First of all, I'd like to apologise about the amount of time it took for me to update. Life at Leopardstorm Towers haven't been easy, on this website and off it, but I am back now, and I hope this more than makes up for it. Time for some responses:
LittleSpark: Land's End is a designer label? We've talked about pictures, and I'd love you to draw some Nuke Warriors art! You could be my illustrator, and I'd love to see my interpretations on paper (I can't draw, the closest I get are stick men…)
Silent-Heart: I'd also love to see your pics…colour them in and upload them, then give a link in a review and I'll take a look…it will be great to see your versions compared to mine (There's a scene that will come near the end of this story that I would sincerely love to draw, but it's so complicated and it's quite a violent scene…).
Lolcatsrule: They're not mine, they're Crowfeather's names, I just wrote it down for him.
Tanglestalker: That's a plot for later in the story!
LegendaryHero: Take it as a compliment, it means that I really do respect your opinions on things that could be improved, even if it is in a brash and blunt manner. There is a lot that will happen…but I'm saving my most ingenious climax until we get there…you will NOT expect what I have under my sleeve! Snog…that's definitely a British word, and I could see Crow saying that (or hear…?) in my humble opinion. April Fool's was a complete let down, let's face it. Oh well, I'll have more practice for next year…. Jay wasn't at the Moonstone at all, because Firestar only told a few people to get out of the Campervan. I will try and draw humans…but don't expect wonderful things…
Rubyblaze: And that had reference to the story how…? :D
Wildheart: Do you underestimate my intelligence? :P We use the word 'barbie' even if it is Australian! Everyone loves a barbeque, don't they Wildheart?
Darkness of the Eclipse: Daisy is the co-owner of a day-care centre, and went into business with Ferncloud. Sorreltail originally was going to work there, but Brackenfur convinced her to drive buses.
Laughing Rain: Ravenpaw is sorely missed…which is why I brought him back! We'll see more of him later in the story.
Hawkfire: Please try and redraw it! I promise it won't be as bad as my feeble attempts! 1) Jingo owns a milkshake outlet on Regent Street, London. Hussar is on London FM's Breakfast Show and I have yet to figure out other people's positions. 2) The prophecy hasn't gone away, it's just taken a break… 3) Hawkfire…you are getting my drift (but I never thought to use BloodClan since I thought that they broke up and lost all hostility), but I promise the last…10 chapters of this story will be definitely T rated, some quite sensitive themes will emerge and all hell will break lose!
Goldwhisker: Thanks
I've decided that Crowfeather's having a natter with us for the moment, so that's who the PoV is!
Regards,
Leopardstorm
Chapter 20 – A Well-Timed Boat-TripThe sun rose above the barn in rural Hampshire, waking up much of the travelling group. Ravenpaw had made us all his pancakes that were so delicious, although we did have toast on the Campervan. He was sad to see us go, and Princess had arrived late last night to see us when we woke up. Cody was also there as an overnight sleeper: the two older men had kept up the tradition of the barn being a place for people to stay the night, and had turned it into a small B&B that people could come to in need.
We were ready to set sail down the road towards the mountains (the Pennines), but Tigerheart was still in the barn. Being the nearest there, I ran over to come and collect him. He was sat on the floor of the barn with the golden retriever puppies playfighting over his legs. He was looking at them longingly and kept stroking the bundles of fur gently on the head.
"Come on, we're leaving!" I huffed impatiently.
"Oh Crowfeather, can't we keep one of the puppies?" the brown-haired boy wailed.
I wasn't sure about my answer. It would have the first time that we had come into contact with animals since the transformation. Would Jayfeather benefit from this? But we couldn't keep it on the Campervan. There wasn't enough room.
"'Fraid not, kid," I told him gently. "It wouldn't be fair on the mother of the puppy or the puppy himself. He would be without his family in a sticky Campervan. It's best that way." Tigerheart's face dropped several levels as he said goodbye to the pups. "But when we get home, I'll see what I can do."
Tigerheart looked up, grinning from ear to ear. "Will Mum let me?"
