Thanks to anyone who's actually reading this!

Icepaw woke drowsily the next day in the apprentices' den. She staggered to her paws, then suddenly it hit her. All the other apprentices were gone! She herself was already supposed to be out training with Flashfoot. The apprentice was angry that no one else bothered to wake her on her first day. Soon that anger turned to anxiety. Flashfoot was most likely mad by now.

She quickly leaped out of the den, not even pausing to say sorry to the little kit she had accidentally pushed on her way out. At this rate, she would never make it in time. Finally, she made it to a small mossy hollow. Her mentor was already there, but it was hard to tell what the expression on his face was.

She skidded to a halt, accidentally kicking up some moss. Flashfoot glanced at her, "…You're late." He sighed, then continued, "Didn't you already get enough rest last night?"

Icepaw opened her moth to protest. "But-" She started, but Flashfoot cut her off.

"Look, Icepaw, if you really want to be a warrior, you're going to have to learn some diligence. It's not just work when you want," Flashfoot mewed sternly.

Icepaw opened her mouth once again, then clearly thought better of it. "Okay, Flashfoot." She was a little nervous to speak to her mentor this time, just in case he was still angry. Finally, she gathered up her courage. "Okay, what are we going to do today?"

Flashfoot spent a few moments thinking. Icepaw sat there. She wouldn't pressure him to hurry up and think. After all this was his first time as a mentor. Finally, he spoke, "Well, I'll assume that you haven't been out on RiverClan's territory much; we could start with learning it."

Icepaw nodded, "Okay. Sounds fun." She followed Flashfoot slowly out of the hollow. When both cats were soon well away from the hollow, Flashfoot started to dash. Icepaw struggled to keep up, "Wait for me!"

Flashfoot kept the same pace.

Meanwhile, Icepaw was panting behind him. Even more determined to prove herself, she quickly sped up. She was so determined that she didn't notice the branch in front of her. She tried jumping over it, but it was a little too late. She went flying and landed with a thud.

Flashfoot stopped and padded back to his apprentice, "Are you okay?"

Icepaw scrabbled to her paws, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She was somewhat dazed and she could almost swear that she saw little stars flying around. Shaking her head, she quickly got rid of it. "Whe-where are we?" She asked.

Flashfoot looked around. "We are currently at the border that connects RiverClan territory with ShadowClan territory," He answered. "We have to be careful here. There might be a patrol about."

Icepaw nodded slowly, then both she and Flashfoot quietly padded down the border. A few tail-lengths to the edge of the lake they caught the scent of ShadowClan, only stronger. Forgetting about being quiet, Icepaw exclaimed loudly, "Yuck! What's that nasty smell?" She had never smelled anything so horrible.

"Shhh!" Flashfoot mewed. "That's the ShadowClan scent. There's a patrol here." He knew that it was dangerous to be seen by a patrol, even though they were on their side of the border. Still, he wasn't going to take any chances. Luckily, the wind was blowing toward them. "Come on, they're coming closer!" He mewed.

Icepaw quickly followed. She didn't know why they had to hide if this was their territory. She quickly scurried into a nearby group of reeds. Hearing voices in the distance, she strained her ears to hear what they were saying. "I smell RiverClan," One voice mewed. Icepaw's heart beat quicker.

"That's because we're close to their territory. Seriously, Badgerpaw, use your brain," An older voice mewed. Icepaw's ears perked up. Another apprentice like her! She peered out of the reeds. There stood a particularly well-muscled apprentice, though he looked much more like a warrior. The only difference there was, was in size. His pelt color was strange as well. It was like a badger's, with the striped head and muzzle.

A few very long minutes passed and Flashfoot gave the signal that it was okay. Icepaw quickly padded out of her hiding place.

Flashfoot sighed, "Phew. That was close. Now, I think we should start exploring the rest of the territory." He looked up at the sky, "It's already beginning to be late. Let's see what we can explore before it gets dark."

Icepaw nodded, but she wasn't entirely concentrating on what her mentor was saying. All she could think of was the ShadowClan apprentice Badgerpaw.