from the shadows to the sea [private lesson]

[alec]

->> rookfire <<-
[ shadowclan enforcer | 17moons | purrks ]
a large scarred dark grey cat with minimal white markings and grey eyes

with a frankly surprisingly large group of cats, it was only four for now, six if he counted the warriors he had brought for safety, but rookfire hadnt expected this many apprentices to be interested in training by cat that had only recently joined shadowclan, they made their way out of camp. realistically, rookfire knew training was training and he didnt carry the title of enforcer for nothing, so the surprise quickly shifted to the back of his mind as the tom lead the group to the body of water he had recently located and judged to be of decent size. it wasnt 'good' per se, too shallow and small for rooks taste, but he had learned to swim under similar, yet warmer and probably cleaner circumstances so who was he to complain, as long as it would work.. it felt like half a miracle finding a decent pond on shadowclan land in the first place.
warm midday sun shining down on dark pelt, the enforcer glanced over his shoulder again, rookfire wasnt really sure how much he liked leading a group of cats he had to look after, perhaps trailing behind to be able to make sure no one got lost would put his mind at ease, perhaps he still felt like he had to be on guard at every moment, perhaps he simply couldnt put that much trust in the two warriors, he wouldnt find out yet, not on this trip anyway.
he slowed to a stop near the water, the trip had taken longer than he wouldve liked but a broken shoulder doesnt enjoy going fast sadly, and turned to face the group of cats, roachflare, sleepysunrise, grousepaw, birdpaw, pigeonpaw, and muddypaw. both sleepysunrise and the medicine cat apprentice were a familiar sight, even if rookfire hadnt really talked to either of them properly in a while, the tri colour feline resided within the same den he had been confined to for rest, and sleepysunrise had earned her name alongside rookfire. roachflare, and birdpaw he very vaguely knew as well, mostly by sight, pigeonpaw and muddypaw, however, had been a surprise, mostly because he hadnt seen the light grey molly and dark brown tom much around camp..perhaps they preferred to keep to themselves.

rookfire considered a smile, decided against it, neutrality the more comfortable choice for hiding how unsure he was about this whole lesson.
"happy to have you here, we're gonna go over basics first so no one drowns." he began, putting no particular emphasis on being happy to have them, probably successfully replicating the 'dont care' approach hawkbite had met sleepysunrise and rookfire with at their first enforcer meeting.
"if you ever find yourself in a river, swim with the stream, focus on keeping your head above water and slowly paddle to land or whatever safety you can find." drawing a claw across the soil he produced a crude drawing of a river, followed by tapping a claw on the ground a few times and then drawing it to the 'borders' of the river, as if following the stream. the motion was smooth, entirely thought up in this very moment yet comfortable as the enforcer settled into the sensation of teaching and six pairs of eyes resting on him. "i dont suppose i need to tell you, but dont try to show off, water doesnt forgive your mistakes, and you should know your limits"
with a sharp flick of striped tail, signalling the others to wait, rookfire stood once again, closing the distance between himself and the water before slipping into the greenish liquid with the upmost grace he could manage without his shoulder making him see stars. water shallow enough to stand this close to the bank, the enforcer lifted a white tipped paw out of the water to demonstrate paddling, paw spread a bit to allow more traction. "the only thing we'll learn today is paddling, to keep your head above the water n practice, you'll figure it out eventually"
beckoning the others closer, he stepped further into the water to clear the space, now submerged to his shoulders while the apprentices should have the water barely touch their stomachs, he watched carefully for their reaction. "we'll start in the shallow so you can stand alone if needed, go ahead and try, i'll be watching"

________________________

OOC:
id prefer this to not take years pretty please.

- you are very welcome to have your character ask/need assistance from rook just mention me,
- additionally, off topic conversations are welcome as long as your character participates.
- there is no limit to the number of posts your cat can make between rooks big "group teaching" posts (i will be posting interactions in between those as well). i appreciate every ping :3


rundown of the lesson plan:
- rook is going to have them try alone for a bit, get comfortable in water shallow enough that they can both try to swim and still stand if need be. (between now and my next post)
- next i was thinking getting their head under water to take away some of the fear of being submerged and then finally going into the deeper water. (unsure if this'll be one or two posts)
- for the final bit i am planning to have everyone show what theyve learned one by one for critique of technique. (last group teaching post)

not 100% sure how many groups posts this'll get from me but probably around 4.


