Aspenwhisper's War

Part 5

       "Aspenkit, from this moment forward, until you've earned your warrior name, you shall be known as Aspenpaw. Now, normally kin aren't appointed as mentors, but I feel that the warrior I choose as your mentor will help you learn and turn you into the best warrior you can be. Aspenpaw, your mentor will be Shadecreek." 

       Aspenpaw reached up and touched noses with his father, purring happily as he trotted over to where his brothers, now named Brackenpaw and Pinepaw, sat next to their mentors, Meadowbreeze and Blizzardfall, listening with pride as his Clanmates called out the names of the three new apprentices, the loudest calls coming from his parents, and Lightkit and Graykit.

       Three moons had passed since Shadecreek and Cloverstar had shown the brothers their birthplace, and Aspenpaw had grown more curious, and intuitive, as well as stronger, his muscle tone building as he play fought with his littermates and the older apprentices, Chestnutpaw and Birchpaw. 

       Shadecreek nudged Aspenpaw with his shoulder, purring fondly. "How about a tour of the territory?" He offered, his eyes glittering with warmth. "I think you'll be able to make that journey, seeing as you've had practice." 

       Aspenpaw purred in amusement, the prospect of a tour of his territory making energy surge into his paws as he stood, tail twitching with nervous excitement. "Let's go!" He chirped, his excitement seeping into his voice, trotting after his father - and his mentor - and following him out of camp.

~~~~~~~~

       Because Aspenpaw had grown quite a bit since the journey he'd made three moons ago, his legs were longer, and the pale ginger tom had almost no problem keeping up with Shadecreek as they made their way toward the first border: the border with WindClan. Aspenpaw wrinkled his nose at the stench of the markers that lined the border on WindClan's side, and at the scent that drifted down from the moor, like rabbits and windblown heather.

       "Don't they have any trees there?" He asked Shadecreek, flattening his ears against the sound of the howling wind and huffing a bit to get the smell out of his nose.

       Shadecreek shook his head, his eyes filled with thinly veiled hostility toward the rival Clan. "They hunt on the moor because their pelts provide enough camouflage for them to conceal themselves in the grass, and they don't look for shelter in the forest because they believe that living on the moor means they're closer to StarClan, as there's nothing between them and the sky."

       Aspenpaw looked shocked at that, slight disgust tainting his thoughts. "Why would any cat believe they're so high and mighty?" He asked. "Surely they must know StarClan don't pick favorites!"

       Shadecreek shrugged slightly, pausing in their walk to renew a few scent markers along the way. "If they know, they don't show it." He said. "You'll soon find out that we have more skirmishes and troubles with WindClan than we do the other Clans." Seeing Aspenpaw nod, the mottled tom stood, flicking his tail. "Follow me, and I'll show you the Carrionplace."

       As the two cats walked, the scent of WindClan faded away, which Aspenpaw was grateful for, but wrinkled his nose again as a stronger, more pungent scent invaded his nose. It was a sour tang, overlapping the stench of rotting and death.

       "What in StarClan is that?" The young apprentice spat, curling his lip in disgust, hating the way the stench was so strong he could practically taste it. 

       "That, my young apprentice, is the Carrionplace." Shadecreek said, purring a bit at his son's strong reaction to the smells. "Hordes and hordes of rats live there. We hunt them sometimes in leaf-bare, when prey gets scarce."

       "Why would anyone want to hunt in there?!" Aspenpaw asked, shocked,his stomach turning as the stench grew stronger when they approached. "Just being this distance away makes me feel sick."

       Shadecreek sat down, looking at his apprentice with a stern gaze. "You need to keep in mind that, no matter how scarce prey gets here in the forest, rats are always going to be swarming around the crow-food that is their diet. It just so happens that all of that Twoleg waste is something they like to eat, so they populate that area and just so happen to be very large. A rat as big as you, and yes, they grow that big, can feed the entire clan, so hunting there when we need to can keep us fed for days."

       Aspenpaw nodded, shocked by his father's sudden change in his demeanor, but he relaxed when the warmth returned. "Can we go see the ThunderClan border?" He asked, his voice smoother and more like his usual fashion, keeping a lot of enthusiasm out of his mew. Shadecreek nodded and stood once more, leading the young tom away from the Carrionplace, the apprentice glad to leave the horrid scents behind.

       When they were a few tree-lengths from the border, Aspenpaw stopped, hearing an odd roaring noise. "Is that thunder?" He asked. The noise was similar to thunder, with a roar that started out faint, swelled, then faded away. The only odd thing was, because they were nearing the tree line, Aspenpaw could see that there wasn't a cloud in the sky that looked like it could bring a storm. 

       Shadecreek shook his head in response, signalling to the break in the trees with his muzzle, where Aspenpaw could see brightly colored shapes rushing back and forth, making that same roaring noise the apprentice had mistaken for thunder. "Just sit here and wait." He murmured as they reached the tree line. 

       Aspenpaw sat next to Shadecreek, his fur prickling nervously. In front of them was a wide black path made of stone. The heat from the overhead sun rising from the black stone in shimmering waves, distorting the air around it. An acrid stench rose from the path, adding to Aspenpaw's nerves even more. 

       Soon, a faint roar made the apprentice's ear twitch. He turned toward the noise, seeing a tiny red shape in the distance, growing closer as the roar grew louder. As the red thing drew closer to them, the acrid stench became stronger, rolling off of the now giant red thing, its round black paws moving it forward as if it was riding the very wind it whipped up, the strong breeze and now deafening roar buffeting Aspenpaw's ear fur. The apprentice flattened his ears, squeezed his eyes shut, and dug his claws into the earth as the thing whipped past, the roaring soon fading into the distance, but the stench almost as fresh as it would be if the thing was still there.

       "What in the name of StarClan was that?!" Aspenpaw asked, breathless, his fur still bushed out and his eyes wide with fear.

       "That, my son, was a monster. This is the Thunderpath." Shadecreek answered. "This is the main part of what makes up our border with ThunderClan. A few tree lengths down is where the Thunderpath trails away, and our border with ThunderClan continues for a bit."

      Aspenpaw nodded, still too shaken up to really say much. He stood up on shaky paws, his ears still somewhat flattened, his tail bushing out with renewed fear as he heard the roar again. "Can we go now?" He asked in a panicked voice. "I really don't like it here."

~~~~~~~~

       The two cats made their way through the entrance to camp, the sun beginning to set, casting long shadows throughout the camp. 

       Aspenpaw was exhausted at this point. After the scary first experience with the Thunderpath, Shadecreek had showed him Fourtrees, where the Clans met every full moon in a Gathering, the border with the Twolegplace, and had warned Aspenpaw about some of the kittypets, and how some weren't as soft or pampered as the common belief said, and a few other places in the territory as well.

       The tired apprentice grabbed a thrush from the fresh-kill pile, and padded wearily over to where his brothers sat, sharing a large rabbit. While listening to the two excited brothers chatter about their day, Aspenpaw thought back to when he and Shadecreek were at the ThunderClan border, and the monster had passed them. The ginger apprentice had seen a young she-cat looking over the border at them, and the hostility in her gaze was a kind that made him shiver. Whoever she was, Aspenpaw hoped he'd never have to meet her in battle, because he figured she'd be a cat with no mercy, and mercy was something he'd come to learn could mean life or death.