Save Me, Love Me

by uriekuki

their love grows quietly - tucked away out of sight - amidst chaos and grief. {a gift for Swyfte}

SAVE ME
love me

/\

Everything after Crimson kicked her off the edge had been a blur. The wind howled by her ears, tugged roughly at her fur, and slipped by her fresh wounds. She had imagined, briefly, that she would be falling to the very bottom of the mountain where the ground would accept her broken body with wide arms. That was not the case. Cold rock tore down her side and she shouted her pain to the wind. It slowed her descent a little but when she crashed into the ground it still left her with no air in her lungs and an awful bruise spanning most of her back. Her gaze spun, and she couldn't tell what was up or what was down. Recent wounds broke back open, fresh scabs peeling free. Her body burned like one big flame. She groaned as she shifted her head to stare out at the ledge she'd landed on.

It stretched out fairly wide. There was no risk of slipping off the edge unless one was stupid enough to walk right next to it. A thinner path lurked in the shadows the top of the mountain cast, twisting out of sight. To her right was a pile of rocks, tall and perched delicately on top of each other. Staring at the edge her eyes picked out the very tops of mountain trees stretching high. The air felt thin around her. It was eerily quiet, sounds from above lost in wispy clouds and sounds from below too weak to reach.

Icepetal sighed and turned her gaze to her own body. Her fur was tangled with mud and blood, so much so that only a few streaks of white were left. It was impossible to tell if the blood was hers or someone else's. There was no crimson puddle growing around her so she was satisfied to say that she wasn't going to keel over and die. Walking was going to prove difficult. "Hopefully," she muttered, "they'll come looking for me." Waiting, it seemed, would have to suffice. She wasn't going to be able to traverse the mountain in her condition. So she chose to ignore the chaos no-doubt occurring above her in favour of cleaning the grime from her fur.

Her mind drifted to Rainpatch, to his body impaled on the battlefield. Tornheart said she'd get him free, said she'd bury him. Icepetal didn't want him buried by himself. She didn't want him to be left in the city, alone. He deserved to be buried with his Clan mates as a warrior that had done everything he could for his Clan. But that was not to be his fate. He was to be buried just outside the city, in the forest, where his body would finally get the rest it had earned. Her heart ached. Rainpatch wasn't supposed to die. Littleflame wasn't supposed to die. All five of them were supposed to face Crimson together. Willowclaw shouldn't have been left in the Tribe.

He was up there, though, Willowclaw. He'd managed to escape. Icepetal smothered her smile with her tail. She couldn't count the number of times she'd wished he was beside her. Tilting her head back she stared up the cliff she'd fallen down. She hoped he didn't think she was dead.

"Icepetal?" Her name was breathed quietly, so quietly that it most likely wasn't meant to catch her attention. The voice was only barely familiar, something she'd heard once or twice. Twisting she stared over her shoulder at the pile of rocks. Frozengaze was paused mid-descent eyes wide, forepaw dangling in the air.

She was on her paws in an instant ignoring the pain firing through her, hissing and spitting at him. "Don't come any closer!" There was no point in pretending that she would be able to hold her own against him. He was otherworldly, and probably immortal. She was more than mortal, her body leaking red.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said quietly, picking his way down the rest of the rocks.

"Like I'm going to believe a word you say," Icepetal spat back. She hoped he didn't see the grimace that pulled at her face.

"If I wanted you dead I would have killed you already," Frozengaze snorted. "It's not like you could stop me."

She curled her lip and snarled at him. "I could certainly try."

His smile was slight. "I don't doubt that, Icepetal. Would you let me look at your injuries?"

For a moment she was speechless. The enemy wanted to look at her injuries. The cat that had tried to sink his sickly claws into her mind and control her wanted to peruse her battered body. It sent the fur along her spine bristling. A warning growl thundered in her throat and Frozengaze came to a very sudden stop. "Why would I let you anywhere near me after what you tried to do to my mind?"

"Ah." His voice was hoarse, he didn't look at her face but rather at her paws. "I will admit that it wasn't my best decision. But I couldn't help but feel the raw power that oozed from you. My greed wanted it. It wanted you."

"You expect me to believe that your greed no longer wants to possess me then?" She sunk back to the ground her sides heaving from the exertion. "Is that it?"

"I want you to believe that I do not want to hurt you. My side lost, Icepetal. There is nothing for me to gain from killing you. If I'm being honest I was heading back up to the mountain to hide. I assumed you Chosen would be hunting me down."

Icepetal snorted weakly. "Why would I believe anything you say, hm? For all I know you could be lurking down here waiting for your chance to avenge Crimson. Must hurt to know your mate is up there fighting a losing battle."

"She is not my mate." Frozengaze answered so quickly, his voice so bitter. "She never was."

"Could have fooled me," she muttered. Carefully she nosed through the fur she could reach, parting it to assess her own injuries. There were many. Her blood had dried in places, but the wounds still leaked. She dropped a forepaw and it splashed into a puddle of red. That had not been there before. A sharp twinge in her stomach had her shifting a hindleg, eyes widening at the sight. "Oh, foxdung." It was meant more for her own ears, not his, but he heard any way.

There was the sound of paws shifting softly against rock, Frozengaze padding closer. "What? Is something wrong?" Why did he need to sound so concerned? Shouldn't he be happy there was something wrong? Icepetal blamed the thin air for even letting him get as close as he was, hovering awkwardly at her side. Together they looked at the gruesome scar on her belly, reopened and spilling blood.

A heavy sigh fell from her mouth. "Of course things had to get worse," she hissed. The wound throbbed painfully, each minor shift of her body inducing a wave of hot fire. She dropped her head to rest on the cool rock, relishing in the relief it gave to her head. A heavy pressure was slowly growing behind her eyes, and a nausea was curdling in her stomach. Something like this could kill her. Tornheart would heal it. But Tornheart wasn't there and no one else knew that Icepetal had survived the fall. Help would not come quickly enough.

"I can help."

Or, perhaps it would.

Flicking open one eye, Icepetal stared at Frozengaze. "I don't trust you." She coughed and blood hit the stone.

"You're dying," he pleaded, tail twitching anxiously.

Summoning a last shred of energy Icepetal swiped at his nose, hissing, "I don't trust you. You'll probably just make it worse and then leave me to suffer."

"Is that what the cat that made that wound did?" The question came out of nowhere and if Icepetal had been in a better state of mind she would have deflected it easily. No one needed to know where that wound had come from, only that it was ugly and raw. Instead she just stared at him, battered, broken, and vulnerable. A low sound rumbled in his throat and she hated it. She hated the pity. "I see. Would you please let me help you?"

"Why?!" She was slipping into hysterics now, her body feeling floaty and limp as more of her lifeblood touched the cold mountain air. "Why do you even want to?! I am the enemy, remember? If we had have met down on the battlefield I would have killed you or you would have killed me. So why do you suddenly want to help me?" Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth.

The sky above their heads cracked open, black sky giving way to a purple rift filled with hundreds of thousands of stars, so bright and beautiful. They lit up the world with a light that had not touched it in seasons, the kind that healed the land and brought hope. Icepetal blinked away the shine of tears. They'd done it. The world was saved. She'd lived long enough to see the world freed of Crimson. Now...now she could rest. Sagging back into the chaos of her mind yelling at her to not give up she nearly missed his strangled reply.

"Because there is this feeling in my chest that I can't explain and it only gets worse when you are near. I don't just want to help you. I need to."

The need to survive flared up violently and she pitched back out of her mind, back into the current, back into living. He was staring at her, eyes round, scared. She didn't understand it. She didn't understand him. She did know whatever she decided would have consequences but in that moment all she wanted to do was survive; see Willowclaw, see Eaglestrike, say goodbye to Rainpatch and Littleflame properly, go home. So she looked up at him, swallowed the feeling that this would end horribly, and said, "help me then."

Frozengaze knelt in her blood, pressed a paw to the gruesome wound - ignoring the hitch of her breathing - and closed his eyes. Like the feeling of Tornheart's healings, the pain dripped away bit by bit until there was nothing. She sighed, relieved, then shrieked when the pain came back ten-fold. Lifting her head to snap at him her eyes landed on her belly. Her skin was stitching itself back together. It burned awfully, so bad her throat ached from shouting when it finally ended. Vaguely she heard him purr, pleased.

"See?" He sounded cocky, more like the cat they'd come across in the forest that day. "I told you I would help you."

Re-energised Icepetal rolled to her paws, testing her body, checking if it would fail on her when she took a hesitant step. It carried her faithfully. "You can't blame me for being cautious." Her fur was still a mix of mud and blood. Nose wrinkling a scowl formed. Of course she'd be reunited with Willowclaw while stinking of death. At the sudden, strange silence behind her she looked over her shoulder, searching for Frozengaze. It wouldn't do to let him sneak away. She was not quite ready to see what she saw.

