if you slip and fall; i will catch you

Emberheart woke slightly before dawn, poking her head into the apprentice's den and softly calling for her son. "Galepaw," she whispered, hoping it was just loud enough to wake him if he wasn't already. "It's time to start your training." She had faith that he would be a good warrior and do great things; as she'd had faith in all of her kits and apprentices. Faith was what got her through each passing day, she supposed; faith that they would be alright, faith that her kits would grow to be strong and safe, faith that someday she'd see the ones that couldn't once again in StarClan. But today was a day of celebration, not reflection, and she shook herself out of her thoughts to focus on her current task. To teach her son all that she knew, in hopes he'd be able to use that knowledge to keep himself and their Clan safe.

As most young apprentices were, Galepaw had found himself crammed into one of the outermost nests, the first line of defense against the cold for the older apprentices sleeping near the center. Galepaw would have only minded a little if he hadn’t been awake to experience the brunt of it, but… His head was full of what a brand-new ‘paw might learn on their first day. Maybe Emberheart would show him what the territory looked like! Or she’d teach him how to fight or hunt or recognize intruders’ scents! They were all equally exciting. How could anyone sleep at a time like this?

Fortunately, he did get some rest, but he was still awake some time before sunrise. At the sound of his mother’s—mentor’s—Emberheart’s voice, the tabby pushed himself to his paws and joined her at the den’s entrance. ”Finally,” he said, only just remembering to keep his voice low. ”Are we leaving camp?” Of all the things he’d been looking forward to, this was the most important. When it came down to it, Galepaw would be happy with any part of his training as long as it meant being outside.

"You're awake," Emberheart purred. "That's good, then." She wondered if he'd gotten any sleep at all, but she wasn't going to press at the moment: the first day of training was always exciting and usually a little nerve-wracking. She was fairly certain that constantly reminding him of how take care of himself - something she was sure he'd picked up by now - wouldn't serve to endear her to him as a mentor. "Yes, we're leaving camp today. I'm going to show you around the territory. So let's get going, shall we?"

As they stepped out of the camp, though, she turned to him with a purr. "Which border would you like to see first, Galepaw? There's the river, the Thunderpath, and the Fallen Oak; we're going to see all of them today but you can decide where we'll start." It was a slight amount of variation, a level of choice she felt comfortable working with regardless of her son's choice. "Then we'll go to each place and you can ask any questions you might have."

The desire to not make a scene and potentially get exiled to an even colder part of the den was all that kept Galepaw from cheering. His excitement instead manifested in a rare wave of fidgeting. For now, the thought of seeing ThunderClan, all of ThunderClan, was more than enough to keep him awake. Though he wasn’t sure he would tell Snowkit about this, he had to wonder how much of their territory she already knew.

Galepaw was silent as they padded through the camp, up until they reached the end of the prickly gorse tunnel. Then the forest opened before him. For a moment, he simply stared at the trees, unwilling to speak, unsure what he could even say. The sight was worth six moons of waiting. Possibly even seven. He didn’t have much time to look before Emberheart broke the silence; since he imagined he’d be in this forest for most of the day, he decided the interruption didn’t matter. Shifting from paw to paw, the tabby considered his options. The river and the Fallen Oak seemed self-explanatory; it was the second place Emberheart had named that intrigued him most. ”The Thunderpath,” he meowed. "Whose border is that?"

Emberheart flicked her tail in a direction before heading that way. "This way. And stay close," she added sharply, because she'd heard too many horror stories of the Thunderpath to be comfortable getting anywhere near it alone, let alone with another cat in her care. As they walked, she explained, "It's the border we share with ShadowClan. It smells awful and it's incredibly dangerous, since there are always monsters rushing by. ShadowClan's current leader is Scorchstar," she added, figuring that since it was her job to teach just about everything she knew she should make sure Galepaw had a decent understanding of what the other Clans were like. "Quite possibly the largest cat in the forest. Certainly one of them, anyway."

