Great. And just when Lostpaw was away. Whiteheart grimaced at Lynxshade's grand announcement. Pick. A. Clanmate. The phrase resounded through the tom's mind. He reluctantly scooted closer to Foxstrike. Lick him you idiot! He told himself, yet his body refused to move another inch. This was completely embarrassing. Whiteheart leaned over and began to roughly lick the other cat's fur the wrong way (well, the right way I'm terms of what they were instructed to do... right?) . The rougher the better, the warrior supposed.
[Open]
The Queen of Mean silently padded over to the commotion in the camp. Her tattered ears already drifted down to press against her head as Lynxshade called the clan for swimming. Swimming... when leafbare was right around the corner? What in the world made her think that this was a good idea?!
Dawnstar gave a low growl of disapproval. Elmshadow was going to his den filled with cats with either green cough or worse. Although Dawnstar was all for the clan learning new things, she preferred it when the weather was fitting. She was debating on making Lynxshade shut the whole event down and rescheduling this during a warmer season.
These were the days she wondered if she was being over-paranoid. No one else seemed particularly troubled by the weather... as much as she didn't like it at all, Dawnstar settled on letting this play out. She could always tear off Lynxshade's head if there was an increase in sickness after the event.
Larkfire
She/Her | The Wraith Shadow Fiend & Beefed Up (T1) Purrk
Under regular circumstances, the young enforcer would have been satiated to watch this event play out from afar, content to stay behind with Sleepykit. Skies knew, the kit needed a whole lot more attention than Larkfire could offer. She had learned how to swim long ago, under less-than-pleasant conditions, mind you, but had she not seen the scarred, bulky shape of her mother trailing after the group of ShadowClanners heading out behind Lynxshade, Larkfire wouldn't have joined in.
So of course, when she did see Dawnstar. . . it was safe to say that the lithe grey feline could only spare her own daughter an apologetic look, one that conveyed a silent promise all in it's own, and then rise from her spot to shadow her mother. If Dawnstar was going to attempt swimming - did the shadow leader know how to swim? lark had never asked - then Larkfire wouldn't just sit idly by.
"Why so blue?" She asked when she'd caught up, not really expecting a response. It was more of a way to alert the scarred tabby of Larkfire's presence. Dawnstar's strides were far larger than her own, but Larkfire was used to accompanying bigger cats, and a quickening of her pace was sufficient to keep up. She canted her head to the side, amber gaze flitting to Lynxshade. "If anyone gets sick because of this, just assign her to fetching all the herbs Elmshadow needs." Elmshadow could use the help, as far as Larkfire knew. It'd been a while since Ivysnake had been murdered by those ThunderClanners.
Eh. Frankly, Larkfire knew nothing when it came to ShadowClan's dark medic. The tom was so reserved and drawn-back, half the time it was Cougarivy who spoke on both of their behalf's. Ears pricking, the grey-furred feline glanced sideways at Dawnstar once more. "You know how to swim?"
Darkcloud
Shadowclan warrrior
Purrks: Just a scratch and Shadow fiend(both inactive)
Despite her biased dislike of Lyxshade she did listen, afterall, it was no use getting injured be ause listening to warnings wasn't you're fancy. However, Darkcloud found herself cringing inwardly at the thought of being touched, let alone licked, by another cat. She hated physical touch even if the cat was her clanmate, but...she'd supposed she'd have to put up with it to avoid looking like a whiny drama queen.
Silently, the dark she-cat got to her paws and started following the rest of the group, purposely slower her pace so she'd stay near the back so she'd be able to refrain from socialising for a while. Only then did she notice her leader had joined and she felt a tiny spark of excitement in her chest. Dawnstar didn't seem to like Lyxshade and something was bound to go wrong so the warrior would get punished, how amusing. Well that was something to look forward to.
@Rose
Dawnstar scowled worsen as Lynxshade took to comparing ShadowClan to RiverClan. The molly's comparison only increased the leader's already troubling opinion about her. Even though she acknowledged the terrible weather for this, Dawnstar found Lynxshade's prevention from catching an illness to be sorely lacking.
She tuned out the rest of what Lynxshade was saying in favor of acknowledging her daughter as she strolled over to her side. Even though there was nothing visible that changed, Dawnstar was quite pleased to see Larkfire. The molly was slowly growing on her the same way Sleepykit was.
The two both had calmer demeanors and although Larkfire was a bit softer than Dawnstar would have wanted in her daughter, the leader could overlook it in favor of Larkfire's dedication and unwavering determination. Unlike Dawnstar's other adopted kits, Larkfire had a steadfast fire to her that so far hadn't been dimmed or doused. She reminded her of Ivysnake in her own little way.
The Clan leader, silently noticing the differences in strides, did slow her pace as she followed the rest of the group to Sunkissed Creek. At least the territory was getting put to use. "Pfft, if the cats get sick I'll need more than one mere mousebrain to go and fetch herbs to combat the illness. But I suppose it's not a bad idea to make her restock whatever herbs are used alone." Dawnstar grunted. She paused, ears twitching as she heard something rustling in a nearby thornbush. Pausing she veered off the path to the creek, diving into the bush, and returned a moment later with a small rabbit in her maw.
