TURN THE WHOLE THING UPSIDE DOWN — tree hanging

[GREENEYES]

They made this look so easy!

Fireflypaw and Dawnglare, even Howlpaw - who'd taken quite the tumble after - they'd made hanging on tree branches look like second-nature, as if everyone the skill to do something that looked so fun to begin with.

Dawnglare, he'd said this would do Greenpaw some good. And, while Greenpaw doesn't quite get what he means by that, he can assume what the High Priest means. Maybe, the apprentice would be able to actually understand the medicine cat's words, if he could actually do this.

Instead, he's left struggling - failed attempts at hopping up on the branch, only going so far as to be able to stand on the pine tree's limbs before finding himself slipping off.

"Come on..." he whines, as he clumsily lands once more. Bright eyes glare at the branch above him. He has to do this! He has to! But, his frustration only grows after his failed attempts, only makes him want to quit and never think about hanging from the trees ever again.

"Just. One. More. Go," he tells himself, crooked tail thumping against the ground with each word. He will do this.

The apprentice leaps upwards to the branch, clumsy paws failing to learn their lesson as he narrowly catches it. He struggles to hoists himself up with a concentrated frown, but soon, soon, he is stood on the branch.

"Steady..." he says to himself, paws wiggling as he balances upon the tree's limb, "Steady..."

Now what?

How does he get from here to what Dawnglare had been teaching Howlpaw and Fireflypaw?

It's a question he doesn't get long to ponder, for his paws slip beneath him, leaving him to fall back to the ground - a repeated action in his failures. He shouts in frustration, closing his eyes as he waits for impact.

Only...

Only he doesn't fall from the low-hanging branch. No, he's... hanging? Tangled limbs hold on tight, claws digging into the branch as he hangs upside down. Greenpaw blinks in surprise at the shift in his view.

"Yes!" he shouts in triumph at his cumbersome feat, "I did it!"

// loosely linked to this thread!​

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[Honeysplash]

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From below the tree, these glowing green eyes watched the orange and white apprentice as he climbed up the tree. What was he doing? What was the goal? Would he be able to get down? It was uncertain, but still it was fascinating to watch as Greenpaw got to the tops of the tree and hung upside down from a branch. A white and tawny maw opened wide in surprise as the other apprentice made it look so easy. Like it was something of second nature to hang like a possum!

"How're you doing that! That so awesome! Holy cheese!" She called out to the apprentice with a laugh of amazement. Bananpaw circled at the bottom of the tree as she cranned her neck up at the orange apprentice, "Can you get down from there like that?" She tilted her head to the side and swished her striped tail back and forth.

speech​

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[Orangestar]

"Not you too," Orangeblossom complains, brown eyes turned upwards to Greenpaw who clings to the branch a few tail-lengths up. Thank StarClan he hadn't chosen Tallpine to practise this mouse-brained feat on, otherwise they'd have to send a rescue party up. Damnit, Dawnglare, stop filling the apprentices' heads with fluff. "Get down from there, carefully, you'll hurt yourself like Howlpaw did."

The deputy looms behind her sister, and if Bananapaw turned around she would earn a look of if you try that even once, and I catch you or am otherwise told, I'm telling Alice. It's a look she'd be familiar with, stern older sister always on the lookout for her rambunctious younger one. The threat of telling their mother never hurt, either.​

✦ ooc ✦ info

•  
• 
  ✦ orangeblossom, deputy of skyclan
  — mentor to eveningpaw
  ✦ 26 moons, she/her
  ✦ fluffy white and ginger cat with brown eyes. torn ear, scarred muzzle, scarred right legs. walks with a limp.
  ✦ bi, single. @ on discord for plots.
  ✦ "speech" — thoughts

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[TWITCHBOLT]

What was the problem with everyone? It seemed like they were always on the hunt for things that could harm them- waiting to fall into the jaws of some hungry dog, or go tumbling out of heaven-reaching heights and tumbling to the ground, mangling themselves? Well- maybe Greenpaw was not quite that high, but still- Howlpaw hadn't been, either. She'd come nowhere near to sing, but she'd hurt herself, and if she'd hurt herself in the wrong place that might have got her close to death. And might have was enough for him, really- enough to worry him.

