Flippy: Please leave a review! I want to know your guys though on this!
"Blazepaw?" groaning in her sleep, Blazepaw slowly opens her eyes. Stretching out her body she sits up. It took her a bit to remember where she was before she heard Bluestar calling her name again.
Green eyes widen, she quickly runs out of the apprentice den, almost running right into Bluestar. The Leader chuckles at seeing the drowsiness evaporating into excitement in her apprentice.
"Good morning," Blazepaw mews as she gives herself a quick wash, "What are we doing today?" Once finished she looks up at the blue-gray and ginger molly with ears pricked.
"Well today I thought me and Thrushflight would show you our territory," she waves her tail towards where Thrushflight was waiting. Sitting next to him was Ravenpaw whose tail was twitching nervously.
Blazepaw smiles, her whale body feeling like it was supercharged, but she stalls seeing the tiredness in Bluestar's blue eyes. Looking at the clearing she sees That Redtail's body is gone now, his scent beginning to fade.
She turns to Bluestar, "You..are you sure you're ok with taking me.." she begins to meow but Bluestar stops her.
"You're my apprentice Blazepaw, it's my responsibility to teach you not only on how to defend and hunt for our Clan..but to also teach you our ways and culture," she presses her nose against Blazepaw's head, "This is in fact life..I lost many cats before Blazepaw..its better for me to have something to do then to mope around,"
Still feeling uncertain she nods her head before following Bluestar over to Thrushflight and Ravenpaw, nodding her head respectively at the warrior who just chuckles at her. Soon Blazepaw was following the three up the ravine. Blazepaw looks up trying to follow the route Thrushflight and Ravenpaw were using to climb the way up among the rocks and bushes. It was so easy to climb down the other day..but it looked so much harder to climb up!
Bluestar purrs, brushing her tail against Blazepaw, as she pads up to a gap between two boulders where stone and earth had crumble into a slope, "This hear is the easiest path," she then bounded nimbly up it and leaped onto one of the boulders. Looking down at Blazepaw, she meowed, "You try,"
Gulping a bit, Blazepaw padded teantaily to the bottom of the rock fall. Bluestar was right though, it was easy to scramble up but her feet did slip on the loose stones a bit. With a desperate leap she only managed to claw her way up beside Bluestar.
"It gets easier with practice," Bluestar reassures her before she leads her to a muddy gully that weaves along the slope and stops at the bottom of another huge boulder. Dread fills Blazepaw as she stares in horror as Bluestar chuckles, "Do you see the dents and holds where you might get a grip?"
Scanning the rock, Blazepaw did notice the chips and cracks in the stone: a dip in one side that would give her something to push against, a chink just above where it she might get a stronghold..many other chips beyond. Bluestar gently smiles at her, "You go first," she meows, "I'll be right behind in case you slip,"
A sigh of relief pushed its way out of Blazepaw before she could hold it. Her ears pinned on her head she crouches on her haunches, tensing to jump. Trembling with effort, she leaps and hooks a claw onto the clink and propels herself upwards. Before she knew it she was panting at the top. As Bluestar climbs up, Blazepaw looks around, she is level with the treetops surrounding the camp, seeing right through the branches where squirrels made their nest.
"Great job!" Bluestar praises her before leading her towards the stony trail twinning upwards through a cluster of smaller rocks. Following, her paw-steps fell in behind Bluestar's where the path ended in a sheer wall of rock that leaned out above them. She watches Bluestar bounded up and over the edge before she leaps up herself. Paws hitting the grassy cliff top, Blazepaw begins to heave herself up. Muscles burning with the effort, she drags herself over the edge and flops onto the grass.
"Well done," Bluestar purrs out her congratulations, "You did much better than I did when my Mother took me out of the camp when I was a kit. I went down a path that you can only go up when you're much bigger and had to more strength in your hindlegs..I slipped and she had to catch me," she chuckles at the wide look on her face, "I was a very enthusiastic kit back then,"
Bluestar then places her tail on a rock. At first it looked to be like any other rock but then Blazepaw then saw that it was pulsing somewhat with an orange light. Engraved on the center was the same marking that was on Lionheart's Deputy Broach.
