Flowerpaw pushed through the dark brambles as she kept her head down low to the ground, her tail kept between her legs as the middle layer passed by them. The golden pelt of Sunnylight stopping for a moment to hold up their catch, the lucky and kind warrior dipping his head as he headed inside; Flowerpaw turned back to her mentor who was halting at the edge of the slope, his eyes watching her as she raced up to his side.
Flowerpaw gave her mentor a shy smile back as she let her paws carry her up the slope, as the tom halted her from going any further. "Here is as far as kits are allowed to go, from here you will be silent and learn to listen." The tom meowed, before he let out a chuckle. "But, I can already tell that you wouldn't be a problem with that, keep your senses keen though. I will explain every strange scent we find, but I will pull you back if there is a threat."
Flowerpaw nodded in understanding as she looked down into the thicker parts of the pines, as her mentor began moving down the slope Flowerpaw slowed to a trot to follow on his heels. The pine bedding squishing under her paws, it was rather indifferent to what she knew from the camp. As the slope slowed to an almost flat surface, Fernback slowed slightly as Flowerpaw came to a halt behind him. The tom held his mouth open to the air, and so by instinct Flowerpaw did the same.
"Never mind must not have been anything, I am sure the patrols would be able to see for sure though." The pale gray tom meowed before he flicked his tail and they pressed forward. Flowerpaw fluffed out her fur before she followed the tom on his press forward, her eyes keen and sharp as she looked up at the trees. A sleek black bird was watching her with unseen eyes as its gray muzzle was tilted down towards her, before it fluffed out its wings and took back off into the sky.
Her attention was drawn back to her mentor when she nearly bumped into his rear; her eyes beheld a long river of smooth dirt with an island of grass with little nettles that lead up to a tree. One that was leaning slightly to one side with branches sprouting upwards and curving in many places, it was like no other tree that was as firmly planted as it seemed that Flowerpaw had ever seen.
"These are the two walkers' paths, they pass through our territory in many parts," Fernback meowed before pointing up at the tree, unlike the pines it had a thick layer of what looked like fur in comparison. "And that is the lost oak, the only one that exists on our territory. Planted by twolegs long ago, they come by and sit at the base a few times. But their appearances have gotten far fewer in between; you should consider yourself lucky that we don't have to creep around the next part as to not get caught."
Flowerpaw watched the tree shed some of its coating, as one singular fleck drifted down gently to the ground below. Fernback led the way down to the path as he led the way across; as Flowerpaw hesitated there was a strong scent on the air. As she opened her jaws Fernback answered before she could speak. "That is a dog, I already know that it has been here… in time you too will not have to hesitate to identify it if you know it well. There is no reason to report it today however, the scent is faint and it has already been brought to Stormstar's attention by Frostrunner when they saw it yesterday."
Flowerpaw nodded as she carefully crossed and followed her mentor up the slope, as her ears perked up high over the grass blades as one of the flecks from the branches grazed her ear tips. Her fur bushing as she ran up to her mentor's side, the pale gray tom chuckled a little as he looked back at her. "Don't worry about the leaves, they symbolize the change of the seasons." He meowed as he turned his head to look towards the oak, Flowerpaw could now see high on the branch the familiar coating of moss.
"This is our strongest supply of bedding, every apprentice makes the journey to fetch some… well; Outer Circle apprentices. You should remember the path that we took here, as you will have to make the journey yourself sometimes." Fernback explained.
Flowerpaw nodded in understanding as her mentor led the way far from the tree, the creaking oak branches heavy with leaves sounded from far above her ear tips. As she rushed out of the shadow her mentor flicked his tail against her side, as a grim look fell upon his face for a brief moment before lightening up again. As Flowerpaw trailed alongside the tom her ears perked up in attention to the sound of running water, as the ground slowly sloped upwards a little as they climbed upwards; Fernback stopping her at the edge as they looked down into a deep ravine where a shallow stream ran down the entire length and disappearing out of sight. Sharp stones broke apart the running water, as it ran down stream.
