In WindClan's territory, Icefoot stretched out his back, gazing up ahead at the land in front of him. His eyes scanned ahead, unwilling to wait for the patrol that was attempting to catch up from behind him. If they were too slow for the deputy, they shouldn't have volunteered for this day. Otherwise, the freely flowing wind that ran through his fur was able to distract him. This particular spot in the territory; right near the camp, was somewhere he wishes to never stay for a long while. His struggles within the past moon have cast a permanent shadow over one small area of the territory.

Ahead of him, instead, he could see the faint lines of a thundersnake path, silently waiting for a cat to come near before one of those monsters quickly pounced for a catch. But it was only a simple obstacle; most Thundersnakes could be seen from far off, and to Icefoot's view, none were nearby.

"Icefoot! You never bothered to tell us how close we're going to the border," a voice called to him from behind.

As he glanced back to reply, he saw Farswipe and Hareclaw, two brown cats of various tones, pad up towards him in a slight hurry. Farswipe caught up to him the fastest, while also being the cat who spoke up.

"I'm planning to get us more prey," Icefoot murmured in a non-enthusiastic voice, " Before the gathering. So we need to get as close as the other clans will allow us."

"...Won't RiverClan get upset at us once more?" Hareclaw mumbled cautiously.

"They have their fish to catch. We're only going to take some mice," Icefoot meowed once more, his ears quickly flicking downwards out of irritation, "Are you two going to stay behind here or can we move forwards ?"

"Sorry, Icefoot," both cats meowed at the same time, their pelts hung low in slight embarrassment.

"It's-" Icefoot started in a scolding tone of voice, before stopping himself internally with an irritated flick of his tail, "It's fine. We should hurry before a patrol finds us."

Farswipe narrowed her eyes, while Hareclaw nervously nodded. With the white-pelted cat in the lead of the other two brown-pelted clan-mates. Icefoot diverted his gaze away from them, continuing on his path forwards. Behind himself, the deputy raised his ears and he could hear the other two conversating in hushed meows about something unimportant. Shaking his head, he focused ahead of him once more. Why'd I have to be stuck in a clan full of young cats? At least our mouths aren't as demanding for food.

The cats continued quietly, the two warriors not even close to attempting another conversation. Icefoot shook his head internally. He can't just kill the mood of the other two, could he? Therefore, he asked, "Which one of you two would want to go to the gathering?"

Both cats looked up at him, with confusion.

He, therefore, continued, "The gathering in two nights. I already have two cats I want to bring with me; the rest can stay and guard the camp."

"But won't that just make the other clans suspicious of how many warriors we have left?" Farswipe asked.

Icefoot shook his head, "We've kept our low numbers a secret for the past two moons. We'll do fine. Can you answer my question?"

The two littermates looked at each other. It didn't take a heartbeat for Farswipe to suddenly meow out, "I'll go."

" What? !" Hareclaw exclaimed with a hiss, his fur suddenly showing slight spiking, "Why you?"

"I'm just clearly more suitable."

"You've done nothing useful this past half-moon!" Hareclaw spat back, albeit calmly.

"And you're the cat to say that? What about yourself?"

Icefoot tuned out the littermates once more. Whether it was simple littermate-like banter or an actual disagreement between the two warriors, in his head they were experienced enough to eventually figure it out. He wasn't going to spend his walk outside of camp listening to two cats constantly talk. Not at a time like this. Instead, he kept his focus on the trek ahead of him. The mention of the two calling themselves 'littermates' as he walked on hurt him more. As he sighed, he shook his head in denial.

Within a few very long moments, the group was approaching the border between WindClan and RiverClan. Icefoot immediately put himself to a halt, tasting the air with a deep inhale, "There are a few mice. One for each of us. Maybe a vole if we can find it," he announced to the other two quietly. They nodded, following after him, their voices now in a lower, hushed tone.

Icefoot began his search for the first mouse. RiverClan's border scent filled his nose instead, making him focus much more on the clearing ahead for the slightest of movements within the grass. Soon enough, there it was: a mouse scurrying through with a seed in its hands, seemingly unaware of the cats who were a distance away. He immediately dropped into a crouch- motioning the other two cats to walk away with a quick flick of his tail. They quickly obeyed, stalking off into the distance in separate directions. He then proceeded to stalk over, his grey paws quietly trailing him across the earth. In his opinion, he shouldn't be hunting quietly after a mouse. He should be up in the moor, running after rabbits like all WindClan cats had done before him. But ever since the thundersnake's trail was built before he was born, that freedom had nearly disappeared. Maybe someday he'll get that chance.

The mouse, however, never suspected the older warrior, making Icefoot's catch much easier. He thoughtfully scanned the path ahead of him. It was clear enough for a jump, at least. He quickly pounced on the mouse, his speed showing no mercy as his paws crushed the weight of the small creature. With a quick unsheathing of his claws, they dug into the mouse's neck to trap it, before he quickly brought down his jaws to deliver a killing bite. This sort of prey's still too easy to catch, thank StarClan for that. He thought as he picked up his catch.

