(Finally figured out what I wanted for their territory. There are also a few references from Battles of the Clans since I finally got to read that book.)

Chapter 4

The gray tom glared at Firepaw and looked ready to attack the ginger tom. Longpaw stepped forward causing the gray tom to focus his attention to the brown tabby apprentice.

"Relax Stonetooth, this is Firepaw our newest apprentice. Goldenstar made him her apprentice at Sunhigh." Longpaw meowed giving Stonetooth a sharp look. A black she-cat stepped forward giving Firepaw a surprised look, while a white tom with black patches gave Firepaw a curious sniff. A light brown tabby tom, who had been slightly confused, quickly realized who the ginger tabby was.

"Oh I see, you're the cat that Goldenstar told me about" spoke a light brown tabby tom. Firepaw gave him a nod.

"I'm Owltalon its nice to meet you. This is Blackflower and Sootpelt." meowed the light brown tabby, pointing his tail at the black she-cat and the black and white tom.

"Its nice to meet you all" meowed Firepaw. Both cats gave Firepaw a nod and a greeting. Firepaw gave a wary glance at Stonetooth, who continued to glare at him. Firepaw thought for a moment that he had seen a flicker of fear in Stonetooth's eyes as the gray tom stared at him, however before he could think about it any further, Longpaw had begun to nudge Firepaw toward the fresh-kill pile. Longpaw quickly pulled out a robin and waited patiently for Firepaw to take a share of prey. After shaking away any lingering thoughts, Firepaw sniffed around the fresh-kill pile before pulling out a sparrow. He followed Longpaw over to the apprentice den, where Dovepaw and Runningpaw were sharing prey just outside the den. They both looked up from their meals at the two approaching apprentices. Runningpaw and Dovepaw made room for the two apprentices. Dovepaw purred softly before beckoning Firepaw over to lay beside her. Firepaw blinked gratefully at her and settled into the spot before he began to peel the feathers off his sparrow. He took a small bite of the sparrow purring softly at the taste of it.

"How do you like SkyClan so far Firepaw?" asked Dovepaw.

"Its great, I was surprised by how many cats live here." Firepaw answered after swallowing another bite of his sparrow. Firepaw looked around for a moment before noticing that Lightningpaw wasn't around.

"Where's Lightningpaw?" asked Firepaw.

"Oh Ashstorm called him to go on an evening patrol." meowed Runningpaw who had finished her meal and was currently grooming her soft silvery pelt. Firepaw looked around again realizing that Ashstorm wasn't in the clearing anymore.

"I see, How was your patrol Dovepaw?" asked Firepaw curiously. Dovepaw's eyes flickered at him with amusement.

"It was uneventful really, we just reinforced our scent marks along our borders" she sighed with a shrug. Longpaw licked his lips after finishing the last of his robin. He began to gather up the feathers. Firepaw watched him curiously.

"What are you doing Longpaw?" he asked.

"I'm moving the feathers, over to a pile near Fallowpelt's clearing where we store them to be used for bedding." Longpaw meowed before picking up a mouthful of feathers. Firepaw nodded at him and finished his final bite of sparrow before he also picked up the feathers following Longpaw to the clearing. As they approached Firepaw noticed a small scoop of earth in the ground with many different colors of feathers in it. Longpaw put half of his feather's in the hole. Firepaw did the same curious as to why they only put in half the feathers. Longpaw led Firepaw back to the apprentice den. Once they were inside the den Longpaw started to paw around some moss. Firepaw watched for a moment before he realized that Longpaw was making a nest for him and added his feathers into the nest along with Longpaw's feather's. He noticed that Longpaw had placed his nest right in between a nest with Dovepaw's scent on it and a nest that had Longpaw's on scent on it. Lightningpaw's nest was on the other side of Dovepaw's and Runningpaw's nest near Longpaw's nest. Runningpaw was currently curled up in her nest sleeping peacefully. Dovepaw had just settled down into her nest to sleep. Firepaw thanked Longpaw for preparing his nest and curled up and let sleep come to him.

Firepaw awoke to a paw jabbing him in the side. He opened his vibrant green eyes and glanced up at Longpaw who was standing over him. Longpaw jabbed him again for good measure.

"Wake up you lazy lump of fur before Goldenstar shreds your ears." Longpaw hissed into Firepaw's ear. Firepaw's eyes widened.

'The patrol with Goldenstar.' thought Firepaw as he quickly darted out of the den and raced toward the entrance. Longpaw watched him go with a look of amusement on his face.

The light from the sun was just beginning to rise. Firepaw sighed with relief that he made it to the entrance just before dawn. Goldenstar was approaching the entrance with an amused expression on her face. Firepaw realized with a slight bit of embarrassment that Goldenstar probably saw him running franticly from the apprentice den to entrance of the camp. He had been so focused on reaching the entrance that he hadn't noticed the medicine cat Fallowpelt had come up to him and dropped a pile of herbs at his feet. Firepaw looked at her with questioning eyes. Fallowpelt purred softly.

"They're traveling herbs they'll give you the energy to explore our full territory." Fallowpelt explained as she watched Firepaw make a curious sniff at the bundle of herbs.

