Here's chapter 13. Look, I know what I said about reviews, and that still stands, but I figure that for those few loyal people who have the heart to acknowledge my hard work, I might as well publish the chapters I have written. So here goes, against my better judgment…
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A gasp echoed through the tiny clearing.
"I didn't know it at first, but it seemed so…real," Sparrowpaw continued, her words tumbling out in a nearly indiscernible stream.
Icepaw leaned forward, masking her eager grin under a more lighthearted smile. "But that's so cool!" purred the white she-cat smoothly, sounding for all the world like an ignorant apprentice. Her icy eyes sparked as she watched Sparrowpaw shift uncomfortably.
"I know…but I haven't even told Shortwhisker yet! What if it's not a real dream? I don't want him to think I'm…sucking up, or anything," she looked at Icepaw with a disconsolate stare, her ears laid back against her slender skull.
Plastering on a warm, reassuring smile, Icepaw padded forward and licked the tortoiseshell she-cat gently between the ears. "Don't worry, Sparrowpaw. It's probably nothing to worry about. What was the dream?" She made sure not to sound too keen, but on the inside Icepaw was practically ready to shake the answer out of the medicine cat apprentice.
Sparrowpaw smiled cautiously, and then glanced back at the dusty ground, shuffling her speckled paws. "I was walking through the forest – it was…morning. ThunderClan territory, of course. I was walking to Sunningrocks-" Sparrowpaw swallowed nervously, obviously remembering the recent battle against RiverClan. Icepaw recalled a few of her own memories, but instead of sorrow, the hint of a smile tugged at her lips. Sparrowpaw continued, "There was the river, like it always is, but then…but then it started to rise."
Silence permeated the clearing for a few moments before Icepaw nudged her friend's ear. "Go on. It's just getting exciting!" Icepaw meowed with a carefree laugh. Sparrowpaw laughed nervously with her and then mewed, "The river flooded, and it went all around me, and I was trying to swim…and Sunningrocks was surrounded by so much water! And then suddenly it was gone, as soon as it had come. The river flowed back into its banks and Sunningrocks was the same."
Sparrowpaw gasped for breath and leaned into Icepaw's chest, her whiskers trembling.
"Oh Sparrowpaw," Icepaw murmured quietly, another laugh behind her words.
This was better than she could have hoped. Beyond perfect. Here she was listening to a prophecy from StarClan form the very mouth of a medicine cat, and no one else knew. Not to mention, poor Sparrowpaw was like wet clay in her paws.
"Do you think…" sniffed Sparrowpaw miserably, "Do you think it means something terrible?"
Icepaw paused, as if thinking, before she meowed, "I don't think you need to worry about it, Sparrowpaw. It seems to me like it was just…well, just a normal dream. After all, nothing out of the ordinary happened, did it?" Her eyes were wide, innocent…truthful.
Sparrowpaw frowned. "But, the river…it flooded…doesn't that mean something bad will happen? I thought maybe RiverClan would try to take over Sunningrocks again. But we win, right? Because the water goes away." She glanced hopefully up at Icepaw.
With a sigh, the white-furred apprentice shook her head. "I have dreams like that all the time. The Owl Tree burning down, the river overflowing, dogs chasing me…they never happen in real life, do they?" Some more false laughter.
Sparrowpaw's frown deepened. "No…they don't. But this…felt real. But maybe I was just imagining…" she trailed off, lost in thought.
"I think that might be it. After all, we just fought RiverClan, didn't we? Why would they attack us again? Sunningrocks is ours, and those slimy furballs should know it by now."
Sparrowpaw giggled quietly. "You're right, Icepaw. So you don't think I should tell Shortwhisker?"
Icepaw shook her head again, her tail twitching. "No," she growled, then calmed herself and echoed, "Noooo. I'm sure he has enough prey to catch without having to sort out your dreams from your prophecies, Sparrowpaw." Her tone was admonishing now, and Sparrowpaw's slender head hung.
"You're right. I'm sorry."
"No problem. I have to go meet with Stonepelt now, but I'll see you later, okay?" Icepaw lied, getting to her paws.
Sparrowpaw followed her to the fern tunnel before mewing quietly, "Hey Icepaw…thanks for helping me. You're…really nice. Like a sister."
Icepaw turned to return Sparrowpaw's glowing smile.
