Chapter 11, Following to Death
Icepaw padded around the camp nervously. Petalstar was deciding her punishment. She hoped the leader would let her stay - everything about being here seemed so right. She loved the way her paws slid on top of the pine needles. She loved the way that the light bounced off of the needles still on the trees and dappled the ground. The camp was vast compared to ThunderClan's camp. It sloped downhill with many ledges that cats lazed around on or shared kill on or some of the kits tried to jump on. Petalstar leapt up onto the High Ledge. The High Ledge was a just the highest ledge around. It overlooked the entire camp. Petalstar's den was some way away from the rest of the camp. Unlike the rest of the area, which if you brushed the pine needles away you would find dirt littered with gray rocks, the rock under her den was sandy. She had brushed the pine needles away and the apprentices brought moss in. Icepaw eyed the den critically. She didn't like it. The ledge that it was set into wasn't like all the other ledges. She pushed those irrelevant thoughts out of her mind and followed Petalstar's every moment as she padded leisurely over to the High Ledge.
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the High Ledge for a Clan meeting!" Petalstar called as her amber eyes swept the clearing.
Once all the cats had gathered, she continued. "Sleetflash, our medicine cat, has come back. She shall be accepted back into our Clan without question, of course, if she wishes to take her place back, that is."
Sleetflash nodded gratefully and padded to stand near Briarrush. Briarrush's green eyes flicked to her for a moment, then she nodded briskly and looked back to Petalstar. Petalstar continued. "Maskface did not find her. I have decided to send search parties out for him. Once they have found him his punishment shall be decided," she said, but a roar of protest rose up against her.
"But he's a traitor!" Someone called out. "He should be made to live as a rogue!" another said loudly. Owlsong's head remained bent while Moonpaw and Silverpaw hissed - although it wasn't clear if they were hissing at Petalstar or at those protesting against taking him back.
"He shall be brought back, and he shall be punished. That should be enough for you all. Now, to the other matter at hand. Icepaw of ThunderClan wishes to come and join our Clan." she paused for a moment until her clear gaze found Icepaw. "Is this correct, that you want to join us?" she asked slowly.
Icepaw gulped and thought about all the things she was leaving behind. She was leaving her family behind. Well, her sister and her mother, anyway. Her mother had betrayed her. Her sister was all that she had left in ThunderClan. The thought of her mentor, Wolfsong, crept into her mind. Yet also with the thought of leaving her mentor behind came the thought that Wolfsong would understand. "Always do what your heart thinks is right." One of Wolfsong's lessons crept into her mind. But a tiny shaking thought came to focus. What if my heart is wrong? A calming memory washed over her.
It was night time. The sky was the colour of light blue velvet, and the air was warm. Wolfsong and Icepaw were coming home after a late training session. "Wolfsong, have you ever made the wrong decision about something?" Icepaw asked.
Wolfsong looked at her. "Often, little one. Sometimes I pick up a squirrel from the freshkill pile when I meant to pick up a pigeon. I've fetched the wrong herb for the medicine cat. Little mistakes like this don't matter very much."
Icepaw nodded, but then asked, blue eyes curious, "But have you ever made a big mistake? Something that you still regret today?"
Wolfsong thought hard for a moment. "My father is long dead, and I feel like I didn't spend enough time with him."
"How did he die?" the white she-cat asked.
Wolfsong lightly tapped her with her tail tip. "I'll tell you, and I won't take offence because you're young, but you don't generally ask people questions like that. The question might bring up painful memories. But I will tell you how he died, because I am your mentor and I am supposed to teach you. Once my father was a senior warrior, he began to get tired of the monotony of Clan life. He wanted something new and exciting. He decided to go exploring one day, and he met a rogue. It is probably a good place to tell you that my mother was killed around three moons before this by a RiverClan warrior in a border skirmish. When my father came back to the camp, he told everyone stories about the female rogue until finally one day he told Lavenderstar he wanted to leave. He had fallen in love with the rogue. Lavenderstar was sad for him yet if this could make him happy then she told him to go. They were siblings, so it was a hard choice for both of them. But my father left. We discovered his body some moons later. But he died happy, and free. A smile was frozen on his face. He followed his heart, and it lead him to death. But at least his death was a happy death."
Icepaw nodded. "I hope I'll have the courage to do something like that someday," she mewed.
"It is my wish to join you," Icepaw mewed. I will follow my heart, even if my heart is wrong, and even if it leads me to my death.
Snakepaw noted the white she-cat's legs shaking from the other side of the clearing. She's very brave, he thought admiringly. She can follow her heart.
Where is she following her heart to? he asked himself, puzzled.
In response to reviews:
Koraki: Glad you like them! I personally don't have a preference - I find them BOTH annoying, even though I wrote them both. XD Snakepaw should definitely be a major figure in this plotline, so we should see more of him. I WAS implying that it was a forestry estate, but anyway! I'm glad you like it, though.
Brightstorm: It's ok about repeating the review! I'm really glad you like it and I'll see what I can do about the POV thing and the page break thing. Thanks a bunch for reviewing!
The Priceless Cat Lady: I'm so glad you like this story! Well, obviously, everything that you are interested in should be evident- yikes, gotta go!
~Iceshadow