Sorry I take forever. Well, even though Florence Pinky-poo didn't beta this chapter, thanks to her and to all of my reviewers. Except for teamjonasxo. S'not my fault if your account gets suspended because of the retarded Jonas Brothers story. :)

Web of Lost

Chapter Six

To The Lake

A bird fluttered through the canopy of the forest, disrupting the peaceful silence. A beautiful morning had turned into a beautiful day, and one would think that birds would be chirping in the trees and mice and squirrels would be frolicking in the underbrush. It was quite the opposite, really. The birds flew silently, and their songs were silenced, the mice scattered through the ferns with as little sound as possible. It was as if they knew that another killer would be brought into the forest.

A small red pick up truck parked at a rather large summer home. The male no-fur grunted, and got out, the smell of putrid gas reeked off his clothes. To younger kits came running towards the male, they were obviously his. Web could smell the fresh lake air, and welcomed it with open arms. Laney scrunched up her nose, the foreign smell catching her off-guard.

The small brown tabby stretched and stealthily came out of hiding. The no-fur was focused on his kits, so the coast was clear for now. She flicked her tail, signaling little Laney to follow. The black she-cat crept out from under a small box. She was obviously disoriented from the ride and the strange new scents. Web climbed up on the side and leaped onto the hard gravel. It hurt her already raw paws, but she couldn't cry out in pain.

Laney reluctantly followed the she-cat, landing more messily than her elder counterpart.

"Come this way," Web hissed, slinking off into the bushes. Laney gulped and followed. Was she really doing this? The woods were scary, and wild, and filled with wild cats that could rip her apart. And they probably didn't take kindly to strangers. One of the female kits squealed. She had obviously spotted Laney. The kit came running clumsily towards the little black cat. It was obvious she was very young, much younger than the kit that used to own Laney. With a quick meow, Laney pranced into the bushes after her mentor.

Ferns and underbrush tugged at their pelts. Birds fluttered silently above, and mice and squirrel scents were everywhere. It was very green and very bright, and the scent of the lake, prey, other cats and nature surrounded the two. Web let out a quick purr, happy to be home and ready to be rid of the stink of no-fur place. Laney was overwhelmed by the new environment around her. Her yellow eyes filled with wonder and happiness.

Web broke the silence. "We can make a full circle around the lake, then we can get to my current residence. Try not to stray too far into the territories; we don't want to be caught. ShadowClan and RiverClan have been a little testy lately." She turned sharply to the right and began to walk quicker through the underbrush.

Laney was confused, but had no time to think. RiverClan? ShadowClan? What strange names. Lagging behind her mentor, the scents of RiverClan cats hit her hard. They smelled so… wild… and free… and... lakey. The black she-cat shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. The brown tabby was giving her no time to think. She whined in frustration, low enough so that the elder she-cat wouldn't hear her.

More sharp turns and soon enough the two were at the shore of the lake, walking along its edge. Laney gasped, in awe of the large body of water and how it shimmered and shined in the sunlight. Was it really this big? Web grumbled and came to a stop.

She turned around quickly to face her apprentice. "How do you like the lake?" she mewed sweetly. Laney was taken somewhat aback.

"I think it's very pretty," she choked. Her mouth was dry and she hoped that her mentor wouldn't ask her anymore questions. Web stretched her mouth into a crooked smile, and purred.

"I realized you'd probably be confused about the Clans. Well, sweetheart, you see, there are four Clans in whole. ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan and WindClan. They worship their ancestors in StarClan." Web looked up to the bright sky to emphasize the fifth Clan. Laney nodded. StarClan… a place where you go after you died? The former housecat liked the idea. She liked it a lot. "The Clans are evil, and like I said before, ruined our life and family. Their ways are evil, and because of what happened, every single cat is responsible. From the smallest kit to the oldest Elder." Web meowed the statement with a sugar-coated sweetness to her voice.

Laney's eyes widened. There were so many things wrong with that last sentence; she couldn't point them all out. And to tell the truth, she really didn't want to. Web cleared her throat and continued. "If you stray in there territory without me, they will not hesitate to kill you. I'm safety; I'm the only way you'll survive here. So don't think that you'll be able to run from me," she mewed again.

Laney gulped. An idea sparked in her head. No, I'm NOT going to say it; I'm not going to risk getting her angry! She thought. "Umm, ma'am? What exactly are we going to do to the Clans?" the black cat asked. Well, that didn't work out well. She thought with disgust.

