Vinepaw Training

[Moonraven]

Territory Tour/Borders
Starry Meadow
Twilight Falls
Sky Glade
Sunset Grove
Windy Hills

Thunderglade
Whispering Wetlands
Sedgewater Valley

Training Experiences
Hunting Lesson - Here
Rabbit Hunting Lesson - Here
Battling Training - Here
Tunneling Training -Here
Battle Experience - Here

Patrols
Border Patrol - Here

Clan Meetings
Clan Meeting #1 - Here
Clan Meeting #2 - Here

Final Assessment -

[Moonraven]

Dustbunny shook out small clumps of dirt while leaving the tunnels under the camp. Vinepaw's training has been going pretty well, and so has Frostpaw's. She hadn't heard anything about the older apprentice wanting to learn how to tunnel, but Vinepaw she knew was interested in it. She figured she'd focus on navigating today and maybe see how well he hunted underground.

"Vinepaw," the brown she-cat called out. "We're doing a tunneling lesson today." She told the apprentice before leading him towards the opening that led into the underground. She climbed down the hole on confident paws, not going far as she waited for Vinepaw to follow her.

"So first thing, when you walk through the tunnels you'll want to use your ears instead of your eyes. Even as your eyes adjust to the dark, you'll never be able to see as well as you should. You'll want to use your whiskers, they're a great help to tell you how close you are to the walls. They'll also help you find gusts of air which could help you locate a way out if you ever get lost down here. Although you shouldn't get lost so long as you're with someone experienced." Dustbunny meowed.

"The ground isn't going to be level when you move so at first, you'll want to keep your weight low over your paws so you can adjust to the changes and feel for any rocks or anything that might trip you. Once you get used to walking down here you'll be fine." Dustbunny began padding down the tunnel, not moving more than a few tail lengths from the apprentice, but giving him enough space to get a feel for the tunnel.
@Tallstar [Vinepaw]

[Tallstar]

Vinepaw padded into the tunnel slowly testing the ground as he walked after Dustbunny he had always wanted to go in the tunnels and now that he was finally in them he was estatic he kept good pace with Dustbunny “This is amazing it’s dark but the smells of the dirt help” he kept close to Dustbunny but not close enough to be running up her tail while Vinepaw usually was a nervous cat he felt strangely calm here in the tunnels @Moonraven

[Moonraven]

Dustbunny listened to Vinepaw's paw steps as they walked. It sounded like he was doing alright. Dustbunny set off down another tunnel route while explaining some tips.

"So one way to avoid getting lost down here is to set up scent marks, despite the dirt and dust you can still tell the difference between a stranger's scent and WindClan's." Dustbunny pressed her flank against the side of the tunnel wall, and small clumps of mud clung to her flank as she did but the molly's never been on for keeping cleaning anyway.

"I was taught that in the tunnels you should always work in pairs, in case of a cave-in or a tunnel collapses, it is safer to be with a partner than on your own." Dustbunny had learned that from personal experience with her mother.

"I've been coming down here on my own for a bit, which isn't particularly safe but I've got the experience necessary to survive down here." Not to mention until recently, she's been the only tunneler WindClan had. However, now that Crowtooth was back she wasn't the only tunneler anymore. He seemed to be training as many cats as he could for tunneling, so she imagined it wouldn't be long before the tunnelers had more cats. She wasn't sure how Crowtooth handled stuff like this, but a buddy system is what Dustbunny liked best.

The she-cat picked up her pace a bit and turned, walking down a new path, and didn't bother warning Vinepaw about the turn. No one was perfect and running into walls and not knowing where exactly to turn was a part of the training.

