Badgerkit jumped out of the den excitedly, her paws tingling. She winced slightly at the greenleaf sun, but didn't slow down until she heard her mother call for her.

"Calm yourself, Badgerkit," Cloudflower chided, stepping out of the nursery with Thistlekit at her side. "You need to be composed for the ceremony, after all."

"Sorry, Cloudflower," she purred, "I just can't help it! I've been waiting for so long!"

The white she-cat smiled. "Of course. I'm so happy for you two. And proud."

"As am I," purred Smokepad, padding up to his family. "You two will finally be apprentices!"

"It's not that exciting," Thistlekit mewed. Badgerkit couldn't even tell if she was just pretending to seem more mature. "It happens to every kit."

Cloudflower bright eyes dimmed.

Not everyone, Badgerkit thought. Not Breezekit. She cast a glare at her sister, who was suddenly looking guilty. The gray she cat looked down.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highledge for a Clan meeting," Redstar called out, his ginger pelt shining in the sun.

Cats emerged into the morning light from their dens, murmuring to one another and looking at Badgerkit and Thistlekit. The she-cat felt her pelt grow warm. They were already looking at her? But she hadn't stepped forward yet! She licked her chest fur self consciously. She looked around and noticed Birdpaw trying to catch her eye. She nodded her head in acknowledgement.

She glanced behind her and saw Sparrowkit and Leafkit following Rockwind out of the nursery, blinking in the light, looking excited. It had been two moons since they were born, and they had been much too small to attend Mottleheart and Quickstorm's warrior ceremony. They seemed very excited to be present for this one.

"Badgerkit and Thistlekit, please step forward," Redstar meowed, his voice strong and assured.

The two kits stepped forward, side by side. Badgerkit could feel her sister's fur prickling with anticipation.

"Thistlekit and Badgerkit have reached the age of six moons and it is time for them to become apprenticed. Badgerkit, from this moment, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Badgerpaw. Featherleg, you received excellent training under Russetpatch and have shown yourself to be a good teacher, as many of our warriors can attest. I trust you to lead Badgerpaw on the right path."

Badgerpaw had to hide her surprise. Only a moon ago, Featherleg had finished mentoring Quickstorm. Why was Redstar so quick to give him another? Nevertheless, she felt excitement coursing through her. Featherleg was a strong and well respected senior warrior. She padded forward to touch noses with her new mentor. He greeted her with a gentle smile.

"Thistlekit, from this moment on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Thistlepaw," Redstar continued. "Raventail, I hope that you remember my teachings. I ask you to pass on all you know to Thistlepaw."

This time, Badgerpaw wasn't the only one surprised. She heard the Clan murmur with curiosity as her sister padded forward and touched noses with the deputy.

"Badgerpaw! Thistlepaw!" the Clan called joyfully.

"Well then, Badgerpaw," Featherleg meowed. "This is a pleasant surprise for me."

"Huh? Why?" she asked the tom. "Didn't you know that you would be my mentor?"

"I did," he mewed. "But I was a bit surprised when Redstar told me. After all, I just finished training Quickstorm. I thought I would get a break." He laughed. "Not that I'm not happy to train you," he added.

"I'm really glad you're my mentor," Badgerpaw mewed. "You're a good warrior."

"Thank you," he meowed. "Now, let's get Raventail afn Thistlepaw, and we can explore the territory."

Badgerpaw felt her pelt tingle with excitement. Finally getting to see outside the camp! She gave a little hop of excitement and followed her mentor.

The silver tom dipped his head to the deputy. "Shall, we, Raventail?"

"Yes," the dark tom meowed, swishing his tail and turning to the camp entrance.

Badgerpaw nudged Thistlepaw. "Can you believe it?" she whispered.

Her sister's eyes were wide with excitement, though she was clearly trying to remain composed. "We've been waiting for moons," she responded quietly.

The two stepped out after their mentors. Badgerpaw looked around excitedly, and quickly tried to hide her disappointment. The scenery was beautiful, but not what she had imagined. Was the undergrowth always so thick? Was the grass always this dry under paw? Where were the flowery herbs that Birdpaw would always bring into camp?

She noticed that her mentor had turned sharply. "Come along," the warrior meowed. "We'll show you to the ShadowClan border, and then walk along the lake to WindClan."

"Coming!" Badgerpaw called, trotting forward, careful to pick up her paws to avoid the thick undergrowth. Thistepaw padded beside her. "How far is ShadowClan?" her sister asked.

"Far enough," Raventail mewed. "For me and Featherleg, the walk is short. But for new apprentices, it will feel very long. You haven't known anything more than the length of camp."

"The walk will one day feel short for you, too," Featherleg mewed reassuringly.

Badgerpaw wondered how long it would take for her to be used to it.

