Chapter Two is here! Aaaaaaaaaaaand nobody cares. Well, here it is ;-;

~Chapter Two~

Jetpaw woke at moonhigh, the clearing silent. She lay there for a moment, then got up and silently padded out into camp. It was empty, except for Briarfall, who was keeping watch over the camp, but Jetpaw could tell he was not focusing, and the silver tom did not notice her. She looked around the dark clearing, the chilly night air creeping through her pelt. Jetpaw padded silently behind the nursery, slinking through the Dirtplace tunnel onto the chilly marsh. She took a breath, the sharp air piercing her nose, and shot down the territory, through the tunnel beneath the Thunderpath, onto the moor of WindClan. her paws barely touched the ground as she sprinted silently down the moor. She ran until she reached the barn where Rogues and Loners lived.

She had snuck out often before, and knew the territory well as nobody really paid attention to her. Jetpaw did not slow down as she leapt onto the roof of the barn and looked down, waiting for some cat to come out. She sat patiently and quietly until she spotted pure white fur. Jetpaw watched as it crept out, as silent as she had been. Jetpaw waited a moment, then meowed, “So, you’ve been in there the whole time?” The cat spun around, revealing sharp amber eyes. “Who’s there?” They called, not seeing Jetpaw in the darkness. “Why should I tell you?” She asked, padding silently to the other edge of the barn. “Because this is my territory, and trust me, I can fight.” The cat growled. “Yes, but I have the upper hand…” Jetpaw lowered herself to the side of the barn, her jet black pelt fading into the shadows. “And why is that?” The rogue hissed, looking around wildly for this mysterious cat. Jetpaw just smiled as she crept closer to the rogue, setting each paw down as light as a feather. She put one more paw forward, then leapt, keeping as silent as she had been when running. “Because I know how to fight, too.” She growled, sinking her claws into the cat’s fur. The white Rogue let out a yowl, and from here Jetpaw could see that it was a tom. She dug her claws in deeper, then raked them down the cat’s back. She then jumped off and slunk back into the shadows, quiet as a mouse.

The tom looked around wildly. “Who are you?!” He called to the darkness. “Where are you?!” Jetpaw did not answer, just stood there calmly, her blue and amber eyes not leaving the tom. The rogue flattened his ears. “Come out and fight.” He growled. “Or are you too scared, coward?” Jetpaw sunk her claws into the earth, curling her lip. “Coward.” He called again. That was it. Jetpaw ran up to the tomcat and leapt on him, silent as a mouse. The rogue yowled and tried to break free of Jetpaw’s strong grip. Jetpaw scratched his ear and sank her teeth into his shoulder, then jumped off, landing gracefully on the ground. The rogue spun around to look at her. Surprise and astonishment flashed in his eyes. “You attacked me?” He meowed, staring at Jetpaw, who nodded. “To be fair, it wasn’t all that hard.” She yawned, shifting. “You went down quite easily.” “But… You’re barely older than a kit!” He said, sizing Jetpaw up. “A kit?” She snarled. “Did it feel like I was a kit?” The tom looked uncertain. “No, but–” Jetpaw cut him off. “Then I’m not a kit.” She curled her lip, revealing fully-grown, thorn-sharp jaws. The rogue flinched. “What’s your name?” He asked. “Jetpaw.” She responded blankly. “And I believe you are called… Pearl?” She sneered. The tom looked at her in astonishment. “How do you know– I mean, my name is not Pearl, thank you very much. It’s Ice.” He meowed, his eyes wide. Jetpaw snorted. “It’s Pearl.” The rogue looked embarrassed. “Well… Maybe– but how do you know?”

“I have my ways…” Pearl stared at her uneasily, then sniffed the air. “Wait, you’re one of those Clan cats, aren’t you?” He hissed. “Maybe. Maybe not.” She responded evenly. “You have a Clan name…”. “How would you know that?” She asked, staring at the rogue. She knew her strange eyes were peircing him. That was one thing she loved about different coloured eyes. They could make anybody uncomfortable. “I… Have my ways–” “Don’t try that on me. It doesn’t work. How would you know?” “Um, I may have used to… Live in a Clan…” Pearl admitted, suddenly becoming very interested in the barn roof. Jetpaw studied him. “What Clan?” She asked, narrowing her eyes. “ShadowClan…” He muttered in response. Jetpaw smirked. “That’s where I live. And it sucks.”

