"Yes, God is love, but God is just, And we are separated in our darkness, So God let Him who knew no sin, To become sin to make us right with Him, Its not about religion or earning Gods forgiveness, Or magic prayers or new behavior, Its all about your heart, Hell meet you where you are, Turn from your sin and trust in Christ as Lord..." - Love You With The Truth, Casting Crowns

I get to see this amazing band in concert again! So looking forward to March... Yep, I'm a die-hard Crowns fan :P Deal with it!

Cookies and Cream - Yep, Icepaw's in for the shock of her life. Thanks for reviewing!

Chapter 10

I'm the daughter of a StreamClan cat. I'm nothing more than a mistake.

Everyone was glaring at her. The secret was out. And they all blamed the fights between StreamClan and MoonClan on her. Even her littermates were glaring at her. The Clan didn't even bother explaining why they weren't getting in trouble.

"You don't deserve to live, HalfClan," Nettlepelt sneered.

Icepaw's stomach clenched with pain as she watched the cats approach her. Most of them seemed more than happy ripping her to shreds. Her own mentor was glaring at her with a look of hatred.

"You're nothing but a traitor!" Icepaw flinched when Rowanfire spat the words. Why were they always the ones causing problems?

"Icepaw!" She nearly leaped out of her fur when someone yowled her name. "Icepaw, wake up!"

The yowl made her blink in surprise. Heartbeats later and she found herself back in the apprentice's den. Cloudpaw was staring at her in alarm. She didn't even realize that Petalpaw and Sunpaw were in the den as well until Sunpaw made some kind of coughing noise.

"You were having a nightmare," Cloudpaw explained when Icepaw finally got to her paws.

"Did... did I say anything in my sleep?" Worry clouded Icepaw's thoughts.

If she had said something, than the secret really would be out. She could imagine the Clan would not be happy when they found out the truth. Her worry was quickly replaced with relief when Cloudpaw shook her head. Thankfully all three apprentices had only heard a few mutterings here and there.

Icepaw shook off scraps of moss and padded out of the cave. Her legs were still trembling from the shock of the dream. It had felt so real. From the chilling glares to the hostile yowls that followed. Everyone wanted her out of the Clan. But for some reason they didn't accuse Fogpaw or Cloudpaw of treachery.

She spotted Raincloud sitting with Shadepelt once she was outside the apprentice's den. Both cats looked more than worried. Icepaw's fur bristled slightly when Shadepelt looked at her anxiously. The two of them knew more than they were letting on.

Trying to ignore the two, Icepaw grabbed a shrew from the fresh-kill pile and sat alone. Her thoughts were churning with anxiety as she tried to push them away. If the Clan ever did find out, she didn't know what she would do. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

"Hey Icepaw, you look more down than usual," Cloudpaw mewed after joining her. Icepaw rolled her eyes when she noticed the mouse between Cloudpaw's paws. "Did something bad happen in your nightmare?"

She finally locked gazes with her over-worried sister. Cloudpaw had a tendency to care more than others. It was the one trait that irritated Icepaw more than anything. But she could understand why her sister was so worried.

"Look, it was just a nightmare," she sighed. "There was nothing complex about it... just another bad dream." Cloudpaw stared at her doubtfully. "I'll be fine," she added warily.

"You don't look fine," Cloudpaw mumbled.

Before she could say anything else, she was approached by Willowflame. The pale orange cat took her out for battle training, eager to get the day started. Icepaw's shoulders sagged with relief when they left. She wasn't sure how silent she could remain about the secret with Cloudpaw there.

"Icepaw, we're going out with the sunhigh patrol," Raincloud announced when she was finished speaking to Shadepelt.

"That's fine by me," she mewed as carefully as she could. Raincloud's eyes flashed with worry before she joined Poppyfoot and Featherstorm. The MoonClan deputy looked more than at home with the two she-cats. Icepaw guessed that it was hard giving up the life Poppyfoot once had as a queen.

You don't have to worry about organizing patrols or becoming the next leader, Icepaw thought. But that's what I want, more than anything!

She desperately wanted to be leader of a Clan. But after finding out the truth behind her parentage, she wasn't sure if that was possible. The Clan would never accept her. She was just another mistake in the eyes of StarClan.

