u(p) and at 'em

[Aspenfang]

(Alright, so I want you to please keep your post count to a 20-word-minimum! Consider part of you "training" :> I also have two other apprentices, Thunderpaw and Jaguarpaw, and if you're interested in having a dual-training thread with one of them just PM them and have one of you clear it with me. If you have any other questions feel free to ask me, I'm all ears <3)

Aspenfang sat next to the camp entrance, where she had told Spiderpaw to meet her at the apprentice's ceremony the other day. The sun was just about to reach the center of the sky, the russet tabby had nearly burned her eyeballs from glancing up at it so often. She should be here any moment now...

[Spiderpaw]

Spiderpaw grumbled. Why did she have to wake up this early, training could wait a bit. The tabby climbed out of her nest, not bothering to groom her fur some more. The she-cat was an apprentice now, not a kit. 'I guess I have no choice.' Spiderpaw headed towards the camp entrance where she had been told to meet her mentor. She stared at the larger she-cat with hazel-brown eyes, waiting for her to lead her into the territory.

[Aspenfang]

"Mornin' sunshine," Aspenfang greeted with toothy smile, glad her apprentice was on time, "hope you got a good night's sleep, we've got a lot of walking to do today!" The tabby she-cat got to her paws and took a step towards the camp entrance, stretching a bit as she did so. "Now c'mon, let's get going!" She began to walk through the entrance, talking over her should as she did so, "we're just going through the basics today. Learning the territory and whatnot. Maybe a little hunting or battle practice as well, depending on how quickly we can get through this tour. Any questions?"

[Spiderpaw]

Spiderpaw narrowed her eyes a bit but didn't say anything. Her mentor was friendly and a bit energetic. She didn't particularly like those types of cats, the tabby found them usually annoying. Spiderpaw grumbled a bit and then stared at her mentor. "Teach me how to fight after the stupid tour." 'I need to know how I can beat up my enemies.'

[Aspenfang]

Aspenfang's ear twitched. She didn't care all that much for Spiderpaw's demanding tone, but she also figured it was better to give the young she-cat the benefit of the doubt. "Sure," the russet tabby mewed with a light smile, "now let's head out!" She headed through the entrance, stopping a bit once they were both out so that Spiderpaw could get good look at the territory for the first time. "We'll be heading to the TreeClan border first. Now, what do you know about TreeClan so far?" she did this with all her apprentices so that she'd know what she would need to teach them.

[Spiderpaw]

Spiderpaw followed her mentor towards the TreeClan border. Her eyes narrowed. In the tabby maine coon apprentice's opinion the tree covered territory wasn't very interesting. "Someone told me that they are like squirrels."

[Aspenfang]

Aspenfang's whiskers twitched as she imagined tiny squirrel-sized warriors with bushy tails and bucked teeth, "you're not too off the mark. TreeClan cats have a talent for climbing; they can hop easily from tree branch to tree branch--much like squirrels do! I've heard they're even trained to be able to battle in trees, although I've never fought a TreeClan cat myself, so I can't really vouch for them. But, because they spend a lot of time climbing, they have very powerful hind legs, which is something to look out for if you ever find yourself fighting a TreeClanner," Aspenfang slowed down as they approached the Sun Stones, which marked FireClan's border with TreeClan. "Their former leader, Spiderstar, passed on just recently. Arrowstar, formerly Arrowstrike, now leads the clan with his deputy... Crystalbird?" Aspenfang was a little unsure if that was the correct name, as there hadn't been a gathering yet to conform who had taken which position. "They have two medicine cats, Liongrowl and Spottedwillow. I've never seen Spottedwillow before, but I know that she's a she-cat and I would assume she has a spotted pelt. As for Liongrowl, he's a longhaired ginger tom with yellow eyes," the russet tabby stopped as they reached the border, "keep this in mind if you spot cats with these descriptions near the TreeClan border, even if they're on our side. Medicine cats are allowed to cross borders freely and attacking one is strictly against the warrior code."

[Spiderpaw]

Spiderpaw still listened carefully even if she didn't really care that much. She nodded hoping that she would remember the things about TreeClan. 'If I ever get to fight a TreeClan cat that I'd have to watch out for their hind legs.' 

Her eyes narrowed at the name Arrowstar. "Arrowstar? That sounds odd. Arrow kinda sounds like a kittypet name." She stuck out her tongue in disgust. Spiderpaw wasn't fond of kittypets even if she had never met one or even seen one before. 

Spiderpaw grumbled. Why were medicine cats allowed to cross borders, she didn't get why. What medicine cats were also prey stealers? She didn't really like that part of the warrior code but it was still part of the code.

