An illness has wiped out most of RainClan, killing both the deputy and leader. No kits or elders survived and those that managed to overcome the sickness are drained of energy with every passing day, charged with the impossible task of feeding the clan.
Mysteriously, senior warrior Icefire has escaped the deadly clutches of the incurable sickness and stands as the only cat left strong enough to lead RainClan...

So... This is the prequel to Ice in the Stars. And I have decided to keep updating and working on it due to public demand. However, this is now the main fanfic I'm working on, so don't expect regular updates on Ice in the Stars.

I apologize for not updating in like forever but I had a really bad writers block where I couldn't even come up with any ideas. It was awful!

Chapter 3:

Stormkit opened his eyes slowly, letting his eyes adjust to the bright sunlight.

"I see you've opened your eyes." Stormkit turned around. A dark tabby she-cat blinked down at him. Some instinct told him that this she-cat was his mother.

Stormkit stared back stupidly, hypnotized by her gray eyes. "Can I go explore?" He finally murmured.

Bumbletail shook her head. "No, little one. It's too cold."

"Then will you tell us a story about Icestar." Sunkit meowed, stumbling up to Stormkit on paws way too big for the little kit.

Bumbletail turned to Sunkit. "I know nothing about Icestar. She won't tell me anything and She keeps her emotions so well hidden that I cant figure it out. The only thing Icestar has done for me was keep me full fed before you were born. I am nothing of interest. But your father is."

"But why?" Stormkit asked. Bumbletail just shook her head sadly.

"If you want to know about Icestar, then go ask her yourself or go ask the elders."

"Does that mean we can go explore?" Sunkit exclaimed, bouncing around Stormkit in circles.

Bumbletail nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on a point in the distance. "Yes."

Stormkit immediately shot out of the nursery. He skidded to a halt in the middle of the clearing, the cold air hitting him like a twoleg monster. Once his clumsy brother caught up, Stormkit turned back to see Bumbletail padding out of the nursery.

"Come on!" Sunkit begged. "Lets go look for Icestar."

Stormkit nodded and darted up to the closest cat, a light gray tom with darker stripes. "Where's Icestar?" He demanded.

The gray tom behind him purred with amusement. "You two must be the kits of Bumbletail and Lionwing."

"Where's Icestar?" Stormkit spat.

The gray tabby leaned down until he was a whisker length from Stormkit's muzzle. "What is your business with Icestar?" He hissed.

"We want her to tell us a story." Sunkit exclaimed cheerfully.

"Ha!" The gray tom laughed. "Icestar won't tell you a story! That's the elder's job." Stormkit and Sunkit glanced at each other excitedly.

"But there are no elders. Can I speak to someone who knew Icestar?" Stormkit meowed.

"Then speak to me." Stormkit whirled around to find a dark red she-cat staring down at them.

The gray tabby laughed. "Redblossom? You know nothing about Icestar!"

"I know more about Icestar then you think, Breezecloud, so it would do you good to hold your tongue." Redblossom spat.

Breezecloud curled his lip. "Icestar doesn't even trust you, much less like you! In the entire moon of being one of Icestar's elite warriors, she has willingly told me more of her secrets than you could struggle to uncover in seasons!" He snarled.

"I'm her sister! I should know more than a warrior does about her." Redblossom retorted.

"I'm her son." The dark gray tom pointed out.

Both Breezecloud and Redblossom turned to the dark gray warrior. "Shut up, Thunderflight!" They spat in unison.

Thunderflight shrunk back under the glares of his clanmates.

Breezecloud had just opened his mouth when a voice, accompanied by a shadowy silhouette appeared on top of a large boulder three tail lengths away from Stormkit. The rising sun on the cat's flank allowed Stormkit to catch a glimpse of it's coloring. The cat had light ginger fur that bristled along her spine. The morning sunlight glinted off of cold blue eyes and a fluffy tail.

"Enough!" The shadow snarled. "I will not have my warriors fighting! Redblossom, I told you I didn't want you near my den, Hailfoot, take the kits back to the nursery." A light gray tom slipped quietly over to Stormkit and picked him up by the scruff.

"Let me go!" Stormkit squeaked, writhing in the warrior's jaws.

"Stop struggling." Hailfoot growled. His tone suggested that it was an order, not a choice.

"Let my brother go!" Sunkit spat. He raced up to Hailfoot and started biting down on his forepaw.

"Hey!" Hailfoot exclaimed.

"Hailfoot." The warrior immediately stopped trying to kick Sunkit off of his leg and looked up at the figure. "Are you incapable of removing the clan's newborn kits from this situation?" The shadowy figure sneered.

Hailfoot shook his head frantically. "No, Icestar. It's under control." He leaned down and grasped Sunkit by the scruff, who gave up the fight quickly.

"Thanks for trying." Stormkit murmured to Sunkit as Hailfoot walked away from the three warriors.

"These two-" Hailfoot spat at Bumbletail as he dropped them at her paws, "are nothing but trouble!" Stormkit lowered his head in shame as Hailfoot glared at him and Bumbletail with a mixture of anger and disappointment.

~ice~

"What does Icestar look like?" Stormkit asked Bumbletail.

"Stormkit, your investigation of Icestar is going to get you in serious trouble with Icestar someday. You are lucky that Icestar was too busy dealing with Breezecloud, Thunderflight, and Redblossom to give you a real punishment."

Sunkit shivered. "Goldenshade gave us enough of a punishment. Helping Graystorm in the medicine den for half a moon."

Stormkit nodded in agreement. "Herbs. Yuck! I want to be an elite warrior!"

Bumbletail curled her tail around Stormkit and Sunkit. She sighed. "Icestar. Her fur is a light ginger, but sharp and bright. The way she is built suggests a fox, with a long, fluffy tail and short, compact fur. She is all muscle, able to push boulders as big as me across camp. One of her ears is shredded, only a few small, jagged bits of skin where the ear once was. Her claws are long and sharp, digging into her enemy's fur and never letting go. And her eyes. Never ending pits of ice, sometimes dark blue, cold as the night, and other times, a light blue, never missing a tiny detail in the forest. She sees all, defeats all. She has no regrets."

"Now go to sleep and think happy thoughts."

Flames welcome, people telling me what I did wrong can help me get it right in later chapters.

~Icestar0921