To Test Tender Paws | tag ; heath

[Sporelett]

[/b] he encouraged his apprentice. "I'm going to show you all the most important parts of our territory, starting with the borders. If we want to be back before dark, we'd better start quickly."

Ratfoot flicked his tail, signalling for his apprentice to follow, before setting off at a brisk trot. He didn't want to tire Heathpaw out so fast that he couldn't make it around the territory, but neither were they going to dally. The first destination on their list would be Horseplace, the Twoleg-built settlement that divided their territory from RiverClan's. He decided that it would be better to introduce them to their slightly more trustworthy neighbours first. WindClan hadn't experienced any recent clashes with the Clan on their other border, but Ratfoot was well aware that the forest-dwelling Clan had always viewed the wooded part of WindClan's territory as rightfully theirs. RiverClan at least had no interest in the moors as long as their streams still ran and provided them with fish.

When the blocky Twoleg nests and horse barn came into view, the older tom slowed and stopped several fox-lengths away from the Horseplace. The bulk of the buildings prevented either cat from seeing the fenced-in fields that lay beyond, although Ratfoot knew from scent that at least a few horses were out despite the cold. "Now Heathpaw," he mewed, "I want you to stop here and tell me what you scent. As a warrior, one of your most important skills will be using your nose properly, because it can tell you things long before your eyes or ears can."[/justify][/ul]OoC// Heeeeeeeeeath, why does Heathpaw's bio say that his mentor is Lizardheart? D:[/size]

[Heathclaw]

Heathpaw still couldn't quite believe that all of this was happening. He was an apprentice now- he'd gotten his name just moments ago, and now he was out on his first patrol! He was so excited that he barely noticed the cold breeze running through his fur or the frigidness of the ground seeping into his paws, and in time, it didn't matter. Keeping up with Ratfoot was enough to warm himself up.

However... to be quite honest, he had no clue where they were going. For all that Redfang told him about the warrior life, he'd never told him anything about the territory. The deputy must have been worried that he'd get ideas or something. Not that that mattered now! He could make his own way around the territory now, starting right with here! Where was here?

"Hrm? What do I scent?" asked Heathpaw, somewhat confused. How would this tell him where he was? Well, it was worth a shot, wasn't it? He inhaled deeply, and then gagged back. "What is that? It stinks!" he complained. "It's really strong... but I can't see anything. Is it... behind those things?" Heathpaw asked, pointing with his paw at the big blocky wood-shaped things on their territory.

[Sporelett]

[/i] stink rather much. He just had more time to get used to the smell. "Very good, Heathpaw," he congratulated him. "That pungent odor that you smell comes from the horses that live inside that big Twoleg nest. We can smell them because the wind is blowing towards us, but they can't smell us. Come on, we'll go take a look. A few should be outside at least." Crooking his tail to tell Heathpaw to follow, Ratfoot set off at a brisk pace towards the structure. He padded around and stopped at the edge of the wooden fence that surrounded the horses' domain.

Inside the perimeter, a large, four-legged brown animal whuffled at the snow-dusted ground, while a black-coloured creature stood a little closer to the fence where the two cats lingered. As they watched, the horse that had been lipping the dormant grass raised its head and broke into a heavy-footed trot around the field. As they watched, Ratfoot repeated the words that his mentor had told him seasons ago at this same place. "The horses live inside this fence, but sometimes they let Twolegs sit on their backs, and leave to roam around our territory. Even though they don't hunt cats, it's still best not to approach them. Their paws are very hard, and could hurt a cat unwary enough to be stepped on."

Moving on, Ratfoot padded along the length of the fence until he reached the point at which it bent at an angle to continue in another direction. "Breathe in again," he instructed. "This is the border that we share with RiverClan. Make sure you remember this scent, and never cross the border line unless ordered to do so." Ratfoot blew out a breath. Whew! Being a mentor was hard. Was he doing it right, and remembering everything that he was supposed to teach? He sure hoped so. It had been a surprise to receive an apprentice now; he only hoped he was ready for one. "Now, any questions?" Ratfoot smiled at his younger companion, waiting until Heathpaw had replied before continuing on. "I'm starting to get cold from sticking around here! Let's move on, shall we?"[/ul][/justify][/size]

[Heathclaw]

Aha! So these were... "hoarses", were they called? They didn't sound very hoarse to Heathpaw. No, they sounded quite loud and powerful to be honest, not to mention that they were huge. The young apprentice's tail flicked eagerly as he watched one of the creatures trotting around the fence, feeling the vibrations of its hooves against the ground as it ran past them.

Strong, fast, and powerful- what amazing creatures they were! No wonder those two-legs rode around on them. Heathpaw imagined what it would be like to ride on a horse's back, feeling the wind rushing through his fur faster than ever before. But Ratfoot was probably right. There was no way he was getting close enough to a horse to ride it, especially not at his current level.

And the big wooden blocky things were called two-legplaces? Huh. So that's what they looked like. It looked kind of dark and cramped inside those things. On the other hand... the view from the top of that thing must be amazing! But again, that would be a thing for moons later- there was no way he could climb to the top of that thing quite yet.

He turned around to look back at Ratfoot, and realized with a jolt that his mentor had already moved on past him. Sheepishly reprimanding himself for losing focus, Heathpaw scrambled after the bigger cat, catching up to him as he changed direction. Ratfoot was a pretty strong cat too- Heathpaw didn't have the breath to speak and keep up with him at the same time.

RiverClan's border... Huh... He'd smelled RiverClan scent before at the gathering, but it was most clear here- a very distinct fishy smell. So... this was the end of WindClan, was it? And the rest on was RiverClan. "So... the only thing marking this border is smell, right?" asked Heathpaw. "But smells fade away with time... what do we do about that? And what's the point of borders, anyway? I know they're important and all... but Redfang never told me why."