[center][h2][b][i][color=9370D8] Maplestream: WillowClan Territory [/color][/i][/b][/h2][/center]

[center] Flinching against the cold, damp wind Maplestream pushed her body as flat as she could against the layer of thin snow as the large rapid roared beneath her in the gorge only a few tail lengths away. She tried not to think about the steep, dangerous drop down into the rushing, violent rapid she knew would swallow any cat who was unfortunate enough to fall in. [color=9370D8][i] None of us are good enough at swimming to survive that. . .[/i][/color] She had been trekking through WillowClan territory for most of the day and was sure she was pretty far from camp because she couldn't smell her Clanmates scents or their borders anymore.[/center]
[center] While she had been exploring their territory, she was surprised at what she had discovered. Despite the land around the camp being easy to navigate and somewhat predictable, the territory got more complicated, random and dangerous the further she went. Fallen frozen trees, sharp rocks, and of course the freezing, rushing rapids that connected at different points among the gorges. She had to admit she had no idea where in particular she was going, nor where the Moonpool was. But when thinking about it, she supposed her goal wasn't actually to find the Moonpool itself. She just needed to know the territory well enough to be able to report back to Fernstar before she left the camp at dawn exactly what to expect outside the Clan's borders. She cared about her friend so much and would never be able to forgive herself if something happened that she could have prevented. She had been traveling in what was mostly a straight line for a while now so she finally decided to head in a different direction to gauge another part of the territory.[/center]
[center] As she padded in a westward direction, she felt her stomach growl and realized that she hadn't eaten anything since she left camp and knew she had to stop to hunt. Opening her jaws to taste the air, she picked up the scent of mouse and quietly followed the smell until it led her to the roots of a large pine tree where the ground was sheltered from the layers of snow. As she crouched beside one of the larger roots, another smell hit her muzzle. She was sure it was another cat, but not one she recognized. It smelled [i]foreign[/i] almost. Like whoever left it wasn't from this area. Her curiosity peaking, she began circling the tree and scenting the nearby clumps of bracken. She tilted her head in confusion as another two scents, very similar to the first but slightly unique in turn entered her jaws. [color=9370D8][i] Three cats? I've never seen any cat that wasn't a WillowClan warrior anywhere in this forest before. And their scents are so intermingled it's almost certain they came together.[/i][/color] Forgetting about the mouse she was stalking, she padded slightly to the right following the scent which lead through some denser, tough grass to a damp patch of mud and dead leaves. Maplestream stopped in her tracks and looked at the ground with apprehension as she suddenly realized what she was seeing. The leaves had been trampled and the damp dirt disturbed in multiple places. Their scent trail disappeared. Whichever cats had been here [i]knew[/i] that rolling in wet leaves and dirt would mask their scent, [i]and[/i] they didn't want anyone knowing they were here.[/center]