The Blizzard

This is the first book in the Clans of the Blizzard.



Prolouge
Two snow-white she-cats padded out of a small, hidden cave into bright sunlight and freezing snow. The taller she-cat turned back and called, "Snowslide! Smokepelt! Come on!"

"Coming!" a blck tom and a pale gray she-cat came running out into the snow after the other two she-cats.

"We're already late, and Fluttersnow will have our pelts if we don't do at least one patrol today!"

"Calm down, Iceslip." the black tom meowed to the taller white she-cat. "We'll get it done."

"Fluttersnow is mean." Iceslip sighed. "And she's really mean to me and Icecrack," she flicked her tail to the other white she-cat, "because we're her kits."

"Fluttersnow wont have to be mad at us if we hurried along!" The pale gray she-cat led the way as they trotted through the snow, leaving little pawprints.

"Snowslide," the black tom meowed to the pale gray she-cat, "You're going to fast. Slow down!"

"You speed up." Snowslide retorted.

"Get along!" Iceslip snapped.

"Stop aruging!" Icecrack snapped.

"See? This is why we're never sent on patrols together." the black tom muttered. "We just can't get along."

"Stop being a bore, Smokepelt." Icecrack sighed.

"Shut it!" Snowslide snapped. "Let's just get the border patrol over with then go back to camp."

"Fine." Iceslip muttered. The group padded through the snow until they came upon a bushel of tall, snow-covered trees. They had reached the border. Icecrack raced ahead and leaped up a tree. She wriggled through the branches and gazed out over the border of their territory.

"Iceslip, come check this out!" she called down to her sister. Iceslip scrabbled unceremoniously up the tree after her sister and gazed out over the border. There were dark, black clouds over the horizon.

"What is it, Iceslip?" Smokepelt called up the tree.

"It looks like snow's coming!" she called back. "A lot of snow."

Chapter 1
A small, ginger kit opened her eyes. She stood on tiny, shaky legs and gazed into the face of her mother. Her mother was a beautiful, pure white she-cat. "Flamekit, such pretty eyes!" her mother exclaimed.

"Is Flamekit's eyes opened?" came another voice. A white she-cat trotted over and pressed her face into the ginger she-kit's. "They are, very pretty green eyes."

the she-kit squirmed away. "She's scared, Iceslip. " her mother meowed. "You'd better back away."

"Oh." the white she-cat stepped back and sat down. The ginger kit stepped forward and looked the white she-cat in the face.

"Your name's Iceslip?" she mewed.

"Yes it is, and your name is Flamekit, little one." Iceslip licked the kit's head and Flamekit wriggled away from the wet touch of her tounge. Iceslip giggled. "I'm your aunt."

Flamekit's mother piicked her up by her scruff and dragged her back to her nest. She started giving Flamekit a big licking-down. Flamekit wriggled around, but her mother wouldn't let go.

"Icecrack, shes beautiful. Where's her brother?" Iceslip asked.

"Tabbykit's out in the camp, playing with his father." Icecrack meowed. "Speaking of which, can you go tell Snoweagle to bring his son back into the nursery? It's much to cold for the kits to be out."

"I wanted to go play!" Flamekit whined.

"Stay in this nursery and don't you dare move!" Icecrack snapped, curling her tail around Flamekit. "The blizzard is almost here, the snow is already falling. Who knows how long this blizzard is going to last?"

Iceslip nodded, then turned and padded through a tunnel into the main camp. She returned with a dark tabby with a white belly, chest, chin, and tail. Along with him was a a tiny kit that looked exactly like him.

"Come here, Tabbykit!" Icecrack snatched the kit up and set him down in the nest next to his sister. then she looked up to her mate. "Snoweagle, how bad is the snow outside the cave?"

"The snow is starting to blow in." Snoweagle sighed. "The floor of the cave is covered in snow, we had to put rocks in front of the dens to keep the snow out. I hope we won't get snowed-in during this blizzard."

Chapter 2
Flamekit peeked through the entraqnce to the cave-camp. They had covered it with this strange twoleg-thing (it's a blanket) that kept the blowing snow out. Outside, she saw snow blowing everywhere. It was a big, snowy, white world where you couldn't see the paw in front of your nose.

