A cicada spreads its wings! [P]

[Zero]

Cicadapaw
| He/him | ThunderClan Apprentice (18/100) | @Mr_Possessive

ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ○ꊞ

"Okay, sounds easy enough," Cicadapaw mewed, trying to shake off any nerves by playing confident. He stepped forward, hesitating just a heartbeat before placing one paw on the trunk. The bark felt weird - rough, but a little slick under his pads. He swallowed and flicked his eyes up to Pineblossom. He was bewildered at how calm and steady she stood there, as if she were standing on a normal patch of forest floor and not high in the air.

“No looking down. Got it.” He started moving, slow and careful, placing each paw with deliberate focus. His claws unsheathed slightly for grip as he balanced, tail lifting instinctively to steady himself. His gaze locked on the log ahead, on where he placed his paws, not daring to flick to the sides where the dizzying drop began.

"Okay, maybe this isn't so bad," He mewed, more confident now. He was halfway across, in front of Pineblossom, and was still on his paws. After exchanging a smile, he turned carefully and went back the way he had come. This time, he was a bit quicker, jumping back down to solid ground with a whoop of excitement. He had done it! And with no wobbles.

[Mr_Possessive]

☆-Pineblossom-☆
[She/Her]
{32 Moons}
~Straight~
"And I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home."
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Pineblossom watched intently as the apprentice made his way to her. Paw step after paw step. He inched closer and closer until..

"Great job!," the she-cat purred. She exchanged a smile with the apprentice, as he turned around and slowly, but somewhat quicker than before, walked back to the other end of the trunk. Pineblossom followed, a few graceful bounds before she leapt off the tree.

"I'm proud of you kid," she purred, her fluffed tail brushing the young tom's shoulder. The queen gave one last look at the hollow, before turning to the tom once again. "Well, since the border tour has to be cut short of Smallpines, I'll let you pick a lesson," she mewed coolly. "Hunting, Basic Battle Techniques, or Warrior Code Recall?," she asked the young tom.

@Zero

[Zero]

Cicadapaw
| He/him | ThunderClan Apprentice (19/100) | @Mr_Possessive

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Cicadapaw puffed his chest out as her praise, beaming. He tried to play it cool, but his expression probably gave away his giddiness."Thanks, Pineblossom," he mewed, tail flicking with excitement.

He padded in a little circle, as if the movement might help him decide, then sat down with a firm nod. "Let's do warrior code recall," He meowed after a moment of hesitation. He did want to start 'real' training, but he was already a little more tired than expected after walking around for the beginning of the day, and didn't want to bumble through a training session half-spent. He wanted to be fresh for one of those.

He had a decent grasp of the warrior code, but a fresh reminder never hurt.

[Mr_Possessive]

☆-Pineblossom-☆
[She/Her]
{32 Moons}
~Straight~
"And I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home."
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Pineblossom nodded. She was sure that the morning had worn the apprentice out. "Alright," the queen purred. "There are roughly 16 rules to the warrior cod. I will rattle them off, 4 at a time and I will stop at every 4. Then if you have any questions, you can ask them," she mewed.

Rule Number 1, Defend your Clan, even at the cost of your own life. You may have friends in other Clans, but your loyalty must remain to the Clan, for some day, you may meet your friends in battle.

Rule Number 2, Do not hunt, or trespass on another Clan's territory.

Rule Number 3, Elders, queens, sick or injured cats, and kits must be fed before apprentices and warriors. Unless they have permission, apprentices may not eat until they've hunted for the elders.

Rule Number 4, Prey is only killed to be eaten, and thank StarClan for the animals life.

"Any questions," the she-cat asked, before she would continue.

@Zero

[Zero]

Cicadapaw
| He/him | ThunderClan Apprentice (22/100) | @Mr_Possessive

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Cicadapaw nodded as she explained how she would go about explaining the warrior code. He sat up a little straighter as she listed off the first four.

The first were fairly simple, but he did have some questions. "If I have a friend in another Clan and I catch them breaking the rules - like stealing prey - should I challenge them right away, or is it better to report it to a warrior first?"

He paused just for a moment before continuing, his eyes steady.
"And for Rule Three - if an apprentice catches something really big, like a hawk or a huge rabbit, do they still have to offer it to the elders and queens first, even if it could feed a lot of cats?"

Cicadapaw perked his ears in anticipation, eager to hear the answers.

[Mr_Possessive]

☆-Pineblossom-☆
[She/Her]
{32 Moons}
~Straight~
"And I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home."
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Pineblossom listened to the apprentices questions, both valid as the code didn't go very specific into detail.

"Usually, you'll never be alone as an apprentice in the territory. You'll always have a warrior with you. As such, it's better to let the warrior handle it, and they will tell you if you need to get involved," she mewed.

"As for large prey, the rule still stands. If the elders and queens don't finish it, then the remains can go to the rest of the Clan. We have to keep our elders strong, as they dedicated their lives to us. The queens need as much strength as they can get to birth healthy kits to keep our Clan strong," she mewed.

@Zero

[Zero]

Cicadapaw
| He/him | ThunderClan Apprentice (27/100) | @Mr_Possessive | Sorry for the delay!

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Cicadapaw listened thoughtfully, his brow furrowed as he processed Pineblossom’s words.

"Oh, yeah," he mewed softly at her first answer. "I guess I don't have to worry about that too much then." The apprentice shook out his pelt, trying to hide his relief.

He glanced at his paws, then looked up again.

"And with the prey… I hadn’t thought about it like that before. I’ll remember. The elders and queens come first." He gave a firm nod, quietly resolved.

[Mr_Possessive]

⋆⁺‧₊☽The Thorn-Crowned Amazon☾₊‧⁺⋆
☆-Pineblossom-☆
[She/Her]
{32 Moons}
~Straight~
"And I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home."
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

The young tom was learning, and quickly. Pineblossom smiled and nodded, before moving on to the next 4 rules.

Rule Number 5, a kit must be at least 6 moons old to become an apprentice

Rule Number 6, new warriors are to keep a silent vigil overnight after receiving their warrior names

Rule Number 7, a cat cannot be made deputy without having trained at least one apprentice

Rule Number 8, the deputy is to become the Clan leader in the event that the leader dies, is killed or is exiled

Pineblossom rattled off the next 4 rules and awaited any possible questions.

@Zero (all good!)