Sign of the Moon

"Why did I ever want to leave the lake behind?" Ivystorm grumbled as she scrambled up a narrow gully, her paws slipping on hard-packed snow. "I wish I had paws as big as the Tribe's! I can't get a good grip on anything."

Foxleap, slogging up the gully a tail-length ahead of her with Toadstep, simply grunted in reply. The three ThunderClan cats were almost at the rear of the patrol; only Fire Bush, one of the cave-guards, followed them, glancing around as she moved confidently over the ice. Two of the prey-hunters, Tumbling Breeze and Dusk Storm, were strung out ahead, while Stormfur and Running River took the lead. They were no more than blurred shapes to Ivystorm, glimpsed through the flurries of snow.

It's almost newleaf in the forest! she complained silently, shivering.

A shape loomed up beside her. "Are you okay? Do you want to lean on my shoulder for a bit?"

Ivystorm recognized Stormfur. "No, I'm fine," she panted. "I can keep going."

Stormfur dipped his head, his eyes warm and friendly, amber like the glow of tiny suns in this wasteland of white. "Just say if you need help."

"They haven't got their snow-paws yet," Dusk Storm remarked, halting to let Stormfur and the ThunderClan cats catch up. "Don't worry," he added with a loud mrrow of laughter. "You'll be snow cats before you know it."

"I'm a snow cat now!" Foxleap meowed with a shiver, shaking clumps of snow from his pelt.

I wish Jayfeather would work out what we're supposed to be doing here, Ivystorm thought as she clambered out of yet another snowdrift. Then we could all go home.

To her relief the snow died to a few drifting flakes, then stopped, and the clouds began to clear, torn into tatters by the wind. A little farther on, the walls of the gully tapered off, leaving the cats at the top of an exposed peak. Ivystorm gasped as she emerged from the shelter of the gully; the wind felt like thorns in her throat, and the blast almost carried her off her paws. Digging her claws into the ice and grit, she raised her head and looked around. They were surrounded by an endless roll of mountain peaks, covered with snow. There was beauty in the jagged shapes and stark colors, but it was nothing like home.

"Look!"

A sharp meow from Running River startled Ivystorm; following the cave-guard's gaze, she spotted two tiny dots circling far above them in the pale sky.

"What's that?" Toadstep asked.

"Eagle attack!" Fire Bush's voice was terse.

The two dots grew larger; Ivystorm realized that they were circling lower, honing in on the group of cats.

"What should we do?" she mewed, fighting panic as she gazed around for cover, while Foxleap and Toadstep crouched side by side, their claws out as if they were prepared for battle.

"This way!" Running River and Fire Bush shoved the three Clan cats back into the mouth of the gully and under the shelter of an overhanging rock. Stormfur, Tumbling Breeze, and Dusk Storm crouched down beside them, while Running River and Fire Bush backed under the outer edge of the overhang, their claws out and their teeth bared.

A heartbeat later the eagles swooped down, their wide brown wings brushing the rocky opening. Ivystorm caught a glimpse of glaring yellow eyes and cruel hooked beaks before the birds pulled up again with angry screeches that echoed among the rocks.

"They're our prey—but they're attacking us!" Toadstep gasped, his pelt bristling in horror.

"We don't often hunt eagles," Tumbling Breeze explained calmly. "But we hunt the things that eagles do, like hares and mice and smaller birds."