Haven Springs

[littlelove]

The hot steam wafting up from the nearby hot springs was a welcome change to Morningpaw's surroundings, the dry winter air in her lungs being replaced with a much more comfortable warmth. She stared in slight amazement at the newly-discovered pools; how could something like this have been on the territory for so long and not have been found by someone? She crouched by the water, giving it a curious tap. It was hot alright.

Plumstorm's question inspired a child-like answer from her. "What if there's something big sleeping under here? It could be putting off enough heat to warm the pools, or something like that." The tabby offered, returning back to the sides of her patrolmates. "Though, I think Stormtalon's answer could work, too." Starclan got angry, right? It was probably angry enough at her already.

...That thought cemented another pit in her stomach. The molly snapped her mouth shut suddenly, a sober mood suddenly inserting itself into the already-awkward situation she was in. In a desperate attempt to distract herself, she followed Plumstorm's gaze to the shadows of their former territory reaching to the sky. She'd never travelled up to the rugged range while they still had it claimed... Not much of a problem to her, thanks to how far away it was from the rest of the territory. Though, she couldn't help but wonder... "Do you think anyone's living up there now? I'm sure it's nice territory away from the clans."

@Ziera @implimm

[plum]

[ @Ziera, @littlelove ]

Where StarClan blows off steam? Plumstorm has to clench her jaw to keep herself from laughing. For such a serious, gruff response, Stormtalon's words were oddly kitlike. Not that Morningpaw's idea was too much better, nor did the Shield herself have any more of a reasonable explanation. Something big sleeping beneath the spring? StarClan? Who was to say.

"Well," Plumstorm lets the conversation move on naturally. "It used to belong to SkyClan, right? So, surely it is still hospitable to some who prefer it." It was a shame that their Clan had to give it up, but the idea was sound. Lionsrange just wasn't ideal to maintain. The border out there was just unreasonable, and they had all the prey they really needed closer to home. "It looks like fun though. Could you imagine being so high up?"

Nearby, the deep tone of an owl's call alerts her, and Plumstorm turns her head to see a rather... Large gray owl swoop over the treetops, swooping down to clutch the thick branch of one alder tree not too far from the trio. Yeesh, that thing is bigger than a warrior! Well, excluding maybe... Dawnstar, and the others like her. They were pretty big cats. Blue eyes flitting from Stormtalon to Morningpaw, the only thing the silver molly could imagine was any one of them being grabbed by that thing. When I said imagine being so high up, I did not mean for you to send something that could fly away with me! she thinks to StarClan.

Letting out a bit of a nervous chuff, Plumstorm sweeps her tail over the ground. "Sooo... Let's just... Maybe not get on that guy's dung list, huh?" The joke might have been a little too on the nose. The great owl hoots deeply in agreement. Or warning.

[Rani]

Perhaps it was a little odd to hold a first swimming lesson at the newly found hot springs but at this point it was simply far to cold to hold it anywhere else! The edges of the river had begun to ice over and Sunsetbloom held no desire to take a visit to the medicine cats den simply to teach some swimming and face the barb of their medicine cats tongue! So swimming in the springs it was, they could even relax and chat if the two so desired~ Sure fishing would be a bit... Hard given there were no fish in the springs but Sunsetbloom supposed they could try the theory and fake practice of bait fishing if not diving. It was the only fishing that could occur in winter after all if an effort was made to break fishing holes in the ice.


So happy as a clam the molly glided her way to the springs big body plowing a path through the snow and thick fur insulating from any cold that may come from that action. Whitepaw could probably almost get lost in this weather but hopefully she was following along in Sunsetblooms wake as the molly arrived at the springs and immediately took a bounding spring into the warm water laughing as she re emerged and making her way to a shallow shelf at the edge to wait for her apprentice.

@WinterMara

[WinterMara]

| Whitepaw of Riverclan |

Whitepaw had already gone through one leafbare, so she was slightly more used to it than a fresh, new apprentice would be. She even knew how to camouflage in the snow and avoid a rolling snowball, huh, seems she can give Kestrelstar positive credit for something, he still sucks though. Whitepaw recalled her first ever swimming lesson, and her mentor almost died there, hopefully this overly peppy molly wouldn't end up nearly killing herself via stupid decisions.

Wait, why was it feeling warm, were they at haven springs? This was a perfect spot, it was hot, so no ice would be on the water! Hm, maybe she needed to give her new mentor some credit as well, she didn't seem as minnowbrained as she appeared. Well, Sunsetbloom dived right into the water laughing, so seems like that was disproven, oh well, Whitepaw just sat, waiting for instructions.

| @Rani

[Rani]

@WinterMara

Sunsetbloom could tell her new apprentice was a little bit judgy of her at the moment, that was fair she'd been let down by a tom of mentors and the older molly was still new to her and she was well aware she was a bit odd. The thing was the warrior didnt care, the opinions of others were important sure but not important enough to sacrifice her own joy for life just to cater to others. Stars she didnt even care about the judgement she got for living most of her life as a kittypet before now being a bit silly to her student was small beans and hopefully she could temp Whitepaw into joining in the joy eventually.


