[♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟]

Hell raising, hair raising I'm ready for the worst Birchpaw woke in the middle of the night with his fur prickling along his spine. His mother once told him that when you shudder for seemingly no reason, it meant a cat was trodding on the patch of ground that would one day be your grave. Shaking the memory of his mother's superstitions from his thoughts, Birchpaw instead glanced balefully at the snoring apprentice who seemed to rock the den with her rumbling. His eyes flicked towards the den entrance, wondering if- Two large golden eyes stared at him, glowing in the darkness. Birchpaw let out an alarmed squeak and leaped to his paws, fur bristling. The face slowly came into focus, and with a jolt of embarrassment the tom realized that it was his mentor who peered into the den, not some beastly tiger or fox. "Birchpaw." The gruff voice heralded him. "Yes?" His own voice was high-pitched with fright, a pathetic start if he was going to convince Tawnybelly that he wasn't entirely useless. A late night visit from his mentor meant only one thing, and Birchpaw felt dread prick at his paws. Birchpaw slid out of the den, not wanting to wake his denmates from their much-envied sleep. "We are going to do some much needed training." The huge tom grunted. Birchpaw had expected as much, so this didn't come as much of a shock. What did come as a shock was the next sentence. "Don't think I forgot your embarrassment out there with the trees. I want your climbing to be perfect and I won't let you sleep until that's the case." His heart leaped into his throat. His paws felt rooted to the spot, and Birchpaw was sure he felt a sweat break out on his pads. LightningClan cats were not climbers, but that mattered very little to Tawnybelly. His mentor was determined that he overcome every fear he had, and would probably have him swim in the river if he were afraid of drowning. "Y-yes, Tawnybelly. Are w-we starting tomorrow? Dawn?" In his naivity, he didn't realize that Tawnybelly meant they were going out to practice climbing now. At night. In the dark. He noticed that flash in the great tabby's eyes, and shame prickled through him from his toes to the tip of his tail. Birchpaw wanted desperately to see that same pride that Tawnybelly expressed when he looked at Gustpaw. He wanted his mentor to tell him he was wrong. That Birchpaw wasn't pathetic, he wasn't a coward. But how could that ever happen, when Birchpaw believed it so strongly already? His amber eyes glowed yellow in the darkness, a reminder that he was born to be a predator, a hunter in the darkness. Something that didn't flinch when mouse blood spattered his muzzle, didn't blink when a rabbit squeaked for mercy. He wasn't that cat right now. "No, Birchpaw. Now." His mentor growled, as if he were annoyed that Birchpaw hadn't caught on quickly enough. It felt as if he had been kicked in the chest. His breath left him all at once, and he glanced back at the apprentice's den as though hoping his friends would wake up and save him. Unable to think of a single word to say to try and deter Tawnybelly, make him change his mind without clouting Birchpaw over the head for whining,  he scuttled after the larger tom, finding it much more difficult to keep up with him on his shorter legs. The open hillside of LightningClan territory stretched before them. It was so different in the dark. In the day, the beautiful greenish gold hills were swathed with vivid and colourful flowers. The purple of heather, the yellow of marigold, the red of the poppy and the dazzling white daisies dotted among them. Now, the flowers were still there, but the darkness seemed to steal away their beauty. In fact, the darkness made it so that it was difficult to see them at all, unless you looked closely. Their absence made the rolling meadows look ugly and barren. A few lonely trees dotted here and there across the territory, but most of them were small and sad-looking. Hoping Tawnybelly would let him climb one of those, he stared at them as the two passed. But no, they kept walking. Birchpaw felt his worry expand when he realized where they were going. The very same tree that he'd been stuck in for many hours the first time Tawnybelly had made him climb to that height. The one in the open woods. He stared up at the looming branches with a knot forming in his stomach. It was dark, how in he name of StarClan would he be able to climb that thing? Besides, he was a LightningClan cat. He was built for running, for speed, for... He blinked nervously at Tawnybelly, waiting for him to speak. "Birchpaw. Fear comes from thinking. Sure, there is nothing wrong with a little thought but if you think too much, you'll just be a slave to your anxiety." Birchpaw perked his ears, for once taking in what his mentor was telling him. Mostly because this time, it sounded like advice rather than mockery. "Just climb, don't