Hi again. :) Sorry it took so long to update. I've been really busy and more fucused on other stories.
Ivypool woke to someone poking a paw into her side. She rolled over in her nest and opened one eye to see Foxleap standing over her.
"Come on, we're leaving now." Foxleap whispered, afraid to wake the other cats in the den.
"Alright." Ivypool pushed herself into a sitting position. Foxleap waited silently as Ivypool quickly picked stray pieces of moss from her pelt.
When she was sure she had gotten all the pieces out, she stood and left the den. Foxleap followed close behind.
Ivypool blinked, the early sunlight blinding her for a short moment, then let Foxleap lead her over to the group.
Bramblestar stood next to the camp entrance, Squirrelflight at his side. They talked in low, quick voices to each other.
Icecloud and Lionblaze chatted to the side, but Lionblaze seemed to be focused on something else.
And Cloudtail sat off to the side alone, looking half asleep.
Ivypool sat down next to Lionblaze. "Hi Lionblaze." She greeted.
Lionblaze turned to look at her. "Hi Ivypool. Are you excited to explore the new territory?"
"Yes, I am." Ivypool answered. She couldn't wait to leave and explore the territory the clans hasn't even set a paw on yet. Ever since Bramblestar announced that she was going on the patrol, the dark thoughts had disappeared and where being replaced with better ones, and the empty feeling had disappeared and was being filled with excitement instead.
Lionblaze opened his mouth to say something, but Bramblestar raised his voice to speak to the whole group. "Alright, we will be back at sunset. As we are gone Squirrelflight is in charge."
"Can we eat before we go?" Cloudtail asked, looking more awake now.
"We will hunt on the way." Bramblestar promised. "Okay, I think that's it. Lets go." Bramblestar gave Squirrelflight's ear a quick lick, then turned and led the way from the camp.
Ivypool followed at the back of the patrol with Foxleap as they walked away from camp.
"What do you think we will find?" Foxleap asked tail lashing quickly, while almost bouncing from excitement as they walked. His eyes where bright as he looked at her.
Ivypool purred at him. "I'm not sure. But as far as I can tell, it will just be more forest and a few hills."
"Do you think we will see other cats?" Foxleap asked her.
"Maybe." Ivypool answered, "It might be nice seeing other cats then the ones around the lake."
Ivypool jumped over a fallen tree in her way, then noticed that Foxleap hadn't followed her over. She jumped onto the trunk of the fallen tree and looked around for him.
"Foxleap?" She called, not seeing him. A sudden rustle in the bush on her left made her turn. Suddenly Foxleap jumped out, a plump mouse in his jaws.
He purred and set it in front of her. "We didn't get to eat before we left, so I thought that we might as well start hunting now." He explained, then picked up the mouse again.
"We can eat at the border." Ivypool told him. "Come on, we need to catch up with the group."
Ivypool jumped down the other side of the tree, and waited until he landed next to her. Then they both took off sprinting for the rest of the group.
"There you are!" Lionblaze meowed as Ivypool caught up and walked beside him. "What happened?"
"Foxleap stopped to hunt." Ivypool explained. For the rest of the walk to the border, it was pretty much silent.
"We're here!" Bramblestar called from the front of the group as everyone stopped walking. "Let's hunt, then after we eat we can start exploring."
Ivypool stopped right on the border and looked over to the other side. It just looked like normal forest, but she knew that there might be danger farther in.
"Ivypool?" A voice made her turn around. "Would you like to hunt with me?" Foxleap asked.
"Sure." Ivypool nodded.
"Can I join?" Lionblaze asked, padding up to them.
"I'm fine with that." Ivypool told him. "Is that okay, Foxleap?"
"Yea, sure." Foxleap meowed, but shot an angery and annoyed look at Lionblaze.
Lionblaze ignored it. "Come on, let's hunt." He led the way along the border. Ivypool wondered what Lionblaze had done to make Foxleap mad at him, but she shrugged the thought away.
Ivypool followed Lionblaze untill he stopped walking. She lifted her chin to taste the air. The scent of rabbit, mouse, and bird was in the air. The scent of prey reminded her of how hungery she was.
Ivypool picked out the strongest scent, bird, and got down into her hunting crouch. She followed the scent for a few fox lengths, and then paused by a bush. She glanced around it to see the bird pecking at a snail.
Ivypool bunched her muscles, then leapted. She landed with the bird between her paws, and killed it with a swift, clean bite to the neck before it could let out an alarm call.
When she joined Foxleap and Lionblaze again, Foxleap had gotten another two mice, and Lionblaze had caught a rabbit.
Ivypool nodded to them, and then padded back to the rest of the group. Ivypool sat down besides Icecloud and then started pulling the feathers from the bird.
"Nice catch." Icecloud commented. "All I got was this mouse." She glared down at a small mouse.
"Want to share?" Ivypool suggested, nudging the bird closer to the white warrior.
"Thanks." Icecloud purred. "But it's yours. You eat it."
Ivypool blinked. "Okay then." She bit into the bird and before long she was licking her lips, getting the last bit of flavor from her whiskers.
"Ready to go?" Bramblestar asked everyone once they where done eating. When he got an answer from everyone, he turned and stepped over the scent markers.