The black and white she-cat became more accustomed to her surroundings. Maybe it hadn't lived completely up to her expectations, but it was still lovely in its own right. The tall oak branches swayed high above them. Soft, dried leaves crunched under their paws. Green bushes rustled with promises of prey hiding deep in their roots.

"When will we learn to hunt?" Thistlepaw asked after a long moment of silence.

Raventail responded, "It is not just learning to hunt. It is first learning your stance, then learning reaction times. Then you will actually hunt, but only the easy prey like mice and voles. You must learn more advanced techniques for each piece of prey."

"In short, it will be awhile," Featherleg purred. "No need to worry them, Raventail."

Just when Badgerpaw felt her paws begin to ache, Raventail raised his tail. "Stop here. Do you smell that?"

Badgerpaw stopped and sniffed. She smelled cats, but clearly a different kind from ThunderClan. She didn't particularly like the scent, and she realised that this was what her Clanmates meant when the spoke of "stinking ShadowClan".

She nodded.

"Is that ShadowClan?" Thistlepaw asked.

"Very good," Featherleg meowed. "Odd, eh?"

"You can say that again," Badgerpaw meowed. "Why do they smell like that?"

Raventail shook his head. "StarClan knows. We might as well mark a bit while we're here." He moved forward. "Mark where the scent is strongest."

Badgerpaw stepped up, wrinkling her nose as she sniffed. "Here?"

"No," Featherleg meowed. "Their scent is intense, but it still gets stronger."

After marking, the cats moved along the border, and Badgerpaw and Thistlepaw asked more questions.

"How big is the lake?" Badgerpaw asked.

"Huge," Featherleg meowed. "The size of our territory, if not bigger."

Badgerpaw's eyes widened. Was it really possible for there to be that much water? She had only ever seen the puddles in camp after a rain.

"How much further?" Thistlepaw asked.

"We're very close," her mentor responded. "See how the ground is sloping down?"

The ground was not longer level beneath their paws. Badgerpaw was slightly startled by the sudden change, but was careful to keep her footing. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her mentor and the deputy.

Suddenly, she could see it. A huge expanse of rippling dark blue. Badgerpaw felt her jaw drop. This was much better than she imagined. She picked up speed and tore down the slope until she felt the earth change to sand beneath her paws and she was so close to the water she could almost touch it.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, turning to see the other cats trotting up after her. "This is incredible!"

Featherleg laughed. "You could say that," he agreed. He looked across the water. "That territory is RiverClan's," he meowed. "You might not get a chance to see it. Not that you're missing much," he added. "It's like ours, but every pawstep is wet."

Thistlepaw wrinkled her nose. "Ew."

"You'll learn their scent at gatherings," Raventail meowed. "Come, we must see the WindClan border before we head back to the camp."

The group padded along in silence as they moved to WindClan. Badgerpaw was getting exhausted. She had never moved so far in her life. She was certain her paws were going to fall off.

"Here we are," Raventail declared. "WindClan."

A stream wove its way forward, feeding into the lake. Sparse trees dotted the other side.

"Where do they even hunt?" asked Thistlepaw. "They have not trees."

"WindClan are rabbit chasers," Featherleg meowed. "Rabbits and hares have burrows all across the moor."

"They don't smell as bad as ShadowClan," Badgerpaw mewed, sniffing and smelling peat and rabbits.

They started to walk along the border. "This one is much easier to mark, as it is a set boundary," Raventail explained.

"Ah, Raventail," a voice called.

Badgerpaw looked across the border to see a gray-brown she-cat, followed by a black tom and a silver she-cat.

"Ashstar," Raventail mewed evenly. "How is the prey running?

Badgerpaw felt a bit shocked. Her first day as an apprentice, and she runs into the WindClan leader on patrol!

"Well, thank you," the she-can responded. "Are these new apprentices?"

"Yes." Ravnetail nodded "This is mine, Thistlepaw. And this one is Badgerpaw."

Badgerpaw glanced at her sister. She was meeting the leader's eyes in a "you-don't-scare-me" stare. Badgerpaw looked up too, feeling a lot less confident.

"I see," Ashstar meowed. "You already know Flypaw." She flicked her tail at the black tom, who twitched his whiskers.

"He's to be made a warrior soon, I assume?" Raventail asked.

"Indeed," Ashstar agreed, and Badgerpaw noticed the tom's eyes flash with pride.

"Everything's going well on your side of the border?" Raventail questioned, his voice passive but his body moving to a slightly defensive stance.

"Of course," Ashstar responded, her voice cool. "No reason to be suspicious."

Raventail's jaw twitched, and Badgerpaw saw Featherleg slipping out his claws. "Very well, then," the dark tom meowed, the slightest trace of a growl in his throat. "We'll all be moving on then."

"Yes," Ashstar meowed, her amber eyes narrowed.

Both patrols moved in opposite directions down the stream. Badgerpaw shuttered. She realised how close to a fight that was. Why had Raventail been so aggressive? Was WindClan about to cause trouble for ThunderClan?