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

Chapter Six

 "Woah. It's so high up," Twisterpaw commented as she craned her neck to peer above the cliff. Barely visible above the rocks was a row of wooden structures.

 "If you can see it, the fence is a little ways away from the edge. Beyond that is where the Twolegs live." Mousepaw explained.

 Further away from the rocky wall, Brightpaw looked unimpressed. He circled around in the prickly dead grass, trying to get a clear view of the fence. A deep frown darkened his features as he strained his eyes to see through the orange sunset. "Can we go up there?" he ventured. He turned to the rest of the patrol. "I think I can climb up there. It isn't too steep." the apprentice remarked.

 His mentor Parsleyshade stepped forwards, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. "I don't know. Can we, Sprucefall?" she grinned kittishly at the elderly tom.

 Sprucefall shook his head. "Even if you could, it might go against the leader's rules. We aren't supposed to interfere in the lives of kittypets." he said sternly. 

 "Aw, but I so could make that jump!" Brightpaw complained. Beside him, Mousepaw gave him a flick of his tail. "You heard him. We shouldn't go up there. Plus, what if a kittypet attacks you? It would be intruding on their territory." he reasoned.

 "You think I can't take on a kittypet?" Brightpaw snarled, unsheathing his claws. Mousepaw stepped back awkwardly. "No, of course not." he said humbly.

 His head shot up as he reconsidered. "I mean, no, of course you would win a fight against a kittypet." he corrected himself.

 "No one's fighting any kittypets," Sprucefall growled sternly. "All right, now that Brightpaw and Twisterpaw have seen the fence, we shouldn't waste any time bickering about it. Come on, Mousepaw." the old tom ordered.

 His apprentice dutifully followed him as he walked back to the edge of the forest. Parsleyshade took a step towards them, but then lingered back with Brightpaw and Twisterpaw. "I would have let you guys go up there, but I don't make the rules." she said apologetically.

 "That's fine. When I'm leader, I'll make it so that any ForestClan cat can go into a kittypet's territory." Brightpaw promised. 

 Parsleyshade looked unsure. "It's considered Twoleg territory, since not all Twoleg dens are kittypet's land. And according to our current rules, it would have to go both ways. How would you like it if a housecat could wander into your hunting grounds whenever you want?" she said.

 Brightpaw looked discouraged for a moment. "Oh. I guess you're right." he admitted.

 Twisterpaw gave him a look as they trotted to catch up with the older warriors, who were deep in conversation just out of earshot. "Why would you want to go up there?" she said accusingly.

 "Why not? Aren't the kittypets always coming down here? You were just telling me about Crowpelt fighting them off." he reminded her.

 "Well, yeah, but that was just one of Crowpelt's stories. And I'm sure housecats don't want to invade ForestClan." she said with certainty. 

 "Even if they do, they'll be no match for me!" Brightpaw puffed out his chest ceremoniously. 

 Sprucefall and Cardinalheart were sniffing at a tree at the edge of the forest. Sprucefall called out something to Parsleyshade and she raced over. "What? Really?" she snorted. "I can't believe this."

 Brightpaw brought out his claws once again. "It looks like a kittypet marked on a ForestClan tree!" he let out a ferocious growl. "When I find those pesky flies, I'll rip their eyes out!" he threatened.

 "Calm down, you. And that scent is obviously WoodClan." Twisterpaw scolded.

 "Oh. Well in that case, when I find those sly little-" her brother began.

 "How did you know that was WoodClan?" Mousepaw broke in. Twisterpaw jumped, but quickly located him in the shadow of a dark green bush. The apprentice padded into the sunset to join the siblings. "You haven't been anywhere near here, have you?" he observed.

 "Crowpelt mentioned something about the salty pellets they eat, and how they smelled like dust because of it. This scent doesn't smell salty or dusty. I can only assume it's WoodClan because it smells like their territory the most. And besides, what cat would leave their scent between two Clan borders?" Twisterpaw explained.

 Mousepaw nodded thoughtfully. Behind him, Cardinalheart stalked over and nudged the apprentice on the shoulder. Twisterpaw drew back her head for a moment. Mousepaw was taller than Cadinalheart! How had she not noticed before?

"Pay attention, you. This is important." the warrior commanded, unusually sharp. Without a word, Mousepaw pricked his ears towards his mentor up ahead. 

 Sprucefall turned back to his patrol. "It appears as though several WoodClan cats have crossed our border." he reported.

 "What are we going to do about it?" Parsleyshade asked, her owlish eyes widening considerably.

 The senior warrior looked down at her severely. "Nothing, for now. But I'll be telling Poppystar about this." he said, with a slight edge of annoyance.

 Parsleyshade ran ahead to check any other trees along the border. "Come on, Brightpaw! Let's go check for intruders!" she challenged over her shoulder. Brightpaw bounded after her.

 Sprucefall watched the two racing off through the forest and shook his head disapprovingly. "Imagine mentoring an apprentice like that. No structure. No order. Soon he'll be out of control, with a mindset like that." he commented gravely.

 Twisterpaw sniffed at the ground. The WoodClan scent was similar to ForestClan, although much sharper. The two territories didn't show much difference, though. The cats were walking through the same forest all around, with the only sign of another Clan being the difference in scent and the claw-markings on the trees. 

 "What are those?" Twisterpaw waved her tail at the markings. Cardinalheart, who was sniffing at a fallen branch, hitched his head at the trees. "Oh, those? WoodClan cats leave claw-marks on the trees. Apparently they have different meanings." he informed her.

 "Oh. Do we do that?" the apprentice questioned.

 "No, it's one of those things each Clan does differently." Cardinalheart tilted his head. "Hasn't Crowpelt taught you anything? Notable members of each Clan? Landmarks? Practices of each Clan?" he asked.

 Twisterpaw tried to recall any useful information her pessimistic mentor had given her. "Well, he did tell me about kittypets. I think. He doesn't like them very much." she offered.

 Cardinalheart shook his head. "Well, each Clan is different, as you know. In some, the leader may not have as much power, or in others they have certain ceremonies, for example. Like how ConiferClan cats dig tunnels and how MeadowClan apprentices may have multiple mentors." he detailed. 

 Twisterpaw was quiet for a moment as the two walked along the border. She narrowed her eyes, burrowing deep into her brain to remember the locations of the Clans, but she gave up after a few heartbeats. "Speaking of mentors, why aren't you my mentor?" she said openly.

 Cardinalheart seemed to straighten up. "Oh, I was too young. I've only been a warrior for a few moons." he brushed her off, trying to cut ahead.

 The apprentice darted ahead of him. "But Parsleyshade and Basilfang are moons younger than you. And they both have apprentices now." she retorted.

 The warrior simply curved around her and kept walking. "Yes, but they're Poppystar's kits. Of course they would have that to their advantage." he turned his head so that Twisterpaw couldn't see his expression.

 "That's right! I'm so important Poppystar made me the apprentice of her own daughter!" Brightpaw said loudly from ahead. Twisterpaw jumped. "Have you been listening to us?" she growled. Her brother obliviously laughed. "How could I not?" he said daringly.

 Cardinalheart chuckled good-naturedly. "It's fine though, we weren't discussing anything important." he said, suspiciously brightly.

 Twisterpaw felt a twitch of suspicion. Why was he acting like this was some big secret? She was going to get to the bottom of this.