A Twitching Patrol [Closed]

Mottleheart stepped from the warrior den with a happy yawn, being able to sleep in his proper nest for the first time in about a moon. He had finally gotten the all clear from Beetlepaw to return to his daily life - which was good seeing how he had just gotten a new apprentice. Speaking of which...It was time to show Twitchpaw the borders. Strolling across the camp, he poked his head into the apprentice den as he scanned for his apprentice. He couldn't wait until the weather was warm enough to permit sleeping outside again - hopefully it would be soon. Spotting her sleeping form, he pulled himself to the den and moved over to her before gently prodding her away with a paw. "Twitchpaw, its time to wake up. I'll be showing you the borders today," he said before turned and exiting the den swiftly. But as he padded over the entrance, he decided that perhaps they would do some hunting on the way back. He could show her the basics.

Twitchpaw had had a lot of trouble sleeping that night, due to excitement about what was to come the following morning. In fact, she may or may not have bothered some of the other sleeping apprentices with all her squirming...but that was aside from the point. Now that the time had come for the young cat to begin her training, she had discovered that she was more tired than she was eager to get up.
You're not a kit anymore, Twitchpaw! Get up!
With a sigh of exhaustion followed by a long yawn, Twitchpaw stirred in her nest as Mottleheart prodded her awake. The she-cat lifted her head, looking around and blinking the sleep out of her eyes. The apprentice rose from her nest, being careful not to wake up any of the other apprentices sleeping in the den, before padding swiftly out of the den.
"Hiya, Mottleheart," Twitchpaw greeted her mentor, holding back another yawn, "I'm ready to go!"

Mottleheart had his gaze focused on the sky, keeping an eye on the weather. Everything looked clear for a good day of training - there was hints of a storm in the distance but it wouldn't be anything that would interrupt their patrol and it could just easily blow past them. His ears twitched at the sound of pawsteps, glancing over his shoulder at his young apprentice as she came padding up to him with a yawn. He gave her a smile as he got to his paws. "Good - I'll be showing you the borders today," he stated with a slight nod of his head before he turned and led Twitchpaw out into the moor.

Twitchpaw nodded, enjoying the idea of finally being able to see how everything was outside of camp, along with the borders that they shared with other Clans. The brown apprentice eagerly followed after her mentor, keeping a small smile on her face.
"So, what Clans do we share borders with?" She began, shooting off questions.
"Do they ever cross onto our side? Do we ever cross onto theirs?"
"Where's Fourtrees?"
"Where's all the rabbits?"
After looking around, Twitchpaw looked up at her mentor as if she was expecting answers.

Mottleheart had been expecting a nice, simple and quiet stroll to the border but it seemed just pawsteps out of the camp and Twitchpaw was already rattling off questions. His ears perked up in interest and surprise as he glanced over at his apprentice, before shaking his head with a faint laugh. At least she was asking simple questions. "Slow down, Twitchpaw, I can only answer so fast," he purred as he focused on where he was putting his paws as he directed them toward the ShadowClan border.

"As for your questions...We share borders with RiverClan and ShadowClan, right now we are heading toward the ShadowClan border. We have crossed borders before  - when RiverClan marched on WindClan when I was a kit..." he drifted off slightly at that but quickly picked up where he had left off. "And I know Ashstar crossed into ShadowClan territory to pose an alliance with Thrushstar. But to cross into another Clan's territory is against the Warrior Code and you risk being attacked if an enemy patrol catches you as is in their right," he explained in a soft yet strict tone. He didn't approve of outright attacking another Clan cats even if they were crossing the border but he couldn't stop the other Clans from doing it.

"Fourtrees is located where the territory of ThunderClan, WindClan, ShadowClan, and RiverClan all meet. Its a piece of territory that is not claimed by any of the Clans and serves as a meeting spot for cats of different Clans and is where the gathering every moon takes place. I'll show you Fourtrees as we will past it after I finish showing you the ShadowClan border." He paused for a few seconds before answering her final question. "As for rabbits - they are everywhere in the moor. We may not see any but I'll take you out hunting tomorrow and show you how to track and catch them. They blend in with the territory rather well and also live in burrows - something you have to keep in mind while hunting as they are bound to dart for the closest one if you aren't fast enough."

