Chapter 19

Blood roared in Icepaw's ears when she realized that Whiteclaw wasn't moving. His body remained icily still as the rest of the world exploded around her. Dread quickly replaced the fear that had once filled her.

"Enough!" Icepaw looked up in surprise to see more cats had entered the already filled clearing.

She was even more surprised to see her mother standing beside the mottled brown cat that had spoken up. All around him the other Clan cats were gathered submissively. Fallenstar and Graystar lay in a heap of fur and blood nearby.

"All this fighting has done is proven how vulnerable we are," the mottled brown tom hissed. "This is senseless fighting."

"Fallenstar has lost his final life." Flarepelt was bowing her head in shame, but her eyes still held the bitter rage she had shown earlier. Icepaw had barely noticed her patrol's arrival moments ago.

"I am sorry that he risked his life," Rosefall murmured. Her voice was filled with sympathy. Icepaw knew from the moment she had looked into her mother's eyes that Rosefall meant what she had said. "I am sorry that you all had to suffer from what we did to you."

Anxiety coursed through Icepaw after she spotted Bramblepaw and Brightpaw sitting beside each other. She spotted a few other LeafClan cats circling the other warriors warily. Seawhisker was among them, tail whipping from side to side as she glared at her sister.

She was thankful they were all safe. But something told her that this battle was far from over. As she looked back at Flarepelt, she could see the hatred within her eyes. And several others seemed to agree with Flarepelt that this battle was long overdue.

And within that split heartbeat something seemed to change in Flarepelt. An awkward silence had filled the clearing. Both leaders of Rosefall's Clan and LeafClan were now dead. But in that moment of hate that Flarepelt seemed to feel, forgiveness sparked within her eyes. Icepaw was more shocked than ever when Flarepelt dipped her head respectfully.

"You are right," she meowed. "We were blinded by our rage. And for that, we are sorry."

Icepaw managed to catch a few expressions from her Clanmates. Brightpaw looked more than thankful that she didn't have to continue fighting. Brokensong's tail was lashing from side to side as she glared at Flarepelt, but she dared not say anything. For once the Clan seemed to reach an agreement of some sort.

The dark brown tabby Icepaw had seen earlier suddenly stepped forward. His ears were flattened as he glared at Rosefall, who respectfully backed down without question. Icepaw suddenly remembered him as Swampfoot, the Clan's deputy.

He's the one who put me on the raft! she realized.

Her shoulders began to shake until she managed to calm herself. Now wasn't the time to lose her anger. She wasn't part of his Clan anymore. And she wasn't planning on leaving them behind anytime soon.

"As much as it pains me to say this, what Rosefall says is true," he announced after clearing his throat. "We can no longer abide by the law that StarClan lay down so many seasons ago. And it is time we proved this to a certain someone."

"What do you mean by that?" Flarepelt raised her chin and glared at Swampfoot once again.

"Hazelstar will never accept that StarClan was wrong," a gray she-cat with patches of ginger in her fur spoke up. Her blue eyes held a strange look to them as she gazed at the LeafClan cats. "She does not enjoy change."

"And that is why we must hold this meeting," Swampfoot snapped. "The Clans need to know that StarClan was lying to us!"

This time unease crawled through Icepaw when Swampfoot glared at the gray she-cat. Rosefall seemed just as uneasy after he jumped down from the branch he was standing on. The mottled brown tom that was standing beside her joined him shortly after.

"Sparrowstar, thank you for your assistance," Swampfoot whispered.

The mottled brown tom nodded in response before flicking his tail towards his Clanmates. "We will spread the word as quickly as we can," he called as they began to leave.

Icepaw felt her fur bristle as she thought of what would happen next. LeafClan needed to return to their forest by the gorge. The camp needed to be repaired after the water finally receded. They couldn't possibly think staying here would be a good thing, did they?

"Swampfoot, are you sure that is a good idea?" the gray-furred she-cat asked. "Hazelstar will likely see this as a threat than a message from StarClan."

"Let Hazelstar believe what she wants," Swampfoot hissed. "If she is blinded by her faith than she is not worthy of leading her Clan. Speaking of which, a deputy must be named before moonhigh."

Is he allowed to do that? Icepaw wondered. Technically he wasn't leader yet. But the gray she-cat seemed to accept his sudden decision with a dip of her head. Icepaw decided to sit beside Brightpaw while Bramblepaw and Stormpaw sat together this time.

"I say these words before the body and spirit of Graystar, so that he may hear and approve my choice. Ravenfeather will be my deputy."

The skinny black tom Swampfoot had named stared at him in disbelief. Memories suddenly coursed through Icepaw when she realized that Ravenfeather was Whiteclaw's brother. That made him her uncle.

"And I suppose I should name a deputy as well," Flarepelt sighed after standing up. "I say these words before the body and spirit of Fallenstar so that he may hear and approve my words. Reedshine will be my deputy."

Reedshine's eyes lit up in surprise when she heard her name. The dark-furred tortoiseshell made a wise choice for deputy. She was dependable in battle and made intelligent decisions. But Icepaw was more concerned about how their Clan would be accepted by the other two Clans of the forest.

Something told her that this wasn't the end. This was far from over, and the other Clans were going to ensure that the battle would last as long as it could.

AN: Have I ever mentioned how much I love reading everyone's reviews? Thank you for your reviews, they make my day! And this chapter was quite fun to write about... originally Swampfoot was going to be killed off, but he's going to play an even bigger roll later on. Please let me know what you thought of this, I really appreciate it :)