Icefog followed the invisible trail as he led the dawn patrol toward HollyClan's border. The sun was barely peeking over the treetops, and the sky was streaked with pink and cream in the early morning. Weak strands of sunlight were filtering through the morning mist and Icefog yawned as they approached the border. Behind him, he heard Wolfpaw and Hootpaw sniffing around some bushes.
"Icefog?" Hootpaw asked. Icefog turned his head to looked questioningly at the apprentice. "Do you know this scent?" He pointed to a bramble bush with his paw, his green eyes uneasy.
Turning his paws toward the apprentices, he sniffed at the bush, careful not to prick his nose on the thorns. It was sweet and tantalizing, making his mouth water as he pulled his muzzle away. Sniffing again, he looked to Wetface and Smallwhiskers, who were the other warriors on the patrol. "Do you know what this is?" He asked the former medicine cat, who was talking to his smaller sister.
Wetface turned at the question and looked into the brambles. Something in his eyes clicked immediately and he let out a yowl of triumph. "Catmint!" He pushed Icefog aside and shoved his face into the brambles and pulled back with the sweet-scented herb between his jaws. "Leopwardwave and Carppaw will be over the moon when they see this!" Whipping around, Wetface sprinted back the way they came, kicking up snow in his wake.
Wolfpaw sneezed as flakes tickled his nose and got caught in his whiskers. "What's he on about?" He asked Smallwhiskers, who looked confused. "Isn't he a full warrior now that Carppaw is Leopardwave's apprentice?"
Smallwhiskers stared after her brother, her ears flicking as she looked up at Wolfpaw, who towered over the small she-cat. "Wetface loved being Leopardwave's apprentice when he was younger," she informed the gray tabby apprentice. "Since he's been a warrior like us, I don't think he's used to hunting and patrolling. Especially since his kits are about to be made apprentices."
Hootpaw scratched his ear with a hind paw, shaking out his fur when he was done. "I don't wanna be training with half-Clan cats," he complained. "Beekit, Sharpkit, Hawkkit, Chestnutkit, and Harekit are weird enough already. I don't want to be in the same den as them when they're apprentices."
Smallwhiskers glared unapprovingly at Hootpaw, who rolled his eyes. "Watch what you say about innocent kits, Hootpaw." She scolded the mottled gray apprentice, who snorted. "Sniphaze and Wetface's actions aren't their fault, and you should be grateful like the rest of us to have more paws in the camp. Their parents' actions shouldn't affect your view on them." Her voice was very stern, and her eyes flicked to Icefog, who was looking at Hootpaw. "Let's get back to the patrol." She mewed breezily before striding past Icefog.
"You had that coming," he meowed to Hootpaw, who seemed embarrassed at being scolded. Turning around, Icefog swiftly caught up with Smallwhiskers with the two brothers in tow. "You defend your kin quite well," he mewed nonchalantly to the shorter she-cat, who flicked her tail in acknowledgement. "A cat can admire that."
Smallwhiskers flashed him a small smile before looking away. "Those kits didn't do anything wrong," she meowed simply. "It's not their fault their parents fell in love and had them. In the end, it's not their fault for existing." Letting out a small sigh, she added more quietly. "At least they now have kits."
Icefog said nothing more as they neared the border, and the apprentices fell quiet behind them as well. Other than the stench of HollyClan's scent markers, Icefog couldn't detect anything else. "They must've just marked their borders," he mewed to Smallwhiskers, who was marking a tree covered in snow. "Their scent is very fresh and strong."
"We mark our borders well, Icefog." The voice of a HollyClan cat made Icefog and Smallwhiskers jump and he looked across the border to see Otterstream approaching the border. The HollyClan deputy was alone, and he stopped a few pawsteps away from the border. "Finfeather's patrol got back to the camp before I left, so they must've marked our side of the border."
Smallwhiskers frowned. "Finfeather? But aren't you deputy? Has Rainsweptstar replaced you as deputy, Otterstream?" Her tone was confused, and Icefog glanced at her before looking back at Otterstream.
"Rainsweptstar joined StarClan earlier this morning," Otterstream meowed, his eyes flashed with sorrow as he let out a sigh. "I got back from the Moon Flower not long ago and couldn't bear sleeping in Rainsweptstar's old den, so I went around the territory."
Icefog dipped his head to the new HollyClan leader, sympathy for the tom growing in his chest. "I'm sorry for your loss, Otterstar." He meowed, meaning every word. "Rainsweptstar was a fantastic leader, and StarClan will honor her in their hunting grounds."
