Chapter 5

Tikipaw wasn't sure what just happened. Well, she was aware of what happened, specifically, but she couldn't quite comprehend what made her agree to the outlandish offer that Sparkstar had given them. Maybe it was the adrenaline rushing through her from her fear, or maybe it was Taika's obvious guilt trip, but all Tikipaw knew is that she had just joined a merry band of misfits who seemed to relish freedom even more than her brother—which was saying something.

It was too late to take it back, though, because she was standing in front of a cheering crowd—an oddly excited crowd—feeling like she just ran a marathon, or won the Olympics, or something. She had a mentor now, as they had called it, and she was an apprentice in TreeClan. Yep, it was too late to take it back now.

The crowd finally dispersed, and the tension in Tikipaw's shoulders was released as she made her way over to Taikapaw, who was grinning widely. Should've called him Grinpaw, or something, because this was ridiculous.

"Hey, Tikipaw!" Taikapaw bounced over to her, acting all too much like the kitten she remembered from years ago. "We're apprentices now! Can you believe—woah." He blinked. "What's wrong with you?"

Her scowl must be showing through a little. "I'm aggravated," Tikipaw gritted out from between her teeth.

"Uh, yeah? I gathered that, Tikipaw," Taikapaw scoffed, looking from side to side before leaning in. "Hey, are you okay? I know I kind of put you on the spot there, and manipulated the hell out of you, which I'm sorry for, but… anyway, how are you doing?"

Tikipaw sighed, some of her annoyance leaving her. "I'm fine. Honest. Just… trying to get used to this is all. I wonder what they're going to have us do next? This can't be it, Sparkstar said something about training."

Right on cue, Skyfeather and Stonewing bounded over to the two of them, a wide smile on the she-cat's face, while Stonewing maintained his ever-present stoicism. "Hey! Are you guys ready to go?" Skyfeather asked brightly, addressing both Tikipaw and Taikapaw in turn.

Taikapaw tilted his head. "Go where?" he asked, excitement still seeping through his voice despite his confusion.

"We're taking you around the territory," Stonewing said, his tail flicking. "Full scope. Hope you're ready."

Taikapaw glanced at Tikipaw, who shrugged noncommittally, and he looked back towards the mentors, blinking. "Uh, yeah. I guess we are."

The four cats walked out of the camp, Tikipaw affording one last glance at the utopia before sliding out through the dome gap she had come in through. As they stepped out into the Circle, Tikipaw turned around to look at Taikapaw, who was coming through after her. He fell into pace next to her, and soon they were leaving the camp area.

"So," Tikipaw asked conversationally, glancing at Skyfeather, "how large is this territory of yours?"

Skyfeather looked at her warmly, opening her mouth to answer. "Really big. Ignore Stonewing—we're not taking you 'full scope'," she said, glaring at the tom. "That'd be too far. Even experienced warriors can't go full scope." Skyfeather looked forward again. "Basically, our territory extends all the way to the Gathering Place, or Kimball, as the humans call it. That's where the four Clans' territories meet."

"Four Clans?" Tikipaw asked, baffled. "There are more of you?"

Skyfeather chuckled. "Oh yeah. You'll meet them soon. So, there's SilhouetteClan, SwardClan, and CavernClan. CavernClan is the only territory we don't share borders with, but the others pretty much surround us."

"Wow," Tikipaw said. "I figured there were more of you, but not that many."

"Yep," Skyfeather said. "Anywho, I wanted to warn you where we're going. We're going to take you around the edges of the Deep Field, but also all the way down to the Open Sector, north border. Where the freeway is."

"Quarry?"

"That's the one. You'll have to be careful around there. We'll have to travel across a lot of roads, but if you know how to do it, it's not hard to avoid them. When we get there, I'll warn you. The main thing to worry about down there is SwardClan," Skyfeather added. "You guys don't look like apprentices, or act like them, so it's pretty much open fire on us, if they're there."

Tikipaw looked a little offended. "Why don't we look like apprentices?"

Skyfeather chuckled good-naturedly. "Hon, you're an adult. I'd wager around two years old…?"

