Chapter 25

A few days have passed since Icefur's encounter with the rogues and getting a new apprentice. So far, she already explored the territory with Maplepaw and taught her some basics of hunting and fighting. Now, they were in a border patrol with Snowpelt, Rockpaw and Dustfoot. The sun was going down and this was also the first patrol Icefur was leading and she struggled to hide her nervousness in front of the apprentices.

"Where to next?" Dustfoot asked Icefur. They were at the edge of the territory by Shadowclan, opposite of where Fourtrees was.

Icefur noticed all eyes were on her so she had to think fast. "Uh, we keep going down the Shadowclan border to refresh the scent markers. Then we do the same for Riverclan." She noticed the cats didn't look content with her answer. They probably already guessed everything she said before she said it and wanted more detail.

"I'll show you on the way," she muttered with a fake smile and started walking while the others followed. Maplepaw caught up to Icefur as they walked through the icy moor.

"So why do we have to cover so much land when we're on a border patrol?" the small apprentice asked. "Why can't another patrol do it?"

Icefur was glad she actually knew the answer to this. "We need most of the cats to hunt. It may take more time, but having one patrol at a time uses up fewer cats that could be hunting for the clan. But this job is still very important," she replied, remembering Stormtooth saying almost the exact same words to her. Maplepaw nodded and they continued on.

For the rest of the patrol, Icefur was worried about how the other cats thought about her. Could they tell she was nervous? Did they think she was too unsure? These thoughts were bothering her for a while until she finally decided to not worry about it and focus on the patrol and answering Maplepaw's questions.

The sun was setting when they were done patrolling. Icefur was glad to see camp in the distance. When they got to camp, Icefur told Maplepaw to check with the elders before getting some prey and they she would have the rest of the night off.

Icefur went and sat down in her nest. Border patrols were always tiring. Icefur sat and watched the sun disappear behind the mountains, thinking about the next day. She already knew what she planned to do but it didn't involve her apprentice this time.

A few days ago, some loners told Icefur someone moved into the barn and were kicking out any cats who went there. She shouldn't care but the barn was once her home and she refused to sit back and let someone abuse it. Icefur planned to leave camp the next morning and go there. She will talk to the cat and tell them to stop or leave. And she planned to go alone.

But Icefur knew she needed something for Maplepaw to do. She thought about it for a moment and decided. Maplepaw will just have to tag along with Snowpelt and Rockpaw without her.

Icefur sighed. She deeply hoped Maplepaw thought she was a good mentor. She wished she could just go up to the apprentice and ask, but that would probably be somewhat awkward.

The white she-cat watched as more and more warriors came over, ready to go to sleep. More joined them once the sun was completely down. Icefur knew she should be trying to get some sleep too, but something kept her awake. Because she was unable to figure out what it was, she decided to go for a walk.

Icefur quietly stepped out of her nest and away from the warrior area. About to leave camp, she noticed Rockpaw, Maplepaw and Gravelstone talking. Gravelstone was their father, so it made perfect sense. The deputy walked away and Rockpaw and Maplepaw continued talking. Icefur was already heading in their direction, so she decided to say hi on the way out.

Icefur was apparently more tired than she thought she was. The white she-cat hit her paw against a rock as she walked. The she-cat paused, trying to wait for the pain to go away. Once it began to disappear, she tried walking again but her paw was still hurt. She found herself falling over and into a bush.

She noticed the talking stopped. Well that didn't need to happen, Icefur thought to herself. She sat in the bush, waiting for her paw to feel better but couldn't help but overhear Maplepaw and Rockpaw talking.

"So what do you think of Snowpelt?" Maplepaw asked this to her brother.

"I think he's a good mentor," Rockpaw replied. "He's not boring or mean and lets me try things out for myself. How do you feel about Icefur?"

"She's nice," Maplepaw replied shyly.

Nice? That's it? Icefur thought to herself as she sat in the bush in a very uncomfortable position but couldn't help but thank Starclan for the incredible stroke of luck. She was about to get her answer.

"She just seems too nervous about everything. I like her but I don't know why Ashstar chose her. I don't think she wants to be my mentor," Maplepaw continued.

What? Yes I do! I just don't know how to.