"So that mostly it on navigation, if you don't have any questions, we can start learning how to dig."
@Tallstar [Vinepaw]

[Tallstar]

Vinepaw listemd to his mentors words about a buddy system and he silently wondered who his buddy would be in the future he slightly hoped Rabbitpaw due to the fact crowtooth scared him.It wasn’t that the older Tom was mean to him it was just his demeanor he hated that he got anxious easily but he knew he could grow out of it or so he hoped he was ripped from his thoughts when he ran face first into a wall he grunted and got to his feet and quickly looked for Dustbunny “How many moons did it take you to become so knowledgeable about the tunnels?..Do other clans tunnel and if they do what do we do if we run into one of them in our tunnels? he asked one question after the other he extremely curious and wanted to be prepared if he had to fight he gathered the information told about navigating and swore it to memory

@Moonraven

[Moonraven]

She heard him bounce against a dirt wall and wince softly. The molly waited for Vinepaw to catch his bearing and catch up to her before she moved on. "Hmm, about the average time it takes apprentices to finish their training. I was taught mostly the basics and picked up a few things by myself as I became more and more experienced. But my knowledge is little compared to Crowtooth's. You should ask him or maybe his apprentice, Rabibitpaw, for an extra lesson. I'm sure they'll have something new to teach you." Dustbunny wasn't jealous or troubled by Crowtooth's skills or abilities. As he was older and more experienced than her it only made sense, he knew more than her.

Dustbunny wanted the best for Vinepaw. Dustbunny was a good tunneler, Crowtooth was the best one. That and he was a social bug, unlike Dustbunny who preferred avoiding her clanmates. Once he returned, it felt like everyone and their grandmother were suddenly interested in tunneling again. She was perfectly content with him front and center once again.

"Hm, if the other clan's tunnel they haven't told anyone about it as far as I'm aware. I'm sure they can if they put their minds to it. I've never met another clan cat outside of WindClan in our tunnels, but as these tunnels are just like our regular territory, you'd do the same as you would on the moors, warn them away, and then chase them off if you can. They'd be trespassing on our territory and must be run off."
@Tallstar [Vinepaw]

[Tallstar]

He nodded and followed he listened to Dustbunnys words closely and cherished the moment he knew he would remember these days for the rest of his warrior life “So when do I get to learn how to tunnel?” He asked eagerly he wanted to start helping make more tunnels as soon as he could he had many ideas for new tunnels and for sneak attack routes @Moonraven

[Moonraven]

"We'll practice some digging here." She meowed, leading the way into the old, abandoned rabbit warren underneath the lone pine tree within their territory. Dustbunny used this place a lot to practice stuff, it was pretty stable and safe for digging so she wasn't worried about anything collapsing. Multiple beams of light shone through the small holes ceiling of the warren, making it easier to see. Dustbunny led the way to a small hole and took a seat in front of it. "I just wanna make sure you know how to dig properly and then we'll try applying that to digging the tunnel walls."

Dustbunny's thrust her paw into the cool soil and pulled out a lump of dirt. Since this dirt had been dug before she didn't need to use more than just the bare tips of her claws to aid her churning the dirt. She pushed the dirt firmly to one side, patting it down, and repeated the motions of hollowing out the earth while making sure her dirt pile was neat and compact. "So you can't just dig all willy-nilly and spray dirt all over the place like a dog. Try scooping the dirt out and make a pile off the side, make sure your pile is pressed down firmly otherwise you'll end up digging up the same earth and you'll get nowhere besides making extra work for yourself." She told the apprentice.

@Tallstar [Vinepaw]

[Tallstar]

Vinepaw nodded and watched how his mentor patted the dirt down he scooped up a pile of dirt and started to dig he was surprisingly good at it although he was getting dirt sprayed on himself he then felt a rock and attempted to move it”Do we use rocks to support the walls if we find any? he asked curiously

@Moonraven (so sorry it took me so long to write a reply)

[Moonraven]

Dustbunny nodded her head at his question, pleasantly surprised that he already knew this. "Yup, you can tug them out and then put them into crevices in the wall. To reinforce the walls we use the rocks to create rings of stone around the circumference of the tunnel and press it into the walls. This circular shape will help to support the weight of the dirt above the tunnel. We'll make more rings of stones every few tail lengths away so that the weight of the land above is equally spread out between the rings." She told him. "The extra dirt that is dug up can spread as thinly as possible along the floor of the tunnel, even if it means dragging it right back up the tunnel.'"
@Tallstar [Vinepaw - No worries]