Managing multiples [Tunnel navigation & digging]

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Deputy | He/him | 55 Moons
Power Card: Cold Gust

Ooooooook so he had the next batch of tunneling apprentices. Multiple tunneling apprentices. Trouble tunneling apprentices (bar Gracklepaw because Crowtooth was in denial his nephew was just as bad).



At least they were all roughly in the same stage of their training so he could do joint sessions? Ugh yeah no it was no comfort this was gonna be a MESS. He almost prayed one refused to show up. But he had to give them a chance to gather for training regardless.


"Gracklepaw! Strawberrypaw! Cinderpaw! Time to start yer tunnelin' journey, be there or be a slug an' I aint bringin' slugs. Hop too!"


Settling in to wait outside the apprentices den he just yelled into the tom yawned, fluffing up his fur and once again regretting loosing all his warm shoulder fur. At least it'd be nice once they were below.


@Starfall @Rose @squidz

[squidz]

art by Daragca
/ GRACKLEPAW \
stocky dark gray tabby with a beige overcoat and bright blue eyes; silver tongue t1
[ windclan apprentice | tomcat | 5 moons | mischievous, charismatic, adventurous ]

5/100

—

"Bwaah! I ain't no slug!"

As always, one could hear the young tom's yowl before needing to see or smell him. Gracklepaw bundled out of the den, blue eyes bright with pure excitement. His first tunneling session! He'd been practicing like crazy, and now finally had a chance to show his uncle that the training event the deputy had run for the kits hadn't been lost on him.

Aaand he was the first one here! Hah! Gracklepaw made sure to run his circuit (glorified zoomies) around his uncle once, twice, thrice before hopping to a stop in front of him. Puffing out his chest with pride, he flashed a toothy grin at the scarred deputy.

"I'm so ready, Uncle Crow! I've been practicin'! You just wait and seeeeee."

[ @Starfall - Cinderpaw | @Rose - Strawberrypaw | @Rani - Crowtooth ]

[Starfall]

Cinderpaw
@Rose , @squidz , @Rani

He was still pouting. Being put with the stinky ugly one. He looked like a slug that got stepped on and got licked by a frog.

He was attempting to have the deputy explode with his meanest glare he could muster. Which wasn't much considering he still had a fair ammount of baby fluff to him.

Ears twitching as he fought up the courage to ask a question. The question itself coming out like how one would barf after eating some bad fish.

"What is Tunneling?"

[Rose]

Post Count: 17/100 | Purrk(s): Lyrebird’s Lullaby

Weirder than the fact that Crowtooth was calling her name was that there were two others alongside hers. It felt strange. Why? Though Strawberrypaw wasn't thinking it, her roleplayer was totally pegging them to be buffers between the ankle biter and her mentor, and definitely not because Cinderpaw and Gracklepaw were Crowtooth's other apprentices. Oh, wait, she had a new, better idea.

"Are these." The apprentice voices haltingly as she stands in front of the deputy, looking up, her attention entirely on him. "Your other. Kiddos." Her voice shifts on the last word, for the sole purpose of mimicking his. She recognized... one of them. In passing, mostly by scent. From her early Nursery days because he'd been nursed by Firenotmom.

[ @Rani - Crowtooth / @squidz - Crowpaw / @Starfall - Cinderpaw ]

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Deputy | He/him | 55 Moons

Power Card: Cold Gust

Gracklepaw was cute, Cinderpaw was pouting, and- "Oh fer the love o'- Strawberrypaw! I swear Ive asked ya ta stop usin' my voice like that! Its creepy.



Plus when we're down there its gonna be impossible ta tell whos speakin' an' I need yall to respond ta my orders immediately so I wont tolerate this. Ya speak in yer own voice down there Strawberrypaw or I dont take ya, understand? Its dangerous, tunnelin' aint playtime." Usually the tom would be terrified she might murder him in his sleep for taking such a harsh tone with her but even experienced cats could die in the deep. Her tricking anyone into following a bad order wasnt something he was willign to risk.


"As fer ya Cinderpaw, tunnelin' is the skill o' usin' the vast complex o' warrens an' tunnels below the ground ta hunt and navigate an'... Well a lotta thin's. Tunnelin' is windclans special secret skill an' 'cuz yer my apprentice Cinderpaw yer gonna be one."
If Cinderpaw didnt want that he could cry a river or ask Twilightstar for reassignment, Crowtooth didnt tolerate brats.




"Now lemme make one thin' clear. It can be dangerous down there so do not wander off an' obey every order I give like yer life depends on it. Also dont be stupid, fail ta do that an' I demote ya ta kit, I aint playin'. Clear?"
It better be clear seriously this was a privilege to learn and not many cats did, fewer were trained by Crowtooth himself on the matter.



"Ok, so first thin' is is that its (obviously) dark down there, ya cant see a thing ever. Sooo any o' ya have any ideas o' how ya might manage ta walk around an' find yer way anyways? Best answer gets ta keep the coolest thing we find down there."
Could be a bug, could be a bone, could be a cool rock or stick the tom didnt know, they'd find out on the way.


@Starfall @squidz @Rose

[squidz]

art by Daragca
/ GRACKLEPAW \
stocky dark gray tabby with a beige overcoat and bright blue eyes; silver tongue t1
[ windclan apprentice | tomcat | 5 moons | mischievous, charismatic, adventurous ]

8/100

—

"Whoaa, you sounded just like him!" Gracklepaw snickered to the she-cat as he heard Strawberrypaw's eerily good impression of his uncle. How did she do that? He was just about to open his trap to ask her if she could teach him her mysterious ways (because StarClan knows what he'd do with such a power) when Crowtooth snapped at the apprentice.

Normally, Gracklepaw would be going blah blah blah to Crowtooth's rambling. Danger, listening to rules, yadda yadda... but the sharp warning was heeded by the 'paw only when he heard his uncle threaten demotion to kit. He would never demote his dearest Grackle, would he?

As silly as the young tom was... he also didn't want to get demoted to a kit. That would be rather humiliating; Crowpaw would never let him hear the end of it, and Egretpaw would just giggle (after feeling bad for him, probably). And besides that, he wanted to be a good tunneler; the best the Clan had ever seen! So in this rare case that Crowtooth should probably thank StarClan for, his rambunctious nephew was compelled to listen. Hold your applause.

Gracklepaw nodded vigorously to the warning, and then sprang back to his paws when his uncle talking about navigating around. "Ooh, ooh! I got it!" He did, in fact, not have it right away — and a bunch of 'hmms' filled the air space as he hemmed and hawed for a moment. "I couullld.... smell you, Uncle Crow! Yeah, if I just follow you 'n felt your tail or somethin', I wouldn't get lost. Oh, and maybe you put some cool rock on the ground or somethin', that when I step on it I know I'm going through the right tunnel!"

...How would he know which rock? And wouldn't a rock hurt if he had to step on it every time? Who cares, it sounded cool! To him, at least. Probably no one else. Speaking of, why were the other two not as excited? Didn't they wanna be super cool tunnelers like his uncle!?

[ @Rani - Crowtooth | @Rose - Strawberrypaw | @Starfall - Cinderpaw ]