Willowpaw's Training! [p]

[ChromeSilver_Hwaa]

Originally Posted by squidz

 

Stagheart almost winced at hearing the sharper edge in Willowpaw's tone. Alright, so his attempt to brush off Weepingpaw's comment so that she wouldn't worry hadn't gone well. He wasn't exactly the best at handling these sorts of situations. Way to go, champ. Normally he wouldn't care too much on how his tone was perceived by a Clanmate, but he had an undeniable soft spot for his little apprentice, and certainly didn't want to make her too upset over something that he felt so bad about.

Internally cursing his shortfalls, the large tom finally made it up, seeing Willowpaw clearly turned away from the water and looking... angry. A rare look for the otherwise happy-go-lucky she-cat.

He let out a small huff, looking hesitant for a moment before he cleared his throat and decided not to acknowledge it for now, in case... well, in case he made it worse, really. Words weren't his strong suit.

"Hey, so... this is the shallowest part of the river. Can hardly feel the current — a 4 moon old kit could stand in it if they wanted," he explained as lightly as possible, padding over to the water and flicking it with his tail. "We can start just by havin' ya stand in it, get used to how the water feels... it only comes up a little above the paws right here... 'n then maybe see about catchin' some of the minnows that swim 'round here for practice."

He glanced back at her, trying not to frown too much as he watched her angrily swipe at a pebble, a mix of frustrated emotions on her face. Weepingpaw's voice rang in his ears: 'she was screaming about water'... But was it all water? Could she handle just a dip of her paws...? He kept his musings to himself, not wanting to look too concerned at the moment. He'd just have to see how she reacted even to the shallow water, and then... go from there, he supposed. And just silently pray he wasn't handling this as awful as he could be. It didn't exactly feel right to call her out for what her brother had told him, but at the same time, depending on how this went... he might need to mention it.

Willowpaw turned her attention to her mentor, padding over and staying a bit away from the edge. Her eyes filled with worry and not so well hidden fear as she looked at the rushing waves ahead. "Just... just standing in it... no getting swept away this time!" Willowpaw purred, her tone playful and bright, though her shaking whiskers and fearful gaze said otherwise. "Just... just standing.." Willowpaw whispered to herself, "Some minnows... yeah...." Willowpaw mewed, blinking nervously. It's just water Willowpaw, you can do it! She tried to encourage herself, Willowpaw dipped her paw into the water, the gently splashing over her paws as she stood, she gently waded farther in until she was were her mentor had told her to be. Willowpaw felt the water rushing through her fur, the memories of the water flooding over her head, not being able to control her paws.... it all rushed back into her mind, making her eyes widen in pure terror, she rushed out of the water and tried to play it off, "Oh! It's uhmm.. it's so cold!" Willowpaw purred, wincing at her wavering tone.

[squidz]

 

Originally Posted by ChromeSilver_Hwaa

Willowpaw turned her attention to her mentor, padding over and staying a bit away from the edge. Her eyes filled with worry and not so well hidden fear as she looked at the rushing waves ahead. "Just... just standing in it... no getting swept away this time!" Willowpaw purred, her tone playful and bright, though her shaking whiskers and fearful gaze said otherwise. "Just... just standing.." Willowpaw whispered to herself, "Some minnows... yeah...." Willowpaw mewed, blinking nervously. It's just water Willowpaw, you can do it! She tried to encourage herself, Willowpaw dipped her paw into the water, the gently splashing over her paws as she stood, she gently waded farther in until she was were her mentor had told her to be. Willowpaw felt the water rushing through her fur, the memories of the water flooding over her head, not being able to control her paws.... it all rushed back into her mind, making her eyes widen in pure terror, she rushed out of the water and tried to play it off, "Oh! It's uhmm.. it's so cold!" Willowpaw purred, wincing at her wavering tone.

Stagheart's eyes softened and he let out a small sigh before padding over to his apprentice, reaching out to touch his tail to her shoulder in a small act of comfort. Willowpaw was doing her best to cover up her reactions, but the terror was written quite clearly over her features, even some fear-scent lingering in the air. So it was as bad as he'd dreaded... poor kid.

"Hey... come sit down," he meowed, guiding her to sit sort of near the water but not too close; just enough that they could hear the normally-comforting sound of the light current and the water lapping at the shore. When she settled, his piercing blue eyes studied her for a moment, hesitating. What should he say? He wasn't great at this. After taking in a deeper breath, he met his apprentice's blue eyes, his gruff tone as oddly gentle as it could be.

"Look, I... I know you're scared. I can tell... and it's alright," he added quickly, not wanting her to think he was disappointed. "What you went through... it would scare anyone. And that don't always just go away. Trust me, I know it."

He sighed again and glanced away for a moment in thought before looking back at her, carefully choosing his words so as not to make the realization too daunting for her. "Look, I know you were dreamin'... or nightmarin', really, about drownin' in water last night. You don't gotta hide it, Willowpaw... there ain't no shame in it. Just tell me what you're feelin' ''n thinkin' 'bout all of this, 'n we can go from there..."