Hello internet, welcome to another chapter of this fanfiction. I hope you enjoy it!
Sparkpaw slipped under the Carrionplace's fence hole, catching his breath. The scents of Carrionplace smelt more familiar to him, though carried the same amount of stench. He rounded the corner quietly. He looked around, searching for the loner. He jumped up onto the purple, dirt stained soft rock. Dave's scent was on it, so he followed the trail. Could this be a good chance to use his stealth skills? Maybe, maybe not. He needed Dave's help right now. Walking up, he finally found him, sitting at the main entrance, back turned to Sparkpaw. From the way his head was turned, Dave looked like he was seeing another cat walk across the crisscrosses of the Thunderpath, but there was no scent he could make out that suggested so. Maybe it was just a monster running past. Sparkpaw placed his forepaw on Dave's shoulder and shook it to get his attention.
"What?!" Dave leaned back, fur raised. Seeing Sparkpaw, the fur lowered a bit.
"What the hell, Sparky?" Dave asked angrily. "You nearly took the fur from my bones!"
"Sorry, Dave." Sparkpaw apologised, "But I really need your help right now."
Dave looked at the apprentice for a moment. "Alright. Come with me." Dave flicked his tail and walked back towards the twoleg bedding, asking Sparkpaw to follow him.
"So what do you need help with?" Dave asked, the both of them now sitting on the purple rock.
"I need you to train me to fight!" Sparkpaw said urgently. Dave only looked at him
"I'm sorry, what?" he laughed in a confused tone. "Aren't you already doing that?"
"Well, yes, but I need your training!" Sparkpaw insisted.
Dave continued to laugh. "I'm sorry, Sparky. I can't help you with that." he jumped off the rock as he spoke. "But you can help me with something. I'd like to-"
"Please, Dave!" Sparkpaw interrupted. "There's this battle, and I need to have good fighting skills for it, or we'll lose!"
Dave turned around. "Listen, Sparky. I said no. Now, come help me with this." He flicked his tail again
"Please?" Sparkpaw pleaded.
Dave groaned. "You're not gonna stop with this, are you." Sparkpaw nodded. Daved heaved a heavy sigh. "Fine! I'll train you in combat. But first, you're gonna help me with what I want to do, got it?"
Sparkpaw agreed. Helping Dave with a little task is a small price to gain his knowledge.
"You see this, Sparky?" Dave moved one of his forepaws to a large, black twoleg rock-thing.
"We're gonna move it over there." he gestured to the other side of the Thunderpath. Sparkpaw nodded. That made sense, but, "Isn't that near the Moonstone? Are you sure this is okay to do?"
Dave shrugged. "Of course, Sparky. Some twoleg'll probably pick it up anyways. They're the ones who drop this dung off after all. C'mon, Sparky, it'll be fine." Dave grabbed one of the ends of the surprisingly stretchy rock, and prompted Sparkpaw to grab the other.
"Let's move." Dave said through muffled jaws.
Even moving it a mouse-length was too difficult. Sparkpaw pushed his side of the rock with what he could, but it would hardly move due to its weight. Dave could hardly move it either, his claws unsheathed pushing into the dirt in an attempt to pull it from his side. Still, it would not budge. Dave dropped his side and walked to Sparkpaw.
"Ugh!" he sighed. "This damn thing won't move! Why won't the stupid–" he clawed the soft rock with his paw "This is stupid! Argh!" he walked around, muttering his frustrations loudly. Sparkpaw dropped his side of the rock and looked at his muttering.
"Are you okay, Dave?" Sparkpaw asked
"No!" Dave spat on the ground, and kicked up some dust. "This just..this…okay. Let's try again." he seemed to calm down. "I'll be on your end, and we'll push the rock together. C'mon." he motioned.
Rolling it together from one side worked far better than the way they were doing it before. The rock was soft like mud on his forehead as he and Dave pushed the rock closer and closer towards the main entrance of Carrionplace. The smell though; The smell of the rock was downright terrible. He felt the reeking smell seeping into his black and white striped pelt. Was this what caused the Carrionplace to smell so much? No wonder Dave wanted to get rid of it. But wait, then the side across the Thunderpath would smell…would the Moonstone be affected? If it was, that would be bad, wouldn't it? But the Moonstone's in a cave, away from where we're taking this rock…I should stop worrying so much. He mentally sighed. They were at the Thunderpath anyways.