"This is Shallow's Death, one of the most important things to remember when hunting… as to not meet a running end at the bottom." Fernback murmured as he lowered the end of her muzzle towards the ground, as Flowerpaw mirrored his image she could see tufts of fur still stuck in the walls of the ravine. "Fortunately it is too shallow for WaveClan to invade us from without our knowledge; we need not to worry about easy invasions thankfully."
Flowerpaw nodded as she followed the tom down the stream, a fallen tree reaching to the opposite side of the ravine. As they stopped at the base, Fernback gestured to the tree. "This is the only way across to the other side that is quicker; every patrol takes this route to the borders on the other side," the pale gray explained with a dip of the head, "You must cross carefully however, watch my step and wait… every patrol crosses one at a time as to not put too much stress on the bark."
Flowerpaw nodded, keeping her mouth shut as she looked down at the ravine. Her mentor whisked his tail and her attention was back on him, as he leapt up onto it he looked back. "Don't look down, you won't be able to cross if you do… just keep your eyes on the other side and you will be fine." The tom instructed, before he dug his claws into the bark. Flowerpaw winced as she watched the bridge shake as the tom steadily moved forward at a slow pace, but her eyes didn't waver as she carefully watched how the tom moved across.
Once on the opposite side he dropped down, planting his hindquarters firmly on solid ground he turned to face Flowerpaw expectantly. As the calico she-cat hovered at the edge of the branch she nosed her way on top, it creaked and shifted with her weight as she instantly sunk her claws in deep. Looking down she forced her eyes back up with the words of her mentor ringing in her ears. As she steadily raised a paw, planting it a good while in front of the others it creaked louder. Frozen in fear she stared over at her mentor who still sat calmly on the other side, though his eyes were out of sight from her position.
Slowly and carefully, Flowerpaw began to move again. Each creak of the tree causing her to slow a bit, but she was beginning to make progress to her mentor's side. As she reached the other end she instantly dropped down, and collapsed onto the needles on the safe ground. Fernback came right up to her and nudged her, as she looked up the tom had a relieved look on his face. "Seems you didn't just scare me back there, but we will be fine taking the longer way around." He meowed, before he sat back as Flowerpaw slowly rose up on her shaking paws.
The calico she-cat smiled at that before rising up on her paws, as she watched her mentor turn and lead the way again. As she followed the pale gray tom fluffed out his fur, as she stopped she tasted the air just in time for her mentor to stop her. "Wait! Get down!" he murmured, pressing his paw on her back as he sunk low to the ground. As she looked up she could see a large creature with a long muzzle appear around the corner. It's black tipped ears perked and its nose twitching, as she began to back away Fernback placed a paw on her back. "We're down wind of it, but if you move it will see you!" he hissed under his breath at her.
Flowerpaw looked over his shoulder before looking back, the creature had its ears perked and looked around for a moment. Before moving away, but even as it was out of sight Fernback kept her there for a while. Before the pale gray tom rose up slowly as he removed his paw, as Flowerpaw watched him slowly ease into a normal state. "Okay, it is gone now… that was a fox, common predators yes but we should always warn the queens and camp if they are ever scented or seen out on our territory."
The pale gray tom started to lead again, but this time at a very slow pace. Flowerpaw remained beside him, but an uneasy feeling was brewing in her gut. Finally the scent of her clanmates got strong, and Fernback stopped her before she crossed the markers. "Here is our northern border, where our land crosses with the unknowns beyond… this is the common entrance to our territory that the Outlanders use since it is easier than going through the other clans territories."
A chill carried down from the forest beyond, as Flowerpaw pressed to Fernback's side. "Don't worry, hardly anything will ever cross the border that we can't handle. Now, let's get back onto the tour shall we?" he meowed, before turning and walking along the border line.