Eto… I don't think I really ought to make any excuse. I'm a very terrible person for not updating sooner. Very very terrible. Oh guess what though I'm finally reading Catcher in the Rye! I never read it before, thinking I'd have to do it for school, but I just decided I'd read it anyway. The outdated slang bothers me a little but it's a pretty good book.
P.S.: about five moons have passed since last chappie, it's now early Greenleaf
P.P.S.: epic thanks to xXEnigmaXx for forcing me to finally post this! You shall be showered with Lucky Charms for your kindness!
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The dark earth was speckled by the shadow of overhanging leaves. Patches of light moved back and forth over the ground as tree boughs swayed in a gentle breeze.
"It's finally newleaf, isn't it," murmured Icestar to herself. Even in the bright sunhigh light her pale pelt didn't soak up much warmth, but the scent of newleaf was everywhere reminding her of the good weather.
"I thought I'd find you up here," someone purred. Icestar lifted her head off her paws and glanced over her shoulder at Eagleclaw, whose head had appeared over the edge of the Highrock. "Sunning yourself?"
"I was," Icestar huffed, getting to her feet, "until I was so rudely interrupted."
Eagleclaw ignored the comment and leapt back to the ground, waving her tail for Icestar to follow.
"You can't sit around in the sun all day like one of the elders," Eagleclaw accused. "Just because there hasn't been any trouble on the borders recently doesn't mean it won't happen today if you're not vigilant."
"Since when do apprentices lecture their mentors?" Icestar growled.
Eagleclaw's tail lashed as she paced in front of Icestar. "I'm not an apprentice, and you weren't my mentor. Don't be acting so high and mighty just because you're leader."
Icestar shrugged and brushed past the golden tabby she-cat, making her way to the apprentice's den. She didn't have to look far – Rosepaw and Tawnypaw, recently given their apprentice names, were already outside the den, their pelts clean and smooth, eagerly awaiting her arrival.
"Eagleclaw!" crowed the golden spotted tom, his bright eyes alighting on the golden tabby warrior at Icestar's side. The new apprentice bounded forward to greet his mentor with an enthusiastic purr, his tail twitching with excitement.
"What am I, crowfood?" growled Icestar playfully. She felt her mood improve exponentially at the mere sight of the two young cats, and felt her chest swell with pride as she remembered how much they had grown.
"You finally came!" grumbled Rosepaw, getting to her feet and giving her chest a proud lick. The white fur gleamed in the sunlight, impeccably clean, as always.
"We've been sitting around here for ages, just waiting for you two to get here. I thought mentors were supposed to wake up their apprentices early!" growled Tawnypaw, taking an experimental leap towards Eagleclaw's twitching tail. The golden she-cat flicked it out of the way with ease, infuriating her new apprentice.
"Where's Redwhisker anyway?" questioned Rosepaw, suddenly looking around. "She's always hanging around you, Icestar. Isn't she coming with us today? She came yesterday and the day before."
"Redwhisker has other duties besides helping me babysit you two," Icestar meowed. She was in an especially good mood today after the numerous ceremonies of the past moon. Just a quarter moon ago Redwhisker, Owlheart and Dappletail and received their warrior names. It was particularly gratifying for Icestar to touch her nose to her own apprentice's head and pronounce her a warrior, knowing that keen Redwhisker would undoubtedly be following in her pawsteps as she grew older. She felt as though her trio was complete now that Redwhisker and Eagleclaw were both warriors, and shaping up to be fine ones at that. She'd felt a little guilty giving herself Rosepaw as an apprentice, but then who could stop her? She could have whatever apprentice she wanted, being leader.
"Unfortunately, Redwhisker is on patrol, so Yellowstripe and Graypaw will be joining us today," Icestar announced, leading the little group towards the camp entrance. There sat Yellowstripe and her new apprentice Graypaw. They both looked extremely pleased with themselves, their chins held high and their tails curled over their heads.
Yellowstripe nodded to her as Icestar approached. "Good afternoon… er," she stammered, "morning?"
"I didn't sleep that late, did I?" Icestar yowled, throwing back her head and laughing. "Is everyone going to start cracking jokes about how old I'm getting and how stiff my old bones must be? I'm barely approaching twenty moons and already I'm getting snapped at for taking a quick morning nap. Great StarClan, what weasel-hearted warriors I'm forced to work with."