Dave stopped to take a breath. "I've never…never had to do that..before." he panted. "Maybe…maybe we should've…" he shook his head. "Nevermind..nevermind all that." He arched his back in a stretch. "We got it next to the Thunderpath. Now all we need to do is take it to the other side." he explained. Sparkpaw looked to the Thunderpath. Its hot, stoned pathway layed intimidate in front of his paws. How were they supposed to get this rock across, especially with all the monsters? Surely they would be easy prey out there. He looked at Dave with a questioning gaze. The grey and red loner seemed to also be having thoughts on this as well.
"Guess we'll have to roll it across." he decided at last. Sparkpaw looked at him in surprise.
"But what about the monsters?"
"And?" Dave questioned
"They'll kill us!" Sparkpaw answered
"Not if we're faster than them." Dave countered, and started to move the rock closer to the Thunderpath. Sparkpaw went to join him.
The Thunderpath felt hot on his paws, coupled with the smell of the rock, his sense of smell was blocked by these horrible stenches. They hadn't reached the yellow line in the middle of the path when Sparkpaw felt a harsh rumbling underneath his paws. Sparkpaw looked up. He heard the rumbling edging closer to them. He stopped in his tracks, and put a paw on Dave. Dave looked at him in confusion, and Sparkpaw nodded towards their right. Dave looked at it, then his eyes went wide in surprise. "Okay I think we need to run.." he mewed. He then bolted back towards Carrionplace. Sparkpaw followed half a heartbeat later, his paws pounding the harsh path as he made his way onto the familiar ground of ShadowClan territory. Not soon after a dark blue monster roared past, destroying the rock with its maw and black, sturdy paws. Everything that the rock carried splattered onto the Thunderpath, with some of it going onto the territory, while the other made it to its destination. Sparkpaw stood there in shock for a moment. That could have been him. He looked to Dave, who had a similar reaction, but quickly walked off to gather the remaining pieces of the rock.
"Better get the rest of these damn pieces to the other side. One done and, um…that many left to go." he waved a paw at the Carrionplace. "Good work Sparky." he added.
Sparkpaw helped gather the messy remains of the black rock. "Yeah, just put them on the Thunderpath," Dave advised. "The monsters will eat them up anyway."
After cleaning up the remains and putting them on the Thunderpath, Dave caught a rat, and the two of them shared it on the soft, purple rock. Between sharing bites, Dave said,
"Okay, so the first attempt was a flop. Clearly," he moved his gaze towards the Thunderpath. "But next time; next time I'll be prepared. Don't worry about that though, Sparky. I've got it all figured out." he was explaining. Sparkpaw wasn't really listening, however. As he took small bites of the rat, he knew he should ask when they should train. Did he forget?
"Hey, um, Dave. You said you would train me today." he looked at the loner
Dave went to look at him. "Uh, after this, then we can uh, start training." Dave started to eat slower, and Sparkpaw saw that there was an air of uncomfortness in Dave's eye. Sparkpaw thought for a moment. The rat didn't seem as tasty as in the beginning. He leapt off the soft, purple rock.
"Dave, please! You have to train me in battle tactics! There isn't much time left! There's this ThunderClan battle, and–"
"Woah woah woah," Dave interrupted. "What's this about?"
Sparkpaw explained the situation with ThunderClan, and how there was a battle happening tonight over the territory's borders. Dave nodded along.
"Yeah. Okay. Counterpoint: Not my problem, Sparky." Dave leaned back and stretched, dropping the rat carcass to the ground.
Sparkpaw's eyes widened. "But but.."
"NO! Sparky, No!" Dave yowled. He too decided to jump off the rock. "I don't care about your border skirmishes, and I don't want to teach you that kind of crap, okay! Now leave me alone." he started to walk off.
"Wait.." Sparkpaw tried to stop Dave from leaving. He turned around, and shook his head.
"No, Sparky. Not today." he sighed, and trotted off to the twoleg den.
Sparky lifted a paw; a part of him wanted to after Dave. But another part of him refused to move his legs. He shouldn't disturb him. But I need Dave's help! another part of him responded back. He looked around; it was becoming close to sunset. When did he last leave the camp? How long had he spent the day here? Be sure to be back in camp before sunset! EagleStar's voice yowled in his ears once again. Sunset! He had to go back to camp now. He trotted off, turning once last time at the abandoned twoleg den. Unfortunately, that would have to wait for now.
