It was a chilly leaf-bare night. Browning leaves rustled as a cruel wind whipped the frosty air. Far off, an owl hooted. The stars of Silverpelt hid behind a thick veil of fog. Dark gray clouds covered the crescent moon. Behind the layer of darkness, rays of orange light could be seen rising from behind a snowy mountain. Its summit was covered in a thick coat of white, thinning out as the land stretched downhill. Nestled into the side of the slope was a large clearing protected by mighty pine trees. A camp.

In SnowClan's nursery, drafts of wind blew through the entrance. A tiny, white kit fluffed her pelt. She snuggled closer to her mother.

"Icekit, stop," the gray she-cat hissed, shoving the kitten to the other side of the nest.  "Tomorrow the apprentices will build you your own nest. You move around far too much."

"But, mama, I'm so cold," Icekit complained, shivering.

"That's your problem," Rainwhisker growled, turning her back to the poor kit.

Icekit sighed loudly.  She knew arguing was not going to do any good.  It would just get her into more trouble.

Suddenly, Amberwing sat up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes.  "What's going on? Is it sun-up already?" Her tired, amber gaze flitted from Rainwhisker to Icekit.

"Just about. Icekit is-" Rainwhisker shook her head, "having trouble sleeping," she muttered quieter.

"Oh well, she's still a kit," Amberwing responded. She gave her pelt a quick grooming before peering around the nursery's brambles. "It's already dawn. I can take Icekit outside to play if you want."

Rainwhisker glanced at the nursery entrance, then down at her kit. A pale glow could be seen through the clearing clouds. "Okay." She paused for a second. "Thanks."

Icekit followed Amberwing out of the nursery. A coat of fresh, white snow covered the ground. Icicles hung from the tops of dens and tree branches. Icekit noticed that a cluster of warriors were gathered by the camp entrance.

"What should we do?" Glacierheart asked, his voice full of apprehension. His pale blue eyes were opened wide as he looked up.

"I don't know," Hawkspirit responded, walking over to his brother. "It looks dangerous."

"Dangerous? What's dangerous?" Icekit meowed, clearly confused. The branch that covered the camp entrance was covered in long, pretty icicles. They shined brightly in the sun. What was wrong with them?

"Icekit," Amberwing began, "if those icicles fall, someone could get badly injured. Look at how sharp they are." Icekit turned back to the icicles, and sure enough, the ends were pointed directly at the ground, only a tail-length away from Glacierheart. The light being reflected off the ice seemed creepy and dangerous now. She could just picture them falling on her clanmates.

"What are we going to do about them?" Icekit ventured.

"I don't quite know," Amberwing answered honestly. Seeing Icekit's worried expression she added, "don't worry. The warriors will make sure no one gets hurt."

Icekit nodded in understanding, but decided she would keep an eye on the fatal spikes hanging from the tree branches around camp. "Do you want to play moss-ball?" she asked, changing the subject. She hoped Amberwing would say yes.

Instead the ginger queen just laughed. Her bright pelt and cheery laughter made her stand out in the endless layer of white coldness. I don't know how she catches any prey when she hunts. They probably see her coming from all the way across the territory. And if they don't spot her, they definitely hear her. Icekit let out a giggle at the image forming in her mind. Then she remembered the game.

"Please?" she begged, widening her eyes.

"Alright, if you're sure you want me to," Amberwing finally replied, an enthusiastic smile spreading across her face. "Why don't you go, um, get the moss. It's been so long since I last played this game."

Icekit grinned and raced over to the grand oak. It was a huge tree that made up a corner of SnowClan's camp. Covered in moss and twigs to keep out the cold air was a fallen branch, the apprentice's den. Icekit found a large patch of moss just above the tree's roots. Perfect! The tips of her paws were cold from the icy water that was soaked into the moss. Not caring a bit, she clawed at the bark until a large chunk of moss fell to the ground. She loosely chunked it together into a more compact shape.

With the new moss-ball, she raced back to Amberwing. Icekit threw the clump of frozen moss at her and she chuckled. The flimsy ball landed at Amberwing's paws, spraying up cold droplets of water. She shivered a bit, but only fluffed her pelt out more. Her glowing eyes were alight as she scooped it up. Then she sent the moss-ball sailing towards Icekit. Before she could catch it, Icekit heard loud pawsteps and turned around quickly.

