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Post by 🍁Searipple101🍁 on Aug 7, 2016 15:16:35 GMT -5
Prologue
Darkness surrounded me, my conscience. Pain shot through my leg, my body, too much to ignore. Softly, I heard the rustling of the stalks, rubbing each other gently in the wind. My mind, though shrouded in the inky black, veered back towards the memories of the events which had transpired some time ago, when the sun had still been out and the air wasn't so cool like early leafbare frosts.
Poppycloud, you mousebrained fool. You have no idea what you've done. Now, I can't go back, and I'm left here in the darkness. I guess it wouldn't have been so dark if I were to just open my eyes, but I didn't want to. My body hurt too much, and my lungs still strove for air, though I know time had passed since my escape. I ran so far in such a short time my body must be at its limit. So this is what it felt like to use every ounce of energy all at once. I didn't much care for it.
In the quiet atmosphere, something shifted the dirt a distance away from me. Something was walking towards me. Poppycloud? I couldn't fight, I was in absolutely no condition to. I didn't even know if I could have moved right then.
The steps grew louder as my fate drew nearer, and all I could do was lie there and wait, still not bothering to at least open my eyes. They stopped right beside me, and I felt their gaze burning into my pelt like the sun's rays had earlier; it's too cool for the sun to be out anymore.
"Duskfrost." A familiar voice filled my ears, but it was not Poppycloud as expected. It was too high-pitched, and was filled with concern. I had to open my eyes, and when I did I could not have been more stunned. Looming over me as I lie there in the dirt and pebbles was a familiar, red face with the tall stalks swaying behind. Her green eyes looked down upon me with intense worry. "Your leg is bleeding, and you've got thorns stuck everywhere."
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Chapter 1
"Rustpaw?What are you doing here?" Astonishment cracked slightly in my voice, but I was aware that my face gave away all my surprise at the she-cat's presence. I didn't even bother to look down at my leg; I felt the pain from it easily and knew the wound had to reopened.
"I'll tell you the story after I find you some cobwebs to put on your leg. That's what they use to patch wounds, right?"
I simply nodded and didn't argue. Though she had done everything I told her when I was her mentor, I had learned that sometimes she was just too stubborn and there was nothing to persuade her from doing what she intended to do. There was no point in trying to stop her from helping me. As much as I hated to admit it, I needed it anyway.
The small, red she-cat bounded off through the tall stalks, down the perfect row until she veered off and disappeared while she went further away.
I laid my head back to rest on the bumpy, uneven ground when she was out of my sight. My eyes drifted shut, and I did not force then to stay open. I don't know how much time had passed when Rustpaw returned, but it was considerably darker when I awoke to her wrapping a thick wad of cobwebs around my hind leg.
I watched her for a few moments, totally unskilled at this practice but being neat and careful with the thin strands of silk. Finally, I had to know. "Alright, you've got the cobwebs, so tell me why you're out here. You should be back at camp, with the clan." No feelings of anger stirred up inside me, only simple curiosity and perhaps slight irritation that I hadn't gotten my answer right away when I'd asked the first time.
"I followed you to be with you," Rustpaw answered simply, like none of it was a big deal, like it didn't matter she had run away from camp and had come all this way, probably alone. "You're still my mentor and my kin, and I heard what you said to my mother before you almost ran me over." She finished her work - rather sloppy but good for a non-medicine cat - and looked at me with big, green eyes which stood out in the growing darkness. "I don't think you're a criminal like the others do. I think you genuinely thought you were doing something good. After all, if your brother really did kill your parents, and everything else happened that you said, then it was good to get their blood out of the clans. You taught me what honor truly means, and they weren't honorable at all." She scanned my body with big pools of green. "If they can't realize what a good cat you really are, then I don't want to be in a clan like that. I'll be a rogue with you, and you can keep teaching me everything you know about everything. You're the best mentor and uncle ever." The last statement came out as a happy purr and she crouched down by my belly. "But before we can do anything else, let's get these thorns out of your pelt."
As she began to pluck each thorn out one by one with her teeth, something inside my chest stirred. This feeling was something I've felt many times before, but rarely because of others. It was pride. "I promise to teach you everything I know," I told her then begun to help her finally my body of the rose thorns.
*
The sun's rays beat down on us while we walked through the odd field. My leg still hurt and my chest still ached from heaving so much air in my escape, but I still led the way as the sun climbed higher into the sky, struggling so desperately to stay between the many clouds and reach the point of sunhigh. Though the air was chillier, the sun won the small battle temporarily and peeked between the clouds to bathe us in hot, golden light.
"Can we hunt soon? I'm starving," Rustpaw complained from my right side, her pawsteps even unlike mine. Just then, a low rumble broke the closing silence after her words - her stomach.
