Chapter 9

The early dawn light woke up Icepool the next morning. She stretched in her tree bed and looked at the sleeping cats around her. She had a peaceful dreamless sleep that night. With no StarClan cats or Star haunting her thoughts.

She still had no idea on Star's full name. All she new was 'star'. The sooner she made it to RainClan the sooner she could find out just what they need from her, and what Star's name was. I wounder if I'll get a new name when we get there, she wondered, they are a different clan, and maybe they call their kits and apprentices something other than 'kit' and 'paw'.

Icepool leapt down from the tree and opened her mouth to scent the air. She could smell lots of prey in the area form lack of being hunted in. She dropped into a hunters crouch, but it was a little off because as a medicine cat she didn't hunt as much. She slowly stalked toward a rustling in the bushes, she wasn't sure what is was, but she new it was prey. She stopped, then pounced, and killed it with one quick bite on the neck. When she looked at her prey, it was the biggest rabbit she had ever seen! It had to be at least a tail-length long, maybe more, and it was a fat as a six moon old kittypet-and that's pretty big. She triumphantly dragged her kill back to the tree and hid it in a crack in the tree. Then she jumped up the tree and saw that Dawnleaf was just waking up.

"I got some fresh-kill," she told her, "probably enough for all of us if we divide it right."

"All of us?" she sounded supprised, "let me see."

They both leaped down the tree and Icepool showed her the rabbit. Icepool thought she heard a wow from her mouth but she wasn't sure.

"I've never caught a rabbit that big," she finally said, "and I grew up in WindClan. So to put it short, that is the biggest dang rabbit I have ever seen."

Icepool licked her chest fur in embarrassment. She new it was big, but not that big. But she wasn't quite sure what 'dang' meant.

She heard the movement of cats in the tree above her head. Then soon all of them were feasting on the huge rabbit she caught. They were all soon sun bathing on a small hill near the tree. Now it was sunhigh and everyone was starting to seem to be loaded with questions.

Before they asked any she said, "We'd better get going. We should at least get to the tribe of Rushing water within the next two days."

"Only two days?" said Sandpelt suppressed, "That's a long way through those mountains. Don't you think maybe we could go a little slower?"

"So we can freeze in the mountains and be stuck there once leaf-bare sets in?" remarked Ravenheart, "I don't think so."

"I'm with Ravenheart," said Dawnleaf, flicking her tail toward the mountains she said, "I'd rather sleep with a new clan than sleep in the cold mountains during the leaf-bare moons."

Soon the small group of cats where at the face of a mountain. Lakeheart was ready to jump when Ravenheart stopped her, "Maybe we should go around. It's a tall mountain, but it's not that wide."

Ravenheart flicked her tail to the other side of the mountain a couple fox-lengths away. Lakeheart heaved a heavy sigh and they got in their formation, only this time Dawnleaf took the back. Then they continued to travel into the mountains.

The mountains towered over their heads as they traveled onward. They were covered in snow and more snow was coming. On the side of one mountain, it looked like there was a path with a broken hole in one spot. She looked to the bottom and thought she saw what looked like a long left clan apprentice body. He must have died on the way through the mountains, she thought.

Then she looked back to her paws and they felt slightly wet. Cold wet. She looked closer and thought she saw the same star sparkle as the moonpool. But it couldn't be water from the moonpool, could it?

Shaking that thought out of her head she tried to focus on what was in front of her. She could see the boulders on the bottoms of the mountains, and some trees father up ahead. But they weren't the kind of trees she was used to. They had leaves that were a different shade of green, lighter and duller than the ones back in ThunderClan.

When they entered the trees Icepool pricked her ears and focused her nose on anything that could come out and attack. She had herd tales of cats living in these mountains, and wasn't sure if they were friendly.

Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes and Icepool stopped. She opened her mouth to try to get a scent, but she couldn't smell anything but some mice.

She kept going again, but then herd something on her other side. She jerked around and got ready to pounce.

"What are you doing Icepool?" asked Dawnleaf, "Did you hear something?"

Icepool didn't answer. She spotted a brown pelt behind the bushes. She dropped lower, ready to spring, but the cat sprang at her! Icepool felt the wind get knocked out of her. He let out a yowl of distress to her friends, but when she looked, they were all under other cats. But at least they weren't out numbered.

Icepool used her tail to pull herself between her opponents back legs and out from under her mystery opponent. Then she got on its back and used its weight to knock another cat off Lakeheart.

"Thanks," she said, and ran off to help Sandpelt.

Icepool ran over to Dawnleaf and clamped onto the cats back with her teeth. But she at once switched to her claws at the taste of mud on the cats fur. Then the cat began yowling, knocked her off, and left to the refuge in the bushes.

