Facing A Forest of Shadows

Chapter One {Edited}

The morning began with frigid temperatures, a normal occurrence for the IceClan cats. The wind echoed through the pine trees like a mournful howl. A white muzzle poked out of the safety of a large, rounded bush. The delicate, pink nose twitched as the cat took a few, quick sniffs.

Then the sleek cat leaped out of the of the bush. Her short, white fur seemed to sparkle in the light of dawn. "Why do we always have to get up so early?" a grumpy voice complained from behind the branches.

"If you went to sleep at a reasonable time, you wouldn't be so tired," Frostfeather scolded as she turned to look back at her companion. A muscular, black tom stepped out from the den, his eyes blurry with sleep.

"But Hailstorm hasn't even gotten up yet! He's the one who organizes the patrols," Pineheart growled. Frostfeather snorted with laughter and flicked her tail over his nose.

"That old badger would sleep until sunhigh if we let him! Besides, we are just getting a little hunting in before all the other patrols crowd the forest," she insisted.

The white she-cat bounded forward and let out a loud trill in delight. Pineheart huffed and padded after her. As she shot passed a hollow tree trunk, a similar white pelted cat emerged from its depths.

"Where are you two going so early?" Blizzardstar demanded. Pineheart sauntered up to stand next to Frostfeather. "She wanted to go hunting," he muttered.

The other cat stepped further from the shadows of the tree trunk and came to stand before the two warriors. His pelt was snowy white, and he looked very similar to the she-cat that stood before him. "Maybe this morning isn't such a good time to go out. If you and Pineheart need something to do, the elders could always use some company," he meowed, his gaze stern as he looked at Frostfeather.

"But it's a perfect morning to go hunting," Frostfeather groaned, ready to defend her right to leave the camp.

"Well, it's Hailstorm's duty to organize the patrols. You'll have to wait for him to wake up and see if he assigns you to a hunting patrol," the white tom ordered.

Frostfeather glared at him, her green eyes blazed in frustration. "Come on, lets go visit with the elders," Pineheart offered, trying to avoid the inevitable argument. Frostfeather flicked her tail in irritation and reluctantly turned to follow him.

"I don't know why you always try and do stuff without telling Blizzardstar," Pineheart grunted as Frostfeather caught up to him.

"Well we can take care of ourselves, can't we? Besides, it was just going hunting. It's not like we were going to fight foxes," Frostfether hissed.

The pair quickly approached the low hanging branches of the pine tree where the elders made their den. As they ducked their heads and squeezed underneath, they came face to face with a wiry, brown she-cat.

"Oh, Wildflight! Were you just leaving?" Frostfeather asked in surprise. It looked as if the other elders just started to stir in their nests.

"I was going to go visit the dirt place," she remarked. "Did you two need something?"

Pineheart pushed forward to stand under the branches of the pine tree. "Hailstorm isn't awake yet to organize the patrols, so we decided to come and say hello," he explained tactfully.

"Well go away! It's too early to be bothering us," a gray tabby hissed from near the trunk of the tree.

"Don't you mind Nightvolt. He's always grumpy," Wildflight interjected, "I'll only be a moment and then we can have a chat."

She tottered away on uneven steps towards the dirt place. "Don't try chatting with me," Nightvolt grumbled as he curled into a tighter ball in his nest.

"You two can come sit with me," the skinny orange she-cat named Redfern meowed softly from her nest near the rear of the leafy branches. Pineheart eagerly accepted her invitation and squeezed passed Nightvolt to come and sit beside the elder.

"I don't understand why he has to be so grumpy! The elders get taken better care of than anyone else in the Clan," Frostfeather grumbled as she huddled close to Redfern's side.

"He is just too nostalgic of the times when the two Clans were at war. I know you've heard the story a million times," Redfern stated.

Oh yes, Frostfeather could remember the story well. The battle where BreezeClan and IceClan clashed. It caused numerous deaths and great misfortune for both Clans. In the battle, her mother Spottedrose was killed by the crazed Oakstar.

She knew that everyone always said that Oakstar was Spottedrose's father, which made him kin to Frostfeather and Pineheart; but she just couldn't imagine a father would kill his only kit. She couldn't even fathom the thought that Blizzardstar would ever want to hurt her, or Pineheart.

"Yeah, the forest needs a good blood bath," Nightvolt snickered sinisterly from the depths of his nest.

Redfern cast him an angry glare, "that's enough of that! If Blizzardstar hears of you trying to cause trouble he will drive you out of IceClan," she growled.

Frostfeather stiffened in shock. Would Blizzardstar really do that? "Let him drive me out! I don't care," Nightvolt snapped. Angrily, he shuffled onto his paws and started to leave the den.

"I don't think Blizzardstar would really drive him out," Pineheart insisted. Redfern just snorted and watched the edge of the pine tree where Nightvolt had ducked and exited.

As if on cue, Wildflight padded back underneath the hanging branches. "I just saw Nightvolt leaving camp. What happened?" she asked as she came to sit in her nest.

"He was just ranting about battle again. I told him if Blizzardstar caught wind of his chatter, that he would banish him from the Clan," Redfern explained.

"We certainly don't need any battle, not after it's been peaceful for so long," Wildflight muttered. Frostfeather looked at the elder with concern. It seemed like even the mention of violence sapped her energy.

"Maybe you two should go. I think I saw Hailstorm organizing the patrols," Wildflight informed them.

Frostfeather purred, "Finally!"

As the white she-cat bounded from the den, Pineheart stood to follow her. Before he slid under the spiky pine needles of the den, he turned back to look at Wildflight again.

"Was Blizzardstar really as great as everyone says he was?" he inquired. Wildflight stifled a laugh, her tail tip twitched.

"Blizzardstar is still great," she purred, "he may have lost some of his energy but I think that was only from raising you two kits!"

Pineheart twirled his tail, "thanks Wildflight," he beamed as he slid under the branches of the pine tree. He trotted over to his sister, who had sat next to Hailstorm as he named the patrols for the morning.

"Awake early as usual," he muttered as Pineheart neared. Frostfeather rolled her eyes as he continued. "Weaseltail, you will lead a border patrol with Pineheart and you might as well take Lionpaw with you."

The russet furred apprentice bounded up to Pineheart, her green eyes shined with boundless energy. Weaseltail was close behind, his brown fur still ruffled with sleep. Pineheart glanced up at the sky, to see that the sun was only barely visible between the trees.

"It's still early, I'm sure nothing too exciting will be going on," Weaseltail teased his apprentice. It didn't seem to dampen her spirits at all. As the brown tom turned to lead the way from camp, Pineheart looked towards his father's den in the cleft of the tree.

It almost seemed like he could see Blizzardstar's crystalline blue eyes stare back at him, but he couldn't be quite sure. In the back of his mind, he truly wondered if Blizzardstar really was as great a leader as he used to be.