[PeaFlower]

Originally Posted by Mauve

@PeaFlower

Rain pelted the muddy ground as lightning and thunder danced entwined across the dark sky. The deafening sound of tree roots breaking free from the ground sounded ahead, yowls of pain echoing up from the depths of it. Alongside the tree line raced Jaypaw, his paws slamming into the ground in an attempt to propel himself faster.

"Jaypaw!"

A snarl escaped the young apprentices mouth and he kicked out harder than usual, sending mud flying out behind him. No matter how much effort he put into his pursuit, the combination of rainwater and mud seemed to only fight against him. "I'm coming!" he howled, the wind cutting through his cry as it was drowned out by the sound of another tree falling. Oh StarClan, why is this happening? he thought, terror flashing across his otherwise focused expression.

He began to close in on his target and skidded to a halt, craning his neck back. Above him, a tall oak groaned in the wind, it's branches snapping like twigs and falling to the soaked earth below. More cries were carried through the wind and Jaypaw spun around on his paws, turning his head this way and that. From one side, the prevalent scent of WindClan was obvious; it was the one he was most accustomed to. He began to race in that direction before another smell yanked him back. ThunderClan. No, no, no... The tom spun around yet again and tried to see where it was coming from. No visible bodies raised alarms in his head and eventually the young tom squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a screeching yowl.

"I can't choose! Don't make me choose!"

Eyes flying open as he convulsed in his nest, Jaypaw woke with a start. His heart hammered against his chest like a caged bird, blood roaring in his ears and blocking out the noise around him. A cold claw seemed to grip him from above and he remained frozen, shoulders heaving from each ragged breath.

The apprentices' den was rather empty for the time being, most of the occupants out training or patrolling. Jaypaw let a sigh of relief slip past and he quickly gathered himself. Another dream... he thought as he began to lick his fur flat in smooth, rhythmic strokes.

Shiningfeather was currently lingering at the entrance of the apprentice's den, that she had previously went to with reluctance, though her light yet determined gait would have fooled any cat who didn't know her well into thinking she was confident.
Truth is she hadn't slept well, anxious at the idea of training a future warrior, but would never admit it to anyone.

She had taken her sweet time grooming herself like every morning, making sure not an inch of fur was misplaced, and took some more time to stretch herself, trying to get rid of the tiredness in her limbs before she had finally headed out of the warrior's den.
For the past days she had wondered if she had made the right choice by taking this rejected apprentice under her wing, which was preposterous : she always made the right choices. Plus, she couldn't have let an apprentice be unsupervised if she could have helped it. Which she did.

Shaking those negative thoughts out of her mind, she took a step inside the apprentice's den. It was fairly empty, so she didn't take much time spotting Jaypaw's dark form. It seemed he had just woken up and was grooming. She let out an appreciative hum. At least he had some basic cleanliness standards. That was always a good thing in her book.
Though, watching him closely, she noticed he seemed slightly agitated. A bad dream, maybe ? Or apprehension for their first training session ?

She slowly approached the apprentice, and sat down, her tail curling up around her as her expression remained blank. She meowed a greeting.
"Good morning, Jaypaw." And she was about to say that and only that, but remembered her previous inquiries. "Did you sleep well ?"