Let's be squirrels for a day! (c)

Letting out a yawn as he stepped out of the warrior's den, Curlyfluff stretched his hind paws behind him. There was still a chill to the morning Newleaf air, but each day he could feel it get warmer and warmer, which he very much appreciated. He hadn’t been too cold during Leafbare due to his fluffy pelt, but he surely wasn’t going to miss the brisk breezes that had nipped at his whiskers. Having come up with a fun idea for them a couple nights ago, he wanted to take Rosepaw on a sort of adventure and knew the spunky molly would want to join him. He wasn't going to share his "grand plan" just yet, but he was certain that she'd love it.

Having entered the apprentice den with the utmost care to not wake the other sleeping bodies, he found his way over to his best friend. "Rosepaw!" he mewed, prodding the apprentice's side with a fluffy paw. "Let's go on an adventure!" Curlyfluff eagerly purred before leaping back over his resting clanmates and leaving the den. His pelt itched with excitement and he clawed at the ground as he waited for her to join him. His idea was genius and he couldn't wait for them to get going.

Just as he'd expected, she was up for his adventure! Trotting gleefully out of camp beside Rosepaw, he decided now was a good time to at least begin to unveil his master plan.

"Riddle me this..." he began in a jest-ful manner and he bumped his shoulder against her playfully. Instead of simply flat out saying what they were going to do, he decided to have a bit of fun with it seeing as though the young she-cat was all about having fun. Hopefully, she'd be able to solve the riddle that he'd come up with a couple nights before. "Whisky, frisky, hoppity hop... up I go to the tree top! Whirly, twirly, round and round... down I scamper to the ground.." he chanted brightly, pausing for a moment to let her think before finishing his little monologue. "What am I?" he questioned, his pelt itching with anticipation and furly tail flicking back and forth in hopes that his rhyme had made any sense at all. He had run it by Firefly and while of course she'd thought it was silly, she'd easily given him an answer and he hoped her sister would the same.

Of course she was clever enough to figure out his rhyme, he never should’ve doubted her. Before he was able to correct her on her hypothesis, the young molly leaped on top of him. The force she used wasn’t quite enough to fully push him over, but he buckled his legs underneath him anyway seeing as though he wanted to indulge in the fun.

Falling over and slightly lifting his head so that her sharp teeth didn’t catch his eyes on accident, Curlyfluff laid there in a fit of laughter. Doing his best to catch his breath, he gently swatted a paw at Rosepaw. “No silly, we’re going to be squirrels!” He said between breaths. Pushing himself up and giving his now dusty pelt a shake, he looked up to the trees. “Betcha haven’t done something as cool as this before,” he mewed proudly, puffing out his chest and standing tall. He was more than proud of himself for coming up with such an idea, one that he bet Rosepaw would certainly have a hoot doing.

But staring up at the trees above… he realized he’d never actually climbed a tree before. He’d watched that SkyClanner climb and assumed it wasn’t too difficult as long as he watched his footing, but even so… it was a daunting task to say the least. Swallowing the frog in his throat, Curlyfluff knew what needed to be done. He’d brought Rosepaw out here for them to have a good time, he just couldn’t back down now.

Bunching up his haunches and giving them a wiggle, he took a deep breath. He decided that he would give himself a countdown and then go for it, that way he could at least prepare himself a little bit.

1… 2… climb!

Running towards the base of a nearby tree, he took a big leap. As he approached the tree flying through the air, he stretched out his claws and angled them outwards. Instead of smacking into the tree like a blind bird, he dug his claws into the bark the moment that they made contact. Not spending any time to celebrate such a small victory just yet, he continued onwards and upwards; literally.

Using his back legs to push off, he shimmied his way up the trunk of the tree, his breaths shallow with focus and his heart racing. He made sure every claw made contact and within no time, he’d made it to a branch. Stretching out his front legs, he reached for the limb and using all his might he pulled himself up. Now standing who-knew how many foxlengths away from the ground, he did his best not to let his nerves show, though his quivering legs didn’t help much. Well, he’d made it, so he certainly had that to he proud of.

Not daring to unsheathe his claws from the only thing he had to hold onto, he looked down to Rosepaw. “See? I’m practically a squirrel already!” He called down, a grin growing on his maw once more as his fluffy tail swished back and forth.

Glad that she was more than willing to play along, Curlyfluff pinned his tuft-covered ears playfully against his head as she began to race after him. Climbing higher and higher up the tree, he could feel her heavy breath right behind his tail and knew he needed to keep up the pace. It was only when he realized that he couldn't go up any further that he jumped to the side and onto a branch. Running across it with nimble footing, he decided to take a chance, not wanting her to catch up to him just yet.

Leaping across a small gap, he jumped from their tree to a neighboring one. The space between branches hadn't been too large and seeing as though he was able to make it, he was positive that spunky little Rosepaw could as well. Landing in the other tree, he dug his claws into the branch that was now ebbing and swaying up and down. His lungs heaved and for a moment before he continued, he tried to calm his breathing and now racing heart. As the moving branch calmed down, he picked up his pace once more but stopped in his tracks. Looking back over his shoulder, he wanted to confirm that Rosepaw made it over the gap before he dared continue... just in case.