Sorry I updated so late! I just had my finals at school and I was super busy.

Just a heads up, but the next chapter's probably going to be Allegiances for ThunderClan, WindClan, and RiverClan. It would be great if you guys could PRIVATE MESSAGE me some OCs.

I thank Whiteclaw26 for favoriting and following this story.

Thanks again for reading my story, and Sharpbreeze, if you're reading this, thanks for the encouragement and tips in your review!

Icepaw was sharply prodded awake by Leafpaw. Letting out a low growl of annoyance, the white she-cat glared up at her sister. "That hurt, you know."

Leafpaw looked exasperated. "Oh, come on. I hardly even poked you." The tortoiseshell's fur was groomed neatly. Clearly, she had been awake for a while. Leafpaw cocked her head. "Don't you remember what day it is? We're going to tour the territory!"

For a moment, Icepaw sat in her nest, stunned. Then it all came rushing back. The ceremony… her neat mother chasing her all around camp… and Shadepaw! Instinctively, Icepaw glanced around to Shadepaw's nest. It was empty.

Trying not to let her disappointment show in her voice, Icepaw asked, "Where's Shadepaw?" She began to groom her fur, pushing down the tufts of fur that stuck up with her tongue.

"He's on dawn patrol." Leafpaw sighed. "Soon, we'll be doing those, too."

Icepaw quickly finished washing her fur as Pebblenose stuck her head inside the apprentice den. "Come out, please," Icepaw's mentor hissed. "And be careful not to wake the others as you're coming out."

When they had safely got out of the den with only one casualty(Leafpaw had tripped over Cloudpaw's tail), they padded over to Ottertail.

Pebblenose nodded to the brown-and-white tabby tom. "Good morning. Is there any cat going with us?"

Ottertail shook his head. "Just us." His fur was fluffed out from the early morning chill and the snow, but Pebblenose didn't look cold at all. After pondering this for a moment, Icepaw decided that it was because Pebblenose's fur was longer and thicker than Ottertail's. Icepaw herself didn't feel very cold; she had long fur as well.

"Let's warm ourselves up by giving you apprentices a tour of ShadowClan territory," Ottertail meowed. With that, the cats started out of camp.

Pebblenose warned them. "Don't go too fast and watch you step; the ground might be frozen or slippery."

But Icepaw and Leafpaw hardly heard her. They were too busy taking in everything they could see. It was late leafbare, almost newleaf, and trees were bare. As a single leaf fluttered down from one tree, Icepaw crouched down, following it with narrowed eyes. When it was in reach, she pounced gracefully through the air, landing on the crackly leaf.

"That was a very good pounce," complimented Pebblenose. "If you can try that on real prey after you learn the hunting crouch, you will make a fine hunter." Icepaw felt happiness blossom in her chest as Leafpaw looked at her admiringly.

They stopped as they neared at a gigantic oak tree in a middle of a clearing. Icepaw was confused. "Hey, Pebblenose? Why is there an oak tree when all the other trees in our territory are pine trees?"

The dappled gray she-cat meowed, "That is a very good question. This tree is called the Peace Tree. The reason for that is because a very long time ago, ThunderClan and ShadowClan had a truce: neither Clan would steal prey from each other. To symbolize the truce, the old ThunderClan leader, Flintstar, and the old ShadowClan leader, Daisystar, each planted a sapling in the other Clan's territory. Daisystar planted a pine sapling and Flintstar planted this oak."

Leafpaw cocked her head. "But the truce didn't last, did it? Snowcloud told me a moon ago that Graystar ordered one of the hunting patrols to hunt on ThunderClan territory!"

Ottertail nodded. "You are right. The truce didn't last two moons before we started to steal prey again."

Pebblenose cleared her throat. "This oak tree attracts a lot of mice, voles, and squirrels, and it's a good place to hunt in leaf-bare." She glanced at the sky. Icepaw noticed that the sun was rising quickly. "Let's get going again!" Pebblenose meowed hurriedly.

The patrol arrived at a circular dip in the ground, about the size of the base of the Peace Tree. Icepaw looked closer. The dip had what looked to be a lot of soft, springy moss, like the moss that lined her nest in the apprentice den.

"This must be where we gather moss for our nests and the elders!" Leafpaw meowed, clearly having the same thought as Icepaw. The tortoiseshell's claws slid out. "I'll get some right away! It's easy to do. I just have to rip it off with my claws, right?" She started toward the dip in the ground, but Ottertail quickly dragged her back.

"Hey, what gives?" cried Leafpaw as she tried to get to the moss.

Ottertail shook his head. "No, Leafpaw. The moss is not here to be collected for your bedding."

Leafpaw's amber eyes widened. "It isn't?"

Pebblenose meowed, "No. It's to cushion cats when they train here." The dappled gray she-cat glanced at Icepaw. "Which means that this is… ?"

"The Mossy Hollow!" gasped the white apprentice. "I heard about it, from the other apprentices, but I didn't actually know what it would look like!"

Ottertail consoled his disappointed apprentice. "Yes, it is the Mossy Hollow, But Leafpaw, that was a great guess. This moss could easily be gathered to make the best nests in all the Clans!"

Leafpaw blinked at Ottertail in thanks. Icepaw was somewhat relieved. She didn't want to make Leafpaw feel bad about herself because Icepaw answered a question correctly!

Ottertail continued. "But for now, ShadowClan cats gather moss from the base of trees. And I assure you, that kind of moss might not feel as satisfying as taking the moss from the Mossy Hollow, but would you really want to sleep on moss that every cat in the Clan has stepped on?"

He has a fair point. Icepaw narrowed her eyes as she spotted some cat hairs stuck on one part of the moss.

"You look like you have the moss-gathering technique down perfectly! When you bring the elders some moss, I'm sure they will be very pleased!" Ottertail finished.

"Now come on, you three," purred Pebblenose. "We have to get back to camp by sunhigh, and we still have to check out the ThunderClan and WindClan borders!"

Icepaw brushed Leafpaw's pelt with her tail. "I'll race you!"

And with her sister by her side, Icepaw flew through the pine forest, basking in the glow of happiness and joy she felt right then.