Face Your Fears [O]

[Grady]

"T-t-t-there's nothing t-to fear but fear it's - itself...t-t-there's nothing t-to fear but fear it-t-tself..."

A small, wavering voice kept chanting the same thing over and over again - his own personal mauntra. It was hard to see the young cat unless you were really looking, so well did he blend with the shadows and gullys of the forest floor.

One paw in front of the other, Dartingpaw kept his eyes peeled for things ahead of him. He was determined to keep going - and all on his own too. He didn't need to be babysat by anyone; he could go out for a nice little walk all on his lonesome. But one who was on a nerve-relaxing walk didn't usually shake in the way Dartingpaw did..nor did they expect to see horrible monster they would need to fend off against at every turn.

"T-t-there's nothing t-t-t-to...t-t-to..." The tom slipped beneath a fern's dry frond, his wide eyes not noticing the stretch of spider's web above his left ear. He didn't notice the web at all, until his right ear touched against it.

"GAWAAAA!" Shrieked the tom, in a very un-tom like fashion. He tried to shake off an invisible assailant, but new spiderwebs are very sticky...so his frantic running around only took down more web, tangling it in his short fur and making it stick fast...

[flamingdawn]

A black she-cat burst between two hollys, looking around frantically for the noise. She relaxed visibly when she saw who it was.
"Honestly, Dartingpaw!" the cat exclaimed. She peeled the cobweb off the apprentice and turned him to face her. "It's just a cobweb, Dartingpaw. Nothing to fear." She smirked. "I could hear you across the forest."
Shadestar shook her short sable pelt. "Well, come on, then. Let's get you back to camp."

[Speckel-Lady o' Rebel/Mischeif]

Autumnbreeze picked lightly through the forest, his eyes darting back and forth. He hard a yowl, of fear? The gray tabby tom trotted through the forest, the leaves of ferns bending away from his body. Green-yellow eyes narrowed into slits as he unsheathed his wicked looking claws. Realizing there was no threat, the SnowClan warrior scowled angrily and sheathed his claws.
He snorted as he noticed Shadestar and Dartingpaw. He raised an eyebrow at the black she-cat, slightly annoyed at the distraction to his hunting. Not that I'm a very good one anyways.. he told himself. The orange-ginger patches that seemed to fire his pelt blazed in the dappled sunlight streaming through the trees. Even the gloomy gray sky couldn't keep out the sun.
Realizing he'd forgotten his manners, he dipped his head to Shadestar and lifting his head into its original, lofty position, twitched an ear of greeting toward the apprentice. "What was it this time?" he growled, his green-yellow eyes flicking to Shadestar.

[flamingdawn]

"What was it this time?" one of Shadestar's warriors asked. Autumnbreeze.
Shadestar sighed. "It seems that Dartingpaw wanted a little trot through the forest, so - er - he ran into a cobweb," she responded dryily. The dark-pelted leader looked down at the apprentice. "I think you need better training, a mentor who can give you more courage, Dartingpaw." Shadestar gave him a calculating look, trying to figure out who his mentor should be.

{Should Shadestar be her mentor?}

[Grady]

Dartingpaw ran in circles, until Shadestar came to his rescue - whimpering and crying and trying to get free of the monster that had captured him.

However, he was soon rescued - by an all too familiar voice. What was more embarassing...being 'attacked' by a piece of cobweb...or being rescued from such an embarrassing situation by his leader.

Dartingpaw couldn't look the black she-cat in the eye. Instead, he became immensely interested in his front paws, which shifted the ground nervously in front of him.

"S-s-s-sorry, S-s-s-shadestar." He mumbled. He never thought he'd live this one out. And it only became worse when, while Shadestar was guiding him back to camp like a lost kit, that they ran into Autumnbreeze. He couldn't even answer the warrior, or provide Shadestar with much of an answer.

It was easier for her to say that he needed a brave, strong warrior to mentor him...but who would want such a useless sack of fur like him. He had to face it...he wasn't made to fight. He was a waste of space in Iceclan.

[flamingdawn]

Shadestar mused for a bit, switching glances from Autumnbreeze to Dartingpaw.... Who should be his mentor?
"Dartingpaw," the black cat meowed finally, "I think your mentor should be me." She gave her new apprentice a wry smile.

[Grady]

Dartingpaw was sure his ears had decieved him. Shaking his head as if trying to dislodge fluff from his ears. And just in case it was what he saw that also fooled him, he blinked several times in rapid succession; looking very much like a stunned owl.

This just didn't...couldn't happen. Apprentices as poor as he were not offered to be trained by the clan leader. Leaders needed to have the bravest, brawniest of apprentices - those who were worthy of such an honor. The runtiest, scaredy-cat of the clan did not get that leisure.

"P...Pardon, S-shadestar?" He stumbled, when his efforts to clear the situation did nothing to explain what he thought he heard away. "Are...Are you serious?!" Wait, that had to be it - the leader was just pulling his leg; she wouldn't be the first one to make a joke at his expense. He couldn't really blame her, either.