"Alrighty Whitepaw feel free to wade on in and we'll get started with the lesson! This area is shallow enough to stand but when you feel comfortable in the water grab onto me with your front paws and start trying to paddle with your back. I wont let you drop under the water dont worry so just put your weight on me I dont mind! From there you just make scooping motions like youre digging into the ground below you with your back paws and you'll find yourself floating a bit~"


The warrior was confident she'd be able to grab the apprentice if she did slip and with her acting as a sort of flotation device for the young molly she could get the hang of how to move her back paws before they moved on.

[Ziera]

// @littlelove | @implimm

Amusement pricked through Stormtalon’s chilly demeanor at the sight of Morningpaw regarding the pools like a fascinated kit. She was beyond warrior age now, some might say too old to tap into this pure sort of wonder, but. Well. The battle-worn tom refused to gatekeep who was eligible for curiosity.

In fact, as further conversation bounced between the she-cats (regarding the rugged range, a place he did not miss), Stormtalon assessed the springs again. This time he didn’t scrutinize it through the lens of a strategist or warrior. The concise cost-benefit analysis written in his thoughts melted slowly into the sights, sounds, and warmth enveloping them, and Storm tried to just…look at it. Drink in the sight not to quench thirst, but to savor the taste. After several moments of this, calm bloomed in the tabby’s being like a flower in the sunshine; tension he didn’t realize had knotted under his scarred back eased away.

...Brightpaw would’ve loved it here.

And then one sound sent ice back into his blood. Owl. Storm snapped to attention like a dislocated shoulder in its socket. His green gaze narrowed, moving in tandem with Plumstorm’s, and sure enough—a massive bird dipped through the air with ease, landed on an ugly, gnarled limb of a tree too close for comfort. Just like that Stormtalon’s guard was completely resurrected. He’d only seen an owl once before in his apprentice days, but ever since then, their haunting calls echoed in his ears. He loathed the unsettling tick of their movements…every unnatural angle. Judging by the shield’s shift in energy (and that poor excuse of a joke) she agreed.

“Morningpaw,” Stormtalon mewed at a low volume, locking his gaze on the owl. “Stay close to us.” He didn’t care if the order was taken as condescending by the almost-warrior. Had they been too noisy in their approach? Was the bird fixated on them, or some other furry creature with a skittering heartbeat? Storm wasn’t entirely sure. He made himself still as possible when the owl piped up once more, showing off an impressive wingspan while its scythe-like talons punctured alder bark. To Plumstorm, he added: “You and I happen to be on every dung list. Perhaps it would be wise to cut this outing short.”

[littlelove]

Morningpaw was just trotting back over to the sides of her companions when an booming, indignant hoot stopped her in her tracks. She didn't quite process what could have made the sound until her patrolmates pointed it out by name, and she gazed up, only to be met with the boring eyes of a sizeable owl that was looming over the trio. Even if she didn't quite understand the others' sudden stiffness at the presence of the bird - even if it was huge, it was just a bird, right? - the intensity of Stormtalon's order set her fur standing on end. She turned away from the bird as she let out a nervous laugh and quickened her pawsteps in an attempt to meet the other two cats quicker. "The border's fresh anyways, right? I'm sure any-"

It seemed that she had done precisely the wrong thing.

The only thing to signify that the bird had moved was a sudden gust of air buffeting her fur. No beating of wings, no screech. An eerily silent killer. She had hardly realized the bluster was anything out of the ordinary when she felt the freezing, yet simultaneously red-hot shock of talons sinking into either side of her ribcage.

Her eyes widened in a startled agony as she opened her jaws to let out a cry - yet, as the dry, cold air filled her lungs, it seemed to instantly stifle any sound she wanted to make. And just as silently as before, a rush of air surrounded her, and her paws began to lift off of the ground, despite how desperately her claws dug into the frost - and now blood covered - ground. Morningpaw could feel its' talons ripping farther through either side of her pelt thanks to the weight of her body, and she finally found the ability to let out a plea for help, that came out as a wail instead of any coherent words. All the apprentice seemed to know was agony as her vision tunneled.

@Ziera @implimm

[WinterMara]

| Whitepaw of Riverclan |

It felt like Sunsetbloom was treating her like a new apprentice, which, fair, she knew how to float, kind of, although, one thing did scare Whitepaw a bit. What would it be like to drown in Haven Springs, would it be like normal drowning or would it feel like burning as well? Okay, after that dark thought, now Whitepaw was a bit scared, so she did exactly as Sunsetbloom said, she waded into the water, grabbed onto Sunsetbloom for safe measure, and began using her back legs to, scoop the water?

