Icestar and Blossom

Chapter 7

Icepaw was awoken by Mossyfur's scream. "Lilypaw is dead!"

No, she couldn't be. Coalpaw said she would recover, Icepaw thought, racing to the medicine cat den. The news couldn't be true.

Icepaw gasped at the sight of Lilypaw's cold body, limp on the floor.

"Lilypaw!" Icepaw screamed, shaking the limp she-cat. "NO!" Her whole life was already messed up, and now this! Why did everything go wrong? Nothing went right for her. With tears streaming down her furry face, she screamed at Mintleaf. "You said she would be okay! Why is she not okay?" Icepaw collapsed to the ground, and the cold seeping through her fur only served to remind her of the reason for Lilypaw's death.

Mintleaf looked at her. "I'm so sorry..." she said. Icepaw nuzzled her friend's cold body and weeped. Her brown fur, now cold and tangled, was draped with tears.

Coalpaw burst into the den, and Icepaw hissed. "You!" She growled at him, bristling. "You lied to me!" She growled, Coalpaw stepping back as Icepaw came nearer and nearer towards him.

"I-I didn't know-" Coalpaw whimpered.

Icepaw ran outside, refusing to listen to him. Where was Stonecloud? She was to blame for this! But now, Icepaw needed to be alone.

Icepaw ran off to the forest, and her eyes did not dry. Her only friend was gone. What will I do now? she thought, for she had lost her one and only friend. Lilypaw was the only one who understood her.

As she reached the beginning of Thunderpath, she collapsed in the middle of the road. Maybe I should just wait to for a monster to come and kill me, she thought.

Suddenly, she saw lights shining through the darkening sky. Perfect, she thought, not caring about her life anymore. She would rather go to StarClan than live another day in this terrible clan.

 "Icepaw!" A voice was insistently making its way into her head, and then she was pushed aside as a large monster roared by. She suddenly realized who the she-cat was.

"MOTHER!" She screamed as she had never screamed before, running to the she-cat. Her beautiful white pelt was coated in blood. "No, Mother, no..." she closed her eyes.

But Stonecloud was still alive, her green eyes fixated on Icepaw's. "Icepaw, I'm sorry. I'm sorry Lilypaw died; I'm sorry you grew up alone; and I'm sorry I wasn't a good mother." No, this couldn't be happening. Why was this happening?

"You were-are a great mother. Mintleaf will save you--" But she knew she wasn't part of a fairytale. Stonecloud was going to die whether she liked it or not.

"I love you, my little Icepaw," Stonecloud closed her eyes, cutting off the brilliant emerald glow, and then she was dead. Icepaw pushed her nose into her mother's fur. "No, no, no," she sobbed.

She dragged her mother's body off the Thunderpath and dug her claws into the dirt. No one will die. I won't let anyone else die, she promised herself. She attempted to bring her mother's body back, but the load was too heavy for her. She gave up, dejected, and walked back to camp with her head down.

"Stonecloud is dead," she announced to the camp with a tremorous voice. The camp had been awakened by Mossyfur's scream, and now more bad news came to them. Mossyfur's black and white coat shook, and her eyes shone with tears. "My kit and my friend, both dead."

"MY MOTHER AND MY FRIEND ARE DEAD!" she raced into the den and laid down in her nest. Maybe all of this was a nightmare. I'll wake up, and everything will be okay. It'll be alright, she told herself again and again.

Another pelt, Coalpaw's by the scent, brushed against her. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"No, it's not your fault," she said. "I'm sorry I yelled at you before..."

Coalpaw snuggled against her. "If it makes you feel better, I lost a sister."

"I lost a mother...and a friend!" she growled.

"I LOST A SISTER!" he yowled. But then he stopped as Icepaw cried even harder. "Your life is tough," Coalpaw said.

Hours must have passed, and Coalpaw did not leave her side. As Icepaw's tears finally ceased flowing, Coalpaw whispered in her ear, "I love you."

Icepaw wasn't sure if she was meant to hear it, but she replied, "I love you too."