On the Edge Freedom

At the mention of exploring, Clearpaw followed Sunpaw immediately out of the tree they had been perched in, back onto solid ground. "Yes, lets explore!" He mewed happily, "How about we go to Sunningrocks? I want to see the river again, I barely got to look at it before I came to the clan. Or we could go see Snakerocks, I've never seen a snake before, I heard they're funny looking though."

"Let's go to Sunningrocks first. I wanna try out my fighting style on some Riverclan furbags!" Sunpaw aimed a fierce swipe at a leaf, leaping around it.

Hawkpaw climbed down the tree, "Or Fourtrees! We could climb on the Great Rock!" He purred, "I bet the view is amazing from up there." The tom swiped at a pile of leaves, sending them up in the air. The brown leaves rained back down around them.

Clearpaw certainly liked the idea of going to Sunningrocks and seeing the river, but the idea of sitting atop the Great Rock certainly sounded appealing... He had never seen it. Was it taller than the Highrock? Taller than the tree they had just been in? Would they be able to see other clan territories from there? "Okay, how about we go to Fourtrees first, then Sunningrocks on our way back?" He suggested.

The she-cat nodded. "Good plan," She purred.

Excited, Clearpaw began walking towards Fourtrees, checking to make sure both of his new friends were following before falling into step beside Sunpaw. "So have you done a lot of battle training?" He asked curiously, "Do you really think you could beat RiverClan cats?"

The she-cat looked down.
"Well... I haven't actually been training yet..." She said, abashed. "But I could still beat those fluffy Riverclan warriors, easy!" She crowed.

Clearpaw purred--if Sunpaw was confident in her ability to fight, then he was, as well! "I bet you could." He agreed; having been born as a loner, he didn't entirely understand clan rivalries yet, but he was doing his very best to be a loyal ThunderClan cat, and he had learned that this meant not being too friendly with cats from other clans. Unlike him, Sunpaw didn't seem to struggle in the least to be motivated to fight the other clans, so he wondered if he could learn from watching her. "So how come you don't like RiverClan?" He mewed curiously, "I heard they stole Sunningrocks, but no one told me about the battle or anything."

"There's been more than one battle. It started when Sunningrocks was in the river, and only the swimming cats could reach them." The small apprentice began. "But then the river changed it's path and Sunningrocks became part of the dry land on Thunderclan's side of the river. It should be part of Thunderclan's territory, but Riverclan thinks it's still theirs." Sunpaw finished. "But Thunderclan and Riverclan haven't really ever been on the best terms. We fight over prey and territory all the time."

Clearpaw nodded slowly--he could see how RiverClan would think Sunningrocks ought to still be theirs, if it was theirs in the beginning. Still, it didn't seem practical for them to have such a tiny piece of territory on ThunderClan's side of the river; it would probably save a lot of grief for them to just let it go. He imagined that a lot of the tension between RiverClan and ThunderClan stemmed from this issue, and he was glad to have a bit more insight into the conflict. It didn't make him want to fight anyone, but still. "Well, now I really want to see it!" He mewed, "Have you ever tried swimming in the river? I wonder if it's hard. Lets go there first, instead! Lead the way, I don't know how to get there..." After all, Clearpaw had no idea where they were, having raced out of camp without paying any attention to where he was headed, or where he had been.

"What's so great about a pile of rocks anyway? RiverClan can use it when their river ices over, we've got the whole forest to hunt in." He dismissed Sunningrocks, it seemed to be another example of clans blinded by pride about things. Greedy little things. The bushy apprentice flicked his tail. "I've never seen a river before either, why don't we check it out? As long as we don't swim to their side we should be fine, right?"

Sorry for being inactive marching band is punching me in the face right now))

The she-cat nodded. "I don't know how to get there though... Hawkpaw, do you know the way?"

Clearpaw pricked his ears, listening for the sound of the river. Even if Hawkpaw wasn't impressed with Sunningrocks, Clearpaw was excited to see it, after all. He picked of the faint sound of running water, and turned his pawsteps towards the sound. "I think I can hear the river." He mewed cheerfully; he picked up speed, and ran the rest of the way, skidding to a halt along the shore of the river. He glanced to the right, and could see grey rocks in the distance, smooth and warm-looking in the sun. He stuck his paw out, dipping it in the water, then mewed in surprise as he pulled it back--it was freezing! Still, he wanted to try swimming, despite the cold, if his friends still wanted to.