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stormpaw crouched in the shifting grains of grasses, his muscles tensed. the racy smell of saltwater filled his nostrils. it burned with every swallow. the crash of waves against the sand was a little soothing, and rhythmic, but it did little to sooth his raging nerves. tidewhisker circled him, a patient gaze on his face. but stormpaw couldn't help feeling he was disappointing his mentor, yet again.
❝ lower your tail, stormpaw, ❞ tidewhisker instructed, though his voice was relaxed, his tone firm yet not too harsh. ❝ you're leaving yourself exposed, ❞
stormpaw flicked his tail irritably but did as he was told, lowering it so it gently teased the surface of the sand. he clenched his jaw, frustration simmering. the week had been gruelling, and every day had been a reminder that he didn't belong here. the warrior code was a jumble of rude and traditions that made little sense to him, and every new skill his mentor tried to teach him — whether hunting or navigating the paths and cliffs nearby — seemed to end in failure.
stormpaw was tired of it, tired of this gnawing feeling that he wasn't good enough. that he'd never be good enough.
what he feared the most however, what truly haunted him, was the water. each time he was asked to swim through the surf, to feel the pull of the current against his pelt, his heart pounded in terror. the memory of the storm, its dark waters swallowing him whole found a way to claw back to the surface of his mind, leaving him panicked and gasping for breath, drowning in a fear he just couldn't explain.
and the clan had noticed.
the other apprentices whispered behind his back. even when tidewhisker sided by him, stormpaw felt like he was one pawstep away from falling into oblivion.
❝ c'mon stormpaw, ❞ a voice needed from behind the tom—cat, cutting his thoughts aside like a thorn. ❝ if you move that slow, you'll never win a battle, ❞
gullpaw.
stormpaw stiffened and his claws flexed into the sand as he turned to the grey—and—white tom, who's eyes glistened with amusement. gullpaw was stood beside sunnywave, who watched her apprentice with a bored expression as the younger tom lazily swiped at the air.
the two apprentices had been training side by side for the past hour now, focusing on techniques, but it had quickly devolved into gullpaw showing off every chance he got.
❝ you heard tidewhisker — tail down,❞ gullpaw added with a wide smirk, flicking his own tail down to mock stormpaw. ❝ maybe if you focused on training and less on dragging yourself through the surf like a fish out of water, you'd actually stand a chance in a fight, ❞
stormpaw felt his ears burn with embarrassment, his pelt hot beneath the sun. he glared at gullpaw but bit back the retort that rose to his throat. he had learned quickly that arguing only made things worse. besides, what could he say? gullpaw wasn't wrong. every fight they had practiced so far, stormpaw had been slower, clumsier, and constantly off balance. the sandy terrain felt foreign under his paws, the way the ground shifted beneath him making it hard to move with the fluidity the others seemed to master so easily. and it didn't help that gullpaw took every opportunity to highlight his failures.
