A Raccoon, a Spider, and a Cloud Walk Into A Bar.. {Closed}

Cloudroar had been given another apprentice on top of Raccoonpaw, but he didn't mind. He loved spooking the young cats with how 'normal' he could function, despite his blindness. He'd even once been told that had they not known him, they would have thought he could see. It was funny because young cats seemed to get it into their heads that they could pull things over on him and he wouldn't notice, but of course, he did notice. With a gruff, quiet laugh, he was on his paws and padding towards the apprentice's den where he knew they were both sleeping. "Raccoonpaw, Spiderpaw! Get your furry butts up and meet me at the entrance of camp!" He called loudly into the den, not worrying about waking the other young cats up. They needed to get up anyways and take care of the queens and elders.

Spiderpaw squealed and leaped high into the air, fur fluffed up from the scare, and he accidentally landed on Raccoonpaw. Yelping in fear of what the bully of an apprentice would do to him in retaliation, he quickly rushed out of the den and over to his mentor. Trembling, now intimidated by the blind warrior, he dipped his head quickly in apology. ”S-Sorry, Cloudroar!...” he squeaked.

Letting a huff of surprise out of his jaws, Raccoonpaw raced to his paws, unsheathing his claws, as soon as he was bowled over by a tinier- but still big and heavy body. His fur fluffed up, he tilted his head up and caught a glimpse of the dark russet fur that escaped the current den, making the Siamese cat hiss under his breath. 

Trodding out of the den, he gave Spiderpaw a friendly smile and a touch of the tail on the shoulder to Cloudroar upon approach, acting as if nothing had happened. What the two cats didn't know was that he, Raccoonpaw, would soon give Spiderpaw a surprise in payback- and it wouldn't be pretty. The tom focused his gaze on Cloudroar, awaiting for his voice, almost completely ignoring Spiderpaw.

(OOC: Bump)

Cloudroar grumbled in amusement at the young tom's timid apology. "It's alright. Let's get going." He huffed with a flick of his fluffy tail before leading the way out into the rocky terrain. As they navigated the territory, his paws deftly skirting each obstacle they came across, he kept his ears perked for any sound that didn't belong in their serene surroundings. Finally, they approached a tree that he knew had many branches, which made climbing it an easy feat. Today they would be learning to climb, starting with the tree before them. Clearing his throat, he turned to the two apprentices. He could practically feel the tension between the two. This'll be interesting. He thought, stifling a grin. "Today you'll be learning to climb. You'll start with this tree behind me." He informed gruffly, flicking his ear. "Before I show you any of the basics, I want to see," He paused, laughing at his words, "well, sense what you guys can do first." He finished, his light blind eyes fixing on the two apprentices before he turned back towards the tree. "Raccoonpaw, you're up first. Since you were so eager last time. Show me what you've got."

Spiderpaw tried to nervously gulp down a big lump in his throat. He would have to climb trees? But he was terrified of heights! Oh, could things get any worse?!

He, Raccoonpaw, was going first to climb a tree, and he didn't mind one bit.

Before stepping up to the towering tree accompanied by many branches, he didn't miss the anxious look on Spiderpaw's face, and he couldn't help but smirk for a heartbeat. The Siamese cat knew exactly what he was going to do.

Brushing past the two cats, Raccoonpaw inspected the tree for a moment before stepping back and readying his haunches. Leaping as high as he could, he raked his claws into the side of the tree and started scrambling up the side of it. It was hard to keep the consistency with so many branches, and Raccoonpaw would've much preferred to climb a clearer one. He would occasionally plant one of his paws on a branch to regain his foothold. His lean figure and nimbleness made it easy for the tom to stay light on the tree, and it wasn't long before he reached the branch just below where leaves started to clump in great numbers. He sat on the wide branch, licking his paws and his back arched. He flashed Spiderpaw a menacing grin before returning his gaze to Cloudroar, awaiting his response.

OOC: i'm not one for "naturally talented" cats but boy is it fun

Cloudroar sat down at the base of the tree with his front two paws resting on the rough bark and his light brown ears perked up to listen for any sound that alerted him something had gone wrong. He was impressed as the young time skillfully, though not gracefully he could tell as leaves tumbled through the air around him, approached a thick and safe branch to rest on. He had expected the arrogant tom to freeze up in the tree with no idea what to do, but he had done well. With a soft grunt of approval, he turned towards Spiderpaw, his blue gaze softening, if only a little. "Okay Spidepaw, you're up. Give it your best shot." He meowed encouragingly. The scared young scrap needed to toughen up or he'd get pushed around his whole life. Maybe this pairing would be good for him. It'd force him to stand up for himself eventually, he hoped.

Spiderpaw's eyes stretched wide like two amber moons, shining with fear. Cloudroar was expecting him to climb all the way up there with Raccoonpaw? But... what if something horrible happened to him? What if he lost his balance and fell, or what if Raccoonpaw pushed him off, or what if he nudged into a beehive and got stung, or what if he got a face full of spiderweb? Oh, that latter scenario would be the worst of all! He absolutely loathed spiders! Why his late mother named him after the thing he feared most in the entire world was truly beyond him!

However, he knew he couldn't ignore or refuse a direct order given to him by his mentor. With a soft whimper and a nervous gulp, he approached the tree slowly. Unsheathing his claws, he leaped up and grasped the trunk as tightly as he could, and his fur bushed out to appear twice his size. He looked down and found he had jumped rather high up onto the trunk, but he was still just a little shy of reaching the first tree branch. He let out a shrill wail. "I'm stuck!"

Bursting out with scornful laughter, Raccoonpaw stared down at Spiderpaw tauntingly. "You're stuck?" He sneered but didn't say anything more.

Before Cloudroar could tell him to stop tormenting the scarlet apprentice, he leaped down the branches quite recklessly, causing the tree to shake slightly. Once the Siamese tom had gotten to solid ground, he looked up at Spiderpaw, pondering what mischief he would pull off next, but couldn't find any sort of activity that wouldn't be obvious. Closing his eyes for a few heartbeats, Raccoonpaw contemplated something. He couldn't believe he was saying it, but the words tumbled out of his mouth. "If you fall, I'll catch you." The words weren't gentle, more of a growl, but he was still saying it, right? "I have no idea what Cloudroar wants you to do-" he glanced at the mentor, "but whether he orders you to go up or down, I'll stay here, at the foot of the trunk. You already landed on me once this morning, remember? I can trust you, of all cats, to do it again." 


The tom apprentice glanced at Cloudroar, wondering if he would protest. Raccoonpaw shot him a fierce, almost pleading look to let him stay at that trunk.