Chapter 4

Two days had passed since Creekfeather's death. The Clan was still only just recovering after what had happened. Iceshadow especially found it difficult to move on after the loss of her best friend. She hardly spoke to anyone now, and she knew that Sleetstorm blamed her for her sister's death.

Was there anything that she could have done to save her? By the time the fox had reached Creekfeather, it was too late. Iceshadow could still hear that sickening crunch of bones, and that horrifying screech that followed. She still had nightmares about that day, and she knew they wouldn't go away anytime soon.

"Has anyone seen the streams lately?" Her ears perked forward at the sound of Mosstail's voice. The pale gray she-cat bounded forward and stepped in front of a large crowd, consisting of Runningstream, Duskstorm, Leopardblaze and Salmonclaw. Iceshadow sat in the back of the crowd, wondering just where Mosstail was getting with this.

"Yeah, I saw them this morning," Runningstream meowed. "They seem smaller than usual... almost like something is wrong with them."

"Well, it hasn't rained for quite some time," Duskstorm pointed out. "Perhaps that is all they need."

Iceshadow felt her heartbeat faster than usual. If the streams were starting to dry up, then the Clan was truly in trouble. They relied on the streams for fish and for water. What would they do when there was nothing to hunt or to drink?

"We'll be fine," Leopardblaze murmured, as if he had read her thoughts. "We've struggled through worse times."

She flinched as he pointed out one of the darkest times in Clan history. Technically he hadn't said anything, but she understood the reference. Silverstar was one of the cruelest leaders the Clans had known. She had taken away Sandstar's kits and threatened to kill them if he didn't comply. It was only thanks to Sandstar that Silverstar had been killed, with the help of Raincloud of course.

How different would the Clans be if she was still around? she wondered. She shuddered at the thought, realizing that she might not even be alive. HalfClan kits weren't exactly highly praised among the Clans.

"Iceshadow, can you take a hunting patrol down to the streams?" Dewspeck asked as he approached her. The StreamClan deputy seemed oblivious to all the talks going around the Clan. Iceshadow tilted her head to one side before nodding in agreement.

"Is there anyone in particular you want me to bring?" she asked cautiously. She wasn't in any hurry to patrol with Sleetstorm.

"Just bring whoever you want," he suggested. "It might be better if you choose cats you're close to."

Again she flinched when he singled her out once more. It wasn't very surprising - by now most cats had noticed that she was much quieter than usual. She shook her head at the thought and decided to go with the cats she had gotten close to over the past few moons, and that list wasn't very long.

"Blazeleaf, Reedstorm, wanna go hunting with me?" she asked after approaching the two she-cats. They had been chattering about something, though Iceshadow wasn't sure what that something was.

"Sure," replied Reedstorm as she stood up and stretched out her back. "It might be good to stretch out my muscles."

Relief washed over Iceshadow's shoulders when Blazeleaf nodded in agreement. The three of them padded off towards the stream where they usually hunted. Here it was easy to find water voles and minnows that were shared amongst Clanmates. But the closer they got, the more Iceshadow could see that Mosstail was right.

The streams weren't as swollen as they usually were. True, around greenleaf they usually didn't get so large. But even then they weren't this thin. By the time they reached their favorite hunting spot, the stream had turned into nothing but a trickle.

"The elders were right," Blazeleaf murmured thoughtfully.

"About what?" asked Iceshadow. She wondered if they had already predicted what would happen this greenleaf. It wouldn't surprise her if they did.

"They said the streams were dying up; the sun's been too warm for them not to," Blazeleaf explained with a shrug. "But that doesn't mean we won't find anything - I can already scent vole in the air."

Iceshadow didn't miss the worry in Reedstorm's eyes. As far as she knew, the streams had never dried up. She wondered what would happen if they did. The Clan would have to take on a different hunting tactic in order to survive.

The three of them split up into different areas. Iceshadow had taken to hunting in the reeds, while Blazeleaf took to hunting near the trees. Reedstorm found herself content with hunting in the thick undergrowth that grew along the stream's bank.

She found that Blazeleaf was right about the prey - there was still some in the area. Iceshadow just had to be careful about where she went. The reeds that grew around here were tall and thick, meaning they could rustle against the wind and alert the prey.

