Branches to the Advantage (Carot)

[Trickle]

-Kinkpaw-

Today was the day that Kinkpaw had been waiting for!  Sparkleap had told him that the next time they trained it would be fore battle techniques.  The apprentice was practically unable to sleep the night before.  He had always been interested in finding new ways to take down his friends when it came to playful fights, and now he would be able to.  And he had also heard that there would be quite a bit of tree climbing in this type of battle training.  It would not suffice to say that climbing was one of Kinkpaws favorite things to do.  Even since he was a kit, he would climb up his mother and siblings to get as high as he could.  

Anyways, he had risen as soon as soon as the sun had extended its rays in to the apprentices den.  The curly coated cat pretty much stepped over the other apprentices to get to the exit, seeing that his nest was closer to the back of the den.  He trotted out in to the clearing, eyeing the freshkill pile for a moment before heading closer to the camps exit.  His wide eyes scanned the area of Sparkleap.  Kinkpaw was hardly able to sit down and had to wrap his tail around his paws to keep them from jittering about.  The young tom didn't want to seem too excited about it.  

Tagged: Sparkleap (Carotius)

OOC: Hopefully starting it before they left was ok c; and sorry its a little on the short side heh

[Carotius]

Tags: Trickle
OOC: 'Tis fine! And I'm okay with it! It's substantial. ^^

---

Sparkleap pushed his way out of the warriors's den, his jaws stretched so wide in a yawn that it resembled a yowl, while his belly brushed the ground as he got into a glorious stretch. He'd had quite a good sleep last night, curled up against his siblings as the chilly night air invaded the den with its frosty mist; their warmth comforted the golden tabby, and lulled him into one of the best sleeps he had in ages.

Now here he was, awake in the early rays of dawn, amber eyes blinking away the final traces of sleep. Training... Get that done, then hunt and eat. He mentally noted, hoping he wouldn't forget his memo in the midst of executing it. He took a swift look at the stocked fresh-kill pile, realising not much hunting would be needed for now. With a shrug, he headed further into the clearing, ears perked for his curly-furred apprentice. It was battle training today. Sparkleap was honestly nervous about having an apprentice.

"Kinkpaw? Come on, time to go!" he called out tentatively, padding out the entrance. "Time to sh-sharpen those trademark LeafClan skills!

[Trickle]

Kinkpaw had started to get distracted by a bird in one of the trees up above while waiting for Sparkleap.  His head was craned all the way back and his tail tip was twitching.  To any other cat he probably looked very strange in the fact that he seemed to be staring at nothing.  but, he wasn't staring long because he heard his mentors voice near the warriors den and looked away from the little bird.  He sprung to his paws and bounded over to the golden cat, "I'm here, I'm here."  He mewed, reaching Sparkleap in what might be record time and trotting next to him.  "I woke up a bit earlier, I couldn't sleep." The young cat looked at his mentor then back to where they were walking, "but, don't worry I'm not tired because of that or anything. I'm ready!"  

He followed Sparkleap out of the clearing and in to the territory.  By now he was kind of used to going in and out of the camp, but that didn't mean he wouldn't get lost if he had to go it alone.  Kinkpaw was never one to be great with directions and it would probably take him quite a bit of time before he would be able to venture out on his own to hunt or the like.   but, he was okay with that.  He really did enjoy having a mentor now, in all honesty Kinkpaw kind of looked up to Sparkleap.  Probably because he thought it was really cool to be able to be trained by a warrior, Kinkpaw aspired to be a great warrior one day.  

"So, I heard some other apprentices saying that battle training includes some tree climbing."  Once again, Kinkpaw looked to Sparkleap with wide excited eyes, "Is that true? Because I am pretty good at climbing things, if I may say so myself."  The apprentice didn't even realize he was babbling nonstop and talking too fast.  He was just over the moon.  

[Carotius]

OOC: Muse low and rushed because I HAVE TO GO SOON. DX

---

Great, StarClan, SLOW DOWN YOUR TALKING! Sparkleap mentally fretted, his mind trying hard to comprehend all that tumbled from his apprentice's mouth. Maybe he shouldn't have gotten an apprentice when he was such young warrior - he wasn't confident in executing it all on his own. Where was his brother Rowanstrike when he needed him?