His head was bowed, ears flat, face scrunched up. With his eyes focused elsewhere, Icepetal allowed hers to wander. The long, pale blue pelt that had been perfect the few times they had clashed was messy, clawed out in places, and matted with blood. He was injured, laced with red slashes and angry bite marks. An ear was missing a chunk. He'd taken the time to bring her back from the edge of death, but left himself in a bit of a mess.

"I think I know what to do with you," she said slowly.

Frozengaze snapped his head up, eyes narrowed. "What do you mean do with me? I am a God."

She couldn't help her eyes rolling. "Unfortunately here you're not. You might have some flashy powers but hey, guess what? So does Tornheart. She could probably knock you on your haunches before you could even blink. You can't just be allowed to wander this world on your own."

"What do you have in mind then?" There was no hiding the growl in his voice. Icepetal grinned at the sound of it.

"I think you should use that power to do some good, fix what you and Crimson have destroyed. Yes," she added at his frown, "that includes the Clans. If they've even survived. Hope you don't mind a few moons of walking. Not that you really have a choice." Her grin turned sly.

Frozengaze held his anger for a few moments longer before it all left him in a long gush of breath. "You are awfully good at making cats do what you want."

"Who says it's what I want? It's the right thing to do. Spend the rest of your life redeeming yourself for the awful things you've done," she replied. Like she wanted to spend anymore time around him than was necessary. But this was necessary. He needed to be kept close to avoid any future disasters. Tornheart would know what to do. She just needed to get him to Tornheart. "Are you going to come quietly? Or are we going to have a problem?"

He rolled his shoulders, wincing as it pulled at ripped skin. "I feel like putting up a fight would be counterproductive, I did just save your life. Lead the way then."

Icepetal nearly walked off without saying another word, but she hadn't forgotten what he had revealed. Despite how much she distrusted and disliked him, he had done exactly what he'd said: he'd healed her. So, she paused and glanced back at him. "Thank you."

"Oh...you're welcome." He looked bewildered.

/\

It was silent inside the mountain. The sky had split, stars had fallen, the sun had touched the grieving world with warmth, yet it was deathly silent. Nothing moved. It felt strange to creep down the empty halls. To Icepetal it felt like the mountain had died. Beside her Frozengaze was silent too. She wondered what he was looking for. Any trace that perhaps Crimson had survived? Remnants of his kingdom? It was gone. There was nothing left of it. The Chosen had made sure of that.

What unnerved her was the missing Chosen. She caught only fading scents of Eaglestrike and Willowclaw, the ones that heralded their arrival to the mountain and told the tale of their frantic dash after Crimson, through sweeping halls and impossibly tight tunnels. She stopped in front of the one that lead to the top, to the last place she had seen any of them alive. Without thinking if he would follow, Icepetal crouched and slithered in, belly and back brushing cold stone.

All she could think about was what she was going to find on the top of the mountain.

Perhaps Frozengaze could sense the pain. "You saw what happened to the sky before; they won. They'll be fine. You'll see."

It only irritated Icepetal more to be soothed by him. "Why do you care?" she snapped. "I bet you're wishing they're dead."

"What? No!"

She snarled back, "don't lie to me. In fact, don't say a word." In truth he probably hadn't deserved that, but she was on edge. Everything in her was telling her something awful had happened, that she was going to squeeze out of the tunnel and find three bodies instead of one. Her heart gave a painful stutter. How would she survive that? What would she do? She wouldn't return to the Clans, that was for certain. SnowClan had exiled her. There was no home for her to go back to. No, don't think like that, they survived, they killed her, it's going to be okay.

Cold, cold air brushed the tips of her ears, the tunnel opening up around her head. Icepetal squeezed her eyes shut and came to a halt, ear tips the only things outside the tunnel. She was brave, but not brave enough for this. Behind her Frozengaze started up a rusty purr that she supposed was meant to be soothing. It was a little. Slowly she pulled herself up onto the top of the world. Head tilted back she opened her eyes to find herself so close to the stars she could almost touch them. A soft gasp escaped. It was beautiful.

"Icepetal!" It wasn't the voice she was expecting to greet her first, but Eaglestrike wrapping himself round her in tight circles was more than pleasant. He was alive. It was okay. She let go of her worries and relaxed into him, purring. "I thought you'd died! You fell...how didn't you die?"

"It's going to take a lot more than a little fall to get rid of me," she laughed. "You did it, Eaglestrike. You beat her! Where's Willowclaw?"

She would always remember the way Eaglestrike stiffened against her, withdrawing so he could look her in the eye, solemn and sad. He was blocking her view of whatever was behind him moving on purpose so she couldn't see past. "Icepetal…" Eaglestrike began quietly, "I need to tell you something."

"No, you don't, you just need to move out of the way so I can see Willowclaw," she spat, shoving him so hard he tripped and fell. All she wanted to do was see Willowclaw. Frozengaze mumbled something ineligible. Icepetal couldn't hear him. She couldn't hear anything. Her entire world had narrowed down to one point: a still, tabby brown form. Carefully, ever so carefully, she crept closer to him as if scared he would jump up at her. He didn't move. Hysteria bubbled inside her. Why wasn't he moving? Why wasn't he saying anything? Why wasn't he rushing to greet her? She knew why, but it was too painful to accept it.

"Willowclaw!" Her voice cracked, wobbled. Icepetal fell at his side, eyes shimmery with tears. She didn't care that his blood now soaked her belly. She didn't care that the others were shouting her name. All she cared about was the tom before her, face slack, eyes glazed. His mouth was parted slightly, his final breath already spilt. An awful gash opened up his throat from chin to chest, the fur around it wet with thick blood. Icepetal pressed her head against his neck. He was cold. "No, no, no, no, no, no. You promised! You said we'd go home together. How could you lie to me like that?! How dare you. You promised, Willowclaw, you promised. You promised."

Footfalls sounded. Someone approached. "Icepetal...Icepetal, I'm so sorry," Frozengaze said softly. "I know he meant a lot to you."

Anger, fierce and untameable, rose up inside her, boiling in her veins. So hot that it could fuel a forest fire. A hoarse cry broke free, her body moving without her permission, working off pure instinct and hatred. Frozengaze tumbled under her weight, falling to smack his head on the stone. Dazed he stared up into eyes so bright they glowed. A unmistakable hum of power buzzed. Icepetal bared her teeth, bloodied face tightened into a ferocious snarl. Beyond that there was pain, so much pain.

"I know he meant a lot to you," she mimicked, sneering. "You don't know a thing about me, Frozengaze. You don't know how much he meant to me. He's dead because of you; you, and Crimson. If you didn't exist, if you weren't here, he might still be alive." He gasped at the feeling of cold claws digging into his exposed throat. She beared down on him, heavy and stifling, her anger crackling in the air around them. "I could kill you and no one would care. No one would miss you. Could leave you up here beside your mate. I might just do that."

Frozengaze wriggled, twisting his head to shoot Eaglestrike a pleading glance. "Help me!"

"Why? You should die for the things you've done," the warrior replied. "Willowclaw was my friend too."

For a moment Frozengaze believed he would die. Icepetal pressed harder against his neck. It got difficult to breathe, lungs protesting. He felt the sting of claws breaking skin. Swallowing uncomfortably he stared up into Icepetal's eyes. If he was to die then he would make sure she would always remember the way the life faded from him. It felt ridiculous to just let himself be killed. Yet he couldn't bring himself to harm her.

"Enough." His saviour came in the form of someone he assumed would be overjoyed to watch him die. The authority in their voice sent Icepetal scrambling. He sucked in a grateful breath. "We can use him." A cold chill rolled through him. He shifted onto his side and caught a flash of scarred flesh. Dread formed heavy in his belly. Two, maybe three, moons ago he had held her down and ripped shreds from her face while she had screamed herself hoarse. Now she stood above him, holding herself high with all the power that surged through her veins, a quiet anger forming in her eyes. He had ruined her beauty, and he had enjoyed doing it.

"You...you aren't going to kill me?" he rasped. They were enemies, were they not? He would have killed them. His gaze travelled to Crimson's body, tattered and frail, soaked in blood. He held no love for her. It was almost pleasing to see her defeated.

Tornheart blinked slowly at him. She shifted her eyes over to Icepetal, crouched back in front of Willowclaw, shoulders shaking. Conflicted interests played across her scarred face. "No. We are not," she said, voice tight. "You can help us return our home back to the way it was. Perhaps we will allow you to live alongside us after that, perhaps we won't. Besides, you have a daughter to take care of."