She curled her lip. Pearl turned to her. “Why do you hate it?” He asked, looking at her. “Oh, where to begin…” Jetpaw snorted. “Well, for one thing, it’s terrible there, another thing, the marsh is… Gross, my family is terrible to me, they don’t know how to run a clan, they–” “Alright, alright, I get it.” Pearl interrupted. “You’re family’s terrible to you?” Jetpaw snorted. “Yes.” She replied bluntly. “How so?” Asked Pearl, a curious, but sympathetic look on his face. Jetpaw sighed. “Well… I have two littermates, named Brightpaw and Flashpaw. And my father, Silentfall, loves them. But not me. He hates me. So, virtually if I do anything to his favourite kits, or him, he scratches me, or bites me, or does something to me.” She responded. Pearl looked even more sympathetic. “I’m so sorry…”

“Shut up. I’m fine.” Jetpaw snarled, ice in her voice. Pearl looked surprised. “Sorry…” He muttered. “I should be getting back now.” Jetpaw meowed blankly. “Goodbye.” She said, and stalked away. As she crossed the WindClan territory, she flattened her ears and let bitterness take over. It was like ice creeping through her body. The more she thought, the more cold she grew, until the ice circled her chest, then enclosed her heart. A bitter chill ran through her body, but she did not flinch as she crossed to ShadowClan territory. She slipped down the walls into the still empty camp. Briarfall had fallen asleep, and nobody but her remained in the clearing. Perfect. She thought, slipping silently into the apprentices’ den. All the other apprentices were asleep in their nests, and Jetpaw lay down in her own, she did not sleep, just stared out of the den, letting her thoughts wander. She thought of Pearl, and of the satisfying Splash that had sounded when Bonemask’s body hit the bottom of the ravine. She watched as raindrops began to fall, and pricked her ears when she heard movement from further in the den. Jetpaw turned, looking for the source of the noise, and saw Floodpaw shifting in his nest. He turned a bit, then caught sight of Jetpaw. His eyes widened and he flicked an ear in acknowledgement, clearly nervous. “I don’t bite.” Jetpaw snorted, looking at the younger apprentice. Floodpaw stared at her. “Um,” He stammered, eyes wide. “I know…” He looked at her, his tiny body tense. “Oh, relax. I’m not gonna kill you or anything,” She yawned, stretching a paw out of her nest. Floodpaw stared. “Oh, um, I know…”

“Why so nervous?” Jetpaw asked lazily. “What? I’m not– nervous…” Floodpaw responded lamely, sitting down in his nest. “Uh-huh. That was really believable, just so you know.” Jetpaw mewed, beginning to lick her forepaw. “Well, you did, um, kill my dad.” Floodpaw swallowed, flattening his ears. Jetpaw paused. She had forgotten that Bonemask had been Floodpaw’s father. She felt sympathy begin to make its way up her throat, but then she thought of her dad. Bitter, harsh, too hard to impress, always scratching her… It was no better than not having a father. If she didn’t really have a father, then nobody else deserved to have one. She continued licking herself, and said between strokes, “So?”

Floodpaw looked at her disbelievingly. “So, I have a right to be nervous.” He hissed, ears flattening. Jetpaw yawned, stopping her grooming. “I suppose, but you never had a right to have a good father.” She said simply, flicking a pebble away from her. Floodpaw looked at her, clearly hurt. “Just because your father is horrible doesn’t mean nobody should have a good dad!” He mewed, kneading the ground. Jetpaw shrugged. “Suppose. I’m gonna get going now.” She waved her tail as she stalked out of the den into the damp ground. It was still drizzling, and Jetpaw flicked her ear as a raindrop landed on it. She watched as Silentfall emerged from the warriors’ den and heard the usual sounds of cats stirring. As more warriors emerged from their dens, the birds began to chirp, and she caught a glance of the sunrise. Brightpaw and Flashpaw passed her, Brightpaw with a violent nudge. Jetpaw dug her claws into the ground, anger rising up. She sighed when she saw her new mentor, Cobblestorm padding up to her.

