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Scorpionpaw's switch went off and she went into learning mode. She sat by her tree, watching the demonstration and studying the smallest details she could. Then, when given permission to begin, she turned to the tree trunk and eyed it carefully. With a grunt, Scorp jumped up into the tree and clung on. Her claws dug deep into the bark and her muscles strained with the effort. These were some muscles she clearly didn't use often! Sheesh!
Then, she started to ascend. Calculated, slow movements as she used one paw at a time to grip onto the tree. However, one spot faltered. She couldn't get a grip on this softer bark! Fearful she might call, she used her back legs and launched herself upwards some, getting past the part of the tree that seemed soft.
Once there, she hauled herself up to the lowest branch and panted, catching her breath and staring downwards at the ground. It seemed so far down, but she knew she could manage! She just had to believe in herself a bit. She'd also have to ask about this soft bark spot she couldn't grip onto, the Commander seemed to have missed that part of the lecture!
After a few minutes of being up high, enjoying the view and the chatter of the other apprentices attempting to climb, she gathered herself up and stared down again. Slowly, she moved down the base of the tree, scaling downwards cautiously before she felt she was fall enough down then jumped. With a thud, she landed on all fours and grinned at her success. "YAY!" She'd chirp to herself before seeking out the Commander.
She'd approach him, tilting her head a little and speaking with manners. "I couldn't get a grip on one part of the tree! It felt soft and kept crumbling away, why?" She'd inquire, sitting down and demanding an answer.
[OPEN]
rookfire inhaled, silver eyes briefly falling shut as he exhaled. with newfound motivation, the enforcer listened to hawkbites words. his way was a lot less 'do or die' than the way sleepysunrise had originally taught him. but rookfire wouldnt complain. perhaps this could be the thing to chase the last fearful shudders out of him.
the dark tom reached up, hooking his claws into the bark as high as he could before pulling himself up, claws flexing into the bark. slightly unhooking his front paws' claws to ease the movement, he pushed himself up before repeating the process. somehow, he hadnt really noticed what was happening until he scampered onto one of the lower branches. his heart was beating rapidly, tail trembling in an attempt to stay as stable as possible but he was fine. better than the first few times he had tired this anyway.
without much trouble, rook was able to calm himself enough to watch the other cats make their attempts. suddenly grateful for sleepysunrise having taught him in private, he moved to make his way back down. it wasnt perfect, no where near elegant but he managed. at least nocat had to watch him freak out the first time he climbed anything taller than a fox. he usually jumped down, preferring lower hanging branches for the odd occourance in which a birds view called for him so instead of making his suffering last longer he only went far enough down that he would have to worry about his shoulder bruising from the impact.
__________________
✮" in all timelines, in all possibilities,.. only you. "✮
Weepingpaw stops at a big, super-tall, cedar tree. He twitches his tail back and forth and looks at Emberpaw with excitement in his eyes. His ears perk up while he listens to the instructions, somewhat. Weepingpaw, eager to get started, springs a good tail length or two up the trunk. His claws didn't sink into the wood as deeply as they should, and he ends up sliding back down and onto his rump with a small yelp.
His claws sting fiercely, and he sits back and licks at them and his toes until the burning sensation disappears. Upset, but unwilling to give up, he lowers himself to the ground and tries again, this time putting much strength into his grip so that his claws actually bit through the tough bark. He lets out a happy squeal at his success and would call to his littermate if he didn't have to concentrate.
He was completely stuck for a long moment, while struggling to figure out how to go up higher. He had heard his mentor's instructions and remembered them mostly, but for whatever reason, they weren't clicking in his head. Before his muscles could start to cramp and his claws ache from holding his weight, he carefully pulls free his front claws and pushes off with his hind legs, thrusting upward. It gets him higher, and his front claws manage to catch before he ends up sliding down again. Alas, his chin bumps meanly into the truck as he lifts his head, bringing tears to his eyes, but at least he didn't bite his tongue.
Those first few moments are a real struggle, but just like with learning anything new, it became easier with each adjustment he made. Don't look down when you push up or you'll scrape your chin on the bark, too much strength and your claws get stuck, too little and you slide down the truck. The young cat is so focused on learning that he doesn't notice how high he's going. He drops down onto a branch nearby when he feels his muscles and legs tremble when he tries to climb higher. He drops down onto a branch below him, lowering himself against the smooth limb when it sways beneath his weight.