"This is the Ward Stone," Bluestar explains, "This stone has kept our camp safe for many Leaf Cycles. It keeps Twolegs from finding it while also helping us stay a bit hidden from the other Clans..even though that doesn't work all the time," she mutters to herself before she unshealths her claws. Blazepaw's eyes widen at the golden Battle Claws that appeared. Bluestar chuckles, "Now hold out your paw, I have to place your blood on the stone so the Ward won't keep confusing you every time you are let out of camp,"
Blazepaw nods her head and uncertinley holds out her paw. She winces as Bluestar makes a little cut on the pink pad before swiping on the stone. Blazepaw feels a shiver run up her spine. Bluestar smiles and licks her ear in comfort.
Smiling a bit, she follows Bluestar down a trail, a cool breeze ruffles their fur. Fat, white clouds race across the sky and Blazepaw couldn't help but feel joy well up inside her. She charges up ahead, seeing Thrushflight and Ravenpaw waiting for them in a sandy hollow.
Thrushflight chuckles as Bluestar runs in, trying to keep up with Blazepaw, "Enthusiastic huh? Reminds me of you when we were apprentices,"
Bluestar groans at this before she shakes her head, "This is the Sandy Hollow. Most of our training sessions will be held here," she explains to Blazepaw who nods her head. "Now as I said we're going to show you the territory, so you know where you will be hunting and what boundaries you need to protect,"
Blazepaw stares in awe with sparkling green eyes and without a warning Thrushflight leaps up and bounded out of the Sandy Hollow. Bluestar rolls her eyes before she and Ravenpaw take off with equal speed. Squeaking in surprise, Blazepaw scrambles after them, her long legs helping her catch up.
She was amazed at how they easily walk through the undergrowth, especially Bluestar with her crown. The leader easily walked through leaves of a fern and the spikes of the crown didn't even get caught. Meanwhile Blazepaw kept getting her face slapped every single moment/ The trees were thick in this part of the forest, birch and ash trees overshadow the mighty oaks. The ground was covered by not just the undergrowth but also by the crisp dead leaves that rustled beneath their paws. Bluestar pauses, and mutters something under her breath. Blazepaw jumps a bit when an orange light shines in the light. The other cats stopped beside her.
"There is a Twoleg path here," Bluestar murmured, "And what I did is how we marked our territory. A spell that was taught to us by our Ancestors. It is called Amddifys,"
Blazepaw mutters the spell under her breath, Bluestar helping her pronounce the word a couple of times before she got it right.
"Use your nose, Blazepaw. Can you tell us if it's safe to cross?" Thrushflight asked. Blazepaw sniffs at the air, the familiar scent of a Twoleg was faint but the scent of a dog was a bit stronger. She sniffs more to make sure but nods her head, "A Twoleg has walked their dog but they're both gone now," she mewed.
"Good," purred Bluestar before the four cats stalked out from beneath the ferns and crossed the stones of the narrow Twoleg Path. The trees beyond were pines, They grew tall and straight, row after row. It was much easier to walk straight here, The ground was thick with layers of dead needles, which prickled against Blazepaw's pads but felt spongy underneath. With no undergrowth here to hide in, Blazepaw could see how tense the other cats were. "It must be because of how unprotected it is between the tree trunks..I know no cat who isn't used to walking through the bushes wouldn't want to walk through them. It hurts.."
"Twolegs put these trees here," meowed Thrushflight. "They cut them down with foul smelling creatures, which spews enough fumes to make a kit go blind. Then they take the fallen tree to the Treecut place that lies near here,"
Knowing the sound he was talking about, Blazepaw stops and tries to listen to it. Ravenpaw stops beside her and shakes his head.
"Th-the Treecut..place will be silent for..a few moons, until the time of Greeleaf," he explains nervously, pawing at the feather braided in his black fur. Blazepaw nods her head at the explanations as the cats padded on through the pine forest.
