Icywhisker found herself walking along the hard stone with her eyes closed, enjoying the familiar cold wind. But her eyes opened as she touched the snow. She looked down, her eyes and her paws agreeing. This snow was slush, half-melted . . . i-it's going to be green-leaf soon . . and we're low on the mountain . . this is normal . . she told herself.
Farther up the mountain, the snow stayed the same slush consistency. She found herself nervous, trudging through the thick slushy snow, her belly damp and uncomfortable. "J-jeez . . . Why is the snow so . ." she meowed,
"Wet? Melted? . . It's been getting warmer this green-leaf . . . Atleast we're not all dying to frostbite anymore . . " Smokedawn replied. She huffed, continuing the trudge up the wet slushy mountain.
After nearly half an hour of trudging, they finally made it back to the Flurry camp. Icywhisker climbed into the stone hollow. She drug herself through the camp, past the Herbclaw's den - A sharp cleft in the side of the rockface - past the Woodclaw's den - An alcove in the side of the rocky wall - to the center of the encampment, laying down limply on her side, legs hurting. Her legs had gone unused for far too long, and ached and pulsed in protest to the long walk.
"Tired, Icywhisker?", she heard Smokedawn tease. She huffed, and didn't respond to his jests.
Icywhisker laid there - eyes closed - for several moments, relaxing. She was suddenly jolted back to awareness as she felt a paw sharply jab her in the ribs.
"Get up, Icywhisker.", a familiarly gruff, annoyed tom voice meowed.
"Ow, ow! okay!!", she quickly rose to her paws, staring her Steelclaw - Oddlake, a shortfur tom with a dual-coloured pelt, his left-side black, his right white
"Where have you been? You've been missing for half of a moon. You know how many patrols you missed? How many hunts you could have gone on? I should get your father to exile you for this." he meowed, his eyes flaring with rage.
"Calm down, calm down! I fell and was injured, the Fringe cats helped me heal back up." she mewed defensively, but this only enraged Oddlake further.
"the Fringe cats!? You were in the enemy's camp!? Why would you do that!?" he yowled, enraged, neck fur bristling.
She shrank back, meowing "I was unconscious. They grabbed me, I didnt go there intentionally."
"I dont care if they kidnapped you. You were in the enemies camp, this is practically treason! You should be exiled immediately! I am going to go tell Icestar about this. Stay here." He turned, walked to Smokedawn, meowed some order to him out of range of Icywhisker's hearing, then stormed off to Icestar's den in the far end of the hollow.
Smokedawn glanced at Icywhisker warily, then sat and watched her. She glared at him, then sat and began to lick her paw while she waited for Icestar, trying not to show her nervousness about how she was about to be scolded - or worse, exiled.
What do I do? I've lived here my whole life - S-surely Icestar wouldnt exile me just for getting injured, right? She thought. Hoped.
"Icywhisker." She heard the gruff voice of her father - Icestar - meow at her. She turned to look at him, his gaze cold. "Did you spend the past half a moon in the midst of the Fringe cats?"
She hesitated, then meowed "Yeah . . . B-but, they found me injured and took me to their camp to help me heal. I didn't go there by choice!" she practically pleaded.
Her father stared back, cold eyes fixed on her, thinking. " . . . I am . . Uncertain whether to believe you."
Her fur bristled in rage, "What!? Why would I betray Flurry!? I hate the forest! It's so noisy and smelly, and the sticks and grass hurt my paws!" she yowled without thinking.
Her father's fur raised in anger, and he lashed out, his paw striking her jaw with claws sheathed, "Silence." he growled. "From this point on, you are no longer a member of Those of The Flurry. Leave. Leave our territory now, Icywhisker. You are not my kin any longer."
She stared, dumbfounded at her father, fur bristling. "Hmph." she let out. Turned, and walked toward the entrance to the camp.
"I-Icywhisker-" she heard Smokedawn meow next to her, and turned, meeting his orange eyes.