Ivypool and the rest of the group followed close behind. Ivypool kept at the back of the group, ears pricked for any signs of danger, and stopping to smell the air every now and then.
Excitement filled her, but she knew that they also had to be careful. This was unknown territory, no Clan cat had set a paw here.
At first the forest looked the same, as Thunderclan territory but then as the group padded farther into the unknown territory, the trees started to thin out and moss started to cover the ground. More rocks could be found sticking out of ground, and the slope became steeper.
Ivypool brushed her back against a large fern, leaving her scent so they could find their way back easily. She watched the ground as she moved, careful not to step on any hidden pine cones or twigs in the soft, squishy moss.
"I smell Twoleg!" Icecloud and Foxleap came running back to the group. They had been sent ahead to see if they can find any danger.
"There is a Twoleg path around the bend." Foxleap added. "It looks well-used." His pelt bristled at the thought of Twolegs walking through their territory.
"Do you think it's safe to continue?" Bramblestar asked, looking past the two and trying to find the path.
"Yes. But I think we still need to be careful." Icecloud answered, glancing over her shoulder.
"Alright, lead the way." Bramblestar said and they started walking.
Ivypool looked around the new surroundings. The trees here reminded her more of Shadowclan than Thunderclan. They where tall, old pines with huge branches that didn't let much sunlight through.
As they rounded the bend, Ivypool saw the trail. She took in a breath, and could smell a heavy scent of Twoleg. It was a day or two old, but she could tell that they came here often.
The trail showed Twoleg paw prints, big and small. And a few paw prints showed that some times they even walked their dogs along the path.
On the other side of the path, the slope was too steep to climb. If they wanted to go up, they would have to follow the path.
As she was looking at the steep slope, littered with rocks and old fallen trees, she heard a little rustle under a fern in front of her.
She saw a small brown body, rushing into the shelter of some tree roots. Ivypool sprang from her spot, launching herself toward the small mouse.
But her paws just hit earth and pine needles and she watched the mouse disappear into the tree roots.
"Good try." Foxleap said, coming up next to her.
"Thanks." Ivypool stood and shook out her fur. She glared at the place the mouse had escaped into, before turning away.
"At least we know there is prey here." Icecloud said. Her white fur was dirty, and had bits of moss and pine needles in it. "And with all these pine cones, there has to be plenty of squirrels and birds."
Ivypool nodded in silent agreement. Though she didn't really like this part of the territory, she agreed that it would be good for prey.
"The Twoleg doesn't smell fresh." Bramblestar said, "Let's continue along the trail, but stay alert." He took the lead this time as the patrol padded on.
Ivypool fell in step with Foxleap as they walked in silence. Slowly, as the trail gently sloped up, the pine trees disappeared and the surroundings became to look more like it could be Thunderclan territory.
She stopped and stretched in a patch of sunlight, enjoying it after all the shade the pines gave.
"Look at this!" Foxleap called to the group. His reddish-brown fur bristled as he stared at something.
Ivypool bounded over to see an old, abandoned Twoleg nest. But it wasn't like the one in Thunderclan territory at all.
This one was made of sticks and branches and vines. There was no walls or floors, just the roof. The roof was barley held up, only standing from a stick propping it up in the middle and one side leaning heavily against a tree. Plants grew in and on top of it.
Icecloud stopped from talking with Lionblaze, and the two ran over to take a look. Bramblestar joined a heartbeat later.
Lionblaze sniffed at it cautiously, before entering it. It was dark inside, though it wasn't much longer than a fox-legth in both directions.
He soon emerged from it again. "There is nothing but plants and bugs in there." Lionblaze reported.
"Why is it here then?" Icecloud wondered aloud. She went on, "Why would Twolegs just abandon something they built?"
"It doesn't look like a normal Twoleg nest." Bramblestar said, "And I don't think it is ever used, it shouldn't bother us." He turned away from it and looked up at the sky. "It's almost sun high, we should be turning back."
Ivypool looked up to see that the sun was almost right above her.
"Lets leave a mark so that the next patrol knows how far we have gone." Bramblestar told everyone as he sprayed his own scent on a tree.
Once the patrol had done that, they started heading back down the trail and back towards their own territory.
The way back was easier, not having to worry as much about anything that might attack them.
Once they got back to the stone hollow, they where greeted by Squirrelflight.
Ivypool let out a sigh or relief as she sank to the ground at the side of the camp. Her paws felt like they would fall off, and all she wanted to do was rest.
But right before she could close her eyes, she saw Dovewing hurrying towards her, Bumblestripe close behind.
"How was it?" Bumblestripe said, voice muffled by a mouse he held in his jaws. "Here, this is yours." He set the mouse down in front of her.
As Ivypool looked at the mouse, she noticed how hungry she really was again. She gulped it down hungrily before sitting back and licking her lips, trying to get the last flavors.
"So, how did it go?" Dovewing asked, though Ivypool knew that she most likely had been watching.
"Great." Ivypool answered and then started to describe to the two what she had saw.
Sorry it took forever. I have been focused on life and my more important stories. Have any suggestions on what they should find? Please post them.
Remember, don't take candy from Tigerstar! And I hope to post soon.
Ivypool