Needs Soap and a Rubber Ducky

[idia]

[ @The Cannibal @Dipper ]
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Oakflames eyes were locked on Grousestar as he got into the water. Honestly, he was about to rush over and take the tom out of the river when seeing his struggle, but calmed once he got the hang of it. Though the leader did look like he was gonna submerge, that made him nervous. Keeping watch on the older, he answered Fawnpaws question. "Well, no. But just trust me." He meowed, glancing over to the apprentice. Once he enters the river..everything should be good. He thought, paddling his legs slightly to keep from going underwater. That would give both of the toms a spook and he personally didn't want that.

He was distracted by his thoughts, surprised by the splash. His head jerked over just to see Fawnpaw nearly flipping fur to his tail. "ah! Fawnpaw, it's fine..your tail i mean. I don't want you to get hurt or anything trying to make it float." he told, tone somewhat worried. Time to start training!

Oakflame had nodded to himself slightly. "Now that you're both in the river.. we're going to practice paddling okay? Just so you can get the hang of it and after, we can slowly start to learn the more difficult steps." Oh! Adding on a moment after, "Remember, if you feel nervous, you can take a break and get out of the water." the tabby told.

[Mango]

Originally Posted by CloverFlame

Rainwhisper sighed heavily before turning to the molly, “And I suppose it’s perfectly natural for cats to leap through the trees like squirrels?” He mused wryly, “Look if you don’t like it, you’re welcome to not eat any fish and try to live off of the few prey that are around here.” Rainwhisper gave her one last annoyed glance, “Nevermind what’ll happen to you if there is a flood. Do you think any cat is going to be risking their neck to save you when there are kits and elders drowning?” He said gruffly, this molly was really starting to annoy him slightly with what he considered and uppity attitude, talking as if Riverclan was a worse clan simply because they had learned a different skill set.
“Look, every clan has their specialty that we’ve learned and passed down to survive. Skyclan leapt through the trees, Riverclan swims.”

Originally Posted by CasperCreates

@CloverFlame @Catbee-Nepeta

"Yes, and I've never seen a rogue, loner, or other clan cat leap through the trees like you do," Eagleflight shot back at her. "Unnatural, maybe, but Rainwhisper is right. Both SkyClan's tree leaping and RiverClan's swimming are traits that we've adapted to survive. These skills have been passed down for generations, and if your clan doesn't learn the ways of the river, how will you ever learn not to rely on RiverClan? You want to be independent, don't you?" He lingered his gaze on Fennelheart as he spoke, as if challenging her to argue further.
"Now, let's get moving before we're left behind." He gestured with a flick of his tail for the other cats to follow him as he began to trot out of the camp.

She angrily narrowed her eyes,” fine. I’ll agree to swim, but I’m not fishing, I only am agreeing to swimming in case there is a flood and I must escape. It’d be fair if Riverclan had to learn how to climb trees.” She huffed in annoyance,” But you better not treat me like an apprentice.” She scowled

[CloverFlame]

Originally Posted by Okapi

She angrily narrowed her eyes,” fine. I’ll agree to swim, but I’m not fishing, I only am agreeing to swimming in case there is a flood and I must escape. It’d be fair if Riverclan had to learn how to climb trees.” She huffed in annoyance,” But you better not treat me like an apprentice.” She scowled

Rainwhisper sighed with exasperation, this molly was so infuriating, he was contemplating pushing her in when she spoke of her unwillingness to fish, “Oh you don’t have to learn how to fish, as long as you don’t plan on eating any of the fish some other cat catches while you sit on your lazy behind!” Rainwhisper shook his head before leading he way next to the river, “Go ahead and climb in, this spot is pretty shallow so you won’t be in any danger.” Without another word, the fluffy tom slipped into the water with hardly a splash, sighing with relief at the feel of the cool water.

