CHAPTER 3

"The Sunless Season Begins"

12 moons later.

"Let all those old enough to catch their own prey meet beneath the High Ledge for a clan meeting."

It was very early in the morning, and Bearstar's booming voice echoed through the camp, waking all that were still asleep very quickly. Bluelight, however, had been awake for hours already. Sleeping was not something he did a lot of lately. And now that the Sunless Season had started, the difference between night and day was minuscule, so it was hard to feel restful. Hearing Bearstar's call, he moved closer to the High Ledge and was soon joined by Goldfire. His friend stared at him for a moment.

"You were awake when we left for the dawn patrol this morning, weren't you?"

Bluelight merely nodded, causing Goldfire to frown.

"Do you ever actually sleep anymore? Not trying to pry, just worried about you. You haven't been yourself in a long time."

Bluelight looked over with a grateful expression. "I know….Thanks for looking out, but I'm fine. Really."

Goldfire gently brushed his tail against Bleulight's shoulder but said nothing more. Instead they turned their attention to their leader, who loomed over his clanmates on the High Ledge…alone.

"Now that we are all present," he started, "I believe it is time to handle our…current situation."

Bluelight and Goldfire exchanged a look. Bearstar always sounded super serious, but today his voice was edged with something more emotional. A sad acceptance.

"It has been almost a moon since any cat has seen a trace of Halfnight. As we all know, there is no known reason he would leave the clan willingly. Multiple patrols have been sent out to the area where he was supposed to be hunting that morning, but nothing has been found. I'm afraid at this point…we must assume the worse. We are all aware of the many dangers that come with our territory, and only StarClan knows which of them might have played a part in Halfnight's disappearance. But despite this tragic development, IceClan can no longer go on without a deputy, especially in these hard times. The Sunless Season is now upon us, and we must be extra prepared."

Bearstar's voice ceased for a moment, allowing some of the IceClan cats to bow their heads in sadness for the loss of their deputy and the acceptance that he would not return. Bluelight looked around, noticing some without the least amount of remorse. The older warrior, Moonscar, was among them. Unfortunately, though Halfnight was a great deputy who was strong, responsible and authoritative, his prickly demeanor had made him rather unpopular with many of his clanmates. In order to stay strong, they needed a deputy that all of the clan respected and also liked. Bearstar probably already knew that.

He raised his head once more. "I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of IceClan is…Goldfire."

Bluelight felt his friend jolt beside him, looking up at his leader with impossibly wide eyes. Although the young warrior seemed shocked himself, Bluelight was not all surprised. Since he became a warrior, Goldfire had proven to be acceptional at everything and was very much liked by almost every cat in the clan. He was still young, but he was accomplished and had mentored an apprentice, so he met all the qualifications.

Goldifre still sat frozen besides him, despite the fact the entire clan was chanting his name. With an amused purr, Bluelight nudged the gold and white tom's shoulder.

"What are you waiting for? Get up there…deputy."

Goldfire gazed at him for a second with shining amber eyes, then finally approached the High Ledge and leapt up besides Bearstar. As Bluelight joined in the clan's chanting, Goldfire sat beside his leader and beemed. Bluelight was so proud of his friend that he couldn't help beaming back; he hadn't felt this happy in a long time.

After a moment, Goldfire looked at his leader and sat tall. "I will do everything in my power to be the deputy our clan needs and deserves, I promise."

Bearstar brushed his tail against Goldfire's flank. "I know you will. This was an easy choice."

As the chanting finally started to die off, Bluelight noticed the last cat to go quiet was Daisyfoot…of course. The sleek tabby and white she-cat was quite easily Goldfire's biggest fan. She followed him around all the time, admiring everything he did, always commenting how great of a hunter he was, and things like that. It always embarrassed Goldfire to no end, but Bluelight got great enjoyment out of watching it unfold. The bubbly she-cat was clearly head over heels for the handsome young tom.

Sure enough, as soon as Goldfire leapt down from the ledge, Daisyfoot was beside him, literally bouncing with excitement.

"I knew it!" she chirped, attempting to wrap her tail around his. "I just knew you would be deputy one day, Goldfire. You're the best warrior in the whole clan!"

As this, Goldfire shot an uncomfortable look at Bluelight, who had just joined them. Daisyfoot followed his gaze and immediately back pedaled.

"Oh! I mean…uh, not that I mean there aren't other great warriors in the clan. Sorry, Bluelight, I…I mean, you're amazing too!"

Bluelight merely smirked. "Thanks, Daisyfoot. But you're not wrong, ya know. Goldfire is definitely the best."

Said warrior looked like he wanted to sink into the ground with embarrassment. "Stop it guys, seriously…I'm not better than anyone else."