Sparkleap took a deep breath, heading for the thick cluster of trees he enjoyed climbing at. "Yes, battle training includes tree climbing because it's our specialty. Don't flatter yourself too much...it won't get you THAT far." He bitterly recalled the times Hawkfeather had given the oldest son more praise and encouragement; Sparkleap had tried hard to earn praise of equal value. "Prove your worth, I guess. Beides... I'm better at climbing than you."

He teased Kinkpaw further by flicking the apprentice's ears with his tail tip. Chuckling, he darted forward into the undergrowth, golden-striped tail streaming behind him as he made a headlong run for their destination. See if you can pin me down on the run! He thought, knowing he was fairly as a good a runner.

[Trickle]

Once again, Kinkpaw almost flew out of his skin as Sparkleap confirmed that what he had been hearing was true.  "My mum says that it is important to be confident in what you do, that way you are able to preform the task much better."  The white and red apprentice paused, furrowing his brow while he thought.  "She said it has something to do with your state of mind affecting the way you do things."  His mother was awfully wise and would tell him many things that he would often tune out.  but, now those wise words seem to have an actual purpose as he relayed them to his mentor proudly.  Of course, Sparkleap countered with a challenge, telling him to prove his worth before flicking his ear with his tail playfully.  Kinkpaw was about to swat him back, but the older cat had suddenly bounded away through the brush. 

"Hey! No fair!" Kinkpaw called after his golden pelted mentor.  The apprentice only stood there for a second before chasing the other tom down.  He huffed and puffed after him, extending his still growing legs out as far as he could, trying to gain ground.  but Sparkleap was fast, and perhaps that was an understatement.  Or maybe it wasn't seeing that he was still young and lacked in the areas of speed and stamina.  

By the time his mentor had slowed down a bit, Kinkpaw was already dragging.  His curly tail was dragging behind him and he huffed, trying to catch his breath.  "You...totally had... a head... start!"  The apprentice practically plopped down next to Sparkleap, sprawling out on the ground dramatically.  "Next time... I will get you."  His dark brown eyes weren't looking towards Sparkleap though, instead he was looking around at the unfamiliar area of trees.  With a deep, but still enthusiastic sigh, he hauled himself up in to a sitting position.  

OOC: No worries love <3

[Carotius]

The golden tabby had, of course, reached their destination first and with relative ease. By that point, he had slowed down, his flanks heaving only slightly despite the long sprint from camp - he was used to running. Taking a deep breath, he cherished the serenity of the forest, of the sunlight that gently warmed his magnificent fur....until his winded apprentice burst through the bushes and flopped onto the ground with a dramatic sprawl.

"Next time... I'll get you," the curly-furred tom panted, brown eyes teasingly furious until they roved upwards to the trees above.

Sparkleap smiled softly, looking up to the canopy. "Beautiful, isn't? It's my favourite climbing place when I was an apprentice..."

For a moment, he was taken back to his apprentice days... The first day all four siblings were taken around the territory, and given tree-climbing lessons, to see who could climb the highest. His older brother and youngest sister had fiercely competed with each other; Rowanpaw came out on top, and he rubbed it in Maplepaw's face for the rest of the day. Although Sparkleap had been the highest climber that day, Hawkfeather still praised Rowanstrike the most. He chose to forget that, only recalling how much he loved it whenever his mentor brought him here for battle training. He hoped he could share the same feeling with Kinkpaw.

"All right, Kinkpaw, let's see how much you know about climbing already," he meowed, nudging his apprentice up to his paws. "Show me how you think it's done."

[Trickle]

Kinkpaw looked up at the trees and their branches, his sides still heaving.  Sparkleap was right, it  was beautiful.  The canopy was so thick the sun hardly pushed through it, but where it did there were long streams of sunlight that were clearly visible.  Never had been to a place to serene and calm as this, even birds seemed to sing softer than usual.  The apprentice hadn't even noticed that his mouth was open in awe until he turned to speak to Sparkleap.  He snapped it shut and blinked, "I think that could be an understatement."  

The young tom couldn't wait to tell the others about this place and maybe even brag about his climbing skills, that is, if he even had any.  He almost wished his sister was here to enjoy the moment with him, perhaps another time.  Kinkpaw once again found himself looking up at the towering trees, only half listening to his mentor.  "Hmm, what?"  He blinked, but still didn't look down.  "You want me to just go and try? You aren't gonna show me anything first?"  The curly furred cat looked at his mentor with mild bewilderment but then quickly replaced it with confidence, "I mean, yea, okay."

