Mottled silver clouds stretched across the pale sky, blotting out the sun. Iceslide sat near the edge of the camp, his tail swishing back and forth along the ground. I can't take it... He thought, looking toward twolegplace anxiously. I need to get there and see Violet again!

There were a lot of cats in the camp right now. It was midday, and many cats were eating together or deep in conversation. Vixenwhisper and Mudslip were grooming each other, while Shimmerstar and Salmonstripe spoke together and purred. 

Heartsong and Coralshine were speaking to each other and chuckling. A blur of golden fur flashed past him, and Iceslide watched as Creekleap padded up to them, purring loudly with his tail in the air. He was holding a fish in his mouth.

"Hey, Heartsong!" Creekleap purred and dropped the fish at her paws. "This is for you."

The silver and white she-cat looked amused. "Oh? What for?"

"For being such a great cat." The young warrior's eyes gleamed. "I'll catch all the fish in the river for you if you like."

Heartsong tilted her head. "Really?"

"Really." Creekleap began to back away. "But you'll have to catch me first!" He spun and raced out of camp, and Heartsong laughed and bounded after him. Coralshine watched them go and shook her head, looking amused.

All the couples around camp sure aren't helping. Iceslide began to feel lonely. I wish I were with Violet. He scanned the camp. He saw no sign of Frostedcloud. He guessed that the clan deputy was visiting Swanpool and his kits in the nursery. They had named them Arctickit, Dovekit, and Risingkit, and Frostedcloud seemed to spend every free moment he had with them. 

Maybe I can slip away now... No cat seemed as interested in him as the deputy. He might not even notice I'm gone. He looked around. No cat was paying any attention to him. But he decided that he needed some cat to cover for him if anyone noticed he was gone. And he knew just the cat he could trust. 

He padded around the camp, searching the cats for his new friend. At last, he spotted Sunripple's golden striped pelt. He was crouched by the fresh kill pile, eating a mouse. Iceslide quickly padded over to him and crouched beside him. "Sunripple," He whispered.

Sunripple swallowed what he'd been chewing and looked to him. "Yeah?"

He glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to eavesdrop. "I'm going to twolegplace for a bit," He meowed quietly. "Will you cover for me if any cat notices I'm gone?"

Sunripple hesitated, then nodded. "Sure. I'll say you went hunting on your own." He paused. "Just make sure you bring back some fresh kill so no one gets suspicious."

"I will." Iceslide nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Sunripple." He looked around and hurried behind the apprentices den where the secret way out was. He slipped through the reeds and ran forward a few fox-lengths from the camp. He paused and stared out into the distance. I'm coming, Violet!

"Iceslide?"

He nearly jumped out of his fur. He spun around, his fur bristling with alarm. Lilynose stood a little ways behind him, looking at him curiously. "Where are you going?"

"H-hi, Lilynose," Iceslide tried to sound calm, but he was terrified she would give him away. "I was going hunting."

Lilynose tilted her white head. "Then why didn't you go out the main entrance? It looks like you're sneaking out of camp," She meowed quietly.

Oh, StarClan! His mind searched desperately for an excuse. Think, think!

"What are you up to, Iceslide?" She asked, padding closer. She didn't sound like she was accusing him of anything. She only seemed curious and confused.

I don't think there's any way out of this. Iceslide thought, his heart pounding nervously. I'll tell her the truth. She seems to like me... Maybe she won't tell on me. He took a step closer to her. "Lilynose, we're friends, aren't we?" He knew that was a lie. At least, to him it was.

She let out a purr, tilting her head. "Of course."

"Well, you're one of my closest friends."  He felt guilty for lying. But it was the only way he might be able to get her on his side. "If I wasn't able to see you for over a moon, I'd be devastated." 

Lilynose's pale green eyes flashed with surprise and happiness. "R-really?" She whispered hopefully.

"Yeah, of course," Iceslide replied and looked past her happy gaze toward the camp, worried that some cat would see them. "Well, I have some other close friends too," He meowed quietly, growing more and more nervous. "I haven't seen them in that long, and I miss them a lot."

Her eyes flickered with understanding. "Kittypets?" She guessed. "The ones Frostedcloud caught you with?"

"Yes." Iceslide saw her look over her shoulder toward the camp, and he quickly stepped closer to her. "I need to get there," He meowed anxiously. "I need to go to twolegplace to see my friends."

Lilynose hesitated, her pale tortoiseshell splashed tail twitching slowly. "Iceslide, you shouldn't... You're not allowed to." She looked back toward the camp. "When Shimmerstar finds out, she's going to be upset."

He tensed and stared at her uneasily. "Are you going to tell her?" As Lilynose hesitated, his stomach twisted. I might have been stupid to think she'd lie to the clan leader, who also happens to be her own mother!