A glance down has his heart shooting to his throat, and his stomach twisting in knots, he takes an uncertain step backward and nearly falls from his branch when his hind paw touches nothing but air. His tail and claws save him from taking a bone-breaking tumble to the ground. He was way too high, a little bit over halfway up his tree. The cats below didn't look anything like ants, but they certainly didn't look exactly like cats either. They were cat-like shapes to him. Was he going to get yelled at for going this high? Papabite didn't tell him how high he could and couldn't go, so this was all his fault.
More importantly, Weepingpaw loved it up here! If this was how birds and squirrels felt, he understood why they lived in trees. The forest looked completely different from up here, the air rippled with the scent of prey and new growth. Looking down gave his tummy this scary, thrilling sensation that made his heart pound out of his chest!!! It was amazing.
"Em!" He calls in search of his littermate. He hadn't been focusing on them and wasn't sure where they were. He walks along his branch, looking from side to side, in search of his sibling. Maybe he could convince them to live in the trees with him?
@Mica
Emberpaw
ShadowClan Apprentice
she/they/he | 7 moons | 35/100
[Large dark brown tabby with golden eyes] Purrks: Agatha Kitty
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Magician ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
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It seemed easy enough when Hawkbite did it. She was a little confused about the walking bit--she didn't quite understand how to rotate her legs to get them stable like that. But it couldn't be too hard, right? She was Emberpaw, and Emberpaw never failed.
They followed their brother to their tree, a tall cedar that bordered camp. So many times Emberpaw had passed by this tree, yet none had they looked up into it. The wide sweeping branches were covered in flat sprigs that looked like they had been held under a flat rock for a while. It was... very pretty. Emberpaw was transfixed for several moments before Weepingpaw began his trek up the trunk.
Emberpaw watched, darting forward to help their brother up when he fell, but he managed by himself just fine. Pride at Weepingpaw's growth flared in Emberpaw's chest, and for once they felt like they could sit back without having to hover. It was... an odd feeling, not hovering over one of their siblings. What were they supposed to do if not managing their parasitic litter?
Climb a tree, they supposed.
Emberpaw started after Weepingpaw dropped onto a branch, only panicking slightly when he looked like he was about to fall. Only once he was stable did she latch onto the bark. Her claws ached immediately, and she grit her teeth against it. This sucked. A couple of small hops had her a few cat-lengths into the air. The bark ripped at her belly fur, and her claws felt on the verge of popping off. But with each push, she got higher and higher, until she was able to scramble onto a low branch. Panting, Emberpaw finally looked down. And nearly threw up. Hurgh, this is high up. Shakily, Emberpaw craned her head up to look at Weepingpaw, staring in awe several branches above her.
Oh. Emberpaw's face lit up with a rare childish joy when she saw the sky through the foliage. The sunlight filtered through the sprigs and dappled the greyed bark with specks of gold. The air was lighter here, the moisture of the marsh not as damp up in the branches. A gentle breeze stirred the sprigs, and lifted Emberpaw's spirit to soar over the treetops.
He looked to Weepingpaw again, all fear forgotten. He leapt onto the trunk, claws digging in and holding. Jump, Jump, a small slip, a great leap and there he was, next to Weepingpaw. Emberpaw panted through a grin, golden eyes wild with excitement. This was so much cooler than he thought!
Emberpaw! Weepingpaw almost jumped in fright when he felt his branch rock unsteadily underneath his paws. At first thought he was scared it would crack, but a glance over his shoulder brought his sibling into his gaze. Don't ask how he failed to hear her climbing, he tended to get tunnel vision when it came to certain things he was doing.
"Em!" He chips and barely refrains from trying to tackle her in joy. That would be very bad in a tree. A sharp gust of wind ruffles his fur and has him smiling into the breeze.
"Fun trees are." He turns back to look at his sibling, expecting them to share his enthusiasm for climbing and trees. Emberpaw looked as excited as he was with the climbing. He's never felt this sense of freedom before. He felt like he belonged in the trees. Maybe he was part squirrel, but even thinking that thought would insult his mothers, so he shook it out of his head.
