So, Icefang is finally Icestar. I was going over the timing of everything in my mind today, slightly panicking. I'm in the middle of Bluestar's Prophecy, and since I haven't read a Warriors book in a while, I'm feeling like a sort of missed some good solid warriors stuff in this story recently. At first I got freaked out when I realized how little time has passed since Icestar joined ThunderClan.
I was flipping out, trying to fit 'kit to leader' into a little bit over one human year, but then I realized a couple things. First off, the first seven moons of Icestar's life were spent in a Twoleg nest (yes, she was seven moons old when she became an apprentice instead of the usual six). That left the end of leaf-bare and all of new-leaf for her apprentice training, which I think is about the usual amount of time. (In Bluestar's Prophecy, Bluestar is apprenticed at the beginning of leaf-bare, and becomes a warrior at the end of leaf-bare.)
So Icefang had all of green-leaf, leaf-fall, and the next leaf-bare to become deputy. Obviously, she sped things up a little and the Clan was short on warriors anyway, so, in the end, I reasoned that it was plausible for her to be leader now. Do you all agree, or is the story going weirdly fast?
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"So," Shortwhisker rasped as soon as Icestar emerged from Mothermouth, ruffling her pelt against the frigid gusts of wind. "How did it go?"
Icestar looked around for a moment before answering him. She had dreamed away the entire night, and the first pink tendrils of dawn were working their way over the distant, misty horizon.
"StarClan granted me nine lives," she replied quietly, wincing as she tried not to remember the blinding pain that had accompanied each gift.
A short purr rumbled from Shortwhisker's throat. "I'm glad. ThunderClan needs a strong leader, after all we've been through."
As they padded away from the cave mouth, silent in the pale glow of morning, Icestar's mind set instantly to work. She couldn't tell yet exactly how the StarClan warriors had changed her, but she knew that something was different. She couldn't quite put her paw on it, but she felt more… in control. As though the world had been spinning, and suddenly everything was blissfully still.
Blackstar's gift lingered the most in her mind. She felt that what he had described as the most important aspect of being a leader was indeed something that she had overlooked so far during her career as a ThunderClan warrior and as Cinderstar's deputy. The last time that Icestar had chatted aimlessly with one of her denmates, or had an innocent conversation with Quickstep, seemed like lives ago. She barely knew the rest of the warriors, let alone the apprentices other than Redpaw.
As she speculated, Icestar's gaze drifted sideways to Shortwhisker. The old gray tom walked resolutely at her side, his paws sure on the rough stones despite his grizzled appearance. The more Icestar thought about it, the more she realized she didn't know about Shortwhisker, and the more she felt guilty about it. Being leader meant she should have a close relationship with the medicine cat, who would interpret StarClan's messages for her. Sparrowtail wasn't the only medicine cat in the Clan, and nor was she the most experienced.
When Icestar was an apprentice, it had seemed like befriending Sparrowtail was her best bet to gain more insight into the mysteries of StarClan, but now that she had communed with them and received her nine lives, understanding their mysteries wasn't the top priority.
Shortwhisker stepped on a loose stone and slipped sideways, hissing as his ankle turned. Without thinking, Icestar shuffled sideways and pressed her shoulder against his, supporting him as he inspected his ankle.
The medicine cat's gaze flashed towards her with surprise, but he quickly blinked it away and gave a purr of thanks. "Not broken," he meowed cheerfully, testing the foot carefully before marching on.
Icestar waited a moment, watching his pawsteps cautiously, before following.
They neared the ThunderClan camp just after sunrise, pausing at the top of the ravine to gaze down into the shelter of the gorse wall. Icestar felt her pelt prickle as she beheld the camp, seemingly for the first time. She hadn't taken a good look at it in a while, and all of a sudden the pitiful state of her Clan's home stood out in startling relief. With Cinderstar ill, Brightpool lazy, and no other motivated cats in the Clan, the clearing had fallen into a state of disrepair. The gorse wall was dotted with holes and the den ceilings were patchy. Sticks and leaves littered the clearing like the detritus after a storm. And worst of all, the broad space, packed down by so many sets of paws over so many moons, was shockingly empty. Not a creature stirred visibly in the entire camp. Icestar shivered violently.
She helped Shortwhisker scramble down the side of the ravine and padded behind him through the labyrinthine entrance to the camp. As soon as she swept past the last of the thorns, Icestar put on a burst of speed and leapt to the top of the Highrock. The stone was cold but smooth beneath her pads, sore from the long trek. Though the view was familiar from her days spent playing deputy during Brightpool's 'absence', there was something altogether more awe-inspiring about standing atop the ancient stone as a real leader.
