It was dawn. The sun peered over the line of trees, washing the sky pink and chasing away the darkness of night. Maple and beech swayed together in the warm greenleaf wind, and the faint twitch of undergrowth signified the waking of possible prey. It was all very rousing to Sunpaw's senses, and the young tom took a deep breath in to savor the scent of flowers on the breeze.

"One thing you have to remember," Graystorm meowed, curling a fluffy tail over his white paws, "Is that you are the predator. As long as you stick together, you have no need to fear anything - with your Clanmates, you are safe."

The four newest apprentices sat together in a row, looking up at their mentors with awe in their eyes. Leafpaw's tabby fur was fluffed up with excitement, and her tail kept thumping Emberpaw in the side, causing the fiery orange tom to constantly turn and glare at her. Goldenpaw sat straight and poised, ears up as she listened to the lecture, while Sunpaw continued to be slightly distracted by the sounds and scents of the forest outside of the sandy hollow.

Silverstripe twitched his tail, dark yellow eyes gleaming. "Don't get too arrogant, now," The tom added. "You still need training, but with plenty of that, you can take on anything."

Volepelt nodded in agreement. "That is what you're here for – to learn the ways of ThunderClan and the Warrior Code."

Hazelfoot stood. "First, however, you must get to know the territory. How useful is a warrior that doesn't even know their way around?" Her amber eyes shone. "Follow me." She turned swiftly and bolted into the undergrowth, with the four other mentors trailing after her.

The apprentices shared looks before taking off after the older cats, and after just a few moments of running, they were struggling to catch up. Sunpaw seemed to be having the most trouble; he was the biggest and bulkiest of all four of the kits, not really built for speed. Leafpaw was taking it all in stride, green eyes shining as she used her long legs to propel herself forward.

For all he knew, neither Sparrowtail or Dustwhisker – his parents – had a bulky form like he did. Vaguely he wondered where he had gotten it from, but his thought process was stopped when he almost crashed into Goldenpaw as she skidded to a halt in front of him.

A strong, strange scent crashed into him, and he wrinkled his nose in distaste. Beside him, he heard Emberpaw exclaim loudly, "Eugh, it smells like fish!"

Silverstripe shot a warning look at his apprentice before whispering, "This is the border between RiverClan and ThunderClan." He flicked his tail at the river nearby, the water swirling with a deep darkness that made Sunpaw shiver. Across the way, he spotted an area of golden rocks that looked absolutely perfect to lie on and rest in the sun. Feeling a pang of jealousy toward the RiverClanners, he turned to listen to Silverstripe as the tom continued to talk.

"There is one thing you have to remember – as long as they respect our boundaries, we will respect theirs. Never cross into another Clan's territory unless it is urgent or you have the permission to. Understood?" His amber eyes narrowed at the kits.

All four nodded in union.

"Good," Silverstripe meowed smoothly, ears twitching. "Lead the way, Hazelfoot."

The dusky she-cat blinked once before taking off. The cats followed along the border, taking a look into the Treecut Place and Tallpines. They circled around Snakerocks (Graystorm said it was too dangerous for them at this point; they would have to wait until later to explore) and sniffed around the Great Sycamore before coming to a stop in front of the Thunderpath.

Roaring filled his ears, and the ground shook as massive monsters propelled themselves past, emitting a horrid smell that caused their eyes to water and made them cough uncontrollably.

"This is the Thunderpath," Volepelt meowed, nodding her head towards the hot, sticky black ground. "And across it is ShadowClan's territory." Sunpaw, through a break in traffic, could see the darkness of the marshland across the way. A crawling sensation went up his spine, and he felt as if he was being watched, but he could see nothing but the cruel, wet ground and the charred path that came before it.

"I heard you could never, ever trust a ShadowClan cat," Emberpaw whispered. "They're cunning, sneaky, and have no sense of honor. They'll claw you the second your back is turned." His green eyes burned wickedly. "It's like they're a bunch of rogues, living in a dump like that. Why they even bother calling themselves a Clan-"

"Emberpaw," Graystorm said sharply, blue eyes blazing. "That's enough." At the commanding sound of his voice the apprentice jumped slightly, flattening his ears in embarrassment. The large gray tom turned his gaze on the other kits and meowed, "In a way, he's right. You can never trust a ShadowClan cat – nor can you trust a RiverClan cat, or even a WindClan cat. We may make our alliances some days, to keep the peace, but things can change in just a heartbeat. In the end, it is only our own Clan that we can trust."

Sunpaw blinked, and turned his green gaze across the Thunderpath.

An identical pair of eyes stared back at him.