"It's only been a few days," Rockpaw pointed out. "Give it time; I'm sure she'll come around."

"You're probably right." Icefur saw Maplepaw looking at her paws as she spoke. She probably didn't believe what her brother said. "I'm getting tired, I'll see you tomorrow."

The two apprentices walked off to their nests. Icefur got out of the bush and shook off the twigs and dead leaves and sighed. Now she knew what she had to do. Icefur had to stop worrying about everything and be a good mentor. She had to be like Stormtooth. But without all the yelling and anger…

Icefur wasn't in the mood to walk anymore. She would still like to wonder around but suddenly lacked the energy to do so. She went back her nest and curled up. Now she to do something with Maplepaw the next day to prove her wrong but she still had to go to the barn. I guess it'll have to wait.

But she did plan to take this more seriously. In fact, if she was going to do this right, she had to have someone cover for her in case anyone asked where she went.

Icefur stood up and looked around at all the sleeping cats.

Who can I trust? Bramblestripe? Definitely. Breeezetail? Of course. Rowanpelt? Completely. But who? Icefur knew she can't tell all three of them but she didn't want to pick one out of her friends. If someone else found out, they might think she didn't trust them. Then she got another idea.

Icefur walked over to the light grey cat and woke him up. "Snowpelt," she whispered. "Wake up."

Snowpelt woke up and looked at her with a groggy expression. "Is it time to train already?" He muttered.

"No, listen to me," she said, finally grabbing his attention. "I'll be gone for a little while tomorrow. If anyone asks, tell them I just went on a patrol by myself. And please take Maplepaw training with you tomorrow," she explained with a hushed tone.

"Alright," he replied half-awake.

Icefur thanked him and went back to her nest to get some sleep.

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When Icefur woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was getting something to eat. Afterwards, she noticed Maplepaw, Rockpaw and Snowpelt talking. She figured they were talking about going hunting or something and walked in the other direction, out of camp.

If anyone watched Icefur leave, they would guess she was going to the center of the territory. But instead, but would be circling around the camp so no one would know where she was actually heading.

As she walked through the snow on the ground, Icefur watched the camp as she passed by. It was far away but she wondered if anyone could see her.

As Icefur continued on, she began to get the feeling she wasn't alone. Like someone was following her. If that was true, then it was probably someone from camp wondering where she was going.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard someone jump in a nearby bush. Icefur calmly turned to the bush. "I know you're in there," she said. "Come out."

The cat who emerged from the bush was one Icefur did not expect; it was Maplepaw.

"Maplepaw, why are you following me?" She asked firmly.

"I thought it was strange you weren't going training with us. I saw you leave and followed," Maplepaw replied, probably thinking she was in trouble.

"What did you say to Snowpelt?

"I asked him if I could check up on the elders and told them to go ahead."

Icefur sighed. "Well you should go back to camp."

"But I want to know what you're doing," the apprentice said. "Remember it's your fault we aren't training."

Icefur narrowed her eyes but inside, she wanted to laugh. Maplepaw reminded her of herself. "What I'm doing is none of your business."

"Please?" Maplepaw asked her mentor.

The warrior shook her head again, followed by more begging from Maplepaw which dragged on for some time before Icefur finally agreed.

"Fine," Icefur sighed, knowing Maplepaw would be hard to get rid of. She was wasting time by arguing about it. If she said no, the apprentice would probably just follow her again. "But don't get used to it."

As the two she-cats walked, Icefur realized it wasn't such a bad thing Maplepaw joined. At least now Icefur will be able to act like a mentor like she wanted to the night before.

While they walked through the snow, Icefur explained to Maplepaw was exactly she was doing until they noticed the barn in the distance.

"There it is," Icefur muttered. "I used to live there."

They ran forward until they reached the old barn. "What now?" Maplepaw asked. "Do we go in?"

"Not yet," Icefur muttered. "I want to go look at something. Wait here." As she spoke, Icefur was looking up at the nearby hill. It was covered in plants with one large tree at the top. She remembered climbing up there so often with her sister as kits.

Icefur left Maplepaw and walked up the hill. As she walked past certain landmarks, she couldn't help but think about all the good times Cloudheart and she had. It felt so long ago.

