The Cold

This story is for the Winter Tournament, Round Two. Check out the other contestants, all their entries are really good!

This takes place after The Storm, so I recommend reading that story first. Enjoy!

## SwiftClan

**Leader:** Spiderstar - sleek, black tom with green eyes

(Apprentice - Flightpaw)

**Deputy:** Darkleaf - white tom with brown tabby patches and green eyes

**Medicine Cat:** Palepuff - curly-furred cinnamon she-cat with light blue eyes

(Apprentice - Fallenpaw)

**Warriors:**

Sparkfeather - thin-furred spotted tabby tom with amber eyes

Lynxstripe - glossy-furred red spotted tabby she-cat with white paws and face

Firedust - thin, gray tom with blue eyes
Bluespot - torbie she-cat with bright eyes
(Apprentice - Toadpaw)

Smokegaze - brown and ginger tom with blue-green eyes
Frostthroat - long-haired pale cream she-cat with green eyes

(Apprentice - Hawkpaw)

Sharpfang - pale ginger tom with hazel eyes and one visible fang

(Apprentice - Patchpaw)
Shadethicket - fawn spotted she-cat with yellow eyes

Kestrelsnow - cream and white she-cat with amber eyes and round ears

(Apprentice - Aspenpaw)
Eelsplash - white she-cat with gray patches and dark amber eyes

Moonpath - deep ginger she-cat with blue-gray eyes

(Apprentice - Seapaw)
Meadowchirp - ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Apprentices:**

Seapaw - young, dark blue-gray and white tom with light blue eyes

Flightpaw - brindled golden she-cat with blue eyes
Aspenpaw - young, white tom with yellow eyes

Patchpaw - gray and white she-cat
Hawkpaw - spiky-furred dark gray tabby she-cat
Toadpaw - adorable ginger and white tom

Fallenpaw - dark gray tabby tom with pieces of hay in his fur

**Queens:**

Cavernriver - speckled light brown she-cat with blue eyes

(Mother to Darkleaf’s kit, Fleetingkit, a brown tom with hazel eyes)

**Elders:**

Chestnutclaw - pale brown she-cat with a heavily scarred face and brown eyes

Fireflyyawn - solid sandy gray she-cat

Silverrain - black tom with a silver-tinged muzzle

**Cats Outside the Clan:**

Jaggedstar - dark brown tabby tom with a white spot on his chest fur and dark brown eyes

Starlingstar - small tuxedo she-cat with green eyes

Rudolph - small brown tom with a red nose

Sora - tiny gray she-cat with speckled fur

Snow flitted outside, falling gracefully onto the ground in bounds. Sora sat inside her house, tail sliding against the windowsill. Her breath fogged the glass in front of her, blurring the view of the land outside. She put her paw against the window, wiping it just so that she could see the neighbor’s yard. There, sat a young brown tom. Rudolph, her friend and neighbor.

She swiveled away from the snowy window, jumping down and landing squarely on the ground. Even in the heated house, her paws still stung from the cold. She shook out her fur, and dashed down the stairs.

Every corner of her housefolk’s home was covered in decorations. While she didn’t understand them, she did feel a bit more at home. A large tree sat in the center of their living room, while wreaths and other plant decorations hung on the walls. It felt like they were bringing the outside inside, and it provided her happiness in a time when she had to be stuck inside.

The room was dark, and the small bits of sun that lit up the tree were off. Lucky for Sora, she could see in the dark. Careful not to make too much noise, Sora dashed from the cold floor to the door. Though the door was always shut, one of the windows was broken. The hole was small, and far up, but Sora knew she could make it. She had done it before.

Sora wiggled her bottom, and sprang up onto the window. She teetered a little, restoring her balance after a moment. She slipped through the broken window, sucking in her breath.

The cold air rushed past her face and whiskers. She could feel her paws go numb as they hit the cold snow. She shook her paws desperately to get rid of the wet substance, but to no avail.

Across the yard, sat a small cat on a fence. Unlike Sora, he didn’t seem bothered by the snow. Even with his short fur, he didn’t seem cold. He had brown fur and a pinkish-red nose that made him stand out. Rudolph.

“Hey, Rudolph!” Sora called, jumping through the freezing snow to get to him. The brown tom pricked his ears up, turning to look at her with surprised eyes.

