night.

Wolfheart shook off the thought and got up, arching her back. She noticed that Shadowheart was padding towards her, a piece of fresh kill in his mouth.

"Fresh kill?" He offered. "Thanks." Purred Wolfheart.

The two cats sat down to share the fresh kill and share tounges. Wolfheart was trying to decide whether to tell Shadowheart about the dream or not.

"Well, I'm supposed to take out a hunting patrol now." He sighed, getting to his paws. "It's weird not having you with me."

"It's weird not being able to hunt." Chuckled Wolfheart. "Who are you taking out?"

"Hazelheart of course, Ravenpaw, Barley, Echobreeze, Pebblepaw and..." He hesitated. "Emily."

"Emily?" Asked Wolfheart, startled. "Is she alowed to go? I thought that they were keeping her prisoner."

"Apparently Firestar has seen her good side, and says that he welcomes her as a full member of ThunderClan." Sighed Shadowheart. Wolfheart grunted. "Well, go on." She yawned. "Thanks for the fresh kill." She called as Shadowheart padded away to get the patrol organized.

Wolfheart tried not to think about the dream as she began to clean her ears. The dream was obviously a prophecy from StarClan, telling something of a new Clan coming to the forest. But what had Grayheart meant about night?

Wolfheart suddenly felt a pang of boredom as she realized that all that queens really ever did was sleep in sunbeams. For a while she felt like she was having a break from the hard work of the Clan, but now she kind of missed it...alot...

Wolfheart sighed, as she saw Ferncloud padding towards the nursery. "Hello." She purred. "I'm going to be moving into the nursery, hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." Purred Wolfheart. At least she wouldn't be completely alone once Brightheart left very soon.

Ferncloud had gotten settled into the den and was now sleeping. It had been her second time in the nursery, and Wolfheart knew that she liked being able to sleep all day. Wolfheart partly thought that she was crazy for that, but also a loving friend.

It was raining outside. It had started out as a slow, dreary drizzle, but now sped up, and the pounding of hard, cold rain batted at the roof of the nursery.

Whitekit pricked her ears at the sound, her eyes clouded with sadness at the same time.

Firestar was supposed to have her apprentice ceremony today, but if this rain kept up, he couldn't risk it. This rain was a hard one, and stepping even a forepaw outside would sting like splinters from the hard downpour.

Not only that, but there was a good chance that this downpour could turn into sleet, or even worse- hail.

Wolfheart sighed, wanting the comfort of Shadowheart, or the friendship of Hazelheart. Perhaps even the feisty Darkpaw at that matter. All she wanted was out of the dark, warm nursery, now almost full of queens.

Wolfheart's belly had swolled to probably half it's size, and Wolfheart looked on each day for the day that she could run outside and hunt again.

But she knew that she had atleast seven more moons in the nursery. After she actually had the kits, she had to stay six more moons until they were old enough for apprenticeship.

Right about then, Darkpaw burst through the entrance, his pelt bristling. Wolfheart's head shot up from her paws, concern starting to cloud into her eyes to hide the boredom that his behind.

"What's wrong?" She asked, a bit quieter than normal to be sure not to wake Ferncloud and Brightheart. "Is ShadowClan attacking?" Asked Whitekit, excitedly.

"No." Panted Darkpaw. "I was just dropping by..."

"In this weather?!" Yowled Wolfheart in a loud whisper. "Yeah." He was a bit embarrassed. "I got so bored...I figured that it was worth the risk..."

"Aren't you having fun with Sandstorm?" Asked Wolfheart, feeling sympathey for the young apprentice. "Well..." He hesitated. "No." He admitted. "I just...You're so much better with the training...Or, atleast, you are to me... Pebblekit thinks that I'm crazy, Redpaw dosen't, but Cheetahpaw thinks that I'm crazy for it too!!"

He flung his body onto the ground and let out a long, wanting wail.

The wail woke Brightheart, but Ferncloud only twitched and moaned a bit. "Keep it down, will ya?" Hissed Brightheart. Whitekit just giggled a bit. "If you wake Ferncloud, you'll really be in for some kind of worrysome attitude." She lay her head back onto her paws and fell back into sleep.

"Would you like to stay here until the storm passes over?" Asked Wolfheart, giving Darkpaw a sympathetic lick on the ear.

