Edited ✔️

The next morning, Icetail woke groggily from his nest, knowing that he had to assign patrols. He was already used to it because he was a fast learner, but he was exhausted from being one of the first cats to wake up early every single day. He waited in the clearing for his Clanmates to stir, grooming his pelt from moss and feathers as he waited.

When every cat was awake, he began sorting the hunting and border patrols. He decided to lead his own patrol, too, with Dawnstripe, her apprentice Goldenpaw, Redsky and Icetail's apprentice, Amberpaw.

Brightstar padded up, her eyes curious. "Would you mind if I came along on your patrol?"

"Oh, sure Brightstar," Icetail responded. "Would you like to lead it? I mean—since you're the Clan leader."

"You may lead it," Brightstar meowed.

"Thank you," he purred, feeling proud to be in charge of his leader. He lead his cats out of the entrance of the camp, with Dawnstripe following close by. The day was pale, cold and dull, with multiple light gray clouds lining sky that covered the sun. The tips of the trees were outlined from with light, and the ground was dampened with morning dew.

Icetail could tell that it had rained at some point during the night because of the scent of smell of salt and the moist dirt underpaw. The scents of the forest prey had been washed away, and the usual annoying birds that regularly chirped in the trees weren't singing their songs that morning, as if hiding in their trees.

He was taking his patrol over to CloudClan, wondering how things were going on around that side of the territory. He knew that the cave of mosses was already destroyed and that he couldn't cross the border, but he secretly hoped that he'd run into a CloudClan patrol. He wanted to ask them if they were having any troubles with DarkClan recently to know what to expect.

Dawnstripe sighed right beside him, and Icetail turned to her. "Is anything wrong?" he asked the she-cat. He noticed that she had been like that for quite a long time.

"I'm fine . . ." she murmured. His denmate looked up to the sky. "It's just that, is it wrong that I miss Dewfang—I mean Dewstar?" She turned to him. "He was a good MoonClan warrior, always serving the Clan at best. Who would've guessed who he truly was?"

"It's not wrong to miss him," Icetail murmured, remembering how close the two used to be. He still didn't quite understand how Dewstar could leave her for such selfish reasons. "I do too, but what happened had happened. MoonClan will always be our first priority no matter what happens."

"But I-I loved him," Dawnstripe went on, despite nodding with agreement. "I always go on thinking that if he stayed, we could of been mates and had kits together. I see you with Silverleaf . . . it makes me wonder if I would have been like that with Dewstar."

Icetail pressed his pelt to her's. "Don't worry, I think you two would've been like that," he comforted. "Dewstar didn't want to get you hurt. I think he felt the same to you as well, but I suppose he just made his choice to leave. He was ambitious in his own sort of way."

"You're ambitious too and you never left MoonClan," Dawnstripe pointed out.

I never thought that I was ambitious, Icetail thought. The two cats kept padding on in the forest. He looked at Dawnstripe, wondering what he could say to her. Sadness began to grip at his heart now that she has mentioned Dewstar. For a moment, he was silent, but then he decided that he had to push it away.

"I'm sure you'll find someone else." That's all what he thought he could say. "Don't you worry too much, Dawnstripe."

* * *

The patrolling almost took away the whole morning until they decided that they have done enough and went back to camp. As they entered, Icetail spotted Sharpfang paxing outside the nursery, while Sweetheart and Graywing crowded the inside.

He spotted his mate sitting by the nursery eagerly, trying to see what was going on. He padded up to Silverleaf. "What's going on?"

"Sagepelt is kitting," she whispered back. "I think she's done now—look." She was pointing to the den with her ears. Icetail turned and saw Sharpfang enter the den with Sweetheart's approval, being welcomed by the sound of small mews. For a moment Icetail was amazed. Sagepelt was still too early to be kitting, as she had only joined the nursery a little under one moon ago, so it surprised him that her kits came now. I didn't think that she was this far along!

"Let's go see them," Silverleaf suggested.

"Alright," he agreed. They crouched inside the nursery and spotted a few bundles suckling Sagepelt noisily. Sharpfang laid down next to his mate, draping his tail over them as the queen licked the kit's fur dry. There was only two of them, a gray tabby tom and a pale cream colored she-kit.