She stared at him, her gaze softening. "I'd never tell on you, Iceslide," She meowed at last. "You mean a lot to me."

That's a relief! Iceslide let out a sigh, his fur slowly flattening. "Thank you." He hesitated, studying her. No cat knows what it's like for me and Sunripple... Maybe If she sees, I can make her understand... "Do you want to come with me?" He asked hesitantly.

Her eyes widened. "What? To twolegplace?" She stared at him like he was crazy.

"Yeah!" He stared at her hopefully. "You can meet my friends."

"Y-you mean the kittypets?" Lilynose blinked. "I've never met a kittypet."

"That's because you've spent your whole life here with RiverClan!" Iceslide pointed out. "There's a whole world out there of new things to see and cats to meet. The warrior code keeps us from having that kind of excitement in our lives." He stared at her, wondering if he could persuade her. "Come with me."

Lilynose stared back at him uncertainly. "I-I don't know..." She shuffled her paws.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Iceslide urged. "It'll be an adventure."

"Well..." She hesitated for a long moment. "Okay," She decided, looking at Iceslide fondly. "I'll go with you."

Iceslide let out a purr. "Great!" He turned and waved his tail eagerly. "Let's go!" She purred and hurried after him, and they broke into a run as they raced across the territory. He couldn't contain his excitement as his paws carried him closer and closer to twolegplace. I'm finally going to see Violet again!

***

The sky was peering through the clouds when they reached twolegplace. They padded alongside the fence. They were getting closer to the yard where Juicy lived. He could cut through there to reach Violet's home. 

Lilynose followed him, staring at the fence. "I've never been this close to one of those..."

He looked back at her in amusement. "Well, we're going to get even closer." He ducked through a gap in the wooden planks. "Come on." Lilynose slowly followed him, and Iceslide looked around the yard, perking up. 

Sure enough, Juicy was laying on his lawnchair, his head rested on his white paws. When he saw them, his head shot up, his yellow eyes widening. "Iceslide!" He leaped down clumsily from the chair and padded over to him. "It's you!"

"Hi, Juicy!" He purred and stepped forward to bump heads with the orange and white tom. "It's so good to see you again!"

The kittypet purred and stepped back, sitting down and staring at him happily. "Where have you been? We've all been quite worried."

"Iceslide? Is that you?" 

He turned to see Parrot bounding up to him from across the yard. The young tortoiseshell tom's eyes beamed with excitement. "Iceslide!" He tackled him, and Lilynose shrank back, her eyes wide with unease.

"Get off, you fluffball!" Iceslide purred and gently pushed Parrot away. 

"We've missed you!" Parrot exclaimed. "We thought you got into some big wild cat fight or something!"

Iceslide purred. "I'm okay, I just wasn't allowed to leave RiverClan territory for a while." I'm still not. He silently added.

"I'm just glad you're back." Parrot looked past Iceslide. "Who's that?" 

He turned and saw that Lilynose had taken several steps back. She was staring at the kittypets nervously.

"It's okay," He meowed to her, wondering why she would be afraid of two harmless kittypets. As she slowly padded forward, he turned to them. "This is Lilynose, one of my clanmates."

"Ah," Juicy's eyes gleamed. "Someone special?" Parrot chuckled beside him.

Lilynose seemed embarrassed, looking at Iceslide shyly. "Oh, no," He replied quickly, amused. "She's just a friend." Her tail drooped, but he didn't notice.

"Well, any friend of Iceslide's is a friend of mine," Juicy purred. "Your nose is pink as a lily. I guess that's why they call you that. I'm Juicy."

"Yes," Lilynose purred dryly, sounding uncomfortable. "Nice to meet you."

Parrot waved his tail at her. "And I'm Parrot!"

"Hey, I just had some tuna." Juicy flicked his orange tail behind him toward his bowl. "There's still some left if you want any."

Iceslide brightened. "Yes, please!" He padded over and crouched, eagerly digging into the tasty bowl of meat. After a moment, he looked past him at Lilynose, swiping his tongue over his muzzle. "Come try it!"

She stepped back, blinking at him. "Uh, no thanks..."

"Suit yourself," Iceslide purred. "More for me then." When he finished, he looked at Juicy. "We're on our way to Violet's," He explained. "I'm sorry, but we need to get going."

Juicy nodded, and Parrot perked up. "We'll go with you!"

He hesitated. I really wanted to see Violet alone... But he figured since Lilynose was already there, Juicy and Parrot might as well come too. "Alright, let's go."

They hurried along the side of the twoleg nest, and Lilynose quickly joined them, staying close to Iceslide. "We're going deeper into twolegplace?" She gasped. 