people involved:
rookfire - me (teacher/guard)
roachflare - me (guard)

sleepysunrise - @Estelle (guard/participant)
grousepaw - @redshiftreign (participant)
birdpaw - @Mica (participant)
pigeonpaw - @Luminous (participant)
muddypaw - @Dolomedes (participant)



-> next rook post: 25/07/24 OR earlier if everyone has replied <-


[ i actually tried very hard with this please no one yell at me sob ]

[Luminous]

She/her - 8 moons
Short grey molly with a darker stripe and amber eyes
The collector - Heightened perception (smell)

The small apprentice had been lucky enough this time not to have to go pester a warrior for lessons since this one had just appeared to teach her, so score with that... but it would be swimming. Pigeonpaw wasn't sure on that. Everything she had heard about swimming was that it was this strange activity Riverclanners did and that most cats considered getting their fur wet to be comfortable, to say the least. But yeah, if you were set on becoming the greatest most fantastic warrior Shadowclan had ever seen, well then you had to learn a lot of things, and like who didn't love being able to show off to younger cats once she was not said young cat anymore. No, oops, that was the thing Rookfire told them not to do. Maybe once she was better at swimming though and could make even less dangerous stuff look like super cool.

But mainly basics for now, like surviving if you accidentally fell into deeper water, and to be fair, while being awesome was a goal and priority for Pigeonpaw, staying alive was also a major interest of hers.

The grey molly followed cautiously into the murky water, each lap of the water as her paws sending an uncomfortable shiver down her spine. And Riverclanners likes this? Genuinely how? Like she was not one to judge on what others did with their free time (considering she organized moss) but surely there were better hobbies!

But yeah ok, swimming. Carefully she moved around her paws in the shallow water, taking in the feeling of how it flowed around her paws, how much she could spread her toes before water flowed between them, and trying to imagine swimming. "Can you imagine that Riverclanners do this on a... like daily basis?" she giggled to the nearest cat. One of her paws almost slipped on something slick under the water, but she managed to regain her balance before her muzzle touched the water, thank the stars!

[Open]

[Dolomedes]

Muddypaw
"Shadowclan's self-proclaimed Hound!"
| He/they | ShC Apprentice | Moons: 5| Purrks: none |

Muddypaw was ecstatic that Rookfire had allowed him to join on this lesson even though he was so young! Swimming wasn’t necessarily a skill that he was super excited about knowing, especially not when in comparison to tracking and stealth, but it was a skill that he knew would be very important for a hound. It wouldn’t do to lose his prey just because they cross some water and he can’t follow. Besides maybe he’ll even be able to use this knowledge against others in the case that he needed it. Like against Riverclan! It really is too unfortunate that he was just too young to attend the patrol against the aquatic clan. But no matter, from what he understood of their track record it wouldn’t be long before they tried their paws against Shadowclan and then Muddypaw would be more than ready!

One of his floppy ears flicked as he took in the knowledge the enforcer was teaching before amber eyes moved towards the water that they were supposed to just start swimming in. Well not swimming, but standing. Well, no time like the present then! The apprentice gave a determined nod and then wadded out into the water and stopped beside another one of the apprentices that chose to attend the lesson. He wasn’t too familiar with her, though she seemed to be alright if she was willing to get going so quickly.

The water was a strange sensation, not one he had very much familiarity with besides similar, but heavier, mud. There were many differences though. He flexed his paws in the water and the ground beneath them shifted a smidge. He let out a soft question noise and shuffled his paws. The soil beneath them giving way and burying the forepaws. That’s interesting, and could potentially be of use. He blinked and looked up from the water to the apprentice he noticed earlier who spoke to him casually. “It isn’t too bad. Though I think I prefer mud.” Watching the apprentice almost fall brought a small laugh that he tried to smother, “Careful, or someone will mistake you for a Riverclan cat for your eagerness” Muddypaw ended playfully.

[ @alec - Rookfire | @Luminous - Pigeonpaw ]
Header base by Catnap-s on DA
Design by @/Chickadee

[Mica]

Birdpaw
ShadowClan
she/her | 9 moons | 50/100
[Blue-grey tabby with dark blue overcoat, white underside and amber eyes]
Purrks: Lyrebird's Lullaby [PERMANENTLY ACTIVE]
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Fool ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
· · ────────────── · ·
[Rookfire - @alec ] [Pigeonpaw - @Luminous ] [Muddypaw - @Oliver ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Birdpaw only needed a few more training lessons, and she even got to CHOOSE which ones she wanted! Flaying was out of the question, and ambush didn't seem like her style--good luck getting her to be quiet--and she had no interest in fish. But swimming... that was new and interesting. Plus, Rookfire was teaching it! The Enforcer seemed close with Freckle, so Birdpaw wanted to keep an eye on him before judging whether or not he was fit to be her big brother's friend. Special friend, by the looks of things. He would join the ranks of warriors that seemed to have a special attachment to her big brother.

