Darkstorm's Code✔️

Chapter Thirty-Five

Darkstorm stopped. "Is that ice?" she whispered in horror, staring at the flat, clear ice floes ahead of her. She had thought it was a lake, which it was, but it was icy. Arrowheart narrowed his eyes. 

"Yes." he confirmed. "It's ice."

"But..."

"We'll get across it," Fishstar promised, padding up to them. "We can send patrols at a time, RiverClan cats first, since we can swim if the ice isn't stable." Darkstorm nodded.

"Good idea." She looked at the clans. "How about we send patrols with at least one cat from each clan, so that we have different skills. ShadowClan cats walk lightly, RiverClan cats swim, ThunderClan cats can guide the rest if the floes are rocky- like undergrowth-, WindClan cats to push the others fast and run if it breaks, and SkyClan cats to help the others leap to higher floes."

"Good idea." The leaders began to assign the patrols.

"I'll go last, so that I can help anyone who needs help. How about we make a leader patrol?" Fishstar nodded, along with the others.

"Come on," Moleflight mewed. "Let's cross." Darkstorm's heart beat faster as she placed a paw on the first floe. It was cold to touch. She slid out her claws to grip the ice, as she was already slipping.

"StarClan get us through here," Darkstorm murmured, slowly sheathing her claws to slide to the edge. Then she unsheathed them, launching onto the next flow. Quickstar caught her and helped her as she dug them into the ice.

"Thanks," she muttered, narrowing her eyes to block out the gleam of ice. How were the clans supposed to get through this lake?

She could see a huge island a well stop away. We'll stop there once we reach it, she decided. She opened her mouth to announce this, but Strikestar was ahead of her.

"Clans! We'll stop at the island!" Darkstorm heard a ripple of relieved sighs from the cats.

"Stop!" Fishstar whispered suddenly. Darkstorm froze. "Don't yowl. Our ice is breaking. It held the weight of all the other cats, so it's weakening. Get ready to run, and..."

"Step light?" Darkstorm guessed. He nodded. Finally, something she was good at! Just as she thought, their skills together worked well. It's just like the Great Journey, she remembered the old tale of the clans who had left a forest to come to the lake. All the clans working beside one another.

"Run!" Moleflight mewed suddenly as a crack sounded through the air. Darkstorm gritted her teeth and dashed for the next ice floe, yowling as it bent under her weight. She jumped onto the next one, which also wavered. Great StarClan! she swore. Are we going to have to jump and dash the whole way there? She stiffened, staring at the high floe in front of her. Moleflight easily jumped onto it, followed by Strikestar and Fishstar. Quickstar scrambled up after them.

Darkstorm took a deep breath and ran up, pushing with her hind legs to get the maximum lift. The floe bent and she felt her fur wetten. She yowled, feeling the wind stop and her body begin to fall, when Moleflight's teeth grabbed her scruff.

"Thanks," she gasped, her fur spiked and wet from the splash. The SkyClan tom dipped his head, clearly embarrassed from the praise. Darkstorm's gaze lifted to the island once again; it was much nearer now. The patrol continued leaping from floe to floe. Darkstorm stopped, her ears picking up noise. She looked back, seeing Coralfall's panicked gaze. Starkit! She jumped to a different floe.

"I'll join you!" she called to her patrol. They were near enough to the island for her to get there without help now, and Starkit was the one that needed it. Strikestar nodded.

"We'll meet you there!" he yowled over the howling wind. Darkstorm jumped to another ice floe, her fur slick with water and sweat.

"Coralfall, I'll get Starkit," she promised. Coralfall hesitated before dipping her head. Darkstorm blinked, getting to the last ice floe and grabbing Starkit's wet scruff. She licked the kit quickly. Warm up, warm up! Come on, no more death!

Starkit coughed out some water and flicked her tail. "Where's Mama?" she mewled. Darkstorm breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll get you to her, little one." She began to wwalk back as s scent filled her nose. She glared at the sky; Shadeflight had come now? "Starkit," she mewed quietly, "try to get to the next ice floe. Don't move from it until I come." She turned around, forcing herself to trust that the kit could do it, and met her father's dark blue gaze.

"Darkstorm," he mewed flatly. "My kit who betrayed me with the kit of Coralfall." He bared his teeth, his fur bristling, and leaped. Darkstorm, expecting this, countered by rolling around and striking her claws shallowly into his underbelly. She rolled back, protecting her stomach.

"Starkit!" she screeched, thinking fast. "Get to the safest-looking ice-" Shadeflight's claws struck her muzzle and she stumbled back, seeing his murderous gaze. She felt the place where he had struck sticky and hot with blood. "Get to the safest-looking ice floe, and try to get to the island!" All the cats except for her, Shadeflight and Starkit had left, so she wouldn't let Shadelfight get to the kit.

"Get the kit!" Shadeflight ordered, as Darkstorm's brother dashed towards the RiverClan she-kit. Darkstorm's eyes widened and she opened her muzzle to let out a warning. Her father smacked into her, teeth bared.

Remember your training. Shadowstar's voice filled her mind, although the ancient she-cat was nowhere to be seen.

She ducked a blow, snapping her jaws on his leg. He bellowed. 

Fernstar pushed you hard. Shadeflight's claws teared her back. 

But there was a reason. She spun around and leaped over him, a move that exposed her belly but was unexpected. Shadeflight  turned around to attack, and she dodged to the side, expecting this.

Grassfang taught you, too. She remembered her second mentor's first move that he had taught her- the leap-and-hold. She pounced onto Shadeflight's back and clawed him repeatedly until he threw her off. He yanked her tail, throwing her off balance.

You were always destined for this. Shadeflight screeched in agony as the smaller black she-cat scratched his nose repeatedly.

The only question... Darkstorm gasped as Shadelfight pinned her down and scratched her belly.

Is who will win.