"They're beautiful, Sagepelt," Sharpfang purred to his mate. Icetail was surprised to see Sharpfang's change of character—the tom was normally quiet and reserved and never showed affection. But for the first time ever, he saw the love in Sharpfang's eyes as he gently groomed the gray tabby clean just as Sweetheart had suggested.

Silverleaf was purring too, and she pressed closer to Icetail, twining her tail with his. "They are lovely, aren't they?"

He nodded with agreement. "I'd be proud if they were mine."

"Thank you, Icetail." Sharpfang was looking up, his eyes still shining with pride. "That means a lot to me."

Silverleaf purred, and crouched by Sagepelt, beginning to speak to her.

Icetail remembered at that moment that Sharpfang used to be in love with his mother. Perhaps now, he was over her for sure? Maybe now Sharpfang forgave Featherbreeze and her kin for breaking his heart many moons ago. All of the negativity Icetail ever thought about him seemed to have washed away in this moment as he saw Sharpfang unravel himself for the first time.

"We shouldn't crowd them," Icetail whispered to his mate. "Let's let Sharpfang and Sagepelt meet their new kits."

She nodded and murmured her goodbyes to the new parents.

They both left the nursery, and as soon as they did, Flameheart padded up, his eyes on Icetail. "Brightstar is summoning you over," he meowed, pointing to the leader's den with his ears. "She told me to come and get you."

"Thank you, Flameheart," Icetail meowed. "I'll speak to you when I get back."

He left him to talk to Silverleaf and began walking over to the Moonrock. He peered inside to see Brightstar patiently waiting, grooming her pelt. She looked up, noticing him. Her gaze was warm, and her white, almost gray pelt was neat. "You may be wondering why I summoned you here. We have to discuss which cats we are taking to the gathering tonight."

"I forgot it was tonight!" he said with excitement. He still hadn't gotten fully used to his deputy duties yet, and the thought of going with a new rank made him nervous.

I wonder how Dewstar will react.

"So, I was thinking about leaving Sharpfang behind today," she explained. "He and Sagepelt had just had kits, so I think we should let them stay together."

"You're right," Icetail realized. "And maybe we should take the apprentices since it'll be there first gathering."

Brightstar shook her head. "Blackpaw isn't allowed to come. Volefur told me that Blackpaw put red fire ants in his sister's nest, so he deserved some kind of punishment."

Icetail's whiskers twitched with amusement. "Fine. Blackpaw can stay."

By the time Icetail and Brightstar finished discussing who should go to the gathering, Brightstar clambered on top of her den to make the announcements. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, join beneath the Moonrock for a Clan meeting!" she called.

Every cat went into the clearing, except for Sagepelt and her newborn kits of course. Icetail was at the foot of the Moonrock, already waiting for everyone to come. Once every cat was settled, Brightstar began her announcements.

"Since tonight is the full moon, I've decided which cats I should take with me to the gathering tonight," Brightstar began. "Here is who I've decided is coming: Icetail, Amberpaw, Silverleaf, Shadowheart, Ashtail, Stripeeyes, Bluewing, Sedgetooth, Sweetheart, Rosepetal, Fireshade, Crowflight, Flameheart, Swiftbreeze, Dawnstripe, Goldenpaw, Redsky and Goldsun. That is all."

Murmurs of approval whipped through the crowd, and Icetail heard Blackpaw groan at his mentor. Icetail didn't want to hear his complaints, so he went to go find Amberpaw.

"Hi," he meowed to his apprentice.

"Hi Icetail!" Amberpaw squeaked eagerly. "I can't believe that I am going to go to the gathering. I've heard all about it, but I can't wait to meet everyone!"

Icetail remembered how eager he was for his first gathering and purred. "If you're hungry, Amberpaw, choose something from the fresh-kill pile and then sleep afterwords. The trip to the gathering can be tiring. And you won't get much rest when we come back."

"Okay, Icetail, thank you!" Amberpaw said, running off with her sister, Goldpaw.

Icetail quickly shared a starling with Silverleaf before he went to sleep in his nest. His mate was close by, and he felt warm and comfortable by her touch. Slowly, his eyes closed and he drifted off to a deep sleep. He didn't expect at all that he'd dream today, but he was very wrong.

Icetail woke once more in a place he recognized. He was in the Twilight Forest, the dark forest for the cats who did not want to go to StarClan. He looked around, wondering why he was here. There was no moon or sun in the sky, and the air felt stiff and stagnant.

