[AbsurdJinx]

Originally Posted by Queenie

Bumblepaw shuddered at the mention of Thunderclan. He knew all about the battle that had waged at the gathering and how the two clans were about to be at each others throats, from the other apprentices. His own litter mates had excitedly decided themselves to somehow take part in the battle even though the three were just starting their apprenticeship. Bumblepaw wasn't sure totally. He wanted to be safe, but he wanted to help his clan too. Silently he placed his life in Smokethorns paws. If his mentor believed him ready, then Bumblepaw would believe in himself too.

Shadowclan scared Bumblepaw, he didn't know their warriors worked well in the dark. The small apprentice shuddered at the thought of fighting in the shadows of trees, not being able to see, feeling suffocated by the overhang of branches... Bumblepaw suddenly took back his wish about wanting trees on the moor. Riverclan unnerved Bumblepaw too. The idea of fighting a cat who could swim... Well Bumblepaw wished he'd never fight a Riverclan warrior by their namesake. So much could go wrong. He shivered at the thought. Bumblepaw listened intently as Smokethorn moved onto Skyclan. He remembered when the new clan arrived He'd been very young, and was confused at the fact.

Bumblepaw looked on at Smokethorn as the tom finished, his maw agape with wonder. How on earth would the apprentice remember all of this? There was so much information! He felt his pelt spike with excitement and eagerness to learn. Bumblepaw had so many questions! Embarrassment aside his mouth started pouring out questions. His brain rattled with so many his voice could barely keep up.

"Do Shadowclan cats really eat rats and frogs? Can Riverclan cats breath under water? Have you ever tasted a fish? Where did Skyclan come from? Whats a gathering like?" But the question that seemed the most important to Bumblepaw was, "why are we fighting Thunderclan?" He finally paused wanting to hear Smokethorns answer.

Smokethorn hoped Bumblepaw had listened intently with an eagerness to learn, and he figured the younger tom did just that based off his expression of awe. He was especially convinced that his apprentice listened when Bumblepaw began to ask questions, questions about the topic at paw. Smokethorn prepared himself to answer each inquiry. He knew that intelligence was just as powerful as strength, which is why he intended to do more than physically train with the young tom. He planned to have training sessions where they would only sit down and talk about what Bumblepaw needed to learn, perhaps between the sessions where they would train long and hard.

``Yes, ShadowClan cats do occasionally eat rats and frogs, but rats carry diseases so they must be careful of what they eat. No, RiverClan cats cannot breathe underwater - they are not fish. I personally have never tasted fish, but it has a strong and stinking scent. SkyClan came from far away. They lived apart from the four other clans for ages, and came to join us at the end of the Evil Era. They were the ones who rid us of our evil leaders.`` Smokethorn remembered the Evil Era. It was harsh times. He was there when the evil leader of WindClan murdered a pawful of innocent clanmates just to state his authority. Among them were two elder lovers, a few newly-appointed warriors, and those who dared stand up to the leader who took on the suffix `night`. When SkyClan came to rid them of their evil leader, Smokethorn fought at the nursery entrance, fiercely turning away any heartless feline who tried to destroy the kit-filled den. He shuddered at the thought of the harsh moons.

Briefly pausing to recover from those haunting thoughts, Smokethorn cast a quick glance at Bumblepaw just to make sure the apprentice hadn't noticed his horrified trembling. He swiftly continued the lecture, though, to distract Bumblepaw from the break in his lesson. Smokethorn's gaze darkened considerably with hatred for the clan they were fighting with, ``ThunderClan did many things. The most noticeable thing they did was murder my friend, our former deputy, Shrikecall. He would've made a worthy leader one day, if he weren't as old as dirt,`` Smokethorn released an amused chuckle as he teased his deceased friend, but his expression darkened once again. ``They've stolen our prey too many times to count. They've blamed us for stealing their prey, for causing border scuffles and severely injuring their clanmates - even killing a few. They kidnapped Blazingstar's mother, too, and he had to gather a patrol to go fetch her.``

He shook his head in disapproval for ThunderClan's actions, sighing under his breath. ``Anyway,`` he meowed, coughing as if to break the tension he was feeling, ``Do you have any other questions before I introduce you to the scents of the other clans? We're going to patrol the borders!``