With careful pawsteps she managed to find a vole burrowing it's way into the moist ground. Iceshadow waited until the vole reemerged before pouncing. It was completely unaware of her presence, until suddenly it was too late. She caught the vole with ease and buried it nearby where she could remember it.

She didn't stop until she had caught at least two more voles, and a mouse. Her paws were full as she returned to the meeting place, where she saw Blazeleaf already waiting for her. Blazeleaf's eyes were gleaming with triumph as she held a squirrel between her paws.

"It looks like the two of you had better luck than I did," Reedstorm grumbled when she returned, empty-pawed. Iceshadow blinked at her sympathetically before nudging two of her voles towards her.

"You can take mine," she purred. Reedstorm looked at her gratefully and took them.

Once the three of them had returned, they saw camp was buzzing with activity. Iceshadow dropped her prey on the fresh-kill pile and saw what was going on. Leopardblaze was pacing outside the nursery, and she had already guessed that Shellfur's kits were on their way.

It's about time the Clan had more kits, she thought. Maybe she could actually mentor one of them when they became apprentices. She doubted it though. Bramblestar didn't trust her anymore than Sandstar had.

"I can't wait to see what the kits look like," meowed Swirlpelt.

The birth of any kit was good news for a Clan. But it also was a distraction to what had happened just two days ago. Iceshadow hadn't realized until now that the Clan seemed much more cheerful now.

"Imagine that, she wants kits of her own," Weaselfang muttered with a roll of his eyes.

Iceshadow stifled a purr of amusement. Even though they had a rough start together, Iceshadow had begun to accept Weaselfang as maybe more than just a friend. She would never admit that out loud though. Weaselfang tended to have a big head and attitude.

"Just two more to go!" Beechnose's yowl sounded from the nursery, as a wail of pain followed. Pikepaw immediately retreated from the nursery with a broken branch in his jaws.

Looks like he'll need something sturdier, she thought with amusement. It wasn't long before Pikepaw returned with another branch, this one looking a bit more sturdy. The light brown tabby apprentice wasted no time in ducking into the nursery.

He may have only been an apprentice for a moon now, but Pikepaw was showing signs of being a wise medicine cat. He always seemed to do as he was told, without question. But if he thought something wasn't right, he would argue with Beechnose. She wondered if that was how all medicine cats were.

"Two toms and two she-cats," Beechnose announced once things had finally quieted down.

Iceshadow's eyes widened in amazement at the announcement. Four kits! Something like that was almost unheard of in the Clans. She hoped all of the kits survived, for Shellfur's sake. But they would be quite a pawful when they got older.

"This is wonderful news for the Clan," Bramblestar purred as Leopardblaze barged into the nursery, nearly shoving Pikepaw out in the process. "The Clan can certainly use more kits during times like these."

She couldn't help but flinch once again as Bramblestar referred to Creekfeather. She wished that everyone would just drop the subject already. She missed her friend enough, but to have to be reminded that it was her fault Creekfeather died was even more heart-wrenching.

"Let's just hope they survive the upcoming weather," Iceshadow murmured out loud.

"Someone's sounding not so optimistic." Iceshadow flinched when she heard Weaselfang speak up. "I remember a time when you'd claw my ears off if I spoke to you." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his remark.

"Maybe that's because I've learned to keep them sheathed in camp," she growled under her breath.

"Or you've calmed down over the moons." Iceshadow could almost hear the smirk in his voice, and she wished she could claw his ears off. For now she kept her claws sheathed though, until they were one day outside of camp alone.

"Just remember, one day you won't be surrounded by witnesses," she hissed, ignoring the amused look he was giving her.

"I look forward to that day," he reassured her.

Iceshadow met his hard-leveled stare, and suddenly she her fur bristle with unease. She felt embarrassed by the way he was staring at her. If it had been any other tom she might have just ignored him. But to her Weaselfang wasn't just like any ordinary tom. He was Creekfeather's brother, and had always been a bit of a grouch. But that was what made him unique. And maybe that was why she had gotten to like him as more than just a Clanmate.