Cricketsting formed a bubble in his mouth as his eyes traced the fish underwater while his ears picked up the pawsteps of the ginger tabby. As much as the cream warrior wanted to tell some puns to Gingerfrost, it could scare away any fish in the calming river. Maybe after they were done catching fish, he could tell some fish jokes?
His thoughts stood still and silent as his eyes noted that a medium-sized fish. A perch, his thought ran off again, instantly forcing Cricketsting’s left paw to bring itself into the waters and get the fish out. Sadly, he ended up not catching the perch.
“Dung!” he cursed under his breath, finally popping his silent bubble. Turning back, he looked at Gingerfrost with a glare. “You can have a go,” he hissed, sitting down next to the second tabby.
Hm. So Cricketsting did it similarly to him… On shore, paw to essentially swipe or ‘scoop’ it out. Unlike before, he this time intently watched the cream warrior go about his fishing, focusing mainly on the movement and how the fish might react in return. Now that he could observe from a distance, the warrior noticed a few ways for the fish to escape or cause trouble even if the paw were to hit it out of the water. For instance, as the wiggling things just loved to... wiggle so much, chances were they’d wiggle back into the water if not killed fast enough. Or, if hooked to the claws, it had room to deliver a fishslap to an unsuspecting warrior. Interesting.
The tom’s ears perked slightly when Cricketsting broke his silence with a hiss. The annoyance was evident on the warrior’s face, but Gingerfrost decided not to indulge. He wanted to try something. Hesitating fairly little this time around, the ginger had to be careful his shadow didn’t disturb the fish more than they already were. Now, usually, he would be sitting down or get into any other comfortable and fishable position that wasn’t being all tense and standing. He was still kind of figuring it out, but for what he wanted to try, even the lazy tom realised a lower standing position – similar to crouch, basically – would probably be best. He kept his dark green eyes focused on the now calm water before him, waiting for a decently sized fish to come around (he decided it would be difficult to try on smaller fish).
After a few heartbeats, finally, came around what appeared to be a salmon, probably? Well whatever, it was an edible fish. He tensed his muscles and waited for the fish to get close enough. The moment it did, his two front paws shot out to grab and swiftly pull it out of the water – going in for the killing bite straight away as he pulled it up, in order to give the fish as little wiggle time as possible. While he did almost fall backwards due to the momentum, making for an awkward landing back on all fours, at least that fish was caught. And that’s what he concentrated on. He huffed as little as drops of water wet his face and fur, and mildly surprised but also pleased that this technique worked (of course he didn’t visibly show that, however). He still needed to work on it but… It worked nonetheless. He didn’t know if it was typical to his clan – it wouldn’t surprise him if it was, but it was still the first time he did it. Why wouldn’t he have known about it before? Because he didn’t go fishing all that much, even less in company. Actually, did his mentor even teach him how to fish? He couldn’t recall.
Well whatever. She had been a great warrior and he knew how to fish now, so it didn’t really matter. Picking his freshly caught fish up, the warrior lazily returned to Cricketsting’s side. “Try again.”
He muttered to the warrior, though with no intended room for argument. Not that he expected the other warrior to. Gingerfrost had just, strangely, decided that he wouldn’t leave until Cricketsting caught a fish.
As the tall dark-furred deputy stepped back onto the familiar soil of RiverClan territory, he glanced back at his clanmates, flashing them a reassuring smile before focusing back on the path ahead, allowing his tail to swish behind him aimlessly as they all walked together. Somewhere along the way, Snowleap nodded to the group and separated himself from them, saying something about hunting before returning to camp and experiencing the wrath of Skystar for allowing everyone to go back home. Watching each cat disappear from his view, the clan deputy continued onward through the familiar grounds that he had taken so many walks through countless times before now. While taking this particular stroll, Snowleap couldn’t help but shake this feeling of uneasiness. Usually, he passed those feelings off as his routine anxiety and called it a day, but this feeling was different and it made him feel like a heavy rock was resting on his chest. He paused for a moment and looked around with his one single eye, almost as if he was trying to see if there was anyone watching him from the bushes. Then, a breeze rolled through the undergrowth, sweeping through Snowleap and allowing several scents to waft into his awaiting nose and mouth.
