Scorchpaw stood within the busy clearing of the ThunderClan camp, he stood side by side with not only his littermate, but his fellow apprentices. Excitement fizzed in his paw's as the group waited for their mentors to arrive. The trees rustled from the swift morning breeze, bringing a calming sensation to the eager apprentices. The moment of silence was soon ruined by the loud thumping of paw-steps from the newly appointed mentors of ThunderClan. He could feel the tension between the mentors as they approached the group.

"It's our first day as mentors and we have no plan on what we are going to do with our apprentices!" the faint voice of Mapleshine could be heard from behind the warriors den. Her soft yet firm voice making barely a dent of a scream in his head.

"I don't see why we can't practice battle moves today, they would love that!" Bumbleclaw smiled at the other mentors for a reaction. Scorchpaw's ears pricked at Bumbleclaw's idea, he was right, it would be fun for the new apprentices. Scorchpaw's fantasies were interrupted by a loud snort from Duskcloud.

"Battle moves? On their first day? What other absurd thoughts do you have in that rats nest of a head there Bumbleclaw?" Duskcloud giggled at her own joke, only to receive a  hard glare from Bumbleclaw. His gaze on Duskcloud hardened as he puffed out his chest and stood only a few centimeters above her for pride.

"Well then Duskcloud," Bumbleclaw began, "What do you suggest we do for our apprentices today. Let me guess, bore them with the task of memorizing the warrior code?" The tom rolled his eyes with a snort. Duskcloud's stare became like stone as her claws dug into the soft earth, class flexing. Clouddust's ears flattened as she tried to squeeze her way into the middle of the two littermates.

"Guys, there's no need to fight. Maybe we should talk this out as a group and-"

Clouddust was rudely cut off by the two littermates before she could peacefully finish her sentence.

"I will pour mouse bile down your throat until you take that back, mouse-brain!" Duskcloud spat at her brother, her nostrils flaring angrily as her blood boiled in defense. A low growl rumbled in Bumbleclaw's throat as his claws unsheathed, preparing for a fight. Redpelt stepped forward calmly, intervening between the two littermates.

"Enough you two! What kind of example do you think we as warriors are setting for our apprentices by acting this way? I can tell you plainly it's not a good one, so put your claws away so we can go meet our apprentices." Redpelt said firmly, glaring at both of the fighting warriors. He then nodded towards Mapleshine and Clouddust before turning away and walking towards the clearing. Scorchpaw stood by Rainpaw, impressed by Redpelt's persuasion skill. He glanced at Rainpaw to see if she had also heard what he had. Rainpaw just glanced at her brother and nodded before turning away. The mentors quickly came into view and stood before the eager apprentices.

"Good morning everyone," said Mapleshine while smiling, "Are you ready for your first day of training?" 

The apprentices smiles widened as they all replied with an eager "Yes!" 

"Good. We will first split into two groups. One group will take the Dawn patrol, the other will go practice hunting tactics." Bumbleclaw scowled as his ideas weren't used for training. Duskcloud only gave a slight grin as she passed by her brother before sitting next to her apprentice.

"Alright then. Redpelt, Duskcloud, and Clouddust, you will take your apprentices to the hunting grounds just outside camp, while Bumbleclaw and I take Scorchpaw and Sliverpaw on a patrol of the territory. We'll meet back here when the sun is at it's highest point." As Mapleshine finished her sentence, the mentors nodded in agreement and walked over to their apprentices. Scorchpaw was to focused on what Mapleshine had said that he didn't notice Bumbleclaw coming up behind him. Scorchpaw jumped a little when he finally noticed the large tom at his side.

"Okay Scorchpaw, you to patrol?" his mentor asked, giving him a friendly look and a silly grin that made Scorchpaw excited. He nodded vigorously as his paws buzzed in excitement. "Well then, let's get a move on, shall we." Scorchpaw followed behind his mentor eagerly as they exited camp. He gazed happily at the wilderness around him as her pranced along the soft meadow grass. He flashed a sideways smile at Silverpaw as she trotted up alongside him.

"Isn't it all just amazing!" said Silverpaw. Her eyes sparkled in joy and her smile widened across her muzzle. Scorchpaw grinned at her enthusiasm, he could only wonder if Rainpaw felt the same joy he was feeling right now. He was soon startled by Bumbleclaw's once more sudden appearance as the large tom looked around at the forest surrounding them.

"Scorchpaw, I want you to close your eyes and take a long sniff." Scorchpaw followed his mentors instructions as he breathed in the many scents of the forest, all of them blending together in perfect harmony, creating the calming  smells of ThunderClan.

"Good, now try to directly focus on one scent, and tell me what it is."

Scorchpaw searched through all the scents his nose was taking in. He smelled multiple scents ranging from prey to herbs, until he landed on one particularly strong scent coming from just across the border. The scent was a mix of pine, grass, and frog, a mixture that made Scorchpaw want to not have to choke down the bile growing in his throat. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and began to cough, only to receive a loud "Shh!" from the rest of his party. Scorchpaw flattened his ears in shame and nodded his head in a quiet reply. He took another long whiff of the stench just to analyze it's differentiating parts. The young apprentice took a few steps forward as the scent became stronger to him, and stopped when the scent was so strong he could almost taste it.

"There's this one scent that smells like a mix of pine, grass, and frog." Scorchpaw paused as he too another small sniff to make sure he was correct, "I can't be sure, but I think that would be ShadowClan, right?"

Bumbleclaw's mouth shifted into a sideways grin as his eyes shined with pride for his apprentice. "That's exactly right, Scorchpaw. The ShadowClan camp is deep within the pine forests, but they're border lies right here."

Scorchpaw's gaze shifted from his mentor's as he stared deep into the depths of the ShadowClan territory. Thoughts danced through his mind as he gazed at the tall pines that filled that side of the forest. Scorchpaw's eyes drifted towards the sparse white cloud's in the sky as a calming breeze rustled through the trees and through the flame colored apprentice's fur. And just across the border, within the ShadowClan camp, another apprentice gazed into the forest, being taken away by that same mid-morning breeze,