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Gingerpaw was sitting outside the Apprentices Den. The little she-cat was cleaning her fur. She had recently become and apprentice and was looking forward to starting her training. The pale golden she-cat had been apprenticed to the deputy, Daringheart. Even the young apprentice did not expect such a great cat to become her mentor. Gingerpaw had always admired Daringheart before she became an apprentice and it had paid off. Gingerpaw blinked her soft blue eyes and looked around the camp.

The camp was bustling with activity. Apprentices going to train with their mentors, patrols checking the boarders, groups of cats returning with prey. One day soon, Gingerpaw would be with those patrols checking the boarders and hunting for prey. Excitement bristled through Gingerpaw's fur as she looked around for her mentor. Her brother and sister were already off doing their own thing with their mentors. Finishing her cleaning she went in search of Daringheart. The little she-cat was raring to go!

Her Clanmates all greeted her warmly. As a kit, Gingerpaw had caused her fair share of trouble and no doubt would again as an apprentice, but it was only to be expected. Mistakes happen and would be learned from. All Gingerpaw knew was that she wasn't going to fall into the Sparkling Brook again. Great StarClan no. Gingerpaw had learned then to follow orders, but even she had a hard time doing so at times. Gingerpaw would definitely pay Firepaw back for that day. Suddenly Gingerpaw heard her name being called and she looked around.

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Daringheart was pleased with the cat that had been apprenticed to her, she wanted a she-cat much more than she wanted a tom. She-cat’s had a feisty spirit about them that she wanted to draw off of, and if she had her way she would be one of the most skilled apprentices in treeclan in no time at all. “Gingerpaw, are you excited?” She asked with a smile on her maw, she was sure excited and she hoped that the apprentice was as ready to learn as she was to teach. It seemed like ages since she had trained a young cat as her last apprentice had become a warrior quite a bit ago, at least she felt like it even though it had not even been 12 moons, in truth she just loved being a mentor and was excited for her second chance. “Let’s get you out there and finding those borders-“ She said as she walked behind Gingerpaw and head-butted her rump gently, “There is no time to lose, there is so much to get done!”

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Gingerpaw purred at her mentor and let out a little laugh as she was head butted a little from behind, "Where to first? I bet I can get there before you!" Gingerpaw gently batted at Daringheart. Bonds like this were rare and Gingerpaw had learned long ago to trust them. After all, it was her father who had taught her that. Rapidfur had been the one that saved Gingerpaw from the brook and it was him who told her that there were different bonds and one of the strongest was usually between mentor and apprentice.

That obviously rang true with Gingerpaw and Daringheart. While Gingerpaw was the second apprentice Daringheart had she felt alive with the older she-cat. The dainty she-cat's eyes danced merrily as she waited for Daringheart to say where they were going. Young as she was, Gingerpaw was hopping on her paw tips. Her tail lashed back and forth eagerly. She was an apprentice! Gingerpaw vowed she would be the best apprentice for Daringheart and she would do her hardest to learn and grow under Daringheart's tutelage.

Gingerpaw's stomach growled, but the little she-cat ignored it. Food could wait until later. She wanted to explore the territory NOW! Because of the excitement within Gingerpaw, her pelt stood on end as if she had been electrocuted. The she-cat must look a site with her pelt sticking up on end like that.

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Daringheart was pleased with the amount of enthusiasm her apprentice was showing, she seemed ready to take on the world. She was even starting to fluff up and Daringheart couldn’t help but laugh at the image that was created by the she-cat. She was small and with the spiking fur she resembled a porcupine, that and the pent up energy were enough to make an image that bordered hilarity. “Well we’ll just have to see if you beat me there, how about we go towards Lightningclan territory first. Ill point you in the right direction but don’t cross over it got it?” She asked already shaking out her paws getting ready for a fun little race. There was no way the apprentice had a remote chance of beating her, but she wouldn’t just leave her in the dust. Besides she had to be ahead to make sure Gingerpaw didn’t cross the border so as she lead her out of camp she pointed herself in the direction of their neighbors territory, “GO!” She said excitedly as she took off.

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Gingerpaw let out an excited yowl and raced after Daringheart. They were going to check out the LightningClan boarder! The pale ginger she-cat was excited and kept up rather well with the deputy of TreeClan. Gingerpaw felt herself getting faster and faster and was soon passing Daringheart just slightly. The little she-cat could feel herself growing tired, but she kept up. The excitement was causing a lot of adrenaline within the she-cat.

However, as they went farther and farther from the camp, Gingerpaw became a little more unsure. Soon she was falling behind again. She didn't want to lose, but she also didn't want to get into trouble on her first day of training. The she-cat looked at Daringheart, waiting for the older she-cat to let her know when the LightningClan boarder was close. Gingerpaw most definitely did NOT want to pass it.

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Daringheart was surprised at how quick her little apprentice was, she couldn’t help but giggle as she realized how tired Gingerpaw was going to be by the time the she was done with her tonight. The apprentice would sleep like a rock and Daringheart was glad for her, she had always loved that dead to world sleep you only got through a hard days work. She wanted the little she-cat to win the race so even as she started to slow so as to not cross the border Daringheart wouldn’t pull ahead. Soon though she would stop and pant out. “You win…” catching her breath in an over-exaggerated way before her apprentice to boost her confidence a bit more. “So we’ve stopped fairly close to the border.” Daringheart pointed out after they had both slowed their breathing, “Can you smell the difference between them and us? Yucky isn’t it?” She said sharing a giggle with her apprentice.

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Gingerpaw "won" and she purred at Daringheart. She had stopped when she-cat slowed so as to not cross the boarder. The pale ginger she-cat took a sniff and wrinkled her noise. "Is that LightningClan? They smell disgusting!" Normally she wouldn't have made an outburst like this, but the stench of another Clan was awkward and different. Gingerpaw didn't know what to say or do. At least she knew where this boarder was. She would never be passing it anytime soon.

Turning to Daringheart she waited for the older she-cat to explain more about one of their rival Clans. Gingerpaw knew that during the full moon and half moon the Clans were at peace... and half moon only for a certain number of cats, that was the Medicine Cats' night. Gingerpaw wanted to learn EVERYTHING! She still felt excitement course through her, just not as much as before.

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“Yes, I can pretty much assure you that you will never become fond of the scent.” She giggled softly having had the apprentice agree with her, “That is Lightningclan like I said before, they live on flatland and moors.” She started to walk away from the border as she moved towards other parts of the territory, “They usually eat ground bound food like us, only more rabbits. I don’t envy them, that’s a whole lot of running for such a small amount of lean meat.” She said as she laid her tail across her apprentices back in an affectionate way. “Let’s see…” She said as she thought about where to take her apprentice next “How about I take you to this very special place Lionstar took me not too long ago.” She said with a big smile. “You have got to see it while it’s still frozen, if we don’t do it now you won’t get a chance until neck year.”