"Tribemates!"
Snow That Gathers In Clouds looked up to see Eagle bounding out of Stoneteller's den.
"We have found the savior!" Eagle announced, looking pleased with himself.
Stream followed timidly, looking with admiration at the gray tabby tom. The to-be rolled her eyes as she saw the silver tabby gush over him again. A small ginger tom followed both of them out, his eyes on the ground.
That's the savior? Snow wrinkled her nose.
"Snow!"
She looked up and saw her brother rushing towards her.
"This is our chance!" Storm hissed under his breath. "This-this savior; he could be our chance to get out of here! Maybe the Tribe of Endless Hunting sent him for us!"
Snow huffed. "I really doubt our ancestors sent him. He's the savior! He's not going to save two little to-bes!"
Storm opened his mouth to argue, but was interrupted by Eagle's yowling.
"Snow!" The cave-guard summoned her.
Shooting a glare at her brother, the pure white she-cat padded towards Eagle.
"It is now your responsibility to care for the savior," Eagle told her. "Take care of him and cater to his needs."
Snow nodded and groaned inwardly. The savior met her gaze and she was mesmerized by the deepness of his green eyes. She blushed as he looked away and gestured to the red tom and he followed her, a glint in his eyes. Somehow, he seemed familiar. He wasn't the other red tom they had seen before, but she knew she'd seen him…
"Gingerpaw?" Snow exclaimed quietly, careful not to disrupt the meeting, "You're the savior?"
The tom nodded meekly. "I guess so."
"Wow," Snow breathed.
Storm Clouds in Night Sky rushed towards them. "Yes! Now we can make the plan work."
Snow faced her brother. "Hold on, kitty. We haven't even agreed with the plan."
"What plan?" Gingerpaw asked, an adventurous look appearing in his green eyes.
"We have to get out of here!" Storm burst. "This is no place for cats and Stoneteller is just a stupi—"
"Hey, he's our Healer," Snow quickly interrupted. "But, he's right. We don't belong here. Take us with you!"
Gingerpaw nodded. "I'll try." He gazed at the pretty she-cat.
Feeling uncomfortable at his stare, she quickly led him towards the to-be part of the cave. "You can make your nest here."
Gingerpaw shook his head. "I won't need a nest. We're getting out tonight."
"You really think so?" Snow whispered, admiration filling in her eyes.
"I know so," he declared.
"Hey, hey, wake up," Gingerpaw muttered, prodding Snow gently.
The pretty she-cat raised her head and looked around in confusion. She met his gaze and held it for a heartbeat.
"It's time," Storm appeared behind him.
Snow picked her way out of her nest delicately, not wanting to disturb Moon and Shadow. Carefully, she held her breath and gazed around at the sleeping Tribe. They quietly slunk out of the cave and Snow That Gathers in Clouds flinched as her paw disturbed a stone. The stone plinked its way across the camp, sliding to a halt in front of Eagle's nose.
Storm glanced back and saw the commotion and nudged Gingerpaw. They all watched, helpless, as Eagle stretched in his sleep and the cold, hard stone hit his face. The cave-guard flinched and opened his eyes, seeing the young cats.
"The savior is escaping!" Eagle yowled, alerting the Tribe.
"Go!" Storm shoved Snow out of the cave.
They fled out of the exit tunnel and Gingerpaw called over his shoulder, "Which way?"
"I'll take the lead," Storm panted and sprinted in front of him.
Yowling followed him, and Snow looked back to see cave-guards and prey-hunters chasing them. Stoneteller had even joined the chase, his white pelt flashing in the darkness. Snow felt a pang at their similar coloring, reminding her that he was her father.
"Stop!" Stoneteller hollered, but the Storm kept on sprinting.
"We have to get out of here," Snow gasped, as she felt the breath of Eagle on her haunches.
Claws scraped her and she pulled on an extra boost of speed.
"How could you betray your Tribe?" Stoneteller screeched.
Storm skidded to a stop as he faced their father. "There's nothing left for us here. Our mother is gone and you're nothing to us!" he spat.
"I'm your father," Stoneteller meowed gently, blinking at the young tom.
"You've never been my father!" Storm accused him and leapt onto the white tom.
His claws came out and Snow flinched at the spray of blood. Stoneteller tried to fight back, but he had been sitting in a cave for moons; out of shape. Eagle tried to push his way towards his Healer, spitting at Gingerpaw, "You're no savior."
Snow couldn't take this any more. Her own kin was fighting! "Stop!" she cried.
At her call, Storm broke off, glaring at his sister.
"You've committed treason," Eagle growled, stepping in front of his leader. "That crime is punishable by exile."
Gingerpaw stepped in front of the two to-bes. "Stop this bickering!" he scolded them like a mother scolding her kits.
Eagle lunged towards the red tom, but was stopped by Stoneteller.
"Stop," he rasped, "He's th-the savior."
The white tom swooned and fell to the ground. A single shudder passed through him. His eyes glazed over.
"You killed him!" Eagle snarled, shooting a look of pure fury towards Storm.
Storm had a look of confusion and horror on his face. "I b-barely even touched him," he stammered. "He shouldn't be dead."
Hollowness filled in Snow's belly. Although she disliked her father, he was still her father. She wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him.