It was Skystar… mixed with the eerie scent of… blood? Such a particular mix reminded him of the day that he lost his beloved daughter, Birdpaw. That smell of cat mixed with blood had been something that caused the skin under his fur to immediately prickle with fear and uncertainty. Snowleap stood there for what seemed like hours, but were only mere minutes before he could bring himself to follow the scent trail that had been graciously laid out before him. It felt like it was taunting him in a wicked way. He kept on walking in complete silence, holding his breath as the smell got stronger and stronger. And then….
Fur. Golden fur with ginger swirls. Just lying there on the ground. Completely still.
Snowleap blinked several times, checking if his one good eye was tricking him, but no. That was Skystar. In a rush of energy, the tall oriental longhair rushed forward, padding quickly over to the limp form of his clan leader. He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t breathing. “Skystar…” Snowleap gasped, taken back by the sight. A second later, the deputy noticed the blood trickling from his ears. Dear StarClan, what happened to him? He bent down and rested his ear against the golden tomcat’s chest. No sound of breathing or even a sign of life. No. He was dead. Skystar was dead. What? Why? He still had all his lives. He had more than enough to live for a long time. Snowleap looked up to the sky that poked through the trees. Was this StarClan’s will?
None of it really made sense to the RiverClan deputy, but he was slowly starting to realize. He was leader now. He was in charge of RiverClan. This was his responsibility now. It felt wrong and evil, but somewhere, deep within him, there was a strange emotion of relief, but also sadness. Sadness for a chance that was never meant to be. Snowleap wished that Skystar could’ve been a better cat and they could’ve had a better bond, but here he was, standing over the corpse of his leader and feeling like he had barely gotten to know him. What would they all think back at camp? Many possibilities went through his head, but he decided to not dwell on that right now. He hated that he couldn’t even bring himself to cry over this discovery.
“I’m sorry.” That was all he could say, but to who? StarClan? Skystar? RiverClan? He shook his head and bent down again, grabbing the deceased tomcat by the scruff of his neck. Skystar was smaller than him. Younger too. Maybe that came into play as to why he had turned out the way he did. Maybe not. Snowleap didn’t know. What made cats the way they are? Probably a lot of different things. The dark-furred tomcat breathed a sigh through his nose and turned back towards camp, holding Skystar’s scruff firmly. It felt awkward and weird, but it had to be done, of course. Putting one paw after the other, he was unsure of how far he actually got before hearing a hissing noise from in front of him. He looked down, seeing a snake coiled in the dirt. Snowleap stepped back in surprise, taking Skystar with him. The snake looked rather angry and ready to strike.
However, before it could do anything more, a flash of brown and white fur flashed in front of him. A deer? No, it was too small… A fawn! Yes, that explained the white that he had seen for a moment. Then, before the tomcat could think any further, something seemed to overtake his entire body and Snowleap would soon hear a very familiar voice reaching out to him.
"Hiya Snow! It's Dustymoth. I know the path before you seems long, but have faith - for the fawn that leaps across will bring forth light and clarity... see you soon, old pal."
Dustymoth? Snowleap remembered the last leafbare, seeing that joyous warrior catching snowflakes in the clearing. Oh, how he had longed to play in the snow with him that day. As soon as it started, it all seemed to be over and the oriental longhair found himself back in the present. Skystar’s body was resting on the ground along his front paws. But what really stood out to him was that the snake in front of him… was now dead. It had been stomped on by the fawn, saving him from its fangs. He went over Dustymoth’s words in his head. The fawn that leaps across will bring forth light and clarity. An omen? From StarClan, no doubt. It didn’t take long for Snowleap to put two-and-two together, his eyes widening as he realized the answer.