Pausing close enough that they could clearly see (and smell) the Thunderpath without getting anywhere near it, Emberheart looked to Galepaw once again, her face serious. "Now, Galepaw... I'm going to give you some advice, and I expect you to follow it. This place... It's dangerous. Cats have died at the paws of these monsters, you need to understand that." She sighed, putting on her best 'motherly lecture' voice. "I'm not mouse-brained, Galepaw. I don't expect you to follow the rules all the time, but I'm going to give you two of my own. The first is that you aren't to come anywhere near here if it's at all possible to avoid it, and the second is not to sneak out of camp by yourself. You're going to at some point, I'm sure, so if you're going to do it anyway then I expect you to be smart enough to stay safe while doing so. The best way to do that is to make sure you have someone with you in case something goes wrong."

Though apprehension reared its head at how suddenly Emberheart’s tone had changed, curiosity was stronger. Galepaw obeyed her command, albeit reluctantly; his enthusiasm returned as Emberheart described their destination. At the last bit of trivia, he frowned. He’d always thought Leopardstar was the biggest cat in the forest; if not him, then Marshstorm (standing on the Highrock did wonders for a cat's height), or one of the many other ThunderClan warriors Galepaw had seen but never learned the names of. It seemed wrong for a ShadowClan cat to hold that title. Maybe that was why they’d made Scorchstar leader. He opened his mouth to ask the most pressing question: ”Will we see any—“

Suddenly, they had reached their first stop. They stood a significant distance from the swath of black cutting through the grass—apparently not significant enough to dilute the smell. It was as awful as mouse bile in a very different way. That didn’t quite kill Galepaw’s interest, but it convinced him to stay at his mother’s side for the moment. ”Monsters,” he finished, dark eyes round with combined fear and awe. Though it was undoubtedly part of ThunderClan, sharing the scent of his Clanmates (and something underneath, thick and muddy), it looked nothing like the bright foliage he was used to.

Emberheart addressed him, her voice more serious than it had been when she’d spoken of ShadowClan, and Galepaw tore his gaze from the Thunderpath. He’d been on the receiving end of lectures before, but this… Cats had died here? While his ears remained at attention, the tabby glanced over his shoulder again; aside from the stench and the warning of monsters, the Thunderpath seemed harmless. He decided he wasn't in any hurry to test that assumption. Maybe someday, when his training was almost finished. At least Emberheart wasn't expecting him to run for a warrior every time he wanted to leave camp. Never one to make promises he planned on breaking, he simply meowed, ”I’ll make sure someone’s with me,” and hoped that was enough. Once it was clear the lecture had finished, Galepaw turned back toward the Thunderpath. "Did you ever come here by yourself?"

As Galepaw asked if she'd ever been here on her own, Emberheart supposed it was a fair question. "Well, yes, a few times. But never when I was your age," she added. "By the time I came here alone I'd already been a warrior for some time. Sometimes I'd just wander the territory, and now and then my paws would bring me to one of the borders. But I try to avoid coming here alone if I can. In fact, I think we'd best be moving on... Before we go, though, there's one Clan we don't share a border with, so let's talk about them a little bit. It's important to know the basics of every Clan, not just ThunderClan; whether they're your enemies or allies." It was a rare piece of tactical advice mixed in with her basic explanations, but it was also something she viewed as important to know and understand. "That Clan is WindClan, our friends and allies. They have helped us before in times of need, and should the need arise we do the same for them. They have a new leader, Finchstar, after the flood... I don't know very much about him, but he and Leopardstar have chosen to continue our alliance. That said, I'll leave the choice of where we go next to you: the Fallen Oak, or the river?"

