Warriors: The Blood Moon Rises

Chapter Two

Ice. The forest was freezing. Icykit ran with all her might away from the ice chasing after her. It rapidly climbed on every tree and blade of grass. She could see her breath as she panted, sprinting away from the icy wave. Everything behind her in sight was frozen. Icykit ran faster and faster, but the ice was faster. Icykit ran until she tripped over a log. Her face slammed into the ground. White, icy hot pain spread through her skull as she scrambled to her feet. There was no time to get up. The ice was already at her feet and spreading up her legs. She tried to run, but was frozen to the ground. As the ice came up around her neck, everything that was frozen started to crumble. Icykit's face froze. She tried to scream, but couldn't. She couldn't breathe!
"Hey! Snap out of it!" Icykit flew awake, panting and in a cold sweat. She was no longer freezing; she was back in the nursery, right where she belonged. She could see the early morning sky and smelled the morning air. An umber-colored kit with emerald eyes stared at her.
"Are you going to speak to me?" The kit said, putting emphasis on random words.
"Sorry Tadpolekit, I just had a really weird nightmare." Icykit replied, shaking out her fluffy white fur. She could still feel the ice pulsing through her veins.
"Have you forgotten? We're going to the river today! Somebody slept in, so we're already running behind!" urged Tadpolekit over her shoulder. Icykit's mother, Snapperwhisker, was still asleep, as usual, so she didn't have to worry about getting caught. Her father, Troutstar, was leader of Riverclan; she was sure his kit was the last thing on his mind. Icykit stretched and gave her shoulder a quick lick before padding out of the nursery.
"A-are you sure we should be doing this? I-I mean, what if we get caught? Or-or worse, get killed or something!" Icykit heaved out a sigh. She and Tadpolekit turned to look at each other, and they slowly turned around to face Shellkit. Shellkit turned beet red and shrunk.
"Are you going to be a scaredy little mouse or not? Hurry. Up!" Tadpolekit yelled, inches away from Shellkit's face.
"S-sorry, Tadpolekit," Shellkit peeped, nervously following behind the two she- kits.
It was a beautiful day outside; there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was sunny and warm. Icykit breathed in the dewy morning air as she padded alongside Tadpolekit. It was new-leaf, and there was no cold anywhere to be felt; Icykit wondered why she kept having lucid, icy dreams. The rivers were just on the other side of some trees. Icykit and the others has just made it out of view from the camp when Tadpolekit stopped in her tracks. 
"What's wrong?" Icykit asked, sticking a paw in front of her to see if she was awake.
"See? Oh, I just knew something bad would happen! I just knew it!" Shellkit panicked, pacing back and forth.
"Oh, shut up you mouse-brain! Your stuttering isn't going to help with anything!" Icykit snapped back at Shellkit. Shellkit stopped and shut his mouth.
"Look at that tree!" Tadpolekit finally uttered, startling Icykit and Shellkit. Her emerald gaze was fixed on a tall tree. Upon closer inspection from Icykit, the bark seemed to form some sort of symbol.
"Creepy," Icykit shuddered, and decided not to think about it. "Weren't we going to the River?"
"Yeah. I guess it's just some weird coincidence." Tadpolekit shrugged. Icykit didn't think so. She couldn't get that weird symbol out of her brain. Could it have something to do with her odd dreams? After a few awkward minutes, the river finally came into view. The shining sun made the water sparkle. Shellkit curiously trotted up to the edge of the river, as if he wanted to smell it.
"I'm going to try and catch a fish!" Shellkit declared, planting his rump down and intensely staring into the river.
"That tree earlier was pretty weird, huh?" Icykit inquired, seeing if Tadpolekit felt the same way.
"Yeah, but it's just a stupid tree. Hey, watch this!" Tadpolekit lowered her voice to a whisper as a sly expression appeared on her face. The umber-colored she-kit dropped to a crouch, and slowly but surely made her way closer and closer to Shellkit. Finally, when she was barely a fox length behind him, Tadpolekit rose to her paws, lifted them, and shoved Shellkit over the edge of the riverbank. His arms were flailing and he screamed, but it was cut off by a splash of water. Icykit fell into a fit of giggles as Shellkit splashed and sputtered.
"You guys! Get me out! I can't swim and the water is freezing!" Shellkit coughed, waving his arms helplessly. Icykit noticed that Tadpolekit was innocently looking around.
"Shellkit isn't going to get himself out," Tadpolekit teased. "I'm serious. I'm not getting him out," she said when Icykit hesitated. Icykit heaved a massive sigh and trudged to the riverbed. She took a deep breath and jumped into the river. The cold water hit her fur. Suddenly, her brain flashed back to the ice, overtaking her as she gasped for the thin, cold air.
"Eek! I've gotta agree with you on this one, Shellkit! I'm freezing! Shellkit?" Icykit squealed, snapping back to reality. Her heart was thumping in her chest and her breathing was fast. Shellkit was staring at her, and he was also sinking. Icykit grabbed him up to keep his head from going under again.