When Icefur got to the top, she remembered the latest memory of the hill; the day the sisters dragged their parents' bodies up to the top. She wasn't surprised to see the bodies were gone, as if it never happened.

When she looked in the spot where the bodies once were, she realized something. When Cloudheart died, she was absolutely devastated. When her parents died, she was sad but it didn't feel as intense. Perhaps when she was a kit, Icefur didn't really understand what death meant.

She wanted to stay up on the hill longer but knew Maplepaw was waiting for her. Icefur sighed and walked back down.

Maplepaw was sitting right where she left her. To be honest, Icefur was surprised, half expecting the apprentice to run off the moment her back was turned.

"Okay, let's go in now. Remember, we aren't looking for a fight." Maplepaw nodded and they walked through the barn door. It was never shut all the way during the day.

It felt so strange to be back inside the barn for Icefur. For some reason, it seemed much darker inside then she remembered. "Hello?" She called into the barn. "We're looking for the cat who lives here!"

There was no reply. Icefur and Maplepaw looked around for any cat but they didn't see anyone. "Anyone home?"

And suddenly, they heard a voice. "What do you want?" The toms' voice was dark and hostile.

The voice was almost familiar. "Are you the one who lives here?" Icefur asked, unsure of where the voice came from. There was no reply so she took that for a yes. "We can to ask you to stop chasing out other cats'. I used to live here and the barn is supposed to welcome any cat who wants to stay in peace.

"I can't do that," the tom replied. Icefur couldn't pinpoint his location exactly but she knew he was hiding in the shadows somewhere.

"Why not?" Icefur asked, angry at the cats' stubbornness.

"I will not allow strangers to get in my way. I won't be here long but he more interruptions I get, the longer I will be forced to stay."

Icefur really didn't want to fight at the moment so she was hoping there was a way to work something out with the mysterious cat. "How long will you stay here?"

"Not long," the cat replied casually. "Two, maybe three moons."

"I don't think that'll work," Icefur growled. "Cats are always wondering this area. If I meet any in that time that says you chased them out, I will bring a whole patrol here to chase you out!" Icefur didn't really like threatening others but this was serious to her.

It seemed like the unknown tom didn't want to fight either. "I'm sure everything will work out just fine. Once I leave, I will never have a reason to come back here again."

Icefur sighed. "I suppose that'll work…" She still didn't like that the cat was kicking out travelers. She would like to do the same to the tom but if she did, she would be no better than him.

"Great; good-bye. You don't want to keep Windclan waiting."

Icefur and Maplepaw walked out of the barn. "That was weird," Maplepaw muttered.

"Yeah I know," Icefur agreed.

"I wonder how he knew we were from Windclan."

"He probably just guessed or the scent, since we are the closest clan," Icefur replied but she wondered too. But the warrior pushed the thought aside and they started walking back to camp.

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When Icefur and Maplepaw returned to camp, they spotted a crowd was gathered in the center. "What do you think that's about?" Maplepaw asked.

"Let's go find out." Icefur and Maplepaw walked into the crowd until they reached the center. They saw Heatherwish was looking at a pile of snow. "What's going on?"

"Come over here and see for yourself," Heatherwish replied. Icefur and Maplepaw walked around the snow and next to the medicine cat. They followed her gaze at the snow and saw what she meant. There was an area in the snow where the snow has melted and in the middle of it, there was a picture of something. It looked like a cloud.

"What does it mean?" Icefur asked.

"We think it's an omen sent from Starclan. Under the cloud, there are small specs of snow. We think it's warning us about a snowstorm."

Icefur looked at the cloud again. For some reason, it made her shiver. Because Windclan didn't have any trees, a Snowstorm would do a lot of damage."

"When will this happen?" It was Maplepaw who asked.

Ashstar spoke up now. "We can't be sure. But when it does happen, we have to be ready."

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A/N: I plan to write the next few chapters pretty quickly. I am so excited to get to my 'event.' And you guys should be too. =D

Anyway, it may seem like that thing with the cat in the barn wasn't really finished. Maybe you're thinking, "How could Icefur be okay with that? Why didn't she do anything?" I intended to but honestly, I just wanted to get this chapter finished. But do not think that part was pointless…

Well, thanks for reading and please review! ^_^

Have a nice day~