This Might Be A Bad Idea... [open]

[Lyra]

Scorchmoss sat at the roots of the Dead Willow, looking up at its frail branches. His long, plume of a tail swished back and forth on the ground as he thought to himself. His mother and his mentor never let him try and climb this tree because it was dangerous for kits... but what about a warrior? A grinned graced the tom's feature and before he even thought about it he found his claws reaching up to dig into the rough bark. He pulled himself up and dug his back claws in next. He continued this process until he was quite a ways up the dead tree.

[Dyzzie]

Shadowriver moved quietly through the territory - thick, large paws balancing his weight perfectly, so hardly a sound was made except for the light swish of fur brushing against fur. The furry tom was silent as he progressed in a slow walk through the territory of Talonclan, his cool gaze traveling over the nearby land, checking for any broken borders, anyone who shouldn't be around. Anything . . . out of place. For a tom with such a keen focus to detail, it was things like this that he excelled at. The patrol of the borders, where his watchful, keen eyes could pick out a lightly broken twig, and know where the intruder went from that very small artifact. but, what was to be expected from a tom who suffered from as much paranoia as Shadowriver did. Everything was a plot against his life, against the safety of the clan, against . . . the world. The mammoth sized tom moved further on, finish the last few steps of his border patrol before he slowed and looked around again. What to do now? Walk the border another time? Head off and do something else? The tom wanted to keep moving, and knew if he returned to camp, he'd probably find his usual rock ledge to jump up to, where he'd sit like a protective gargoyle, overlooking the clan. Always watching in the shadows. Always being the protective backbone of the clan. It was safer to be on the outskirts anyways. Especially when you were a cat of his size. He didn't trust himself around his clanmates. One wrong step . . . and they would be no more.

He took the time, weighing his options before deciding to do a bit of hunting - might as well lose the last of his energy before he headed back into the clan, and carrying a bit of meat would definitely be nice as well. The tom started to wander - making his way through the territory quietly as he looking around, his gaze always wandering, his ears always searching - always keeping an eye on his surroundings. The black and white tom paused at the sound. Claws, against bark? He paused, curiosity and the need to investigate over taking him as he switched his path, only to find what appeared to be a warrior climbing up a tree, the dead tree to be exact. The large tom quietly sat down, his tail flicking over the ground, "Is it wise, to trust your weight to such a dead tree?" He asked, voice low and deeply pitched, carried up to the other tom who was in the process of making good progress up the tree already.

[Lyra]

The large, black and white tom narrowed his eyes, concentrating on placing his paws carefully on the brittle bark. There was that tiny voice in the back of the tom's mind that told him this wouldn't end well, but he hardly ever listened to that voice or any other voice for that matter. The tom was rather impulsive in nature, plunging ahead without thinking it through. That was how he got into trouble as both a kit and apprentice. His behavior now only promised more trouble to come. He continued to climb up and looked down at his surroundings. Scorchmoss couldn't describe the thrill he got being up to high, maybe that was the mountain cat in him... He had climbed a little further up the tree when the sound of paw steps registered to his ears. The long-furred tom glanced down once more in time to see another warrior sitting below him, a cat that looked similar to him in color.

At the other's words the heavyset tom snorted and continued his way up the tree as he answered the tom's question with a rather stubborn response, "Is it wise to trust your footing on a cliff that can crumble or break at any minute? A mountain's no different than a tree." He could almost see his littermate shaking his head at his words. He pulled himself up with his claws once more and brought up one of his hind legs to get better footing on a branch. As soon as he put his weight on the branch it gave way with a loud snap. Scorchmoss's heart pounded loudly in his ears when he felt his hind paws churning the air. The young warrior clenched his teeth to hold back any unnecessary noise he would've made before finding a foothold again. "See?" the tom sounded a little breathless. "No different than a mountain." He'd rather hurl himself down the Catastrophic Chasm than admit he'd been scared at that moment. Especially in front of a warrior that was probably older and more experienced than him.

