Chapter 2

A few moons had passed since she had become a warrior. By now she had gotten used to her new position. And she loved it. Being part of this Clan meant everything to her. Especially since Sandstar had sadly passed away. When Bramblestar rose as leader he had to ensure that the Clan was safe and would survive throughout the following leafbare. Life had been difficult since Sandstar's passing, but they moved on eventually.

"Iceshadow, you're on the border patrol this sunhigh!" yowled Dewspeck. Of all the cats in the Clan, Bramblestar had to name him as deputy. Iceshadow couldn't really blame the leader though. Dewspeck was more reasonable and compassionate towards the Clan.

And I still haven't gotten an apprentice, she thought bitterly. Bramblestar didn't trust her entirely. Even after everything she had done for the Clan. She had ended Nightfeather's life and disbanded the rogues that threatened the Clan. And yet he didn't trust her because she was from another Clan.

She shook her head at the thought and padded over to the fresh-kill pile. To her surprise it was lower than usual. Dewspeck had sent out a hunting patrol earlier this morning. She wondered for a moment why they hadn't bothered restocking it.

"Hey Iceshadow." Creekfeather's purr drew her attention away from the fresh-kill pile. She turned to see the silver-gray she-cat looking at her in excitement. "So I guess we're on the same patrol together," she added as Iceshadow stood up.

"Did you go hunting earlier this morning?" Iceshadow couldn't help but ask as they headed for the camp's entrance. Creekfeather was her best friend. They had been friends since Iceshadow joined the Clan. And Iceshadow loved Creekfeather's perky attitude. She was never down, even when times seemed so dull.

Luckily for them Ivywing and Swirlpelt were joining them on the border patrol. Iceshadow wasn't really fond of Sleetfur, and she wasn't speaking to Weaselfang for obvious reasons. The rude tom had apologized for his behavior a moon ago, but she refused to speak to him as a friend. Ivywing and Swirlpelt weren't too bad to speak with. Though Ivywing had a temper almost as strong as Sleetfur's.

"No, but I heard that the patrol returned empty-pawed," Swirlpelt answered for Creekfeather. Iceshadow narrowed her eyes, realizing that something must have happened during that patrol. "They said that something's wrong with the territory."

"Nothing can be wrong with the territory," Ivywing scoffed. "What sort of mousebrained nonsense is that?"

"I don't know, but it is possible that something has happened to the prey," Iceshadow murmured thoughtfully.

Ivywing looked at her doubtfully as they padded through the sparse undergrowth. Even now Iceshadow could tell that the ground was drier than usual. The grass under her paws crunched and felt crisp like it would when frost covered it. And as she looked around she realized that she couldn't hear the streams that constantly ran through the territory.

That's strange, she thought to herself. The streams never run out of water, according to the elders. It was unheard of.

"Oh come on Ivywing, you're always such a buzz kill," Creekfeather meowed as she bounced along. She then turned her gaze to Iceshadow. "So, how are things going between you and Weaselfang?" she suddenly added.

Iceshadow froze on the spot, her eyes widening and her ears flattening in embarrassment. All three she-cats stopped when they realized that she had stopped.

"Nothing is going on between us," she hissed, drawling out each syllable so that Creekfeather would understand. The silver she-cat simply smirked in amusement. "He is nothing more than a Clanmate, and he should consider himself lucky he is."

"Your response tells us otherwise," Swirlpelt purred. Iceshadow shot her a cold glare. There was no way in StarClan she could see herself becoming mates with that arrogant furball.

"Let's just drop the subject, shall we?" Ivywing meowed, noticing how awkward the situation was getting.

Silence followed as they patrolled the territory. Iceshadow was more than happy with the silence. But another more troubling thought had occurred. She couldn't pick up any traces of prey in the forest. The stream was already dried up in most parts.

By the time they reached the FireClan border, Iceshadow's fur was crawling with unease. She knew that something wasn't right the moment they reached the border. Ivywing and Swirlpelt were looking around uneasily as they tried to figure out what was wrong.

