Leafpaw sighed happily, watching as the crowd of cats began to disperse. She could feel the excitement bubbling in her was finally an apprentice! After all the time waiting,she couldn't believe the moment had finally come. She had been worried about Frozenstar carrying out the ceremony, so she had put it out of her head, so the it had come to a shock to her. "Can you believe it, Leafpaw?! We are finally apprentices!", mewed a figeting Nightpaw, who had joined her in the middle of the camp clearing, Silverpaw in toe. She nodded her excitement, unable to find the right words for how she felt. Silverpaw dug his claws into the dirt and gave a smug. Nightpaw tilted his head to the side and stared at his brother, "Whats got that look on your face?" he asked Silverpaw, his whiskers twitching. Silverpaw shrugged, "I'm just happy that Wasppaw will no longer be taughnting me with how he is an apprentice. The stupid furball has no hold over are equally matched again." the silver top perked his chin up in triumph.
Leafpaw rolled her eyes at the young tom and mewed softly, "I don't think that cats in the same clan." Silverpaw rolled his eyes and flicked his tail, "Yeah well Wasppaw rubbed my fur the wrong way. I'm still bothered about what happen." The tom ducked his head in embarrassment. Nightpaw nuzzled his brother, "All is well now. Wasppaw hasn't really been giving you any grief since that fight. Too afraid he'll get into trouble again, I reckkon." The dark tom's eyes glittered with amusement. Leafpaw giggled and shrugged, "I'm sure he won't mind sharing a den with us again." The two toms nodded in agreement, though, Silverpaw looked a bit more hesitant.
Suddenly, paw-steps were being heard from behind her. They all turned around to see Sunbreeze and Rippleshade standing behind them. Sunbreeze spoke first, "Well now, since its still early in the day, me and Rippleshade are going to give you a tour of the territory. It's what every new apprentice must learn." Leafpaw ducked her head with disappointment, knowing she would have to wait until Frozenstar was healed up enough to attend his duty as her mentor. Rippleshade caught the disappointment etched on Leafpaw's face and twitched his ears, "Frozenstar ordered us to take you along, Leafpaw. He doesn't want you to be behind on your training so you shall be tagging along with us." She perked up at the gray tom's words and nodded her appreciation. Sunbreeze flicked his tail, "Now let's get going before it gets too late." And they set off towards the camp entrance.
All three apprentices were bubbling with excitement and anticipation. Their fur was on end at the thought of the waiting unknown and their eyes were bright,eager to learn. Leafpaw padded alongside Nightpaw while his brother tried to keep up with Rippleshade and Sunbreeze. Leafpaw's eyes widened once they got passed the parts that were familiar. Newer scents filtered through her nostrils, overwhelming her entire body. She breathed in deeply to calm down her excited nerves, she wanted to enjoy this. Nightpaw purred as they trekked through the wilderness, his eyes were as wide as Leafpaw's as he took in his surroundings. "Where should we start, Sunbreeze?" meowed Rippleshade, coming to a stop in a small clearing. Sunbreeze twitched his nose, seeming a bit puzzled at first. Finally,after a couple heart beats, Sunbreeze flicked his tail in one direction, "Lets go to the training clearing. Apprentices need to know where they need to ."The older tom mewed. Rippleshade nodded and lead the way down a steep slope.
Finally,they came to a broad clearing, surrounded by a gorse thicket. Leafclan sniffed the air and smelled the ages of young cats who had trained here before her. Her blood bubbled at the thought of finally getting to train to become something more than she ever thought. Nightpaw seemed to be sharing the same feelings as her as he bounced up and down. Silverpaw merely rolled his eyes and wondered around the clearing, sniffing here and there. "This is the spot where you three shall be training for the duration. You'll have plenty of room to practice your fighting skills and hunting skills." mewed Rippleshade. Sunbreeze nodded, "And you will all be learing how to go through gorse surroundings without catching your fur. Which is why this is the perfect spot to learn those techniques. And of course you will learn to climb and jump from trees." Sunbreeze and Leafpaw seemed awestruck while Silverpaw just nodded.
