Chapter Seven

Mistypaw's condition was not the best. One of the scratches that the WindClan cats had given her was very deep. I noticed that Ebonypaw spent a lot of time with his sister, bringing her fresh-kill and talking about how annoying Rosepaw was.

In the meantime, I had other things to worry about. I knew that Iciclestar had either been sent from Flamestorm to kill me, or that Iciclestar was Flamestorm. Neither of the theories made any sense, but it was all I could think of. I sent constant patrols near the RiverClan border just to be prepared, because I knew that Iciclestar would try with all her will to bring me down.

Newleaf was coming soon. The snow was slowly melting and flowers were blooming again. Even though we had been catching many prey in the forest, I knew that newleaf would bring so many more.

I returned from the patrol with Barkstorm and Ebonypaw. The young black apprentice rushed up to the fresh-kill pile and dropped some of his prey, then selected a mouse and padded toward the medicine cat's den. I caught up with him.

"Ebonypaw," I mewed and the tom turned around. "I'm very sorry that I wouldn't let you help rescue Mistypaw."

Ebonypaw narrowed his amber eyes.

"I had two things happening at once," I explained, sitting down and curling my tail around my paws. "The RiverClan invasion, and Mistypaw. I'm still new at this," I added, showing weakness for the first time. I hoped that if Ebonypaw noticed that I was admitting that I wasn't used to being leader, he would let me off easier.

I wasn't so lucky. The dark gray tom stuck his face in mind and hissed, "Barkstorm told me that Mistypaw was awake when they found her. If she had had her brother beside her, she probably wouldn't be in such a state of shock." A gleam appeared in his eyes. "I'm going to find out what she was doing, and I'm sure that you have something to do with it!" And he turned around and headed toward the medicine cat's den.

Well, that could have gone better, I thought as I padded away. But I had to warn Nightcloud about what Ebonypaw was planning to do. I headed toward the warriors' den and was relieved to find my dark-pelted son inside, washing himself.

"Nightcloud," I mewed, sitting down, "Ebonypaw's trying to figure out what Mistypaw was doing when she was attacked. You'll have to watch out."

Nightcloud didn't look up. He shrugged. "An apprentice will never find out," he meowed.

"Ebonypaw's very smart," I snapped. "He might figure it out."

"Even if he does and tells the whole Clan, I'm not going to stop seeing Snowfrost," he told me.

I whipped around sharply in frustration. "Fine," I mewed, "but pretty soon, you'll have to decide where you belong."

I exited the warriors' den, fuming. Was Nightcloud really that stupid? I turned around to talk to Dragonheart and nearly ran into Dovekit. Even though she was about a moon old now, Dovekit's speech was getting much better.

"Glacierstar," she mewed, "you will encounter a rogue on darkness's border." And she padded away.

What the…I turned around to ask what in StarClan's name she meant, but Dovekit was already gone. Feeling mystified and confused, I headed over to speak to Dragonheart.

"That was weird," whispered the gray, black, and ginger she-cat.

"I know," I agreed. "Dovekit is strange, isn't she?"

"It almost sounded like a prophecy," mewed Dragonheart. "Maybe Dovekit was just playing around."

"What are you whispering about?" I looked up and recognized Graytail's silver fur with white patches. I was about to answer when he sneered, "Plotting to run away, loners and kittypets? Going to leave us?"

Dragonheart said some words I didn't even know she knew. Graytail, in return, scowled and walked away.

The next few days in ThunderClan camp were not exactly enjoyable. Mistypaw's condition was steadily getting better, and Graytail's comments were getting more and more insulting because I had lost a life in my first battle as leader.

The good news was our apprentices' training was going very well – Fangpaw, Squirreltail's apprentice, would be made a warrior very soon. On the first day of newleaf, when all the snow was melted, I made him a warrior at sunhigh.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join me beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" I called. My Clan left their duties and came over to sit in the clearing below me.