"Flamekit!" came a gasp, and Flamekit felt teeth in her scruff as she was yanked backwards away from the opening. The mysterious cat that had grabbed her dropped her on the cave floor and gaze her a stern glare. It was Snowslide.

"I'm sorry, Snowslide, but Tabbykit told me all about how and snowy it was outside, and I wanted to see it." Flamekit meowed, shuffling her paws guiltily.

"Even with your ginger fur, you would get lost in htat snow and nobody could see you. You could freeze to death!" Snowslide picked Flamekit up and dropped her in front of Icecrack. "This almost got away from you." She mewed, then turned and padded away.

Icecrack and Iceslip were sitting side-by-side next to the fresh-kill pile, which was alarmingly low. Icecrack swept Flamekit in between her paws and curled her tail around her as she talked with Iceslip. "The fresh-kill is almost out, and the wheather's much to bad to send out the normal patrols." Icecrack sighed.

"Don't forget the prey will be nice and cozy in their little holes while we'll be running around int he blizzard, looking for something to eat." Iceslip meowed.

"We could go hungry for days." Snoweagle appeared out of nowhere.

"Hello, Snoweagle." Icecrack greeted her mate. "I thought you were on border patrol."

"I was about to leave, but then Fluttersnow stopped me. Evidentally, Goldensnow's right front paws are aching." Snoweagle mewed, sitting next to his mate.

"We all know what that means." Iceslip sighed.

"What does it mean?" Flamekit piped up.

"Goldensnow is one of the elders." Icecrack explained. "He says that when his right front paw is aching, the wind is too strong. When his left front paw is aching, the snow is falling to hard to see. When they both ache, it means no border or hunting patrols."

"But I thought Fluttersnow didn't believe in that stuff." Iceslip meowed, gazing at Snoweagle.

"He doesn't but he can't risk some of the best warriors to get lost in the cold and dark." Snoweagle mewed, flicking his tail to Fluttersnow sitting outside the leader's den.

"It seems Fluttersnow is leading the clan himself since Lakestar got sick." Icecrack murmured, gazing over at her father.

"We should be getting to bed, at any rate." Iceslip ywaned.

"Where's Tabbykit?" Icecrack meowed.

"He's listening to a story about a fox that snuck into the cave and attacked Frozenlake and Goldensnow!" Flamekit exclaimed happily.

"Well, can you go fetch him, Flamekit?" Icecrack asked.

"Okay, mommy!" Flamekit bounced off for the elder's den, a sheltered cave farther back in camp.

Chapter 3
Flamekit woke to Icecrack talking to a black tom she hadn't met before. She pretended to be asleep, but had one eye opened and one ear cocked.

"Should we ask him to send the patrol?" the black tom asked.

"We should, we need food and Goldensnow told me that his paws aren't hurting him as much." Icecrack replied.

"Who should we recomend?" the black tom asked.

"You should go, Snowmelt, and Bubblepaw, Frostshadow, Lakefrost, and Snowshine."

"Is it wise to send Bubblepaw? I don't think Fluttersnow will agree with it." the black tom, Snowmelt, argued.

"If Fluttersnow doesn't agree, he cna send someone else." Icecrack frowned, "And be sure to tell him that I suggested it, he'll be more willing to listen to his daughter."

Flamekit and Tabbykit wer play-fighting in the middle of the cave when the hunting patrol was leaving. "Okay, Tabbykit, lets go listen to teh elders!" the two kits rna for the elder's den, but then Flamekit turned and left her brother in the den. She snuck out behind the patrol, into the endless snowy-ness.

Flamekit had fun, sneaking through the snow, keeping close to the back of the patrol without them spotting her, and watchign them hunt. they only caught a few scrawny voles, but it was food. Flamekit was only just starting to get cold when the patrol turned back. Her paws felt frozen as she followed them, and before long the rest of her felt frozen too. The snow clinging to her pelt melted and soaked her to teh bone, and she found herself regretting ever leaving the nice, warm cave.

