Trail of Thunder
Challenge for Dawn's First Light
"Where are we going?" Fernpaw chirped, bounding to keep up with her mentor's swift gait.
"We're going to go see the Thunderpath, It's the border between us and the Twolegplace." Blueheart told her apprentice.
"What's a Thunderpath?" Fernpaw asked curiously, she'd heard the older apprentices mention it before but nobody explained what it was.
"You'll see in a moment." Blueheart said, pausing for a second before pushing through a tangle of grass and weeds.
Fernpaw followed, shaking her head as leaves snagged in her brown and white pelt. As she came out onto the other side of the screen she felt her eyes widen at what lay before her.
A wide expanse of rough black stone met her gaze, stretching into the distance on either side. The scent rolling off the hot path made the apprentice wrinkle her nose in disgust.
"What is it?" She asked, poking it experimentally and finding it hard and rough on her delicate pads.
"This is the Thunderpath, it's very dangerous and you have to be careful when you're around it." Blueheart explained, her gaze focused on something further along the Thunderpath.
"Why? It's just a bunch of stone, really gross smelling stone." Fernpaw pointed out, sniffing to prove her point."
"Stand back." Blueheart said as a response, moving back so she was half hidden in the undergrowth.
With a shrug Fernpaw decided to humor her mentor despite the apparent lack of danger.
"Why are we hiding?" She whispered as she crouched in the bushes next to Blueheart.
"Patience is a virtue Fernpaw." Blueheart said quietly, "As for why, just watch and you'll understand."
With a sigh Fernpaw turned her gaze back to the Thunderpath, wondering why they had to sit here so long. It stinks to Starclan here, she thought with an inner groan, I swear it smells worse than it did at first.
Indeed the scent did seem to be getting stronger and it dawned on Fernpaw that might not be her imagination. A heartbeat after that though crossed her mind Fernpaw registered a low roaring sound that grew in volume.
"Blueheart...?" Fernpaw began but trailed off as what appeared to be the source of the noise came into view.
An enormous creature that glittered in the sun roared along the path leaving an overwhelming stench in its wake.
"What was that thing?" Fernpaw gasped, watching as it disappeared along the stone trail.
"That was a monster, they're extremely dangerous." Blueheart said, rising and leading her rather shell-shocked apprentice away. "Most cats who encounter them don't live to tell the tale."
"Oh." Was all Fernpaw could think to say, for once no question came bubbling to her lips as she contemplated the beast she'd just seen.