"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath Highrock!" she called, the words tasting sweet as they rolled from her tongue.
One by one, heads poked from the dens along the side of the clearing. Icestar curled her white tail around her paws and watched in silence as the whole of ThunderClan assembled before her, small and bedraggled as it was.
First Shortwhisker seated himself in the dust directly in front of her, his eyes shining. His apprentice, Sparrowtail, made her swiftly from the medicine clearing, looking just as excited. Icestar nodded sagely to them both, and even flashed Sparrowtail a friendly smile. The tortoiseshell she-cat beamed at her.
Next, Stonepelt and Owlpaw pushed through the gorse entrance, each carrying a mouse in their jaws.
"We heard from the top of the ravine," Stonepelt called after placing his catch on the fresh-kill pile, "and came running!" Owlpaw gave a vigorous nod of agreement.
Specklefoot and Robinwing emerged from the nursery. Icestar noticed for the first time how round the ginger warrior's belly had grown, and how Ashfoot bounded towards her from the warriors' den and pressed his muzzle against her cheek. Her tail twitched. How could she not have seen that before? It had been far too long since there were kits rolling across the clearing.
Redpaw and Dapplepaw slid out of the apprentices' den, blinking the sleep from their eyes. As soon as Redpaw caught her eye she gave Icestar a wide smile, and the white she-cat smiled back, feeling a wave of warmth for her apprentice.
Whitefoot, Thrushwing and Tansyleaf appeared, murmuring to one another as they looked up at Icestar in wonder. Eagleclaw and her sister Yellowpaw followed quickly, accompanied by Mossfur and Quickstep, who filled the last open places in the pitifully small crowd.
"First, I bring good news," Icestar began, relishing the sound of her voice as it echoed across the clearing. "StarClan has seen fit to grant me the nine lives of a leader. Though we still mourn the passing of Cinderstar, who was honest, kind, and a good leader until the very end, a new era has arrived for ThunderClan."
As she spoke, Icestar met the gaze of every cat, staring straight into him or her as though she could see to the very depths of their souls. Perhaps the life that Blackstar had instilled n her had granted her real power to understand her Clanmates, better than ever before. And perhaps it was just her own power, having finally been awoken after so long frozen beneath the surface.
"I will strive to be the leader that ThunderClan needs, especially now during these dark times. We have struggled, many of us have joined the ranks of our warrior ancestors, and many of us have grieved too much. But lift your noses and taste the air. Taste the change in the wind! Leaf-bare is over and new-leaf is upon us," she growled, the stone beneath her paws thrumming with the power of her voice. "And like the saplings in the forest, though charred by flames and battered by frigid winds, ThunderClan will continue to grow, and soon we will tower over all the Clans just as the Great Sycamore towers over the forest."
Cheers of approval met the end of her speech, and Icestar fought back a victorious howl of her own. This is it, she said to herself fiercely. This is me.
"There are many things that must be taken care of first, however. Things that were abandoned during this past leaf-bare. First, Yellowpaw, would you please step forward?"
A gasp of joy jumped from the pale-striped apprentice's lips, and Eagleclaw squeaked with happiness as she shoved her sister forward through the crowd. Icestar leaped down from the Highrock and padded towards Yellowpaw, smiling.
"This should have been done ages ago," she meowed softly to the grinning apprentice, and then turned to the Clan. "I, Icestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained long and hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Do you, Yellowpaw," she meowed, shifting her attention to the apprentice, "promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
Kneading the earth with her paws, the tabby apprentice replied, "I do!"
"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name: Yellowstripe! StarClan honors your bravery and your compassion, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."
Icestar stepped forward and gently rested her muzzle on Yellowstripe's head as the new warrior gave her shoulder a respectful lick.
"Yellowstripe! Yellowstripe! Yellowstripe!" chanted the Clan; Eagleclaw's shrill voice carrying above them all.
After the cheering died down, Icestar clambered back onto the Highrock. "Welcome, Yellowstripe," she meowed. "It's good to have a new warrior in the Clan again."
Excited murmurs spread through the crowd as Yellowstripe weaved among her friends accepting congratulations.
"In addition," Icestar continued. "I would like to call Dapplepaw forward. Since Robinwing will be confined to the nursery until her kitting, it is time you were properly assigned a new mentor." She had seen other warriors making halfhearted attempts to train the lost apprentice, but it would be easier if she had a mentor to really call her own.
"Ashfoot, it's time you had your first apprentice," Icestar called, beckoning the gray tabby tom forward. He blinked in surprise as she called his name, and then his face broke into a toothy grin.
"You will continue Dapplepaw's training," she meowed. "Cinderstar was your mentor, and I am sure that you will do your best to pass on his skills to this young she-cat."
