pang of guilt as he remembered all the times he'd been annoyed by her presence and tried to push her away. She was one of the only cats in RiverClan that liked me, and I treated her like green-cough for it. He sighed and looked at his paws. "Something..."

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather for a clan meeting!"

They turned to see that Shimmerstar had leaped onto the rock by the side of the clearing. The clan slowly began gathering.

"Come on," Blizzardfur waved his fluffy tail, and he and Iceslide padded forward to settle with the others below the rock. Frozenripple and Petalfin settled close together, looking up at their leader. Creekleap and Heartsong weren't far from them. Salmonstripe dipped his head to his son before sitting beside him.

Dipfoot and Divetail had abandoned their play fight and settled at the back of the crowd. "I would have gotten you eventually," Dipfoot purred as Cherryberry joined them.

Otterpelt and Maplesky sat together outside the medicine den, watching Shimmerstar contently.

"Nah, you're too slow." Divetail nudged him.

 Cherryberry gently cuffed Divetail over the ear. "Mouse-brain."

Iceslide looked past Shorestep and Lakesong to the front of the crowd. He saw that the three oldest apprentices, Newtpaw, Warmpaw, and Duckpaw were standing below the meeting rock, looking excited. Their mentors, Whitedapple, Grayshadow, and Troutspots stood to the side, watching them proudly. Shimmerstar must be holding their warrior ceremony now. He thought.

Winterlight purred a greeting to her brothers before sitting beside Iceslide, looking up at Shimmerstar brightly. "I wonder if I'll ever get an apprentice?"

"I'm sure you will," Blizzardfur purred. "You'd make any cat a master at fishing."

Iceslide was glad to see his sister back to her usual self. It had taken some time, but she'd gotten over Ravenfeather. She was entirely focused on her duties and seemed determined not to let anything get in the way. He scanned the crowd and spotted the black warrior now. He was sitting toward the front of the crowd beside Heronleg, his attention fixed on Shimmerstar.

Coralshine padded to Blizzardfur, purring and weaving around him. He purred back and rested his chin on her head as he looked up at Shimmerstar.

The leader looked down on her clan, snowflakes falling onto her soft silver dappled pelt. "Cats of RiverClan," She began. "Despite the arrival of leaf-bare, our clan is thriving. Swanpool and Frostedcloud have three fine kits in the nursery." She looked at all the couples among the cats below, her gaze resting on Blizzardfur and Coralshine as she purred. "And I expect there will be many more soon."

Iceslide glanced over at them, letting out a purr. The two cats looked at each other warmly. I'm happy for him. He heard a snort and turned his attention to the front of the group. 

It had come from Ravenfeather. The black tom's tail was twitching with annoyance. "Pathetic," He grumbled. "Love may be nice and all, but it's all a lie and a distraction. Power is more important than anything." His narrowed amber eyes fixed on Winterlight as he said this. 

Her fur bristled, her eyes flashing with hurt as she stared back at him. Iceslide shifted closer to her. "Ignore him," He growled. "He's trying to upset you." Winterlight hesitated, then nodded, looking down.

If Shimmerstar heard Ravenfeather's comment, she didn't acknowledge it. She went on. "Additionally, we have many apprentices in training. And today, three of them are ready to become warriors." She looked down at the apprentices.

The three young cats stared up at her excitedly. Newtpaw's red striped tail waved back and forth in the air. Duckpaw looked nervous, while Warmpaw stood tall and proud.

Shimmerstar began. "I, Shimmerstar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these three apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. " She looked down at them. 

Warmpaw was first. She stepped forward and looked up at Shimmerstar, her bright green eyes shining. Not far from the mentors, Mudslip and Vixenwhisper sat together, watching their kits proudly.

"Warmpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?" Shimmerstar meowed.

Warmpaw let out a purr. "I do."

"Then by the powers of , I give you your warrior name. Warmpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Warmmoss. StarClan honors your kindness and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of RiverClan."

"Warmmoss! Warmmoss!" The clan cheered, and the brown and white she-cat lifted her tail happily before she stepped aside and let Newtpaw take her place. 

"Newtpaw, do you promise to -"

A yowl of horror rang out from outside the medicine den, and every cat jerked in shock and snapped their attention to it. Otterpelt was crouched outside the den, her red-brown fur bristling and eyes wide as though something had scared her.

Maplesky spun to face his apprentice, bristling. "Otterpelt!" He exclaimed. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Otterpelt's yellow eyes were round and lit with terror as she stared at the clan gathered below the meeting rock. "I-I had a vision!" She wailed. 

Her mentor looked uneasy. "Otter-"

"What vision?" Shimmerstar stared at the medicine cat. Every cat looked alarmed and wary.

She trembled, looking distant and petrified. "Ev-Everyone's dead!" She cried, her eyes darting from cat to cat. "So many dead! The blood!"

The cats began murmuring anxiously to one another. Blizzardfur and Coralshine exchanged a worried look. "What does she mean?" She whispered to him.

"Are we all going to die?" Fintail gasped out.

Shallowpool stared at the medicine cats. "She's spoken of a vision like this before... Remember?"

"No!" Maplesky looked like he was struggling to stay calm. "There's nothing to worry about. I assure you." He gently nudged Otterpelt, and she stumbled back, looking startled as though she just realized he was there. "Get some rest, Otterpelt."

Shimmerstar stared down at the medicine cats uneasily. After a moment, she focused on the clan again, her fur flattening. "Let's continue with the ceremony," She tried to sound positive, but Iceslide guessed that she was unsettled by Otterpelt's words.

A few cats relaxed, but many exchanged worried and frightened looks.  

"They're hiding something," Troutspots murmured in front of Iceslide. "They know something we don't."

Shorestep stared at him. "But what? Is RiverClan doomed?"

"We're going to die," Perchstripe breathed.

As Shimmerstar went on to name Newttail and Duckwing, Iceslide watched the medicine cats curiously. 

"Come on, Otterpelt," Maplesky was whispering to his apprentice. "It's going to be okay." He licked her ear. 

She stared at him anxiously. "You know it's coming, don't you?" She whimpered. "It's coming, because..." She trailed off, and Iceslide tensed as her eyes rested on him, desperate and afraid.

What does she know? Iceslide wondered in alarm. And what does it have to do with me? I would never harm my clanmates! I'd never harm anyone!