Chapter 16

Icepaw had never been in Silverstar's den before. The dense branches from the bush that hid the clan leader's den from the camp were in full bloom; pale white flowers sprouted from the rich green mass of leaves. Icepaw approached the den warily, her shoulder throbbed as she brushed up against a spindly stick. Ducking her head to avoid the leaves, Icepaw entered Silverstar's den. The clan leader's den was clean and tidy. A pile of flattened moss lay in the center of the floor and the bush made a protective lee around the bed. Feathers were woven in the ceiling of the den, blowing softly in the faint wind. Silverstar herself was sitting up straight, her sharply pointed tail curled around her paws. Icepaw could hardly believe that this cat had lost a life a few hours earlier.

"Silverstar? Are you okay?" Icepaw asked quietly, her eyes lowered to the floor in submission.

"Yes, thank you," the other she-cat replied.

Icepaw looked up. Silverstar was smiling gently.

"Coldsnow said you wanted to see me," Icepaw said, her voice a little stronger. Silverstar nodded her consent.

"I wanted to thank you again. This is the second time you have helped save Riverclan from the Twolegs," Silverstar said. "I know of the prophecy predicted about you at your birth and I believe it's coming true. You have proven your loyalty to Riverclan again and again."

Icepaw's ears grew hot under the stream of compliments and the mention of the prophecy. She had been thinking about it lately, wondering if it was finally coming true.

"Your battle technique against the Twolegs saved our clan," Silverstar continued, "And I would like to honor you by giving you your warrior name."

Icepaw's heart leapt and she stared incredulously at Silverstar, her blue eyes burning bright. She was finally going to become a warrior!

Silverstar looked pained at the expression on Icepaw's face.

"I'm sorry Icepaw, but I can't make you into a warrior yet," she murmured sadly.

Icepaw's excitement quickly turned into a hot, undeniable rage.

"What? Why?" she demanded.

Silverstar looked Icepaw in the eye.

"Your mentor doesn't believe you are capable of being a warrior yet," the clan leader answered.

Icepaw heard a roaring in her ears, drowning out the rest of Silverstar's words. He had betrayed her. Her own mentor, whom she'd trusted and loved, betrayed her. Icepaw bowed her head swiftly to Silverstar, meowed an incoherent word of thanks, and ran out of the den.

Icepaw burst into the clearing and glanced wildly around, looking for Coldsnow. She spotted him coming out of the medicine cat's den, and without thinking, Icepaw lunged at him, her teeth pulled back in a defiant snarl.

Coldsnow turned his head towards Icepaw at exactly the right moment and pulled back, letting his apprentice crash to the ground at his feet. Coldsnow's eyes were filled with sadness and regret, as if he'd been expecting Icepaw's reaction.

"You traitor," Icepaw hissed, rising to her feet, spitting.

Coldsnow's eyes flew around the clearing, for a second. No other cats were out; most of them were either hunting, patrolling or staying inside on this dismal day.

"Follow me. We need to talk privately," Coldsnow said shortly, trotting to the entrance of the camp.

Icepaw's hackles stood straight up, her breathing heavy with built-up anger. Coldsnow didn't wait for an answer from Icepaw, he just exited the camp and kept walking. Not knowing why, but fuming with outrage, Icepaw reluctantly followed Coldsnow.

The calico cat led his apprentice past the river and Gulf Rock and eventually settled himself down in the bracken surrounding a solitary pine tree. Icepaw sat down across from her mentor, a sullen and accusatory look plastered on her face.

"Why did you do it?" she said simply, her voice filled with malice. Icepaw had never hated a cat more than Coldsnow at that moment. She felt like her dream had been snatched away from right underneath her tiny pink nose.

"You are not ready," Coldsnow stated, earning a hiss from Icepaw. "No, listen to me: you still cannot hunt like a warrior, even though you fight like one."

"So what? That's not a reason!" Icepaw screeched.

Coldsnow make a hushing noise and for the first time looked angry with Icepaw.

"You want a reason, I'll give you a reason: you spoke with Cloudpaw and when he gave you valuable information about Windclan planning an attack on Riverclan, you did not report it," Coldsnow said through gritted fangs, emphasizing the last five words.

Icepaw gasped, horror and realization flooding through her mind.

"How did-" she began.

"How did I know? I heard you, you mouse-brained fool," Coldsnow said, incensed. "I saw you talking and was able to hear both of you loud-mouths. I assumed you would tell me or Owlear or Silverstar or SOMEBODY but you kept quite. You kept crucial information from your clan!"

"NO! It wasn't like that," Icepaw stammered, "I was going to tell Silverstar but I didn't remember. If you haven't forgotten, we were attacked by the Twolegs right after the Gathering!"

"There was time after and before the Twoleg attack and you didn't tell ANYONE," Coldsnow said, getting to his feet.

Icepaw felt her claws unsheathing automatically.

"Put those away right now," snapped Coldsnow, seeing her claws. Icepaw slowly retracted her claws, glaring at her mentor.

"Riverclan means everything to me," Icepaw said steadily, her fur bristling. "I would never intentionally keep information from my clan. I forgot and was immediately attacked by Twolegs bent on tearing my fur from my body. I'll tell Silverstar right away."

"No need, I did that already," Coldsnow said frostily.

"Did you tell her I-" Icepaw started, her face now shadowed in horror.

Coldsnow suddenly looked softer at the alarm on his apprentice's face.

"I didn't tell her you knew. I just said I overheard two Windclan apprentices talking," Coldsnow said.

Icepaw let out a sigh of relief. Coldsnow looked a little sheepish.

"I'm sorry for blowing up at you," he said, his ears laid back on his head. "I know you were dealing with the Twolegs. Its just that I want you to be able to trust me. I wanted you to come to me."

Icepaw hesitantly licked her mentor's shoulder. "It's okay. I understand."

Coldsnow glanced at his apprentice, warmth coming back into his eyes.

"I know how much you want to be a warrior Icepaw," he said, "but I don't believe you're ready yet."

Icepaw felt tears gather at her eyes. "Okay," she whispered.

"I know you're loyal to Riverclan. We'll work on your hunting skills and I'll take you on more border patrols. I promise you'll become a warrior within a moon," Coldsnow swore, padding over to Icepaw and wrapping his tail around her torso.

Icepaw nodded; she didn't care anymore. She knew something had changing between her and Coldsnow: their comfort and ease around each other was gone. Icepaw couldn't trust Coldsnow anymore and she knew she would stay angry at him for thwarting her chance to become a warrior.

"Let's get back to camp and start helping out with the fresh-kill pile," Coldsnow suggested. Icepaw blinked at him in consent and the two plodded off back towards camp, careful not to look at each other.