[open] Shed a Little Light

Naturally, Goldenpaw was the first to volunteer - likely just so that she could get it done and over with. Whatever it took. Barleytuft nodded with approval. "Go right ahead," he rumbled softly, turning to watch her approach the upturned earth. Her first pawstep sank in with a small puff of dirt as expected, and she gasped. "It's alright; we're right here. Nothing will happen to you with all of us here." The she-cat gathered her resolve and continued on further. She covered less area and sank a bit deeper than Barleytuft had; his only concern was from feeling the anxiety radiating off his loved one's pelt.

The small tabby she-cat had waded towards the center of the depression. "Look how far you've got, Goldenpaw! You're doing well," he called reassuringly. Her voice asked nervously how to turn back around to him. Her movements seemed odd, then, and for a second Barleytuft could tell she was panicking. She recovered herself quickly, but she had retained his lesson that movement could stir the earth around and make it more loose.

Beside him, Baypaw sensed his denmate's panic, and the small tabby tom asked if they should get her out. "Patience, Baypaw; I promise we won't leave anyone in there," Barleytuft responded. "That's what we're here for." The warrior then turned his attention back to Goldenpaw and began to skirt around the edge of the depression to the other side that she was facing, assuring her along the way, "We can work on navigating loose dirt another time; you can simply continue going straight. This time.

"Remember what I taught you," he reminded. "Try to flatten yourself out so you can stretch out over the dirt and start crawling towards us. We're right here to grab your scruff as soon as you're near the edge. You're doing great." He flicked his tail to beckon Baypaw to join him on the other side of the depression, ready to grasp Goldenpaw.

A small boost of confidence encouraged her as she stayed still, waiting for instructions after his encouragement. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a figure, and turning her head slightly recognized Barleytuft skirting the edge to wait at the far side. Navigate loose dirt another time, just go straight. Just go straight. That shouldn't be too hard, right? It was the same thing she'd done the whole time, after all. Just one paw in front of the other. Was dirt always this heavy? She tried to stretch on her toes, forcing her belly to the surface of the dirt instead of under. Once she was balanced she pulled her forepaws out of the dirt one at a time, splaying them in front of her over the earth as Barleytuft had done. Her eyes locked onto her father's then, staring at him as she slowly wriggled forward over the dirt, twisting back and forth as she felt the dirt's grip loosening on her hind legs. Before long, she felt air at her pads and looked back to see that they too were now on the dirt.

There was a fresh, slightly deeper depression where she had just been, and it wasn't long before she was moving again, carefully wiggling side to side, using her forepaws to try to keep her steered in the right direction. Her ears were flat against her head, and at a couple points she felt her hindlegs starting to sink behind her. The first time she wriggled faster, which only made her sink more, so she stopped. Taking a deep breath, she slowly dig what she had to begin with, and slowly continued her journey over the dirt until she was almost to the edge, her shoulders aching with the effort of wriggling for such a distance. Catching her father's gaze again, she gave an exhausted smile. "Hiya, daddy. I made it." She relaxed slightly as she waited for the jaws to close around her scruff and finish hauling her out, looking forward to feeling solid ground once again.

The senior warrior never would have thought that a simple belly-crawl through a pit of dirt could be so nerve-racking, especially when he knew there was no true danger involved. Watching Goldenpaw's slight frame struggling over the earth and seeing the faint panic in her eyes made his heart ache. She was strong and determined, though; this was better than hiding away from the danger. The significance of her struggle was not lost on Barleytuft. They both knew the consequences of failing to learn. They needed to learn to conquer it. Barleytuft felt himself nodding vigorously with encouragement at her as she made her way to the edge at his instruction.

"You're doing amazing, Goldenpaw, just a little farther," the creamy tabby encouraged when she was nearly within reach. Barleytuft glanced quickly between his daughter and his own paws, trying to find how far he could lean out to grab her.