Web snickered darkly. "You'll see soon enough." She turned her back on her apprentice, and began to sprint to her home. Laney gulped, and followed her, once again.

--

After going around the lake in near silence, Web and Laney finally neared the road again. A monster raced across it, spewing foul smelling toxins at the two she-cats. Web coughed and snarled at the green monster as it raced away. Laney stared at the gray pavement in fear. When she lived with housefolk, she would have to cross roads all the time to get to where the other house cats would play. But those roads weren't nearly as big or as foul smelling as this one.

Web looked both ways, and after a moment's hesitation she darted across the cement. In a flash she was on the other side, hiding in the tall grass.

"Get over here!" she growled to her apprentice.

"You know, for being my mom, you aren't very motherly," Laney muttered under her breath before copying Web's movements. The end result was a rather sloppy imitation, but effective none the less.

"On this side of the road is where we live most of the time. During your training, we'll camp out across the road, in or near the Clan's territories. Later on, we won't spend a lot of time here," Web stated flatly, before leaving Laney and sprinted through some tall grass. The black she-cat eagerly followed.

The tabby led the young cat thought wild bushes and more tall grass. Their trek finally came to a close, after the elder she-cat led her apprentice down and small hill. Carved in the hillside was a small cave, big enough for at least five cats. Surrounding the cave was a small collection of no-fur objects, like plastic spoons and pieces of tattered cloth. Web said nothing and dove into the dark cave. Laney followed.

Inside the cave sat a dirty cat bed, covered in mud and wet from last night's rain. Next to the cat bed was a small tattered blanket, also dirty, but less damp. Web grabbed the cat bed and moved it into a darker corner of the cave, keeping the blanket where it was originally.

"You sleep on the blanket. I sleep on the bed. If I catch you sleeping on the bed, I will give you something to remember," Web snapped, her eyes focused dully on the little black apprentice. Laney nodded quickly, afraid of what exactly Web meant. She began to have a sinking feeling that maybe this cat wasn't her mother. If she wasn't, what had she gotten herself into? Laney wrapped her tail protectively around herself.

"And you're probably wondering about the no-fur junk." Web gave her apprentice a somewhat crooked smile. "I like collecting. Which reminds me!" the elder she-cat exclaimed, bouncing over to Laney. A gleam of amusement sparkled in her eye. In a menacing swipe, Web snapped the pink collar from around Laney's neck. It fell to the ground with a defeated jingle.

Laney squeaked, half-expecting her life to be over and done with. Bright yellow eyes opened to find the pink collar on the muddy floor of the cave. Web picked up the collar, holding it firmly in her jaws, letting the bells slide off. Laney pushed them into the ground with her paw. Web slinked outside and through the collar around a rock, as if it were her trophy. Maybe it was her trophy.

She turned to face the black she-cat. "I'd tell you that you need rest and that you could sleep, but then we'd just be burning daylight, wouldn't we?" Web hissed, beckoning for the little she-cat with her tail.

--

Laney groaned, and fell to the ground with a defeated sigh. A bright night sky stretched over head. Her mentor had given her a quick lesson on hunting and then a rather long and touch lesson on battle techniques. Her eyes were tired, her joints ached and she had small scratches on her side to prove the battle training.

Web sighed and stared at the out-of-shape den cat. Laney had some good moves, but Web had even better ones. After a few moons of basic training, Web would move onto more advanced training. Like how to kill a kit without making a sound, or how to savor all of the… little emotions(1) of the victims.

Web was about to snap an order to the younger cat, when Laney said something herself. "Web? Did you ever think you were in love before?" Laney turned to look at her mentor's reaction.

Web was taken aback. The one name that she tried to never think about had crawled back up into her head. Dark… Her sorrow turned to anger. "Don't you ever mention love again, do you understand?" she hissed loudly, startling her young apprentice. Laney scrambled to her feet, looking ashamed at herself.

"Yes Web, I understand!" she squeaked before running into the came and settling herself on her damp blanket. Web growled under her breath.

"Go to sleep! I'll work you to the bone tomorrow!" she yowled, and turned her back on the young cat. She looked up at the crescent moon in the sky. Would Dark approve of this? A shiver shot up her spine. She didn't even want to think about him. She laid down in the soft grass, and let the breeze ruffle her fur. She slowed her breath. Tonight she would sleep under the stars. Under Dark's watch.

(1) Reference to the Dark Knight. -loves Heath Ledger's Joker-