Chapter 5

The next day, the sun was rising and sunlight begin to fill the camp. Firepaw was asleep in the apprentices den when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey Firepaw, wake up!" a voice meowed.

Firepaw opened an eye and saw Greypaw sitting in front of him; grooming his fur. Firepaw got up slowly and stretched for a bit. Greypaw finished washing himself and looked at him.

"Training begins at sunrise, Dustpaw, Sandpaw, and Chestnutpaw are already up. I've just spoken to Lionheart, Ravenpaw won't be training with us till his wound is better. He'll probably stay in Spottedleaf's den for another day or two. Dustpaw and Sandpaw are on hunting duty and Chestnutpaw is out battle training, so Lionheart thought you and I could train with him and Tigerclaw. We better hurry though, they'll be waiting." He meowed.

Firepaw finished stretching and was overjoyed. He had almost forgot that today was his first day of training and the excitement he was feeling had completely woke him up. Firepaw and Greypaw left the apprentice den and saw Lionheart and Tigerclaw at the entrance of the camp. Firepaw realized that the cats that had gathered around Redtail were gone and so was his body. Firepaw and Greypaw reached the entrance and saw that Tigerclaw looked angry and Lionheart was welcoming.

"In the future, I expect you both to be punctual." Tigerclaw growled.

"Now, now Tigerclaw, no need to be severe. It was a busy night last night, I expect they were tired." Lionheart meowed.

Tigerclaw glared at him and flicked his tail in annoyance. He looked back at Firepaw.

"Since Bluestar is your mentor and that she couldn't be here on certain circumstances, me and Lionheart will share your training, for now." Tigerclaw said uncomfortably.

His eyes moved to another direction when he said that. Firepaw flinched, remembering that Bluestar's mate, Oakheart, had died yesterday and it would take time for such grief to heal. Greypaw looked away and was uncomfortable and Lionheart shifted his paws uncomfortably and was looking down.

"That won't be necessary, Tigerclaw." A voice meowed.

All four cats looked up and saw Bluestar looking down at them from highrock. She was solemn and sad, but she looked strong and ready to continue her duties. Bluestar leaped down from highrock and approached the group. All four cats were surprised and Tigerclaw was more shocked than everyone else.

"Are…Are you sure, Bluestar? Me and Lionheart can train Firepaw for the time being…" Tigerclaw meowed shocked.

"No Tigerclaw! If you wanna help, you can either help Lionheart with Greypaw's training or you can wait for Lionheart to come back so you can join a border patrol, got it?" she snapped.

"Uh…y-yes, Bluestar." He stammered.

"Good. Come Firepaw." She meowed.

"Yes, Bluestar." He meowed.

Firepaw followed her out of the camp, but he looked behind him and saw that Lionheart and Greypaw were surprised by Bluestar snapping at Tigerclaw and Tigerclaw was angry and enraged. Bluestar and Firepaw left the camp and walked into the forest. Firepaw walked beside Bluestar and saw that she was looking down and was sad, but after a few moments, she looked up and was serious.

"Today I'm going to show you the borders of our territory and parts of the territory you should know about, so you'll know what to protect and where the best hunting spots are. If we finish early, I might teach you a hunting or battle technique or two. Do you understand?" Bluestar meowed.

"Yes Bluestar." Firepaw meowed excited.

"Good. Now, if you notice from the bits of sand on your paws, this is the sandy hollow. It's a place where Thunderclan mentors take their apprentices to teach them battle techniques. It's also outside of camp, so don't be surprised if you have sand on your paws, got it?" she meowed.

"Yes Bluestar. Isn't Willowpelt and Chestnutpaw over there?" Firepaw asked.

"Yes, I believe they are, but let's not bother them. Come on, we're near the Riverclan border." She meowed.

Firepaw nodded. He and Bluestar reached a sandy area with a pile of stones, a river, and trees were behind a ledge.

"This is the border of Riverclan. The river acts as a border for Riverclan and Thunderclan. The sunning rocks are…over there." Bluestar meowed.

Firepaw's eyes were wide and his ears perked, this was the place Redtail and Oakheart were killed. Firepaw looked around. Dry blood was still on the ground, torn fur had flew into a few places, and there was blood on the rocks. The place looked like death had happened and the scent of Thunderclan was stale. Firepaw looked at Bluestar and saw a sad gaze in her eyes, but it changed to serious as if she was trying to seem strong in front of her clanmates.

"Take a long sniff, Firepaw. You'll need to remember their scent if you ever scent them into our territory or in battle." Bluestar meowed.

Firepaw nodded. He used his nose to sniff the area. It was mixed with Thunderclan and the unknown scent of Riverclan. Once he got the Riverclan scent altogether, he stopped, looked at Bluestar, and gave her a nod. Bluestar smiled and nodded. She motioned him to follow her and both cats left sunning rocks. They went up the river and then they crossed two streams, but they stopped at a area with a tree at the center.

"This tree is the owl tree. In a hole, a tawny owl lives there. It's believed that many moons ago, an apprentice had learned the secrets of night hunting from an owl. Every night, the apprentice would wait for the owl to come out and when it did, the apprentice would follow. Eventually, this apprentice would be known as one of our great leaders and when he hunts, he's silent and deadly as the owl." Bluestar explained.