"No, not yet," I told her, my ears pricked forward, listening for even the smallest sounds. "We need to get out of this strange tall grass first and find a place that seems safe enough. Keep listen for anything but our own paws."
I noticed her swivel her ears around out of the corner of my eye, a look of intense focus coming onto her face as she strained her ears. It only lasted a few moments before the questions started up again, the one true annoyance my apprentice always presented me. Questions were fine, but only when relevant.
"What are the tall plants around us anyway? It doesn't really look like tall grass... It looms too much, and the stalks are way too thick and tough." Her curiosity never wavered.
Deciding to go with the simplest and most honest answer I meowed, "I don't know."
Rustpaw gave a look of dissatisfaction but didn't ask again. I watched her glance around, peering through the neat rows of browning stalks. Then, she stopped and sent her tail up like a flag. "I see trees over there!" She announced her discovery excitedly and turned back towards me, most likely for praise at the find and the okay to travel in that direction.
I looked down at her only a heartbeat and moved my gaze up then to look past the weird plants. There were indeed trees some distance away in the direction adjacent to where we were already headed, the brown of trunks and leaves turning multi-colored coming into my vision, but I saw movement of something dark colored as well. With my bad vision, I knew it would be foolish to get closer and take the risk of it being a dog or other rogue. I gave a quick shake of my head and kept walking where we had been going all along. "There's something else over there, and I'm not taking the risk to find out what it is," I told her bluntly.
I heard a small, disappointed sigh escape her jaws, and I rolled my eyes. "But good job spotting the trees through all that field," I added in a quieter tone, knowing it'd make her feel better about her discovery. Though I didn't care much about her emotions, praise and encouragement worked well when teaching others. It promoted better results later on, when accompanied by a healthy amount of criticism.
We continued to pad on, the stalks seeming to go on forever lie an endless sea of them, stretching further and further the more we walked, but we marched on. Finally, the stalks thinned out up ahead and I saw trees in the distance with leaves already turning shades of yellow and red. "There, if there aren't any threats there, then we can hunt and rest." Pain stilled gripped my leg in its agonizing claws, and even I would appreciate a meal and some rest in the shade. Even with the sun now being shrouded by clouds and the chilly air stirring softly around us, rustling the stalks above, my pelt was still hot.
"Duskfrost!" Rustpaw's alert jolted me out of my thoughts of my leg and warm fur. I whipped my gaze towards her as she now stood with her tabby fur fluffed up and tail erect, her back to me. In between the stalks, only a fox-length away, crouched almost flat against the light brown soil, a tan tom with deep amber eyes shining with mysterious joy gazed at Rustpaw and I.
"What are you two doing walking in my corn field?" he inquired, his voice higher than expected but smooth and seemingly delighted by our presence in his territory. There was something very off about him, though.
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Chapter 2
My fur bristled instinctively, but I forced it to lie back flat against my frame. Now was not a good time to pick a fight, especially not in a territory I did not know. Talking my way out of things would be best, though, I wasn't completely sure if I needed to. No malicious intent came from this almost hidden tom. "We're passing through," I told him calmly, but in side, i was ready for a fight if it did come down to that. One should never let their guard down.
The sandy tom perked up a a bit, raising his head from the ground. He didn't even seem to care that Rustpaw was still exhibiting traits of hostility. "I see. Well, you're not going to get very far very fast with a leg like that." He nodded towards my injured leg, which was held slightly in the air. "You're welcome to rest here if ya want, but I don't think ya should stay in the corn field. The barn is much better; there's also plenty of mice. Come on, I'll show ya the way." With that, he started walking away, singing some odd tune.
I cursed at myself for showing vulnerability like that, but there was no time for self-insulting. I decided to take the strange cat up on his offer, knowing that he was right about my leg. Not much ground would be covered with it like this. it needed time to heal. Though, I was apprehensive about trusting this tom who had seemingly come from nowhere, I began to follow him with Rustpaw padding along beside me.
"Can we really trust him?" Rustpaw asked me in a hushed whisper, glancing from the tom, to me, and then back to him. "He seems...not normal."
"No, we won't trust him, but if he's right about my leg, unfortunately We will go to his 'barn,' whatever that is, and rest there. Besdies, he said there were mice, and if there really are then we can eat and gain energy back," I told my apprentice, but I never took my eyes off of the gleeful strange in front of us. "Never be afraid to take advantage of another cat's kindndess, or foolishness. Keep an eye on him, too."
The red tabby she-cat nodded and focused her green eyes on our escort, watching him carefully. The whole time we walked, she watched him, never taking her eyes off of him except to quickly survey the surrounding area. My teachings were implanting in her brain well.