He stood up and trotted to the nearest tree.  In all honesty, Kinkpaw knew very little and he knew there was a large chance of him just looking mouse-brained.  but, he knew he had to do it so that way he could learn.  "Alright..."  He whispered to himself before crouching down, ready to fling himself at said tree. Kinkpaw mentally counted to three and then jumped! And, of course, he simply ricocheted off of the tree like a bug that was swatted by a kit.  The tom rumbled in an angry manner and tried again.  This time, instead of flinging himself at the tree, he stood on his back legs and stretched his front legs over the surface, digging his claws in to the bark.  He then stuck his back legs up there and was now attached to the tree, but unmoving.  

Kinkpaw just stayed there for a moment, trying hard to figure out how he was actually going to move up the tree.  but, he gave up and sheathed his claws, letting himself drop the inch that he was up.  He huffed and turned back to Sparkleap, wondering what he thought.

[Carotius]

OOC: That was hilariously cute. XD

---

Of course, as expected, Kinkpaw leapt at the tree as if it was some kind of enemy waiting to be clawed in the face. In return, the apprentice was bounced back off its rough surface, his features morphing into confusion and slight indignation. Grumbling, Kinkpaw faced the tree again, this time reaching on his hindlegs to hook his foreclaws onto the bark to get a good grip. Once his grip was secure, the young tom proceeded to pull the rest of himself onto the tree, and, for a moment, he looked triumphant. Wait for it... The apprentice was down on the ground again.

Sparkleap couldn't hide the amusement as the younger LeafClanner padded back to him. "You got onto the tree. Did you figure out a way to move up on it?"

The teasing purr must have made Kinkpaw flush with embarrassment, but the golden mentor wasn't facing him to find out. No, he had walked up to the target tree, muzzle raised to the leafy branches in the heights above, blocking out the bright sunlight, leaving only enough beautiful rays to illuminate the area in a dream-like fashion. StarClan knows how these woods could get any lovelier. Would he be able to touch the sky when he climbed? Maybe.

He then remembered that they had to do some battle training in the higher ground, and it made shudder uncontrollably for a moment. The tabby didn't dare think of what could happen if a wrong move was made during training, let alone a battle; cats could plummet and break a limb, or their spine...or even kill themselves. Sparkleap swallowed the lump in his throat, recalling the nursery tales Foxripple used to tell him, of apprentices and even warriors dying from breaking their neck in a fall. It terrified him, but it inspired him to be the great climber that he was now.

"Okay, here's how it is. Your foreclaws help you stay on the bark; it's the hindpaws keep you moving along the trunk, and the trick is to NOT use the claws on your hindpaws," Sparkleap explained. He proceeded to demonstrate what he said by jumping onto the bark, with the claws of his front paws buried into the clipped bark while his hindpaws were brought to himself. In a heartbeat, Sparkleap had shot up a good length of the trunk with just one mighty push of his hindlegs, his front claws clinging onto the next pawhold he could get. "Unhook your claws right before you push off, then hook your claws and brace with your hind legs again. Rinse and repeat."

Sparkleap continued to show how the move was done; bundling up his hind muscles while his claws unhooked, then pushing himself up and up the trunk, each landing stoppered with a firm clawhold on the aged bark. He made sure his spine didn't buckle, that it didn't stiffen or loosen at the wrong times. He could only remember how much he had trained in this manner just to perfect his climbing skills...and he was at the highest branch before he knew it.

The golden tabby glanced downwards, not realising how high he had gone. With a half-frightened snort, he slithered slowly but surely back down onto solid ground, his tail raised and curled over his back in pleasure. Amber eyes glinted with joy. He loved climbing, and he was sure Kinkpaw could follow in his pawsteps.

"All right, squirrel-in-training, your turn! Remember to keep your spine flexible!" he whisked the apprentice away to the tree with a whirl of his striped tail.