Whether it was intentional or not, Emberheart seemed determined to block any excuse he might have to return to the Thunderpath. Finding someone to come back here with him could take until warriorhood, anyway. Galepaw fleetingly wondered if Graypaw would be a good candidate, but quickly put that idea aside for later as the topic turned to WindClan. His world had only recently grown to cover the whole of ThunderClan itself, yet Clan relations struck him as interesting. ”Isn’t it hard to be allies if they’re across the forest?” To Galepaw, “across the forest” was an insurmountable distance.

As Emberheart presented his remaining two options again, the tabby apprentice hummed in thought. They both sounded less dangerous than the Thunderpath; maybe he’d be allowed to get closer to them, even without Graypaw (or whatever other unfortunate denmates he managed to drag along). ”The Fallen Oak,” he meowed with a sharp nod.

"If anything, it makes things easier," Emberheart explained. "There are less territory disputes when your territory doesn't overlap, and generally fewer conflicts of interest. We're rarely fighting over anything, so it makes an alliance easier to maintain."

Once he'd answered her question of where to go next, she nodded, and set off in the direction of the SkyClan border. "The Fallen Oak marks the border between ThunderClan and SkyClan. Their leader is Tinystar, who is... Well, true to his name. Please, Galepaw, don't ask why there's a 'stubby little apprentice' on the Great Rock when you attend a Gathering. I'm asking you as your mentor, as your mother, and as your Clanmate."

That said, she continued her lesson. "Now... SkyClan cats live in the forest, like we do - rather than ShadowClan's marsh or WindClan's moor - but they're skilled climbers and spend more time in the trees than the rest of us. Admittedly, I'm also rather fond of them-- treetop hunting is a useful skill, and one I'd be happy to teach you if you wanted to learn. Climbing is what they're best at, but they don't have a monopoly on the skill. Likewise, if you wanted to be fast or stealthy or learn to swim, I wouldn't discourage you. Regardless, the most noteworthy thing about SkyClan of late - besides their climbing skills - is simply their leader's size; there isn't much else to discuss. Still, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask."

With his questions answered, mentor and apprentice set off for the Fallen Oak. Galepaw trotted along dutifully, both glad and disappointed to put the Thunderpath at his back. All this walking was beginning to wear him out—but they had two more stops, and he wasn’t going to miss out on those even if it meant walking until his paws fell off. He paused to give himself a rousing shake, then hurried forward to keep pace with Emberheart. Her next lesson was starting.

During his nursery days, he had learned that some rules were made specifically to prevent certain incidents from repeating. This sounded an awful lot like one of them, and he desperately needed to know why. ”Okay, okay, I won’t.” Galepaw rushed through the promise to get to what mattered: ”Did that really happen?” Privately, he doubted Tinystar could be that short. From what Galepaw had heard, the Great Rock was just that—a great big hunk of rock. In his imagination, it was as tall as the clouds, or at least tall enough that anyone standing on it could touch the clouds. Could an apprentice-sized cat even climb up there? Then again, Tinystar’s name had to come from somewhere.

If Galepaw wanted to catch squirrels, he’d have to learn how to hunt in trees. That was reason enough to take interest in SkyClan. He thought for a moment. ”I want to learn everything.” “Everything” was a lot to take in during one training session, though, so he adjusted his answer. ”Stealth first. That’s like…ShadowClan, right?”

"It really happened," Emberheart confirmed. "I was there... And, admittedly, I did laugh when it happened. It caught us all off-guard. I think the apprentice that said it must have been fairly new, but ever since I've been trying to make sure it doesn't happen again; at least, not with any of my apprentices. It was... Oh, it must have been a RiverClan apprentice; if I'm remembering correctly then I recognized the cat that shouted at her as a RiverClan warrior. All I ask you to do at Gatherings is use common sense."

"While wanting to know everything is an admirable goal... I can't always assist you. There are things I don't know, or that I'm not skilled enough at to teach." While she could see the benefits of running and swimming, they weren't things that came easily to her, and swimming was something she associated a little too much with RiverClan to personally learn - there wasn't enough practical use for it. "Stealth, however... It's associated most with ShadowClan, yes... But it's also not an uncommon skill for ThunderClan cats. We have the undergrowth to work with, after all. And, as I said, climbing and hunting in the trees is something I know well. As far as swimming or running, though, if they interest you then you'll need to find a cat who can teach you those things."

