Edited ✔️

By the morning, Icetail returned to camp, a little tired. It was barely dawn, so he was grateful for that as he and Sharpfang silently padded in the camp. Sweetheart, Silverleaf, Graywing and Sagepelt were all awake, quietly sharing tongues with each other and talking softly.

Their Clanmates were all still asleep, and those who idled around the clearing tried to remain as quiet as possible. He immediately caught Silverleaf's concerned gaze as he emerged through the camp entrance.

"There you two are!" she meowed with concern, padding up to his side. "I woke up and realized you were gone, and I was worried for a moment, Icetail . . ."

"Sharpfang and I were just looking around for good places to hunt," he lied, turned to the senior warrior. "CloudClan might be good. I should send a patrol there soon."

"Wait, Icetail," Silverleaf said. Icetail turned to her and looked down to her blue eyes. "Yesterday when you said you already ate, you really didn't, did you? I asked Sweetheart if you two shared prey, but she said no."

Icetail guiltily looked down. "Sorry. You and Dawnstripe looked hungry, I can't just let that pass."

"You're hungry too," she mewed, "I would've given you the prey. You know that."

"I'm fine," Icetail said. "Don't worry about me. I'll catch myself something to eat soon. I'm not that hungry, anyways."

Silverleaf searched his gaze, concerned. "Okay . . ."

He nodded. "Want to patrol with me today?"

"Sure," she meowed. "I'll start waking every cat up."

She gave him one last look of concern before making her way to the warriors den. He watched her as she gently woke her brother, Squirreltail, first, and then she went on to Redsky and the other warriors. He turned to Sagepelt and Sharpfang. The two were silently talking as they padded to the nursery.

Icetail sighed and looked at Sweetheart. "How's Swiftbreeze and Fireshade?" he asked the medicine cat, worried. He didn't want any more of his Clanmates to die.

"They're both getting better," Sweetheart murmured. "Come, want to see them? I've given them both medicine for whitecough in case it develops, and they seem to be improving. But if I had more herbs though, they'd be healing much quicker."

"We'll need to send out an herb-collecting patrol soon," Icetail commented. He looked inside the medicine den to see Swiftbreeze and Fireshade. The two were talking to each other, not looking that sick anymore. Though, every once in a while, Swiftbreeze would cough while Fireshade sniffled.

They seem to be recovering, he thought.

Grayfur padded up beside Icetail. "Can I lead a patrol?" she asked. "Silverleaf woke almost every cat."

"Sure," he replied. "Lead a border patrol by StreamClan. You can pick any cats you want to take."

Grayfur nodded and went to the warrior's den, already choosing three other warriors to take with her: Ashtail, Redsky and Hawkheart. Icetail went to the center of the clearing, and called everyone out of their dens when he saw that they were awake to assign the dawn patrols.

"Dawnstripe," Icetail meowed, "take your apprentice and a few other cats with you to DarkClan's borders to mark. You know what to do when you see them; make sure you do not engage, no matter what. Can you also call the watch patrol back to camp?"

"Sure," Dawnstripe said. "Come on, Goldenpaw, we're going on a patrol. Shiningmoon, you should come with me. The less cats there'll be, the easier it is to hide."

"Volefur, take a hunting patrol near MarshClan," Icetail went on. "Skypelt, Blackpaw, you two should go with him." He felt energetic even though he was awake most of the night. It's all because of Sharpfang's encouraging words, he thought. I completely misjudged him!

"I'll take a patrol," Brightstar meowed, padding into the clearing out of her den. Her blue eyes reflected the rising sun's light, and her white pelt was an ungroomed mess. "I want to lead a hunting patrol near DarkClan. I'll take Rainwhisker and Petalfur with me."

Icetail nodded, knowing that he was unable to reject his leader's wishes anyway. "Alright. And I'll lead a border patrol near CloudClan," he meowed. "Silverleaf, Flameheart and Amberpaw will come with me."

"I can lead a hunting patrol," Sharpfang offered. "Shadowheart can come with me."

"That's barely a hunting patrol," meowed Brightstar. "You need at least three cats with you."

Swiftbreeze clambered into the clearing. "I know I'm not in my best condition right now, but I can go," she offered. "I feel stuffy just by staying in camp all day. Maybe a good run in the forest can clear my coughs."

"I'm okay with that," Sweetheart said. "I do think that Swiftbreeze can improve her health by trying a fresh day outside camp."

"You can go," Icetail said. "And if Fireshade is good too, he can maybe try and help take care of the elders and change their beddings."

"Alright," Sweetheart meowed, "Good thinking."

Brightstar purred to Icetail as he finished settling the Clan matters. "You seem rather lively," she commented. "I'm proud of you, Icetail. You're doing a good job this morning."

* * *

Icetail led his patrol through the undergrowth toward StreamClan. The sun was just above the trees, lighting up the entire forest up with its warm rays. For once this quarter moon, Icetail felt warm by the touch of the radiant light, accepting the feeling that he missed.

