Warrior Cats: Icetail's Enemy (COMPLETED ✔️)

Chapter Five

Edited ✔️

"Ashtail?" Icepaw asked his mentor. It's been three days since he has been attacked by the rabbit, and he was fully healed. "Are we going to do more battle training today?"

Ashtail looked down with warm eyes on his apprentice and shook his head. "Afraid not," he replied. "It's your turn to do apprentice duties. You're going out with Vinetail today." He pointed to the large brown tom with his tail. "He asked for permission with me first, of course."

Icepaw sighed and nodded. "Okay. Bye, Ashtail."

He began to walk away. The day was damp and warm, because of the other day's rain showers. Almost the whole Clan stayed at camp because they didn't want to get wet, and most of the cats didn't eat. Today, almost everyone was out catching prey.

Vinetail was washing his pelt in his den, clearly waiting for Icepaw to come. Sweetpaw has gone battle to do battle training so she can learn to defend herself, so Vinetail was alone. Icepaw dipped his head to the older cat as he walked in.

"Hi, Vinetail," Icepaw meowed. "I heard I was going out with you today. Who with?"

Vinetail smiled. "It's just you and me," he said.

Icepaw looked at him with surprise. "But the rule says no less than three cats at a patrol!" he protested. "A DarkClan warrior can always attack us!"

Vinetail sighed but still held his smile. "Then if I get attacked—" he looked up to the pale sky " —StarClan will surely disapprove. It's against the warrior code and the medicine cat code for a medicine cat to be attacked. Besides, we won't do anything wrong."

Icepaw understood. He began to remember the warrior code and what Flamepaw said about it. He shook his head, trying to forget.

"Are you okay?" Vinetail asked.

"Yeah," Icepaw mewed.

Vinetail nodded, beginning to lead the apprentice out of his den and out of the camp entrance. The camp looked deserted, except for the resting warriors and the expecting queen. Icepaw smiled as he saw Ripplefur, his old friend when he was a kit. She was a very young warrior and had everyone worried about her kitting.

Vinetail kept leading, and he stopped when they were out in the forest. Icepaw stared at the medicine cat as he opened his jaws, tasting the scent of the forest. "Okay," Vinetail explained. "We're going to go to the only place you haven't been in our territory. We're going to the herb patch, far from the other territories. It's the safest place where a cat could be, but its closest to the Twoleg territory."

Icepaw understood. "We're going to collect herbs?" he asked and Vinetail nodded. He began to walk upwind in the path to MarshClan, with Icepaw trotting right behind him. No cat talked, except for the distant chatter of birds and the mice climbing all around the forest trees and bushes. As usual, the forest was loud, noisy and beautiful.

The leaves rippled in the gentle breeze overhead, making Icepaw calmly sigh. He never wanted leaf-bare to come. He lifted his head up and looked to the sky. The sun shone warmly down onto his face. Icepaw loved the sun, for its warm rays were comforting.

Vinetail peered behind his back to see Icepaw drowning the sun's warmth in his fur. "Come on," he meowed. "We're almost to the herb patch."

Icepaw nodded. "Coming!" he called, trotting up to get to Vinetail's side. Icepaw looked around and has just noticed they weren't going near MarshClan at all. The trees were beginning to look different, and there were fewer and fewer plants and bushes.

Vinetail slowly walked, going slower as well, slinking to the ground. Icepaw got down as well, not knowing what to do. The two toms now hid in the undergrowth, looking over the tall grass. "What's over there?" Icepaw asked in a hushed tone.