/\

The others had protested but Icepetal refused to listen to them. She would carry Willowclaw out of the mountain. They had promised to go home together and though that would no longer happen she would see to it that they left the mountain together. She wasn't sad anymore, she wasn't angry, she felt...nothing. Her mind was unnaturally numb. Tears were still falling, she could feel them dribbled off her chin and hitting her paws as she walked. But she wasn't even thinking anymore. Her body was on autopilot: get out of the mountain, bury Willowclaw. Anything after that was uncertain, and a little scary.

He was heavy. So heavy. Her back protested. Her legs screamed. Willowclaw had always been a big cat, muscular and solid. Stretched out limp along her back he felt like he was dragging her down. Paired with the knowledge that he wasn't about to wake up, slide to his paws, and pretend he was okay, it was beginning to feel like an impossible feat.

Frozengaze had a living daughter. That was surprising. The little kit was sweet, she'd give her that. But her eyes - red and blue - reminded Icepetal of the awful things she'd been through over the past few moons. Sunrise, daughter of Crimson and Frozengaze, heir to a fallen kingdom. She was ecstatic to finally meet her father. He just seemed confused.

They lay Willowclaw to rest beside Rainpatch and Littleflame. Beneath a yew tree in the forest outside the city where it was quiet, and peaceful. It was what the three of them deserved, somewhere quiet for their bodies to finally rest. Beautiful, the forest around the yew was beautiful. It was perfect. Icepetal wanted them to be buried in their home territories with their Clanmates, but it just was not meant to be. They would have to be left far from home. At least they had each other.

She spoke to the others rarely, she spoke to Frozengaze even less. Grief affects everyone differently. Hers manifested in cold silence.

"I was not allowed to speak with any of you. Tornheart forbade me. You deserved to know of the fate that awaited you all this bloody day, but it was withheld from you."

"You two were meant to be the only ones left. The strongest of the Chosen."

Icepetal had thought Willowclaw to be safe, trapped in the tribe, far away from the carnage of the battlefield. She thought he would not be counted as a Chosen because he was not there. But he was still a Chosen. Born one. Marked one. Destined. Fated. Sitara had known he would die. She had seen it. Only two Chosen were to survive Crimson. Icepetal should have known. But she had stupidly believed that she could have a happily ever after. How false. How wrong. How naive. Happy endings belonged in stories. Not in real life.

She was a fool for believing otherwise.

/\

"You have been avoiding me." Icepetal wasn't surprised that Frozengaze confronted her. They were still days away from home, their mountains standing dutifully strong and cold in the distance. Smudged on the horizon was the forest where Tornheart had been taken from them. Still, she had hoped he might leave it for a little longer. She didn't really have an excuse for why she was avoiding him, she figured the fact that he was an awful cat, and a murderer, was excuse enough. Apparently not.

"I have," she agreed without looking at him, focused instead on Arrow trying to show Sunrise a proper hunting crouch. The little kit was trying, face scrunched up in concentration, but her posture was awful. It would need work.

Frozengaze huffed. "Would you care to explain why?"

"Do I need to? I figured it was rather self-explanatory," she retorted coldly. Did he not understand that she just wanted to be left alone? Her heart still ached. She woke up each morning expecting Willowclaw to be there, only to be reminded that he was gone forever. The last thing she wanted was to even look at Frozengaze.

"I..I want to apologise...for your loss." He sounded uncomfortable.

"Why? We're even."

"Even? What do you mean?" She still wasn't looking at him, but she could imagine the look of confusion he was wearing at that moment.

Icepetal finally gave him her full attention, pairing it with a smile so cold and bitter he actually flinched. "You took my mate. I took yours. Even."

"Hang on." Frozengaze looked appalled, anguished even. It was a strange look for him to wear so blatantly. Where was the cocky leader? Where was the immortal god brimming with power? He seemed to appear less and less these days. Perhaps he was beginning to feel a little bad for the things he had done. "I wasn't the one that killed him. I didn't deliver the final blow. I wasn't even there!"

"It was your war, your mate, your kind that dragged him up there," she hissed.

"My kind!?"

"Spineless, murdering, worthless monsters." Now she knew she was just being unnecessarily mean, but it felt good to watch the hurt grow in his eyes. She wanted him to hurt. She wanted him to feel the same way she did.

He hung his head and said sadly, "I know I am undeserving of your forgiveness, and I will never expect to receive it, but I do not wish to be enemies with you forever. The things I did I know we're awful. I did them anyway, and that makes me exactly what you say: a spineless, murdering, worthless monster. Yet you did not kill me. You let me live. I plan to prove to you that that was a good decision, not a poor one. So please, give me a chance?"

"Why should I believe that, believe you?" Icepetal stepped into his space, nearly chest-to-chest. "You've had a taste of world domination. Surely you'd like another?"

"I came into this world expecting it to be weak and acquirable. What I found instead was a place full of darkness and despair, with inhabitants that struggled against everything in order to survive, creatures that banded together with sworn enemies to fight against a power that threatened them both, places with history ingrained so deeply in the ground there was no hope of it ever fading. Crimson did not expect the fight this world would have, neither did I. It was to be our downfall. Now I am nothing more than curious to know why everyone that dwells here fights so hard to survive. This world is so different from my own. It is filled with many beautiful things." He seemed satisfied with his answer, pleased grin curling smugly on his muzzle. Icepetal thought he sounded pompous. Still, it settled a little of the doubt coiling in her stomach.

She flicked her eyes down to his throat, making sure he was aware of where she was looking. "If the day ever comes where your curiosity turns into a need to conquer, I will be there to kill you."

Frozengaze smirked. "I would want nothing less."

/\

Home was no longer a pleasant thought of peace; of flourishing forests and territories rich with prey. It was a place of smoking ruins and death. The stench rising from the ground was a stomach-curdling aroma of decay. Dried, rusty bloodstains soaked tree trunks, drowned weak growth. Ash sat thickly where snow should. A fire roared in the thickets of CedarClan's home. Nothing lived. Nothing breathed. The valley belonged to death now. Life had departed, fled, left nothing behind. It was a harsh reality that presented itself to the returning victors: they had no home. What they had feared had indeed come true. Three had died for a place that no longer existed.

The chill in the air strengthened till it felt like they were breathing in tiny shards of ice. A strange energy hummed. Thick clouds swelled. Beneath their paws the ground rumbled hungrily. An uneasy feeling settled heavily. Something was drastically wrong.

"I don't recall hearing anything about visitors," a thin voice purred. "Therefore I'm afraid you are all trespassing on very private territory."

It happened in an instant. Tornheart leapt forwards, green magic crackling around her, rippling over her pelt. Arrow's shout was lost in a great roar as a thin wall of almost translucent green shot up between them. At the same time four felines prowled into view, strangers with an unnatural feel about them.

"Oh no," Frozengaze breathed.

Flames, thick and violently red, burst into the open air, devouring Tornheart. Her magic latched on to the fire, whipped it round, and sent it back, careening towards the orange tom that had summoned it. He yelped, more in annoyance than pain, as his own creation sputtered around him.

"A wielder," a thick-furred, white she-cat murmured.

Above her a long shard of ice formed. With a flick of her head she sent it hurtling at Tornheart, grinning cruelty when it ripped through the skin on the side of her neck. Bright red splashed onto ash. Arrow caterwauled, threw himself at the barrier that refused to give. Beside him Eaglestrike pressed himself against it, claws digging into the ground.

Icepetal, mouth dry, watched Tornheart give her all, toss all the energy she had into her power. It was magnificent really. Raw power crackled in the air. The strangers grew angrier and angrier as their blood streamed free. Overhead the sky grew thick with dark clouds. A bolt of lightning hit a tree close to Tornheart, the force of it knocking her off her paws. Shaky legs struggled to hold her weight. She was exhausted, bloodied and bruised.

Something was rising inside her, pumping frantically through her veins. Stuck behind that barrier while that white she-cat prowled towards a struggling Tornheart, Icepetal felt hopeless, useless, defeated. This was supposed to be their home, the place they were safest within, somewhere they could return to and recover; mourn the dead. It wasn't safe. It was so very far from safe.

The stranger, grinning gleefully, pressed a paw to Tornheart's throat. "This is where you belong, Clan cat. Crimson sends her blessing from beyond the grave." Behind Icepetal, Frozengaze gasped. "We own this valley now. Your Clans are no more. Weak, pathetic creatures they were."

Sunrise slammed into the barrier, shadows rising up around her like an army, and the hysteria that had been rising in Icepetal crashed. Her leap knocked the stranger off Tornheart, claws snagging white fur turning it scarlet. Snake-like shadows slithered along the ground, turning to fiercely sharp points that drove themselves into the other three strangers. Beneath her paws the white she-cat spat tiny shards into her face and Icepetal struck back with claws just as sharp, raked them across her head. They rolled, she-cat kicking up into Icepetal's belly driving the air from her lungs. Icepetal sunk her teeth into their shoulder, bone grinding under tooth.

