//Un//marked

// chapter 14 //

The moment Lightpaw woke she knew something was different. Stirring in her nest, she peered through the entrance to her den only to see a great wall of white. Her nose twitched and her mouth curled into a grin.

"What are you so happy about?" a grumpy Beetlepaw huffed as she curved her back into a stretch.

Lightpaw shot her a dark glance. "Always ruining the fun," she commented, more to herself than her littermate. Beetlepaw scowled all the same.

"I'm not about to have my fun ruined," Stormpaw said excitedly, also having woken. Without another word, he plunged forward into the snow. Lightpaw followed closely behind.

It was not the cold that hit her first but rather the softness of the freshly fallen snow. It felt like new moss, feathers, and clouds – or what she imagined clouds might feel like. In front of her, Stormpaw's grey body cut through the drifts, head hardly high enough to break the snow's surface.

Finally, they broke through to the Speaking Rock, a circular area around it already trampled by warriors' paws. A meagre freshkill pile lay before the leader's den.

"It must have snowed all night," Stormpaw said, turning to Lightpaw. She stifled a purr, brushing a lump of snow off the tom's nose with a flick of her tail.

"I'm surprised it's not colder," she replied. The sun shone brightly above them – sunhigh – making the snow around blindingly white. Not a breeze stirred the tall drifts.

"I'm surprised your mentors haven't clawed your tails off." The voice from above was unimpressed. Lightpaw shrank back from Dawnstar's glare and found herself stepping on Beetlepaw's forepaws. The black she-cat hissed but held her tongue.

"I'm sure they will punish you all accordingly," the pale tortoiseshell continued with a flick of her ear. Her eyes travelled lazily to a point behind the apprentices.

"There you are!" An exasperated Flamestrike padded forward, Dapplefrost following at his heels. The tortoiseshell looked at Lightpaw briefly, an almost unsettled light in her eyes.

"You're lucky Newtfang's out," Flamestrike continued, looking at Stormpaw pointedly. "I'll make sure Thistleshade puts you through your paces today instead." The grey apprentice shrank back but nodded obediently.

"Actually, Flamestrike," Dawnstar cut in, jumping down from the rock in one graceful leap, "I think you should take Stormpaw out with Dapplefrost and Beetlepaw. I need to have a word with Lightpaw."

This time, it was Flamestrike's surprised eyes that met Lightpaw's, but he too nodded obediently before setting out with the others. None of them looked back as they left the camp.

"Shall we?" Dawnstar said, her question a command. The apprentice had no choice but to follow.

Lightpaw's fur bristled, though the coldness of the den beneath the Speaking Rock made it impossible to tell whether it was from fear or cold. She did not know what to expect from Dawnstar, but just the she-cat's poised trot and quiet calculation were enough to set her on edge.

The DarkClan leader beckoned her in, taking a moment to lick down a stray chest hair before turning her amber gaze back to Lightpaw. The apprentice shuffled her paws.

"Smoketalon reported something strange to me," the tortoiseshell began slowly. "It appears he and Dapplefrost caught you defending a kittypet."

Lightpaw's heart thundered in her chest. Only a moon ago she had been here, listening to Dawnstar accusing her of stealing prey; now, she was accusing her of something far worse.