[Trickle]

His ears burned with embarrassment as Sparkleap made his comment, even though it was playful.  Kinkpaw huffed and looked around, "At least I didn't smash my face in to the bark again." He rumbled under his breath, bringing his paw up to his nose that was a bit sore from the tree attack.  He knew he probably should have thought that move through a little a better.  Oh well, live and learn.  Even if it meant smushing your nose in to some bark once and a while.  He sat quietly for a bit, waiting for Sparkleap to show him what he came here to show him.  but, it seemed that the older time was a little lost in thought.  Kinkpaw was half tempted to give the tree another go and had turned around to it when his mentor spoke up again, this time offering advice.  

Kinkpaw watched in awe as Sparkleap demonstrated what he had just said.  The other tom made it seem so effortless, he actually seemed to glide up the tree like a squirrel would.  The apprentice felt a little pang of jealousy.  He wanted to be able to do that!  Climbing well was a goal of Kinkpaws, simply because he loved reaching new heights. And the only way to reach new heights was to climb up to the highest point of the highest tree.  He had heard that if one were to get past the canopy they would be able to see the other clans camps!  How crazy would that be?  This is what kept Kinkpaw determined, he wanted to see all there was to see, no matter what. 

Sparkleap was now up high enough that Kinkpaw had to crane his head back to see the other tom.  He had watched him scale back down as effortlessly as he went up.  The apprentice was about to ask how he was supposed to get down when he got up there. but, the joy in Sparkleaps eyes just made him want to do it right away and the question flew out the metaphorical window.  He rose to his feet, no longer looking embarrassed but once again excited.  A little laugh escaped him as his mentor called him a squirrel-in-training.  "I bet by the time you are done training I'll be able to climb better than any squirrel!"  The apprentice practically hopped when he spoke.  

Once again, he bounded up to the tree.  but, this time instead of rushing in to the climb, he took his time.  He concentrated on what Sparkleap had said, front claws, no back claws, flexible spine, push up, release, grab.  Kinkpaw wriggled his rump and gave a little jump so he could get some height.  He latched on with his front claws and gathered up his legs underneath him.  Once again, he sat there, his muscles burning, as he recalled the words.  Push up, release, and grab.  With a deep breath, Kinkpaw pushed off with his back legs, launching himself up a few mouse-lengths, but his claws didn't quite catch the bark and he plopped back to the ground.  He continued this pattern a few more times before finally latching on in time again.  

"I did it!" He called, even though he had only caught himself once, it was still something to be excited about for him.  Slowly, Kinkpaw made slow progress up the trunk and was a good fox-length or two off of the ground.  He half thought about going further, but instead he shimmied to a nearby branch and perched there.  He panted lightly and looked down at Sparkleap.  Then he realized he might be stuck. "Uh, How do I get down?"  He called down, his tail flicking almost nervously.

[Carotius]

OOC: SO ADOWABLE~

---

With another enthusiastic hop, Kinkpaw went up to the tree, more determined that ever to scale its wrinkly bark and reach the highest branch he could, to have a story to tell the other apprentices of how he stood in the leaves with all the other prey. How did the mentor know that? He'd experience it when he was an apprentice himself. And so it was with pride that the golden tabby spectated the climbing progress, each clawhold surer than the previous.

Finally, after a small slip-up and a few good scoots, the tom with the curly fur had planted himself on a branch with a look a victory over a battle. Sparkleap didn't care that his apprentice was ways away from reaching the branch he had been on; reaching the current height on first try was already superb.

"Well done, Kinkpaw! Now, get down so I can demonstrate a move," he called, whiskers twitching.

Of course, as expected (again), Kinkpaw was looking down from the branch almost neevously. "Uh, how do I get down?"

"Don't squirrels know how to get down?" Sparkleap laughed, beginning to turn away from the tree, pretending to want to head elsewhere. "Watching you climb makes me hungry... I think there was a rabbit near one of the young birches. I'll go hunt it down."

[Trickle]

Kinkpaw gazed down at his mentor, waiting to be told how to get down.  but, to the apprentices horror, his mentor instead turned to go hunt down a rabbit that was near one of the birches.  The cat practically flew to his paws, his tail waving wildly like a flag as he kept his balance.  "What!" He called, "I'm not a squirrel! I'm a squirrel-in-training, remember?"  The curly coated cat paced back and forth on his sturdy branch as he watched his mentor slowly start walking away.  Suddenly, Kinkpaws mind was all a buzz with squirrels.  A squirrel-in-training was an equivalent to a baby squirrel, right?  Didn't baby squirrels cli- oh no, they didn't.  He remembered seeing an apprentice bring an a baby squirrel, stating that it fell to it's death out of its nest.  

