The Warrior stood around for a few seconds, dipping his head in greeting when Spidercrawl joined him in his waiting. Once the question was asked, the Calico did nothing more than let out a grunt and begin to make his way out to the Territory.
He wasn't going to wait around, there was stuff to be done and he was beyond angry. His head felt as though it was splitting in two. The only way to help calm him down was to either keep his paws busy with tasks, or do as his head demanded. In this case, they demanded blood, and considering he was surrounded by clanmates he wasn't going to give into their desires quite yet.
Once Spiderthroat could hear the babbling stream, he turned to look at his patrol mate. "Catch what you can. Prey pile's low." he grunted, tail flicking behind him.
Spidercrawl nodded, already hearing the scurrying sounds of a squirrel nearby. And it seemed to be an easy catch, too. With one last look at Spiderthroat, he snuck into the nearby grass, keeping low whilst stalking the prey they needed.
How long had she been running? Her paws felt sore and ragged, drops of blood marking her path as Slatekit stumbled into the shallow part of the streambed. Lungs filled and then collapsed, sucking in each breath as if the air was running out. Exhaustion beat down on her like the warm sun, hot and sticky and causing each movement to be more sluggish than the last. "Stupid... stupid monsters!" came the little squeak of frustration as she deflated onto the ground. Bubbles escaped her nose as she shot out a sharp breath in the water, lifting her head before breathing in again.
That was the last time she went to explore. Stupid RiverClan territory and their stupid big mean fur monsters.
As much as she wanted to sleep, Slatekit knew that she must be quite far from home. Nothing smelled familiar, and the sounds around her - aside from the nearby stream - were new and unique. Everything seemed much bigger than it had a moon or so ago when she had first left camp.
A moon... and no one had come looking for them. Suddenly, a rock seemed to settle within Slatekit's chest, and her whiskers quivered. What was this... heavy feeling? It felt bad, and sticky almost, and the young gray she-kit wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. Despite the tremors that wrecked her, she got to her wobbly paws and gave herself a shake. No, no, no. No. They would figure a way out of this. But... not home. They didn't wanna go home. Why would they return to a place where no one was looking for them?
"Guess I'm on my own," she muttered in disgust, giving one last irritated look in the direction that she assumed her former home was in before splashing through the creek where it was shallow to the other side. Paws planted firmly on the lush territory, Slatekit began to walk, head low ears down and small growls coming from her.
[ open for a ThunderClan cat to find her! ]
Last edited by spade; August 9th, 2021 at 12:36 AM.
@spade
Slinking through the territory, Toadweed made sure to keep his body low. His ears were pricked for any sign of prey, eager to hear the light paw steps of a squirrel who would soon be his dinner. His own paws were light as they touched the earth. Barely brushing the dirt before moving forward once more. He felt in his element. Like he was the young, agile tom he used to be.
His pawsteps slowed as he began to near Sunkissed Creek. Surely by now I would have caught wind of something? He wondered, tail beginning to twitch in irritation. He would prefer to not dip his paws into the murky creek the Riverclan cats seemed to enjoy so much. Dry paws were more his speed.
Should he return back to camp? It would be disrespectful and quite embarrassing to return with nothing to show for his evening out. Maybe fishing wouldn't be so bad... A quick, disgusted look at the creek solidified his answer. I would rather go hungry than get wet.
His shoulders slumped in defeat and anger. "Nothings ever easy, is it?" He hissed to no one in particular, ready to turn and stomp home.
That was until the smallest of growls perked him up, claws quickly unsheathing. The disgusting scent of the water blocked his senses... all he could smell was fish! Almost as if Riverclan had returned to claim another piece of his home... Hackles rising, he sprinted towards the source.
The surprise that painted his face must have been laughable. His lanky legs struggled to stop his momentum as he skidded to a stop in front of the stinkiest kit he had ever met. Surprise quickly morphed into disgust, confusion, and more than a bit of anger. "What in the name of Starclan do you think you're doing?" He demanded.
