[solo/t] Don't hold your cards too close is what they say

[seeingstars]

Mallowpaw ♦ They / She ♦ Thunderclan warrior

Mallowpaw hadn't really seen their mentor since being assigned to him, which was fine but she really wanted to get their training started. She'd decided to approach Beechray, they were close in age and Beech seemed easy to approach.

The calico tabby pointed apprentice approached the golden warrior, clearing her throat "Uh- Hey Beechray- Would you mind teaching me how to climb?" She asked, quietly waiting for a response.

[seeingstars]

Beechray ♣ She / Her ♣ Thunderclan warrior

Beechray was relaxing, as she often did after training her besties. She turned her attention to the sound of approaching pawsteps.

Hm? She squinted at the apprentice. She'd seen them before but had never interacted. They were both ranked up at the last meeting. Beechray realized she had not been paying attention, but nodded nervously

"Uh- Yeah sure- Climbing?" She thought she'd heard... something about climbing, that'd be a quick lesson anyway! She padded toward a tree surrounding the camp.

"You wanna sink your claws in as deep as ya can without getting them stuck- you wouldn't wanna rip your claw off-" She said with an awkward laugh "Once on the tree use your back legs to push yourself up- that way it doesn't end up putting too much strain your shoulders" Beechray explained with a nod before demonstrating.

The golden she-cat launched herself from the ground up onto the tree. She used her back legs to push herself up the trunk of the tree, using her from paws to keep steady and to assist with getting her up the tree. She managed to get herself up to the lowest branch, grinning down at the apprentice "Just like that!" She called down before leaping down from the tree, landing with a heavy thud beside Mallow

"Your turn! Don't worry about fallin'! I'll catch you if you do!" Beechray said, followed by a smile and a nod "You've got this Mallow!"

[seeingstars]

Mallowpaw ♦ They / She ♦ Thunderclan apprentice

Mallowpaw nodded, nervously looking up toward the lowest branch, it still seemed so high up there...

They looked toward Beechray, who was giving them a encouraging grin. The torbie pointed apprentice took a deep breath before leaping up toward the tree. Immediately they lost their grip and tumbled a short distance to the ground. She heard Beech stifling a laugh and her ears grew hot.

She got up, dusted herself off and tried again regardless. Mallowpaw managed to latch their claws deep into the bark. Okay okay okay... next... go up. She pushed up with their back legs, eventually managing to scramble up the tree. They looked down from the branch with wide, almost scared eyes

"It's so high up-" They called down, nervously looking down. The ground seemed to grow farther away as they looked down at the warrior. The apprentice lost their footing and came hurdling toward the ground.

[seeingstars]

Beechray ♣ She / Her ♣ Thunderclan warrior

Oh- Oh no. This wasn't good. Without a thought Beechray shot forward, bracing herself as Mallow collided with her. Stars, she felt the wind get knocked out of her but had managed to save the apprentice.

She pushed Mallow off herself as she rose to her paws, a wheeze escaping her before she was able to speak again "Are you okay? You gotta be careful up there- especially on branches, they're so easy to slip off of" Beechray said, concern filling her tone as she looked over the apprentice carefully, checking for any injuries. She didn't notice any and sighed in relief.

[seeingstars]

Mallowpaw ♦ They / She ♦ Thunderclan apprentice

Mallowpaw took shallow breaths as she was pushed to their paws "Stars- I'm- yeah I'm fine- I'm so sorry are you okay?" They asked, looking toward Beechray with a frown.

Once Beechray reassured them that she was okay they relaxed "Thanks for the lesson... do you think we can train again some day?" When Beechray nodded Mallowpaw perked up

"Thanks Beechray! I'll find ya later!" They called out, running to find their siblings.