Not too much time later, we exited the long stalks and were faced with a giant, red structure. It was huge, looming over us and easily matching the trees in height. Ivy vines clung to the side of it, snaking their way up higher and higher and taking up almost half of the surface of the tall wall. A rusted monster, much like the ones MapleClan made part of their camp out of, sat next to the red wall, either dead or sleeping.
Upon scanning more of the are, I noticed how the field stopped in a perfect row to give way to the grass and this thing I assumed to be the 'barn.' It was almost as if the stalks were scared to come any closer, but the sandy tom was so carefree when approaching. To our left, a path of dirt weaved through some tall grass, and a twoleg den could be seen in the distance. At least, I assumed it to be a twoleg den from here. My vision wouldn't allow me to see very far down the path, but I did hear a few strange cries from down in that area. It had to be twoleg kits. To our right was nothing but more stalks, connecting to our field at a perfect angle to continue down behind the structure.
"This is the barn, here," the high-pitched voice of our escort snapped my attention back to him. He had reached a small hole in the bottom of the red wall and stood by it. "You guys are gonna love it in here!" He stepped into the hole, his tan tail being the last thing to disappear into the darkness.
"Should we really do this?" Rustpaw asked, anxiety noticeable in her mew. Her paws plucked at the ground nervously, and I could tell what she was thinking.
"If there is an ambush in there, we won't stand much of a chance. We will scent the air first from outside the entrance. If more than his scent comes to us, then we can either question him or just go," I decided. it wasn't a perfect plan seeing as how running more would further open my wound, but we wouldn't have much of a choice if it came down to it.
She agreed with a nod and we slowly approached the black void. The scent of the tan tom wafted up into my nostrils and hit my tongue, along with the scent of plants I wasn't familiar with, and two other cats.
We both looked at each other scenting the same thing. A she-cat was in there, or had been here recently, along with a tom kit. Though the kit wouldn't pose much of a threat, the she-cat and sandy tom could.
I had to decide what to do now, but the tan tom poked his head out of the dark just then, almost touching noses with me. "What are ya waitn' for? Mika and Pigeon will be happy to meet ya, don't worry! They don't bite." He said this so happily, so sincerely that if it was a trick, he was incredibly skilled at the art of deception.
Without waiting for my choice, Rustpaw actually stepped inside, then turned to face me through the entrance. "I think its okay. There are only the three cat scents in here, and he didn't sound like he was lying," she told me, less confidence than I would have liked in her mew, but she was willing to take the risk, clearly.
Irritation stirred inside of me that she, an inexperienced apprentice, made such an important decision that could cost us our lives, or at least some blood, but I went along with it, not able to leave my apprentice to fend for herself. I still had much to teach her. Carefully, I slid in through the entrance, my eyes adjusting to the darker surroundings rather quickly. Inside, Rustpaw stood there waiting for me. The smell of plants was much stronger now, and odd-shaped hills lined one side of the barn, while a healthy, giant looking, green monster slept on the other.
"Welcome to the barn," the tan tom meowed from atop a high spot on the plant hills, his tail waving happily in the air. "Like it?"
"It's...different," I replied, still looking around. Unfortunately, my eyes could still only see so much at a time. What an inconvenience... However, my ears picked up something else, a small sound, the slight shifting of dry plant material on the wooden floor. It came from behind one of the plant hills, closest to Rustpaw.
I opened my jaws to warn her, but before I could even utter a word or yowl, a gray blur shot out from behind the hill and plowed into Rustpaw, knocking her to the ground with a yowl of surprise.
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Chapter 3
My apprentice instinctively began to bat her attacker's muzzle and within two quick swipes, they retreated and shook their head, sending little crimson drops flinging onto the dusty ground. "What'd you do that for?" a high, squeaky voice asked.
Rustpaw's attacker wasn't even quite her size - a gray tabby tom barely even apprentice age. He brought up a paw and began to rub his muzzle which oozed tiny spec of blood. When he looked at Rustpaw, his eyes were a stunning deep blue but filled with hurt, it seemed.
Rustpaw looked a tad confused for a moment then irritated, her tail tip flicking behind her as she pulled herself back to her paws. "You shouldn't have surprised me like that. I'm a warrior apprentice, you shouldn't expect me not to fight back when attacked," she told him gruffly then glanced over at me, I'm assuming for my approval of her reaction.
"You shouldn't have been surprised at all. I noticed him," I meowed, to which her shoulders slumped and she looked a bit crestfallen. But that was the nature of a mentor/apprentice relationship. it was my job to point out her flaws so that she may fix them and become a great warrior, even if we no longer belonged to OakClan. My duties had never changed.
