Icecloud is clearly the best character.

Turn up the angst for Jayfeather ;) Those of you who have read Vast Lands (Book 1) may recognize the premise for the end of this chapter...

Chapter 30

Jayfeather

Beware, Jay's Wing. Storm clouds are gathering on a dark breeze. ~The Fourth Apprentice

Icecloud mewed loudly upon entrance, and Jayfeather bounded across the den to accept the weight of Bouncepaw, who was whimpering.

"I couldn't get there quick enough," said Icecloud in a shaky voice. "You have to help her."

"I'm doing my best," said Jayfeather. He had left Leafpool with Cloudtail, and Blossomfall was running errands for them. "Bring her here."

"I was t-trying to bring moss," said Bouncepaw through intensely gritted teeth. "F-for the bite." Jayfeather was shocked that she wasn't screaming. He located the bite – a dangerous place in the side of her neck. But the apprentice had dug her claws into the earth, and there were fresh tears on her face, so Jayfeather knew he had to hurry.

"What can I do?" said Icecloud.

"Flametail," called Jayfeather across their workspace. "Do you have any moss?"

"The apprentices should be here soon," said Flametail. "Kestrelflight used the last of it."

"Icecloud, hold Bouncepaw down," said Jayfeather. He took a deep breath. He really did hate to do this, but he had already cut a pair of shadow bites out of Blossomfall today, so at least he wasn't doing this for the first time. As soon as his paws brushed Bouncepaw's wound, the apprentice let out the howl that she had probably been holding in.

"It's okay," said Icecloud, tense as she held the apprentice firmly in place. "It'll be okay."

Using her words as encouragement, Jayfeather did his job, reaching down into the side of Bouncepaw's neck and ignoring her screams as he tugged the sphere out.

"You'll be alright," said Jayfeather. "Icecloud, there are some cobwebs next to Leafpool." She returned in an instant, and Jayfeather bound the wound quickly.

"Thank you, Jayfeather," said Bouncepaw, and Jayfeather felt her slipping asleep. He sat back for a moment, but there wasn't time to be wasted. He turned to Icecloud quickly.

"Are there any wounds of yours I can help?" said Jayfeather. "You shouldn't go back into battle when you're not in your top shape."

"I'm fine," said Icecloud. Jayfeather sniffed twice, but to his surprise, there was no blood lingering on her pelt. Only shadow dust.

"Bizarre," he said, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. He walked around the ice-colored she-cat briefly. "Are you saying you haven't been injured in this battle?"

"The shadow cats won't come near me," said Icecloud. "And so far I've only encountered one or two real cats. And they…" She shrugged. "It's like instinct kicks in. I'm just lucky."

Jayfeather leaned closer, intrigued, but she was right. Not a single scratch marred her matted pelt. It was like…

"You're breathing rather heavily," he pointed out. He narrowed his eyes and sniffed again. "Hm…Icecloud."

"Y-yes, Jayfeather?" He could sense her nervousness, which made him even more suspicious. Moving forward, Jayfeather nosed her shoulder to nudge her slightly, circled her, and then stood in front of her. "What's…what's wrong?"

"Icecloud, I can't ask you to go out in battle again," said Jayfeather, startled. "You're expecting kits."

He expected this revelation to be shocking – and it wasn't.

"You knew?" said Jayfeather. Icecloud winced. "And you're going into battle anyways? Have you told Lionblaze?"

"No?" said Icecloud. "I wasn't sure, so I asked Leafpool – Jayfeather, I'm fine!"

"You asked Leafpool?" said Jayfeather.

"I knew you would get angry…" squeaked Icecloud. "Please, I have to fight! This is my battle, too. I have to fight for Bouncepaw and Lionblaze and our kits…Jayfeather…"

"You could be seriously hurt," said Jayfeather. "If you go out now, you could kill your kits."

"N-no!" said Icecloud. "I'm fine, honestly. Like I said, instinct."

Jayfeather ignored her protests and laid a paw on the side of her stomach.

Goodness cannot falter, but it must bow to the Five that will come in glory.

Jayfeather recoiled in shock at the sudden voice in his head. He caught a glimpse of a silver pelt, of amber-turquoise eyes, of fire and ice and the earth collapsing all around him.

"Jayfeather?" said Icecloud hesitantly. "Can I go?"

Drown in water, drown in air, drown in ice. Drown in earth, drown in fire, and then stars will be your truth.

What was the voice he was hearing in his head? It sounded like a chant, foreign and far away, but the first line had been a prophecy – that he had been sure of. What was this telling him? Before him, Icecloud was being protected by something so similar to Lionblaze's powers…

He stiffened. Could it be that Lionblaze's powers had transferred to their unborn kits? Could it be the kits protecting Icecloud, somehow?

