tall enough to reach the branches (c)

Every time Bubblebeam had left the territory, her entire life, she'd been able to rely on someone else. Even on the recent patrol she'd had to be the leader of, she had been with several other warriors who weren't that younger than her who could offer support. But this time, it was just her and an apprentice. Not any apprentice--her apprentice. So she had to be the strong one. She had to be the one with experience and knowledge, and if she wasn't, then things could go horribly wrong and it would be all her fault. Anxiety shuddered through her very veins as she walked out into the territory, and she glanced back at Rabbitpaw every few seconds. An apprentice. Her apprentice. It hadn't been that long ago she'd gained her name, and now Honeydew trusted her with the life of a young cat--barely older than a kit. She didn't want to disappoint her friend, but... stars, she was afraid. She was afraid of failing and she was afraid of the life that would be on her paws if she did. She could hardly protect herself, let alone another less experienced cat. It already felt as if she had to shelter and protect her own inner kit, and now there was an external life that depended completely on her. Emotionally, it was terrifying.

Still, the warrior attempted to keep a smile on her face as they went out. Be a good mentor, like Uncle Rainfrost was to you. Answer her questions, protect her... make her feel safe. Her long-furred gray tail swished behind her, and pale green eyes looked into Rabbitpaw's face. Her paws stilled once they reached a good spot in the heart of the territory. "Okay, Rabbitpaw! This is SkyClan territory. As you can see, there's lots of trees, and... and stuff. It'll be a lot prettier once newleaf sets in." Stars, but she was nervous. She caught herself kneading the ground beneath her with her paws, and forced herself to halt. Bubblebeam did her best to smile. What if Rabbitpaw found her scar ugly, or scary, or unpleasant to look at? What good would she be as a mentor? "So, um... what would you like to learn first? I can teach you hunting, or um, we could try a little bit of practice sparring. Or we could just look around the territory and you can ask me whatever questions you have, or I could teach you to climb trees, or... whatever you want!" What had Rainfrost said to her their first time out in the territory? She couldn't even remember. She had been so foolish and carefree and ecstatic that anything would have made her happy, but... she knew nothing about Rabbitpaw. What kind of teaching did she need? Well, she'd talked enough already; she might as well just wait for an answer. She could go from there.

She'd never seen so many...things all at once before. Rabbitpaw's eyes couldn't stay off the numerous trees they passed, their branches beginning to sprout with new life as Newleaf drew near. Birds chirped and flew overhead, the dappling sunlight warming her pelt as her paws carefully stepped over dead grass and crushed leaves. How on earth could trees get so tall? Of course, she'd seen them before on the outskirts of camp (and the Tallbranch) but there were just so many out here. She couldn't wait to see what it looked like come Newleaf. How many leaves would cover the trees? Would there be as many flowers as there'd been in Thymelight's medicine den? Maybe Bubblebeam wouldn't mind teaching her what kinds of flowers there were...But no. She wouldn't ask that, she wasn't a medicine cat apprentice. 

Stay focused Rabbit, she reminds herself, forcing her attention away from the scenery and back towards her new, slightly nervous-looking mentor. Rabbitpaw had noticed the older she-cat's scar a while ago, finding the sight curious as she used to watch her walk across camp from the safety of the nursery. Now, she stood before her and could take it in. It wasn't ugly to her, just unique. Pretty, even.

Rabbitpaw let Bubblebeam's words set in, maw scrunching up slightly in thought as her head tilted to the side, long ears twitching and briefly folding back at the sound of some unseen forest creature running through the underbrush.

"Maybe...trees? I'd like to climb one..." Rabbitpaw mewed softly, bushy tail curling neatly over her paws as she hunched her shoulders. Stars, she hoped that was the right answer.

Bubblebeam blinked slowly, taking in the answer she was given. Trees. Okay. You know how to climb trees; you have SkyClan blood, and Gramma Wolfblossom taught you. So just... remember how she taught it to you, and do that. It shouldn't be too hard, right? She did her best to shake off the anxiety, or at least push it back far enough that it wouldn't impede her abilities too heavily. Then she smiled at Rabbitpaw. "Okay, tree-climbing it is. That's fine. I'll do my best to teach you." Maybe she shouldn't have asked the apprentice what she wanted to do--it wasn't very confident of her; she ought to be making decisions. But it was too late now. And besides, she wouldn't want to force Rabbitpaw to do anything that she didn't want to do.