Sparkpaw raced down the slope that is the ShadowClan camp entrance, skidding to a halt as he saw the other apprentices lined up around their den. He trotted forwards, seeing Frostfang come up to him.
"Hey! I was wondering where you went. Come on now, we have to go see what the deputy wants from us. They were waiting." The white warrior explained. Sparkpaw went with them.
"Okay, and-oh, good. Frostfang's here with their apprentice." Flarestripe looked up. Sparkpaw tried to leave his mentor's side to sit with Splashpaw. "No, not now." Frostfang pulled him back to their side.
"Alright." Flarestripe began. "Splashpaw and Bristlepaw, you're staying here to help guard the camp." An annoyed groan and a sigh of relief were respectively heard from the pair. "Littlepaw, Adderpaw, Sparkpaw, and Marshpaw. Adderpaw, you're going with your mentor to the border patrol on our side of the Thunderpath. The rest of you will wait underneath it. When I give the signal, you run up and attack the ThunderClan patrol. Got it?"
The apprentices nodded.
"Good." She responded.
"Am I leading this false patrol?" Kindleroot asked, a hint of either smugness or mischief in his voice.
Flarestripe chuckled a bit. "Not today. Jaguarpelt is. But don't worry, you'll be a part of the ambush." Flarestripe walked towards the middle of camp, then turned around. "Kindleroot, Littlepaw, Frostfang, Sparkpaw, Houndheart, Marshpaw. You're waiting underneath the Thunderpath. Me, Adderpaw, Rabbittail, Jaguarpelt, and Hornetclaw will be in the false patrol. You know what to do." she nodded and went to the Shade rock.
"Alright ShadowClan cats! Follow me." Kindleroot announced. As the group went up the entrance's slope, Sparkpaw looked behind him. Splashpaw met his gaze. "Make sure to do a number on 'em, Sparkpaw!" he called out. Sparkpaw smiled, and trotted off to catch up.
Underneath the Thunderpath was a slightly more bearable experience. One could still smell the smouldering of the path above, and the loud roaring of monsters seemed even louder, but at least there was soft dirt and grass underneath his paws. Somewhere behind him, Marshpaw sneezed.
"Will you be quiet?!" Littlepaw turned to face them, hissing through clenched teeth.
"Sorry." Marshpaw whispered back, his ears pinned down to his head.
"You better be!" Littlepaw retorted.
"Shush!" Kindleroot lightly cuffed Littlepaw on the ear. She turned around and didn't make a sound after that. Sparkpaw looked around a bit. It was dark, yet he could still make out the silhouettes of his clanmates. When were they supposed to come out? What exactly was the signal? He raked the ground with his claws.
"Shush!" Kindleroot called quietly. Sparkpaw stopped.
Soon there was paw movement above them. Was that ShadowClan or ThunderClan? Or both? Or…or was it somecat else? His whiskers twitched in nervousness. Houndheart sniffed. "They've crossed the path." he whispered to the group. Kindleroot and Frostfang nodded in agreement. There was a sound of claws and more pawsteps joined in. More yowls were heard, and the sound of battle was beginning. Thoughts went through Sparkpaw's head. Was this the signal? What was the signal? Has it already been signalled? Sparkpaw started to run off, but was intercepted by Kindleroot. "Not now!" he hissed as quietly as possible.
"But what's the signal?" Sparkpaw asked.
Kindleroot looked at the other entrance of the tunnel. "I'll know when it happens. Don't worry about it." and he motioned Sparkpaw to get back into position.
Finally, a large beating of paws was heard, and Kindleroot started bolting to the other side of the thunderpath tunnel. Sparkpaw looked around quickly, and then followed, alongside Littlepaw. The other members of the patrol started running as well. Making a sharp left, he followed the older warrior as the fighting came into view. The border patrol was clashing with the ThunderClan one, and more warriors were streaming from the undergrowth. Kindleroot sprang forth, attacking whoever cat was trying to pin down the clan deputy. Sparkpaw stood there for a few moments, comprehending the scene. The other cats from his patrol were following in the pawsteps of the one who led them here, all except Marshpaw, who tentatively walked to reach Sparkpaw. His eyes were wide, claws unsheathed, prepared for battle, yet his pricking pelt gave that facade away. Or was he just really excited? Maybe nervous? Sparkpaw was nervous, and he'd been an apprentice for nearly 3 moons now.
