#icesong

But Icepaw still burned with hatred. He spent his days working, training, and hunting for the clan, never resting. For once, it seemed, his father took an interest in him, but only to bring him to the Dark Forest, to meet Thistlesong, Goosestar, and other cats. But Icepaw spat in their faces, calling them just as evil as BoneClan, and to never, ever contact him again, or he'd tell Hopestar that Tuftfrost and Hollowpaw walked in the Place of No Stars. Hollowpaw convinced Thistlesong and Goosestar not to kill his brother, and Icepaw was let free from the Dark Forest's grasp. Feeling betrayed and untrusting of his brother, Icepaw kept away from him, sticking instead to his mentor, and his mentor's sister, Daisyspeckle, as well as the other apprentices who were appointed after them, Bumblepaw and Puddlepaw. Soon, Icepaw got his true warrior name after his assessment- Iceclaw, for his righteous anger, his dedication to the clan, and his skill in combat.

As Iceclaw, he grew closer to Daisyspeckle, and finally found himself singing his songs again. His clanmates soon picked up on his good mood, teasing him about his crush, and calling him Icesong again. Eventually, he and Daisyspeckle became mates, and she moved into the nursery not too long after expecting his kits. When his kits were born, he never felt more warmth burst inside him, and he'd never sung as many songs as he had that day- no, that week. He and Daisyspeckle named them Podkit, Spikekit, and Firekit- Firekit because it was the opposite of Ice, Podkit because it was plant-like like Daisy, and Spikekit because they both liked that name. Iceclaw spent every moment he could in the nursery, even sleeping in it, much to the complaints of the other queens, with how overcrowded the nursery always seemed to be in ShadowClan. But Iceclaw had the idea of expanding the nursery, and he worked hard to do so.

For his dedication, and his love, Iceclaw was given an apprentice, nervous but loyal Tornpaw. He trained her to believe in herself, to trust her instincts, and that being nervous wasn't a bad thing. He was bursting with excitement when his own kits became apprentices, Podpaw, Spikepaw, and Firepaw. He loved all of them and told them such everyday. His clanmates whispered about him becoming deputy and perhaps leader one day.

But then one day BoneClan attacked ShadowClan's camp. Iceclaw fought with the fury of a thousand cats when he saw them slaughter his beloved mate, Daisyspeckle, effortlessly, as though she was nothing. Tornpaw, despite her fears, and Spikepaw fought bravely beside him, following him when he and some of their clanmates chased BoneClan out of ShadowClan's camp and territory. But they ran to the Twolegs' Greenleaf home, where Twolegs quickly heard the ruckus and left their nests. ShadowClan wavered, but BoneClan had no fear, striking the warriors in their moment of hesitance and fear at the Twolegs. They killed Tornpaw, but Iceclaw managed to save his daughter, Spikepaw. But not without suffering severe wounds to himself. He told his daughter he was proud of her, then told her to run with their clanmates, back to camp, where it was safe. Iceclaw closed his eyes, and let darkness consume him...

Only for him to wake up in a strange world full of Twolegs and sharp smelling scents that friendly kittypets would later tell him was Twoleg medicines, herbs, and creams. He had strange things called stitches in his wounds, and a cone around his neck. He was placed in a cage, with strong silver sticks blocking him in. He was confused, terrified, and homesick... He was expecting StarClan not... this. He expected to see his first mentor, mate, and apprentice again, and all his other family.

Iceclaw was soon adopted by housefolk, who were very nice to him, loved to scratch his ears, and were content to have him sit in their laps rather than play with any toys. When they first let him out of the house, he was excited to see if he could run back to his clan- but the moment he stepped out into the world and stared around, he knew he was far, far from home. He tried, for days, exploring around and asking other cats where he was, but he always returned to his housefolk by night, knowing they would worry and keep him inside longer if he didn't. The kittypets nearby were curious and mostly friendly, and told him the housefolk called him Jack Frost. Iceclaw told them that was not his name, but refused to tell them his real name.

When he finally realized how pointless it was, that not even StarClan could find him here, Iceclaw stayed inside his housefolk's den for months, so depressed that his housefolk actually took him to vets to make sure he was okay. Eventually, he started going back outside, and hesitantly, he told the other kittypets to call him Icesong.

The songs he sung after that were always bittersweet, melancholy, and blue.

“Gray and white tom.“