Fawnpaw's Border Patrol

Shadeclaw poked his head in the Apprentices' den, looking around. Spotting the bundle of fur that was his apprentice, he maneuvered his way over to her and gave her a good, hard nudge with his paw. "Wake up, Fawnpaw. Time for training." He mewed, backing out of the den, careful not to wake the others. Today he'd take Fawnpaw around the territory, practicing checking the borders and maybe even getting to see a monster for herself so she knew how dangerous they were. Of course he'd make sure she didn't get hurt, he was just thinking of some things that could happen.

Feeling Shadeclaw try to prod her awake, Fawnpaw muttered in complaint, "Just a few more minutes..." Sighing, she knew that Shadeclaw would probably put her on some ridiculous duty, the apprentice clumsily got up. Wondering what they would be doing, Fawnpaw followed Shadeclaw sleepily, rubbing her eyes with one of her paws, before she saw the outside of camp. Well, she saw it when she headed to the Gathering, but it was huge right now, seeing that she was only half-awake. Then, the brown white she-cat asked, "What're we doing today Shadeclaw? Is it a border patrol?"

"Right. You'll need to know the territory before you try hunting in it, after all!" The tom replied, leading the way out of camp. "I hope you're awake, because the closest border is the border with Windclan and Thunderclan, also it's where we're going first. Do you know why you need to be awake when we get there?" Shadeclaw asked, rather energetic today. Maybe his energy would rub off a little on Fawnpaw so she could stop being so tired-looking.

"Sure..." Fawnpaw yawned. Not as enthusiastic as she was at her ceremony, the apprentice was awfully tired for some reason. Shrugging, the brown white she-cat tried to reason on why she had to be so awake for checking a border. Then she thought that perhaps he wanted her to be awake because... "I know! I need to be awake to stay alert just in case any of the other clans are awake and checking the border as well! Or perhaps one of them trespassed and crossed the border," Fawnpaw replied, suddenly more alert than expected. The thought of catching a trespasser made her feel more energetic and awake - after all, it would be so cool to do something like that.

Shadeclaw glanced at her, tilted his head a little, then laughed. "Well, yes, but not the answer I was looking for, exactly. Our border is marked by the Thunderpath, and that is a dangerous place. Even I got a little scared when a monster came roaring by when Sagestar brought me and the others here." He explained, sniffing the air. "Seems like we're almost there too." There was a roar in the direction they were heading, though from how loud it was, one may think it was much closer.

Fawnpaw's eyes quickly widened when Shadeclaw mentioned the monsters she had often heard in elders' tales. She always dismissed them as a myth that the elders used to scare kits, but since her mentor had chosen to tell her about them, the apprentice sighed. So they were true! Despite being excited, the she-cat quickly frowned, "Did I answer your answer correctly or not though? I'm curious to know." Hearing the roar of the monster, she felt some sort of shiver go down her spine. Those things seem very... dangerous, just like Shadeclaw said. Staying behind her mentor, Fawnpaw wondered how they were supposed to cross this "Thunderpath" without getting hit.

Shadeclaw glanced behind him, noticing her sort of 'hiding'. "Like I said, the Thunderpath marks the border. We won't be crossing unless we have some important business with the other clans." He reassured her. "And don't worry about the question. You're just over-thinking it. I meant yes, you were right about how you need to stay alert at the borders--Or anywhere in the territory really--but I was getting at the fact that you need to stay alert because otherwise the monsters will scare the fur off your pelt when they go by, 'cuz you won't be expecting the sudden loud noise, right? Bah, I'm just confusing you." He huffed in amusement, slowing down suddenly. "Well, we're here. Future warning: the path doesn't smell all that great, so try not to suddenly breath in a lot of air." The tom held out his tail to stop her from going any closer. Though Shadeclaw was probably the most 'carefree' tom in Shadowclan, he knew what was deadly and what was safe to go near. Monsters, for example, was one creature you didn't mess with.