“Oh, hi Sora. I didn’t think you really came out here.” He gestured to all the snow around them. It was tangled in his fur, making him look half frozen. Sora snorted with amusement, jumping up into the fence next to him.

“You thought wrong!” She purred. Rudolph gave her a smile, tail hitting the fence beneath him. His gaze shifted to the forest in front of them. He suddenly seemed rather nervous.

“Hey, Sora?” He asked. Sora peered around him, confusion clouding her expression. What was he looking at out in that forest? The only thing she could see was the looming presence of the dark trees. She felt her pelt rustle and spike.

“Y-Yes?” She stammered, shaking her head. Rudolph gave her a funny look, but went on regardless. He looked a little troubled.

“Do you ever think about what's out there?” He questioned softly, looked down at his paws in apparent shame. Sora rapidly shook her head to deny that she ever thought about it, though she had to admit that she did.

“Sometimes.” She sighed, casting a longing glance towards the forest. Rudolph’s tail fluffed up defensively, like he had been hoping she wouldn’t say that.

“I’m going inside! I-It’s cold out here anyways.” Rudolph chuckled, eyes widening as he turned on his paws and leaped from the fence, snow kicking out from him as he ran across the yard back to his house. He paused on the porch, shaking off the snow from his damp paws. He gave her a forelonging tone. “Sora, please be careful. It’s dangerous out there.” He murmured, springing into the house.

“I’ll.. try.” She murmured. She sat on the fence, feeling extremely confused. She wanted to go outside to escape the cold, but the forest ahead of her seemed to be singing her name. Drawing her in. She felt, truly, that if she went inside, she would be missing out on something extraordinary. Sighing, she jumped from her place.

The forest loomed ahead of her like its own entity. Every step she took seemed to be watched. Nervously, she walked into the first trees. Snow still fell from the sky, Sora’s breath fogging up as she breathed. The flurries fell around her in graceful patterns, obstructing her view. The only thing she could see was the bright colored berries of the holly leaves. The bright red color screamed poison, but also hope. Bugs began to fly up from the holly leaves. Fireflies. Their lights were some of the only lighting in the entire forest. Sora had never seen anything so beautiful.

As she walked, the forest got darker and gloomier. Sora didn’t seem to notice, too transfixed on the bugs and the berries and the marvels of the forest. She hardly even felt the numbing cold of the snow.

Eyes watched her from the darkness.

Eventually, the forest got so dark that she couldn’t see her own paws in front of her. That’s when the bugs disappeared. The berries stopped. She was utterly alone, and lost. Very lost. Finding her house would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Her paws trembled beneath her.

“Don’t be scared, kittypet.” A voice purred from behind her. She jumped, falling backwards into the snow. Her fur was puffed with terror, eyes wide. In front of her was a black tom with green eyes. He was thinner than her, but much more muscular. In the darkness, he seemed so much scarier than she knew he must be.

“Who are you?” She demanded, trying to sound brave. Even for a kittypet, she did an awful job. The tom’s whiskers twitched with amusement. He looked at her not with violence, but with.. Hope?

“My name is Spiderstar. Who are you?” He asked, a purr in his tone. To Sora, Spiderstar seemed nice. Kind, even. But Spiderstar did not want to be her friend, no. He wanted usefulness.

“Sora. You have a funny name.” She giggled. She had never heard a name quite like his. Who decided to name him after a Spider, and a star? Maybe his housefolk couldn’t decide on a name and went for both.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sora. My name is unusual to you, hmm? I’m from a clan called SwiftClan. It’s a group of cats that take care of each other.” He chuckled. His voice was smooth, and he spoke like a snake. Sly and manipulative.

“Oh, that’s cool. I’m.. sorry to bother you, but could you help me get back to my home?” She asked softly, tilting her head. Spiderstar’s green eyes glinted in the moonlight. He padded around her, tail brushing her back.

“Oh of course. You must be so far from home, how dreadful. First though..” He leaned in close to her, a new type of look blooming on his face. “You must help me.”

“Okay. I can help.” She agreed nervously, backing up. Spiderstar twitched his ear, a purr escaping him.

“Of course you can. Come, Sora. We have someone to find.”

Ooo, spooky! What will happen next? I hope you enjoyed this story, please leave a comment if you did! :)