"What? what do you want?" she meowed pointedly,
Smokedawn flinched at her tone, and mewed "S-sorry, I-I didn't know you'd be kicked out . . ! I-I . ." he glanced around, making sure nobody is around, before leaning in and quietly mewing "I-I'll come visit you in Fringe sometime, o-okay?"
She was slightly surprised by this, "h-huh?" she meowed, but Smokedawn turned away, so she turned and left.
She walked nervously back through the bramble into the Fringe camp, belly soaked, paws sore. She took a nervous stride to the center of the opening- but before she could get there, she felt a weight crash onto her, rolling her over. Sharp teeth stabbed into her shoulders. "Ow! Ow! Stand down! I'm not here to fight!!" she yowled, rolling and trying to escape the attacker's grasp.
She sighed as she felt the teeth retract, and the weight climb off of her. She looked up, meeting the eyes of a fluffy amber-coloured tom - who she recognized as Branchtrot from meetings. "Why are you in our camp, Flurry cat!? You were allowed here to heal, and you come back? What business do you have here!?" yowled the hostile tom.
"I-I . ." she stammered, "M-my father, Icestar, banished me for having been in your camp for half a moon . . . I-I was hoping I could stay in your camp, since I already had . ."
The tom's face flashed with surprise, and he huffed. "Fine. I'll take you to Cloudystar. But if you try anything, if you step one paw out of line, I'll claw your eyes out."
The tom lead her through the camp, to a large tree at the far end of the clearing, and to a thick bramble covering what appears to be an opening. He brushes it aside gently with his paw, careful not to prick himself, and calls out to the inside, "Cloudystar!" Inside, she hears a light rustling, before a white face stuck itself out of the dark den.
"Yes, Branchtrot? What is so important that it calls for you to disturb my rest?" the she-cat meowed annoyedly,
"This Flurry cat returned to our camp after having left for her camp. She says she was exiled." meowed the tom in reply, glaring at Icywhisker.
the she-cat tilted her head slightly, then looked at Icywhisker, and meowed "Hm? Oh! Icywhisker! Why, of course she's welcome, I don't rescind my welcome, What kind of cat would I be if I did?"
" . . . . A strong leader?" meowed Branchtrot sceptically, but he was met with a glare from his leader.
Clearly, not wanting to start a fight with one of her own cats, Cloudystar turned back to Icywhisker, "Of course you can stay! We welcome yoeu with open paws, Icywhisker."
She smiled at Cloudystar and meowed "O-oh, thank you!"
"But no cat named 'Icywhisker' is gonna blend in with the Fringe! And look how bright her fur is! She'll never be any good at sneaking and pouncing on her prey." meowed Branchtrot annoyedly, glaring at Icywhisker.
"Hm . . . Well, I disagree with the sneaking comment. But, perhaps you're right about her name . . . Would you like a new name to go alongside your new group, Icywhisker?"
She stared back, slightly shocked, stammering "U-uh," she continued, "Y-you can . . Do that?"
Cloudystar replied "Well . . Of course I can, i'm a leader chosen by Those of The Moon. Do you want a new name, Icywhisker?"
She hesitated and thought, Well . . . I would fit in better, but . . What if I go back to my old group? S-surely I wont spend the rest of my life in this group, right . . ? before meowing "Uh . . N-no thanks, I'll keep Icywhisker . ."
"Very well," replied her leader, "You may rest in the Stoneclaw den, surely you must be exhausted after making that long trek twice in one day? Your belly and paws are soaked, please, rest up."
Icywhisker looked down at her soaked self, then back up at the leader, "O-oh, uhm . . . Yeah, i'll go rest, thanks . ." before turning, and looking around, unsure of which was the Stoneclaw den, until Branchtrot hissed, "It's that one." hostily, pointing toward a medium-sized green shrub near the tree. ". . . Yeah . . Thanks, Branchtrot," she meowed hostiley in reply, before walking off to the Stoneclaw den, finding the inside to be warm, the floor covered in soft moss, hot mid-day sunlight speckled in through the bushes leaves. She laid down in a spot that didnt carry the scent of any other cats, curling her tail over her nose face, then drifting off to rest.