I'm back!

Chapter 15, Belonging

Icepaw sat against the comforting bark of the willow. Looking out on RiverClan territory, there was a sheltered stream that wound between the two territories. Not a lot of cats went there, but Icepaw loved sitting against the rough, patterned willow tree with a few rare golden rays of sun streaming onto her white fur. The river below her looked like many snakes weaving, and weaving together - if there were different colored snakes. The sun beat down on the stream, causing the rippled effect of sunlight weaving it's way through water. "I love it here," she mewed gently.

Snakepaw was sitting next to her, on a patch of fairly dry earth with a few sprigs of grass between his two front paws. "It's very beautiful," he said.

She looked over at him, expecting to see him looking down at the river like she loved to do. But he wasn't - he was sitting, looking at her. She jumped as their eyes instantly made contact. After a moment, he looked down slowly at the river. Icepaw swallowed, and realized her heart was racing as she too looked back at the patterns on the water. "I... I s'pose we should probably go back."

He nodded slowly as she rested her blue eyes on him. But neither moved, apart from Snakepaw's tail dipping it's way into the water and creating a miniature wall of water on either side of it, and the shuffling of Icepaw's paws.

A butterfly buzzed past them, drawing both their gaze up as the black and orange spotted creature fluttered away on the wind. Icepaw briefly paused to consider the brief lifespan of the butterfly. It lives such a short time, and it's so beautiful. Why does something so beautiful live for only such a short time? She shook herself awake from her ponderings and prodded Snakepaw, who jerked his head up, amber eyes wide.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to frighten you... We should go back to camp."

He briskly nodded, and got up. As they walked through the pine forest, she briefly missed the light, airy feel of the ThunderClan woods where it was easy for light to penetrate through the leafy canopy of the trees above. She shook her head and remembered how much she loved the pine woods of ShadowClan. This is where I belong, she told herself firmly. How do you know? was the next thought that came to her mind. You left there when you were barely apprenticed. How much of life there did you really find out about? She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and pushed the thoughts away.

Fishshadow stepped out of one of the rows of pine trees. "There you are!" he scolded her. "We've been waiting around for you for a long time." Silverpaw, Hollyfire, Moonpaw, Briarrush, and Mudsplash also stepped out of the trees behind him.

"Sorry!" she said instinctively.

"Oh, just come on. We'll train over here today." he said pointing with his tail off to her right.

She called cheerfully, "Bye!" to Snakepaw, who was training with Silverpaw and Hollyfire. Briarrush and Moonpaw followed them to the clearing where she and Snakepaw had hid from the fox. "First," Fishshadow mewed, "I want to assess your fighting skills. You'll be a bit behind from missing training, but you're going to have to catch up."

Icepaw nodded determinedly. This was a logical, well meaning mentor she could deal with.

"Attack Moonpaw," he mewed as he stepped behind her off to the side. Briarrush did the same for Moonpaw, leaving the two apprentices in the half enclosed grove where on one side pine trees grew thickly, throwing a carpet of brown, dead needles to the floor.

Moonpaw rushed for her, and soon Icepaw was under her, Moonpaw on the top, with her yellow eyes glaring down at Icepaw. "Hey!" she mewed. "I wasn't ready!"

She twisted her head as Fishshadow stepped out from behind her. "Your opponent won't wait until you're ready," he told her kindly.

"Yeah," Moonpaw hissed as Fishshadow stepped back again. "This is ShadowClan, Icepaw of WimpClan. Get used to it, and maybe Petalstar won't call you Icewimp." She pushed herself back from Moonpaw, seething. Ooh, you're going to pay for that, she vowed to herself. This time when Moonpaw was rushing for her, she feigned a dodge to the left, skidding slightly on the pine needles.

Moonpaw turned, about ready to swat her on the head, and Icepaw turned again. Moonpaw growled, and followed. This time Icepaw rolled onto the floor, promising herself she would shake the pine needles off before they met Silverpaw and Snakepaw again, and twisted around. Her gaze sparkled with the fun of the game.

Moonpaw's yellow eyes widened as she began to collapse backward. She had reared up onto her hind legs to swat Icepaw, and now it was working against her. As she fell backward to the fores floor, Icepaw leaped up and pounced on her chest. She didn't stop to look at her mentor's warm words of approval, but sat staring intently at Moonpaw. As Briarrush and Fishshadow turned to leave, calling for the apprentices to follow, Icepaw leaned closer to Moonpaw's face.

"Get used to it, Moonypaw." she taunted. Moonpaw bared her teeth and hissed. Icepaw continued, blue eyes intense. "If you say anything like that ever, ever again, you are going to pay." She briefly extended her claws above Moonpaw's throat. "These claws don't have to be sheathed," she said, sheathing them again. "You are my fellow Clanmate, like it or not." Icepaw began walking after her mentor, towards her camp. She added without looking back, "Because I am part of ShadowClan."

She walked into the dappled light that was cast through the pine trees - her trees.

PLEASE READ MY NOTE! Sorry I've been gone so long, everyone! Please answer my question on the last chapter - is using the 'In Response to Reviews' too impersonal?

Well, hopefully not to impersonally, in response to reviews:

Snowstar of BlizzardClan: Thank you!

Koraki: I'm glad you like it! I did review maybe, two, I think, of your fanfictions... which one did you mean?

Miryam Lea: :D

TalonfootandRipplestream4EVER: Thank you! (Well, obviously here the update is...) Yeah, anyway, thanks!

~Iceshadow~