Wide eyes struck with a spark ached as they craned upward, his expression one of complete shock and worry. Nothing straying from the norm, then- a constant state of fret had grown to become the status quo. From behind the deputy- he didn't want to block Greenpaw's landing space, nor possibly end up his cushion, an impact that would surely shatter him into pieces- Twitchpaw regarded the scenario with as much nervous twitching as he always bore, trembling from head to toe. "Just- what is this even for?" Exasperated, his voice wavered up and down- Daisyflight'd kill him- delay his warrior ceremony- something- if her son got hurt when he was around! Surely! ​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[GREENEYES]

He's found himself an audience now, hasn't he?

The child looks at Bananapaw - flipped the wrong way in his vision just as everything else - praises his efforts, bright eyes gleaming in amusement. Greenpaw's not too sure how he's doing this himself, of course - a clumsy happenstance mixed with luck.

"Practice!" he simply says, because, he supposes that's true, right? He'd been trying to copy Dawnglare's lesson for Fireflypaw and Howlpaw practically all day, at this point. Save for, you know, when he was training with Sheepcurl, and doing his chores and --

"Can you get down from there like that?"

He blinks.

Right, he'll have to get down, at some point. He hadn't really thought about that. Greenpaw can hardly climb up trees gracefully - there's no way this will be easy.

"Of... course, I can," he assures Bananapaw. He can feel his paws begin to slip, and shifts to hold on tighter. He'd rather not find out how he's going to get down, just yet. "But, I'm not gonna - this is fun!"

Her older sister is less approving of his actions, and, of course, she would be. Deputies can't have too much fun.

"I'm fine," he tells Orangeblossom with a flick of the tail. He shifts once more, claws digging further into the tree's branch. He's not going to hurt himself like Howlpaw, he tries to tell himself that, despite his uncertainty. Another flick of his crooked tail acknowledges Twitchpaw's worry-filled question. Did no one else beside him and Bananapaw think this was cool?

"Because, Firefly made it look fun and I want to!" he answers matter-of-factly, as if his friend's involvement makes this all justifiable. "I'm fine, though, really! I promise I won't --" His promise is broken before he can even finish speaking it, paws slipping for a final time. Greenpaw is unable to catch himself like he'd done before, the tom falling from the low-hanging branch and landing on his back.
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[TERMITEHUM]

( 𓆣 ) Termitepaw watches Greenpaw with fearful eyes. Oh, this does not look like a good idea. Climbing trees is bad enough already, she can't get why anyone would want to hang from them upside down. Dawnglare is going to get all of them killed one of these days; she doesn't trust the medicine cat's strange ideas at all. And now here's Greenpaw, doing such dangerous things just because it looks fun. Well, it doesn't look fun at all to Termitepaw.

When Greenpaw falls, Termitepaw darts forward as if to catch him, but seems to have no idea how to do so. Moving on instinct alone, she doesn't realize her mistake until she's standing directly below her fellow apprentice, whiskers brushing his back for a split second. Oh dear.

"Oof," the wind rushes out of Termitepaw as Greenpaw falls directly on top of her, her paws splaying out beneath her as she collapses onto her stomach. She makes no attempt to move as the other apprentice lies on his back atop her, instead saying in a winded, breathless voice: "Hah. Bro-oke your fall, Gre-enpaw." At least her fur is soft, better than landing on the ground. Still kinda hurts her, though, so she's just going to... lie here. Yes, that sounds good.​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Well- apparently something looking fun was clear enough justification for doing it. An incredulous grimace upon his unkempt features, Twitchpaw's brain almost ran to a complete stop pondering all the spiralling possibilities if such a thing was true- all the stupid things anyone might attempt! Jumping off rocks to attempt to take flight- going for a dip in the river just because the Riverclanners made it look fun- he choked on his panicked words, unable to spill them fast enough, before Greenpaw was insisting again that he was fine and that nothing would happen. By all the luck- or un-luck- in the world, by promising he wouldn't fall Greenpaw had sealed his fate.