[Dyzzie]

Shadowriver eyed the cat who seemed to be so set on reaching the top of the dead willow, his expression both curious, and yet displeased. To the cautious tom, the image before him was a reckless one. but then again - for a cat his size (roughly the size of a medium-sized dog), the idea of climbing a tree -- especially a dead one -- bordered on suicidal. "I'd sooner trust the edge of a cliff to a tree." He argued with a faint shake of his head. Which wasn't surprising. He was a mix of Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat. Built for hard winters, rocky terrain, and survival. Not for climbing trees. A leaner cat, who's weight would be their own downfall might have easily scaled the tree. He didn't think he'd be so lucky. "but, to each their own." He added, before his head snapped up at a loud snap, jumping out of the way of the falling branch, "Do try not to kill me while I'm beneath the tree though," The mammoth-sized beast muttered under his breath, watching the warrior scramble for footing before succeeding and able to continue making his way up. He shook his head at the breathless tone to the other's voice, "At this point, with a mountain, I would wisely choose to retrace my steps to safer ground . . . . Why are you risking your health by climbing this death trap?" He asked, a frown on his features, and disapproval in his heavy gaze.

[Lyra]

Scorchmoss huffed before pulling himself further up the dead tree, if that was possible. The tom wasn't as large as the warrior who sat far below him, but he was still large enough in stature that he shouldn't be scaling a frail looking tree such as this one. His tail lashed as he paused for a moment, looking for another foothold. One of his ears twitched as the tom below him spoke once more. He let out another huff that could've been a laugh. "If a branch falls on your head it's not my fault. You're the one who's sitting under the tree," he replied. "If anything you'll be breaking my fall if I lose my footing again." The black and white warrior leapt upwards and snagged another branch with his front claws, but before it snapped he found purchase on the trunk which was slowly thinning as he got further up. Unfortunately this sent another branch tumbling down. "I like to take risks. It's just how I am," Scorchmoss responded to the other tom's next question. There warrior climbed more vigorously up the tree until he got to the topmost branch (well, at least the topmost branch that he could stand on). The thick-furred tom balanced himself carefully on the branch before shimmying out a little further onto it. The frail branch bent dangerously under his weight. He let out a little triumphant laugh as he took a look around him. He wasn't as high up as he'd like to be but he'd take this small victory.

[Dyzzie]

Shadowriver snorted faintly, a soft shake of his head, as his ears twitched towards the tom in the tree. The other tom was no small cat (he wasn't as large as Shadowriver, but still), and the tom wasn't sure how much further the younger warrior would be able to climb if he kept going up. "If a branch falls on my head, I'll still find a manner in which to blame you," The tom warned, faint amusement betraying his words as a joke, even as he removed himself from being so close to the tree. "I suggest you not lose your footing again . . . . I'd rather not have you flatten me." He added, with a shake of his head, before jumping back a third time as another branch went tumbling. "You're going to kill yourself," Shadowriver cautioned, before turning his head up to the tom. Taking risks? He'd believe that after seeing this action. "Well, I'll give you credit for making up that far. Though, I don't think any of those twigs at the top will hold your weight." The tom chuckled, a second shake of his head before he glanced towards the younger warrior. "but I'll stick to messin' around the cliffs and rocks, rather than climbing dead trees."

[Lyra]

Scorchmoss grinned down at the other warrior. "Really, now?" The young took a moment the look at the scenery around him, loving being up so high even if he wasn't as high as he'd like to be. This was what he liked about being in the mountains: being so high up that you can see everything around you (though he could hardly see much at the top of the dead willow tree). He glanced own at the black and white warrior below him. "It would take a lot more than me falling to flatten you I'm sure," he teased back. He let out a haughty laugh as the tom below him claimed he would kill himself from this height. "Not yet. I still have kin that I need to protect..." His tail flicked proudly at the praise the other cat aimed towards him and, feeling satisfied, began the climb down. He decided to climb carefully down, hindquarters first. For the most part the tom seemed to be capable of climbing safely down the tree, that is, until one of his hind legs rested on a particularly weak branch once again. There was yet another deafening snap and suddenly it felt like all his weight was pulling on his front claws. Without meaning to he let out a yowl of pain as he felt as though his claws were being ripped out. In an effort to stop the pain he loosened his grip on the tree and felt himself falling before his mind could catch up to what was happening.

[Dyzzie]

The tom chuckled, a shrug at the other's question, deciding not to offer a response to it, instead focusing on his comment of it taking a lot more than him falling to flatten him. Shadowriver shrugged, "Either way, I'd not be pleased with such a turn of events." The large cat retorted. He had come out to just explore, hunt, patrol a bit - not to be the break in another cat's plummet. Though, when the younger tom declared he had kin to protect, and couldn't yet kill himself, Shadowriver felt another chuckle escape him, "If you say so. Still seems a bit foolish to be climbing such a risky tree." He responded, watching the tom start to climb down, hind quarters first, being a bit more careful it seemed. He was making good progress - before another snap was heard, and the cat yowled, releasing the grip he had on the tree before he began to fall. It all seemed to happen in slow motion - even as Shadowriver propelled into action. The large cat was up, jumping forward, instinctively his keen eyes found where to place his paws, where to avoid the roots of the tree, jumping forward in an attempt to catch the falling cat. "I told you, you'd try falling to your death," The dog-sized cat grumbled to the younger warrior.

