Much like Sparkpaw had thought, she was barely able to keep Runningwind within sight, let alone keep up with him. She had to unsheath her claws to grip the ground in an effort to propel herself forward. It helped very little, and she had the bizarre feeling that Runningwind was toying with her. Normally it would have infuriated her, but instead Sparkpaw found herself honestly amazed. She'd known he would be fast with those legs of his, but she hadn't thought he'd be THIS fast!

Then suddenly she was shooting PAST Runningwind, who had skidded to a halt, and she yowled as the ground abruptly disappeared beneath her paws. Sparkpaw went tumbling down onto a soft floor, and her earlier momentum sent her even FURTHER to plow right into two small-but-bigger-than-her furry bodies. She heard shocked yowls all around and barely realized she herself was cursing when she identified who exactly she had run into.

Firepaw and Graypaw were twisted around her, and all three of them lay in a bundle of limbs and fluff that she was trying her damndest to get out of. Then teeth closed on her scruff and she instinctively hissed and twisted around to try and get free. "I'm trying to help, you ridiculous apprentice!" Lionheart's voice hissed around his mouthful. So though it went against everything in her, Sparkpaw went limp and allowed her, ugh, deputy to drag her out of the apprentice pile.

Tigerclaw was on the other side of them and had Firepaw by the scruff too, leaving Graypaw on the ground by himself. The sight of her brother in such a large cat's grasp had her growling and tensing. Lionheart put an end to that by dropping her and cuffing her across the head. The silent reprimand only redirected her ire, and Sparkpaw decided to take it out on the laughing jerkface that was standing at the lip of the hollow. "RUNNINGWIND. I'M GOING TO FLAY YOU AND FEED YOUR SCRAPS TO THE CROWS." she screamed up at him.

He snickered down at her and crowed back, "Can't flay me if you can't catch me!" He seemed to be even more amused at her scowl before he looked directly at Lionheart. "Nothing to report so far, Lionheart. Sunningrocks is clear. I'll meet back up with Mousefur and Longtail and give a longer report later." Lionheart nodded and dismissed him with a wave of his tail, but Runningwind looked back at Sparkpaw before leaving. "See you later, Sparkpaw!"

She grumbled wordlessly but nodded a farewell at him before turning her back, listening to the rustle of foliage as he moved on. Then she focused on the cats she was left with. Firepaw was glaring at her, and it was such an uncharacteristic look on his face that she blinked at him. "What?" she asked curiously.

Even more uncharacteristic, Firepaw flew at her. Sparkpaw yelped as her brother bowled her over, and she shielded herself from his weak, flailing paws. "You stupid! Reckless! Idiot! If I've told you once, I've told you a million times, wake me up when you leave! Do you have any idea how worried I was when Graypaw woke me up and I couldn't find you?!"

Guilt churned in Sparkpaw's chest. She saw through the gap of Firepaw's hind legs that Tigerclaw was once again closing in on them, but she wouldn't let him get the chance of grabbing hold of her brother again. She waited for an opening in Firepaw's flailing and, when she saw it, ducked her head beneath his paws to get beneath his chest.

With a grunt of effort, she flung him backwards and onto his back, quickly pinning him down while he lay winded. "You done?" she meowed dryly. His scowl twisted into half-scowl, half-pout, and Firepaw nodded. "Fantastic." She allowed him to get up and, once he was back on his paws, she touched her nose to his cheek. "I'm sorry. You're right, I wasn't thinking. I was going to wait for you, I promise, but THAT one," she gestured to Lionheart, who narrowed his eyes but didn't interrupt, "put me on dawn patrol."

Lionheart glowered this time, which she returned. Deputy and apprentice glared at each other for heartbeats before Tigerclaw impatiently shoved his way between them. "We don't have time for this," he growled. He fixed his glare, not on Sparkpaw, but on Firepaw and Graypaw. "Next time I expect you two to be punctual. Graypaw, you've been an apprentice for half a moon already. You know when training begins."

That bit of information made Sparkpaw blink and swivel her head to look at Graypaw. "Wait, really? I thought you said when we met you that it was your first time out as an apprentice." Had he lied? But what reason would he have had to lie?

Graypaw flattened his ears sheepishly. "No, I said it was my first NIGHT out. There's owls out in the forest that would pick off a brand new 'paw. I needed to grow a tiny bit before being allowed out at night." He stopped and ran an almost critical eye over Sparkpaw's frame, making her squirm just a tiny bit. "You… might need a moon or two before going out at night."

… Did he just call her small? If there was one thing in the entire world that set her off more than being ignored OR underestimated it was her size! Once more Sparkpaw dropped into a crouch with a hiss, fully intending to pounce on him, but once more Lionheart prevented it by grabbing her by the scruff and pulling her back. "StarClan's sake, is this going to happen every time some cat does something you don't like?" he barked.

