Lionsbeach

[ameko]

@Pepperkins @Slushie

Come to think of it, Fennelnose had never tried swimming before. In their time in RiverClan, they had really only hunted on the land, where they were most comfortable, so this sensation was... new to them. No matter. They were just going to be wading, anyway. Couldn't be that bad.

"Alright," they murmured in response to the other two. "Let's get this over with."

Wasting little time in dragging the moment out any further, Fennelnose made their way out into the ocean. The sand sunk into their pawpads—a truly strange feeling, if they were being honest. The weight of Shiverpetal grew lighter as their body was submerged in the water. When the waves reached the bottom of Fennelnose's chest, they looked over to Racoontail. "Is this far enough? We can probably push him out from here."

[Moon Lily]

@Dipper

Eagleflower paddled towards Fawnsqueak, shaking his head in amusement. He could do it. He wouldn't wear himself down. It was funny to watch the Tom so worried about him. "I'll be alright! But I'll slow down a little." He agreed, his paddling slowing to just a thrust to stay above water. He bobbed towards the brown tom, howling in panic as the water rushed around him. But somehow, miraculously, he'd survived. He was impressed, actually.
"Hello, crazy fish cat." He teased.

He was thrown back as the water lapped at him hungrily, and he leaned forwards,.mrrowing in exclamation at the water tugged at him. Flailing once more, he settled for just a kick to stay where he was. This was better. No more complicated moves, and strange, fishlike skills. He marveled at the tom's swimming, eyes widening in awe.
"It sure looks like it. You look like you're dancing, with all.that grace." He mewed admiringly, gaping. He felt a blush creep along his maw, eyes softening, without panic. They immediately flicked to a mock offended demenor, and he huffed in feigned haughtiness.
"Of course we are! We're not scum, peasant!" He staged teasingly. He shook his head, laughter rolling with the waves, "Of course not! You look like you're born knowing how to swim, in the other hand."

Eagleflower smirked, throwing his head back to gaze at the sky. He may not be dead yet, but everyone did eventually. But he had a feeling his life expectancy was not going to be a long one.
"Well, I have no doubt my clumsiness will end me, in one way or another. By I guess it's good to be successful." He scoffed at Fawnsqueak's next comment, his features amplified with shock.
"You get BY?! What do you mean? Your swimming is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen! I swear, you are magic!"

Smiling, he took the praise thankfully. At least he wasn't a complete faliure. He giggled, wincing as water splashed back at him.
"Oh yeah? Haha, this'll make you regret I never got in the water in the first place!" He exclaimed, sending a wave of water towards Fawnsqueak with his legs.

[Fawn]

Dancing? A disbelieving laugh burst from him, and he shook his head. "Yeah, if you've ever seen my dancing, I'm... pretty sure you'd realize that's not a compliment." Even if he was taking it with a grain of salt, a warmth bloomed in his chest regardless because he didn't think anyone had actually said he was a good swimmer, much less so graceful. "Born knowing how? It's twelve moons later and I still barely know what I'm doing." Truly, it was a miracle he hadn't been swept away by the rushing river or the dangerous ocean.

"Honestly, I always thought so too," he replied, eyebrow raised. It was morbidly interesting that they both believed they would die young, most likely due to their own clumsiness. It just seemed so probable that Fawnsqueak would place his bets on it. "Well, uh, if I go first-- don't forget to throw me that spectacular vigil." Not that there was much he believed he could do if Eagleflower didn't follow through.

Fawnsqueak tried to duck out of the way of the splash but merely got the splash and a mouthful of grossly salty water that had him rising above the waves again, coughing and sputtering. That was his own stupidity. In a playful attempt at revenge, Fawnsqueak paddled a little further out and thrashed his back legs to the best of his ability in hopes of conjuring a decent splash.

With a mrrow of laughter, he turned around to face Eagleflower again, a goofy smile on his muzzle. "I probably shouldn't have done that, huh? I guess I don't really want you to regret agreeing to this.." It reminded him that they were on a 'date' to give Eagleflower a little pick-me-up after his recent discouragement. The glowing shimmer on the water looked nice on his brown pelt, and Fawnsqueak admired it for a second before connecting that the brightness meant the sun was nearly in the sky. With a pinch of disappointment, he pointed out, "Oh.. we might want to start heading back."