[Lyra]

It felt as though Scorchmoss was falling for an agonizingly long time before he felt himself collide with something a little softer than the ground. The young warrior was dead weight for a moment on top of whatever he'd landed on. As soon as he heard the other cat's voice he snapped out of his daze and moved so he wasn't still on top of the older warrior. The black and white tom's fur was fluffed out in alarm from his fall and his pale green eyes were still wide with shock. He let out a breathless laugh at the larger tom's grumble. "At least I didn't die," he replied though his voice sounded weak compared to the confident tone he'd had earlier. The young warrior sat down on his haunches and looked at his front paws, which were still pulsing with pain. Scorchmoss seemed to let out a small relieved sigh as he saw that he wasn't bleeding. With the way his paws were feeling he'd feared that he'd wrenched out his claws.

[Dyzzie]

Shadowriver bit back a huge huff of air from the impact of the younger warrior colliding with him, sending both toms to the ground, as the older warrior bit back a wince. That had hurt more than he was expecting. The other tom quickly got off, as Shadowriver stood, shaking out his fur, shifting until he was standing at his full height again, towering over the other tom as he eyed him, "No, you didn't. but I'd advise against crash-landing on other cats next time you try your hand at flying. It surprisingly hurt." He grumbled, shaking his fur out a second time, before glancing over the tom, "Are you alright?" He added.

[Lyra]

Scorchmoss flattened his ears a bit as he realized how much larger the other tom was compared to him. He had seen the tom from his vantage point in the tree but being next to him made him think a little differently about his size. He seemed to scowl to himself, not liking owing anyone any favors, but was happy nonetheless that he wasn't too seriously hurt. He smiled a little sheepishly, "Heh, sorry about that," he replied. The young warrior looked down at his front paws again and flexed his still unsheathed claws. The black and white tom winced a little at the pain again. "I'm alright," he replied stubbornly as his fur flattened a bit.

[Dyzzie]

Shadowriver took a few steps back, putting more space between he and the other tom as he eyed the younger male, shrugging at the sheepish apology the other gave, "Don't worry about it . . . It wasn't like I was going to let you fall to the ground," He grumbled, his gaze cutting to the side and as he shifted, uncomfortable with being apologized to. "And it wasn't you who told me to catch you . . . so, er, just don't worry about it." He mumbled before nodding when the other stated he was alright. Shadowriver nodded once, a quick jerk of his head, "Good." He responded simply, "Sure beats the alternative."

[Lyra]

Scorchmoss nodded at the tom's words before shaking out his own fur shook out his own fur. The black and white tom sheathed his claws carefully when he was sure it wouldn't result in more pain before looking up at the other tom. He could tell the other warrior was uncomfortable so he decided to change the subject. "Here you are saving my life and I don't even know your name," Scorchmoss said jokingly. He curled his tail around his paws and looked at the tom expectantly. This had been the first time he'd conversed with another warrior besides his brother. Speaking of his brother he knew that he wouldn't hear the end of it if he found out about this.

[Dyzzie]

Shadowriver glanced towards the other tom, recognizing a subject change for what it was, and managed a brief, half sort of smile, "Shadowriver. My name is Shadowriver." He stated simply, a brief bow to his head, "It's understandable not to know it though . . . I tend to . . . keep to myself around the clan." He admitted, a bit brighter of a smile as he said it, "A protective shadow, if you will . . ." He shrugged, glancing back towards the younger tom, "You're . . . Scorchmoss, aren't you?" He added, hoping he had put the right name to the tom now that he could see the tom better. He'd been alive for a while, seen many naming ceremonies. Rarely seen himself - tending to keep to the shadows. but he tended to watch each kit turn into an apprentice, then into a warrior. He saw it all. From the distance he tended to keep.

[Lyra]

Scorchmoss nodded to the warrior as he told him his name. He could understand why the tom would keep to himself most of the time. He was often reluctant himself to meet new cats and he was usually around his brother 24/7. It was often his brother who would introduce him to other cats. The thick-furred tom was about to introduce himself as well, but blinked in surprise when the other warrior already knew his name. He nodded in response to his name. "You must know my brother, Sootface then, I suppose?" he asked after a moment, impressed the warrior already knew his name.