Red Flames and Gray Ashes (closed)

Redwolf was still getting used to the idea that she was now a mentor, so soon after her own warrior ceremony. However, she couldn't deny the feeling of affection that was already growing towards her apprentice, and she knew that she'd always be close to Ashpaw, in a way. She pushed her way out of the warriors den, catching the last rays of the sun as it set below the horizon, before padding over to the apprentice's den and sticking her head in. She quickly caught sight of the gray mound of fur that was Ashpaw, and called over to her, "Wake up, Ashpaw! It's time for training."

She backed out, and sat down a little ways away from the entrance, and began cleaning her pelt, smoothing out any clumps that were sticking up, and removing any clumps of moss that had stuck to her fur from her nest.

Ashpaw blinked her eyes open sleepily when she heard someone calling her name. Training? Wha? Oh, right. I'm an apprentice now. She quickly scrambled up from her nest and shook scraps of moss from her pelt before padding out to meet her mentor, Redwolf. "Hi," she mewed cheerfully. "What are we doing today?"

A small smile crossed Redwolf's face as Ashpaw approached, and she stood as her apprentice stopped beside her, asking about the day's activities.She turned and began to walk towards the camp entrance, beckoning for Ashpaw to follow with her tail.
"I figured I'd show you around the territory, then I could show you how to hunt once we're done with the borders."

Redwolf led Ashpaw into the marsh, heading towards the Carrionplace. The silver-link barrier soon came into view, the heaps of garbage and crow-food lying beyond it. She stopped several fox-lengths from the barrier, and turned to Ashpaw.
"This is the Carrionplace. It's where twolegs dump stuff they don't want. It's a foul place, and rats live there in swarms. We don't like to mess with it, and we only go there unless we absolutely have to."

Ashpaw followed her mentor silently, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. Carrionplace. "Carrionplace," she said out loud, testing the word on her tongue. "It... stinks. Like, yuck." she wrinkled her nose. "Twolegs are weird," she added. "Why can't they leave their trash in their own territory?" she complained, a bit of a whine in her voice.

"Where's your favorite part of ShadowClan territory?" she questioned Redwolf while watching the giant black bags of foul-smelling stuff.

Redwolf flicked her tail as she scrunched up her nose, the foul smell getting overbearing.
"Honestly. Twolegs are weird. Who knows why they do what they do, as long as they leave us alone."

She turned and gestured for Ashpaw to follow, padding away from the onslaught of foul scent. She took the quickest route to the Thunderpath, the Carrionplace stench getting replaced by the less offensive smell of the tarry black surface. When the pair approached it, she once again stopped a few fox-lengths away.
"This is the Thunderpath. Twolegs are once again, weird, and use it to travel on in big monsters. Who knows where it goes, but they usually leave us alone. As long as you stay back, and take care while crossing, you should be fine. The other four Clans live across it, though the two that directly share borders are ThunderClan and WindClan."

Redwolf sat down, watching a bright blue monster roar by, kicking up a strong wind. She waited for the wind to die down before speaking again.
"ThunderClan and SkyClan live that way, and while they share the same forest, they live very differently. SkyClan thinks they're part bird or squirrel or something," she rolls her eyes for emphasis, "and they spend a lot of time climbing trees. Not to mention they act like StarClan shines out of their rears because they're pure-blooded. While they share the same forest, ThunderClan actually keeps their paws on the ground. They have no real defining feature, though I wonder how they can actually catch any prey, considering how the forest and it's undergrowth is so dense. They always come into Gatherings with nearly the whole forest on their pelts. Sometimes I wonder if they ever clean themselves."

She drew a paw over her ear as she paused.
"WindClan lives on the moors, and how they get by with no trees or undergrowth at all absolutely baffles me. I mean, it's no wonder they're so lean. They have to work extra hard to catch their wind-blown rabbits. Snark aside, they're really fast to make up for the lack of ground cover. As for RiverClan, they must think they're part fish. I've heard the phrase 'you are what you eat', but RiverClan takes it to the next level. They're the only Clan that willingly swims, and they make most, if not all, of their diet out of fish."

Another monster passed by, bright green this time, and Redwolf stood, one last quip on her tongue.
"The strangest thing about them is they all conduct their business in the day. We're the only Clan that operates under the cover of night."

Ashpaw followed her mentor away from the unbearable stench of Carrionplace to the Thunderpath, which she could barely smell after Carrionplace. She listened attentively while Redwolf introduced the other four clans to her. They seemed as weird as twolegs. One clan believes they can fly, another doesn't know what hygiene means. Add in a group of fish, and a final clan of rabbits, and you've got the other clans perfectly described. "It's way easier to do stuff at night," she agreed.