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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2014 19:27:39 GMT -5
NOTE: THIS THREAD TAKES PLACE IN LEAF-BARE Fate AdminHellionFawnlost among the shattered dreams of princes
Tree climbing. It required balance, flexibility, and grace. All qualities the less than masculine tom harbored. This lesson should be a breeze for him. He looked with amber eyes at his leader, his mentor, waiting for her signal.
When it was time, he crossed to the nearest tree, jumped up, and sank his claws into the rough bark. Trying not to think too much about it, he took a breath, closed his eyes, and jumped a little. He repeated the process a few times, and when he opened his eyes and looked down, his mentor looked smaller, and he knew he was succeeding. With a smile, he turned his head upward and shimmied up the tree, finally reaching the lowest branch.
It was an old pine tree, so when he looked down, the forest floor was far below him. He crept forward along the branch, testing out his balance so far off the ground. He straightened and lifted his body off the branch, standing up. Carefully he removed his claws and moved his paws from the sides of the branch and onto the top, one by one, so they rested beneath his frame, locking his claws back into position.
He took a few steps forward, gaining confidence, before turning his head to look behind him. He then realized he would have to find a way to turn around to get back to the trunk.
Sticking his tail out for balance, he crouched down, pivoting slowly, pawstep by pawstep, until he balanced perpendicular to the branch. He swayed slightly, and quivered as he held his position. Once his sense of balance returned, he finished his turn, resting against the branch and letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
He rose again, extracting his claws. Time to test how well his balance truly was. He stepped forward, moving lightly, letting his paws touch the branch momentarily before removing them again. A light little trot to the trunk, and he attempted a turn again, this time while standing.
With a smile and a small laugh, he moved back along the branch, faster than before, light, dainty, and laughing. One more turn, and he ran back to the trunk of the tree. A broad smile on his face, he returned to the middle of the branch, looking down at where his mentor stood, waiting to see what would happen next.
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Post by Fawn on Jul 9, 2014 21:59:30 GMT -5
Blackwolf
NightClan. Senior Warrior. 40+ Moons. Tom. Blackwolf kept wary eyes on the apprentices in the trees; not particularly enthusiastic about climbing himself, the jet black warrior regarded the activity with the cynical hope that one of them wouldn't get stuck.
Mainly because he'd be the last cat going up there to retrieve them. Well, that would've been the case if Ravenstar herself wasn't here; it wasn't so much a desire to actually impress her or even behave himself, really, it was more that the senior warrior respected her enough to take his role as mentor seriously.
And not to mention these were Roughthroat's kits; if he did have to risk his neck for a bunch of brainless apprentices (excluding Starlingpaw, of course) stuck in the trees, then he could do much worse than a deputy's offspring.
The scarred tom's tail wrapped curtly around his paws, surveying their progress with a careful eye upon their own small claws that gripped the bark as they turned and walked along the branches.
A glance was spared in the direction of NightClan's leader, Ravenstar, his thoughts briefly focusing on what could've been going through Ravenstar's mind just then. He wasn't an especially sentimental cat himself, but he understood that other cats were, and that Ravenstar had more than enough reason to be a little emotional with anything related to NightClan deputy.
After Boneshadow...
He couldn't claim to be an expert on the subject, but Roughthroat was a good deputy thus far; he was inwardly a little grateful he'd never been selected for the job. The jet black tom with the mismatched eyes was not an appreciator of responsibility, and definitely not to the degree that deputyship would require.
Blackwolf did not stay seated for long, choosing to circle around the base of the tree so as to keep his body temperature from dropping low enough that he'd start shivering. Gold-and-blue eyes peered through the dense pine needles as he called up to Starlingpaw.
"Don't go too high, the branches will be weakest near the top." Not to mention several would be weakened by the snow that hung heavily over the boughs, the skinnier tree limbs likely not sturdy enough to support their weight - even if they were kittens.
Word Count: 369
Tags: Fate Admin, Hellion, Amber
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Post by Fate Admin on Jul 19, 2014 16:23:40 GMT -5
Ravenstar wanted to check on the progress of all of her deputy’s kits in the next couple days, and being that one of them was her own apprentice, she decided to go out with each of his siblings and their mentors one at a time and train together. First would be Starlingpaw. She and Blackwolf had led the two out into the forest for some climbing practice. NightClan cats rarely used the skill for hunting purposes, like TreeClan often did, but climbing was a fairly essential skill for ambushing. Not all ambushes required it, of course, but it was certainly a useful tool when use correctly.
