Edited ✔️

Hi guys! Icetail's Enemy is almost finished, but don't worry, there'll be a book two because I love writing this :) help this book get to 1K votes, please! Thanks guys! :D and sorry for not updating in like a week... Honestly, I had writers block >__<

Icestar entered the camp, Sweetheart at his heels. Since he had only woken up from the nine lives ceremony barely before dawn, the sun was almost fully over the trees, lighting the camp with colors of a new beginning.

Don't forget . . . I can't tell anyone what happened in my dream, he thought, recalling the instructions he received from the cats of StarClan just before he had left their hunting grounds. The leader's naming was a private and dignified ceremony that ought to be kept between him and the other cats who named him.

In camp, most of the warriors were around Brightstar's corpse, paying their respects to her dead body. His heart sunk, as it was different seeing her like this than up in StarClan, where she was young and happy.

Sweetheart padded ahead of him, announcing their arrival to the Clan. "We've returned!"

Immediately, everyone looked up. Interest sparked in Flameheart's eyes as Shadowheart, Silverleaf, and a few others murmured their greetings, curious as to what happened. Everyone else was silent. Icestar knew he had to announce his leadership now, and choose his new deputy.

Carefully, he slipped past every cat, and climbed up the Moonrock, still a little weak and hungry and cold from his journey. Over the distance on top of the leader's rock, he could see the sun more than half over the tree horizon. It's so beautiful, he thought, recalling memories of his kithood where he spent dawns upon the leader's rock with Brightstar.

The grief of his leader surged through him, but he forced it to go away, since he knew that she was well in StarClan. He looked down to his own Clan. "Sweetheart and I have returned from our journey to the Night Flower," he began. "I'm happy to return here safely with my nine lives and as the leader of MoonClan, now known as Icestar."

The silence broke when MoonClan began to cheer. "Icestar! Icestar!"

He felt proud to listen to his new name coming from the friends he grew up with.

"In accordance to the warrior code, I am also going to appoint my new deputy." Every cat silenced completely, their ears pricked up to the Moonrock with curiosity. "I say this before StarClan so that they may approve of my choice. Ashtail will be my deputy. There's no cat I can trust more." He looked down to his former mentor, and smiled softly.

Everyone began to chant his name. "Ashtail! Ashtail!"

"This meeting is dismissed," he said, leaping off the rock. His Clanmates immediately greeted him warmly, crowding him to welcome him as their new leader.

Silverleaf gave him a lick behind his ear. "Welcome back, Icestar," she purred. "It's been quiet without you here."

"Well, it's great to be home," he told her.

"Congratulations on receiving your leader's name," Flameheart added, giving him a friendly nudge.

Rainwhisker flicked Icestar's ear with his tail playfully. "Good to have you back, Icestar!" meowed his old friend.

Stripeeyes and Adderclaw both padded up to him side by side from Brightstar's body. "When'll we bury her?" Adderclaw asked, angling his ears toward the or previous leader's direction. "Her body's almost fully cold. Us elders have been keeping her warm all night."

Stripeeyes nodded with agreement. "If she stays out of the ground any longer, she'll start to smell and attract bugs to the camp," he added. "We want to bury her before she starts to change. We want to remember her always as our strong and dignified leader."

"We'll bury her as soon as possible, so that she'll be warm under the sun," Icestar responded softly. "But first, let me pay my own respects towards her."

Slowly, he walked towards Brightstar's body, memories of her flooding through his mind that filled his heart with warmth. He lay right next to her, pressing his nose to her cold fur. "You've been such a good leader to me," he whispered, closing his eyes. "I wish you good hunting in StarClan, and that you'll find peace among the stars."

"Well said," said Mousetail in his ear, setting a comforting tail over his shoulders.

Icestar remained by her body for several more moments, taking in her faint scent and fading warmth. He felt the love she gave him in his ceremony surge through his chest once more.

"We've got to bury her," Thrushclaw said sympathetically. "It won't be good for everyone if we were to keep her here any longer."

"That's fine," Icestar murmured. "You and the other elders may take her to a grave. Bring Skypelt and Sweetheart with you. She'll know what to do since she's the medicine cat, and it's good to have the company of a warrior."

Thrushclaw nodded, and the four elders crowded around her body.

Knowing that Brightstar was in good paws now, he left her and walked over to Silverleaf, who was talking to Shiningmoon. The orange she-cat turned to him, and dipped her head with respect. "Congratulations on being leader," she murmured.

"Thank you," Icestar replied. "Is it okay if I borrow Silverleaf?"