"I want you running to the lake and back bringing moss," said Jayfeather. "If you get in a fight, that's unavoidable. But I feel I can rely on you. Bring injured cats and the ways to help them."

"So like an apprentice," said Icecloud crossly.

"No, like Blossomfall," said Jayfeather. "Like a target."

Icecloud took this in, realizing that that's what she was. Jayfeather had to be very careful sending Blossomfall out, as she was easily identified as a traitor. He had heard from Kestrelflight that a WindClan "traitor" had had her kits killed for leaving the Place of No Stars, and he wouldn't risk Blossomfall's safety for her pride.

He watched Icecloud go and hurried back to where Leafpool was tending to a horrible belly wound on Cloudtail. She knew what she was doing, so he turned back to check on Bouncepaw before helping a RiverClan tom into their workspace.

"Mintfur, here," Willowshine darted to accept the cat's weight, and she nodded at Jayfeather in gratitude. He stood at the front of the workspace, peering out without seeing a thing at the fray before him. From his position, he could scent the carnage: the blood, the shadow dust. Cats weren't making it up to WindClan's camp, where they had set up, purely because there weren't enough others to carry them back. The shadows were ruining everything.

His ears perked up as he realized: the last time he had come to check on the battle status, there had been more shadow cats. Were they finally getting somewhere in this useless war?

Then he scented blood nearby and cat in trouble, and he rushed backwards to scoop up more cobwebs as Brightheart helped Whitewing into the den. There was a pause as Leafpool, Blossomfall, and Jayfeather stared down at the cat that was being put before them; across the space, Kestrelflight looked over and let out a strangled noise.

"Please," said Brightheart. "She's my kit."

"Get out of the way, Jayfeather," said Leafpool, and Jayfeather didn't move fast enough as his mother sped past him. "What happened?"

"ShadowClan or shadow cats, take your pick," said Brightheart. Jayfeather moved back.

"My Clan is enraged that cats like her would betray our way of life," said Flametail coldly.

"Whitewing left her kits," said Leafpool. "I don't think she made the decision lightly."

Jayfeather passed over the marigold she was looking for, sitting back as his mother worked. He knew that really, she had never left him; Leafpool had done everything to look out for him. She just hadn't claimed him until he was old enough to hold grudges, and it had torn their little dysfunctional family apart. He turned back as if he was looking at Bouncepaw as he thought of Hollyleaf and got sad. Bouncepaw would know the feeling – through situations of hatred and xenophobia, they had both lost the littermate they cherished.

"Brightheart," he said once he had recovered. "Please go out and find the hurt cats out there. We can't heal those who are injured and can't make it back." He glanced back at Blossomfall, who was staring emptily at Whitewing. "You, too."

"Yes, Jayfeather," said Blossomfall. She nudged Brightheart on her way out, and after a sigh, the senior warrior turned out of the medicine work area as well. Jayfeather bitterly stared into greyness, half wishing he could see the destruction down below and half fearing it. What if he looked out and saw Doveheart torn apart, her limp form not moving enough to breathe? What if Lionblaze had finally met the end of his invincibility – what if he was right now on his paws for the last time, staggering as he collapsed? What if Cinderheart turned right now and ended up in the jaws of a shadow cat, dying before she could even scream?

His paws shivered at the thought, and he let out a horrified gasp.

"Jayfeather?" said Willowshine. He found that he was still standing over Bouncepaw. The RiverClan medicine cat stood beside him. "What's the matter? Has StarClan spoken to you?"

"N-no, it's nothing," said Jayfeather. Willowshine didn't move. "I fear for my friends."

"I didn't know a grumpy medicine cat like you had friends," said Willowshine. She bent down to investigate Bouncepaw's wounds. "She'll hold up well."

"Don't you have any RiverClan cats to attend to?"

"You know as well as I do that the warriors who need my help are down there, where I can't help them," said Willowshine crossly. "I told Reedwhisker to bring me as many cats as he can, but he's…" She shrugged. "Deputy and all that."

There was a bitterness in her tone that Jayfeather didn't want to get into, but he managed a nod all the same.

"He'll be fine," said Jayfeather, surprising Willowshine.

"I want them all to be fine," said Willowshine softly. "But our enemies can kill, and they won't hesitate to do so." She sighed. "If only it will end."

"We won't lose," said Jayfeather. He knew that there was something he should have been doing, some way he could hold tight to his part of the prophecy, but this was his job. He had the power of the stars in his paws, and he had to use it to help the cats around him.

He sat there, waiting among the chaos, and checking on the cats who limped into their space. For the most part, WindClan cats came back most quickly, undoubtedly because they knew the camp and were quickest at getting away, so Jayfeather found himself running errands for Kestrelflight and patching up the injuries of able-bodied WindClan warriors that wanted to throw themselves eagerly into battle.