She was about to go help Ravenheart, but the cat got off of her and sat down with its tail curled around its paws. Its fur lay down flat and its tail wasn't fluffy anymore.

"You are a RiverClan cat," he said calmly, "You have the RiverClan scent," when Ravenheart looked confused on why he wasn't still attacking, he added, "RiverClan cats are honored here. One of them saved my tribe from complete destruction."

Then Icepool remembered the tail of Feathertail, who gave her life to save the tribe cats on her way back to the clans.

"Is there anything we can do for you and your group?" he asked.

"Well," she started, "we could use some shelter for a night or two. We're just passing through."

"We'd be honored," he dipped his head and called, "Crag."

"Yes Stoneteller?" Crag walked out from the bushes with the other cats. But the only way Icepool could tell it was him is that he was at the front of the patrol. All the cats were covered in mud for some reason that Icepool had no idea of.

Soon they were with the group of cats heading up a river. Icepool tried to remember things about the tribe from the stories she had herd as a kit. She remembered they had cave guards and prey hunters instead of warriors. And that the leader was also the medicine cat, he was called the healer.

Icepool looked at the Stoneteller in front of her. The mud was beginning to wash away and she could see the tabby pelt underneath. He seemed nice, but he seemed to only be interested in Ravenheart.

Soon they came to a waterfall, and the cave guards led them behind it to a cave. In the cave there was a small stream, and small hollows in the ground probably used as nests. Many of the apprentices-she remembered were called to-bes here-were looking at them and whispering things to each other.

She thought she herd something like, "Clan cats again!" and, "Haven't those cats bothered us enough?"

Stoneteller took them to the enterece of another cave and sat down, "So what are your names?"

"Well I'm Ravenheart," she began, "this is Icepool and Dawnleaf," Ravenheart flicked her tail toward them, "and these are our parents, Sandpelt and Lakeheart."

Stoneteller nodded, "Great to meet you all. I believe you are coming to find another group of cats. Am I correct?" the clan cats all looked at each other, "The Tribe of Endless Hunting told me that a group of cats was coming from the clans, and that I was to help. They also told me to take the Healer of the small group to the Cave of Pointed Stones. I currently believe the Healer of your group is Ravenheart because of the way she seems to be in charge."

"Well I guess that's me then," said Ravenheart, "I guess we should-"

Icepool cut her off, "no, I believe that would be me."

Stoneteller didn't seem to convinsed, and neither did her sisters, that an apprentice sized cat like her was considered the Healer.

"What are you talking about?" Ravenheart asked, "The Healer here is the leader. And as you can tell that would be me."

"No it wouldn't," Icepool protested, "The Healer here is also like the clan medicine cat. And you were never leader. I've been leader ever since we left the lake. You just want to take this opportunity to become the leader, when in reality, if you became leader you'd guide us to nowhere since you can't get StarClans help."

Apparently Ravenheart admitted defeat and sat down, letting out a hiss of frustration. But she just followed the cave guards and the others to their temporary nests.

Icepool followed Stoneteller into the Cave of Pointed Stones and saw tons of stones pointing from the ground and the sealing. There were also many pools of water on the ground. She pricked her ears and could hear voices, but not of StarClan, of ancestors she had never known. But then she herd a voice that seemed familiar. It was a sweet voice, but she couldn't figure out who it was.

"Over here," Stoneteller called. He was by a larger rock in the center. He put his paw in the water and seemed to drift to sleep. Icepool did the same and felt the same cold rush run through her as at the moonpool.

When she opened her eyes, she was on the small hill by the forest that they had sunned on just that morning. On the hill was a silver tabby she-cat. She twitched her tail for her to come closer. As Icepool walked forward, she could recognize Feathertail.

"Feathertail," Icepool dipped her head to the RiverClan she-cat, "How has it been going?"

"Well I guess," She said, "and Rainstar had me tell you you're on the right track. But you will have a detour in your travel."

"What kind of detour?"

"Mothermouth," she said, "It's in danger. The twolegs are fussing about how they believe that a valuable stone in deep inside and they are going to dig it out."

"But we don't use the Moonstone anymore, why do we have to go and rescue it?"

"The Moonstones power is slowly being taken to the moonpool, but it has not finished transferring yet. So if the twolegs take it now the moonpool will never reach its full potential."

"So how do I save it?"

"You have to travel to Mothermouth with the moonpool water, and then the water will destroy the stone and absorb its power. That way the twolegs won't damage anything."

Before Icepool could question her further, she disappeared and she was lying down the Cave of Pointed Stones again. Stoneteller was standing over her with a warm look in his eyes.

"Come," he said, "I will show you to your nest."