[Aspenfang]

Aspefang nodded, "I thought so too. I heard that he spent some time away from his clan, although I don't know all the details. That might've been where he got the strange name. I've also heard that he might've been named after a plant called "Arrowroot", but it doesn't grow in the clan territories so I don't know whether or not it really exists." The russet tabby stopped as they reached the sun stones, "anyway, these are the sun stones. They mark our border with TreeClan. There's a scent line through the middle of it now, but there has been many battles over who will own the whole bundle. It's a good place for sunning, although I don't want you coming here by yourself once green-leaf begins," she glanced over at Spiderpaw, making sure that the apprentice was paying attention, "this place is a breeding ground for snakes, if you're not careful it's very easy to get bit. There are more than enough places for them to hide here"

[Spiderpaw]

Spiderpaw listened. "TreeClan has always been a bunch of kittypet friends, their leader probably was one too." The maine coon she-cat huffed before staring at the Sun Stones. "Snakes, none of them will dare go near me." 'If they did I'd slice them up and feed them to the crows.' Spiderpaw thought. "Don't worry I'm not planning on dying on my first day out."

(Sorry short)

[Aspenfang]

Aspenfang was a little worried by her apprentice's attitude, but decided not to make a remark about it. She didn't want to get into a fight with the young she-cat, and the warrior believed all cats had a right to their own opinions, as long as those opinions weren't harmful to those around them. "I don't believe being a kittypet is all that bad, you can't help the life you were born into, but the fact that so many non-clanborn cats have taken leadership in TreeClan is a bit worrisome..." Aspenfang mewed, speaking her mind. She'd come across many non-clanborn cats throughout her life, and she knew them to be just as loyal as those with clan blood. Still, she wondered if cats who weren't born in a clan really had the knowledge needed to lead it? I guess it isn't my place to decide. "I wouldn't test that snake theory. One bite from some of the snakes around here and even CloudClan wouldn't be able to save you," she looked at the rocks, then shook her pelt out and put a smile back onto her face. "Now, c'mon, let's get moving! We'll have to pass through the graveyard on our way to the RockClan border," she pointed down their path with her muzzle. The path dipped down to a place jutted with strange looking stones and shrouded lightly in fog, although most of it had been burned away by the sun.

[Spiderpaw]

Spiderpaw muttered.

"Yeah, yeah." The she-cat growled, twitching her tail impatiently. "Being a kittypet is terrible! I heard that you can only go outside when the twolegs let you and you eat disgusting slop." Spiderpaw spoke, sticking her tongue out in disgust. "TreeClan cats are stupid for letting all those weaklings in." 

She let out a laugh. In her opinion she was too quick for snakes but that may be wrong since snakes were also very fast. Spiderpaw grumbled and followed her mentor. She wasn't frightened that they would be going to go through the graveyard. The tabby maine coon actually liked it.

[Aspenfang]

Aspenfang nodded. "Their lives are pretty pitiful; it's weird to think that someone could go their whole lives without getting the chance to be a real cat," the tabby led her apprentice in a large gap in the fence that surrounded the graveyard, "I think it's nice that the clans give chances to promising kittypets, but I do agree that TreeClan has a bit of a loose policy about their borders. I wonder if their are even any pureblooded TreeClan's around?"

The warrior wasn't the biggest fan of the graveyard. It was a moggy place, hard to see in, and the clumsy she-cat had walked straight into the headstones on multiple occasions. "This is a good place to hunt rabbits and shrews, although I'd make sure to be careful; it's no particularly bad right now but later on in the day this place gets really foggy."

[Spiderpaw]

Spiderpaw growled.

"TreeClan cats aren't real cats at all." The tabby maine coon muttered, twitching her tail. She widened her eyes in disbelief as her mentor spoke again. "You actually think that's ok! Are you a kittypet lover!" Spiderpaw narrowed her eyes into slits. "Probably not."

The tabby padded after her mentor as they carried on. "I can take care of myself." Spiderpaw grumbled, twitching her ears.

[Aspenfang]

Aspenfang quirked a brow. "I'd be careful who you said that too--tell a TreeClanner that and they might be tempted to show you just how real they are. Anyways," by now the tabby had led the two through the graveyard, making their ways towards the blossom pond, "I wouldn't call myself a kittypet lover, I'd never advocate for choosing a life of softness over the admirable one rouges live; I just know that a cat can't choose whether or not they're born inside or outside a clan. If a kittypet is smart enough to see that the life they are living isn't much of a life, then I think it's good that the clans give them a chance to prove themself. That's just my view on it though."

"I'm sure you can," the russet tabby said, giving her apprentice a pointed look, "and you'll be able to do that better if you know what to expect from your environment." She shook her head, dismissing the conversation as the two approached the blossom pond. "This is the blossom pond, you should take a drink while you have the chance. This is a good place to relax and replenish yourself after hunting, but there have been many sightings of foxes and badgers around."