Bluelight shot him an encouraging look and moved away, allowing Daisyfoot to school him in all the ways his last statement was wrong, and also to give others a chance to congratulate him. Through the sea of activity in the middle of camp, Bluelight noticed one figure standing alone off to the side. Of course, it was Moonscar, the only cat who could ever possibly have a problem with Bearstar's choice. The senior warrior wore an expression of disgust and resentment while watching the newly made deputy being surrounded by his clanmates. Bluelight wasn't sure what it was, but something about Moonscar's attitude made him angrier than usual, and he approached the dark gray tom.

"You know, maybe it would improve your image to congratulate your new deputy, just like every cat here. Out of respect alone, if nothing else."

Moonscar swung his head towards the younger tom, his good jade green eye narrowing. "Respect? How about respecting your superiors and minding your own business, Bluelight."

Bluelight narrowed his eyes back. "Superiors? Don't you mean, elders?"

Moonscar's tail lashed in fury as his stood up, back slightly arched. "Watch it, kit" he snarled. "My age is my advantage. I have more experience than you ever will, and I could use that experience to take your ears off in a single swipe."

Bluelight bared his teeth but remained calm. "I'm just trying to ask you to respect the decision of your leader and be civil about it, you're the one slinging threats at your own clanmate. And for your information, Goldfire is my closest friend, so it is my business when some cat isn't giving him the respect his deserves. Just admit that you're jealous and move on already."

The young warrior swung away from Moonscar, signaling an end to the conversation. He definitely had respect for the senior warrior, and often felt sorry for him, although his isolation within the clan was by choice. But when it came to those he cared about, Bluelight could not simply put up with Moonscar's rotten attitude.

Behind him, the dark gray tom let out a low growl as he started towards the warriors den. "Apparently, our fearless leader values youth and over-confident hotheads over experience and loyalty."

Bluelight whirled around to question what Goldfire could possible lack in the way of loyalty, but Moonscar was already too far away. He watched at his dark gray tail disappeared into the den. The young warrior was seething, and didn't even realize that someone had joined him.

"Ah, my brother really has a way with words, doesn't he?" Fogpelt, IceClan's medicine cat, droned. "He's always been a natural at making friends."

Bluelight dug his claws into the snow beneath his feet. "I don't know how you stood growing up with that prickly fuzz-for-brains. He must have been insufferable as a kit."

"Well, growing up later in life in a different litter helped" Fogpelt replied casually. "He was in our mother's first litter, I was in the second."

"Right, I forgot" Bluelight sighed. "Sorry."

"No worries" the medicine cat meowed. "I'm happy to be the younger, prettier one."

Bluelight glanced at him playfully. "But no less weird."

"Well, there's that. But at least you understand. I share my brother's indifference towards being liked. I do my job and that's it. Speaking of which, I need to go on a supply run. Care to escort me?"

Bluelight straigtened up. "Of course, let me just give Bearstar a head's up."

But Fogpelt proceeded to the camp's exit. "No need, already took care of it. I can go alone if you'd rather stay and save your buddy from his adoring fans."

Bluelight looked over to where Goldfire was still surrounded, looking like he wanted to climb the nearest pine and hide for a while. But he seemed to be handling it well, addressing his clanmates with confidence and pride.

"He's fine. Besides, no one goes anywhere alone, remember? Who knows what happened to Halfnight, but he was one of the strongest warriors IceClan has ever known. Whatever he faced….it's definitely not something you want to meet without some backup."

Fogpelt slowed to allow Bluelight to catch up to him. "And if he merely fell off a cliff?"

The young warrior regarded him with serious blue eyes. "I won't let you fall off a cliff."

"But if I do, you'll just sprout wings and save me, right?"

"Absolutely."

Bluelight followed the medicine cat patiently as Fogpelt made rounds to all of his usual spots. It was difficult to find decent herbs in the dense snow and frozen earth underneath, but Fogpelt had a knack for it, and an incredible memory. He always knew where to look, where to dig. Medicine cats were always considered a bit strange due to their unique connection to StarClan, but Fogpelt was just a little stranger than most. His uncanny abilities paired with his severe lack of social skills made him a bit of an outsider amongst the clan, but Bluelight, who was an outsider himself by choice mostly, understood him better than anyone else and was really his only friend. He actually liked Fogpelt's quirkiness.

For most of the trek, neither had said a word. Bluelight stayed quiet to allow Fogpelt to concentrate. As usual, the medicine cat was in his own world, focused entirely on his task. But suddenly, Fogpelt unexpectedly broke the silence.

"Do they ever hurt?"

Bluelight looked over at him in confusion. "Does 'what' ever hurt?"

"The scars. On your face. Do they ever cause you pain?"

"My scars.…" Bluelight thought about it for a moment. His run-in with the White Death had left his face permanently disfigured, a long scar running across his right eye and another across the bridge of his nose, not to mention the shredded right ear. He also ended up with even worse scars along his spine, three of them running across his back and down his sides. No, they didn't hurt on a regular basis. But…his lack of sleep was due mostly to the horrific nightmares he had whenever he tried, images of his dead brother and the monster that took his life plaguing his mind. This was something he had never shared with anyone, despite being pressed by Goldfire. And whenever he finally woke from these hideous dreams…yes, they hurt a lot. Like they had just happened. He could still feel the sharp talons tearing through his flesh….

