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01. video
[This is a bit of a struggle, but Firepaw is doing his best. A very under-sized Litten is trying to put himself in frame, but he's a little awkwardly close.]
Um... hello. Can everyone hear me? My name is Firepaw, I'm- I was an apprentice of ThunderClan. Oh- and I used to be a cat, before I came here. A lot of you know me already, but... yes.
[Just going by his voice, it's pretty clear he's a kitten. Public speaking feels incredibly bad, even without a visible crowd.]
A few of you Twolegs - humans - have four legs now, and I wanted to offer help with getting used to that. I can teach you how to hunt and fight, or at least step lightly. I don't know much about our new powers, but we might be able to practice those together too. I can also help with learning different scents, since I think humans can't smell as well as cats, or... Pokemon. That might make gathering herbs and berries easier, too.
[One more thing which... feels like blasphemy for a cat, but he needs to do it.]
And... if anyone knows how to swim, I think I'd like to learn. If another storm comes with new folk, I want to be able to help them get to shore.
Um... hello. Can everyone hear me? My name is Firepaw, I'm- I was an apprentice of ThunderClan. Oh- and I used to be a cat, before I came here. A lot of you know me already, but... yes.
[Just going by his voice, it's pretty clear he's a kitten. Public speaking feels incredibly bad, even without a visible crowd.]
A few of you Twolegs - humans - have four legs now, and I wanted to offer help with getting used to that. I can teach you how to hunt and fight, or at least step lightly. I don't know much about our new powers, but we might be able to practice those together too. I can also help with learning different scents, since I think humans can't smell as well as cats, or... Pokemon. That might make gathering herbs and berries easier, too.
[One more thing which... feels like blasphemy for a cat, but he needs to do it.]
And... if anyone knows how to swim, I think I'd like to learn. If another storm comes with new folk, I want to be able to help them get to shore.
[VIDEO]
-h you. Hello again, Firepaw. Unfortunately, you know as well as I how much help I'll be with swimming.
I'll take you up on your other offer, though. I definitely need to figure out how to crawl around.
[There's a small thread of confusion about scent being as important as Firepaw is making it out to be, but it's soon overtaken by the general acceptance of 'well, whatever helps'.]
And I've been reading up on pokemon, anyway. I should be able to point out what we're theoretically capable of doing. Since you're offering, we can try and put that theory into practice.
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[He lets out a little puff of flame, which he's slowly getting used to being able to do.]
Why don't you meet me at the beach? I can coach you on walking better, and if you feel up to it we can test some of our new 'moves'.
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[The beach is kind of big, though-]
...I'll meet you back where we first met. Well. Not the middle of the ocean. Up near the bushes.
[He'll keep the connection open for long enough to get Firepaw's confirmation, but once he does he's going to cut the feed.]
--> action
[Said with all the excitement of a little kid.
And he's headed over there now! He's going to sit slightly away from the bushes, so that he's clearly visible against the sand.]
Re: --> action
When he spots Firepaw he waves.]
Hey, over here.
Well. I... think we should start with me learning how to walk. You know. Just the basics.
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Sure - here, let me show you an example.
[He walks a few paces and then comes back - stepping slowly and carefully, each back paw falling into the pawprint left by his forepaw.]
You want to step with one paw up at a time, so the other three can keep you balanced. First your right forepaw, then your left leg, then your left forepaw, then your right leg.
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[Doc is hit with the sudden realization that he had never really learned to walk before. He sort of just... came with it.
He drops to all fours and tries to follow along to Firepaw's instructions, but still moves very much like he is actually crawling. Hindlegs almost plantigrade, knees to close to the ground. At least he's following instructions otherwise.]
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That works - as long as your belly is off the ground, and you feel stable, that's what matters. If your belly drags for too long, you'll probably strip your fur off.
[Or at least that's what he's been told.]
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[Right. Doc draws himself up a little higher, almost comically so, because now his tail is basically sticking straight up. It's an improvement over dragging on the sand, but uh. Does he notice that?
At least he's no longer looking like he's trying to balance on his knees as well as his feet. He's a bit more unsteady, like he's trying to compensate for issues that aren't issues anymore. Y'know, like having ankles with enough flexibility to walk digitigrade without pulling the tendons too far.
He's getting a bit far from Firepaw. Time to loop around.
Wow this feels kind of stupid.]
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That is better - but try not to let your tail go too high, otherwise bigger animals might see it through the bushes. Try not to let it go too low, either, or it'll drag on the ground and make noise.
[It's of course, a very cat concern to have.]