Shiningmoon turned to the silver warrior. "Should I go?" she asked politely.

"Sure. Thanks." Silverleaf nodded. "I have to talk to Icestar now."

Shiningmoon dipped her head to Icestar once more, and walked away toward Squirreltail and Goldsun, who were sitting a little too close and grooming one another. Did Squirreltail and Goldsun become mates? he wondered. He decided to ask about it later, and turned to Silverleaf. "Let's go for a walk," he suggested.

"What about the rule of only three cats being out of camp?" she asked.

"That was Brightstar's rule. I'm the leader now," he reminded her gently. "Do you want to go on a walk with me?"

She purred. "I do."

"Let's go then, but let me have a quick word with Ashtail first," he said. "Wait for me by the entrance." He dashed away from her and ran to his deputy.

Ashtail dipped his head to Icestar immediately. "Thank you for choosing me as your deputy. It's good to know that you have my trust," he meowed, warmth behind his voice.

Icestar touched his tail to his shoulder. "Of course I'd trust you," he purred. "Half of my apprenticeship, you were my mentor before you got into your injury. You were the best mentor I ever had."

"I'm sure I wasn't as good as Brightstar," Ashtail retorted.

"Sometimes I wished I had you back," he said humorously. "Anyways, I just had to remind you about the border patrols that have to be set. The elders are going to bury Brightstar already with the assistance of Sweetheart and Skypelt, and I need Amberpaw to be put on her apprentice duties."

Ashtail nodded. "I'll do it. I can also send out hunting patrols," he suggested.

"That's good. If you need me, I'll be out with Silverleaf," he announced. "See you soon." He turned away, and padded back to Silverleaf. He was positive that Ashtail knew what he was doing, so he felt no discomfort at all in leaving the camp so soon.

He returned by his mate's side once more, ready to leave the camp. Side by side, they left, padding past Fireshade and Nightrose, who were both guarding the camp entrance. Both of them meowed their greeting before going back to their duties.

Together, both Icestar and Silverleaf padded through MoonClan's forest, enjoying the sun warming their pelts against the cold air.

"How is it being leader?" Silverleaf asked quietly.

He sighed. "I feel nervous about it since I only had just gotten back from the Night Flower. But I think things can turn out right."

"Do you think that . . . it'll change anything between us?" she asked more quietly.

He shook his head. "Never. You're more important to me than anything," he responded, pressing his pelt close to her. "And . . . Ripplefur visited me. She told me that she's watching over you and your brother. Spottedkit is doing well with her."

"Really?" whispered Silverleaf. "I haven't seen her since I was a little kit. It's hard remembering her clearly, but I do miss her."

"She was a great cat," he murmured.

"I bet she was." She looked up to him. "It's great knowing that our ancestors are by our side, isn't it?"

He sat down, deciding to take a rest. "It is." Silverleaf sat beside him and rest her head on his shoulder. "I wonder if peace like this could ever last."

"It could," she sighed, "As long as there's darkness, though, we'll never find peace."

Icestar knew that really, she was talking about the prophecy.

* * *

Icestar spent most of his first day as leader outside the camp with Silverleaf, talking with her and hunting as a pair, before returning to camp later to spend the afternoon resting. By dusk, he was out in the forest again, leading the last hunting patrol of the day with Sharpfang, Amberpaw, and Rainwhisker.

He was at the heart of the territory, away from all the borders for once. Quietly, he stalked a vole, low to the ground and silent. Gracefully, he leaped from his spot, landing right onto his prey, killing it swiftly before it had a chance to squeal. The worst part of hunting was hearing the animal's poor cries, so he was grateful that he had killed it swift enough.

"That was a cool catch!" exclaimed Amberpaw. "How do you leap so . . . quietly?"

"What do you mean?" Icestar asked, dropping his catch on the ground.

Amberpaw padded up. "You barely made a sound while you pushed off the ground. Blackpaw is usually loud and Goldenpaw always steps on twigs or something. I mean, I'm no better than them, either."

He shrugged, knowing it wasn't something he necessarily learned. "Ashtail used to do it, so I guess I've caught on with him," he meowed. "Why don't you try? It's easy—bundle up your haunches, keep your upper body lower to the ground, and be aware of your surroundings, especially things under your paws."

"So the prey won't hear us, right?" Amberpaw asked.

"Exactly," Icestar said. "First crouch like me." He demonstrated his position to her.

Once Amberpaw copied him almost perfectly, she hissed with frustration. "My forelegs hurt!"

Icestar nodded. "You'd normally feel pain at first. I'm used to it . . . Well, you're probably stiff."

