Edited ✔️

Icetail poked his head through the bramble thickets of the gathering entrance. They were the first Clan there, and he was surprised to see how empty and large the clearing actually was. He looked around with amazement in his eyes.

The full moon was fixed right above the tall pine trees and oak trees that surrounded the very spacious clearing, and the large gray rock in the center looked polished and silver. Every cat in MoonClan began to file out, finding their places to sit. Icetail made his way through his Clan and sat at the base of the rock.

"Wondering what it's like at the top?" Brightstar asked.

"Yeah, but only leaders go up there," Icetail pointed out with a small mrrow of laughter. "I don't think I'm allowed."

"You're probably right," she said. "You might get your chance one day." The leader gathered up her haunches and leaped up on top of the rock, hauling herself up. He remained by the base of the rock, quietly grooming himself. He wasn't surprised to see his apprentice, Amberpaw, scamper up.

"Icetail!" she exclaimed. "The gathering is so cool! Better than the nursery tales!" She eagerly looked around.

"When the Clans arrive, be sure to watch what you say to who you talk to," he advised. As Amberpaw tilted her head, he explained: "Don't share any MoonClan battle moves with the other Clans. Also, never mention the troubles of your Clan. If you say too much, you'll let them know on our secrets, they'll have advantages over us. If you let them know too little, they'll be suspicious. Understand?"

"I understand!" Amberpaw declared.

Icetail watched and waited to see which Clan was coming up next. He immediately saw StreamClan's leader, Lakestar, emerge from the entrance, at the same time as Stonestar, MarshClan's leader.

"Go on and talk," he advised. "You should get to know the other apprentices."

"Thank you, Icetail," she purred, running off once more. He watched her go, looking around the clearing and wondering if Thornheart was there. He wasn't surprised when he didn't spit him amongst StreamClan's warriors. After all, Lakestar wouldn't want a MoonClan warrior to suddenly emerge at the gathering with his own Clan.

They waited for a few moments longer, until he finally saw Swiftstar arrive through the entrance, shortly after, followed by Dewstar. Icetail's breath caught in his throat as he saw his brother. The white tom was looking around the gathering place as his cats filed into the clearing.

Dewstar then spotted Icetail, and his eyes narrowed as he began to pad up. "Icetail," he greeted. "I did not expect to see you here. I thought you would be too devastated after the death of your father."

A low growl arose from Icetail's throat. "He was your father too. Killing him doesn't change that fact."

Dewstar smirked. "You're right. Just because I am responsible for his death, it doesn't mean he wasn't my father." He paused, and sighed. "Well, anyways, being a leader and all, can't stay and chat. See you."

Icetail watched as his brother leaped onto the leader's rock, sitting beside Brightstar. Her body tended as she glared at the traitor, inching away from him. Icetail averted his eyes from the leaders, and looked back to the gathering crowd. He spotted Silverleaf with Dawnstripe and a few warriors from CloudClan talking at the far end of the clearing. Relief filled his heart to see that she was still okay.

Then, he suddenly was faced by another cat. He quickly saw a cat he recognized from a dream he once had. Her tabby markings and hazel eyes looked all too much like Featherbreeze. It was Lilyclaw, his sister! He burst from his spot and made his way over to her. She immediately took notice of him and turned to face him.

"You are Icetail, right?" she asked eagerly. Not much has changed since she was a kit, except the color of her fur had darkened a bit. He reminded her so much of their mother . . .

Icetail nodded. "Yes, I am. And you must be Lilyclaw."

"You got that right," she meowed with a purr. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting you after all this time! I was so surprised to find out that Dewstar was my brother. And you too?"

"I couldn't believe I had a sister, either," he said. Lilyclaw's eyes shone bright.

"The gathering will now begin!" yowled Swiftstar from the leader's rock.

He looked apologetically to his sister. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Maybe I'll get a chance to speak with you after the gathering is over. Okay, Lilyclaw?"

She nodded. "Okay."

He left her and padded to the base of the rock where the deputies usually sat. "Now that every cat is settled, I feel that it's right for me to go first," meowed Dewstar, his voice ringing around the crowd.

Icetail looked up to his brother. Dewstar's dark blue eyes glinted under the moonlight, his pelt neatly groomed. He looked dazzling upon the leader's rock. A spark of jealousy flooded through Icetail, but he controlled it. At least I'm the deputy of MoonClan, he thought. There's no way I would ever want to be a part of DarkClan.

"DarkClan is doing well, and the warm weather provided us greatly. The previous leader, Sandstar, has passed and lost her ninth life a little while ago. I became the new leader of DarkClan, now known as Dewstar." His eyes gleamed.