Bluelight looked up, meeting Fogpelt's expectant gaze. "Sometimes…when I think about how I got them, which I try not to."

Fogpelt blinked apologetically. "Didn't mean to stir up bad memories, just curious. I find scars very strange. It seems that certain wounds just heal and disappear without a trace, because they don't mean anything. But the ones that do…the ones that don't just hurt you on the outside…those are the ones that seem to scar. And they…never really heal, do they?"

Now, Bluelight was starting to worry. "Is everything okay? You don't usually talk about such deep subjects. You don't have any scars, do you Fogpelt?"

The medicine cat sighed sadly and turned away, continuing his search for herbs. "No, not really. None you can see, anyway…."

At first, Bluelight was totally confused. But then he remembered, during one of Fogpelt's rare serious moments, his odd friend had shared that he was once in love with one of IceClan's she-cat warriors, but had to let it go due to his being a medicine cat. He never told Bluelight who it was, but the young warrior suspected she was still a part of the clan.

"I guess scars aren't always physical…" he said quietly. He knew what it felt like to be damaged emotionally, so he empathized with the other tom. However, he didn't know what it felt like to be in love. That was something he hadn't, and might never, experience. Without another word, he continued to follow Fogpelt while keeping an eye out for any danger.

It wasn't long before they reached the outer edge of their territory, at the border they shared with the late BreezeClan. This signaled the end of Fogpelt's usual journey. As the medicine cat stepped over the border, Bluelight was not at all concerned about meeting an unfriendly BreezeClan patrol, not anymore. It had been several moons since the incident, but the memory of it was still fresh in his mind. After the unexplained absence of BreezeClan at the last Exchange Gathering, they had gone into their neighboring clan's territory to find out what was going on. In a truly horrific revelation, it turned out that an avalanche had completely wiped out the camp and most of the surrounding territory, leaving no cat alive. That day, the four clans of the Howling Mountain, IceClan, BreezeClan, TimberClan and RidgeClan, had become three. Another product of the hazardous conditions of their homes. But the tragedy had still been shocking and horrible. Bluelight shuddered to think what it must have been like. The two clans had never really been allies, per se, but no cat wished such a fate on anyone.

"Here" Fogpelt meowed, breaking through the other tom's thoughts. "This is the last of it."

Bluelight leaned over and carefully picked up the herbs out of the snow, grimacing at the bitter taste of whatever it was, and turned to lead the way home. Until Fogpelt's voice stopped him.

"Wait, hold up a sec."

Bluelight turned to see the medicine cat leaned over with his nose very close to the ground, sniffing at the snow with an odd expression.

"Waff's uf?" Bluelight asked through a mouthful of plants.

"BreezeClan scent."

Bluelight finally set the herbs down again with a sigh. He really wanted to get back. The trip had taken all the day and the sky was already completely dark. Although during the Sunless Season, even the daytime stayed pretty dark.

"Well, this was their territory. It makes sense that some of the scent is still lingering. It hasn't been all that long since it happened."

"It's been long enough for this to not make any sense" Fogpelt replied, straightening up to look at him. "This scent is fresh…like today fresh."

At this, Bluelight's ear flattened and he began to scan their surroundings carefully. "Are you sure it's BreezeClan?"

"Positive."

Both toms went completely silent, listening as the wind gently brushed through the tree branches above them. The snowfall was starting to pick up, causing an eerie white sheen to surround them on all sides. But as the wind died down again, the silence became deafening. Bluelight hardly took a breath. And then….

Fogpelt suddenly perked up and shot Bluelight a look of alarm, his yellow eyes wide and round, ears twitching. The medicine cat's hearing was better than Bluelight's, but the young warrior had the better eyes. He finally heard the crunching of pawsteps in the snow and focused his eyes in the same direction. Barely visible through the haze, he spotted a shape. And the scent became stronger. Fogpelt was right, it was definitely BreezeClan.

He surged forward a few fox lengths, putting himself between his medicine cat and the unknown threat with an arched back and bared fangs.

"I know you're there!" he hissed. "Show yourself, or I'll drag you out myself."

At first, the pawsteps ceased and the outline became still. Then, slowly, the figure approached and emerged through the white. Bluelight's eyes widened. He hadn't been able to tell at first, but now he could see that the figure was actually two, huddled so close that they made one bigger shape.

Standing in front of the two IceClan cats was a ginger furred she-cat with a long feathery tail and a significantly smaller and darker colored tom, pressed so close to her body that he was almost out of sight. Both were shivering.

Bluelight straightened up, not sure what to make of the scene before him. "What…who are you? Where did you come from?"

"P-please…" the small tom meowed weakly. "Please h-help us."

The she-cat was much more collected and serious. She regarded the two toms without a single ounce of fear. "We need to speak to your clan leader."