Oops. I realized a mistake in the last chapter: at first I said it was Leafspots who was going to go with them, but then I changed it to Whitefoot on accident. Woopsies :P And some typos and stuff, but I swear, half of them are because of Word's stupied autocorrect thingy. But anyway…as you may have noticed, Icefang is becoming slightly more evil. This is sort of the turning point, when she finally manages to bury her 'good side' and embrace her 'icy side'! Yay!
WHOA. Whoa. Whoa… GUESS WHAT? I decided to go back and read the story from the beginning again just for fun, and I was reading the allegiances, and at the beginning of the story, Specklefoot had a kit called Owlkit. WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO OWLKIT? FREAKY. Because I definitely don't remember ever writing about him, and on my current allegiances Specklefoot's kits are Redkit and Dapplekit. And there's no Owlpaw. This is very mysterious. Question: should I bring Owlkit back or leave him in the void?
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A brisk wind filtered through the trees, and with it came a sweeping wall of rain. Tiny, icy drops pelted down through the trees and soaked almost instantly through Icefang's pelt, sending shivers up and down her spine.
"Are you cold?" Leafspots questioned, watching her face curiously.
"I'm fine," Icefang replied curtly. She bounded ahead, not caring, for the moment, how rude she appeared to the older warrior.
At the head of the patrol, Cinderstar was trotting quietly along, with Brightpool sticking close to his side. Since she had been named deputy two days ago, the ginger she-cat was spending almost every second of her day glued to the gray tom's hip. Neither of them spoke much, and Icefang was beginning to wonder exactly what was going on between the two secretive warriors. It certainly seemed liked they were hiding something, but Icefang herself had claimed that Cinderstar would never keep secrets form his Clan. It was as unnerving as it was puzzling, especially to Icefang, who made her obsession to know exactly what was going on the Clan at all times. She figured she might as well start practicing as early as possible.
Icefang found Eaglepaw at the front of the party, her paws dragging with fatigue.
"Why so tired?" Icefang asked good-naturedly, slowing her pace so she could walk beside the tabby apprentice.
"Camp duty," the she-cat snorted derisively. "All day, too. Tansyleaf kept asking me to fetch them brambles, and I had to walk farther and farther away from camp to get them. I think those two are taking their responsibilities a little bit too seriously." Eaglepaw's whiskers twitched with annoyance.
Icefang dodged a low hanging fern and let out a bark of laughter. "It's the only thing Cinderstar will let them do. Tansyleaf's useless as a hunter, so Cinderstar just stuck in her in camp to get her out of the way!"
Eaglepaw joined her in spiteful laughter, some energy seeming to return to her paws. By this time they were nearing Fourtrees. Cinderstar paused and waved his tail for the warriors to stop.
"Remember, say nothing that our enemies could use against us," reminded the leader quickly, turning to make sure all of his warriors were present and accounted for. With a brisk nod, he padded forward again, his ears swiveling back and forth rapidly.
The party consisted of five cats, not including Cinderstar and Brightpool. Icefang, Leafspots, Whitefoot, Yellowpaw and Eaglepaw had been chosen to attend the Gathering. Icefang had been grateful to get away from Stonepelt at least for one night. More and more cats had started to notice the time they spent together, and the white she-cat was beginning to regret her decision to remain cordial towards the gray tabby. Every move he made somehow got on her nerves, and she was hard put not to snap at him.
Luckily, Icefang had found a kindred spirit in Eaglepaw. They spent almost all of their free time together, even when Stonepelt and Robinwing insisted on tagging along. Icefang felt a faint vestige of pity for the ginger tabby she-cat, who seemed to be hurt that Icefang was abandoning her, but the white she-cat shrugged it off. Robinwing was not important. She had been a nice help when Icefang was new to the Clan, but they did not understand each other. Eaglepaw, on the other hand, was like Icefang's sister in all but blood – they could finish each other's sentences without hesitation, and practically read each other's minds frequently. Eaglepaw shared her ambitions as well – it was her dream to one day become leader of ThunderClan.
Of course, there could not be two leader's, but in this respect, Icefang felt that it was well within her rights to lie blatantly to her new best friend. Eaglepaw could dream – that couldn't hurt. But in the end, Icefang knew who would come out on top. Still, she mused to herself, Eaglepaw would make a good deputy when I'm leader. She's already shaping up to be the best tracker in the Clan, and I like her style. She could be useful to me. Robinwing is not useful anymore.