“So, before we train, tell me about yourself, so I can understand how I need to act.” He mewed, sitting down in front of Jetpaw, who was taken aback. “Oh, um…” She stammered. “I don’t, really have anything to say,” she mumbled. Cobblestorm looked unsatisfied, then said, “What if I scolded you for not catching prey? How would you react?” Jetpaw thought about this for a moment. “Well, I would probably be mad, and yowl at you…” She mewed slowly. “Okay, what if I scolded you for crossing the border?” Cobblestorm asked. “This seems to be mostly about you scolding me.” Jetpaw snorted. “I would probably ignore you, and if you got really mad, I might get angry, or scratch you.” She mewed, licking a forepaw. Cobblestorm nodded. “What if you caught a really juicy frog or mouse or something, and I praised you relentlessly?” He asked. Jetpaw rolled her eyes. “I probably wouldn’t do anything. I don’t really care what other cats think of me.” She responded evenly. “And… What if you wanted to learn offense, but I insisted on doing defense?” Cobblestorm meowed carefully. “Dunno.” Jetpaw replied blankly, feeling a wave of irritation rise.

Cobblestorm inspected her. “Okay… Well, let’s go then.” Jetpaw nodded, then padded out of camp, following her mentor into the thick marsh. “As you definitely don’t need to learn any offense moves,” Cobblestorm mewed wryly. “We’ll learn defense.” He looked at her carefully. Jetpaw was about to object, but felt it wouldn’t be wise to argue with her brand-new mentor, so she just shrugged. “Fine.” She muttered, grimacing as she sat down on a pile of muddy pine leaves. “Alright, jump on me.” Cobblestorm meowed, swaying ever so slightly from side to side. Jetpaw leapt without hesitation, knowing what the tom was going to do. She spread her paws out on both sides, and when the warrior rolled to the left, she swiped her right paw to join the left, landing on his tail and pinning him down in one swift movement. He let out a surprised, and slightly impressed, “Hm!”

Jetpaw leapt gracefully off the tom, landing on all four paws and yawning. “Easy.” She mewed, giving a luxurious stretch. “Well then… You try it now.” Cobblestorm stammered. Jetpaw shrugged again, then stood up, tail spread out gracefully behind her, and twitching from side to side as Cobblestorm had done. The tom crouched down, tail twitching, then leapt. Jetpaw tried to roll to the side, but her mentor had landed squarely on her back before she could move. She let out a hiss. “What?!” She meowed, hardly able to believe she had gone down so easily. “See? A little defense training would do you good.” Cobblestorm mewed, stepping back. Jetpaw shook her pelt. “Do that again. I wasn’t focusing.” She muttered, stepping back. Cobblestorm shrugged. “Alright.” He crouched down, and this time Jetpaw did too, swaying slightly. This time, when her mentor leapt, she was ready for it. She shot forward beneath the tom’s legs and pinned him down from behind. “Good.” Cobblestorm mewed approvingly. “Here’s another one. Leap at me again.” Jetpaw studied the grey warrior for signs of what he was planning. She dropped down into a crouch and stared at her mentor, possible dodges sliding through her head. Her ear twitched as she saw the tom shift ever so slightly so that his weight was carried almost entirely by his rear paws. It was like a lightbulb had lit up in her head. A smirk spread across her face as she leapt. But instead of leaping at the tom, she leapt over the tom. Cobblestorm had flipped over on his back, paws swiping the air. Jetpaw snorted as she leapt on him after she landed. “You look like a dying badger.” She mewed, staring at him good-humouredly. Cobblestorm’s laugh bursted out like a storm. “Do I?” He purred, getting up.

“Nice one.” He shook his pelt and gave Jetpaw an approving nod. “I think that’s good for today…” Cobblestorm said brusquely. “C’mon then…” Jetpaw said nothing and followed quietly. When they got back to the camp,They saw the usual boring stuff. Some kits were play-fighting outside the nursery, the elders were telling stories to the new apprentices, and a few cats were sharing tongues. Jetpaw sat down near the elders’ den and listened, not showing she went interested in the story.

“And Basilshadow was a silly cat, had many imaginary friends, me and Floodcatcher didn’t really hang out with her too much after we became apprentices, and–” Dewsky was cut off by Floodcatcher, who mewed, “You mean you didn’t hang out with her much after we became apprentices.”He said with a pointed look. “Fine, fine,” Dewsky mumbled. “I didn’t hang out with Basilshadow very much as apprentices, so my mouse-brained brother over here,” He flicked his tail to Floodcatcher. “Tried to keep her company. Then, when we became warriors, we both just… Stopped hanging out with her completely. Well, unless if she asked to go hunting with us, or we were on the same patrol, we didn’t really talk.” Dewsky sighed. Floodcatcher, who looked like a kit sitting down, stood up. He was actually about the size of an apprentice. “Do you want something from the fresh-kill pile Dewsky?” He asked, padding over to the fresh kill pile. “Sure.” Jetpaw watched as Floodcatcher grabbed a giant rabbit, and attempted to haul it back to the elders’ den. Jetpaw got up and grabbed one end of it and helped the small elder carry it to his den. Floodcatcher sat down, breathing heavily. “Thank you, Jetpaw.” He purred, taking a small bite while Dewsky took a giant gulp.

