"I'm taking you on a tour of our territory," Dreamcloud and Birchbranch chorused to their apprentices.
"You're overworking yourself," Dreamcloud murmured in Birchbranch's ear.
"I can't abandon my apprentice," Birchbranch insisted.
Dreamcloud turned to the apprentices, ordering, "Go get a moss nest in the apprentices den and some fresh-kill."
Moonpaw and Morningpaw disappeared quickly as they padded into the apprentices'den. After a few heartbeats, they returned.
"Are there other apprentices?" Moonpaw asked, her eyes gleaming with curiousity.
"Leafpaw, Berrypaw, and Blackpaw," Dreamcloud replied, "Becoming warriors in one moon."
"Oh," Moonpaw exclaimed, sighing in relief, "I thought I missed their warrior ceremonies!"
Moonpaw bounded over to the fresh-kill pile, snatched a squirrel from it, and took it over to sit by Dreamcloud and taking a mouthful of the prey. A rich scent washed over Dreamcloud, and she felt her mouth water.
Moonpaw finished the squirrel and buried her remains.
Meanwhile, Morningpaw hooked a thrush and a finch from the fresh-kill pile, gulping the fresh-kill down.
Dreamcloud grabbed two mice, devouring them. She had not noticed the pain of hunger before she fixed her gaze on the mice, which made her legs buckle and send her with a "CRASH!" to the ground. The warm, musky fresh-kill sent strength flooding back into her legs. Then, she heard a loud growl.
Dreamcloud whirled around, tortoiseshell fur fluffed up and expecting to see a badger or fox, but all was still and quiet except for the growling. She strained her ears and managed to hear where the noise came from; Birchbranch's belly.
"Eat something," Dreamcloud urged, "You're famished!"
Birchbranch opened his jaws to argue at Dreamcloud sharply, and Dreamcloud braced herself for Birchbranch's sharp protest. Suddenly, Birchbranch hesitated, and nodded. He limped unsteadily, and he tripped over a small twig, finding that he could not get up again. His paws flailed helplessly as he tried to struggle to his paws, twisting and flipping feebly.
Dreamcloud padded over to Birchbranch and picked his scruff up, landing him on his paws. Dreamcloud thought Birchbranch was as light as a mouse. Birchbranch blinked gratefully, and Dreamcloud returned him an encouraging smile, as Birchbranch set off to the fresh-kill pile once again.
Ribs still spiked out of his body, and he was terribly scrawny. Dreamcloud couldn't tell the difference between his body and a stick.
Birchbranch stretched a paw out he scrabbled at a terribly small vole furiously. He would have slumped to the ground if not for his tail, which helped him balance. The terribly scrawny vole was gone only in a few bites.
"I'm done," Birchbranch announced, "Happy now, Dreamcloud?"
"Th-" Dreamcloud began to protest.
"I'm fine," Birchbranch interrupted.
Dreamcloud didn't dare protest anymore, so she shut her mouth tight as they padded out of camp, showing ThunderClan territory.
"What's that?" Morningpaw gasped, staring wide-eyed at a tree that towered over others.
"Ancient Oak," Birchbranch croaked.
"Also known as Sky Oak," Dreamcloud added.
"Can we climb it?" Moonpaw exclaimed, her whiskers quivering with excitement and her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"No," Dreamcloud replied, regret swamping toward her as Moonpaw's tail drooped and her face fell, "I let Lampbeam, my former apprentice climb it after putting lots of moss and feathers around the tree, but she dislocated her leg anyway."
"What's a lamp?" Morningpaw queried, "Twoleg stuff?"
Dreamcloud narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, mewing, "Probably. Her mother, Tabbyfur was a kittypet, I think. Maybe she named Lampbeam after a Twoleg item."
The cats padded on. Seeing a soft pile of moss, Moonpaw and Morningpaw leaped on it and cuddled up, shredding some moss.
"There's no time for kit games," Birchbranch snapped sharply.
Morningpaw and Moonpaw scrambled to their paws obediently, running back to where Dreamcloud and Birchbranch sat, waiting.
"Don't be so harsh," Dreamcloud whispered in Birchbranch's ear, "They're barely apprentices!"
Guilt suddenly flashed in Birchbranch's eyes as he wheezed, "I know."
They came to a Thunderpath. There was a faint roaring of monster's paws in the distance. The acrid tang of Twoleg's and their monsters stung Dreamcloud's nose.
Morningpaw fluffed up her fur and Moonpaw bristled in excitement.
"A Thunderpath!" Morningpaw breathed.
"It stinks worse than all of ShadowClan and fox dung put together!" Moonpaw spat, her eyes full of disgust.
Suddenly a huge yellow monster whooshed by, nostrils flaring, it's orange eyes glowing eerily and it's huge black paws churning the Thunderpath.
The apprentices'mouths hang wide open at the monster.
"I never knew that monsters were that big and fast!" Morningpaw exclaimed.
"And I never knew that monsters stunk so much!" Moonpaw added.
"You'll get used to it," Birchbranch promised.
"I'll die for all of you if a monster charges toward us," Dreamcloud vowed.
Morningpaw and Moonpaw nodded, speechless.
The cats padded on.
"I almost forgot!" Dreamcloud gasped, relieved that she remembered what to say.
"Forgot what?" Morningpaw asked.
"If we meet a kittypet, loner or rogue, we tell them to please get off our territory. If they are hurt, we bring them to our medicine cats because we have honor. We have to defend our territory, but a good warrior seeks a peaceful solution without claws first. If we meet a kit, we bring it back to it's mother or which Clan they are in, according to the facts they tell us. If it is apprentices, warriors, leaders, or deputies from other Clans, we tell them to please get off of our territory," Dreamcloud declared.
The two apprentices nodded, their eyes glowing seriously.
"You did well," Birchbranch rasped in Dreamcloud's ear.
"Thanks," Dreamcloud answered, eyes glowing at the unexpected praise.
Just then, a plump white cat with a green collar padded along.
"Watch me," Dreamcloud ordered to the apprentices, brushing along a bush.
"Greetings," Dreamcloud meowed warmly to the kittypet, "Are you hurt?"
"Wild cats!" the kittypet screeched. She turned tail and fled, paws and tail streaming behind her.
"Well," Dreamcloud turned to look at the apprentices, who were staring at the kittypet, "That's what you'll expect from most kittypets."
The apprentices nodded in unision. They didn't speak as Dreamcloud and Birchbranch showed them SkyClan and WindClan territory.
When they padded back to camp, Birchbranch's neck fur bristled.
There were two silhouettes, that were too dark to know who they were.
