sweet happy golden years [c]

He hadn't slept in very often since becoming an apprentice, he had spent his entire kithood wanting to escape from the confines of Fourtrees and now that he could (with a warrior present) he hadn't wasted a moment. Since Dawnfeather's return however, he felt like a bag of boulders was lifted off his shoulders. Sleeping came easy and dreamless, his life was back to normal. As normal as it could get.

He stirred gently, peeling open an eye to look at her as she spoke to him. Her voice was as angelic as the first time they met. "Yes ma'am." He gave a glance over his shoulder in the general direction of where the warriors slept. He'd catch up with Thornstalker after their walk. Surely his mentor wouldn't mind.

"Real good. Anyday now I think the big Bird'll make me a warrior." he remarked, truthfully it was going slower than he imagined, he hadn't realized how much work went into becoming a warrior! All this training hubbub. Gah! He just wanted to get in fights, and hunt for the clan on his own; all the warrior things Rita told him about when he was little. "Thornstalker. She's real..fun. I think she's Wolfblossom's old apprentice." Foxpaw mused, "You don't have to worry 'bout me, I'm just glad you escaped the Two-legs." His ears pricked at the thought of exploring more of Skyclan territory, something he hadn't been able to do quite yet. He grinned, "I'll hold ya to it."  

Beech, Bloodstrike, Prima...all these names went in one ear and out the other, but he nodded as if he knew all the same. She was nice, indeed. They hadn't spent much time together except[t the occasional patrol of course, but he had also decided she was a nice and capable mentor. He also decided he needed to get closer to her, he wanted to bond more with his mentor. He'd make an effort to be the picture-perfect mentor-apprentice duo. Unstoppable even.

Foxpaw let out a little laugh, truth be told, he believed Dawnfeather was an expert at everything, the best of the best! Top of the line! An angel in the flesh! "What about some tree climbin'? My skills are nothin you'd talk about at a gatherin' or nothin' but definitely better than when I first tried climbin' a tree. I'll tell you that." the apprentice meowed, shaking his head and laughing. He could barely get his claws into the bark back in the day, their bark was so much different than climbing fences and twoleg dens.

Foxpaw put a skip in his step to keep up, his mother's energy giving him energy in turn. His long legs, which gained more muscle every day, easily allowed him to keep up. He filed the information he was given away in his mind for future use. Lowest limb...nooks and crannys in the bark. Sounded easy enough. But Dawnfeather just made it look so easy. He shook his pelt and gave a big grin. He had to learn how to do that. To master the branches. That would make more cats like him. If he could fly through the trees as Dawnfeather did.

His hind legs weren't as strong as Skyclanner's quite yet, but his bone structure definitely favored him and with practice, he could get there. Foxpaw smiled, "I got this." he meowed strongly, mostly reassuring himself. Yeah. He could do this. He climbed trees with Lightningpaw, this is just taking it up a notch. Easy.

Foxpaw tightened every muscle in his hind legs, haunches wiggling as he trained his eyes on his target. Then he launched - the branch was coming at him fast and furious, but to him everything happened in slow motion. His claws stretched out and came down hard on his target branch. He felt it sway slightly beneath him at the force of his jump, but it was thick enough to hold his weight, no doubt. He felt a rush of pride following his adrenaline. The apprentice couldn't help but let out a breath with a laugh, "Easy-peasy!"

Now that he made the first jump, he was addicted. Foxpaw needed to experience that feeling again. He narrowed his eyes on a branch further up. There were clearly other branches that were safer bets but this one was just too juicy. He had to try. He squeezed his muscles tight and launched for a second time. "Uh-oh." he screeched as he watched the target branch fly past him. He had overshot it. His claws reached out at anything he could grab, his paws were able to grab ahold of it but he was only able to scramble to get his upper body onto the branch. Limbs were flying, kicking, and trying to gain traction in the air. He looked over his shoulder as he started to hyperventilate. This was not part of the plan. Foxpaw's eyes suddenly spotted a knot in the bark of the tree close to him and he shoved his back claws into the trunk and pushed with all his might. After a moment of struggle, he was finally able to get the rest of his body on the branch. Whew.

"All part of the plan!" he shouted down to Dawnfeather, a smile on his maw but his back legs betrayed him as they were visibly shaking with fatigue.

Despite his legs feeling tired, he was so determined to learn and show Dawnfeather he could do it that the momentary fatigue meant nothing to him. Careful? After his journey as a kit, he felt like he could do anything. The stars were looking out for him. He was sure.

Nodding briskly, he set his eyes on the tree next to his branch and took in how it got thinner near the end. Hmm.

You got this kid. This is easy. Just a little jump.

He carefully made his way as far as he could to the end of his branch without bending too much and launched himself onto the next tree. His paws his the bark and he was home free! "Ha!" he laughed. Nearly vibrating with excitement. But upon further inspection, especially when looking at the ground he tilted his head. Dawnfeather had just landed in a pile of leaves. Floated to the ground like a butterfly -really. "Uh now I just gotta get down." Right.

He sucked in a breath and looked down. The ground felt further away than it was. This was different than climbing fences in Twolegplace. Dawnfeather was watching him, he didn't want to make the jump and fall and look silly.

But as he looked at it for a few more moments he supposed if he thought about it he wasn't too high. With the encouragement of Dawnfeather he felt like he had the confidence of a lion. The shaking in his legs intensified as he got in position to make a leap toward the ground. Tail rudder. Got it. Easy-peasy. C'mon, you're no kit. Just jump!

With his little mental pep-talk, Foxpaw took another breath in and out, braced himself, and lept. There was a momentary pit in his stomach as he prepared to nosedive toward the ground. Thump. His paws stung slightly as he landed but he did just that. He landed! He was sure he would get used to the heights, surely.

"I did it mama!"

Wondeful job, dear!

Foxpaw purred, committing Dawnfeather's words to memory. Her praise meant everything to him, words couldn't describe the love he had for her. He knew how much she cared for him, even if she didn't explicitly say the words, he knew and it was the reason he got out of his den in the morning. How did she know his paws would sting? Ugh, she really was the best. She took care of him, and pushed him to be his best self - it was all he could ask for in a mother. And it was ten times more than what Rita ever did for him. "Mmm, I think I got it down. Next time I'll be flyin' just like you!" he promised, he followed her gaze to the sun. Oh boy, he hoped he wasn't late for any training of his own. Seeing Thornstalker mad was not on his to-do list. With his mentor in mind, he reached to touch noses with his mother in farewell before scampering off towards where he saw Thornstalker last, chirping a quick, "See ya later!" over his shoulder.