"What did I tell you about your medicine cat duties?" snarled Whiteleg, her shadow over the two. Frostfoot stood up boldly, refusing to cringe, as did Ashpaw.
"I asked her to talk to me. Would she disobey the order of the deputy?" challenged Frostfoot.
Whiteleg said nothing, but, instead, swept her tail over the partially sorted herbs. "I suppose you'll have to start over, then. And no fresh-kill until you are done. I'm off to find some mallow." She stared, blood-red eyes blazing with anger, at Frostfoot. "Don't disturb my apprentice anymore."
Frostfoot took a couple steps forward so that she was almost nose-to-nose with Whiteleg. "I'm pregnant, didn't you her?" she hissed. "Aren't you happy for me?"
"Ecstatic." Whiteleg pelted out of camp with a last snarl.
Ashpaw's facial features betrayed nothing such as hurt or loathe. She just began sorting, murmuring to Frostfoot, "You should go."
"I know." Frostfoot sighed, turning her head. "I'm sorry you got in trouble."
"It is no fault but my own," meowed Ashpaw boldly, stacking a last juniper berry in one of the piles.
Frostfoot slunk away.
--
Sunflame prodded Frostfoot in the side. "Are you okay?" she asked gently. Frostfoot lifted her snowy-white head to see Turtleshell and Sunflame standing side-by-side. Now that Sunflame had come back to the Clan, those two were inseparable.
"Yes." Frostfoot sat up, her usually-sparkling ice-blue eyes dull with the pain of her loss. She spotted her mother in the corner, and realized she must've visited from StarClan. She looked pleased. "Where's Honeystar?"
"In her den," they mewed in unison. Frostfoot let out a purr at their closeness.
"I want to ask if I can go out and hunt alone. Think to myself a bit."
"Of course!" a voice sounded. It was Honeystar. "Anything you need."
"Thank you." Frostfoot dipped her head with gratitude.
She slipped out and went over to the water surrounding the camp. She was going to catch some fish today, because that's mostly what her Clan ate. She twitched her nose as she noticed her mother was by her side. "Icefrost," she mewed kindly.
"Hello, daughter. So, you know of the good news? You have kits," purred Icefrost, running her tail down Frostfoot's back, which left frost.
Frostfoot shivered. "Yes." She shot her paw in, claws unsheathed. She caught a silvery fish and laid it next to Icefrost.
"I have talked to Tantail. He misses you greatly, and he says he will wait for you," mewed Icefrost. "He really loves you, Frostfoot."
"And I really love him. He knows that," snapped Frostfoot, shooting her paw in the water and catching a yellow fish. She added it to her pile.
"Yes, he does. He only wishes he could be here…But he also knows what caused his death." Icefrost shuffled her front paws.
Frostfoot's icy-white paw hung above the water as she was about to strike, before she heard what Icefrost had said. She brought her paw back and looked her mother in the eyes. "What was it?" she asked, quietly as possible.
"StarClan won't let me reveal everything to you yet, but…Ask Ashpaw how many berries are in each stock of the different kinds of berries, then you and Ashpaw, count them." Icefrost disappeared, once again, like dust in wind.
Frostfoot hissed in frustration, then dipped her paw in the water to grab another fish, a white one. She grabbed her pile and went back to camp.