Twitchpaw nodded, listening to Mottleheart with pricked ears as he answered the questions that she had asked, however, at the mention of ShadowClan, her ears lowered.
"ShadowClan?" Twitchpaw sounded disappointed and quite possibly even frightened, "But they sound awful! The queens tell stories about them sometimes...what if they doing something nasty to us?"
Even though questions had just been answered, everything that Twitchpaw said ended up coming out as another one.
"Did Thrushstar accept the alliance? What kind of creature would hide in a burrow? Wouldn't Fourtrees smell weird if all five Clans were there at the same time? If we attacked a Clan would they attack us back afterwards as revenge? What's the worst thing that ShadowClan has ever done? What abou-"

The brown apprentice paused, blinking, then looking over at Mottleheart with a sheepish and apologetic look in her brown eyes.
"Oops. Sorry. You don't have to answer those. I won't ask anymore questions from now on!" She said, making a mental promise to herself and to her mentor.

There was a shake of Mottleheart's head as Twitchpaw responded by simply rattling off more questions but there was a chuckle. "Its fine, Twitchpaw. Its important to know things, I would just prefer if you asked them more slowly instead of rapidly like this," he said. He glanced across the moor, seeing the hint of the ShadowClan border growing in the distance but he knew he had enough time to answer her questions. "I can't say for sure about what ShadowClan is truly like but Ashstar seems to trust them so I will give them the beneficent of the doubt. And while Thrushstar didn't agree to the alliance, he also didn't turn it down I believe. It's currently in the open if he will ever accept it," he explained, slowing down just slightly as he gathered up his words to do his best to explain how things were to his curious apprentice.

"Rabbits live in burrow to protect themselves from us, other predators but also the weather. Unlike us, rabbits don't have the luxury to sleep in the open during the warmer seasons as they have far to much things that could eat them while most animals tend to leave us alone or at least steer clear from the camp," he explained before blinking, trying to recall what her other questions were. Something about...Ah! Yes. "Fourtrees does smell rather odd with all of the scents there, yes but it's something you get used to after your first Gathering. As for your last two questions, I don't know what the worst thing ShadowClan has done. A few of the warriors have acted out in the past, yes, but I do not believe they have ever truly acted out as a Clan. As for if another Clan would attack us if we attacked them..." he drifted off, frowning sharply. He wasn't fond of this question, it seemed unlike Ashstar to ever led WindClan against another Clan but for the sake of Twitchpaw's question he supposed he could give an answer.

"Any answer I could have for that question all depends on variables. Why did we attack another Clan? Did we start it? Did they do something to us or we thought they did? Did we win the battle or did we lose? Who is the leader of this Clan and how will they react if they can? It’s hard to answer a question like that you don’t have have the facts but besides…I have never been one for violence,” his voice took on a cold yet sharp edge as the scent of the Thunderpath started to become noticeable. “Violence solves nothing - it only brings pain and despair onto others. Most cats would rather settle things with their claws instead of using words. Battles may not be avoidable at all times but I aim to avoid it until that day comes.” He came to a stop as he blinked, a black path stretched out before them as he held out his tail for a signal for Twitchpaw to stop.

“We are here, the ShadowClan border.”

They were a good four or five tail-lengths away from the border but Mottleheart didn’t want to risk getting any closer to it then needed. He stood there in silence, his ears perked under the heard it. A rumbling in the distance, the disgusting scent that hung thick in the air growing stronger as the black sleek body of a monster appeared. With a few heartbeats, it roared past causing the warrior to flatten his ear as the ground shook from its mighty paws before it disappeared again as quickly as it had appeared. It had been a sight that had scared him badly as a young, timid apprentice. It had taken Ashstar’s gentle and calm words to help him become brave enough to patrol this path once more after his first patrol. But he couldn’t deny that it still scared him to linger close to the border, often staying as far away from the dreaded black path as he he could manage while doing patrols. He cleared his throat as he glanced over at his apprentice hoping that she hadn’t been to badly startled by the beast’s appearance.

“This is called the Thunderpath and serves as our border with ShadowClan. The beast that just passed is called a Monster - fearsome creatures that had robbed the lives from many warriors.” He shook his head with a sad sigh. “I can’t stress how important it is to stay away from this path if you are not patrolling it - one wrong step while you are distracted...I doubt anybody has survived the crushing strike from a Monster.” He was silent for a few seconds before glancing at Twitchpaw. “Any questions before we head over to Fourtrees?”

