[AbsurdJinx]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

{I'm so sorry about how late this reply is!}

The brown tabby wasn't phased as he saw his apprentice visibly flinch as he approached, he knew what he was getting himself into when he elected himself as her mentor, he couldn't expect her to randomly be cured of whatever shyness or fear she held on the first day of training, or at the first sight of him one on one with her, but he planned to try and help her throughout the moons he would spend with her, that was his goal. Besides, just about every apprentice was nervous on the first day of training! It was something new, the first time that their parents weren't right behind them, they were there with just their mentor, a cat they most of the time hadn't really known beforehand. So really, Grousestar expected any apprentice to be like this on their first day of training.

So while he wouldn't be able to 'cure' her of any sort of fear or nervousness, the tom could try and make her feel as relaxed and as comfortable as ever and so he kept his light-hearted, gentle tone, a tone he used with all cats of the clan, to make them feel at ease because sometimes he feels they treat him differently because he was the leader, and that's not something he wanted.

Seeing her back away a few more steps, Grousestar simply stopped his approach and sat down with his tail curling over his paws several fox-lengths away, not at all wanting to intimidate her in any sort of way.
"If you're not ready to start Featherpaw, then that's quite fine too. I won't actually be teaching you much today, it's sort of meant to be an evaluation so I can get a sense of what you know and how you work best, nothing too hard." Mewed the tom with that same light smile of his, drawing a paw up and casually beginning to rasp his tongue over it before bringing it up and using it to wash his forehead and behind his ears to the best of his ability, his eyes remaining carefully on Featherpaw, though ready to look away if she gave any sign that she didn't enjoy his gaze being near her, knowing that some cats didn't like eye contact at all and naturally he would respect that. As her mentor, he wanted to everything in his power to make sure that she was comfortable and at ease in his presence. Because if they didn't have trust, then she wouldn't learn anything. Trust was key in this.

"Just tell me when you're ready and we'll begin. I want to analyze how you think you should hunt first, again, nothing too hard, just pretend you're hunting a mouse use uh.. Use that leaf over there as your 'mouse'." He said, nodding towards a single leaf that was near the far right side of the training grounds before turning his head back to her and smiling gently, ready to watch her whenever she decided she was ready to show what she knew to him. He would say nothing else after this, he would simply fall quiet and wait and see, he wouldn't push her, he wouldn't do anything at all, he would quite simply wait.

Don't worry, she'll get out of this little phase little by little the more you train with her, this is how she'll be permanently. She'll learn to know that other cats, ones of her clan, won't hurt her in any sort of way, not if I have anything to say about it. Thought the tom to himself as he waited there, quietly washing himself.

[ No! No apologies! I know how busy you must be & I demand that this rp be on the bottom of your to-do-list ]

FeatherPaw felt warmth spread throughout her at his easy-going nature. She feared the worst of her mentor. For example, what if he had been harsh? If he had been quick to throw her into battle training? Of course, her mind automatically drew her to the worst case scenario ever. Her heart practically pounded against her chest, and she wondered if GrouseStar could hear it. She shuffled her paws anxiously, her gaze locked on her feet as she listened to him speak.

She silently thanked him for adjusting to her... her... disability? Her nature? Her anxiety. Whatever - she was just thankful to have such a nice mentor. FeatherPaw risked a brief glance at her mentor. He had a gentle smile that would relax anyone's tensed muscles - with the exception of FeatherPaw. Her movements were robotic, which such stiff muscles. GrouseStar looked like a warmhearted cat, and he most definitely proved that he was when he spoke. She averted her gaze, and instead, she looked at the leaf - er, `mouse` - he pointed out.

All she could do was stare blankly at the leaf for what seemed like ages. She didn't want to move in front of GrouseStar, as she was sure he'd be able to pick out a few of her flaws just by the way she walked. Heck, she was sure he found something wrong in just her appearance. She certainly did. She was born a jet-black molly, but as she aged, flecks of white began to paint her pelt. She hadn't thought very highly of herself before, personality-wise, but since the added specks of white, she hasn't thought very highly of herself both appearance-wise and personality-wise.

She didn't hear anything from GrouseStar except the faint laps of his tongue passing over his pelt. Tears flooded her eyes as she continued to stare at the leaf - but no, it was not the leaf that brought water to her eyes. She felt so strange in training - standing before her mentor who awaited her movement. FeatherPaw couldn't move. She couldn't. She bit back a sob, refusing to cry in front of others. Then she couldn't breathe, and she couldn't see. Everything before her was blurry. She shifted back, gasping for breath, and aggressively shaking her head as she repeatedly murmured the words `I can't` and `I'm sorry`. As she did this, she didn't look at GrouseStar as she expected to see him disappointed or furious with her cowardice. As she pictured her mentor's look, her gasping and words quickened - worsened. Her head swirled, her stomach ached uncomfortably, and her chest tightened. She couldn't think.