STATIC CLING \ doompaw

[TWITCHBOLT]

Oddly, his first training session was a memory that particularly stuck out. He'd been late, dishevelled, and had barely slept- and though his new apprentice hadn't been the most... well behaved of the brood, he was at least a little bit less... fearful. In fact, from the brief flashes of personality he'd witnessed, the young tom was quite the opposite.

"Doompaw?" he called into the apprentice's den, glancing at the recently-risen sun. Today would be their first real outing together, outside of a simple territory-tour... something the apprentice would likely learn instinctually, eventually, anyway. He'd decided initially to opt with something near-every SkyClanner knew; climbing was the underpinning of a good number of useful battle-moves, and using the terrain to your advantage was important, but... the basics would come first. And- well, the best he could hope for was that his new student was not loathe to heights. "Ready to- to go, now?"

\ @DOOMPAW ​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[DOOMPAW]

It’d been strange, his first night in the apprentice’s den. After the mayhem someone else had caused and every disgruntled new apprentice had settled into their nests, Doompaw had realized just how different his life was going to be from now on. Twitchbolt would be jerking and shaking his way into the den in the morning, telling him what to do and where to go—but at least it was one step closer to freedom. He would be expected to do stupid things like pick ticks, but he’d also be fighting off trespassers and battling WindClanners. He sinks his claws into his nest the moment he hears his mentor’s pawsteps, and he springs into action as soon as he speaks.

“’Course I’m ready! I was born ready,” he says, waving his tail. “Where we goin’ first? The borders? Can I see a real RiverClanner?” He pounces on a scrap of leaf, rolling about camp as though his name hadn’t changed just the previous evening. “Or, can I… can I battle you?” He turns, limbs flailing, his focus now on the unfortunate young cat who is tasked with teaching him how to be a SkyClan warrior.

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — doomguy . doomkit . doompaw
  — afab, he/him, apprentice of skyclan
  — unknown sexuality ; single
  — short-haired blue tortoiseshell with white and green eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette

​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Definitely more ready than he had been. Twitchbolt's eyes widened at the feline blur of colours that blazed toward him; it was odd to keep comparing them, but instinctual. But- just because Doompaw wasn't like him didn't mean that he was going to be an easy student. Twitchbolt blinked once, twice, thoughts lagging a little behind the racing enthusiasm of his new apprentice. Borders, RiverClan, battle- "Uhm-" The words got caught in his throat, and Twitchbolt coughed to clear it, taking a few steps back to draw teetering distance between him and the... fiery enthusiasm of Doompaw. "You- you- you'll get to see a real RiverClanner soon enough..." A wobbly grin trembled across his lips.

He straightened himself up best he could, flicking a crooked tail in a beckoning motion as he began to lead the other tom out of camp- though, he didn't take his eyes off of the calico. "I'm going to... to teach you the basics of battle, today..." Stupid voice- stuttering, petering out- he cleared his throat again. "What do you, um- know about climbing?" ​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[DOOMPAW]

Twitchbolt looks at him tremulously, as though Doompaw’s flailing claws might catch him on his flesh at any second. He’s not too far off—the newly-apprenticed young tom bounces from surface to surface, only pausing when his new mentor promises the basics of battle. “The basics?” He echoes crossly, nose bridge scrunched up. “I already know the basics! It’s like—” He ducks low, into some semblance of a hunting crouch, and begins to pummel the air in front of him with an array of forepaw swipes. “Bam, bam!, bam!” He looks up, ears twitching at Twitchbolt’s question. “Huh?”

Climbing, he says. What do you know about climbing. Doompaw scoffs, tail waving haphazardly behind him. “What’s to know? Surely any cat c’n climb a tree?”

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — doomguy . doomkit . doompaw
  — afab, he/him, apprentice of skyclan
  — unknown sexuality ; single
  — short-haired blue tortoiseshell with white and green eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette

​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

He almost laughed at the flurry of hits that blurred Doompaw's strikes into wisps; bewildered blinks blinded him one-two instead, truly taken aback by such ceaseless enthusiasm. Not even a shred of first-day nerves? But as swift as his movements before, Doompaw looked back to him- the question had clearly puzzled him for a moment. Battle and climbing probably didn't seem very related to the patchy apprentice.

"You'd think," he said, the ghost of a squeaking chuckle buried in his voice. "But- but most Clan cats can't climb as- as expertly as a Skyclanner. And that's where- where we have an advantage." The brown-and-white tom stopped before a sturdy-looking pine, squinting at the freckles of light that glared through the gaps in the needles. "Skyclanners use our- our skill in the trees to our advantage, so... the basics of battle start with climbing."

Expectant eyes looked to his apprentice. "Shhh-show me what you can do."​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[DOOMPAW]

Doompaw’s gaze sharpens with interest at Twitchbolt’s explanation. “That’s where we have an advantage.” He’d never seen cats fight before—not really—but he knows recently, there’d been a battle between SkyClan and WindClan. The white tom’s teeth snag his lip as he grins. “Is that what we did to WindClan—did we jump ‘em from the trees?” He looks back at the tree in question, a pine sturdy with rippling bark.

Twitchbolt instructs him to show him what he can do, so Doompaw approaches it with narrowed eyes. “Ain’t nothin’ to it,” he declares, but he realizes he has never even attempted to scale something so massive. Determined, he unsheathed his front claws and slams them unceremoniously into the bark. They slip a bit, which he hadn’t expected, and so he presses them deeper, frowning. How is this supposed to hold his weight?

He casts a burning look to his fidgety mentor before deciding he does not want to ask for help. He doesn’t need it! Determined, he flings his weight up against the trunk. He’s suspended—he’s climbing! But he doesn’t know exactly where to put his paws, so he hangs, staring at the obstacles ahead of him without moving.