"I can stay afloat if that counts as swimming." Dawnstar said, after burying the rabbit and returning to her daughter's side. "I haven't the time nor energy to actively practice, but no longer worry about drowning. I've yet to work on how to actually move through the water without splashing." She licked her muzzle, noticing the sting of scratches where thorns had brushed against them, and carefully shook off some stray brambles stuck in her thick pelt. The leader paused again, licking at her front paw, and tried yanking out a thorn stuck in the pad. After the third attempt, she gave up. It felt more like an itch than actual pain in her paw so she figured she could work it out while watching her clanmates avoid drowning themselves.
"What of you? You can swim, if I recall correctly?" Dawnstar asked, taking a seat as they reached Sunkissed, eyes dancing between Larkfire and the water ahead of them.
EDITED:Please keep posting here as if we're going to Sunkissed Creek, but do remain in this thread!
Optional prompt: rumors spread about another swimming competition taking place in Riverclan reaching the border. Will you give the challenge up because of the cold weather, or try and swim in the shallow waters of Sunkissed Creek?
*-SlugBelly-*
he/him || 36moons || no purrks pale ginger tom with patches of darker ginger and cream “pants”
Sunskissed creek? Stars, what had Slugbelly gotten himself into? The idea of being soaked to the bone wasn't something that the ginger tom was all too thrilled about, but maybe his thick fur would help out in that regard. He'd never tried to swim, the most he'd done was wade through a small stream that got his paws all wet and gross. Instinctually, some part of him knew he could swim, but why would he other than necessity or survival? Granted, even almighty Dawnstar herself was present for this so he should probably at least try. Probably. Hopefully she wouldn't flay him alive his he did one lap or whatever and then immediately ran back to camp. Hopefully. Either way, he started on the journey to Sunkissed Creek with little enthusiasm.
Thornpaw 6 moons. A young lanky black-ticked tom with green eyes. Posts: 18/100Apprentice Training: 0/5
Thornpaw had to say that he was at least impressed with the way that Lynxshade addressed the clan, it held authority and power in it. It got him excited for this little activity, though he was already a bit excited before. Regardless, his complaint still stood and when the warrior addressed it, he audibly scoffed and glared up at her. Smaller! Weaker! The fur along his back bristled in anger, but before he could make any smart retort, the group was already racing their way out of the camp towards the creek. Hissing under his breath, the lanky apprentice went scampering off with the rest of the gathered, not wanting to be left behind. He tried to weasel his way through the running cats so that he could catch up with Lynxshade, ignoring any temptation of hunting prey. It... Actually felt good, running with all of these other cats. He felt safe, and free, not longer trapped by the camp walls.
Trying to hide the panting and the fact that his lungs were already burning, he glanced over at Lynxshade as they continued their run to the creek.
"I'm going back. To the camp. With you. When this is all. Over." The tom breathed out between his long strides. It didn't sound like it was a question of whether she would be his grooming partner or not, it sounded like he was telling her. But all the same, Thornpaw was a bit. Nervous. About being groomed by any of his other clanmates, at least he knew her a little.
The soft purr that slipped from the Enforcer wasn't hidden as he sat idly by Nightshiver, listening to Lynxshade speak. He liked her spunk about the situation, but he feared the outcome this might hold. Nonetheless, he'd stand by and support it. Hawkbite wasn't sure if he'd take to the water right now, it didn't seem ideal. He had no prior experience with the water -- except for the time Darkfall nearly drowned him -- and freezing at the same time seemed like a disaster. He'd find out once he got there, though. Also. . . half-drowning in front of Dawnstar wasn't on his bucket list.
He entertained the kitten by flicking his tail back and forth, wincing now and again as she pounded her tiny paws on it. Once he was told to move, he gestured for Nightshiver to follow him, but turned to Mothkit and crouched down to make eye contact with the small cat. He spoke semi-sternly, "Now, if they let you come along, you have to stay very close to Nightshiver, okay? She's my friend, so she's your friend too," he assured, "But if Lynxshade and Nightshiver want you to stay here, you have to listen. It's not very safe outside the camp," Hawkbite explained, hoping the point got across to the kitten.
Once he rose back up to his paws, he turned and gave the queen a soft glance, hoping she understood too. Dawnstar and Vulturefang might have their pelts if they allowed Mothkit to leave the camp. Ultimately, it was up to Nightshiver and Lynxshade though.
The soft purr that slipped from the Enforcer wasn't hidden as he sat idly by Nightshiver, listening to Lynxshade speak. He liked her spunk about the situation, but he feared the outcome this might hold. Nonetheless, he'd stand by and support it. Hawkbite wasn't sure if he'd take to the water right now, it didn't seem ideal. He had no prior experience with the water -- except for the time Darkfall nearly drowned him -- and freezing at the same time seemed like a disaster. He'd find out once he got there, though. Also. . . half-drowning in front of Dawnstar wasn't on his bucket list.
He entertained the kitten by flicking his tail back and forth, wincing now and again as she pounded her tiny paws on it. Once he was told to move, he gestured for Nightshiver to follow him, but turned to Mothkit and crouched down to make eye contact with the small cat. He spoke semi-sternly, "Now, if they let you come along, you have to stay very close to Nightshiver, okay? She's my friend, so she's your friend too," he assured, "But if Lynxshade and Nightshiver want you to stay here, you have to listen. It's not very safe outside the camp," Hawkbite explained, hoping the point got across to the kitten.
Once he rose back up to his paws, he turned and gave the queen a soft glance, hoping she understood too. Dawnstar and Vulturefang might have their pelts if they allowed Mothkit to leave the camp. Ultimately, it was up to Nightshiver and Lynxshade though.
Re: [Swimming EVENT] Time to get our pelts wet!
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