Hm. So Cricketsting did it similarly to him… On shore, paw to essentially swipe or ‘scoop’ it out. Unlike before, he this time intently watched the cream warrior go about his fishing, focusing mainly on the movement and how the fish might react in return. Now that he could observe from a distance, the warrior noticed a few ways for the fish to escape or cause trouble even if the paw were to hit it out of the water. For instance, as the wiggling things just loved to... wiggle so much, chances were they’d wiggle back into the water if not killed fast enough. Or, if hooked to the claws, it had room to deliver a fishslap to an unsuspecting warrior. Interesting.
The tom’s ears perked slightly when Cricketsting broke his silence with a hiss. The annoyance was evident on the warrior’s face, but Gingerfrost decided not to indulge. He wanted to try something. Hesitating fairly little this time around, the ginger had to be careful his shadow didn’t disturb the fish more than they already were. Now, usually, he would be sitting down or get into any other comfortable and fishable position that wasn’t being all tense and standing. He was still kind of figuring it out, but for what he wanted to try, even the lazy tom realised a lower standing position – similar to crouch, basically – would probably be best. He kept his dark green eyes focused on the now calm water before him, waiting for a decently sized fish to come around (he decided it would be difficult to try on smaller fish).
After a few heartbeats, finally, came around what appeared to be a salmon, probably? Well whatever, it was an edible fish. He tensed his muscles and waited for the fish to get close enough. The moment it did, his two front paws shot out to grab and swiftly pull it out of the water – going in for the killing bite straight away as he pulled it up, in order to give the fish as little wiggle time as possible. While he did almost fall backwards due to the momentum, making for an awkward landing back on all fours, at least that fish was caught. And that’s what he concentrated on. He huffed as little as drops of water wet his face and fur, and mildly surprised but also pleased that this technique worked (of course he didn’t visibly show that, however). He still needed to work on it but… It worked nonetheless. He didn’t know if it was typical to his clan – it wouldn’t surprise him if it was, but it was still the first time he did it. Why wouldn’t he have known about it before? Because he didn’t go fishing all that much, even less in company. Actually, did his mentor even teach him how to fish? He couldn’t recall.
Well whatever. She had been a great warrior and he knew how to fish now, so it didn’t really matter. Picking his freshly caught fish up, the warrior lazily returned to Cricketsting’s side. “Try again.”
He muttered to the warrior, though with no intended room for argument. Not that he expected the other warrior to. Gingerfrost had just, strangely, decided that he wouldn’t leave until Cricketsting caught a fish.
The tabby sat down and closed his eyes, not wanting to deal with fishing anymore. His cream ears flattened to his head in order to block the sounds of Gingerfrost fishing, but all it did was muffling the noise.
Then Gingerfrost called out to him, telling Cricketsting to try again. He opened up his eyes, frustration in the gray orbs. However, he has no energy to argue, so he decided to listen to the older warrior.
The cream warrior pushed himself up and dragged his legs grumpily to the river. Looking into the waters, Cricketsting can spot a few fishes swimming towards the edge. Patiently, his eyes wandered onto a certain fish. It swam to its friends. The friends swum away, leaving the seemingly-annoying fish by itself. It slowly slithered in the water, compared to the fast slithering it once did before the friends left. Then, another fish came out of nowhere, bumping into the annoying fish.
It was unknown why, but Cricketsting felt happy to see the fish making a new friend. His grumpiness aura replaced by calmness. Without thinking, the young warrior swatted his paw inside the water, gripping on the annoying fish with a claw. He flung it upwards, splashing away water that immediately fell. Quickly, Cricketsting gave it the death bite. Opening his maw, he let the fish go limp and fell onto the ground.
Picking it back up, Cricketsting twisted his body around and eyed Gingerfrost like a kit looking at their mother as they talked about winning a play-fight.
Char Site updated (10/11/22), added Blazingpaw and Goldenkit!