"C-c'mon! We can fight!" Marshpaw flicked his tail, and ran forwards.
Sparkpaw wasn't sure where to start. Cats were fighting each other left and right. Wading through the fighting, Sparkpaw watched as ShadowClan fought against their foes, with EagleStar seeming to lead the charge himself. He then saw as Marshpaw launched himself onto a black and white apprentice, who turned and tried to use their paws to knock him off. A white and black tom, probably the apprentice's mentor, leapt to try to attack Marshpaw, only to be intercepted by Houndheart. The ThunderClan apprentice used this opportunity to break free from Marshpaw's grasp and ran off somewhere else into the fight, leaving the new apprentice flailing on his paws. Sparkpaw unsheathed his claws. Quickly looking around the area. A pair of black paws put themselves around his neck. The orange tortoiseshell the paws belonged to started wailing into his stomach with their hind legs. Sparkpaw slapped his attacker with his front paws, using his own hind legs to prevent the ThunderClan cat's jaws from descending onto his neck. After a few hits, Sparkpaw was able to break free, battering his attacker's side one last time before running off to escape. A few fox lengths later, he stopped to turn around. The cat who was attacking him wasn't following him. That was good. He wiped his newly bloodied claws on the ground, and studied it. It felt warm and sticky..it seemed almost unreal compared to the prey he was used to catching. He cleaned it harder. A fearful yowl pricked his ears up as he followed the sound. Marshpaw was backing away from another black and white furred warrior, blood swelling from a wound in his chest. His eyes were wide in fear, claws unsheathed but unable to defend himself. Sparkpaw's tail quivered, and he ran up and lept onto the warrior's back. The she-cat pushed him off, sending him tumbling in front of his younger clanmate.
"You okay?" he looked up and asked.
Marshpaw didn't reply, only shaking his head as he continued to watch the warrior in fear.
"This is ThunderClan territory, so stay on your side of the Thunderpath." she warned.
"N-not for long!" Sparkpaw muttered, trying to fluff up his fur.
"All yowls and no claws, that's what you lot are." she retorted.
Sparkpaw lept again, but the ThunderClan warrior stopped him, pinning him with her teeth. He waved his paws wildly, yet the warrior was overpowering him, and soon he was tossed aside into the ferns and bushes.
Sparkpaw shook the leaves out of his pelt. He shook his head a bit; he was not in ShadowClan territory, but further into ThunderClan's. His shoulder hurt, he realised as he walked around. The battle was still being waged beyond the ferns, yet there was a soft murmuring a little further into the forest.
On a rock layed a cream tom with brown and white rosettes swirled on his pelt, except from the end of the hind paws to the middle of the hind legs, which was entirely black. Along the top of his tail was a brown stripe, surrounded by the rest of the cream fur. Frustrated, oak leaf eyes watched the ground, while his front claws made lines in the dirt. A small, faint scar rested nearby his right eye. This would've looked like any ordinary stray or clan cat if it wasn't for the bluish collar around his neck. It didn't have a bell, but at the neck were strange twoleg looking shapes, at least they were probably twoleg shapes. Sparkpaw swished his tail and took a step back. A sharp *snap* of a stick lifted the kittypet's head. He must've stepped on one of the branches. The ShadowClan apprentice wasn't sure what to do as the kittypet scraped the dirt off of his claws, and then unsheathed them. Sparkpaw raised his head.
"You're the kittypet," he stated.
The kittypet chuckled. "So that's what they've still been calling me on the other territories, is it?" He seemed amused. "Though I must tell you if no one else that I am not a kittypet, not anymore." That made sense, but–
"If you're wondering why I still wear my collar, it's merely an aesthetical thing. Just because I'm a ThunderClan warrior doesn't mean I'm not allowed to look stylish." the tom appeared to read his thoughts. "But let us not continue on with such discrepancies." He lifted a paw, the muscles underneath his pelt looked like they were starting to form, "My name is Duskswirl." Duskswirl introduced himself. "Prey tell me, what's yours?"
"I-I'm Sparkpaw.." Sparkpaw responded, a tad confused.
"Excellent," Duskswirl nodded. "Now tell me; how goes the battle near the Thunderpath?"
