He was nervous, similar to how he usually was with new faces. Was he that much trouble that the clan had to look outwards to find him a mentor, just for the safety of his own clan? At least Lynxstar wasn't dumping him on the border again. Acornpaw's nerves were beginning to get to him, causing his peach-like fuzz of a coat to bristle as uncontrolled electricity crackled and leaped between individual cream hairs. This stranger was a ShadowClanner- what if he was just taking him away to camp to eat him? What if Acornpaw truly was a lost cause, and was doomed to suffer the consequences of consumption through a slow yet agonizing death?

The little tom's eyes were so round that their whites were visible, and they darted upwards towards the cloudy sky that was mottled with branches and leaves from the oaks of Oak Hill. As a kitten, the queens always told him to avoid hills and trees in the event of a lightning storm, but now...well, this crazy tom had him on a hill surrounded by plenty tall trees. When Eelchaser spoke, Acornpaw's frightened gaze floated towards his new mentor, and he nodded a slow, hesitant nod in response. I'm going to die!!

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The little furball couldn't resist a small jump from surprise when the warrior verbally exploded with enthusiasm about training. Acornpaw audibly gulped when Eelchaser mentioned "blasting off" RiverClan cats. The fish-eaters weren't all that mean, correct? The way his mentor spoke caused a picture to be painted in the back of the apprentice's imagination, one of a rabid-like feline with jagged teeth and ruffled fur, a cat that never asked for mercy. War sounds scary... The cream tom thought to himself as he shifted back and forth from paw to paw.

He was glad to move away from the concept of fighting, and perked his ears in interest when Eelchaser began to explain his background. Oh- Acornpaw loved stories! He hoped it'd be a good one, full of somewhat peaceful heroism and unexpected adventure and- oh? He was from ShadowClan? He thought the shadow-cloaked warriors were nothing more than stinky badgers, but he couldn't resist to scoot a little closer (despite the small sparks of electricity jumping from his soft fur) so that he could hear the warrior better, and hopefully feel his excitement.

"Eelchaser" was definitely a cool name, but Acornpaw, on the other paw...well, he seemed as harmless as a butterfly. But, that was accurate- he was somewhat of a mouseheart. "...I'll probably end up being something like 'Acornwatcher', because I'm useless." If I ever get to make it to warriorhood, that is... The pastel apprentice bowed his head shamefully. He drew in a deep breath when he realized that it was his turn. His lifestory probably sounded pathetic in comparison to Eelchaser's song of bravery. "...I-I don't know about my life all that much. I know I wasn't wanted...I know that -fur isn't my mother, she adopted me and Fogpaw. I love my brother a lot- he's very cool and very brave, I wish I could be like him. I-I have a...a rabbit stub for a tail. It's really embarrassing. That's all I really know."

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If they wanted to protect me, why would they have left me on the border to be fox-food? The cream tom thought with a small frown, his eyes darting to his paws as he began to shuffle them back and forth. He was grateful that he at least still had his brother, but from time to time, he still pondered the mysteries of his own birth. Had it always just been him and Fogpaw, or had there been other kits? Were they alive and well, or...had a fox gotten them, as potentially planned by their birthmother? Would he ever see his parents at a gathering, without knowing that it was ever them? Or...was his parents there in ThunderClan all along, hiding their shame? I'd be ashamed of me, too... His frown deepened at the thought.

He was curious, then, of what defined a storm element name. Clearly, 'Acorn' wasn't a suitable prefix, but maybe his adopted mother had only hoped that he'd turn out to be an earth element, rather than a hybrid. Well, he got the short end of that stick. Fogpaw's named seemed much more suitable of a storm element. Maybe their adopted mother had confused them and accidentally swapped the name. "Well...wh-what would be a storm element name?" Acornpaw asked shyly once curiosity got the best of him.

The apprentice was doing his best to change the subject, to avoid the matter at hand. He did not want to try and practice with his storm element because he was scared, scared of himself and the thing that he was incapable of controlling. What if he hurt someone, or made the forest start on fire by accident. Then, ThunderClan would have to chase him out for sure! Lynxstar was terrifying, and Acornpaw doubted that he was quick to forgive.

Yet, they had come out to train, and there seemed to be no avoiding that any further. He had gone on for some time without proper training, and so if he didn't get started soon...there would be no turning back. He'd die a violent death. Trembling underneath his thick cream fur, Acornpaw tried to focus on one of the trees that stood on the horizon. Yet, still his worries got the best of him and his coat sparked uncontrollably. "I-I can't do it!"

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The boom of the mentor's laugh made the skittish apprentice flinch, as if the ground was about to open up and swallow him whole. Why did he have to get the scary guy? Couldn't one of the sweet, old elders be his storm-element mentor? Couldn't he have just...gotten a normal element, like his brother? Why did StarClan have to spite him so? First my parents abandoned me, and now my ancestors as well... He wished that he could just will his element away, that he could just be a regular cat with no powers in their paws. The cats of the past were probably happy that way. Everyone was the same, nobody was special, nobody was a four-legged explosive hazard to their clanmates.

Maybe he'd be better fit as one of those kittypets, the lazy cats that grew fat by sleeping by the feet of twolegs. He heard about them in stories before. Cats laughed at them, mocked them for being cowards, but...at least they had peace in their lives, right? I couldn't even do that right... Acornpaw whined to himself as Eelchaser continued to give him a rather grim motivational talk. ...I would accidentally fry and murder my own twolegs. No wonder they aren't around anymore...

Zapping? Frying things? Burning down the forest? It was all getting over his head, causing the cream tom's heart to race uncontrollably. He parted his jaws as he began to pant out of nerves, until Eelchaser exploded one more time with an attempt to be inspirational for the stub-tailed apprentice.

"So go on, then! Start the training!"

"B-But I'm trying!" The sensitive apprentice wailed as his emotions got the best of him. The sporadic sparks that crackled from his short coat seemed to intensify, catching nearby leaflitter ablaze. Acornpaw had willed his eyes shut at this point, feeling a sharp sensation of pain streak throughout his body. It hurt. Why did StarClan do this to him? Why did they curse him? "Eelchaser, it hurts! Make it stop!"

Before he could cry much else, there was a thunderous explosion of electricity, and Acornpaw found his world going black.

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