As he padded over to a clump of larger bushes he spotted nearby, he noticed Hareclaw pad up towards him with his mouse- a visibly elderly, large mouse.

Good catch, Icefoot internally mumbled as he dropped his catch in beside a thick bush. Hareclaw followed after him, the two mice now stacked on top of each other.

"Farswipe went further down the border," Hareclaw meowed, "She wanted to see if there's more than the mouse."

Icefoot nodded, "We won't need more, but that's good. Can you keep watch of where she goes? I want to-" Icefoot started before suddenly being cut off. His ears pointed towards the sound of rustling bushes caught his attention- something large was coming their way.

Icefoot immediately broke his gaze from his clanmate, his icy-colored eyes carefully scanning the oncoming figure. He was ready to be tackled, but as they got closer the stronger scent of RiverClan picked up. He relaxed, glancing at Hareclaw behind him, "Can you get Farswipe for me? Quickly."

Hareclaw nodded, as the RiverClan cats approached.

Icefoot recognized the other-clanned cats instantly; Mossheather, a well-respected senior warrior. Her apprentice, Jackdawpaw was following from behind, as well as Minnowheart and Perchdust padding up at her flanks.

"Icefoot?" Mossheather asked, "What are you doing by the border alone?"

It only took a few moments of silence before, "He's not alone!" Hareclaw immediately countered. Icefoot turned his head and noticed how quickly Farswipe had returned, thank StarClan.

"Then, what are you three doing near the border?"

A dark-toned beige tom, Perchdust, padded up to the trio. With a quick whiff of his nose, he hissed, "They were hunting."

"On our side of the border," Icefoot meowed, his eyes stern and not leaving Mossheather, "It may have been near the bushes, but that's where our border only begins. "

"Are you trying to distract us?" Perchdust narrowed his eyes instead, "That was RiverClan prey. Why else would you bother to travel the whole distance from your camp and end up here? It doesn't seem like a friendly plan. At all. Mossheather, we should-" The tom started, before being met with a flicked tail to silence him.

"Perchdust, that's unnecessary," Mossheather meowed, "Actually, can I talk to Icefoot alone about this?"

The two warriors glanced at her with uneasy glances, as if they were untrustworthy of the WindClan deputy. Mossheather's gaze darkened, which took the warriors away. Jackdawpaw padded over towards them as well, being much more patient with his mentor. Mossheather then turned away, flicking her tail towards the forest for Icefoot to follow her. The tom cautiously did so, walking off without glancing back at his warriors.

As the two reached a more secure distance, Mossheather began speaking once more, " Ice, What are you doing?"

"I'm keeping my clan fed," Icefoot mumbled, "And I'm following our borders. Isn't that enough?"

"My clan is getting more worried about where to hunt each day," Mossheather shook her head, "The rivers are being poisoned, you know that."

"And the thundersnake built its path across a large portion of our territory," Icefoot continued, "Both of our clans are suffering, Moss."

"I'm aware of that," She meowed. A heartbeat of silence follows, before Mossheather sighs, "Although... this won't be the same territorial issue as when we were apprentices. And it isn't today. Asterstar did a good job protecting your clan."

Icefoot resisted the urge to suddenly glare at the cat beside him. Asterstar was one of the best leaders for the current situation they were trapped in; she knew what to say to the other clans to keep them occupied and out of the interest of WindClan. She knew how to handle warriors at their worst. Her death should never have happened, Icefoot should not have been left alone to lead his clan. He was still too inexperienced, but it happened. Bringing his mind back to himself, he calmed down, forcing his fur to lay flat as he continued, "She did. But you're right; this is a different situation. No cat knows how this will end. If it will end soon. My point is still standing."

The she-cat beside him was defeated, with no answer to counter back at him. She glanced up at the sky for a moment, before lowering her head and speaking up once more; now facing the moor ahead, "Remember when we became close friends as apprentices, we said we'd both try and fix our clans?"

"Wasn't that just a young cat's wish?"

She shrugged, "I'm not sure what we meant, but I want it to be true partially, at least. I've been trying to get Wingripple into a better sense of your clan. She wouldn't listen."

"That sounds like something she'd do," Icefoot scoffed with annoyance, which earned him a quick judge-full glare from the cat beside him. He shook his head at her before he continued, "We were thinking of expanding our borders further away from the lake. But rogues and twolegs become an immediate issue."

Mossheather then asked, "Have you tried going underground?"

Icefoot nodded, "Yes, but WindClan isn't made to hunt underground. At most we found a few bats that were too fast for my warriors. Even our apprentice is refusing to learn how to hunt in the dark," his last phrase was said with a slight hint of disgust. Icefoot knew that Longpaw had a fear of darkness, but he never understood why she was so adamant about it.

The she-cat beside him glanced back at the group that they had left behind, out of sight and hearing distance to know what was going on, "If you do come up with a plan, can you help me with a quick favor?"

"As long as my clan gets to keep the prey we caught," he meowed back at her.

Mossheather nodded in agreement to his request, before continuing, "Don't send any cats close to our border for the next... quarter moon. Maybe. Bluepaw's going to have her assessment soon, and if she does decide to try and hunt prey away from the poisoned rivers, we need her to be focused and not worried. Can you do that?"