Flamekit jumped at a sqawk overhead. She looked up and saw a huge eagle swooping at her. She squealed and raced away in the oopisite direction from the patrol. She ran and ran, until she looke dbehind her to see the eagle was gone. But so was the patrol. She had no idea where she was. She was lost in the whiteness that went on forever in all directions.

Chapter 4
"Flamekit's missing, Flamkit's missing!" Icecrack yowled, running in circles around the cave. All around her cats looked in cracks, old dens, piles of snow, but no cat found Flamekit.

Tabbykit sat in a corner, being comforted by his father, when Icecrack finally stopped and decided to join her kit that wasn't lost.

"I have her scent!" Fluttersnow exclaimed, sniffing by the elder's den. The whole clan froze and watched Fluttersnow followed the scent to the mounth of the cave and look outside. Icecrack raced to his side and asked,

"Where is she?"

Fluttersnow didn't answer for a long time. Icecrack stuck her head under the twoleg-thing (blankt) that covered the entrance of the cave to see what he was looking at. She gasped. There were tiny, kit pawprints being rapidly covered with snow and were laced with Flamekit's scent. "She's somehwere out there." Fluttersnow murmured.

Flamekit was lost badly, and the blizzard was picking up again. The wind kept sweeping her off her feet and making her land in piles of snow. She started sneezing as the cold set in deeper into her skin. Her paws felt frozen and she didn't think she could move any farther. Then she saw an orange glow ahead.

She raced towards the glow, forgetting her exaustion. As she came closer, she found herself sheltered from the snow and wind by a rock cleft. Four twolegs, two females and two males, sat around a fire that was blocked in by rocks. they warmed their huge paws by its hot glow. Flamekit purred at the feeling of warm that spread up he rpelt as she crawled closers. finally, she ignored the twolegs and curled right up next to the warm rocks outside the fire. She drifted off to sleep.

Fluttersnow blocked off his daughter from running into the blizzard. "If she's out there she's long frozen! there's nothing we could do for her, even if we could see the paws in front of our own faces!"

Icecrack let out a yowl of grief and collapsed on the cave floor, sobbing. Fluttersnow helped her to her paws and led her tot he elder's den. "They'll look after you." Fluttersnow murmured. He sat Icecrack down in one of the elder's nest and padded over to Goldensnow. "Don't freak her out too much with your predictions of deathly blizzards."

The two elders comforted her, and after awhile Snoweagle brought Tabbykit in to nurse. the tiny kit fell asleep beisde his mother, but Icecrack couldn't doze. She just lay her head on Frozenlake's flank and murmured, "Curse it. curse the blizzard that killed my daughter."

Chapter 5
Flamekit awoke to see the twolegs were all asleep, wrapped inside their sleeping bags. "Well, I have to trust these twolegs, at least for now." she murmured to herself."They're my only chance of survival." Flamekit padded through the slushy snow that had been melted by the fire, now only a few sparks, and crawled into the sleeping bag of one of the female twoelgs. She curled inside it and feel asleep. She could almost hear the female twoleg making a purring noise.

Flamekit awoke in the arms of the female twoleg, she was being carried through the blizzard. They were coming upon another rock cleft, a familair one. The four twolegs set up andother camp and started another fire. They lay Flamekit on a rolled up sleeping bag near the fire. Once flamekit was all warm and toasty, she went exploring.

Flamekit crawled through small cracks in the rocks, batted at a few mice hiding in between the rocks, and attacked falling piles of snow. Suddenly, she caught scent of a clan. she flipped around and saw the twoleg thing (blanket) that covered the cave entrance. She was home!

flamekit raced through the blanket and into the nice, warm cave. "I'm home!" she squealed. "I'm home I'm home, I'm home!!!"

Tabbykit was first to reach her, pouncing on her playfully. Next to reach her was her grandfather, Fluttersnow. Finally, her mother came racing out of the elder's den.

"Flamekit! Oh, my beautiful Flamekit!" Icecrack picked her up by the scruff and dropped her in a pile of moss. She wrapped her daughter in the moss and covered her in licks. "You're so cold! you poor thing!"

