Hollyleaf's hunting grounds had become increasingly familiar and peaceful to Snappaw. He purred as the sun warmed his pelt and the little waterfall trickled into the lake. Hollyleaf was late, but he didn't mind. Any time spent in this wonderful spot was better than any moment in the waking world, where sickness ravaged the ThunderClan camp and leaf-bare threatened to freeze every cat to death in mere seconds.

Things had only grown worse in the past couple of days. Ambermoon was dead, and it seemed to Snappaw that Thornclaw wouldn't be far behind her. The old tom had lost an incredible amount of weight since the sickness first took hold of him. He seemed even older, somehow, as he wheezed for each and every breath. His and Blossomfall's kits were growing anxious. Eaglepaw, their daughter and Ambermoon's former apprentice, also wasn't getting much better. Bramblestar had mentioned assigning her a new mentor once she recovered. Ivypool had argued that she should receive her warrior name instead, when everything had passed.

Snappaw was still thinking about Thornclaw and Eaglepaw when Hollyleaf finally arrived in the clearing, and this time, she wasn't alone. Several cats were with her, and Snappaw recognized them instantly.

"Leafshade… Daisy… Ambermoon…" Snappaw said to himself, staring at the faded forms of his former clanmates. His heart skipped a beat when the tiny body of Puddlekit appeared from underneath the warmth of Daisy's belly fur.

Then one more cat followed: Squirrelflight, the former ThunderClan deputy who had died to save him from a fox.

"Great StarClan!" Snappaw exclaimed. "Why are you all here?"

It was Hollyleaf who answered. "StarClan cannot make contact with the living any longer. Something has happened, Snappaw. All those who have died in recent moons can't find their hunting grounds. They're trapped here, with me."

Snappaw immediately stood up from where he was sunning himself. "Why are you here, then? You found StarClan many seasons ago!"

Hollyleaf shook her head. "I don't know why I'm here, but I can't get back to StarClan any easier than they can find it."

"Is it the Dark Forest again?" Snappaw asked.

Squirrelflight shook her head solemnly. "I don't think so. When the Great Battle was won, not many Dark Forest spirits were left. Leafpool told me it grew much smaller after our victory."

"But what else could have the power to cut off StarClan?" Snappaw replied.

The forms of all of the spirit cats suddenly seemed dimmer than before. For the first time, Snappaw realized there were no stars shining in their fur- not even Hollyleaf's. Each and every one of them was simply a ghost, unable to reach their new hunting grounds.

"None of us have any answers as of yet," Hollyleaf stated. "But whatever it is, we all agree that you have a role to play, Snappaw."

Snappaw stepped back in astonishment. "What? Me? Why?"

"There must be a reason we can appear to you. No other living cat can see us, not even Tree. It's as if you're connected to us somehow," Squirrelflight answered.

"But I'm just an apprentice! And in case you haven't noticed, I'm missing half of my face! What can I do that any warrior can't?" the apprentice argued further.

Before any cat could answer him, the vision began to fade. Each of the spirit cats disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. The last thing Snappaw saw was the sharp green gaze of Hollyleaf.

…

He woke in his nest with a start. He opened his remaining eye and stared around the apprentices' den. His littermates, Spotpaw and Flypaw, were still asleep, as were the other apprentices. Stempaw was gone, probably having been chosen for the dawn patrol. Snappaw was the only one awake, and he knew there would be no more rest for him.

He stood up from his nest and arched his back in a satisfying stretch. Then he carefully padded out of the den, trying his hardest not to wake his sleeping denmates. The apprentices' den was almost too full at this point. Even with Shellpaw gone and Eaglepaw in the medicine den, there were too many apprentices. As annoying as the white tom had been, he was right. Bramblestar should have given the older apprentices their warrior names moons ago.

Out in the clearing, the snow had finally stopped falling. Still, the air was freezing and Snappaw was chilled to the bone. He shivered as he pushed some snow out of his way. Few cats were in the clearing already. Whitewing, Stormcloud, and Twigbranch were sharing a thrush from the previous night's hunt. Snappaw padded over to the prey pile and found it empty. His stomach growled with hunger. Brightheart was still asleep, but Snappaw was hungry.

I don't think she had any morning plans today, Snappaw thought.

Snappaw lifted his head and caught the attention of the older warriors. "Will any of you go hunting with me? The prey pile's empty, and I don't think Ivypool has assigned any hunting patrols yet."

All three of the older warriors stood and shook the snow from their pelts. Stormcloud said, "Sure. I don't think anyone would complain if we went out a little early today."

"Will Brightheart care if you're out before she wakes up?" Whitewing asked of her mother.

"As long as I'm back before sunhigh, I don't think she'll mind," Snappaw replied. "Besides, I'll have you three with me. Leaving the camp with warriors isn't against the code."

"I can't argue with that logic," Stormcloud meowed in amusement. "Let's get on with it, then."