She got up, and tilted her head. "Should I go for a run?" she asked.

He was about to say yes, until he realized something. I shouldn't let her stray far, he thought. DarkClan can be anywhere, even if this is my territory. "No, it's okay. We should go rest. Today, we're bringing Windcloud and Grassheart home."

"I'm going?" she exclaimed, suddenly excited.

He flicked his tail as he began to walk away with the vole in his jaws. "Sure, if you behave, Amberpaw."

"Sorry," she mewed.

"That's better."

He began to lead them through the forest, spotting Rainwhisker hunting up in the trees, and Sharpfang waiting paitently with a squirrel and a mouse in his jaws. Icestar looked up to Rainwhisker, watching as he stalked a thrush on top of the branches.

Swiftly, Rainwhisker leaped at the thrush, and caught its wing, causing the bird to screech with pain. Rainwhisker snapped it's neck, and leaped down the tree, landing delicately on the earth.

"Great catch!" Amberpaw gasped, clearly amazed.

Rainwhisker nodded to her. "Thank you."

"We're going back to camp now," Icestar said to Rainwhisker and Sharpfang. "It's time to take the CloudClan warriors home."

"Alright, Icestar," Sharpfang mewed, his voice muffled from the prey he was carrying.

He began to lead his patrol back to the camp, listening to the conversation between Rainwhisker and Amberpaw.

"What you did in the trees was awesome!" meowed the apprentice eagerly. "I wanna learn how to hunt in the trees. That would be so cool!"

"Every apprentice learns to do so at some point," Rainwhisker said. "I'm sure Icestar is teaching you."

Icestar nodded. "I am. But first I'm trying to teach her how to climb. She can't hunt all the way up there if she doesn't know her way up and down." He flicked his tail with amusement.

"I know how to climb!" Amberpaw snapped.

"Alright, alright," Icestar purred.

"Icestar," Sharpfang meowed, padding up beside him. "Could we talk?"

He nodded, knowing that it was best to listen to what his Clanmates had to say. A bad leader would never listen to his Clanmates, Icestar thought. "What would you like to talk about?"

Sharpfang's gaze hardened on Icestar's amber eyes. "DarkClan."

The fur on Icestar's neck bristled. "What about them?"

"Before, Brightstar was about to jump into fighting and bloodshed. But now, she's . . . gone, and things will certainly change with you being leader." Sharpfang was speaking slowly. "What are we going to do about the portion of territory they stole from us, Icestar?"

Icestar looked down to his paws. I've thought of what to do many times, he thought. But a clear answer is not crossing my mind. "I'm not sure yet," he admit. "I don't want to fight, but we need the territory for prey."

Sharpfang nodded his head. "Exactly."

"This is something I'd have to discuss with Ashtail and the other senior warriors," he went on. "I need to know what everyone thinks of this."

"After all," Sharpfang added, "DarkClan has declared war on us long ago when you killed one of their warriors."

He sighed, remembering the battle between Fallentail and him. That day had only happened because Fallentail enraged him for killing his mother, Featherbreeze. "That war was between Brightstar and Sandstar, and both of them are dead."

"You mean . . . the war is over?" Sharpfang whispered.

Icestail growled under his breath. "For me, it is. But it's different for Dewstar."

He wants to destroy us.

He looked up ahead and spotted the camp. Amberpaw dashed past him and called over her shoulder, "Race you to the camp, Rainwhisker!"

Rainwhisker, amused, ran after her. "I'm not an apprentice anymore!"

Icestar and Sharpfang trotted after them, entering the camp last. Most of the cats who were out on patrol were already back, sharing tongues with each other under the sun. Leaf-bare was here, so sooner or later, there'll be no more warmth like this . . .

He padded to the fresh-kill pile, and dropped his vole. Sharpfang and Rainwhisker dropped their catches as well, and Amberpaw ran off to her brother and sister, having caught nothing.

"Sharpfang!" Berrykit squeaked, leaping at her father.

Surprised, Sharpfang purred at the young kit. "Hi Berrykit. Where's Shadekit?"

"Oh, he's sleeping." Berrykit looked at the fresh-kill pile. "Ooh, did you catch that squirrel, Sharpfang?"

"I did," Sharpfang meowed.

"Can I have it?" Berrykit asked.

"You're too young for prey," Sharpfang objected.

"When can I have prey?" she whined.

"When Sagepelt says you can," he sighed. "Have you said hello to Icestar? It's quite rude to ignore your Clan leader like that."