While the molly preferred more independent training, she also would not like to die a painful burning death, so here she was, looking like an apprentice fresh out of the nursery, embarrassing. This was the first time a warrior had ever actually, even offered to be support though, usually she did just have to learn without any physical support, it was a, unwanted nice change she guessed. She wastill silent as ever though, but mostly because she had nothing to say, she wasn't going to beg for affirmation on if what she was doing was correct, she would just, do the training.

| @Rani

[plum]

[ @Ziera, @littlelove ]

StarClan had a way of shoving you back into your metaphorical pit as soon as you'd managed to climb out of it. They had a pretty sick sense of humor, too. Bet on someone joining you to go and train your new apprentice who's afraid of you? Haha, we got ya! Fantasize about standing on the top of a mountain stargazing? Here, have an owl chauffeur! If it wasn't for her faith that they could also have a great part in steering her in the right direction through all of this, Plumstorm would have cast away her belief and decided they were out to get her, on some vendetta against her for reasons beyond her comprehension.

Stormtalon's confirmation of the chilled atmosphere only serves to bring more tension into the shield's body than there'd been before. But, he was a warrior and she was the shield here. Resting a piercing blue gaze over the tom's shoulders as he stares at the owl, the question crosses her mind of why. Why hadn't he been made a shield? The she-cat steps closer to Morningpaw out of instinct though, until their pelts nearly brushed. Her heart went out to the other she-cat, whose situation was alarmingly similar to Plumstorm's as an apprentice. Though while Plumstorm could excuse herself by arguing that she'd joined RiverClan past the time where she should have been a warrior in ThunderClan, so starting from the beginning all over again sort of made sense... Morningpaw did not. From what the silver molly knew, she'd been born here among these cats.

Reasons and details aside, since they ultimately mattered very little, the urge to try and protect the apprentice overrode the fact of her age. She was an apprentice. And warriors and shields now as well, well. They had sworn duties and all of that.

Owls don't pay much mind to the sworn duties of warriors and shields though.

As the gargantuan winged creature swoops down low from its high perch, dread fills every pore of Plumstorm's body, every ligament and fiber and strand of fur. Its talons were splayed out as though it were coming in to grab its prey, and Plumstorm's eyes widen as it draws nearer and nearer. Cold terror pulses through her veins as she stands frozen in place beside Morningpaw. StarClan, not me! A truly regrettable, selfish, survival-driven thought had in the split second before disaster strikes. Many could argue that they wouldn't be so selfish if meeting the face of Death beside another themselves, but shame often drove them to lie the survival instinct away.

But Death had not glided silently down upon them for Plumstorm, no. Horror washes through her as her Clanmate's warmth, even faint, is swept away from her flank. Death the owl had heard her silent prayer, or perhaps it was StarClan again that composed its song for Morningpaw instead today. "No!" This isn't- She cannot even finish her thought as she dives for the winged animal, hoping that her claws could grapple its flesh through that thick plumage.

She couldn't speak, couldn't vocalize any further to Stormtalon or the owl though. Panic set in quick, just like this season's frost, and it was everything she had just to wordlessly launch herself into the air to try and grab that owl's blasted wing.

Plumstorm's body was not thick, was not burly or even as muscular as the next RiverClan warrior's physique. She was light, maybe too light. But somehow, the cat had dug her claws into this bird's leg, and it was enough to cause it trouble for a bit. Gasping as the owl frantically works to escape her ghold, beating its wings and flinging itself about, Plumstorm focuses on little more than just holding tight. Surely those jokesters up above had something else in store soon.

[Rani]

Originally Posted by WinterMara

| Whitepaw of Riverclan |

It felt like Sunsetbloom was treating her like a new apprentice, which, fair, she knew how to float, kind of, although, one thing did scare Whitepaw a bit. What would it be like to drown in Haven Springs, would it be like normal drowning or would it feel like burning as well? Okay, after that dark thought, now Whitepaw was a bit scared, so she did exactly as Sunsetbloom said, she waded into the water, grabbed onto Sunsetbloom for safe measure, and began using her back legs to, scoop the water?

While the molly preferred more independent training, she also would not like to die a painful burning death, so here she was, looking like an apprentice fresh out of the nursery, embarrassing. This was the first time a warrior had ever actually, even offered to be support though, usually she did just have to learn without any physical support, it was a, unwanted nice change she guessed. She wastill silent as ever though, but mostly because she had nothing to say, she wasn't going to beg for affirmation on if what she was doing was correct, she would just, do the training.

| @Rani

Perhaps to a wary and jaded cat Sunsetblooms attitude was full of falsehoods, an ever happy and compassionate cover hiding something darker, but the simple fact was that the molly was just that joyfull. The maine coon had known pain and hate and anger once and found it lacking, only a barrier to a better life, and so had left it behind. Left it behind but never forgotten the scars on her face a constant reminder of a darker past. One long gone that left a cat completely free of judgement in its wake. How odd was that.


"Good work! Thats it if you need to put more weight on me feel free but as soon as you feel comfortable and floaty enough tell me and I'll let you down for a second (dont worry its shallow enough to stand here) and hold your middle so you can try with all paws~ Before then any questions or things you might wanna know about?"