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[Wow does Doc actually sound strained here. Who would've thought that all it takes is learning how to walk.
He lowers his tail a bit, though it's still sticking straight out.]
Right. I think I'll just need to practice.
Do you- what am I saying, of course you do- can you tell me how to run, too?
[Theoretically, he can keep walking on two legs. It seems this body isn't bad at doing that, thankfully. But he's acutely aware he'll be much faster if he can run on all fours.
It really doesn't help that there is so little fauna in Nevada. He'd probably have a sense for how quadrupeds move if he'd ever seen one in his life.]
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[When he started giving walking advice, he had to pad around for a while and really think about how he moves. So at first, he just stops and thinks for a while, trying to decide how best to explain it.]
So... when you're running, you want to move with your back legs together first, and then your forelegs together. Your back paws push off the ground and launch you forward, and then your forepaws catch the ground and keep you balanced for the next jump forward. Like... this.
[He takes off running, first a few feet away, and then in a circle around Doc before coming back. He can't exactly do it slowly, but hopefully watching him is still helpful.]
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[Doc is a stubborn bastard who very much disregards Firepaw's warning and immediately tries to run. He gets about three steps before his hind legs fall out of synch and he half-hops half-trots to a stop.
And then he tries it again.
And again.
...Weirdly enough he's actually picking this up much faster than he is picking up walking, though his tail is still sticking straight out like a little triangle-tailed kitten. You know the ones.]
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That's great! [He squints, the cat equivalent of a grin.] Maybe your body type is better suited for running - you might be able to bunny-hop while you're walking too, to go slower.
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....I'll figure that out someday that might not be today.
[He draws himself up to sit, quite like a meerkat.]
Anyway. You wanted to figure out your new powers as well, didn't you?
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Um.. yeah! I don't know everything that I'm capable of, but I've been practicing breathing fire. I think I'm getting pretty good at it!
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Eh, Doc's dealt with worse. He gets back into a sitting state, though, because being flat on the ground isn't conductive to anything.]
Yes, your firebreathing is impressive. [That's actually not sarcasm.] Say, have you tried biting anyone yet? Seems that's something you can do even harder if you make it into a move. I think it's got to do with channeling whatever... magic you have into the action.
Oh yes. We share a possible move. Shadow claw, if I'm not mistaken. Hell if I know I'll be able to demonstrate, though, but that's the point of this outing, isn't it?
Unfortunately, I don't have any of the books here. I don't think the librarians'll take kindly to finding sand in all of them.
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Firepaw has to think over what Doc is saying, and tips his head while he thinks.]
ThunderClan cats try not to bite other cats unless it's an emergency. It's not exactly in the code, but... our bites can cause serious infections. Although I've been told that Pokemon are much tougher than cats.
[He assumes the PokeClinic wouldn't want them sending each other there every time they spare, though.
He does try it out though - he takes a few steps back, tries to focus on the same part of him that the Ember comes from, and bites at the air. And does nothing, but his teeth do make a satisfying clicking noise.]
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Anyway. Moves are magic bullshit and don't come with a free side of bacteria, so it's no longer a consideration. I haven't read anything about infection risks, at the least, so I doubt it's an issue.
[Firepaw tries biting, anyways, and-
...Where does he even start troubleshooting this. It's not like he hasn't taught his agents anything before, but this is so far out of his fields of expertise.]
Let's try something- Have you figured out the move scratch yet? Channelling your magic into your claws. I'm certain your species learns it.
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[He can't help getting constantly distracted by new words - it's not just that he's curious, but also that he lived around humans for most of his life and he's fascinated by how much of their world he failed to grasp in that time.
But yes, he should also try to Scratch. He tries again, focusing his power into his claws and aiming a scratch at the air. And this time it works - bright light seems to coarse through them, and linger in the air where he swatted. Firepaw is speechless for a moment, before bouncing up on his back paws and letting out a proud yowl.]
Look! I did it!
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[Anyways, Firepaw uses Scratch! ...It's a normal-type move and can't be super-effective my joke doesn't work damnit.]
Congratulations. Remember how you did that- try doing the same with your bite.
[Man Doc really isn't a particularly good combat instructor, which is kind of ironic. Look, all of his agents came to him pre-trained. Or they trained themselves.]
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I think our medicine cat would really enjoy talking to you. [He muses.] She's very smart, but I think there's only so much she can do with herbs and cobweb bandages.
[There's a certain amount of Firepaw's brain that is always preoccupied with ThunderClan's medicine cat... he just thinks she's neat.]