One last heave and Goldenpaw was within reach; she knew it as soon as he did. "Hiya, daddy," her sweet voice, full of love, panted, "I made it." The warrior was immediately reaching out with his teeth to grasp onto the she-cat's tawny scruff. He grasped firmly and carefully and leaned steadily back, helping to heave his beloved daughter back onto solid ground. Immediately Barleytuft had pulled his daughter into his embrace and nuzzled her face and ears rapidly and affectionately. "I'm so proud of you, Goldenpaw; you did wonderfully." His heart ached, and he touched his nose to Goldenpaw's before backing away, giving her a meaningful smile. One less way I can lose you, StarClan willing.

Baypaw looked nervously at the depression as he was to go into it and climb out of it. For one, the hole had gotten bigger since the two older cats had climbed into it. He turned his head towards Barleytuft and Goldenpaw. "Hey Barleytuft, can you tell me how to get in and out of that hole without you know... Creating a bigger hole and then dying?" In all the panic from the older apprentice, the cream colored tabby kind of forgot everything the senior warrior had said about the depression in the ground. 

Goldenpaw felt herself be lifted out of the sucking earth by strong, powerful jaws. She hadn't been lifted like this in moons, since she was merely a kit. Once free from the suction of the dirt, she pressed the top of her head against her father's jaw as he embraced her, and touched his nose to hers. Her eyes were bright with her success, and after a few heavy breaths she shuffled to her paws as Baypaw approached the edge and looked at it carefully. He asked for a reminder on what to do, and she flinched at the way the younger apprentice had worded it. "It's not so bad, once you get the hang of it, really. You don't have to worry about that here." She reassured the younger tom gently before letting her father explain again, she had limited knowledge so she hesitated trying to share.

Barleytuft was grateful for Goldenpaw's strength and bravery, always. He watched her step away to join her fellow apprentice, examining Baypaw and the source of his clear trepidation. The senior warrior gazed at him as well, listening intently to his question. When the young tom finished it so morbidly, Barleytuft frowned slightly and made a soft, sympathetic chirp sound. Before he could say anything, however, Goldenpaw informed him reassuringly that it really wasn't so bad, and that he'd be alright.

The cream tabby moved to the smaller tom's side and rested his tail comfortingly over Baypaw's haunches. "It's natural for the earth to shift at the edges where we've been pawing all over it," Barleytuft explained, "and your caution is good; don't let caution become fear and you'll never be caught off guard."

Taking a deep breath, Barleytuft then explained, "You'll do just what Goldenpaw and I did; waddle through like you're a kit. There's no risk of sinking through here because there's no room for anything to sink down. It's already all packed. If anything happens and you think it's too much, Goldenpaw and I are right here to help." The tom's dark hazel eyes shown with a fatherly love and wisdom as he smiled, looking between Baypaw and his daughter. He said in a confident, assuring voice, "I was granted the wisdom of StarClan, and so StarClan is with me always. So long as I share the blessing, then StarClan will be with you as well. I will do everything to protect you from danger."

Goldenpaw smiled up at her father as he encouraged the other apprentice, preparing to move to the far side of the collapsed tunnel to aid Baypaw when he reached it. Now that she had a better idea of both sides of the situation, her confidence in herself and her ability to help had increased. Barleytuft had done a wonderful job, and as she waited for Baypaw to take his first sinking steps she brushed against her father's pelt once more, eyes shining with love and appreciation.

Rabbitpaw, though he was willing, kept a healthy distance away from the hole that seemed to swallow cats easily into unknown depths. Though he understood that Barleytuft had been blessed by their ancestors with this knowledge, it didn't make the idea of crawling into these tunnels any less daunting. If he fell into one of these holes and never came out, he doubted StarClan would pluck themselves out of their airy perch in the sky to help him, and he only this one life available. Gruffly, he murmured to his fellow apprentice. "Good luck, Baypaw."

He was most certainly not looking forward to his turn in the caverns.