Tabbykit ran around the cave in a big circle chanting, "Flamekit's back! Flamekit's back!" While Flamekit wriggled and protested at her mother's tounge.

"Both my kits are safe again! they're safe!" Icecrack purred. She scooped up Flamekit in her moss-bundle and swept Tabbykit towards the nursery. She put them both in their nest then curled her tail around them, purring loudly.

Flamekit wiggled out of her moss-bundle and nursed with her brother. The three cats all lay in slence, broken only by purring, for the longest time. then Icecrack meowed, "Now, Flamekit, tell me why you sneaked outside."

And Flamekit did, she told the whole story. when she finished, Icecrack scolded her briefly then covered her with licks again. "We should tell Fluttersnow about the twoelgs." Iceslip appeared out of nowhere. "I'll tell him now." she disappeared, and Flamekit feel asleep.

Chapter 6
Fluttersnow slipped into Lakestar's den. the blue-gray tom sat in his nest, and didn't look up as his deputy walked in. "I'm sorry, Poppyfrost." Fluttersnow heard Lakestar murmur.

"Lakestar, Poppyfrost isn't here." Fluttersnow meowed.

"What do you mean, Fluttersnow?" Lakestar asked. then he blinked at thin air and realized that Poppyfrost was indeed not there. "Never... Never mind. what did you need, Fluttersnow?"

"We aren't going to the Gathering Place, the snow is too bad."

"We have to!" Lakestar stood quickly. "What about the other three clans?"

"Lakestar, the toher three clans are gone, remember?" Fluttersnow sighed. "they left us to die in the cold. We are the only clan now."

"I can't belive that, Fluttersnow." Lakestar dropped to his knees. "I can't believe that starClan would abandon us."

"Maybe StarClan is punishing us with this blizzard." Fluttersnow thought out loud. "Maybe they're angry that we didn't follow their orders and leave with the other clans."

Flamekit peeked inside the den. "Does StarClan hate us?"

"Flamekit! you were eavesdropping!" Fluttersnow raced over to his granddaughter and flicked her with his tail angrily whil he scolded her. "You never eavesdrop on a conversation in between you deputy and leader!"

"I'm sorry, Fluttersnow." Flamekit shuffled her paws innocently. "But I wanna know what happened. Were there clans that I don't know about?"

Fluttersnow frowned. "Flamekit, you don't need to know that. go back to your mother, and tell no one what you've heard or i'll have your tail on the fresh-kill pile!"

Flamekit turned tail and fled from the den.

Chapter 7
Flamekit stared at her mother and asked, "Mommy, were there other clans that I don't know about?"

"ye... er... no...uh... you're much too young to know of that." Icecrack swept both her kits closer to her and started grooming them.

"Mommy! I'm a moon old! I'm too old to be groomed by you! I can clean myself!" Flamekit pouted. Icecrack smiled, happy that she had suffcently distracted her kit from the other clans.

"Okay, how about you go listen to an elder's tale?" Icecrack asked.

"Yeah!" Tabbykit and Flamekit meowed, bouncing up and down. They bounced towards the elder's den. When Flamekit got there, she padded right up to Goldensnow.

"We wanna hear a story!" she meowed, "And I wanna hear about the other clans!"

"Oh, that story!" Goldensnow chuckled, and turned to Frozenlake. "Well, there used to be four clans. ShiverClan, FreezeClan, ColdClan, and HailClan. We ran out of food, and we couldn't hunt, so the other three clans left on the order of StarClan. but we stayed. And ever since, we've had nothing but bad luck. Some of the senior warriors, like Fluttersnow and Smokepelt, are worried that the Blizzard was sent to kill us by StarClan, but it's not true. StarClan wouldn't kill us."

"Wow." Flamekit meowed. "what's our clan name?"

"Well, Lakestar ordered that we had no name anymore. It was some kind of protest against the other clans."

Flamekit was lost in thought. "Maybe," she thought, "StarClan wants the other three clans back. Maybe our clan was the one with the right idea."

