Swiftflight's POV

My eyelids slowly flew open, and I couldn't help but feel a small rush of panic as the bright rays of the sun leaked through the den walls, indicating that dawn had very-well passed.

But I suppose this hadn't been the first time I'd slept in. Since leaving the Dark Forest, my body had seemed to ask for nothing but sleep considering I was actually receiving the opportunity to get some.

And I had also had a bit of trouble sleeping last night, as I had been stuck in thoughts about the latest meeting with Goldenshine, Thornclaw and Lilypetal, frustrated that nothing new had been discovered about Snowstorm. Shockingly, I had been able to hold my tongue from pressing my mother about talking with Jayfeather.

What does it matter that he's being snappy? I had wondered. I'm snappy! It took a while, but you comfortably speak with me now!

I knew that I'd have to be patient, as hard as it would be. But now that I knew about Snowstorm's true identity, now that all of the weird things she thought and said made more sense, I wanted to know everything that was going on with her. Especially considering that we've established that Snowflight returning had something to do with me... I thought. It's still so strange to think about. I've been best friends with kin that I've never met.

I then sighed as I fully blinked my eyes open for the first time, and then slightly shifted over in my nest to see that Snowstorm was still in her nest. She was awake, lying on her back and staring up at the den roof.

Speaking of that snowball... I purred with amusement and scooted over just a bit so that I was just about a tail-length from her nest. "Snowstorm, what are you doing?" I asked her, still purring.

Snowstorm didn't look back at me, and continued to simply stare up. "... Lying here," she murmured.

I snorted. "Thank you, that was tough for me to figure out."

Snowstorm finally flashed me an amused look after my sarcastic comment. "I woke up a little past moonhigh," she explained as she sighed. She then proceeded to roll over so that she was lying on her belly. "I've been awake since then."

"You?" I exclaimed, my eyes widening. "But you usually sleep like a rock!" I could throw you from the top of a cliff and you'd stay asleep... and not just because you'd maybe be dead.

Snowstorm sniffed and shook her head slowly. "Oh, I know I do," she replied. Her gaze then darkened as she murmured, "But... I had a weird dream. They've been happening a lot, recently."

My whiskers began to twitch, and my eyes narrowed. Lilypetal's been having unsettling dreams that are keeping her up too... I recalled. But Snowstorm has been bothered in her sleep for many moons now; surely there's no correlation. "But you've always had dreams, haven't you?" I repeated out loud. "What makes these especially strange?"

I then watched, my curiosity rising as Snowstorm sighed and closed her eyes. "Since... since what happened in the Dark Forest, that... Ashfur has not left my head," she nearly whispered as she seemed to grow more and more uneasy with each word she spoke. She then quickly shook her head and looked at me with alarm. "I don't mean that in a weird way!"

I had to suppress another purr of amusement. "Thank StarClan," I muttered.

"I mean, that night was really, really scary," Snowstorm continued. "Maybe the experience of it is just coming back to haunt me."

I stared back at Snowstorm with wide eyes. "It was scary?" I questioned her, genuinely shocked. "Snowstorm, you sure didn't seem scared."

"Really?" Snowstorm exclaimed, her tail beginning to lash back and forth.

"Not at all," I answered despite the prideful, mocking expression that I wanted to slap off of her face. "I was scared."

Snowstorm's eyes narrowed as they glimmered with amusement. "I could tell."

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "Gee, thanks," I muttered. Then, as Snowstorm stood up as well, I made sure I had her gaze as we both began to walk out of the warriors den. "Well, either way, I... I can't thank you enough for 'saving' me. Um..."

Snowstorm then seemed to be trying to hold in her laughter as she watched me struggle for more words. "You trying to be vulnerable is quite funny," she commented.

I shot her a warning glare. "And I'd suggest you stop talking about it before I regret doing it at all," I hissed to her, although it was meant to be lighthearted. After Snowstorm sighed and rolled her eyes, I continued. "Thank you for being one of the cats to knock me back into place."

I then looked away from my friend for just a moment as a reoccurring thought crossed my mind once again. I knew that because Snowflight had returned through Snowstorm that she had some sort of destiny she'd had to fulfill, and part of it had been, but how did she know to fulfill it in the first place? Did she have any idea of who she really was?

