I know. I know, im bad. Im really sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I SWEAR, I will try to the best of my ability to never let it happen again.
*shakes fist at sky* STUPID LIFE GETTING IN THE WAY OF MY WRITING! CURSES!
So yeah. Im really really really sorry.
Few things before I get to the chapter. First off, and let people dance in the streets with joy and happiness at the hearing of this wonderful news, the atrocious name "Avalanchestar" is dead. I know, I know, its stupid. Im not even going to defend how absolutely stupid the name was. Now, the leader of riverclan is Palestar. So yeah. Pretend that Avalanchestar never existed, she didn't die, the name just got replaced, k? same cat, just a different name. I even went back to the allegiances and the chapters in the book where her name was mentioned and changed it. "Avalanchestar" will never be heard of again in this or any following books. (but there is a warrior in riverclan named Avalanchetail, shes just a warrior. Completely different cat. Sorry if I confused you ;)
Also, theres a new poll on my profile page! More details at the bottom of the chapter.
Some good news, though! I am on chapter 100 FOR THE OUTLINE and im not done yet! So im guessing the book will end up being at least 120 chapters! Buckle your seat belts, people, this is going to be a long ride! XD and I hope you enjoy it!
Now on with the chapter! ;)
. . . ….. . . .
Screechpaw jumped out of the sandy hollow, shaking off some of the fine white powder that had gotten lost among her silky pelt. Ruffleslash padded after her, catching up as they headed back towards camp.
"Great training session today, Aspenpaw! You really showed Batpaw that he can't beat you in a fight!" the ginger and black tom praised, shooting her a proud, grinning look.
Screechpaw shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say? I learned from the best."
Ruffleslash laughed. "I should hope you think that I'm the best! I mean, who else could beat me?"
Screechpaw looked up as if in deep thought. "Well, I could!"
"You?!"
"Yeah," Screechpaw meowed, trying to stifle a purr. "I did already beat you in a race, didn't I?"
"Well, yeah, I guess so."
"What do you mean 'I guess so'? I won easily!"
Screechpaw smiled as her mentor sighed in defeat. "I guess you're right, Aspenpaw. You could beat me at anything!"
The two burst out laughing, scaring a few birds away in the process, but the two cats didn't care. They were just having fun, enjoying each other's company out in the bright, sunhigh world.
Ruffleslash is cool. Screechpaw thought to herself.
Is that it?
What? Poolkit's words had confused Screechpaw. What did she mean?
Is that all you think of him? Cool?
I-i don't know…what do you mean?
I mean that you two seem close. It doesn't seem like the average apprentice-mentor relationship.
Are you implying that I like him?!
It took you long enough, Screechbutt.
No, no I don't….
Screechpaw looked up at her mentor. He had a few black spots on his back, but other than that, he was a completely dark ginger tom, almost dark russet. He looked down at her and smiled, bright green eyes flashing in the light. Then he looked ahead of him and kept walking.
Well, Screechy?
I…I don't know. No, no, I don't like him.
Really?
Yes….
Mmhmm.
You don't believe me?
Would you?
Yes.
Would you believe this? "Oh, I don't know if I like him! I'm so confused! Please help me, I'm too stupid to realize what my dumb little emotions are!"
Oh.
Can you honestly tell me that you'd believe that.
I can't honestly tell you, but I can tell you!
You're hopeless.
That's what you signed up for, Poolkit.
I didn't sign up for anything. And don't call me Poolkit!
I don't understand why—
Screechpaw was shaken out of her inner quarrel at Ruffleslash's yowl of shock. Looking at him, she saw surprise and confusion written clearly in his face.
She frowned slightly, eyes wide, slightly weirded out at his sudden change in attitude. "What?"
He ignored the question. "Are you okay?"
Screechpaw blinked. "Y-yeah…? Why?"
Ruffleslash took a step forward barely a mouse length away from his apprentice. Screechpaw swallowed, her pelt growing hot as he stood so close.
Ruffleslash looked into her eyes, his own green ones narrowed in confusion, ears twitching.
What's his deal? Poolkit meowed in her mind.
