Border, bored, bored. She was bored, once again. She huffed, kicking a stone across the clearing. More training would be fine, just something. She grumbled to herself, stewing in boredom. Then, she noticed another at. Sweetswan, wasn't it? She'd been on the same patrol as her a little while back. She'd do fine. So, Hornetpaw trotted up. "Sweetswan," she greeted her, sitting down just in front of the warrior. "Can you give me some training? Maybe climbing?" It was phrased as a question, but Hornetpaw's voice sounded demanding as usual, as she brushed out her cheek fur with a paw.
art by velli S W E E T S W A N Trans MtF (She/Her) - 30 Moons
> Sweetswan watched as the apprentice approached her and requested training. Another one? Well, why not. "Of course, climbing sounds good," she purred, getting to her paws. The cream and brown tabby made her way to the camp exit, and hopefully the apprentice followed. "Do you have any prior knowledge of climbing?"
x ghostie is haunting this signature
Bean's favorite staff member Lillian was here
lio sneezed here (achoo)
you see crude graffiti... it spells "velli wuz here"
Rose caught the sickness (oh dear)
fade summons a prowler to chase rose
art by velli S W E E T S W A N Trans MtF (She/Her) - 30 Moons
> Sweetswan watched as the apprentice approached her and requested training. Another one? Well, why not. "Of course, climbing sounds good," she purred, getting to her paws. The cream and brown tabby made her way to the camp exit, and hopefully the apprentice followed. "Do you have any prior knowledge of climbing?"
Perfect, Sweetswan was happy to provide! Hornetpaw smiled, pretty happy with her success, and followed Sweetswan along. “Nope, none at all.” She responded. She didn’t have all too much experience with anything at all, to be honest, except a little bit of hunting. That’s all Minkvenom had taught her, and they never even got round to catching prey. Going out on patrol to get that done. Hmph. Whatever.
art by velli S W E E T S W A N Trans MtF (She/Her) - 30 Moons
> So none at all. But at least there would be no reteaching of knowledge already obtained. "Alrighty then," the she-cat purred, coming to a halt. "There's no super complicated ways to climb like hunting and fighting, but it does require concentration, since there is always a risk of falling and hurting yourself.
"In order to even start scaling a tree you'll need to use your claws, and dig into the bark. Your hind legs boost the rest of your body up, and your forelegs are to latch on. Keep moving upwards and don't look down.
"When you stop, you'll want to stay on a branch that can hold your weight. Thin, bendy, and frail branches will snap under your weight, so it's best to avoid those. Strong and thick branches will hold you up without breaking."
That was a good chunk of instructions. Her amber eyes glanced back to Hornetpaw, a soft smile on her maw. "Do you think you're ready to start climbing now?"
x ghostie is haunting this signature
Bean's favorite staff member Lillian was here
lio sneezed here (achoo)
you see crude graffiti... it spells "velli wuz here"
Rose caught the sickness (oh dear)
fade summons a prowler to chase rose
art by velli S W E E T S W A N Trans MtF (She/Her) - 30 Moons
> So none at all. But at least there would be no reteaching of knowledge already obtained. "Alrighty then," the she-cat purred, coming to a halt. "There's no super complicated ways to climb like hunting and fighting, but it does require concentration, since there is always a risk of falling and hurting yourself.
"In order to even start scaling a tree you'll need to use your claws, and dig into the bark. Your hind legs boost the rest of your body up, and your forelegs are to latch on. Keep moving upwards and don't look down.
"When you stop, you'll want to stay on a branch that can hold your weight. Thin, bendy, and frail branches will snap under your weight, so it's best to avoid those. Strong and thick branches will hold you up without breaking."
That was a good chunk of instructions. Her amber eyes glanced back to Hornetpaw, a soft smile on her maw. "Do you think you're ready to start climbing now?"
She nodded carefully, as she listened. Thank goodness it was gonna be as hard as hunting. Hunting just had so much going on - it'd taken her so long to get the hang of it. That is, if she had got the hang of it. Maybe her first catch was pure luck? She wasn't sure now. Fighting wise, she reckoned she was doing okay. It was still a lot to handle, and she was a long way off being at Dad's level though.
Grab on with your claws, and haul yourself upward. Then you need to find thick branches to sit on - nothing flimsy. Well, it sounded simple enough, right? "Ready as ever," she flicked her fur, overconfident as ever. This should be a breeze.
art by velli S W E E T S W A N Trans MtF (She/Her) - 30 Moons
> "Alright then, go ahead and give it a shot. I'll stay down here in case you fall. And remember - Don't look down!" Sweetswan purred, tilting her head to the tree as an 'okay' for hornetpaw to proceed.
x ghostie is haunting this signature
Bean's favorite staff member Lillian was here
lio sneezed here (achoo)
you see crude graffiti... it spells "velli wuz here"
Rose caught the sickness (oh dear)
fade summons a prowler to chase rose
art by velli S W E E T S W A N Trans MtF (She/Her) - 30 Moons
> "Alright then, go ahead and give it a shot. I'll stay down here in case you fall. And remember - Don't look down!" Sweetswan purred, tilting her head to the tree as an 'okay' for hornetpaw to proceed.
She nodded. Yeah right, like she would fall! This would be easy. The apprentice stretched her paws up, jamming her claws into the bark to grip on. Then, she attempted to pull herself up - oh - what? Her paws were slipping! She couldn't even get the first leg up! Maybe this wasn't as easy as she thought it'd be... She tried again, this time, she properly dug her claws in, deep as possible, finding a good piece of bark to grip. Aha! That was much better. She latched on, and dragged her back paws up. Now, she just needed to move upward... She could see a thick branch just ahead, so she only needed to climb up by around one fox length.
Right, just detach one paw... She lifted a front paw, and almost instantly started scrambling, back legs kicking up and down. Yep, this was a lot harder than it seemed. But! She wouldn't let herself be embarrassed. She couldn't. Feeling like she could fall at any second, she threw her paw forward, grasping on higher up. Now, she was in quite a predicament. Little back legs kicked, as she desperately tried to move upward - she had to get this right first time, she couldn't take so long, like she had with hunting. She grasped higher with her other paw, feeling an overwhelming sense of relief as her back paws were able to move upward. Not far now, she just needed to get to that branch.
What had Sweetswan said? Don't look down? As she reached for the branch, she glanced at the ground. Well, that wouldn't be a nice fall. She supposed Sweetswan would catch her if she did fall, but oh that would be so embarrassing... What was she, a little kit? She grumbled, and grasped the branch with her forward, hauling her upper body over it. Her heart leaped for the couple seconds she had no grip - who knew climbing could be so much? Then, she scrambled up, back paws clambering on in a particularly non-elegant mess. "There!" She gasped, breathing heavily from the exertion, "...Easy." She bragged with a flick of her fur.
Don't look down!