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — doomguy . doomkit . doompaw
  — afab, he/him, apprentice of skyclan
  — unknown sexuality ; single
  — short-haired blue tortoiseshell with white and green eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette

​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Doompaw was at least astute in battle-tactics, he could give the young tom that much credit. At his guess, Twitchbolt nodded his head; with ThunderClan's warning, they'd been able to keep that advantage. But even in a spontaneous battle in their own home, Twitchbolt liked to think that SkyClan would still prevail- would baffle any invaders with their tactics. Doompaw was off again, though- before Twitchbolt could really think to respond. Amber-splashed olivine flickered hurriedly to the calico's springing form, copper-spawned flame in the green eyes of his student. Nervousness took writhing root in Twitchbolt's gut.

Oh, what if he fell? Broke some bones, immediately- what an embarrassment that'd be. A complete failure on the first day. Twitchbolt cold already feel himself squirming, wincing as Doompaw flung himself at the trunk. The enthusiasm was there- predictably- but Doompaw paused, suspended.

"Aim for a branch, Doompaw!" Twitchbolt tried his best to stop his voice from wobbling as he called out to the younger tom, his worry becoming more and more and more tangible... oh, Stars. Now he had to stay rooted to the ground, to be the... the landing pad, should Doompaw slip... "You need to trust your claws to hold you! They're made for it- just take is as slow as you can..." If you can take anything slow...​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[DOOMPAW]

Doompaw remains suspended, his ears flicking backward until they rest against his skull. “I’m tryin’,” he pants to Twitchbolt. His mentor’s instructions make sense—trust your claws to hold you, aim for a branch!—but forcing his frozen limbs to move is another thing entirely. After a few more heartbeats, he begins to inch forward, anchoring his claws a few inches higher than where his head is. With a grunt, he wriggles his lower body and propels himself forward. He pickaxes the bark again, hauling himself a fraction higher, until finally he’s just below the lowest set of branches.

By now, his claws ache from holding his weight for so long. He grips the pine with his lower claws, now, and finds that this is easier. It takes his foreclaws from having to handle his weight entirely. He propels himself forward with his stronger hindlegs, using the front only to haul himself onto the sanctity of the branch’s thickest part.

His flanks heave, and his body hurts, but when he turns to peer down at Twitchbolt, it’s with shining green eyes and a beaming grin. “Hey! Lookit, I did it! Didja see, didja see how I did it?” He hops in place, one paw slipping and nearly sending him sprawling to the forest floor.

ooc ✧ 𝖘𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖞𝖘, 𝖘𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘

•  
•  
• 

  — doomguy . doomkit . doompaw
  — afab, he/him, apprentice of skyclan
  — unknown sexuality ; single
  — short-haired blue tortoiseshell with white and green eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Oliver

​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Faith decidedly did not reside within Twitchbolt's star as he watched his apprentice hang in stasis, supported only by untrained claws. His jaw tightened like a clamp- it was a miracle he didn't shatter his molars. Doompaw had been hanging for so long- surely, surely he was starting to ache. Readying his reaction-time, Twitchbolt was prepared to have to fling himself forward to act as cushioning for the young tom- and he felt his heart quicken a little as Doompaw inched higher.

Biting back a cheer, Twitchbolt's eyelids spasmed with the effort. Doompaw heeded his advice, some miracle that might have calmed him anywhere else- hauled himself upward with a great heave, and steadied himself on the lowest branch. The patchwork tom felt like he could have thrown up from fear, but a cheer flung itself from him instead. "I did! I did see it!" he cheered, unable to hide the shaking but sincere smile set upon his maw. Though he winced at the sight of Doompaw faltering a little, his apprentice managed to stay put. "Www-well done, Doompaw..." Relief frayed his tone. "Now, uh- how do you get down?"

Now he might have to do some catching. ​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[DOOMPAW]

His mentor’s excitement—even the wince at Doompaw’s misplaced paw—is infectious. The tortoiseshell grins, his teeth flashing with sunlight. He’s about to keep climbing higher—or try, anyway—when Twitchbolt asks him, “Now, uh—how do you get down?” He crouches in place as though he’s preparing to pounce on something, green eyes flicking from his mentor to the ground near the tree’s roots.

“Uh…” Truthfully, he hasn’t thought this far… he’s never seen cats scramble down from the trees before, has he? Really, he’d always assumed they get down in one fluid motion…

“Can’t I just jump?” He bunches his muscles, preparing to leap from his branch unless Twitchbolt were to stop him.

ooc ✧ 𝖘𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖞𝖘, 𝖘𝖔𝖒𝖊 𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘

•  
•  
• 

  — doomguy . doomkit . doompaw
  — afab, he/him, apprentice of skyclan
  — unknown sexuality ; single
  — short-haired blue tortoiseshell with white and green eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Oliver

​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Seeing Doompaw lower himself into a crouch, Twitchbolt bristled. "No!" he shouted, sharp and shocked, a reflex as sudden as a gasp. The pale tom had only just managed to get up the tree... he couldn't trust his apprentice to land right, not just yet, not in such a rush of exhilaration. It was much harder than it looked. Again, he had to force his hackles to relax. Would his fur ever lie flat again? What state would he look when Doompaw was almost finished with his training?

"No, don't- the branch isn't thick enough to jump off safely. You- you have to lower yourself down the trunk backwards, tail first, okay?" Why was he breathless? Oh, how did Daisyflight cope? It was selfish to want her to not be dead so he could ask her for very basic advice, but... how could he help it? "It'll feel awkward at first, but- your claws, like I said, they're- they're made for it! I'll be- I'll be here..." though, the quiver to Twitchbolt's voice did not make him sound like the sturdiest teacher to rely on. ​

penned by pin ✧​