Sorry guys, I poof in and out and in and out all the time! Dx I am a lame-o, I know, I know… TT^TT But and am I LOVED lame-o! 83 Homework likes to fall from the sky and on top of me… And a have theories that there are magical evil pixies living in my room to steal my stuff! Lost the Chapter one again, recovered it, and lost it again, an' it is plain annoying! Dx

Anyways, it is winter break; I got time on my hands…. AND I SHALL GIVE DIS TO YOU! XD Again, copyrights to the respective owners.

Chapter Two

That morning, a paw prodded Mistpaw's side. Slowly, she opened her eyes, feeling barely rested due to a mixture of excitement and terror. Mistpaw blinked, looking at her waker. It was Pebblepaw.

The increasingly growing tom looked at her with bright-blue eyes; bark colored fur doted with a lighter shade of brown. His belly was the same color. Pebblepaw's kind face beamed down at her. "Time to wake up, sleepy-eyes," he meowed. "Nightcloud told me to wake you up. He is waiting outside."

It took a heartbeat for Mistpaw to think about what her friend had said. There then was a click in her head. "Oh." Mistpaw suddenly leaped up, "OH! Oh, oh, oh, oh, OH! Mousedung, how long was he—what time is it?!"

"A sun position past dawn, no w-"

"FOXDUNG!" Mistpaw scrambled out of her nest, nearly spraying Pebblepaw with moss. "Sorry," she threw over her shoulder.

Mistpaw burst out the apprentice's den and scuttled across camp, ducking under the bigger warriors and circumventing cats she couldn't. "Late for your first day?" Grassblade meowed with surprise as Mistpaw scurried under her legs.

"Yeah, sorry, bye," Mistpaw's response was vaguely decipherable.

Finally Mistpaw found Nightcloud talking to Sparrowwing. The black tom noticed her arrival after she nearly bowled into the High Rock and fresh kill pile, as well. "Late?" Nightcloud purred.

"Just a… bit," Mistpaw gasped, throwing in an apologetic smile.

"Better late then never," Sparrowwing pointed out for laughs. Mistpaw gave him an exasperated look.

Nightcloud chuckled, "Truth if I've ever heard it." His smile grew and his whiskers twitched in amusement. "We have better get a good start, now, hm?" He added, "To make up for lost time." Mistpaw regained her breath and nodded eagerly," Of course."

"Come now," the midnight tom meowed, padding toward the bush and sapling tunnel. "We've got places to go." Mistpaw nodded to her adopted father and followed her mentor into the woods.

"Oh, wow," Mistpaw squeaked.

They were at OceanClan border, according to Nightcloud. "They live there? Surrounded by water?!" Mistpaw asked incredulously.

"Mmhm." Her mentor nodded.

Mistpaw looked at the OceanClan territory. A sandy cliff, standing on large, sand-stone rocks, was their border. A huge river, shifting from the sea to the small myriad of fresh-water streams that gave water to the clans, separated a peninsula from the normal land that the other clans lived on. It was surrounded by clutches of other islands; speckling the water here and there. The ocean, a vast body of water that was a playful blue-green, was every where in-between. The saltwater lapped stormily below against the rocks of the islands, washing up on the shores of yellow sand then retreating in a never-ending game. Each island stuck up into the sky, like claws ripping out of the earth.

The lush vegetation was overflowing the edges of the little floating rocks, strange trees lining the edges. The scent, however, reeked of saltwater and fish. It ruined the beautiful scene that stood before her.

Nightcloud read Mistpaw's mind like the movements of prey, if not the wrinkled expression crunched on her face. "It smells bad, though, doesn't it?"

Mistpaw nodded, "Really gross!"

Nightcloud purred with amusement. "You'll have more then your fair share of that smell in seasons to come, little one." He turned to jump off the rock, "Remember it well."

How could I forget? Mistpaw snorted to herself trying to hold her breath.

"Come," her mentor meowed, "We have another place to see."

Mistpaw nodded and followed, finally taking a breath.

As Mistpaw followed Nightcloud through the sun-filtered forest, she couldn't help but feel the sense of familiarity. The trees, the way the bushes were growing… She recognized it. They passed some saplings, growing new leaves in the fair warmth of new-leaf. Finally, when they passed a giant cypress tree, she could not stand it any longer.

"Nightcloud," she mewed, stopping before a large, hollow tree, called the Great Cypress. "I think I have been here; before this."

Nightcloud paused, following her gaze. Mistpaw noticed the small, nostalgic smile that crossed his face. "That would be because," the dark tom meowed, padding to her side slowly, "this is where we found you and your sister." His green eyes were bright with what was, to Mistpaw, a cloudy memory of several, harsh moons passing.

Mistpaw raised her brow, eyes widening with surprise. She looked to the hollow tree; mind filling with the memory of faint figures. A red tom… A grey one too…. They were very big…. Very familiar and … They had been running, and then waking up. They were so vague and powerful, the emotions that came whirling into her head: fear, hopelessness, betrayal, anger and hatred. Then, two cats, whom she knew to be her beloved adopted parents, filling her with a new feeling: hope.

"I…" Mistpaw was speechless. "I remember." Nightcloud's pelt brushed against hers in the warmth that would be kinship. And, for a while, he let her sit there and cry.

After her episode, Mistpaw felt embarrassed and mousebrained; she shouldn't be so upset and it was very immature to cry for so long. Her white and grey-blue ears were down a little bit in a sad position. Her paws felt heavy and her first day felt ruined to her, until they arrived at SpiritClan border.

The cypress grove was eerie, although much better in the light then it would be in the shadows cast by moonlight. The long marsh grass wove around trees and in and out of the mud. Roots of large swamp vegetation curled around forming strange-looking natural statues, forming into shapes. The soft hum of the marsh-land life was beginning to drawl as leaf-bare lost its footholds in the damp territory. The bushes that survived were just beginning to bud with leaves and dead leaves from leaf-fall were scattered about above the roots. Tunnels could be scene here and there amongst the leaves; probably the prey. Some bugs passed in the air, although they were just as new to the territory as Mistpaw probably was.

Nightcloud stopped at the edge of a few jutting boulders that seemed to line up together. "This is SpiritClan territory, if you haven't guessed," he meowed. "These rocks are the territory's boundaries; remember that."

Mistpaw nodded and breathed in the scent. It was dark and musky and reminded her of mud and rotting leaves. "The scent is… Dull." She concluded and looked around, ears now perked and her mind clear of the strange even that occurred earlier that day. The scent also gave a slow burning feeling in her chest, like invigoration.

"Yes," Nightcloud meowed, "But memorable none the less." The midnight-pelted tom's green eyes were slightly darker then usual. He shook his head and smiled. "Later I will show you the other two, but first," Mistpaw's mentor looked over to her. "We have to teach you some hunting skills.