Hm. I guess I haven't been all that busy this summer. Well, it's ending soon and I promise I'll update a little more regularly. As it happens, this chapter should be pretty good.

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Icefang stared mournfully at the patch of frosted earth before her. It was a very nondescript area: a flat square of mud with some pebbles and small sticks scattered across it. The white sheen of ice sparkling atop the dirt spoke of harsh cold weather, as did the cloud of warm fog wreathed around Icefang's muzzle. Her eyes, the sharp blue of a leafbare sky, were wide with despair, her whiskers drooping.

"You found nothing?" Icefang wailed. "Nothing at all?"

"I'm sorry."

Eaglepaw was standing beside her, her usually glorious pelt looking dull and unkempt. Her expression was even more miserable than Icefang's. "We looked for ages, but there was nothing. The forest is… empty." The apprentice shivered, her tail lashing.

With a sharp sigh, Icefang raised her head and glanced at Eaglepaw. "Well, that's terrible news. What is Brightpool going to do about it?"

In an instant Eaglepaw's face transformed from glum shame to raw fury. "She blew her head off at me and Yellowpaw. Blasted us with some stupid lecture about trying harder, when she barely lifted a paw during the whole day. I expect she's bullied some of the younger warriors into going out again. Doesn't matter if the rest of the Clan is starving so long as Brightpool's fat and happy," Eaglepaw hissed venomously.

Icefang gave a despondent shake of her head. "It's funny," she meowed, turning away from the barren space where the fresh kill had once been. "When I… became an apprentice, I didn't think Brightpool was like this at all." She avoided saying 'when I joined ThunderClan', preferring not to refer to the fact that she had come from the Twolegplace, instead of being born into ThunderClan like a proper warrior.

"She's a lazy slug, always has been," Eaglepaw snapped unhelpfully.

"Maybe she is now, but when I was younger she seemed like a perfect warrior. Always helpful, polite, hardworking. I wonder what happened," Icefang mused. It wasn't as though she cared, but any information on Brightpool's past might help her decide the she-cat's future.

"Maybe she figures she can slack off now that she's secure in her position. Cinderstar can't very well unmake her deputy, especially now that he's on his last legs," Eaglepaw supplied. Even though Brightpool had been assigned her mentor after Tanglethorn's untimely demise, the golden apprentice had never had a very high opinion of the she-cat, and it had plummeted after witnessing Brightpool's obvious neglect of her duties.

"No, but he could name another cat before he dies," Icefang murmured. "It's been known to happen."

Eaglepaw glanced sideways at her and muttered, "Sure, I guess."

It made sense that she was skeptical. The chances of Cinderstar suddenly changing his mind were slim. Presumably, the leader had had his reasons for naming Brightpool deputy, and he wasn't likely to go back on his word. Still, Icefang had her own reasons for hoping.

Leafbare had descended upon the forest like a heavy paw. No prey was to be found in the entire territory, and finally ThunderClan's worst fears had been realized: if they didn't find a way to replenish their food stores soon, starvation and sickness would become their worst enemy, besides other Clans in desperate need of prey of their own.

Icefang had been planning on waiting at least until newleaf to put her plans for Brightpool into action, but if the deputy continued to lounge about and dismiss her duties, the white she-cat might be forced to act sooner than she'd expected. Which meant some changes to her careful schemes. Icefang knew that she could do a better job of keeping the Clan alive during these difficult times than Brightpool, but the biggest issue was how to make sure that Cinderstar chose her for the job once Brightpool was gone.

This was the dilemma that Icefang had been focusing on of late. Removing Brightpool from the picture was relatively easy compared to reinserting herself into that picture. Cinderstar was on the edge of losing his sanity, and the added pressure of feeding a Clan without any available a prey was surely enough to drive him off. It was only a matter of squeezing into his good graces at the right moment, and Icefang was having a difficult time trying to come up with a good plan.

"Anyway," Eaglepaw huffed, "I'm starving, and I've been out in the forest since dawn with nothing to show for it. Nothing." Her face, though twisted in an angry snarl, betrayed her fear.

"There's nothing I can do," Icefang meowed in exasperation, wishing the golden tabby she-cat would stop complaining and start being helpful.