look down, and don't think too much." Birchpaw lifted his eyes to the shadowed branches. Could he really do that? "True, strong warriors don't fear. That's why I will vanquish all your insecurities and you will make it all the way to the top. Literally." And really, Birchpaw wanted that. The thought of not being so afraid anymore made his heartbeat quicken. He wanted to be brave. But cats like Tawnybelly made it look so easy. The small tom closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded. A determined look crossing his face, Birchpaw unsheathed his claws and scrambled up the trunk, digging his claws into the bark. You're named after a tree. You'll be fine. He told himself. Birchpaw scrambled onto the first branch, shutting his eyes against the swaying height. This was the very lowest branch, and already a tremble was shuddering through his pelt. Come on, come on... don't think, don't think. He repeated to himself again and again, forcing his eyes open. He felt Tawnybelly's eyes on him despite the fact that his mentor had seemingly disappeared. Birchpaw dug his claws into the bark again, ready to scramble to the next branch. He lifted his glowing gaze upward, trying to find somewhere he could get a good clawhold. He held his breath as he scrambled up the trunk to the next branch. He almost overbalanced and fell, letting out a yelp as he sank his claws into the branch beneath him when it bobbed dangerously. This was going to take all night! And how was he going to get down? Dots sparked in front of his eyes, and his breaths already became shallow. The ground seemed so distant even though he couldn't be even halfway there yet, and he could imagine what it would feel like to plummet that great distance to the ground and crack his small head off a rock. Heart thumping so fast he was sure it would implode, Birchpaw forgot his previous conviction to not think. "Birchpaw..." The gruff voice came from below, and when he fixed his bleary eyes on his tabby mentor he realised that those huge claws were sunk into the trunk of the tree. "If I catch up to you, then you'll have more than a tree to be scared of." Alarm flared in Birchpaw's eyes, adrenalin yanking him out of his panic. Without another thought, Birchpaw hurled himself to the nearest branch above him, scrabbling to get ahold of the wood. The second he hauled his weight onto it, he sprang for the next one. Tawnybelly's weight made the tree shake beneath Birchpaw's pads. His thoughts whirled with terror as he scrambled up the trunk like a squirrel. His mentor climbed after him with all the savage intent of a hunter tearing after prey. A snarl came from below, and Birchpaw could feel himself going cold with panic. His mentor was not a cat to contend with, and he didn't have the faintest idea of what he planned to do when he caught up with him. Higher and higher he hauled himself into the tree, until the branches beneath him were so slender even they began to strain under his weight. Here he stopped, the rustle of the leaves masking his harsh panting as he dug his claws into the bark to steady himself. He could not see Tawnybelly below him, but he had the sense that his mentor was there, watching with a grim pleasure in his eyes. "You made it to the top." The tom rumbled from below, not sounding too far behind him. He can't come up here, he's too heavy. Birchpaw realised with a huge surge of relief. "Now," His mentor growled. "You'll have to get down." Birchpaw tried to peer through the branches, feeling sick to his stomach as his blurred vision took in the distance from himself to the ground. He shivered, screwing his eyes shut. "I can't!" He blurted out, feeling very much like a kit. "It's too high- it's... LightningClan cats aren't meant to climb for a reason- I-I'm small, I'll be killed, I'll..." Tawnybelly's snarl of displeasure interrupted his mewling. "A true warrior should be capable of more than just running at speed!" He snapped. "You must have the courage to go outside your comfort zone, to risk your life for the wellbeing of your Clan!" Birchpaw was still shaking, sucking in heaving breaths in an attempt to silence his anxiety. "Please, Tawnybelly. Please. Help me down. I promise I'll try harder. I promise I'll be brave." He sobbed. "Just please, h-help me." There was a long, cold silence. Then, a final sigh. "Help yourself, Birchpaw." And the sound of a cat scrambling down from the tree. Birchpaw almost wailed out loud, but he had lost his voice. "Please- Please don't..." But his mentor had gone. There was no-one there to hear his pleas. He clung to the branch, terrified, ashamed, hating Tawnybelly, hating himself, hating his fear, hating his denmates for not waking up and saving him, hating everything. The stars glittered coldly down into the sparse forest and through the leaves that half-sheltered Birchpaw from the wind. He stayed in that tree for the rest of the night. words: 1,740 BIRCHPAW