@Moon Lily

[Moon Lily]

@Dipper

Eagleflower laughed, his be in growing wider at the tom's modesty. Or honesty, if he was if fact telling the truth. He doubted it though, because of his shy nature. His kicking was stirred as a wave splashed its merry way through, wishing him a nice time getting the water out of his ears.
"If you insist. And I would quite like to see your dancing now, I'm curious." He teased, nodding eagerly. He'd never really danced before. He didn't like to. And he felt awkward doing so. Why? He didn't know. Was he a good dancer? No answer. But to see another cat dance, especially Fawnsqueak, might help with this feeling.

He visualized both his and the white-speckled tom's deaths, shivering in the already cold water. The though of it, it was just horrid. He didn't want to get his head split open by a rock, or be drowned, particularly. He always hoped he would pass with old age, but that seemed practically impossible at this point.
"Br...I hope I don't say goodbye anytime soon." He mewed softly . He laughed at the joke, remembering their earlier conversation.
"Of course! It'll be the biggest celebration of a life any cat has ever, and will ever see!"

Mrrowing in triumph, he cackled gleefully at the water-soaked warrior. Too late, did he realize, the Tom had done the same. The wall of salty water struck his in the face, leaving him flailing under water, struggling for air. As he broke through the surface, he spluttered, coughing up water.
"Evil weevil!" He laughed.

Smiling at him, Eagleflower felt his stomach twist with rushing emotion.
"Fawnsqueak, I regret many things, but this is not one of them. I really enjoyed this. Being with you." He explained quietly, glancing shyly at the tom. At his comment, he lifted his head up, up, up, admiring the sun in its higher rank.
"Yeah, we probably should be getting back."

[Pepperkins]

Raccoontail

She nodded in response to Goosepaw, just wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. The good news was she was finally dried up from crying, the bad was every time the thought of her current activity was focused on, her throat tightened. She tried to shake off the feeling and helped wade Shiverpetal out into the ocean. She was so distracted she almost didn't hear Fennelnose speak up. She noticed the tides splashing up on her chest an nodded. These cats didn't know how to swim and she sure didn't wanna lose anyone else. "Yeah it's fine, I'll push him out if that's fine with you guys," she replied, not actually waiting for an answer before pushing the body out further. 'Shiverpetal, if you can see this, I hope you forgive me,' the warrior thought one last time before giving it a push and starting back towards the shore. As she stepped onto land and the water slid off her slick pelt, she turned to see him disappearing into the distance. Sighing, she shook out the rest of the water and turned to the group. She had actually taken a liking to them, after this experience. "We... We should probably get back now... " she said, starting back towards camp without looking back.

[ooc: mind if I add y'all cats to Raccoon's friend list?]
[ @Slushie @pathos ]

[Fawn]

Fawnsqueak was incredulous at the name, never having heard of such a thing, and that elicited an amused gawk. Through a laugh, he asked, "What did you even... what did you just call me?" He was grateful to see Eagleflower seemed to have the basics of swimming down despite his earlier reservations as they splashed each other with water. "You got the hang of this super fast, man. Way faster than I did-- I basically clung to Grousestar the whole time." Remembering back to his apprentice days, that particular scene stood out: Oakflame and Grousestar trying to coax him into the water, while Fawnpaw had been hesitant to go more than a mouse-length deep in fear of getting overwhelmed by the river.

While that did have him melting with relief, Fawnsqueak joked, "Yeah, no, just.. give it a couple sunrises, that's when the regret will probably start coming. Because, y'know, I'll be seeking you out and might even try to get another date." He continued more seriously, "Honestly though... I've liked this too, a lot. Being with you was great." It was among the most enjoyable expeditions he'd experienced and certainly a strange one too, exactly how he liked it.

As they went back to the shore, he pulled himself out of the water and shook the droplets from his fur. He hoped the smell of the seawater wouldn't cling to him all day... "We could do another run back to dry off..?" he suggested challengingly, waiting for Eagleflower's reaction.