She stood beside Blackwolf as her own apprentice, Palepaw, looked to her for approval to begin, and she nodded. The young tom leapt up onto the trunk of one of the many pines in the vicinity and she padded forward to take a seat at the base of the tree. Her pale amber gaze watched her apprentice’s progress carefully until he reached a branch and began testing his balance. He seemed to be enjoying himself up there.
Her ears flicked as Blackwolf called up about not going too high. “Don’t get overconfident!” she added. Climbing was easy once you got the hang of it, but overconfident cats took unnecessary risks, and such risks while hanging above the ground could prove fatal. One wrong step throwing you off balance could be crippling, or spell death. She curled her fluffy tail around her paws, her breath coming out in clouds of white as she stared up the tree, “Once you’re comfortable there, try heading to the next branch!” The next one up was slightly thinner, but still looking more than strong enough to support their weight. |
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Post by Hellion on Jul 21, 2014 19:42:40 GMT -5
S'tarlingpaw
fartlingpaw was not enjoying herself and in fact she hated the idea of this exercise, partly because she didn't like being up so high and the other part because Palepaw was doing so much better than her. It was clear by how her ears where pinned back and each movement was restraining aggression that she was no where near comfortable. She didn't mind training with her siblings in fact she loved spending time with them but she was not okay with having Ravens'tar watching her fail at climbing trees. From the moment Palepaw was given Ravens'tar has his mentor S'tarlingpaw was immensely jealous of her brother. She wanted to follow in their leader paw-steps and it wasn't going to be easy if Ravens'tar never got to see her full potential and as of right now she wasn't seeing anything good.
S'tarlingpaw had progressed nicely in the beginning, but quickly fell behind him as she grew overly careful and unsure of her paw-steps. Instead of focusing on her own progress to at least improve herself she felt the tightening of anger in her chest when everyone else's attention was draw to Palepaw who was scaling the heights with better ability than his sister. With a faint hiss she moved herself closer to the tree trunk to make sure she wouldn't tumble for being out to far and pulled herself using slow and careful steps to reach the branch just below her brother. Her attention was on his pale coat not on the branch he was standing on. Using her jealousy as a mental boost she pulled herself up onto the branch he was on and it dipped slightly as she crawled out toward him, a dark look in her eye. "For once can you not show off?" She growled at him not being careful about the weight behind placed on the branch but more concerned about how she felt.
I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
Word Count:: Tag::Amber Notes:: sorry it was so late |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2014 20:37:14 GMT -5
lost among the shattered dreams of princes
"Don't get overconfident!" Palepaw looked down, seeing the smaller-than-normal shape of his mentor sitting close to the tree. He smiled at her, though whether she could see it he didn't know. The branch trembled slightly under his paws, and he looked over to see St'arlingpaw, looking quite displeased with the entire situation.
His first instinct was to smile at his sister, but his smile faded and his gaze drifted toward concern when he realized St'arlingpaw's pinned-back ears and slightly fluffed coat. "Try to relax. Don't look down. Try to think of it as though you're balancing on a log--"
"For once can you not show off?" The ferocity in her voice stunned him into silence and he recoiled. He was only trying to help her. "I-I'm sorry? I'm only trying to help..." His tail drooped as he looked at his sister with sadness and hurt in his gaze.
The silver-furred apprentice dropped his head a little. "I'm not trying to show off, I swear. I just..." He sighed, not knowing what to say that could prove his actions were innocent.
A call from below drew his gaze downward over the edge of the branch. "Once you’re comfortable there, try heading to the next branch!" Palepaw perked up quickly, his gaze lifting to the next highest branch. He wasn't confident he could jump the gap, and he remembered Ravenst'ar's words about overconfidence. He turned to head back to the tree trunk, and realized that Sta'rlingpaw was blocking the way.
He walked toward her, slowly. "Sta'rlingpaw, could you back up, please? I want to go higher." His sister just glared at him and stuck to the branch, blinking slowly at him. "Sta'rlingpaw, please? I'm not trying to show off, I swear! I'm just trying to learn. I can help you, if you let me. Just.. please."
Still, nothing.
Palepaw sighed. He stepped forward, intending to edge around his sister. If she wouldn't move, then he would. The branch was just big enough for his slim form to slip around her, if she edged over just a little bit and didn't move.
