Edited ✔️

A moon later, Icetail thought about the unusual dark day every single night. The thought barely left his mind, and the omen never stopped haunting him.

The days were slow to him, as he wanted them to pass faster, but of course, it wouldn't happen. The prophecy weighed on his shoulders as a burden alone . . . He secretly wished that it was never him who was involved with all this drama. He wished that it were some other cat. But he'd often shake the thought away, knowing how selfish that was.

He padded through the green forest, enjoying the sun on his pelt. It was a little cold that day, so he wanted every single bit of warmth that the forest had to offer; for soon it would be leaf-fall, and then leaf-bare, the coldest season out of all.

A robin chirped within a tree, letting out it's song to the other birds as if claiming its territory. He could hear it, but he couldn't see it. Suddenly, its annoying song stopped, and he heard it squawk in pain. Silverleaf leaped out of the branches from above Icetail, proudly carrying the dead robin in her jaws.

Icetail felt a little amused. "Thank StarClan you caught that annoying thing," he meowed. "It was scaring away all the prey in the forest. I couldn't hear a thing except for that bird!"

Silverleaf dug a hole in the ground and buried it the best she could. "It'll be a good meal," she commented. "And you're right. One reason I decided to catch it is because if it wasn't so loud I wouldn't have killed it in the first place!"

"What's the other part?"

"The Clan could go hungry," she remarked grimly, continuing to pad through the forest. Right now, Icetail, Silverleaf and Shadowheart were on Rainwhisker's moss-collecting patrol near StreamClan's cave of mosses.

At the moment, there were no apprentices. Goldsun, Shiningmoon and Thornheart had become warriors just a few days ago, and the current kits were still too young to become apprentices, so all the warriors were supposed to carry out the apprentice duties until Goldenkit, Amberkit and Blackkit could do them.

Icetail hadn't been to the cave of mosses in moons, let alone talk to Shadowheart properly. He didn't hold his grudge anymore, but in his mind, he still felt a little awkward talking to Shadowheart. He only spoke to the warrior when it was convenient. He hoped that it would change soon, since he wanted to become close to all the warriors of MoonClan despite their differences.

He was walking right behind the two toms with Silverleaf at his side. The cave of mosses was in view in the distance, and he was not eager going inside. Due to terrible past experiences, he was still not fond of tight spaces.

When they got to the cave entrance, he stepped back. "You three go along inside," he offered. "I'll keep guard."

Shadowheart nodded. "That's fine. Good thinking, Icetail."

He dipped his head in a nod and posted right outside the cave.

"I'll stay with him," Silverleaf offered. "Three full grown cats within is a little too small of a space." She sat right beside Icetail, curling her fluffy tail over her paws neatly.

"I don't mind," Rainwhisker said. He crouched down, and gulped in a large amount of breath before crawling within the tunnel swiftly. Icetail could hear Rainwhisker exhale deeply on the other side, letting out the breath he was holding eagerly.

Shadowheart, without another word, followed Rainwhisker.

Icetail kept his gaze out in the distance. The day was getting a little dim. It seemed as if it would rain. The grass smelled like fresh dew, and the sky tasted moist on his tongue. The nearby forest of MoonClan buzzed with prey that was readying itself for the upcoming cold weather.

As he sat in the silence, he spotted a rabbit in the distance within the long grass, hopping around MoonClan's side of the border.

"Watch this," whispered Silverleaf, getting into a crouching position.

Icetail observed as she stealthily stalked towards the rabbit, her tail low on the ground, but high enough not to sweep over it. Her paws didn't make a sound; she was as silent as wind and as graceful as a willow tree gently blowing in a breeze.

When she got close enough to the brown creature, she leaped quickly and close to the ground, booking on to its hindquarters with fully extended claws. The rabbit squealed with surprise and fear, immediately trying to escape, but Silverleaf swiftly clambered over it and dug her teeth into it's neck, delivering a killing bite. The rabbit stopped moving in a matter of seconds.

She padded over, the dead creature limp in her jaws.

"That was great!" he praised her. "You looked so natural out there. A talented hunter already." He purred.

"I think you'd have caught it, too," she remarked. "Besides, you knew it was there before me. I only noticed it because you were looking at it."

"You were still great nonetheless. Say, have you ever tried to catch birds in the sky?" he asked her. When she shook her head, he whispered, "Then watch this."

Nearby, he heard the gentle flapping of the bird's wings close to the ground. Overhead, three birds were flying right above Icetail as if they hadn't sensed him. He wiggled his haunches before he leaped high into the air, and he caught hold onto one of the bird's wings.

It was a dove. Its wings fluttered and spasmed as he grabbed a hold onto the bird's chest, dragging it from the air and onto the ground. He scooped down and bit into its neck, killing it swiftly and easily.

Silverleaf looked amazed. "How could you hear it? You have amazing senses," she complimented.

