"So, what's new in IceClan?" Dawnsky asked as they walked deeper into IceClan territory.

Firefur looked hesitant, and he glanced quickly at Stormfeather, "Ummm, Orangetail and Specklefrost are now mates. And... umm... yeah." Stormfeather hastily explained.

She looked suspiciously at her, "Soooo that's it?" They're hiding something from me! She lashed her tail.

"Well, other things have happened..." Firefur meowed, hinting that he didn't want to talk about this anymore.

Dawnsky sighed in frustration and continued through the forest. Snow flurries began to fall, and one landed on her nose. She sneezed loudly, and Firefur and Stormfeather instantly jumped back in fear as if they had just seen all of Star Clan appear in front of them. She narrowed her eyes, "Are you sure that you're okay?"

They nodded warily and shakily moved in closer to Dawnsky. They seemed to be keeping at least one fox length away from her at all times. She shrugged and kept moving, growing more and more curious about what they were hiding from her. As they neared the camp, Firefur stopped her in her tracks.

"Dawnsky, wait!" He mewed.

She stopped, her tail lashing harder in anticipation, "Yes?"

"Before you go in camp, I... I just wanted to warn you. There has been a small epidemic in the clan..."

Before he even told her, Dawnsky had already caught the acrid stench of sickness that wafted from the camp. She fought the urge to step back and leave the terrible smell, "A small epidemic?!" She hissed, "I can smell the sickness from here!"

They were silent, looking embarrassed for exposing their Clan's weaknesses. They kept on walking and they lead Dawnsky to the entrance of the camp.

The smell was even stronger, and a new scent was added to it: the smell of death. Dawnsky shuddered, trying not to gag. Her breath quickened as she entered the camp, and she gasped at what she saw.

The warriors and apprentices that she could see were underfed and she could count each of their ribs. The place where the fresh kill pile was had one scrawny mouse and what looked like crowfood. She could see how dull their eyes were, as if they had never had a happy day in their life. She barely even recognized her own sister, Willowfur, who was curled up by the warrior's den.

She padded towards her, "Umm Willowfur?" Willowfur lifted her head and her eyes brightened.

"Dawnsky!" With effort, she quickly got to her feet and touched noses with her, "Dawnsky, it's you!"

Warriors all around turned their heads and walked up to her.

"Dawnsky? Is that you?"

"Oh I missed you so much!"

"Where have you been?"

She was immediately surrounded by the cats she had missed greatly while she was away. But it seemed as if there was a few cats missing, "Where are Speckledpath and Longfang?" She interrupted the crowd.

All of the cats went silent, beckoning for the other to speak. Finally, Darkclaw spoke up, "Er Longfang is in the medicine cat den.....and-"

"Dawnsky!" Growled a voice from the highrock. She looked up and saw Nightpelt, "Come here, now!"

She glanced back at the crowd who was giving her sympathetic glances. What is going on here? She thought desperately. Nightpelt was giving her a cold glare as he waited for her to come up the highrock. She shuffled reluctantly to where he was standing and gave him a questioning look, "What is it?" She said with a low growl.

"I need to talk to you. Alone."

"Okay?" She mewed, tilting her head,
"But why in Whitestar's den?"

"Because it's the most private place. And besides, she is staying in Featherpool's den, anyways..." he explained hastily.

Dawnsky slowly stepped into Whitestar's den, which reeked of greencough, "So what do you want to talk to me about? And where is my sister?" She demanded.

"Speckledpath? Speckledpath is gone." He growled, not looking at her.

Her eyes widened, "G-gone? Wh-what do you mean by gone?"

"She's dead!" He yelled, giving her an icy glare.

She stood there, stunned with grief and confusion, "Dead?" She was barely able to process what was happening.

"Yes!" He growled loudly, looking at the ground again, "And it's all your fault."

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. It felt like a huge rock was forming inside of her. Speckledpath was dead?

"She was one of the first to go," his voice cracked as he tried to keep himself together, "she, she...was so depressed when you left.... and then she got the greencough...." his throat tightened and he let out a low moan of grief.

She waited in shock for him to compose himself again and finish the story. The small tom's eyes were glassy with pain from the memory.

"... when she got the greencough, she refused to take any of the herbs Featherpool tried to give her. She said there was no point in fighting it if you weren't there...." he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "that night, Featherpool tried to force-feed her the herbs, but it was too late.... Speckledpath was already gone."

The rock in her stomach grew bigger, "No!" She gasped, her voice barely a whisper.

"And it's ALL YOUR FAULT!" He cried loudly, not caring if anyone heard him, "Speckledpath was everything to me....."

"Nightpelt, I-" she didn't know what else to say. Speckledpath was her only true friend in the clan that she could trust with all of her secrets. She was the only cat who really understood her. And now she was gone, and it was all her fault.

