Edited ✔️

Brightstar stared down upon the Clan from the Moonrock, scanning her Clanmates with careful and watchful eyes. "I have gathered you all here to tell you of a discovery Icetail and I found outside of camp," she began.

Icetail noticed a few of his Clanmates looking at the two of them, whispering towards one another with curiosity and suspicion. He didn't let that bother him, as he knew they were going to figure out the truth shortly.

I wonder if Brightstar feels that we are being spied on, he thought. The feeling of being watched made him shudder. No. Brightstar wouldn't be announcing this if she knew we were being watched at this moment.

Silverleaf pressed closer to him, probably thinking that he was cold.

"First off, I want to say that our battle-training is doing very well," she began. "I have no intentions in reducing the amount of fight training we do, but I also want to start teaching the kits defensive moves."

Sagepelt gasped and stood up with a jolt. "I can't let my kits start battle training!" she objected. "They're barely two moons old!"

Icetail looked over at the nursery where both of her kits clambered out eagerly. Shadekit and Berrykit looked up at the Moonrock with excitement. "Would we really be battle training?" Shadekit called with excitement. "This means we'll be leaving the camp, right?"

"Yes! Yes!" cheered Berrykt. "That'll be the best thing ever!"

"No way, Brightstar! I won't let my kits battle train!" Sharpfang put in to Sagepelt's defense. "They're barely the size of full-grown rabbits."

Brightstar's ears flicked, silencing them. "You are misunderstanding me. I'm not going to battle train them, I want them to learn how to properly defend themselves." She flicked her tail to the elder's den. "And I want them learning, too."

"We can't train," retorted Mousetail from the elder's den. "I'm limp on one leg, Stripeeyes can barely see, and Thrushclaw's very frail."

"I can train, you old furball!" said Stripeeyes. "You don't have'ta see a cat to swipe at 'em!"

"We've got to try!" Brightstar growled, her voice raising. "It's not going to be a decision—this is an order from your leader; a matter I have taken to StarClan deep within my own thoughts, something I believe we must do for our protection. For the sake of MoonClan!" Everyone grew silent, shocked at Brightstar's sharpness. "While we were out, Icetail and I discovered that MoonClan is being spied on."

Murmurs of shock rippled through the crowd.

"Spied on?" whispered Ashtail to Rainwhisker.

"I bet it was DarkClan!" Goldenpaw growled to Squirreltail. The warrior nodded his head in agreement.

"Who was it?" demanded Skypelt with a hiss.

Brightstar's chin raised. "Goldenpaw's right. It was DarkClan."

Yowls of outrage broke through the Clan. "Those good-for-nothing cowards!" Crowflight spat. "They took a part of our territory. What next, the camp?"

"We should attack them!" declared Hawktalon. Several cats yowled with agreement.

Flameheart exchanged a nervous glance with Icetail, and Silverleaf's eyes grew round with worry.

"Everyone, quiet down!" Icetail yowled, raising his voice over the uproar. "Brightstar's not done talking! Don't you see?" MoonClan began to silence down from Icetail's call, though a few cat's pelts were still bristling with anger and disbelief.

Brightstar dipped her head. "Thank you, Icetail," she meowed. Icetail gave a curt nod, and settled beside his mate. I'm angry too, but the Clan has to know how to contain themselves! he thought with annoyance.

"What are we going to do?" Stonetooth called, his voice clearly worried.

"I have decided that we will not do anything about it," Brightstar finally meowed, sighing. Before any cat could object, she began to talk once more. "If DarkClan figures out that we know about what they are doing, they could pull something worse on us. So as for now, the Clan is going to have to continue on as usual."

"What if they know of our problems?" demanded Sagepelt. Sharpfang gave her a reassuring lick behind her ear.

Brightstar's eyes blazed. "They won't know," she finally said. "What I am saying is, we are going to forcefully regain our strength. More hunting patrols, more border patrols, and even more patrols to collect herbs. We will show no signs of weakness. No cat will be allowed to even talk of our problems, okay? No kits will say, 'I'm hungry,' no apprentices will fight, no warriors will sleep without contributing to the welfare of the Clan—everybody will be prepared. We will make DarkClan scared of us." She turned to Icetail's direction. "I want you to re-assign patrols, and organize a way for the kits and elders to know proper defense moves."

Icetail stared up at his leader and nodded, his heart beating fast. He felt a sense of hope from Brightstar's speech, a feeling of new responsibilities burning within his chest that made him excited.

"MoonClan will no longer be the defense!" she declared. "We will be the offense now!"

"MoonClan! MoonClan!" the apprentices began cheering.

In an instant, everyone joined in with eager yowls. "MoonClan! MoonClan!"

As the Clan changed, he felt proud at the unification and organization of his Clanmates. They will be ready for anything! Whatever Dewstar would throw at them, they will anticipate! They will be strong!

However, as the prospect of a battle became more clear within his mind, Icetail started sitting back, watching his Clan as their confidence grew.

This is the complete opposite of what Featherbreeze told me, he thought, worry starting to prick at his heart.