The scents of the other Clans battered her nose before they reached the lip of the hollow. RiverClan and ShadowClan were present, but no grassy WindClan smells tinged the air.
Cinderstar waited for all the cats to catch up before descending into the hollow. Cordial meows from the ShadowClan warriors greeted them as they entered the hollow, but the RiverClan cats turned their backs and murmured among themselves. Icefang's lip curled in distaste.
Brightpool and Cinderstar made their way towards the Great Rock, drawing the stares of many warriors. Icefang could guess at the question on their lips – what had happened to Oakshadow? Not even the RiverClan warriors knew, though it had been their fault. Well, Icefang countered slowly, not entirely. A brief smile crossed her face.
Since WindClan had not yet arrived, the cats were given a few moments to mingle before the Gathering began. No one tried to talk to the RiverClan warriors, but the ShadowClan cats seemed open enough.
Icefang and Eaglepaw picked their way through the clearing towards a circle that was forming around a tabby tom, made up of ShadowClan and ThunderClan alike. The tom was animatedly describing a chase with a fox that he had had a moon ago, when the creature had crossed their territory by the Carrionplace.
"It was a huge one, too, with long yellow fangs that were stained red with the blood of some poor piece of prey it had already devoured," mewed the tom in a spooky whisper, obviously overdoing it just a little bit. Two ShadowClan apprentices gave little shrieks of fear, and then descended into a fit of giggles. Eaglepaw eyed them with cold reproach, forcing Icefang to stifle a snort of laughter.
"You may laugh," continued the tabby, "but I swear by StarClan, this fox was out for my blood. I had to lead it away from the camp, you see, so-"
"Oh, shut it Cedarleg, that fox was tiny. It was barely a season old, I'll bet you," jeered a skinny gray tom, baring his teeth in a garish grin.
The tabby drew himself up to his full height and turned his nose away from the other warrior. "If you had been there, Addercoil, you would have agreed with me. Mistpaw, you saw it? Wasn't it huge?" He turned eagerly to one of the apprentices, a pale gray she-cat, who was still laughing intermittently. Her jaws snapped shut when Cedarleg addressed her.
"I-it was pretty big," stammered the apprentice, suddenly nervous with everyone's eyes on her.
"See?" Cedarleg meowed desperately, but Addercoil and the other ShadowClan warriors laughed him off.
"I'll tell you a real story," Whitefoot cut in, stepping into the center of the circle. Cedarleg backed away with a dejected expression on his face, wounded by the laughter of his Clanmates. The ThunderClan warriors in the circle leaned forward with increased interest as the black she-cat padded into the circle, her head held high. "I was stalking a badger the other day. From the scent, it was probably ten tail-lengths long and as tall as a horse…"
Icefang drew back from the circle, Eaglepaw following diligently.
"That's mouse dung!" hissed the golden tabby apprentice. "Whitefoot never said anything about a badger on our territory before."
"I have a feeling that most of the stories those old birdbrains tell is mouse dung," Icefang replied in a low voice, her whiskers quivering with suppressed laughter. "Cedarleg's probably never even seen a fox! Did you hear him? Fangs dripping with blood…" she snorted and shook her head.
"Cats of all Clans! Let the Gathering begin!" came a sudden yowl.
Icefang and Eaglepaw both jerked their heads up in surprise.
"Did you smell…?" Eaglepaw began questioningly.
"WindClan arrive? No." Icefang raised her head and looked around, blinking as wind whipped rain into her eyes. Sure enough, a group of lean, damp-furred warriors had just entered the clearing from the moorlands-side, and their leader was just now leaping onto the Great Rock. It was Floodstar, leader of RiverClan, who had announced the beginning of the Gathering. "They were upwind," Icefang deduced after a moment, turning back to Eaglepaw. "That's why."
"Huh," mewed the tabby she-cat. She may have had the best sense of smell in ThunderClan, but in that moment she had been caught unaware, and for some reason it made both of them a bit uneasy.
"I, Floodstar, will speak first," yowled the black-furred tom. He glanced back for the approval of the other leaders, who nodded politely and stepped away to allow him to speak.
"RiverClan is doing well, despite the arrival of leaf-fall. Pondflower has given birth to another litter of kits, named Milk-kit, Brackenkit and Smokekit. We are confident that they will all grow up to be strong warriors of RiverClan. No Twolegs remain at the Greenpelt place. That is all." With a nod to the crowd of cats, the black tom backed away, his pale green eyes cold and expressionless. Icefang shuddered.
