AN: Okay, sooooooo sorry it took so long for an update. I've been working on my other stories The Luckiest of them All, A Lion's Fate Book 2: The Take Over, and Love Struck. But, I finally found time to update this one and decided to do it. Well, you've waited long enough as it is, so enough of me gabbing. Here's the next chapter!
Disclaimer- If I owned Warriors, I wouldn't be typing this.
"Wow." Moonpaw meowed after Icepaw had shown him around the camp. He'd spent the entire day learning all about the ways of the Clan cats, and was happy to finally settle down and eat.
"Ya. I know it seems confusing at first, but I promise you'll get used to it." The pretty white she-cat meowed as she pulled out a sparrow to share.
"I hope so," Moonpaw meowed, taking a bite of the prey. "I like it here."
"Moonpaw!" The black tom looked up to see Nightstar padding towards him.
Dipping his head toward his leader/mentor, he anxiously awaited her words.
"I've been watching you and Icepaw today, and am happy to see she's gotten you acquainted with clan life."
Moonpaw nodded. "Yes, she's been very helpful." He meowed, shooting the apprentice a grateful glance.
"Very well. Then tomorrow I will show you around ThunderClan territory. If enough time is left, I might be able to squeeze in a hunting lesson too."
"Great!" Moonpaw exclaimed happily.
"Glad to see you like it so much here. You joined us at a good time. Other than ShadowClan being characteristically hostile we're at peace with the clans. And given the weather, there's plenty of prey. Normally it isn't this calm and enjoyable, but that's beside the point. Right now the important thing is that you get some rest so you're ready to devote yourself to training tomorrow. You have a lot of catching up to do." Nightstar meowed.
Moonpaw nodded respectively. "Yes Nightstar," He meowed, taking the last bite of prey and washing his whiskers.
"I guess we'd better get some sleep." Icepaw meowed. "Mousetail told me I'd have to train hard tomorrow to make up for today."
"Ya, well I'm glad I got to spend the day with you." Moonpaw meowed as he entered the log that was the apprentice's den.
"I agree. It was fun to get a break from training." Icepaw curled up into a ball on her moss nest.
"Well, goodnight!" Moonpaw whispered before falling asleep to the rise and fall of his companion's chest.
"Wake up sleepy head. You've been laying there like a lazy kittypet all morning!"
Moonpaw sat up and glared at Icepaw, who immediately knew she said the wrong thing.
"I-I'm sorry. I d-didn't mean it like that-" The white she-cat was cut off when Moonpaw sprang, toppling her over.
"Oof!" She hissed as the two apprentices bowled each other over, batting playfully with carefully sheathed claws.
"Ow. Stop it!"
The two cats got up and looked apologetically at Flowerpaw who was now covered in the moss they had been flinging during their fight.
"Sorry. We were just playing. Lighten up!" Icepaw meowed.
"You know what?" Flowerpaw meowed as she let out a teasing hiss and caught the apprentice off guard.
For a while, the three tussled around in the den, until finally Icepaw called out truce.
"We'd better get out." Flowerpaw meowed. "Our mentors are probably looking for us by now."
Looking outside the den, Moonpaw noticed that the sun was already rising high in the sky.
Padding outside, beside Icepaw and Flowerpaw, the black tom headed over to the freshkill pile where he pulled out a thrush to eat.
His companions sat down next to him, choosing two mice to share.
No sooner had they finished eating, Nightstar came out of her den.
All three apprentices bowed their head in respect as the black patched she cat padded over to them.
"Greetings young ones." Nightstar meowed. "Sorry to interrupt, but Moonpaw and I have some training to do."
Moonpaw stood up and meowed a goodbye to his friends as he padded out of the camp next to his mentor.
For a while, they traveled in silence, both cats content on listening to the comforting sounds of the forest.
Suddenly, Nightstar changed directions and sprinted through the forest, following the sound of the river.
"Okay, right here is our border with WindClan." Moonpaw's mentor yowled over the roar of the water. "They live on the moorlands and eat mainly rabbits. They are generally the fastest cats of the forest."
"Up there," Nightstar flicked her tail upstream, "is where the Moonpool is. That is where medicine cats meet every half moon to share tongues with Starclan. It's also where deputies go to get their nine lives and become a true Clan leader."
Moonpaw nodded. Icepaw had explained this to him yesterday, making him aware of what Nightstar was explaining.
Gathering his thoughts, Moonpaw noticed that Nightstar had already started following the river downstream.
Not wanting to fall behind, Moonpaw darted ahead and eventually caught up with her.
"You must learn to pay attention." Nightstar meowed as they neared the lake.
"Sorry Nightstar." Moonpaw meowed as he struggled to keep up with the lithe leader.
Finally, she slowed her pace and turned to face her apprentice.
"Moonpaw, tell me what you can smell." She instructed.
After carefully scenting the air, the black tom finally replied, "Mouse, A Thunderclan patrol, and something kind of fishy and cat like." Moonpaw replied with a hopeful glance at his mentor.
"Very good." She praised. After letting out a purr of amusement, she also meowed, "And that fishy smell would be Riverclan. They made their camp on the other side of this lake." Nightstar informed him. "Their main prey is fish, and they're very strong swimmers."
"What's that over there?" Moonpaw meowed, nodding towards the island.
"That's the island. Every full moon, all the clans gather there under the truce of Starclan to share tongues." Nightstar meowed.
Moonpaw nodded in understanding. Icepaw had told him about the truce, but had forgot to mention where it was held.
"Let's move along. We have plenty more ground to cover in a short amount of time if we want to hunt later." And without waiting for a response, the agile she cat turned, and ran back upstream, following the Shadowclan border.
Suddenly, Nightstar stopped and veered off into Thunderclan territory a bit, completely avoiding a grassy clearing.
"This is our border with Shadowclan. They're considered the meanest clan in the forest. Especially because their leader, Flamestar, is completely ruthless. And his deputy, Shadowpelt isn't much better."
"How come Thunderclan doesn't own this clearing? Why don't they just use the river as a borderline?" Moonpaw asked perplexed.
Nightstar let out a hiss of annoyance before continuing.
"Because a Shadowclan leader a long time ago, decided that it wasn't fair that we had extra land since the river veered into their land, therefore claimed this clearing as there's."
"Well that's ridiculous!" Moonpaw hissed.
"I know. But the time will come to sort that out. For now, let's focus on your training. I think we'll have enough time to hunt if we hurry back now. The best hunting is in the midst of the forest, so we'll have to run quick if we plan on hunting before the sun sets.
Looking up, Moonpaw noticed that the yellow sphere of light was ready to start falling back over the horizon line.
A rustle in the bushes caught the black tom's attention, and he turned around to see Nightstar streaking through the forest, merely a black blur against the surrounding colorful forest.
Gathering up all the energy he had left, Moonpaw darted through the brush, ready to begin the first step in becoming a Thunderclan warrior!
A/N: For all of my loyal reviewers you know that I've edited this page from before. At first I had them living in ThunderClan with just a different camp layout but then thought better of it. Anyways the point is I've finally gotten around to editing and now the camp is exactly like it should be in the books. Other than that, nothing has changed. I hope everyone still remembers to review though; I love hearing people's comments!!
Xoxo Snowy