"For the next quarter moon?" Icefoot repeated, internally disagreeing with what the she-cat had said, "That would work. However, we'll count the time ourselves."

Mossheather nodded in agreement, "That works with me," as she does so, she glances back in the direction of where the two cats came from once more, "We should come back. As I said, keep the prey. We'll find something else nearby," she paused for a moment, as if unsure what to say next. Dipping her head down, she silently added, barely loud enough for Icefoot to hear; "You're WindClan's deputy. Control them, you're lucky that they respect you twice as more as the entirety of RiverClan does to me."

Icefoot doesn't reply as the two cats padded back to their groups, keeping a distance apart. However, they're quickly interrupted by the sounds of growling, followed by defensive snarls. Mossheather sped up, her eyes narrowing with an expression that was unreadable to Icefoot. As the two arrived, he noticed how Perchdust was the cat growling at the WindClan warriors, still threatening them on the issue with the prey. Hareclaw, on the other side, had fur that was bristling heavily, his back arched high, while Farswipe was giving the RiverClan warrior a warning growl. Jackdawpaw and Minnowheart were in the center, trying to calm the arguing trio down.

"Perchdust! I thought I said this would be WindClan's prey?" Mossheather immediately questioned, which brought the attention of the cats.

Icefoot looked at his warriors expectantly, and they slowly calmed themselves in unison before backing away from the RiverClan warriors. Perchdust scoffed once, then turned away to pad further back.

Perchdust then nodded, "Fine. We can let them have it."

"It was WindClan's prey, to begin with. You didn't need to snarl at their warriors," Mossheather apologetically nodded to WindClan's deputy, before meowing a quick 'Thank you' to Minnowheart and Jackdawpaw.

Minnowheart gave Mossheather a quick nod of appreciation while Jackdawpaw kept his eyes on the WindClan deputy as if staring at him with youthful curiosity- rather than anger. Icefoot ignored his gaze.

A few moments later, with a quick flick of Icefoot's tail; Farswipe and Hareclaw padded off to collect the mice that they had caught earlier, as well as Icefoot himself. Without another word or glance at the RiverClan warriors, they padded away. Icefoot was sure that Mossheather wanted to give him at least the slightest tail flick of a farewell, but he was not in the mood. The cats traveled back without anything else to say. Aside from them having to wait for the thundersnake to pass over once it arrived right before they could cross its path, Icefoot remained silent. The other two cats thought that he was thinking to himself, on WindClan-related issues. They didn't ask questions, and he didn't mind. He needed the silent walk.

The cats quietly returned to their camp, and as usual, most cats would give a quick greeting to their deputy before talking with whatever patrol was behind them. Icefoot took a moment to sneer, his icy-colored eyes staring at the cats who had been in camp. You don't need to be afraid of me. I'm not deadly, Rabbit-brains. He thought I'm just the unluckiest cat in the history of the clans. I don't bite. Icefoot knew exactly why they didn't spend a longer time with him; it was known to WindClan that any cat who got close to Icefoot would meet their demise soon after. Icefoot adapted well to his newfound loneliness after his apprenticeship was over, and focused on one goal which he had received; to lead the clan. Now all that was left for him to do was to make sure WindClan survives.

That same night, Icefoot's dreams were the same as they had been for the past moon. At first, it was the scene he wishes he had forgotten long ago. He and his mate, Whisperingroar, were padding through their territory for a small trek while discussing their future kit's names, seeing as how Whisperingroar was only a day or two away from having kits. They got to the two names they wanted the most- 'Batkit' and 'Hailkit,' before an eagle flew overhead. The next few moments were a blur- Whisperingroar suddenly had kitting pains and urged her mate to help her get back to camp. As silent as they were, the eagle dived and grabbed the she-cat. Icefoot's claws barely scraped at the eagle's talons, his muscles burning with exhaustion while he was running after them, leaping up to try and rescue her when he could. But soon enough, it was no use, and it left the tom devastated; his eyes unable to look away as Whisperingroar was carried off into the distance.

This nightmare of his shifted; now involving the other remaining cats of his clan experiencing their own pains. He didn't want the others to suffer. If it was going to happen to cats who knew him very well, he won't let it happen again. Alongside with the constant border conflicts in RiverClan, he had to come up with an idea. And fast.

The night of the gathering soon arrived. Breezecall, Farswipe, and Longpaw came along with him. It was a small enough group that they didn't conversate once they got onto the gathering island. Icefoot quickly took his place up on the great oak in the center, glancing down at the cats below him. His eyes locked onto Mossheather's, who did the same to him. For a moment he thought she had a readable gaze, enough to say ' Thank you for upholding the favor until now,' but she was distracted by Breezecall's meow towards her before the WindClan deputy could make sure.

Nearby, the last remaining cat who has been given the gift of nine lives; Mountainstar; padded up swiftly onto the tree. Icefoot noticed that something was different in his gaze this moon; that the leader may be announcing something much more important. Whatever it was, Icefoot noted that it better be worth his time. Hopefully, Icefoot will get to go home early and ignore the presence of the other clans much longer.