Guststar stepped forward next. Her pelt looked dull and slightly unkempt, her eyes bloodshot. This caused a stir through the crowd. Not to mention, as people looked, it became apparent that Russetstripe, the deputy of WindClan, was not present.
"Where is Russetstripe?" yowled a RiverClan queen, her gaze curious.
"My deputy had a bad fall yesterday while chasing a rabbit. Unfortunately, he cracked a rib, and our medicine cat is keeping him in camp. I have been assured that he will return to full health in due time, but for the moment, Puddlesplash has taken on the duties of deputy," Gustsrar explained, her voice hoarse.
A dark gray she-cat rose out of the crowd and waved her tail. A few murmured congratulations rose from the hollow, but nothing more. Icefang remembered when she too had had a broken rib after being hit in the side by a Twoleg's crowbar. This memory brought back another less pleasant one, of the kittypet who had claimed to be her mother. The words burned in her mind: "I know my own daughter when I see her." The she-cat shuddered and banished the images to a dark corner where she hoped they wouldn't trouble her again.
"I am pleased to announce two new WindClan warriors: Tornpad and Blacktalon. They trained hard as apprentices and I trust that they will be a credit to their Clan. Also, we are proud to name three new apprentices: Sunpaw, Wetpaw and Scratchpaw. They too will grow up to be strong warriors." Guststar paused, glancing down at her feet, and then raised her head again and said in a shaky voice, "In addition, WindClan has some troubling news to share with the Clans."
A frightened murmur spread through the crowd, passing from tongue to tongue.
"I wonder what's wrong with WindClan?" Eaglepaw murmured under her breath to Icefang, her brow furrowed.
Guststar opened her mouth, paused again, and then meowed in a resigned voice, "We mentioned a few Gatherings ago the problem with dogs that we'd been having. Back then, it was only a few distant sightings. But…the problems have persisted, and grown worse."
Icefang noticed now that many of the WindClan cats looked haggard and thin, even more so than they usually did. Apparently, ThunderClan wasn't the only Clan that seemed to be cursed by StarClan.
"Have they attacked you?" questioned a frightened ShadowClan warrior.
Guststar gave a shuddering sigh. "They came to our camp a few days ago. Luckily, they were sighted in time, and we were able to evacuate before they arrived, so no one was harmed."
Gasps followed the surprised murmurs now, and yowls of nervous fear.
"How many are there?" questioned Brightpool matter-of-factly. "Maybe if the Clans work together, we can drive them out of WindClan territory."
Guststar's eyes blazed. "We've tried that!" she hissed indignantly. "In any other situation, we would have gotten rid of them in a heartbeat. WindClan can take care of itself."
"How is this situation any different?" retorted Brightpool, almost angrily. Icefang could see Cinderstar frowning in the shadows at the edge of the Rock.
"There are four of them!" yowled a WindClan warrior, suddenly leaping to his feet. It was a black and white tom, with a furious expression on his face. He looked especially miffed that Brightpool had questioned his Clan's ability to handle its own problems.
"Four!" hissed Eaglepaw in disbelief. "Four!" The cry was taken up all across the clearing. Mistpaw, the gray ShadowClan apprentice who was sitting nearby, let out a frightened whimper.
"Yes, four of them. They're not very big, just the small fluffy kind that Twolegs use to take care of their horses. But they're inquisitive, and they roam all over our territory as if they own the moor. So far, none of them have attacked us out right, but they chase any cat they see. It's been hard…" The leader swallowed whatever else she was about to say, but Icefang guessed that it might have something to do with hunting and patrolling their borders. That was the sort of information you wouldn't to let slip to another Clan, especially since the notorious ShadowClan was their close neighbor.
"Is there anything the other Clans can do to help you?" meowed Floodstar stepping forward and staring at Guststar questioningly.
"Like I said, none of the dogs have attacked yet. But we're warning you all – keep on the lookout. It's only a matter of time before they get too curious. All we can do is hope that the Twolegs start to keep them inside more during leafbare." With that ominous statement, the hollow-eyed she-cat retreated to the back of the stone, her head hanging low. It must be hard for the proud leader to admit her Clan's weakness at the Gathering.