At that exact moment, Ruffleslash jumped back, tail lashing. "It happened again!"
"What? What happened again?" Screechpaw was so confused now that she could hardly think straight. "What are you even talking about?"
"Your eyes," Ruffleslash whispered, gazing at them intently again. "They just changed color."
"What?"
"Yeah," he mewed. "It's weird. They just changed from blue green to yellow."
Screechpaw frowned as she processed the information. Her eyes had changed? Why?
Wow, you're stupid.
"They did it again!" Ruffleslash exclaimed, shooting to his feet and beginning to pace, ears flat on his head. "That's so weird."
Okay, I know now.
Yeah. You should've figured it out immediately.
Oh, shut up!
"Why do they do that?" Ruffleslash asked, staring at her now. His green eyes pierced through her, seeming to stare into her soul. Screechpaw felt as if he could read her thoughts just by looking at her.
I'd better not tell him about Poolkit. And don't talk until after this is over, Poolkit!
You're the insane boss lady.
I said shut up!
"I don't know," Screechpaw lied. "It's the first I've heard about my eyes changing colors. It's weird."
"Yeah…weird." Ruffleslash just kept staring at her, head tilted and eyes narrowed slightly. "You don't know why?"
Screechpaw looked back at her mentor, feeling a rising sense of panic. The voices in her head started to rise, but she shoved them down. "Yes. I'm sure."
He didn't buy it. Not even a little bit. He just looked back at Screechpaw, green eyes penetrating into the depths of her. He frowned as he scanned her over, then just nodded stiffly and stood up.
If she doesn't want to tell me, then I can't force her to. Maybe she'll eventually come to trust me enough and tell me then.
"Okay, Aspenpaw, whatever. Let's just get back to camp."
Screechpaw stifled a sigh of relief as she followed her mentor deeper into the trees. Padding next to him, she looked over at him, and he looked back. His face kept falling into the shadows of the forest, so it was hard for her to tell how he felt. If anything, he looked a little upset.
But then he returned her gaze and gave her a little half smile and a wink. That made Screechpaw break into a wide grin.
She bumped into Ruffleslash, making him sway a little bit as they walked. He shot her a look that said, "Oh, you want to go there?" He nudged her with his strong shoulder and she yelped as she just barely missed colliding with a thick oak tree.
"Really?" she laughed. "Oh, it is on!"
Screechpaw ran to catch up with him again and shoved him with her forepaws. Ruffleslash yowled as he ran straight into thorn bush.
Screechpaw gasped as he struggled out of the bush, then burst out laughing as she saw his thorn covered pelt. "Are you okay?" she managed to say through her constant purring.
Ruffleslash shook his head, then looked back at his apprentice. "Yeah…" He violently shook his head again, which did no good to the progression of cleaning his fur. "I'm good."
"I'm sorry!"
"Oh, don't lie to me!" Ruffleslash chuckled, then flinched slightly as a thorn dug into his paw pad. "But it's fine. My paw will get better."
"Here," Screechpaw meowed. "We're almost back. I'll help you."
Ruffleslash limped as he got to his paws, shaking out the one with the thorn in it. He leaned on Aspenpaw as they started towards the camp.
"You know," he meowed to Aspenpaw. "It's no big deal. You really don't need to help me."
She shrugged. "It doesn't hurt me to give you a shoulder to lean on. And it does hurt you to not use it, even if it's just a little bit."
Ruffleslash nodded. It made sense. The two walked through the thorn tunnel and into the camp, Ruffleslash earning some amused looks at his thorn covered pelt.
As Ruffleslash sat down in the medicine cats den and Aspenpaw walked away, he couldn't help but look after her. She didn't look back at him. He couldn't stop himself from wishing she had.
. . . ….. . . .
Screechpaw sat next to Shinepaw and Whiskerpaw, watching as Tailstripe picked who would go to the Gathering that night. Screechpaw already knew that she wasn't going and she was okay with it; she didn't really want to go trekking across ShadowClan territory and sliding over a tree bridge just to hear Thornstar bad mouth her and the other clans. She'd rather stay here.