Yellowstripe and Eagleclaw had paused and were staring at her in confusion. Eagleclaw's expression was a mix of pleasant surprise and nervous terror, her eyes wide and her whiskers quivering. Rosepaw looked cheerful and oblivious, as always.
"The Greenleaf air must be getting into your blood," Eagleclaw muttered as soon as the other cats had gathered their wits and moved away.
Icestar was staring after them, frowning. "Really? I'm I acting strangely?"
"You've been buzzing like a bee ever since Rosepaw's apprentice ceremony! I don't want to sound like I'm lecturing you or anything, but it's giving some of us the creeps. I personally, am not accustomed to such… well… cheer. From you, anyway. Yellowstripe is always like this, but you're just… not." She cocked her head and shrugged.
Icestar watched Rosepaw pause to disentangle a bramble from her tail, trying to smother a laugh as the tabby apprentice only got her fur more twisted in the thorns. Eagleclaw followed her gaze and snorted. "I'd almost go so far as to suggest you were mooning after her. You get this look in your eye whenever you look at her, or Tawnypaw. The Clan accepts them now, but you can't forget just like that…"
Icestar's head snapped sideways, her hackles rising instantly.
"What?" she hissed coldly, her eyes narrowing. Eagleclaw swallowed nervously and stumbled backward as Icestar stepped forward menacingly. "Forget what?"
"Nothing. Sheesh. Never mind." Shaking her head, Eagleclaw bounded away up the rocky slope of the ravine. As her tail disappeared over its edge, Icestar allowed herself to relax. She didn't enjoy frightening Eagleclaw, but the mention of Rosepaw and Tawnypaw's true ancestry set her teeth on edge. She hadn't forgotten where they'd come from, stolen from between the paws of a ShadowClan queen. She could never truly forget. But more than anything, she wanted them to forget. She wanted the rest of the Clan to continue in ignorance. If she had to put the fear of StarClan in Eagleclaw in order to keep her mouth shut, than she would do it. She would not let blood or background sully the reputation of her beloved kits.
"Are you coming? Are your bones too stiff to climb?" A plaintive mew floated down from above. Icestar growled in response and launched herself at the steep slope, her powerful muscles clearing the top of the ravine in three enormous leaps. She skidded to a halt beside Rosepaw and straightened without even taking a breath.
The tabby apprentice's mouth was open in a surprised O. Her eyes were wide.
"No need to show off," Eagleclaw called over her shoulder with a chuckle, and then waved her tail to lead the group into the forest.
They made their way through the sunlit forest towards the RiverClan border. Icestar was content to hang at the back of the patrol and watch Eagleclaw and Yellowstripe chatter to each other while Rosepaw, Tawnypaw and Graypaw chased every passing leaf and batted at each other's heels as they raced in circles. She ought to scold them for not behaving like warriors, but it seemed cruel to kill the cheerful mood, especially after they had all endured such a difficult leafbare.
Her pleasant reverie was shattered a moment later, as a new scent drifting by on the breeze madder her hackles rise.
"Stop!" she growled suddenly. She could tell that Eagleclaw had picked up on the scent as well, and she had frozen in her tracks, waving for her sister and the apprentices to fall silent. Icestar bounded forward and leaned close to the tabby warrior.
"It's a RiverClan patrol, maybe three or four warriors, approaching from the east," Eagleclaw meowed in a low voice, flicking her tail down the right-hand side of the border.
"Are they on this side of the border?" growled Icestar in disbelief. Though she could smell the RiverClan warriors, she left it up to Eagleclaw, with her keen nose, to make out the particulars.
"I don't know," the tabby warrior, narrowing her eyes. "But there's something fishy about it." She chuckled at her pun and then straightened, the sun glinting off her golden pelt as the leaf-shadows shifted across her back.
"What's going on?" hissed Tawnypaw, his eyes wide. All three apprentices were staring at their mentors in concern. Yellowstripe looked equally as worried, inching closer to Graypaw and wrapping her tail tightly around the tiny she-kits flanks.
"RiverClan warriors? In our territory?" she whispered, her ears swiveling back and forth frantically.
"We're not sure," Icestar meowed. "But we should check all the same. Come on, and try not to make too much noise."
Icestar crouched close to the ground and led the ThunderClan cats to the edge of the forest. The river lay not a few tail-lengths away, slipping lazily past, all of its winter rage gone. As she watched the water drift by, Icestar could hardly believe that the rushing torrent had nearly dragged her to her death only a few moons earlier. She shuddered, not wishing to ever relive that experience.