Sparkpaw struggled to free herself, eyes still set on ripping Graypaw to pieces. It was Firepaw who answered, and the weary tone of voice made Sparkpaw sulk in Lionheart's hold. "Probably. Like, ninety percent of the time." He glanced apologetically at his sister as she was set down again. "I love you, Sparkpaw, but you don't think before you act, and one day it's going to get you into trouble."

He was right. Sparkpaw hated it when he was right. "Yeah yeah, whatever Rustbucket." she grumbled. She stalked over to sit beside him and Graypaw, deliberately choosing to sit opposite of Graypaw on Firepaw's left side. She glared over at the warriors and drawled sarcastically, "Well, what now, o' mighty warriors? Would you like us to do an interpretive dance and heap accolades unto your magnificence?"

Both warriors snorted, but it was Tigerclaw who answered. "We're taking you around the borders to see the edges of your territory. It's important to know where you'll hunt and what you're going to be protecting. The reminders will do Graypaw some good as well."

Without another word, all three Clanborn cats leaped out of the hollow. Sparkpaw followed, but it took Firepaw a second longer. The sand caused his paws to splay every which way before he could join her. Then they took off after their Clanmates.

They took a different route than the one she'd taken with Runningwind, but it was in the same general direction. This time Sparkpaw didn't let the beauty of the forest distract her, keeping her eyes on Lionheart's thick fluffy scruff. It was easier to see than Tigerclaw's dark tabby pelt in the undergrowth.

The patrol stopped at the edge of a path. Tigerclaw lifted his tail to spray a clump of ferns and Sparkpaw wrinkled her nose. At the action itself, not the scent! After being exposed to Spottedleaf's herbs and RiverClan stench, the raw smell of ThunderClan didn't bother her so much.

Lionheart turned to the trio of apprentices and Sparkpaw switched her attention to him. "We are on the edge of a twoleg path. They often come this way with their dogs. What do you smell?" Curious, Sparkpaw lifted her nose at the same time as Firepaw and sniffed. The faint smell of twolegs mixed with dog filled her nose, and she nodded as Firepaw informed the other cats of it. "Good. Sparkpaw." She jolted at being addressed suddenly, blinking up at him. "Is it safe to cross?"

She tried to pass her sputtering off as scoffing, tossing her head arrogantly. "Of course. I trust my brother's nose." She saw Lionheart narrow his eyes and bypassed whatever this lecture was going to be about by walking right passed him and out onto the path. "Coming? Or should I explore the territory on my own?" she drawled back to him. She heard a growl and assumed it was from Lionheart. Pawsteps came after her, but nobody pushed forward to take her place. She took that as permission and kept leading.

The trees were different on this side of the twoleg path. At first they were still oaks and maples and such, then it was a mix of them and pine trees, then it was pure pine trees. This area didn't have any undergrowth to hide them in. Tigerclaw's deep voice growled from behind, "This area is called Tallpines. Twolegs put these trees here, then take them to Treecutplace in Greenleaf."

Sparkpaw had heard them from the den she'd shared with Firepaw. Not even Asha had known why when asked, simply remarking that twolegs were weird. And, well, she wasn't wrong. She heard Graypaw speaking to Firepaw but tuned him out, heading towards the approximation of the RiverClan border. Lionheart quickened his pace and silently steered her with his tail, but then he dropped back once again to let her lead.

It made her uncomfortably aware of the two warriors at her back, and she subconsciously sped up just shy of running. She only stopped when she recognized the area they were in. A little over that way was the bush she had taken her anger out on, which meant the border with RiverClan was a little that way.

Lionheart and Tigerclaw passed her on either side to take the lead, and Sparkpaw allowed Firepaw and Graypaw to pass as well before following. Guilt made her flatten her ears when she realized both toms were panting a little at the pace she'd set, though Firepaw was breathing much heavier than Graypaw was. As adventurous as Sparkpaw knew her brother was, it sometimes slipped her that he wasn't nearly as fit as she was. She touched her nose to his flank apologetically. He couldn't verbally answer her, but he flicked his tail towards her in forgiveness.

The patrol halted and Lionheart turned to address the apprentices. "This is RiverClan's border. Breathe deeply, and remember the smell." Sparkpaw had no desire to get that stench stuck in her nose again, so she pointedly stood back and curled her lip. Lionheart rolled his eyes but thankfully didn't force the issue. "Sunningrocks is down that way, further south. You won't see them from here."

Sparkpaw looked down that way and offered, "Runningwind showed me them earlier. They're just a bunch of gray stones with grass and prey around it. Like a wild version of the rock garden in Kingsley's yard. Impressive at first, but not so much now."