[flamingdawn]

Shadestar knew her new apprentice would act like this. "You really think the leader would joke about something like this, Dartingpaw?"
Her gaze softened. "I know; you're astounded and amazed. But...I just think you need to start a-fresh, that's all. I'm not kidding, Dartingpaw," she added. "You do need to start a-fresh. Forget about the past. Just remember the present, and think about it. Don't mope over things you can't change; just deal with it. Don't run from a fight. And, also, I think I can help you. After all, I lost my brother too." The black leader suddenly thought back to that horrible day, when Frostedjay decided to go live in MoonClan. She shook her head to clear it. "It's not the same as him dying, like yours did, but still, it's close.
"So, what do you say, Dartingpaw? Are you ready?" Shadestar stood up, shaking some leaf scraps from her pelt.

[Grady]

Once again, Dartingpaw could barely believe his ears, so once again, he shook his head really hard. She wasn't kidding then...she really was offering to be his mentor. The tom couldn't believe it. He, the leader's apprentice! Starclan...he'd have never thought he'd ever be offered such a thing...really the position would have been more worthy of...

of Sparrowkit...

But, as Shadestar reminded him...Sparrowkit was no longer here. It was just him, Dartingpaw - and if he had his way, Sparrowkit was some sort of Starclan leader's apprentice. He'd never be his brother, down here, but he could try.

He looked up at the much large, dark she-cat; his eyes wide and shining, for once, with only a trace of apprehensive fear in their cloudy depths. He would not change in the course of one extrodinary day - if he really did change at all.

"Of...Of course! 'Course I'm ready!" He mewed. You never said no to the leader, after all.

[flamingdawn]

Shadestar smiled coyly. "Well, then, let's go." She turned to her warrior. "You're welcome to come hunting with us, Autumnbreeze, if you wish," she meowed.

[Grady]

Hunting! Yes, hunting in his first ever training session! With his leader! No, now, not just his leader...his mentor! This would be great! He could handle hunting! Nothing bad could happen hunting!

Unless...unless he started to chase a mouse, and and, the mouse ran back on him, and like, bit him on the paw...and the mouse has some sort of crazy infection or disease...and and...his paw ends up all infected and stuff...Angelicmelody may need to, like, remove his paw, or something! He'd never be a warrior then. And then, what if...what if the infection was actually, like, all in his blood. He could die!

Suddenly, hunting didn't seem to be a good idea at all.

" Er, um...I gue- okay, um, S-s-s-shadestar. Let's um...ah...hu-hunt..." He stumbled with less enthusiasm than before, as his paws shifted in on the forest ground beneath him. You couldn't quite help but hear how his voice rose several octaves as he spoke, so the word hunt came out more of a squeak.

Which, of course, Dartingpaw mistook as a mousey noise. Mice. He shivered as a image of those grimey little rodents popped unceremoniously into his head.

[flamingdawn]

Shadestar rolled her eyes as her new apprentice started to freak out. "Oh, Dartingpaw." She sighed. "You need to learn to face your fears. Don't think og the prey coming to bite you. Think of you biting the prey. Go it?"

[Speckel-Lady o' Rebel/Mischeif]

Autumnbreeze simply glanced at Shadestar, his tail flicking with boredom. He'd wondered when Dartingpaw would get a new mentor. The gray tabby yawned, flicking his tail over his mouth. Rolling his eyes, he glanced at his leader. "Shadestar," he remarked cooly, "I'm going to leave now." His yellow eyes watched Dartingpaw as the apprentice began to repeatitively freak out. Snorting, the tom began to slowly back out of the clearing. He didn't really want to see the apprentice embaress himself again and again.

[flamingdawn]

Shadestar rolled her eyes. "Autumnbreeze, I am commanding for you to come with us." Her eyes glinted. "You will need practice for when you have an apprentice," she added.

[Grady]

Dartingpaw tried his best - he really really did. But it was hard to fight extreme life-phobias simply by one's suggestion; even when he admired the suggestor immensely, even reveared them with every fur on his short pelt.

He started to take breaths - counting them in his head. At first, they came out as little wheezy, hyper-ventalation breaths; rapid and shallow, keeping beat with his heart. But as lack of oxygen wracked his body, he smartened up and, slowly but surely, started taking deeper, bigger breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth...in through the nose...out through the mouth. Of course, clan cats didn't really know about meditation, or yoga...but the little hypochondriac may indeed be inventing it.

In through the nose out through the mouth...all the time thinking in mantra style.

Mice are food...not deadly disease-carrying death mongers...most of the ti- no! Mice are food...not killing-spree demons sent to punish him from the Dark Forest...

[Speckel-Lady o' Rebel/Mischeif]

Autumnbreeze sighed. The leader's rules was law. It said so in the Warrior Code. The gray tabby wished he hadn't been such a rule-follower, but he was and he didn't want to change it. He'd probably get in trouble a lot more often. The tom stiffly nodded. "Yes, Shadestar," he remarked, blinking his eyes.

[flamingdawn]

"Okay, then," Shadestar huffed. "Let's go." And she stalked away into the woods.