quillpaw's tree climbing lesson [p]

[furrensic]

QUILLPAW
he/him. 9 moons. dark grey tom; tabby markings; light grey markings, amber and blue eyes.
[ mind reader ]

quillpaw is in a sour mood, as always. however for once, it's not because of a clanmate's stupidity. instead, it's because he feels horribly inadequate which, actually, has proved to be the most annoying thing in his whole nine moons of living. it leaves a weird pit in his stomach that, luckily, he manages to push down. this is nothing to worry about, I'll just train more. that'll solve everything, he reasons.

he plans to complete the basics, obviously. but he's come to the conclusion that branching away from the basics of training – hunting, battle, stealth – can't hurt. at first, flaying was something that he mulled over, but in the end he decides on tree climbing. it sounds easy enough. which leads him to seeking out hawkbite, the local enforcer who he swears has taught almost every apprentice in the clan something at this point with all his classes. once he does, he's quickly approaching the tom in swift strides.

"hawkbite," he greets. "I want to learn to climb trees. you can teach me that, right?"

[ @SuspiciousMindz ]

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Hawkbite]
Enforcer Commander
Shadow Fiend | Agatha Kitty | Kitty Softpaws

Hawkbite hadn't been particularly busy today. The other Enforcers were checking the territory during the daylight hours, watching for killer activity and any strays that wanted to break rules. Hawkbite was half-watching the entrance during his daytime naps, making sure the warriors and apprentices didn't leave the camp under his watch.

Through a half-opened eye, he noticed one of the many -ark children headed his way. He got straight to the point, a lovely thing for him to do. Hawkbite appreciated the straightforwardness. However, he found it interesting that this was another -ark child requesting training. Their parents didn't want to train them? Or perhaps... didn't want to train certain ones? They'd be silly to think he hadn't noticed the way Lostspark was with certain kits over others.

"Yeah, I can train you," Hawkbite confirmed, getting to his paws with a small huff. Thankfully, this new camp had four gigantic trees they could practice on plus a couple stray pine trees they can start with. The lower branches on the pine trees were great for apprentices to aim for. This also meant, he could still keep an eye on the camp entrance for anyone who tried to sneak out.

"Come along, thankfully we don't have to go far," Hawkbite spoke with a slight pep to his voice. "Tree climbing is a pretty natural skill we have. One of the easiest lessons you can learn, but an essential one in my opinion," the Commander spoke, coming to the base of a pine tree. "The hardest thing you'll have to do is train your muscles to climb. You'll be using muscles you probably haven't used much to haul yourself up the tree, but it's also good to start training them to use in battle too. Harder hits and over time, easier to get up trees," Hawkbite explained.

"To start, you'll get the feeling for the bark under your claws. Hook them into sturdy parts of the bark so you get a sense of what will tear beneath your weight and what won't," he instructed Quillpaw, turning and raising an unsheathed paw to the tree trunk. He sank his claws into a cracked part of bark and peeled it away. "Cracks mean it's weak, you risk a fall. Avoid it if you can," Then he sank his claws into a sturdy piece of bark that when he pulled down, it lifted his body up a little. "Give it a try."

@furrensic - Quillpaw

[furrensic]

QUILLPAW
he/him. 9 moons. dark grey tom; tabby markings; light grey markings, amber and blue eyes.
[ mind reader ]

a subtle grin appears on quillpaw's features, pleased to hear that hawkbite's willing to train him. "great." he meows, following after the enforcer. fortunately, the new camp was surrounded by trees - most notably the large cedar ones, but also a few pine trees scattered around. his ears twitch in acknowledgement as hawkbite speaks. ah, so tree climbing is easy. perfect.

slowing to a stop, the apprentice peers at the pine tree that the tom's led him to. he listens intently as the older tabby mentions the muscles used in tree climbing. it'll help in battle, huh, he thinks with a slight tilt of his head. I should learn battle next, then, he notes. he'll ask sleepysunrise later.

mismatched gaze flickering from hawkbite to the tree, he watches the toms demonstration. avoid cracks, look for sturdy sections. the premise of tree climbing sounded easy enough. "got it." he says with a nod before turning to the base of the tree. eyes landing on a spot that appeared sturdy, he places a paw on the tree, claws sinking into the bark. then, he pulls downwards, lifting up his body a smidge. "like that, right?"

[ @SuspiciousMindz ]

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Hawkbite]
Enforcer Commander
Shadow Fiend | Agatha Kitty | Kitty Softpaws

Hawkbite would watch as Quillpaw mimicked what he'd done. With a nod and quick, "Correct," the Commander would move onto the next steps in the lesson.

"When you do begin to climb, think like a squirrel. When they're going up the tree, their legs are spread out. The closer your legs are to each other, the harder it will be to hold yourself onto the tree. When you're needing to be quiet and move fast, this is important to remember."