There has to be some other way to accomplish peace that doesn't involve bloodshed and battle!

* * *

The memory of the Clan meeting was fresh in Icetail's thoughts. Just as Brightstar had ordered, he had set up new patrols—but only hunting and battle-training patrols. Border patrols remained twice a day, with the exception of the secret moonhigh patrol. He also arranged for a few warriors to teach the kits defense moves and help the elders to regain the strength they once had.

He felt bad about it, because after all, the elders were finished serving their Clan. But he knew that it had to be done, for a leader's word was law.

Icetail tasted the air, sniffing at his surroundings. The days are only getting colder and colder, he thought sadly. How does Brightstar expect us to be strong, if things are only going to get harder for us?

He scented fresh mouse-droppings.

He looked around, and spotted a scrawny mouse chewing at a seed under a dead bush. He crouched low to the ground, stalking forward. Accidentally, Icetail stepped onto a stick, and the mouse's head jerked up, spotting him. Icetail bolted from his spot, trying to reach it, but it was no use. The scrawny mouse had already disappeared underneath a burrow, safe from the predators of the outside world.

"Fox-dung!" he spat.

Amberpaw emerged from behind him, carrying a dead shrew. "I've never even seen you loose prey, Icetail," she said, her eyes round.

"My mind is somewhere else, that's all," he muttered.

Ashtail padded up, resting his tail on Icetail's spine. "Don't worry about it, that mouse was scrawny anyway. We should move in closer to the borders. I bet there'll be more prey there."

Amberpaw nodded, burying her shrew quickly. "You're right, Ashtail!" she meowed, padding away. "I'll scout up ahead."

Icetail sighed, and began to smell the air once more. Easily, he found a bird up on the branches of a birch tree. He leaped onto the hard bark, clawing his way up. But as soon as he landed on the branch the bird was on, it noticed him, and quickly flew away.

Disbelief was flowing through Icetail. Why can't I catch anything? he thought with frustration. The loss of prey will cost the Clan!

Below him on the ground, Ashtail bolted from his spot, and leaped into the air, clawing onto the bird's wings. He took it down, killing it with a blow to the neck. "Got it!" Ashtail called, holding up the bird.

Icetail leaped off the tree, landing gracefully on the forest floor. "I really suck right now," he commented.

"There's clearly something on your head," Ashtail said, burying the bird nearby Amberpaw's shrew. "It might not be something you want to share with me, but just keep this in mind. What is more important? Feeding the Clan, or mere thoughts?"

"I know," he meowed. "Thanks, Ashtail."

His former mentor nodded with a warm smile before he stalked away, trying to scent something elsewhere. Ashtail followed. "Hey, have you seen Amberpaw, by the way?" he asked. "She dissappeared a few moments ago but didn't return."

Icetail turned. "She said she was going to go near the border," he replied. "Wait . . ." Did she really go by the DarkClan borders? His heart stopped with fear. "You don't think that she got caught by a patrol, right?"

"We have to go check," Ashtail growled. "DarkClan is always unpredictable."

Icetail nodded. "You stay here and hunt. I'll look for her."

He ran from his spot, listening to his surroundings. In the distance, he could hear a squirrel hiding out in the hollow of an oak tree. He could also hear a few birds flying high up in the sky, cawing at one another. Icetail stealthily ran from his spot. Once he got near the border, he began to scent around. Where was Amberpaw? He hoped that she hadn't been caught by a DarkClan patrol . . .

But suddenly, he heard hisses and growls. He ran up the border, and in an instant, he could see several DarkClan cats surrounding Amberpaw.

Oh StarClan!

He ran up to them, his eyes wide. "What's going on here?" he demanded.

The cat he most expected to see, Dewstar, turned to his direction. "I haven't seen you since the last gathering, Icetail," he purred.

I saw you in the tunnels, he thought with menace. You traitor, you liar, you fake!

"Let Amberpaw go!"

"She crossed our border," growled a DarkClan apprentice. "She deserves to be punished!"

"Hush, Greenpaw," Dewstar ordered. He turned back to Icetail, narrowing his eyes. "But Amberpaw did cross the border. She belongs to me now."

Fury boiled deep down inside Icetail. "She is a MoonClan apprentice. Let her go!"

"I'm taking her back to my camp," Dewstar growled. "And tell Brightstar that I will be exchanging her for a price. If MoonClan offers up all their catmint, then I will let Amberpaw go back to you. If not, then I will kill her."

"You can't do that!" Amberpaw gasped, backing up slowly. She bumped into a DarkClan cat and jumped up with fear, before being pinned down by the neck and tail. "Let me go back! Let me go!"

Icetail clawed the ground. There's no way in the name of StarClan that he could beat all of these cats. "Okay. Here's the deal, Dewstar," he finally meowed. "Take me instead, and let Amberpaw go back to MoonClan. She doesn't deserve this; she's an apprentice."

"Too late!" growled a DarkClan warrior. "We've already offered Amberpaw."