Twitchpaw had not expected a border to look like this. At first, she had glanced curiously at the black path and had wrinkled her nose at the rank scent. However, after the monster had passed by, swiftly and noisily, before disappearing the other way, Twitchpaw had flinched back, fur fluffed up with alarm.
"O-oh my..." The apprentice breathed out, blinking and shaking her head slowly at first.
All she could think about now was some cat trying to cross the Thunderpath and being hit by one of the monsters that had just passed by. She shivered as another one raced past, it's huge black paws carrying it in the opposite direction.
"N-no, no more questions. I'm good. Let's go to Fourtrees now." Twitchpaw said to her mentor, quickly.

Mottleheart flinched slightly himself when he saw how scared she was the border. He should have warned her or something but it was to late for that now. He simply nodded when she timidly asked to go to Fourtrees, turning and leading her away from the Thunderpath. While they had to more or less follow the Thunderpath to until it turned right before Fourtrees, he made sure to get a good distance away to calm Twitchpaw's nerves before heading in the direction of the Gathering place. For part of their walk, it was in silence before he glanced over at his apprentice with a worried frown. "Are you alright Twitchpaw? I'm sorry...I should have told you want to expect at the Thunderpath. You will have to get use to being around there at some point as it is one of our borders but I'll make a keen point in keeping our training away from there until you are ready to face it again."

Twitchpaw's nose twitched and she let her fur fall flat again. As Mottleheart led her away from the Thunderpath, she could still hear the monsters racing past. She blinked, silently shaming herself for acting so timid after Mottleheart mentioned that she'd have to get used to it. If warriors and other apprentices could patrol the Thunderpath without being afraid of it, she could too, right?
Real warriors can face the Thunderpath. Twitchpaw thought to herself, shaking her head. She looked up at Mottleheart, "That's okay, you didn't have to warn me, I probably shouldn't of acted like a scaredy-mouse in the first place."
However, knowing that training would be kept away from the Thunderpath for a bit made her feel a lot better.

Mottleheart let out a soft purr of amusement before he shook his head. "There is no shame in acting like a 'scaredy-mouse,'" he said, taking a step closer to his apprentice as he glanced down at her. "I acted much the same way when Ashstar first showed me the Thunderpath when I was her apprentice. Back then...Everything scared me," he admitted with a sigh. "RiverClan's attack on us when I was just a kit left me scared to death of so many things...Once such fear of even being an apprentice. I didn't want to face other cats after seeing what RiverClan had done to us and I questioned if I could ever be a good warrior as I hated the idea of fighting after seeing the effects up so close at such a young age...But thanks to Ashstar, I grew out of that fear...Although I am still very much against fighting. But there is never shame is being afraid - fear is healthy...Keeps us from getting in over our heads. Cats will do the most hare-brain of things if they have no fear for their actions."

Twitchpaw listened to Mottleheart with pricked ears, before looking up at her mentor once again. There was a small smile on her muzzle.
"That's great, because I didn't want to start off the first day of training badly!" The apprentice said, relief in her voice. However, she did tilt her head curiously as she thought about RiverClan. She had had no clue that RiverClan had ever attacked WindClan. Were they a Clan to be afraid of? Pushing away the thought with a slight shake of her head, she flicked her brown tail.
"Are we almost there, Mottleheart?" Twitchpaw asked.

Mottleheart purred when he heard the relief in her voice, happy to know that his words had calmed her nerves. There was no shame in being scared on ones first trip out into the territory - the world outside the camp was a scary place. A scent hit his nose the moment Twitchpaw questioned if they were almost there and a smile flashed across his face. "That we are, Twitchpaw," he said, picking up his pace as he led her into view of Fourtrees. He came to a stop, smiling softly as he stared across to where the four trees loomed in the distance. To get to the RiverClan border, the easier way would be just to circle around Fourtrees before making a straight cut for where the river laid. "That there, is Fourtrees," he explained as he started down the hill on swift paws. "That is where the Gathering every moon takes place and is an area where cats from any of the Clans can meet peacefully, as no Clan has claim to the territory."