Um… I apologize if this is the last chapter I post for a while. We're starting review for finals, so I'll be rather busy. But I might find the time. Just a heads up, in case. Hope you enjoy this one at least.

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Frigid gusts of wind tore at Icefang's fur as she prowled in the shadow of the boulders. At her tail, Eaglepaw was padding in silence, her whiskers quivering, her ears flickering back and forth nervously. They were skirting the RiverClan border, patrolling as Icefang had suggested, but her sharp eyes were searching the opposite banks for more than stolen prey or enemy warriors.

"Cinderstar and Robinwing are behind us somewhere," commented Eaglepaw softly, poking at an overturned stone. A long-legged yellow spider streaked from the muddy pit, sending the golden tabby apprentice skittering sideways.

"It's just a spider!" Icefang teased, following the odd-looking creature with her eyes. She had an urge to give chase, but restrained herself in the interest of time, and dignity.

"I hate spiders," hissed Eaglepaw, her hackles raised. She sidestepped the rock and leaped ahead of Icefang, pouncing from boulder to boulder, her tail waving in the air.

"Get down, we're trying not to call attention to ourselves," Icefang reprimanded absentmindedly. She was still scrutinizing the edge of RiverClan territory, wondering if Sparrowpaw had really just been dreaming after all.

"It's not like we couldn't take on a silly little RiverClan patrol," Eaglepaw retorted boldly, "and you're not my mentor!"; but she slithered down the side of a mossy stone all the same, slipping into the shadows among the rocks where Icefang was walking. The murmurs that told her where Cinderstar and Robinwing were patrolling wafted between the rocks. Carefully, Icefang peeked over her shoulder, catching sight of the leader striding stiffly across a patch of gravel, followed closely by a chattering Robinwing. Icefang snickered to herself and turned back to her search.

Just then, she glimpsed a promising patch of green stuff across the stream. The scene looked like what Sparrowpaw had pictured. A fallen birch tree bridged the stream at a section where it would be too deep to wade across. All around them stood tall, imposing boulders, overshadowing the shrubs and mud. It was here too that the stream forked in two – the creek that bordered the rest of RiverClan territory and the small brook that flowed into ThunderClan territory.

"Cinderstar!" Icefang called, scrambling towards the leader. He was sniffing at the hollow cavern beneath a particularly colossal stone, and his head whacked the ceiling as he tried to look up and find the source of the noise. Icefang pranced to his side.

"Icefang?" mewed the leader, shaking his head while his eyes watered from the blow. Robinwing and Eaglepaw came up on either side of Cinderstar, curious.

"I think I can see some catmint growing on the other side of the stream!" Icefang meowed excitedly. Eaglepaw stared at her in surprise, probably wondering why she hadn't mentioned the discovery earlier.

"What?" hissed Cinderstar, the pain of his collision forgotten. "Where? Are you sure?"

"I can tell, Cinderstar," Robinwing interjected. "Shortwhisker taught me how to identify catmint.

"How come Shortwhisker didn't know about this?" Cinderstar meowed, suspicious.

Icefang shrugged. She couldn't think of any plausible lie, but at times the best lie was the truth. "He probably just didn't see it. Sometimes it's hardest to see the things right underneath our noses."

No one could argue with this, and Cinderstar nodded acquiescently. "So, Icefang, savior of the Clan, please, direct us to this plant of yours," commanded the leader, the tiniest hint of his old spirit returned to his voice. Robinwing seemed to notice, and her face lit up joyfully.

Icefang had to resist releasing an arrogant purr. She liked the way he said 'savior of the Clan'. Icefang, savior of ThunderClan, she said to herself. It has a nice ring to it.

"Icefang?" growled Eaglepaw. "I hope you're not making this up."

Icefang shook her head, clearing away her hopeful thoughts. She smiled. "No, don't worry, I really did see it. Follow me. It's just across the border, no one will catch us." With a satisfied smirk on her face, the she-cat leaped forward, bounding across a stretch of gravel to where the fallen birch tree was lodged in between two stones. She reached out a paw and tested it cautiously. It made a gentle creaking sound, but seemed steady enough. Icefang glanced back at the three cats watching her intently. Icefang didn't much like the idea of taking a dive in the creek, but the act had to be authentic. She had to be the first one across.

Swallowing her anxiety, the she-cat jumped onto the log, shivering as it bounced slightly beneath her weight. For once Icefang wasn't so grateful for the thick muscles she had developed after seasons of living in the forest. Her tiny kittypet body would have barely made the tree quiver.