"The Settlement lies in that direction," meowed Bluestar, flicking her sleek tail to one side. "We won't be heading that way today though," she explains as they reach another Twoleg Path that marks the far edge of the pine forest. They quickly crossed over into the safe bushes of the oak woods beyond, but Blazepaw could still sense their anxiety in the other cats.
"We-we're approaching RiverClan territory," Ravenpaw whisper, his copper eyes moving around as if an enemy will suddenly appeared. "The Sunningrocks are over there," he pointed with his muzzle to a treeless mound of boulders.
Fur standing on edge, Blazepaw gulps a bit. This is where Redtail was slain the other day. She has seen ghosts since the first time she ever opened her eyes, when they were still kitten blue..but she has never gotten used to being at the same place where the cat has died. The feeling of agony and pain..it always made her stomach churn. Blood was still spilled on the rocks..and her eyes widened when she saw a Ghost sitting on them.
But this Ghost was different..instead of being faded..they seem to be made of some sort of dark aura. Orange, black and white fur was stained with blood, which was slowly dripping down onto the ground. The fur was thick and ragged, scars covering their whole body. Her amber eyes were glowing, staring at the other side with hatred in them. But when Blazepaw blinks, the cat was now gone..but the smell of death was still in the air even as it fades
Bluestar stopped by a flat gray rock and turned to Blazepaw, not seeing the freak out look in her apprentice's green eyes, "This..this is the boundary between ThunderClan and RiverClan. RiverClan rules the hunting ground besides Afonal's River, given to them when the Goddess Blessed Riverstar many years ago," she mewed. "Breathe deeply, so that way you will recognize their scent,"
The pungent smell of unfamiliar cats hit the roof of her mouth and she gags. Coughing, Blazepaw was surprised how different it smelled from the warm scents of ThunderClan. Eyes watering she looks up at Bluestar, "How can they live with that smell!? It's disgusting!" she crokes out coughing more.
"Its the smell of the fish, it quickly stinks up if you set it out for so long..and they have an almost endless supply of it during this time of the Leaf Cycle," Thrushflight explains chuckling a bit, "But that is the smell of RiverClan. Remember it well, as it will be the strongest at the boundary, because their warriors would have spelled their Boundary stronger here," with these words he whispers the spell on the flat rock.
"We'll follow the boundary line, as it leads straight to Fourtress," Bluestar meowed before she set off quickly, away from Sunningrocks. Thrushflight sighs, sympathy in his green eyes, before he, Ravenpaw and Blazepaw trots after her.
"So..RiverClan worships Afonal..and there is also Gwynata who WindClan is blessed by..who are the others?" Blazepaw asks as she pants a bit.
"Those two are the Four Gods," Ravenpaw explains, "They are the First Creations of Arianus the Mother. ThunderClan is blessed by Taranu the First Lion, RiverClan Afonal the First Leopard, Cysgalis the First Tiger blessed ShadowClan and Gwynata the First Cheetah blessed WindClan..it s said that Fourtrees is where there mortal bodies were laid before they went to Silverpelt to be with Arianus.." Ravenpaw quiets when Thrushflight turns to him.
"Now hold on to that story for now Ravenpaw..let's get to Fourtrees before you explain it," he meows, "don't forget we are close to enemy territory,"
The two apprentices fall silent and Blazepaw concentrates on walking silently. They crossed a shallow stream, keeping their paws dry by leaping boulder to boulder across the pebbly riverbed.
Even though she was feeling completely out of breath, Blazepaw couldn't help but feel awe at the sight of Fourtress. The clouds had clear and in the dazzling sunlight stood four enormous oaks, their dark green crowns reaching almost to the top of the sleek slope that was covered by bushes. In the center of the four trees was a great boulder with jagged edges.