Smallwhiskers took a step toward the border, her eyes gentle. Before Icefog could stop her, she crossed into HollyClan's territory and touched her nose to Otterstar's cheek. "If there's anything I can do to help you, let me know, okay?" She mewed to the patched tom, who closed his eyes and nodded. "I'm so sorry, Otterstar." Turning away from the HollyClan leader, she padded back over the border and returned to Icefog's side.
Clearing his throat, Icefog dipped his head to Otterstar, who returned the gesture. "May StarClan light your path, Otterstar." He meowed, but there was no conviction in his voice as he turned to Wolfpaw and Hootpaw, who were gawking at Otterstar. "Let's go home." He turned his back on Otterstar and began to head back the way they came, but he paused as Hootpaw and Wolfpaw went ahead and looked over his shoulder at Smallwhiskers, who was still at the border and sharing a few quiet words with Otterstar. "Smallwhiskers? You coming?"
Smallwhiskers looked over her shoulder at him before nodding. "Coming, Icefog." She turned back to Otterstar and said something Icefog couldn't catch before she padded after Icefog. "Say nothing and let's go." She meowed quietly as she went by and followed the two apprentices.
"How long have you and Otterstar been a thing?" Icefog asked under his breath, catching up with Smallwhiskers as she padded behind the apprentices. "Don't lie to me, Smallwhiskers, I can tell you were a thing."
Smallwhiskers glared at Icefog. "Curious apprentices get their noses bitten," she growled and narrowed her eyes.
Indignation flashed through Icefog as he retorted hotly. "I'm not an apprentice anymore!"
"You may as well be!" Smallwhiskers flashed back at him, her eyes burning into his. "You were never here when you were an apprentice. You never trained, you never patrolled, never hunted, never cared for any cat other than yourself and those miserable twoleg place cats!" Her anger startled Icefog and his ears drew back as he lifted his chin. The small she-cat stopped walking and blocked his path, her teeth bared and eyes ablaze. Behind her, Wolfpaw and Hootpaw overheard and stopped, looking at them with confusion in their eyes. "Those cats have nothing to do with your Clan or your family!"
Icefog felt his tail bush out as his neck fur began to bristle. How dare Smallwhiskers talk about his friends that way? He may not have seen them recently, but he still liked the alley cats! "They're the only family I have left!" Icefog hissed, his back arching as his claws slid out. Fury sparked in Smallwhiskers' eyes and she lashed her fluffy tail.
"You have a family, you mousebrain! You just run off to some group of rogues and exiles instead of getting to know your fur and blood!" Smallwhiskers shook her head at him, scoffing. "No wonder Slateblaze blamed you for Pebblepaw's death, you've never cared about your family who tried to get to know you!" Icefog stiffened as she mentioned Pebblepaw, and he glared at the she-cat. "Honeyblaze and Lionjaw at least attempted to befriend you as kits, and Goldenpoppy tried her hardest to mentor you! What did you do? You ran off with rogues and exiled cats!"
"Lostsong and his group are the only cats I trust!" Icefog snarled, his tail lashing back and forth as he fought to stay calm. Anger flared in his chest, clouding his judgement as he scowled at Smallwhiskers. "Do you want to know why I ran off with them? Because everyone in this Clan is exactly the same! You're so close-minded and hostile toward outsiders that it's honestly astounding that you haven't been fully wiped out!" He gestured around them with a paw. "There are stronger cats that have fought to stay alive and have endured more than the Clan ever have, and they could easily drive off ShellClan."
Smallwhiskers' whiskers twitched as he spoke, and she shook her head, frustrated. "You may as well not be in this Clan," she mewed, her voice icy and cold. Icefog blinked with shock as she swung herself away from him. "You don't deserve your warrior name." Shouldering her way through Hootpaw and Wolfpaw, Smallwhiskers stormed away, leaving the three toms staring after her with wide eyes.
After a long moment, Icefog sighed and sheathed his claws, forcing his fur to lie flat as he looked to the apprentices. "Go back to the camp," he mewed, his tone flat. "I'll be there soon." He turned away from the two brothers as he tried to calm down. Fighting with his so-called Clanmates never ended well, especially since he didn't like most of his Clanmates. Pacing the small area of flattened grass, Icefog heaved a heavy sigh and turned his paws toward the twoleg place and took off.
*****
Icefog felt his fur prickle with unease as he walked down the alleyway. The stone beneath his paws felt familiar, but foreign at the same time. I've been gone for so long, he thought as he saw a brown tabby tom with a small brown tom sharing some slop from a twoleg's garbage can. These poor cats. He looked ahead and saw a silver tabby she-cat waiting for him. "Ivy," he meowed respectfully, dipping his head. "It's been a while."