The gray tom took the lead as they headed for the camp entrance. Whitewing, Twigbranch, and Snappaw fell in behind him. They pushed through the thorn tunnel and nodded to Molewhisker, who had been the night's guard. Neither the leader nor the deputy had awakened yet to relieve him of his post. Still, he didn't seem to mind. His eyes were bright with determination.

Stormcloud led the patrol toward the lake, but with the snow as high as it was, the going was slow. The shivering cold would keep the prey in their nests for a while. Yet, everything had to eat. Something would be out and about, whether it was just a skinny mouse or a plump rabbit.

Not far from the Ancient Oak, Snappaw scented the dawn patrol. It was faint, but he could decipher who was on the patrol. Along with Stempaw, there was his mentor, Rosepetal, as well as Hollytuft and Poppyfrost. They had gone toward the WindClan border this time around. Stormcloud led them away from their scent and took them closer to the lake.

It wasn't long before Snappaw scented vole, and he wasn't the only one. Stormcloud held up his tail for the patrol to stop. Everyone paused and he stepped into a bush. Glancing through, he twitched his tail to signal the others forward. Snappaw walked carefully over to him, with Whitewing and Twigbranch on either side. On the other side of the bush, a vole was nibbling on a stray seed, completely unaware of the predators just a fox-length away.

Whitewing and Twigbranch separated and began to circle the vole, preventing its escape. Stormcloud beckoned Snappaw forward, allowing him to sneak out and frighten the vole into the paws of either warrior. Once he saw the two she-cats in position, he launched himself out of the bush and landed just shy of the vole. It let out a squeal of fright and turned to run… straight into Twigbranch's grasp. She pinned it by the tail and nipped its neck, killing it easily.

"Nice move, Snappaw!" Twigbranch called out.

Snappaw flushed with pride. A tad awkwardly, he answered with a murmured, "Thanks."

Stormcloud came out of the bush and joined the others. "We should split into pairs and cover more ground. I get the feeling there won't be much prey out this early."

"You're probably right," Whitewing answered. "Twigbranch, come with me. We'll double back to the Ancient Oak and try our luck there."

The senior warrior led Twigbranch away, leaving Snappaw with Stormcloud. Snappaw looked to the warrior expectantly, wondering where he would take them. Instead, Stormcloud sat down and covered his paws with his tail.

"You're nearly ready to be a warrior yourself, Snappaw. Why don't you take the lead?" he suggested casually.

Surprised, Snappaw twitched his ears in confirmation and started once more toward the lake shore. Stormcloud padded after him wordlessly.

A cold breeze was blowing from the lake, causing the apprentice to shiver. The air brought no scents of prey, but Snappaw was determined. He would prove to Stormcloud that he was as good a hunter as any warrior, even with his disfigurements.

As they neared the lake, Snappaw finally caught the scent of thrush. He held up his tail for Stormcloud to wait, then padded forward slowly and silently. He climbed the hill in front of him, and when he reached the top, he looked down at the lake shore and saw his prey picking through the sand and snow for seeds. He twitched his tail to signal for Stormcloud to join him at the top of the hill.

The wind brought the thrush's scent to the two ThunderClan cats. As long as they were quiet, it wouldn't have any way to detect them before it was caught. Snappaw began sneaking down the left side of the hill, while Stormcloud went right. The thrush faced the lake, completely unaware of their presence.

As the two cats neared the thrush, it lifted its head in alarm. The slight crunch of the snow beneath their paws must have alerted it. It looked around and soon found itself face to face with Snappaw. It spread its wings and tried to fly away, but Snappaw pounced on top of it and swiftly bit into its neck for the kill. It fell limp in his jaws with a quick chirp of surprise.

"Nice one!" Stormcloud called.

Snappaw nodded his thanks before dropping the thrush in front of him. He buried it in the snow for safe-keeping, where he and Stormcloud would come back for it later.

Snappaw turned to go elsewhere when movement on the frozen lake caught his eye. His attention switched to the movement, and at first his eye had trouble finding the source. Then, to his surprise, he saw the faded form of a cat pacing on the ice. He felt his fur rise in shock, and Stormcloud gave him a strange look.

"Snappaw, what is it?" the older warrior asked.

Snappaw didn't have an answer for him. He stared at the form of the cat until it finally caught his eye. Their blue eyes widened in surprise as they realized that Snappaw could see them. Only then did Snappaw recognize who the cat was: Mistystar, the fallen leader of RiverClan.

"Where am I?" she called, though her voice sounded distant. "What's going on? Where are the other StarClan cats?"

Snappaw parted his jaws to speak, but couldn't find the words to answer her or Stormcloud. Both Stormcloud and the ghost of Mistystar were staring at him- him in concern and her in anguish.

"Snappaw, what's spooked you?" Stormcloud pressed.

Snappaw shook his head back and forth. As he did, the ghost of Mistystar faded. He stared at the spot where she had been, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"I- I thought I saw something," Snappaw finally responded to the ThunderClan warrior.

"What? Prey? Another fox?" the warrior continued.

"A cat," he replied quietly.

