Let's... Hang... Out! [Closed]

Juniperpaw smiled big and wide, leaping up out of her lounging position in the sun to stand on her paws. Snow clung in awkward clumps across her thick fur, but the molly didn’t bother to shake it off; Trufflesnap wanted to go on a hunt with her! She had never properly been introduced or even really talked to her aunt— to be honest, Wolfblossom and Birdstar had told her to steer clear of her, and Juniperpaw could not understand why for the life of her. Wolfblossom and Birdstar were both wonderful she-cats, and Juniperpaw owed her life to them, so how could Trufflesnap be any different? They were all from the same litter, she heard. Juniperpaw was a deeply, deeply loyal clanmate, but she still had some kit left in her; she was just to curious on exactly why Trufflesnap was so bad. Surely her mothers were just being flighty?

”Oh, hello Trufflesnap! I would, really, I would!” Juniperpaw giggled excitedly. ”Where are we gonna patrol?”

Juniperpaw nearly toppled over in her attempt to scuttle after Trufflesnap, brown and cream fur blowing in the cool breeze. At this point, Juniperpaw still hadn't learned how to properly hunt, so any opportunity to learn she would take up in a heartbeat. It was the same narrative she kept up to keep her spirits high while mentorless— maybe if she showed enough initiative to learn and grow on her own, Birdstar would rank her to a warrior faster. Being a warrior was all she wanted then; Stonepaw was Stoneheart now, and Rainpaw was soon to be a warrior as well. Without them, she was alone in the apprentice den, and just the thought made her shiver.

Following Trufflesnap through the brush, Juniperpaw started to grow anxious. The pine trees started to grow larger and unfamiliar, and the light of the sky started to dim from the tree cover. Despite the uncertainty, however, the brush and leaves shook from activity; Trufflesnap certainly wasn’t lying about the amount of prey in this area! ”Is this the place, Trufflesnap? Where do we look first?”

Suddenly, this outing didn’t seem like a good idea anymore. Juniperpaw stared at the tree in dismay, eyes wide. She was still afraid of climbing, hadn’t climbed since that limb patrol… but if Trufflesnap was there to catch her, was there really any danger? The little molly cast a look over her shoulder at her aunt— she looked back expectantly— and then moved her gaze over to the nearest tree branch. It was a good two or three foxlengths off of the ground, and if Juniperpaw were to reach it she would have to scale the bark of the tree. Juniperpaw looked back at Trufflesnap again.

She couldn’t dally here, sitting around and looking like a fool. Trufflesnap was a senior warrior and the sister of her mothers, and Juniperpaw just had to impress her. Wolfblossom and Birdstar didn’t choose wrong when they chose to bring Juniperpaw home, and she knew she would have to prove that to the older she-cat.

Now a little more determined, Juniperpaw once again faced the tree, leaping up onto the hard bark and scrambling for purchase with her claws. She couldn’t give herself time to think— if she did, she would certainly falter and fall. Her claws sunk into the bark, and after a moment or two she found the place to put her paws; one tentative climb, one more, now she was hauling her body up the trunk— without thinking, letting herself take one moment to worry, Juniperpaw leapt up onto the branch. It wasn’t anywhere near as high up as the one she had almost fallen off of was, but she still squeezed her eyes shut when she struggled to get her back legs onto the branch. But she has made it! Smiling wide, she looked down at her aunt from where she wobbled on the tree branch, wood bending just slightly from her weight. This was huge for her!