During most or few roleplays, I will do a flashback that was conjured in my characters' thoughts. Please do not respond to the flashback unless you have the power to read minds or smth.
No no word
Last edited by Dirtfur; July 29th, 2022 at 07:21 PM.
@maelstrom
---
Good. Featherflame had no doubt that the little man followed her out to the territory. Her tail stood high as she led the two deep into Riverclan territory, far enough away that his wails would not be heard by the sleeping children in the nursery. This training session would push them both to the extreme. An experience fit for two warriors of Riverclan. Why her partner seemed so confused about her offer was perplexing. Did he not understand the importance of strength? Clearly not. Little noodle baby man.
She only stopped walking once she was content no one else would be around. Finally turning to face Beansprout for the first time since approaching him back in the clearing, Featherflame sent a determined smile his way. "I do not plan to lose. For you I will keep my claws within my paws, but other than that no excuses. We fight until we cannot stand!" Her last sentence was punctuated by her long tail lashing aggressively behind her crouched body. In a few moments, the white warrior would race towards Beansprout with the force of a thousand suns. Her pupils widened to cover most of her eyes as she zeroed in on her prey target.
@maelstrom
---
Good. Featherflame had no doubt that the little man followed her out to the territory. Her tail stood high as she led the two deep into Riverclan territory, far enough away that his wails would not be heard by the sleeping children in the nursery. This training session would push them both to the extreme. An experience fit for two warriors of Riverclan. Why her partner seemed so confused about her offer was perplexing. Did he not understand the importance of strength? Clearly not. Little noodle baby man.
She only stopped walking once she was content no one else would be around. Finally turning to face Beansprout for the first time since approaching him back in the clearing, Featherflame sent a determined smile his way. "I do not plan to lose. For you I will keep my claws within my paws, but other than that no excuses. We fight until we cannot stand!" Her last sentence was punctuated by her long tail lashing aggressively behind her crouched body. In a few moments, the white warrior would race towards Beansprout with the force of a thousand suns. Her pupils widened to cover most of her eyes as she zeroed in on her prey target.
beansprout // he/him
his heart fluttered as he followed the strange warrior deep into the territory. "um, uh, where are we going?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant. however, there was a slight quiver to his voice. it became even more evident when he questioned, "we’re not going to, uh, thunderclan… right? like, that’s a bad bad idea, haha…" his paws were itching with nerves and tension, until finally, his clanmate stopped. he neatly bumped into her!
"huh, what?? yeah, uh, please!! i’d rather not get clawed today, and it’s not like i can do much…" he chuckled nervously, getting into a hunter's crouch. what, it was the only way he knew how to start! oh, ohhhh stars. he did not like the look that she was giving beansprout right now. clearly, she was serious. in a split second's decision, he decided he’d rather be on the offensive first, and jumped upwards, hoping to land on the other cat's back. or, maybe even push her over with his weight? any opening would be great. but if she was unfazed… well, he was screwed.
__________________
there's courage in being terrified, but still going forward.
Pounceleap was trotting in Riverclan territory, happy with herself. As she was walking she realized the ground was crumbling beneath her, before she was pushed under by earth, she let out a bloodcurdling screech of panic, she was fully enclosed in dark earth it surrounded her like water, only darker, the only similar thing was that she couldn’t breath, life eventually ebbing away she closed her eyes andlet the ground kill her
Last edited by Lakestorm; August 4th, 2022 at 11:28 AM.
The tabby sat down and closed his eyes, not wanting to deal with fishing anymore. His cream ears flattened to his head in order to block the sounds of Gingerfrost fishing, but all it did was muffling the noise.
Then Gingerfrost called out to him, telling Cricketsting to try again. He opened up his eyes, frustration in the gray orbs. However, he has no energy to argue, so he decided to listen to the older warrior.