While Firepaw just twitched his ear and made a sound of dismissive understanding, you'd think Sparkpaw had insulted the Clan cats' mothers or something. Each one of them, even Graypaw, bristled and glared at her. "How dare you?" Lionheart hissed, angrier than Sparkpaw had ever seen him. "Do you know what our Clan has given up for those stones? How many of our cats died defending them?"

Tigerclaw was growling wordlessly, but Graypaw took up the tirade for him. "Not to mention how many leafbares have gone by where they've saved our Clanmates lives. Without them so many more cats would have gone hungry, possibly even starved to death."

Sparkpaw flattened her ears at the idea. She'd never gone hungry before, but Asha and her other friends had. Sparkpaw wasn't a softy, or anything close to being gentle or kind. But she knew if she could keep a cat from suffering like that, she would. "Alright, alright. Sheesh, I take it back. They aren't /physically/ impressive, but they're important and vital and should be respected." She could tell she'd surprised them all. There was a glow of pride in Firepaw's eyes that warmed her, and the Clan cats had stopped bristling and were staring. Quick, distraction! "Huh. Imagine that. I respect a bunch of rocks more than I respect you, Lionheart!"

And just like that, things were back to normal. Lionheart gave a heavy sigh while the two younger toms snickered. Tigerclaw hissed for silence, reminding them of how close they were to the border. "Enemies could be around every bush. Don't let your guard down and give them a chance to attack."

It was sound advice. Lionheart turned north, the opposite way of Sunningrocks. "We'll travel this way, towards Fourtrees. Stay down and stay silent." he hissed quietly. Sparkpaw observed the way the two warriors prowled away. They kept their ears perked to catch even the slightest of sounds and their eyes peeled to catch even the slightest of movement. Were they really expecting an attack at any moment? Well, even if they weren't, she supposed it made sense. Better to be paranoid than dead.

Sparkpaw kept to the back of the group this time and attempted to be just as vigilant, keeping her ears turned back to listen behind them. If there was a rear attack, she wanted to be the first to react. Unfortunately, she needed to work on her attention span. More than once she got distracted by Firepaw twisting around and blinking at all the greenery. All the different sights and scents and sounds were enough for sensory overload.

The pace sped up, then slowed down, and they came upon a sight that sight Sparkpaw had to stare in awe. A giant hollow, much larger than the ravine that hid ThunderClan's camp, plunged into the ground where all the borders met. Four oaks rose in the center, so tall that they rose far above her head, despite their roots being far below her paws. It was as amazing as it was surreal. Who knew how old those oaks were, to grow so tall?

Lionheart's voice made her startle, and she glanced around at the others to make sure none of them saw. "This is Fourtrees." he intoned. "Every full moon, the four Clans gather on a night of peace to exchange news. WindClan governs the highlands, where the sun sets." Sparkpaw looked where he indicated and squinted. She couldn't see much. The ground sloped from Fourtrees upwards and was dotted with stones and tussocks of short, stabby plants. "You won't be able to smell them today. The wind is blowing their scent away from us."

Sparkpaw made note of the wind, realizing he was right. The wind had been behind them this entire time. Graypaw saw fit to continue, talking about ShadowClan being in the marshes. Out of curiosity, she glanced at Tigerclaw. This was the second time Graypaw had taken over when he was barely older than them. How did the warrior feel about it? He was watching Graypaw with an unreadable expression, and Sparkpaw couldn't see anything in his body language to give her insight. As much as she hated to admit it, she was kind of impressed at his control. Was it natural or could he teach her to do that?

Firepaw's raised voice made her turn back towards the conversation, and she almost sighed at his idealism. "But that seems foolish! Wouldn't it be better to work together instead of fighting all the time?"

While the Clan cats stared in shocked silence, Sparkpaw trotted to his side and flicked his shoulder with her tail. "Eh, what's life without a little conflict? Boring, that's what! Not every cat sees inaction as peace, brother mine. Some of us like knowing where our enemies are." He looked thoughtful at that, turning his gaze towards the territory belonging to the other Clans. Convinced he'd at least give it some thought, Sparkpaw turned towards Lionheart. "More importantly, Runningwind said there'd be a Gathering tonight and that Bluestar will only be taking SOME of the Clan? What are the odds two brand new apprentices will be chosen?"

Tigerclaw actually got a chance to talk this time, snorting in what Sparkpaw took as contempt. "Don't be ridiculous. Brand new apprentices seldom get such an honor, unless they impressed their mentor that much."

Sparkpaw was beyond shocked when Lionheart's whiskers twitched and he casually went, "Or his mother bullies the leader into taking him." Were it not for the flat ears and hiss that followed, Sparkpaw wouldn't have thought Lionheart was speaking from experience. There was a story there, but Sparkpaw had juuust enough self preservation to ask later. Outside of Tigerclaw's range of hearing. "Come. We still have much to see."

