Warriors: Icestep's Curse (A Scourge in Windclan AU)

CHAPTER 3

Icekit sat outside the nursery. His eyes burning into the bramble thicket that lined the camp entrance. The night had been long and arduous. Not a wink of sleep. His claws pricked needlessly at the dirt beneath him. Tangling it in small clumps as if it may soothe his anxiety. It was mid-day and Hawkheart had yet to return from the Moonstone. If any other cat cared they made no note of it. But Icekit could hardly wait. His mind raced with what he'd heard the night before. Crouched outside his leader's den he heard her and his father Talltail argue over his loyalties. Argue over Icekit being half kittypet... The thought made him squirm uncomfortably. He wanted so badly to ask what she meant. To yell at his father and tell her off for even suggesting he wasn't a Windclan cat. But instead his father had agreed to keep watch of him, and left without another word. 'How could he let her call us that?' Icekit worried. His father was sitting outside the apprentices' den. Speaking with the warriors Plumclaw and Hareflight, the mentors of Mudpaw and Tornpaw he realized. And assumed they were trying to assure a warrior assessment soon. If those two were due for an assessment then his father's apprentice Deadpaw was also overdue. He wondered for a moment if Talltail preferred the older apprentice to him, but shook it off. He glared for a moment at his father, watching him smile at the warriors. It filled Icekit with a rage he couldn't quite place. His father was just continuing onward. While somewhere out there Hawkheart was convinced Icekit was an omen. While his own leader put more faith in a dead bird then her own deputy. While he was a half kittypet abomination.

He'd spent the morning wondering what happened. How his noble father could have become mates with a twoleg pet. 'Mama...' he thought sadly. Was she really a kittypet? She had no collar and no twolegs. But her name... It had always confused Icekit and his littermates but she'd just told them it was what her mother chose. He'd never even thought to question where that mother came from. Another twoleg pet he supposed.

A hard shove casted Icekit from his thoughts. He tumbled a little but didn't hit the ground, swinging around with a furious hiss he saw his brother Badgerkit smirking down at him.

"Hey!" he bared his fangs and without thought or hesitation his claws were out and ready.

"Woah! Calm down mousebrain." he growled, Icekit could tell Badgerkit was at least a little taken aback by his response. He caught Silverkit's confused gaze peering out from behind her brother.

"Great Starclan Icekit!" she hissed exasperatedly. "You're so dramatic" Silverkit rolled her eyes and plopped down to clean her whiskers.

"He hit me!" Icekit snapped back, but Silverkit hardly gave an acknowledgement she'd even heard him.

"I didn't hit you, I pushed you. It's not my fault you're as frail as a mouse." Badgerkit taunted. He lashed his tail and sat up, shaking out his whiskers.

"And as whiny as an elder..." Silverkit muttered, still keeping her gaze from him. Icekit felt a growl rumble deep in his throat but his brother spoke again before he could act.

"Mama wants us to play..." he grumbled. Badgerkit sounded absolutely less than thrilled to be forced to spend time with his brother. Icekit huffed and turned away again.

"I don't wanna play with you two..." he hissed sharply.

"Fine, we don't wanna play with a liar either" Silverkit cooed. That made Icekit whip around again.

"I wasn't lying!" he yelled. Perhaps louder than he meant to cause a hush fell over the clearing. His pelt burned with embarrassment and he started to cower in. He glanced around anxiously and caught sight of his fathers gaze. Talltail looked back as soon as their eyes met and carefully carried on with the warriors who had also glanced over. It hurt to see him give no defense, but then again the look in his eyes the night prior was still haunting Icekit. 'Of course he won't defend a liar,' he thought bitterly.