"Yeah," Iceslide replied as they neared a small thunderpath. "Don't worry, Violet's place isn't that far."

They crossed the thunderpath, and Lilynose looked around anxiously before turning back to Iceslide. "Who's Violet?"

"A great cat," Iceslide meowed as they hurried along the sidewalk. "You'll like her." His heart pounded with excitement as they ran between two twoleg nests and into Violet's yard. He looked around, desperate to catch a glimpse of her beautiful tortoiseshell fur.

Juicy sniffed at the grass. "I'm sure she's around here somewhere."

"Violet!" Iceslide called as they padded further into the yard. A large blue pit filled with water took up most of the area. Violet had explained to him that it was called a "pool". Twolegs liked to swim in it. "Violet?" His eyes darted around.

"She must be locked inside," Juicy guessed. "I'll go try to find her." He turned to Iceslide. "You stay here. We can surprise her," He purred and padded away.

Iceslide nodded and sat down in the short grass, his tail twitching impatiently. Lilynose and Parrot were silent. Suddenly, the kittypet spoke. "I know what we can do in the meantime!"

"What?" He blinked, distracted by thoughts of Violet. Lilynose jumped a little, seeming wary of the hyper kittypet.

Parrot's green eyes gleamed. "You say clan cats swim, right?" 

"Just RiverClan cats," Iceslide reminded him. "Why?"

"I've never seen a cat swim before." Parrot looked over at the twoleg pool. "I dare you to jump in the pool!" He laughed.

Iceslide shot him an amused look. "Are you serious?" 

"Yes!" Parrot stared at him eagerly. "Do it! I wanna see!"

He chuckled and raised his tail. "No problem!" He headed toward the pool and studied it. The water looked very different from the river. It was crystal clear, and it's ripples gleamed as they reflected the sunlight.

Parrot hurried to the side of the pool, his eyes shining. "Oh, boy!" Lilynose followed more slowly, staring at Iceslide warily.

He took several fox-lengths backwards and crouched, looking at Parrot. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

Here it goes! Iceslide ran toward the pool. When he reached the edge, he sprang into the air and curled into a ball as he plummeted down toward the water. Water splashed around him as he broke through the surface, and his head went under before he resurfaced, beginning to swim around the pool with his chin just above the surface.

"Whoa!" Parrot bounced up and down, staring at Iceslide in amazement as he swam in circles around the pool. "Look at that! It's a catfish!" His eyes lit with excitement. "I can't believe it, a swimming cat!"

Iceslide chuckled as he swam toward the edge of the pool and reached to pull himself onto the hard ledge. He couldn't get a grip, and Lilynose quickly bounded forward and grabbed him by the scruff, pulling him up.

"Thanks," He meowed and shook out his fur. Lilynose shrank back as she got splattered in water droplets. "Oh, sorry!"

Lilynose shivered. "I-It's fine."

"Wow!" Parrot raced up to Iceslide, his eyes glowing. "That's awesome! Can you teach me how to swim? Please!"

Iceslide laughed. "I-"

"Oh, Iceslide!" Juicy called, and Iceslide jerked around to see the tom racing toward him. "Look who I found!"

"Iceslide?" He heard the familiar jingle from the bell of her collar and saw her bounding toward him behind Juicy, her blue eyes lit with joy.

"Violet!" Iceslide bounded forward to meet her, and they pressed together, nuzzling each other. He pressed his nose into her soft fur, a purr rumbling loudly in his throat as his heart raced with happiness. "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too!" Violet purred loudly and began licking his face. He heard Parrot chuckling at them teasingly, but he didn't care. I'm with Violet, and that's all that matters! She shifted back and stared at him anxiously. "Where have you been? I-I thought maybe you didn't like me anymore..."

His heart ached. "Of course I like you!" He nuzzled her. "I love you."

Violet let out a loud purr. "I love you too."

They shifted apart, and Iceslide turned toward Lilynose. "This is-" He broke off. His clanmate seemed frozen, staring at him and Violet with a anguished look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Hello," Violet meowed, sounding friendly. "Who are you?"

Lilynose swallowed and stepped back, her eyes lit with pain. "No one that matters." She spun around and raced out of the yard, her white tail streaking behind her.

What happened? "Lilynose?" Iceslide blinked and started toward her, looking back at his companions. "I-I've got to go." He quickly touched noses with Violet before racing after Lilynose, feeling confused. I don't understand. What got her so upset?

He caught up to her in the front yard of the nest. She was standing with her back to him, her tail drooping. "Lilynose?" He blinked. "Are you okay?"