Almost every single oak tree in the forest had no leaves anymore, and the birds had already gone. He knew that mice hid in their burrows, and the squirrels slept in their dens. The only chances they would get at catching prey is by sheer skill and silence in moments of time when the prey would come out to eat—otherwise, they would have to go back to the Clan unsuccessful and sleep another day with empty bellies.

Ever since that fight from the gathering, they stole that piece of our territory rich with prey, Icetail thought with anger. We need it back! DarkClan thinks they can do whatever they want, but I have to prove them wrong.

He listened to his surroundings as the heathery scent of CloudClan became more and more clear. He could hear a running lake in the distance somewhere up ahead, along with the tempting tiny scrapes of the squirrels and mice that hid in the trees around him.

Amberpaw turned to Icetail, excited. "Look!" she meowed, pointing up ahead with her tail tip. Icetail turned, and saw two mice barely within the cover of fallen, crippled leaves. There was no wind right now, so the mice couldn't have a chance to scent them just yet.

"Try to catch them," Icetail challenged her. "Let me see how good of a hunter you are."

She nodded. "I'll try."

"Let's watch," Icetail whispered to Flameheart and Silverleaf. They nodded, and the three warriors padded into the undergrowth to watch the apprentice's hunting skills.

Amberpaw had just become an apprentice about two moons ago, so she wasn't the best hunter yet. But with leaf-bare arriving already, she had improved dramatically just for the sake of her Clan. She was a good apprentice, and so were her littermates. Icetail overall liked training her, especially with bunting as she was always filled with determination.

Amberpaw crept up on the mice, her muzzle low and measured out with her body. In a swift movement, she darted from her spot and leaped at the prey. The mice squealed and tried to get away, but Amberpaw's claws hooked onto one of them, killing it. She scrambled after the next, but it already disappeared into a burrow underneath a hawthorn bush.

"Mouse-dung!" Amberpaw spat. "I could've caught that one too."

Icetail padded out of the undergrowth. "What are you frustrated about?" he asked. "You caught the first one. You should be proud."

She slumped back with disappointment. "But I missed the other one! That's totally going to cost the Clan."

Icetail sighed, and Flameheart padded up. "At least you caught the mouse," he commented. "Those was good skills, Amberpaw. I am impressed." He purred, and she nodded gratefully.

"Let's keep going," Silverleaf meowed, continuing their patrol. "The sooner we get back to camp, the sooner you can eat, Icetail."

"I'm not hungry, honestly," Icetail retorted. "It was my choice to give my share to you and Dawnstripe. She's depressed . . . and as hungry as you," he added. "That's not healthy for her."

"She must've really loved Dewstar," murmured Silverleaf, looking down to her paws. "I feel bad for her. If it were you who left to join the enemy Clan to take over ours, I'd be devastated." He was about to tell her how he'd never do that, but he suddenly got interrupted.

"Icetail," Flameheart called softly. He was peering over an elder bush. Amberpaw was right beside him. "There's a DarkClan patrol walking in CloudClan territory."

Icetail bristled. "What? Who's leading the patrol?" he asked, silently padded forward to sit beside his friend. He looked and spotted a tom that he didn't know. Relief filled his belly. Not Dewstar, he thought with approval. But CloudClan isn't going to like this!

"What are they doing?" asked Silverleaf quietly, inching in next to Amberpaw. "It's unusual for DarkClan to cross into CloudClan."

"It's not unusual for DarkClan to trespass into any Clan," Flameheart retorted.

Icetail stood up. "Try not to be seen to well, but let's start marking the border," he ordered. "I don't want them to accidentally step over to our side." He padded to the start of the MoonClan border, and began to mark from the hawthorn bush from earlier.

The rest of his patrol crept from the undergrowth, and began to do as ordered. As he marked, he kept an eye on the DarkClan cats as they trekked through the territory. He watched as a white figure ran from a rabbit hole and into the moor. Immediately, one of the DarkClan cats began to chase after the rabbit, with the other three following close behind.

That rabbit is so fast! he thought with awe, staring with his eyes wide. Do CloudClan cats actually chase them? Icetail knew that no other Clan was faster than CloudClan. Their muscles were built for running—they were faster than any rabbit that Icetail had ever seen. But the DarkClan cats weren't going fast enough.

He stopped watching them and continued to mark his side of the border. DarkClan hunting on CloudClan is their problem, not mine, he decided. I have MoonClan to take care of. I might as well leave it at that.

He worked his way towards a dead birch tree, and just as he saw that the borders were marked strongly enough, he left and padded over to Silverleaf. As soon as he saw her, he felt guilty. He had never once told her about his role in the prophecy. He hadn't even been talking to Flameheart about his recent discoveries. He knew deep down that he had to tell them pretty soon, or else they might find out and lose their trust in him.

Silverleaf looked up. "What are you doing here, Icetail? Are you done with your side?" she asked.

