Icegaze stared at Sootblizzard, admiring his black pelt.
She had insisted decided to tell him that one night they went hunting how she felt.
How long had it been? One moon? Two moons? No, four moons for sure.
She took a deep breath, and padded up to her mate. She had to tell him… she just had to.
"Sootblizzard?" The black warrior looked up. "May I speak to you… In private?"
He nodded and followed her out of camp to Icegaze's favorite willow tree, it was beautiful with its long, swift leaves swaying in the wind.
Icegaze sat down and curled her tail over her paws. Her mate sat in front of her.
"What is it?" he meowed. Icegaze hesitated a moment, I have only known for a moon. Do I want him to know now? Should I wait and tell him when the day comes closer?
She shook the thoughts from her mind. "I-" a deep breath. "I am… Expecting your kits" Icegaze squeezed her eyes shut, but only a purr escaped the warrior across her.
"That is great! When are they due? Do you think they will like me? You should be in the nursery!"
Icegaze chuckled "still four moons, they will love you, and no. I shouldn't be in the nursery yet. Secretkit, Spiderkit and Ravenkit are becoming apprentice's today, Burningstar says she wants to keep the three together instead of holding Spiderkit back for another moon… and I have made sure you and I each get to mentor one… since you are going to fill in for me when the kits are born"
Sootblizzard's eyes widened. "Really? Me? Oh, Icegaze, I love you so much! Thank you"
Icegaze purred. "I love you too," she murmured softly.
"Secretkit, you shall be known as Secretpaw. I am happy to announce you as Jungleflame's new apprentice"
"Ravenpaw! Secretpaw! Spiderpaw!" Jungleflame had been made a medicine cat when Lilyfall decided to retire. Secretpaw had begged to become a medicine cat apprentice, so Icegaze mentored Spiderpaw, and Sootblizzard mentored Ravenpaw.
"This way, Spiderpaw!" the fluffy black apprentice ran towards his mentor. "I am ready to take on any Clan cat that dare come into our territory!" he hissed. "Even if I don't have NightClan blood"
Icegaze flicked her apprentice's ear. "Yes, you do. Burningstar and Applenose are sisters" Spiderpaw puffed out his chest.
"Good. I can be a true warrior now!" he launched himself into the air, and landed swiftly.
"I will be the best leader the Clans have ever seen!" Icegaze purred, nudging him towards ThunderClan territory.
"Tonight is the gathering. I suppose I could bring you?" Spiderpaw's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Yes"
"What if no cat likes me?"
"Ignore them"
"Why?"
"They are jealous of us" she meowed "this, is the WindClan border. It is called the Night Stream, because it has an odd glow when the sun sets"
Spiderpaw sniffed at the water, lapping it gently. He just sat down, and seemed to stare at something off in the distance.
"Do you think she ever loved me?" Icegaze already knew whom he was addressing.
"Yes. Applenose did love you. If it were her choice, she would have kept you," She rasped her tongue over her ear comfortingly.
The sun was setting by he time the Clan was gathered. Spiderpaw, Secretpaw, Ravenpaw, Sootblizzard, Jungleflame, Icegaze, Burningstar, Greeneyes, Dewflower, Silvereyes, Mistbreeze, Stormheart and Blackflame were all going to the gathering.
Spiderpaw seemed anxious as they neared the tree-bridge. "It's alright, I will be right behind you"
Spiderpaw straightened, "I wasn't scared!" he said no more, and, trying to hide his worries, he padded across.
This was only NightClan's fifth gathering, and cats were excepting them, but only under StarClan's light.
Prismstar's white pelt seemed to glow; Troutstar's eyes glimmered with pride, and Lionstar's thick pelt was freshly groomed… Where was Darkstar?
Icegaze looked around for the dark gray leader. She saw Pebblerose, the medicine cat, and a pawful of warriors from ShadowClan… No Darkstar.
Troutstar yowled as cats gathered around and Burningstar leaped up to the branch where the others.
To Icegaze's surprise, Pebblerose spoke for ShadowClan.