I swallowed nervously. This would be the first time I had made an apprentice a warrior since becoming leader. "A certain apprentice has proven himself worthy for the name of a true warrior," I announced, and searched the crowd for Fangpaw. I spotted the light brown tom sitting with his pelt groomed sleekly, and I flicked my tail at the older apprentice to sit beside me.

Fangpaw came up, his head raised confidently. I turned my head up toward the sky and yowled, "I, Glacierstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn."

I stared down at the excited tom and mewed, "Fangpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your own life?"

Fangpaw nodded eagerly. "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name: Fangpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Fangmouth. StarClan honors your determination and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

I bent down to allow Fangmouth to rest his head on mine as the Clan cheered his new name. "Fangmouth! Fangmouth!"

He came down from the Highrock and sat in the middle of the clearing, pretending to sit vigil. Fangmouth's old denmates, the apprentices, came over to congradulate him.

I padded over to Skyfoot and Ashenwind, who were sharing tongues nearby. "Want to go on a patrol?" I asked them.

"Sure," replied Ashenwind, but Skyfoot stayed silent. I knew he must have felt guilty after what had happened to his apprentice, Mistypaw, and I hoped that asking him to go on a patrol with the leader would let him know I didn't blame him.

"Go get Creampaw," I mewed to Ashenwind, who sprang to her feet and left to go get my apprentice. "Skyfoot, what happened was completely not your fault, you know. You never could have known that Mistypaw was going to get up that early, and do whatever she was doing…" I really hated lying. Nightcloud, why did you have to start this?

Skyfoot shrugged. "I don't feel that way. It just bothers me that I have no idea what she was doing at the time, and I'm supposed to be her mentor."

I swallowed hard. "I – I don't know what she was doing, either," I mewed nervously.

At that moment, Ashenwind chose the time to appear with a very excited Creampaw. It was an honor to go on a patrol with the more experienced warriors. We walked out of the camp, Creampaw far in the lead.

"Creampaw, save your energy," I called. "You can't get tired already, you know."

Creampaw halted in front of a fallen log and waited for us.

"Where do you want to go?" asked Skyfoot.

Not by RiverClan's border, I thought. I had been carefully avoiding that area since I had learned about Iciclestar. "Let's go look by the great sycamore," I mewed. "The hunting's supposed to be good there, anyway."

The other three agreed. We padded slowly there, conserving our energy, and stepped into the clearing with no trees. I sniffed around and was relieved when I tasted the scent of prey.

"Hey!"

It was Creampaw. His tail was fluffed out and he was staring at something close by.

"Those are ShadowClan cats!" he cried. "And they're taking prey!"

That got my attention. I whipped around and rushed forward, recognizing the four ShadowClan cats who were stealing prey: Greenclaw, Darkfur, and Whiteface. I ran after them as they bolted toward their territory, and I could see prey in their jaws.

The cats were much too fast, but I wouldn't let borders stop me from clawing their ears off. I waited for a monster to pass before dashing across the Thunderpath to catch up with the cats, but they were already gone.

"Mousedung!" It was Creampaw, just coming up beside me with Skyfoot and Ashenwind. "We lost them."

I scowled. "I'll have something to discuss with Talonstar," I growled. "Cats stealing prey, I don't believe it –"

An angry meow sounded from the bushes behind us. I leapt up in shock and whipped around – an unknown white she-cat was standing there, hissing.

"You're on ShadowClan territory!" she snapped. "Get off!" I admired her courage. There were four of us, one of her. But judging by the dropped herbs nearby, this cat was a medicine cat.

"Sorry," I mewed, dipping my head. "I didn't know that ShadowClan had a new medicine cat."

She snarled at me. "Stuff it, Glacierstar," leered the she-cat. "You're from out of the forest, too, aren't you? Loner? I'm a rogue."

"Who are you?" asked Ashenwind.

The former rogue glared. "Flowertail," she snapped, her sharp green eyes leering at me. "Get out of here, Glacierstar, you heap of foxdung!" cried Flowertail, kneading her claws against the earth. "I'd do well to slice your ears off, but you're going to be destroyed anyway –"

I gaped at her. "What?"

