What If Squirrelflight Chose Ashfur? (WARRIOR CATS FANFIC)

Chapter 14

((/: A.N: Hey guys! Thank you all for 300 total views! I never thought this story would get so far and I'm really happy that you guys all enjoyed it so much. 

Icepool watched Tree's leaving with hollow eyes. Rootpaw and Needlepaw were saying goodbye, while Bramblestar stood on top of the Highrock, watching.

"I'll see you both at the next gathering," Tree promised his kits.

The rest of the clan watched tensely, waiting for Tree to leave, although a few cats looked angry, as if they thought of Tree as a traitor. Tree glanced for a half-moment at Icepool as he left, but turned around and padded to the exit.

"Do you want an escort to SkyClan territory?" Squirrelflight suggested.

Tree shook his head, "I'll be fine."

With a final goodbye to his kits, Tree padded out of the camp, Icepool staring at the empty space he'd been in. After a long few minutes of convincing herself, Icepool stood up to take a walk and clear her head, but froze outside the medicine den when she heard conversation. Trying to look like she was nonchalantly sitting there and grooming herself, Icepool swerved her ears in the direction of the cats talking in the medicine den.

"Why do you think StarClan has stopped talking to us?"

Icepool heard Alderheart mew, and felt her heart go cold, as if she'd suddenly realized she was unprotected.

"Do you think it's because of the ice on the moonpool?" Alderheart asked from inside the medicine den.

Icepool heard Jayfeather snort.

"That nonsense of StarClan not talking to us because of the moonpool freezing over? Of course not! Don't tell me it's gotten to your head?"

"But then what happened at the moonpool?" Icepool could hear genuine curiousity in Alderheart's voice, as if he really wanted to hear Jayfeather's opinion.

I'm a mouse brain, Icepool thought, of course he wants to hear Jayfeather's opinion! Jayfeather was his mentor.

"Either StarClan didn't have anything to tell us," Jayfeather replied, "Or they're testing us. Now, we're getting dangerously low on catmint. I want to check if there's anymore before the frost destroys all of it. You sort through the dock leaves and get rid of the ones that can't be used anymore."

Icepool heard Jayfeather's pawsteps coming towards the medicine den's exit but was too slow to leave before he came. Her body had been to relaxed with sitting and didn't respond quick enough when she urged it to jump away before Jayfeather caught her eavesdropping. So instead, Icepool dropped into a crouch with her eyes half closed as if she had been sunbathing the entire time. Jayfeather scowled when he nearly fell on her while trying to pad out of the medicine den.

For a moment, Jayfeather seemed surprised and annoyed, but mostly suspicious Icepool had been listening to his conversation with Alderheart. Icepool blinked up at him, trying to appear as innocent as possible. 

Eventually, Jayfeather flattened his ears and snarled. "I nearly tripped on you! If you were an apprentice, and I was your mentor again, I'd have you clean the ticks off the elders for the rest of the afternoon!" Her former mentor hissed.

Icepool ducked her head, pretending to be embarrassed. "Sorry, Jayfeather."

Icepool watched him pad away warily, worried. Although she wasn't as anxious about Jayfeather's warning as she was about what he and Alderheart had been talking about.

Why had StarClan stopped talking to the Clans?