Yes Everyone! It's here. The sequel to The Traveler. Ready to see Iceshadow again? Well, here you go just like I promised.
Three moons.
Three moons. That's how long I've been a part of Thunderclan. That's it. Firestar never made me an apprentice because I already possessed all the skills necessary to support the clan. Instead, he assigned Squirrelflight and Leafpool to teach me about the clans themselves. Their history. Their beliefs. Their code.
Briarlight and Cherrypaw were a big help, to. It was nice to get to know my sisters, but whenever Leafpool and Squirrelflight were busy, and Briarlight would tell me about everything and anything. Sometimes Jayfeather would join in the conversation like he used to when I was stuck in the medicine cat's den. More often than not, though, he complained about being too busy. Cherrypaw would always tell her excited stories as we ate by the fresh kill pile. My other friends, like Ivypool and Cinderheart, would answer any of my questions while we were on border patrol. There was so much to learn about the clan I had missed so much of. And I wanted to know it all.
That's why Firestar felt confident enough to let me come to this gathering. My first gathering. He said that if I wanted to know more about the clans, than I need to experience them all myself.
The story of Mudclaw's rebellion ran through my head as I stepped onto the slick bark of the tree bridge. A shiver ran down my spine. To think that he was still under there. Dead. I hurried on and over after Hollyleaf, not wanting to think about the poor dead cat.
The cold, Leaf fall breeze cut through my fur and left me shivering. The moon was already out, with a hint of wispy cloud here and there. A sea of bright eyes flashed before me, where countless cats milled about.
"Wow," I breathed as I stepped off the tree and onto the island. There are so many cats! Memories of Bloodclan flooded my mind. A twinge of my old distrust returned. I barely noticed my claws unsheathe themselves. "Watch it, Iceshadow," Jayfeather snapped as he bumped into me. "Other cats need to get on the island to."
I felt my ears fall back against my head and scrambled away. "Sorry."
"Ouch," a low mew rang out. In my haste to get out of the way, I had run into another cat. The strong stench of Shadowclan flowed over me.
"Sorry," I said again, looking up at the cat. It was a tom. He was slightly taller than me, with mottled, dark grey fur and sky blue eyes. Something about his shape reminded me of Brambleclaw.
"It's all right," he said, taking a step back. "Gatherings can be pretty hectic."
I shivered again. "Is it always like this," I asked. It was strange talking to another clan cat. Besides Thunderclan, the only clan cats I had met where Windclan cats, and that didn't go so well.
He looked around. "Usually. It can take some getting used to." He looked back down at me, his blue eyes locked on my green. "I'm not sure I recognize you. What's your name?"
His friendliness calmed my nerves. I sat down and gave a sigh of relief. "Iceshadow. My name's Iceshadow. What's yours?"
"My name's-" he was cut off as Ivypool bounded up and prodded me in the shoulder.
"Come on, Iceshadow. Riverclan's finally here. The meetings about to start."
"All right. I'm coming." I stood up and started to follow her, leaving the strange Shadowclan cat watching after us.
I followed Ivypool's tail, twisting and turning through clumps of ferns until we came to the clearing. The four leaders were already jumping up onto the tree's lower limbs. My eyes raked over the sea of strange cats. "Do we sit with other Thunderclan cats?"
Ivypool laughed. "Oh yeah. I forgot this was your first gathering." She shrugged and started moving further into the crowd. "You can if you want, but you could also sit with other clan cats if you want. It's a gathering, and now boundaries exist here."
A shiver through my body. I didn't know any of these cats. How could I trust them? Ivypool must have seen my unease. She touched my shoulder with her tail tip, and said, "you can sit with me. I'll introduce you to some cats."
She pulled me along and sat me down next to a clump of cats from all different clans. She pointed to each in turn with a paw. "This is Hollowflight, Minnowtail, you already know Blossomfall, Breezepelt, and Redwillow."
For barely a second, a few of the cat's faces fell. It was instantaneous, and they immediately had calm faces right after. But they had been there. I know it. They didn't want me there. I looked over at Ivypool, but she was smiling, and had started to introduce me. "Everyone, this is Iceshadow."
I fought to keep my fur from rising. My pelt itched at the thought of sitting next to cats that already didn't want me around, but another glance at Ivypool made my swallow my unease. I would sit here for her.
"I've never seen you before," Hollowflight smiled. "Why? Are you afraid of gatherings or something?"
"No," I shot back at him. "I-"
"She was that rogue that Firestar said Thunderclan imprisoned," Breezepelt snapped. He gave me a look of unmasked distaste.
Hollowflights eyes widened. "I don't remember that!"
Breezepelt rolled his eyes. "That's because you weren't at that gathering."
"I would remember something like that," Hollowflight argued.
Minnowtail looked at me in curiosity. "Firestar said that you were a prisoner, though. What happened?"
"It doesn't matter," Breezepelt growled. "Onestar was right about you Thunderclan cats."
Ivypool narrowed her eyes. She turned around and sat down, but managed to smack Breezepelt in the face with her tail. "I already told, you Breezepelt. What happens in Thunderclan is Thunderclan's business alone."
While all of this was going on, I couldn't help feeling amused at the scene playing out before me. They all acted like clanmates. The picking and joking and casual conversation reminded me of the senior warriors around the kill pile. I settled down next to Ivypool and Hollowflight, careful to stay far away from Breezepelt, and let their conversation flow over me.
If cats of different clans were this close at gatherings, than maybe I had been over reacting.
Who do you think Iceshadow will fall for? And yes, Ivypool just introduced her to a ton of Darkforest cats. Figured people were getting bored of the prequel, Rising, since you basically know how the story turns out, so I'm bringing the old Iceshadow back. Yes... More mysteries, action and more. I've already got big plans for plot twists that I know nobody will see coming. I'm going to continue to put out chapters in Rising, but now I'm going to work on Falling simultaneously. This is going to be fun. Just wait. ;)