The lesson started off with a squiggly line that Birdpaw ogled, a demonstration, and instructions.

If Pigeonpaw was eager, then Birdpaw was downright enthusiastic. The apprentice wasted absolutely no time throwing herself into the water, splashing everyone in her vicinity. She squealed happily as the water soaked through her medium-length fur, drawing the heat of Greenleaf from her pelt. Oh, this was something new! Something new and exciting!!

Birdpaw waded over to Muddypaw and Pigeonpaw, giving both younger apprentices a big grin. Her smaller form was submerged deeper than the others, but she seemed to be enjoying herself. "Isn't this cool?" She purred in a perfect replication of Mossfreckle's voice. "We can explore so many more places once we learn how to swim!" The apprentice trotted in a circle, feeling the water tug at her paws, slowing their movements. "Imagine what it's like swimming at the Seastones!!" With all those big waves, it was certain to be a fun ride!

[redshiftreign]

GROUSEPAW
THE TRAILBLAZER
⋆˖ The Fool ˖⋆
SILVER TONGUE - JUST A SCRATCH - BURN, BABY, BURN
"now i'm pretty sure there isn't gonna be some little fix, the game wasn't rigged by accident."

[ @alec [ rookfire] , @Oliver [ muddypaw] , @Luminous [ pigeonpaw ] , @Mica[ birdpaw ] , @Estelle [sleepysunrise]]

grouse and water were two things that never really mixed. his thick coat kept him mostly protected from the rain, which he enjoyed to bask in from time to time, but elsewise he tended to stay away. it was a pain to dry his thick coat with all its layers, and the prospect of getting snuffed out and extinguished caused him more discomfort and dread than he cared to admit aloud. he wouldn't say he was afraid of water, per-say, though he was almost definitely wary of it.

so, when rook offered to teach swimming, grouse wasn't going to pass that up. knowledge was knowledge. grousepaw wanted nothing more than to learn and teach. even the score. the more people knew, the more equal they were. the more decisions and educated opinions they could form. ignorant are easy to control.

he wasn't exactly pleased that sleepy was accompanying them, though a twisting hopeful feeling wormed its way into his chest anyway. he beat it down and swallowed heard as they disembarked.

following the convoy of apprentices and warriors with a brisk, energized trot, he grinned as they reached a rather nice looking pond. following rook's instructions, the mottled tom waded into the cold water, a sharp breath escaping him. it wasn't so bad; nothing he hadn't done before. he'd stood in shallow water about a dozen or so times, and it didn't really freak him out. it was the idea of floating, with nothing under paw, that got his fur to peak. moving closer to the group of younger apprentices, he joined the conversation with ease.

"you think they got swimmin' water, wherever they are? wherever we ran 'em off too?" he grunted, sparing a glance towards sleeps with a slightly pointed edge, then shrugged his heavy shoulders. riverclan was. . . probably going through hell, wherever they were. or maybe they had found their own paradise, free from the bloodshed and the war. maybe not free from their own self-made shackles and tyranny, but at least safe from the other clans.

somehow, grouse didn't think that was any better. if anything, putting them in an echo chamber was a horrible idea. that was how bad things festered; left untreated. at least here, bad ideas could stand opposed. by someone.

at least, that was the theory. he wasn't so sure if any of this was working out in practice.

[Estelle]

Swimming; something mama was going to teach her had their lesson not been cut short, barely existent. She had agreed to partake as a guard, to ensure none would drown or get harmed during this trip and yet there remained something curious about it – she wanted to know how to swim, but this was not her time to learn. She had to watch, stand guard, protect. So why, pray tell, did she move to stand within the shallows alongside the rest? Sleepysunrise did not justify her actions; she had listened thoroughly to Rookfire’s instructions, one she had yet to accept, and most students now stood with their paws in the water. It would be easier to catch a slipped-away apprentice, this way, she was closer to them and could reach them earlier if anything went amiss; especially with her sister involved, she couldn’t take any risks. The bit of water around her paws was little trouble other than that it stuck close to her wild fur, making her legs look like the paws of a soaked bunny. Worse, she certainly would look like a soaked bunny fully submerged – most of her size came from the rowdiness of her fur only. That aside, it wasn’t too bad just yet and the idle chatter of the apprentices hung in the air; idle, up until Grousepaw spoke. Vibrant eyes flitted towards the medic’s apprentice, catching his scornful glance. One she pointedly ignored; there was no sense to his words. The firs were out of their water but that didn’t meant they were out of water entirely. They’d fall back onto their paws eventually – besides, they were a threat. Otherwise Miss Grandmama wouldn’t have partaken.