"No!" She choked and turned to face him, her usually happy green eyes filled with pain and anger. "I can't believe you! Eating kittypet food, jumping into some twoleg pool!" Her tail began to lash angrily as she glared at him. "You're crazy!"

Iceslide flattened his ears. "You don't under-"

"No, I don't!" Lilynose snarled at him. "I don't understand any of it! I don't understand how you can love a kittypet!" She trembled, her eyes glistening with pain. "Maybe if you'd keep your nose in your clan instead of everywhere else, you'd see that I love you!"

What? He was startled. Winterlight was right..! Before he could say anything, she went on. "All I've ever tried to do was be there for you and help you!" She cried. "I know you hate having me around, I see how you act. But you seemed different from everyone else, and-" She broke off and whimpered. "I just wanted to help you!"

He'd never felt so guilty. His heart ached as he stepped toward her. "I-I'm sorry-"

"Forget it, Iceslide!" Lilynose snapped shakily and backed away, glaring at him. "I just want to go home and away from this StarClan forsaken place!" She spun and raced onto the thunderpath.

Iceslide hurried after her. "Lilynose, wait!" He called. "I-I just wanted you to see what it's like outside the warrior code." His heart pounded with anxiety. She's going to tell Shimmerstar when we get back to camp! I have to change her mind!

She paused in the middle of the thunderpath and turned to face him. "The warrior code is meant to be followed!" She yowled, her voice cracking in heartache. "You're breaking it in every way!"

He knew that he had broken much more than the code today. He'd never seen Lilynose so furious and upset. "Lily-" Something moved in the corner of his eye, and he snapped his attention to it, his heart jolting in alarm. A twoleg monster was charging toward them, already alarmingly close to them. They'd been so focused on their argument, they hadn't heard it coming. Lilynose had her back to the monster as she glared at him.

He immediately stepped backwards, flashing his gaze to Lilynose in alarm. "Look-" He began in a yowl.

But Lilynose didn't move, her eyes blazing with fury. Her focus was entirely on Iceslide. She let out a furious snarl. "No, you look-"

The monster thundered at her, striking her with a huge black paw. Iceslide jerked back, squeezing his eyes shut as he heard a sickening crunching noise just faintly below the roar of the monster. When it went quiet, he snapped open his eyes and let out a horrified screech. "NO!"

Lilynose lay motionless on the thunderpath. He forced his paws shakily toward her, his heart pounding rapidly in terror. "Lilynose!" He leaned over her and let out a horrified cry. Blood had begun pooling from her head. Her pale green eyes were glazed over and sightless. Her shoulder and ribs looked strange, and Iceslide was sure she must have broken bones.

"No..." Iceslide croaked, his heart throbbing with grief. He crouched and rested his chin on her shoulder, trembling with shock and distress. "I'm so sorry..!" It's my fault..! It's all my fault...

***

It was sunset by the time he reached the camp. Juicy and Violet had helped him carry Lilynose's body until they'd reached RiverClan territory. From there, he took her alone on his back. He padded into the camp slowly.

Several cats were settled in the clearing, eating or talking to one another. When Iceslide arrived with Lilynose's body, the cats let out shocked gasps and cries. 

"Lilynose!" Petalfin gasped.

"Oh no!"

"What happened?"

Iceslide rested Lilynose's body in the center of the camp and stepped back, hanging his head.

"Lilynose!" Shimmerstar let out a shriek from where she was sitting with Salmonstripe. The two cats ran to their daughter. "No!" She let out a wail of grief, crouching and pressing her nose into Lilynose's fur. Salmonstripe pressed against Shimmerstar, his eyes lit with grief.

Creekleap slowly padded over, his yellow eyes wide. "She... She's dead..?" He slowly crouched beside his sister, hanging his head. The clan circled the body, murmuring and wailing.

After a long moment, Shimmerstar stood, swallowing and looking at Iceslide. He could tell she was struggling to look strong in front of her clan. "How did this happen?" She rasped. Salmonstripe, Creekleap, and the rest of the clan looked at him anxiously.

"She..." Iceslide felt numb. "She was hit by a monster." He waited for someone to ask where this happened, as the nearest thunderpaths were in twolegplace or on the border of ThunderClan and ShadowClan. But the clan seemed to shocked to think about this.

Shimmerstar sighed and licked Lilynose's forehead. "Oh, Lilynose," She whispered. "What will I do without you?" Creekleap shifted closer to his mother, and she pulled him close. Maplesky and Otterpelt sat near the family, waiting quietly to prepare her body for the vigil.

Iceslide was exhausted and numb with grief. But he wasn't going to sleep. He owed Lilynose his respect. He would stay awake all night with her body. He stared at her, his heart breaking. It's all my fault... I'm so sorry, Lilynose...