I'll have to observe, Icefang thought to herself, glancing around the clearing. The best way to ensure her promotion was to eliminate the competition. Since killing off every senior warrior was out of the question, Icefang had to discover exactly which cats she had to look out for.

In Whitefoot, Icefang didn't believe she had much of an enemy. The she-cat had never appeared particularly concerned with Clan politics, except for the one time that she had spoken against allowing Icefang to join ThunderClan. She was a skilled mentor and hunter. Icefang couldn't imagine that she would put in an excessive amount of effort to become deputy, and because she was a useful member of the Clan, Icefang would prefer not to have to fight against her. That ruled out one senior warrior, but the rest of them weren't as easy.

Since Leafspots' death by whitecough, Stonepelt had taken on even more duties as a senior warrior, though he was still young by ordinary standards. Though he was neither an outstanding warrior nor a skilled hunter, he was a solid presence in the Clan and could always be looked to for good advice or information on political matters. If Cinderstar happened to notice the attentiveness with which Stonepelt treated every Clan member, from kit to elder, he might have a shot at becoming deputy. However, because Stonepelt was Cinderstar's son, there was a small chance that the leader would give another warrior precedence in order to avoid the appearance of favoritism. It was a slim chance at best, since Cinderstar's choice would of course be in the best interest of the Clan and not a personal mater, but Icefang would choose to take any chance she could get.

As for Ashfoot and Tansyleaf, Icefang was fairly certain that Cinderstar didn't hold either of them in very high esteem. Only a leader far beyond any shred of sanity would choose Tansyleaf as deputy, considering her immense stupidity and vanity. She was an atrocious hunter and a bad warrior, with no skills outside of acting extremely stuck-up.

Ashfoot was a good cat, and Icefang held very little against his personality or role in the Clan, but he could hardly be considered deputy material. His hunting and fighting skills were fair, and he pulled his own weight in camp duties, plus Tansyleaf's weight more often than not. But Ashfoot didn't have the heart to be a deputy, and certainly not to lead the Clan. He was timid and quiet, never giving a sold opinion on Clan matters. Once again, Cinderstar would have to daft to give him the position of deputy.

Icefang gave herself a satisfied nod. When she went over the competition thoroughly, she realized how much she should really stand out in her Clan. Not only was she a superior warrior, but also her hunting skills had improved vastly since her first days as an apprentice. Now that Icefang thought about it, she reckoned she could defeat any of her fellow warriors in a fair fight and outhunt them on a good day. There was no doubt that her skills in both fields were better than either Whitefoot or Stonepelt. Now all she had to do was gain the trust of her Clanmates and become a leading figure, better than either of the most senior warriors.

"It shouldn't be that hard," Icefang purred under her breath.

"What was that?" Eaglepaw questioned, glancing at her.

"Nothing," Icefang mewed quickly, waving her tail over her head. "Any ideas on what to do today, since our deputy doesn't seem to have any?"

Eaglepaw sighed and flicked her ears. "Hunt. And guess what we should do later – hunt. And tomorrow? Hunt. What else is there to do?" she meowed morosely.

"I don't see Ashfoot, Robinwing or Stonepelt," Icefang murmured, watching as Whitefoot crossed the clearing and Tansyleaf entered the warriors' den, "so they're probably out hunting. There must be something else going on in this stupid camp."

"Patrol?" Eaglepaw suggested lamely, scratching a claw in the mud.

"Perfect," Icefang purred, and began to march purposefully towards Cinderstar's den.

Eaglepaw scrambled after her. "Wait, I didn't actually mean that! There's no use!" She protested.

"Hey, we can't all sit around like lazy badgers," Icefang mewed in a scolding tone. If your own mentor won't give you something to do, I will. We're going on patrol, and I'm going to ask Cinderstar where to go."

"He won't say anything," Eaglepaw grumbled, but she sat down outside the den to wait while Icefang ducked inside.

"Cinderstar?" Icefang called quietly.

"Is that Icefang?" came the hoarse reply. After the whitecough took one of his lives, Cinderstar had been far feebler than before, and losing another one in the brief skirmish with RiverClan had only weakened him further. The fact that he recognized her voice was probably a good sign.

