First Day [RC]

Chervilpaw let out a soft huff of frustration as her sister rolled away from the strike. No fair! She let her draw away but something seemed a little unbalanced about Flutterpaw's movements. Chervilpaw crouched, watching with baited breath to see if her sister would pull off the move. Her sister went tumbling over and the mixture of awe and frustration turned to laughter. Maybe I should have called her Fluttertail for her great agility. The amount of venom in the words shocked Chervilpaw and she looked down at her mud flecked paws. It had been good idea, even if it didn't quite work.

"Hey Flutterpaw!" Chervilpaw flicked her tail. "Did you want to practice that move some? I'm sure Aspenleaf will love it."

Flutterpaw couldn't help but laugh along. She imagined that must have looked pretty funny. She grimaced somewhat as, upon getting to her paws, she discovered various patches of mud dotting her pelt. That didn't work too well.

Her dissapointment faded quickly at her sister's suggestion. "You think so?" She replied, a note of awe in her voice. Her first day as an apprentice, and she already had a chance of impressing her mentor! Maybe it will make up for what a horrible daughter I am...

"Sure!" Flutterpaw nodded decisively, shaking out her pelt and padding back over to Chervilpaw. Flutterpaw loved all her siblings, but Chervilpaw, with her endless cheer, always had a way of making her feel better. Plus, she was so confident. She'll make a great warrior. We all will! "We can both practice!" Flutterpaw continued, smiling. "Then you can show Echofrost what you've learned, too!"

“Of course!” Chervilpaw purred loudly and brushed her body affectionately across her sister’s side. “Okay, we’ll both impress our mentors. So Flutterpounce. I am the nasty Ivyclan Rogue, Chervilscar and I’m gonna get you!”

A mock growl rumbled through her throat (in all honesty it sounded like a deep, guttural purr) and fluffed her fur out again making her all big and scary. This time she circled once, twice before rising onto her hind legs once more. Instead of throwing her weight down Chervilpaw moved more slowly, with slow exaggerated steps. Hopefully this would allow her sister to perfect the move at a slower pace. She couldn’t be sure but it sure sounded like the sort of thing the older apprentices practiced in camp.

Flutterpaw laughed and backed up a little, returning with a hiss. With prickled fur and a mock-fierce expression, she waited. Chervilpaw stood up onto her hind legs again, this time obviously slower. This time, Flutterpaw crouched slightly, bunching her legs. When her sister came falling in her direction, she hopped to the side, with far more precision. The crouch seemed to have helped her pose, for she managed to stay on her paws with a stumble.

"Wow. It worked!" She smiled, bouncing on her paws in delight. Wait until Sageleaf sees this!

"Your turn." She said, stepping back over to Chervilpaw. "What do you wanna practice?"

Flutterpaw did some kind of a small half hop to the side, not that Chervilpaw could pick exactly how she did it. Chervilpaw couldn't stop the purr bubbling over from her chest -- her sister had executed the move perfectly -- ruining the whole tough cat exterior she had going. She landed awkwardly; barely having the coordination to ease her body weight down like that.

"Well done Flutterpaw!" She said. "Okay, my turn."

She mimicked the movements, sinking first into a low crouch, muscles in her legs coiled in anticipation. She eyed Flutterpaw carefully, entirely focused on predicting the moment of her sister's strike.

Flutterpaw felt herself swell with pride at her sister's compliment. Flutterpaw loved nothing more than affection from her siblings, especially since their mother failed to provide said affection. Mood lifted even further, Flutterpaw paced forward, hopping onto her hind legs.

She swayed for a moment, her coordination challenged by the vertical posture. She gradually gained enough balance to maintain that pose. She threw her weight down towards her sister, mimicking the movement Chervilpaw herself had done moments ago.

Chervilpaw sensed her sister tense above her and when the weight came down she tried to mimic her sister's grace. She coiled her muscles and leapt but she judged it wrong and rather than a neat jump to the side she leapt too high and nearly all vertically. Flutterpaw's paws grazed her shoulder and to maintain some dignity Chervilpaw shoved her weight sideways to land in an undignified heap on her side. Panting slightly she leapt to her feet.