Thankfully there were plenty of trees around. Tiny stubs of green leaves were beginning to grow on them. Bubblebeam fixed her pale-green eyes on a large, sturdy oak. "First of all, before you climb a tree, you want to make sure it's strong and can hold your weight. Most trees are, but there are a few signs to look for--like if a branch is cracked and wobbly, or if the tree is a little sapling, then you won't want to climb it." She gestured her tail to a tiny tree, barely more than a twig, sprouting from an oak acorn a few mouse-lengths away. Probably the acorn had come from the big oak. "But most trees are big and strong like this one." She returned to the father oak. "Before we try climbing high, I want to see you try and support your own weight. You want to dig your claws into the bark and then try and shift upwards, as if you were walking on the forest floor--just, sideways. Keeping your tail out flat behind you helps." Hopefully what she was saying made sense. Bubblebeam lashed her tail once and exhaled, hoping to focus her nerves and concentrate. Then she unsheathed her claws and began to climb the tree, but slowly--one paw at a time clambering up the trunk, until none of her paws were on the ground. She hung there for a moment, supporting her own weight, feeling her claws sink into the thick oak bark. Then she dropped down neatly. "Okay, it's your turn. You don't have to go high--just right above the ground. Don't worry if you fall from that short a height; it won't hurt."

Rabbitpaw's eyes were wide as moons as she watched Bubblebeam climb the thick oak so effortlessly. How could she ever do something like that? Would her claws even stick right? Stars, she wished she had focused more on the kits in the nursery when they tried climbing the den walls. Then she swallowed thickly, slowly pacing up to the tree's root and leaning her head back to stare up at the budding leaves and crisscrossing branches. Starclan save her, why did she start with something so scary?

Closing her eyes, Rabbitpaw readied herself, bending her long legs and stilling her bushy tail behind her before suddenly leaping upwards. Unfortunately, she used a bit too much force and scared herself, claws scratching against the bark as she fell back to the ground. She looked to Bubblebeam, embarrassed as her ears folded along the top of her head.

"Sorry...let me try again..." She mewed weakly before making another attempt, exhaling through her flaring nose and focusing on the sounds around her. Birds fluttered closely overhead, aware of their presence but not so much so as the coming of Newleaf had them excited. The breeze flowed gently along her pelt, carrying the familiar scent of camp through the air and soothing her mind. She could do this. With one deep crouch, she launched herself up, this time with minimal force, and gripped her claws into the tree bark. Her tail maintained her balance behind her, her eyes focused and determined as she steadily began climbing up, making her way to where Bubblebeam had shown her. 

She stays there for a moment, testing the weight of herself and what it felt like to have her paws on bark before clambering back down slowly.

"Did I do alright?" She asks softly, once on the ground again.

Bubblebeam watched carefully, hovering nearby and doing her best not to look anxious. She had no clue how to be a mentor; she had no clue if she was doing this right or not. Rabbitpaw looked scared, and she couldn't tell if it was normal or if it was her own fault. The apprentice had said she wanted to start with tree climbing, right? And she was a SkyClan cat, so she shouldn't find it too hard. The tip of Bubblebeam's tail flicked back and forth. Thankfully, even though Rabbitpaw's first attempt wasn't perfect, her second attempt was a lot better. It looked like it did--gradually--come naturally to her.

The blue-furred she-cat smiled as Rabbitpaw dropped back down. "Yes, that was great! It's good to practice like that so you get comfortable supporting your own weight on trees, before you end up going very high. Once you get more used to it, then you can go as far as you like. I'll just teach you some basic safety tips." She narrowed her pale green eyes at the oak, then jumped up--only this time, she kept climbing higher. "Don't worry, you don't have to follow me right now, I just want to show you something." Bubblebeam blinked down reassuringly. At least, she hoped that she would sound reassuring. "See, when you're climbing like this, you want to be careful of the branches that you step onto. Before you put your full weight on a branch, you should test it like this." Carefully she stuck out one paw and used it to shake a nearby branch, putting a small portion of weight on it. The branch bent, but only slightly. "This one's safe." Then she climbed a little bit higher and tested another branch. This one made a crackling sound as she pushed on it. "Hear that? It means this branch isn't safe. It might break under you if you step on it too heavily. So when you're climbing, the higher you go, the more you'll have to check the branches to see if they're rotten or loose."

Hopefully she was making sense, and this wasn't all too overwhelming. "Last piece of advice I'll give you for today. If you end up slipping or getting startled, and you start falling--" here she deliberately unloosed her claws from the bark-- "make sure that you twist and land on your feet. It should come naturally to you, just don't freeze up or panic and you'll be just fine." The whistling sound of wind whooshed behind her, and the sensation of gravity pulling her down did make her heart beat a little bit faster. But sure enough, she turned through the air, and landed somewhat gracefully on her paws. "True SkyClan cats can fall from almost any height and not have much problem. But just make sure that you're careful and you only go as high as you feel comfortable with, all right?" Bubblebeam shook out her fur and gave another smile. She really, really hoped that she wasn't rambling too much. "Does that all make sense? Do you have any questions?"