He took the lead again and Sparkpaw let him. She kept pace with her brother, standing just close enough to occasionally flick him with her tail, then pretend innocent when he glared at her.

The patrol encountered a small stream that Sparkpaw took a drink from while the others hopped across. The utter freshness of it had her gasping. "Oh wow. Firepaw, come try this! It's way better than the puddles after rain." He cast a glance at the warriors for permission, which Sparkpaw and surprisingly Tigerclaw rolled their eyes at. Lionheart nodded, and Firepaw had the same reaction she did. "Right?!"

She dunked her entire muzzle in while her brother explained to the Clan cats. "We usually got our fresh water from puddles, but it always tasted like mud or slime. This is the cleanest water we've ever had." Sparkpaw finally pulled away from the stream with a shake of her head, flicking droplets from her whiskers. Firepaw flinched back and scowled at her. "Watch it or I'll push you in."

Sparkpaw was about to dare him to when she noticed even Lionheart was getting impatient. Graypaw had simply been listening with wide eyes. Silently vowing to get back at him later, she signaled they were ready to go, and then they were moving again.

It wasn't very long before a new smell hit her nose. It smelled rank, like a rotted piece of crowfood left in the sun. As she sneezed to drive it out, Firepaw asked what Clan it was. "ShadowClan." Lionheart answered grimly, piquing Sparkpaw's interest. He hadn't sounded like that about the other two Clans. "We're traveling along their border. Stay sharp, all of you. Fresh scent means there could be a patrol nearby."

Was he telling Tigerclaw that too, or did 'all of you' just mean the apprentices? A glance at the tabby gave zero clue. Sparkpaw contemplated pestering him about it, but her entire being snapped to attention at a familiar rumbling. "Is that a road?!" She blurted out, recklessly charging past Lionheart. She heard him yowl at her to get back, but she knew what she was doing. The sunlight got stronger as the trees thinned, and Sparkpaw slowed to a stop. The others caught up and Sparkpaw could feel Lionheart's fury like an angry swarm of bees, but she excitedly bounced on her toes before he could start. "It is! It's a road! Finally, something familiar!"

She spun around to smile at the rest, keeping her tail close to her and ignoring the faint vibrations she could feel through her paws. All four cats were bristling, the warriors with anger and the apprentices with fear. "You can't just run wherever you like, Sparkpaw!" Lionheart snarled, puffing up to twice his size and therefore three times Sparkpaw's. "You could have been killed! You could have been-"

Sparkpaw tucked her claws into the earth beneath them to anchor herself when a monster went by. The others all flinched away from the wild wind, even Firepaw. Sparkpaw laughed hysterically at their reactions, all wide eyes and bristling fur. Teeth closed around her scruff and dragged her away, and she was still giggling when she was deposited on the ground. The cuff across the ears finally brought it to down snickers.

Obviously none of the others thought it was anywhere close to funny. Graypaw and Firepaw were both in half-crouches with their tails bushed out. Even Tigerclaw seemed uneasy, though he certainly did his best to hide it. Lionheart was the only one to not show his fear, if he'd even been afraid at all. He seemed far too furious, starting to speak and stopping himself after a word or two. Finally he ground out, "Elders duty. You are on Elders duty for the next moon. No, two moons! I swear to StarClan Sparkpaw, if you ever do something so stupid again-"

He cut off as Tigerclaw touched his tail tip to his shoulder. "Calm down. All apprentices do something stupid on their first day." Sparkpaw blinked in shock at the smooth, soothing tone the large tabby took. Considering her first impression of him, she didn't think he was the type to get an apprentice out of trouble. That thought swiftly left her mind when he turned to her. "He's right though. Not only was that incredibly stupid, it was incredibly dangerous. It's true that monsters don't often leave the thunderpath, but don't forget: this is also the border with ShadowClan. If they saw a lone apprentice out by the border, they wouldn't hesitate to attack."

… Well when he put it like that. Sparkpaw frowned at the ground, tail twitching in thought. "I… I hadn't even thought about that. If I had been attacked you guys would charge to my defense and Firepaw would have gotten hurt." She heard her brother make a noise at that, but she ignored that for the moment to look up at Lionheart. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again." She hoped he saw the sincerity in her eyes. She meant it.

He must have seen something, for he sighed loudly and softened. "It's… Well it's not okay, but you're forgiven. Just. Please. Never scare me like that again." A glimmer of amusement appeared in his eyes and he joked, "You almost scared the trophy off of my pelt." Tigerclaw was the only one to not understand the joke, and he scowled while everybody else giggled at it. "Let's go back to camp. It's been a long day."

For some it was longer than others. Normally Sparkpaw could go all day but the dawn patrol trek and racing Runningwind had worn her out. Her legs were starting to ache, and she still had to see Spottedleaf when they got back. Joy.