"It's my house," I walked out briskly. "Come on, do you want to go back to our home?" We walked briskly back to the 'Van', the engine already rumbling. Ravenpaw forced a smile as he waved us off. Princess hugged Firestar tightly before letting him get back in the van. Bleeping the horn loudly, we exited our former home and were on our way to the lake.
-x-
We had currently been on the road for two hours, passing through Birmingham, watching trees, cars and buildings fly past the frame of our vision. The Whitetail Show had just begun on Channel 4, and today's topic was 'which was better: Chocolate or Pizza?' The group was clearly divided, and Swallowpaw had started a heated debate with Heathertail about how pizza was much better and more nutritious than chocolate and that nothing could ever change that. Brambleclaw turned over before it got violent.
Jayfeather was pretty certain that our lake was somewhere in the Lake District; if that was true, then it would have been a massive journey for us as cats (and it was, while starved of course).
"Do you really think that we are going the right way?" Cinderheart asked Jayfeather tentatively.
"Don't doubt me!" my son replied roughly. "If you do, then we don't know where we will be." Cinderheart just crouched back into the sofa, the wall of friendliness they had been starting to build together been blown to smithereens after that outburst. He trudged into the kitchen, I followed him.
"Come on, she was only asking a question!" I pointed out. "Your little spat is driving us insane! You won't stop giving her the cold shoulder and it's just about one little bathroom incident! If you ask me, you're making a gigantic super-volcano out of a anthill, and you know it!"
"You weren't me that day, I felt terrible, and when Cinderheart didn't see that I was hurting inside, I knew she couldn't care that much about me." Jayfeather chucked the tea towel onto the worktop roughly and sat down in a chair, his head in his hands.
"Do you remember that day when we went to look for more life, just you and me?" I was determined to unpick at the anger underneath. "You admitted you loved her, and you knew you wanted a long lasting relationship with her. And on her birthday, if my sources are correct, you gave her a present she won't forget in a long while."
Jayfeather looked mortified. "How on earth do you know about that? No-one was home when that happened!"
"That's not the point, if Cinderheart was actually pregnant and you were still arguing, imagine the sort of impact that might have on your immediate family. Hollyleaf turned uncontrollably evil because of the mess that used to be your mother's relationship with me. Please, listen to me. You know that this thing is completely worthless and pointless, so why can't you settle your differences and get back together. You were so much more sociable then than you are now."
"Okay, I try," Jayfeather got up and sighed, then he walked out of the room. I watched him talk to Cinderheart as they walked off into the bedroom that they shared (albeit alternately).
"Did Cupid just fly in, or has the Love Doctor just healed another patient?" a familiar voice laughed behind me.
"It's not been done yet, Leafpool," I shunned all of the praise humbly. "But I think he's giving it another try." There was silence in the kitchen for a few seconds, although we couldn't hear anything. Suddenly, a loud SLAP sound came from up the corridor, followed by a bang of the door.
"Have another alternative?" Jayfeather asked furiously. He was clucking his cheek with his left hand, and his face was red with rage. "I told her I wanted to start again, but I wanted her to admit she failed to see my pain. Then I got this and a door in the face."
"You went wrong went you said you wanted her to admit her wrongdoings. Women hate that, because they're always right –" I got a sharp, but playful cuff round the head from Leafpool. "And know it's been made a lot worse. You're not exactly in the right, either. It was February 15th when you argued. It's now April 2nd. Now do you see how long it's been?"
"I suppose," he replied nonchalantly. "But she has a part in this mêlée as well, you know!"
"I never said she didn't," I huffed in impatience. "It's just that you won't accept that you were too short with her!"
"Oh look, we're at the lake!!" Jayfeather ran out of the room, leaving us to watch him knock over a hat stand. I looked out of the window - not even close. Were we ever going to reach the lake? And more importantly, will this pointless feud ever end?
-x-
More trees. More buildings. Will this journey ever end? The fan had broken in our bedroom, and I had to open the vent to get some air in, even if it did smell of exhaust fumes. I had begun writing in Morris for today's entry, whilst Leafpool was busy alphabetizing the DVD collection for the fourth time this week. Brambleclaw was playing Solitaire on the floor of the lounge and Jayfeather was led on the sofa with an ice pack on his cheek.
