Smallpines

[goodacacia]

Floodsight
✦ RiverClan | 21 moons | Mind Reader ; Beefed Up T1 ; empty slot

It only took one moment. Just one. One moment for everything around her to come crashing down. It felt like history was repeating itself. They've greatly underestimated the otter's strength and her clanmates...they're..they. She watched Mudsmoke get pulled under from a distance. Before she could utter a single word, a slight dizzy spell had hit her when she saw red begun to rise and spread outwards with the thrashing waters. 'Oh stars...no...' It wasn't something she'd seen since kithood. Since she was...

Floodsight barely had enough time to turn around before seeing another one drag their deputy into the depths. Then Jayfrost. One by one. Gone. 'Calm down, Floodsight. Think! What to do...Mudsmoke is g-gone. Dusklion and Jayfrost might still be alive. But Larkwing...' Before she could let another dazed warrior fall to the same fate, she grabbed onto Larkwing's scuff and attempted to pull her away from the banks. Away from another potential death. "Catfishwhisker, fall back!"

They could fight, but she'd rather not lose another clanmate to some unplanned attack. 'Think. Come on, think!' The silver molly usual calm face slowly appeared in a frown. Worry scrunched up in her brows. What can they do? They're close to the borders... but their clanmates are.

Her dim blue eyes scaled by the bankside, trying to catch a glimpse of at least one of them. She could pull them up if she were fast. Could she, really?

[ @taillow @burntToast @Idiotic.Bean101 @Neptune. @alec | guys dying is not cool. come back to land ]

[Dark]

Fishfreckle

Go With the Flow | Silver Tongue (T1) [Perm] | Mind Reader [Perm]
___________

Fishfreckle was out in the territory. Why? Well, he saw Dusklion gathering a patrol of cats for something or other and she took Larkwing along with her, so naturally he was curious. It was his duty to ensure that she didn’t get them into any trouble. It was for the future of the clan! Dusklion was set to be the leader of the clan one day, and then Larkwing had experience as a leader so she was invaluable. It definitely had nothing to do with wanting to make sure Larkwing was safe, nope, not at all.

He was a few steps behind, as he didn’t want it to be obvious that he was following them. Silently, the blue-grey tabby padded through the territory while tracking their scents. He should have left earlier, bu the didn’t want to make it overly obvious that he was following. He knew that had he been caught Dusklion or Larkwing would have sent him back to camp – possibly even escorting him back. It irritated him. How much those two she-cats worried about him at times, but it was endearing in a way. He guessed that that’s what made them good candidates for leaders. Their caring nature though would be their downfall if they weren’t careful. Hell, in a way, it had already led to Larkwing’s. She had been unable to handle the pressure of the clan acting out against her and was unable to get them in line which led to her disappearance. He was curious about what happened but he wouldn’t ask. She would tell him when she was ready.

Gosh… why was their territory so large? All of this walking was frustrating as hell. Like c’mon! He had little legs and they were walking so fast! Dammit! He really should’ve left earlier. This was a pain in the–

Wait a minute… that was Dusklion’s voice. She was yelling to get away from the banks?? Fishfreckle wasn’t too familiar with this stretch of territory, but what the hell could have the deputy of RiverClan so frantic about the very thing that gave the clan its name?

Suddenly anxious, Fishfreckle charged forward as if his tail was on fire. Dusklion – the future of the clan was in danger. But more importantly (the selfish part of him thought so at least), Larkwing may be in danger. If something happened to her, he would kill her. Future of RiverClan be damned, if Larkwing got hurt, he would kill Dusklion.

At long last the small framed tom finally caught up to the group. Panicked, he scanned the surroundings in search of either the dark grey deputy or the tortoiseshell warrior that made him feel weird inside. There was some kind of beasts all over the bank and then– there she was! His eyes widened in horror as he found Larkwing just in time to watch her go careening off the side of the river bank and into the water.

”LARKWING!!” He yelled as he watched the pretty tortoiseshell go under. His heart sunk in his chest and his paws grew leaden. She… no… Larkwing was a strong girl, she’d make it out of this, right…? Right?? RIGHT???

He didn’t know what led him to do it, but he ignored the swimming feeling in his head, ignored the weakness in his limbs from his encounter with starvation, he ignored it all and lept into the frigid water. He had to save her. He had to. Fishfreckle was acting irrationally — as he had long since decided that he wouldn’t die for the clan in its current state. This was different though. This wasn’t the clan, this was Larkwing. She was… she was different. He didn’t know what it was, but every fiber of his being screamed for him to find her — to rescue the former leader.

