Spottedrose padded quickly back through Breezeclan territory, Bearpaw only a few paces behind her. She was still buzzing with conflicting emotions from her encounter with Blizzardstar near the border. Bearpaw had questioned her about the strange Iceclan scent on their territory but she didn't give anything away.  She could hear Bearpaw muttering behind her as they traveled quickly over the rolling hills on the way back to camp.

"It just seems weird to me that there was such fresh IceClan scent and you didn't want to go looking for them," Bearpaw meowed, "the other apprentices always brag about pouncing on enemy patrols at the border."  Spottedrose flashed a glance back towards him as they crested the massive hill that led to the lush valley that BreezeClan called home.

As they neared the entrance, a spiny tunnel of thorn branches among the foliage; the hustle and bustle of her clanmates could be heard outside the barrier. "It sounds like they are practicing battle moves in there." Bearpaw mewed enviously. Spottedrose flicked her tail over her apprentice's ear. "Your battle moves are fine." she mewed a little more harshly than she intended. Bearpaw was a little too keen to practice fighting than she liked. She preferred him to practice hunting or to help her patrol the border.

As the pair entered camp, an orange tabby pelt flew backwards at Spottedrose, bowling her over. "Foxstreak!" she hissed angrily, shoving the orange she-cat off of her. Bearpaw was giggling just behind, making her feel even more embarrassed.

Foxstreak stood quickly, shaking out her orange tabby striped fur. "Sorry Spottedrose! I didn't expect Snakefang to kick me so hard." she puffed, turning to inspect her left flank for scratches.

"Well maybe he should be more careful." she growled as she looked over at the black and white tom. He was sneering at Foxstreak from the center of the clearing, his venomous green eyes flashing with triumph.  The rest of Breezeclan were crowded around the edge of the clearing, watching the battle practice with eager expressions.

"Now it's your turn to practice your battle moves." Nightvolt mewed as he approached Spottedrose from the crowd.  The gray tabby tom was thick with muscle, his black stripes crisscrossed with scars from past skirmishes.  Spottedrose felt uneasy at the thought of practicing battle moves with Nightvolt. Sometimes he could be a ruthless fighter.

"I think that's enough for today." a strong, confident voice called from the shelter of a large, shadowy holly bush. It was Oakstar, sitting at the entrance to his den. He must have been watching Nightvolt from his perch.  "You may all carry on with your assigned duties." he meowed as the clan dispersed.  The senior warriors stood and started to pad towards Oakstar; clearly not intending to join patrols like the other warriors.

Most of the warriors padded away to leave on patrol.  A few disappeared back into their den, hidden in a thick weave of bracken at the edge of the clearing.  Bearpaw and Vinepaw, the only apprentices, padded over to their den. It was a snow covered scoop in the earthen floor. One of the large trees that surrounded camp bent downwards, protecting the apprentice's den from any wind or weather.  Dappledleaf, the only elder, returned to her nest in the elder's den.  The fallen, hollow log was a perfect resting place for any elderly warriors.

"Our skills are improving greatly. Soon we will be ready to take our vengeance on Iceclan." Oakstar mewed softly as the senior warriors began to huddle around him. Spottedrose quickly padded over and was hovering just far enough away that she could eavesdrop but not be noticed.

The deputy, Hailstorm, as well as the two most senior warriors, Rockclaw and Snakefang, were tightly huddled around Oakstar. Their tails were whipping back and fourth and their shoulders were hunched in secrecy.

"When will we arrange a battle patrol to send over the border?" Hailstorm mewed in a hushed tone.

Oakstar lifted his paw and rested it on Hailstorm's shoulder, "We will give them a false sense of security for now and strike at the next full moon." he mewed. Spottedrose could see his leaf green eyes sparkling with excitement. Since Lilybloom had died, he had been wild and relentless for his inevitable revenge on Blizzardstar and the whole of Iceclan. It was only natural for a leader to be torn over the loss of their medicine cat.

Suddenly, Oakstar's gaze focused on Spottedrose. "Shouldn't you be taking Bearpaw out to practice his fighting skills?" he called, a gentle warning in his tone.

She shook out her fur, embarrassed at being caught by her father. But I'm not a naughty kit, she thought angrily. "We just got back from patrolling the border!" she mewed angrily, flicking her tail in defiance.

Her fur burned even hotter as Oakstar's gaze hardened. He pushed past Snakefang and Rockclaw, padding forward until he stood in front of Spottedrose.

"I know how you feel about this whole thing, but if you just do as I say there won't be any issues," he mewed under his breath, "our clanmates already think I favor you." His tail flicked around to touch her flank but she flinched away.

"It's just so pointless to keep fighting," she hissed, "all it does is bring more death!" She had voiced her opinion about this more than a pawful of times but it seemed like her father never wanted to listen.

"I know it seems like that, but it's what needs to be done. I know what is best for our clan." Oakstar grunted.

Spottedrose could tell that he was becoming frustrated; like he always did when they discussed the topic. "Now, if you don't want to take Bearpaw out to practice fighting techniques, you can go with Willowleaf and Vinepaw. They are going hunting at the stream." he dismissed her, his voice stern and commanding.

Spottedrose growled softly, feeling rebellious in the face of her father.  A soft voice reached Spottedrose from across the clearing, calling her into the shade of some ferns.  It was Dewdrop, the new head medicine cat.  Spottedrose slunk over, her ears flat with anger.

"Don't be mad at Oakstar," Dewdrop mewed kindly as Spottedrose sat down beside her, "he is a wise, noble leader.  He will lead us down the right path."  The silver and white she-cat was looking at Spottedrose intently, clearly hoping the young warrior would understand.  "But we need to stop fighting." Spottedrose persisted.

Dewdrop huffed, "But fighting is our way of life.  Lilybloom was my mentor, I want her death avenged just as much as Oakstar does."  Spottedrose just stayed silent, clearly not willing to speak any more with the stubborn medicine cat.  How could she ever hope to change her clan mate's minds if she couldn't even convince Dewdrop that there needed to be peace?

Spottedrose turned and padded away, her tail falling down to trail in the dust.  Dewdrop mewed a soft goodbye before turning to her den in the ferns.  In the end, she felt just as wretched and hopeless as she did before her talk with Dewdrop. She vaguely remembered Willowleaf's warm greeting as she joined them for the hunt. She was too busy fuming with resentment towards her superiors.  All my clanmates will suffer from my father's wrath and greed, and no one will even listen to me to stop it. Her thoughts turned dark as Willowleaf led her and Vinepaw out into the forest.