The day passed by at a leisurely pace. After taking time to snack on something before she took her day-nap, Newtpaw had went to check on her brother - though, to her surprise, he wasn't in the medicine cat's den at all, and neither was Robincloud. Twitching her whiskers, she turned around and headed back into the apprentice's den to catch a nap.
And thankfully for her, Batpaw and Starlingpaw were both out training. She was able to get the peace and quiet needed for any sort of resting activity.
So, she slept.
Her sleep descended upon her like a dark blanket; one could almost imagine stars in the fake night. She imagined the smell of leafy litter on the ground about her, wind brushing past her black-and-ginger fur, yet she still could not see around her.
The sound of running paws thudding against the hardened leaf-fall soil could be sensed somewhere to the south of where she stood. She knew this cat was hauling themselves towards her with powerful limbs, closing the gap between them one stride at a time, yet she felt paralyzed in every limb, fearing the worst as she tensed her body.
But the tackle never came.
She awoke, startled, to the sounds of frogs and crickets elsewhere in the territory. Above her next stood Starlingpaw, who looked at her with a complicated expression and uneasy stance.
"Uh... you were making noises in your sleep." The dark-furred apprentice stepped back a bit to allow Newtpaw to stand up and stretch herself. "I thought I'd wake you up, since it's almost dusk..."
Newtpaw gave the older apprentice an appreciative smile; as awkward as he was, she was grateful for the wake-up call. "Thanks. I think Roachnose will want me up sooner rather than later."
Starlingpaw said nothing as the tortie she-cat brushed past the bramble opening, into the open camp.
Roachnose could be seen sitting near the freshkill-pile casually sniffing about before choosing a small mouse to eat before Newtpaw was able to run up to them. They gave a casual glance to the apprentice and blinked in greeting while the smaller cat sat down next to them, assuming a cautious, leaned-forward position.
Pausing from their meal, Roachnose looked to Newtpaw with a bright expression. "So you're looking forward to your first training session, right?"
The tortie couldn't stop herself from shaking around a bit excitedly. "Yeah!" She sneezed lightly as a leaf brushed past her nose in the chill evening breeze, but this didn't stop her enthusiastic behavior. "What are we gonna do today?"
The large gray they-cat chuckled in an amused way. "Eat something and meet me over by the entrance. I'm having Ivytail accompany us so that we can have a proper dusk patrol. And after that..." They stopped to yawn a bit before continuing. "After that you can rest for a bit. We'll do some more training at dawn... probably tracking, since that's what I know most."
Newtpaw gave the older cat an overjoyed expression, jumping up at the concept of exploring the borders. "I can't wait!" she meowed, tail swaying behind her. "I hope we get to see some GlenClan cats when we're out there."
"I don't, really." Roachnose shook their head. "I know there's peaceful times right now, but I don't want either of us - especially Ivytail - to overstep any personal boundaries. But who knows; eat something and catch us by the entrance before we leave." With a wink, they wandered over to the entrance, which was marked by bushes next to the ridge's curve. The eyes of Ivytail could be seen much easier than the cat herself, with her dark tabby stripes that blended easily into the late night shadows.
Shivering with new-found motivation, Newtpaw scarfed down some sort of bird (she didn't know the name) before bounding over.
Her first real departure from camp overwhelmed her, and her first steps were paused as she stopped to listen to the cadence of the nightlife around her. It wasn't the same as in the camp, where she couldn't fully experience it... not like this, where she could feel the chill night breeze brush past her mottled fur, and stretch her paws on the grass-patched ground.
She felt she'd never get tired of it.
The two warriors waited for Newtpaw to stop boggling at the world, and soon enough, the apprentice started sprinting forward with enthusiasm to catch up.
As she bounded up to her mentor and their accompanying guest, she could see the shaded woods ahead of her nearly endlessly, seemingly surrounding her and her older Clanmates in a protective fashion. The thought of trees doting on the Clan like mothers made her snicker a little, causing Roachnose to look back at the young she-cat with a curious expression.
Shaking her head a bit to clear out the silly thought (and, if she were honest, it was pretty funny), Newtpaw's eyes squinted forward into the lightened darkness, her feline sight a true help after dusk. She could see bird's nests stuffed between the reaching branches above, leaves swaying in the gentle night-time breeze, and she could hear the hoot of an owl in the distance. Roachnose's ears twitched lightly, as they had heard the sound as well.
"That's an owl." Roachnose remarked, glancing back at Newtpaw, who was trailing not far behind them as they approached the border. "They're dangerous, with talons sharp enough to rip your legs apart and a beak that could easily remove your nose. Be careful around them."
Sniffling her nose a little, Newtpaw glanced back towards the hoot with a curious, if a little fearful, look, but only lingered a moment before padding after her mentor and their guest.
Within a short amount of time, the small patrol finally made their way to the border, which marked itself with sparser trees and an open field. Moving around the older cat, Newtpaw stared straight out over the open fields, which dipped slightly as the grass went farther out. Tail quivering, she almost felt like running out there, in the swaying sea, but an ear-flick from Roachnose kept her in line.
Craning her neck, Ivytail looked out over the grasslands, squinting a bit. "I think I see... a white-furred cat, with a smaller, ginger-pelted apprentice."