"Yes, it's me Cinderstar," she mewed gentle, feeling a momentary spasm of pity. It was true that he had once been a great leader, when he was in his prime, and now here he was rotting away in his dank den. Icefang resolved then and there to never end up like him, and to lose her last life in battle like a truly brave Clan warrior.

"What's going on?" he coughed, moving slightly out of the shadows. Icefang muffled a mournful squeak as she beheld his skeletal frame, ribs and shoulders showing through his ragged pelt. His eyes were hollow and glazed, as if they barely saw the sun, which was true; Cinderstar rarely came out of his den these days, preferring to sleep for much of the day.

"I thought I'd ask you're permission to go on patrol with Eaglepaw and Redpaw," she meowed, watching his face cautiously. She wasn't sure he would remember the two apprentices, especially since Redpaw had received her apprentice name fairly recently and after he had lost his strength.

"Hm? Oh yes, of course. That sounds lovely," he mewed, a faint purr roughening his speech.

"Any suggestions? We haven't heard reports of unrest in any of the other Clans for a long time." Even at the last Gathering, which Icefang hadn't attended, the only complaint of all four Clans was the scarcity of prey, which was always a problem in leafbare, although this one was shaping up to be a particularly bad season. Problems were bound to be arising soon, but since their disagreement with RiverClan, ThunderClan had had very little contact with their neighbors on any side.

"Hm? Suggestions for what?" Cinderstar mewed. He was looking away from her, at the wall, distracted by some stray thought.

"Suggestions for where to take my patrol, Cinderstar," she meowed, remaining calm although her pelt prickled with annoyance. She shouldn't have to baby her leader like this, treating him like a newborn kit.

"Oh. Hm, check on the Twolegplace, will you? There's a young kittypet there who I've been watching for a while. She might be a good addition to the Clan in these hard times. That is all."

For a moment his words didn't sink in, and Icefang stared at him in confusion. Then her eyes grew wide with horror. There was no way that Cinderstar had been out around Twolegplace recently, so the only thing she could think of was that he was talking about herself. Appalled, Icefang swallowed a deep breath and managed to cough out, "Cinderstar, I'm Icefang. I…" She felt a burn in her throat as she spat, "I was the kittypet. I'm a warrior now." Even mentioning her disgraceful background was like drinking snake venom.

Cinderstar's blank gaze returned to her face, unfocused and blurry. "Hm? Yes, of course, you're Icefang. Who else did you mention, Eaglepaw and Redpaw? Yes, they should accompany you, that's right. Now go, I'm tired," Cinderstar meowed with finality, his voice gaining strength as he finished. "Leave me."

Shocked into silence, Icefang turned and stalked out of the den, her heart beating very fast. She'd had no idea it was this bad. That he might not recognize her voice was understandable; Cinderstar was old and his senses were finally failing him as he neared the end of his nine lives. But losing his memory was worse than she'd feared. Plus, bringing up her ancestry always made Icefang's pelt hot, and receiving the words from the mouth of her leader, however unintentional, only made it worse.

"So?" Eaglepaw questioned as soon as she emerged. She grinned at Icefang, and then noticed her black look and immediately checked herself. "What happened?" she growled, glancing back at the dark mouth of the den.

"He's lost his mind," Icefang spat, still shaken by her encounter. "Only mousetails and moss in there now, poor old fleabag," she snorted.

Eaglepaw gaped at her, taken aback by her frankness, and then nodded vigorously, trying to cover her surprise at Icefang's outburst. "I knew he was batty. What'd he say about patrol?"

Icefang paused in her pacing and drew in a deep breath, meeting Eaglepaw's anxious gaze. "Go and wake Redpaw, the lazy git. We're patrolling the Twolegplace."

Obviously confused but afraid of Icefang's sudden sharp mood, Eaglepaw twitched her whiskers in agreement and hurried away, leaving Icefang shivering in the middle of the camp, half from the biting cold and half from a sudden bitter fear that was seeping into her veins. This entire affair had suddenly gone far beyond her own ambitions and Brightpool's shortcomings; Cinderstar was obviously not healthy, and soon no amount of isolation would hide this revelation from the rest of the Clan. And once the cats no longer had Cinderstar's authority to follow, Icefang could only shudder at the thought of what would become of ThunderClan.

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