**OLD** Valley Cats: Of Sky and Stone 1- Daughters and Darkness

Chapter Four

 In the cold winter sun, Twisterpaw rolled in a pile of decaying leaves. She squinted up at the trees as she felt the cold detritus seeping into her pelt. It felt good. She rolled over and over again, refreshed by the shock of the cool mud.

 "Seriously?" a voice broke through her merriment. Crowpelt was looming over her, carrying a weasel in his mouth.

 "I was gone for a few heartbeats, and this is how you choose to spend your time?" he scolded.

 "Oh. Sorry." Twisterpaw straightened up, shaking a few loose leaves from her pelt. "Well, I'm sure awake! What are we doing today?" she said expectantly. She remembered the day before, when her mentor had given in to her request to go hunting. She didn't catch anything, but at least she had a little fun. Crowpelt, however, seemed to be the opposite of fun.

 "Today, I'm taking you to the lake." he said simply. 

 Twisterpaw felt a burst of fresh excitement. "Ooh! The lake!" she mused.

 Crowpelt was burying his weasel between the roots of a tree. "Yes. The lake." he confirmed.

 Twisterpaw heard a fluttering noise and looked over her shoulder to see a moth struggling through a slight breeze. When she looked back at her mentor, he was already halfway through the bushes. She trotted to keep up with his long strides as he ambled downhill.

 "So... how are you doing?" Twisterpaw said cheerfully.

 "Well, I'm not dead yet, so..." he grunted. "Could be better."

 Twisterpaw noted the gray hairs on his muzzle. "Are you going to retire?" she asked.

 "If I live long enough." Crowpelt said flatly.

 After an unbearably long silence, Twisterpaw noticed a line of birch trees. "Is that the GroveClan border? I've never been this far. And further down is the... ConiferClan territory, right?" she buzzed.

 Her mentor let out a long sigh, obviously not inclined to the idea of teaching his apprentice basic information. "Yes, that's the GroveClan border to the east of us. And no, the one next to it is MireClan. Then the lake, and to our west is WoodClan. Maybe we'll go up that border and see the Twoleg dens." he said plainly. "If I don't break my spine on the way." he added, half to himself.

 "Twoleg dens?" Twisterpaw echoed.

 "Yes. To the south of us is a cliff and cluster of Twoleg dens. Don't go up there. There's lazy kittypets trying to tempt our warriors into their life of captivity- sure, they have food and water, but one of our most basic rules is that no warrior must ever even think about joining them. Those spineless worms have everything handed to them while we hunt and fight for our very survival, and even then, every so often, one will wander into Clan territory. It is a warrior's responsibility to make sure those pests don't poison the minds of our kits..." he rambled on, but Twisterpaw was barely listening.

 A strange scent had filled her nostrils- very similar to WoodClan, but slightly sharper. It could only be GroveClan. As the pair hiked steadily downhill, Twisterpaw smelled another scent, which could only belong to MireClan. The trees of the forest thinned out, and ahead she could make out tall sedges sitting in shallow water, just beyond a narrow strip of grass. Here the Clan scents mixed, although ever so slightly.

 "Hello? Are you even listening?" Crowpelt snapped. Twisterpaw shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Um, sure, but maybe you could tell me about the Clans?" she suggested.

 "Don't tell me what to do!" he snarled viciously. The young apprentice hung back, mildly frightened. "That's what I've been doing! Didn't you hear me explaining about the strays that live under the bridge that crosses the river to the east of ConiferClan?" he said severely.

 "Where's ConiferClan again?" she asked awkwardly. Crowpelt only gave a snort of annoyance as he clawed a tuft of grass with his claws.

 "Could you at least tell me about the Clan leaders?" Twisterpaw requested.

 "Wha- not here, bee-brain!" Crowpelt hissed.  

 "Why not?" she demanded.

 "It's a Clan border. We can't stay here and chat. Now, let's keep moving!" he commanded.

 They kept trekking by the marsh until they crossed over a ridge, and Twisterpaw's paws landed in soft sand. She slid down the ridge and landed in a heap, narrowly avoiding a cluster of sharp-looking rocks. She got to her feet and shook out the sand from her fur and stood up. For a moment the sun blinded her, but the view was amazing.

 The lake was huge. It clearly reflected the brilliant blue sky and the valley on the horizon. Around the lake, a ring of beach separated the water from the woodland, but past the ForestClan and WoodClan territories, the fields and marsh and rocky terrain blended together.

 Twisterpaw desperately tried to make sense of the landscape. "So, which Clans are which?" she pondered.

 A few steps behind her, Crowpelt looked apathetic as ever. "You'll learn that eventually." he said simply.

 "You mean you're not gonna teach me this stuff?" Twisterpaw growled furiously. She felt hot anger burning in her chest. "I can't believe this! You don't even like kits. You belong in the elders' den. You can't even be bothered to tell me basic information! Why did they even make you my mentor?" she protested.

 Crowpelt stared back at her with his steady blue gaze. "I specifically asked to be your mentor." he informed her.

 "Why?! Honestly, you-" Twisterpaw began.

 "Because if anyone else, things would be terribly unfortunate for you." Crowpelt said ominously.

 "...What?" she hesitated. 

 "Oh, trust me." he narrowed his eyes at his apprentice. Suddenly, he looked moons older than he really was. For a long moment, neither cat said anything.

 Crowpelt yawned casually. "Alright, let's go home." he proposed.

 Twisterpaw nodded, her mind full of questions. "Okay," she agreed.

 She followed the elderly warrior into the forest, but at the edge of the beach, she looked back. The lake glittered invitingly, practically begging her to jump in. Twisterpaw forced herself to turn her back to the scenery and weave herself into the dense forest.

 Her mind still whirled with thoughts. Why did Crowpelt want to be her mentor? And what would happen if he wasn't?