I turned back to Snowstorm. "How did you even get to the Dark Forest?" I asked her.

She seemed daunted by the question. "What do you mean?"

I took a moment to think of how to rephrase my words. "How did you know to be there, I guess is my question," I explained. A weird, uneasy pang then seemed to jab at me as I commented more quietly, "You had said that it was your destiny to be there." From that, it definitely sounds like she does know who she is... but that's not what I heard from Goldenshine.

I watched, my fur slowly rising with anticipation as Snowstorm seemed to fall into her thoughts. She wasn't even looking at me once she finally spoke. "Well... you know how I'd been having dreams before the fact too, right?"

I snorted in response to that question. "Oh, yes," I muttered. "A couple of times you woke up screaming in my face."

Snowstorm rolled her eyes before finally turning to meet my gaze. "Yeah, those," she confirmed for me, irritably. "I... I saw images of you in the Dark Forest... images of you becoming a vicious, fox-hearted cat."

I broke Snowstorm's gaze and looked down to the ground. She's saying that as if I wasn't ever a vicious fox-heart, I thought with shame. I definitely was.

"And as if that wasn't enough, I saw the way that you were changing even when I was awake," Snowstorm continued. "You were cold towards nearly everyone, you were rough in training, and rude... you even fought me with unsheathed claws, for StarClan's sake!"

I screwed my eyes shut and nearly had to suppress a hiss. As much as I didn't want to admit it, Snowstorm's reminder of my behavior was hurting me like a physical wound. "I don't need the list..." I muttered, my teeth gritted.

Only then did Snowstorm seem to realize that she had gone a bit far with her words. "Sorry," she meowed as she flashed me a sympathetic look and put the tip of her tail on my shoulder.

I took a deep breath and lifted my head back up. I gave Snowstorm a nod to acknowledge her apology, then lashed my tail to prompt her to go on with her explanation.

"Okay," Snowstorm breathed. "Anyway, I also had dreams of who I now know to be Ashfur, but I didn't recognize him or know who he was, initially." She then narrowed her eyes as she murmured more quietly, "Yet, for some reason he already seemed familiar the first time I dreamed about him... I don't know."

Hm, I might, I thought ominously. But not wanting to "scare" Snowstorm, I suppose, I didn't tell her that. "I don't know, either," I lied before shifting the subject just a bit. "So, that's why you had recognized him when you came to the Dark Forest."

Snowstorm gave me a single nod. "Yes," she answered. Her gaze then grew darker and sharper. "So... based on these dreams, I felt like I needed to do something about it. Something seemed to be... calling me to do something about it.

A shiver ran down my spine at these words.

"And so... " Snowstorm went on. "When I woke up in the Dark Forest one night and eventually found you in that hollow, being praised for the horrible cat you had become..." Snowstorm then cut herself off as she let out a small purr of amusement. She gave me a small nudge on the shoulder. "Well, you know what happened from there."

I nodded slowly as I stared back at Snowstorm with narrowed eyes. "Yeah, I do..." I murmured, but I had barely realized I was even speaking as I began to fall deep into my thoughts.

Now, from what Snowstorm had said, she knew that she had been called to do something, but she still didn't realize that it was because it was what her spirit was supposed to fulfill. Should... should I tell her what the case actually is? I wondered, my heart immediately beginning to beat faster at that thought.

I almost instantly decided against it, for many reasons. I'd need to tell Goldenshine first before doing that, I realized. Also, I don't want to freak Snowstorm out of her mind, especially when I don't know much about the situation myself. Goldenshine or Jayfeather should be the one to tell her who she really is.

I sighed with relief, having decided that I wasn't going to be responsible for flipping my friend's life entirely upside down.

I then turned back to look at Snowstorm and let out a mrrow of laughter as I noticed how tired and heavy her blue eyes looked. She had definitely zoned out when I'd been stuck in my own thoughts. "Uh... Snowstorm?" I purred as I waved my tail in front of her face. "Maybe you should go back to the warriors den and get some sleep."

Snowstorm blinked a few times, looked back at me, and gave me a nod. "You don't have to tell me twice!" she meowed before her mouth opened up into a yawn. She had just begun to turn around before she paused and looked back at me. "By the way, don't think that this was a one-time thing."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "What was?"

