Chapter 3

All In The Past

Willowbreeze sat silently by the warrior's den. She had decided to tell Aspenclaw as soon as he came back to camp. She hoped he came back soon it was almost sundown. She started pacing back and forth. She pricked her ears at the sound of Aspenclaw's name. She looked over to where Smallstripe and Moonfur we're talking.

"So I looked over at Aspenclaw and say, 'Hey that smell like Windclan' and he says 'yeah you're right let's go tell Waspstar.' So we run back here and Waspstar doesn't think it's a threat! So I tell him…"

Willowbreeze coughed to get their attention. Both cats turned to look at her with big eyes. Once they realize it's not Waspstar, they relaxed.

"What do you need?" Asked the black and white she-cat.

"Do you know where Aspenclaw went?"

"Yeah. He went to look for Mellowsky a little bit ago," piped up Smallstripe. His voice grew concerned. "They should have been back by now."

Willowbreeze flattened her ears in fear. "I'm going to find them." She ran to the entrance of camp only to run head first into an apprentice. She reeled back and shook her head. It throbbed where she had hit the apprentice. The apprentice stumbled but recovered quickly.

"Where's Reedsong?"

Willowbreeze blinked tears of pain out of her eyes. "Smokepaw. What…?"

"Where's Reedsong!" He demanded.

She motioned to the medicine cat den where Reedsong was explaining how to do a splint to Skypaw.

Smokepaw raced forward. "Reedsong! Quick! At the lake! It's Mellowsky and Aspenclaw! They've drowned! Shellnose is trying to save them, but she needs help! Come on!" He raced out of camp, brushing Willowbreeze as he went by. Reedsong followed close on his heels. Skypaw was grabbing herbs and began to follow. She handed some to Willowbreeze who was still too stunned to move. "You're no help standing here. Follow me and take those with you."

When Willowbreeze and Skypaw got to the lake, Reedsong was trying to get Mellowsong to breathe again while Shellnose and Smokepaw were licking Aspenclaw trying to wake him up. "Skypaw," Meowed Reedsong with a authoritive air, "Crush those herbs and give them to Aspenclaw. They'll help him breathe better." Skypaw hurried and did as her mentor said.

Willowbreeze walked stiff legged and wide over to where Aspenclaw lay limp. She pushed Smokepaw out of the way and began licking Aspenclaws pelt. Shellnose looked up at her.

"What happened?" Asked Willowbreeze not looking up.

"I saw the water moving weird and decided to check it out. Then Mellowsky popped up. I swam out to her and saw Aspenclaw under her. I told Smokepaw to come out and grab Mellowsky while I dove under and grabbed Aspenclaw. We brought them to shore. I made Smokepaw go get the medicine-cat and started trying to push the water out of Aspenclaw. He started coughing so I moved to Mellowsong. That's when Reedsong came."

Willowbreeze stopped licking and looked at Aspenclaw. He had almost died never knowing that he had kits. She closed her eyes and decided to tell him as soon as he awoke.

Aspenclaw started coughing and spluttering. Willowbreeze moved closer to him. He opened his eyes a little and coughed some more water out.

"Aspenclaw?" She whispered hopefully.

He coughed and managed a strangled mew. "Ice…heart." He slipped back into unconsciousness.

Willowbreeze looked at Shellnose. "Who's Iceheart?" She asked. Shellnose shook her head. "I don't know."

"That was his father."

The three she cats turned and looked as Reedsong came over to them. "Iceheart was Aspenclaws father and a terrible cat."

Skypaw looked past Reedsong. "Mellowsky?" The medicine-cat shook her head. "It was too late for her." She looked at Aspenclaw. "We need to get him back to camp. Can you to carry him?" She asked Willowbreeze and Shellnose. They both nodded. Willowbreeze grabbed his scruff and Shellnose grabbed his back.

Reedsong looked at the two apprentices. "Can you two take her?" She motioned to Mellowsong. The apprentices nodded and took her gently in their grasps.

The trail of cats slowly trekked through the willows.

"So what did Iceheart do that made him so terrible?" muttered Smokepaw around the fur.

Reedsong sighed. "I was an apprentice when it all happened. Iceheart's mate, Petalwing, had just had three kits. Iceheart didn't want them. He was too ambitious for kits. One day he came into camp with the body of one of our warriors, Halfleaf. He told us that Thunderclan had killed him, but there was no Thunderclan scent. We were investigating the incident for a moon. Then one day Petalwing went for a walk. She was attacked and brought back nearly dead. She managed to tell us that Iceheart had jumped her and tried to frame Shadowclan. Iceheart was furious that his plan failed. He went into the nursery and killed two of his kits. He was about to kill Aspenclaw when Waspstar attacked him. He managed to drive away Iceheart but it was too late for the kits. Thunderclan killed Iceheart the next day. He had tried to start a war. It wasn't too difficult convincing them that he was a traitor."

They reached the camp at moon high and took the two limp cats to the medicine-cat's den. The eyes of many warriors were on them as they passed through the camp. They laid the cats down. Reedsong placed a leaf of water near Aspenclaw. "For when he wakes up," she explained to a confused Willowbreeze. "Skypaw go get Waspstar. Tell him what's happened." Skypaw nodded and left the den. Smokepaw also crept out. He wasn't needed and he didn't want to look at bodies anymore.

"I knew Petalwing," murmured Shellnose. "She was an elder when I was a kit many moons ago. I didn't know she had a mate or kits." "Waspstar banned the story of Iceheart in camp," Reedsong said as she checked Aspenclaw over for scratches or leeches. "He said no one like that should be remembered. He even dealt a harsh punishment for anyone who spoke about it. He never mentioned it at gatherings and asked Thunderclan to do the same. Petalnose didn't want to talk about it either. She refused her only surviving kit because she was afraid he would turn out like him. Another queen cared for him. It was acceptable at first. Her wounds should have killed her and it made her delirious. It was a miracle she lived. But after a few moons, cats began wondering why she abandoned her kit. She only confided in Waspstar. She become unresponsive and had to be moved to the elder's den where she stayed until she died at a very old age."

Willowbreeze shook her head and looked down at Aspenclaw. What an awful beginning he had. She would make sure it never got bad again. She turned as Waspstar burst into the den.

"Willowbreeze, Shellnose, it's time for you to leave," Reedsong said guiding Waspstar to the body of his deputy. Willowbreeze opened her mouth to object, but Reedsong stopped her with a flick of her tail. "You can come see Aspenclaw later. He'll be fine with me." Willowbreeze looked down and turned to leave. Shellnose gave her shoulder a comforting brush. "He's in good hands." They left the den together.

Dawn had started showing and most cats were still in their dens. The two she-cats walked into the den and went to their nests. Both sat quietly until the sun was fully in the sky. With it, brought the mournful cries of cats as they discovered the night's events.