"Get out!" Flowertail hissed at us, slashing her claws. "Get out, get out –"

We fled, not wanting to anger the she-cat any further. I waited at the Thunderpath as another monster went rushing by, making the ground shake. I hastily crossed, with Ashenwind, Skyfoot, and Creampaw right behind me. Creampaw stopped once we were back in our territory and gave his white fur a quick, nervous lick.

"She was rude," he mewed.

"Definitely," agreed Ashenwind with a disgusted grunt. "I can't believe that ShadowClan keeps taking in rogue cats. Boulder, now Flowertail…"

I was barely listening. My mind was completely focused on what Flowertail had said back there – what about the 'you're going to be destroyed anyway.' I felt a cold shiver run through me, and I had a flash of what Dovekit had said to me only two sunrises ago.

My head snapped up. Maybe, that little, fluffy white kit, was somehow a link with StarClan.

After that little episode, I was keeping a very good eye on Dovekit. But the kit never made any sign that she might be a link with our ancestors - she was acting just like a normal, happy, playful kit. I wanted to ask her about it, but I didn't want to trouble her.

About half a moon later, on the day of the next Gathering, Sprucecloud gave birth to three healthy toms. Crimsonkit, Flickerkit, and Hazekit were their names, two ginger and one gray kit. There were now quite a lot of kits in the nursery.

I named a few cats to come to the Gathering with me. I wanted to make sure that the camp was well guarded in case Iciclestar decided to give me another warning. I was not looking forward to seeing her again.

But still, I had to find out what the connection was between her and Flamestorm. When ThunderClan was busy talking with the other Clans, I padded away to find Iciclestar before she had time to get to the Highrock.

I spotted the silver she-cat speaking to her deputy, Borealfur, and padded over to the leader of RiverClan.

"Iciclestar," I whispered.

She turned around, and her amber eyes narrowed. "Borealfur, excuse me," mewed Iciclestar. The dark brown tom nodded and padded away. The silver she-cat glared at me. "What?"

"You know perfectly well what," I hissed. "What is your connection with Flamestorm?"

Iciclestar scowled. "Ah. You know about that, do you? Well, I'm not about to tell you Flamestorm's secrets."

I was not finished. "All right then, you won't tell me. How about this: what are you? I'll bet you aren't a loner."

Iciclestar hesitated. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, and for a second I saw a flash in her eyes that was no doubt fear. But she recovered herself quickly. "I told you," snapped Iciclestar, "I am a loner. Nothing else."

I grunted and turned away. It wouldn't matter; I'd find out soon enough. The meeting was starting very soon, so I joined Talonstar and Crowstar up on the Highrock, with Iciclestar not far behind. I gave Talonstar a very dirty look but wouldn't challenge him until they all had had a chance to speak.

Crowstar stepped forward first. "An apprentice has been made a warrior," began the dark gray tom as the Clans murmured their congradulations. "Twirlpaw has become Twirlstripe." I spotted the new tabby warrior in the crowd, staring down at his paws in an embarrassed sort of way. "Clans should also be warned of foxes that were by the river when we were passing by. They attacked us, but no harm was done."

So there was a fox by the river. The ThunderClan cats would always have to cross it when going to a Gathering and back. We'd have to be extra careful.

I was eager to speak when Crowstar was done, but Iciclestar took my place first. She too spoke about the dogs and about a new apprentice, and then it was it was my turn. I took it before Talonstar could move.

"We have a new warrior with us today," I announced, getting used to speaking at a Gathering. "Fangmouth, who has just earned his warrior name a few nights ago, is now a full warrior in ThunderClan." Cats cheered for Fangmouth.

I decided not to mention the RiverClan invasion a few weeks ago. Iciclestar was our problem, not the other Clans'. But as for ShadowClan, if they were willing to steal to get food, then the other Clans needed to know about it. "Not only that," I added, "but just a couple days ago, three ShadowClan warriors were caught stealing prey on ThunderClan territory."

