Icefog's Origins

Chapter 12

Icefog followed the invisible trail as he led the dawn patrol toward HollyClan's border. The sun was barely peeking over the treetops, and the sky was streaked with pink and cream in the early morning. Weak strands of sunlight were filtering through the morning mist and Icefog yawned as they approached the border. Behind him, he heard Wolfpaw and Hootpaw sniffing around some bushes.

"Icefog?" Hootpaw asked. Icefog turned his head to looked questioningly at the apprentice. "Do you know this scent?" He pointed to a bramble bush with his paw, his green eyes uneasy.

Turning his paws toward the apprentices, he sniffed at the bush, careful not to prick his nose on the thorns. It was sweet and tantalizing, making his mouth water as he pulled his muzzle away. Sniffing again, he looked to Wetface and Smallwhiskers, who were the other warriors on the patrol. "Do you know what this is?" He asked the former medicine cat, who was talking to his smaller sister.

Wetface turned at the question and looked into the brambles. Something in his eyes clicked immediately and he let out a yowl of triumph. "Catmint!" He pushed Icefog aside and shoved his face into the brambles and pulled back with the sweet-scented herb between his jaws. "Leopwardwave and Carppaw will be over the moon when they see this!" Whipping around, Wetface sprinted back the way they came, kicking up snow in his wake.

Wolfpaw sneezed as flakes tickled his nose and got caught in his whiskers. "What's he on about?" He asked Smallwhiskers, who looked confused. "Isn't he a full warrior now that Carppaw is Leopardwave's apprentice?"

Smallwhiskers stared after her brother, her ears flicking as she looked up at Wolfpaw, who towered over the small she-cat. "Wetface loved being Leopardwave's apprentice when he was younger," she informed the gray tabby apprentice. "Since he's been a warrior like us, I don't think he's used to hunting and patrolling. Especially since his kits are about to be made apprentices."

Hootpaw scratched his ear with a hind paw, shaking out his fur when he was done. "I don't wanna be training with half-Clan cats," he complained. "Beekit, Sharpkit, Hawkkit, Chestnutkit, and Harekit are weird enough already. I don't want to be in the same den as them when they're apprentices."

Smallwhiskers glared unapprovingly at Hootpaw, who rolled his eyes. "Watch what you say about innocent kits, Hootpaw." She scolded the mottled gray apprentice, who snorted. "Sniphaze and Wetface's actions aren't their fault, and you should be grateful like the rest of us to have more paws in the camp. Their parents' actions shouldn't affect your view on them." Her voice was very stern, and her eyes flicked to Icefog, who was looking at Hootpaw. "Let's get back to the patrol." She mewed breezily before striding past Icefog.

"You had that coming," he meowed to Hootpaw, who seemed embarrassed at being scolded. Turning around, Icefog swiftly caught up with Smallwhiskers with the two brothers in tow. "You defend your kin quite well," he mewed nonchalantly to the shorter she-cat, who flicked her tail in acknowledgement. "A cat can admire that."

Smallwhiskers flashed him a small smile before looking away. "Those kits didn't do anything wrong," she meowed simply. "It's not their fault their parents fell in love and had them. In the end, it's not their fault for existing." Letting out a small sigh, she added more quietly. "At least they now have kits."

Icefog said nothing more as they neared the border, and the apprentices fell quiet behind them as well. Other than the stench of HollyClan's scent markers, Icefog couldn't detect anything else. "They must've just marked their borders," he mewed to Smallwhiskers, who was marking a tree covered in snow. "Their scent is very fresh and strong."

"We mark our borders well, Icefog." The voice of a HollyClan cat made Icefog and Smallwhiskers jump and he looked across the border to see Otterstream approaching the border. The HollyClan deputy was alone, and he stopped a few pawsteps away from the border. "Finfeather's patrol got back to the camp before I left, so they must've marked our side of the border."