Chapter 10
Icekit
It was a long day for every cat. There were several warriors that had volunteered to go on Swiftwind's patrol which left the camp close to empty.
Icekit sat alone in the mouth of the nursery and watched Littlestar sit on top of the Stonebranch. He seemed extremely nervous and his fur was unkempt.
Kindlestrike must have been a very important cat, more than just a father to Lightkit, Aspenkit and Olivekit, and a large part of the Clan. It would have been as if Fitz or Wally died back home in the alleyways.
The contrast between the two different leaders was outstanding to Icekit. Her leader was very tall compared to this small tom, though he was wirier to run within the alleyways. This leader was definitely made to live in the forest: his legs were well muscled and he had a longer tail to help him climb up the trees.
Icekit took in a deep breath and looked back into the nursery- Lightkit was now the anchor to his sisters and they were curled up around him.
Icekit felt a flash of homesickness but shook it away. She had now started to grow attached to them, and there was no way she was going to find her way back home without learning her way around. Though that didn't stop her wondering how Blaze was doing.
She flicked her whiskers and decided she would explore camp instead of bothering the other kits. The medicine cat was busy shuffling around in her den and nearly bumped into Icekit when she entered the den and ended up knocking over a pile of herbs.
"Icekit!" She hissed angrily. "I'm busy right now; please go visit the elders or something to keep your paws busy."
Icekit quickly backed out of the den and away from the cross she-cat. She then heeded her words and headed towards the elder's den. All of the older cats were asleep except for a red and brown tom.
He raised his head when she came into the den and blinked his eyes at her. One of them had a scar of a ragged scratch, leaving the rest of the eye cloudy and unseeing. Icekit felt slightly unnerved by his eye but tried to make sure the expression on her face didn't show it.
"You're Icekit, right? Larkblossom told me about you." He greeted her warmly. His amber eyes shone with a gentleness that reflected in Larkblossoms' own eyes. Though Icekit tipped her head to the side curiously- why would the warrior be discussing her with an elder?
"It was nice things, don't worry kit. How do you like it here?" He asked, and then flicked his ears. "Well, before Kindlestrike's death of course."
Icekit wasn't sure of how she actually felt about the place. She actually knew close to nothing about 'ForestClan' and most cats still looked at her strangely because she was an outsider.
But she couldn't tell the tom this and shrugged instead.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you my name. I'm Pinefoot." He meowed. Confusion filled his eyes when Icekit only dipped her head to him in response.
"You're unusually quiet for a kit." He told her when another tom lifted his head up from his nest.
"She's mute, mousebrain." The other tom snapped and then promptly laid his head back down. Pinefoot's eyes widened.
"Oh, pardon my words. I didn't realize...Larkblossom forgot to mention that to me. My niece seems to always have her head somewhere else." He apologized quickly.
Oh. It made more sense that Larkblossom would talk to him with him being her uncle, but Icekit still wondered why the warrior would talk about her to an elder. She wasn't special in any way, and being mute was not any help either. I'm useless.
Pinefoot motioned to the ground in front of him with his tail.
"You can sit down if you'd like."
Icekit realized that she had been standing the entire one-sided conversation and sat down where he had pointed to.
"Were you a kittypet? You aren't as plump as those kittypets are." The elder continued. Icekit flattened her ears- kittypets found within her gang's territory were usually chased out. The only exception of that was her one friend. Even so, she never ventured into Ice's territory.
"Kittypets are weak. They'd never survive out here." The other tom snapped from his nest. Icekit jumped from the edge of his voice. Pinefoot hissed at the tom.
"Hush, we are from a long line of descendants of SkyClan. Without a kittypet turned strong and wise Clan leader, we would not be here today."
Icekit was utterly lost. What's SkyClan? What is up with these Clans? Why don't they live in the streets like my gang does?
"Pinefoot, Shadowtail, you're confusing the poor thing. Come with me kit, I'll explain all that there needs to be known about the Clans." An old fluffy silver she-cat rose out of her nest and began to head out of the elder's den.
Icekit hesitantly got up onto her paws before looking at Pinefoot curiously.
"She won't bite, I promise." The elder assured her warmly. Icekit nodded with hesitation and then scampered outside after the old she-cat.
The said she-cat was waiting for her at the mouth of the den and smiled at Icekit appeared.
"I should probably introduce myself first. I am Silversnow, former deputy of this Clan." The she-cat began and pointed up to Littlestar.