"Like I said, no problem. Come to me any time you have another prophecy!" Icepaw joked. Sparrowpaw was still laughing when Icepaw emerged from the fern tunnel. I mean it, too, she growled to herself, her cheerful mask suddenly gone. You'd better come to me before that mangy old mouse-brain they call a medicine cat. He couldn't tell deathberries from kits.
Snorting to herself, Icepaw stalked to the freshkill pile. Her stomach was growling, but the cats who were leaving for the Gathering were still hanging around camp, so she didn't dare bring out her special meal – the adder. Instead, Icepaw selected a scrawny mouse and carried it to the stump to devour.
It was obvious that Sparrowpaw's dream was real. Icepaw had never had a dream that seemed as vivid or meaningful as the one Sparrowpaw had described. But what did it mean? Maybe exactly what the medicine cat apprentice had guessed. If that was the case, when? RiverClan had already tried to take Sunningrocks once this half-moon – would they really go for it again? It hardly seemed likely, but then Icepaw couldn't think of anything RiverClan wouldn't do for that one useless piece of rock. With another rumbling growl, Icepaw tore into her prey, relishing the crunch of bones between her powerful fangs.
"Finally! I thought you'd never come back," someone grumbled. A puff of dust wreathed around Icepaw's nose as Robinpaw flopped down beside her.
"I looked for you…" meowed Icepaw slowly, not looking up from her prey.
"It's okay – I caught a huge squirrel and I figured that was enough to keep Stonepelt happy," Robinpaw mewed, reaching out a paw to drag Icepaw's mouse toward her. "Ugh, this is tiny! Why didn't you get something bigger?"
Icepaw watched dispassionately as Robinpaw swallowed what was left of the skinny mouse. After all, the poor apprentice probably couldn't catch much more than a single squirrel, so she was left with the unwanted dregs of freshkill, already picked through by the senior warriors and queens. Smugly, Icepaw thought of the adder lying hidden in Shortwhisker's den. She trusted the old frog not to eat it, and soon she would have it all to herself.
"So are you sad that you aren't going to the Gathering?" Robinpaw meowed when she was finished. The ginger tabby buried the remains of the prey and settled down to groom Icepaw's pelt.
"Not really." The white she-cat shrugged. "I mean it's not like I expected to go. Not while we're still 'paws."
Robinpaw nodded sagely. "I'd say it's about time we were warriors though, don't you? It feels like moons since you got here. You know, I'm surprised Tansyleaf has the brains to remember where you were born at all." She chuckled quietly to herself.
Icepaw stiffened, but Robinpaw didn't seem to notice as her tongue rasped rhythmically down Icepaw's spine.
The sun gradually slipped below the treeline while the two apprentices napped lazily by the tree stump. The sultry Greenleaf air was like water – everything moved slowly through it, and time itself seemed a little more sluggish than usual.
When nighttime finally came around, the bright white moon found Icepaw and Robinpaw trekking in and out of camp with moss in their jaws, cleaning out the elders' den. Stonepelt stood guard by the bramble tunnel, supervising. His vibrant blue eyes danced continuously back and forth as the job went on.
"This is what I'll miss most about being an apprentice," mewed Robinpaw dolefully as the pair trudged across camp, kicking up clouds of pale dust.
Shocked, Icepaw stared at her, her ears flickering. Robinpaw paused and frowned. "I was being sarcastic," explained the ginger tabby patently. Her tail twitched. "Jeez Icepaw, can't you take a joke?" She laughed and nudged Icepaw's flank playfully.
"Of course," mewed Icepaw defensively, glaring down at her paws and padding on. Robinpaw raised her eyebrows, shrugged and followed.
Stonepelt stopped them before they reached the bramble tunnel. "I think you two are done for the day," he meowed, rising to his feet. Robinpaw let out a crow of delight and began to lick the grime off her paws. "I'm afraid until Eaglekit and Yellowkit are old enough you're the only apprentices in the den!" mewed the warrior. His expression was a little worried.
"What's the problem?" Icepaw questioned, following him to the freshkill pile.
"We've never had so few apprentices in ThunderClan, at least during my lifetime. And if next leafbare is anything like the last one…" He shuddered, bending down to grab a finch.
Just as Icepaw was about to reply, a yowl sounded from behind her. Both she and Stonepelt raised their heads to find the source of the sound.
