Jaywatcher's Love [Old, DISCONTINUED]

∆ chapter 4 ∆

The forest was beautiful.
The scents, sounds...everything. Jaypaw's eyes widened, jaw parted to take in everything she was seeing.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Rowantail purred, sitting down with his bushy tail in between his paws.

"Yeah-" Jaypaw mewed, turning her head around to see everything again.

"Should we go to the borders?" Rowantail suggested. Jaypaw nodded. "I mean, why not? Is that the best thing to do?"

"It could be. It probably is." Rowantail mewed, standing up. "Let's go. Follow me."

Jaypaw scampered after her mentor, her tail wagging back and forth.

They stopped at a pine forest that smelled different than what Jaypaw was used to. "Yuck. What's that smell, a dying fox?" Jaypaw wrinkled her nose.

"No, silly. That's the scent of a Thunderpath. Just past these trees, there's a Thunderpath." Rowantail mewed, pointing with his tail past the trees.

"Can we see it?" Jaypaw asked. No matter how bad it smelled, she wanted to see what it looked like. Maybe being an apprentice wasn't that bad.

"Sure. But don't cross it without me there. It's dangerous." Rowantail advised, passing the pines quickly.

"Why is it dangerous-?" Jaypaw wondered aloud, getting no response from her mentor. She passed the trees as well, the scent of ashes getting stronger.

"Wait, why is it dangerous-?" Jaypaw repeated. She didn't need anyone to answer her, though, as a huge, shiny thing passed by in a blur on the Thunderpath.

Jaypaw refused to yowl, digging her claws into the ground as the monster lifted up ashes and concrete that washed over Jaypaw.

Rowantail had merely flattened his ears, his claws only dug into a ground a little bit. Jaypaw wondered how he was so calm.

"Scary, isn't it." Rowantail mewed with a little purr as Jaypaw's racing heart camled down a little.

"Y-yeah-" Jaypaw stuttered, shaking the scent of Thunderpath out of her fur. That scent would be stuck in her mouth for days, she guessed.

"That's why it's dangerous." Rowantail mewed with a smile at his apprentice. "Monsters can run cats over with their wheels and heads. Twolegs ride their bellies."

Jaypaw had heard of Twolegs from nursery stories. She had grown up knowing that Twolegs were reckless and annoying, and that they also captured cats if they saw them.

"Rowantail?" Jaypaw called to her mentor, who was sniffling the area around the Thunderpath. How is he not disturbed by the smell? Jaypaw wondered.

Jaypaw's mentor lifted his tortoiseshell head and rested his gaze on Jaypaw. "Hm?" He prompted.

"Is it true that Twolegs capture misbehaving kits and keep them with them until they learn their lesson?" Jaypaw asked, tilting her head.

Rowantail looked at her seriously for a minute, then let out a purr. "No, Jaypaw. Twolegs only take you if you get too close. Not if you misbehave." Rowantail mewed. "So don't get too close."

Jaypaw's fur bristled. Had she looked stupid for asking that? "Oh. Okay." She responded calmly.

"Let's go." Rowantail dipped his head towards the direction of the camp.

"No more borders?" Jaypaw asked, scurrying after her mentor as he walked past the pines again.

"One more." Rowantail meowed. "Just follow me."

Jaypaw obeyed, following her mentor over hills and pine forests. She could smell the familiar scent of squirrel and vole, but didn't stray far from her mentor.

The ragged, disgusting scent of rats and something else hit her nose, and she nearly fell backwards.

"Ew! What's that?" Jaypaw wrinkled her nose and took a step back.

Rowantail took steps forwards, drinking his nose as well but not flinching back. Jaypaw scurried forward too, eyes watering at the scent.

The warrior seemed to be holding his breath as he spoke. "This. This is Carrionplace. We hunt here when we have no choice."

"Ugh. Why? What prey would lurk here?" Jaypaw asked, hoping at the same time she wasn't asking too many questions.

"Rats." Rowantail coughed from the smell, taking steps back. "Rats hunt here. They like to attack cats."

Jaypaw nodded without a word, and Rowantail spoke again. "Let's go back to camp. You can find your new denmates again and take some prey."

Jaypaw only nodded once more and followed her mentor back to camp.

The two ShadowClan cats reached camp without wasting too much time. Blackpaw and Wolfpaw were sharing a mouse at the fresh-kill pile.

"Go on." Rowantail prompted her, nudging her to the fresh-kill pile. Blackpaw had noticed Jaypaw and was waving a paw at her.

Jaypaw padded forwards. "Hi, Blackpaw. Hi, Wolfpaw." She mewed to her denmates, sitting by the pile of prey and grabbing a vole.

As she ate, she listened to her denmates bicker.

"Hm." Wolfpaw huffed, turning away from Jaypaw.

"Oh, great StarClan, Wolfpaw! She's not gonna bite!"

"I'm not scared of her!"

"I know, but you don't have to turn away on purpose!"

"You know-" Jaypaw began, grabbing her half-eaten vole. "I think I'll leave-"

"Good job, Wolfpaw!" Blackpaw scolded. "She's leaving because we're arguing!"

"You started it, you..." Wolfpaw started. His voice faded away as Jaypaw left the area and went towards the apprentice den.

Cedarpaw greeted her with a tail wave, dropping onto four paws and relaxing.. "Hi, Jaypaw."

"Hi," Jaypaw mewed, sitting beside the older apprentice and eating her vole.

After she finished her vole, Jaypaw yawned. Maybe it was a good idea to take a nap.

She trudged into her nest and flung herself at the mossy, leafy nest, closing her eyes.