He was halfway there, their fur mingling, when a hunk of snow fell off the far end of the branch. The branch shivered at the loss of weight, and St'arlingpaw's eyes grew wide as her body dropped to the branch, claws sinking deep into the bark.
St'arlingpaw moved instinctively, not remembering Palepaw's proximity to her. One moment, his paws are resting against rough bark, and the next, he was weightless. For a heartbeat he didn't realize what was happening. He felt wind through his fur, his paws skimming air, his body instinctively twisting.
And then..
And then it was over.
And he felt nothing.
But it happened.
An audible snap rang through the forest when the apprentice hit the ground like a ragdoll. Hindlegs first, body second, and head last. The lights went out for Palepaw when his head hit the ground, and he succumbed to the dark embrace of unconsciousness.
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Post by Fawn on Aug 15, 2014 1:38:43 GMT -5
Blackwolf
46 Moons. Warrior. NightClan. Tom. It had the same mundane sound as the snap of a branch, but with a shocking, heavy weight of disbelief that struck them all like a flash of lightning; Blackwolf gaped in open-mouthed horror, ears flat to his jet-furred skull at the lifeless form of Palepaw laying a few harelengths from the base of the tree. The fall played in slow motion before his eyes, and the seconds seemed to drag into hours before his senses returned and - temper showing best in urgent situations, he snapped at Ravenstar as he would otherwise never done before.
"Go! Get the medicine cat!"
The tom gave Ravenstar's small feathery body a firm nudge with his muzzle in case the shock had locked up her limbs, though in his peripherals he had eyed the crumpled body of Palepaw with a mixture of wariness and dread. Was he breathing? Forgetting his own apprentice, Blackwolf approached, lowering until he could sniff the kitten, feeling the breath tickle the ends of his whiskers to confirm, despite everything, that there was still life inside.
Hurry up Ravenstar. Thoughts narrowing in on the other living being here besides him and the wounded never-to-be-warrior, Blackwolf's odd-eyes settled upon Starlingpaw, his expression giving nothing away as he simply watched her. "Come down. Slowly." He would not see Roughthroat's daughter suffer the same fate as her brother, a circuitous series of thoughts chasing each other's tails around the forefront of his mind. Had Staringpaw pushed him? He had not seen the actual point where Palepaw had fallen, but he had caught snippets of the conversation, heard the agitation in his student's voice; he knew all too well that a moment of childishness could sometimes cause disastrous results.
This freak accident was one of them.
Stomach tight, Blackwolf stayed close to the base of the tree, half climbing it with some reluctance to fetch Starlingpaw personally; he'd carry her down like a kit - no point in risking another useless injury. He had seen the state Palepaw's leg was in... he almost wouldn't wish it upon his enemy.
Almost.
But only because his hatred for his enemies outweighed his sense of mercy.
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Post by Hellion on Sept 8, 2014 18:50:26 GMT -5
 MOOD:
MUSE:
WORDS:
TAGGED:
OTHER: speech aqua in memory of Roughthroat STARLINGCRY.NIGHTCLAN.12 MOONSPALEPAW! A silent cry left her mouth and the lack of sound made the look on her face haunting and in it's own way painful to witness. It all happened so fast that the black she-cat didn't know what to think or how to function to save herself. All she could remember was being annoyed and maybe a little angry with Palepaw then him trying to get past her. It was true she didn't like getting out shined by her siblings, a prideful she-cat she was but never in her entire life would she be okay with Palepaw falling like that and it was all her fault! She ignored the snow that had fallen because she didn't see it happen and blamed herself.
Still with claws dug deeply into the bark she stared down in a mixture of fear and dread. The perspective of the way he landed on the ground, he almost looked peaceful but the angle of his hindleg was a different story. Starlingpaw was broken away from looking at him to hear Blackwolf's voice. He told her to come down slowly but would he care if she jumped too? Palepaw was probably dead and Starlingpaw knew she couldn't bare the thought of him being dead let alone live with herself for being the cause of it. What would mother think? Father would hate her and she'd probably be exiled from NightClan, cast out as a murderer. It would be easier just to join him but no matter how drastic her mind went she'd never actually do it, she had a half self-preservation instinct and couldn't do it by choice.
Unable to fully relax Starlingpaw had to tear her claws away from the bark, bringing some of it up with her claws. Slowly she backed against the trunk of the tree and found herself maneuvering down, taking her time not wanting to face her brother's dead body and the pain that would follow upon seeing him up close and gone.
What would mother think?
MADE BY DANNIMARIEEE of CAUTION 2.0 |
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