Snowstorm purred with amusement as she fully turned back around. "Me coming to your rescue, I guess," she meowed. Her gaze was warm as she then nudged me lightly with her shoulder. "I'm trying to say that I'm always here for you, you mouse-brain!"

I snorted and rolled my eyes as Snowstorm stepped back. "Well, I get that now!" I exclaimed, half-annoyed and half-amused. I then took a deep breath before returning Snowstorm's warm gaze. "But thanks. The same goes to you."

Snowstorm gave me the lightest nod as her blue eyes glowed with pride. "I'm glad to say that I completely believe you," she whispered. She then gave me one last proud look before beginning to walk away again. "Bye, Swiftflight!"

"Bye, birdbrain!" I called back to her.

Snowstorm paused for just a moment. "Rabbit-breath!" she teasingly scoffed at me before purring and making her way into the warriors den.

I sniffed and narrowed my eyes as I watched her tail disappear. "Rabbit-breath?" I muttered to myself, confused, before deciding to shrug off the random insult and see what patrols were heading out.

"Swiftflight!"

I stopped almost at once as I heard a voice call my name from behind me, and I turned to see that Rosepetal was quickly approaching me. I turned towards the dark-cream she-cat and gave her a nod in greeting.

She stopped just in front of me and peered past my shoulder. "Where is Snowstorm going?"

I looked back towards where Snowstorm had disappeared before facing Rosepetal again. "Oh, she didn't get much sleep last night, so I sent her back to the warriors den to rest."

Rosepetal's eyes flashed with surprise as she looked back at me. "Oh, really?" she questioned. "That's a shame."

I couldn't help but purr just a bit as I wondered what could possibly be so shameful about Snowstorm getting to catch up on her sleep. "How come?" I asked Rosepetal.

Rosepetal sat down as she began to explain. "Well, Firestar was wanting some of the newer warriors to oversee an apprentice training session - I suppose to gain some experience for when they become warriors!" she told me excitedly. She then seemed to light up even more, as if an idea had occurred to her. "Even though Snowstorm can't make it, you can still come!"

I immediately let out a disgusted, alarmed hiss as I backed away just a pawstep. "Are you kidding?" I growled back at Rosepetal. "There are countless amounts of things to do in this Clan that are worth my time, and unfortunately, your idea doesn't fall into such a category!" I then whipped myself around in frustration. Watching apprentices train? What a load of foxdung...

After just a moment, I let out another hiss - not out of anger of what Rosepetal had asked me, but at myself. What am I doing? I thought as I was suddenly overwhelmed with shame and guilt. This isn't what you think - it's what Ashfur has taught you to think, and it's not right.

I took a deep breath and hesitantly turned back to look at Rosepetal, who was luckily still there. This is a good opportunity to learn what being a Clan cat truly is, I told myself.

Obviously, I now wanted to take back my words as soon as possible, but Rosepetal beat me to it. Her amber eyes were narrowed as she muttered tautly, "For some reason, I am not surprised that you'd say that." She then turned around and began to pad away.

I urgently followed after her. "Rosepetal, wait!" I called after the warrior before managing to intercept her. "Is there any chance that you could forget everything that I just said?"

I watched nervously as Rosepetal stared back at me, her gaze unreadable. "It may take a bit," she murmured bitterly, although there was a glimmer of humor in her eyes.

I gave her a single sharp, enthusiastic nod. "Sufficient enough for me," I purred, shrugging. "Count me in."

To my relief, Rosepetal's eyes brightened at my words. "Great," she purred back before padding past me and towards the camp entrance. "Follow me - the others are already on their way to the training hollow."

I began to trot just behind her as we crawled through the gorse tunnel. "The 'others', being...?" I prompted to Rosepetal, wondering who I was going to be watching for a bit of the day.

Rosepetal didn't look back to answer me, as she was focused on navigating her path. "Oh, just Goldenshine, me, and the older apprentices - Molepaw and Cherrypaw."

My ears perked up and my tail began to twitch at the warrior's words. "Sounds good to me," I breathed as I followed Rosepetal more excitedly through the forest.