"Ice!" the large brown tom yowled, "we could do with some help!"

"I'm a little busy!" the she-cat shouted back. Ice shoved Icepetal to the ground then pressed her paws onto either side of her head. Under her back the dirt rapidly turned cold, so cold it began to hurt, biting into her skin. A shard pierced through an ear pinning it in place and Icepetal howled. "Die with a little dignity, would you?"

"They've got a Shadowstalker!"

Icepetal curled her lip and struck while Ice's attention was elsewhere, tearing her ear free, teeth sinking into the soft flesh of her throat. She felt skin give under her teeth, then the familiar hardness of a windpipe. Blood soaked her face when she pulled back, tearing Ice's throat apart. The white she-cat choked out a pained groan then crumpled, snow turning red around her body. Stepping back, Icepetal admired the mess she'd made. "That's what you get for messing with Clan cats."

"You'll have to do a little better than that." Pain erupted in her side: a thick, but short, icicle protruding from her body. Spitting out blood Icepetal could only stare horrified as Ice, throat healed, rose to her paws without even a shake. "Surprise!" Her back hit the hard ground, paws swiped out from under her. Ice leered over her, grin toothy, claws pressed against her throat. A hindpaw shoved the icicle in deeper and Icepetal shrieked. It seemed she would be joining Willowclaw much sooner than she had originally thought. The thought wasn't as scary as it perhaps should have been. "Why are you smiling? Death should not make you smile."

"Get off of her!"

Willowclaw would have to wait a little longer.

Frozengaze ripped Ice away from Icepetal and flung her towards her fleeing friend. He stood over a dazed Icepetal with teeth bared, a growl thundering in his throat, and murder in his eyes. His pelt was splashed with a mix of his blood and theirs. His muzzle had a long scratch running up it.

"This isn't over," Ice hissed, and then vanished after her friend. Only two of the four strangers had managed to flee, Ice included. A thin, wiry-furred she-cat lay dead, shadows lingering on her pelt. The fire-furred tom was stuck, legs wrapped tight in thick shadows. Sunrise sat beside him flanks heaving. A cut leaked blood over her eye.

"You smiled," Frozengaze whispered.

Icepetal blinked up at him foggily. "Huh?"

"When Ice was about to kill you, you smiled. Do you hate living that much?" he said quietly.

"I…" she murmured, "I don't know."

"Please don't die. Please." He sat down heavily, head hanging low, shoulders hunched; vulnerable. "Just stick around a little longer...okay?"

Dumbstruck, Icepetal nodded. "Yeah, okay."

He sighed, relieved, and smiled at her. "Let me heal that for you." Pressing a paw in the blood beside the melting icicle - the air was warming up - he took away the pain and stitched up the skin. "That's twice I've saved your life," he pointed out. "Let's not make it a usual occurrence."

Icepetal snorted and let her head rest on the ground. "Sure."

It did become a usual occurrence.

/\

Four days later they crept through RisingClan's desolate wastes; ash for grass, grand structures of ice for trees, blood for water. It seemed that the valley had taken death's form, wore it like a stiff cloak. Silence smothered them. Where were the once rich hills? The mighty pine forests? The breathtakingly beautiful snow plains?

There were no traces of the Clans. Nor were there any signs of any cats. Even the two strangers had vanished. Their kin, the female, was buried in a shallow grave where she had fallen; the male remained their prisoner. He had yet to talk, only glared. Sunrise's shadows kept him from burning them all alive.

Tornheart had remained on High Star Isle with Sunrise, teaching and training the kit to control her strange powers. Shadows, darkness, they obeyed her every command. They were never very far from the kit now, stretching from above or reaching from below just to touch her. She drew them to her in her sleep, wore them like a second pelt. It set Icepetal's nerves on edge.

Frozengaze had yet to say anything interesting about his daughter's powers. "She was bound to receive some sort of power," he'd said quickly and bluntly.

There was a strangeness about the bond between Frozengaze and Sunrise; the father and his hidden kit. If it had not been for the Chosen storming Crimson's keep and freeing the world from her, father and daughter would not have met. They were careful around each other, gentle, cautious, a little afraid almost. Sunrise could not hide just how much she wanted to get to know her father, lingering around him whenever she could. When it was quiet, usually during the evening, Frozengaze sat with his daughter and quietly told her stories.

It warmed Icepetal's heart to see.

"There's nothing here," Eaglestrike spat. He stood on a patch of rock surveying what he could see of RisingClan's old home. The scent-markings on the borders had long since faded. No Clan cats had been here for a long time.

"Let's just keep looking," Icepetal said, "we're going to find something eventually. They can't all just have vanished without a trace."

Eaglestrike turned to her with a fierce hiss. "They didn't vanish without a trace! The trace is all around us, Icepetal! No one could have survived what happened here. No one. There's no prey. There's no life. They're gone, Icepetal."

"No. The Clans are strong. They would have survived this. I am not stopping until we find them." She scaled the rocks and barged by him, curling her lip as she passed. Let him believe the worst. She knew her Clan. They would not let anything destroy them.

"It's not safe to go off on your own." If Eaglestrike was trying to sound caring it certainly didn't come across that way. He sounded annoyed.

Under her breath Icepetal grumbled, "bite me," and kept walking. She would wander the entire valley before she gave up any hope.

She didn't think of herself as a damsel in distress, but when the shaggy wolf emerged from a copse of frail trees she wondered if the world was trying to make her into one. It was thin, ribs jutting out, but twice as big as her. A long tongue lolled out of a mouth armed with yellowed teeth, sharp even in their cracked state. It made a weird huffing sound. The fur along her back bristled when she recognised it as demeaning laughter. It thought she was going to be an easy lunch. She'd show him.

Her fierce hiss only brought about more laughter. It snapped their jaws hungrily, drool dribbling down its chin. Icepetal recoiled, disgusted. Foul creature. Out of nowhere it lunged. A harsh clacking sound echoed right by her head. Her heart sped up. If she hadn't moved it would have gotten her. Perhaps she had underestimated the wolf.

The next time it lunged for her she was ready, claws scratching down its long muzzle. Its yelp was loud. She leapt for its head, teeth seeking those big ears. Blood splattered onto the ash covered ground. The wolf bucked harshly, howling and yelping as its ear was torn into by small teeth. Smug, Icepetal couldn't help but purr. It had underestimated her as well.

It jerked its head back, smacking into Icepetal's. Dazed she loosened her grip on its neck and was bucked off, colliding heavily with the ground. The air in her lungs rushed out in a loud gasp. Her vision wavered, black dots obscuring most of it. She wasn't ready for the wolf to sink its teeth into her haunches and throw her again. Pain burst from her back. Oh Eaglestrike was never going to her let live this down.

Just when she thought the wolf was going to lean down, wrap its teeth around her neck, and finish her off, it yelped and the weight of its paw on her stomach fled. Blinking through the fuzziness she spotted Frozengaze and Eaglestrike hissing and spitting at the ragged wolf. It looked between them and her, debating whether it was worth expending more energy. With a sad whine it decided she was not worth it and slumped away, tail dragging sadly behind it.

Eaglestrike turned to her with an arched brow and an expression that screamed 'I told you so'. "Don't say a word," she panted. "I know exactly what you want to say and I do not want or need to hear it."

"But I really, really want to rub this in your face," he pouted.

"Nope, I am embarrassed enough. Go away," she spat.

He did not wear smugness well. "Are you sure? You might get attacked again."

"Oh, get lost you despicable tom!" Icepetal shouted, ignoring the pain in her haunches to swipe at him. It was bad enough that he'd seen her nearly bested by a wolf, but Frozengaze had witnessed it as well. She didn't want him to think of her as weak.

Glancing at him almost shyly she saw only concern for the blood leaking from the bite marks the wolf had left behind. "Does it hurt?" Frozengaze asked quietly.

"A little," she lied. It didn't just hurt, it burned. "Aren't you going to tease me too?"

He flashed her a small grin. "I would like to, but you might claw me. Besides I think you have learned your lesson."

Icepetal huffed, ears flattening. "I feel like a kit being scolded for escaping camp at night," she muttered.

"Something you did a lot, I assume?" He'd come closer, forepaw hovering over one of the gory bite marks. Icepetal tried not to think what would have happened if those teeth had been a little higher, slamming shut on her spine. She flinched when his paw touched her wound, then grit her teeth at the pain of her skin stitching back together. Oh she hoped he wouldn't have to do this very often.

