Blow Us All Away[CLOSED]

Blossomheart stood by the entrance of the apprentices' den. "Ripplepaw, it's time to wake up! We're going to go training today!" She called, before walking to the exit of camp. Today was the day. Her first day training an apprentice. She hoped she would do well.

Ripplepaw was awake within the space of a nanosecond, barreling out of the apprentice den and sprinting to Blossomheart, all thoughts of sleep left behind in the den. It seemed her mind forgot to be tired, as she didn't even shake the moss from her pelt. The pale she-cat was buzzing with excitement, her eyes sparkling like stars as she gazed at her mentor.

Blossomheart almost jumped out of her fur to see a mussed-up apprentice speeding towards her a hundred miles an hour. "Great Starclan, slow down, Ripplepaw! At this rate, you'll see the whole forest by sunhigh! Now, what do you want to start with? Hunting, battle, climbing, or border patrolling?"

Ripplepaw grinned sheepishly, settling down a second to groom out her fur a little. She considered the question a little. "Climbing!"

Blossomheart nodded. "Good choice. Once you can climb and jump from tree to tree,
you can learn to hunt and then hunt in trees. Let's go." She turned and walked out of camp, then stopped by the twin maple trees that she and Russetpelt had leaped around in those few moons before. She turned back around to Ripplepaw. "Alright. Tell me what you know about climbing."

Ripplepaw followed her mentor until they reached their destination. "Well, you gotta have good balance. Don't you use your tail for that? Oh yeah, and your claws." She waved her long tail slowly in their air behind her, while her little hooked claws slipped out of their sheaths. "I don't know anything else about climbing, but I know all good SkyClanners can do it."

Blossomheart's whiskers twitched. "First of all, yes. Your tail is important to have, but Mumblefoot has no tail and he manages just well. Second, it's just what we do. Windclan runs, Riverclan swims, and we climb. Most Skyclan cats are well-built to do this, so once you get the hang of it it'll be easy as eating a mouse. So, dig your claws into the trunk, like this, and pull yourself up. Use the branches if you need to, but using only bark will be useful if a tree has no low branches." She pulled herself up, step by step, and looked down from a branch midway up the tree. If Ripplepaw fell, she should be able to land on her feet with not too much injury.

Ripplepaw nodded and started quickly, sinking her hooked claws into the bark. She had peered out of camp once or twice, to scolding by her father, but she had seen a warrior crawling up. If they could do it, why couldn't she? So, she climbed, trying to go as quickly as she could, winding her way up the tree until she reached Blossomheart. She was pretty impressed that she didn't fall, but she could have gone faster. She cast one glance at her mentor and decided this was too easy. With a determined little huff, she continued up the tree, to a branch about three tail-lengths higher than she had been told to. She settled down on the branch, looking smugly at the warrior. "Look! I did it!"

Blossomheart beamed proudly. This was a smart one. But reckless, too, she realized, as the apprentice climbed higher. "I chose this branch for a reason, Ripplepaw. Come back down. Now that you can climb easily- not that you couldn't before, of course- Now, we work on jumping. Russetpelt once gave me good advice. Aim for a large branch or two branches close together. Unsheath your claws the moment you push off. Stay low to the branch once you land. Like this-" She leaped from her branch to the other one that she and Russetpelt had jumped in between that while ago. Then she turned back. "Now you try."

Ripplepaw nodded, a little letdown that she didn't praise her briiance immediately. The young apprentice worked her way back dowm the tree and watched closely as she leaped to the next tree. She could do that, easy. She carefully made her way to the place she should be on the branch, bunching her muscles in her hind legs as she prepared herself. She pushed off, vaulting across to the next tree and quickly finding a pawhold. She was so, so happy that she made it! Her eyes widened with pleasure and she sheathed her claws, smiling at Blossomheart.

Blossomheart felt a smile spread. "Good job! You're a natural. Hunting or battle next?"