"Really, Pigeon, you should know better than to pounce on strange cats. they're our guests. Be polite." A new voice echoed in the air from above me and to the right, opposite most of the green hills.
Blinking a few times, I could at least make out a white smudge on top of the green monster. The figure stood, then gracefully jumped down onto the monster's black foot, then to the floor. As it got closer, black patches among the white became more clear, though still blended in easily with the surrounding darkness like subtly shadows, while green eyes glowed with amusement.
"Who are you?" I demanded but tried to have it come out as polite, though it had to be apparent just how uncomfortable I was inside this 'barn.' Already, three strange cats had made their presence known. How many more would there be.
"The bare-skins call me Mika, so I just go by that," the new black and white she-cat answered. "Oats brought you here, right?" She turned her head and gestured to the odd tan tom who was now clumsily making his way off the interestingly shaped hills.
"Yes," I replied simply with a curt nod, feeling embarrassed for the other tom as he stumbled over his own paws to get down. He was weirder than I'd originally thought...
"Yeah, he brings strays here all the time. He likes making new friends," the she-cat said with a slight happiness to her tone. What are you two called?"
"I'm Duskfrost, and that's my niece, Rustpaw." I left out the part that she was apprentice. These rogues probably had no clue what that was. "We're just passing through."
"Oh, that's too bad. Oats would love it if you stayed for a while. Plenty of mice here to eat, and the bare-skins give us dry food all the time," Mika said to which the tan tom, Oats, nodded, coming to stand beside her.
"The bare-skins are so nice to us here. They feed us and play with us, and sometimes we get to go in their house and cuddle with them!" His amber eyes seemed to light more and more the further he talked, while I felt my stomach twisting in a small knot of disgust at his words.
It was obvious they called twolegs bare-skins; how could any cat want to play with them and...cuddle? I felt a small shiver run up my spine, but I suppressed the urge to gag. "That sounds...lovely..."
"That sounds weird," I heard Rustpaw say from behind me. I turned my head to see her sitting right behind me, the gray tom, I assumed to be Pigeon, actually grooming her shoulder, and she completely let him.
My tail lashed once at the sight, and it was enough for Rustpaw to get the message that I was not happy with this, and she scooted away, leaving pigeon to stare in confusion. However, when he looked over at my icy cold glare, he looked down and apologized quietly.
"Protective of your kin?" Mika inquired with a small laugh bouncing her mew. "That's cute. I am, too, though, so don't worry."
"Only as much as I need to be," I muttered. then, a shocking thought hit my mind that could not possibly be true. "Are you and Oats...mates, and Pigeon is your son?" There's was no real resemblance at all in any of them.
Mika burst out laughing and even fell over on her side, into the dusty pant fragments, her sides bouncing dramatically with each laugh. She was plump enough... Finally, after a few moments of laughing, she half-sat up, using only her forepaws as support for her front half of her body. "No, no. Oats and Pigeon are like family to me, but none of us are related at all. And besides, Oats can't have kits anyway. He's sterile."
I blinked in surprise. So that was one of the reasons he struck me as so odd. He wasn't a real tom. Well, that, and he was just nut-brained, too. "I, uh..." What was I supposed to say to this? Even I had never thought of an appropriate response to meeting a tom that wasn't even a tom.
"It's okay. I know it must come as a surprise to a couple of strays. That's just the reality of living with bare-skins. You get a good life, but none of us can have kits."
"So you can't have any either?" Rustpaw asked, now from beside me where she had moved after my warning. "That must stink."
"Nah, it's fine. I never dreamed of having kits anyway," the black and white patches she-cat said with a shrug, now sitting up properly. "Everything good comes at a price anyway. Here, we get just about whatever we want, including plenty of food. The price is we just can't have kits."
So her plump belly really was just from being well fed... I suppose that was good news for us if we were going to stay here until next sunrise to rest. Might as well; it seemed safe enough with only these three cats here. they were obviously harmless enough. Two swipes of a claw and Pigeon was done, I doubted Mika knew anything about fighting with that big belly of hers, and Oats... yeah, there was no apparent danger from these three. Still, I'd keep my guard up.
"Do you guys want somethin' ta eat?" Oats suddenly pipped up, his tail waving behind him, in a happy way. "I'll get ya some mice!" Without either Rustpaw or myself putting a word in, he bounded off behind some of the green plant hills.
"He can hunt?" I found myself asking in rude confusion.
"Oh yeah. He's really good at it actually. I know he's really clumsy and weird, but he's got a good heart, and surprisingly good hunting skills. He catches all our food for us, prey wise anyway," Mika said, looking off the direction Oats he disappeared.