"No, not really. Ever since it became harder to smell things, I only got better at hearing," he explained. Before Silverleaf could reply, rain started to gently come down—at first, just a few drops, until it became a downpour. "Fox-dung," Icetail muttered.

He hated getting wet.

"I hope Shadowheart and Rainwhisker hurry," Silverleaf said. "I don't like my fur getting wet, either."

He guessed that she could sense his discomfort. He waited for a few moments, wondering when the two warriors would emerge. Icetail felt a little worried, and jumped with surprise when Rainwhisker yowled from inside, "Help!"

Icetail crouched down by the opening of the small tunnel. "What's wrong?" he yelled back. He wondered what was wrong, until he heard it. The rain water was piling up inside the cave, and Shadowheart and Rainwhisker could not get out.

"We're going to drown!" Shadowheart screeched with fear. "The tunnel is blocked!"

Icetail cursed under his breath. "Silverleaf, help me dig out an opening, or at least make the tunnel bigger!" he ordered. "Hurry! The rainwater is going to drown them!"

"On it!" said Silverleaf, beginning to swiftly paw at the muddy ground.

StarClan, don't take my Clanmates from me, please! he silently begged in his mind. I don't want to lose anyone else! He was trying to dig as fast as he could just like Silverleaf was, but it wasn't fast enough. The rain was coming down harder, and Icetail became nervous.

"Are you okay down there?" he called as he pawed at the ground.

There were no replies, and Icetail's heart almost stopped. As fast as he could, he finally made an opening, wondering if the water had overcome his friends and if they had drowned. Please, don't let it be like that! He tried making the hole bigger, just big enough to fit a full-grown cat.

He dipped his head down in the water, holding his breath, and reached for the nearest body, wondering who he had gotten. As fast as he could, he pulled the cat out, realizing it was Shadowheart, who was gasping deeply for air.

He coughed and vomited out water. "R-Rainwhisker sunk to the bottom," Shadowheart meowed weakly. "P-please save him . . ."

"I'll get him. Silverleaf, get Shadowheart somewhere dry!" Icetail said. He leaped into the water, and pushed his way down in Rainwhisker's direction. Despite not knowing how to swim, the fear of losing his Clanmate pushed him forward.

He felt around, and finally found Rainwhisker, but Icetail felt that his breath was coming short. Ever since he traveled down into the tunnels where the Twolegs were constructing things, he inhaled their smoke and couldn't smell and breathe as good as he used to. He looked up out of the opening that he had made, and tried to paddle up with Rainwhisker in his jaws, but it was no use.

Icetail's eyes were beginning to hurt, and his lungs were beginning to ache. Rainwhisker must've been worse for being underwater for so long.

I'm sorry Rainwhisker . . . thought Icetail. I couldn't save you. I couldn't save myself . . . I won't even see Dewfang again. I won't be able to see the outcome of the prophecy of darkness. I'm so sorry.

But before Icetail even fell unconscious, he felt as if he were a kit again, being scooped off the ground by Featherbreeze. He suddenly realized that real fangs had sunken into his scruff. Somebody was pulling him out! In an instant, his thoughts of despair vanished and he burst right out of the water. Icetail gasped deeply for the sweet air, breathing in and out as if he hadn't in breathed years.

He noticed that the cats who had saved him weren't MoonClan cats—they were of StreamClan. He recognized Flower-river and Appledrop.

"Quick!" Flowerriver said to Appledrop. "Take the other tom and check if he's breathing. I'll take care of this one."

Appledrop nodded and dragged Rainwhisker away from the flooding cave of mosses, and pressed his ear to his chest. Then, Appledrop swiftly began pumping Rainwhisker's chest with his two paws, until the tom coughed up water and began to breathe again, despite being unconscious.

Flower-river looked at Icetail in the eye. "Are you okay?" she asked him, and he nodded. "Dizzy?" He nodded again.

"H-how . . . did you know we were under there?" he asked weakly.

"I saw the water rising up too swiftly, so we thought there must have been cats under," Flowerriver explained. "You two were lucky."

Icetail nodded, grateful. He was too weak to speak. He looked in the distance, and he recognized Brightstar pounding towards the area, with Flameheart and Redsky following behind as quick as they could run. Icetail was grateful that his Clanmates were coming. He guessed that Silverleaf had gotten help. He could make her out as she followed the group as fast as her paws could take her.

Icetail gathered his strength and walked towards Rainwhisker. It hurts to breathe, Icetail thought as he looked down at his Clanmate. Rainwhisker must've felt worse.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get you out so fast," he rasped to Rainwhisker with sadness. "I bet you're hurting too."

Rainwhisker's ear twitched, but his eyes didn't open. "I-it does hurt," he responded weakly. "I-I saw StarClan . . . I really did. But the vision went away when I felt you try and save me—and then everything went b-black."