"I will, Icestar," meowed Ashfoot cheerfully as he pressed his nose to Dapplepaw's eagerly.
"And of course, last but not least," Icestar meowed, "it is time to appoint ThunderClan's new deputy."
A hush instantly fell over the gathered cats. Ashfoot, who had been murmuring excitedly to Dapplepaw, snapped his jaws shut and looked up. Mossfur shifted his paws underneath him and narrowed his eyes. Whitefoot straightened and smoothed her chest fur.
On the journey back from Highstones, Icestar had given this next decision a lot of thought. The choices were extremely limited, given ThunderClan's recent hardships. Only four warriors in the entire Clan had ever had apprentices, and one of them was Ashfoot, starting today with Dapplepaw. The only reason Icestar had really decided to officially apprentice Dapplepaw to him was so that, if need be, she could add a forth option to her list. Aside from Ashfoot, she was looking at Whitefoot, Stonepelt, or Thrushwing.
Whitefoot was a good warrior, the most experienced in the Clan, but Icestar's dislike of her was deep and difficult to forget. She had been the first cat to oppose her acceptance into ThunderClan as an apprentice, and she was always the first to voice a negative opinion on most matters. But she was the easiest choice, being the oldest warrior in the Clan.
Stonepelt was another viable option, though Icestar shuddered to think of having him at her side all day. He was the best warrior in the Clan, after her of course, but he didn't quite have all the qualities of a leader, though Icestar was sure it would never come to that. She planned to hang in long enough to handpick her choice for deputy from a much broader range of warriors.
Thrushwing was last on the list. She was the only other senior warrior, older than Whitefoot by a good amount, but she spent most of her time in the nursery. Icestar had never seen her in battle, although she heard that the tortoiseshell queen had once been a fairly formidable warrior, before giving birth to innumerable litters of Oakshadow's kits.
Still, Icestar had already made her choice. She knew it was wily, and some cats might see through her schemes, but it was all she could think of to salvage the situation.
"Thrushwing will be the new deputy."
At first there was silence as the tortoiseshell queen's eyes bulged practically out of their sockets. Then a cheer sounded from somewhere in the crowd, probably her sister Quickstep, followed by a yowl of approval from Ashfoot. The rest of the cats followed suit, some in confusion, some reluctantly, others wholeheartedly. Thrushwing padded forward, still looking shocked, and greeted Icestar as she dropped from the Highrock.
"I'm so honored," she managed to meow, dipping her head to Icestar. "I will serve the Clan to the very best of my ability."
Icestar smiled at her and nodded. "I know."
When the Clan had finished cheering the she-cat's name, Icestar made her way once more to the top of the Highrock to assess the effects of her words. Most cats looked surprised but content. Thrushwing's history as a talented warrior seemed not to have been forgotten, despite her many moons spent in the nursery. After Oakshadow's death the she-cat had decided to return to her life as a warrior, though she was old, and she had only recently moved back into the warriors' den. It seemed some cats had already gotten used to the idea of her fighting alongside them, and others would soon come to terms with it.
Except for Whitefoot. The black she-cat's face was a mask of open astonishment. Icestar could tell from the way she'd been preening herself before the ceremony that she was expecting to be named deputy, and maybe had already planned her speech. Icestar's appointment of Thrushwing seemed to have knocked the breath from her lungs.
A moment later the she-cat seemed to have recovered, but disgust curled her lip as she muttered a halfhearted congratulations to Thrushwing. Her yellow eyes blazed as she glanced at her Clanmates, tail lashing. Icestar felt the tiniest twinge of guilt as she watched the she-cat fume. The position was rightfully hers, it was true. She was the best candidate, all things considered. But Icestar didn't want to settle for all things considered.
If she had cast her stones correctly, Thrushwing would be retiring to the elders' den in a few seasons. Quickstep was her littermate, and the she-cat had been in the elders' den for moons, her muzzle already washed in silver. It was surprising that Thrushwing hadn't already decided to join her sister and Mossfur, but Icestar had jumped on the opportunity to catch her on her way out. If everything worked according to plan, Robinwing's kits would be born soon, and ready to be apprenticed before next leaf-fall. By then Ashfoot would be a legitimate option for Thrushwing's replacement, and he could be easily molded. Icestar would give Eagleclaw an apprentice, and soon enough the golden tabby warrior would also be a viable replacement. Redpaw would have her warrior name by then, and hopefully an apprentice as well, so she too could be counted on in a pinch, despite her lack of seniority.
If all goes according to plan, Icestar thought to herself as the gathered cats dispersed and she jumped to the ground. And it will.