"Yeah! He's really good, and he's teaching me how to hunt, too!" The gray tom-kit suddenly blurted out, pouncing on a piece of plant like it was a mouse. "I'm gonna be such a good hunter when I grow up!"
I watched him, noticing how he was still a technically a tom. So, if he wanted to join us, perhaps he could be a valuable asset. He was almost apprentice age. Maybe, just maybe I could form my own clan out here. Though, I would have to work on his attitude, of course. No cat should be cozy with twolegs, nor should they groom a stranger's fur...especially not Rustpaw's.
"Go ahead and lie down anywhere you like. They hay is pretty comfortable and nice and warm in snow season. I know you said you two were just passing through, but why not stay? it's really nice here." While I was observing Pigeon's mediocre-at-best hunting skills, Mika had made her way up the weird hills and flopped down half way up the giant mound. "Go ahead and pick your favorite hay bale."
Hay bales, huh? I at least I was learning some things, I guess. At least I could rest. My leg had stopped hurting, but it still needed time to further heal. I made my over to the stacks of 'hay bales' and jumped up on one. it felt like the floor - soft yet firm and little jagged - though, a lot less dusty. The scent of green plants wafted up from it as well. It must have been cut fresh only sunrises before. I laid down and looked over towards Rustpaw, who hadn't moved form where she sat, but Pigeon had made his way back over to her again.
The red she-cat looked over at me with pleading, green eyes. I rolled mine and flicked my tail, then rested my head on my paws. Rustpaw perked up and instantly pounced on Pigeon, their paws batting each other playfully.
It must have been a long time since another cat young enough to accurately play with the gray tom was here, and I know Rustpaw was one to enjoy such things from watching her play with her brothers. She was always so full of energy, and without me being able to properly train her because of the state of my leg, there wasn't much place to put all of that pent up energy. Perhaps this would be good for her, for body and spirit.
It wasn't long after that Oats returned from behind the hay bales, three fat mice dangling from his sandy-colored jaws by their skinny, pink tails. at the sight of them, my stomach rumbled loudly against my mind's will. Oats padded over to me and dropped the mice at my paws. "eat up!" he said happily, then turned and vanished again, perhaps to get even more if he could.
I had to admit, inwardly, I was very impressed by his ability to catch such good quality prey in equally as good quantity. I called Rustpaw over from her play session, and we crouched together on the hay bale, gorging ourselves on the tasty, delicious prey. Oats didn't know how lucky he was. Being able to hunt like this showed he wasn't useless to the world. Plus, him not being able to have kits saved horrible genes from spreading to future kits. I decided to spare him this one time.
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Chapter 4
"Do you really have to go?" Pigeon whined, his gray striped tail drooping in the dust and plant fragments which littered the barn floor.
"Yes, we do. We aren't barn cats like you, and we don't like twolegs," I answered the young tom kit, standing by the entrance with Rustpaw at my side. "But I thank you for letting us stay here for the few sunrises we did so my leg could heal, and for letting us share your prey." I dipped my head to accompany my polite thanks. Though these cats didn't seem very valuable to the world, two of them not able to have kits and one being actually mousebrained, they had helped us, and even I had to acknowledge that.
"It was no problem at all," Mika meowed from half way up the hay bale mound where she lay. She couldn't even bother to get up to see us off like Oats and Pigeon, the lazy she-cat.
"Please, come back soon," Oats meowed, his tail waving happily in the air like always.
"Yeah, come back soon!" the gray tom agreed, mostly looking at Rustpaw with sad eyes. It was obvious in the days that we had spent here - only five - that he had come to very much like my apprentice and kin. Pigeon was the best of the three barn cats here, but I would not allow a twoleg loving cat to be with my kin. He'd refused to come with us anyway, just so he could stay here at the barn.
"We'll see," I said before Rustpaw could reply. "Goodbye, all." With that, I turned and slipped out through the hole in the barn door, my leg healed enough that I could put weight on it again and easily run if I wanted to. All the rest and mice had really done me some good, but I was angry at myself inside for missing out on training to get stronger. One should never stop training, even when a warrior, even when out of a clan.
I turned back and waited a moment before Rustpaw followed me out. Sadness swam in her green eyes, but her tail and head were also high. My only guess that she wasn't happy to leave Pigeon, but was happy to keep going and continue our journey. Such mixed feelings radiated off her pelt.
"Let's go," I told her curtly and trotted off down the narrow dirt path towards the twoleg den, weeds hanging over the trail and grazing the top on head and back. I didn't look back, but I heard the barn cats calling out to us, wishing us luck and farewell. In acknowledgement, I simply flicked my tail but kept moving, the sound of Rustpaw's pawsteps also trailing along behind me.