Well, she was a lot bigger and sturdier than her sister but then it still hurt to fail the move so spectacularly. Instinctively she looked back at the entrance to the camp. It wasn't hard to imagine what their mother would say if she were watching. Chervilpaw shuffled her paws and hung her head, as if Secretsong was right there berating her. I will get it.

Flutterpaw was nearly unbalanced herself when her foreleg made contact with her sister's shoulder. She stumbled to avoid tipping over, then glanced over at her sister.

Chervilpaw was crestfallen, body slumped and head tilted downward almost shamefully. Flutterpaw didn't hesitate, rushing over and rubbing along the underside of Chervilpaw's chin affectionately. "Hey, don't worry!" She comforted, sitting down beside her sister. "I messed up the first time, too. We're new at this, is all!"

She hated to see Chervilpaw, who was normally so jovial and confident, seem so dissapointed. The siblings didn't have much, but they always had each other - Flutterpaw could only hope Chervilpaw knew that.

The weight of her sister against her neck came as a shock and Chervilpaw found herself standing stiff for a moment. A purr started low in her throat as she started rubbing her chin against her sister’s soft pelt. Warmth extinguished the damp, mustiness inside her; it was going to be okay.

“Yeah but…” Chervilpaw shook her head, this wasn’t how a warrior dealt with failure.

She sprung away from Flutterpaw and threw herself through the move again. Crouch poised to spring, wait for the imaginary enemy to start coming down, spring lightly – stumble. She got to her feet and shook out her long pelt sending dust and dirt shimmering around her. She looked back at her sister.

“Well what are you waiting for? How do you do it?” She asked.

Flutterpaw felt warmth blossom in her chest as her sister returned the gesture. It seemed to last for only a few moments before Chervilpaw sprang away, dropping once again into a crouch. Chervilpaw's eyes glinted with determination, but Flutterpaw was still worried. She's pushing herself so hard...

"Well," Flutterpaw hesitated, unsure. "I crouched, but only a little. Just enough for a little jump." She demonstrated, hovering in a half-crouch that was, to be honest, a rather difficult posture to hold for a long period of time. She straightened.

"And, when you land..." She did a small bounce, crouching halfway again when her paws hit the grass. "Sink down a little. It... helps brace yourself on the ground." She laughed a little. "I think I learned that from those tussling sessions we had as kits."

Chervilpaw nodded as she watched her sister go through the motions once more. “A little crouch. Sink on landing. Got it.”

She tried again; on the spot this time. She sunk into the half crouch again and tried to keep her back soft like Flutterpaw did. From this position she sprung upwards lightly to land, sunk down until her belly brushed the grass and then moved into the half crouch once more. The constant jarring motion made the entrance to the camp and the skeletal undergrowth jolt around her so she closed her eyes, letting the camp entrance and her sister fall away. I’ll make you proud mother. She thought fiercely, repeating the move once more on the spot.

Flutterpaw watched her sister, and while she was worried, she was also impressed. Chervilpaw just wouldn't give up. Flutterpaw knew her sister was determined to be the best warrior possible, and she was happy about that, but she was also concerned with how hard Chervilpaw was pushing herself. Hopefully future guidance from Echofrost would help her relax a little.

Flutterpaw could already tell she was getting better. Each time, the cream molly swayed less, her leaps were more precise. "You're getting it!" She chirped, smiling.

Chervilpaw stopped bouncing abruptly at the brightness in her sister’s voice. A small huff of exasperation escaped her; couldn’t Flutterpaw tell it was all wrong? Her stomach ached and was shaking from the repeated strain of holding herself taunt in the half crouch. If she tried once more her body would give out and she’d fall flat on her face. Again. She sat down opposite her sister with her tail protectively across her paws.

“Ehh, I suppose.” She said nonchalantly. There was something unfamiliar in her sister’s expression; concern. Chervilpaw swallowed and dredged up a cheery tone. “All thanks to you.”