[Ziera]

Originally Posted by soot

Sootpaw had been helping Podpaw dig up some plants so he could put them in the nursery. He would have to mature sometime, although she enjoyed his mindset of happy and fun things first. She wished she was still as young as him, sometimes joining in with the kits for a nice long game of moss-ball, not a single care in the world.

She was becoming a warrior soon, so no way could she be like that. She had to be mature, although she could still have fun with her friends. She wondered if Stealthpaw was going to become a warrior too, or if Wavepaw and her brothers were.

What was that? A voice? She recognized it as Ottersplash, a new warrior. “Of course!” She answered, leaving Podpaw to dig his plants up by himself for a minute or two. Ottersplash seemed to have his foot under a rock. Before she started pushing on it, she asked, “how did you even get it like that?”

Ottersplash tried to laugh it off, amber eyes crinkling in the corners as his ears grew hot. "Uhhh, well, ya know. Just going about my day doing warrior things. Morning patrols, hunting, getting stuck in rocks...the usual."

The first push was... not enough, but Otter felt the rock give way the tiniest bit, and that gave him hope. "I think we almost got it!" he mewed excitedly, his tail flicking behind him. "One more time. Ready? One... two... THREE!"

It worked. He pulled back as hard as he could, and -- WHAM. Ottersplash fell flat on his back from the momentum. A carefree laugh like sunlight in sound-form bubbled from the ginger tom. He twisted on the earth so he could get a good look at Sootpaw. "Thank StarClan!"

After jumping up to the blessed sensation of all four paws under him, Ottersplash brushed his shoulder against the apprentice's to show gratitude. His sparkling eyes settled over her kind hazel ones. "You know, you're pretty good at that," He teased. "Rescuing warriors from meanie rocks, I mean."