pafp QUARTER CENTURY BUT IM STILL ME ➳ fern + climbing

[Steepsnout]

WE'RE TAKING OVER THE WORLD, A LITTLE VICTIMLESS CRIME ➳​

Away from the temperate gullies and riverbanks, the wind grew hot in the greenleaf sun. The dust it kicked up stained the reeds, cloaked the air. It made Steepsnout’s pelt itch. Spending time away from the river was necessary today however- she had a plan. Some good sibling bonding. The molly dropped a diorite shoulder to hook her nose over it, teeth peaking out in a smile to the ginger tabby. She and Fernpaw needed to hash some stuff out and she preferred to do it without talking about it.

The now warrior couldn’t imagine having her ceremony delayed. Iciclefang getting ahead had already been crushing but this- nah. Not one to get sentimental, Steepsnout instead intended to help her brother by keeping him busy, maybe subtly shoving some training techniques his way. Then, the wait for his warrior name might slip by faster.

The beech copse gave them a good chunk of shade, the heady willows draping depth through the clearing. Steepsnout stopped short of the largest beech tree, ever-messy tail knocking the earth. "M’kay so- I figured we could switch things up, get a little training in, a little fun…" Broad ears scalloped to listen to a passing heron. She blinked twice to recentre.

"Whoever gets higher up the trunk gets first pick of whatever we catch later." Normally she’d be gunning for the win but, in honesty, Steepsnout was pretty awful at climbing. Her bulky frame made it hard work, all her musculature tuned for swimming and hitting instead of ascending. Fernpaw was similar, though smaller- so they should be well-matched.

Their quarry was decently tall, silvery trunk ribbed with sinuous growth and dark grooves. It was smooth for a couple fox lengths before peeling away into a flare of branches. Steepsnout’s amber eyes glinted with a feral sort of excitement. "Youngest first." The molly's call lacked pressure but she couldn't keep the anticipation from whittling her smile wider.

/ please wait for @FERNPAW to respond first ​

 

[FERNGILL]

He'd tried not to be testy with his siblings since the reveal to RiverClan's entire population that he was worse than them, but it was perhaps recognisable, especially to his family, that some of the stars in his eyes had died. But he would not allow himself to be nasty to them, wouldn't... put it on them that he was a less-than-stellar example of an apprentice, because it wasn't their fault, was it? His sisters were strong and capable, larger and more put together than him- and Darkwhisker, despite his clear distaste for violence, had bested him at fishing. But that wasn't their fault. They were just... good, and he shouldn't hate them for it.

So when Steepsnout had invited him to... do something, to blow off some steam, he'd taken the offer as enthusiastically as he could possibly manage. Verdant eyes slid over to her as she spoke, full with the fog of thinking as she explained what she'd decided on. A little fun, amongst the trees? Anyone who was anyone knew that Fernpaw was more suited to the water- one look at his svelte, slight frame would prove that- but it seemed an emerald light illuminated in his eyes as he figured out that climbing would be a competition they were equally matched at.

"Oh, that does sound fun!" he exclaimed, Steepsnout having done a more-than-adequate job of convincing him. Those... slits in the trunk almost looked like eyes, but he couldn't let them distract him. A smile shook a little on his maw before it took pride of place. Youngest first, she said, and he nodded once, fixing her with bright, wide eyes.

"Right, watch this," he said, claws springing from their sheaths. Confidence would do him good. What would be the best way to attack this? As he did with many things, Fernpaw decided he would take a leap of faith. Propelling himself onto the trunk, he felt his claws make purchase- sink and lock into the bark, and his tail flicked (dangerously, in terms of balance) with his pride. Just from the jump he'd managed to get fairly high up- but the hesitation set in as he pondered how exactly he was supposed to pull himself any further...

\ WOMP WOMP rolled a 6 ​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[lichenstar]

It was hard to mind your business in idle passings when out of the corner of your eye you witnessed a blob of orange lingering much higher than it should be... Fernpaw wasn't necessarily a small cat, given his age, but he wasn't that tall the last time she saw him. Dropping the vole she'd caught onto the ground and turning to face the vague glimpse she'd seen while walking by, Lichentail didn't find that the new point of view offered much explanation.

