Acornpaw didn't sit still the entire time.

He didn't like being the center attention, not with his inability to control his powers and lack of a proper tail. The stub that was attached to his rear- it was outright embarrassing. He already stuck out like a sore thumb, so why did StarClan have to curse him further with that poor excuse of a tail? The cream apprentice shifted left and right, doing what he could to sit in a way that hid his stubby tail.

The booming voice of Lynxstar made the fuzzy-furred tom flinch. Oh StarClan- did he really make it? He hadn't died from consumption yet, but...he was becoming a warrior with his brother, right? He didn't want to get left behind...not when Fogpaw was all that he had left. He feared that his ears would only be graced with the warrior name of Fogpaw, and not a new name of his own.

His brother looked so much more composed. Fogpaw was so cool- why couldn't Acornpaw be that capable? Why couldn't he have a normal element, that didn't essentially require the hiring of some cat from some ShadowClan. He was that untrainable...so untrainable that ThunderClan had to go out of its way. The more nervous Acornpaw grew, the more sparks his pelt spewed. At this rate, Fogpaw was probably used to it. But his clanmates...

Oh, it was an endless circle!

The more nervous he grew, the more sparks he produced. The more sparks he produced...the more awful he felt. Acornpaw bit his lip as he grew more and more self-conscious. All of ThunderClan were looking at them, watching them, judging them. Vixenleap especially, oh stars...but how could they not stare? They were stubby-tailed cats with no acting father, and no biological mother to claim them as their own. And their step-mother? Dead.

"C-Congrats..." Acornpaw spoke shakily to his brother when he heard Fogpaw - no, Fogheart's- new name. He sounded like a balloon slowly losing its air when he pitifully mewed at his brother. At that moment, he thought it was over. It was time to sulk back to the apprentice's den.

...

...Acorncloud? He...he made it?

Blaze