Lunarwing-Hawktalon: Thank you so much for the support! ^^ And well I got the idea of having a warrior cat clan in Australia because I found it difficult trying to create a scene in a country where I've never been to. So, I moved the cats to me. XD


Ravenflight stopped running to allow his apprentice to catch her breath. "Come on Wrenpaw, you're going to have to move faster than that!" The black tom sighed as Wrenpaw panted heavily.

"I'm sorry but I'm not used to running so far." The small apprentice confessed. "The camp was only big enough for running from den to den."

The sleek-black tom sighed. This was the tom's first apprentice to mentor he was a little unsure of what to do. Remembering his training with his previous mentor, Ravenflight ran at a steady pace away from camp. "You're going to have to move faster than that then!" He taunted as he watched over his shoulder. "If you want to be a warrior, you have to be as fast as one."

Wrenpaw grunted. She wanted the warrior role so badly she completely ignored her fatigue and charged after her mentor so furiously that even Ravenflight was scared to be pounced on. "I'm not going to give up so easily!" She yelled and moved her legs faster and faster, closing the gap between her and her mentor.

Ravenflight held his steady pace, but ran towards a Eucalyptus tree, dug his long claws into the smooth trunk and hauled himself up to the highest branch. "You also need to be able to climb trees to become a warrior. Our Clan doesn't want a warrior trained to hunt captured and killed by humans!" Ravenflight shouted to Wrenpaw at the base of the tree.

"I can't climb!" Wrenpaw wailed as she remembered falling from a ledge of the Tallrock playing with Stormpaw as kits. The sudden terror of falling through the air and the pain from hitting the ground was enough to deter the young apprentice from climbing a tree. Breathing heavily, Wrenpaw sat and watched Ravenflight climb down the tree.

"I'm sorry, that was a bit much for your first training session as an apprentice." Ravenflight apologised. "I know you're tired, but we still have to show you around the territory." The sleek warrior leaped down from the tree branch to branch until his paws hit the ground. "Let's walk for now then, shall we?"

"Yeah. I think that's a good idea."

Whitefoot was busily sorting out the stash of herbs she kept in a fallen hollow tree trunk. As she turned to leave the den for some fresh air, the sky grew dark as storm clouds appeared above the camp.

"What's going on?" Wattlestar called out from across the clearing. "The air isn't right for a storm!" She yelled over the fierce wind.

The medicine cat's eyes grew very heavy and she struggled to keep them open. The white cat collapsed outside of her den, breathing heavily. Forcing her eyes open, she realised that she was in a different place. The sun wasn't intense like the summer weather the cats were experiencing at home, and the birds sung in very different tunes.

Whitefoot stood in the middle of this unusual clearing. What is this place? The medicine cat thought to herself as she sniffed the flowers and to her surprise – they didn't have a scent. Frantically the shite she-cat sniffed anything in reach; other flowers, rocks and moss, but nothing smelled like anything. Well this certainly is strange….

A blue wren flew from a tree branch and started dancing in front of Whitefoot. In Whitefoot's experience as a medicine cat, nothing as unusual as this has happened before. Hearing a twig snap behind her a human appeared, completely ignoring the white cat which stood before it. Turning back to the wren, Whitefoot figured that the bird was taunting the human, angering it. As the human approached the small blue-wren, the human set fire to the wren somehow, and laughed as the bird flew around in panic, its wings beating furiously in attempt to extinguish the fire devouring its wings. Whitefoot however stood frozen in shock. Never had the young medicine cat seen so much in his life. In moments the forest was in flames, engulfing the small, white cat.

"Where are you taking me, father?" The small apprentice asked.

"We are exploring the territory as I had told you before, and from now on you shall address me as Eagleclaw." The muscular tabby said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, right." Stormpaw already had a lot to remember, even if he hasn't started his hunting training. Sighing, the young grey cat followed after his father as they ventured through the forest. The air was much cooler here in the shade compared to the clearing in which BushClan's camp was situated. But then Stormpaw knew that having a clan in the dense forest rather than in a clearing was an absurd idea – predators like snakes and spiders easily hid amongst the undergrowth in the forest. Stormpaw was so caught up in his thoughts he almost walked into the back of his mentor when he suddenly stopped walking.

"This here, Stormpaw," Eagleclaw began, "Is the tallest tree in the forest. It is a Karri tree – the tallest of trees. No animal can climb to the top – only birds rarely roost on its highest branches."

Stormpaw walked up to the Karri and investigated the tree. The base was blackened by some sort of fire many years ago. As the apprentice batted the black trunk charcoal fell to his paws. "Was there a fire here?" He asked Eagleclaw, but he didn't seem to have heard the apprentice speak.

"This Karri tree is roughly 10 kangaroo strides* south of the camp. I hope you've been paying attention to our surroundings as we walked here because if you have ever wandered away from camp and you can't find your way back – search for the tree and you will be able to get back quickly. Follow the sun if it is day and follow the stars if it is night to head north to camp."

Stormpaw stood back in confusion as his mentor explained all of this seemingly useless information. With my keen nose I can find my way back with no problem! Stormpaw thought to himself as Eagleclaw began to walk again. Instead of travelling through the dense undergrowth, the two had found a kangaroo track where a kanagaroo had passed through, flattening half of the shrubs making it easier for cats and other animals to pass through. Eagleclaw pointed out some fresh kangaroo scat and suggested the path was made the previous night, but Stormpaw was too busily caught up in his own thoughts to care.

Eventually the mentor and apprentice stopped at a thin trail of loose rocks. The rocks reflected the light of the sun clearly, and when Stormpaw observed the shiny rocks he noticed that a thin stream of water coated the rocky path. As the apprentice peered closer, he saw a few small fish far too small to eat swimming through the nearly non-existent stream. "Is this the creek every cat drinks from?" Stormpaw asked his mentor; only this time he replied with an answer.

"Yes, this is the Clan's fresh supply of water. During droughts this river runs dry and we sometimes have to drink the dew collected on the moss in the morning."

"Ah okay." Said Stormpaw – not really paying any attention. I want to learn how to hunt and catch prey for my Clan to eat! The apprentice thought as he and his mentor continued their trek throughout the forest.


* on average, a stride from a kangaroo is equivalent to 10 to 13 metres. (roughly 40 feet)