Rainwhisker stepped out of the nursery. "Amberwing," she gasped. "What are you doing?"

Amberwing glanced at Icekit before turning to meet Rainwhisker's icy blue eyes. "We were just playing a simple game of moss-ball."

"Icekit is capable of playing on her own."

"Yes, but I'm sure she gets lonely with no siblings or other kits around."

A growl rose in Rainwhisker's throat, but she didn't let it out. "You should just rest. I'll take care of my own kit."

Amberwing nodded slowly, her gaze faltering. "I guess." She walked back into the nursery giving Icekit a weak smile. Once Amberwing had disappeared, Rainwhisker faced Icekit with a look of pure hatred on her face. What have I done now? Actually, what did I ever do? She's always angry with me. It's as if I am such a bad daughter. I guess I do move around in my sleep or ask her to play with me. Maybe I complain once in a while. I don't think I've ever done things that she needs to treat me this badly for. Or have I?

Her mother's angry words cut through her thoughts. "Why were you making Amberwing play kit games?  You do realize she's a nursing queen. She needs to rest, not play your stupid games. As a matter of fact, no one should be playing your stupid games," Rainwhisker lectured. "You don't deserve any friends!" Through her cruel tone and slit eyes it was nearly impossible to understand what was running through her mother's mind, but for just a sliver of a second, Icekit caught something. What was that? I could see it in her eyes. It was some other emotion. Sadness. Could it even be possible for Rainwhisker to be sad. Jealousy. Guilt. Fear. None of it made sense, but there was something laying underneath her mother's outrage. She isn't just angry with me. She's angry about something else... Looking up at the gray queen again, all Icekit could see were piercing, dark blue eyes full of contempt. "You stupid mouse-brain! All you ever think about is yourself. You just don't understand how many lives you are ruining!" Those last words clung to her, lives she was ruining.

Rainwhisker took a long breath in. Icekit did not dare to speak. At last Rainwhisker turned around and stomped into the nursery, leaving Icekit in the cold. She sat down, and considered her mother's words. Am I really a mouse-brain? Do I truly not deserve any friends at all? Surely it isn't possible that I'm ruining others' lives. What had I  done? Tears welled in Icekit's eyes as she tried to push away her mother's words. 

I'm cold. She put reality back into place. I'm sitting in snow so of course I'm cold. Should I go back into the nursery? All I want is to snuggle up with someone warm and drink some milk. But Rainwhisker isn't going to care for me like that. No, she will never be there for me. Maybe I don't know why, but I know that she hates me. If she doesn't want me, I'll find other people that want me. Yes, that's what I'll do. I'll show my mother that I don't need her either.

"Hi, Icekit." She looked up to see her father, Blizzardmoon, smiling at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Icekit answered quietly, blinking back tears.

Blizzardmoon sat down and began to lick Icekit's pelt. "I saw what happened. Rainwhisker, that evil badger. I don't know how I ever loved her." He spat Rainwhisker's name, as if it were a poisonous snake.

Icekit leaned closer to her father. His pelt was so warm. If only he could be the mother and Rainwhisker the father. Still, a question filled her mind and finally she decided to ask it. "Blizzardmoon, do you think I'm a selfish mouse-brain?"

"Of course not! You're a wonderful daughter. Don't listen to your mother. She doesn't know what it feels like to be truly loved," Blizzardmoon responded.  Seeing Icekit's disappointed look he added, "Do you want to come eat with some warriors?"

Icekit stood up and smiled.  "Yes."

Blizzardmoon picked up a juicy mouse from the fresh-kill pile, and padded over to his brothers, Hawkspirit and Glacierheart. "Can Icekit and I join you?" he asked, grinning.

"Sure," Glacierheart replied. He gestured for Icekit to sit down. "Hello, Icekit. Aren't you lucky that you get to eat with us today?" His voice was playful.

Icekit laughed. "When I'm a warrior, I'll invite all the kits to sit with me!" She tried to forget about her mother and focus on Blizzardmoon and his kind brothers.

"We'll see about that," Glacierheart chuckled.  He bit into the mountain hare he was sharing with Hawkspirit.

