DAMN. I just read that Warriors news email thingy. I usually just delete them, but for some reason the long paragraphical form of the most recent one caught my attention while I was diligently de-spamming my email inbox. WhoeverhernameisHunter says that in the new Code of the Clans it describes why Tigerstar was so full of burning ambition. Damn WhoeverhernameisHunter! I was going to explain why Tigerstar is so full of burning ambition! I had the whole thing planned! Well, I guess all my readers shall just have to live through the alternate realities. Shame.
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Pawstep by pawstep, Cinderstar made his way out of the medicine den. Hushed whispers followed him like watchful warriors, blazing eyes trailing his every move.
"He's going to be okay, Icefang," murmured Stonepelt. He was sitting beside her, head bent. Icefang's face bore an expression of intense worry, her brow furrowed, her eyes wide with fear. None of it was real, of course, but with so much practice masking her emotions as an apprentice, Icefang had become a talented liar.
"I know, I know," mewed the she-cat turning away from the pathetic skeptical. She could still hear Shortwhisker urging his leader on as they crossed the frosted camp. "I just worry. This kind of thing can wreak havoc on the Clan. If the cats start to lose trust in their leader, all kinds of chaos can take hold."
Stonepelt seemed to forget for the time being that Icefang was merely a lucky kittypet and shouldn't have any experience in Clan politics.
"It's a good thing to be thinking about, but I'm sure there won't be any problems," said the gray striped tom with a reassuring wave of his tail. "ThunderClan would never lose faith in Cinderstar. He's led us through hard times before, and he can do it again, no matter how many lives he has left."
"Two lives, Stonepelt!" retorted Icefang. The tone of her voice was strained, almost desperate. As a matter of fact, she'd been working on this particular tone for a long time, on frequent solo hunting trips and in the private of secluded corners of the camp. She was planning on putting it to good use in the near future. "How much faith can any cat have in two lives? There's a chance he might not even survive the next moon."
"Don't talk like that," Stonepelt scolded. He paused in mid step and glanced sideways at her. "I know how devoted you are to your Clan, Icefang," he meowed, sitting down and wrapping his tail around his paws. Icefang copied him, cocking her head in mock confusion. "But it's time you let Cinderstar worry about his own problems on his own. I'm sure he's happy to have such careful, loyal warriors, but he doesn't need you monitoring his every twitch. He'll be fine, and if he's not, Brightpool will step up and take his place.
"Now stop spewing doom and gloom wherever you go. If there's anything ThunderClan needs, it's a cheerful Icefang to pick up their spirits." He gave her ear a swift lick and then trotted into the warriors' den to catch an afternoon nap. Sighing, Icefang loped in the opposite direction. She needed some good news.
Everywhere Icefang looked, signs of leaf-bare seemed blindingly apparent. Quickstep, who had barely spoken a single word since the death of Palenose four days ago, was wandering the camp like a ghost, almost only skin and bones. Her sister Thrushwing followed her diligently, trying to coax the old warrior into eating or at least drinking, but the elder remained in a grief-stricken stupor, on a sure path to joining her best friend in StarClan.
Ashfoot, who had been a close friend of Leafspots, was in a similar state, taken to gazing at one spot for long periods of time, his eyes glazed, his whiskers slack. Only Robinwing could manage to force him to eat the occasional shrew or swallow some poppy seeds for shock. For once, Icefang was grateful for her friend's gentle touch. If it meant saving more warriors from an unnecessary death, anything was useful.
There was a general air of anxiety over the entire camp. With leafbare creeping in on all sides, the camp still only two thirds repaired after the devastation of the fire, and the recent outbreak of disease, it seemed there was nothing bad that couldn't happen to ThunderClan.
Icefang pushed her way through the fern screen that shielded the medicine den. She knew Shortwhisker was gone, so she didn't worry about anyone asking why she was there.
"Hello?" came a small meow. A tortoiseshell head peeked out from the rock cleft where the two medicine cats slept.
"Sparrowpaw," greeted Icefang padding to the center of the glen and sitting down, her tail wrapped neatly around her paws.
"Icefang!" cried the apprentice bounding forward and touching noses with the white warrior. "I'm so glad to see you. Shortwhisker hasn't said a single word to me since Cinderstar… he's really worried for the Clan. Sometimes I think he wished he could turn himself into a stalk of catmint just to save everyone else. He might be gruff, but he certainly cares about ThunderClan," Sparrowpaw meowed, shaking her head sadly.