With a snarl, Icefang sank her claws into the birch tree. She shouldn't be wishing for that life any more. She had decided to give it up long ago. Determined, Icefang strode out over the stream, keeping her gaze locked on the opposite bank. Before she knew it, her paws touched solid ground. With a sigh of relief, Icefang made the last leap onto the muddy bank. She turned and beckoned cheerfully to her clanmates, who made their way across one by one, without any mishaps. Privately, Icefang almost wished that Cinderstar would slip and plunge into the icy depths below them. It would solve most of her problems in a single misstep, and she wouldn't even have to get her paws dirty. But then again, these things were never easy. Icefang helped him down from the tree with a gracious smile.

"Right there! Look, I can see it!" Robinwing crowed, bouncing in a circle. She waved her tail towards the green bush, not ten fox-lengths away by the riverside. Icefang eyed her cautiously. Robinwing could ruin this whole operation. The fewer cats hurt the better, but Icefang would leave Robinwing if it came to that in the end. Her claws kneaded the mud silently, relieving some of Icefang's anxiety. It was possible that Sparrowpaw had been imagining everything, and there was no danger. Icefang would still be looked upon as a 'savior', but she would have to formulate another plan for Cinderstar.

Suddenly Robinwing let out a soft shriek. They had been padding carefully towards the catmint, alert but only barely on the lookout for danger. Robinwing, and now Icefang as well, has caught the faint scent of an approaching RiverClan patrol. Icefang could just barely make out the shivering of bushes far down the bank, marking the approach of the enemy warriors.

"What? What happened Robinwing?" Eaglepaw meowed, jumping forward. In the same instant, she too caught the smell, as did Cinderstar. All four cats paused, frozen in their tracks, unsure of what to do next.

"Do we try to run and grab some before they see us, or do we just run now?" Robinwing murmured, her eyes wide with fear.

"But the Clan!" Eaglepaw moaned.

"We can get some later, right?" Robinwing whispered, backing away.

"No, they'll be on the lookout once they know we were here. There's not way we'll be able to come here again before it's too late. Cinderstar?" meowed Icefang, turning to the leader. Usually, he was the best at dealing with crisis situations, but in his present state of health, all the leader could do sit and look petrified with fear. Icefang had to smother a smile. It looked as thought she would be forced to take charge.

"Alright. Eaglepaw, come with me. I can smell three RiverClan warriors coming up the bank – Robinwing, you and Cinderstar hold them off while we go fetch another patrol. Can you do that?" Icefang stared at Robinwing expectantly.

"That's crazy!" cried Robinwing, flashing a panicked look at Cinderstar, who didn't look like he would be of much use in a battle. "They'll rip us to shreds before you can even tell everyone what happened!"

As Icefang had expected, Cinderstar released a low growl and meowed, "The Clan will die if we don't get these herbs now. Robinwing and I will hold them off. Go!" With a fearsome roar, he charged forward to challenge the RiverClan warriors. Trembling with fright, Robinwing stumbled after him, yowling.

"Come with me," Icefang murmured in a low voice to Eaglepaw. The tabby apprentice glanced at her, wide-eyed, but followed obediently as Icefang raced back across the birch tree, all fear of falling gone with the adrenaline rushing through her veins.

"I could have stayed behind!" Eaglepaw hissed as they ran. Icefang jerked to a halt, glancing down at the golden tabby she-cat. She debated with herself for a moment: tell Eaglepaw of her plans and cultivate a helper now, or keep her in the dark and use more subtle methods to draw the she-cat to her side? She knew that with enough convincing Eaglepaw would agree with her ambitions, but she might yet be too young to keep her mouth shut.

"Just do what I say and don't ask questions – I know what I'm doing," Icefang meowed.

Eaglepaw's eyes narrowed. "That wasn't a setup or anything, was it?"

Hm, Icefang mused, she's quick, more so than I thought. "Of course not, but I can't say I didn't… well, I'll leave it at that." She padded forward, but Eaglepaw remained where she was. "Are you coming or not?"

"What if Cinderstar is killed? I should have stayed," growled the golden tabby angrily.

"Well it doesn't matter if he dies, now does it?" Icefang hissed, growing impatient. "He'll just come back to life."

"And Robinwing? I thought she was your friend?" It looked like the she-cat was mollified on the Cinderstar point, but she still wasn't budging.