"Would you like some mouse, now?" Blizzardmoon asked, ripping a small piece off of the prey. He checked it for bones, before giving it to Icekit.

"Yay! I get to eat like a warrior too,"  Icekit exclaimed. She had never had fresh-kill before as she normally drank milk from Rainwhisker. She stuck the brown piece of prey into her mouth and chewed slowly. She didn't want to start choking in front of the warriors. "Mmm!"

Blizzardmoon purred and bit into his own mouse.

"What a grown up kit!" Glacierheart exclaimed with a wink.

"Icekit," Rainwhisker called from the nursery. Her gaze swept across the camp until it landed on her kit.

"I'm right here, mama," Icekit replied, standing up. Rainwhisker walked over to the warriors.

"Blizzardmoon," she hissed through gritted teeth.

"Hi, Rainwhisker. How are you doing?" The white tom stood up calmly to face his former mate.

"Stop trying to act nice with me! You're a mouse-brain if you think I'm going to trust you again!" Her stormy, blue eyes were cold. Icekit shivered and backed away.

Blizzardmoon lashed his tail angrily. "I was just saying hello. Is mouse-brain what you call everyone? Because with such a limited vocabulary I'd say you're the mouse-brain here."

Rainwhisker growled, but had the self control to stay where she was. She wrapped her tail around herself as she tried to keep quiet.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I was just spending some time with my daughter," Blizzardmoon continued. "In case you didn't know, I'm still her father."

Rainwhisker glared at him.

"I didn't ask for this!" Blizzardmoon snapped, trying to control his temper. Looking up to Rainwhisker's glaring eyes and angry face, he lost it. "I hate it! I hate this situation! I hate what happened! But guess what, she's here and as much as you don't like it, I'm her father."

"I'm the mother! I nurse her. She wouldn't be alive if it weren't for me."

"If it weren't for you then maybe this whole situation wouldn't have happened!"

"Hey!" Fernstar shouted from her seat on top of Highrock. She gracefully leaped down and padded over to the quarreling warriors. "I thought you two were over this. If you want to argue, go out in the forest. No one wants to hear it, especially after what happened three moons ago. And will you ever take the time to care for your poor kit?"

Icekit stood off to the side wide-eyed with her fur fluffed out. Why did her parents always have to argue? And about me? They're talking about me, are they not? Rainwhisker says I ruined her life... What if I really did? What did I do? What could I have ever done?  Fernstar gently approached Icekit and wrapped her tail around the shivering kit.

"What can I do if Blizzardmoon wants to take my kit away without telling me?" Rainwhisker asked.

"If you didn't want someone to help her, why would you leave her outside in the snow?" Blizzardmoon retorted.

"Both of you, go!" Fernstar interrupted. "Come back when you're ready to treat each other like clanmates!" She pointed her tail towards the forest of pine trees.

"This is entirely your fault, Blizzardmoon! Now Fernstar's angry!" Rainwhisker hissed, stomping towards the camp entrance. Blizzardmoon hesitated, but wasn't going to let his former mate win the argument. He followed after her with another ugly remark. The whole clan was now watching as the two left camp.

Fernstar sighed as their voices became distant. "Why did you send them away?" Icekit asked trembling.

"Your parents have been arguing for far too long. It's not like they have to be mates anymore; they just need to treat each other like clanmates," Fernstar explained.

"What do you mean, they've been arguing for far too long?"

Fernstar took in a long breath. "It's a long story."

"Why can't you tell me? I already know they don't love each other anymore." Her fur stood on end as she hoped the clan leader would give her answers.

"I'm sorry, Icekit. I promise I will tell you one day... Just not today..." Fernstar's voice trailed away. Icekit looked up to see her green eyes glancing into the distance as if she was in a trance and she wondered why no one would tell her the truth. She knew there was more to her parent's relationship. They weren't even mates anymore, which meant something bad had happened. Suddenly a new thought struck her. What if I'm the reason my parents aren't together anymore? What if I did something bad to separate them?

Suddenly she found herself feeling dizzy and sick. She leaned into Fernstar, her head spinning. The leader jerked back to reality as the cold kit pressed against her flank. "Are you okay, Icekit?" She did not know how to answer and just nodded uneasily.