As they settled down at the brow of the slope, Thrushflight nodded to Ravenpaw, "This is Fourtrees..many years ago our Ancestors were led here from their old home for reasons forgotten to time..led by the Sun Trail that was told to them by their old Leader who stayed behind. But they were not the only ones drawn to this place with soft rustling of small creatures, shadows under the water, and the sudden commotion of birds' wings. Soon even our Ancestors split up, creating small groups with the other cats who came, for they couldn't decide on one place to live together..there was no Code...no borders..soon tensions were rising against the groups..they fought constantly fearful that prey might run out and their overlapping territories were being threatened. It was lawless, a bloody time for the forest and many cats died.
One night, when the moon was full, Shadowstar, back then know as Shadow Light and Thunderstar back then known as Thunder's Roar, Riverstar known as River Ripple and Windstar formerly known as Wind Runner met up with the group led by Sky Wing, the father of Thunder's Roar who disowned his son just after he was born to discuss the recent tensions between their groups," Blazepaw listens to Ravenpaw, the way the black tom was telling the story, it made her feel like she was there, "They argue over stolen prey and before anyone knew Clear Sky signal to attack and leaped at the cats that would be known as the first leaders. The battle was bloody, Clear Sky killed Rainswept Flower who was the daughter of Shaded Moss, the former leader of the group that led them to follow the Sun Trail. Falling Feather and Jackdaw's Cry, brother and sister killed each other. Several others died but it only stopped when Sky Wing realized what he had done..his white paws, bloody stained as he stared in horror over the dead body of his brother, Gray Wing..the blood that soaked the forest floor..it awakened the Gods.
Ravenpaw takes a second to take a deep breath before he continues, Bath in the light of the Mother's Right eye, the four spirits of the Great Gods came down themselves from Silverpelt. It turns out the cats had fought on their graves, the blood that was spilled calling to them. As the groups stared into the Gods and Goddess' eyes, they saw terrible visions of the future. They saw the forest drowned in blood, their kits stalked by death at every pawstep..they knew the fighting had to end..
"Unite or Die!" the Creations of Arianus order.
"Many years ago this was our home..the forest was big enough for our Clans..big enough to feed our families and many more..and so it shall be for you.." Taranu rumbles, shaking his large mane of fur.
"You must choose a home in the forest and set down borders," Afonal says with deep wisdom in her blue eyes, "Just like we did with LionClan, TigerClan, LeopardClan and CheetahClan,"
"If you did this," snarks Cysgalis his yellow eyes burning in rage at what they done, "The Mother will reward you with eight more lives, so that you will lead your groups for many moons to come,"
Gwynata smiles at them kindly, sadness for them like a mother who lost her kits, "We will watch over you from Silverpelt..your fallen will become messengers of us, walking in your dreams and guiding you in difficult times.."
Before they could say anything Sky Wing stands up, "Very well..but I would like for there to be a truce..once a Moon..when the Mother's Right Eye is full..here where the four great oaks will meet..that way we will never forget the blood that was spilled..and I am leaving," his group gasps at this, "I don't deserve this..I left our old home in order to protect my family..and instead I killed them..my brother's blood is now on my paws because I became greedy..my cats don't deserve a Leader like that.."
The four Gods and Goddess look at each other and nodded, "Very well..but if blood is spilled here ever again..you will know we are angry,"
Thunder's Roar, River Ripple, Shadow Light and Wind Runner bowed their heads as Sky Wing left for places unknown. With that the four leaders returned to their homes, some of Sky Wing's group joined the groups that they felt like themselves, with similar strengths and abilities, while others follow after Sky Wing, still believing in him. They divided the forest so each group had enough prey to survive, and all the cats could live peacefully. And when the leaders returned to the four great oaks for the first night of the full-moon truce, the Mother herself came down bringing down their starry ancestors who helped gave them eight more lives, as the Gods promised. They were no longer groups but Clans..just like their Gods before them."
