A cat-sized paw catapulted her halfway down the hill. There was a flurry of white and pale gray surrounding her.

"Sealfin! Stop attacking, it's Sealfin!" rasped a familiar voice.

"Lynxfoot?"

"We thought they'd killed you! Your body was missing, and Ternpaw saw you get tackled by that coyote!" She searched through the dizzyingly white crowd of cats around her.

"Wait- Ternpaw was there? That wasn't the plan!" she looked wildly around. The Clan was safe, but- there was Blizzardcloud. He was lying in an awkward position, clearly in some sort of pain. And... the only black pelt there was Creekfur's. She got up and shoved her way through the Clan toward Blizzardcloud.

"Where-"

"I'm sorry, Sealfin, but she's dead." Sealfin's knees buckled. Blizzardcloud continued. "We found her body near the hill where you and she were battling.

"Wait... you mean Ripplestar is dead, right?"

"Yes. I'm sorry." he repeated.

"Well I knew that! 'Where's Ravenheart', is what I was going to ask." Blizzardcloud's eyes widened.

"Oh, hare dung! We forgot to go and find her." Sealfin looked very alarmed.

"I'm sure she's fine, Sealfin. She didn't fall like I did..."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The cold was really getting to Ravenheart. She'd been lying there alone and motionless for quite a long time. How could it be this freezing during the Melting? Her mind roared with vivid images of the battle that she was sure was happening below.

Red... chaos... white flurry... yowls... yowls...

"Ravenheart!"

The voice was distant, a damp echo that could easily have been her imagination. But then, what did she have to lose by following it? There was a tunnel somewhere, but it was so dark down there...

"Ravenheart!"

It was closer and louder, enough so that Ravenheart could recognize who was speaking.

"Ravenheart!"

She leapt toward the source, sliding at top speed, cringing at rough edges and bumps. Her paws thrashed wildly, trying to get a hold of the wet, slippery ice. The collision with the ground was softer than expected, and she felt the familiarity of warm fur.

"Ravenheart!"

The voice was close now, with a sort of muffled sound to it.

"Ravenheart, you great lump, get off of me!"

Ravenheart realized why her landing had been so soft and jumped off excitedly.

"Sealfin, you're safe!"

"And you too! I was so worried! Now, on a different note, the battle's over. The coyotes are gone. You need to help the injured, and-" Sealfin stopped talking at Ravenheart's solemn expression.

"Ripplestar's dead." Ravenheart said quietly "I saw her in StarClan."

"I did as well." Sealfin mewed. There was something distracted about her voice, something that Ravenheart didn't like."So I guess you're leader now," Ravenheart said, watching Sealfin carefully. "Who else could possibly do it?"
Sealfin shook her head.
"I'm thinking of giving the job to Hailclaw instead."
"Coward!" Ravenheart hissed., neck fur bristling. "You just want to pass up this job! Well, you can't. I won't let you. You were deputy, now you're leader. Got it?"
"You just- I never- My point is that..." Sealfin trailed off, looking pensive. "Ravenheart, you're right. I know that as soon as I get my leader name, the whole Clan will suddenly die because of some way I messed up. All the same, you're right. It's the warrior code, and, well... who am I to so blatantly defy it?" Her normally sparkling amber eyes were dull.
"Sealfin..." Ravenheart murmured.

Sealfin didn't listen. She just trudged towards the scattered Clan, lay down, wrapped her tail around her nose, and went to sleep.