Chapter 8
A moon had passed since AirClan's scare with the eagle. Stonekit and Cloudkit had reached the age of six moons, so I decided to begin mentoring Stonepaw and make Skypaw mentor to Cloudpaw.
It was the first day Stonepaw and Cloudpaw were allowed out of camp. We stood in the center of the clearing, wings unfurled and ready to fly. One by one, we leaped into the air and let the wind carry us into the air and let the wind carry us into the open sky.
I led the new apprentices away from the Camp Mountain and into the territory, Skypaw keeping a lookout behind for eagles. Stonepaw and Cloudpaw seemed to be amazed by everything they saw. Stifling a purr, I quit watching the apprentices and focused on navigating our territory.
The first landmark we came across was the Waterfall. The Waterfall was a roaring, rushing mass of water, tumbling down the side of a large mountain. It splashed white water into the valley below, dropping down sheer cliffs of stone. It was something to fill any cat with awe.
We landed on a flat stretch of rock to rest and admire the Valley. The Valley was the largest valley in AirClan's territory. On the side closest to the camp was the Lake; a giant expanse of water fed by the Waterfall and feeding the Stream. On the opposite side from where we perched, the Good Hunting Mountain loomed, covered in thick forests that allowed prey to safely breed and raise their young. It was always a great place to find food, which I pointed out to Stonepaw and Cloudpaw. However, we couldn't hunt there all the time or the Good Hunting Mountain would turn into the No Prey Mountain.
Our break over, I beckoned with my tail to Skypaw, Stonepaw, and Cloudpaw. "Come on," I meowed, "Let's fly around a bit; see the territory up close."
My three companions rose and padded beside me to the edge of a cliff, and then followed me into the air once more.
We flew across the Valley, taking a curved route to admire the Stream. As we came level with the Good Hunting Mountain, a flick of white birds suddenly burst from amongst the leafy trees.
"See?" I called back to the new apprentices, "This is the best place to find prey in the entire territory!"
We soared onward and soon, the Good Hunting Mountain was behind us. Up ahead stood more menacing territory.
Eagle Mountain, the tallest mountain in our territory and the source of the unfriendly birds who had killed our Clanmates, loomed threateningly in the distance. Nowadays we never went near it, for obvious reasons.
As we watched, a lone eagle rose from amongst the rocks. It hovered in the air for a heartbeat, before swooping down to land on the mountain once more.
"Can we go back to camp now?" Cloudpaw whimpered.
Skypaw flew over to her and rested her tail on Cloudpaw's shoulder. "Are you frightened of the eagle?" she asked softly.
Cloudpaw shook her head. "No, my wings are getting tired."
"All right. Come on, Stonepaw," I called, circling around to head back to camp.
