When Mushroomstar had approached her less than a moon ago and revealed he’d like to assign her an apprentice, Ravenheart had been shocked. She was young, but not only was she inexperienced, she also suffered from an occasional spell of sharp pain in her leg - the result of an injury she received in the war. Of all the cats to choose to mentor an impressionable apprentice, Mushroomstar picked her? Ravenheart wasn’t complaining, of course, but she couldn’t help thinking there were better options. Didn’t Mushroomstar know she was an angry cat? Did he want her bitterness to influence an apprentice? And yet he gave her one anyway. She knew he’d chosen her simply so she’d have a chance to prove she only had RidgeClan’s best interests at heart, but that only enraged her further. She was a loyal RidgeClan cat - her views were just different from most others’.

Hiking the entire territory was a challenge for Ravenheart nowadays, but she needed to endure it today. Activity, even something as casual as walking, tended to trigger the sharp pain that sometimes shot up her leg, but Whitepaw had been apprenticed not long ago and he was due for a tour of RidgeClan’s home. She could’ve requested some other warrior take her apprentice on a tour, but she was too proud to ask for help. With a sigh, Ravenheart rocked back on her haunches beside the camp’s entrance and winced at the feeling of freezing snow stinging her paw pads. She beckoned a passing apprentice over to her and ordered them to fetch Whitepaw for her. She would’ve retrieved Whitepaw herself, but she was taking this opportunity to rest before the lengthy journey ahead of her.

It was only dawn, but Ravenheart figured they should get a head start in case her leg acted up and they had to pause a number of times. As she waited, she couldn’t help feeling a tad worried. Whitepaw was her first apprentice, after all. She feared her injury was going to slow down his training. And she knew he was a bit aggressive - how difficult was he going to be? But Ravenheart buried her concerns when she saw Whitepaw approaching and let a neutral expression settle onto her face. “Good morning, Whitepaw. I hope you slept well. We’ve got a long walk ahead of us.” She rose to her paws and guided her apprentice out of camp. From there, she headed west, strolling along the foot of the mountain range that made up the northern section of their territory. “Tell me, what do you know about our territory? What do you hope to see today?”