"Live in trees with me, Em will?" He asked curiously and then glanced down at the cats below. Weepingpaw had some terribly intrusive thoughts as he wondered what would happen if he jumped from this height. It'd probably hurt, it wouldn't kill him, would it? Weepingpaw didn't want to join the ancestors, he still needed to get his warrior name and collect more parents.
"Em? Weeping down jump, no die, think?" He wasn't going to jump, but sometimes you had to share your intrusive thoughts with other cats. He might try and jump from this height when he was bigger and older. Weepingpaw didn't wait long to listen to Emberpaw, his eyes zeroed in on a bird in the next tree over. He made a soft chirping noise as he stared at the bird. Could he make that jump? He was more tempted to try jumping into the next tree over than jumping to the ground.
@Mica
Soon enough, Hawkbite was approached by one of the hellspawn. He was almost dreading the interaction until she ended asking a valid question. Huh. He supposed he forgot to address that part, but thankfully the trees in this area were pretty stable and healthy.
He'd clear his throat for his last announcement. "One last thing Scorp brought up!" he began, making sure all eyes were on him. "The bark on the trees also determine how well you can climb it. When you sink your claws in, it should be stable and feel hard, that means it's safe to climb. If the bark is squishy and tears apart easily, the tree isn't safe to climb or you must climb much faster to beat the crumbling!" The Commander spoke, before waving his tail to dismiss them back into their chaos.
"Any other questions, just come ask me," he concluded, waving Scorp away before eyeing Weepingpaw and Emberpaw sitting in the tree. He'd have to keep an eye on that one... Weepingpaw... and make sure he didn't get hurt. Last thing he needed was a raging Dawnstar all because he let her child fall out a tree.
Base by Cocoroll, color by Cloverspring ASHPAW
Shadowclan Apprentice | 6 Moons | A fluffy, pale grey tom with green eyes and a black-tipped tail.
Silver Tongue T1 | Mind Reader
~~~
Alright, well, it seemed that maybe Specklekit was a bit scared. So, Ashpaw's tail swished and he looked down. "Alright, I'll go first..." He said, looking down from his spot in the tree. It was pretty high up. His tail tip twitched back and forth as he tried to remember what Hawkbite had said about getting down. Okay, take it slow. Front paws down, cling close to the tree...
What was that about crumbly bark? Was that why he wasn't able to climb up it all that well, when the bark had broken apart beneath his claws?
Ashpaw slid his front paws down the trunk, eying the roots below him. How bad could it be? He would land on his paws, anyway, right? Inching his upper body down the trunk, he over extended and, once again, the bark that he was putting his weight on separated from the trunk. Oh. Wait. WAIT! The ground was rushing towards him as the trunk slipped away. For a moment, Ashpaw was suspended in the air, eyes wide as he tried to twist and land paws first. There was plenty of time for that, right?
There was time to twist, but the apprentice didn't land on all-four paws. Left forepaw touched first and folded uncomfortably to the side. There was a small crack! before his other three paws touched the ground, and a sharp pain shot up his foreleg. "AGH!" The apprentice hissed and crouched, fur bristling, where he was so that his paw stayed still while he recovered.
Ashpaw swallowed hard and glanced down at his paw. That was a weird angle... and it hurt when he tried to move it. The shaking apprentice looked over at Hawkbite, who had just made that announcement about the crumbling tree trunks. He wasn't sure what to say to the commander. "Sorry." Was the first thing he thought of and came out before he even realized it.
Flytail
48 Moons
He/Him
Purrks:Shadow Fiend
Flytail’s ears flicked at the sound of Ashpaw’s yelp, and his eyes snapped toward the apprentice just as Ashpaw hit the ground. His heart clenched when he saw the awkward angle of the young tom’s forepaw, and a flash of concern crossed his face. “Hold on, Ashpaw,” he said quickly, his voice steady despite the worry in his chest. He padded over to the apprentice, his eyes flicking down to the twisted paw. There wasn’t much he could do himself—he wasn’t a healer—but he knew enough to keep Ashpaw still and calm. Flytail crouched beside him, his gaze meeting Ashpaw’s, trying to steady the young tom’s wide-eyed panic. “Don’t move it,” he ordered firmly, though he didn’t know exactly what the injury was. It looked bad, though. Very bad. He glanced around for Hawkbite. He was no healer, not like some others in the clan, but he knew enough to recognize that this was beyond his skills. “Hawkbite!” Flytail called, his voice sharp and loud enough to cut through the noise of the clearing. “Get over here—quick!” His eyes flicked back to Ashpaw, trying to hide the flicker of unease that flashed through him. “Stay still,” he urged again, his tail flicking nervously behind him. “Don’t try to move. We’ll get you help.”