"Friendship is a loose term. Robinwing will be fine, she's a talented warrior. If you stay there they'll both die, now come on!" Icefang turned and ran without looking back, but she secretly hoped that Eaglepaw would follow. She may have been wrong about the apprentice's character, but she still had plans for her future, whether or not they included Eaglepaw's willingness to participate.

"Will you explain it to me some day?" came a low meow at her shoulder. Icefang blinked and looked sideways, where Eaglepaw was running easily by her shoulder. A strange mixture of triumph and satisfaction jumped in Icefang's chest. Her heart thumped unevenly for a moment, almost painfully. Certainly a lot of hope was riding on Eaglepaw's shoulders, but Icefang hadn't anticipated the… happiness she felt when she realized that Eaglepaw was on her side. For once, it felt nice to share the same cold and twisted soul with another cat.

"Some day," Icefang purred, and then they reached the camp.

The two she-cats plunged through the bramble tunnel, ignoring the thorns that snagged in their pelts. As soon as she was free, Icefang set up a raucous yowling, heading straight for the warriors' den, while Eaglepaw went to rouse her sister.

"Wha'? What? Icefang, what's going on, what're you doing?" questioned Ashfoot, raising his head and gazing at her through sleep-blurred eyes.

"Trying to wake the whole camp?" snapped Tansyleaf, who looked like she'd been dreaming a second ago.

"Yes!" snapped Icefang, her jaws clipping closed a few whisker lengths away from Tansyleaf's nose. The brown she-cat stared cross-eyed at her feet for a moment, shocked into wakefulness.

"What are you yowling about?" asked Stonepelt, who was the only who seemed not to have been asleep.

"Cinderstar and Robinwing are under attack! We were patrolling the RiverClan border when we saw some catmint, but then there was a patrol, and then…" she paused to catch her breath, her chest heaving.

"Alright, calm down," Stonepelt urged, his ears flickering nervously. He turned to Ashfoot, meowing, "Find Brightpool and Whitefoot, they should be at the Owl tree, Tansyleaf, you gather the apprentices and then meet us by the tunnel. Where did you say you were?" Stonepelt asked, leading Icefang out of the den.

"By Stepping Stones," Icefang lied, breathless with panic.

"And you said you found catmint?" Stonepelt mewed eagerly.

Icefang nodded, still gulping down huge breaths of air.

Tansyleaf and the apprentices were already waiting by the tunnel. They met Ashfoot, Brightpool and Whitefoot and their way out. As they ran to where Icefang had said, she surveyed the small group. Eight cats made up the entire patrol, only six of which were warriors. All in all, ThunderClan looked like it had fallen on very hard times. If RiverClan was aware that the whole Clan was coming to fight them, they might think twice about backing off. Icefang felt a shiver of dismay. She saw now why Cinderstar had been so desperate to have her in the Clan. This also made her feel cold. If she were leader, she never would have considered such a shameful option of bringing back the strength of her Clan. Icefang wasn't good at warring with herself. Quickly, before her mind got too out of control, she shut if off, focusing instead on the satisfying thud of her paws on the rough ground as she and her Clanmates headed into battle.

The yowls of the fighting cats became audible as soon as they cleared the woods, but as Icefang had anticipated, they were much farther away than they should have been.

"Look, they're all the way up there!" cried Whitefoot in dismay, indicating with her tail where it was possible to see the five writhing warriors at the edge of the stream. It looked like both Cinderstar and Robinwin were still standing, but then again, so were the RiverClan warriors.

With yowls of their own, the ThunderClan cats leaped onto the Stepping Stones, one by one crossing the river and then sprinting to rescue their Clanmates. Icefang waited until all the rest of the cats had crossed before jumping over herself, hoping against hope that her plan had worked, as she ran, just a little bit slower, towards the battle, she heard a blood-curdling scream of agony, and felt a wave of relief. That much pain in one cry could only mean one thing.

When she arrived on the scene, every cat had stopped fighting. Robinwing, whose pelt looked like it been combed through by badger, was staring in horror at her paws, which were drenched in blood that was clearly not her own. A few paces away, the tree RiverClan cats were wearing equally terrified expressions.

Icefang crept closer, her heart beating wildly. What had happened? What if it had been someone else? What if Eaglepaw-? She choked on that idea, her paws prickling with unease.