He had to get to her – he had to save her. For the first time in his life, he felt the desire to protect something other than the clan. For the first time in his life, he disregarded his own safety for someone else. For the first time in his life, he felt genuine fear for the sake of another. Larkwing was in danger. Screw the clan’s future, their future was in danger. He didn’t know when it started nor why, but at some point, the small she-cat had grown so important that the idea of a RiverClan without her just didn’t seem worth it. It felt as though a RiverClan without her wouldn’t be RiverClan at all.

"LARKWING!"

[ @Neptune. @taillow @burntToast @Idiotic.Bean101 @alec @Ace. @BEAR. ]]

[Rowan]

《RowanMane》
Male | 41 Moons | RiverClan Warrior | Apprentice: RainingPaw, KitePaw | Posts: 86
large midnight charcoal agouti tabby tom with bright blue eyes, many scars, messy medium-length fur, underbite
Purrks: None
Interaction For: @TanghuluCat @wolfie (sorry for the short post!)


┍━━━━━»•» …loading… «•«━┑

He nodded his appreciation for the Lionhearts kind agreement, not much minding WormBites silence. He marked his section and nodded to the two cats. “I’m ready as well.” he stated, not wanting to keep marking and cause an issue

┕━»•» …100% complete… «•«━━━━━┙

[BEAR.]

Aaaand like clockwork, it was go time.

The fish challenged the otters and were consumed. Most of the patrol was lost to the waters, tainting the current a grim red hue. Notably, the Duskfish had been taken - and Wolfhive heaved a sigh. Of course.

He'd be more irritated about the situation once it had settled, but for now he was on the move and wishing he'd taken ragweed for the day. A walk when he was under the weather was easy, but a swim in cold water??? Along with a fight? He'd need a hit after this.

Steeling himself for what was to come, Wolfhive left his spot of concealment to slide down the bank and get in the river. This was the closest he'd gotten to the water since his own experience with the otters, and his pelt prickled at the thought. Their claws were NOT something to mess with and he didn't want to imagine what the souls of the patrol endured before the end. Well, what he assumed was - because he wasn't going to bother with them. It wasn't like he wanted to save the Duskfish, but as she once assisted him he'd return the favor.

A debt repaid.

Under the unpleasant liquid, he could make out Duskfish's thrashing form as she struggled against the grasp of the otter. It had latched onto her leg and was dragging her under. In another moment, he knew it'd twist and try to reposition to a better grip so it could hold her and drown her. They tried with him.

He kicked through the water and propelled himself toward the otter. It was pure luck it was facing away from him and focused on Dusklion, giving him the opportunity to give it a chomp on what he could only assume was its shoulder. The otter writhed against him angrily, and he ended up releasing - but his attack had been enough to get it to release Dusklion.

What she did, he wouldn't know - a sudden heavy weight had knocked the air from his lungs and doubly struck the otter. He couldn't make out the details well - his vision was blurred and his lungs were screaming - but he didn't think he recognized this cat as a patrol member.

Wolfhive had to kick away and resurface, gasping for air. He only had a moment before the vengeful otter - possibly frustrated from the stolen kill - had also broken free from the fish to go for his haunch. Wolfhive grunted as he was sucked back beneath the surface, twisting downward to rip his claws across the otter's face.

------

Sedgeflake was appalled by everything going on. GRANTED, okay, maybe he also underestimated the otters but c'mon! He didn't think it'd be possible for one of their patrols to be taken out so quickly - he barely had time to cross the distance between where he hid and the bank where his Clan-mates were. "DUSKLION!!" Sorry everyone else, he'd go for them if he had time but he KNEW RiverClan couldn't afford to lose their deputy! Especially not like this!

He plunged into the water and threw his full force toward the otter, effectively crashing into it and a figure he didn't recognize. Mission successful! Dusklion was free, but now the otter was on a little rampage and had grabbed hold of the other cat, whom was closer and easier for it to find purchase on. When Sedgeflake landed he sorta pushed them together. Whoooops.

Oh well. Not RiverClan, not his problem. He was tempted to recede and focus on Dusklion when the stupid stranger spat at him. what are you doing? are you stupid? fight!