Oats told us that by following the dirt trail towards the twoleg den, we could find another trail of small stones which led to the tunderpath after a ways, but one that wasn't usually busy with the traffic of monsters. Beyond that were more fields of tall stalks, but if we actually followed the thunderpath, we'd see another forest in the far distance. He said cats from other twoleg places had come from there and told of a group of wild cats in the forest. It had to be another clan. When I had first heard this, I knew I had to go there. My heart and mind and even soul pulled me in their direction, demanding that I go and fulfill my destiny of cleaning the lands of bad blood. I had failed with OakClan, but maybe this was my second chance. By finding this clan, I could redeem myself for my disappointment. However, no matter what I would do, the reality that I'd failed to kill Crowpaw would forever scorch the back of my mind.
Rustpaw and I came to the end of the trail, and I crouched down at the edge of the weeds with her beside me, the sun hanging low in the sky as dusk started to approach. Together, we peered out around the tall grasses at the twoleg den. All seemed quiet, and the stone trail was in sight and not too far away; I assumed it was the stone trail by color and shape, at least. I hated my eyesight...
No movement came from the den or around it, so I quickly bounded for the gray trail, and upon getting closer, I found that it was indeed the trail Oats had talked about. He just had better know what he was talking about with all of this.
Waiting a moment, I pricked my ears, listening for any sounds of rustling or any sign of movement. Nothing. Flicking my tail to indicate to Rustpaw it was clear, I continued to move quickly down the winding, stone trail. Thankfully, some taller grasses lined this as well so we weren't fully exposed out in the open.
"Do you really think there's a different clan where we're going?" Rustpaw inquired, trotting along beside me. "I mean, Oats did only say that cats from other twoleg places spread the story. Do you really think they're reliable?"
"I don't know." I noticed her staring at me out of the corner of my eyes, but I still only looked forward, watching the trail we followed. "But , I know StarClan is leading me there. I have a job to do, and I must redeem myself."
"Job? Redeem? What are you talking about?" Rustpaw asked, then blinked. "Wait, do you mean when you told Specklewing about killing cats with bad blood?"
I simply nodded. I didn't expect her to approve; no one approved, and I knew this. they were all just too stupid to realize how toxic cats like Avalancheclaw and Crowpaw were to the clans, to the land in general. They valued morals over simple logic, the fools. OakClan would surely fall apart without me there to clean up their mess.
"Oh..." Rustpaw fell silent for a few moments as we trotted quickly down the winding path. When I glanced at her, she only stared blankly at the path down at her paws, deep in thought. Finally, she spoke up again. "Well, I don't think it's right to kill kind cats like Avalanchclaw, but it wasn't right of him either to go against the warrior code... I guess, I don't really like what you're doing, but if you really think it's a good thing, then maybe it is. If StarClan did tell you do this, then it must be the right thing do to," she decided finally, looking up at me now.
I stopped and looked at her, her eyes showing that she truly was trying to understand the reasoning for my actions. I actually found myself chuckling after a heartbeat, which confused her, but then I padded over and licked her head once; it was a sign of affection I rarely gave out, as attachments to others could be dangerous with my work. she deserved it now, though. "You're the first one to actually attempt to understand. You really are my kin," I meowed, feeling strange pride stir within my chest.
Rustpaw perked up a bit at my words, a tiny purr even rumbling in her throat. "Well, you are my uncle and mentor. You've taught me so much already, and I want to keep learning from you. I mean, I don't think I can kill like you can, but I still want to be a warrior and learn to fight like you, even if we don't have OakClan anymore."
"Don't worry, young one. I will teach you all you need to know. Besides, ridding the world of bad blood is my job and mine alone, but I will be happy to teach you everything else I know. It'll put all that energy you have to good use." With that, I turned and started padding off again quickly, wanting to get to the new clan as fast as possible, assuming it really did exist in the forest beyond. Rustpaw quickly padded beside me, a new aura of joy clearly about her.
Soon, we came to the thunderpath. it was a rather small one and lacked the forever running, yellow stripes most had. I looked both ways down it, not seeing nor hearing any signs of monsters. "Do you see anything?" I asked, knowing she had the better eyesight of us two.
The red she-cat looked up and down the path, wrinkling her nose at the stink of it. "No, but this thing reeks," she complained unhappily.
"Yes, but all thunderpaths do. Get used to it." I started to skirt along the side of the path, ducking in just inside the tall grasses which grew by its side.
We padded along in silence, only the sounds of distance bird calls, chirping bugs, and dog barking in the far distance to break the silence from us. We stayed like this for a long time, simply padding along the thunderpath without so much as a word spoken before twoleg dens loomed in the distance, many of them lining the path.
