Owlstar padded out from her den, giving her taut muscles a long and deep stretch. She curled her tail behind her and squeezed out the tension in her forepaws, back arched heavily. It was sunrise, funnily enough. Owlstar wasn't exactly a night owl, when it was time to sleep, it was time to sleep, case and point. She preferred the long shadows of the early morning anyways. Maybe it was because her vision was hindered, but she wasn't the biggest fan of complete darkness.

Large paws made grass flatten in her wake as she trotted towards the apprentice den, slipping gingerly into the entrance and peaking in. "Aye, Deceptionpaw." Owlstar spoke, her voice gruff with sleep. "Time ta get up. Ya cain't be a Riverclan cat n' not know how ta swim, eh?" Owlstar said before pushing her frame out of the smaller den, shaking the lichen out of her matted fur.

She waited patiently at the entrance, picking loose meat out of her teeth.

Owlstar flicked her matted tail to and fro as she sat, eyes angled up to the stars. She attempted to lick the moisture out of her nose before she could feel Deceptionpaw push through lichen. The rustle and how the air whizzed through motion was a telling sign, causing the leader to crane her neck and look over her shoulder.

She grinned at the dark pelted apprentice, a silhouette she could barely see against the dark lighting. But she could still smell hints of Shadowclan within his fur. The river would wash away that history like blood after a battle.

"Al'ight, let's get goin'." the leader lifted herself to large paws and padded out of camp, her one eye glancing at stripes of moonlight after every tree she passed. It was almost like lights were flashing at her, greeting the forest before leaving it in a harsh blink. Owlstar kept her ears perked and her mouth slightly open, sensing for the river more than looking for it.

She'd been in Riverclan long enough to know every landmark like the back of her paw, but after territories changed, she had to rely more on sense than reflex or intuition. "We're 'ere. Before ya startle, we're stayin' in the shallows." Owlstar wasn't the biggest fan of water herself, maybe she and Deceptionpaw would find to have that in common.

"Those fish don't bite, chap," the leader began, resting her paws at the edge of the bank. "They'll bump inta ya n' rub against yer paw pads, but they don't bite." the leader slipped into the river with no complications, immediately finding the rhythm of the tide and the pull of waves. "Get in at yer own pace, I'm only in 'ere ta catch ya if ya slip. But, it's kinda hard ta drown in the shallows." But not impossible...

"Keep yer legs pumpin' but don't wriggle 'round. Panickin' only makes ya drown, chap, know that I'm 'ere." Nothing about this was going to be comfortable, she just hoped Deceptionpaw knew that.