With the territory as big as it seemed to her, Slatekit had honestly expected to just keep on walking without spotting a soul in sight. The thought sounded almost peaceful - a blissful eternity with just the sound of her paw steps. But of course, things didn't ever go how she wanted them to, as the young kit was quickly learning. Her head snapped up as she heard some cat fast approaching, ears already going back at the demanding, accusatory tone she was faced with. "I think I'm walking," she pointed out bluntly, dumbfounded as to why a cat who appeared quite older than her would ask such a stupid question.
Irritation sparked off her like electricity, causing the tension in the air to rise. She was unaware of the dramatic flare between RiverClan and ThunderClan - after all, she had been outside of Clan life for a little over a moon already. Taking a deep breath, she closed her blue eyes to regain herself before opening them. The cat before her smelled foresty, definitely not like any of the cats back home had smelt like. "Who are you, anyways? And why are you out here by yourself? Do you not have any friends?" To her, it was an honest question, the molly obviously too young to realize the hurtful implication it carried.
// @Rockfall [ congrats! you've won a sassy slatekit! ^^ ]
Juniperclaw considered the water, wrinkling his muzzle. He didn't like getting wet, and he suspected that Newtheart's thick coat kept him mostly warm and dry. But he did want to learn how to swim. Or swim better than a miserable paddle.
"What do you think?" he asked Newtheart. "A couple of the others said it never gets very fast."
The implied message there, of course, was that it wouldn't sweep Juniperclaw away like a leaf. He trusted himself enough to get back to land eventually, but if the river was strong, he didn't know how far he'd end up traveling. A weaker stream like this wouldn't wash him away.
Juniperclaw considered the water, wrinkling his muzzle. He didn't like getting wet, and he suspected that Newtheart's thick coat kept him mostly warm and dry. But he did want to learn how to swim. Or swim better than a miserable paddle.
"What do you think?" he asked Newtheart. "A couple of the others said it never gets very fast."
The implied message there, of course, was that it wouldn't sweep Juniperclaw away like a leaf. He trusted himself enough to get back to land eventually, but if the river was strong, he didn't know how far he'd end up traveling. A weaker stream like this wouldn't wash him away.
Newtheart nodded as he observed the stream, it was slow moving but deep enough to properly swim. “I think this will work well.” He stepped into the creek letting the water run over his paws sluggishly and then turned to Juniperclaw.
“The main thing is to keep your paws moving. Do really long strokes like when running, it’ll give you more power than just floundering around.” He paused, hoping his explanations made sense, he had never taught a cat how to swim, and he’d been swimming long enough for it to just be a natural movement.
He trudged deeper into the water until it tugged as he belly fur and looked back a Juniperclaw, “Why don’t you show me how you swim and I’ll give you some pointers?” He suggested.
Juniperclaw made some more faces, but he started after Newtheart. To his credit, he didn't hesitate once he was already in the water. If he was going to get wet, might as well not cry about it.
What was belly-height on Newtheart was closer to chest height on Juniperclaw. He moved a bit past, towards the deeper water, and then launched himself clumsily.
He was used to paddling in little strokes. He turned naturally into the stream, swimming against the current. It didn't push him, but he could tell it would be a struggle to make any progress against it.
After a moment he tried doing what Newtheart had said- long strokes, like running. His head dipped briefly beneath the water, and he came up sputtering, sluicing water out of his mouth. He made a face at Newtheart, returning to smaller, choppier strokes.
"I think water doesn't like me," he wheezed out, only half a joke.
Last edited by tomatosoup; August 21st, 2021 at 05:59 PM.
Juniperclaw made some more faces, but he started after Newtheart. To his credit, he didn't hesitate once he was already in the water. If he was going to get wet, might as well not cry about it.
What was belly-height on Newtheart was closer to chest height on Juniperclaw. He moved a bit past, towards the deeper water, and then launched himself clumsily.
He was used to paddling in little strokes. He turned naturally into the stream, swimming against the current. It didn't push him, but he could tell it would be a struggle to make any progress against it.