"Um thanks…..I think" murmured Firepaw as he started to gulp down the bitter tasting herbs. He made a face as he swallowed the last gulp and Fallowpelt laughed softly before heading back to her den, giving a respectable nod to Goldenstar as she passed her. Goldenstar gave her a nod in return, before focusing her attention to Firepaw. Her amber eyes glowed with amusement.

"Good morning Firepaw" Goldenstar meowed briskly.

"Good morning Goldenstar" Firepaw meowed and dipped his head to Goldenstar. She purred softly before moving toward the tunnel. She stopped and looked over her shoulder beckoning him forward with her tail. Firepaw followed her moving quickly through the tunnel before emerging outside the camp. Goldenstar bounded down the hill with Firepaw right on her tail. When they reached the bottom, Goldenstar took off in the direction of the twolegplace. She weaved through trees and leaped over small boulders and bushes with a single leap. Firepaw stayed a tail length behind her weaving around the trees, rocks and bushes.

Goldenstar stopped at a grassy clearing where a large oak tree stood in the center. Goldenstar turn to Firepaw and pointed her tail at the clearing.

"This is where we practice battle training with our apprentices. I will be teaching you so techniques soon" Goldenstar meowed looking over the area. Firepaw wondered briefly why they would chose this place to train the apprentices with such a big tree in the center. He turned to ask Goldenstar but she was already moving further into the territory. In the same direction as before. They reached a large tree that had a hollow opening in the center of it. Goldenstar stopped a few tail lengths from the tree.

"This is Bat Hollow during newleaf and greenleaf this tree roosts many bats. They taste pretty good as a prey source but, we only catch them before dawn and at dusk when they return and leave the hollow respectively." Goldenstar meowed moving around the tree. Firepaw followed her and watched as she pointed her tail forward.

"If we keep traveling in that direction we will end up at the twolegplace and I'm sure you know what that looks like already." Goldenstar changed direction moving just as briskly as she had before, with Firepaw a tail length behind her.

They reached a small clearing where a large pointed boulder sat atop a flat stone forming a small shelter big enough for three or four cats to shelter under. The rock that acted as the roof, from the smooth point of the rock to the stone beneath it was at least a three tail lengths high and two fox lengths wide. The rock sloped down to about half a tail length off the ground. The rock beneath it was a few pawsteps high and just as wide as the roof. Goldenstar padded up onto the flat stone and in one single bound was staring down at Firepaw from the top of smooth pointed rock. Firepaw could tell that three or four more cats could stand on that rock without fear of falling off. Goldenstar beckoned him to stand with her, so Firepaw went around to the back where the jump was half a tail length high and climbed up and stood next to Goldenstar. As he looked around the forest from his place on the rock he felt powerful and energized like he could run through the whole forest. The sun shined down on his pelt making it look as though it was replaced by a blaze of fire. Goldenstar watched him with an affectionate look in her eyes.

"What we stand on is called the Sun Rock and I'm sure you can guess why." Firepaw nodded and took in the scents that surround the rock. He smelt the faint scent of his clanmates around the rock.

"Do our clanmates come here often?" he asked. Goldenstar nodded.

"Yes they do it's a nice place to warm up your pelt after a hunt or a short break during a patrol." she meowed. With that said she leaped down from the rock waiting patiently for Firepaw to follow. Firepaw hesitated staring down at her with a slight look of disappointment in his eyes. Goldenstar purred softly at him

"Come on Firepaw there will be other times to spend around the Sun Rock but it's time we continue our patrol" she soothed. Firepaw moved down the rock over to a side that was about two tail lengths off the ground and reluctantly jumped down and moved to his mentor's side. She ran her tail over his ears briefly before continuing in the direction they had been going before reaching the Sun Rock.

They hadn't gone far before they reached a sandy bank beside the river. They jumped down the slope and stood in the soft sand, which stretched a bit down river.

"This is the Sand Shore. It's another spot we like to rest and enjoy the waves of the sun and at certain times of the day, it becomes a great spot to catch birds. Unfortunately it's also a great spot for fishing according to RiverClan so we have fought with them for seasons over this land." Goldenstar mewled while moving to sit in the sandy bank.

'I can imagine why.' thought Firepaw as he sat down close to Goldenstar. The sound of the river and the warmth of the sun relaxed him. It was a nice calm place to rest and relax.

"Can you scent RiverClan?" she asked as she looked across the river. Firepaw rose to his paws and tasted the air letting the scents come to him. He could scent a starling close by as well as a swallow. He breathed in deeper until he caught the faint scent of cats coming from across the river. It didn't smell very good it had a lingering fishy odor.

"RiverClan eat fish right?" he asked. Goldenstar nodded.

"Yes it is their main source of prey; the river feeds and protects them. They are the only clan that actually enjoys swimming." A shudder went down Firepaw's back at the thought of swimming in the river.

"I did smell cats but the scent was stale." Firepaw meowed laying down on the sandy ground enjoying the gentle breeze that ruffled his pelt. Goldenstar gave him a soft nod before stretching and padding back toward the forest. Firepaw began to follow her when she stopped him.

