Chapter 1
Ice, panted as he came up a cliff, his calico fur ruffled in the wind. Ice looked at frost who looked uneasy and nervous. Frost was one of the queens from maplestar’s group of cats. She used to be sweet and kind and fierce before maplestar became leader, but now she was always scared and uneasy. And her kits will be born soon and so she was very protective. “Are you ok frost?” ice asked as he helped the she-cat up the cliff. “If you think that prickling with fear and uneasy thinking, we will be pounced on any second is ok, then sure I’m fantastic” she muttered sarcastically. Ice gave an amused purr and pressed his pelt to hers to give her warmth. The she-cat was freezing. And ice could understand her fear, her mate crowsnap, was a loyal tom to maplestar. He did not care for anyone except
himself, and he was overly aggressive, so she did not want to endanger her family but of course the only family she had were her kits… “it’s ok if you’re not alright frost” ice smiled with a respectful lick on her shoulder. Snake padded up to his brother with a grin. “Seems like you fancy her” he said with a slight snicker. “Shut up I’m sure you’re not different snake” ice gave a wicked smirk, his blue eyes glittering with mischief “oh stop it mouse-brain” snake hissed and flicked his brother’s head with his tail then walked back over to the queen he was protecting. Storm the black and white she-cat was part of wolfclan and named storm’trail before echo gave her, her new name. storm of flooded rivers. Ice knew that his brother had taken a liking to the fierce she-cat, but snake is too embarrassed to admit it. Ice turned to frost and started to talk with her about her kits, frost always was happy to talk about her kits. Ice yawned; his paws were aching. He trotted through the crowd of cats, past the queens and other warriors and prey-hunters but only to be stopped by two of the guards at the front. One was a dark grey tom. fang. And the second was the dusty brown she-cat, mouse. The two were looking at him, their eyes burning into his pelt. “Let me pass” he huffed, trying to push pass only for fang to swat him back. “Sorry ice no one can approach the leader right now chiefs orders” mouse mewed her brown eyes full of apology. Ice gave a sigh, “I just want to talk to the leader” he mewed, as he picked up his paws trying to wake the sleep from them. Fang shook his head. “Sorry ice we would have to ask the chief.” without a reply from the calico tom. the two cats padded back to hawk and their leader, echo. With a disappointed sigh ice walked back to frost, his tail drooping. “what’s wrong ice?” The she-cat placed her tail on his shoulder. “I was going to ask echo if we could stop and rest and hunt” he murmured. “No luck I assume?” Frost gave a sigh, ice noticed she looked tired and hungry as well. “Nope but look on the bright side we will be at our home hopefully soon.” Ice smiled his tail tip twitching. Everyone had stopped immediately, ice accidentally crashed himself into boulder, mouse’s brother. “Hey, watch it ice.” boulder gave a hiss as he snatched his tail out from ice’s paw-path. Ice scoffed at boulder’s rudeness. “what’s going on?” frost, mewed lifting her head up, perking her ears. “I don’t know.” Ice meowed, “I’ll go check it out though” he muttered as he swiveled his way around the crowd of cats. He crouched low to the cold rocky floor so the guards could not see him, and as soon as his sister hawk and echo were in sight he sprang to his paws. “what’s going on?” he asked as he padded up to them. “Ice?!” hawk spat with shock, and she
shook her head. “Those mouse-brains, I told the guards to-“ “don’t, I um snuck past them.” Ice muttered as he flattened his ears knowing he had gotten fang and mouse in trouble. “So why are we stopping?” the tom twitched his ears looking at his leader, echo curiously. The grey she-cat was the leader of the tribe and the first one to become friends with ice and his siblings when they met, she was a very fierce and pretty she-cat. He knew that echo did not have a great relationship with her parents. Ice and his siblings do not even know his father and his mother said that he was a mistake and disappointment. Echo and ice and his siblings were the first cats to make the journey and create the tribe. “We need to rest.” Echo muttered as she looked at her warrior. Ice gave an exhale of relief; his paws were aching to the bone. He needed rest, and he looked at the tribe seeing