Chapter 8
Flamekit awoke and saw that the blizzard was letting up a bit. She gazed out of the cave and saw some huge creature stadning outside, but it hadn't noticed her. She squealed with fear, and Fluttersnow shoved her away to take a look himself.

"It's a bear!" he yowled. "All cats to the back caves!" All the cats jumped out of their nests and squeezed into the caves in the back of the camp-cavern. It was very dark, but it was safe. "There were multiple ones, there might be a whole pack!" Fluttersnow yowled to the rest of the camp, helping Lakestar into the cave farthest back.

"What are they doing out in this weather?" Tabbykit asked, "Don't they hybernate?"

"They're a different kind of bear." Fluttersnow told his grandson. "They're white and fluffy, we call them Polar Bears."

"I've never seen them before." Frozenlake meowed. The elder was sitting with her paws tucked under her fur.

"If Frozenlake's never seen them before, then there's something very weird going on." Iceslip pointed out.

"What if StarClan sent the Polar Bears along with the Blizzard to punish us?!" Snowslide yowled.

There was an uproar. It was a long itme before Fluttersnow could make himself heard. "Everybody! Calm down! Snowslide, don't say things like that, you're starting an unnecssary panic."

During the uproar, Flamekit snuck into the cave where Lakestar was hiding. "I should be out there, leading my clan." Lakestar told Flamekit as she padded in. "Poppyfrost would be so disappointed."

"Who is Poppyfrost?" Flamekit asked, sitting and curling her tail around her paws.

"Poppyfrost was someone who was always loyal to me, but I was not always loyal to her." Lakestar muttered. He got lost in thought, and as he re-lived the scene, he told Flamekit what had happened:

''"I love you, Lakefreeze." Poppyfrost meowed, brushing her pelt against Lakefreeze's. "I'll see you after I get back from the patrol!" the she-cat leaped up onto a slippery rock covered with ice, and climbed up a small snowbank to join the rest of the patrol. Lakefreeze purred as his mate left, and he turned to go back into the cave. He was leader now, all he had to do was visit StarClan in the Icepool, which was far away on the other side of FreezeClan's territory''.

Lakefreeze trotted into the cave-camp and into the medicine cat's den. "Rushriver!" Lakefreeze called, but no cat answered. He gazed around, but the only one in there was Goldensnow, one of the senior warriors.

''"She's in the nursery, taking care of Iceshine." Goldensnow told him. "And Fluttersnow's with her. She's to have kits any day now."''

''"I see." Lakefreeze meowed. He turned to leave, but Goldensnow stopped him by meowing,''

"I have a krink in my neck."

Lakefreeze flipped around and asked," What does that mean again?"

''"Unnesscary death." Goldensnow meowed dramatically.''

''"I believe in that stuff anyway." Lakefreeze turned and padded out to go find Rushriver to travel to Icepool.''

When they set out on the journey, they took the same path that Poppyfrost's patrol had that morning. Lakefreeze thought about being leader. Lakestar... ''he liked the ring of that. Then he heard yowling.''

He raced ahead and saw Poppyfrost's patrol hissing at a FreezeClan patrol. ''"What is going on here!?" Lakefreeze called, joining his mate's side.''

''"We're leaving!" yowled a gray tom that Lakefreeze knew was called Frostsplash. "We recived a prophecy from StarClan that told us to leave. We're all going to die if we don't go!"''

''Frostsplash was medicine cat, and Lakefreeze knew he wouldn't lie. However, he didn't agree with him. "That's absurd, we're staying!" He hissed.''

''"Then we'll kill you so StarClan won't have to!" a warrior hissed. Lakefreeze jumped in front of Poppyfrost to protect her as a battle started. Lakefreeze didn't remember most of the fight, but he remembered one cat smacking him down hard. He couldn't get up for a long time, but when he could, the battle was over.''

''He sighed with relief when he saw that most of the patrol only had a few injuries, until he saw Poppyfrost's blood leaking onto the snow. He yowled with grief and raced to her side. Her white and ginger fur glittered with snow and was stained with blood as she lay dying on the snow.''

''"It's my fault! My fault!" Lakefreeze yowled. "I should have protected her better! It's all my fault!"''