Embarrassed, Berrykit turned to Icestar and dipped her head clumsily. "I'm sorry, Icestar!" she squeaked. "Hi!"

He purred, and nudged her ear. "You should go back to Sagepelt. Did you ask for her permission to come out like that?"

"Well . . . no," Berrykit mewed.

"Go along, and we won't tell her that you left," Sharpfang said sternly.

"I-I'm sorry. Thank you!" she called, running off back to the nursery.

Sharpfang sighed. "Well, now that she's gone, are you going to start choosing your patrol?" he asked. "I'd like to go with you."

"I already promised to take Amberpaw and Silverleaf," Icestar said apologetically. "But if you have a lot of energy, you could go on a different patrol. To scout the territory."

Sharpfang dipped his head. "Thank you." He padded off to the warriors den to chose which cats to go with him.

Icestar made his way to the makeshift nests that Windcloud and Grassheart slept on, and nudged them awake. Groggily, Grassheart's eyes opened. He looked up, and yawned.

"Yes, Icestar?" he murmured.

"It's time to take you and Windcloud home," he informed them. "Feeling all rested?"

Grassheart burst up, suddenly excited. "You bet I am!"

* * *

The patrol moved slowly since Windcloud was expecting kits. She wasn't as fast as she was when they ran away from DarkClan, but she had gotten slower ever since that day. Silverleaf and her talked quietly side-by-side as Icestar and Grassheart led the patrol through MoonClan's territory and into CloudClan's.

Amberpaw excitedly scanned the area all around them as they crossed into the unfamiliar territory.

"It's been nice, being in MoonClan as a guest," Grassheart meowed to Icestar, "But I can't wait to return to CloudClan. I wonder if anything had changed?"

"You've only been gone for almost a quarter-moon," Icestar pointed out. "I'm sure nothing had changed on the moors."

Grassheart sighed. "I can't wait to get into the open air again, and feel the wind on my fur and the sky touching my paws . . ."

Amberpaw tilted her head. "Isn't it cold when it's windy?"

"Not really. We're used to withstanding the weather," Grassheart responded.

"What about rain? Isn't it wet without trees to cover you from the sky?" she pressed on.

"Well . . . when it's rainy, we could hide in our dens."

"But what about—"

"Amberpaw," Icestar cut her off. "You shouldn't be asking Grassheart too many questions. That's very rude." He cast a glance at his apprentice, and she bent her head down.

"Sorry," she apologized.

Grassheart gave Icestar a look of thanks before turning up ahead to continue walking. They were passing the last tree of the forest. After that tree, there would only be grass and plains and the moor. It excited Icestar himself of being somewhere other than MoonClan territory.

As he walked over the moor, a different sensation filled him. The grass under his paws were longer and harder, strong for withstanding wind. The scent of the air was not leafy anymore, and instead, he could smell the open sky and the grass and rabbit droppings within small nearby burrows. He suddenly felt free with all of this open space around him.

"Icestar looks like he's having a good time," Windcloud whispered to Silverleaf.

Silverleaf laughed a bit. "Icestar hates feeling confined."

Icestar turned around. "Only in dark, cold places I am," he pointed out. "The forest will always be my home."

"You must be CloudClan at heart, then," Grassheart joked.

Their whiskers twitched as Icestar rolled his eyes. After some time walking, Windcloud began to pant with exhaustion.

"We'll be getting there soon, right?" she asked. "Traveling to camp is different than running away from cats who are trying to kill you."

"We will," Grassheart promised. "We're almost to the camp."

For a little while longer, the continued to walk. Finally, though, Amberpaw raced down from ahead, and called eagerly, "I see their camp!" By this time, the sun had almost completely set, but it wasn't dark yet. Every cat sped up, mainly because Grassheart and Windcloud were eager to get back to their Clan.

They entered the camp through a small tunnel in the ground which was being guarded by two warriors. Both of them gave curious looks to the MoonClan cats, but said nothing about them once they saw Windcloud and Grassheart, greeting them with eager surprise.

Icestar observed the camp as soon as they got in. Heather, long grass and strong sticks were what barricaded the dirt clearing. The dens were caves in the grounds, and everywhere, cats were sharing tongues and talking nervously. Immediately, though, everyone looked up, realizing who was standing just at the front of the camp.

"Swiftstar!" a warrior gasped. "There's MoonClan cats in the camp! And you won't believe who's back—"

Grassheart stood taller. "Swiftstar, Windcloud and I have returned home."

Swiftstar padded out of his den quickly, and looked right at the two warriors. "Y-you're back!" the CloudClan leader whispered with shock. "I thought you'd never return!"