Icecloud returned with moss twice more before Bouncepaw stirred; at the exact moment she did, pain shot through his head, and he gasped out as the chanting of kits once again drummed through his temples.

Drown in water, drown in air, drown in ice. Drown in earth, drown in fire, drown in water, drown in air, drown in ice, drown in earth, drown in fire, in water, in water, in water…

A scent like stars, dirt and death-berries washed over him, and Jayfether gasped out. He would recognize that deadly beautiful scent anywhere. His heart constricted, and for a moment, the world of grey disappeared as if he was in a dream.

He had known that the injuries all around were horrible, but the blood was everywhere, and the grotesqueness of it all made him shiver. Willowshine looked up at him across the camp, her blue eyes so sharp and keen, and she questioned him.

I'm sorry, Jayfeather… Hollyleaf's voice wound around him, and for a second, he caught a glimpse of her brilliant green eyes before everything was plunged into his normal grey. I'll fix everything, don't worry.

Then her presence was gone, and he stood in the midst of war. Why Hollyleaf? What had happened just now – what was StarClan trying to tell him?

He tipped his head up and closed his eyes, trying to think about the few dreams he had had regarding StarClan. On this matter, it seemed that he was to be the sign – they didn't seem to bother saying anything more. But this was StarClan's battle, too! Why were they so silent on a matter that affected them all? And what could Hollyleaf mean when she had promised to fix things? She wasn't part of this prophecy. It was all his to figure out.

When he had touched Icecloud, a warning had popped into his head. A warning about five, about drowning…he understood none of it. Then Hollyleaf…what was this battle for? Why was it even happening, if StarClan wouldn't offer him guidance? Did they want them to lose? No…they couldn't lose. If they lost, everything would be gone. Clan life, their friends, their families, everything.

He was jolted to attention when Brightheart staggered into the den, a huge scratch running down her side and two warriors with her. One was a ShadowClan warrior called Snowbird; Brightheart and Snowbird held Toadstep between them. The patched warrior hissed in pain as the two deposited him onto a nest.

"Brightheart," said Jayfeather. She didn't even need instructions, and she returned with comfrey root and horsetail, which Jayfeather gladly accepted to make into a poultice.

"He's going to be okay, right?" said Brightheart. She glanced across the den, towards where Snowbird had collapsed with Flametail. "And Snowbird?"

"I'll do what I can," said Jayfeather, but he wasn't worried about the injuries Toadstep had sustained. "How did this happen?"

"Shadow cats," said Brightheart bitterly. She was licking the injury at her side. "We're being destroyed out there."

Jayfeather had been waiting for this news, but he didn't say anything. He kept working on Toadstep's injuries, wincing with Toadstep when the patched warrior hissed in pain.

"You'll be fine," said Jayfeather. "You just need some rest."

"I can't rest!" said Toadstep, struggling to get back up. Jayfeather nudged him back into the nest, feeling the warrior's anxiety. "I told Blossomfall I'd protect her."

"Blossomfall is fine," said Jayfeather. "I'm keeping an eye on her."

"But the Clan needs every pair of paws it can spare," moaned Toadstep.

"Yes, but you won't be anything more than shadow cat fresh-kill if you go back out there," said Jayfeather. "Stop protesting!"

"Jayfeather, is it okay if I put the rest of that poultice on this?" asked Brightheart in reference to the scratch on her side. Jayfeather mewed a confirmation, and she performed quickly.

"I'll go back out," she decided. "It's pretty vicious out there."

"Do you think we'll lose?" said Jayfeather.

"I don't know what to think," said Brightheart. "We'll either win or be wiped out. At this point I'm not sure what will happen first." She glanced at the space behind her, and Jayfeather could understand why. Slowly but surely, WindClan's camp was filling up with the injured and resting. He didn't know how many of his Clan-mates could continue to withstand this pain, but at least Lionblaze and Doveheart were still out there.

Unless they were dead. That was also a possibility.

Jayfeather shivered at the thought and turned to Blossomfall as she staggered into camp supporting Berrynose.

"I had him!" Berrynose was enthusing. "I'm fine – ah!"

"You can't fight on three paws," Blossomfall said crossly. Leafpool was there in an instant, still smelling strongly of Whitewing's blood.

"Whitewing?" said Jayfeather.

"Whitewing!" said Berrynose crossly. "What's she doing here?"

"Toadstep!" Blossomfall mewed, bounding to her mate's side. Jayfeather wanted to call back one of his few able-bodied warriors, but he gave up in order to growl at Berrynose. Leafpool got there first.

"Whitewing is your Clan-mate. Now hold still."

She reached for his paw, and Jayfeather feinted out of the way to go check on Blossomfall and Toadstep, passing now-sleeping Whitewing. She seemed fine.

"He's okay, isn't he?" Blossomfall whined.