As soon as his mentor's son became unlatched from the tree, Twitchpaw let out a yelp that scraped across his throat and sent him spinning to face away. His breath quickened, hackles sharper than a porcupine's quills. "SHIT, oh my god, is he dead? Tell me if he's dead before I turn around!" Cowering as if he was the one who had just fallen, he felt the rush of his blood in his ears.​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[-Wildpaw-]

OH WELL, IM LEARNING AS I GO
I'M DIABOLICAL, THEY SAY THAT I'M AN ANIMAL

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"Yup." came Wildpaws voice, a soft, obviously sarcastic sigh falling from his lips. "Definitely dead. Didn't you hear that 'splat'?" the tom joked as he made his way over, grinning and amused with Twitchpaws apparent horror at the situation before chuckling and aiming to nudge the other. "Naw, I'm just messing with you, dude. He landed on Termitepaw, I think they're both fine." he said, casting his electric blue gaze on the pair of tangled limbs beneath the trees. "You guys alive over there? Twitchpaws about to have a stroke so I need an update!"
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---

Skyclan Apprentice - Male - 8 months - A handsome gold tomcat with electric blue eyes and black-tipped ears. Has a set of scars over his left eye that he's partially blind in.​

 

[Honeysplash]

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The look her sister gave her had the tawny tabby frozen in place before sulking back over to Orangeblossom with a flick of her tail. She never got to have any fun! She wanted to be free to climb trees and eat worms or something wild like that. Alice would take that privileges' away in a heartbeat though if anything ever where to happen to her. There was luck in her wounds from the skirmish as her twolegs hadn't noticed either, or well she was well healed before going back, but still! Alice was the main decision maker for Bananapaw till she was an adult. Even then it was a maybe cause she was sure Alice would still boss around Orangeblossom if given the chance.

Bananapaw then looked up into the tree and watched as Greenpaw fell from his spot in the tree, and directly onto Termitepaw. She gave an audible gasp and blinked a few times in surprise as the orange apprentice then glanced to Twitchpaw who outright looked ready to have a melt down. Wildpaw wasn't helping with his unhelpful set of words about going splat or something and she marched over to give the golden tom a little bat at the muzzle.

"Don't give Twitchpaw a heartattack," Bananapaw scolded the tom with a shake of her head. Though it was impressive that he managed to land on Termitepaw instead of her, she had been close to the end of that tree, and she didn't want to worry Daisyflight or anyone over injuries just cause some cats thought they where possums.

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[Fireflyglow]

Fireflypaw tends to have psychic abilities when it came to his friends- particularly Greenpaw himself. It's also hard not to hear all of the going-ons in the Clan, with how everyone always comes shrieking for him or Dawnglare at the slightest injury- like how Alice constantly wailed over Bananapaw. He stands up when a random cat comes over to tell him of Greenpaw's escapade, ears perking up with worry. He doesn't run too fast, but the sarcastic tone of Wildpaw makes him grimace as Twitchpaw freaks over the possibility of someone dying.

"He's not dead," Fireflypaw reassures everyone present- particularly Twitchpaw. Though he avoids eye contact with his friend, or looking at him overall. He doesn't mind being ignored by Quillpaw, but Twitchpaw didn't need to see another dead body. Luckily, Green was very much alive- having fallen onto Termitepaw at the last heartbeat. "Minty.." Fireflypaw murmurs his friend's nickname, a look of worry in his eyes. "You could have gotten yourself or somebody else seriously hurt. Don't go doin' that again, 'kay?" Then, turning to the apprentices present, he frowns. "The next time anyone tries to hang from the trees, I'm telling on you to your mentors. Stop enablin' this stuff, and start lookin' out for each other more."