[ @alec @redshiftreign @Mica @Luminous @Oliver ]

[alec]

->> rookfire <<-
[ shadowclan enforcer | 17moons | purrks ]
a large scarred dark grey cat with minimal white markings and grey eyes

rookfire watched the apprentices step into the water, some more enthusiastically than others and tried to not pay mind to the conversation they were having. it was pretty understandable that they talked about riverclan, what it was like and whether they had water at whereever they currently were, but it still make rook uncomfortable. pretty much any and all talk of riverclan made him feel threatened and a bit jumpy for the near future, perhaps that would fade one day, but he was appointed a enforcer, the elite of shadowclan, and he still felt that he was no more than riverclan scum that had somehow cheated his way through apprenticeship and skipped warriorhood entirely. 'careful, or someone will mistake you for a riverclan cat for your eagerness' didnt really help at that but instead of lingering on what mudpaw had said, his gaze and attention shifted to birdpaw who seemed to be spouting way less mean words (or words that rookfire saw as a personal attack) and more so genuinely enjoying this experience. her voice shifting to sound like mossfreckles however, did freak him out quite a bit and grousepaw being the next im line to look at didnt really help. the water did a good job of hiding the shiver that ran down his spine, stars did he hate how some cats were able to shift their voice in ways that was not meant to happen.
next in line, sleepysunrise who he had suspected had some sort of interest in this lesson but probably wouldnt partake due to her ego getting in the way, instead of pointing that out and losing a student, he gave her a silent nod before clearing his throat in preparation to speak.
"very well. youre all pretty far in already, next step is to stand where you are sure you can still reach the ground and put your head under water for a few seconds. this is important if you dont want to panic and drown if you ever get pushed under water. once you feel comfortable-ish doing that, you can try paddling in the shallow. no one moves out into the deep end until i say so."

_________________________________________

[ greetings lads, you had a lot more time than i was planning because life happened but here i am.
- @Luminous - pigeonpaw
- @Oliver - muddypaw
- @Mica - birdpaw
- @redshiftreign - grousepaw
- @Estelle - sleepysunrise ]

[Luminous]

She/her - 8 moons
Short grey molly with a darker stripe and amber eyes
The collector - Heightened perception (smell) - Hulk SMASH

The grew back over her mawn at Muddypaw's comment, and Pigeonpaw puffed up her chest in an exaggerated pose. "Staying alive is one of my great passions, you see?" she joked before dropping the mask of self-importance and flicking her paw over the surface of the water, sending water splashing towadsr the other apprentice. "Just you wait though, one day its gonna be me saving you from drowning and you'll be happy I was this eager."

The droplets she had sent towards Muddy were nothing compared to the faceful of a splash that she got when Birdpaw came over (she had never spoken to them before, but they sounded like Mossy did??). "Watch it!" she giggled and sent back a small wave with her paw before Rook started speaking and Pigeonpaw quickly tried to resume her attentive state to soak in the teachings. But her curious expression turned into one of uncomfortableness when she heard what they would be doing next. Like she understood the reasoning by whyyyy.

The water wasn't as bad once you had already gotten pretty wet from splashing around in good fun, and getting into the water seemed to be the worst part, but the idea of putting her head down there was still... not fun.

"Ok ok, for the sake of learning and becoming the greatest warrior someday," she thought as she closed her eyes. A deep breath, mostly to mentally prepare herself rather than to be able to stay under the surface longer. Then she ducked, head plunging into the water, immediately wanting to get up again, but fought through it and stayed a bit longer, before coming up fr air and trying again. And again. She would be able to do this.

@Oliver @Mica
just mentioning interactions since there are quite a few of us

[Dolomedes]

Muddypaw

Muddypaw was a bit confused as the other apprentice seemed to get a bit defensive over his words. It was only a joke? But maybe it was ruder than he had meant, though implying that Muddypaw would drown from being a failure could be seen as rude as well but Muddypaw knew it was a joke… what was the difference? Being compared to Riverclan was bad but telling a clan mate that they would drown wasn’t? Muddypaw didn’t really understand but smiled anyways because it was strange but an appreciative offer, at least the dark pelted apprentice assumed that it was genuine. “If I drown, you’ll be the first cat I call! Thank you!” The end of his sentence ended with them sputtering on water as Pigeonpaw threw some in his direction.

