"Good morning," Firewind meowed, greeting Giantpaw. "You're right on time and I like that in an apprentice. It tells me that you're interested in what you'll be learning and that it's important to you. I hope you got some rest like I told you to. We've got a lot of ground to cover today if you're going to see our territory." He knew how excited newly promoted apprentices were, often talking late instead of sleeping. He was one once too. Sometimes he wished he could go back to those carefree days again while other times he was glad those days of training were behind him.

"We're traveling during the day so you can get a better look at our territory," the orange tabby meowed. "This way you can find where some of the stumbling areas are. They can be quite hidden in the dark." There were dips and small holes and even some wet areas that could prove dangerous to an inexperienced traveler in their territory. "Later we'll explore our land at night. As you know, we do most of our hunting in the dark."

"Any questions before we leave?"

Firewind was pleased to see how eager Giantpaw was to learn. "Good then, follow me." Firewind led the way out of the camp and went north toward the waterfall. He moved at a brisk trot through the evergreens that were common in their territory. "Our camp is situated in the northwest section of the territory. Almost due north is the mountain that gave birth to our stream. It falls from the top of the mountain and flows right down through the middle of our territory."

Soon the undergrowth grew thicker so the orange tabby slowed his pace to a walk. "These weeds can hide some depressions so be careful through here." Just after he finished speaking, he saw one right in front of him. "Like this one here. If you learn this area well, this is a good place to lure an enemy if you're being chased. These sudden dips would trip them up easily especially if they're running."

"Well actually only once," the orange tabby replied. "It wasn't another cat though. I was out hunting alone just before I was promoted to a warrior. It was at night and I came across a couple of foxes by the stream. Not wanting to take on both of them alone, I tried just walking away hoping they wouldn't follow me. But they did. I took off running and led them through here. I heard a yelp from one of them then I didn't hear them pursuing me anymore. I was more upset that they ruined my hunt than for the fact they chased me."

Firewind emerged from the undergrowth a short distance from the stream. To the left, the sound of falling water could be heard. "Well, here's our stream. There's a small pool at the base of the falls then it narrows out into this stream." He went over to take a drink. He liked the water here. It tasted fresher to him than the water near the camp. The water ran shallow through this area. Large rocks stuck up out of the water that gurgled around them. "So what do you think?"

"I reckon it is," Firewind replied before taking another delicious drink. "Our land gives us all we ever need. We have plenty of water, lots of prey, and cool, dark woodlands. It's all a cat could ever want." He believed what he said with all his heart. He couldn't imagine having to live anywhere else.

"We'll cross the stream here by jumping onto these stones. But don't worry if you slip off, the water's only belly deep through here. It could be a bit chilly though." He jumped onto the first stone and then looked back at Giantpaw. "We're going to the northern border next. Rogue lands are to our north and then we'll go to the old bear cave. Lots of small prey like to make their lairs in there."

He continued across by hopping onto three more stones. After reaching the other side, he turned to face the apprentice again. "Just take your time and judge your jumps. You can do it."

"It seems like we find evidences of their poaching a few times a moon," Firewind sighed. "But they're very crafty. Only once in a while they're actually spotted by a patrol and of course they're run off but not without a few scratches on their haunches." He started walking toward the northern border. "Though keep in mind that not all cats who live outside our borders are rogues. Actually there's more loners who live in those lands. They respect our borders and are usually quite friendly. They'll tell us if they've seen foxes or badgers around or other important news."

He glanced over at the apprentice as they walked pleased at how he was coping so far with their hike. He'd be unaccustomed to long walks having lived inside the camp his whole life. The deputy looked for signs of fatigue but didn't notice any. He'll make a fine warrior some day. But of course he was unaware of Giantpaw's biases. "Let me know if you need to stop for a rest."

"You just said the key word," Firewind replied. "Loners aren't a part of any clan and because of that they don't have any allegiances. They don't become our rivals unless they start invading our territory. And," he continued, "unlike rogues who many times join together in groups, loners tend to live alone or just with their own families. Two or three cats by themselves don't pose a threat to a clan of cats as big as ours."

He passed through some bushes that were close together. The tiny branches that scraped his skin through his coat felt deliciously wonderful to the orange tabby and he let out a low groan of pleasure. "I guess the main reason they share their information with us is because they're just being nice and don't see us as enemies. We don't hunt outside our borders in their land either. But keep in mind not every loner is congenial. So use caution whenever you might meet a strange cat. You can easily tell if they're friendly or not."

He stopped at a row of trees that had a very strong NightClan scent. "Here's our northern border. These trees were just marked last night by the border patrol." He looked down the row and then across the border. Not seeing, hearing, or smelling anything amiss, he relaxed. "Everything seems to be in order here."

"That's the rogue lands," he said. "I've been over there only once and nothing looked very remarkable about it. We share our northern and western borders with the rogue lands. To the east is our border with SunClan and the southern border is shared with MoonClan." Since everything looked in order, Firewind began to walk to the south and east toward the old bear cave.

"The old bear cave is next and then we'll visit the hot springs. The hunting is usually pretty good in the cave. Small prey such as mice and bats like to live there. Why don't tell me a little about yourself as we travel there," Firewind said, more for conversation although he did want to know more about Giantpaw. "Do you have any aspirations such as membership in the Loyal Guard or anything?"

Firewind was pleased at Giantpaw's answer. To him that showed maturity. Most apprentices want to be 'the best warrior NightClan had ever seen'. "Flamingstar picked me," he replied. "I think I was the most surprised cat at the clan meeting that night. Much like you, I just wanted to serve my clan and have a family. Now I'm just serving in a different way than I had expected. But I still need to fulfill the second part." And now that his time was taken up with more responsibilities, he had less time to spend searching for the right she cat.

The land started to climb upward as they walked and soon a dark cave was visible in the side of the mountain. "There it is. The old bear cave. It's been empty for generations."

"Yes, but not today," Firewind meowed. "Like I said it's an excellent place to catch small prey. Lot's of mice and bats." As he spoke, a light breeze from the direction of the cave carried to his nose the scents of those creatures. "The best time to hunt for bats is during the day because they're nocturnal. They're all inside the cave asleep right now. But hunting them can be a bit tricky. If you disturb them they all will fly away in mass."

He looked south and a little to the east. "See that gap in the trees over there? That's the hot springs and that's where we're going next. It's another good place to catch prey, especially during Leafbare. It's one of my favorite places in our territory."