Jetpaw nodded and sat back down. “Anyway, Basilshadow was our sister and…” Deepsky’s mewed faded as Jetpaw padded back out of camp to hunt. She trotted towards highstones, not really knowing where she was planning to go. She took a right near the Thunderpath, and smelled a foul scent. Jetpaw narrowed her eyes against the cold wind, and saw it was carrionplace. She shook her head and reluctantly padded in, keeping an eye out for rats. She dropped into a crouch quickly as she saw a black feathered pelt. Jetpaw crept closer, eyes not leaving the crow. She crouched down, then leapt high, swatting the bird off its perch and killing it in a swift bite to the neck. Jetpaw bit into the crow and tasted fresh blood. She finished the meat and tossed the bones beside a twoleg crate. Jetpaw leapt over the fence and tasted the air. Frog. She looked around and spotted the slimy green creature. She dropped into a crouch and went closer, pouncing on the prey. Jetpaw slashed the creature’s neck and brought it back to camp. If she came home empty-pawed, the warriors would suspect something. She padded into the camp and dropped the frog on the fresh-kill pile. “Good catch.” Antlerbreeze, the medicine cat mewed approvingly. Jetpaw nodded and glanced up at the sky, which was gradually getting darker. She trotted into her den, and layed down, her tail curled neatly around her body. Jetpaw listened to the other apprentices talking, then drifted off to sleep.

Jetpaw woke what seemed heartbeats later. She looked up. This wasn’t ShadowClan… There were scarred cats all around her, some fighting viciously. A bright orange she-cat with white spots caught sight of her. “Coldpebble. Look. A newcomer.” She meowed. A massive black-and-white tom turned. “Do we?” He hummed, sizing Jetpaw up, who stood a little taller. “Who are you?”

“Jetpaw.” She responded in what she hoped was an even and blank voice. “What brings you here, Jetpaw?” The she-cat asked. Jetpaw thought of what to say. “I- I wanted to… I wanted to find a place to fight, and I guess I ended up here…” She mumbled, hoping it was the right thing to say. “Well, Jetpaw. You’ve come to the right place. I’m Coldpebble, and I’m kinda the leader of this place, and this is Sparkblossom.” Said the black-and-white tom, giving her a nod. “Wait. You’re Coldpebble?! The Coldpebble? The cat who betrayed ShadowClan and almost took over all the Clans? The warrior who killed half the StarClan cats?!” Jetpaw exclaimed, grinning. Coldpebble studied her. “That was way before your time. How do you know about me?” He asked. “Oh, the Clans talk about you all the time. My mother, particularly.” Jetpaw mewed. Coldpebble blinked. “Who is your mother?” “Nightsplash.” Jetpaw responded. “Why? Do you know her?” She asked. “A bit… She had just been born when I left the Clan. Your father is Silentpaw, I suppose?” Jetpaw nodded. “Silentfall, now.”

“Well, I suspect you were one of his favourites? I mean, you look very like your mother, and I know he was quite fond of her…” He mewed, looking Jetpaw over again. She snorted. “Favourites! I’m his least favourite! He does everything in his power to aggravate and hurt me! See this scratch?” She twitched a ripped ear. “This was from him a moon ago after I killed–” Jetpaw stopped. Coldpebble stared at her. “You killed someone already?” He breathed. “Who? How did you kill them?” Jetpaw studied Coldpebble’s face. It looked impressed and he had a sort of grin on his face. “I… I killed Bonemask… Shoved him off the gorge.” She said in what she hoped was a nonchalant tone. Coldmask and Sparkblossom blinked. “You killed Bonemask.” Sparkblossom said skeptically. “Yeah.” Jetpaw responded.

“Hey, fun fact, Jetpaw.” Coldpebble said blankly. “Bonemask is my son.”