First Patrol (Open)

Spotpaw sniffed the air outside of camp. Even though she was only a few paw steps away from camp Spotpaw couldn't help but feel excited. It was her first time out of camp. While the other kits often tried to sneak out as a kit Spotpaw knew that she would have to wait until she became an apprentice. She didn't even dare to go within a mouse length near the camp entrance. Now here Spotpaw was. The legal age to go out of camp. Spotpaw glanced towards the entrance. Despite Spotpaw's excitement she had to wait for Goldangale, her mentor. But Spotpaw was willing to wait seasons for her mentor. Spotpaw didn't want to get lost after being an apprentice for so little time.

Just the day before, Goldengale had received her second apprentice, shortly after Crowpaw had been given to her first mentor. The morning was filled with excitement, while this was her second apprentice, it was her first that she had to teach completely. Shaking her pelt out, she made her way outside of the camp, noticing Spotpaw already patiently waiting. A warm smile formed on the she-cat's face as she approached, her apprentice was punctual and took heed to the rules, things would go smoothly for certain.

"Good morning, Spotpaw! Are you ready for your first day out of camp? What would you like to do first? We can explore the territory, or we can stay close to camp and I can teach you how to hunt, if you'd like."

Spotpaw wanted to say all of them but she knew she could only say one. "If I get to know the territory than I'll know where to go to hunt." Spotpaw said senisbly. It made more sense to explore the territory first.

Goldengale nodded, purring as she responded. "That's a very excellent observation, and a smart one at that. So then, would you like to explore the Gorge, or the Thunderpath?" One would take the towards RiverClan, the other towards ShadowClan. Many moons ago, she had chosen the Thunderpath, just as her brother had explored the Gorge first. What path would this young cat choose?

Spotpaw had heard of the Thunderpath. How it took many cats lives. "The gorge." Spotpaw mewed quickly. At least there were no monsters in the Gorge. At least thats what Spotpaw hoped.

Nodding, Goldengale smiled and turned to face the direction of the gorge. "Alright! The gorge is this way." She purred, setting a steady pace as they made their way over the moors. "The gorge marks the border between RiverClan and WindClan, and the previous leader of RiverClan made the area around the gorge neutral. However, we will still have to be on our guard." Not much time passed before the rushing sound of water could start to be heard, so Goldengale slowed her pace further, moving at only a leisurely walk. "The gorge isn't just dangerous because of the other clan cats. It's called the gorge for a reason, it's as if a huge StarClan cat reached down and moved it's claw through the land, and water runs swiftly through the bottom of it. You can look, but don't get too close, okay?"

Spotpaw nodded giving a quick glance at it. Why was Windclan territory so dangerous? Spotpaw's pelt pricked up with fear but she tried to hide it.

The sound of rushing water grew in volume, surrounding the two cats. The scar left on the ground from the unknown claw widened in front of them, and Goldengale motioned for the apprentice to come to a stop. Gesturing towards the ravine with her tail, she nodded to the far side, raising her voice to be heard. "Over there is RiverClan territory. Can you smell it?"

Spotpaw raised her nose. Imeaditly she smelled a weird scent. It must be Riverclan. "Yeah I smell it!" Spotpaw mewed.

Purring, Goldengale nodded. "Perfect! If you want to know more about RiverClan, I'm sure you could talk to Raventail or Dappleshine. They'll know more than I could ever tell you about that clan. Just be aware when you're patrolling the borders, since meeting at the borders is the main time the clans see each other outside of Gatherings. Speaking of, let's head towards Fourtrees, shall we? Afterwards we'll make our way to the Thunderpath, then back to camp to rest until tomorrow. How does that sound?"

Spotpaw nodded her head happily.

Their paws quickly carried them away from the gorge towards the grouping of trees that marked Fourtrees. Stopping at the slope that led down to the clearing, Goldengale smiled. "Here it is! Every full moon, all of the clans meet here under a truce to exchange news and information. You may speak to whoever you want, but always remember the truce, and don't reveal any of WindClan's secrets."

Spotpaw nodded. She knew that she'll come here very soon. Spotpaw gave it a quick scent and was filled with over whelming scents.'Wow there sure are a lot of cats.' Spotpaw thought.

Her newest apprentice remained silent, a nod of the head her only acknowledgement as they continued past Fourtrees. Recalling her first day out of camp, Goldengale knew that the young apprentice would be getting tired, so without delay she led the way to the Thunderpath. Stopping on a hill that overlooked the winding stony path from a distance, she gestured towards it with her tail. "This is the Thunderpath. You are never to set a paw on it, unless you are traveling to the Moonstone with Aspenheart or Mistystripe." A dark green, shiny monster came meandering down the Thunderpath, it's roar still able to be heard faintly. "That is a monster. They can travel very fast, and if you get under the paws of one..." Goldengale shuddered at the thought. "Don't get caught under one of it's paws, okay?"

Spotpaw nodded and watched as a green monster rolled down below the hill. Spotpaw quickly looked up at Goldengale. "Why is Windclan territory so dangerous?" Asked Spotpaw looking up at her mentor.