[Leopardblaze]

Originally Posted by Okapi

Honeybee turned to Leopardblaze,” Alright, don’t worry if you start to drown I’ll rescue you. Remember to keep your paws moving when you are swimming.” She meowed as she began to wade into the water.
~~~
Fennelheart could tell they were trying to be helpful and supportive, but it didn’t change her mind at all,” Cats aren’t meant to swim. I’ve never seen a loner or rogue swim.” She remarked,” Also all of the other clans don’t swim. It’s unnatural.” She meowed hoping not to be disrespectful.

Leopardblaze followed the molly into the water the fur along her spine rising in discomfort, she knew it would take a while to get used to the feeling. As the water gradually got deeper with each pawstep she felt slight anxiety rise inside her chest. Taking a deep breath she stepped into the deeper part where her paws could no longer feel the slick riverbottom. She churned her paws in the water quickly, keeping herself afloat. For a brief moment her head dipped under the surface of the water but she surfaced after a moment. She felt her muscles getting tired from churning her paws so much. "How... am I doing?" she asked afrer a moment trying not to get any water in her mouth. Water droplets rolled down her nose as she tried to shake the water out of her face.

(Sorry it took me so long to reply)

[BEAR.]

[ The lessons will be concluding tonight @ 11:59 PM Eastern Time. If you have not completed your roleplays, I urge you to attempt to prior to the deadline. ]

@CasperCreates, @Leopardblaze, @Rosemew, @The Cannibal, @RedHead, @CloverFlame, @jupiter, @Dipper, @Dust, @Lilyfur2, @Nebby, @Okapi, @Catbee-Nepeta

[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by jupiter

Roachfoot raised an eyebrow as the lanky skyclanner basically dragged himself in his direction. ' ' You are shaking enough to shake out yer fleas ' ' Roachfoot commented adjusting himself to watch. ' ' Haven't even dipped a toe in yet! ' ' He hadn't meant to say the second part, but he supposed it was mostly out of surprise. He could remember being scared of water or even other cats being scared but not terrified! Yarrowpounce looked like he had just come into contact with a fox the size of a twoleg! However fun it seemed now he wasn't so sure, it looked as if he was gripping his very sanity at the moment. If the thought of swimming was bothering him so much how was he ever going to get the tom to even go near the edge of the water. Oh joy, of course lionstorm had to put the cowardly skyclanner under his care. Scooching even closer to the generally calm river and wrapping his tail around his legs. It was calm during this time of year, the best time for swimming lessons undoubtedly. He wondered what the tom would've thought in the first parts of new leaf when the snow from the
mountains melt and the edges of the bank got engulfed by the hungry waves.
Even the bravest of warriors struggle to face the waves- he couldn't imagine what the sight of it would have done to Yarrowpounce. Perhaps he'd drop dead? He flicked an ear dismissively and put his attention back onto the tom. ' ' hey- ' ' he paused nose scrunching up with surprise to see that the white and brown patched tom was actually.. crying? ' ' relax mousebrain you won't die, I won't let ya ' ' his voice lacked regular sympathy but he seemed slightly discomforted as his eyebrows knit together. This was going to be harder then he thought...

At this point, Yarrowpounce stopped caring about what the other cat thought about him, his fear was surmounting and that was the only thing he could think about. He wasn't among friends, he couldn't even see Leopardblaze, or any other cats he had some semblance of knowing. He felt alone and on the verge of doing something that would kill him. And Roachfoot's comment about him shaking didn't make him feel any better, it just added to his mental illusion that this cat would let him die if it came down to it. The cat was shorter than him, Yarrowpounce didn't know his strength, he hardly knew anything about this cat to begin with, how was he supposed to trust him with his life? The roaring of his own fears in his head was becoming louder and louder, beginning to drown out the sound of cats around him. It nearly forced him to close his eyes and crumple to the ground, but he managed to hold back from doing so.
Out of the roar of sound that only he could hear, he heard a muffled 'Hey-'. His terrified, dewy eyes flickered around before focusing on the cat who was to be teaching him. The internal sound died down a little as he focused on the other tom, listening to what he said. "T-T-That's what you t-think,
b-but anything can h-happen, I-I don't.. I don't know y-you, w-what if I g-get swept a-away. T-T-There's nothing, nothing you-you c-can do about that." It was hard to talk when your jaw wanted to clench shut from fear, but he managed to voice his concerns, more tears wetting his cheeks.