As they spoke, she led the way toward the river. "The last Clan we have to learn about today is RiverClan, across the river. They know how to swim and hunt for fish in the water. Their leader at present is Jaystar. ...I hesitate to call them our enemies, but it's important to understand that RiverClan and ThunderClan have a long history," she explained as they reached the water. "Sunningrocks... See them, over there," she gestured with her tail to the piled stones. "They're on our side of the river, right? But they're RiverClan's territory, and have been for as long as I've been a ThunderClan cat." Honestly, Emberheart didn't really like being even this close to Sunningrocks. Too much had happened there, it had been tied up in so many emotions... But the history of it was what made it so important, and she had to pass these things on to her apprentice. "We tried to take it back once, toward the end of my own apprenticeship."

”Common sense. I can do that.” As Emberheart explained that she couldn’t actually help him learn everything, Galepaw settled, giving a somewhat less enthusiastic flick of his ear. He wasn’t sure why—whether it was the “mother” or “mentor” part that changed it—but the idea of having some other warrior tell him what to do rubbed him the wrong way. What if he had to ask someone from another Clan? ”Those can happen later,” he decided. ”I want to be good at ThunderClan things first.”

Once they arrived at the river, Galepaw hurried forward to the edge of the bank, eyes widening at the sight of scales flashing below the water’s surface—fish scattering under a predator’s shadow. He continued to stare, half-listening to Emberheart’s lecture until she mentioned Sunningrocks. The pile of stones was easy to see…and, sure enough, it was on ThunderClan’s part of the shore. ThunderClan’s territory. Yet Sunningrocks had never been ThunderClan’s in Emberheart’s lifetime, which, to Galepaw, was an unimaginable amount of time. It wasn’t fair; had Emberheart not been present, he might have said as much.

Battle stories—serious battle stories—weren’t often told in the nursery, but Galepaw knew well enough how territory usually changed paws. ”…We didn’t win, did we.” Quietly retreating from the river, he returned to Emberheart’s side. ”Were you there?”

"I was," Emberheart nodded. "It was the sort of battle elders tell stories about, though we did lose in the end. It was leaf-bare, we needed the hunting grounds, and Blizzardshine - the leader before Leopardstar and the cat who gave a chance to prove myself as a ThunderClan cat... She led she assault against the RiverClan leader at the time, Ivystar. She tried to talk them down at first, to find a peaceful solution, but it didn't work... So we fought." The memory felt like it took place only yesterday; standing before an uncertain future and choosing to fight for this Clan until her last breath, this place she had chosen to be her home, the one she would gladly fight to remain a part of. "I did my best, and I know I took down more than one warrior - was it two or three, I can't remember - but it was devastating. During the battle, an apprentice was killed, and after it was over they took our medicine cat and one of our warriors as hostages... They did eventually allow them to return, but even now I can't think of a single way to justify it."

There was a lingering bitterness in her tone at the memory of the RiverClan leader, one that had faded but not quite vanished with time, but the story wasn't necessarily over yet. Thinking about the battle only seemed to surface more memories. In the end, though, it was her lingering bitterness toward Sunningrocks even now being RiverClan territory that won out over the other, sadder stories. "Truthfully, I've never seen the point of it remaining RiverClan's territory when it's so clearly on our side of the river. If the river itself is a border, then how does that make any sense? Or are they going to claim they own that, too? Are we not allowed to drink the water?" However, she wasn't entirely sure they could take Sunningrocks back even now, and she was even less sure that Leopardstar would consider the idea - after all, he'd been there last time, too. "...Oh, I'm sorry, Galepaw. I suppose I got a little carried away."