"Of course." She flashed him a wide grin, "had to keep my mentor on her paws."

"I cannot even begin to imagine how much of a pawful you were." Frozengaze shifted his paw over each bite mark until only a minor scar was left behind. He frowned. "For some reason I can't heal you completely. The scars won't go away. Odd."

She shook him off, gingerly rising to her paws. There was no pain, just a bit of stiffness. "Scars don't really bother me. Well, not anymore at least. Thanks," she looked everywhere but at him, "for helping me again."

"Three times now. If I didn't know otherwise I'd assume you were doing it on purpose just to enjoy my company," he jested, eyes twinkling.

"Ha. You wish."

/\

Frozengaze found her one night sitting on the edge of the Isle, staring into the disheveled swamp on the opposite short. Her head was bowed, shoulders shaking. There was something about how vulnerable she looked that stopped him from going any further. He knew how much she wanted everyone to think of her as strong. He knew she would hate being seen like this. Sunrise had taught him that being strong didn't mean being a wall of ice. He wanted nothing more than to show that to Icepetal as well.

Moons ago, in the forest when his kits were still in Crimson's belly, he had looked at her and saw pure hatred in her eyes. Moons ago he had looked back at her with disdain, this she-cat with foul Clan blood that was going to throw her life away for nothing. He didn't know why he'd tried to make her give it up. Something in him had wanted to drag her away from the carnage he knew they would face.

Unbeknownst to the Chosen, he had watched them in the city. The city cats had no idea what Crimson's mate looked like and thus hadn't blinked twice at him when he slipped into their ruined home. Lies slipped from his tongue; "I'm here to join the fight". It was pitiful that they'd believed him. Back then he'd thought of their naivety as weakness. The Icepetal he'd seen in the city had been different from the one he'd met in the forest.

It was a shell of who she'd been. Her tail dragged. Her ears sagged. Her eyes dimmed. For days he'd trailed them wondering what had happened in the few moons between the forest and the city. Her friends were still with her. In fact more had joined. Then he realised one was missing. The big tabby. The one that had screamed her name as Frozengaze's claws had whispered by her throat. A strange feeling of resentment filled him. How dare that cat make her feel this way?

"She is not my Queen!"

Icepetal had been so alive on the battlefield, a monster bathed in mud and gore. She was fluid when dealing death; moved like water, claws painting red, teeth splashing scarlet. It had been beautiful to witness - and terrifying. It had made his heart stutter in his chest.

The howl of grief, the utter pain in her voice, at the sight on of the eldest Chosen speared through the middle, had shattered his heart. In all his time on this world he had never truly been able to understand why the Clans fought so hard. He'd known in that moment. Their loyalty to each other, to their history, to their future, it was like fire in their veins. It gave them the strength to do impossible things, like kill Crimson in the safety of her mountain fortress.

He didn't know what love was, or what it felt like. He dreamed that one day Icepetal might teach him.

A glimmer of pale light brought his attention careening back to the present, to the grieving she-cat on the shoreline and the strange transparent shape lurking on the opposite shore. He squinted at it, picking out feline features and what he thought were stars scattered in its tabby pelt. It looked up at him with sad eyes. Willowclaw. The dead warrior let his gaze fall on Icepetal once more before he turned and disappeared into the trees.

/\

Fire, or rather Cyrith as they'd learned, was insufferable. He made them truly regret capturing him simply because he was useless. According to him his friends had no plans for the valley. They were essentially just squatting in it till they decided to move on. He did confirm that they had been the ones to destroy most of it. He also confirmed that only a few Clan cats survived them and had long ago fled into and beyond the mountains behind RisingClan's territory.

The Clans were lost. The Chosen were the only ones left to carry on the legacy of the six great Clans that had once lived here. It had been an awful day.

That had been three days ago. Now Icepetal was trying to make the useless prisoner tell them anything about his friends. It was not going to plan at all.

"Well I mean I know Earth really likes birds. They're like a delicacy to him for some reason. Catch him a big one and he'll probably swear allegiance to you," Cyrith laughed. "I'm kidding, you'll never get him to betray Ice."

"That's not what I want to hear and you know it," she spat at him, claws singing into the grass and uprooting it.

He cocked his head. "You'll have to be more specific, sweetheart."

"Fine," Icepetal seethed. "You have two names, Fire and Cyrith. What's Earth's other name?" Useless information but if he would tell her then it was better than nothing.

Cyrith hummed loudly, dramatically. "Think it was something like Erus. Can't really remember. He shook off his previous life a lot quicker than the rest of us did."

"Is he close with Ice?"

"Oh yeah, super close. He'd die for Ice."

Finally, relatively straight answers, useless as they were. "Why? Are they mates? Or just really good friends?"

His laughter was genuine, even a tad hysteric. "Sweetheart, that's the funniest thing I have ever heard. No, no they are not mates. Earth owes Ice his life. He has very strong morals when it comes to life debts and all. Mates," he whined, "hilarious!"

"Ah, yes I suppose you lot wouldn't know anything about love anyway. Given that you're monsters and all," Iceptal snapped.

Cyrith's voice dropped low. "What makes you think I have no idea about love? I know plenty, sweetheart. I know enough to be able to see that the moody tom over there is sickeningly in love with you."

Twisting to stare over her shoulder Icepetal spotted who he was talking about. Frozengaze was crouched nearby - not close enough to hear anything - teaching Sunrise how to fight. The kit was playing more than learning.

"Don't be ridiculous. Your little lies and tricks won't work on me," she snorted.

"I am not lying." Cyrith looked surprisingly earnest. "I do not use love as a trick. He is very much in love with you, sweetheart, though I am not sure if he knows it yet. But the way he looks at you is a dead giveaway. Haven't seen a cat look at someone else like that since Leon."

Skeptical, Icepetal asked, "how do you know it's love?"

"Because Leon looked at me like that, and I know he loved me." Cyrith turned around, back to Icepetal, a clear message that the conversation was over.

She shook her head and looked back over at Frozengaze. He let Sunrise roll him over with a dramatic shout of pain. A slight smile tweaked at her mouth. She shook it away with a huff. No, that was ridiculous. Cyrith was just playing like usual.

/\

Apollo returned. With a family: four beautiful kits. Eaglestrike was ecstatic.

Frozengaze watch a little light, a little happiness, die in Icepetal's eyes. His heart ached.

/\

"So have you acted upon my little bit of information?" Cyrith purred with a wink.

A moon had passed since Apollo had returned. She'd taken her old Clan name back: Shiverlight. They all still lived on the Isle. Cyrith's friends - Elementals as he liked to call them all - were making it rather difficult to expand their new territory. It was an unspoken agreement that they would not be leaving the valley anytime soon; it was their home even without the Clans.

"What little bit of information?" Icepetal retorted.

Strangely enough Cyrith was becoming more of an annoying friend than a bloodthirsty enemy. "Oh you know what I'm talking about. The bit about your moody friend being hopelessly in love with you," he said.

Icepetal groaned, eyes rolling. "No I haven't because I do not believe you. Frozengaze wouldn't know what love was if it smacked him in the face."

"I never said he knew he was in love," Cyrith remarked. "I've met him before."

"What? No way," she exclaimed.

He nodded, "I certainly have. Back in our old world. We travelled together for a while, till we reached the kingdom he'd been heading for. He went into the city, we went to the mountains behind it; isolated places were safer for us back then. Little while later we heard of a tournament. The winner was to be mated to the youngest daughter. None of the others wanted anything to do with it, but I thought it would be fun. Didn't think I'd get very far if I didn't use my gift. I did get far, the other competitors were awful," he laughed. "In the final battle I faced off against him. I think it was him, we had different forms back then, but his scent is the same. I lost control, burned the whole city to the ground. We left pretty quickly after that."

Icepetal narrowed her eyes. "So? He won, he got the youngest daughter as his mate. Fantastic. He probably loved her."

"No. He did not. The reason I lost control was because he told me that he wasn't even competing for her love." Cyrith's face twisted. "He was doing it for the power, to rule over the kingdom. Not for love."

"That sounds like him," she said coldly.

Cyrith rubbed his face with a paw. "I'm really not getting my point across very well, am I?"

"No, what makes you think that?" Icepetal purred.

"What I'm trying to say is that he's a lot different now than he was back then. He doesn't know what love is, Icepetal, because he's never felt it before. Not with the daughter. Not with Crimson. Not with anyone. But with you...he truly does love you. It's in the way he looks at you, like you're his whole world. It's in the way he talks to you, with such endearing care. Sweetheart, trust me when I tell you he loves you," Cyrith said softly.

Icepetal sighed. She didn't want to believe him, but something in her was agreeing with him, something dark and forbidden. "It doesn't matter if he loves me or if he doesn't, it'll never go anywhere."