"May I?" He said, lifting up his head, some excitment flowing back into his steady, green eyes. "Of course." Purred Wolfheart. "Now, just remember, if you stay here you have to sleep...Or, just lie awake..."

Darkpaw gave a nod, and put his head on his paws, trying to find the clam darkness that led to sleep.

Wolfheart remembered the prophecy that her sister from StarClan had sent her, and wondered what it meant. What was 'night'? That was about the only thing that she hadn't figured out. The prophecy was pretty clear, mentioning a new Clan coming to the forest, and saying to not beware it.

There was one other thing that she didn't get. A destiny lies within night.

Wolfheart tried to fall asleep, hoping for a smooth, blank, dark sleep. Perhaps her prayers would come true. She switched positions as she lay down once more, and fell into her sleep that she had dreamed of.

"Guess what, guess what, wake up, wake up!!" I tiny paw prodded the side of Wolfheart flank, waking her up, though her tiresome screamed in protest.

"What?" She yawned, trying to show some amusment to Whitekit, the tiny piece of fur that had prodded her side, awaking her.

"My apprentice ceremony is today! I hope that Brambleclaw will be my mentor- he's awesome!"

She then happily padded out of the nursery, her mother Brightheart following her.

"The rain has stopped...If you'd like to go outside. Darkpaw was run out this morning by Sandstorm...But, you haven't seen Shadowheart in a while, perhaps you could find out where he is."

Right about then the rest of her body slipped through the entrance.

Wolfheart knew that she was right, but she felt restless. She didn't even want to move, for the first time of being here in the nursery. She just hoped that Shadowheart or Hazelheart one would come and see her soon.

She pricked her ears, hoping for the sound of pawsteps coming towards the entrance to the nursery. There were some, and for a moment Wolfheart became anxious, but then Dustpelt slid through the nursery entrance, probably coming to see Ferncloud.

He gave a curt nod to Wolfheart, then went over to Fernclouds side, which was still in a mesmerizing sleep.

He turned back to Wolfheart. "Shadowheart is out on patrol with Hazelheart and Darkpaw." He explained. "He may not come until around sunhigh. Will you be attentding Whitekit's apprentice ceremony?"

"I don't guess I really have a choice." Chuckled Wolfheart. "She woke me up this morning in excitment. Do you know who her mentor will be?"

Dustpelt shook his head, saying 'no'. "I'm afraid not. The only one who knows that is Firestar...And perhaps Graystripe."

Wolfheart nodded. She had to understand. She knew that Dustpelt wasn't deputy, but she had suspicions on who the mentor would be. She had one or two specific guesses, but there was one certain one that she couldn't get her mind off of- Emily.

The rouge had practically joined ThunderClan, and Wolfheart knew that she had no kind of want to going back to the rouge life.

"You're thinking the same thing I'm thinking, aren't you?" Asked Dustpelt. "Brambleclaw."

Wolfheart understood this, and she also thought that it was possible for Brambleclaw to be the mentor of Whitepaw, but she didn't know for sure. "Maybe." She shrugged. "But I kind of had something else in mind..."

"Oh?" Asked Dustpelt. "Who?"

Wolfheart hesitated. She didn't want rumors for her suspicions on Emily to emerge around the camp. "Emily." She muttered.

Dustpelt chuckled. "Emily?" He repeated. "Nah, she's a rouge." He chuckled again. "Was a rouge." Pointed out Wolfheart. "She's a part of ThunderClan now. Firestar gives her his full respect."

"Well, I'm sure that, whatever happends, Emily would never do anything against us. She was a lost, helpless, hungry rouge who just wanted a home. She's grateful for ThunderClan now, and that's all that matters." Shrugged Dustpelt.

Wolfheart nodded with a sigh and lay her head onto her paws once more, but not looking for sleep, looking for an explemation.

An explemation for Emily, and explemation for the prophecy, and explemation as to where how much longer she'd be here in this dark old den.

She closed her eyes and thought, trying to find her sister somewhere in her mind, just hoping that her and Redleaf would step out of the blue and make everything better, but that wasn't ever going to happen. She tried to find comfort from the warmth of the den, but there was none.

She sighed once more, and fell into the normal, dark sleep that she had seen so much recently, and tried to find it a bit happier than all the others.