"So it's true?" Icefang questioned, her voice low. "There's no more catmint?"
"None on ThunderClan territory. Shortwhisker even went to ask RiverClan yesterday, but they turned him away at the border," Sparrowpaw explained. Suddenly, her eyes blazed, and she glanced up into Icefang's face. "Guess what?" Her voice was little more than a hiss.
Narrowing her eyes, Icefang mewed, "What?" Her paws prickled. Maybe she'd come to the right place. If there was anything that could cheer her up, it was news of another…
"I had another dream," whispered Sparrowpaw. The she-cat glanced furtively over Icefang's shoulder, her ears flickering back and forth, and then turned back to the warrior. "About where to find catmint."
Icefang exhaled slowly. Not bad, she thought to herself, her whiskers twitching. Could be better, but then again, there's a lot you can do with a life or death situation. This little pipsqueak has her uses. "Are you sure?" Icefang breathed, her tone cautious, fearful.
Nodding, Sparrowpaw turned away and began to pace, her mottled tail lashing back and forth, her white paws pounding furiously against the frosted earth. "A StarClan cat named Ferntail came to me in my sleep and led me across the RiverClan border, where she showed me some catmint growing by the riverbank. I could find it if I tried, I think," said the medicine cat apprentice, her voice full of conviction. She looked up and Icefang again and blinked slowly. Her jaw was clenched, determined.
"Well, we could get some warriors and go now!" Icefang exclaimed, surprise layering her response. She wanted to keep Sparrowpaw to herself, but if the she-cat was going to keep this kind of obvious information from the rest of the Clan, maybe it wasn't worth it.
"No!" growled the young apprentice, suddenly angry.
Taken aback, Icefang rose to her feet and took a hesitant step forward. "Why not? What else was in the dream, Sparrowpaw?" she pressed, realizing that there was a good reason why Sparrowpaw hadn't told the dream to anyone else.
"You'll get hurt. Or someone will. I don't know! I felt…danger," Sparrowpaw mewed, staring at her paws. She frowned, her tail frozen in a half moon shape over her flanks. "I'm afraid that if anyone goes to find it, they'll die." Her eyes met Icefang's, and the warrior saw genuine fear in their depths.
"Sparrowpaw, more cats will die if we don't find the catmint," reasoned Icefang. She shook her head slowly, padding closer to the tabby she-cat. Overhead, a frigid wind rustled the branches, making an eerie whispering noise.
"What if RiverClan attacks?" whimpered Sparrowpaw miserably. "I can't knowingly send anyone to get the catmint when I've seen the danger in a dream. I should just tell Cinderstar to send a message to RiverClan, asking them. They can't say no if they see how desperate we are!"
"Yes they can," Icefang disagreed sorrowfully. "And there's a very good chance that the message wouldn't reach RiverClan at all. We aren't on good terms with RiverClan at the moment: we've had two recent battles with them, and they won't be quick to forget. If we're going to get the catmint, the only way is to sneak onto RiverClan territory and take it ourselves. Otherwise, who knows how many more cats will catch whitecough? All of ThunderClan might get infected."
Sparrowpaw shivered, thinking of a bleak future in which her actions destroyed her Clan. Icefang nodded to herself. Yes, she thought, it is the only way.
"Then what do we do?" whispered Sparrowpaw. Her eyes were glistening with fear.
"I can get the catmint if you tell me where it is," Icefang promised, resting her tail comfortingly on Sparrowpaw's shoulder.
"Are you sure? What about…"
"I won't get hurt. I'll take some more warriors with me," Icefang explained.
Sparrowpaw sniffed. "Okay. It's by some rocks – big rocks, near the fork in the river. You can cross on a fallen log near there. I saw it, in my dream."
"Thank you," Icefang meowed. She turned to go, but Sparrowpaw leapt in front of her.
"You'll be careful won't you, Icefang? Please don't get hurt," she whimpered.
For a brief second, Icefang felt a painful tug at her heart, almost like it was expanding inside her chest. The she-cat hissed, clenching her teeth, her eyes sparking.
"Icefang?" Sparrowpaw mewed.