Looking at the she-cat curiously, Roachnose looked out as well, their ears perked forward in a focused manner. "Hm. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was Heatherpaw and her mentor, Chervil-leaf."
Newtpaw got nervous at the mention of Chervil-leaf; she had limited knowledge of the cats in GlenClan, but she knew a -leaf cat was a guaranteed medicine cat, and if they had their apprentice with them... well, something was probably happening. Something important.
The remark earned a snort from Ivytail, however. "Nah, that wouldn't be plausible. Probably Snownose and a smaller warrior." She looked to Roachnose, bowing her head a little. "But that's my own non-tracker opinion, oh great and mighty tracker."
Newtpaw wasn't sure if that was humor, but Roachnose seemed to get a chuckle about it before responding. "Well, then, let's get back to our patrol, shall we?" Waiting for neither of the two, she continued along the tree-line, staring ahead as Newtpaw and Ivytail caught up.
They settled, for a moment, at a boulder, whose smooth, monotone surface was covered slightly with claw-marks; Roachnose pawed at it lightly before turning to Newtpaw.
"This is where we usually take cats who need to go back to their Clan," they started, "but these marks are new. I'm not sure who made them, but I doubt it's someone who uses their claws a lot." They shook their head at the large rock. "It could just be someone from our Clan passing by to stretch their claws, I guess, but it might be a good idea to sniff around."
Newtpaw bounced up at this suggestion. "Does that mean we're gonna train?" she asked, eyes widening at the thought; she had really wanted to train, but she was sure it'd be later, not sooner!
"Absolutely. Sniff around the rock and tell me what... or who... you might smell." Backing away, Roachnose seated themself at the base of an older birch tree, its branches reaching up towards the darkened sky.
Taking this as an opportunity to master tracking, the tortie apprentice sniffed around the marked boulder, her nose pressing up against the base for a moment to gather scents. She could tell that there had been some sort of creature around, a prey-beast, but she wasn't sure what sort, as she hadn't been taught the scents of prey yet.
Padding around the rock, she looked back towards her mentor in a discouraged fashion. "Hey, Roachnose, what am I supposed to be looking for?"
"Use your eyes as well as your nose," they replied, scratching a bit at their gray, shaggy fur. "Look for loose fur, pawprints in the dirt, or disturbed leaves. Anything that doesn't look like it belongs."
Eyeing the boulder once more, Newtpaw kept low to the ground, eyes scanning the dirt for pawprints. Small markings could be seen in the earth, possibly from the prey she'd scented before, but she couldn't spot anything wrong in the dirt itself.
However, staring up towards the underbrush, she spotted something; ginger fur had tangled in one of the branches of a bush, but it was only a small fragment. It was impossible to tell whether it was longer or shorter fur, seeing as the sample was very minimal, but as she leaned forward to scent it, she spotted something else.
The brush had given way to a small creature, about the size of another cat, and branches had been bent back enough to give them a slight forward-bend. She couldnt' see much, but Newtpaw could definitely see some of the leaf-litter scattered about, barely notable at a first glance.
Opening her mouth to call out to her mentor, she paused; she wanted to know who this fur belonged to before calling her mentor over, and if it were a GlenClan cat, she'd be able to tell the scent apart from her own.
A sniff at the ginger fur sent a confused feeling through her legs, making her pace in place for a brief moment at the realization. This was fur from her brother, Maplepaw!
Turning back and circling around the boulder, she leapt forward to where her mentor had perched themself. "Roachnose! I found some fur, and some leaves brushed away a little, but it smells like my brother was here!"
Getting up from their previous sitting position, Roachnose walked forward, following the apprentice to the tuft of fur and upset earth, giving it a casual sniff before leaning back casually.
Ivytail, who had followed after Roachnose, gave the fur a sniff as well before stepping back with a displeased frown on her features. "It's just your brother and his mentor," she meowed. "Probably some herbs 'round here that Robincloud wants to show him, somethin' like that." She bowed her head, crestfallen. "I was hoping for some action..."
Roachnose squinted at Ivytail in an irritated fashion, but turned back to their apprentice with a new, brighter look to their face. "I'm glad you were able to see the fur tuft, even if it wasn't all that important," she said, leaning down to push her nose against the apprentice's shoulder. "You can ask Maplepaw about it later, right?"
There was a flicker of doubt as Newtpaw nodded in response. She wondered if he would be too busy to grant her a conversation.
This thought drifted about her mind as they continued rounding their patrol-path along the border and around to the northern part of the territory, which became sparser forest, with oak trees placed about. The creek, which unified itself near the border itself, split in two as each branch originated northward. During the day birds would probably be at home here, away from the hustle and bustle of the Clan's central territory while most of the cats slept.
Roachnose glanced towards the river warily as Ivytail went forward to mark the territory. Newtpaw was intrigued by this section of the territory; it was so different from the rest of the Clan's home, with more oak than birch trees, but she supposed that it was good to have variety, or else the patrollers would be easily bored.
Roachnose found this funny when the apprentice decided to share this thought, but Ivytail rolled her eyes.
There was nothing suspicious among the northern border, thankfully, though Newtpaw imagined that she could see things in the shadows... prey, rogues, badgers... or other sorts of creatures that dwell in uncertain places. Shaking off the thought, the tortie followed the patrol back to camp, where the Clan was still buzzing with activity.