Blazestar was usually the one to organize the patrol for the Gathering, but he had left the job to his deputy. He was still in his den, talking to someone. Screechpaw hadn't seen who.
"So are you guys going to the Gathering tonight?" Screechpaw meowed, turning to her siblings.
Shinepaw shrugged. "I don't know. I think that we're going to be staying. Flamelick has been really tired for the past few nights. I can't figure out why, and he won't tell me. It's probably nothing."
Screechpaw nodded. She had those days where she could barely move because of how tired she was, usually after she went to meet up with Wolfpaw and Spikepaw. But Ruffleslash could usually tell when she needed an easy day of training, so he wouldn't push her too hard then. He was great.
"Shadowpelt and I will probably be going," Whiskerpaw said, shrugging. "I don't know why we wouldn't be going. Not much has been happening over in WhiskerpawClan."
The three of them purred, but they were cut short at a yowl from the front of the camp. Blazestar stood there, tail waving in the breeze.
"The cats chosen by Tailstripe to go to the Gathering are Sweetfang, Wingfeather, Cardinaltail, Pepperheart, Saltytooth, Shadowpelt, and Whiskerpaw. Let's go."
The cats chosen flooded out of the camp, leaving the other warriors to go to their nests or share tongues. Shinepaw and Screechpaw just stayed where they were after saying their good-byes to their brother.
"Wow," Shinepaw mewed. "Small patrol, huh?"
Screechpaw nodded. "I guess they're scared that WindClan will attack again when they're gone. It makes sense. I mean, why risk it, right?"
Shinepaw nodded. "Yeah, you're right." She gave her a small smile. "When did you get so smart?"
Screechpaw grinned. "It's just a gift."
The two sisters laughed, and Screechpaw was just starting to relax when she saw something across the clearing.
Gasping, she shot to her paws and ran across camp. She skidded on her paws and came to a stop next to Ruffleslash.
"What happened?" she asked, wide blue green eyes looking him over. He had a long scratch on his flank that had blood coming out of it in places and his lip was bleeding. His left eye looked like it had been scratched several times, swelled and dark with pooling blood.
Ruffleslash sniffed. "Nothing."
Screechpaw rolled her eyes and sighed. "Okay, clearly, this isn't 'nothing!'" She scanned his pelt, eyes wide with concern. "We need to get you to Wingfeather!"
"No," Ruffleslash said, shaking his head, trying to hide the small wince he had at the movement. "No, Wingfeather had to go to the Gathering. And I'm fine, really."
Screechpaw glared at him slightly through narrowed eyes. "You aren't fine. What even happened!? How did this happen?!"
Ruffleslash tensed up a bit, which made him just flinch again. "It was just the thorns. A few of them got me scratched up. It was nothing too big."
Screechpaw widened her eyes in disbelief as she looked at him again. The scratch on his side was way too long to have been done by a measly thorn, and there was no way that anything other than a cat could have done what had happened to his eye.
She gave him a sideways look, seeing him watching her with…what? Sadness? Guilt? Or something else…no. No.
She shook her head. Forget about that. But why won't he just trust me?
You didn't tell him about the eye color thing.
True. I guess I can't blame him for not telling me this. It's not like I'd tell him everything.
She sighed. "Okay, Ruffleslash. If it was a thorn, then I believe you."
Ruffleslash inwardly collapsed in relief. She had given in, despite her obvious knowledge that he wasn't telling the truth.
He shot her a half smile, bright green eyes staring into hers. She snapped her eyes away. "Well, I'm going to go and sit with Shinepaw—"
"No, you're not."
Screechpaw tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that we're going out to train."
Screechpaw groaned. "Ugh, I don't want to go train again! We already did a battle training session today!"
Ruffleslash shook his head. "No, you don't understand. What I meant was that we're going out to train." He winked on the last word.
Screechpaw still had no idea what he was talking about.
You guys aren't going to train, you idiot, you're going to just walk around and have some fun!
Oh!
Screechpaw noticed Ruffleslash frown slightly at her eye change, but he didn't say anything.
"Okay, Ruffleslash. Let's go."