"Wow, who was the leader?" Firepaw asked amazed.

"His name was Owlstar. He was a legendary hunter and his gift was the sight of an owl. Now come on, we're near the Windclan border." Bluestar meowed.

She headed to the border and Firepaw followed her. Both cats walked pass a few trees and tall grass until they stopped at a field with four trees at the center and a stream surrounding it. Both cats sat down.

"This is fourtrees, it's not owned by any of the clans. It's where the four clans gather at the first full moon. During this night, a truce is held and if there is any fighting, Starclan covers the moon with clouds." Bluestar explained.

"Starclan?" Firepaw meowed confused.

"Starclan is the tribe of heavenly warriors that watches over all of the clans. You can find them in Silverpelt. Silverpelt is that thick band of stars you see each night, stretching across the sky. Each star is a Starclan warrior, Redtail and Oakheart are among them." Bluestar explained.

Firepaw nodded, not wanting to dare mention the subject. Bluestar gazed at the empty field.

"Do you see that empty field over there? That is the Windclan border. Windclan cats like to hunt in the open moor. It's a good place for them to hunt rabbits and run fast. Take a good sniff, Firepaw. You're going to need to remember their scent if you ever scent them into our territory or in battle." She told him.

Firepaw nodded and walked over to the Windclan border as close as he could and sniffed the air. The scent was faint, but it was enough for Firepaw to memorize and when he stopped, he turned and nodded at Bluestar. She nodded back and walked away and Firepaw followed her. Both cats passed a few trees until they reached a large black twoleg path with a horrible stench. They stopped and sat down.

"This is the Thunderpath, it's the border between Shadowclan and Thunderclan. Shadowclan cats hunt at night and can skulk the shadows unseen. Be careful though, Shadowclan cats have a history of being greedy for territory and battle-hungry. Don't worry though, they're usually harmless and they've been keeping to their own hunting grounds. As for the Thunderpath, it's very dangerous. There are monsters that could kill a cat just by getting hit by one. If we were to cross it, we would have to look both ways and use our best judgement." Bluestar explained.

Firepaw looked at Bluestar, than nodded. Suddenly, a monster sped past Bluestar and Firepaw; it shook the ground, blew their fur, and it blew the trees and leaves like a storm. Firepaw was shocked and horrified that such a thing could have the strength to shake the whole forest; his eyes were wide, he was shaking, and his fur stood on edge. Firepaw looked at Bluestar and saw her flinch. He calmed down and looked at her with concern.

"Are you okay Bluestar?" Firepaw asked.

"I'm fine, it's just…I have some bad memories from here." She explained.

Firepaw nodded, he didn't dare ask her about it. Whatever the bad memory was, he didn't want to know about it. Bluestar looked solemnly at the Shadowclan border.

"You should be able the scent the Shadowclan border, now. That horrible stench you smelled was that of a monster. You'll get used to them passing by, I promise. You'll need to remember Shadowclan's scent, Firepaw, in case you scent them in our territory or in battle." She meowed.

Firepaw ears perked with surprise and he looked at the Shadowclan border. Bluestar was right, the scent of the monster was faint and the stench of Shadowclan filled his nose. It wasn't a pleasant scent.

"Yeah, you'll get used to that too." Bluestar chuckled.

Firepaw chuckled in amusement and followed Bluestar when she signaled him to follow her. Both cats walked up the Thunderpath. It took a few miles to get where they were going and Firepaw was getting tired. He wasn't used to walking or traveling this long, but he knew that if he was going to be a warrior, than he was going to have to get used to this. Firepaw and Bluestar reach a tall tree and Firepaw realized that they were a few feet behind the camp.

"This tree is the Great Sycamore. It's a place where Thuderclan mentors take their apprentices to, to teach them on how to climb trees. It's also a place where apprentices dare each other to climb to the tallest, but don't, falling off the tree could kill you. Someday, I'll take you here to teach you on how to climb trees." Bluestar promised.

"Wow." Firepaw meowed amazed.

He was amazed by how tall the tree was, the tree looked like it could touch the sky. Bluestar walked past the tree. Firepaw followed her as both cats went to the other side of the tree. Bluestar stopped at a pair of bushes and sat down. Firepaw was about to go through them until Bluestar stopped him with her tail.

"This is as far as we can go, for now." She meowed.

"What do you mean?" Firepaw asked.

"Do you see those rocks?" Bluestar asked.

"Yes." Firepaw meowed.

"These rocks are known as Snakerocks. Poisonous adders live over there. Their venom could kill a cat with just one bite. Adders live in the cracks of these rocks. Snakerocks can also be home to foxes, badgers, and dogs. When you start learning to control your powers, just remember to set yourself on fire when you're at the rocks, got it?" Bluestar meowed.

"Yes mam." Firepaw meowed.

"Good, lets head back to camp. It's close to sundown and I need back to camp to handle some other things, alright?" Bluestar meowed.

"Okay." Firepaw meowed.

Both cats are heading back to camp. Firepaw was relieved to go back, eat, and rest.