Slowly and cautiously, Icetail left his spot, his senses sharp as he listened carefully to his surroundings. Suddenly, a heavy weight was on to his shoulders, and he face-planted to the ground. Someone was pinning him down!

Icetail gathered his strength and pushed the cat off, his eyes wide. "Who are you?" he growled, but he immediately recognized Shard, the cat who visited him in his first ever dream of the Twilight Forest.

Shard slowly stood up. "Ow, ow, ow, Icetail, you didn't have to be so rough," he meowed, letting out a cough. "Playing dirty is too much for my old bones."

"Don't leap at me when I'm alert, then," snapped Icetail. "And aren't cats who die and go to StarClan or the Forest usually young?"

Shard shook his head. "Not really," he meowed. "We all return to StarClan in the forms of ourselves at our happiest moments. Maybe that's why you think I look old."

"Have you ever lived in the warrior Clans?" asked Icetail.

Shard nodded. "Sure. I lived long before any cats in the Clans. I was there at the making of DarkClan," he said, his tail flicking back and forth.

"The making of DarkClan!" exclaimed Icetail. "So it's true!"

He hadn't doubted that old elder's tail, but hadn't known for certain if it wasn't made up. Maybe this was evidence enough.

"I didn't come here to talk about how DarkClan was born," said the old tom dismissively. "I came to warn you of something."

"Don't tell me that you're going to give me another warning about the darkness," muttered Icetail with annoyance. "I haven't gotten enough of my peace—why can't it last?"

"I came to tell you that you are getting off track," Shard said. "The prophecy is a huge deal and can cost many lives, and you are the only one in the entire Clans who is so close to the answer. But lately, you haven't been giving it much thought. I think it's because of that warrior, Silverleaf."

"Silverleaf didn't do anything wrong!" spat Icetail.

"She's distracting you," snapped Shard, "that's what she is doing. Like I have said, you haven't been giving much thought about the prophecy these days. This won't be a good outcome for you or your Clanmates."

"Maybe it's because I needed a break!" Icetail retorted. "Besides, why do you care if I think about the dumb prophecy or not? The first time I met you, you tried to kill me! And this prophecy has nothing to do with you."

"I have my reasons," spat Shard.

"And so do I." Icetail's ears flicked with annoyance and his tail lashed. Shard couldn't just do this to him! It's too unfair. What about his feelings—his health? Couldn't he at least have a small break from thinking about this? Was that too much to ask?

Shard simply sighed. "Well, I'll let you in on one thing. If you don't get back on track with this prophecy, your loved ones will die, Icetail."

"Dead cats can't kill those who are alive," he retorted, flicking his tail over Shard's luminescent form.

"No, we can't kill cats that are alive," the Twilight Warrior growled. "In fact, we won't even be the cause of this tragedy at all. Your enemy is the cause of all this, Icetail—your enemy. You should know this. And do not forget it."

Icetail narrowed his eyes. Dewstar and the rest of DarkClan are my enemies, he recalled. Wait, is Shard meaning to tell me that something bad is going to happen at the gathering tonight?

Suddenly, all of Icetail's surroundings vanished, and his woke up once more to see his mate, Silverleaf, standing over him. "Icetail, are you up already? It's almost time to go!"

"I'm up," said Icetail, slowly standing to his paws. He looked outside to see the full moon almost fully above the trees. Suddenly, he remembered his dreams. My enemy will be the cause of my loved ones deaths if I do not do something about the prophecy.

"Let's go. Brightstar is already calling us," she mewed. "We don't want to get left behind."

She began to leave the den, but Icetail stopped her. "Wait, Silverleaf." She turned and looked at him, and Icetail simply sighed. "Can you . . . not go to the gathering?"

Silverleaf's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"I just don't feel good when Dewstar is there," he admit. Part of it was a lie, part of it was true. "Dewstar used to want you as a mate, remember? He won't be so pleased to see you."

"Oh please, Icetail," she scoffed. "He was only trying to do that to get to you in the past. And besides, I can take care of myself."

He wanted to convince her more, but he didn't want to get her mad. He simply sighed and brushed past her, padding over to Brightstar. "Fine, Silverleaf. But please don't stray to close to DarkClan," he begged, taking another glance back.

Silverleaf nodded. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to stay away from them."

Icetail smiled sadly. Good, he thought. If anything were to happen to you, I would never forgive myself. Don't worry. If anything does happen, I will protect you.