Hawkbite would take a step back, bunching his muscles up and springing up onto the trunk of the tree. His legs were fairly spread apart and remained that way as he worked himself up the tree. "Your front legs will find footing and your back legs will propel you upwards," he'd comment, climbing up the tree with ease. Once he sat on the first sturdy branch, he'd gesture for Quillpaw to give it a shot. "Your turn."

@furrensic - Quillpaw

[furrensic]

QUILLPAW
he/him. 9 moons. dark grey tom; tabby markings; light grey markings, amber and blue eyes.
[ mind reader ]

aha, this is just as easy as I thought, quillpaw thinks with a small smirk. his attention is quickly back on the enforcer, though, ears swiveled towards the tabby as he listened intently. like a squirrel, he wonders, eyes narrowing slightly. oh well, it shouldn't be too difficult.

he watches as hawkbite leaps onto the trunk of the tree, climbing up with ease. very squirrel-like, indeed, he thinks. the enforcer seems to scale up the tree and get seated on a branch within moments. he blinks. okay, this might be a bit more difficult than he wants to admit (which he'd never.) he scrunches his nose in discontent at the realization, but nods anyway. "understood."

stepping back, the tabby crouches slightly, bunching up his muscles in his hind legs before propelling himself upwards in the tree trunk. he hisses a curse under his breath as his claws sink into a cracked part of the bark, leaving him sliding down the trunk. how embarrassing. stepping away from the base of the tree once more, quillpaw bunches up his muscles and springs up onto the trunk of the tree. this time, his claws sink into sturdy bark. keeping his legs spread out is a little uncomfortable, just for the fact that he's not used to being off the ground, but he manages to crawl up the tree - slower than the commander had, of course. there's a burning in his muscles from the action, not familiar with scaling up a tree ...and maybe a lack of strength.

pulling himself up and on to the branch that hawkbite's sitting on, he lets out a quiet huff. "that was easy," he remarks. "is that all?"

[ @SuspiciousMindz ]

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Hawkbite]
Enforcer Commander
Shadow Fiend | Agatha Kitty | Kitty Softpaws

Hawkbite let out an amused scoff at the tone in Quillpaw's voice. "Almost. You gotta learn how to get back down the tree, right? Or did you assume you could just jump straight down?" Hawkbite spoke, shifting so he could look over the edge of the branch, down at the ground. It wasn't that high up, but that was for training purposes. "You're going to climb down the trunk to get back down the tree. Head first, of course," Hawkbite spoke, swiftly moving around Quillpaw as he positioned himself at the trunk of the tree again.

"Make sure you dig your claws into the bark, or you'll fall straight down. That's not very helpful when you're higher up in the tree, right?" Hawkbite spoke. Then, the Commander dug his claws into the trunk and started to climb downwards. He half-slid down the tree, keeping his body at an angle for the best grip. Then, halfway down, he launched himself off the tree and landed gracefully on the ground. He'd turn to look upwards at Quillpaw, ready to catch the apprentice if he needed to.

"Mimic what I did. Dig your claws into the bark and keep your body as a slight angle so you have the grip from all four paws at your advantage. Then, when you're a safe distance from the ground, jump down. I'm here if you slip and need assistance."

@furrensic - Quillpaw

[furrensic]

QUILLPAW
he/him. 9 moons. dark grey tom; tabby markings; light grey markings, amber and blue eyes.
[ mind reader ]

quillpaw mentally curses at himself, ear twitching in subtle irritation. of course, he should've expected that he'd be taught how to climb down. however, he was expecting to be told he'll climb down bottom first, not head first. claws still hooked in the branch, he gazes over the edge of the branch to look at the ground. looks like a one way ticket to a head injury. how..comforting. sarcasm, of course.

"hm." he mutters doubtfully, listening to the commander speak. he watches the tom start his descent down the tree, half sliding down the trunk before pushing off and landing on the ground with ease. he bites back a scoff. while he's more than sure that hawkbite could catch him if he happens to slip, he isn't one to put his safety in anybody's paws.

pushing away the uncertainty, quillpaw shuffles towards the base of the tree. digging his claws into the trunk, he makes sure to keep his body at an angle like hawkbite suggested. he finds it, actually, to be a bit easier climbing down than it was climbing up the tree. once at a good spot, he leaps from the trunk and lands on the ground beside the commander, with a little bit of a stumble.

[ @SuspiciousMindz ]

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Hawkbite]
Enforcer Commander
Shadow Fiend | Agatha Kitty | Kitty Softpaws

Hawkbite would watch, ready to move and catch the apprentice if he needed to, but it appeared the tom had gotten this tree climbing thing down pat. With a raised eyebrow, he flicked the apprentice on the shoulder his tail. It was an affectionate gesture he hoped Quillpaw wouldn't bite him about after the fact. "Good job. I think if you practiced a few more times, you'd be an expert. That's for a different time though, lets rest those muscles. Go grab something from the prey pile, you deserve it. The trees in the camp are perfect for practicing anytime you have downtime," Hawkbite praised, gesturing for Quillpaw to head over.

@furrensic - Quillpaw
[tree lesson over, you don't have to reply unless you want to!]