"And here ever since, where the territories of all four Clans meet, we have the Gathering on the night when the Mother's right eye is full," meowed Bluestar, "WindClan governs the high ground ahead of us, where the Left Eye of the Mother, the Sun sets. You won't be able to catch their scent today, the wind is blowing towards them but you'll learn it soon enough,"
"And ShadowClan holds the power over there, in the darkest part of the forest," added Thrushflight, flicking his ear sideways, "The Elders like to joke about how the cold winds from the north blows over the ShadowClan cats and chill their hearts,"
"So many Clans!" Blazepaw exclaimed, awe filling her being. "And so well organized," she adds to herself, remembering how BloodClan works, those cats wrecking terror in the deeper parts of the Settlement.
"You see now why prey is so precious?" Bluestar meows with a cold look in her eye, reminding Blazepaw of her hunting before she joined ThunderClan, making the young she-cat wince, "We must fight to protect what we have..even to this day we are too different from each other..and while we do come together for a Gathering every night when the Moon is at its fullest, here in fact." she sweeps her tail towards the clearing where the four trees sat, "But longer alliances bring more trouble than its worth."
Blazepaw nods her head in understanding, "Then..there must be a Gathering very soon?" she remembers how bright the moonlight was the night before.
Bluestar smiles, impressed with her, "Yes, there is. Tonight in fact..not only do we use the Gatherings to bring news to the other Clans..but to also trade..some supplies we need our in the territories of other Clans so we trade them with items that they have a need and only grow in our territory,"
"Come on," Thrushflight meows as he stands up, "Let's keep moving,"
They paced along the ridge of the valley and now were heading away from the sun as it began to sink in the afternoon sky. They crossed the stream at a place where it was narrow enough to leap over in one jump.
Blazepaw scrunches up her nose as a strong and sour cat-scent invades her senses, "Which Clan is that?"
"ShadowClan," answered Bluestar, her eyes narrowed, "We are traveling along their border. Keep your wits above you as fresh scents mean that a ShadowClan patrol is nearby,"
Nodding her head, Blazepaw looks up a bit when she hears a new noise. She stiffened but the other cats kept up their pace, heading straight for the ominus rumbling. Fur rising a bit, she trots to catch up with them. She peers through the trees ahead, seeing them getting thinner, letting in a broad band of sunlight. They all stopped and Blazepaw took a deep breath. She coughs as the forest scent was overlaid with a strange dark smell and this time it was not cat scent, but an odor that she recognized from the Settlement.
"This is the Thunderpath," meowed Thrushflight, keeping Ravenpaw close to him. Blazepaw looks and recognizes the gray path that was the road. It cutting through the forest like a nasty smelling river, stretching ahead of them so far that the trees on the other side looked blurred and tiny. But then her eyes widen when she sees a group of cats on the other side. One was a dark gray she-cat, with many battle scars. Her face was flatten a bit and her nose was scrunched up as she sniffed the air. Next to her was a dilute tortoiseshell, his yellow eyes looking happily as a small black and white fluffy fur cat follows them.
"That's Yellowfang, ShadowClan's Witch..she must be looking for herbs to trade with Spottedleaf and the Warlocks of the other Clans," Bluestar mutters and Thrushflight nods his head, "Flintfang must have gotten a new apprentice..awfully small though.."
"Some cats are just small..they must be the runt of their litter..there's no way any Leader would apprentice a kit before their six moon..even Timberstar wouldn't do that..especially since his mother is Yellowfang," Bluestar reasons just as a gigantic car roared past, making Blazepaw leap backwards. Her fur bristling in fear as the branches of the trees on either side flapped madly in the wind. Blazepaw could see that neuter Yellowfang nor Flingfang reacted but Flintfang had to lick at his apprentice's ears to calm them down.
Ravenpaw was bristling besides her, "It scared me the first time too..it still does," he remarks, "But at least it helps keep ShadowClan warriors from crossing into our territory. The Thunderpath runs for many pawsteps along our boundary line. And don't worry; those monsters never seem to leave the Thunderpath. You'll be fine as long as you don't go too near,"
"Its time we return to camp," Bluestar meows, "You have seen all our boundaries now. But we'll avoid Snakerocks, even though the way is longer, an untrained apprentice is easy pickings for Saraffa's Children, and I expect you are getting tired, Blazepaw,"
Blazepaw couldn't even argue with that. She felt revilved at the thought of returning to camp, head spinning with new scents, sights and info. Her world has definitely changed and now she was hungry and tired. She falls behind Ravenpaw as they turned away from the road and headed back into the forest.
