Thank you all so very much for reviewing! I am trying to think about how many more chapters we'll have. Not including the epilogue, up to five, or less. Enjoy this chapter, even though it's short. :P

Nightstorm: Born of True Destiny doesn't own Warriors

Chapter Forty-Six

Ice woke with a head ache.

It felt like an adder has slithered into her head and wrapped itself around her mind. There was a slight ringing in her ears, and the wind that swayed the trees seemed blocked out from her hearing. It was dark, but only because of where she was, for when she looked off a tree-length or two away, she could see the golden light peaking through the branches.

Something dropped beside her and she looked over. Nettlepaw stood there with a sparrow at his paws and a smile on his face. He said something.

"What?" Ice asked loudly.

"I said, Good morning!" Nettlepaw said at the same volume. "Are you okay?"

"No," Ice replied, lowering her head between her forepaws. "My head hurts."

Nettlepaw sat. "Maybe you should just eat. We didn't exactly have a lot last night. Finish the sparrow, and then get some sleep. We'll continue the journey tomorrow."

Something clicked in her mind. "Oh, yeah. Wait a moment. No! We have to leave today. The sooner the better!" She began to stand.

"No," Nettlepaw growled sternly, placing a paw lightly on her back. She found herself lying back down. "Eat, and rest. You don't want to embark on a long journey in pain. You'll just make yourself sick. I know you were a medicine cat once, but trust me, you have no idea what you're talking about."

"Is this all just to get me to change my mind about going?" Ice questioned, glaring at him.

Nettlepaw looked at her with a serious expression. "As much as I want to, I know that I can't change your mind about this, and I made a promise to follow you. If this is to make you feel better, if this is to make you feel happy, then I'll go with it."

Ice closed her eyes tight. It sounded like he was speaking to fast and the world spun? What had happened last night? "Alright, I'll do as you say, but the moment I begin to feel better, than we're leaving."

Nettlepaw didn't say anything as he stepped back to let her eat. Ice ate the sparrow slowly, because every time she looked up from her meal, dizziness would strike her as hard as a gust of storm wind. Once she had choked down a few gulps of meat, she turned away from the food and laid down her head. She would sleep again, and she would wake again, ready for this, because she couldn't wait any longer.

Ice wanted to dream of nothing that morning, because the spinning and confusing patterns of colors and sounds that spiraled around her would make her feel worse, but that was something that she couldn't control. She did see something, it was brief, but she saw it. First a flame sparked to life through the darkness, and around it sat silver twinkles; stars. Then, as soon as she saw it, it was gone, like it had never existed in the first place.

Then she felt a cold chill, wrapping around her as if to freeze her, but she wouldn't allow it. Her own frosty strength fought back, before she was left again, as she was before.

The rest of it came swiftly, like it was for her to control, but she had not begun trying yet. Ice tried to shut out the noise and the sights, fearing they would make her sick, but something about the elaborate, confusing visions spinning around in her head, gave her confidence and power like she hadn't expected, and as it all soon began to draw to a close, the rocks that seemed to stuff her head, vanished, leaving her light-hearted, and calm.

She jolted awake, and remained in the exact place she had fallen asleep in, though this time, her headache was gone. Ice smiled, knowing what would happen next.

Nettlepaw sat off in the forest, ears flicking at every chirp the birds made, but other than that, he was completely motionless. His fur didn't even seem to move as the light greenleaf breezes passed. Ice sighed loudly.

His tail brushed the forest floor and his head turned slightly, though his eyes were still invisible behind his head. "Feeling better, are we?"

Ice purred, knowing he detected the pleasure in her sigh. "We're leaving...now. I don't think I'll be able to stand staying in the same place any longer."

Now, Nettlepaw was walking toward her as she stood.

"Do you have any memory of where it is?"

He shrugged his shoulders in response. "A little, though keep in mind that I wanted to escape the Clans in the first place." He stopped before her. "Do you remember?"

"I know I came from moorland."

Nettlepaw's eyes widened as he took in the words. "Ah, so we'll have to go back through the Twolegplace?"

Ice stole a sideways glance at the direction they came from. "It seems so. Let's hope we don't run into any Alley Cats on our way out."

They managed to find their way out of the tangled branches and solid shadows that seemed to greet them at every turn. When they broke from the trees, the sun cast blinding light over their eyes and Ice squinted against it. Nettlepaw continued walking down to the Thunderpath that waited for them a tree-length off. Ice followed.

As she set her paws on the rough surface, she cringed as the heat settled into her pads, but she caught up with her companion and began speaking.

"So, I dreamt this morning, while I was resting," she told him. He faced forward, but his pricked ears told her he was digesting every word that came out of her mouth, "And I think I have a rough idea of the plan."

"Do you?" he asked, curiosity hanging on to his tone, but there was also a sense of his usual uncertainty he had every time she spoke of this.

"Yeah," Ice answered. "I don't know when exactly we'll attack. We'll probably start with ThunderClan. Sometime when they would be paying attention to something else, so we catch them unguarded."

"Wait a moment - you want to catch them all at once?" Nettlepaw asked, bewildered.

"Well, yeah. I want to let them know right away who they'll be answering too. I want to show them immediately how much pain they have caused me."

Nettlepaw's amber eyes sliced into hers questioningly. "Don't you think you're overestimating your strength, Ice? How power can one or two cats have over an entire Clan?"

"I told you," Ice said. "Surprise. I'll kill the leader first, and then the deputy. And once-" She broke off, realizing what she had said. The deputy.

Her father.

The mere thought of him sent a fiery wrath coursing through every inch of her. His cruel, twisted actions and words towards her and towards the Clan's honor was more than enough to feel the pure desire for revenge.

"Spot something wrong there?"

Her gaze flicked to Nettlepaw. "No. Actually, everything is perfect. As I was saying..." she glanced at the ground. "Once they have no leader, I'll bring it upon myself to give them the same pain they have given me."

The only response Nettlepaw gave her was a nod. He didn't speak to after that until they made it to the end of the neighborhood, where across a much larger, wider, blacker Thunderpath was thousands of tree-lengths of moor.

She looked at him. He looked at her.

"Go get them, Ice," he said.

Of course he doesn't really mean it, but he loves her, so he'll say what she wants to hear.

Anyway, we're getting close, so keep up with reading and review!

~Destiny