It was hard to make out - the sound vibrated in the air bubbles the stranger emitted - but Sedgeflake groaned to himself as he surged forward to slash at the otter. Unfortunately, he realized the cat had a point - leaving him to die was only a short term solution to a very big problem and perhaps working together could get rid of this beast.

The otter kicked out, catching Sedgeflake in his underside with sharp, large claws. He buckled beneath the blow with a gasp, paws shaking but he continued to work on closing in on the creature to hit it however he could.

[ @Neptune. @taillow @burntToast @Idiotic.Bean101 @alec @Ace. @Dark hiiiii ]

[wolfie]

┆彡 T H E S I N - E A T E R ☆

HE . HIM . 57 MOONS . RIVERCLAN WARRIOR

heavily scarred & skinny black tom with white speckles; cloudy light amber eyes. walks with a prominent limp & has protruding fangs that overlap his bottom lip.

content + interaction warning : this character frequently explores themes of mental health, complex trauma, and abuse

---

└➤ ⌗ @Rowan @TanghuluCat

wormbite's ear twitched as he listened carefully, clearing his throat quietly before offering a short response after rowanmane spoke. "ready, " he confirmed, and would swiftly follow after the lionheart once he started to head back to camp.

---

★ ULTIMATE PREDATOR ★ JUST A SCRATCH ★ SHADOW FIEND ★ SURVIVAL INSTINCTS

[taillow]

Dusklion - RiverClan Deputy

No, no, no. Of all the ways that the world could possibly take her out, this was not going to be one of them. Dusklion refused to die in the water. Kicking out hard and strong she connected with the otter, hoping to deliver as much damage as possible. She was faintly aware of pelts in the water - had her patrol not retreated?? - and suddenly the otters grip on her was gone. She twisted in the water to get a better view and - Wolfhive???

What was he doing here? Was there a ThunderClan patrol nearby? The thoughts raced through her head like lightning, too fast to latch onto as she immediately went to work lashing out with her claws to deal as much damage to the creature as she could. A bigger splash had the deputy twisting her head to avoid getting more water blinding her but she immediately looked back to see - what was Sedgeflake doing here???.

Whatever was going on in the forest today, this was the last outcome Dusklion had expected.

Not that the RiverClan deputy would complain, because it appeared with their combined efforts the otter had decided to flee. Seeing it swim downstream, the other otters on the bank let out odd, high-pitched noises before disengaging with the cats they were fighting and following after, leaving the bank empty.

"Get out of the water, now!" Dusklion's sharp voice came boomed, glancing towards Wolfhive. She wasn't sure if he knew how to swim all that well - and he didn't exactly look the healthiest right now - so without hesitation the gray-furred deputy flanked him and jerked her head sharply at Sedgeflake to flank the other side. Powerful paws churned in the water as the deputy eventually made it to a dip in the shore, latching her claws on and scrambling out.

Exhausted and out of breath, but not for a second letting her guard down, the deputy swung her head to survey the aftermath. The otters were gone... and so was Mudsmoke. A painful shard of grief stabbed deep within her chest as she spun around, looking at the still tainted water. There was no sign of him, likely washed away with the stream. Out of the corner of her eye Larkwing was hauling herself back onto the shore, along with - Fishfreckle?? Stars above, did the entire Clan follow them out??

Turning to look at Wolfhive, Dusklion parted her jaws to speak to him when her mental check-list of the cats on the shoreline was off. Catfishwhisker, Floodsight, Larkwing... Jayfrost. Where was Jayfrost? "Where's Jayfrost??" Panic lined her words as she spun around, ignoring the way the world shifted under her paws and black lines circled her vision. He wasn't on the bank, he wasn't hauling himself out onto the shore... "Jayfrost??!?" Paws drummed along the shore, stumbling here and there as Dusklion searched the river. He wasn't there... or there... "Jays!?" Where was he??

Her friend... Perhaps one of the only true, genuine friends she had in the Clan (she had more, but Jayfrost had always been different...). Blue eyes filled with a fear uncharacteristic of the normally spitfire deputy, claws out and gripping the ground. The water was red, and she couldn't see him anywhere... had the water taken him away?? She needed to look for him, she need to -

She couldn't. She had an entire patrol behind her, cats injured. She couldn't look for her friend. He was... he was gone. For a moment the deputy simply stood there, staring downstream, whiskers quivering. She had felt the tear between her personal urges versus what was best for the Clan before this, but stars it was hard to stand on the bank right now and not run down the length of the stream looking for Jays.