that they were tired as well. It had been moon set as the tribe were beginning to rest their aching bones, the guards were chattering to each other and the queens with the elders, and the hunters with the warriors. Ice saw there was a prey-pile, and so he swiped his tongue over his lips and padded on over to it. “Hey, look its mister ice fang himself.” ice heard a snicker from behind him. He lifted his head and turned to see grey, the tom had a grin on his face. “I’m not in the mood for your bullying grey” ice muttered rolling his eyes and grabbed a rabbit from the pile then pushed past trying to walk away, grey smacked him with his paw sending him tumbling into a rock and his prey fell from his jaws. “You don’t get a say so, you rotting piece of fox-dung.” A cold icy anger shot through the calico tom and ice rounded on the large grey tom. “Watch your mouth fox-heart.” a growl rumbled in ice’s throat. “Who are you talking to?” grey flattened his ears, hovering over the calico tom. Ice unsheathed his claws and his fangs gleamed in the moonlight. “You may be my tribe mate, but I won’t show mercy on you if you-” “if I what?” Grey said laughing circling the tom. With no more patience to keep him steady ice let out a raging yowl leaping at the grey tom. The tribe had run to the two toms to see what was going on. In five heartbeats the entire tribe was in a crowded circle watching the battle. Ice had grey pinned to the ground, grey kicked ice in the stomach and snarled something loud enough for him to hear, “you selfish fox-heart” grey spat, then aimed a blow at ice’s ear. Ice has never felt this alive for moons, he felt as if he was in battle with an enemy warrior. And so, he used the techniques he had learned from being in the tribe so long, he knew he had a better advantage because even though grey was a warrior when they had met ice had been more experienced with the tribe. Ice leaped then twisted his body and before he
landed, he swiped his claws at grey’s muzzle causing the grey tom to rear back. With a flash of white that dashed into the crowd ice knew that frost was watching, this was his chance, to prove himself to his tribe, himself, and her. Grey leaped at ice, the two toms clawed each other rolling around and slashing, fur flew in the air and blood splattered on the grass. Grey pinned ice on the ground slamming his head down, ice was panting heavily as blood was oozing from his scars, he knew he could not take anymore. Grey gave a shocked yowl as something barreled into him making him unbalanced. Ice blinked, he saw frost, the white she-cat had her ears flattened and she was standing over ice glaring with hatred at grey. “Stay away from him you snake-heart!” frost hissed at grey, everyone gasped. Grey gave a scoff and a grin, “and who’s gonna stop me?” “I am.” a voice meowed clear and cold from behind the grey tom. Grey stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned his head to face his leader, and in a heartbeat, she slashed his cheek. “Is this how you treat your tribe grey?” she hissed, pinning him slamming his head down on the cold rock floor. “n-no ma’am” he stuttered unable to hide his fear. “Everyone!! We will move at sun high and no one and I mean NO ONE will fight or argue or if I hear any of it…there will be consequences.” The grey she-cats amber eyes were blazing with an unknown anger, what had gotten her fur in a bundle? Ice wondered to himself. He just shrugged it off and he walked to a place at the nearby cave the tribe had settled at, and he found himself a soft patch of grass to sleep in, and he laid his head on his front paws, he then felt soft fur brush against his pelt, he fluttered his eyes open and met the soft, hazel gaze of the beautiful white she-cat he admired, frost. “I think you fought bravely.” Frost mewed with a purr as she was licking his scars. “I wish my kits did not have a tom like crowsnap for a father. And they could grow up and be like you, strong, brave, fearless.” She turned her head away from him and sighed laying her tail on her swollen stomach, ice let a purr rumble in his throat, and he felt sympathy for the young queen. “It must be hard, being forced to something like this.” ice laid his paw on hers “once the kits are born, if you would like I could…father them.” He muttered. Frost nuzzled his cheek and ice froze, his pelt heating up. “I would love that.” A smile crept on ice’s face, he then slept next to frost, curling his tail around her.