"Four, actually."

"Exactly. Apprentices start their training at six months, and any cat can tell the difference. So you'll have to be careful."

Tikipaw nodded, and from that point on, there was silence. The group made their way through the green aspen forest, occasionally hearing laughter from a human or the rustling of a dog's collar. She didn't really worry about that—mainly because after living with Mish for so long, she knew what a dog's attention span was like.

Before long, Skyfeather led the way onto a heavily packed trail. "This is a human trail," she announced, raising her tail. "This particular trail marks the East Line."

It was with a jolt of realization that Tikipaw recognized the trail as the one that she and Taikapaw had traversed earlier that day. Earlier that day? Jeez, time flies.

"Beyond here is the open sector," Stonewing added on. "Now is when we have to be careful of dogs, humans, and cars. Follow Skyfeather."

Tikipaw obediently followed the gray-spotted she-cat up the trail, the opposite direction of the way the siblings had been going. The mainly-aspen woods started to give way to scrub oak, and then back to aspen again, and before long, pines dotted the area and Tikipaw could hear running water. She looked to the left, seeing a small road and a shed, an open field beyond it.

After carefully stepping over some large rocks in the middle of the trail, the group had reached a small clearing. Through it ran a creek, and the creek wound around before continuing down the lush valley to their right. The banks of the creek were steep, before leveling out, and the trail continued over a wooden bridge firmly set over the water.

Skyfeather crossed the bridge first, and Stonewing followed, Tikipaw and Taikapaw copying more reluctantly. To the right of the trail, a tiny clearing of pale green grass was empty of larger foliage, save for an aspen in the middle of it. The creek was closest to the trail at that point, and Stonewing crept over to it to drink quickly.

When he had finished, and Skyfeather had scent-marked that lone aspen tree, they reached the end of the trail, which stopped at the small road Tikipaw had seen earlier. The trail continued on beyond it, fainter, but Stonewing turned right onto the road and walked briskly down the cracked pavement. As they followed, Tikipaw noted that there were deposits of rock, sand, and gravel strewn haphazardly next to a utility building. The road they were following turned into a parking lot, and next to it, there were massive green fields filled with lawn grass. This was a park.

Stonewing continued sure-footedly, darting across the still pavement and under a silver car. The four cats regrouped under the vehicle, Tikipaw and Taikapaw panting a little.

"Are we okay?" Skyfeather asked concernedly. "It's a bit of a long walk for cats not used to it."

"No, we're fine," Taikapaw assured her brashly. "Takes more'n that to bring me down."

"Ego," Tikipaw whispered dryly. "Careful, before it lifts the car."

Taikapaw nudged her, and she chuckled as Skyfeather led the way out from under the car. They reached the sidewalk, and slipped through the cast-iron poles of a playground buried in the ground. They quietly made their way through the relatively small park before hunkering down in the tall grass beyond the asphalt pathways.

"Alright, we've reached the big road," Stonewing said gruffly. "This is the tough one. We've lost some cats to cars here." Skyfeather nudged him harshly. "Ow! I'm getting to that. Our goal is to make sure you don't die here," he continued dryly. "The idea is to get down to the sidewalk, look both ways, and if there aren't any cars, at least two hundred feet away, then go. Run. As fast as you can. Go across the crosswalk where the street's narrowest—they have stop signs there, too."

Skyfeather nodded, seemingly pleased with his explanation. "Let's go."

They crept through the undergrowth, emerging onto a cracked concrete sidewalk. They stood at the wheelchair access ramp before the crosswalk, looking from side to side. A white SUV passed them, stopping at the intersection before turning left, up past the park they had gone through. Then, there was silence, and Tikipaw couldn't see or hear any more vehicles coming.

Skyfeather silently urged them on, and the four cats crossed the road simultaneously with no close calls. Despite that, Tikipaw's heart was racing, and it didn't stop until they jumped down into a swampy field.

"Ew," Tikipaw remarked, looking at her muddy paw. "I hope there isn't much of this."

Skyfeather chuckled in amusement. "No, Quarry's right there."

