Twisted

Training

The mouse scuttled out of the shrubbery, oblivious, as I crept towards it. Just one more step... the mouse scampered away as I stepped on the twig. I glared at the twig that had caused my failure. My mentor, Mudscratch, came over.
"Juniperpaw, you've only caught one tiny thrush today. That mouse should have been an easy catch. I've seen you hunt, I know you're better than this," he gestured with his tail to the thrush that I had caught. His eyes softened,"Juniperpaw, what's wrong?"

What's wrong! The nerve of it! Everything's wrong! I want to go to the thunderpath already! The day is too slow...
But what if, what if something went wrong? There could be a badger, or a fox, something could go horribly wrong.

I shook my head to clear my mind from those thoughts.

It'll be all right. It'll be okay. It'll be all right. Nothing will go wrong. And in the end, it'll be worth it. We'll be warriors. It'll just be another exciting apprentice tale to tell, in the end.

"Juniperpaw?" Mudscratch was looking at me weirdly. "You okay?"

I nodded dazedly. "Yes," I replied halfheartedly.

He looked worried, concerned. "Are you sure you're alright?"

I was growing impatient. No need to look at me like I have two heads.
"Yes!" I snapped at him. I instantly regretted it. He looked hurt. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking." I mumbled under my breath. He accepted my apology heartily.

"So," I started, hoping to take his mind off what I said,"Can we train now?"

He looked conflicted. Then his eyes brightened. I hoped that was a yes.
"Only if you promise you'll do better at it than hunting."
I let out a strangled breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding in. "Okay. Where?"

" The Owl Tree, of course."

And with that we headed off to the Owl Tree.

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352 words. Updated 9/28/16