Perhaps the squirrel just didn't land on something soft.  Kinkpaw furrowed his brow, yea, that's it.  He just needed something soft to land on, he could just jump!  He began to look at the ground for anything that looked particularly soft, but all he saw were some dry bushes and his mentor, who was walking under the length of the branch Kinkpaw was standing on.  That was it!  Sparkleap looked like a pretty soft and strong cat.  Surely a light cat like Kinkpaw couldn't do much damage! Yes, his plan was fool proof.  

The young tom slowly walked back to the trunk of the tree and then turned around. "I am a..."  He took several deep breaths and then ran forward on the branch.  And then, in the next moment, he was plummeting to the ground, or really plummeting towards Sparkleap.  "FLLYIINNGGG SQUIIRREEELLL"  The curly cat screeched as he went down, paws flailing with little to no grace.  He was not too high off of the ground, so even if he happened to miss his target he would probably be fine.

[Carotius]

Sparkleap was laughing way too much at his joke. He hadn't gotten to tease anyone as much as that for all the moons that he lived, which made today particularly more enjoyable than he thought it would be. Kinkpaw was enthusiastic and eager to learn all there was to being a LeafClan warrior; his exceptional interest and determination in tree climbing was definitely going to be an asset, one that would be talked about by his Clanmates for a while until the day it would no longer be spoken of. The golden warrior knew that day would take seasons to arrive.

So here the tabby mentor stood, finally halting his laughter so he could face his apprentice. Time to retrieve Kinkpaw. He was ready to turn around, when his ears picked his apprentice's muffled words. He couldn't make it out, but he figured it was a series of despairing mews about being stuck in a tree with no lessons on going back down. Sparkleap felt a little bad for doing such a thing, though he knew Kinkpaw would take it in good stride. He didn't know Kinkpaw would take the joke a step further.

"FLLYIIINNNGGGG SQUIIIRREEELLLLLLL!!!"

"Wha-" Sparkleap whipped around, expecting an actual flying squirrel for him to bring down and home to the fresh-kill pile. He was totally NOT expecting a smaller tomcat with curly fur to be falling and flying at him, his resonating screech a comical mix of zeal, surprise, and the very thick layer of panic. Let's kick it up a notch! Kinkpaw was flailing his limbs with absolutely no sense of whatever he was to do, his dark brown eyes now wide and wild with one expression that the older tom understood: I REGRET NOTHING AND EVERYTHING!

With a yelp, the flying cat crash-landed atop his mentor's shoulders, the latter too surprised by the 'attack' that he was knocked off his paws, tumbling across the leaf-strewn grass. They rolled paws over tail, the momentum of the crash sending them reeling all the way to the other end of the patch, Sparkleap's golden tabby pelt melding with Kinkpaw's stark white-and-red. StarClan, help us stop! Sparkleap was too scared to stick out his paws to stop their tumble, afraid he would just snap the bones if he even bothered to try. Were they going to roll all the down to the rocky hill nearby? Please, no...!

As if by some miracle, their rolling tumble ended with an abrupt thump and brushing of fear against leaves. Kinkpaw was safely, but painfully, clinging onto the golden warrior's back, white the lower horizontal half of Sparkleap was facing outwards against he object that had ceased their seemingly-endless tumble. He would have been glad for the help of nature if it weren't so painful!

"THOOOORNS!" he yowled, pushing away from the offending bush and springing onto his paws, Kinkpaw clinging to his shoulders in alarm. "Ow! OW OW OW OW! OOOOOWWWW!"

[Trickle]

Down, down, down he went! Despite the semi-short distance from the branch to the ground, Kinkpaw felt himself slam in to his mentor at full force.  His flailing paws found purchase on Sparkleaps short coat, but that was hardly enough to keep them from the tumble that came soon after impact.  Next thing he knew he was clinging on to the golden coated tom for dear life as they rolled head over tail.  He was even too surprised to let out a frightened screech.  All he could feel was his mentors fur and the grass and pebbles at random moments in the roll.  It almost seemed as if the two would roll on for eternity.  Kinpaw began to fret in the midst of the chaos.  Would their clanmates miss them?  Would they roll right across a thunderpath?  Would Sparkleap grow old and die before him, leaving him attached to a dead body?  