"We should go, now," Iceshadow growled. Creekfeather nodded in agreement, and they were about to turn and leave when something jumped out of the bushes. Iceshadow's eyes widened in horror when she saw the fox looming over them. Too late, Creekfeather noticed it as the fox lunged towards her. "Creekfeather!"

She screeched and jumped after the fox as it grabbed Creekfeather by the neck. The silver she-cat let out a shriek of terror as it shook her violently. Iceshadow wasted no time in trying to fight back, digging her claws across the fox's muzzle.

Swirlpelt and Ivywing didn't even move as the fox clamped it's jaw shut around Creekfeather. Iceshadow's heart nearly skipped a beat when blood pooled on the ground. Finally the two other she-cats darted forward and tried nipping at the fox's paws, trying to keep it distracted.

StarClan, don't let her die! Iceshadow begged. At last the fox had given up when it realized they were fighting back. Iceshadow grabbed hold of the fox's neck and bit down as hard as she could, tasting blood in her mouth. The fox let out a yelp of pain and threw her off. Iceshadow clenched her teeth when she hit a tree in the process. Once she had let go the fox disappeared back into the undergrowth, leaving a trail of blood with it.

"Iceshadow!" Swirlpelt yowled, bounding over to her. Ivywing was still at Creekfeather's side, but she refused to budge.

"I'm fine," Iceshadow replied, getting to her paws. Again her teeth grounded together in pain; she knew she was going to feel that in the morning. "Creekfeather…." Iceshadow bowed her head when she saw what the fox had done.

Creekfeather wasn't moving. Her fur was coated in blood, her head lolled to one side. Iceshadow's shoulders heaved with grief when she realized that Creekfeather was dead.

"Iceshadow…. I'm so sorry," Swirlpelt murmured. Iceshadow suddenly rounded on the young warrior, anger making her grief stronger.

"Sorry?" she demanded, her voice rising to a yowl. "All you and Ivywing did was sit there and do nothing!" Swirlpelt shrank under her glare, but Ivywing only glared back.

"We did help fight back!" Ivywing spat. "You can't just go around and blame us for something we didn't do."

Iceshadow bowed her head as she looked down at Creekfeather's body. There was nothing they could do. That fox had come out of nowhere, and Creekfeather happened to be in it's way. Even if she could have saved her friend, it would have meant risking her own life in the process.

...

The Clan watched in appalled horror when Creekfeather's body was dragged into camp. Sleetfur and Weaselfang were the first to approach them, and Sleetfur wasted no time in attacking Iceshadow.

"You heartless foxhearted coward!" she snarled as she pinned Iceshadow to the ground. "You let her die!" Sleetfur was ready to claw Iceshadow when she suddenly kicked the older she-cat square in the chest.

"Creekfeather was my best friend!" Iceshadow snapped. "I would never have let anything happen to her if I could have stopped it!"

Sleetfur looked like she was ready to argue when Bramblestar pulled her back.

"Enough of this," he hissed to them both. "This was not Iceshadow's fault… we must prepare a vigil for her."

Iceshadow bowed her head once again as the Clan prepared for vigil. She hadn't missed how skinny that fox was. When she wasn't in shock at the sight she realized that something had caused it to wander that far into the border.

She would never forget everything Creekfeather had done for her. Creekfeather was the one who had first greeted her when she joined the Clan. And they had been best friends ever since. She was always there when Iceshadow needed cheering up.

"We will miss you, Creekfeather," Runningstream, Creekfeather's mother, murmured.

I will never forget you, Creekfeather, Iceshadow thought as she touched her friend's fur with her muzzle. The Clan had lost a valuable friend, and Clanmate. Creekfeather's memory would live on forever.

AN: Man, I'm updating left and right here. Sorry about that ^^ I did change the prologue around a bit, if you haven't noticed ;) And I bet no one was expecting that to happen this chapter!

Zarina El Tigre - Thank you! Yeah, it would be a bit confusing if you haven't read the rest of the series ^^

Amrosia Ice - XD I didn't mean to ;) My writing wasn't even as good as it has gotten back when the series first started.