"I am upset to say, Tawnyrose and Darkstar died three sunrises ago, for a strange unknown cause" she paused.
"When I was six moons old, I received a prophecy on my first night as an apprentice: The pebble of the wrong path and many wrong choice's, shall bring the Clan from darkness. I only knew one thing, that the pebble was I" taking a deep breath, she continued.
"On the night of Darkstar's death, I was taken into a daze, I saw myself leading ShadowClan, and then I realized that I was destined to rule, not to heal. When Strongpaw receives his full medicine cat name, I shall step down from being a medicine cat and become a full leader. StarClan has already given me nine lives, and I look forward to making ShadowClan as strong as it once was, and I promise to use all of my lives to care for this Clan.
At first, no cat spoke. There were only the trees waving in the faint wind. Then a Swampfur spoke up for her former Clanmate. "Pebblestar!" As she continued to chant, more cats joined in, and the last thing Pebblestar announced was that Birdsong was deputy.
Troutstar stepped forward. "Life is well, Crowpaw, Windpaw, Whitepaw and Graypaw are all here tonight after an attack, and are finally training well, and Ghostpaw is an apprentice. We had a small mistake, saying that Palesky's skits were due any day. She just was a little fluffier, so she is now due any day".
Loss tugged at Icegaze's heart, and she could see Dewflower holding back tears of joy and grief.
Prismstar leaped up to take Troutstar's spot. "Prey is plentiful, and Blizzardclaw is a warrior"
When Lionstar's turn finally came, Icegaze could see the menace in his eyes. "My own kits, even though a moon early, are apprentice's. Poolpaw, Mudpaw and Sunpaw are here tonight".
Cats cheered, and Icegaze snatched a glance at her own apprentice, who gazed sadly at his siblings.
"I have one more addition to the warrior code. I believe kits should be apprenticed at the age of five moons if they are big enough. They shall do an assessment at five moons old, judged by their leader, and if they fail, remain in the nursery for another moon"
Burningstar, Troutstar, Prismstar and Pebblestar nodded in agreement.
"Fair enough" Burningstar mewoed.
"Then it is settled, and prey is running well".
Finally, Icegaze's leader took her position on the giant branch. "Spiderpaw is an apprentice, along with Ravenpaw, and Secretpaw who is Jungleflame's apprentice. Icegaze and Silvereyes are also excepting kits"
When the cats chanted the three apprentice's names, Icegaze saw a for a split second, longing in Applenose an Lionstar's eyes, but it was so fast, she wasn't so sure.
By the time NightClan returned to their own territory, it seemed like they had been gone for moons.
She was about to pad to the warriors den, but stopped, and turned toward he nursery.
Maybe I should keep Silvereyes company tonight.
She curled up in a tight ball, and was almost asleep, when she heard the yowl.
Burningstar Jungleflame, Secretpaw, Sootblizzard, Shadowstrike and Icegaze were in RiverClan's camp before any cat had the chance to blink.
Palesky was already curled around a brown tabby she-kit, and a creamy white-furred tom.
Please, let the last one be black! Icegaze realized she wanted her sister to feel the pain of losing a kit.
So she would understand how Dewflower felt when Palesky took Ghostpaw away.
To her relief and surprise, the last two kits were both black, one a small she-cat, and the other a long-legged she-cat.
Palesky sobbed as Graypaw, the new medicine cat apprentice, snatched up the kits and padded out of camp.
She seemed unhappy to have been given this job, so instead of throwing the kit into the stream like Eaglesoar had, she simply put them down and left.
Icegaze ran towards the kits, licking their fur. She gently picked them up by the scruff and carried them back to camp.
"What are their names?" Silvereyes asked, curled around the sleeping bodies of her two lucky black kits: Smokekit and Cloudkit.
Icegaze thought hard. She didn't want them to resemble Palesky's name in any way, but she wanted them to resemble her own.
"Frozenkit," she meowed, licking the small she-kit. "And… Pantherkit".
"Who is going to nurse them?"
"I will" she meowed, curling around Pantherkit and Frozenkit.
She had to nurse them, after all, they were her sister's kits.