Saying goodbye to her sister, who looked at her quizzically, Screechpaw followed her mentor out of the camp and into the greens of the forest. She breathed deeply, letting the various smells flood over her scent glands, totally encasing her with the beautiful aromas of her home.
She sighed happily as she looked around. Just past her paws, there was a patch of yellow flowers, their long petals reaching up to greet Screechpaw. She lowered her head to smell them, smiling at their delicate leaves and stalks. Above them, a spider web dangled from a stray tree branch. A spider was perched in the direct middle of it. As Screechpaw stared at it, it gazed back at her, its eight eyes wide and unblinking.
A purr broke her out of her trance. Ruffleslash was standing behind her, laughing.
"What?"
"Have you never been in the forest or something?" he mewed, tail sweeping past his legs gracefully.
"You know I have been." She sat with her head high, blue green eyes glinting proudly. "I just haven't ever really paid attention to the specific details of it."
Ruffleslash nodded. "I've never really paid attention to it, either. But the moon's fading. If we don't hurry, we won't be able to get any 'training' done."
Screechpaw grinned and joined her mentor as he raced off, heading deeper into the woods. The moon shone down onto the ThunderClan territory, creating a dazzling display off dancing shadows on the forest floor. Screechpaw sprinted past them, slightly sad that she couldn't stay for longer to truly admire its beauty.
She slid to a stop next to Ruffleslash. They stood on a hill overlooking the lake, where Screechpaw and Terrorfall had talked not long ago. The sudden recollection made the apprentice curious as to the rest of the she-cat's backstory. But that was something to think about some other time.
"So what're we going to do, Ruffleslash? Battle training or hunting?" Screechpaw looked up at the ginger and black tom, whose face was turned towards the lake, the half turned away from his apprentice hidden on shadow.
"Hmm, let me think…." He meowed, looking up in pretend thought. "How about neither.
Screechpaw smiled. "Okay, what are we going to do, then?"
"Well, what do you want to do?"
Screechpaw frowned. What did she want to do?
I don't know, figure it out for yourself, you rabbit brain.
Ugh.
"Well, we could just talk for a while, I guess."
Ruffleslash nodded, settling down on the grass, a small smile on his muzzle. "So, how are things for you?"
Screechpaw shrugged, her mood suddenly changing drastically at the question. "I don't know, they could be worse."
Ruffleslash looked at Aspenpaw, seeing her downcast eyes and lowered ears. He knew that things had always been hard for her, and her father's death had only driven her farther into insanity. Though, in all fairness, she hadn't had a fit in a while. She must have been too sad about Smokeleg to have really gone mad.
Does that even make sense? Ruffleslash thought to himself.
Well, I guess. I mean, she'd have to be somewhat conscious about the world around her to have a fit, right?
I don't know. I'm new to this.
Me too.
Obviously, you're me!
Please, let's not start this again!
Ruffleslash shook his head to clear his thoughts. Instead, he directed his attention back to the little she-cat sitting next to him.
"Hey, remember what I told you the morning after your first Gathering?" Ruffleslash asked gently.
"What part?"
"The part about how things will get better. Do you remember that?"
Screechpaw sniffed quietly. Of course she remembered. That was the morning Smokeleg had died. It was still vivid in her mind. In fact, that night had happened exactly one moon ago that night.
"Yes," she answered.
"Well," Ruffleslash mewed. "Have things gotten better?"
Screechpaw shrugged again. "I don't know. In the long run, I suppose they have. But I still miss him."
"It's okay to miss him. And I'm sure he's extremely proud of you, Aspenpaw. I know that somewhere in StarClan, he's looking down on you with love and happiness. And no matter what you think, you'll never be able to let him down. Him or me."
Screechpaw looked at her paws. She wanted to believe her mentor, but she just couldn't. The dream she had had several times before discouraged her beliefs that Smokeleg still loved her. They only ever showed him turning away from her in disgust, angry that she had been the cause of his death.
