Cherries and Hickory Trees

After Moonlight had reached warriorhood, Cherryblossom hadn't expected to get another apprentice so soon, but she'd been pleasantly surprised when Nettlefire had chosen her to mentor Hickorypaw. Now, it was time for training to begin, and the little tabby pushed her way out of the warriors den, taking a moment to stretch before making her way over to the apprentice's den and sticking her head inside. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, she could pick out Vixenpaw's glossy pelt as her sister snoozed away, and Cherryblossom wondered to herself if Vixenpaw would ever prove herself as worthy of being a warrior.

She shook her head to dispel the thoughts, as she wasn't there to wonder about her sister, and her gaze settled on the dark ginger and white pelt of Hickorypaw. With a smile, she called out gently,
"Hickorypaw, wake up! It's time for training."

She backed out of the den to give the apprentice room and time to wake up, and the tan tabby took the time to giver her own pelt a quick once-over grooming as she waited.

The apprentice's ear flicked subconsciously as her name was called and she took a moment to rouse herself from sleep, jaws parting in a wide yawn. Hickorypaw stretched out leisurely, claws unsheathing as she flexed her paws. "Mm...be right out, Cherryblossom," she mumbled, taking a few moments to lick her pelt smooth and wake herself up a little more before she padded out of the den to join her mentor.

Hickorypaw smiled at Cherryblossom, quietly noting how the early-morning sun reflected off the pretty she-cat's fur. She waved her tail in greeting, mewing, "Good morning...! What're we gonna do today?"

As Cherryblossom finished up with her quick groom, Hickorypaw pushed her way out of the den and joined the little tabby in the clearing, mewing a greeting as she approached. She returned the tail wave and stood as the apprentice approached, returning the verbal greeting with,
"Good morning! I figured that I'd show you the borders, and when we were done with that, we could start with some hunting practice."

With that, she turned and led the way out of camp and into the forest, gesturing for Hickorypaw to follow with a smile and a flick of her tail.

"Sounds good to me!" she chirped, trotting after Cherryblossom with an eager smile of her own. She was excited to learn more about the territory and even more excited to test out her skills. She had only ever used her claws for scratching things into the dirt and maybe to bat at her siblings when they were being annoying, never to actually hunt something. It would be great if she managed to catch something her first go-around. Hickorypaw grinned to herself at the thought, tail waving happily behind her.

As soon as Cherryblossom was sure that Hickorypaw was following her, the little tabby turned and began leading the way towards Snakerocks, weaving her way through the undergrowth. She slowed as the rocks began to show through the trees, and stopped a few fox-lengths away from it. She thought she could see the movement of scales in one of the cracks, but she couldn't have been sure.
"This is Snakerocks. It is named as such because of the adders that make their homes in the cracks and crevasses of the rocks here. There are useful herbs that the medicine cats gather from here, but it's generally a good idea to stay away from the rocks. Adders love to bask in the warmth, and since it's been so hot lately, I'm sure they're up and about. They're are very deadly, and their bite even more so. They tend to not stray from the rocks though, so if you stay a good distance away you should be okay."

Hickorypaw stopped when Cherryblossom did, staring intently at the rocks before her. She was quiet for a moment after her mentor finished explaining, taking in the sights and sounds and committing them to memory. Adders...They sounded scary and very dangerous. One thing tickled her mind, however, a burning question she just had to ask. "Cherryblossom," she mewed quietly, turning to stare at the blond molly now. "Didn't Oakstar lose a life to an adder? It was in his den, right? Mom and Dad told me about it. Why do you think it crawled all that way to camp?"

The question that left Hickorypaw's mouth had caught Cherryblossom off guard, and the little tabby's brows furrowed as she searched for an answer to the second half of the question. She flicked her tail and began a bit hesitantly,
"Yes, he lost a life to an adder in his nest a few moons ago, and honestly, I'm not sure why or how it managed to get into his nest at all." Though it seems almost too strange for it to have just been there by chance...

