Infinita Frigus

Chapter 3

Much to her surprise, when Treepaw awoke it was to sunlight streaming into the apprentice's den and illuminating the wintery gorge beyond.

It took the 8-moon-old cat a moment for her to wholly recognize what she was seeing, but when she did she leaped to her feet, eyes shining. The leaf-bare was over!

In a rare moment of wisdom, she stifled a yowl of excitement and tiptoed over to Sandpaw, the medicine cat apprentice. She gave Phantompaw a wide berth. Stupid kitty-warrior! she thought disdainfully.

Reaching the medicine cat-in-training, the began to prod the sandy ginger with a paw. "Wake up, Sandpaw!" she whispered excitedly.

With a groan, the she-cat awoke and forced open her crystal-blue eyes. "What is it, Treepaw?" the older cat asked.

Treepaw smiled. "There's the sun! The leaf-bare is ending!"

Yawning, Sandpaw got to her paws and stretched. "It's probably just a break in the cloud cover, Treepaw," she said, amused. "See? Look at the icicles. They should be melting at least a little."

Treepaw felt her face heat up with embarrassment as she noticed the icicles at the mouth of the den. "Oh," she mumbled.

Sandpaw giggled and cuffed her over the head. "You're so cute, Treepaw," she called over her shoulder as she exited the den.

"Hey! I'm not cute!"

Huffing, the dusty brown she-cat stalked out of the den, grumbling about how she was most definitely not cute.

Scrambling down to the gorge, she cast a final glance up at the sky. A small gap in the swirling gray masses allowed the bit of sunlight to come through. It wasn't warm, or particularly bright. But it was a nice change from the shade cast endlessly by the thick clouds.

A few cats were already up, likely having been woken by the sunlight as she was. She noticed Screechfrost and Hawkleap talking by the river, and, smiling, bounded over to her mentor.

"Hey, Hawkleap!" she chirped, diving into the snow next to him. "What're we doing today?"

The golden-brown tom laughed. "Hey, squirt. Eagleflight said something about going on a hunting patrol later today, so be ready. But we've got a few minutes- Now shoo, go play," he mewed playfully, batting her away.

Treepaw shrugged. "Alright," she mewed, before scampering off to the middle of the camp. There, the dusty brown she-cat hesitates for a moment, trying to decide where to go.

Before she could make her descision, something bit down hard on her tail. The apprentice recoiled in shock, before shooting forward and promptly tumbling down into the snow. The white powder crumbled beneath her, and she found herself plunging downwards, the snow falling in above her and cooking her mouth and lungs.

Choking and sputtering, her paws pedaled frantically, trying to dig a way out. Snow rushed into her mouth the second she opened it, cutting off her airflow even more. Her lungs began to burn, and her black spots started to appear in her vision.

Help! She thought desperately. I don't want to die like this!

A strong pair of teeth gripped her scruff, and Treepaw found herself being lifted up out of the white prison. She barely registered being placed gently on the ground, voices circulating above her.

Will she be okay?

What happened?

Oh, Blazekit, what did you do?

Sandpaw! Get yarrow, now! And grab some poppy seeds while you're at it.

Paws kneaded her chest and stomach frantically, Flowershine's voice ringing in her ears. "Don't die on me, Treepaw!"

A leaf was suddenly shoved into her mouth and down her throat, and she swallowed on reflex. Almost as soon as she did, her stomach convulsed painfully, and she vomited onto the white snow, icky bits of leaves and snow and the remains of yesterday's fresh-kill dripping from her jaws.

Immediately after she broke into a violent hacking fit, powdery white flying from her lips as her body purged itself of the frozen water that had invaded her respiratory system. Collapsing onto the ground, she felt Hawkleap's warm scent wrap around her, her mentor whispering comforting nothings into her ear. Dim green eyes vaguely registered a few seeds in front of her, and Flowershine commanding her to lap them up.

Mindlessly, Treepaw did as asked. She felt herself being lifted into the air, and carried somewhere. The last thing she felt was the soft folds of a moss nest enveloping her before blackness overtook her vision, this time the blackness of sleep instead of the awful blackness that came with a lack of oxygen.

She awoke many hours later to a pitch black cave and rumbling in the sky up above her. Blinking sleepily, it took the young she-cat a moment to reigister that she was in the medicine den. Flowershine was only a few pawsteps away, sleeping soundly in her own nest.

Hesitantly, Treepaw stood up on unsure legs before padding out if the den. She could be back before the medicine Cat even knew she was gone. Besides, she only wanted answers- Harmless, right?

A figure was seated at the enterance to the SkyClan camp, his fur ruffling in the winter wind. Treepaw moved silently towards him, recognizing her mentor instantly, before pressing up against his warm pelt.

Hawkleap laughed as she arrived. "Hey, Sapling," he laughed. "What're you here for?"

"What happened yesterday?" she asked sleepily, watching a spider weave its web.

The tom hummed. "Blazekit tried to surprise you by jumping on your tail. You, my dear apprentice, freaked out, and ended up trapped under the snow. According to the medicine cats, snow got in your throats and blocked you from breathing. They shoved yarrow down your throat, which made you vomit, which cleared your entire system up or something."

"Oh," Treepaw said quietly.

"Mhmm. What're you looking at?"

The dusty brown she-cat's eyes were transfixed on the arachnid. "Does that spider look... Weird to you?"

Hawkleap squinted. "Huh, you're right. It looks like it was made of... of ice..." he trailed off, and the spider stopped in its tracks and seemed to almost turn to look at them.

"Yes," her mentor whispered excitedly. "It is! Maybe it has something to do with this leaf-bare. C'mon, we've got to tell Larkstar." He turned to walk away, but as he did, the spider moved forward with impossible speed, expanding into the shape of an icy cat. It collided with the two, knocking them to the ground before they could move.

Treepaw stared, transfixed. The ice-cat-spider-thing was a wonderful work of art, it's crystal eyes staring into her soul. At the same time, it was deadly, sharp icy claws poised over her throat. She swallowed nervously- How was this possible?

"You will do no such thing," the Cat growled threateningly, before a hard frozen paw collided with the side of her head. Darkness overtook her vision once more, and Treepaw's last waking thought was that she was really, really growing to hate the color black.