With a sigh of frustration, Icepaw got to her paws and joined the waiting sunhigh patrol. Raincloud looked more impatient than usual. Much to Icepaw's dismay, Poppyfoot was joining them with Petalpaw at her side. The tortoiseshell's she-cat's eyes narrowed when she caught sight of Icepaw.

"We're patrolling the SunClan border this time," Poppyfoot explained as she took the lead. Icepaw couldn't help but notice that Raincloud had stiffened at the mention of SunClan. "I've already set out patrols for the StreamClan border and the FireClan border," she added as if nothing had happened.

Icepaw's tail flicked from side to side as she followed them. From what she could tell, SunClan would have recovered from the shock of Fernclaw's return. The old medicine cat had found the Gathering place. And there were tensions between her and Floodstar. Icepaw didn't miss the look of disdain flashing in Floodstar's eyes when he spoke to the medicine cat.

"I wonder how SunClan's doing since their medicine cat returned," Petalpaw mewed as if she had read Icepaw's thoughts.

"Hopefully they will accept her," Raincloud murmured. Petalpaw shot the older she-cat an odd look. "When we were with them, Floodstar blamed everything that had happened on her. He believes that she's the reason so many cats died." Understanding lit in Petalpaw's eyes.

She may act like a mousebrain, but she is smart, Icepaw realized.

"It looks as though that hasn't stopped them from marking the border," Poppyfoot growled. Icepaw followed her gaze to see that she was right.

Along the ridge of the valley lay a vast forest. That part of the forest had been claimed by SunClan. And the ridge was covered by gorse and heather bushes. Icepaw's nose wrinkled when she realized that SunClan had left their stink all over the border.

"They're taking precaution," Raincloud meowed. It sounded more like she was trying to defend them. Icepaw tried not to roll her eyes at Raincloud's submissive attitude. "With the hidden messages Sandstar left, who could blame them?" she added when Poppyfoot gave her a look of surprise.

"Just the same, we better report this to Oakstar," she muttered. "The last thing we need is more fights over border rights."

With that being said, she turned and left the border in peace. Icepaw glanced over her shoulder warily. Her eyes widened when she thought she saw someone hiding within the bushes. A pair of bright amber eyes gleamed in the shadows.

Anxiety crept over Icepaw. She padded a little faster to keep up with the patrol. Petalpaw gave her a look of amusement when she noticed how nervous Icepaw was.

"What's the matter, see your own shadow?" she sneered.

"No, I saw yours," Icepaw snapped.

Petalpaw's eyes narrowed in outrage. She didn't have a chance to respond. Poppyfoot had called her forward to keep an eye on the path ahead. Icepaw smirked as the older apprentice marched past her. She always had a way of getting under Petalpaw's skin.

"One of these days she's going to shred your ears off," Raincloud muttered in a low warning.

"I'd like to see her try," Icepaw hissed. "She's so full of herself."

"Icepaw, picking fights with others isn't going to get you anywhere in your training," Raincloud told her. "If you keep this up you will never become a warrior." The edge in her tone told Icepaw there was another reason behind her not becoming a warrior.

"That's not the real reason, is it?" Icepaw shot her mentor a cold look as they came to a full stop. Poppyfoot and Petalpaw were well ahead. And Icepaw could care less. She glared at Raincloud as her mentor remained oddly silent.

"Oakstar doesn't know the truth," Raincloud replied in a softer voice. She was making sure that the others didn't hear them. "Icepaw, the Clan doesn't need to know the truth. It would only cause hurt between Clanmates. And I don't believe you would want to be the reason behind that."

Icepaw finally looked down at her paws. She knew that Raincloud was right. The last thing she wanted was to create a rift between Clanmates. A few cats had already created their own group. Rowanfire and Nettlepelt were part of their own group. Raincloud followed Featherstorm and Oakstar as if they were more than kin.

"So who is my father?" she finally asked. Raincloud looked taken aback by her question. She quickly recovered and flicked her tail across Icepaw's shoulder.

"When the right time comes, you will know," she meowed.

Confusion swept through Icepaw as Raincloud went on ahead. That wasn't much of an answer. Icepaw's claws unsheathed when she realized that she would have to find out on her own.

Fine. She would do whatever it took to find out who her father was. Or is. Now she was more determined than ever to find out the truth. Even if it meant telling everyone in the Clan.

AN: So these last couple of chapters have kind of been fillers... the real action will begin in a couple of chapters, give or take. Please let me know what you thought of it in a review! :)