Icetail heard murmurs of gossip going around. What caught his ear was, "He's the murderer!"

"Dewstar! Dewstar!" cats cheered, cutting off those who whispered. The only cats who didn't cheer were the cats of MoonClan and the cats of CloudClan. Icetail didn't cheer himself because he couldn't bring himself up for it. Dewstar is unforgivable. Dewstar is evil. Dewstar shouldn't live. All these nasty thoughts filed into his mind.

"The deputy of DarkClan is Woodclaw." He pointed his tail towards a cat with oak-colored fur and amber eyes. Once every cat settled from yowling his name, Dewstar concluded, "And that is all."

He sat back on the leader's rock. Immediately, before anyone else stood up, Brightstar took the front. "May I go next?" she asked the other leaders. No objections were made, so she began. "A few days ago, the sad death of our deputy, Sparrowheart occurred. Our new deputy is Icetail."

"Icetail! Icetail!" cats chanted. Icetail listened to his name as the cats from MoonClan, StreamClan, MarshClan and CloudClan chanted. Of course, Dewstar silenced his Clan. Lilyclaw was the only DarkClan cat that praised him.

"And upon the making of the new deputy," Brightstar continued, "I've also named three new apprentices: Amberpaw, Goldenpaw and Blackpaw." When their names were finished chanting, Brightstar went on. "We also have good prey in the Clan, and this morning, Sagepelt safely delivered her kits."

"That's good to hear, Brightstar," said Swiftstar. "I shall go next." When Brightstar nodded of approval, he continued, "Lately, CloudClan has thrived as well. We have a new apprentice, Rabbitpaw."

"Rabbitpaw! Rabbitpaw!" every cat chanted.

Once they settled down, Swiftstar continued. "Birdsong moved into the nursery expecting Buzzardfang's kits. Though I must say, lately at our borders by DarkClan, things are stirring up again. As a warning, Dewstar, just because you are a new leader, it does not mean you own the entire forest or the moors or the lakes. If I find DarkClan scents across our border, we won't hesitate to attack. That is all for CloudClan."

Dewstar was glaring at Swiftstar.

"I'm next," Lakestar called. His ears flicked down to the StreamClan cats. "Our rivers and streams have been plentiful. On top of that, a queen of ours, Mistyleaf, has had her kits. The father is a former MoonClan warrior—Thornheart—who has now joined my Clan."

Icetail watched cats look confused back and forth. Yes, they broke the warrior code. Be quiet! he thought. I'm sure it has happened before. He clawed the ground impatiently. Lakestar sat back down beside Dewstar, and the last leader, Stonestar of MarshClan, went.

"MarshClan has been thriving well too," the she-cat began, "and we are just as strong as the other Clans. We haven't had any new warriors nor apprentices, but our current apprentices are close to their warrior assessments." She looked down two two MarshClan cats with pride. "And we haven't gotten new queens either, but with this lasting warmth and the plentiful prey, it's bound to happen anytime soon."

He dipped his head and took his place beside the other leaders. "This gathering is over," Lakestar meowed. In just moments, the chattering went on again.

Icetail sighed and padded away from the rock. A tail touched his spine, and he turned to see a MarshClan cat standing close. "Congratulations on being the new deputy," the tom said.

"Thank you," Icetail replied, dipping his head.

"I'm Pineheart," he meowed. "It was good to meet you." He dipped his head in acknowledgement and then padded away to join his Clan. Stonestar was gathering warriors and leading them out of the gathering place. The bright moon was still above the Clan, but he supposed that some cats just couldn't stay too long.

Icetail weaved through the crowd to join his mate. "Hi, Silverleaf," he purred as he reached her. "Did you meet anyone new?"

She shrugged. "Not anyone in particular. Anyways, who was that she-cat you were talking to earlier?" Curiosity filled her gaze. "You two seemed very friendly."

"She's actually my sister," Icetail told her. "She's a DarkClan cat, but she's a good cat. I just wanted to meet her for the first time." He turned to the DarkClan crowd, and met Lilyclaw's eyes. "Do you want to meet her, too?"

"Sure," said Silverleaf, pressing close to Icetail. He lead her to them, and he eagerly met with Lilyclaw once more.

"Hi Lilyclaw," said Icetail. She turned to him eagerly. "It's good to see you again. This is my mate, Silverleaf." He gestured to the silver-furred warrior, and the two she-cats came together, touching each other's noses. He looked up the leader's rock and noticed Brightstar and Dewstar talking closely. "Err, wait here. I'll be right back," he meowed apologetically.