I slowed my pace and ducked down lower into the grasses, Rustpaw copying me from my side. "We will have to be extra careful here," I whispered to her. "Twolegs, dogs, kitttypets... Such a horrible place."
I began to creep forward, the grasses growing shorter and thinning out before it was only short and soft twoleg territory grass left. Stopping at the edge of the higher weeds, I scanned the area before us. A den stood tall at least 10 fox-lengths away. I saw no movement from around it, or from the one across the thunderpath. We would simply have to bolt and hope we didn't get caught before finding another place to hide.
I flicked my tail against Rustpaw's flank, and she nodded. Then, I rushed out, racing across the twoleg garden, towards the den. As I got quickly closer, I noticed a dark space under some wood form the den and slipped in under there. It wasn't the best cover, but it should work. Rustpaw was right behind me the whole time and ducked in by me.
"This will be fun," she said sarcastically but also with a glint in her eye. She was too full of energy and adventure for her good.
Carefully placing my paws in the dirt, under the wood, I crept out to the side and poked my head out, gazing around again. Still nothing. With another flick of my tail to my apprentice, I rushed out, my paws carrying me quickly across the short grassed, exposed area to a pile of short logs that were stacked on top of one and other. Crouching behind it for a moment, I started to move again, aiming to get to a different den this time to take some bushes along their wall as cover with Rustpaw still beside or behind me the whole time.
Half way there, my ear twitched the sound of one of the den entrances opening. I froze mid-step and looked over only to see a large, gray dog standing outside the den now, staring at us.
Rustpaw didn't move beside me, but her pelt bristled, fur beginning to rise with my own standing on end as well. Her eyes were wide as the two stared each other down. Suddenly, the dog pushed off the wooden thing it stood on and launched itself for us.
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Chapter 5
"Scatter!" I yowled and quickly spun on my feet to run back to the pile of logs. Kicking up a bit of grass on my way, I dashed towards the wood then used all my power to push myself off of the ground and onto the top of the pile. It was high enough that the dogwouldn't be able to jump up, but looking at the back i realized it would be fully capable of climbing up, if it thought to do so.
I quickly searched for Rustpaw, but couldn't find her. The dog was at the base of the pile and barking at me now, though. it was safe to assume that Rustpaw had made it somewhere else safe, but now I was trapped on this log pile. If I tried to run for it, the dog would surely get me no matter where I went. Behind me, it was nothing but stumps for quite a ways, and then more grassy fields. Going in there would be the death of me, as it would be able to easily track my scent. There were a few tress around, but that wouldn't be much better than where I stood now, for I'd be stuck up there as well, and everywhere else around me was either open ground, two leg dens, or useless places that the beast could get me from anyway. My only option was to wait and hope it didn't find its way to the back of the pile.
The dog barked furiously at me, standing on its hind legs with its forepaws up on the wood. Its jaws snapped and dripped with clear, running drool, eyes crazy as it stared at me. Fangs flashed white mere tail-lengths from my face, back ridged and tail waving excitedly.
Though this primal creature was a mousebrained dog, it knew of the fun that could be had from the fear of others, except I didn't have bad blood. I didn't deserve this.
The big, gray beast finally fell back to all four paws, but I felt a slight twinge in my heart as it began to circle the wood pile. Within moments, it had located the back where it could climb. I could only watch and hiss as it started scrabbling up the small logs, pieces of wood rolling down from its ascending paws.
I was about to flee off the other side when I turned my attention to focus on shaking grasses near by for a split moment, and a red blur shot out. I knew instantly it was Rustpaw, but what was she doing? Was she nutbrained?
The red tabby she-cat flew across the open garden then skidded around the turn to the back of the pile. Facing the dog, she lunged for its hindquarters and sunk her claws into its rump with a battle yowl I had never heard a cat utter before, one so full of determination and furosity.
My eyes actually widened with shock as the dog yelped and turned its attention to my apprentice, who began climbing up its back, making sure to dig claws in deep and hard through the dusky gray fur.
It snapped at her, but he managed to dodge but not fully let go until after a few attempts at her hide, she released the dog and jumped off, landing with an arched back and a long hiss.
Angry and bleeding, the dog jumped off the pile and snapped at her, but I couldn't let my apprentice show such loyalty and bravery - or perhaps even stupidity - and die. I still had to teach her many things. I leaped for the canine with my own, deeper battle cry. Right before it was able to reach my apprentice, I landed square on its shoulders and sunk my claws deep into its pelt, feeling skin break beneath the point of my claws.
Adrenaline and excited joy surged through my body, like the first time I killed, like when I had gave Mudtail my claws for the final time. Blood pumped through my ears, heart pounding against my ribs. The rush...oh, how I'd missed it these past few sunrises and sunsets.