"But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." He growled when she tried to turn away, "I know what you did. You ran away with that worthless rogue, didn't you?"

"I...I..." she tried to speak.

"Didn't you?" He raised his voice.

"What makes you think you can boss me around like you're the deputy?" She hissed.

He narrowed his eyes, "Because I am the deputy. Now admit it!"

Her eyes widened. Whitestar picked Nightpelt as her deputy?! "Y-yes, I did." She mewed, feeling flustered.

"Ha! I knew it!" He hissed.

"Please don't talk about it to anyone!" She begged.

He looked like he was trying to decide something. He sighed, "Fine. But I am only doing this because Speckledpath would want me to. You can go now..."

Dawnsky felt like all of the life had been sucked out of her as she walked mindlessly out of his den. What have I done? She thought, closing her eyes. Willowfur was waiting for her with an empathetic gaze, "So you heard?" She mewed sadly.

She nodded stiffly, not able to say anything.

"I know, it's hard for all of us. But Speckledpath is watching over us in Star Clan now." She said softly.

She looked up at Willowfur, her blue eyes dull like the rest of the clan, "What happened while I was away?"

Willowfur closed her eyes, looking like she was reliving the past all over again, "Well, after Moonstar died, it all went down from there. Brackenpaw was the first to get it." Her voice cracked, "He fought all the way to the end, but he walks with Star Clan now. Mosspaw and Longfang got it next, and then passed it on to Speckledpath and Lilysong. We tried so hard to keep it away from the elders, but Smallface had already caught it, and passed it on to Silvermoon. By then Featherpool had already ran out of catmint. Whitestar got it four times, losing three lives. Oh, Dawnsky! It was terrible! It was if Star Clan had cursed us after you left! We weren't even able to attend the last three gatherings!"

Dawnsky stiffened, could this have been a result of my bad decision? When Oakfoot told me that Shadowstripe was still after me, did he mean this?! "Have all of the cats who've gotten it, died?"

"No, even though it was very deadly. In fact, a lot of the cats who got it did survive. Lilysong, Smallface, Longfang, and Whitestar are still alive! A couple of the apprentices got it and are still here, too." She tried to sound positive, "The medicine cats have been trying so hard, and every cat in IceClan has been pitching in if they didn't have greencough. At one point, I thought it was the end of IceClan! But we pulled through. We survived."

"But not... all... of you survived?" Dawnsky mewed, "Did.... Mosspaw survive it?"

"I'm so sorry," Willowfur said quietly, "but Mosspaw was too weak. I'm so very sorry."

No! Not Mosspaw! She cried in her mind, oh what have I done?

Willowfur sat silently, watching Dawnsky with sympathy.

"I... I think I will go visit some of the cats in Featherpool's den." She decided, shakily moving to her paws. She walked over to her den and saw that it was guarded by Lakepaw, "Hey Lakepaw! Could I visit with some of the-"

"It's Lakeheart now," she interrupted, not looking up, "and yes you may. But if you get greencough too, don't come looking for me."

"Okay?" She padded by her, looking at her strangely.

"She's gone through a lot of grief," Featherpool explained sadly from inside the den, "she thinks that she has failed IceClan." After a pause, she spoke up again, "It's good to have you back, Dawnsky. Who do you wish to see?"

"Well, I was hoping to speak with Longfang..." she mewed.

"He is over there," she pointed with her tail.

Dawnsky nodded her thanks and walked over to him. He was curled up on a small nest, his breathing was very slow. He looked up eagerly at her, "Dawnsky! Where have you been? I missed you!" He purred warmly.

"I missed you, too." She purred, avoiding the question about where she was, "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Oh I'm fine," he sniffled, "I'm so glad you're back. We need strong warriors in the clan right now."

Whitestar started to cough loudly in her sleep. Dawnsky sighed, "Soo what made Whitestar pick Nightpelt of all cats to be deputy?" She asked.

Longfang laughed, "I have no clue. She was probably not thinking straight." He sighed, "But then again, she and Speckletail were siblings. I just don't get why she didn't pick Firefur."

Dawnsky managed a small smile, "Well, I probably need to hunt for the clan. The fresh kill pile is running pretty low."

Longfang said goodbye and she rushed out of the den. She needed an excuse to get outside and gather hee thoughts. She couldn't believe that so much had gone wrong while she was away.

When Dawnsky walked into the forest, she took a deep breath. She needed to clear her mind. She felt a wave of sadness overtake her, and she stared hopelessly up at the cloudy sky. The snow was starting fall even harder now, and she sighed loudly, I could've helped so much.... but I decided to be selfish and do what I wanted. I will prove myself loyal to the clan again....I will do whatever it takes. She made a silent promise to herself.