"Why not? Because he's your enemy? Doesn't look like that anymore," he said.

"He isn't our enemy anymore, but it's not because of that. I love someone else, Cyrith, and it's not him."

The fire-coloured cat leaned forward, eyes soft. "Who is it, sweetheart?"

Icepetal's smile was impossibly sad. "His name was Willowclaw."

Cyrith closed his eyes, a quiet, broken sound slipping free. "Oh, sweetheart. I know how that feels. Would you tell me about him?"

"Sure."

/\

Something within Frozengaze burned at the sight of Cyrith and Icepetal together. For the third day in a row they were settled down by the tree Cyrith was tethered to, talking quietly to each other. He wanted to know what they were talking about. He wanted to know why she found him so interesting. He was the enemy, wasn't he?

So are you.

But he wasn't anymore. Sure things were still a little tense and fragile, especially between him and Tornheart, but they were getting better. Eaglestrike frequently took him out on patrols. They weren't friends, more like acquaintances, but it was nice to see that the warrior was at least trying. Sometimes it still felt like Sunrise was the only one that actually liked him.

She was watching him with her bright, mismatched eyes, head tilted to one side, waiting for him to teach her something else. His kit was a bit young to be fighting but at this point it was more like playing; bonding. He loved Sunrise. He was glad to have met her, and he hated that Crimson had hid her away from him.

Carefully, subtly, he drifted their play session closer to Icepetal and Cyrith. Pricked ears caught quiet murmurs. Sunrise thudded into her side and he fell over with a dramatic groan, clutching at his side. "Got you!" she squeaked, poking him in the cheek.

"You sure did. Such a strong little kit," he rumbled. "You're going to be a very good warrior when you get older."

"'Course I am. I'm gonna grow as big and as strong as you are," she smiled. His heart swelled. Yes, he was very glad he had gotten to meet Sunrise.

"I loved him." Frozengaze went dead still, ears angled towards Icepetal. "Took him being kidnapped by the tribe to realise it, but I did love him. I never got to tell him, you know?"

He grew cold inside. Willowclaw's death hadn't been dealt by his paw but he still felt wholly responsible. She had been right, it had been Crimson's and his war that had gotten him killed. If it would make Icepetal happy again he would bring him back in a heartbeat.

"Were you there...when he died?" Cyrith asked softly.

"No. I'd fallen off the mountain, Crimson kicked me off. I would have died on a ledge if Frozengaze hadn't found me." He stiffened. "I...I owe him my life; I don't think he understands just how grateful I am for that, for him."

When Icepetal turned around Frozengaze was still playing with Sunrise.

Except now he was smiling broader than she'd ever seen him smile.

Something in her belly fluttered.

/\

Blood streamed down her side. The gash, courtesy of Ice's damned icicles, soaked her fur in dark red. Icepetal spat blood dripping from her nose into Ice's face. The Elemental scrunched up her face, foul snarl ripping from her throat, and lunged, claws whistling by the side of Icepetal's head. Icepetal snapped her teeth shut whiskers from Ice's shoulder, snaking out of the way when the she-cat bit back.

"You can do a little better than that, can't you, Atsiya?" It turned out Cyrith was more than willing to talk about his 'friends' once he got comfortable. It was well worth listening to him talk about himself to see Atsiya's snarl crumple into a look of shock.

Her rage, when it came back, was scorching. Tiny shards of her cruel ice sunk into Icepetal's shoulder. She bit back a yowl. They stung. "You do not get to use that name, Clanner!" Atsiya screeched.

What had started out as a hunting patrol into CedarClan's forest had quickly dissolved into a very messy situation. Icepetal and Eaglestrike were not good enough to survive against two Elementals for long. They'd sent Sunrise back to the Isle to get help - probably a stupid decision given the fact that Sunrise was the only one of them that could kill the Elementals. But they refused to put the kit in any unnecessary danger. Even if it meant putting their lives on the line.

Eaglestrike was trying his hardest against Erus. But the thick-furred, ancient cat with his brutal gift was strong. Eaglestrike was lagging, blood coated him, most of it his. His strikes were lazier. He was moving slower.

Cold snapped against Icepetal's side. The ground beneath her paws froze. She rolled her eyes. These stupid gifts were beginning to get on her nerves. All she wanted was her home back and these monsters were getting in her way. Ripping her paws free from the ice, she slammed into Atsiya, raking her claws down her sides till Atsiya screamed. The paw on Icepetal's shoulder turned freezing. Her shoulder locked up, chill leeching into the muscle, sinking into her blood. Agony rippled through her. Frantic, Icepetal tried to wrench herself away from Atsiya, but the Elemental just laughed and held on tighter.

She could feel the blood in her veins turning solid. She could feel the air in her lungs freezing. She could feel her body turning to stone, no, ice. The last free breath she had gasped from her throat. Her vision wobbled, Atsiya's grinning face wavering. The feeling of suffocating, of heaving in air that would never reach her lungs, was beyond terrifying. She fell away from the Elemental, clawing at her throat. Black spots swam. A thin, reedy, pathetic whine slipped into the air.

"This is the death you deserve," Atsiya hissed, snakelike.

Icepetal collapsed. Her eyes rolled. She thought she saw Eaglestrike throwing himself against a wall of roots, eyes wide and scared. The world tilted.

"Icepetal!"

/\

Death was warm.

Beneath her chin the grass was feather soft. A warm breeze fluttered gently by, played with the fur around her ears. Her body didn't ache, didn't burn with the lack of air. Reminded of her empty lungs she snapped open her eyes and sucked in a huge breath of air that seemed far too fresh.

She was in a forest, beautifully bright and green, fresh, blooming. Little purple flowers grew in bunches. Moss hugged the bottom of tree trunks. A bird warbled loudly nearby, whilst another - small, speckled brown - bounced along a branch. She twitched an ear, flicked it back, listening. Over the birds and the breeze, and the rustling of a hidden mouse, water bubbled. Wherever she was, it was wonderful.

Paws scuffed grass. Icepetal jerked her head around. The world paused. Her breath caught in her throat. "Willowclaw."

He smiled broadly. The shaggy warrior looked the same as he had when they'd first stumbled upon the tribe: happy, healthy, strong. Not like he had that night on the mountain: limp, blood soaked, cold. "Hello, Icepetal."

Icepetal lurched to her paws and stumbled over to him, practically falling into him. She could hear him purring, feel it rattling through him. All the pain she thought she'd put behind her, the aching feeling of something missing, came rushing back at the sight of him; ripped the breath right out of her.

"Hey, don't cry," Willowclaw murmured into her fur.

"You aren't allowed to say that to me," she hissed, "not after leaving me like that. You don't get to tell me not to cry."

He shifted, pressed his head harder against hers. "I know. I'm sorry, so sorry. I never wanted to leave you, never wanted to lose you. You were the last thing I thought of. All I could think about was how much I was going to miss you."

"I missed you too. So much. Why did you have to die? Why?" Icepetal's heart was aching in the confines of her chest. She'd fallen so hopelessly in love with him, dreamed of a future with him, only to have it stripped away. It was cruel.

Willowclaw sighed. "I don't know. Maybe that was how it was supposed to be."

"You didn't deserve to die to her."

"I did. The things I did for her I will never be able to take back, but killing her made sure she would never be able to hurt or use anyone else. When I died the cats I killed were avenged. It was a warriors death, Icepetal," he smiled gently.

She nudged her nose deeper into his fur. "You killed Crimson, and I'm so proud. But I'm selfish too. I wanted you all to myself."

Willowclaw laughed, a deep, pleasing sound, and removed himself from Icepetal's embrace. He grinned down at her, amber eyes shining. "I know you did."

"Am I dead? Did Atsiya kill me?" Icepetal asked, casting her eyes around the forest. A while ago the thought might have pleased her. But now...something was different. She was worried. If she died those she left behind would have to deal with the loss of another friend. Would Eaglestrike be able to deal with being the last Chosen left alive? Would Tornheart blame herself? What would Frozengaze do? But dying meant being with Willowclaw, and Rainpatch and Littleflame.

He watched her closely. "No, you're in limbo. What happens next is up to you. You can stay here, in StarClan with us. Or you can return to the valley and live out the rest of you life with the last pieces of the Clans."

It was a decision she never thought she would be faced with, and it was a decision she had no idea how to make. She wanted to stay with Willowclaw. But she wanted to go back to the valley as well. The Elementals needed to be dealt with. The family she'd left behind needed to be looked after. There were kits that needed protecting. She'd vowed to give her life to her Clan. Her Clan might be gone, but the cats on the Isle were slowly becoming a new Clan. But...hadn't she done enough? She'd travelled far from home, fought in a war, fought a monster, fell from a mountain, nearly died more times than she could count. Did she need to do anymore?