But Screechpaw looked into her mentor's eyes and didn't see even the smallest shred of disbelief or a lie. He really believed what he was saying, that Smokeleg still loved her. And maybe he was right. But even if he wasn't about that, she almost certainly knew that he was about the other part of what he had said: that she could never let him down. He was her mentor and she was his apprentice; that was a bond that couldn't be broken.
At that thought, something in Screechpaw's chest leapt with joy, while, simultaneously, another thing drooped with sadness. Try as she might, Screechpaw couldn't identify exactly what they were. She didn't have the time here, anyways.
"Thanks, Ruffleslash." Screechpaw looked into his eyes and smiled, glowing green orbs returning her friendly gaze.
"Anytime, Aspen," he purred, batting her over the head with his tail to lighten the mood.
Screechpaw narrowed her eyes playfully. "Who are you calling 'Aspen'?"
Ruffleslash narrowed his eyes back at her. "You. What are you going to do about it?"
Screechpaw sat up, then shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I'll have to—"
The silver and black tabby she-cat interrupted herself as she threw herself forward, colliding with her mentor. He yowled in surprise as they went rolling down the hill. They finally broke apart as they reached the line between the sand and water of the lake.
Ruffleslash got to his paws, shaking the sand from his fur. "Oh, you think you can defeat me in battle?" He intentionally lifted his fur, eyes wide with a friendly challenge.
Screechpaw kneaded the ground with her paws. "Oh, I don't I think I can defeat you, I know I can!"
"You'd better have the moves to back up your words, then, cat!"
Ruffleslash jumped forward, head butting Screechpaw in the side before she could react to his speed. She staggered slightly, but lashed out at Ruffleslash with sheathed claws before he could run her to the ground.
He ducked beneath her flung out paw, smiling, and waited just long enough for her to regain her balance before he jumped at her, rolling her over on the sand. He came up on top, staring down at Screechpaw as she struggled to break free of his grip.
Ruffleslash purred as he lowered his head, now nose to nose with his apprentice. "What now, Aspen?"
"This!" Screechpaw pummeled Ruffleslash with an onslaught of kicks to his belly, not stopping until he let out a small grunt and retreated. Jumping to her feet, Screechpaw turned towards her mentor once more.
"Nice move," Ruffleslash meowed. "But you're going to have to do better than that to win against me!"
The two circled each other, always waiting for the other to strike first. The glared at each other playfully from where the slunk, each preparing themselves for what was bound to come at any moment.
Screechpaw finally grew tired of waiting. She threw herself forward, aiming to hit Ruffleslash on the chest with her paws hard, shoving him backwards. But her mentor just sidestepped the moment she reached him and the apprentice went shooting past him, awkwardly skidding to a halt.
From the corner of her eye, she saw him turn to her and begin to swipe a paw at her side, but she dropped to her belly and rolled before he could be given the opportunity. Now on her back, she got her paws beneath her quickly so that Ruffleslash couldn't take advantage of her exposed stomach.
Screechpaw jumped at Ruffleslash again, this time being able to roll him over on the ground. When they stopped, she was able to get on top and pinned down Ruffleslash before he could struggle free of her grip.
Screechpaw purred in delight as she looked down at him. "I won!"
But her easy going expression soon turned alarmed. Ruffleslash wasn't looking at her. Instead, his head was turned away, eyes unfocused, ears down. He was panting loudly, and his green eyes kept flicking side to side, open and closed.
A shot of fear raced through her as Screechpaw let down her guard, loosening her grip on his shoulders and haunches. "Ruffleslash? Are you okay?"
Screechpaw let out a yowl of shock as she was thrown upwards, twisting and turning in midair in an attempt to land on her paws. But she didn't have enough time to prepare and she crashed down to the earth, her legs sprawled around her.
A giant paw held Screechpaw down when she tried to stand up again. Looking up, she stared into the amused gaze of Ruffleslash, who was purring quietly.
Screechpaw scoffed. "Ruffleslash! You tricked me!"
The dark ginger and black tom stood back, letting his apprentice to her paws. He sat quietly while she dusted herself off, swinging his giant plume of a tail up next to him, settling it onto his paws. "Sorry, but that's how you win, Aspen!"