All the thoughts swirling in his head were suddenly cut off when they jerked to a stop, clearly Sparkleap had hit something to stop them.  Kinkpaw had his claws out as he gripped on to the older tomcat with wide eyes.  "That... was... AMAZING!!"  The young tom flew off of his mentor when he stood up suddenly.  The golden tabby practically scared away all the birds in the tree with his call of thorns!  It was then that Kinkpaw actually looked at what had stopped them, and albiet it was a thorn bush!  Who wouldv'e guessed?  Kinkpaws brown eyes looked at the warrior, who was noe covered in the prickly plants of doom.  "Oh... that does not look like it feels good."  He paused for a moment and then sprung forward, "Let me help!"  

Kinkpaw started to try and yank out the thorns he could find.   Of course, the apprentice was not very skilled at this and ended up yanking out some fur at the same time.  He took a moment to step back and spit out the thorns he had gathered (which werent many) and the fur that had gathered in his mouth.  Getting the fur out was much much harder than that of the thorns.  The curly coated tom started spitting this way and that but he just couldn't seem to get every little stand out of his mouth.

[Carotius]

OOC: I'm making Rowanpaw (after I finish Pieta), and she'll be under Sparkleap too, soooo Kinkpaw's gonna have a training buddy! :3 Anyway...Pardon the late reply! The muse slipped away >_>

---

"Thanks for the he- OW! KINKPAW, NOT MY FUR!"

Sparkleap's breath of relief quickly turned into more howls of shock and pain as his golden fur was unintentionally plucked along with the thorns thanks to his apprentice's untrained claws. He wanted to stop the curly tom, but the pricks from the thorns were enough to warrant him to NOT stop his apprentice. By the time the red-muzzled tom was done, the golden tabby looked more ruffled than he should have been. He actually looked as if he'd gotten the bad case of the fleas AND mange! Rowanstrike is gonna laugh... Mapleflower and Nightwhisker too, but maybe they'd coo over me for a while... He rolled his eyes when he thought of how the CLAN was going to react to his outlandish fur.

As Kinkpaw furiously spat left and right to get the golden fur out his mouth, Sparkleap sat down, tongue quickly rasping over every inch of his body in a bid to smooth out the remains of his pelt so that it looked less...scratchy? Splotchy? Whatever the word was, he didn't want to look like crazed loon of an elder, of nursery tales from long ago. Okay, maybe he exaggerated the damage done to his precious fur. Still...What are the others going to think? They'll really laugh... Sighing, he stood back up, amber eyes now staring deadpanningly at the curly-furred young tom.

"Well, the good news is you've found your down the tree, AND learnt how to pounce on your enemy from one," he meowed, rolling his eyes upwards to the tree. "The bad news is you're going to have to back up the tree and try it again."

[Trickle]

OOC: Don't worry about it! You're fine c:

After Kinkpaw finally stopped trying to spit every bit of fur out of his mouth he actually noticed the state that Sparkleaps fur was in.  He just stared for a moment and then mewed, "Oh I had no idea I had ripped out that much fur..."  He actually sounded pretty sorry, and he was.  It would take a while for his mentors fur to actually go back to normal.  but, then the more he looked at the golden furred tom, the more he found it funny.  He tried really hard to keep his laughter in, but it came out as an awful snort through his nose.  And then the full on laughter came.  "You look like my mom when she had gotten ticks that one time."  For a solid 30 seconds he laughed himself to tears before they died down to little giggles.  It took him a second to realize that Sparkleap had started talking again.

"You want me to do that again?"  Kinkpaw did like the idea, he was just amused that the other tom would suggest it so soon after their little tumble.  "I mean, sure I'll do it.  Just tell me what to do when I get up there so I don't have to fall on you again like that."  His voice was playful, trying to lighten up his mentors mood.  but, he turned and bounded back to the tree.  "And remember, looks aren't everything!"  The young tom called back before starting to climb.  

This time it was a lot easier to get up.  Of course, he didn't go as high and settled quickly on one of the lower branches.  The curly cat crouched down and wiggled his rump a little, "What now?"  He blinked, "Flying squirrel attack?'