Sparkpaw turned around, the sounds of battle faintly audible. "I..I think it's going okay.." he responded…Why would Duskswirl care though? Splashpaw said he didn't fight the last battle, only guiding. And if he told him now, that would be a betrayal to his clan! "No! I'm not telling you a thing!" he yelled back.
"Hmm." Duskswirl seemed a tad disappointed, but then smiled, "Well, you did just tell me something. But, honestly, it doesn't matter. This battle's a waste of time anyhow. You're fighting over a thunderpath, for StarClan's sake. I'm surprised neither one of our clanmates is already dead from the monsters that run on it."
Fear tingled Sparkpaw's fur. He turned back again.
"Would you mind checking to see if any of them are injured?" Duskswirl asked while Sparkpaw was watching the ferns.
"Uh.."
"I would go and check myself, but I don't want to get any blood on my pelt. It's sticky and takes too much effort to clean off. And even then it stains and the taste stays in your mouth for days." he explained.
Sparkpaw turned to hear the sounds of battle. They were still the same.
"I…I think it's still the same." Sparkpaw answered.
"Of course, of course. It was a stupid question to ask; of course they're some injuries. This is a battle, if I'm not mistaken," he chuckled before continuing, "Aren't you a ShadowClan warrior? You should really go back out there, fight for your clan and all that." he pointed towards the bushes with his head.
"I'm an apprentice, but, uh, thank you." Sparkpaw corrected the ThunderClan cat before heading out into the bushes.
Sparkpaw returned to the side of the Thunderpath to find the ThunderClan warriors retreating, going back into the bushes of their territory. On top of a rock jutting out from the ground, a ginger tom with darker ginger swirls was calling for a retreat.
"Alright everyone! ShadowClan has taken our border rightfully back! Let's head back to camp to get a good rest!" EagleStar's voice could be heard clearly amongst the murmurings of two clans of cats. He searched around for his fellow apprentices; Littlepaw and Adderpaw were fine, only with a few scrapes, while Marshpaw looked shaken, huddling closely to his mentor. The she-cat that had attacked him earlier turned and grunted. "Don't think it's over yet. ShadowClan will pay for this." she hissed, and retreated back with the rest of the ThunderClan cats. Sparkpaw watched the forest for a moment before his mentor called. But what did she mean by that? The battle was over, wasn't it? He shook his head; whatever it meant, it didn't really matter for now. He was going back to camp.
Walking among the pines and marshes made Sparkpaw feel more at ease. Marshpaw was still bristling from the battle.
"Are you okay?" he asked his friend. Marshpae didn't look up, his eyes looked dazed and confused.
When they came back into camp, Houndheart nudged Marshpaw to follow him into the medicine den. Clawleap came from the clearing to check up on Jaguarpelt and Flarestripe. EagleStar jumped up on the Shaderock.
"Cats of ShadowClan!" he began, "Tonight we have secured victory against ThunderClan for access to the entire Thunderpath along their border! Patrols start tomorrow morning at dawn, and those scent marks better be there." He promptly jumped off the rock and went into his den. The rest of the cats in the clearing dispersed into their own little groups, most headed towards either the warrior or medicine dens. He glanced over at the latter. Marshpaw was among the group of wounded cats going there to be treated. Sparkpaw couldn't remember if he actually had physical injuries, but he hoped his friend was alright, given the encounter with the ThunderClan she-cat. He checked himself for any injuries; a bruised stomach and some faint claw-marks around his neck, but nothing too substantial. Splashpaw bounded over with some fresh-kill hanging in his jaws, then putting it down by Sparkpaw's paws.
"Hey! You okay mate?" he asked.
"Uh, yeah, thank you." Sparkpaw replied, taking the mouse. The two of them headed into the apprentice's den.
"I met that kittypet you were talking about earlier." Sparkpaw said while he and Splashpaw shared a mouse.
"Oh? What was he like?" Splashpaw asked, intrigued. He then explained the interaction with Duskswirl to the older apprentice. Splashpaw shook his head.
"I'm not sure mate. He didn't attack ya, so maybe he only has words. I wouldn't worry about it though." Then he got up and stretched. "Welp, I've a hunting patrol to get to. Have a good sleep, okay?" With that he trotted out of the den. Sparkpaw yawned and curled up in his mossy nest. Whatever was going on with Duskswirl and ThunderClan wasn't his problem right now. What mattered was if Marshpaw was okay. Sparkpaw wasn't sure, but he didn't have time to find out as sleep took hold over him.