"No," Dewstar meowed, putting his tail in front of the warrior's face as a sign to quiet down. "Let's take Icetail instead. He's worth more—he's their deputy. Brightstar would much rather get her deputy back than a mere apprentice."

Icetail padded forward. "Now let her go."

The circle of DarkClan cats opened, and Amberpaw slowly crept out, tail bushy and low to the ground and ears pressed back in fear. Every cat laid their eyes on Icetail now, and surrounded him before he could even think of making a run for it.

Dewstar turned to Amberpaw when he made sure Icetail was completely surrounded. "You know what to tell Brightstar," he purred. "Now go quick. I'm giving her five days to decide."

"I won't leave you, Icetail!" Amberpaw wailed.

"Go tell Brightstar!" Icetail demanded. "I can take care of myself!"

Amberpaw studied Icetail for a moment, her gaze sad. "O-okay, Icetail," she managed. She turned away, and began pounding into the MoonClan forest, away from the DarkClan cats. Before she had disappeared, she turned around and called, "We'll help you, Icetail! Don't worry!"

Dewstar turned to Icetail. "Let's go now, hostage."

Icetail gulped, but followed Dewstar anyways. The cats around him were all satisfied. He growled softly, anger radiating off his pelt. Brightstar, I'll make sure you won't have to give away our medicine supply, he declared in his thoughts. So please . . . don't make any sacrifices for me.

* * *

Once Icetail reached the DarkClan camp, he looked around, his eyes wide. The camp was huge! Why hadn't Silverleaf or Squirreltail ever told him how massive everything seemed? It was much bigger and more protected than he had ever expected.

Dens both burrowed into the ground below and towered over him on top of tall rocky slopes in caves. The clearing space itself seemed twice as big as MoonClan's camp. Trees towered around the clearing, blocking out the sun from long-hanging branches and leaves that reflected an unusual pattern of light from the barely-visible sun onto the dirt ground. The most overwhelming part about the entirety of it was the mass amount of cats circling the clearing, speaking in hushed voices by the dens or the fresh-kill pile over. Here, nobody seemed to bury their scraps or share to tongues like the custom in MoonClan. Instead, a few apprentices who looked small enough to be kits fought with snarls and outstretched claws toward the back of the camp, where warriors looked down approvingly; the queens seemed as hungry as the warriors did, making his heart drop with pity although they were the enemy.

Although it was only a little past sunhigh, it seemed like most cats were in camp, if not all. MoonClan was no match for DarkClan's large numbers.

"Keep on walking," growled a DarkClan cat, shoving him forward.

"Watch it!" he snapped to the warrior.

The warrior bared his fangs, but Dewstar padded up, causing the warrior to stop. "Throw him into the prison cave with the others. Make sure to keep watch on him, and do not take your eyes off of him. Icetail is an unpredictable cat."

"It's not like I can run away, Dewstar," Icetail growled to his brother.

"Goodbye, Icetail," Dewstar meowed, flicking his tail.

He wanted to leap onto Dewstar and pin him down, and tell him every feeling that he had in his chest and every thought on his head: We're brothers! or I thought you cared about me! or even What happened, Dewstar?

But instead, he miserably followed the warrior as he led him to the prison cave. As Icetail entered, he saw three other cats. One was a DarkClan cat, and two were of CloudClan. He recognized the CloudClan warriors in an instant. One of their names was Windcloud—a white tabby she-cat. The tom was Grassheart, a brown and black tom. He'd met them from past gatherings.

"Icetail!" gasped Grassheart, standing up. "What are you doing here?"

Icetail's eyes were wide. "Me? What about you?" he asked.

Windcloud clawed the ground with anger. "Grassheart and I were hunting, and Dewstar captured us," she replied. She glanced up at him. "He's blackmailed CloudClan by saying that the only way for us to go back is by giving them catmint from our herb supply."

Icetail looked down. "Dewstar captured me too," he murmured, "for catmint."

"I think there are sick cats in his Clan. There's no other reason that he would do this unless he were purely evil," growled Grassheart. "But anyways, he gave CloudClan a quarter-moon to give up the catmint for us, and we honestly don't have enough. That quarter-moon is almost up. We have two more days before we are going to get killed."

The memory of Sparrowheart, Icetail's father, being murdered by DarkClan, flashed in his mind. "This is a Clan of murderers," he hissed softly.

The DarkClan warrior turned to them. "Just give up on it already," he muttered. "CloudClan and MoonClan would rather keep their prey than give it for a few cats."

"Why don't you give up your hope that Dewstar will let you return to your regular duties, Mudface?" Grassheart snapped back.

Mudface shrugged and rested back down in his makeshift nest. "Don't bother me."

Icetail's fur bristled. Why would DarkClan keep their own Clanmates as hostages? he thought. Maybe Dewstar isn't a good leader after all.

He settled in an old nest in the back of the den. Right now, he felt alone even though there were three other cats around him. Ever since he and Silverleaf had become mates, the two slept by one another. Right now, he felt empty without her touch.

Right before he fell asleep, he heard Windcloud murmur, "We're never going to see CloudClan again, aren't we?"