The clan is already tracking the scent. I don't question the orders I've been given, I just do them. Foxsong is at the head of my party, seething and swearing wildly. "Fox dung! I knew I shouldn't trust that shifty, dog-brained, foxhearted..." She trails off, still yelling. I flinch a bit, eyes misty and pained. Yes, she's a traitor. Yes, she's leading rogues against us. Not only was she my friend, but I trained with her. I trusted her.

Right now, I could be with her, running free in the forest. Free, a rogue and possibly the deputy of a brand-new clan, prosecuted by everyone who I once loved.

No, I could never do that. Even though a lot of cats I loved have moved on, they would want me to stay here with them.

Looking at Firepaw, who's in another patrol, I smile. Maybe not all the cats I love are dead. Not just him, but my brothers. Littlepaw and Flintpaw are both healthy, strong toms, even if I don't talk to Littlepaw and he's a bit of a runt. It's not really a big deal, I love him all the same.

The leafbare air freezes in my throat as Foxsong walks into the forest. I follow tentatively, Talonfall at my side. He's almost like a second mentor, being the only cat who was there with me when Wolfstar and Pinepaw died. Lilypaw, fortunately, is in another patrol. Unfortunately, this 'other patrol' is with Mothstar. Attention hog.

Shadowpaw is folding herbs, like usual. I feel guilty about not talking to her, but then Moonblaze nudges me. "We're going, Icepaw."

I look up at her, blue eyes confused, my mew plaintive, "Oh. Of course."

I follow her into the forest, watching the forest fall below me as I run. We reach the edge of DragonClan quickly, quicker than I expected. I never realized how close the camp is to the now DragonClan territory which was once another clan's, the extinct ScarletClan. It's all high grass, and even in the cold, it feels warm, like Owlfeather's touch. She died here, crushed beneath a tractor. I tremble a bit as I pass through the grass, Talonfall watching over me like a father. It makes me feel safer.

We walk past the tall wheat and high grass back into the forest, and I realize he's twined his tail with mine. I blink, and then release it, dull eyes looking up at him.

"Come on. It's not that much further." He reassures me, and then finally we reach a river. The scent is overwhelmingly strong now, and Foxsong darts ahead.

As we round the riverbed, I see it, eyes wide. A camp full of cats, cats no larger than young warriors at oldest. Shouting orders from a nearby rock is none other than- Cinderpaw. She turns to look at me, eyes wide in what could be pure hate or delight. "Icepaw!" She says warmly, as if we were still clanmates.

Swiftly, cats pour into the camp. It's not as many as I had hoped- just another patrol of four. Fortunately, it's the one with Mothstar on it. Mothstar, Lilypaw, Littlepaw and Thunderclap rush forwards, claws sheathed but fangs bared.

"Why don't we make this easy on you. Cinderpaw, back down. You need to come home."

Cinderpaw ruffles her fur. "It's Cinderstar now."

"StarClan would never give an apprentice nine lives."

"StarClan didn't." Cinderstar says, and for a second, I see the gleam of madness in her eyes and know she isn't lying. She really got nine lives from... them. Silentpelt stands behind her, invisible to all but my guilty eyes.

Maybe FrostClan was right after all.

"If you don't step down, we will have to use force." Mothstar announces, fur rippling with rage.

"I'm not scared." Cinderstar lies.

Littlepaw, screeching, runs forwards, claws unsheathed to attack her. He bounds up the rock where she stands, aiming to strike her, and her claws unsheathe. The terrible sound of blood splattering the ground is accompanied by the dull thud as Littlepaw's still form lies there, dead.

My knees shake, eyes wide. No no no. He can't be dead. He can't be.

Cinderstar is just as shocked as I am. "I-I-I... you're next." She bares her teeth. "Get out of my camp!"

Foxsong runs at her, and Everkit bats her aside. Now apprentice age, his muscles ripple with savage strength. "Everstone, attack! StoneClan, attack!"

It's worse than I thought. It's at least fifteen cats, and although they are young, they are fast and powerful. Some have the dank smell of DarkClan- that's where she got so many cats, cats willing to follow the rule of the Dark Forest.

"DRAGONCLAN, ATTACK!" Mothstar yells.

The two sides rush forwards, with Mothstar darting through them, suddenly fighting three cats at once. She uses her tail and all her claws at once, spinning and yowling for blood. Foxsong is locked in combat with a silvery cat who smells of herbs, possibly their medicine cat. I can barely see the others, but I fight where I can, trying to fend off a single cat.

"Aim for the feet!" Cinderstar commands, she and another cat attacking Talonfall. I disengage with the red tom I'm fighting now and run to help him.

I manage to strike off the other cat, and now I'm face to face with Cinderstar. "You can join us!" She says between strikes, not hitting me but dodging gracefully.

"You killed my brother!" I say, tears streaming openly down my face.

She swipes me back the second I lower my guard. I'm no match for her. Blood trickles down my face, and the last thing I see is her shaking her head, disappointed and Talonfall's cry, "ICEPAW!"

I wake up in the medicine cat den. Maybe it was a dream. Maybe if it wasn't, Lilypaw died instead. I think that would be better anyways. The wounds tell me, regretfully, it wasn't a dream. Lilypaw bouncing through the clearing tells me that neither assumption was true. "Fox dung." I hiss under my breath.

She sticks her head into the medicine cat den. "You missed the ceremony!"

"Don't tell me your a warrior now!" I groan.

"No, Hawkpaw's an apprentice! You missed it. I told him you didn't care enough to wake up." I seethe in savage rage.

Volcanoheart sees this and shoos her out. "The last thing I need is a yappy, annoying apprentice with the sense of a squirrel riling up my patients. Please go away."

She looks offended before dashing off. I chuckle inwardly, still angry.

Hawkpaw looks at me, his head cocked. "Hey, Icepaw! Will you train with me?"

"Of course." I say, relieved he visited, "and don't believe what Lilypaw says. I will always love you."

"I wish you two could get along."

"I wish she wasn't a female dog." I say, and then walk out of camp without Volcanoheart's approval, my fur turned a pale orange by this world of falling leaves.