Quote:
Originally Posted by Duskflight
Grousestar was a bit ashamed that he hadn't gotten a chance to train with apprentice at all yet, he would have liked to train her as soon as he had proclaimed himself as her mentor, but alas, things had gotten rather busy with moving the clan and recovering from the battles that they had gone through and hadn't a single chance to train with Featherpaw at all, but now he finally had time to get to train the young she-cat. He had told her yesterday to meet him at the training plateau this morning and had naturally gotten there before her, he didn't want her to get there and her stand there all alone because he was late. He knew that the she-cat was paranoid and he knew that him being late to the ordeal wouldn't help her in the slightest, and actually, he had chosen himself as her mentor solely because he wanted to help her become less scared of the world.
And so the brown tabby had waited there in the training grounds since the crack of dawn, simply listening to the birds singing in the trees, watching the clouds pass by through the branches of the leafless leafbare trees, just about as happy as could be, the cuts and scraps and wounds from the liberation of the clans healing nicely, they wouldn't leave any scars luckily enough.
Finally Featherpaw appeared in the training grounds, Grousestar spotting her immediately and unable to begin purring out, the tom rising from his original laying position, stretching slightly and approaching the apprentice slowly, his tail held high.
"Greetings Featherpaw, glad to see that you could make it." Just like whenever he spoke with any other cat, there was a purr to his voice, a lighthearted tone that never really seemed to falter except when his clan was threatened. "Are you ready for your first day of training?" He questioned with a smile, tilting his head slightly. |
FeatherPaw flinched simply at the sight of GrouseStar, and she discreetly stepped back, avoiding his gaze. She was trembling with anxiety, and her nervousness wasn't very difficult to spot. Before looking away, she had managed to sneak a quick glance at him, admiring his confident nature. Her belly fur brushed against the ground, and her tail was curled at her flank. She was obviously attempting to appear as small as possible.
She did, however, find some comfort in his lighthearted tone. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to help her relax. FeatherPaw could only nod in response to his questions. She had even attempted to speak, but nothing escaped past her parted lips. She closed her mouth, shifting away from GrouseStar by a few more kittensteps.
She always felt guilty after acting this way around another cat, but she couldn't help it. Anxiety controlled her, and it demanded her to shy away from those willing to approach her. FeatherPaw, though, strongly disliked her own nature. She believed she could be much more than a worried she-cat. She often dreamed of herself being a self-confident, carefree molly, but honestly, she struggled to see herself like that. Sure, she had once been like that, but that was only around one cat - her mother-figure, the cat who raised her. The only cat she had ever been open around was her deceased guardian, Shrike. Together, they were a troublesome duo who would often disrupt the peace of their housefolk's home.
With a quiet cough to clear her throat, FeatherPaw gathered the courage to briefly look at her mentor. What got her attention most was his smile, and with the slight tip of his head, she had to admit his adorableness. He reminded her of a curious kitten, which caused a breathy giggle from herself. She hadn't heard herself laugh in ages, but she didn't like the sound. She flattened her ears at her opinion of her own laugh, and averted her gaze from GrouseStar's line of vision. She even shuffled her body in her attempt to make herself smaller. FeatherPaw, in this moment, wished she could just become invisible. Nobody would miss me anyway, She concluded. Tears threatened to flood her eyes, but she was quick to blink them away. She wouldn't dare shed a single tear in front of anybody.
She tried to clear her mind of the depressing, haunting thoughts to focus on training, but she couldn't. Heck, training didn't excite her in the smallest. She couldn't find an interest in it. Really, she just wanted to curl up in her nest and sleep forever. FeatherPaw couldn't feel pain in her sleep.