Let's get down to Business, to defeat, WC [Closed]

Surrounded by the tall trees, Ivyfall felt familiarly small in comparison. It was a feeling most RiverClanners found abhorrent yet it was oddly comforting to her despite most of her life been spent in the flood plains. In the trees, there was a faint rustle of branches as squirrels poked out their heads from their hollows and birds twittered for love, that was the game they were after today. Lightpaw was haunting similar to her daughter, Frostfall, having almost the same pelt and body bulk. It was silly in a way, but she yearned to teach the apprentice things that she never got to teach her own child.

The thrill of climbing trees, the rushing of chasing a squirrel through the branches. Those were things that she kept silent on, afraid someone would find out her heritage. But perhaps if she hadn't been such a model RiverClanner, maybe things would have gone differently? There was no way to know for sure, but doubt refused to leave her mind.

With a brisk shake, the deputy chased away such useless thoughts. Lightpaw would be coming any second now, she didn't have time to waste being melancholy about a path already walked.

Lightpaw padded out of the camp, and walked towards the trees that sat in the rare part of Riverclan territory. She wasn't sure why Ivyfall wanted her to meet her mentor out here, but it was training so she couldn't complain. The pure white apprentice reached the section of territory in a short time, getting slightly excited for what the deputy had in store for her.

Soon she reached Ivyfall, looking at the deputy with bright different colored eyes. "What are we doing today Ivyfall?" She asked, her tone somewhat quiet. She was still suffering from Acornpaw's death but she had to live on for her sister, and train hard for her.

Ivyfall looked on fondly as Lightpaw approached, blinking her eyes in greeting before explaining what was on the agenda for today. Standing up, she pointed her right forepaw at the canopy, pointing out how the trees seemed to hold prey, practically bustling in comparison to the sparse fields of white.

"You're going to go up there." The silver tabby looked on for her apprentices reaction, this was hardly normal RiverClan training.

Lightpaw looked up at the trees, unsure of what to say. She had already climbed up into a tree once, but she got stuck and Sleetfang had to help her down. There had to be reason Ivyfall wanted her to go up there, she wouldn't just randomly order her to do that without reason. "You'll help me down if I get stuck right?" She really didn't want to relive that day again. She felt like she could get down now that she was older but she was still unsure.

"Yes, I'm here to teach you, not to haze you. I won't leave you stranded. Now watch me, and then follow suit." Padding over to a tree, Ivyfall stood at the base of the trunk scanning the trees for something worth catching. There was a nest of some sort at the fork, and a hollow that looked promising for squirrels. Narrowing her sights to the hollow first, the deputy bunched up her haunches and her forelimbs before shooting up in a quick pounce.

Her claws dug into the bark as she pounced in frog leaps up the trunk, until she reached the hollow. Wriggling in, she scented the sweet milk of babes. There were two pups, still naked and blind. They didn't even react to her presence, only blindly suckling at the air. With two swift bites, she killed them and carried them in her jaw and she scaled down in five, frighteningly huge downwards leaps to land on the earth.

"Your turn." She said, dropping the naked bodies. "Try scan the treeline for movement or places creatures can nest. Then shoot up as fast as you can to gain the advantage."

She was glad Ivyfall was going to help her in case she got stuck. And hunting in the trees? Did Riverclan do that. She didn't really get the point, but she wasn't going to question the deputy. Her multi colored eyes scanned the trees looking for something to catch.

The white apprentice saw some movement, and shot up the tree like Ivyfall showed her. Her claws dug into the tree as her mouth closed around a squirrel. She didn't grabbed it quite right, but she had it none the less. She dropped back to the ground landing on her feet with the squirming squirrel in her mouth. Once back on the ground she readjusted it and killed it.

"Good, you're a natural." Ivyfall purred whilst she dug a shallow pit into the snow to bury the freshkill that the two of them had caught. It seemed like the lesson was over, any prey in the vicinity seemed to have run away in fear of the two predators lurking down below. However, that wasn't true at all. There was a rare glimpse of mischief that linger in her eyes as she meowed calmly. "Now, for you second task..."

She took a dramatic pause. "Catch me."

That's all she said before shooting up the nearest tree, climbing quickly till she was braced on the first thick branch.

"W-wait!" Lightpaw called. She wasn't that skilled in tree climbing! The white apprentice quickly scaled the tree as best as she could. Which wasn't nearly as fast as the deputy. She was pulling herself onto the branch across from the deputy. Hoping she wouldn't go anywhere.

"Use your claws to balance yourself, and always check if a branch can take your weight before stepping down." Ivyfall warned, the deputy pausing to allow Lightpaw to take her place on the branch. Moving on a tree was mostly instinctual, it was easier to move if you didn't overthink it. She didn't want Lightpaw to overthink but also, there was no point if the apprentice was scared out of her mind.

Lightpaw nodded in response to what the deputy told her. She already had some experience with climbing trees but the last time that didn't end too well. As long as she wasn't alone she could do it. Something felt slightly natural about being in the tree. She couldn't exactly place her paw on it. Her claws kept her in place as she looked to Ivyfall for more instruction.

"Now move lightly and quickly. Don't give the branch a chance to snap. Come on." Ivyfall knew what she was doing, she never strayed too far from Lightpaw in her movements, and the snow was thick enough bellow to cushion them if they fell. The fall would hurt, but nothing they couldn't recover from, there was a reason why she saved tree-climbing for Leafbare.

Lightpaw nodded, her eyes occasionally glanced at her feet as she followed Ivyfall across the branches. It seemed to come easy to her, but she was half windclan... Why was this easy? Shouldn't running be easy, not running in trees? The white apprentice continue to move along with the deputy, scared she would fall, but Ivyfall wanted her to do it, so she might as well.