"There!" Eagleclaw hissed suddenly, nudging Icestar's shoulder. The white she-cat leaned forward, still concealed behind a bramble thicket, and pinpointed the source of the smell. A patrol of three RiverClan warriors was crossing the steppingstones, being especially cautious to keep their paws out of the water surrounding them.
"Why aren't they swimming across?" Rosepaw pointed out. "I thought RiverClan cats could swim like fish!"
"They can," Icestar agreed, concern layering her voice. Rosepaw had a point. Why weren't they in the water, where they were more at home than any other cats?
"Are they coming to attack?" mewed Yellowstripe, huddling at Eagleclaw's side. "Maybe we should go warn the camp?"
"Attack?" Icestar spat, turning to gaze incredulously at Yellowstripe. "With three warriors? We could fend them off right here if that was their design. No, they have to have some other reason for crossing the river. The only way to find out to is to ask."
Without waiting for the warriors to agree, Icestar bounded over the bramble thicket, revealing herself to the RiverClan warriors, who didn't seem to have scented them. At her appearance, the RiverClan cats stopped suddenly, smothering cries of surprise. She saw them stiffen as Eagleclaw, Yellowstripe, and the three apprentices emerged at her flanks. She glanced around and suppressed a chuckle at seeing Rosepaw and Tawnypaw, their pelts fluffed out, their fangs bared as though they were ready to leap into battle.
As she turned back to survey the intruders, she was surprised upon looking at them more closely. All three warriors seemed thinner than usual, their pelts dull and lacking the usual luster that came from their fishy diet and frequent bathing. She also recognized them all, and couldn't help but curl her lip. The small group was made up of Murkypool, an irritable brown tabby tom, Eelshadow, and Shadetree, the apprentice (now finally a warrior) whom Icestar had fought against numerous times in her past and had come to detest.
"Greetings, Icestar," purred Eelshadow in a voice that felt remarkably similar to his namesake. She could tell that the other two warriors were uncomfortable as they shuffled their paws in the dust and cast furtive glances back at their territory. She knew it was unusual for a leader to actually be out patrolling instead of at the camp organizing things, but she hated being stuck in her den all day like some leaders. These fish-eaters would have to get used to seeing her around.
"May I ask the purpose of your trespass?" Icestar questioned immediately, dismissing the formalities.
Eelshadow dipped his head, a smile playing at the edge of his muzzle. His tail was swishing back and forth as though he were stalking a piece of prey. It was obvious that Murkypool and Shadetree were uneasy in his presence by the way they stood so far from him and refused to look at him. She wondered, not for the first time, exactly what Eelshadow was up to on a daily basis. She had never quite believed his life story, and every time they met she came to doubt him more and more. Still, she couldn't deny the strange attraction that his mysteriousness held for her. There was just something about the constant gleam in his eye that she felt uncommonly fascinated by.
"It seems RiverClan is in need of… assistance," he purred, glancing at her as though considering the best angle of attack. Her pelt prickled.
Instead of speaking to Eelshadow, Icestar directed her attention to Murkypool, who she knew was more of a senior warrior, and therefore probably more qualified to speak than his young, once-rogue companion.
"What kind of assistance? Are you having trouble feeding yourselves off the bounty of newleaf? I find that hard to imagine. RiverClan is always well fed, even in times when other Clans are starving."
Murkypool caught her gaze and seemed to cringe. He didn't speak, which only irritated Icestar further. She could practically feel the oiliness in Eelshadow's words, and she would rather like to avoid it. So, though it was hardly any better, she turned to Shadetree and posed the same question. "Why does RiverClan need assistance from ThunderClan?"
Shadetree seemed more prepared to speak. She opened her mouth and was about to reply, when Eelshadow's tail flicked across her nose, silencing her. Icestar cut back a growl of frustration, trying to master her growing rage. This situation, despite its dire implications, was not moving forward in the least.
"You see," mewed Eelshadow, taking a step forward, "the river, our primary source of food, appears to have been poisoned." He stared at Icestar, and she couldn't help but stare back, no matter how unnerving his eyes felt boring into her own.
"Poisoned?" she spat, feeling Eagleclaw tense at her side. "How is that possible?"
Eelshadow slunk three steps closer until his nose was practically in Icestar's face. She unsheathed her claws, prepared to strike him if he moved another paw. But he stopped and narrowed his eyes, flicking his ears back and forth as was his habit, always picking up on some sort of indiscernible sound.
"Allow us to show you," purred the black tom.
And he grinned.