Early sunset fell upon the land as the dying sun sunk behind the skeletoned trees of leafbare. Snow swirld among the fading light, and sparkles danced along the edges of earthbound snowflakes. The air was cold, a bitter chill for the nights that had not so long ago been tolerable. The river ran dark in the evening panorama. It's cold water still visible along snow covered banks.

And it was there that the young she-cat chose to make her presence. The forest was silent; save the sound of the river, creeping along rocks and twigs that were frever to be embedded within the path of the water. The she-cat was young, around five moons. Her pelt a canvas of both bright and fading oranges, blacks and greys; her eyes closed. Her white
paws sank neatly into the snow compromising with her sitting psition. The trail of footprints that had once led to her small silhouette were gone, blended with the wind and the newly falling snow.

Snow flakes dappled her pelt, and wind drifted through her long fur, but her eyes remained closed. Her ears however, twisted in an array of positions from time to time; surveying the sounds of her surroundings. The sun finished it's demise beyond the horizon. And slowly; the blue eyes opened.

The small she-cat turned to face the tom, an unreadable expression somewhere between smugness and mystery shimmered through her bright blue eyes. She got slowly to her paw, but did not bother to shake the snow from her fur. She looked the tom up and down before answering him in a very calm quiet tone. "I'm Rainkit." she said in her lulaby voice. She coudl tell that he was irritated by something else, and that her appearane by the river was nothing more than an inconvenience to him.

"And if you must know, I'm listening to nature. Being away from that dreadful camp where everyone is always so nagging and constant on me. I supose you've come to take me back. Although I must say it is rude to take our agresion out on those it was not meant for." She shook her fur, and gave him a playful glance; full of mystery and masked by wisdom from which she should not have aquired until a much older age. She held his glane fr a few moments before pading by him, calico fur blowing gently in the wind, pure snow swirling about her body.

Rainkit looked back at the tom and smiled. "Well Darkpaw..It seems you're correct." she sat down in the snow beside him, and once again shook her long fur. She surveyed his eyes and pelt up and down. He was cute. She glanced up a him with raised eyebrows. She turned to face the river, and glanced at he glimmering rim of the horizon where the sun had dissappeared. It was pretty. And for some reason, she felt warm siting next to this strange new apprentice.

She shook the feeling off and looked back at him. "Nature has a lot to say to anyone. All you have to do is listen."

Rainkit smiled at the tom, blue eyes meeting his green ones. Her eyes shone, proud to be able to explain soemthing to soemone of a higher status than her own. "Nature shows us many signs." She began. "The red sunset at night tells you that the next day will be warm. But if the sunrise is red then it's going to storm. Sniff the air for moisture if you want to know when it's going to rain. The air is also moist when it snows, but not quite at wet as when it rains." she paused for a moment to see if he was paying atention and understanding what she was saying before continuing on. "See the river? It's not frozen yet, and that means that there will still be a few more warm days before the temperature drops really low. " she took a deep breath and looked him smiling.

"My mother taught me that..' she said; suddenly embarassed of her knowledge. "I'm sorry.." she said. "You probably think me silly.."