"I think it's time for a break, I'll go get us some prey you just rest there." she mewled before moving off into the forest. Firepaw watched her go before settling back onto the sandy ground. Moments later Goldenstar appeared with a fat quail in her jaws. Firepaw moved to her and helped her pluck off the feathers. They shared the prey and rested in the sun for a bit. It was almost Sunhigh when they left.

Goldenstar changed direction again back into the forest in the opposite direction of the twolegplace, the river could be seen, in a distance, through the trees. They reached a stream with deep moving water. The water flowed from the river into the stream. Firepaw could see a log that was pushed up against two small boulders on each side. The log appeared to be submerged in the water with mud keeping in it firmly in place and formed a bridge two the other side. The water moved around the crevices formed by the two small boulders flowing steadily into the stream. From where they stood a bit further downstream, there were a some rocks that formed stepping stones across to the other side. Goldenstar ignored the stones save for the stone in the center and cleared the stream with two bounds. Firepaw jumped every other stone before reaching the other side to stand beside Goldenstar.

"This stream goes straight through our territory. It becomes narrower and shallower the further it goes down our territory until its narrow enough to cross in a single leap. If we had started going in this direction when we left camp it wouldn't have been long before we reached the creek." she mewled. She moved forward with Firepaw right behind her. There were less mossy rocks on this side of the stream and more bramble bushes and bracken that covered the ground. There were still plenty of trees and the scent of birds still hung in the air. They continued forward still keeping the river in sight.

Awhile after they had left the stream behind them, Firepaw froze and tasted the air. Goldenstar had stopped ahead of him and was doing the same. She beckoned Firepaw over to her and used her tail to point at log that was further up.

"You smelt it too?" she asked. Firepaw nodded

"What is it?" he asked breathing in the scent again.

"That scent came from a weasel. They generally eat mice and voles but they're not above eating some birds and bird eggs. They aren't very big, they have long bodies, a long thin furry tail, little ears and semi long muzzle with plenty of sharp teeth. Their fur is usually light brown or a reddish color. They aren't usually a problem if they see more than one cat they usually find somewhere to hide. But they can be a pest when it comes to hunting birds. If you see one feel free to chase it off, preferably out of our territory, but use caution they may not be very big but they give as good as they get." meowed Goldenstar. Firepaw glanced at the log before turning looking at Goldenstar.

"Do any live close by?" he asked.

"Well they don't tend stay in the same spot for long. I'm guessing the one we scented was probably staying in that log over there and has just left to go hunting. I think I'll send a patrol to find out where it went. If there is one there will be more and I won't stand for it taking all of our prey." she meowed. They moved away from the fallen log and further into the trees.

"This part of the forest wasn't always ours" meowed Goldenstar suddenly. Firepaw looked up in surprise.

"It wasn't?" he asked curiously. Goldenstar shook her head.

"Many seasons ago, before I was even born, Darkstar, a former leader of SkyClan, gave up this part of our territory to ThunderClan." Firepaw stared at her in disbelief.

"Why would he do such a thing?" he mewled.

"He did it because ThunderClan at the time had grown a lot and needed more territory to feed its growing Clan." She meowed

"Well it's not ThunderClan territory now so I assume that SkyClan got it back?" he asked. She purred softly at him.

"Yes it was seasons after Darkstar had long joined the ranks of StarClan, our ancient warrior ancestors that watch over us." she added after noticing Firepaw's confusion after she had mentioned StarClan. "A SkyClan leader named Cloudstar led us to a victory in which we reclaimed this territory. There have been battles over this part of our territory since but as of this moment it's our land."

They continued through the forest until they came to clearing where the scent of birds wasn't as strong. Firepaw quickly picked up the scent of SkyClan and some other cat scent lingering from the bushes and trees ahead of them.

"This is our border with ThunderClan." meowed Goldenstar moving closer to the bushes and adding fresher scent marks along the border. They continued along the border placing scent marks as they went. Goldenstar suddenly veered away from the border and raced back through the trees. When they reached the creek this time it was narrow enough for them to clear it with one leap. The moved in the opposite direction from the river until they reached what looked like a long black river of rock that smelt horrible.

"This is the Thunderpath monsters run along it and they tend to carry twolegs in their bellies. They never leave the Thunderpath so as long as you stay off the Thunderpath you'll be safe from them."

Just as Goldenstar finished talking, monsters roared pass them going down the Thunderpath. Firepaw shook a little after they were gone. Goldenstar touched her nose to his shoulder a moment to comfort him. She then led him back into the trees moving back toward the twolegplace. They continued on until they reached a small cave that carried the faint stale scent of badger.

"This is Badger Cave. It's called this because for many seasons badgers have come to live in it. The last badger that lived here died last leaf-bare, we come here frequently to see if one has moved in. Well I think it's time we head back to camp" she mewled. Firepaw nodded followed her back toward camp.

(Phew I'm going to stop it there. We'll probably look at some hunting lessons in the next chapter and maybe some battle training. )