Cinderstar had emerged from his den and was marching to the tunnel. Tanglethorn was already following him, his pelt smooth and shiny.
"The Gathering," Stonepelt meowed by way of explanation, and then turned back to his food. Icepaw padded closer to watch as Oakshadow, Brightpool, Tansyleaf, Ashfoot, and the two chosen elders, Palenose and Mossfur, collected around Cinderstar by the entrance. He nodded to himself once everyone had arrived, then turned and dashed out of camp, his warriors at his tail.
As Stonepelt ate his dinner, Icepaw sat beside him and turned her mind to the day's events. There was Sparrowpaw's dream about RiverClan, the adder, and now the warriors speculating about leafbare while Greenleaf was still in full swing. The prophecy could be dealt with later – Icepaw felt that she could count on Sparrowpaw not to mention it to anyone for at least a couple of days. If the predicted battle hadn't happened by then, Icepaw might have to go to extra measures to ensure Sparrowpaw's loyalty. The adder was something to look forward to – a well-earned reward that would put Robinpaw to shame.
"Stonepelt," murmured Icepaw after a moment. Something had just occurred to her. "How old are Eaglekit and Yellowkit?"
The gray tabby looked up, his tongue swiping over his lips. "About six moons." Blinking, he added slowly, "In fact, I think they're exactly six moons tomorrow." A smile turned up the corners of his mouth. "So you won't be the only apprentices for long."
Icepaw smiled impassively in return, but on the inside her mind was working furiously. She already had Sparrowpaw on her side, and by the looks of it Robinpaw would follow her blindly as well. Stonepelt would be an easy catch, once she was a warrior, and even Ashfoot could be counted on in a pinch. But that wouldn't be enough…
"I might go say hello to those two," the she-cat murmured, padding towards the nursery. Stonepelt shrugged and bent back over his meal.
Inside the nursery it was sweltering, despite the cooling breeze that had come with the rise of the moon. There were two queens nestled in beds of warm moss and down: Thrushwing, a stocky tortoiseshell, and Specklefoot, a slender white she-cat with a few gray tabby markings. Specklefoot was sound asleep, her belly plump with unborn kits.
"Good evening Icepaw – sad you aren't at the Gathering?" greeted Thrushwing. The she-cat looked tired and worn-out, but a gentle smile claimed her round face.
"A little bit," Icepaw confessed, padding closer. She peered into the shadows, looking for the two kits that seemed to have disappeared.
"Oh," mewed Thrushwing, guessing her search, "They just went outside to play. This heat has taken it's toll on me and I can barely keep my eyes open today. I don't suppose you'd mind going out to watch them for a little while, would you? I'd ask Oakshadow, but he's at the Gathering."
"Of course not," Icepaw promised, nodding to the she-cat. "I'll make sure they don't get into any mischief!"
Icepaw trotted out of the den, enjoying the tug of the wind on her fur. She gazed around the clearing until she spotted two small figures tumbling in a patch of grass near the log where the elders made their den. Quickstep, alone in the den, was sprawled in the shade of the log, the rise and fall of her bony flanks telling Icepaw that she was sound asleep.
"Take that, Toadstar!" one kit squealed, tumbling through the grass.
Both kits paused in their game as Icepaw approached. Eaglekit was a slender golden tabby, whose long legs were splayed out at awkward angles. Her sister Yellowkit was a pale orange and white tabby. She gazed up at Icepaw with unusually pale yellow eyes.
"Hi Icepaw," meowed Eaglekit, scrambling back into a sitting position.
"Hi. What were you playing?"
Eaglekit grinned, exposing tiny, sharp fangs. "Guststar versus Toadstar. I was playing Toadstar," she explained, leaping to her feet and crouching down, her eyes flickering sideways to Yellowkit. Without warning, the tabby launched herself into the air and tackled the unsuspecting 'Guststar', throwing her to the ground in a puff of dust. "And ShadowClan was winning!" Eaglekit hissed, twitching her tail playfully.
Icepaw couldn't help but grin herself. I think you and I will get along well, Eaglekit, she thought happily, watching as the young she-cat's sheathed paws raked down Yellowpaw's exposed belly.
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You should count yourselves lucky that I actually like this story. No thanks to you losers who read and don't review. Go write your own fic, and see how you feel when no one gives a damn.
PS: To Nightclaw, queenoftheoutlands and Pebbleclaw – infinite thanks. You have heart. :D