The scents of dew filled the evening air as Blazepaw made her way down the ravine into camp. Fresh-kill was waiting for them and neither Blazepaw nor Ravenpaw hesitated taking their share from the pile. They walked over to the tree stump where Graypaw and Bristlepaw were already eating, Sandpaw and Dustpaw were there, licking at each other's fur.
"Hi there, Toy," sneered Dustpaw, narrowing his eyes at her with disgust. "Enjoying the food we caught you?"
"Who knows, you might even learn to catch your own one day," Bristlepaw snorted as if he was telling a joke. Sandpaw rolls her eyes.
"Alright, didn't Whitestorm get on you for picking on her?" she mews making Bristlepaw wince a bit. Sandpaw turns to her, her blue eyes staring at her, looking at her up and down.
"You must be something is you can rip at Robinwing's ear..all day she was mumbling about ripping you to pieces for that,"
"Great," Blazepaw mutters as she takes a bite before she looks up seeing Briarpaw trotting over with prey of his own.
"You two still on hunting duty," he eyes Bristlepaw and Dustpaw innocently, "From what Spottledleaf told me, Blazepaw and Ravenpaw been patrolling our territory borders,"
"I'm so sure the other Clans were terrified when they smelled the toy and Ravenpaw coming," Dustpaw sneers at the black tom making Ravenpaw flinch. Blazepaw narrows her eyes at him.
"We did see the ShadowClan Witch and Flintfang," she retorted, unable to hide her anger. Ravenpaw seems like a nice cat, who would dare pick on him?
"Well, we'll ask them tonight when we see them at the Clan Gathering," mewed Sandpaw.
"You're going?" Blazepaw questions, ignoring Bristlepaw and Dustpaw hostility.
"Sandpaw, Dustpaw and Bristlepaw are the oldest apprentice so they get to go," Graypaw replies yawning as he finishes his food, "Briarpaw also always goes because he's the Warlock apprentice,"
"And of course we go," Dustpaw gloats, making Graypaw roll his eyes. "It's a great honor, you know. But don't worry; we'll tell you all about it in the morning,"
Blazepaw rolls her eyes as well, before he crouches down to eat. She couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy at the thought of them going to meet the other Clans. A Loud call from Bluestar makes Blazepaw look up. Several of the Clan members gather in the clearing, some holding pouches of stuff in their jaws. It was time for those who are going to the Gathering to leave. Dustpaw, Sandpaw, Bristlepaw and Brairpaw leap to their paws and trotted off to join the other cats.
"Goodnight!" Briarpaw calls over his shoulder as he joins next to Spottedleaf.
"Have a nice quiet evening!" Dustpaw sneers but looks down at the glare that his mentor, Nightfire gave him.
The assembled cats stalked out of the camp, up the ravine in a single file, with Bluestar at the head. Her fur burned like silver fire in the moonlight, and she looked even more calm, confident and regal as she led her Clan to the brief truce between old enemies.
"Have you two ever been to a Gathering, "Blazepaw asks, her voice sounding wistfully.
"Not yet," Ravenpaw replies as Graypaw ignores her, heading into the den. "Both me and Graypaw started late in our training..but it won't be long now. All apprentices get to go sometime,"
Blazepaw nods her head before she eats the rest of her meal silently. When she finished, Ravenpaw wandered over to Blazepaw and began to groom her head. Blinking in shock at how easily Ravenpaw accepted her, she too begins to groom him. Together they washed, Sharing Tongues as Blazepaw had seen the other cats do when she first arrived..feeling like she really belonged. Then tired after their long trek, they pushed their way into their den. Settling down, Blazepaw yawns before she quickly falls asleep.