"You know Littlestar as the cat who decided your fate here with the Clan. He was declared leader after a very complicated series of events. The leaders here defend their Clan at all costs and his word is law. StarClan gives him nine lives to lead the Clan with."
It's just like Fitz, but its power is given to family line instead of declaring leader.
"Swiftwind, the cat who took that patrol to FireClan is the deputy. She's second in command to Littlestar and is in line for leadership when Littlestar steps down or dies. That is, if she doesn't do either of those before him. ForestClan does not have a good past with deputies."
"The third most powerful cat in the Clan is the medicine cat and their apprentice...if they have one anyway. Brownfeather takes care of the Clan when we are sick or injured, and she talks to StarClan for us and tells us of their prophecies." Silversnow mewed as the said medicine cat appeared out of her den with herbs in her jaws and headed to the nursery. Silversnow beckoned Icekit after her with her fluffy tail.
The former deputy led her in the direction where Brownfeather was going. Inside the den a black she-cat was lapping up the herbs Brownfeather had brought. Icekit noticed Lightkit and his sisters curled up in their nest.
"The queens are also very important to the Clan. Without them, there would be no future generation of warriors. See how large her belly is getting? She's at least a moon away from kitting." Silversnow mewed softly as she looked on with soft eyes.
"Featherfoot is a fine warrior; your kit is a great addition to the Clan." The black she-cat meowed from within the den. Brownfeather slid out of the den and gave the elder a mischievous look.
"Come on now, next is the warriors den."
"I'm surprised you didn't scare all the toms away!" She meowed playfully. Silversnow nudged the medicine cat with a laugh as she walked past her.
The mixed scent of the older cats hit Icekit's nose. She saw a few bodies in the shadows of the den, but most cats went on the patrol.
"Warriors are the protectors of the Clan. Each kit aspires to be a warrior, then leader." Silversnow explained as they began heading towards another den.
"Lastly, this is the apprentices' den. You and your foster siblings will be living in here in a couple of moons. Every kit is apprenticed at six moons, and your last part of your name will be changed to 'paw' instead of kit. One apprentice can choose to be a medicine cat apprentice if they choose."
Training started the minute we could run. Icekit thought and followed Silversnow back to the Elder's den.
"Our Clan has been here for so many seasons. Foreststar had come from one of the original Clans, SkyClan. He had fallen in love with a she-cat outside his Clan. Stories of her strength and spunkiness used to exist but are now long forgotten...oh dear, what was her name? Pinefoot, what was Foreststar's mate's name?" Silversnow asked with a hint of annoyance. The tom poked his head out of the den and narrowed his eyes in deep concentration.
"Snow-something, I think." He responded after a moment of thinking. Silversnow shook her head in disbelief.
"I can't believe I forgot her name!" Silversnow meowed agitatedly.
"I'm getting far too old for this. Good thing I've stepped down, or so many poor warriors would probably be very confused when I doubled them up on patrol."
A thought popped into Icekit's mind. Snowsoul.
Icekit flattened her ears- she knew nothing of these Clans, how would she know a cat that she had no idea about?
"Wait a minute, Snowsoul. Her name was Snowsoul!" Silversnow exclaimed. Pinefoot narrowed his eyes but nodded in agreement.
"I think you're right. I'm surprised you remembered!" He laughed good-naturedly. Silversnow shook her head and thumped her tail in annoyance.
"You couldn't remember either, mousebrain! Anyways, I forgot what I was going on about. We are all descended from the old Clans. Our attributes shine in our warrior abilities. Now run along, I'm going to see if I can get these old bones to stop aching."
Icekit blinked at her quick dismissal but stepped away from the old cats and slowly started towards the nursery. She was still confused about the name in her mind.
Snowsoul...I wonder. That's weird.
She peered into the nursery and frowned at the sight of Lightkit and his sisters. Their faces were uneasy and they were fidgeting in their sleep. Icekit's heart twisted in pity.
She couldn't imagine losing Robin. I already technically lost her and Blaze though.
If Robin had died, Icekit would be devastated. She could imagine that the whole alley would grieve her.
"They'll heal soon, don't worry Icekit." A deep voice rumbled behind her. Icekit nearly jumped and peered up. Littlestar?
The leader stared down at her. His eyes were pools of exhaustion.
"The Clan has had bad times, but we will recover from this. Help them if you can." With that said, he padded away slowly with weary paws. Icekit stared after him.
These cats are so strange. She thought after watching him climb the Stone Branch. She sighed and shrugged, deciding to wait for the patrol to return.