Leafpaw shook her head at Silverpaw's indifferent attitude. It seemed as if the young tom was trying to work something out in his head. Or he's thinking of ways to annoy us all. she thought wryly. She brought herself out of her thoughts as Sunbreeze showed them the extent of the training clearing. Rippleshade just sat back and nodded agreement or mewed a few things here and there, letting the older tom explain to the new apprentices and the gray tom seemed content with that. After several more heartbeats, Sunbreeze shook his fur and padded back to the entrance to the clearing. "The sun is getting higher in the sky. We should show you the borders. Of course as you get deeper into your training, you will learn the different marks here and there. What makes our territory unique and so forth. But for now the most important things are knowing where our borders end and where the other clans' territories begin." Mewed Sunbreeze before disappearing through the undergrowth. Rippleshade signaled with the tip of his tail for the younger cats to follow as he made his way behind the older mentor.
Soon an acrid tang came into Leafpaw's nose as they made a stop behind the older cats, making her shudder. Nightpaw's nose twitched beside her, seeming to notice the weird scent like her. Silverpaw was the first to speak, his tone letting her and Nightpaw know that he could also notice, though he didn't show anything on his face, "Uhhg! What is that horrible stench?! It smells horrible!" Sunbreeze and Ripplshade stared at eachother in amusement, "We are at the shared border with Iceclan. That is their scent. Learn it and remember it." Rippleshade mewed, his voice laced with amusement. Sunbreeze nodded and spoke, "Yes, Iceclan. They are regrettably a problem right now, so knowing the scent is important. Not that the other clans are a concern but..." a harsh voice interrupted the brown tom's words, the acrid scent stronger in the air, "Oh come now, Sunbreeze. Iceclan truly is terrible! Isn't it?"
Leafpaw could see a small group of cats standing on the other side of the border, there fur bristling, their ribs peaking through. The angry voice belonged to a lithe tom, gray in color and had dreadfully broken teeth. His yellow eyes glowed with hatred, the rest of his cat's slinked around him, casting distrustful gazes at the Leafclan cats. Rippleshade glared at the terrifying tom, "We are not bothering you, Shardmouth. Unlike Iceclan, we have a little more consideration than that!" the larger tom's fur was bristling just as equally as the Iceclan cats now. Sunbreeze glared at the younger tom and twitched his tail, annoyed, "Shut up, Rippleshade. We do not need to taunt them." The gray tom just stood back, trying to calm his fur. "Come on Shardmouth. Lets leave these mange pelts. Its not even a patrol." mewed a ginger she-cat, her eyes were not hostile, but stern. Shardmouth scanned over the group of Iceclan cats and growled, "Fine, Sparkfur. Lets go." He whisked around Sparkfur and headed towards the shadows of Iceclan's territory. Sparkfur bowed her head to the group and followed after them, and soon the patrol was gone.
Sunbreeze shook his head in annoyance and mewed, "Rippleshade, we aren't supposed to be attacking them. Leafclan can't afford the trouble of Iceclan right now and you know that." Rippleshade bowed his head and let out a heavy sigh, "I know. It's just...that cat rubs me the wrong way." Sunbreeze settled his tail on the younger tom and nodded in understanding. Leafpaw couldn't stop staring after the Iceclan patrol, truly surprised at how nasty that cat was. Shardmouth also looked very familiar to her but she couldn't figure out why. Silverpaw knocked her out of her thoughts, "That cat Sparkfur sure doesn't seem like she belongs with the likes of Iceclan." Nightpaw shoved his brother in the shoulder, looking slightly embarrassed by his brother's boldness in front of the mentors. Sunbreeze purred in amusement, "Sparkfur is a good cat but not all of Iceclan agrees with Coldstar's ways of dealing with others." The cat looked at them with a knowing gaze before beckoning them to follow, "Much more territory to see and its getting late. Come on." he mewed before picking up a faster pace.
The small group of cats made in back to camp just before the sun hit the horizon line, the day had been long. Leafpaw had seen so much territory and she had learned a lot about it and the other clans. The little she-cat was beginning to get used to this clan thing, her fur tingled with excitement but her body was begging her to slow down. She had learned more than she thought she ever would have and she was thankful. "Now, you all head to the fresh-kill and grab something to eat then head to your nests and get some rest." mewed an exhausted Rippleshade before padding off with Sunbreeze to the warriors den. The three apprentices padded off to the pile, their paws tired and aching but their eyes were alive with wonder. Leafpaw felt the familiar happiness ebb into herself, she would never get tired of her new life. They all sat and shared a vole, and for the first time since her mother had died, Leafpaw felt at peace.