Tikipaw looked up, jaw dropping in amazement. There it was, right beyond the field. It was sunset now, and the lights hadn't turned on yet, but it was the same Quarry Village she'd see as she looked out the window every night.

The buildings weren't too tall, but there was a tall-ish one with a bear statue in front of it. Tikipaw couldn't see too well from here, but she knew it extended further than what she could see.

As they made their way through the field, a loud trilling sound caused Tikipaw to freeze, both in alarm and interest. "What was that?" she whispered.

"Potgut," Skyfeather supplied. Tikipaw looked at her with a questioning glance, and the she-cat elaborated. "A few humans call them Uinta ground squirrels."

"...Squirrels?" Taikapaw asked. Tikipaw groaned. Here we go.

"Yes, Uinta ground squirrels," Skyfeather said. She narrowed her eyes at Taikapaw. "Are you alright, Taikapaw?"

"I'll be right back," he called, already taking off.

"Be careful! They can be—" Skyfeather sighed. "Vicious."

"Don't worry about him," Tikipaw said, annoyed. "He's got this, trust me."

The four cats kept walking, on the lookout for Taikapaw and the potguts. Before long, Tikipaw heard a rustling in the bushes, and Taikapaw emerged triumphantly, one of the squirrels hanging in his jaws.

Stonewing looked at him appreciatively, a newfound respect glinting in his eyes. "Well done. You know how to hunt."

"What should I do with this?" Taikapaw asked around the prey. "I'm kind of hungry."

Skyfeather looked at him. "This isn't a hunting patrol, so you can eat, but for future reference, kits and elders have to be fed before you can consume any prey. It's under code 2.1."

"Got it," Taikapaw said, already divvying up the squirrel. He paused and looked up. "Code 2.1? That's the second time today I've heard that. Well, not that specifically, but that general thing."

"We follow a strict set of rules," Stonewing said, sitting down to eat his share, "called codes. Each code has a subcode, and some subcodes have sub-subcodes. We used decimals to make the whole thing easier."

"So code two is…?"

"Ethics. Anything concerning right and wrong." Stonewing finished his portion quickly, sitting up to groom himself. "Our rules about murder are in there, fair battle, et cetera. You get the idea. And code one has to do with basic Clan things, like territories and how to handle affairs. It's something you'll learn as you go."

Taikapaw nodded, his question satisfied as he returned to his meal. Tikipaw, meanwhile, struggled not to grimace as she ate hers. It'd be an acquired taste, for sure. All that fur… blegh.

Once everything was in order, they set off again, and finally reached the tall stone quarry leading to… Quarry Village. They hopped up the rocks, and were immediately greeted by a black car rushing by. Tikipaw let out a startled squeak.

After she had gotten over the momentary scare, Tikipaw followed Skyfeather down the road, before darting across a much larger parking lot. There was a large building, some kind of supermarket, and a grassy hill with a restaurant. The cats sat down in a secluded area of the hill, resting their paws from the long journey.

"Alright," Skyfeather announced. "We've reached Quarry. Now, I'm not sure if it's a patrol day for SwardClan or not, but this is a conflict area, Tikipaw and Taikapaw, and we need to be careful. There's open fire on both sides in this zone, so be on the lookout."

"Do we have to worry about friendly fire?" asked Taikapaw. "Or are there just SwardClan cats around today?"

"No TreeClan cats are patrolling this area of the Open Sector today, so there isn't any chance of encountering a friendly," Stonewing said.

"Then those are unfriendlies," Tikipaw said suddenly, her voice shaking. She gestured with her tail to a group of three skinny cats across the parking lot, darting through.

"Dammit," Skyfeather spat. "I was hoping it'd be an off day. Dammit!"

Tikipaw shook as one of the cats turned in her direction. A brilliant ginger cat's blue eyes widened, and then narrowed as the cat saw the troupe. A smirk blossomed on the cat's face, and Tikipaw swallowed as they made direct eye contact with her, and slowly swiped a claw over their throat.

Well… she finally realized what Sparkstar meant when he said 'war'.