Birdpaw also threw quite a bit of water at the pair of them, though Muddypaw was still wiping his eyes from the first splash so his paw took the blunt of the second, bigger splash. “Swimming at the Seastones? I’ve never been there yet!” They have yet to really go to a gathering and he just could hardly wait for it! It was going to be so cool to see the other clans in person and also he could learn even more about them! Which would certainly help with his whole training to be a hound thing! It wasn’t just internal threats that he would have to deal with when he’s older. External threats were more common.

His eyes traveled over to Rookfire as the enforcer gave them their next step to being fishes. Muddypaw nodded happily with a slight hum, “Do you think that swimming is just like… running under water?” Though the question would fall on deaf ears because the apprentice took no time in waiting. Taking a breath into their lungs before shoving his head under water. He wanted to open his eyes, but he knew that he probably shouldn’t. It was a strange sensation and rather than feeling discomfort at it like he imagined most cats would do, he felt at peace. Was this what mama was talking about when she told him about what it was like to be Riverclan? Maybe he didn’t mind the water because of his part Riverclan heritage. Mama was lean and her fur shiny and sleek from her time in Riverclan, would Muddypaw look the same after this lesson?

Eventually, he did lift, after his lungs began to burn. It was a weird floaty sensation and he didn’t mind too much. Though now his fur was dripping and heavy from gathering up all the water it could. Muddypaw just shook out his fur as best as he could before making that effort futile by going right back under. This time though, while keeping his head under water, he padded forward. Slowly, the water shifting his thick fur as he went. Before coming up a few tail lengths away from his starting point. Okay well… time for actual swimming! He could do this! The apprentice turned to face the bank so that he would swim through the shallows and not accidentally into the deep end, then he kicked off and started to very clumsily kick through the water.

He fails to tread ht properly and his head goes under for a second before he gets his paws under him again and he’s standing. Hmm, that didn’t quite go to plan. Rather than saying anything, Muddypaw turned his gaze and focused on the other apprentices, planning to watch and try and learn based on what they all did.

[ @alec - Rookfire/Finishing my turn | @Luminous - Pigeonpaw/interaction | @Mica - Birdpaw/interaction/next turn ]

[Mica]

Birdpaw
ShadowClan
she/her | 8 moons | 56/100
[Grey-blue tabby with dark blue overcoat, white underside and amber eyes]
Purrks: Lyrebird's Lullaby [PERMANENTLY ACTIVE]
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Fool ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
· · ────────────── · ·
[Pigeonpaw - @Luminous ] [Muddypaw - @Oliver ] [Rookfire - @alec ] [Grousepaw - @redshiftreign ] [Sleepysunrise - @Estelle ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Birdpaw was eager for the next part of the lesson, even as the apprentices around her all chattered away happily. The molly glanced around, seeing Sleepysunrise and giving her a big happy grin as she splished in the water a bit.

Rookfire commanded everyone's attention, and Birdpaw did her best to listen. Going under water? Easy freaking peasy. Birdpaw hardly waited until Rookfire was done before reeling her head back and throwing it at full force forward, dunking herself in the water with a violent splash. She immediately inhaled.

Rearing back and coughing, Birdpaw took several heartbeats to gather enough air into her tiny, weak lungs. Despite her loud racket, she still seemed in a good mood. She merely steadied herself, took another breath, and this time gently slid into the water, pulling her head under with a quiet plip.

Holding her breath was... harder than she wanted to admit. Her lungs were already struggling to keep her breathing on a good day, but being under water? It had her head spinning much more rapidly than the others. Birdpaw pushed herself up, stumbling for a moment as she tried to gain her bearings. Her heart thundered in her chest, and her breaths came out in rasping wheezes. She tried to keep it quiet and contained, not wanting to ruin everyone else's fun.

Usually, she managed to get her breathing under control relatively quickly. This was something she had been dealing with since birth, after all. But this time, it wasn't getting better. Birdpaw wheezed, growing more panicked by the moment. She couldn't breathe! It was just like when she inhaled the water--but this time she was choking on air. Was she drowning? Birdpaw made a strangled noise of terror, her amber eyes, watery from the force of her coughing, seeking out help. Sleepysunrise. Birdpaw stumbled towards her sister, water sloshing over her white legs. Please, please help me!