The Cat and the Fox

Chapter 20

            Shocked. Guilty. There were too many emotions to count. Icestar had let him to think alone. Stonepaw now still sat by the pool. His mother had only been trying to protect him, and the anger he had first felt had now become guilt. His mother had died for him.
            There was too much to take in. The fact Icestar did have a mate and kits also shocked him. Those horrible memories she had gone through would not only continue scarring Icestar, but they would scar Stonepaw too.
            There was no time to think about Lily and the kits. Stonepaw just thought about what he had just seen. He wanted to make sure Barkface was gone forever, so he couldn't  get Stonepaw. He wanted to go to ForestClan and see his father. He wanted to find all of his family members here in StarClan.
            "Wait!" Stonepaw said, realizing something. He ran towards the direction that Icestar had gone. "Icestar!" he yowled.
            Another she-cat padded forward though. "Stonecloud!" Stonepaw gasped, running towards the she-cat.
            "Stonepaw! Did Icestar show you everything?"
            "Yes! Yes," Stonepaw said. "I have more questions though."
            "It is best you ask Icestar these questions, not me," Stonecloud said.
            "Where is Icestar?"
            "She's in that large den over there. Her mate, Coalfur, is with her. I'm not sure if she wants to be interrupted," Stonecloud said.
            "Is your mate here, Stonecloud?" Stonepaw asked.
            "He is in a different part of StarClan. A part where kittypets roam free. I have already apologized to him, so there is no more to say. I haven't seen him since I first arrived here."
            "Oh," Stonepaw said. "I'll go talk to Icestar now."
            Stonepaw padded towards the den. "Um, Icestar?"
            "Stonepaw. Come in," a mewl came from the den.
            Stonepaw padded inside to see Icestar sitting next to the familiar black tom. "You remember Coalfur from the visions, correct?"
            Stonepaw nodded. "Nice to meet you, Coalfur."
            "And you," Coalfur said, dipping his head.
            "What is it?" Icestar asked.
            "Tree climbing. Is that why I'm so good at tree climbing? Because I'm ForestClan?" Stonepaw asked.
            Icestar nodded. "You have wonderful tree climbing talents. Your mother would be proud of you."
            "Why can't I see her or the rest of the family?" Stonepaw asked.
            "I can't tell you," Icestar said. "It is the powers of StarClan who will."
            "When can I?"
            "When the time is right," Icestar said.
            "How will I know?" Stonepaw asked.
            "You'll know," Icestar replied.
            "I have one more question," Stonepaw said. "What is Ivypaw up to?"
            Icestar sighed. "I regretted showing you this. If you wish to see Cottonpaw and Ivypaw, then I guess we should head back to the pool."
            "Can we?"
            Icestar nodded. "I'll be right back, Coalfur," Icestar said, licking her mate's cheek. Stonepaw sighed. He was beginning to miss not only Ivypaw, but Lily too.
            The two padded back towards the same pool. "Look," Icestar said. The scene showed the camp, now run by Smokestar. Cottonpaw sat next to a pure white she-cat.
            "Who is that?" Stonepaw asked.
            "That is Snowpaw. She's a newly apprentice. She's a very good apprentice as are her sisters. She's a nasty, mean cat though. She acts the sweetest towards Cottonpaw."
            "Cottonpaw deserves someone better than her," Stonepaw growled.
            "Oh, no," Icestar said. "She's actually very sweet towards him. They are a great couple, but she harasses her sisters and Mousekit and Dawnkit."
            "Who are all these cats?"
            "So, after Smokepaw became a warrior, I made him deputy. Well, apparently he went to go tell Wavestorm that he didn't want to be mates with her. She got all mad because she was expecting his kits. Snowpaw, Waterpaw, and Featherpaw are her three daughters. Well, Lilywhisker, Smokestar's current mate, became pregnant shortly after their birth and gave birth to two daughters, Mousekit and Dawnkit."
            Stonepaw looked, seeing the two she-cats. One looked exactly like Smokestar while the other had a gray tabby pelt.
            "Snowpaw and Featherpaw, not really Waterpaw, became jealous that Dawnkit and Mousekit got the most attention from their father, so Snowpaw and Featherpaw constantly harass Dawnkit and Mousekit. They like to harass Waterpaw too because she's the only nice one," Icestar said.
            "What do Waterpaw and Featherpaw look like?" Stonepaw asked.
            The water shifted, showing a silver-blue she-cat and a siamese cat. "The blue one is Waterpaw. The other one is Featherpaw," Icestar said.
            "What about Ivypaw?" Stonepaw asked.
            Icestar sighed, showing the gray and white she-cat playing with a gray cat. "That is Ashpaw."
            "Who is he?" Stonepaw growled.
            "So you know how Skycloud and Blacktail became mates, right?" Icestar asked.
            Stonepaw nodded.
            "Well Skycloud was expecting Blacktail's kits when he died. She gave birth to Ashpaw and Cinderpaw. Ashpaw is the gray cat. Cinderpaw is a gray tabby she-cat. She seems to spend most of her time with a tortoiseshell tom named Yarrowpaw. No doubt they'll be mates," Icestar said.
            "So Ivypaw loves Ashpaw now?" Stonepaw asked.
            Icestar nodded. "Yes. Don't feel too bad, Stonepaw. She still remembers you."
            "Remembering isn't enough," Stonepaw growled.
            "I'm sorry, Stonepaw." Icestar padded away, leaving the tom to mourn.
            Stonepaw sat, growling. At least Lily hadn't moved on. Or had she? He would have to find out. But how?