Ashenpaw soon found out that Nettlepaw, Kinkpaw, and Duskpaw weren't exaggerating when they said that the territory was just as shadowy as camp. Even more so, if she argued. The territory was filled with dead wood trees, and they passed by the occasional oak and pine tree. She quickly noticed that she kept losing sight of Duskecho in the dark shadows (Clouddance's light gray fur was easier to see), and it was quickly explained that dark-pelted cats learned to maneuver through scent, touch, and hearing. There were parts of the territory where you could see, and those were places that prey usually went, but true Dark Clan cats didn't need their eyes to move around their territory.

"What about light-pelted cats?" Ashenpaw asked.

"You can see my light gray fur, right?" Clouddance asked.

"Yeah, a bit," Amberpaw responded.

"White fur is even easier to see," he meowed. "Light-pelted cats, while they are trained to scent and feel and hear their way through the territory, are usually with other light-pelted cats, and don't need to use the tactics as much." Ashenpaw stumbled as Clouddance spoke, but quickly got back on steady paws and followed after the cats.

The four cats quickly stopped. "Here," Duskecho meowed. "Is the Dead Tree."

"Why do we call it that?" Amberpaw asked.

"It's the largest dead wood tree in the forest," Clouddance meowed. "Scent the air. What do you smell?" Ashenpaw opened her mouth and took a deep breath. She could smell the scent of soil, water, and a bit of humid air.

"Soil, water, and humid air," she meowed.

"There is a small pond nearby, but that isn't what's going to tell you that this is the Dead Tree," Duskecho meowed. "Amberpaw, you try." After a few heartbeats, she responded.

"There's something… flowery?"

"Yes, exactly!" Clouddance meowed happily. "Right at the foot of the Dead Tree, poppy flowers grow. It's the only place in the territory where they do."

"There's only another place like this in the territory like this where you have to identify the area by herbs, and that herb is catmint, so don't worry about having to remember that this smell is poppy flowers," Duskecho meowed. Ashenpaw took another deep breath. This time, now that it was pointed out to her, she could smell the flowery scent.

"But they're both herbs, shouldn't we remember how this one smells?" Ashenpaw asked, a confused look on her face.

"Catmint has a very… distinctive smell," her mentor told her, before she heard the two warriors start to pad off. "Come on! We'll take you to the pond Ashenpaw smelled next." Ashenpaw felt Amberpaw's pelt brush against hers as the two followed after their mentors. It didn't take long for them to stop in front of the pond. Ashenpaw didn't need the scent of water to tell her that she was there, she could hear the soft waves on the shore in front of her. Towards the center of the pond, she could see silver moonlight reflecting off of the water.

Next, the mentors led them to a few more landmarks: both of the moonlit clearings, one of which was filled with soft soil. Ashenpaw and Amberpaw were told that this was the training clearing. Next, was Dark's Dig, where they were told a story about how after Darkstar died, he got mad at his Clan for treating the light-pelted cats badly, and decided to attack his old territory. Ashenpaw smelled a delicious smell, and was told that that was catmint. After that was the Stone Shelter, identifiable by its strange, salty smell. They were told that it went a bit under ground, and could be used for lightning storms, heavy rains, or heavy snows. Finally, Duskecho and Clouddance took them to the LightClan border.

LightClan had a disgusting smell, as Ashenpaw soon found out. It was easier to see at the border. Their territory was covered with birch trees, and she thought that she could see a pine tree. "That," Duskecho meowed, "is LightClan territory."

"They smell horrible," Ashenpaw meowed, scrunching up her nose.

"I know," Duskecho let out a 'mrow' of laughter. "How they can live with that smell, I'll never understand."

"Now, we should get back to camp," Clouddance meowed, looking up at the sky. "By the time we get there, the moon will almost be set." Ashenpaw followed his gaze and saw that the moon was just above the trees.

"But what about the Rock Hollow?" Amberpaw asked as Clouddance led the way back into their dark territory. Ashenpaw immediately felt more comfortable in the darkness.

"You'll see that at the Gathering," Clouddance responded.

"What if we don't get to go to the Gathering?"

"Unless you get in trouble before then," Duskecho meowed, "I doubt you will, not that I'm underestimating your talents, but Wildstar always takes new apprentices to the Gathering."