Now Toadstar of ShadowClan stepped forward. He had nothing interesting to report other than the usual – prey was running well, no rogues or other predators sighted, no Twolegs either. It seemed ShadowClan was enjoying a prosperous leaf-fall, unlike the rest of the Clans.
And then it was Cinderstar's turn. The gray tom loped forward, his eyes bright, betraying none of the pain that the Clan had endured in the past few moons.
Before the tom even had a chance to open his mouth, a RiverClan queen stood up and blurted, "Where is Oakshadow?"
The death of Tanglethorn and the news of the fire had been announced at the last Gathering, which Icefang had not attended. She wished she had been there to see the rest of the Clan's reactions, but she was just as glad to have been invited to this Gathering instead – after all, the news was partially the same. A grimace flashed across her face.
"I have heavy news. Oakshadow fell to his death in the gorge three days ago during a border skirmish with RiverClan." The tom didn't mention that it was RiverClan who had initiated the pointless battle that had led to the death of their deputy.
Cries of "No!" and "Poor Oakshadow!" echoed throughout the clearing.
"We are deeply shaken by his tragic passing, but I am also proud to have Brightpool as my new deputy. I have faith that she will serve her Clan well in the coming leafbare. As you all know, ThunderClan territory was ravaged by a fire a few moons ago. However, we have recovered well, and I trust that no one will underestimate ThunderClan's strength again." The gray tom turned, but not before casting a penetrating stare at Floodstar.
Icefang grinned. He'd made a point that ThunderClan was not to be messed with, while also subtly telling the other Clans that ThunderClan had defeated RiverClan in their 'border skirmish'. She had to admit, when it came to these kinds of delicate subjects, that could easily ignite an argument if the wrong words were uttered, Cinderstar was quite skilled. Still, she growled to herself, He's a coward. There's nothing wrong with a little healthy competition. We don't want to remove all threat of a fight – it'd be nice to stretch my claws again. Her grin widened slightly.
The cats in the hollow were still shaken by the news of WindClan's dog problem and Oakshadow's death, so most cats kept to themselves as the Gathering broke up. Whispers and frightened murmurs flitted through the air, creating a tense cloud that made Icefang's pelt prickle.
"All this talk of StarClan is starting to get on my nerves," she hissed to Eaglepaw as they trotted across the hollow, aiming for the stump where the ThunderClan cats were assembling. Cinderstar and Brightpool loped away from the Great Rock, there heads close together, muttering.
While they waited for Whitefoot, who seemed to have disappeared, Icefang glanced around the hollow, watching with a level gaze as the other Clans departed. She picked Addercoil and Cedarleg out of the ShadowClan group, the two toms who had been arguing at the beginning of the evening, as well as Mistpaw, the easily frightened apprentice. It was good to become familiar with the enemy warriors – one never knew when it could come in handy during a battle.
Among the other Clans, Icefang knew only a handful of warriors by name. The WindClan warrior Webfur, and now Puddlesplash, and an apprentice named Littlepaw. In RiverClan, Icefang remembered Murkypool, the rude brown tom, Horsepelt, a tall black cat, and of course, Shadepaw. By watching the way her Clanmates treated her, Icefang could only guess that the gray she-cat was still, after all these moons, an apprentice. Her lip curled in a derisive sneer. Either the RiverClan she-cat was totally incompetent, or her Clan was getting desperate. They hadn't announced new apprentices since Icefang had arrived in the forest, and Pondflower's was the first new litter that she'd heard of. They must be hard pressed to keep up camp duties with only one apprentice, Icefang thought. I wonder if that's why we beat them so easily. I bet they're tired all the time, having to do everything the apprentices normally do. She followed Shadepaw with her sharp gaze and she-cat trudged up the hill, following at the heels of her Clanmates. She too looked worn out, her pelt dull and patchy. If I were leader, Icefang mused, once again relishing the thrill of the dream, I would lead an attack against them tonight.
No good-hearted alter ego took up an internal debate within Icefang's mind. That part of herself was buried so deep she wasn't even sure she could find it if she tried. After Oakshadow's death, she had enjoyed the absence of any warm feelings at all. Icefang found it incredibly refreshing, even liberating. The powerful, icy clarity that sharpened her thoughts and erased all excessive desires or personal motives was finally the ruling force of her being.
"Icefang! Stop staring into space and get a move on!"
Eaglepaw's yowl snapped her out of her dreams. The white she-cat leapt up and darted after her Clan, snatching a glimpse of a golden-striped tail disappearing into the dark undergrowth.