Edited ✔️

Two chapters in one day? I'm on fire >:D

Icetail woke up at moonhigh, his pelt ruffled after a long night of sleep. He felt that it was morning before he fully processed where he was, and when he looked outside and noticed the position of the moon, his heart dropped with disappointment. Dawn is a long way from now.

He glanced over at Silverleaf. Her silver pelt sparkled like the stars in the night sky at the moon's touch. All of his denmates slept soundly. The only cats missing were Stonetooth, Crowflight and Nightrose. He remembered sending them out for the watch patrol before going off to sleep.

He sighed, clambering out of his nest as quietly as he could possibly go, careful not to stir Silverleaf awake or step on any of his other denmates. There's no way I can sleep. Not on a night like this, he thought as he made his way to the clearing from the warriors den. As he looked up to the sky, he realized that the moon was barely visible. Nothing but a single crescent in the sky. Despite that, the stars still shone brilliantly.

After scanning the quiet clearing, he silently padded out of the camp. He was especially careful to go unnoticed. Waking up his Clanmates would be bad—Brightstar forbade patrols of less than three to be out, especially if cats were to travel alone on the territory. And now, since DarkClan was more hostile than ever, the rule was enforced heavily.

It would be bad if the deputy was caught going against the leader's word.

He crept away, his body pressed to the cold ground as he brushed passed stiff strands of grass. I haven't been alone like this in the forest since I was an apprentice, he recalled. Since the day Featherbreeze died. He weaved through the cover of the oak trees, his nose burning from the dry cold air. He didn't know where his paws were taking him, but he simply could not rest at all.

Anywhere would do.

His pelt ruffled in the wrong way as the wind blew, but he walked on regardless, aware that it was dangerous to be out alone at night. His only goal in mind was to see Silverpelt without trees obstructing his view, to feel as if his ancestors were watching him. Finally, Icetail realized that he made it near CloudClan's borders. He couldn't scent their markers due to the direction the wind blew, but he could easily see the open moor from a far distance, stretching out to merge with the sky, no clear indication of a horizon line.

Icetail padded out of the cover of the trees and looked up at Silverpelt, eyes shimmering in its reflection. Countless stars in the night sky shone down on him. He shivered, cold, and pressed himself down on the ground, rolling onto to get a better view.

I never noticed that the moon could be so big even when it's not full, he thought, observing its slender shape. And the stars too, they shine so bright.

He watched Silverpelt twinkle as thought of the cats who died, especially those cared about the most. Vinetail, Featherbreeze and Sparrowheart must be watching down on him right now. His heart ached. He wished that his parents and the old medicine cat were down here with him. He wished that Dewstar never left MoonClan. Everything could of been different.

He felt another presence from the forest and lifted his head, wondering who had followed him from camp. He was surprised to see Sharpfang. The senior warrior looked back at him, his eyes shining brilliantly.

"What are you doing here?" Icetail asked, unable to move from his spot.

"I can ask you the same thing," Sharpfang meowed, sitting beside him. "Why have you strayed so far from camp? You know Brightstar's rules."

"Don't lecture me like a kit," retorted Icetail, returning his gaze to the stars. "I just needed to think, that's all."

Sharpfang was silent for a moment, before asking, "What are you thinking about?"

Icetail looked at him, surprised once more. Did Sharpfang even care? "Why do you want to know?"

"Even though we never had a friendship, I'm just curious," he responded simply. "Watching you grow up, though, has been like raising a kit from a distance. Even though I was never particularly nice to you," he added.

Icetail closed his eyes. "Everything going through my head is so hard to explain," murmured the gray tom. "I've been thinking about my life and all. I wish my parents were still alive. I wonder why the stars shine so brightly even though I feel so much pain . . ."

"Don't waist your time on such thoughts," Sharpfang meowed. The comment wasn't rude. Instead, there was a bit of affectione behind his voice. "Moving on is hard when you want things you can't get."

"I learned that the hard way," Icetail meowed dryly.

"Life is hard," Sharpfang responded. "Now, what are you really thinking about? There must be something more important in the back of your head. More important than the questions you can't answer, the things you can't change. I'm sure you'd like to spill it out."

"If I tell you, you won't believe me."

"I don't know if I will or not, but I won't tell anyone what you are about to tell me." Sharpfang stared down at Icetail. For the first time ever, the older warrior was being nice, suppressing sympathy that he didn't know Sharpfang was even capable of. Maybe becoming a father had changed his view on life. Maybe things about him changed as he brought new kits into the Clan.

"I guess so," Icetail murmured, deciding to trust his inner judgement about Sharpfang. "Everything began when I was an apprentice. On the day of my ceremony, I had a dream that shattered my peace forever." Sharpfang looked down at him with interest and alarm mixed together. "I was being chased by a cat who wanted to kill me, and then a she-cat from StarClan saved me . . ."

"Go on," urged Sharpfang. Icetail felt weird talking about it. After all, he had never really told anyone up until now. He never thought he'd be telling Sharpfang, of all cats.

"Well, at the end of the dream, I was engulfed by blood, and the sound of death was everywhere." He shuddered at the memory, and stood up, trying to get more comfortable. "It was terrible, Sharpfang. It really was. But that's not all. A few moons later, I went into the cave of mosses, and I found this . . . this tunnel."

"Where did it lead to?" Sharpfang asked.