"He's fine," said Jayfeather. "Or he will be, if he doesn't stop trying to go into battle." He fished a poppy seed out from his diminishing store and passed it to Toadstep, who lapped it up without complaint.

"You're so brave," said Blossomfall, licking Toadstep's ear. The tom purred.

"I want to make sure this Clan survives," he murmured. "So we can have a family."

Jayfeather didn't want to break up their family, but he knew that Toadstep's wish had to come true for anything to happen after this point. He powered himself to step forward and flick Blossomfall with his tail like the irritated medicine cat he found himself too tired to be.

"I need you to go back out," said Jayfeather. "Can you do me a favor and find Lionblaze and Doveheart? I need to know that they're okay."

"Absolutely," said Blossomfall. She scampered to the entrance of their little safehaven and then paused. "This isn't just about making sure they're okay, is it?" Jayfeather paused, unsure what to say, but she purred. "You don't have to explain. You saved my life."

Then she was gone. Brightheart was in her place now, and once helping a RiverClan warrior and a WindClan warrior to their respective medicine cats, she turned to Jayfeather. Something was wrong. Jayfeather felt a rush of dread take over his system, and Brightheart hesitated on her pronouncement.

"Jayfeather, I thought you would want to know this…" said Brightheart. "I ran past Breezepelt as I was coming back and he…smelled like blood."

"Not surprising," said Jayfeather in a growl. But that wasn't all.

"It was Cinderheart's," said Brightheart. "I heard them fighting earlier, and…the blood…"

Jayfeather's blood turned to ice. Everything stopped. He could imagine the scene: Breezepelt rolling Cinderheart down a hill and slamming his claws down triumphantly. She would scream, blood would go everywhere, but he would just sneer once more and, not bothering to clean himself off, Breezepelt would run back to do more killing. He wouldn't even care about the she-cat whose life he had taken.

"No…" said Jayfeather. It was the only word he could summon up, although his thoughts had turned to buzz, furious like bumblebees. There was a growl in the back of his throat that he was fighting to keep off.

"I don't know anything for certain…" said Brightheart, but by that point, Jayfeather was seething. His entire body was on fire, save for the ice-sharp fury in the pit of his stomach that twisted and knotted up as he thought about Cinderheart's excited exclamations as she worked in the medicine den with him and the way she always came to him for help. Dead? Cinderheart? No, not his Cinderheart, the one cat he cherished more than any other.

With starlight in their paws, they will defeat the shadows to save or destroy the Clans. That was the destiny he had always known that he would have to complete, and it was this. This, the shadowy cat called Breezepelt that was his half-brother. He would avenge Cinderheart by killing Breezepelt with his own four paws.

"Jayfeather, where are you going?" said Kestrelflight as Jayfeather headed for the entrance. Jayfeather flicked his tail impatiently.

"I have something I have to do," he said in a voice cold and devoid of all emotion.

"Jayfeather, stop." Willowshine butted her head into his flank, and Jayfeather could feel her concern fogging up his anger. "You can't go out there, not now."

He glared daggers at her, but she didn't budge.

"I've been sharing your dreams, and I know what you care about," said Willowshine dangerously. "I know that you won't stop, but I have to try. You could get killed out there."

Jayfeather laughed at the concept. Him, a cat with starlight in his paws!

"Glad you're concerned," said Jayfeather as he butted her out of the way. He flicked his tail at Leafpool, who was staring at him in shock. "Watch them."

"What?" gasped Leafpool. "Jayfeather, no!"

But by that point, he was already bounding out of WindClan camp, the slope of the hill before him not a problem at all. He drank in the carnage around him, spinning in circles until he located the smell of his prey.

Breezepelt.

He would slay Breezepelt with the power of the stars.

I feel like Jayfeather just runs around declaring that he will do everything with the power of the stars. Protect Bluekit and Greykit, slay Breezepelt, keep Cinderheart to himself...dramatic Jay.

Oh, yeah, here's a big question I figured I would answer here. Why did I choose the pairings I did? Why not JayBriar or LionCinder? There are two big reasons. A) at the time the plot was developed, Jayfeather and Cinderheart was the OTP to top all other OTP's, and I really love Lionblaze and Icecloud together. B) To me, Cinderheart has a lot of issues that only Jayfeather really understands, with the swimming and the medicine cat instincts. I like Cinderheart and Lionblaze together because it allows Cinderheart to really have the real warrior life and kits and all of that, but...I don't know. I feel like it makes sense for Jayfeather to entirely lose himself to Cinderheart instead of Briarlight or Willowshine. So, yeah. There is that. Also, Icecloud is a kick-ass character, I love her to pieces, and this pairing arrangement means that she gets spotlight.

Thanks, everyone! See you soon for the followup to the last Ivypool chapter!

~Elsi