Icetail realized that Rainwhisker was cold. "We need to get somewhere dry," he pointed out. "Can you stand?"

"N-no," Rainwhisker shivered. "Let me rest."

Icetail nodded and stood over him to shield him from the rain just as Brightstar arrived. She looked back and forth between Icetail, Rainwhisker and the StreamClan cats. "Are you two okay?" she asked worriedly.

"We survived," Icetail responded. "Rainwhisker is freezing, but recovering."

"That's good. Why are there StreamClan cats on our our territory?" she asked, glaring at them.

Flowerriver growled. "MoonClan cats are so ungrateful!" she snapped. "We saved your Clanmates from death! If we weren't here, then the both of them would of drowned!" She was glaring back at Brightstar. The MoonClan leader looked back and forth between them. "Besides, be more responsible with your Clan. Rainy days are dangerous, Brightstar."

"Don't tell me how to lead my Clan!" she hissed back before clearing her throat. "Thank you for saving my warriors. Tell Lakestar that I am in his debt, but I can take it on from here. You two should go back to your own territory." She was looking at them with intense eyes, searching for them if they'd threaten her.

Appledrop sighed. "Fine." He turned to Flower-river and whispered, "MoonClan cats should learn how to be grateful to their saviors . . ."

Icetail looked down to Rainwhisker. I'm grateful. But I can't just leave my friend. The heavy rain shower almost drowned out the sound of the two cats walking away. We have to get out of here!

"Help Rainwhisker," she ordered Redsky and Silverleaf. "Flameheart, you can help Icetail."

Icetail shook his head. "I said I am fine. Just a little stunned."

Flameheart padded beside his friend, allowing him to put his weight down on his side. "I'll let you walk on your own until you're recovered. In the mean time, we must get back to camp as fast as we can before any of us catch a fever."

Icetail sighed and leaned on Flameheart. "Fine. If that's the case, let's hurry."

* * *

Back at camp, Icetail, Shadowheart and Rainwhisker all crowded the inside of the medicine den. Sweetheart was speaking silently with Brightstar, audible enough for Icetail's ears to catch.

"I gave feverfew to Shadowheart and Icetail to prevent them from getting sick," Sweetheart explained to the leader, "but Rainwhisker appears to have whitecough."

"Is it serious?" asked Brightstar with worry in her tone.

"I hope not," said the medicine cat. "I can't really tell yet—but the way Rainwhisker is coughing is not too good. We should have the other two sleep in the apprentice den for the night until they recover. Spreading sickness isn't good, especially as it gets colder."

"I'll have Icetail with me," said Brightstar. "Don't worry. I doubt I will get sick."

Sweetfur nodded. "If you wish."

Icetail thought for a moment. Why does Brightstar want me with her instead of Shadowheart? he thought with wonder. She must have something important to discuss. He wondered what it could be. 

The rain outside was dying down, but it seemed like there'd be a drizzle all night. He wasn't looking forward to getting his fur wet again.

He could see Nightrose gathering her kits up inside the nursery, and the elders watching the rain fall from their den too. Most the warriors were under the shield of trees and the warrior's den, talking in groups. The senior and younger warriors were all mixed up with each other, which was strange because they'd always seemed to be separate before. Most shared tongues with each other, cleaning their fur from the rain as they dried their pelts.

He saw Silverleaf exit the crowd, padding toward him swiftly through the rain. "Icetail!" she called. "We need to talk, Icetail!"

Icetail looked at her. "What happened? Here, come in before you get sick too."

Silverleaf got into the den and dipped her head in greeting. "There's something I needed to speak with you about," she said as she caught her breath.

"About what?"

After a few moments, she regained her posture and looked up. "Your recklessness. I heard what you did with Rainwhisker. That was a complete life-death situation."

"When was there not a time I had not been in a life-death situation?" Icetail muttered. She flinched a little at his dry comment, and he simply sighed. "I'm sorry, Silverleaf. I just couldn't leave Rainwhisker like that. I wasn't thinking. But at the same time, all I could think of was saving our Clan from more casualties. Especially since he's my friend."

"What you did was brave and stupid," she responded. "Mostly stupid. But I'm telling you that I'll have every cat in the Clan stick annoyingly close to you if you don't stop."

Icetail remained silent. I can't stop looking after my Clanmates, but to have them look over me? I can't let that happen, he thought, especially by a warrior who is younger than me. "Fine," he lied. "I'll be careful. Just don't let our Clanmates annoy me."

She nodded. "That takes some stress off my shoulders. I'll see you after the rain stops done coming down!"

And with that, he watched her leave, rushing back towards her brother and the other warriors that crowded the den.

He turned his gaze toward Brightstar, who had just finished conversing with Sweetheart. She must want to talk with him as well. "Come with me, Icetail," she said, "I have some news for you."