When the stoic voice of an adult tom rang out, the cream apprentice shifted quickly, almost as if to hide his rumpy-manx tail, arching his back so that he could completely sit on the portion of his rump with where his tail should have been. There was no denying that he was breaking a small handful of rules that applied strictly to apprentices, so he wasn't going to be argue otherwise. But then again, Acornpaw was never one for worshiping rules as if they were StarClan- he was much more causal in his approach to life. Clingy, with no appreciation of personal space, and far too self-conscious for his own well-being. Not to mention, he wasn't particularly motivated to be a warrior, it meant that his childhood would be over with, and his powers...

...who was to say that he'd even make it that far in life?

"I-I didn't mean to cause any trouble, sir..." With his brows furrowed to express his concern, Acornpaw's pale gaze shifted to his paws. "I just...feel bad about giving everyone a static shock. Camp's so busy during mid-day, and so everyone gets too close and I rub past them, and-" He was talking so fast because his chest was growing so tight from his sudden on-set anxiety, like all the air was being squeezed from his lungs. The apprentice paused to take in a deep breath, so that he could finally finish his sentence. "...it's just so hard." Why did StarClan make him so different? So emotional?

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He sniffled a little bit, trying to hide the fact that he felt horrible about going against authority, because he was weak and honestly a huge baby. "I-I didn't mean to be gone long, honest." In reality, Acornpaw didn't really think that anyone would notice his sudden disappearance, or better yet, care that he had taken a temporary leave from camp. He continued to stare hard at the frigid water for several moments, until he noticed the warrior digging in the hard earth and had his attention stolen elsewhere.

He was surprised to have the warrior drop the mouse at his paws. Admittedly, the apprentice was starving- he had been thinking more so about how upset he was, and not about the fact that he'd gone and skipped breakfast. Now more than ever, he felt like eating his feelings away, so he was going to happily oblige. However, upon noticing that Soft-tail had chosen to seat himself next to the apprentice (while simultaneously feeling his static-charged hairs rise), Acornpaw naturally scooted a small distance away, to avoid frying the cat that was trying to be his friend. It'd be rude to shock him. "...Thanks." The creamsicle tom squeaked.

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Acornpaw had always admired the work of the earth elements, with how they were capable of producing life at the flick of a tail, rather than destroying it with a simple wave of their paws. The latter was a perfect representation of the apprentice's case. He knew that consumption was on the horizon, that he was bound to suffer from a most slow and horrible death that none could save him from. There were very, very few storm elements that he had ever heard of, and both hailed from RiverClan. ThunderClan would never seek aid from them, and quite frankly, Acornpaw didn't want to live with a bunch of cats that stank of fish. His nose was sensitive.

The fuzzy feline continued to slowly devour his meal, savoring its flavor while attentively listening to the young warrior's story. He wished that StarClan had given him earth instead of storm, he really liked flowers. "At least you get to smell good, like flowers and fruity things." Acornpaw voiced up before shyly glancing in the other direction, feeling as if he might have offended Soft-tail. However, the hope of a potential life-saving solution caused him to perk his ears up once more. There was a chance? "What did you do, Mr. Soft-tail?"

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The peacefulness that the earth elements carried suddenly took a dark and twisted turn. He never really imagined that creating flowers from nothing could cause a cat intense pain. When he thought about it, it was probably possible for an untrained earth element to cut off their own circulation and ultimately lose a limb. Acornpaw cringed inwardly at the thought, but made no comment of it as he politely listened to the warrior's example and later his suggestion. "It's really hard, sir," he finally started up in a squeaky protest, "the static likes to travel all over, and my fuzzy fur doesn't help. It's...it's kinda like honey, how it sticks to everything." It was a strange way to describe it, but it was the only illustration Acornpaw could think of that Soft-tail could possibly relate to.

However, his words of enthusiasm did spark a little pride on the shameful apprentice's heart. ThunderClan...he was from ThunderClan and only he could control the thunder with his paws! Well, perhaps not control it, not yet, but he could still wield it. "I guess I am what ThunderClan is named after." He couldn't help but to blush awkwardly at the realization.

The apprentice didn't want to at all be destructive like Soft-tail may or may not have been suggesting, he found it incredible that his clanmates could completely heal an annihilated forest. But maybe he secretly had healing properties, too? After all, his element was one scarcely known, but perhaps it was better that way. "Thank you, Mr. Soft-tail. I think I feel better now." The mouse was gone, and he did have a few tufts of bloody rodent fur stuck to the corners of his grin, but his smile was ear-to-ear and his eyes round with admiration for the inspirational warrior.

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