[AbsurdJinx]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

{All rps have equal importance to me so I'm not putting this one at the bottom of my list, but thank you for understanding! c:}

Despite what she might fear, Grousestar could most certainly not hear that little heart of hers beating in her chest, no matter how loud it sounded in her ears, though he could make a guess that it was at an abnormal rate, it usually was with nervous cats like her. He spoke to her in his usual, easy-going, calm and gentle manner, treating her with as much gentleness as he offers every other cat in the clan, perhaps even more so if that was even possible considering he cared for all cats of the clan.

Emerald eyes focused on her for a moment as she looked at the leaf he instructed could be used as a 'mouse', happy that she at least looked at it and appeared to give it some sort of thought, and then looked away again, knowing that direct eye contact could perhaps make her even more nervous. Instead, the tom looked up at the bare limbs of the trees above, that smile of his still on his muzzle, his gaze focusing on a black bird that chattered noisily, flitting from one branch to another, bobbing its head. Grousestar liked birds, he liked how free they were, how they could fly where they wished and the elegance that went with them, he truly admired them and they were perhaps his favorite species of prey. All the while he watched the bird in the canopy, he kept his ears trained on her, waiting to see if he could hear any sort of movement, though not expecting her to do anything.

All the while the molly stared at the leaf, the tom simply watched the bird until it eventually flew from sight, in which he would let out a soft, happy sigh, his gaze momentarily focusing back on his apprentice before he slowly laid down on the ground of the training grounds, neatly tucking his paws beneath himself and making himself looked comfortable and relaxed, another trick he had found that sometimes helped nervous cats. If you looked relaxed, sometimes they would relax a bit too, and again, he kept in mind to not look too long so that she would grow self-conscious or scared.

His gaze continuously made small journeys back to the young cat as the leader waited very patiently for her, in the meantime quietly cleaning his pelt. Though his ears perked up when he heard her pawsteps and gasp, his head quickly snapping up to look at the young she-cat with worry, seeing her stumble backwards and shake her head rather aggressively. Immediately the brown tabby was to his paws and whisking over, within seconds he was upon her, pressing against her side and wrapping his tail around her.
"Shh, it's okay Featherpaw. I'm not forcing you to do this, you do this when you're ready, take it easy hm?" Cooed the tom softly, making sure his tail wasn't coiled too tight around her knowing it could just be another thing that might freak her out even more, which was something he most certainly did not want to do.
"It's alright Featherpaw, I'm not going to get angry. I promise."

[ You're too nice xD ]
[ I love what you wrote here - ``GrouseStar liked birds`` - it sounded so innocent in my mind; absolutely adorable cx ]

FeatherPaw flinched at GrouseStar's touch, but as soon as she adjusted, she sank into the warmth he offered her. ``I'm sorry,`` She cried, shaking her head softly. She continued to look sadly at the ground, her head turned so she was facing away from the tomcat. Her ears were folded back, and her eyes were shut tight as if it would clear her of tears, as if nobody would be able to see her embarrassing panic attack if she couldn't see them. She had fallen into a crouch, her chin resting on her paws, and her tail having quit moving due to nerves. She feared moving, but she didn't know why. She was eager to hide her face beneath her paws, but she was much too scared to move her head to do so.

She found comfort in his soothing voice that told her she wasn't being forced to stalk the leaf - er, mouse. Unfortunately, it was not enough to relax her as she continued to release dry sobs, and her muscles didn't stop being tense. FeatherPaw's chest heaved with every shaky inhale and exhale of breath, and she even dared to flex her toes despite her fear of movement at the moment. ``I-I can't breathe,`` She complained, leaning into GrouseStar as she focused on evening her breaths.

I can't. I can't. I'm sorry. I can't. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. These were the two statements that were being repeated, non-stop, in her mind. Otherwise, FeatherPaw couldn't think straight. Almost like she was lost in a flood, fighting to keep her head above the surface. Meanwhile, blurred figures threw objects at her, yowling harsh words, like they wanted her to drown. The figures were safe, on land, and every time she would try to lift herself onto the terrain, she would be pushed off. It was frustrating, and scary, as well as exhausting - she simply could not understand it. Her frequent panic attacks were frustrating, scary, exhausting, and difficult to understand.

FeatherPaw, unbeknownst to her, was cursed with severe anxiety and depression, and her self-confidence was exactly in the high range. She feared nearly everything, including herself. There was never an escape. If she were to pounce on a leaf pretending to be a mouse - panic attack. If she were to leave camp - panic attack. If she were to curl up for bed - panic attack. Not to mentions that her dark thoughts often put her down. However, she did try to add a positive touch to her mainly-negative nature. She'd tell herself `today will be the day! The day I have the confidence to face my fears!`` but it never happens. This only put her down even more.

GrouseStar had quite a challenge on his paws.