"Oh-oh uh- I'm sorry I-I just was looking-" Shellkit stuttered. Icykit rolled her eyes and dragged Shellkit out of the river. She reluctantly helped him swim to the riverbed and nudged him out. He was still beet red when he came out of the river.
"I think we should probably start heading back. Mother will probably start looking for us." Tadpolekit suggested. Everyone agreed, so they headed back to camp. On the way back, they passed by that odd tree again. Icykit paused and got a closer look at that symbol.
"Are you coming or not?" Tadpolekit urged. Icykit decided to shrug it off and keep walking.
"How are we going to get into camp without anyone noticing?" Shellkit nervously inquired.
"You know that awkward bush behind the fresh-kill pile? There's a tunnel behind it that connects outside of camp. We should be getting- ahhhhhh!" Tadpolekit yelled as she fell. It was like she had disappeared!
"Where did she go? Did StarClan take her? Tadpolekit? Can you hear me up there?!" Shellkit yelled at the sky.
"No! Have you got bees in your brain? I think she's down there." Icykit snapped, getting more annoyed at Shellkit. She gestured to a narrow hole in the ground. "You down there?" Icykit yelled, peering down into the hole. Suddenly, Tadpolekit's head popped out, startling Icykit and making her jump.
"Oh, I found the tunnels by the way. What are you two quarreling about up here?" Tadpolekit said, narrowing her eyes.
"Shellkit was being a mouse-brain again," Icykit complained. Tadpolekit went back down into the hole and Icykit and Shellkit followed. The tunnels were narrow and Icykit was barely squeezing through them. Shellkit kept looking behind him to make sure nothing was after him.
When Tadpolekit stopped, Icykit whispered, "Is the coast clear?"
"Yep. Let's go in." Tadpolekit whispered back. She pushed through the bush, and Icykit and Shellkit followed. Tadpolekit was right; the bush led right behind the fresh-kill pile. Icykit shook out the leaves and bramble in her fur, heading back to the nursery, Suddenly, two apprentices stepped in front of them.
"We know you went to the river," said Coralpaw, looking down at them like she had all the power in the world.
"And we know that you and Maplepaw go to the ShadowClan to meet with the other toms," Tadpolekit quickly retorted. Maplepaw blushed and muttered, "Well, technically, I'm not seeing toms." Coralpaw angrily rolled her eyes, bumping Maplepaw with her shoulder.
"Fine, we won't tell," sighed Coralpaw, and stormed away, Maplepaw at her tail, whispering, "I'm sorry!"
"Stupid apprentices," Tadpolekit muttered. "They think they're better than everyone else," she said, storming away.
"Icykit!" Uh oh. Icykit's mother, Snapperwhisker, was calling her. Icykit scattered to the nursery at her mother's call. Her eyes were narrowed, and Icykit readied her ears for quite a lecture.
"Where did you sneak off to? I haven't seen you all morning," she snapped at Icykit.
"Nowhere! I just-" Icykit stuttered.
"No! I won't hear any of it! You were never even supposed to be born! Why, oh why do you have to make my life miserable every waking second!" Snapperwhisker screamed, inches away from Icykit's face. "StarClan forbid you obey your mother like a good kit would! Is it too much to ask for my only kit to stay in the camp? You're a terrible kit, Icykit, and StarClan doesn't let in cats like that! I hate you!"
Tears started to well up in Icykit's eyes. She ran out of the nursery as fast as she could. Not even her own mother loved her! Her life was falling apart! How dare her mother say that to her? She knew nothing of the terrible, freezing dreams that haunted her every night! She slid behind a bush and cried. She cried in fear, in sadness, and in hatred. She cried until she thought she had no more tears. Everything was falling apart! Her mother hated her and said it right to her face.
"Aww, Icykit. She didn't mean it. My moms told me that Snapperhwhisker has a lot of problems. She's a bit messed up in the head," Tadpolekit joked, trying to cheer her up.
"I don't want her to be messed up in the head! I want her to love me, like a real mother loves her kits!" Icykit cried through gritted teeth, smacking the bush with her paw.
Tadpolekit sighed. "I understand."
"Hi, Icykit! Do you want to- oh." Shellkit cautiously sat down next to Icykit. "You know, I hate it when you cry. It makes me sad to see you sad. Plus, you don't wanna ruin your pretty fluffy face!" Shellkit smiled warmly. Icykit sniffed, a small smile forming on the edges of her mouth.
"Shellkit! Quit flirting and listen up! I have a great plan! Icykit, since your mom won't even utter about the other clans, let's introduce you to them!" Tadpolekit mewed excitedly. Icykit cocked her head in confusion. What did she mean, introducing to the clans? Were they going to just stroll into the other clans and have a nice little chat with them?
"Oh come on, mouse-brain! We're going to sneak into the gathering!"