Ivy's amber eyes seemed to burn into his, smoldering as she mewed smoothly. "Lostsong was beginning to wonder if he had scared you away for good." Her voice was calm and level, making Icefog feel slightly nervous as he saw a black-and-cream she-cat jump down from a dumpster and stride toward them. "Dusk and Alastor were worried about you."
The black-and-cream she-cat eyed Icefog. "Some of the cats tried to tell Lostsong that you had given up on your promise." She meowed icily, and Icefog flinched. "But Lostsong had faith that something came up and you had to stay away."
Icefog dipped his head. "I'm sorry that I caused such a disturbance within the group." He meowed, guilty that he'd caused a fuss about something so minor. "I had to stay in the Clan because of my brother."
Ivy blinked at him. "Slatepaw?" Icefog nodded, partially surprised she remembered his name. "What'd he do?"
"Slateblaze," he corrected her as he twitched his tail tip. Ivy's eyes flickered as she shared a look with the black-and-cream she-cat. "Er, my brother and I recieved our warrior names during my time with ShellClan. My name is Icefog now and his is Slateblaze."
"Icefog." The black-and-cream she-cat tested his new name and scrunched up her muzzle. "Hmph. You Clan cats have more stupid names then I thought." She jerked her muzzle to the dumpster behind her. "Lostsong and Dusk are speaking around that dumpster. I reckon you shouldn't keep them waiting, Icefog."
Ivy flashed her alleymate a look. "Paleriver, behave." She hissed, and Icefog looked at the other she-cat, his eyes wide. Paleriver? "Icefog is our friend." She looked back at the ShellClan cat. "Follow me." With a final glare at Paleriver, Ivy turned around and padded toward the dumpster.
Icefog followed the silver tabby she-cat, sending Paleriver a curious look over his shoulder as he padded past. "So, Paleriver was a Clan cat?" He asked, looing at Ivy with confusion. "Which Clan did she live in?"
"SwampClan." Ivy answered shortly. "None of us know what Paleriver did or what happened, but she ended up here not long after Lostsong made the group." Rounding the dumpster, they stopped walking as they saw Lostsong and Dusk talking quietly with their heads close together. Clearing her throat, Ivy mewed. "Icefog's here, Lostsong."
The wiry black-and-brown tom turned around and his green eyes lit up when they landed on Icefog. "Icepaw!" He mewed, his voice colored with relief as he bounded up to the tom, Dusk in tow. "Welcome back!"
"Thanks, Lostsong." Icefog dipped his head to the rogue leader, warmth spreading in his chest at the tom's greeting. "I've actually become a warrior now. My name's Icefog, now, not Icepaw."
Lostsong blinked at him for a moment before breaking out into a purr. "Congratulations, Icefog." He looked at Dusk as the brown tabby joined him at his side, eyeing Icefog warily. "Dusk has been quite worried about you, shock and surprise."
Dusk let out a huff of annoyance, his ears flicking. "You made a promise to help us out with Wolf," he meowed, though there was relief in his dismissive gaze. "I just wanted to know if you were gonna keep it, that's all."
Lostsong nudged Icefog, his eyes sparkling. "What kept you for so long?" He asked curiously. "You look like you came nose-to-nose with a fox on your way here. Is everything alright?"
The fresh memory of his fight with Smallwhiskers flashed in his mind and Icefog flattened his ears. Who was she to talk about how and where he spent his time? After all, it was her brother who betrayed the code long before Icefog ever did. "I got into a fight with Slateblaze and he was severely injured," he flexed his claws, his pelt pricking uncomfortably as he relayed how he had nearly killed his own brother. "I stayed with the Clan until I became a warrior. I was planning on sneaking away today, but I got into an argument with a Clanmate and ran off."
Ivy pressed against Icefog's side, her eyes gleaming with sympathy. "I'm sorry about that," she mewed. "I know how hard it can be to fight with those you live with."
Icefog's ear tips burned as he shook his head. "I-I don't live with my Clan." He corrected the she-cat, glancing at Lostsong and Dusk. "I live with you guys now, not my Clan."
"Glad to hear it, Icefog." Lostsong mewed, his eyes and voice suddenly growing serious. "Pleasantries aside, there's much to discuss about our next move with Wolf and his gang. Shall we get to it?" Icefog nodded, sitting down with his tail curling over his paws. "What's happened while I was gone?"