"Please Cinderheart," I could hear Lionblaze almost beg the woman. "Jayfeather does love you, and I'm sure he didn't mean what he said…"
"Yes I did!" Jayfeather called from the sofa. I groaned. This was going to get worse before it got better.
"If he thinks I'll give him another chance after that display, he better wait until the Place of No Stars freezes over!" Cinderheart grabbed Lionblaze by the ear and promptly slammed the door. Then, she opened it again, as though she was going to regret what she said, but instead she shouted, "And I've laid claim to the bedroom! I hope the sofa's comfy enough!" And she promptly shut the door.
"Jayfeather, what have you done?" Lionblaze groaned as he got a Coke from the fridge. "You've created a problem that may never be solved!"
"She's being completely unreasonable!" Jayfeather grumbled and hid under the cushion.
"And so are you!" Heathertail threw a pack of playing cards on his head, exploding into a massive heap of plastic mess on the sofa.
"Brambleclaw, do you remember the time Squirrelflight got stuck in that fence and we had to get her out?" Tawnypelt was looking to the ceiling, reminiscing in old memories.
"Yes, and by my recollection, I got her out!" the brown-haired deputy replied proudly.
"You did nothing of the sort!" Tawnypelt retorted. "You, Stormfur and Crowfeather were arguing about how this was wasting time, while Feathertail and I got her out! It was my quick thinking that got us away from the sheep!"
"Okay! You win!" Brambleclaw laughed and went back to reading Seekers: The Quest Begins.
"Hey, we're here!" Tigerheart looked happy for the first time since we left the barn. Sure enough, we were at the horseplace.
-x-
"It looks so much smaller as a human," Brambleclaw commented as he got out of the car, crutch under arm. Brambleclaw only used it now for either effect, or if the strain got too much.
"It's the island!" Swallowpaw screeched in delight. "Can I cross the bridge?"
"It might be unstable!" Jayfeather warned. "It would be better to swim over there. Is that okay, Granddad?"
"Fine, we have towels," Firestar smiled. Swallowpaw yowled and dive-bombed into the lake, then immediately started shivering.
"This is almost as cold as The Serpentine in Hyde Park," she shivered. Swallowpaw was an avid swimmer, even though her WindClan background highly contradicted her hobby. I, however, stuck to my moor land principals and sat on the half-bridge by the horseplace.
"I wonder if Smoky and Floss still live here," Brambleclaw mused out loud. "I'll go and see if they live in the farmhouse." Brambleclaw disappeared around the corner and we turned our attention back to the lake. The land looked identical to what it did in our previous life, albeit a little smaller. Tigerheart had changed into a pair of swimming trunks, and had also got in the lake. Watching from the half-bridge, I saw two new people come around the corner.
"Well I never!" the man looked amazed. "I never thought I'd see you again! How did you get here?"
"A result of a lot of travelling!" Firestar smiled. I tuned out of the conversation and watched the lake. Not a ripple. Suddenly, I noticed a boat chained up to the half-bridge. Tentatively, I got in, but I felt my feet sway below me, so I quickly sat down. The boat had two oars, since it was a wooden rowing boat. It had Wind inscribed into the wood. I felt safer now that I got to know the boat, and gently, I picked up the oars. They were not that heavy, but quite hard to pull back. I had watched people do it on television, but I had never done it myself.
I found that it was that hard, and after a while I managed to a rhythm going as I headed towards the island.
"Hey, Crowfeather is rowing to the island!" Tigerheart pointed out of the water at me and everyone looked shocked.
"I didn't think you liked water!" Leafpool laughed as she got her camera out.
"I guess not just my looks changed," I replied smugly. I hadn't noticed that I was rowing straight into the island. I landed with a thud, but the boat was fine. I felt much better when I landed on dry land, and I managed to hop out of the boat and onto the soft grass. I was awed, to put it simply. The Great Oak wasn't the biggest but certainly the most majestic thing I had ever seen. The branches were slightly charred as a result of 'The Incident', but it was still a wonderful sight to behold.
I looked at the Treebridge, wondering if it could still take my weight, but I went against the idea, considering I hate swimming and water.