Like I said, the Thunderpath marks the border. We won't be crossing unless we have some important business with the other clans. Hearing those words, the she-cat gave out a sigh of relief. Good, keep it that way. As she heard Shadeclaw try to explain that she was over-thinking the question and was trying to tell her something, surely did Fawnpaw get confused. By the time he ended his explanation, Fawnpaw flicked her ears in amusement, seeing that her mentor was quite 'carefree' compared to all those other toms in ShadowClan. She was quite glad to have a mentor like that, making it so that she would have a bit more freedom. As Shadeclaw slowed down, she nearly bumped into him, nearly, but was able to stop in time. As they were at the edge of the Thunderpath, Fawnpaw muttered in disgust, "This is ridiculous... And I thought RiverClan smelled bad!"

"Tell me about it." The tom huffed in agreement. He angled his ears towards the direct other side of the Thunderpath. "Over there is Thunderclan territory. Sometimes it seems they rather let a badger watch over their kits than us, the prickly lumps of fur." Shadeclaw meowed, then turned to the bit of territory Windclan bordered the Thundepath with. "Over there is Windclan. They don't like us so much either. But if you can, try to pick out their scent over the Thunderpath. Since Sagestar and Raccoonstar laid down those new borders in Skyclan's old territory, we may have some competition with them. Thunderclan too, since they wanted some of the territory for themselves in the first place."

Quite delighted to see that Shadeclaw agreed with her opinion, she continued along with him. Then again, any cat could think the same way about the Thunderpath and RiverClan's stench - they can be identical for all any cat thought! As she heard Shadeclaw lecture her again, Fawnpaw rolled her eyes. She was getting a bit tired of it, considering the fact that she feels like she keeps hearing the same things over and over again. Shaking that thought out of her head, the apprentice wondered how it would be if ThunderClan took over ShadowClan and WindClan. They can take over WindClan for all she cared, but they won't take ShadowClan without a fight - especially if Sagestar could stop them. Nodding, the she-cat couldn't help but ask, "Uhmm... You mention this SkyClan, but I don't recall them from anywhere besides elders' tales. What happened to them?"

Shadeclaw froze, glancing at her. "Erm....As far as I know, they died out until only the leader and her kit were left. But they both disappeared as far as anyone knows." He replied, looking back away. He didn't really like the stories about how basically everyone in Skyclan just suddenly began to die, so soon after the fight with the Deomilities as well, according to the older warriors. Could that happen to any clan? That's what worried him. Still, he preferred not to think about it too much. Shadowclan was his clan and the only clan that really mattered to him. Perhaps it was better if one of the other clans died out. Trying to leave the topic, Shadeclaw began to pad in a different direction, one he hadn't gone to yet, but was curious to see. He had to show Fawnpaw all of the territory anyways. "Alright, let's head to our new territory next!" The tom meowed.

Shrugging, Fawnpaw wasn't aware that he felt so uncomfortable about this subject. "Are you sure that the kits would just disappear? What if they were dropped off to another clan?" the apprentice mewed, following her mentor. She was still curious about this "SkyClan," though she remained quiet as she walked towards the new territory. The trees were so tall and covered the sky. She didn't mind it, but it was strange. How did cats co-op in this sort of condition?

Shadeclaw wished she would stop asking about it. There was only so much he knew, being a regular Shadowclan Warrior with no real reason to hear all the details. But her question actually interested him a little. "That's a good guess, though I don't think we'll be finding out any time soon. I doubt any of the clans would want the others to know that they took in a Skyclan survivor out of pity." He meowed, looking around as they entered the Sky-Shadow territory.

Nodding, Fawnpaw mumbled something under her breath before following her mentor towards the Sky-Shadow territory. The leaves under her paws and the tall trees above, rustling with the wind, making her feel awfully uncomfortable. Why did Sagestar want this worthless piece of territory anyway? It wasn't meant for any ShadowClan cat!

Shadeclaw glanced over, noticing she was just as uncomfortable as he was. "This may not be like the rest of our territory, but there's prey as long as we can catch it." He meowed, trying to be optimistic. He paused when they reached the border with Sky-Wind territory, sniffing the air. The scents were still fresh from earlier today, so he shouldn't need to remark them. Turning to Fawnpaw, he nodded. "This is the other border with Windclan, if you count the Thunderpath as one."