"Rise and shine, sleepyheads!"

Fernpaw blinked awake. At first she was confused. Instead of the spindly gorse branches intertwined with brambles overhead, there was simply open sky. Where am- oh, right! I'm an apprentice!

Stretching, she rise from her nest. Locustpaw was no where to be seen, but Hawthornpaw was snoring heavily next to Rabbitpaw.

"Guys, wake up!" She purred. "Some cat called for us!"

Her brother shifted, tipping his head back in a massive yawn. "Why? It's only dawn."

"We're going to explore the moors, that's why!" Fernpaw rocked on her paws. "Cmon, let's go!" Assuming he would follow her in a few moments, she wove out of the tall grass and into the clearing.

There stood three cats; one was a dark ginger tabby tom with green eyes. Scorchwind. Another was a golden-brown tabby tom with darker brown front does and darker brown back socks. Ferretfang. And the third was a golden tabby she-cat with joyful blue eyes. Marigoldshine!

   "Greetings, Fernpaw," her mentor meowed, dipping her head respectfully.

   Fernpaw repeated the gesture for the senior warrior. "Good morning! I'm so excited to tour the territory!"

   "Me too," Hawthornpaw has stumbled out of the den, and was now padding sleepily over to his mentor. "Why'd it have to be so early though?"

   Scorchwind narrowed his eyes. "Because, it's waste of time to sit around all day."

   Marigoldshine draped her tail over the dark ginger tabby's shoulders. "It's his first day. Cut him some slack." The tom softened at her words, but kept his chin held high.

   "We're wasting daylight. Let's go," Scorchwind meowed, giving a parting nod to Ferretfang, who's tail tip twitched to show that he acknowledged the gesture.

   Marigoldshine smiled at her apprentice. "Let's go! Bluewillow took Briarpaw out earlier to look around, so it'll just be us four."

   "Six, actually," Fernpaw looked up to see Kestrelwing, her pale brown tabby fur neatly groomed. "Do you mind if Locustpaw, Ferretfang, Rabbitpaw, and I tag along too? If Rabbitpaw ever gets out of his nest, that is."

   The golden tabby's whiskers twitched. "Sure! Fernpaw, go get Rabbitpaw. We'll wait at the camp entrance."

   The white tabby she-car nodded, and darted back to the apprentices' sleeping area.

   "Rabbitpaw. Rabbitpaw!" She prodded him, yowling in his ear. "RABBITPAW!"

   But the tom didn't stir. Fernpaw was starting to get worried. "Rabbitpaw? Are you ok?"

   Suddenly, the tom bolted upright, chuckling. "I got you!" He snorted. "You thought I was dead!"

   "Don't do that!" She cuffed him hard on the nose, making him stop laughing. "You gave me a heart attack!"

   "You didn't have to hit me," he grumbled, rubbing his dark brown muzzle with a paw. "Fine, I'll get up. Are we patrolling together?"

   Fernpaw shook her head. "No, we're touring the territory. Kestrelwing just wanted you and Locustpaw to tag along."

   The two apprentices padded out of the tall grass, heading off to the camp entrance. Fernpaw stopped in front of Locustpaw, her eyes shining.

   "I'm so excited!" She purred, sitting down next to him while Ferretfang scolded Rabbitpaw for being late.

   The black tom smiled at her. "Yeah, the moor is pretty cool. The first time is always the best."

   Fernpaw suddenly felt hot with embarrassment. I've already been out before... she shivered as she remembered the terrible night, when she had almost died at the claws of a RiverClan apprentice.

   Locustpaw was staring at her questioningly, so she blurted out, "Yes, I'm sure it is! C-can't wait!"

   "Hey, lovebirds, we're leaving!" Fernpaw whipped her head around at Marigoldshine's teasing mew. Her eyes were lit with mischief, and her tail lashed happily.

   Fernpaw's fur bristled. "We are not lovebirds!" She hissed defensively. "We're just friends!"

   She saw something flash in Locustpaw's eyes, and he ducked away, probably embarrassed. Her mentor snorted, turning away and exiting camp. Fernpaw and her friend followed. As she walked under the solid level of dirt and entered the old rabbit tunnel that lead out of camp, Fernpaw felt a flicker of doubt in her chest. I still feel bad for Briarpaw, she thought, head hanging low.

But her sprits lifted when she caught a whiff of a familiar scent. "Snowheart!" She purred softly, gazing at the pretty she-cat. "But, what are you doing here? What if some cat sees you?"

The friendly queen draped her fluffy tail over Fernpaw's shoulders, as if to say, "It will be alright."

"I'm excited to see the territory in the daylight!" The new apprentice chattered on. "The borders, the best hunting spots, the old tunnel entrance, the la- oh my StarClan!"

The cats had reached a tall hill that had a large, smooth stone jutting over the edge. As Fernpaw's paws absorbed the heat stored within the stone, she gazed out at the vast body of water before her.

"The lake," she meowed breathlessly as she stared at the rippling waves, lapping at the shore. Pink, orange, and gold shone off the lake as the sun rose to its full height in the sky. "I-it's beautiful."

Marigoldshine pressed closer to her. "This is why we brought you out at dawn," her mentor even sounded awed. "It's always so pretty early in the morning, and late at night too."

All Fernpaw could do was nod. The sparkling lake seemed so inviting, so enticing, and it was right there... just a few tree-lengths below her.

She felt fur press against her other side. "This is incredible," Locustpaw murmured. "Do you like it?"

"I do," she purred, turning her head to meet his warm yellow gaze. "I really do."