Oaknose and his apprentice, Rootpaw (IggyRose and me private)

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    Oaknose walked up to his new apprentice, Rootpaw. "Hello Rootpaw, you are my first apprentice," he told him. "Are you ready to begin your training?" he asked him.

    The young white tom dipped his head demurely. "Yes, Oaknose. What will we practice first?" he inquired, mostly as a formality. He suspected that he was going to be shown the territory. He had heard that that was what most apprentices did on their first day. He hoped his fur wouldn't get messed up.

    "I am going to show you the territory and borders so you don't wander off into another clan, and also keep in mind that it is against the warrior code to catch prey in other territories, even if you were chasing it first, or if it slipped away from you," Oaknose replied.

    A mixture of irritation and smugness washed over Rootpaw. Irritation because Oaknose seemed to think he was a mousebrain who didn't know the warrior code, and smugness because he had been right about being shown the territory. Being right made Rootpaw feel good, like a real warrior.
    "Lead the way, then," he replied, giving his chest a quick lick.

    Oaknose reached the ShadowClan border. "...and this is the ShadowClan border," Oaknose said "...Be careful, I've always been suspicious about them," Oaknose whispered.

    Rootpaw narrowed his eyes, peering in the direction of ShadowClan on the other side of the Thunderpath. He had heard many stories as a kit about the evil, ragged ShadowClan warriors who ate snakes and crowfood, and, truthfully, the thought of those nightmare creatures so nearby made him a little afraid. Because for all his haughtiness, Rootpaw was really barely more than a kit.
    "They say the cold north wind from the mountains chills the ShadowClan warriors' hearts..." he murmured, reciting a nursery tale he had heard when he was younger.

    Oaknose could see Rootpaw was frightened and a few other emotions so he walked further on and signaled with his tail for Rootpaw to follow.

    Rootpaw nervously licked his chest fur again and shuffled quickly after his mentor.
    "Where are we..." he began, but his meow died off nervously. He swallowed and tried again. "Where are we going now, Oaknose?" he managed to say, still a little shaken. Far away from here, I hope, he thought to himself. Then he mentally scolded himself, feeling ashamed. What kind of ThunderClan warrior was afraid of a border?

    "We're on the RiverClan border," Oaknose replied. "I heard they can fish, but I think fish taste a lot worse than mice," he said. "However they can swim so keep in mind you should battle away from river where they can escape," he said.

    Rootpaw stopped at the border, trying to memorize the smell of RiverClan. It smelled fishy, just like you would expect a clan full of fish-eaters to smell like, he supposed. Near the border, he spotted a large pile of rocks. The sun beat down, and he could almost feel the heat rising off of them.
    "Would that be Sunningrocks?" he queried. He had often heard the landmark being referred to around camp. Supposedly, the large, flat boulders were good for relaxing on. Not that he was tempted to try it now. Not at all. He had training to do.

    "Yes. Of course," Rootpaw agreed, tearing his gaze reluctantly away from the comfortable-looking stones, "To the WindClan border." Idly, he wondered what WindClan smelled like. Wind, perhaps?

    "This is the WindClan border. I've heard they have many dogs on their territory, but they defeat them. Be careful when battling WindClan warriors," Oaknose said.

    Rootpaw gazed at the windswept moor. WindClan did, in fact, smell like wind, if that made any sense. Wind and grass. Upon hearing Oaknose's words, he pictured giant, vicious cats, scarier than ShadowClan, fighting huge dogs in an epic battle. Then he pictured those same giant cats attacking the ThunderClan camp and himself chasing them away singlehandedly. Warmed by the idea, he licked a paw casually and swept it over his whiskers.
    "Where are we visiting next?" he questioned his mentor.

    Rootpaw stepped towards the SunClan border and sniffed disdainfully.
    "Aren't these the kittypet warriors?" he asked snidely. He daringly stepped right over the border, breaking the warrior code but not really caring.

    "Careful!" Oaknose said as he saw Rootpaw stepping over the border. "Yes they are Kittypets, but they are still warriors and they do train," Oaknose said. "Next we'll go to four trees, but don't climb them or the big rock, because the big rock is for the leaders," Oaknose said.

    Again Rootpaw was mildly irritated. Just because he was an apprentice didn't mean he wanted to climb every boulder in sight. He knew the Great Rock was for leaders only.
    "Yes, Oaknose. I will remember that," he muttered.

    As Oaknose headed to Fourtrees he said "We can't look at the other borders, because they're too far away." Soon he arrived at Fourtrees.

    Rootpaw stared at the tall, ancient trees as a hot breeze stirred their vivid green leaves.
    "How old do you suppose these trees are?" he mused. Older than the stars? Was anything older than the stars?