Warrior Cats: The New Course (STILL UPDATING)

Chapter Sixteen

A/N: I just wanted to inform you guys that I did another extreme power-edit on Icetail's Enemy, and ended up changing the name Dropeyes to Shiningmoon! You might've noticed but, I kinda really suck at names, and nobody liked "Dropeyes" so I decided to make it nicer. I mean, I hope it's nicer! "Shiningmoon" does have a better ring to it, does it not? And plus, since her name was originally "Moon" before it was changed in respects to the Clan, I thought it was best to add a little tribute to that in the suffix of her name. Well, anyhow, she is no longer Dropeyes. I hope you guys like the decision :)

Rays of light beamed at the entrance of the leader's den. Jagged uneven rocks looked silver against the beam of gold, offering the protected space little light even though it was morning. Icestar inhaled the cool, muddy air and then exhaled slowly, his mind racing as fast as a rabbit.

Was it right of me to do that? he thought, staring at his paw.

As he sheathed and unsheathed his claws, light gleamed off the tips of the deadly sharpness that stole the life of that prisoner-rogue one moon ago. The rogue's eyes still haunted him, gleaming hungrily.

I've killed cats before, once even breaking the law of StarClan. He remembered of the time he was an apprentice and took revenge for his mother, murdering the vicious Fallentail. But this time, it felt different! He couldn't get the image out of his head, and he couldn't stop contemplating what he'd done.

The flicker of the rogue's yellow eyes showered contempt—and what Icestar thought to be excitement—before the killing blow.

"Fox-dung!" Icestar muttered. What if he caused another war? He hadn't seen the other rogues since CloudClan chased them away, but he knew that they would be back. And if they found out he had killed their comrade, things could end badly.

Oh StarClan, what if I messed up terribly?

He sighed and looked up, almost jumping with surprise to see familiar dark blue eyes staring at him from the entrance of the leader's den. Sharpfang stood watching, his gaze cool but knowing. His shadow merged in with the darkness of Icestar's den, blocking the sun's light from entering. The deputy observed him for a moment before padding inside, his pawsteps silent on the ground.

"It's been one moon since the execution. How long are you going to regret it?" he asked, flicking his tail. "I could have done it for you, you know." He was always sharp, catching on the leader's thoughts as if they were that easy to read.

Guiltily, Icestar's paws shuffled and he tried not to avert his gaze. "I don't know." He sighed again and stood up, feeling restless now, and shook the moss and feathers from his pelt. "I could never make you do something like that, Sharpfang. Sometimes, I just feel like it wasn't the right thing to do. I took a life, and for what cost? MoonClan could be in danger because of me."

He gulped, his heart beating a little quicker than usual. Below the fear he had for MoonClan's future, he also felt guilt somewhere deep below his fur, under his skin and bones, boiling with his blood. Ravenkit was watching that day—it was the first time she'd seen death, and by Icestar's own claws. She hadn't been herself since then.

No kit is supposed to see a cat die.

Sharpfang cleared his throat, and Icestar realized that he'd drifted off again. "MoonClan will stand by any decision our leader makes."

The deputy was good at remaining stoic, and Icestar didn't know whether or not Sharpfang was saying that to make him feel better or because he actually meant it. After all, leader's word is law.

"Even the wrong ones?" Icestar murmured.

Sharpfang nodded. "As deputy, I'll let you know if I think you're wrong. And the Clan isn't necessarily under-spoken, either. We all stand by you no matter what, though, because we know you have MoonClan's best interests at heart."