"It lead to a lake below the ground," Icetail explained. He felt discomfort as all these memories surged back to his mind. "I fell into the lake by accident, and I had the same vision about blood and death when I started to drown . . . Flameheart—who was Flamepaw at the time—pulled me out just in time. The vision was only my imagination. But somewhere deep inside, I knew that it had meaning. It bothered me for moons and moons on end."

Sharpfang didn't say anything.

"And that's not all," Icetail went on. "Through everything that has happened, StarClan gave me a prophecy to consider. The darkness was never meant to be, and two cats high and proud will lead and destroy."

Sharpfang's pelt bristled. "What does it mean, Icetail? What does this have to do with you?"

"The darkness that wasn't meant to be is DarkClan, I think," Icetail explained. "And the two cats involved, I think they are me and Dewstar." He looked down to his paws. "And there's one more dream I have had that I need to share with you."

"Tell me," Sharpfang said.

"Sweetheart and I both had the same vision . . . where Dewstar is on a rock, leading a Clan while they chanted his name, while I sat in shame below him." He clenched the ground with his claws. "It means that I'm the cat who's going to destroy. I am. I don't understand at all! I've never murdered my own Clanmates, or sabotaged other Clans! I'm nowhere as near as evil as Dewstar!"

"I didn't know you had this weight on your shoulders," Sharpfang whispered. "You've had a burden that you had to carry all by yourself."

"Now I have told you, the weight doesn't feel so heavy anymore," Icetail said honestly. He wondered if sharing his deepest thoughts and secrets was the right decision. After all, though Icetail took a new liking towards the older warrior, Sharpfang was still unpredictable.

"Does Brightstar or Sweetheart know about the prophecy?" Sharpfang asked.

"They both do. But you're the first cat I've ever told this." He sighed. "I haven't even told Flameheart or Silverleaf . . ."

Icetail looked up at the twinkling stars. The night was brilliant, especially now. He felt a little bit relieved all of the sudden. Sharing his burden with Sharpfang . . . he had to admit, it was a great feeling through all of the doubts. For moons, he had kept everything to himself up until now. A heavy feeling on his shoulders felt as if it were being lifted.

Silverleaf had once told him that sharing burdens with your Clanmates could always make you better. For the first time in two moons, he felt strong again. He looked at Sharpfang, wondering what he was going to say.

"Well, there's definitely a meaning to the prophecy," meowed the tom. "How do you know DarkClan is the darkness mentioned in that prophecy?"

"An elder's tale told me so," Icetail responded. "They say that DarkClan isn't an original Clan. They moved into this forest by force or something like that, and they always had made things hard for MarshClan, MoonClan, StreamClan and CloudClan. Even now, things are hard because of them."

"You're right," Sharpfang murmured. "That's an obvious point in the prophecy." He froze. "Wait. Do you think being the cat who is going to destroy is necessarily a bad thing?"

"I do," Icetail muttered bitterly.

"Have you ever thought about it?" Sharpfang pressed. He was staring deeply into Icetail's eyes.

Icetail shrugged. "Well, there's nothing really much to think about. When I think of destruction, I think about the end of the Clans."

"What if the destroying part of the prophecy had a different meaning than what you think?" Sharpfang pressed.

"Where are you going with this?" Icetail asked, turning to the older tom. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking . . . that maybe, being the cat who destroys is a good thing." Icetail's eyes widened, but Sharpfang continued before he could say anything. "The prophecy is about DarkClan, right? So, have you ever thought of you putting an end to DarkClan?"

Icetail kept on staring at him. "I don't get it."

"What I mean is, you are going to destroy DarkClan. Dewstar is leading it. Isn't it obvious?" Sharpfang went on. "Don't you see?"

Icetail's heart pounded hard in his chest. How . . . how did he think of these things so quickly? he thought with disbelief. I've had this prophecy stuck in my head for countless moons, and Sharpfang, who had just heard about it tonight, found a possible answer!

"I see," Icetail whispered.

Sharpfang purred. "Exactly."

"I should've talked to you moons ago about this," Icetail commented. "I don't know why I held a grudge against you in the first place. You really helped clear my mind, Sharpfang."

He nodded. "As long as it has helped you."

"Hey, why did you follow me out here anyway?" Icetail asked. "Not that I don't like this, but why are you also being nice to me? All my life, I'd only remembered you trying to cause trouble for me. But now, things changed. In ways I didn't expect, to top it all off."

"Because," Sharpfang began, wrapping his tail neatly around his paws before turning his eyes up to the sky. "Silverleaf asked me to talk to you. And also . . . I've been able to see the pain in other cats eyes. Ever since my kits were born, I've been like this. I've been very empathetic. And lately, I saw nothing but pain in your eyes, Icetail."

"And you wanted to help me?"

Sharpfang turned to him, resolve burning in his very essence. "Yes, I do. But I'm not the only cat who is trying to help you, Icetail. Don't you realize it? Everyone in MoonClan is trying to help you. We are all standing by your side, supporting you, keeping you strong and leading you in the right direction. We're all letting you lean on our shoulders and we were all always open to listen to what you had to say."

Icetail's eyes were on Sharpfang.

"Even though we all don't know what's really happening with you, everyone in MoonClan shares your burdens. You just don't realize it, Icetail." Sharpfang's gaze turned to Icetail. Determination filled into his eyes.

Out of all cats, Sharpfang. I never expected that it would be you who would give me strength once more, Icetail thought, speechless.