@Moon Lily

[ameko]

@Slushie @Pepperkins
(go for it!)

"Yeah, let's head back." As they padded to camp with the little patrol, Fennelnose's heart bloomed with warmth. It came as a bit of a shock, really--all they had done was get rid of a corpse. So why had they felt so happy all of a sudden? Fennelnose mulled over it as they walked. Being able to chat with others peacefully and spend time together was a rarity for them; maybe that was why.

Their train of thought was cut short as they tripped on a rock and sailed towards the ground. Fennelnose scrambled to find their footing, just barely saving themself from a face plant in the snow. If they hadn’t caught themself..! Embarrassment turned the warmth sour, and they shifted their gaze to look anywhere but at the other two. Hopefully, they hadn’t noticed that little trip.

[dino.]

[ @pathos @Pepperkins ]

Goosepaw stared after Shiverpetal's body as it floated through the currents and out to sea. It was a little strange, in a way, to see a Clanmate being lost to the word beyond the waves. But it has to be done, I guess.
He turned to follow the other two, trying to act like all was well, but he was shaking. Were Racoontail and Fennelnose not upset by this? They looked so calm.
Well, until Fennelnose nearly toppled over on their face. Goosepaw shot them an amused look, but didn't say anything. They had managed to catch themselves in time, so he figured it wasn't worth making a big deal about it.

[Moon Lily]

@Dipper

Eagleflower chuckled, shaking his head. He himself was amused at the toms oblivion. He hadn't realized that maybe the term would not be recognized. Tucking his his tail self-consciously, he glanced down at his reflection in the water.
"Well, erm, you know, a weevil? It's a big we had a lot of in Skyclan. And, um, evil rhymes with it, so..." He blabbered, his fur fluffing up against its dampness in embarrassment. He listened to Fawnsqueak's reply, remembering Grousestar with nostalgia. He was an amazing tom, and a role model to Eagleflower. He remembered his own lesson with Scarfang and Dreampaw, trying to paddle without drowning in the shallow water. He'd looked like a clown the entire time.
"Really? even that's impressive! I had to be dragged out..." He mewed sheepishly.

Eagleflower felt his pelt grow warm with the brown toms words. The times he had felt it do this was too many to count already.
"Hah, I'll be looking forwards to that! I'll try and plan that vigil for you if our possible next one involves any more climbing." He jokes back, his ears flicking happily. His tense muscles unfurl, happy to find that the tom was also entertained.
"Me too."

He followed him back, his nose wrinkling at the remaining water. He was about to shake it off to rid himself of its clutches when the idea reached him. Now, running was an activity that got him interested. Interested indeed. He smirked, nodding softly.
"Well, it would be a shame if we didn't. Come on!" He yelled, sprinting away. His laughter echoed after him.

[Fawn]

Heart lightening at the agreement, Fawnsqueak grinned and felt a purr rumble from his chest. "I just.. wanted you to know that I had a good time," he said as they trotted on the beach, though he didn't raise his eyes to see if Eagleflower was watching him. He imagined his cheeks would've burned with embarrassment since this wasn't actually supposed to be a date at all -- well, it was, but... It was complicated. It was intended to give Eagleflower some cheer after his tougher moons. "You're fun company, and.. despite making me climb a tree, you're pretty sweet." Maybe they could do it again sometime like he'd suggested, not that he wanted to count on it when he wasn't sure his presence was anything more than tolerable for short periods. Luckily, Eagleflower hadn't wanted to cut it short, so perhaps it wasn't too bad.

Fawnsqueak took off into a dash after Eagleflower after he also seemed interested in the idea of racing their way back home. Although he recognized there'd be chores waiting for them and he wasn't looking forward to doing them, he intensified his pace to catch up with Eagleflower. A laugh threatened to bubble over from the pure enjoyment of running like the wind, but he fought to stifle it because it'd undoubtedly slow him down. And he preferred to capture this moment for as long as possible, this bolting through the forest to reach RiverClan.

@Moon Lily