The cream warrior pushed himself up and dragged his legs grumpily to the river. Looking into the waters, Cricketsting can spot a few fishes swimming towards the edge. Patiently, his eyes wandered onto a certain fish. It swam to its friends. The friends swum away, leaving the seemingly-annoying fish by itself. It slowly slithered in the water, compared to the fast slithering it once did before the friends left. Then, another fish came out of nowhere, bumping into the annoying fish.
It was unknown why, but Cricketsting felt happy to see the fish making a new friend. His grumpiness aura replaced by calmness. Without thinking, the young warrior swatted his paw inside the water, gripping on the annoying fish with a claw. He flung it upwards, splashing away water that immediately fell. Quickly, Cricketsting gave it the death bite. Opening his maw, he let the fish go limp and fell onto the ground.
Picking it back up, Cricketsting twisted his body around and eyed Gingerfrost like a kit looking at their mother as they talked about winning a play-fight.
That first fish really got the cream warrior's spirits down, but at least he didn't argue when he told him to try again. There was something about cats, especially warriors, not trying again after they failed (and tried) only once that just irked him a bit. But anyway, Cricketsting was trying again, so Gingerfrost now kept quiet as he dropped his fish and leisurely sat down, offhandedly watching. But still watching.
The tom wasn't sure what exactly had Cricketsting smile like that, but at least he was smiling. His puns were... Interesting, but less of a hassle than some irritated, hissing cat.
Patiently the tabby waited, by this time having laid down on his tummy (like a loaf). Interestingly enough, it was nice to see when the cream warrior caught his fish. Of course, reserved as he was, Gingerfrost didn't show it. He merely got when Cricketsting turned to him, and gave an aprooving nod. Kind of like how a mentor would his apprentice maybe, the sight from an outside point of view could appear that way. Gathering the fish he'd caught, he padded over to Cricketsting. "Ready to go back?"
He questioned, with a nod of his head towards camp. It went without saying that they'd have to gather up their prey first, but he trusted Cricketsting could understand that.
°----°----°----°
Alright. So, somehow, his new apprentice still hadn't seen the territory despite being apprenticed for what, a few moons already? What were these mentors doing with their apprentices. He huffed. Sure, she was trained, but this was important as well.
Padding pas the apprentice's den, Gingerfrost called the younger molly then moved to wait for her right outside of RiverClan's entrance. Once Littlepaw would join him, he'd start. "We're going for a territory tour. It's imperative you know our borders and the scent of the different clans."
He'd give the apprentice a brief moment, then began to make his way to the nearest border. He'd start off with a somewhat serious step, that eventually turned more leisurely. He didn't want to spend all day on this, but there was no point in unnecessarily hurrying. Would only make it more unpleasant.
That first fish really got the cream warrior's spirits down, but at least he didn't argue when he told him to try again. There was something about cats, especially warriors, not trying again after they failed (and tried) only once that just irked him a bit. But anyway, Cricketsting was trying again, so Gingerfrost now kept quiet as he dropped his fish and leisurely sat down, offhandedly watching. But still watching.
The tom wasn't sure what exactly had Cricketsting smile like that, but at least he was smiling. His puns were... Interesting, but less of a hassle than some irritated, hissing cat.
Patiently the tabby waited, by this time having laid down on his tummy (like a loaf). Interestingly enough, it was nice to see when the cream warrior caught his fish. Of course, reserved as he was, Gingerfrost didn't show it. He merely got when Cricketsting turned to him, and gave an aprooving nod. Kind of like how a mentor would his apprentice maybe, the sight from an outside point of view could appear that way. Gathering the fish he'd caught, he padded over to Cricketsting. "Ready to go back?"
He questioned, with a nod of his head towards camp. It went without saying that they'd have to gather up their prey first, but he trusted Cricketsting could understand that.
°----°----°----°
Alright. So, somehow, his new apprentice still hadn't seen the territory despite being apprenticed for what, a few moons already? What were these mentors doing with their apprentices. He huffed. Sure, she was trained, but this was important as well.