The shrill followed by the quick, but rather frantic reaction from Flytail, got Hawkbite moving rather quickly. With a trot towards the forcefully stilled apprentice, he'd sniff for any open wounds, but didn't see any. However, it appeared his leg was swelling, or at least the wrist-area was swelling. His ears flattened with annoyance, and he lashed his tail with a quiet hiss. "Alright, listen up kid. You can walk, right?" He'd ask, beckoning Ashpaw to get up onto his good three legs.
"Just walk on your three legs, follow me back to Sleepysunrise, we gotta get you looked at," the Commander spoke, starting to head away from the lesson. "Rookfire! Flytail, finish up this lesson. Make sure no one else falls out of a tree, but make sure they're comfortable enough with the skill," he barked at the two felines.
Base by Cocoroll, color by Cloverspring ASHPAW
Shadowclan Apprentice | 6 Moons | A fluffy, pale grey tom with green eyes and a black-tipped tail.
Silver Tongue T1 | Mind Reader
~~~
Oh, ouch! Was it swelling up already? Ashpaw didn't even get the chance to try to move before Flytail was beside him. Why was Flytail looking so uneasy? Was it that bad? Stay still... Stay still... The grey apprentice felt his fur bristle more as he realized that the warrior was nervous! Ashpaw knew it was bad, the pain and odd angle told him that, but something about noticing it in the eyes of a seasoned warrior... He could hear his heartbeat in his ears and feel it throbbing in his wrist as it raced even faster. "I-it's okay..." He told Flytail, trying to comfort the nervous older tom, just before Hawkbite showed up.
"I'm pretty sure..." Ashpaw nodded to the commander, shakily raising himself up on three legs and tucking his paw to his chest. The pain made him wince, but it was definitely doable, despite the discomfort of moving as a tripod. He hoped he wouldn't have to get used to this. How long did he just hold back his own training by slipping from this tree? Hopefully he could be running around in a couple days. With one quick look back and a wave of his tail to assure his sister that he would be fine, he hobbled after Hawkbite. To the medicine cat den it was...
rookfire had been focussed on his own business, scaling part of the tree once more after watching deerclaws attempt with mild interest. deerclaw was an absolute pain but he had better things to do. just on his way down, he heard hawkbite call out to probably add onto his previous intructions.
his mention of the bark effecting how well one could climb was welcome. he’d suspected as much during his previous encounters with climbing, had gotten used to raking his claws along the tree before attempting to pull himself up in an attempt to test its strength.
before rookfire could even get up to the nearest branch flytails panic and an apprentices clear sounds of pain got to him. flytail and hawkbite were clearly faster than he was, but the former medic still hurried over to ashpaw, only to stop short when hawkbite took charge, ordering him to stay and continue teaching. his jaw clenched, ear pulled back slightly but nodded anyway. ”yes sir”
he had no place in helping, even if the way ashpaws leg bent brought him back to a time way before shadowclan. familiarity sleepysunrise probably didn’t have yet. practice she had yet to earn. rook had a duty to stand in for hawkbite either way. even if he would’ve acted differently. even if he could’ve helped.
without wasting another moment, silver eyes shifted from the two cats moving towards camp back to the apprentices. ”alright everyone, listen up!” rookfire barked, unaware of what exactly had caused ashpaw to fall but keen on using this opportunity to get them to pay more attention. ”if none of ya want to fall to your death one day you'll take bark quality serious n stay away from the thinner parts of branches. if youre unsure, expect the worst. does anyone have questions?”
Re: ShC Tree Climbing Class! [OPEN][t]