Originally Posted by Dipper

"Not, uh, to... be ungrateful or anything, but have you actually done that before? Rescuing someone, I mean?" Or two cats at once, if what Grousestar said was true. They might both need assistance, and his rattled nerves weren't quelled by Oakflame's promise. Fawnpaw listened to the instructions, all of which seeming reasonable until the part about his tail, and he swiveled to stare at the little pomf. He was supposed to keep that above water? Distracted and uncertain if he should question that aloud, he nearly didn't hear the rest of the directions but nodded when Oakflame was finished speaking.

Fawnpaw blinked while he gazed at Oakflame's graceful slide into the water that he didn't think could be replicated by trainees, at least not during this session. "Okay..." There was a hesitant waver in his meow as he took one step forward, closer to the river, then the other step. His legs were stiff and unwilling, but he was given a pinch of hope upon seeing Grousestar adjust to the water.

The edge of the riverbank was intimidating alone. The dropoff didn't allow for a gradual immersion into the swirling depths that threatened to drag him down and keep him there, squeezing the air from his lungs. Fawnpaw shuddered, the visual intense. "Alright, here we go." It was a mutter mostly to himself as he continued to inch forward but kept as much of his body on land as possible, his balance soon slipping when that no longer became feasible. With a splash, he was in and struggled his way to the surface to take a gulp of air. Instructions returning to the forefront of his thoughts, he tried to remember the basics: paddle, legs close, and... tail? Fawnpaw realized with a start that his tail was submerged and tried to squirm to correct it, but merely was putting his head under water with his attempts.

@Rosemew ; @The Cannibal

Originally Posted by Rosemew

[ @The Cannibal @Dipper ]
___________

Oakflames eyes were locked on Grousestar as he got into the water. Honestly, he was about to rush over and take the tom out of the river when seeing his struggle, but calmed once he got the hang of it. Though the leader did look like he was gonna submerge, that made him nervous. Keeping watch on the older, he answered Fawnpaws question. "Well, no. But just trust me." He meowed, glancing over to the apprentice. Once he enters the river..everything should be good. He thought, paddling his legs slightly to keep from going underwater. That would give both of the toms a spook and he personally didn't want that.

He was distracted by his thoughts, surprised by the splash. His head jerked over just to see Fawnpaw nearly flipping fur to his tail. "ah! Fawnpaw, it's fine..your tail i mean. I don't want you to get hurt or anything trying to make it float." he told, tone somewhat worried. Time to start training!

Oakflame had nodded to himself slightly. "Now that you're both in the river.. we're going to practice paddling okay? Just so you can get the hang of it and after, we can slowly start to learn the more difficult steps." Oh! Adding on a moment after, "Remember, if you feel nervous, you can take a break and get out of the water." the tabby told.

Quietly the leader was grateful that Oakflame didn't come over right away to help him, Grousestar wanted to struggle. It was an important part of learning that needed to be embraced. He wasn't going to be excellent at first, in fact, he might look like a floundering, sick fish right now, but that was okay. The point was, he was learning, and he would hopefully get better with time. After a few moments of good splashing and reckless correction, eventually the brown tabby would steady himself, though he could feel his body straining with the efforts, breath puffing out of his nose from the exertion. After he was pretty sure he had the basics of keeping his head above the water, he allowed himself to glance over at the apprentice who also seemed to be struggling, but for a different reason. They had a short tail, 'Like Rabbitfluff. Speaking of, is he here?' The thought briefly passed through his mind but was gone in seconds; the thought of friends could be saved for later. He was being taught how to swim.

"Paddling. I'm guessing that's what gets us moving? Or is that keeping us afloat right now?" Asked the leader, his paws beating awkwardly in the water and his body rocking slightly with the motion. His eyes were on Oakflame now, trying to get a visual of how he was keeping so still, how he was making it look as if he was just.. Floating on the water.

"Is there a secret trick, besides moons and moons of practice to make you look so good at swimming?" The lighthearted question was asked with a small chuckle, Grousestar still trying to get a good rhythm down so he didn't feel like he was floundering and struggling in the river.

[BEAR.]

[ The lessons have concluded. If you'd like to continue your roleplays, you're free to do so via PMs or in the Outskirts. ]