But no, her fears were ungrounded. Everything had happened like she had planned, of course. Usually, the one with the plans comes out on top, despite what everyone says.

Cinderstar's body was stretched on the grass, covered in various scratches. None of them looked too serious save for a deep gash in his neck that was still oozing dark blood. His flanks were still, his eyes open and staring into nothing. Icefang had to work to make her facial expression match that of the cats around her – vacant with utter shock and despair.

"I, I…" stuttered one of the RiverClan warriors, a dark gray she-cat with a few darker patches. With a jolt of smug satisfaction, Icefang realized that it was Shadepaw, the apprentice who was so stupid she hadn't been able to make herself a warrior before Icefang herself. From the looks of it, all of this was Shadepaw's fault. "I didn't mean… I was winning and then… he just gave up!" she stammered, gazing at Cinderstar frozen body in horror.

Stonepelt glanced at her. His eyes were also glazed, and for the briefest second, Icefang felt sorry that he had to see his own father like this. But it was gone, quickly. His father was weak – he must know that as well. "It's not your fault," he said to the shocked apprentice. "He was tired, and ill. He never should have been fighting."

Icefang felt a stab of fear. What if Stonepelt blamed her for what happened? She had only been trying to protect the Clan, and it was only logical that she should leave the strongest warrior to fight while she went for help. The fact that Cinderstar wasn't at his full strength at the moment had slipped her mind entirely…

A burbling gasp suddenly rose from Cinderstar's chest, and with a violent, body-shaking cough, he came back to life. His sides rose and fell like normal, and his eyes flickered open and closed. Still coughing, the leader staggered to his feet, gazing around wildly.

"Cinderstar! Thank StarClan!" Brightpool was the first to rush up and offer her shoulder for support. Probably because she was terrified that she might actually have to fulfill her duty, Icefang snorted. The three RiverClan warriors looked utterly relieved, especially Shadepaw, who stared down at her bloody paws once more and shuddered.

"Is the battle over?" asked Cinderstar, who seemed to have recovered somewhat.

"It is," meowed the largest RiverClan warrior, a tall white tom with some gray patches. "I will make sure to inform my leader of your trespass, but this particular fight has ended. I apologize for what happened here today. I assure you, our warriors are aware that killing another cat during battle is wrong, but believe us, it was entirely unintentional. If there is any assistance we can offer to Cinderstar, we would be glad to." He gave a gracious nod to the sagging leader.

"Catmint," Cinderstar wheezed, his manners apparently forgotten.

"Sorry?" mewed the white tom, cocking his head.

Stonepelt stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "Though this battle ended in a terrible manner, the reason for our trespass was even more desperate. Our Clan has recently experienced an epidemic of whitecough, and we were searching for catmint on your border. Our medicine cat was convinced that, with the recent disputes between our two Clans, you would be unwilling to lend us any. However, given the current circumstances, I must beg you to allow us to take just a few stalks, to save our Clan from destruction." The gray tabby gazed earnestly at his enemy.

The white tom glanced uneasily at his companions. It seemed he hadn't forgotten about the enmity between their Clans, but after Stonepelt's speech, and seeing Cinderstar swaying on his feet, he couldn't refuse. "We haven't forgotten our issues, but the Clans are required to aide each other in times of need. You are welcome to as much catmint as you can carry, but as soon as you have taken it, you must leave our territory, or we will not hesitate to finish this battle here, and now."

"Thank you. Your generosity will not go unnoticed in ThunderClan," meowed Stonepelt.

With a nod, the white tom led his warriors away, leaving the ThunderClan patrol standing on the banks, speechless.

"I'll get the catmint," Ashfoot offered. He and Yellowpaw padded to the bush, where they clipped off as many stalks of catmint as they could, and picked them up gingerly so as not to crush the delicate leaves.

In silence, the cats traipsed back the way they had come, deciding to use the Stepping Stones because Cinderstar didn't look like he could walk across the birch tree on his own. When they reached camp, Sparrowpaw and Shortwhisker were waiting to receive the catmint and take Cinderstar into the medicine den. When Sparrowpaw counted the heads of the cats and saw that no one had died, she turned to beam at Icefang, her whiskers quivering with joy.

"Cinderstar lost a life," mewed the she-cat, sounding properly put out. Sparrowpaw's face fell instantly, her eyes widening.

"Only one left," she mouthed in horror, her whiskers drooping.

Icefang nodded mournfully, shook her head, and padded into the warriors' den to sleep.