Gesturing with her tail for Hickorypaw to follow, Cherryblossom turned to leave and continue on their path around the borders.
"Let's go, we can talk more as we walk."

Hickorypaw hummed a little in thought at Cherryblossom's answer, trotting to keep up with the warrior as they changed paths and maneuvered around the border. "That is weird... I hope it doesn't happen again, in any case. That's scary. Sooo...where are we going now?" She turned her head to look over at her mentor, green eyes bright with curiosity. Surely she would know in a few moments once they got there, but she wanted to be prepared anyway.

As she led the way towards the SkyClan border, Cherryblossom nodded and murmured,
"I hope so too."

Their path evened out as it went parallel with the border, and with the new landmark, she began to speak once more.
"This is the SkyClan border. SkyClan are like us in the sense that they share the same type of territory as us, but instead of keeping their paws on the ground, they utilize the treetops and have made it a large part of their lifestyle. They're a bit more... strict about bloodlines and outsiders, and tend to keep to themselves more often than not."

SkyClan, huh? She had heard some things about SkyClan...Hopefully she would be able to see for herself how they were, because it seemed rude to judge them without having met any of them. Hickorypaw nodded along to Cherryblossom's words, quietly taking in the scent of the SkyClan border with a parted mouth so she could remember it for later. "Using the trees sounds like fun...I kinda wish I could climb a tree like that. Don't you?"

At Hickorypaw's question, Cherryblossom looked up to the treetops and flexed her extra-toed front paws, toying with the idea of running along the treetops the way that SkyClanners did. She had to admit that the idea was interesting, and knew that with her build, it would be pretty easy for her. With a nod, she turned back to the apprentice and responded,
"Yeah, I do think about it sometimes, and I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to learn, especially with how small I am."

In no time, the scent of Snakerocks and SkyClan had faded behind the pair as the acrid stench of the Thunderpath grew ahead of them, soon overwhelming all other scents in the area. Cherryblossom stopped a few fox-lengths away from the tarry black surface, and began to explain.
"This is the Thunderpath. On its own, it's not dangerous, but what makes it dangerous are the monsters that travel on it. The monsters carry twolegs in their bellies, and only StarClan knows why, but they typically keep to the path. They only really pose a threat if you're too close to the path itself."

Casting her gaze to the marsh beyond the Thunderpath, she began to speak again.
"ShadowClan lives beyond the path here, in the marsh beyond. Their defining feature is that they carry out their lives under the cover of night, while the other four Clans do their duties during the daytime."

Hickorypaw nodded, smiling at the thought of Cherryblossom leaping from tree to tree like some kind of squirrel-cat. Soon the pair made it to the dangerous black path that stretched across several fox-lengths. The smell alone was enough to make the apprentice's nose wrinkle and her whiskers twitch. She stopped next to her mentor, staring at the path with cautious interest. Monsters, huh? she mused, watching the path intently. "Have you ever seen a monster, Cherryblossom? What do they look like?"

The pale warrior went on to describe ShadowClan, and Hickorypaw did feel like she could detect a slight scent from beneath the acrid scent of the Thunderpath. "They do things at night? That's weird, don't a lot of predators come out at night?" Her gaze trailed up to stare out at the marshes beyond the path as well, her tail flicking with curiosity.

With a smile, Cherryblossom opened her mouth to answer Hickorypaw's questions, when a low rumbling cut her off. The sound got louder as time went on, and a large blue monster raced past, kicking up a smelly wind that pulled branches and plants for a few moments.
"That's a monster."

She took a moment for the shock to wear off, and began to pad parallel to the Thunderpath, but far enough away to remain in the treeline, gesturing for Hickorypaw to follow.
"I would think so, but I guess they've got things figured out for themselves."

The border led the pair towards Fourtrees, and soon, the four proud oaks stood tall before them, the path up towards the moor showing itself.
"This is Fourtrees, where the five Clans meet every full moon for a night of truce. WindClan lives on the moor beyond the ridge, and they are the fastest and leanest of all the five Clans, since they make their entire diet out of the rabbits and hares that populate their territory."