Willowclaw was still watching her and she felt a little bad. Was he expecting her to say yes? Was he disappointed that she was thinking about it so much? As if he could read her mind he shook his head. "Whatever decision you make I will understand. I won't lie, I do want you here, but I know you have ties to the valley." He purred, "I'm selfish too."

"I can't believe you die, leave me alone for moons, and then appear and give me a decision like this," Icepetal groaned. "That's just mean, Willowclaw."

He shrugged, looking a little sheepish. "Maybe if you weren't out fighting cats with magical powers by yourself this wouldn't have happened."

"Okay, okay, that's fair," she laughed.

"My mentor, Ruin, told me something once. Or rather I overhead him telling it to someone else. Everyone has a soulmate, but not everyone has just one." Icepetal grew a little cold as he spoke. "Cyrith is right, you know. Even I can see that."

Her eyes narrowed. "Have you been eavesdropping on my conversations?"

"Just because you can't see me doesn't mean I'm not there," Willowclaw winked. "I've watched Frozengaze too. At first I hated him. He tried to kill you once. But I watched and listened. He'd make a great warrior."

"What are you trying to say?" Icepetal said.

Willowclaw's mischievous grin dropped into a soft smile. "You deserve to be happy, Icepetal, and I thought I was the one who would make you happy. But...I can't do that from here. I can't protect you. One day you'll come back here, when your life has reached its proper end. Then I'll get to call you mine. Until then there's someone else that wants to love you just as much as I do."

Her heart was no longer aching, instead it was pounding. This wonderful, amazing tom would do anything to see her happy. Even if it meant watching her love someone else. Still, he seemed to be basing everything off the assumption that she was already in love with Frozengaze. Which wasn't true. She didn't love him. There was, however, something between them. That she would not deny.

"You seem pretty certain that I'm not going to stay," she murmured.

"I'd like to think that I know you," he replied.

He was right. She wasn't going to stay. Her family, her Clan, they needed her. Still, it hurt more than anything to admit that. She felt like she was betraying him. "I'm sorry," she choked out.

"Don't be." He rested his head on top of hers once more. "We'll see each other again one day. It'll be a happier reunion next time, I promise."

And then, finally, she told him what she'd wanted to tell him for so long. "I love you."

His familiar rumbling purr started up. His touch started to fade. His scent slowly drifted away. Just before her eyes drifted shut and she was thrown back into the living world she heard it. "I love you too."

/\

Icepetal woke back in her mortal body bones aching, but not in pain. Her eyes cleared, adjusted to the sudden light, and found chaos. While she'd been away Sunrise had returned with help; she and Arrow battle Erus's growing wall of roots, fighting to reach a trapped Eaglestrike. Atsiya flung up a shield of ice that protected her from Tornheart's zaps of green lightning. With Astiya distracted and preoccupied, Frozengaze snuck up behind her, pale blue coat almost blending with the harsh ice that now coated the battlefield. It encased the trees, wrapped the leaves in a cruel embrace, sucked the life from the grass.

Gasping in frantic breaths of icy air, Icepetal felt her body begin to wake itself up. Atsiya's ice crumbled from her fur. She'd nearly died. The thought made her shudder. But she hadn't. She was here. That was all that mattered. Glancing around she sought out Shiverlight only to discover the assassin was absent; taking care of the kits and Cyrith.

A sharp crack echoed. Sunrise severed Erus's wall in half, her shadows reaching in and pulling the wood apart. From the wood Eaglestrike's panicked face appeared. His sides were stained with his own blood. Behind him Erus waited, all thick muscle and cruel thorns, eyeing Sunrise with disgust.

Atsiya's surprised screech bounced off the ice. Her shield fell, clattering into little, useless pieces. Frozengaze grappled at her shoulders, sharp claws pulling her down. They rolled, a furious, spitting ball of fur and teeth. Tornheart turned her attention to a stumbling Eaglestrike, green lightning turning to gentle flows that seeped into his wounds and sapped the pain away. No one had noticed Icepetal waking. That was fine. It would work in her favour.

Her plan fell apart in a heartbeat. Frozengaze reared up on his hindlegs, eyes flashing, teeth bared, and Atsiya - with an impossibly savage grin - shoved an icicle into his gut. He choked, blood spattering from his mouth, and fell. His blood turned the icicle red. Atsiya stood over him. "Who would have thought we would meet again. Like this," she murmured, forepaw raised. The light caught her claws.

Icepetal was moving in an instant, streaking across the ice, lips curled back, a snarl rattling in her throat. She would not lose another. Regardless of what he was to her - an old enemy, a friend, perhaps more - she refused to watch another cat die. They were Clanmates of a sort now, and she would throw her life away to protect him; to protect any of them. She hit Atsiya with enough force to knock the Elemental away from Frozengaze. The two hit the ice, rolled, and Icepetal came out on top. She pressed a paw into Atsiya's throat not hard enough to kill but enough to hurt.

"How?" Atsiya spat, blood flicking onto Icepetal's muzzle. "I killed you. I watched you die."

"There are old stories about the Clans, from a time long before I was born. Stories about Clan cats that were given nine lives," Icepetal purred. Her purr turned into a growl, "I am not that easy to kill. Neither are the Clans. It's about time you learned that."

Atsiya arched a brow, then flicked her gaze over to Frozengaze. "But he's not a Clan cat, he's your enemy. Why are you protecting him?" Realisation flickered. "Oh. You're in love with him."

"It doesn't matter how I feel. He's one of us now. He has a place here, and I won't stand by and let you take that away," she hissed.

"You can't kill me. I'm immortal," Atsiya laughed.

Icepetal bared sharp teeth, "watch me," then struck. Her teeth sunk into the soft flesh of the Elemental's throat. Against her face splattered the warmth of blood fresh from the vein, gushing violently free, staining white fur red. Atsiya writhed and struggled, claws raking into Icepetal's shoulders, but she only bit down harder. The struggled lessened, weakened, till Atsiya's forelegs hit the ground limply. Only when she was sure the Elemental was gone did Icepetal rip back, tearing flesh from bone and leaving behind a bloody mess.

Turning she met the Sunrise's shocked gaze and briefly wondered what she looked like, covered in blood and gore. "Finish her," she told Sunrise. Erus was dealt with, Tornheart had him pinned to a tree, her magic leeching away at his powers. Icepetal didn't need to watch Sunrise get rid of Atsiya.

With the danger gone the adrenaline raging through her body disappeared and fear rushed in to replace it. Exhausted, Icepetal staggered over to Frozengaze and sunk down into a crouch near his head. He was breathing heavily, eyes narrowed against the pain burning in his gut. Still he rolled his head back to look up at her and smiled weakly. "You're alive," he whispered.

He was worried. He thought I was dead. "I'm alive," Icepetal breathed back.

His eyes closed, a relieved sigh falling free. "I, I thought I hadn't made it on time. I thought I was too late. There was this unimaginable pain in my chest when we got here and you were on the ground, not moving. I've never felt it before, didn't know what it was. But I know now why I can't stand the idea of losing you." He opened his eyes - such a wonderful shade of clear blue - and looked right at her. "I love you, Icepetal. I love you, and I know you might not ever feel the same but I'll be here any way."

Her heart began a beat that had once been reserved only for Willowclaw. Now it thundered in that same rhythm, but it wasn't for the tabby warrior. It was for the old enemy at her paws, the one that had saved her life more times than was necessary, the one who hadn't killed her that morning on the ledge. The cat who was trying so hard to right the wrongs he had committed. This strange cat that had come from a completely different world. Did she love him? No. Not yet. Could she one day? Yes. There was enough room in her heart for Frozengaze as well as Willowclaw.

"Ssh." She nuzzled the side of his head, the sound of his rusty purr doing strange things to her heart. "Just rest." His pretty eyes closed once again and his body sagged. "Rest."

Tornheart brushed her tail against Icepetal's side. "Here, let me heal him," she said, gently placing a paw over where the icicle met skin.

"Shouldn't he be able to heal himself?" she asked. "He's a god, isn't he?"

Shaking her head, Tornheart hummed quietly as her magic slipping into Frozengaze's body, healing him from the inside out. "He's mortal now. Has been for a little while. I think he knows. I think he's worried we might make him leave if we find out."

"Does he really think that little of us?" Icepetal watched the icicle slowly be pushed out. When it fell free more blood gushed out. Tornheart rapidly pressed a paw against the hole, stopping anymore blood from getting out while her magic stitched the wound shut.

"No. He thinks little of himself. His whole life has been centered around being the most powerful. That's why he doesn't understand things like friendship, or loyalty, or love. But I think he's learning. We just have to be willing to teach him."