Eventually the deputy turned around, trying to steel her expression as she faced the patrol once more.

[ @Idiotic.Bean101 @Neptune. @Dark @goodacacia @alec @BEAR. ]

[Neptune.]

Larkwing
~<>~
26 moons || she/her || RC Warrior || Kitty Softpaws, Mind Reader, Killer Aptitude T2
scarred, scrawny dilute tortoiseshell; green eyes

Crashing down into the water now was all too reminiscent of moons ago, when she'd fallen into its icy clutches and kickstarted her several moon long vacation. Unintentionally obviously. Still, she worries that this time will result in much of the same conclusion... however illogical the thought might be. This river doesn't have as strong of a current and she's not concussed. Bruised, yes, ear stinging, absolutely. But not concussed.

Well... okay, Larkwing actually isn't too sure about that part, because she could've sworn that right before she'd gone under, she saw Fishfreckle on the shore screaming her name. He's supposed to be in camp... why is he here? But as she breaks the surface, gasping and coughing, she barely has time to register what's going on all around her and the red tainting the water - some of which she's certain is her own blood. There's... an altercation of some kind that didn't involve the otters, but instead involved ThunderClan and that scared the former leader far more than the idea of getting killed right here in the water.

She had orders to evacuate the water, and, slightly disoriented, strong paws propel her in the direction of the bank... but she won't make it out without help, and that's when she realizes that she hadn't hallucinated her Fishfreckle. He was really here, and rushing to her aid. And he looked... scared. It was an expression she had never seen him wear before and she didn't like how it looked on his cute face.

...what. Why did she..? OKAY PONDER THAT LATER GET OUT OF THE WATER NOW!! NO TIME FOR THAT! PUSH IT DOWN, REPRESS IT UNTIL SHE PHYSICALLY CAN'T ANYMORE!!

She gets herself close to the bank, but she's tired, and there's still otters, and she needs help...

[ left it a little open ended but ya got perms to yoink her ashore dark o7 ]
[ @Idiotic.Bean101 || @taillow || @Dark || @goodacacia || @alec || @BEAR. ]

[Dark]

Fishfreckle

Go With the Flow | Silver Tongue (T1) [Perm] | Mind Reader [Perm]
___________

As he plunged into the cold water, Fishfreckle frantically turned in the direction that Larkwing was in. The first thing that he noticed was the red hue of the water. Oh no. She was hurt. How hurt? He wasn’t quite sure, that was yet to be determined, however, he knew that he needed to get to her. She needed to get out.

As if he were his namesake, the small tabby tom propelled himself towards Larkwing. Around him was chaos, absolute freaking chaos. He wasn’t aware of where the otters were, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Dusklion appeared to be swimming to the shore. Good. He wasn’t sure how screwed the clan would be should she have died, but he would’ve been pissed if he didn’t get to express how angry he was with her.

That aside, he had to hurry. The sight of Larkwing struggling was beginning to affect his psyche. It was horrifying. He knew that if he didn’t get to her, she would not make it out. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long. Now that he was with her though, he came across a new problem… How was he going to get her out? She was closer to the bank than she had been when he first dove in, but he was but so big! Well… Larkwing wasn’t that big either, but she was bigger than him at least! In a bout of momentary genius, Fishfreckle dove into the water, not wasting any time to ask questions and positioned himself underneath her so that he would be able to push her closer to the shore. It was… not fun, like at all. Out of all of the things he’d ever done, this was like top 5 for worst things ever. Despite that, he persevered. The screaming of his lungs and the exhaustion held within his limbs were nothing in comparison to the weight of her life. He would save her. Failure was not an option.

Thankfully the struggle didn’t take too long because soon their paws touched solid ground and he broke the surface with a huge gasp of air. Dammit. Dammit. DAMMIT! Exhausted, he positioned himself in front of the former leader and grabbed her by the scruff, pulling her out onto the river bank. Remaining vigilant, he scanned the area for the filthy beasts that caused this but realized they were gone. Thank the stars, he needed a freaking break. Chest heaving, Fishfreckle turned his attention to Larkwing. Before he could take a moment to rest, he needed to make sure she was okay. Pale green eyes instantly locked onto her damaged ear and his expression somehow managed to grow more sour. Reaching out with his paw, he stopped himself just short of touching itbefore shaking his head and turning away. ”Be right back.” He snarled as he marched over to Dusklion’s direction, leaving Larkwing just past the water’s edge.