"Sure, whatever," hissed the she-cat, pushing past her with teeth bared. Her fur was on end – what was that weird feeling? It was gone quickly, but it left her paws prickling with unease. She'd never felt it before, at least not since that day in the forest when she'd made her decision to pursue her ambitions. It frightened her, ten times more than Sparrowpaw ominous predictions.
Pushing away thoughts of the past, the white she-cat strode out of the medicine den, her gaze raking every corner of the camp. She wasn't about to go charging into RiverClan territory all by herself, as she'd promised to Sparrowpaw. But she didn't want to bring along any cats who might become suspicious. It would be best to join an existing patrol, then no one would question her at all.
It was barely sunset, so the dusk patrol shouldn't have left yet, especially with no one ordering them around. With Cinderstar sick, Brightpool hadn't yet shown the true qualities of a deputy: she never woke early, took frequent naps, ate whenever she pleased and only organized patrols when the notion struck her. Though Cinderstar was too ill to see it, most other cats had noticed how bad the she-cat was at her job. Icefang didn't feel guilty any more when she sent cats on patrol or organized hunting parties. In fact, she realized that some cats even looked to her first when they didn't have anything to do. But if Cinderstar began to recover, her authority would be stripped away. She couldn't let that happen.
"Robinwing!" Icefang cried, noticing her friend padding across the camp with a piece if fresh kill in her jaws. The ginger tabby paused and looked up, meeting Icefang's gaze. She dropped the thrush and waved her tail in response.
"What's going on? Badger chasing you?" Robinwing joked, touching Icefang's nose in greeting.
"No, no. I was wondering if you're on duty for dusk patrol?" asked Icefang, putting on a cheerful face.
"Yeah, actually, I was just eating before I left. Oddly enough, Cinderstar's decided to come with Eaglepaw and me. I tried to stop him, but he seems pretty determined. Icefang?" Robinwing frowned at her.
Icefang was gaping at her friend in wonder. It's too perfect! Icefang thought to herself in disbelief. As though the whole of StarClan were on my side, helping me plan this!
"Hey, are you okay? Get up on the wrong side of the nest?" Robinwing snorted. She picked up her thrush and carried it to the stump where the younger warriors usually ate their food.
"Do you mind if I come too?" Icefang asked, watching her friend take a few bites of the thrush. Robinwing lifted her nose and licked her lips thoughtfully. "Sure, why not. The more the merrier. We're leaving in a few minutes, get a bite to eat."
Too easy! Icefang thought again, shaking her head. She padded away to do as Robinwing suggested, devouring a mouse in a couple of bites.
The dusk patrol assembled by the camp entrance as soon as Robinwing and Icefang were finished eating. Eaglepaw looked bored and tired, and she didn't say much as she padded over to the group. Cinderstar was following her, walking slowly with his head down.
"Are you sure you're up to this, Cinderstar? There's plenty of us as it is, with Icefang coming along. It won't be a problem-" Robinwing mewed.
"I'm fine!" Cinderstar snapped, traipsing past her on his way out of camp. "And I'm leading this patrol, not you."
With a shrug, Robinwing followed, and Icefang and Eaglepaw brought up the rear.
"Someone's in a bad mood today," muttered the tabby apprentice as she and Icefang padded side by side through the forest.
"He's tired," Icefang mewed, keeping her eyes on Cinderstar's slow paw steps. She was trying to devise a way to get them to patrol the RiverClan border without arousing suspicion or fabricating some elaborate lie. She didn't have the time or the patience for either.
"Cinderstar!" Icefang meowed, bounding forward until she was standing before the leader. His head snapped up, and he glared at her.
"What is its, Icefang?" he asked wearily.
"We are patrolling the RiverClan border, aren't we?" Icefang meowed.
Cinderstar blinked. "I… I thought we were headed for ShadowClan," murmured the leader. He frowned, thinking.
"No, you told me yourself this morning that we needed to keep our eye on RiverClan. You aren't losing your memory are you, Cinderstar?" Icefang joked, her lips curling to a smile.
Cinderstar shook his head furiously. "Of course not," he growled angrily. "I know what I told you! Now get out of the way, RiverClan could have stolen Sunningrocks during the time we've wasted." The gray tom marched past her, but in a different direction – toward the RiverClan border.
"I thought he said ShadowClan as well," Robinwing mewed, blinking at Icefang curiously.
"You're both losing your minds," purred the white she-cat. She blinked affectionately at Robinwing, but the smile she flashed was for herself.
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