Leaning down to Termitepaw, Fireflypaw offers his paw for the other to take. "Are you okay? Do you need anything? Any pain?"​

 

[GREENEYES]

His fall isn't as he expects. Instead of the hard ground breaking his fall, it's something softer, more rigid.

Fur, he soon realizes. Stars, he's landed on someone else. A revelation only made worse by Termitepaw's voice beneath him, Greenpaw doesn't think he's ever been this embarrassed. He doesn't think he would have felt the same, if he'd just landed on the ground instead.

The apprentice groans, rolling off his dark-furred landing pad - a feat that holds pain to it, right between his shoulders. Surely, he'll be bruised in the morning. He buries his face in his paws, ears flat against his head. His audience had only further grown, had watched him land on another cat.

He can hear Twitchpaw's panic grow, a question of whether he's even alive quick to escape the older apprentice's mouth. What a fool he's made out of himself! This was supposed to be cool!

"Oh, I'm very dead," he mutters, voice muffled against his paws, "I can see the stars, right now."

And then, it's Firefly's voice he hears. Oh stars, had he seen too? Did he... Did he at least see how well Greenpaw had been hanging there, before he'd come tumbling down? Green eyes peek up at his friend at the sound of his nickname, a sheepish smile growing on his face.

"Hi," he says. Worry is heavy in the medicine apprentice's gaze, and he can't help but feel bad. Of course, he could have gotten hurt - he'd already done so, after all. "I'm fine," he promises once more. It's a proper lie this time. Greenpaw doesn't want to worry his friend too much - hardly wants to bother Dawnglare with any potential injuries either.

Dawnglare, who'd encouraged this - who'd said it would do him some good. Was this his intention? Did he expect him to fall, expect worse from this?

Surely not, right?

Slowly he sits up, pain still lingering from the impact. He looks over at Termitepaw, concern evident on his face. "Sorry about that! I'll watch where I'm falling, next time!"

He hopes he didn't hurt her too much.
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[TERMITEHUM]

( 𓆣 ) Greenpaw rolls off her back, and Termitepaw tries to mask the sharp intake of breath at the movement. Once he's gone, she remains in place, closing her eyes. Yes, this is fine, she can just lay here a little longer. It'd almost look like she meant to be there, if not for the strange slayed position of her legs. She keeps an attentive ear turned to the conversation around her. Termitepaw huffs a soft, tittering laugh at Greenpaw's words. "Very dead, yes," she repeats, mostly to herself.

Fireflypaw's voice comes next. Oh, the medicine cat apprentice... Hm. He discourages Greenpaw from repeating his actions, then the other apprentices, yes, exactly, finally someone with some sense. The fall had seemed inevitable to Termitepaw, she couldn't get why Greenpaw couldn't see the same. That's why she'd been waiting so closely, to try and catch him once he fell. Didn't work out great, though.

Fireflypaw's attention is turned to her next, and she cracks open one eye, peering up at him. "Hm-m," hums Termitepaw, taking Fireflypaw's offered paw and pulling herself up, wincing at the pulling pain in her back as she does so. "'M alri-ight. Hurts a bit... On my back, yes." She pauses, considers. Oh, she doesn't want to trouble him. "No-ot bad, though..." She can deal with it, Fireflypaw doesn't need more cats to treat. It's not like she's the most high priority patient, little help to the clan as she is. And she's admittedly a little scared of Dawnglare... Well, her long fur should hide any bruising, anyway.

Termitepaw offers a small, shaky smile to Fireflypaw, then to Greenpaw. "'S oka-ay," she reassures him. "I'll watch where I'm... Hm... Standing? Don't, mm, do that again though plea-se." Forget the pain, Termitepaw is going to die of a heart attack if she has to witness that a second time.​