Flamekit's eyes grew wide and she slipped out of the den. she hadn't expected such a sad story...

Chapter 9
Flamekit sat in silence, waiting for Fluttersnow to return with news of the Polar Bears. She saw Lakestar sitting in the corner, his eyes witha faraway look. Was he thinking of Poppyfrost? There had to be something Flamekit could do to relive his pain...

Flamekit blinked and saw a white and ginger she-cat standing in front of her. "Who are you?" Flamekit asked. The she-cat just blinked, turned, and padded away. Flamekit jumped up and followed her. The she-cat was leading Flamekit to the entrance of the cave. They slipped out, and Flamekit almost ran into Fluttersnow.

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be out here, but." Flamekit stammered, but Fluttersnow didn't seem to hear her. Flamekit blinked in confusion, then followed the she-cat once more. They walked right in front of the Polar Bears and they didn't even notice them.

The she-cat lead Flamekit to a hole in a rock where there were hundreds of cats hiding, sheltering from the blizzard and the bears. "Why did you show me this?" Flamekit asked the she-cat.

"You must bring them back." The she-cat disappeared, and Flamekit appeared back in the cave of her clan. Icecrack was prodding her with her paw.

"Were you having a bad dream, dear?" Icecrack asked.

"You were mewling about something." Tabbykit wiggled out from in between his mother's paws and over to his sister.

"No, I was just having and odd dream." Flamekit muttered. Then Icecrack padded away, and Flamekit bit into Tabbykit's tail and dragged him away from the other cats, out of earshot.

"Ow ow ow!" Tabbykit squealed. "What gives, Flamekit?"

Flamekit dropped her brother's tail and whispered into his ear. "We're going outside."

"We can't!" Tabbykit whispered back. "The Polar Bears will eat us!"

"We have to! It's for a good cause!" Flamekit grabbed her brother's scruff and started to drag him out of the back cave and into the main cavern. "If you don't come, I'll drag you!"

"Fine, fine, I'm coming." Tabbykit wriggled out of his sister's grasp and trotted along beside her.

Flamekit shoved her brother behind a rock as she saw a Polar Bear glance their way. They crouched there until the Polar Bear dropped to all fours and slinked away. Before they started again, Flamekit was struck by an idea. She grabbed Tabbykit and tossed him into the nearest pile of snow. Tabbykit struggled out and gasped.

"Quit pushing me around!" Tabbykit hissed softly. "Just because you're bigger than me-"

Flamekit ignored her brother and jumped into the snowbank. When she struggled out, they looked like two furry snowballs. Flamekit explained that it was camoflage, then they snuck by the Bears. Flamekit remembered to way from her dream, and soon found the rock where the cats were hiding.

"Here it is, Tabbykit!" Flamekit showed her brother to the hole in the rock and they both peeked inside. There they were, hundreds of shivering, skinny cats. "Hello?" Flamekit called.

"Intruder!" the cats yowled. They bristled their fur and formed a protective line in front of the weaker cats in back.

"I've come to lead you to shelter!" Flamekit called.

"It's just a kit, Snowybracken." meowed a pale gray she-cat. Actually, Flamekit couldn't tell if she was white or pale gray, but her matted fur was so dirty that it looked as though it had a gray tint to it. Some cats smoothed down their fur and padded towards Flamekit and Tabbykit, but a white and brown tabby tom didn't move.

"There could me more." the tom meowed.

"There isn't." Flamekit meowed. "What self-respecting clan would send kits to lead an attack?"

"Clan?" the tom meowed, pricking his ears and smoothing his fur. "You're from a clan?"

"Our camp isn't far from here." Flamekit knew she shouldn't tell such information to strangers, but she felt that it was nescary.

"Would you be so kind as to shelter us until the Bears go away?" a blue-gray tom asked.

"That's not my choice." Flamekit meowed.

"It's Lakestar's." Tabbykit cut in, he felt it was unfair that flamekit was doing all the talking.

"Lakestar?" a nearby tom pricked his ears and padded closer to the kits. "Lakestar of HailClan?"

