The Trees Cry Melted Snow {open}

Duskrain woke to a wet head and a soaked nest. She looked up to see pitter patters of melted snow leaking through the bushes. She was cold without Dacedream and Houndheart. She missed their warm fur. But it didn't bother the she-cat. Today she would show Beepaw how to kill prey. A wide grin grew on the dusty warrior's maw as she arose from her bed of soaked moss. She stood and stared at it a minute, thinking that she liked the water and the sound rain made. But it was not raining. The forest was crying. It was too warm for snow, so the snow fell to the ground. Duskrain thought this concept interesting.

It was just past dawn as she left the warrior's den. The dawn patrols had made their way from camp, and her clanmates were stirring in the morning light. Duskrain let out a yawn, heading for the fresh-kill pile. To her disappointment, there were no squirrels today. She had wanted to bring Beepaw a squirrel. But instead she settled for last night's mouse, scrawny and wet, but it would do. Cutting through the dripping ferns, Duskrain laid her mouse down gently and stared at Beepaw for a while. He looked like Beartooth. He had long teeth and pretty stripes and big paws. Duskrain blinked and decided that this was okay. She gingerly pressed his shoulder with a paw, standing above him with wide green eyes. "Beepaw." She greeted, voice level. "I brought you a mouse." She watched him expectantly, paws kneading the ground excitedly.

"Your fur is wet." She giggled as the apprentice ate, "Like mine." A crow cawed overhead as the camp began to chatter. Duskrain listened to the warriors talk about the melting snow and how warm of a day it was for leafbare. She listened to them talk about the gathering and StarClan's sign. Duskrain had not seen the sign. Duskrain had not been at the gathering. And Duskrain didn't understand StarClan. They were far under the ground like her worms. Why were they angry? Blinking, Duskrain stood up and rubbed her eyes with a paw. "Beepaw? Do you want to go find squirrels with me?"

Beepaw mrrped and stretched out his legs as Duskrain greeted him bright and early. He tucked his ears behind his head and let out a great yawn, blinking away the sleep that still plagued his amber eyes. The apprentice den's roof had a hole. It dripped on his head, soaking all the way into his bones. He never thought he would miss Ferretnose's warm belly fur on a wet day, but here he was. He had to be grown-up now, like the other apprentices. He, Cedarpaw, Icepaw, and Smudgepaw were the youngest ones, but Beepaw was by no means the smallest. Part of being grown-up was waking up with the sun... in the cold... with no mama... and plenty of chores.

Duskrain's voice was lilted and pretty, with hypnotizing eyes to match. She held a mouse for him, as well as a proposition. "Thanks, Duskrain!" he exclaimed, biting into the prey with a satisfying crunch. He gnawed as politely as he could as his mentor whispered to him. Beepaw bit back the wide grin that threatened his maw; big cats didn't giggle like kits. The tom settled for a vigorous nod. "I bet you're a good hunter! You're so quiet and small!"

Wait, he thought, stamping his excitement. "Can Smudgepaw come?" he begged. "I don't wanna go by myself and take up all the patrols. Besides, we might need help! What if we find a squirrel so big we need five paws to take it down?!" Beepaw prodded the black and white cat with one of his beastly paws. "C'mon, get up, Smudgepaw! We're gonna hunt!"

Smudgepaw looked up at bee paw with sleepy eyes. “Ok, But be quiet this time, I don’t want another shaking fit!” He mewed standing to his paws and stretching. It’s been a while since he had a panic attack, cause by bee paw when they were kits, But he still felt a little edgy around the other apprentice. Smudgepaw hadn’t started training yet so maybe this patrol could teach him something. After making sure his pelt was clean, Smudge nodded to the two that he was ready.


(sorryyyy!)

"Okay." Duskrain answered Beepaw's inquiry simply, leaving the den. Another droplet spattered her pelt and dew dripped from her whiskers. The she-cat smelled the frosty air, checking for undertones of beasts or squirrels. Smudgepaw arose shortly after his brother Beepaw prodded him. Duskrain turned and looked at the tom strangely, measuring him up, eyes tracing his spots. She turned to lead the way out of camp, ducking through the thorn tunnel into the muddy expanse beyond. Her paws sank into the dirt, wet soil caking up to her legs as Duskrain maneuvered her way onto a log jutting out from the earth. "It's very wet today." She whispered, watching the morning horizon. Her whiskers twitched as both Beepaw and Smudgepaw joined her, just as muddy as she was. An occasional crow fluttered in the bare trees above, voice mocking and lonely.

Duskrain was reminded of Beartooth and the crows that once tried to prey off his dead frame. Duskrain didn't like crows. Deciding that they'd have better luck deeper in the forest, she leapt off her log and trudged through the marshy ground, ducking under dripping undergrowth and naked twigs. The hills fell below in front of the small patrol as they crested a hill. Beyond the trees that stood on either side of them, the forest unfurled in a beautiful expanse. In the distance, the shimmer of RiverClan's stream could be seen, as well as the shadow of WindClan's moors. Duskrain inhaled the frosty air and grinned. "Over there is RiverClan." Duskrain explained, voice quiet. "That's where Dacedream is from. They smell like fish, and have really pretty pelts. That's why Dacedream's pelt is so pretty." Her green eyes scanned the horizon and stopped on the barely-visible mountains in the distance. "There's WindClan. They're small cats. Like me. StarClan is over there too, in the cave. They are dead cats who live in a different forest, but it's not as pretty as this one." Duskrain remembered her conversation at the moonstone, a deciding factor on the death of Beartooth.

Already having torn herself from her train of thought, Duskrain flicked her tail and sprinted down the hill, into the lower forest below. The ground remained muddy here, but Duskrain imagined they'd find squirrels here. She lifted her nose to the air to scent, grinning as the musty odor of prey reached her maw. "Do you smell it?" She asked the apprentices, eyes wide with excitement. "Squirrels!"