"Sunspring is my mentor. He used to be a rogue, but then he joined us. He's one of the best mentors. He's probably fought more battles than seasons he's been alive! He acts like he's really tough, but he's just a grumpy old tom." 

   Seapaw babbled on and on as she dragged Duskelle through their "camp." She finally stopped in front of a tree. It was an interesting and odd tree. Its roots rose high and its branches stopped low. They had been cleared away in the center, so that there was a cozy little hollow to sleep in.

   "This is the warrior's den! It's where the warriors sleep," Seapaw said, padding into the shadow of the den, but not quite going in. 

    She called out, "Sunspring! Sunspring, get out here!" She glanced at Duskelle and loud-whispered, "It's the Twoleg!"

   Duskelle saw a shadowy form in the den slowly rise and stretch. It then walked out, the dark fur gradually being revealed as a soft orange. The cat finally ducked out of the den and Duskelle got a good look at him. He had shaggy light orange fur and fierce, greenish eyes that had a twinkle of wisdom in them. He stopped when he caught scent of Duskelle.

   "A Twoleg," he drew out. His voice had a slight accent, kind of like Al's, but on a much lower scale, like it hadn't been used in so long that it had died out.

   "I heard ya could understand us," he said. "And speak to us too! Some Twoleg, I'd say, some Twoleg."

   "Yup!" Seapaw exclaimed.

  The tom, Sunspring, turned to her. "And Minnowstar's letting you be the one to show her 'round, eh?"

   "Yup!" Seapaw said again.

   "So, are you stayin' with RiverClan?" the tom asked Duskelle.

   "RiverClan...?"

   "That's what we call ourselves," Sunspring explained.

   "Oh, yes, I'm staying. At least, as long as Minnowstar will let me stay," Duskelle answered.

   "Alright, that's fine with me!" Sunspring exclaimed. "You seem like a fine character."

   He winked at Duskelle, and she was struck by how nice the old tom was to her. Nobody else here had shown that much kindness to her, except for Seapaw. Well, not everybody in the world was unwelcoming to strangers.

   "Alright, so Seapaw, what about your apprentice duties?" Sunspring asked the young she-cat, scrutinizing her.

   "Can I not do them today? Please, please, please? Just this one day?" Seapaw wheedled. 

   Sunspring's expression turned thoughtful, as if he was weighing the pros and cons. He finally answered, "Alright, that's fine. But ya need to be back in apprentice duties by next morning, you understand? "

   "Yes! Sure, sure, Sunspring!" Seapaw exclaimed, almost jumping up and down.

   "Come on, Duskelle!" She spun and raced away again. Duskelle ran after her, struggling to keep up. Seapaw stopped in front the apprentice den and waiting until Duskelle reached her.

   "So, now, I'm gonna have to tell you all about the other clans and who our clan works and what the warrior code is..." 

   Duskelle sat down and listened intently as the she-cat told her about cats from long, long ago and a valiant code to always follow and battles during border patrols and Gatherings and many, many more things about the four Clans. The sun dipped lower and lower in the sky, but the young apprentice and the young twoleg didn't take notice. Soon, the sun had disappeared completely and that was when Seapaw stopped talking. 

   "So, that's the story of the Clans," she finished. Then she glanced around and a shocked expression stole over her face. 

   "It's already sun-down! I can't believe time passed by so fast...well let's go get some food before we sleep. I'm starving!" The apprentice rose and stretched. 

  Duskelle realized that she was hungry too, had been hungry for a long time now, but her mind had been so fascinated by Seapaw's story that it had repeatedly pushed away the pangs her stomach sent her. She had had nothing to eat the whole day. 

    Seapaw scuttled off towards the pile of small rodents and Duskelle followed, just as eager to fill her rumbling belly. Seapaw reached the pile first. She snagged a mouse with her claws and tossed it to Duskelle, then took a vole for herself. She started to eat. Duskelle dug into the mouse. She had eaten a few before, when River had caught some and shared with her. 

   They tasted a lot better than the food the creatures had given her. When both of them finished eating, they headed back to the apprentice den and Duskelle curled up in the same spot she had yesterday. Today had gone by quickly. The stories had taken a lot of time to tell. 

   She waited a long time before tendrils of sleep crept into her mind. And then she slipped into a dreamland filled with beautiful green-blue eyes full of hurt and betrayal and battles between cats in different clans and brave warriors upholding the warrior code.