I heard nothing but the dog's yelps and cries of agony, along with a few growls in between. Everything else around me seemed to slow so much, almost to the point where it seemed even the sun would never set. All I smelled was the reeking scent of dog, and the wonderful metallic scent of blood, accompanied by the red droplets flying through the air with each slash I made.
I don't know how much time had passed, but I'm assuming only heartbeats, before the dog frantically shook me off and went running back to the den, yelping and screeching with its tail between its legs and streaks of crimson in its fur, mostly on its back and rump.
Panting, I landed easily on the ground, the excitement of my heart slowly dying down, and disappoint that it was already over welling in my chest. I blinked a few times to regain my calm composure and moved my blue eyes, pupils probably intensely dilated from the rush, to see how Rustpaw had made out.
She seemed rather uninjured as she stood there, panting no quite as heavily myself, and staring back at the dog as it cowered on the wood floor at the twoleg den entrance. Her already reddish fur was streaked and patched with a darker shade of crimson, her own green eyes huge. She then turned her attention to me. "Are you hurt?" she inquired, still breathing heavily.
I shook my head response. I felt no pain, only the desire to continue what had been taken away from me too soon. All dogs had such rancid blood...
"Are you sure? Your pelt's so red." she persisted, to which I nodded.
"I am fine. What about you? You're more red than usual, too," I meowed back, gesturing mostly to her legs with a curt nod of my head.
"I'm okay. I thought it was going to eat you, though, when it started climbing the wood pile." She let out a sigh of relief - also perhaps to help herself calm down a little quicker.
"It was fun, wasn't it?" I asked of her, fully aware of the grim joy returning to my expression. "Battle is exhilarating, don't you think?" I took a few slow steps closer to her so I stood right before her confused, green gaze. "Think about it."
Rustpaw looked down and shuffled her paws, uncertain, but then she looked back a little happier and nodded. "Actually, yeah, it kind of was. I don't know how I'd feel about battling other cats yet, but it is pretty great to show a dog what a cat can do."
Her agreement was like bird song to me. I was quite pleased with this answer, but it still could have been better. I moved beside her to rest my tail over her shoulders. "You've still got so much to learn, my young pupil, but I think you've earned a little more than a small chunk of my respect this sun," I said smoothly, making sure to leave the message as vague as possible for the fun of the mystery.
It had definitely peaked the she-cat's curiosity, as she tilted her head to the side, meeting my cool gaze. "What is it?" she asked with slight eagerness in her mew, her voice ever bit as curious to know as her eyes portrayed her mind to be.
"Come," I simply mewed and walked away, flicking my tail for her to follow. I headed in towards the tall grass field, behind the wood pile. padding through a small group of stumps first, I reached the field's edge, where short, vibrantly green grass met taller, swaying stalks and weeds. I then turned and jumped on top of the nearest stump and sat, curling my gray tail neatly around red stained paws. "Sit," I ordered her, and she did so right in front of the stump, her head tilted back ever so slightly to gaze up at me.
"I am no leader with no name such as Duskstar, but I am still your mentor. I have trained you and assessed it all. This sun, you have proven yourself worthy of a warrior name, whether we still reside in OakClan or not. As we head forth to the fabled clan in the forest beyond this wretched twoleg place, you will be greeted by cats with the name of a warrior." I gaze down at her as I spoke each word, and with each word uttered she grew more and more excited, eyes growing as big as moons and paw plucking at the ground unconsciously.
I found this rather amusing, the way she seemed so happy to have the possibility of receiving a warrior name despite leaving the clan which she called home and trained for. It was safe to say I was proud of my kin, as well. However, I made absolutely certain to let my feelings slip as I continued the makeshift ceremony.
"I will still guide you and teach you all that I know, as your training isn't done yet, but I do feel you have earned this now. And I know that StarClan feels the same. Rustpaw, from this moment forth you shall be known as Rustwing for your swiftness in thought and battle and determination to carry on in these harder times. May StarClan light your path, and we continue to stay together, no matter what the challenge," I announced, pride swelling my heart. It wouldn't be long before she was eager for every battle just like I was.
Stepping down, I gave her shoulder a swift lick, and she did the same for me in turn. Then, her usually bubbly, energetic self burst out.
The red she-cat now known as Rustwing leaped into the air with joy and kneaded the ground excessively, a loud purr rumbling within her throat. "Yay! I'm a warrior!" she gushed out, whimsical joy radiating off her tabby pelt.
I simply rolled my eyes but allowed it to happen. It was best that it did now anyway, so these kinds of antics would not appear later in life, and training. "Come on, we need to keep moving," I told her and padded on, Rustwing bouncing along beside me.
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