She looked away, ears flicking in annoyance and slight embarrassment. "You scared me. I thought you got hurt."
Ruffleslash blinked his eyes in surprise at Aspenpaw, who avoided his gaze. He hadn't meant to scare her. It was just a battle move.
"I'm sorry," he meowed gently. "I hadn't meant to. I'm fine! See?" He stood on his paws, then pranced around the sand in an exaggeration of pride, tossing his silky fur and shooting her happy, smiling glances.
Screechpaw watched, grinning and relieved. "Okay, you're fine! You wouldn't be looking so proud if you weren't."
Ruffleslash nodded, laughing. "But do you know why I look so proud?"
"No…why?"
Ruffleslash stood nose to nose with Screechpaw, and her heart began to beat faster.
Stop it, heart!
Oh, shut up, Screechy!
You shut up!
Screechpaw chose to ignore her pounding heart as she stared into Ruffleslash's eyes. He stared back, his green eyes suddenly narrowing in victory.
"I'm proud because I beat you!"
Screechpaw's mouth hung open. "What!? That's not—"
"Fair?" Ruffleslash took a step back, shaking his head as he laughed. "I beat you! I might have tricked you, but I still won! What do you have to say to that, Aspen?"
Screechpaw sat where she was. What should she say? Yes, she should have won, and yes, she would have if he hadn't tricked her. But she supposed he had won.
Screechpaw groaned loudly. "Ugh! Good job, I guess."
Ruffleslash purred as he joined her. "I knew I'd eventually beat you at something."
Screechpaw bumped her mentor with her paw playfully. "It was about time that you finally won! What's the score now? 100 to 1?"
Ruffleslash rolled his eyes, smiling at her competitive nature. "Yeah, that's probably close enough."
Screechpaw laughed at that, then looked up at the sky and immediately felt down. The moon had almost reached the horizon, and the sun's rays were beginning to peak over the land. "Do we have to go now?"
Ruffleslash looked at the clouds and his face fell, too. He sighed. "Yeah. We'd better."
The two cats dejectedly padded away from the lake together, side by side. Ruffleslash looked over at Screechpaw. "This was fun."
"Yeah. I wish we could do this every Gathering night. This totally beats any dumb meeting of the clans."
Ruffleslash smiled as they walked on. He had liked it better, too. He was glad that his apprentice had enjoyed their 'training' session.
They fell into a silence as they headed back towards camp, each within their own minds. But though they were two very different cats, their minds were both thinking the exact same thing. And though the words weren't spoken aloud, maybe the silence between them said more than a thousand words ever could.
. . . ….. . . .
Author's Note Thing
4085 words! Boo ya!
Not much to say right now, most of the announcements were above the story. Yeah, I hope u liked the greatly delayed chapter! XD sorry that it took so long to be uploaded. and sorry, the end part was a bit rushed. But I hope it was still good!
Oh yeah, I forgot to say! I am changing the review number that I must reach for each chapter to update from 15 to 20-25 (the exact number depends on the day ;). So yeah. 15 is just way too quickly now XD
ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION!: I HAVE PUT UP A NEW POLL ON MY PROFILE PAGE! IT HAS TO DO WITH THE CATS' DEATHS AND WHO SHOULD DIE! DON'T FORGET TO GO AND CHECK IT OUT! THANKS YOU GUYS ARE BAE!
Also, sorry again that I didn't do any RR's for this chapter. Ive been super busy for the past few weeks and today, I just didn't have the time. Thanks for understanding! You guys are the best!
QOTDT1) what's up with Flamelick? What has he been doing that has been making him tired? (I want the wheres, the whos, the whys, etc!)
QOTDT2) around halfway through the chapter, Ruffleslash got hurt by some 'thorns'. Do you believe him? If not, what/who was the one who hurt him?
QOTDT3) what deaths would make the story more interesting? What deaths would you really like to see/ really not want to see?
That's about it…..yeah.
Ok thank you so much bye! I'll (try to) update once I hit 20-25 reviews for this chapter! Don't forget to suggest, correct, and review! I love you all! Byeeeee!
