Sun Over The Sea

Prologue

The sun was now over the sea. Brackenstar just finished creating the elders den for the first elder of IceClan, Scorchpelt. Scorchpelt was a flaming ginger tom, with handsome fire-orange eyes. He was very old and had a bad brain for he was so old.

"Scorchpelt's got a den now, right Brackenstar?" Deputy Flowerclaw scanned, his gray striped fur blowing in the strong wind.

"OF course. And the wind won't blow it away, it's dug perfectly and completely shiny and pretty for you to look around at," Brackenstar meowed. "It's very safe for Scorchpelt. He'd love the big wooden log in there. It's very smooth and pretty."

"That sounds as if I was making it for YOU." snarled Flowerclaw, curling his lip. "Scorchpelt likes pinecones. He one time started catching them and tangling them up in his moss. He'd then fall asleep in em'." Flowerclaw said, giggling. "Why don't you add some pinecones?"

"That sounds odd. Are you lying?" Asked Brackenstar. "This den is a pretty one. Scorchpelt's pelt is pretty. He must love the pretty more than the ugly," she guessed.

"Add some pinecones and shut up!" Flowerclaw snapped.

"Oh me- Oh my. Heard of manners yet, young tom?" Asked Brackenstar. She finished sliding pinecones down. Grit slid down along with the pinecones.

"Icestar could've known this straight after looking at Scorchpelt's spiky expression!" meowed Flowerclaw. "I'm not sure about Cactusstar who left to be a kittypet, she's a bit of a cloud-head."

"Cloud-head? Horrible insult for Cactusstar, I suppose." Brackenstar began to ignore Flowerclaw and tangled the pinecones up in the first patch of moss. Remembering Cactusstar and Icestar, the forgotten leaders... It made her head hurt.

"Yeah, but it's true." Flowerclaw walked on over to the edge of the camp to see Heavypaw and Coralpaw playing on some stepping stones. "HEY, APPRENTICES!" He ran over to Coralpaw and balanced her before her jaw landed straight on the sharp tip of the stone.

"What?!" Asked Heavypaw, frightened by Flowerclaw's sudden appearance.

"What are you doing?! Playing on the stepping stones? Dancing on the sharp points of them? You're going to get wounded! Or maybe killed." Flowerclaw said, kind of an overreacting fox-brain at the moment.

"Just might get the jaw a little misplaced." Said Littlebrook, slowing down and coming to a stop at her apprentice's side. Coralpaw giggled and brushed herself on Littlebrook's leg.

"That still is bad! Horrible." Said Burningdusk, snarling as he pulled his apprentice Heavypaw back towards his side. "Now Heavypaw, never play on those steps again."


 * With Brackenstar... Things were more normal...***

"YOWW!" Brackenstar finally jumped onto the vole, and Scorchpelt limped over to her. "Are you doing anything to make my den?" He asked, chewing on a juniper berry very gently...So soft it made Brackenstar feel embarrassed.

"I finished your den," Brackenstar growled. "I swear I did," She lashed her tail and flicked it to the direction of the Elders Den, which obviously was not too far.

"Oh." Scorchpelt sighed. "Just making sure you actually were doing your job. Really, Cactusstar didn't remember her tasks. Because of that, Gritpuddle and Serpentinepaw died of starvation and were sent to StarClan." He told the whole story before entering the camp and sliding into the den.

''Like I don't know Cactusstar's life. I was her first and not only deputy. Really, I one time had a bad leg injury. And then... Zebrastrike, a living cat till' this day, he had to take over my position until my leg healed. I thought it would never heal. It was not that bad though- Not worse than Gritpuddle and Serpentinepaw's deaths over starvation. Cactusstar was just a weak fox-brain who never knew how to hunt exactly, and was just cared about by Icestar.'' Thought Brackenstar, making herself hate Cactusstar more than she should be.

"And she left to be a darn kittypet..." Brackenstar lastly murmured to herself, entering the camp to see Scorchpelt shaking out his pelt full of pinecones, and chewing the pinecone stems out. He then threw the pinecones in a pile of never used crowfood. "Yuck..." Brackenstar could hear him murmuring, also shaking out sticky spider webs that hung onto his pelt from the belly and the back.

"Need help?" Asked Brackenstar.

"Um, yes?" Scorchpelt raised his head lazily, and let Brackenstar brush off the sticky webs, which took a little bit to do.



After that, Brackenstar was so lazy and sleepy she almost collapsed onto the clearing ground. Instead, she calmed herself and rest her head softly on the moss in the Leaders Den.

Chapter One