Stormcloud looked out at the frozen lake in confusion. After a few moments, he turned back to Snappaw. "Well, there's nothing out there now. We should keep hunting. If you want, I can take the lead. I didn't mean to put too much pressure on you."

"No, I can keep leading. It was nothing," Snappaw stated.

He took the lead before Stormcloud could argue. He raced ahead toward the SkyClan border, wanting to get as far away from his vision as possible. Stormcloud bounded after him wordlessly.

…

The patrol returned to camp with as much prey as they could find. Along with the thrush and the vole, they had also caught a skinny squirrel and a couple of mice. Snappaw carried the mice into camp swinging by their tails. All four cats deposited their prey onto the pile.

By that point, most of the camp was awake. Graystripe and Millie huddled outside the elders' den sharing a large rabbit between them. Upon seeing the patrol, Graystripe called for Snappaw to join them. The apprentice dipped his head to the warriors who had accompanied him, then ran over to join the elders.

"Brightheart was asking for you earlier," Graystripe said through a mouthful of rabbit.

Snappaw settled beside them and took a bite from the rabbit. "I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep, so I asked Stormcloud and the others to take me hunting." He swallowed the tender meat, then added, "Was she angry with me?"

Millie purred in amusement. "She was a bit annoyed, but she'll be alright."

"Where is she now?" Snappaw asked.

"Ivypool sent her on a hunting patrol with Brackenfur and Larksong," Graystripe responded. "They should be back soon enough."

"Why couldn't you sleep last night?" Millie questioned with a mother's concern.

Snappaw bit off a large chunk of the rabbit's flesh and put off answering her question for as long as he could. Both elders ate their fill while Snappaw avoided answering. Graystripe pushed the remnants of the rabbit over to him.

Finally, Snappaw said, "Just bad dreams, is all."

"What about?" Graystripe wondered aloud. "I had a dream that I was being chased by a giant hedgehog. It was terrifying!"

Mille cuffed Graystripe's muzzle with sheathed claws. "Hush, this is about a young cat, you ignorant furball!"

"Just… dreams," Snappaw stated. "I can't stop thinking about all the cats we've lost. I guess it's affecting my dreams, too."

"Dreams are just dreams, Snappaw," Millie told him. "There's nothing for you to worry about. We're all grieving for those we've lost. But you're not a medicine cat, so I wouldn't fret over a few bad dreams."

"I guess," the apprentice responded. He finished off the rabbit in a few more ravenous bites, then rested his head on his paws. The elders began sharing tongues, letting him relax a bit.

Somehow he must have fallen asleep, because he was soon awoken by Brightheart prodding his side with her paw.

"Snappaw, wake up! Do you want to train at all today or not?" she teased.

"Huh?" he snorted as he woke. "Brightheart? Oh!" Snappaw immediately got to his paws and shook out his fur. "Yes, of course!"

"Good," his mentor replied. "Then let's get moving. You've wasted too much daylight already!"

Despite her old age, Brightheart bounded off like an apprentice going on their first patrol. Snappaw ran right after her, purring as he pushed his way through the thorn tunnel. His mentor was old, but this was the first time she had been given an apprentice to train. He recalled his father, Lionblaze, telling him that she had originally been Jayfeather's mentor, before he decided to follow the path of a medicine cat. He could only imagine her disappointment and hurt when he abandoned their training. Then, despite Firestar's promise that she would receive another apprentice soon enough, he had never given her one. Her skills as a one-eyed warrior were quite selective when it came to training young cats- and Snappaw fit that description perfectly.

Neither of them stopped running until they reached the training hollow. There, Brightheart finally paused to catch her breath. It came in wheezing gasps that momentarily concerned Snappaw, but she soon composed herself and gave him a fiercely determined look, her one blue eye shining in the cold leaf-bare sunlight.

Finally, she smirked and beckoned at him with her tail. "Alright, Snappaw. Show me what you've learned!"

Snappaw lowered himself into a hunter's crouch, then began to circle his mentor. As he moved, she did too. Then, he faked a pounce to her left before doubling back. She moved to counter his false attack, while Snappaw rolled behind her and launched himself onto her back. She hissed as his full weight brought her down to the ground. Below him, she went limp and he rolled onto the ground in front of her.

Brightheart tried to pin him down, but Snappaw was ready for that. He rolled onto his back as she came down with her full weight. He caught her with his hind legs and shoved upward, sending her flying across the clearing into a pile of snow.

Snappaw rolled back onto his paws and lashed his tail back and forth. Brightheart struggled out of the snow bank and shook the white flakes from her pelt. She noticeably shivered before letting out a quick cough.

"That was great, Snappaw!" she called to him. "Keep it up!"

The two of them started to circle each other again, both of them anticipating the other's attack. Snappaw's heart pounded with excitement at the thought of training further.

However, before either of them could make a move, Snappaw felt a jolt of shock rush through him. He felt all of his fur stand up as his legs gave out beneath him. He crashed onto the frozen ground as he heard Brightheart calling his name.

That's when everything went dark, and Snappaw couldn't hear a thing anymore.