The weird thing was, I felt that this was a home that I had left years ago for a new place. London was my home now. Even though I loved looking at both my homes as a cat, I felt more connected to the tall spires, the high-rise buildings, the river, the eye-catching landmarks, and most importantly, my house and my family. All of the memories that I had gotten since the Transformation: finding friends and family, exploring the city and the land beyond, and all of the laughs we had shared. Squirrelflight had twins and I had a job that I really felt I could live with for the rest of my life.
"Are you going to get to the other side of the lake, or are you just going to stare at the Great Oak all day?" Lionblaze shouted to me from another boat called Thunder. It was true, I was staring into space. Getting back into the boat, I rowed over towards ThunderClan territory. The weather couldn't be better as the wind carried the boat gently across the lake. Firestar and Brambleclaw had gone in another boat called Star and Leafpool had got in a boat with Jayfeather, even though she had no clue how to use it. Jayfeather was trying to skim the water to move the boat forward.
"Get in mine," I offered mock-crushingly, and rowed the boat toward them. They quickly got in, and Jayfeather nearly fell in, but both got across fine. After what felt like not long at all, we were on the bank of the lake, looking at the stream between WindClan and ThunderClan territory – to the left, oak trees, to the right, sprawling moorland.
"Okay," Brambleclaw walked off his boat and onto the grass. "Let's stick together. I know this used to be our home, but it's been a while and I can't really remember how to get to my own camp, let alone anyone else's."
Although I was much more eager to explore my own territory, I didn't complain. You're not as younger as you were when you last travelled… my mind stopped me from going to Brambleclaw's throat, although I knew I would have in my apprentice days. The trees thickened as we headed further and further into ThunderClan territory. We have to be close to the camp now!
"We have to be at camp! I don't remember it being this far away!" Lionblaze was fidgeting in impatience.
"All in good time," Brambleclaw muttered, but even he was fumbling in his pockets.
"I'm gonna run ahead!" Tigerheart sped off in front, but by the time we shouted for him to stop, he had disappeared into a mass of leaves. A few seconds later, a large shout and a thud.
"Oh no." Brambleclaw was half-running, half-limping towards the site of the shout Tigerheart was led in a heap at a ledge.
"Tigerheart!" Tawnypelt and Swallowpaw shrieked together as they climbed precariously down the quarry's rock-face.
"I should have known that this was exactly the place where Squirrelflight fell…" Brambleclaw looked faint, and sat down on the forest floor. He looked on as though he was reliving a distant memory, probably the one he just described.
"Is he alright?" I asked as I climbed down, gradually and carefully.
"Yeah," Tigerheart choked. "I think I've sprained my ankle."
"You have," Leafpool picked his ankle up gently and examined it. "Brambleclaw, do you still have your crutch?"
"Indeed I do," Brambleclaw threw the crutch down and it landed next to his nephew.
"So this is the ThunderClan camp…" I got up again and I wandered around. I noticed the Highledge jutting out of the cliff-face, the medicine den sheltered by shrubs and bushes.
"I can't believe I used to sleep in here," Lionblaze commented, peeking into what presumably was the warrior's den. "It looks so tiny, how did we all fit inside at night?"
"We were much smaller then," Brambleclaw joined us down inside the camp. "But I must say I doesn't look very comfortable inside."
"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" boomed Firestar, shouting the very words he must have used to gather the Clan together each meeting. "How does that sound, Brambleclaw?"
"You're not rusty!" he yelled back. The quarry was built into a natural dip that caused the sound to be echoed around the quarry.
"Can we explore WindClan now?" Heathertail asked eagerly.
"I don't see why not," Firestar ran back down the tumble of rocks and back into the centre of camp.
"But weren't we going to see if there were any cats around here?" Jayfeather asked, a strange edge laced in his tone.
"And I think this would be a good time that I started the broadcast for BBC News," I chipped in.
"Okay, okay, I've heard you," Firestar expertly dismissed all comments that came his way. "We'll stay the whole day, we have plenty of time. Don't we?"
This is Part 1 of Lake Exploration, I think you'll enjoy Part II more.
PS – I now have an original story over on Fiction Press, called Friction. My username is the same as it is here, Leopardstorm. Please take the time to look.
Regards,
Leopardstorm