Howls out outrage came from all four Clans – ThunderClan, for what they had done, WindClan and RiverClan, warning them not to do it on their territory, and ShadowClan – totally disagreeing with me.

Talonstar stepped up to me, his fur bristling with fury. "We never stole anything!" he snapped.

"I saw those three with my own eyes!" I growled, swishing my tail. "I could give you their names, if you want!"

"You made a mistake," snarled Talonstar. "We have never stolen a thing from your territory."

"If that is true, then we have no way to prove it," I mewed. "I will give you a warning anyway: if your Clan is ever caught stealing prey from ThunderClan territory, we will have your ears off." And I turned around and padded back to sit next to Crowstar.

Talonstar let out a growl deep in his throat and took his turn to speak. I was very glad when the Gathering was over; the tension between ThunderClan and ShadowClan was overwhelming.

I padded back to ThunderClan territory, with Dragonheart by my side and the rest of the Clan behind me. "You shouldn't have mentioned them stealing prey," mewed Dragonheart.

I looked at her in surprise. "Why not?"

"Because Crowstar never mentioned the ThunderClan intruder – Mistypaw. He might not be so nice next time."

I hadn't even noticed. "But the Clans don't need to know about Mistypaw – they just need to know about the ShadowClan cats who were willing to steal."

"Yes, but they don't know that Mistypaw wasn't trying to steal, either."

I was slowly starting to realize the sense in Dragonheart's words and wished I hadn't told the Clans about that. I suddenly remembered the foxes that Crowstar had warned us about, and realized that they were by the river, but still could be close.

I learned that they were very close, actually. I heard a sudden growling from the side and in an instant, a ginger fox leaped out of the bushes. I let out a snarl of a battle cry and launched myself at the fox's eyes. It tossed its head and knocked me aside, but I managed to get ahold of its back and hang on.

There were more foxes attacking my Clan, too. I could see Hollytail and Ashenwind fighting side-by-side against one, with Barkstorm rushing to help. In all, there had to have been four foxes.

I gave the fox that I was riding on a firm bite in the ear. The dog-like animal yelped with rage and tossed its head, trying very hard to get me off. I dug my claws into its skin, making it yowl further. The fox decided that I was not the best meal at the moment, and it tore off toward the Thunderpath. I leapt from its back and felt very proud of myself – I had just beaten a fox!

I rushed back to help my Clan, giving a larger fox a nip on the tail. It let out a cry and whipped around to bite me, but I was already in front of it. I scratched it hard on its ears, and the fox barked with anger.

I felt something like relief flow through me. We were going to win! At least there were many of us, or we wouldn't have stood a chance against four foxes.

But then I felt something hard slam into me. I gasped in alarm as I tumbled over a rocky face and felt my back legs touch nothingness. I scrabbled to get a hold with my front claws on the stone and realized that I was trapped, right there – on the edge of the cliff, hanging over the falls.

I tried to bring myself up, but it was impossible. My claws were slipping, making scratches in the rock. I tried to call my warriors to help me, but they were busy fighting the foxes.

Then I saw the real reason I had been slammed – none other than Iciclestar was walking toward me, a look of both triumph and fear in her eyes. I gasped, terrified. She was going to kill me! She was going to do what Flamestorm asked of her!

"Iciclestar!" I pleaded. "Please! Wait!" I scrabbled desperately, trying to get back up.

There was fear in the RiverClan leader's eyes now. I winced as she unsheathed her claws and prepared to knock me over the edge, into the rushing river below.

Do it! I could almost hear Flamestorm's voice, commanding Iciclestar with an eager triumph.

But then…Iciclestar pulled back. Her eyes widened. "I can't," she whispered. "I…"

I was amazed. Iciclestar wouldn't kill me? This'll make Flamestorm happy…

"Glacierstar," she mewed at last, reaching over to help me, "you're right. I wasn't a loner. I…" Her voice dropped so I could barely hear. "I'm what you were. What you used to be. A human."

Oooh, that was tragic. This was probably the longest chapter I've ever written. Please review!