Practice Makes Perfect (closed/solo)

Adderpaw stared at the reeds, adjusting his tail for balance quickly like he’d been practicing. He pounced, and his claws made clean contact with the reeds in a satisfying slash. He sat down, satisfied at least for the moment. It wasn’t much, but it had taken him long hours of practice to be able to move even that fast without tripping over his tail or letting it mess up his trajectory and make him hit his claws in a bad spot. He winced, remembering his awkward landing from a little earlier and how he had painfully twisted one of his claws.

He was proud of the effort he’d put in. Or at least, he tried to be proud of it. He was doing fine, he thought to himself. He had gotten pretty good at fighting moves. He should be proud of himself. And yet he still felt like he was completely unready for the world. It was terribly dangerous out there, and anything could happen. That was the fundamental fact that followed him everywhere he went.

Still, in real fights his thoughts reminded him you still aren't going to make it very well on your own.

Well, he countered to himself that’s not particular to me, though. Plenty of other cats would need help...that’s normal. Especially because I’m still training. We don't have to take on the world all on our own...we all need each other.

Yes, he responded to himself again that’s the problem, isn’t it? We need others...but you can’t really trust that others will be there for you when it gets complicated, no, not really, not enough.

But he had to trust others. He had no other choice. He couldn’t do anything by himself. Yet. Yet. He stared back at the reeds. He still felt too slow, too clumsy. He needed more practice. He readied himself again.

It’s not that they’re bad cats, or that I don’t *want* to trust them he decided it’s just that in the end we’re all here to take care of ourselves. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just instinct. We do what we need. We act on our best behavior when we need to, but when it comes down to it…

He claws made contact with the reeds again. It was better this time, but still too slow for his liking. If he were in a one on one fight, he was still sure he’d lose. He took a deep breath. The thoughts kept spinning in his head, and alongside the swirling anxieties the vague outline of his mother, what little he remembered of her, weaved itself among his worries.

He hit the reeds again, faster than before. Better. Not perfect, but better.

But deep down he knew the world was much scarier than a couple of reeds. And he still wasn’t ready to face it.