Icetail nodded, snapping out of his thoughts. "I am. Where's Amberpaw and Flameheart?" He looked around, and spotted his apprentice digging up for her mouse. He beckoned her over, and she trotted up, holding the prey between her teeth by its tail.

Flameheart padded up to them from behind Icetail. "I am right here. I finished my portion of the borders. What do we do now?" He tilted his head.

"I finished too," Amberpaw added, her mew muffled.

Icetail looked down to his paws in thought. He didn't want to tell Amberpaw about the prophecy, but he certainly wanted Silverleaf and Flameheart to know. After all, he finally found some kind of answer. Now was the right time to fill them in. Flameheart deserved to know due to his prior knowledge of it, and Silverleaf . . . well, she was Icetail's mate. It would be wrong to keep things a secret.

"Well?" Flameheart asked. "We haven't got all day."

Icetail nodded, knowing what he had to do. "Amberpaw, go to camp ahead of us and see if Fireshade needs help with the elders. We'll follow behind."

"Oh, okay," Amberpaw mewed, beginning to pad away. When he made sure she was gone, Icetail sighed deeply and sat down in front of his mate and friend.

"Listen," he said to the both of them. "There's something I must tell you."

"Tell us what?" Silverleaf asked, tilting her head.

Flameheart's eyes narrowed. "You have another answer to the prophecy, don't you, Icetail?" he asked. Flameheart's she searched Icetail's gaze, so he simply nodded.

"Prophecy?" Silverleaf's voice peaked with interest, her wide eyes watching Icetail intently.

"Yes, that's right," Icetail murmured. Silverleaf, confused, stared at Icetail. "I talked to Sharpfang about it—"

"You told Sharpfang?" Flameheart cut off. "You freely just . . . told him?"

"Icetail, Flameheart, I have not the slightest idea what is going on," Silverleaf snapped. "Tell me, I'm so confused!" Her blue eyes started to gleam with frustration.

Icetail sighed. He began to explain to her what he told Sharpfang the other night. Silverleaf listened with quiet shock as Icetail spilled to her his deepest secret—the prophecy of darkness. Flameheart took it all in, nodding gravely. He already knew about this. But when Icetail started telling him the things that he didn't know, Flameheart looked surprised as well.

Finally, he was telling them what he wanted to say all along. "And yesterday, I was sure that I was the enemy that the prophecy foretold—the one who will certainly destroy."

Silverleaf's claws sunk into the ground the ground. "You wouldn't do that!"

"But what do you have to say about that?" asked Flameheart, his gaze cool and collected. "You avoided admitting to me the truth for moons and moons. But it seems like you have some kind of answer."

Icetail looked at his friend. "Sharpfang gave me the answer," he said, his voice getting lower. "Dewstar is the leader of the darkness, as leader of the Clan. But I will destroy it, along with DarkClan!"

Relief filled into Silverleaf's eyes. But Flameheart wasn't getting sympathetic just yet. "How do you know for certain that you will succeed?" he prompted. "How are you going to defeat the darkness?"

Icetail froze. How will I? he thought with sudden dread.

"In order to defeat the darkness," Brightstar's voice rose up from the bramble thickets, "we must defeat them in war."

"Brightstar!" Icetail exclaimed. "You were listening?"

"Amberpaw told me that you had sent her back to camp early when I asked her where you all were. I came here out of curiosity. I didn't expect to overhear this." Brightstar's tail flicked with interest. "The war between DarkClan and MoonClan has quieted down because they simply have a new leader. That one fight at the gathering two moons ago was simply Dewstar's test on our strength."

"How do you know all of this?" Icetail demanded.

"Every ambitious leader has the same intentions," Brightstar responded.

"But you're not ambitious like he is!" exclaimed Silverleaf.

"I was," Brightstar meowed. "But I grew old. And with age comes experience and understanding." She paused and looked up to the sky. "Now, I am positive that Dewstar will re-declare war. Once he does, we might have a huge battle, bigger than anything we have ever faced."

"But Brightstar—" Icetail began, but he was cut off by his leader.

"I've seen it in a dream when I first earned my nine lives seasons ago," Brightstar went on. "I saw the battle happening. I never knew when that battle would occur, but one thing I know for certain is how close it truly is to us now."

Icetail's eyes were wide. But Featherbreeze hinted to me that I can resolve this and avoid battle! he thought, his heart filling with dread. She told me that I mustn't sink to Dewstar's level. And all my leader sees is battle to resolve this conflict!

"Brightstar, I don't think fighting is the only way to fix this," Icetail expressed. "There can be another way."

"We can't talk our enemies to death," Brightstar snorted. "We have to start preparing every cat. Now I know that Dewstar is going to attack us soon, and we must be ready at all costs."

Icetail exchanged a worried glance with Silverleaf. Battle is the last thing that I wanted to happen! Oh StarClan, is there any way to prevent this?