Diagnosed with a developmental disorder at a young age, Duskelle Waterlee has always been special - but not necessarily in a good way. Even at the age of fourteen, she is still unable to truly grasp human ways of life.
Her only relief is River, a st...
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Duskelle followed Graysplash as he led her to the concealed break in the bramble thicket that was the entrance to the camp. The older cat had been silent all the time, his only acknowledgement of Duskelle being a twitch of his tail to gesture for her to follow him.
As she padded behind him, thoughts crowded her mind. Would this Graysplash be as accepting to her as Sunspring, Seapaw, and Lilacfeather had? He had agreed to mentor her. But what if that was just because his leader has asked him? What kind of training did apprentices have to go through to become warriors? Would she be able to do it? Her body was not of a cat's after all. She shook her head to try and clear it. Her attention needed to be completely on Graysplash.
The earth around them changed gradually as they continued. From the flat ground of the camp clearing, tall trees rose up and crowded around her, making her feel closed in and nervous. She had never liked the feeling of high barriers around her, such as the weird stone ones back in the creatures' home. Her favorite gift from the world had been, and would always be, water. She loved the feeling of it over running over her, either the warmth of it or the chill of it, depending on the season. She had always loved the little stream that ran by the barn. She had always been trying to steal moments in it, though both of the creatures gave off extremely angry vibes when they saw her after she had just been in the water. River had always come along with her, sometimes catching a fish or two, which they shared. Duskelle loved the flavorful tang of the first bite.
"Duskpaw," came a slightly hesitating, deep voice. "Duskpaw, did you hear what I said?"
Duskelle jumped slightly at the sound of her temporary name. Whoops. There went paying attention to Graysplash.
"Yes, Graysplash?"
"This is Sunningrocks. It's a great place for a warrior to just lie down and rest or nap in the sun. The rocks absorb the heat from the sun, so they stay warm for a long time after the sun has gone."
Duskelle gazed around at the place. It looked really wonderful. They were in front of a wide river with sparkling blue water. On the other side, instead of a river bank, there was a wide expanse of flat rocks. Heat was rising off of them, making rippling waves in the air. It did look like a good place to sleep for a while.
Graysplash continued talking. "A long long time ago, Sunningrocks used to be an island, which only RiverClan cats could access, since, of course, we are the only ones that can swim. But the river changed course and dry land surfaced between Sunningrocks and the ThunderClan river bank, making them claim that the land was theirs. But it's rightfully ours, and so RiverClan and ThunderClan have fought for many, many moons over the ownership of the rocks."
Duskelle nodded. She herself couldn't decide which side she would be on. It was a fairly confusing puzzle.
"Showing the territory around to the Twoleg- I mean, Duskpaw- Graysplash?" came a voice behind them. Duskelle and Graysplash turned at the same time, though Duskelle without any of the grace that came with being feline. It was Brookpaw, along with a cat that Duskelle hadn't seen before. It was a beautiful she-cat with mottled gray fur. Pale gray fur coated her legs and belly up to her muzzle, and her eyes were a clear green. Probably Brookpaw's mentor. Duskelle tried to remember the name that the calico had mentioned at their first meeting. Fern-something?
"Yup, that's what I'm doing, Fernbreeze," Graysplash said, his voice light, hinting at an old friendship.
Fernbreeze's eyes shimmered.
"Well, then, welcome to RiverClan, Duskpaw. I'm Fernbreeze. It's nice to have you here."
She dipped her head. Well, that last part was surely a lie. Why would she be glad if Duskelle was here?
But still, she had tried for kindness. Duskelle replied with a simple, "Hello."
Fernbreeze turned back to Graysplash.
"Well, anyways, it was nice to see you. Brookpaw and I will be going now. I want to go over a few fighting moves with her." She gave a good-natured sigh.
"She just won't get the leap-and-hold!"
Graysplash chuckled.
"Don't worry, Fernbreeze. Brookpaw's a quick learner. She'll get it soon enough."
He gave the apprentice an affectionate, almost fatherly glance. Duskelle wondered about it. Why would a warrior be so close to an apprentice? Graysplash gave a tiny twitch, as if he had just remembered something important.
"Oh yes, Fernbreeze, I must be going, too. I wanted to show Duskelle here something special."
An expression of surprise crossed over the Fernbreeze's face, but it was wiped out a few seconds later. The she-cat was an expert at hiding her emotions, Duskelle observed.
"Alright then, we'll be leaving. Graysplash, Duskpaw."
At that, the two felines turned and swiftly ran back in the direction they had come.
"Duskpaw, come on. We haven't got all day," Graysplash said beside her.
Duskelle turned to follow him, her mind racing. What was this special place? Why was it so special? Why was Graysplash showing her this special place?
