When You Guide Me | Chicorypaw

[Mosspool]

Practice was relaxing to Mosspaw. The rest of the world faded away when she focused only on her own movements to slowly fix every little mistake she found, until she was capable of replicating what her mentor had shown her perfectly and quickly. It was quiet, malicious, and satisfying work. Tiring too, of course. The exhaustion she felt at the end of a long day, however, could never diminish the pride that welled up within her when she finally felt like she had mastered what she had been taught.

That was why she had secluded herself near the edge of camp to run through the same few moves over and over again.

Her clanmates had come to expect this from her by now, and most left her alone. One or two warriors told her in approving tones to keep up the good work, and she only nodded in response. Barely even noticing them though her intense focus.​

 

[CHICORYPAW]

(๑✪ᆺ✪๑) — if there was one thing chicorypaw was bad at, it was focusing. a lot of the time, especially when she's out training with poppysong, she tends to have trouble fully paying attention without some other miniscule thing coming along and snatching it away mid-lesson leaving her to scrambling to remember what was said to her. she also finds it hard to sit still especially when it comes to fishing, everytime she's put to stand by the riverbank and wait for a fish to swim by she ends up feeling fidgety after the first few minutes with the urge to move and it typically results in chicorypaw missing out on a catch.

maybe she just needs a little more guidance and it seems like she already knows who to go to.

"mosspaw! hi mosspaw!" the blue tortie comes prancing across the clearing towards the older apprentice with perked ears and bright eyes. if anyone was to give her some pointers, besides her own mentor, it would definitely be an older apprentice specially one like mosspaw who seems to have this whole training thing down to a tee. "can you teach me how to stay in the zone like you do? i feel like no matter how hard i try i just can't do it! pleeeease?" chicorypaw tries to muster up the best kitten eyes she could as she pleads.

; im so sorry this reply is late !!!​

 

[Mosspool]

"Hello." Mosspaw returned the greeting, not even bothering to stop her practice or even glance over. one of the worst feelings in the world was having to stop before she felt like she had gotten a move right. She knew she could always come back to it later, but stopping right in the middle bothered her in a way that she could not quite put into words.

It was impolite of her though, even if she did not mean it to be.

When she heard Chicorypaw's question though, she blinked, then finally stopped her practice to look at the other apprentice properly. Her ability to "stay in the zone" had always come naturally to her. She had never had to consider how she did it. Honestly, it was harder not to do it. It was an interesting question. More than that though, it just felt nice to have another apprentice asking her for her help. It made her feel closer to being a warrior. Advising a fellow apprentice was a serious task, she reasoned, she wanted to give the question enough attention that she could be certain she got the answer right.

For a moment she considered Chicorypaw. Perhaps the best place to start was by diagnosing the problem. "What stops you from "staying in the zone"?" She asked.​

 

[CHICORYPAW]

(๑✪ᆺ✪๑) — a contemplative look washes over the younger apprentice for a moment as she dips metephorical paws into her vault of memories to pluck out all the times she's gotten distracted during a patrol trip or training session to see who or what is responsible for always veering her off course. "am i allowed to say everything because i think it's everything—" she responds, pale green eyes blinking somewhat sheepishly towards mosspaw.

"like sometimes when i sit for too long waiting for fish to swim by i get all fidgety, like i need to start moving or else i'll probably die or something!" chicorypaw is obviously exaggerating the last part but it certainly feels like that sometimes. "there's also moments where poppysong is trying to teach me something and i promise i listen or atleast i'm trying to but something comes along and completely derails my thoughts and suddenly i'm missing like...half of what she just told me!"she adds on, brows furrowing just for a little bit before lulling her head to the side. "do you think i'm gonna grow up to be a bad warrior because of this?"​

 

[Mosspool]

Mosspaw gave the other apprentice a curious look when she claimed it was "everything" that ruined her focus. Now there was a strange answer. "Please explain." She said, clearly intrigued as she sat to listen, wrapping her tail around her paws. As Chicorypaw spoke, her head tilted thoughtfully. As she had suspected, she had no familiarity with the feeling being described to her. The closest she had come was when her mentor had asked decided to move on from practicing a move that she had wished to keep practicing, and she had not been able to stop thinking about that move for the rest of the day, but that was nowhere near as persistent a problem as what was being described.

"Do you think I'm gonna grow up to be a bad warrior because of this?"

"Potentially." Mosspaw admitted bluntly. The tenancies Chicorypaw described were worrying, and she was not about to lie after being asked for her honest advice. "But the fact that you have sought advice on fixing this problem is a sign that you will not grow up to be a bad warrior." Her sister Hazepaw came to mind as she spoke. They never seemed to seek to change their ways, no matter how many times they were told what they had done wrong.

"The first step to fixing a problem is identifying it." She stated certainly, reciting a lesson she had been taught long ago.​

 

[CHICORYPAW]

*:･ﾟ (^˵◕ω◕˵^) "potentially."

such a forthright answer has chicorypaw wincing a little, ears falling slightly closer to her crown. as carefree as the apprentice is, the idea of being held back because of her inability to a focus makes her feel a bit worried that she'll never be able to achieve proper warriorhood. a paw scuffs at the ground for a moment before mosspaw begins to speak, assuring chicorypaw that seeking out advice is good first step. "oh! okay, problem is identified then!" she chirps, seemingly regaining her pep once again and then there's a small stretch of silence that passes between the two. "uhm, so how do i fix it? what do you usually do? maybe i'll learn better if i take notes from you!"

* ˚ CHANT THIS CHARM (♥) YOU'LL FEEL SO GOOD ˚ *

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• perhaps larger reference added here?
  
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  ━━━ chicorypaw
  ━━━ 5 moons.
  ━━━ she/her ; apprentice of riverclan.
  ━━━ pansexual poly ; single & oblivious.
  ━━━ lh blue tortoiseshell w/ low white
  ━━━ "speech" • 'thoughts' • attack
  ━━━ penned by cobatic
  ━━━ art by cobi
  
  
  

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