”DUSKLION!” The tiny tom called out. He was pissed. Furious even. Often times he tried to give her a little slack because he kinda liked her just a little bit, but this? This was too far. Spotted grey pelt dripping from the water and thus unable to fully fluff out to convey his mood, he unsheathed his claws before marching right up in the deputy’s face. Had she gotten taller? Wait no. That didn’t matter right now. There was soooo much he had to say to her right now.

”How DARE you!?” He spat, voice laced with venom ”Just what in the hell were you thinking, huh? What possessed you to do this? Look at her Dusk–” He said, jerking his head in Larkwing’s direction ”Look at her ear. Her ear– STARS DAMMIT DUSKLION.” He said, screaming in exasperation as he took a step back. ”Look. I don’t give a rat’s ASS what you do, really. You do what you think is best for the clan – I’ll let you know if it’s stupid – WHICH THIS WAS. You keep Larkwing out of it. You REALLY thought you could take those things? Huh? Dammit you all almost died – some of you DID die. You’ve got to think about these things. Where will the clan be if you die, hmm? We’d be stuck with Fadingbutt and he kills everyone that looks at him funny. YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO DO STUPID STUFF, Dusklion. You can’t throw yourself into danger like some dropping-brained fool! Gosh dammit I’m so pissed right now.” He was flicking his tail angrily and walking back and forth – pausing to look at her every once in a while as he dug into her.

”You are too important to keep screwing up like this for star’s sake. And screw your importance, I swear by the stars above if one of your idiotic plans gets her hurt worse or killed, I will kill you myself. You got that Dusklion? RiverClan be damned. Future of the clan be damned. If Larkwing dies on your watch, I’m going to kill you! And you. You better keep your ass alive too. I’ve saved your gosh damn life and though you did the same for me, I don’t want to have wasted my time because you decided ‘Oh I’m going to act like I have feathers between my ears today heuheuheu’. Get yourself together dammit. I have hope for you – hope that you’ll be the one to restore RiverClan back to its former glory and you keep doing THIS.”

His pacing stopped and he marched back up to the dark-furred she-cat so that he could look into her eyes. His expression was pained and conflicted and his cheeks were sodden with water – this time they were tears mixing in with the river water. He hated this. He hated feeling this way. He wasn’t even really mad at Dusklion to be honest, it was just he had to put the blame on something, and in his irrational state, she was the object of his ire. For once he felt like crap for the way he treated someone else. She didn’t deserve this. Not at all.

”Dusklion…” Fishfreckle said, choking back a sob ”Her ear… she… she almost died – I’m sorry. I – I’m sorry.” He was rambling an apology now. It was an odd thing, apologizing. This was like the second or third time he’d ever done such a thing and right now he felt horrible. ”You… the clan… it all almost ended. RiverClan can’t lose you, y’know? A-and, Larkwing… she… I need her. I need you both. Stars above, you two stress me the hell out,” He was shaking his head as he half muttered, half said this. Gosh dammit, he made himself look stupid and even threatened to kill the one hope for the clan. These two caused him to feel unfamiliar things in their own ways and it infuriated him so much.

[ @Neptune. @taillow @burntToast @Idiotic.Bean101 @alec @Ace. @BEAR. hiii bear!! this is probably messy as hell, but oh well!]

[Idiotic.Bean101]

header by @/Rose
Catfishwhisker-It/Its
35 Moons
PURRKS
Agatha Kitty-Inactive


-------------------


The next things happened pretty fast, at least to Catfishwhisker.
Otters were gone, Larkwing was under the water and then back up, Dusklion was back up, Sedgeflake and Fishfreckle were here now, and for some reason so was Wolfhive.
Two cats never came back up out of the water.

Somehow, Catfishwhisker had only gotten bruised up. It was probably due to the fact that the otters were a lot more focused on its clanmates.

Everyone but two cats were alive, which is... it could've been so much worse.
Especially if Dusklion and Larkwing hadn't been rescued.


@goodacacia - @burntToast - @taillow - @Dark - @Neptune. - @alec - @BEAR.
[sry this post aint got much to it]

[korok]

☾ Brokenstream | 23 MOONS | HE/HIM ☽
header & divider by @/Marigoldwhisper



Brokenstream nodded at the pair as they declared they were ready to go. "Off we go then." He mewed, signaling with his tail that they could begin the journey back.

( @Rowan | @wolfie )