[Deleted]

Daringheart lead her marry band of misfits, also known as the apprentices of treeclan, towards a nice section of the forest she had scouted with Lionstar before hand. Her leader had given her an assignment to teach a giant lesson to the young apprentices of treeclan, she had the duty of teaching them to climb trees. It was to be a test of her abilities as deputy wrangling up midget cats, getting them to behave, and ultimately seeing if she could get any sort of information about treetop combat to stick in their little minds. Not an easy task in any sense, but she had faith that she could pull it off. So she strode ahead to the preordained location then called for all the apprentices to gather around her for their little briefing before training. “Okay little cats-“ She chose little as appose to midget, to her it sounded a bit more kind, “We are going to learn to climb trees today, and after we learn to climb trees we are going to learn how to drop from the sky on top of any enemy that dare cross into our sacred territory. Understood?” She asked surveying the cats in attendance.

[Deleted]

ROWANPAW

Rowanpaw bounced along behind Daringheart, amid the rest of the TreeClan apprentices. Any time she could get out of camp, she was excited. The sorrel she-cat trotted with a characteristic bounce in her step, nearly hopping as she gazed around with eager green eyes.

Daringheart stopped, and due to her attention focused on the trees around her instead of the cats in front of her, Rowanpaw bumped into the apprentice before her. "Sorry!" It was a hushed sound, surprisingly, and the she-cat scooted away to avoid a glaring gaze. When the deputy spoke, her tawny ears perked up, and she craned her neck to get a better look at Daringheart.

Sitting with her forepaws pressing down against her tail curled around her, head lifted high, Rowanpaw managed to latch onto the words of the deputy, and nearly jumped up in excitement. After the older she-cat had finished, Rowanpaw looked around eagerly. Spying a rough barked tree nearby, Rowanpaw leaped to her paws. "Let's start climbing!"

The hyperactive apprentice darted toward the tree and jumped up, claws sinking into the bark. With rapid movements, she managed to shimmy up the tree, pausing for a moment on a low branch. Rowanpaw looked down at where the mass of apprentices stood, happy in the knowledge that she was the first to make it up a tree.

Before anyone could steal her claim, though, she looked higher, climbing up to another branch, then another one. This time, when she looked down, the ground was much, much farther away. The sorrel she-cat leaned over slightly, trying to see where everyone was. The action caused her to lose balance slightly, and she quickly drew back and sank her claws into the branch, clinging there and crouching low.

When she next spoke, any and all confidence was gone, and she crouched there petrified. "Uhm... Daringheart? How do I get down?" Rowanpaw refused to look over the edge of the branch again, fearing how small her counterparts looked from this height. She just hoped Daringheart would be understanding and come rescue her.

[Deleted]

Seedpaw
~~This Place About To Blow~~


With the hot sun beating down onto the forest below, and the sun's rays breaking through the large canopy leaves up at the top, despite the lack of rain that the sky had delevered to drop, the large tabby wished that her pelt was lighter than the light brown and dark brown colors that plauged it. The dry, cracked ground was hard underpaw as the tabby's brilliant green eyes looed over the dried and dying roots and bushes that lay scattered around, under the forest trees as they strived for any source of water that wasn't around. When the young deputy of Treeclan stopped under a rather shaded spot, the mixed tabby she-cat let her hindlegs fold under her as she sat down, sharp green eyes turning to Daringheart as the deputy opened her maw to speak to the large group of apprentices.

A growl almost broke through Seedpaw's throat as Daringheart, dared for lack of a better word, to call her a little cat. Though the mixed brown tabby she-cat was one of the younger apprentices, she was rather large for her age and wasn't about to be belittled by this she-cat who claimed title of Treeclan Deputy. Tree climbing and fighting. That's what was on the agenda for today's training session. Moving her sharp green eyes up the trees, her thoughts were interupted by the excited squeal of another she-cat apprentice. Rowanpaw. The she-cat who dashed up a tree like a dog was beind her was older than Seedpaw, but with the way she acted, she seemed less mature than her younger counterpart.

Without helping it, a loud laughter escaped Seedpaw's throat as she kept from throwing her head back in amusement at Rowanpaw's current situation. The foolish cat had no way of getting down from the tree's tops where she had landed herself before she took the time to listen to Daringheart explain the rules. Curling her tail around her paws, Seedpaw's brillant green eyes ran up the tree to where she saw a limb move, most likely from the weight of Rowanpaw, her maw opened to jab a coment towards her. "Well done Rowanpaw. Next time you should try to keep your fur on and wait for the intructions before dashing off like a wild squirrel." Her voice was proud, sharp and rude. Just like Seedpaw was known for.

[Insidious]

Crimsonpaw

At the back of the group followed a red-black-spotted tom, his body graceful and fluid like a panther's shadow. Pale green eyes amongst his array of facial features were fixated upon TreeClan's deputy, polar opposite in position, due to her being in the front. Occasionally, he allowed his gaze to be spared toward Rowanpaw, quick to find Seedpaw as well. He knew the two felines quite well – he shared a den with the duo, therefore, it was only reasonable for him to at least know their names. Of course, Crimsonpaw was nothing other than reasonable.

If Crimsonpaw had any say in the matter, he wouldn't of been present here today. The young tom was far more enthusiastic toward thoughts of hanging back in camp with Grayowl, heck, even Sunstride would have been better than Daringheart. He knew enough of the authoritative she-cat to know she was tightly bonded to TreeClan's leader, Lionstar.. Anyone who was a friend of Lionstar's, was – due to the obvious mistrust the golden feline had for Crimsonpaw's role model – an enemy of Grayowl's. And furthermore, anyone who was an enemy of Grayowl's, was immediately registered as an enemy of Crimsonpaw's. It was because of this inward analogy that the red-black-spotted apprentice's light green eyes pierced the back of Daringheart's head like a pair of thorns, sadistic thorns. If only he was older, if only he was more skilled and properly trained in the arts of combat. Surely, he would have considered Daringheart's death to be an option upon this outing. He would do anything to please Grayowl, anything.

When the deputy pivoted to face the herd of apprentices following at her flank, Crimsonpaw's gaze immediately softened, filling with a facade of innocent, apprentice-like curiousity. Remaining a few tail-lengths astray from the main group, the tom-cat settled into a seat, his thinly furred tail of crimson pigmentation curling atop tiny forepaws. Despite his distaste toward the situation in its entirety – learning to climb trees was beneficial to his future as a warrior. Once Daringheart had finished explaining the outing's plans, Crimsonpaw offered a quick, curt nod to display his understanding. If only Rowanpaw possessed a similar outlook: to play it calm and collected.

As the female apprentice ascended the tree, Crimsonpaw couldn't help but replace his forced look of boredom with one of interest, as casual an interest as he could manage. For a while, it seemed like she would manage to ascend the tree, and descend it afterward – if that had been the case, Crimsonpaw would have had to act to assure Rowanpaw didn't outshine him. But, she had gotten stuck after taking a risk and climbing a few branches too high. While Seedpaw directed some harsh criticism toward Rowanpaw's actions, Crimsonpaw did nothing but flick an ear dismissively, gaze averting elsewhere. She had gotten stuck, therefore, she was no longer of Crimsonpaw's interest. She was no threat to outshining him.

Glancing to Daringheart from the corner of his eyes, he awaited her reaction: Harsh? Pleasant? Any information he could store into his memory about Lionstar's most trusted adviser was information he could manipulate for Grayowl's benefit.