This was happening. Yar's heart was pounding. She couldn't believe how easy it was to sneak out of camp...but that wasn't why her heart was pounding like this. She padded up to the watering hole that Bramblepaw described, right where he told her she'd find it. Poor soul, he had no idea she'd actually come out looking for it. She knew that her denmate had swimming lessons from Mistlewhisker, so she asked him where they'd been done. But Yars didn't wanna get the deputy involved in her embarrassing family drama...so she came out here to find it herself. How hard could this be? Bramblepaw said he picked it up pretty quickly and she was way more talented and smarter than him. So she should get it pretty easily too.

The dilute calico carefully made her way towards the water, hesitating for only a moment before her paws touched the surface of the water. With a growl, Yarrowpaw stomped into the shallow end. She hated the feeling of what on her fur. Originally, she had no interest in learning how to swim. But after that...little chat with her father...she was determined. Determined to prove him wrong, that she wasn't going to drown. That she was capable. She didn't need to be babied. And if Owlthroat wanted to disown her for trying to make herself stronger...well...that's... Yarrowpaw had to bite back the lump in her throat that threatened to choke her. Whatever. Once she got used to the water-logged feeling in her coat, she took some more tentative steps into the pond.

Now...how did Bramblepaw say he did this? If she remembered correctly, he used Mistlewhisker to balance while he practiced moving his legs, so he wasn't just floating off on his own. There was no other cat here, and with Yarrow's size it didn't take long for her to be up to her chest in the water. She flicked her tail-tip thoughtfully. There had to be a way to do this, she wasn't so foolish as to simply charge out into the middle of the lake. She wasn't actually trying to drown here. She soon spotted a log that was half in the water, and excitedly bounded over. Digging her foreclaws into the wood, she let her back legs lift off the muddy ground and kick.

Remembering how Bramblepaw described the motions, she kept trying the maneuver until she felt like she had it. But now what? She couldn't practice with her forepaws like this. Letting go of the log, Yarrowpaw shifted her weight onto her hindlegs and tried paddling with her forepaws. Huh...this was easy! Confidence restored, stuffing that twinge of doubt and hesitation deep into the pits of her stomach, Yarrowpaw began to carefully pad out to where the pond was deep enough that her paws lifted from the bottom. She flailed a little until she got the hang of moving all four of her legs at the same time. It was a strenuous feeling, she wasn't used to it after all. But after a moment, it seemed to work! She was floating!

Success! Smirking, she started trying to move, instinctively using her tail to help steer her direction as she tried to swim in a circle. Staying close enough to where she could mostly touch bottom in case she failed and had to scramble out. Now what old crow! She was doing it! No matter what her father said, she was doing it! Heck, she could even probably get Mistlewhisker to officially approve her ability to swim now, and then what? Owlthroat wouldn't be able to say anything to her about it! She couldn't wait to show him the good news...that she could swim. If ever she needed to, she wouldn't be defenseless in the water.

{ @Daragca - Owlthroat }

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A sudden, terrible sound rattled the stillness around her. Yars let out a yelp at the bellowing sound, she didn't recognize it right away. In her surprise, Yarrowpaw whirled around quickly, looking for the source of this terrifying sound. But she barely caught a glimpse of the black-and-white form of her father before one of her paws lost its footing. She slipped against the slippery bed of the pond. Panicked, she flailed her forearms to try and regain the control and direction she had mere heartbeats before, but she struggled.

When she slipped, she floated a little farther away from the shoreline, so she could no longer touch the bottom of the pond with her accursedly short legs. No! Nononononono!The dilute calico wailed, struggling to keep her head above water as her thick coat became heavier with the weight of the water. Her lungs burned, water entering her open mouth and nose. Was she really going to drown like this? In such a stupid way?! Oh hell no. She'd have words for StarClan if that happened! She refused to die like this! But try as she might, even now that regained some sense of level-headedness her limbs were too tired to try and move her weight...

{ @Daragca - Owlthroat }

this thread is part of approved under their nose plot

Teeth, somehow familiar, grabbed her scruff. Tugging her upwards. Her father. Papa Owl! In that moment, her anger from their last interaction was, ironically, washed away. His pull was enough, she felt herself break the surface, forcing her legs to work. Her muscles burned, she coughed out water, and she knew she wouldn't be able to keep herself afloat for long. Using what was left of her strength, she climbed onto Owlthroat's back, almost flopping herself across him with a huff, the force of which caused her cough up another mouthful of water. Stars, how much water did she inhale?

{ @Daragca - Owlthroat - how bad d'you wanna traumatize them? :eyes: }

this thread is part of approved under their nose plot

As Owlthroat reached the more shallow area of the pond, the force of his paws impacting the pond bed bounced Yarrowpaw’s body, causing her to slide off him. She was subtly aware of her lungs filling with water again, flooding her nose and mouth, but she didn’t have the strength to pick herself up. She tried to speak, to get her dad’s attention, but could only gurgle. Bubbles tickling the roof of her mouth. She wasn’t sure he noticed her body drop from his like dead weight- hah. She had to get his attention somehow. She managed to weakly flop her thick, heavily water-logged tail. Creating a small splash and some ripples. There. That should do it if he didn’t notice before. The possibility of dying here never entered her mind, but as she weakly gagged on pond water and noticed the edges of her consciousness slipping, Yars was fearful of that possibility for the first time.

Yarrowpaw had blacked out!

{ @Daragca - Owlthroat - ask and ye shall receive :sob: }

this thread is part of approved under their nose plot