Icetail walked away from them, leaving them to talk. He was curious about what his leader and his brother were talking about. Surely Dewstar wasn't apologizing? That was impossible. Brightstar would never forgive him. He tried his best to listen to what they were saying, but no cat said a thing. Icetail noticed that Lakestar and Swiftstar were gone with their Clans as well. MoonClan and DarkClan were the only two Clans left in the clearing.

"Brightstar," Icetail called from below the rock. "It's time to go, right? We should get our warriors rested!" He was looking hopefully at her.

"You're right, Icetail. I'm going," meowed the white-furred leader. She began to pad down the leader's rock, but Dewstar stopped her.

"Surely you can't leave just yet," Dewstar meowed. "We just began talking, Brightstar." His blue eyes sparked with something Icetail couldn't read. He had an uneasy feeling deep within his belly.

"What is it now?" she snarled.

Dewstar's eyes narrowed. "DarkClan, attack!" he yowled to his Clan. Icetail's eyes widened, and immediately without warning, the cats did as told and leaped at the MoonClan warriors, teeth bared and claws out.

"What about the truce?!" snarled Icetail, staring at his brother with shock.

"I don't care what those dead cats think of me or my Clan! They fear us! DarkClan is the strongest Clan ever, and once we beat you, we're taking your territory!" Dewstar snarled back. He leaped at Brightstar, but the leader jumped out of the way, making Dewstar tumble down the rock.

"Go fight your own battle!" Brightstar yowled. "Dewstar is mine!"

Icetail hesitantly nodded before he dashed away. I can't believe he would do something like this under a full moon! We'll be shredded! thought the deputy with dread.

Battle yowls were sounded throughout the clearing, and Icetail's eyes were wide as he was watching his Clanmates fight off the DarkClan warriors. Brightstar was wrestling Dewstar to the ground, but the white tom didn't give up. With the strength of TigerClan and LionClan combined, Dewstar fought, trying to kick her away to get on the stronger side.

"Stop!" Icetail yowled, desperate. "We can't fight like this! Stop this, Dewstar!" He looked up to the sky anxiously to eatch as the clearing darkened. Clouds drifted over the moon, blackening the sky. "StarClan doesn't approve!" he yowled. "Just go home!"

"Who cares about StarClan?" growled a DarkClan warrior. "They never cared about us; we shall never care about them!" He leaped onto Icetail, locking his paws around his neck.

Icetail howled with pain as he felt the warrior's sharp claws dig into his pelt, and he kicked his belly with his backpaws. Icetail gripped onto his neck, and the warrior clawed at his pelt in return. He heard a yowl from the clearing. Amberpaw! It was his apprentice! He kicked away the DarkClan warrior and ran to where the yowl sounded. He saw his apprentice laying battered on the ground, with two large scratches going down her flank. She barely had any battle training, she couldn't fight this battle!

"Amberpaw!" he gasped. "Get up, you're in no condition to fight!"

"I-I can still fight," she coughed, staggering up. "I have to save Bluewing . . ."

"Amberpaw!" Goldenpaw yowled.

Icetail looked at them sternly. "You two, get out of here as fast as you can and go back to MoonClan camp. Call reinforcements if you have to! Go!"

Goldenpaw nodded, and she let Amberpaw lean on her as she ran out of the gathering's clearing. Icetail watched them go, relieved that they were safe and away. He immediately turned back to the battle, knowing that he had to help his Clanmates.

The DarkClan cats won't listen to me, he thought angrily. I have to put a stop to this by force! He saw Mousetail being pinned down by a black-and-white DarkClan she-cat, and ran towards them. He leaped at the she-cat, shoving her off of the old warrior, and immediately raked his claws through her pelt.

She growled and swiped at him, but he dodged her easily since he was the one at advantage. "Get out of here," he growled to her, "Or I'll have to kill you."

She narrowed her eyes. "Never!"

Without hesitating, she forced herself forward and gripped onto Icetail's neck with her teeth before wrapped her paws around him. He screeched with pain, squirming under her grip.

"Icetail!" gasped Mousetail, rushing over. He growled at the DarkClan cat and raked her ears, making her let go of Icetail immediately. She turned to him and dug her claws deep in his hind leg, chomping down hard with his teeth, ripping away flesh. He howled with pain, trying to shake her off.

Icetail grabbed onto her back and dug his teeth in her neck, a killing bite. For a moment, she held onto Mousetail's leg fiercely, but her grip loosened and Mousetail managed to break free from her deadly grip. A terrible wound was revealed on his leg, one so bad that it seemed too painful for Mousetail walk on.

"I know it's wrong to kill, but she would of ripped your leg off if I hadn't done anything!" Icetail said quickly, glancing over at the dead body. "I'm sorry."