"It's because of you he's dead," Eagle spat, but his words were meant for Gingerpaw.
"Wha- me?" Gingerpaw exclaimed. "I had nothing to do with it!"
"If you hadn't escaped, Stoneteller would still be alive," Eagle muttered.
Snow knew he was grieving for Stoneteller in his own kind of way.
"He never even named his successor."
A flash of white caught her eye. She looked up and saw a white ghost stepping out of Stoneteller's body.
"Stoneteller," Snow breathed.
"Call me Storm Clouds on the Horizon," he murmured, "Or Storm."
Her brother looked up. "That's where my name came from," he realized.
"Yes, partially. I need to announce my successor. Storm Clouds in Night Sky," the former Stoneteller announced, "from this moment on, you will be known as the Teller of the Echoing Stones. Others will come after you, moon upon moon upon moon. Choose them well, train them well, and trust the future of your Tribe to them."
"I'm just a to-be," Storm protested.
Eagle looked as if he agreed with the young tom.
"That doesn't matter," the ghost replied, "You have shown great courage and leadership skills and I think you will become a great Healer. Lead the Tribe better than I ever did. You would have held your ceremony soon, anyways."
"Thank you," the new Stoneteller dipped his head, "And I'm sorry abou—"
"It's okay," his father interrupted, "I understand now the pain you went through. This is my way of making it right." He turned to Gingerpaw. "Thank you for making me realize what I was doing to my Tribe. You truly are a savior."
Stoneteller dipped his head again and the ghost vanished.
"I welcome you, Stoneteller," Eagle grudgingly extended his paw to his new Healer.
Snow repeated the former greeting, doing the same. It'll never be the same again, she thought sadly. Her brother would be too busy with duties to ever share prey with her again.
"Are you still coming with me?" Gingerpaw asked, scuffling his paws.
Without hesitation, Snow replied, "Yes."
Cinderbird lashed her tail. "Another setback?"
Lighten up, Cinderbird, Daypaw rolled her eyes. Such a worry-woodpecker.
"Well, we can't leave Gingerpaw here," Foxclaw pointed out. "We have to go get him."
"Wait," Berryoak started, staring off into the distance.
"W-what?" Duskblossom followed his gaze, unsure of what he was mentioning.
"Look," he breathed.
A red cat was appearing on the horizon. Another white cat was following him.
"Is he being chased?" Cinderbird asked.
"Of course he's not," Daypaw snapped, looking for a way to ruffle her whiskers.
"You don't know that," Cinderbird retorted to the apprentice.
"Can you two stop bickering like a bunch of kits?" Berryoak ordered, turning back to Gingerpaw and the unfamiliar white cat.
"Is that," Daypaw squinted, "Snow?"
"Yes, Daypaw, we're in the mountains. You should know by now that there's snow," Cinderbird rolled her eyes.
"No, you fish-brain. Snow, the to-be."
"Oh," Cinderbird looked slightly embarrassed.
"Gingerpaw!" Daypaw let out a trill of welcome as the red apprentice came into earshot.
He put on an extra boost of speed and skidded to a stop in front of his Clanmates.
"Why is she with you?" Cloudfish asked, narrowing his eyes at the young she-cat.
"She wanted to come," Gingerpaw's fur fluffed up defensively.
Snow dipped her head. "If you'll have me."
"Of course not!" Cinderbird exploded, "You took Gin—"
"We'd love to have you," Berryoak smoothly interrupted, shooting a glare at the gray she-cat. "Welcome to IceClan."
I have an announcement. The next chapter will be the last chapter of On Thin Ice. (Of course if it goes like all of the mountain chapters, we have about 20 more chapters to go XD) I'm sad/happy. Actually mostly happy, because today is a great day.
HAPPY MAY THE FOURTH! may the fourth be with you. *bows head and pulls out a lightsaber* And in case I don't post tomorrow, HAPPY MAY THE FIFTH/SITH! my gosh, I love Star Wars. And JAR-JAR! (y'know, even though he was responsible for Palpatine taking over the senate, but detail, shmetails (haha shme)) If you're a Star Wars fan, you'll get it. ;) Ok, sorry 'bout that.
Rando review time!
Mintflight0245- Thank you! Yeah, I could not think of an ending for the mountains, because I knew the Feathertail thingy was old, and all of my ideas involved... death. :P Right, I mean moms don't get it. She usually asks me, "Don't you get tired of PBJs?" I'm like *weird look* "Why would I?" XD Thank you so much for your review!
Grayshadow Warrior- Tribeenized? XD I don't know either. Ok, so when your review came in to my inbox, it said, "Eagle's a total j***." So I was like, ummm bad words that start with a j? Hmmm. And then I read it on the website and it was jerk. It made me laugh, sorry. XD. Maybe they do roll in glitter... Anyhoo, thank you so much for your review!
XxAsenaxX- Thank you for your review! It reallly means a lot! :)
MedicineCatsRule- Thank you for your review, and good luck on your story! Yeah, I write my stories on Pages, so I bet you'll be able to write them on Google Docs. I just copy-and-paste and it works :). Thank you for your advice, too!
Thanks for reading and happy reading! Please make sure to review ;) And, if everybody reviews, I'll reveal the name of the sequel :)
~Poppyfrost123 :)