Sure enough, it was Fernpaw and... he was in a tree? Well, on.

Looking over at Steepsnout as she actively encouraged this (was it a contest?), the blue point grew nervous that this might end in the disaster. Plodding forward after scraping some dirt over her catch to keep it safe, her pale gaze stayed fixed on the boy clinging to the bark.

"I don't think that'll help you catch any birds," she mused, pondering the purpose to this exercise.

Twitching a tail back and forth as the answer she desired didn't easily spawn into her head, the molly broke her stare to look at the younger warrior nearby. "What are you two doing?"​

 

[SMOKESTAR]

He was not on the same hunting patrol as Lichentail but he was in the area and upon spotting them at a glance suddenly dropping their vole he was quick to follow out of curiousity of what had set her gaze upward in the air and focused intently ahead. Black, and one white, paws carried him swiftly over on brisk but unhurried steps and he slowed to a stop as his lone orange eye honed in on the unmistakable burst of color clunging to the earthen trunk before them; Fernpaw. He stuck out fairly obviously on the ground on its own without proper cover, but upon the tree he was a great contrast; he might as well be screaming for attention with how bold he looked upon his awkward perch. Smokethroat strode forward a touch more alongside the other warrior, finally spotting Steepsnout's more subdued colors off to the side before redirecting his gaze back to the apprentice.

"....are you stuck, Fernpaw?" There was a tension in the way he clung, an impractical tail flick that made him believe they were not simply climbing for the thrill of it but otherwise incapacitated. A low sigh bubbled up from the dark tom's chest and he stifled it, Fernpaw was a little behind his peers and he was only reminded of it with each passing day; part of him wanted to offer Mudpelt the extra training help but he didn't know if it was out of genuine interest in seeing the young tom succeed of his selfish desire to train another apprentice that still bubbled up to the forefront of his thoughts.
"...I hope he's not stuck." Smokethroat admitted quietly, words muttered low so only Lichentail could hear. How would they get him down if he was...
​

 

[Steepsnout]

WE'RE TAKING OVER THE WORLD, A LITTLE VICTIMLESS CRIME ➳​

Fernpaw took her up on the challenge and the warrior felt a sliver of relief flee her chest- when had she been worried? Her brother latched onto the tree decently, and Steepsnout tracked his progress with interest. Only, little progress was made. The charcoal of her nose warped in the beginnings of laughter.

"Lookin' very... solid there Fern." The words were rolled between her teeth, teetering between being played straight and a chuckle. Steepsnout bucked her chin at Lichentail as the snow-slate lead warrior approached. "Seeing who can get furthest, dunno if I'll do much better but there's first pick from the prey pile on the line." Eye's strict to the beech tree and its newest accessory, the monochrome molly set about planning her own angle of attack.

One large paw, flared in the thinning grass, reinforced her frame just as Smokethroat joined them. She couldn't hear his exchange with Lichentail, spurring a subtle flick of disquiet along her tail, but she tried to put it aside. All the more cats to impress- yeah. Steepsnout rustled her spine with intent, locked her joints and bolted forward.

"Hang on, I'm coming- we'll both get to the t-" The hazel that framed the very edges of her iris became visible as the warrior hit the trunk. Her forepaws were well prepared to scale the surface. Steepsnouts back legs though, they scratched once, twice, three times with no luck of purchase. Strong claws- because thinking otherwise would suck right now- simply slid off, snagged in a patch of dusty moss. Fake! Ledge! Eventually, the buzzing ache of her front legs forced her down, the molly's bulk sloughing onto the ground.

Steepsnout snorted. "Huh." Shame singed the tips of her ears. In front of their deputy- and a lead warrior. As prepared as she was for failure in this unfamiliar challenge she couldn't have anticipated such a bold one. She coughed up a laugh amidst a sheepish smile. "Good thing I'm not a skyclanner, eh? C'mon Fern- bet you can make it down more stylishly than I did."

/rolled a 3 >:)
​