"D-don't be." Mousetail winced in pain as he tried to put down his paw. "This pain is worse than anything that I have ever felt!"

"Lean on me. I'll get you to Sweetheart, she will help," he meowed. Mousetail nodded and leaned onto Icetail as he supported him away from the fighting cats as best as he could.

Is this what Shard meant that my loved ones might die or get hurt? he thought with dread. And how did he know that this would happen in the first place?

Flameheart ran up, panting. "Icetail! You have to come, it's Brightstar!"

"What happened to her?" demanded Icetail.

"She's losing a life," Flameheart informed, catching his breath. "We have to get her away from the clearing. How many lives does she have left?"

Icetail was frozen in shock. Brightstar had two lives left previously . . . and now that she died again, this meant that she was on her last life. If she gets killed again, she'll be dead for good! "You have to take me to her," demanded Icetail.

"Don't worry," said Mousetail. "I can make it on my own." He limped away from Icetail towards Sweetheart, and the medicine cat immediately came to his aid. Icetail ran away from there, and followed Flameheart as his friend led the way to their leader.

Brightstar was splayed out with blood pooling around her. There were several fresh scratches along her flank, and one on her nose. Dewstar really had beat her up.

"Take her to Sweetheart!" he told Flameheart, "I'm going to find my brother."

"Alright," Flameheart said, grabbing the MoonClan leader by the scruff. He dragged her away, and when Icetail knew that she was safe, he looked around the clearing anxiously to find Dewstar. He was nowhere to be seen—he must of fled the gathering place.

Suddenly, worry filled his heart. Where was Silverleaf? Surely she wasn't harmed, was she? He searched around for her silver pelt, and found her fighting off a large DarkClan tom side-by-side with Dawnstripe, the two defending each other's backs strongly.

Icetail knew what he had to do. He had to end this battle fast. "MoonClan, retreat!" he yowled through the clearing.

This battle was lost, he thought with a pang of sadness. But if I let them stay any longer, then my Clanmates are going to get killed!

He watched as the MoonClan cats gathered up in a hurry towards the entrance. Ashtail was helping Sweetheart and Mousetail carry Brightstar's recovering body away, while Dawnstripe and Silverleaf dashed out of the clearing after them. Shadowheart was carrying Bluewing's limp body, and Nightrose and Flameheart were carrying Sedgetooth's limp body as well.

He felt dreaded. Were they dead? But his thoughts were cut short.

"Hello Icetail," laughed a voice from behind.

Icetail swiftly turned, meeting Dewstar's menacing gaze.

"Dewstar!" he gasped. In a swift motion before his brother could react, Dewstar brought his paws down hard onto Icetail's face, and the world around Icetail all went black.

* * *

Icetail's eyes slowly opened to voices. "Icetail! Icetail, please don't go," yowled a voice all too familiar. He looked up to see Silverleaf's brilliant fur shining against the rising sun that barely had come over the tree tips.

Her head was pressed against his pelt, and her breathing shaking.

"Where am I . . .?" he murmured. Silverleaf looked up, her eyes filled with relief. In that same moment, Icetail coughed up blood, and suddenly the thoughts of the battle entered his mind.

"Give him space!" demanded Sweetheart. "He needs air."

Silverleaf nodded and stepped back reluctantly.

"Sweetheart, what happened?" he asked the medicine cat.

"Dewstar got you," she responded. "Shadowheart noticed and he ran to you in time before he was able to hurt you any further."

"Where's Brightstar?" he went on.

"She's in her den, recovering. She's awake but she has a severe wound on her side." Then, Sweetheart's gaze clouded. "MoonClan's losses were grave today. Mousetail's wound was so bad that I don't think he'll be able to walk normally again. What's worse is . . Bluewing and Sedgetooth lost their lives."

"Oh no," murmured Icetail. "It's all my fault!"

Shard had warned me of this, he thought with pain, squeezing his eyes shut. My Clanmates could have been saved if I had taken his words more serious!

"It's not your fault!" gasped Silverleaf. "You got hurt as much as our Clanmates did. Just look at those scratches along your pelt, it's horrible!"

"I can't believe this," he murmured. "Dewstar is going crazy . . ."

Icetail looked up at the rising sun from where he lay. His scratches burned, his heart ached, and his shoulders felt heavy. I should of listened to Shard, he thought again. It's my fault. I'm sorry, StarClan, for straying away from my duty. I can't do it again. I just can't. It's all my fault!

My heart can't take this. He closed his eyes tightly, and thought about his brother. Why did you have to become so evil, Dewstar?