"I dunno." Flamekit meowed. "One of the elders said that our clan doesn't have a name since the other three clans left."

A few of the older cats exchanged glanes, then the blue-gray tom meowed, "Take us to your clan. all of us."

Chapter 10
Icecrack awoke at the sound of an angiushed yowl. She pricked her ears and stood quickly. It was the yowl of an unfanilair she-cat. She suddenly noticed the absense of Flamekit and Tabbykit. She yowled with alarm and raced out of the hiding cave and into the camp-cavern.

She stopped dead, almost slamming into a skinny white she-cat with dirty fur. "W-who?" she stammered, then she recognized the she-cat. "Snowkit!"

"I'm obviously not Snowkit anymore." the she-cat smiled. "What's your name now, Icekit?"

"I'm Icecrack, what's your warrior name?" Icecrack sat to talk with her friend.

"I'm Snowtuft." the white she-cat meowed.

Then Icecrack remembered why she had run out of safety. "Flamekit! Tabbykit!" She stood and realised that she was surrounded by strange cats, whom took her a long time to recognise them all.

"Flamekit? Tabbykit?" Snowtuft asked. "They lead us here."

"What?" Icecrack exclaimed. "But-"

"Mommy!" Flamekit and Tabbykit pushed out of the crowd and purred as they found their mother.

"You're their mother?" Snowtuft asked, then smiled, "It figures."

Lakestar padded out of his hiding cave. Flamekit raced over to him before he could ask what was going on. "I can explain, Lakestar!" she meowed quickly. And so she did, starting with her StarClan dream. When she finished, Lakestar pricked his ears and his eyes settled on the skinny, hungry, weak cats. Then he stared at the entrance to the camp.

"It's stopped." he murmured.

"What?" Fluttersnow appeared out of nowhere at Lakestar's side.

"The blizzard. It's stopped." Lakestar and Fluttersnow raced to the entrance and peeked out from under the twoleg-thing (blanket) that covered their hiding place. The snow had slowed and now it was only sprinkling a bit of snow. All around them were snowbanks, and the Polar Bears were gone.

"What should we do?"Fluttersnow asked.

"We don't send out a patrol until we're sure the blizzard isn't coming back." Icecrack suggested.

"No, we need fresh-kill." Lakestar meowed. "After all, the other clans have come back."

Epilouge
Flameheart picked up a snow rabbit and bit into it. It was really good, and she saw her brother come back from patrol. "Hey, come share this with me, Tabbysnow!"

Tabbysnow padded over to his sister and bit into the rabbit. "Anymore trouble from FreezeClan?" Flameheart asked him.

"We still scented Sunmelt and Frozefur on our territory." Tabbysnow sighed, swallowing the prey carefully.

"You'd think they would be more greatful after we brought them back and saved them from Polar Bears." Flameheart sighed. She finished her portion of the rabbit then stood. "I should organize more border patrols." She turned to leave when Tabbysnow stopped her.

"I'll go on another patrol near FreezeClan territory." Tabbysnow meowed, looking at his paws.

"But, you just came back!" Flameheart exclaimed. Then she sighed. "You can go on dawn patrol tomorrow. Get some rest first." She watched her brother trot away, then padded over to her mother. "Do you mind going on a hunting patrol later? You should take Snowhare, Frozenpelt, Lakefrost, and Shiverpelt."

Icecrack nodded, then asked, "What time?"

Flameheart felt surprised at her mother asking her a question. She would never get used to being deputy. "At sunhigh." She meowed. She watched Icecrack go fetch the other warriors. Next, Flameheart padded over to the apprentices' den. She peeked inside and meowed, "Polarpaw, Rainpaw, Shiverpaw, you'd better go see your mentors for training."

Polarpaw, a white she-cat with brown speckles, Rainpaw, a blue-gray marbled she-cat, and Shiverpaw, a light gray tom, came skidding out of the den and ran into Flameheart.

"Sorry, mommy!" Polarpaw meowed. Flameheart smiled at her kits, now apprentices, as they raced excitedly across the cave-camp and to their mentors.

The End