At the first chance to escape, the young pupil didn't hesitate, letting her mentor know she was going to go for a walk. As proud as Chestnut was to be a Witch in training, she often spent her days cooped up in the Witch's den with Earlybloom or with listening to the Ancients and their never ending pains and ailments. Not that she was complaining. She took pride in her work and the role the God and Goddess chose for her, but there was something so exhilarating about stepping out from the routine and just being a cat.

The speckled she-cat stepped through the forest, her pale green orbs bright with excitement as she took in the powdery white forest around her. It wasn't the first time, or the second or the 20th time she had explored on her own, but every time she did felt like the first time. She could never get enough of Winterclan. It was her home and it was beautiful. The pupil swelled with pride as she took in her surroundings lovingly. Having been so lost in the beauty of it all, she trailed off her usual path that unknowingly led her towards the Summerclan border. As she neared, the scent of Summerclan wavered over in her direction, filling her senses. Surprise was evident in the young pupil's expression as she followed the trail. She had never wander off so close to the borders before. She knew she had no combative or defensive training. If she would ever run into another clan cat and rouge, she wouldn't stand a chance. It didn't help that her growth was stunted, leaving her smaller than a cat would be at her age.

As part of her mind began to ring alarms, she caught sight of a cat ahead. It's pelt was unique and most importantly, foreign to the pupil. Fear tingled through the pupil in a poor attempt to warn the young she-cat away, but her curiosity for the small figure pushed her forward. Had it been a larger grown cat with no clan scent, it would have been a different story, but sensing nothing but Summerclan, Chestnutpaw knew that the chances of a clan cat to attack a Witch in training was non existent. Besdies, the cat was quite small in size and outwardly posed no threat, at least one that the pupil could sense.

"Hello!" Chestnutpaw spoke up, slowly down her entrance to a weary but friendly speed, her body language offering nothing but peace.

As the pupil approached the rather friendly she-cat, she began to take notice of her pretty multi-colored fur. It reminded of of Wolfbee's calico pelt, but his pelt was much longer in length than the young she-cat. As the two stood there in a moment of quiet observation, Chesnutpaw couldn't help but offer a small smile. There was no ounce of threat in the young cat despite the difference in clans. It was a nice feeling to see a cat for who they were and not the scent they carried. It was obvious that the other cat felt the same way.

The sudden and blunt compliment made the already smiling Chestnutpaw only beam brighter, her head following the she-cat as she circled her. For any cat, the position would have been intimidating, but Chestnutpaw felt oddly comfortable, finding an odd amount of trust in the other cat. A familiar scent grew in the air around them, but Chestnutpaw struggled to pinpoint what it was exactly. "It's so nice to meet you Sunpaw!" She gushed in controlled excitement, "My name is Chesnutpaw-" As she began to introduce herself, the familiar scent in the air was finally connected towards a distinct idea and the pupil's eyes widened slightly as realization hit her "Are you- have you been herb hunting?" Her noise wiggled as more and more familiar herbs began to come forward.

Sunpaw's response brought a curtain of shock across the young pupil's expression for just a moment before it transformed to a bright expression of relief and excitement. Of course she recognized the term. Long ago, Winterclan once used the term to explain a Pupil's role and a Witch was once called a Medicine Cat. "I am a Pupil too!- I mean, it's like a medicine cat apprentice!" She exclaimed with a new wave of bubbly energy, gushing quickly. No wonder she felt so comfortable in the cat's presence despite their different alliances. Despite the many half-moon meetings, Chestnutpaw had yet to attend her first gathering with her Mentor. For some reason or another, she was always needed back at camp, tending to those who caught the usual ailments that was expected from a harsh Leaf-bare. "I've never met another Pupil before..." The words were softer as she began to reexamine Sunpaw in a new light, with a innocent sense of awe.

This time, Chesnutpaw mimicked Sunpaw's movements, following the circle movements like a leaf being carried down a stream, her own steps light as she followed, a few small hops sprinkled as her body grew more tense with excitement. At the offer of friendship, the speckled pupil's ears perked, a impossibly wide smile growing across her expression. "I would love to be your friend!" She meowed happily, her fluffy tail lashing out in visible excitement, but she froze suddenly as logic caught up to her "Do you think we will get in trouble if anyone finds out?" She whispered, a look of concern grew on her expression, melting away the content that was there just moments earlier. Her mentor always warned her about venturing too far out when she would leave camp. Witches and Pupils were thought of highly among the clans, granting them immunity and safety among the other clans, but Earlybloom always said she should be wary and respectful of distance. Everything happening now would have been against her mentor's warnings.

The Summerclan Pupil's good points lulled Chestnutpaw's worries away in an instant and she could help but smile brightly. She was right. Witches and Pupil did have some level of protection thanks to their status, as Earlybloom had explained to her moons ago when she first left Chestnupaw behind to attend a half-moon meeting. And with the company of another Pupil, the chances of trouble from Summerclan was slim to none.

At Sunpaw's invitation, Chestnutpaw's eyes widened. She had never stepped forward into another clan's territory. The thought was both scary and exciting, but more so the later as trust in the Summerclan Pupil only grew larger with every passing moment "I would love to!" She squeaked in excitement, bouncing after the calico she-cat.

Chestnutpaw listened on with excitement, her body tingling with excitement as she took in the unfamiliar sights and powerful Summerclan scents. Her ears perked up at the mention of flower meadows. Winterclan had little patches of flowers here and there that blossomed briefly, but due to the higher altitude, very few types of flowers managed, especially through the cold leaf-bare seasons. Sunpaw's words suddenly cut off and Chestnutpaw turned to see the pupil shake off the snow, visibly shivering. "Oh, well...." Chestnutpaw started, looking down at her own paws, unsure of how to explain something she did so naturally. It felt like she was trying to explain how she took her breaths. "I don't know, I guess we are used to the snow." She held out a paw, turning it upwards which were rough and worn. She glanced back at their tracks, nothing the differences in steps. While Sunpaw danced through the thicker parts of the snow, Chesnutpaw's steps were more calculated, finding the thinner patches of snow, stones and roots that reached the surface. "Do you see that?" She pointed the steps out, stopping to look behind them "When I was little, my mother always told me to be careful with stepping into large mounds of snow because we never knew if there was a ditch or hole hidden under. She told us instead to find the thinnest patches of snow, where you could see grass, or use stones and roots to step around, that way you avoid as much snow as possible." Her pale green eyes blinked, looking back ahead at their trail. Though there was still more snow ahead, it was thinning. "I guess we are more weary of the snow and where we should step, we aren't always getting ourselves in deep snow to get too cold-besides..." The young pupil twirled playfully, her fluffy tortoise-shell pelt swaying gentle with her movements "Almost all of us have pretty thick coats, it takes longer for the cold to really seep in!"

Quiet pride swelled up in the Winterclan pupil as Sunpaw showered her with her compliment. She could feel her pelt warm with embarrassment so she disregarded the compliment completely in hopes of calming herself down. The image of sleeping bees in flowers dashed the last of the tortoise shelled cat's embarrassment. "Bees do that?" She inquired with wide eyes full of awe. Sure the pupil had seen bees herself, but in Winterclan, the lands were more coarse and rough, leaving little rich dirt for flower fields.