"Are you?"

Tornheart blinked, "am I what?"

"Are you willing to teach him? Or is he still an enemy to you?" Icepetal asked.

"He's not an enemy to me anymore. I won't ever forgive him for what he did to me," she twitched the tattered remains of an ear, "but it's in the past. He's changed, for the better, and so have I. If he's happy here then I have no problems with him staying."

Smiling Icepetal answered, "I think he'd be happy to hear that."

"Where did you go?" Tornheart asked. "I know you died. I couldn't sense you through the bond."

"StarClan. I saw Willowclaw." For once there was no pain when she said his name, only a warmth that spilled from her heart and spread through her body. Willowclaw was gone, but one day they would see each other again. Until then he would watch over her, waiting, loving, silent but present.

Tornheart's eyes were warm. "But you came back."

"There was a lot to come back for," Icepetal answered.

/\

Cyrith disappeared.

Sunrise untethered him late one night, stripped him of his power, and let him go free.

"I cannot stay and watch what cannot be mine any longer," he said to Sunrise before he left.

Icepetal couldn't help but miss him. He'd been a wonderful friend.

/\

"Here." Icepetal dropped a squirrel by Frozengaze's paws. "For you."

Tornheart had healed the wound in his stomach two days ago, but his smaller wounds she would not heal. Those she said would heal fine on their own, covered in some cobwebs. So he was confined to the Isle for a little while. Sunrise was overjoyed at the amount of time she could spend with her father now.

He purred, "thank you."

Settling down beside him Icepetal let her eyes roam over the cobwebbed wounds. "How are you feeling?" It would be a long time before she would be able to get the picture of Atsiya thrusting that icicle deep into his gut out of her mind.

"Stiff," Frozengaze grumbled. "Bored too. Sunrise can't keep me entertained all day, especially if she wants to be a warrior one day."

"You'll only have to hang around here for a few more days," Icepetal smiled.

"Icepetal?"

"Yes?"

"I...I wanted to thank you, for saving my life." He stared down at the squirrel. "I know that I did a lot of things that hurt you, and I know how easy it might have been for you to just let me die. So thank you."

Icepetal felt shame curl under her skin. Her hatred for him had been so obvious in the first few moons. She hadn't given him a chance until her grief for Willowclaw had faded. By then her hatred had grafted itself into Frozengaze's very bones. But he had loved her any way.

"Frozengaze" - she waited till he was looking at her - "I would never let you die."

"But the things I've done," he protested.

"I have forgiven." He froze, eyes wide, jaw slack. "I've forgiven you, Frozengaze."

The tom, who had once been an immortal god in the eyes of the Clans, looked on the verge of tears. Frantically he scrubbed at his eyes. "No one's ever forgiven me before."

"Well," she purred, "I'm glad I was the first."

/\

Eaglestrike snuffled around the base of a tree. He was on the trail of a rabbit he'd spooked. Icepetal trudged along wearily. It was the last thing she wanted to do. Back on the Isle there was a full pile of prey and a soft nest. Out here all there was was a bitter wind and light rain.

"Are you really going to track this rabbit in the rain?" she hissed at him.

He shot her a cheeky grin, "why, is there somewhere else you'd rather be?"

"Yes," she spat, "back on the Isle in my nest under a tree out of the rain."

"You mean the nest that's tucked up nice and close to Frozengaze's?" Eaglestrike purred silkily.

Icepetal felt her face fall into a frown. "Do you have a problem with that?"

His grin faded into seriousness. "I don't have a problem with him or you, and I certainly don't have a problem with you together. As long as you are happy."

"I am happy." She had allowed herself, since Frozengaze's confession, to feel every emotion that was directed at him. The first that had come was longing, and it had been so strong and so potent. Every time she looked at him it near wiped her off her paws. Then had come affection. Everything he did, everything he said, it filled her with a beautiful warmth. After that had come a fierce urge to protect. Her entire being was tuned into him. His pain felt like her own. So with it came the need to look after him. The final emotion she thought might have been love. She couldn't be sure. The love between her and Willowclaw had been a whirlwind, quick and powerful. The thing growing between her and Frozengaze was slow, gentle, a gentle fire flickering away.

"He makes me happy."

Eaglestrike nodded. "I'm glad."

/\

"Would you come for a walk?" Icepetal asked Frozengaze an evening three moons after Atsiya's death. He had finally told everyone that he was no longer a god and didn't have his powers anymore. It was so easy to tell that he was frightened. Eaglestrike had merely grinned and welcomed him to the world of mortals. The others had agreed, and life moved on. Frozengaze became a friend.

He was watching Sunrise train her power with Tornheart when Icepetal approached. Things had been different since he'd told her he loved her, but a good different. He was learning how to love, how to be a friend, how to care, and it was wonderful to watch. Arrow took great privilege in becoming fast friends with Frozengaze, Shiverlight too. They were outsiders, though Shiverlight a little less, to the Clans. Cats that had come from distant places to be with those they cared for. Sometimes Frozengaze looked a little lost. Other times he lead with a sure foot.

But it was with Icepetal that he was most careful, cautious. So when she asked him to go for a walk she half expected him to say no. Instead he smiled and said yes.

Erus was being forced to revive the valley. When it was done he would be given a choice: die, or give up his power and disappear, just as Cyrith had. For now he remained bound to a tree on the Isle, fixing the devastation he and his friends had caused.

So they walked, crossing into WaveClan's territory, talking. Icepetal wasn't quite sure when things had become so easy between them, or when she had started looking at him with more than friendship in mind. Then again she couldn't say when she'd decided Willowclaw was more than a friend.

"Don't you miss your home?" she asked as they walked.

Frozengaze shook his head. "There is nothing back there for me, no family, no friends. I don't miss it."

"What was it like?"

"Beautiful," he said. "This world is beautiful too, but my home was so colourful and vibrant. The people, the creatures, the cities, the oceans. Beautiful. I had a kingdom to myself and I took care of it as best I could."

Icepetal let her tail swish over a patch of wildflowers. "Is that the one you won in the tournament?"

"Ah," he looked sheepish, "yes, but I am not proud of how I came to get that kingdom. I took advantage of a grieving princess, one who had no idea how to rule. But I gave all I had to that kingdom. Did Cyrith tell you about that?"

"He did. When he was trying to convince me that you loved me," she said cheekily. "I didn't believe him."

Frozengaze smiled softly, "do you now?"

"I believe you, does that count?" Icepetal purred.

"It certainly does." He rarely ever touched her but he leaned over and nosed at her ear gently.

They were at the cliffs now, standing in the place where WaveClan's camp had once been. It was always lively up there, the seabirds arguing amongst each other in the air and in their nests arranged haphazardly on ledges. Far below on the beach the waves rolled and crashed, throwing water high. There were two phantom shapes playing in the shallows, almost invisible amongst the water. Icepetal hoped Rainpatch and Heathersky were happy.

"That's Rainpatch down there, isn't it?" Frozengaze asked.

Icepetal hummed in reply. "He's with Heathersky too."

Sometimes those in StarClan visited the valley. If one was looking close enough, and if the visitor wanted it, their shape could be seen, faint but still there. Rainpatch was a frequent phantom, using his newfound form to pull all kinds of pranks. Arrow hadn't been too pleased to find a dead spider in his nest. Littleflame sometimes showed up, usually to play with the kits. She hardly ever spoke or even looked at Eaglestrike. Willowclaw appeared even less. Icepetal found that she didn't mind. She knew he was around, he just didn't want to be seen.

A cold wind blew in off the ocean, ruffling their fur. "Willowclaw's watching."

"Is he?" It was common knowledge that Willowclaw allowed himself to be seen by Frozengaze more than anyone. Icepetal raised her voice so the tabby warrior could hear her. "That's a little creepy."

"He scowled, and he's leaving," he laughed.

"Can't get any privacy around here anymore," Icepetal muttered. "Ghosts think they can wander around anywhere."

A comfortable silence grew between them and in that moment, staring out over the ocean with the sun beginning to sink into the waves, Icepetal came to a decision. It wasn't a hard one, in fact it came rather naturally. Quietly she nestled into Frozengaze's side, tucking her head under his chin. She felt him stiffen then slowly relax into it. "Frozengaze?"

"Yes?"

"I think I love you."

His smile was pressed into the top of her head. "I think that's the best thing I've ever heard." There was a pause and then a muffled laugh, "Willowclaw says he's happy."

Icepetal narrowed her eyes. "I thought you said he was gone."

"I might have been mistaken."

"You two are ridiculous," she hissed, sinking further back into Frozengaze's warmth.

"Hey, Icepetal?"

"Mm."

"I love you too."

---

for Swyfte. happy birthday.