After a moment he tried doing what Newtheart had said- long strokes, like running. His head dipped briefly beneath the water, and he came up sputtering, sluicing water out of his mouth. He made a face at Newtheart, returning to smaller, choppier strokes.
"I think water doesn't like me," he wheezed out, only half a joke.
Newtheart chuckled and then waded in a bit deeper. “Ok, maybe it’s not exactly the same as running,” he concluded, “Short strokes can work ok, but you’ll tire more quickly.” He tried to think of another way to explain the strokes, then shrugged. Maybe showing would be the best way to explain.
He plunged himself into the deeper water, splashing up a bit of water. He began swimming in long slow movements. “Think about it like you’re pushing the water.” He fumbled to come up with a better way to explain. “Keep the strokes even too, otherwise you’ll end up struggling more than to have to.”
He paddled his way back to the shallows and shook his head, water droplets flying off of his tufted ears.
Last edited by beau; August 21st, 2021 at 06:21 PM.
Newtheart chuckled and then waded in a bit deeper. “Ok, maybe it’s not exactly the same as running,” he concluded, “Short strokes can work ok, but you’ll tire more quickly.” He tried to think of another way to explain the strokes, then shrugged. Maybe showing would be the best way to explain.
He plunged himself into the deeper water, splashing up a bit of water. He began swimming in long slow movements. “Think about it like you’re pushing the water.” He fumbled to come up with a better way to explain. “Keep the strokes even too, otherwise you’ll end up struggling more than to have to.”
He paddled his way back to the shallows and shook his head, water droplets flying off of his tufted ears.
Juniperclaw squinted at Newtheart as he swam, and managed to drift to shallower water so he could stand and study the movements. It did look similar to running, using long, powerful strokes.
He flinched when Newtheart shook himself, but he only got a little bit sprayed. Or he might not have. It was hard to tell when he was already so wet.
"So more..." he paddled into the deep water again, and then tried to lengthen his strokes. He had to keep his head awkwardly up out of the water, but after a moment or two he found a clumsy rhythm. It was a long way from the strong, sureness of Newtheart's swimming, and it felt unpracticed, but it felt better. It stretched muscles he wasn't used to using this way, which was probably a sign he was doing better.
After a moment or two he had to stop, drifting back to the shallows. He dug his feet into the pebbly streambed and dragged himself back to where the water only came up to his belly.
"It feels like the kinda thing I gotta get used to," he meowed, thinking. "Using my legs like that. Was that better?"
Juniperclaw squinted at Newtheart as he swam, and managed to drift to shallower water so he could stand and study the movements. It did look similar to running, using long, powerful strokes.
He flinched when Newtheart shook himself, but he only got a little bit sprayed. Or he might not have. It was hard to tell when he was already so wet.
"So more..." he paddled into the deep water again, and then tried to lengthen his strokes. He had to keep his head awkwardly up out of the water, but after a moment or two he found a clumsy rhythm. It was a long way from the strong, sureness of Newtheart's swimming, and it felt unpracticed, but it felt better. It stretched muscles he wasn't used to using this way, which was probably a sign he was doing better.
After a moment or two he had to stop, drifting back to the shallows. He dug his feet into the pebbly streambed and dragged himself back to where the water only came up to his belly.
"It feels like the kinda thing I gotta get used to," he meowed, thinking. "Using my legs like that. Was that better?"
Newtheart nodded, smiling slightly. “That was much better,” he mewed. It wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely an improvement. “It’ll get easier the more you practice, but you’ll be fine to swim in a pinch.” Newtheart figured Juniperclaw wasn’t interesting in swimming merely for leisure, he had taken note of the tom’s distaste for water.
“You’ll get a better rhythm the more you swim too, then you’ll have to work less to keep your head up.” It was pretty decent progress, going from short choppy paddling to being more steady in the water. “It helps a little if you flex your paws like you’re scooping the water,” he added as a last minute thought.
Re: Sunkissed Creek