Padding pas the apprentice's den, Gingerfrost called the younger molly then moved to wait for her right outside of RiverClan's entrance. Once Littlepaw would join him, he'd start. "We're going for a territory tour. It's imperative you know our borders and the scent of the different clans."
He'd give the apprentice a brief moment, then began to make his way to the nearest border. He'd start off with a somewhat serious step, that eventually turned more leisurely. He didn't want to spend all day on this, but there was no point in unnecessarily hurrying. Would only make it more unpleasant.
Littlepaw slept soundly in her nest, her fur twitching every so often. It was rare for her to sleep peacefully with her mind always thinking of the worst. What if Skystar had lived and exiled her? That was no longer a worry for her, her mind was at peace for the first time in moons. Unfortunately for Littlepaw, her sleep was cut short. Not expecting her new mentor to come wake her up, the young she-cat jumped out of her nest but saw no one- was she dreaming? No, she couldn't be, she still smelled Gingerfrost!
Quickly, and trying to not disturb anyone else who was sleeping, Littlepaw pranced out of the den and followed Gingerfrost's scent. He's out of camp already! I'm going to be late, oh no! Once she had gotten out of camp, the small she-cat breathed a sigh of relief. Gingerfrost hadn't left her behind. Oh, a territory tour!
"Finally!" she purred, beginning to follow the tom. He was moving fast, which Littlepaw was somewhat okay with- Vinewatcher had large strides, so she wasn't completely unused to it. And then the tom slowed down just a tad- oh, so this was going to be a sort of relaxing walk! Littlepaw puffed out her chest confidently, she liked Gingerfrost! Vinewatcher had been... meaner than she thought, which Littlepaw didn't exactly like- she was smacked on the head for being loud! "So, where are we going?"
__________________
ThunderClan: None
WindClan: None
ShadowClan: Lightningkit
RiverClan: None
Outsiders: Crow (Purrks: Heightened Perception (hearing), Agatha Kitty (clue and inconsistency finder), and Hulk SMASH (strength boost when angry)
Bumping Policy: After ONE week!
Pounceleap was trotting in Riverclan territory, happy with herself. As she was walking she realized the ground was crumbling beneath her, before she was pushed under by earth, she let out a bloodcurdling screech of panic, she was fully enclosed in dark earth it surrounded her like water, only darker, the only similar thing was that she couldn’t breath, life eventually ebbing away she closed her eyes andlet the ground kill her
Blizzardwind was taking a walk through the territory, when he head a scream of panic. Ears pricking upwards he darted towards the sound and saw what appeared to be a cat falling into a collapsing badger den. Or rabbit Warren. He couldn't tell what it was. Lunging forward, he felt the damp soil clog his paws as he sank in a bit, but he dug unrelenting at the earth, trying to find the fur of his Clanmate. "I'll get you out, try to dig towards my voice!" He bellowed downwards into the earth, feeling his old muscles start to cramp, but he ignored it. He had to get this cat out.
Seeing their fur, he let out a growl, and used his forehead to ram earth to the side. Digging his claws in, he moaned with the effort as he hauled the body out. It was a Clanmate. Pounceleap. It had happened so fast. He had heard her screaming. Her body was still warm. He knew she was dead, but he felt for a pulse, and held his paw there for a long, long time. Nothing. Nothing.
Slumping backwards, the tomcat dully stared at the body, breath shaking. His stupid oldness made his head light with fatigue from the exertion of so much energy. His aching, pained muscles seemed to groan as he bent down again to grab her scruff gently.
His body had never felt as old as it did now, but he kept walking. Towards camp, trying to hold his head up so the body of his denmate wouldn't brush the ground.
If only he had gotten there a few seconds sooner.
__________________
nightshade | birdsnow | daybreak | fallenkit
Last edited by poppy; August 5th, 2022 at 01:57 PM.
Re: RiverClan Territory
Re: RiverClan Territory
