RiverClan Territory

[Mauve]

@doug.

As he watched the realization sink into Firehawk's face, the brown tabby rose up slightly, lifting his head as if to soak it in. "Ah yes, there we go. The wheels are a'movin' now!" Mud purred, a glint of amusement shining in his eyes. He had to admit that it was a stretch of a guess even for him, and he wondered momentarily what would've happened if he had been wrong. His fighting skills were good, but as stubborn and egotistical as he was, Mud was not naive to the fact that this was a fully trained Clan cat and would be a tough match to beat.

Now that it was established that Mud knew who he was, the tabby relaxed a bit, his hackles completely flat now. The mention of their sister was enough to cause him to wince though. As much as he was cocky and overly confident, his siblings did matter a lot to him. "Honestly? She's probably road-kill somewhere by now," he shrugged, averting his gaze as he shrugged his lean shoulders, trying to hide the fact that he actually did care about Kiku's wherabouts, though he hadn't so much as a lick of an idea of where she could be.

"But really, Tashio?" Mud mewed shortly after, shaking his head and tilting it towards the side, tail-tip twitching. He looked back at the tom before him, still a bit confused. "You decided to shack up with a Clan?" It surprised him, but Mud wasn't sure why. After all, he barely knew who his brother was now, so perhaps he was a completely different cat. Mud couldn't imagine giving up a life of freedom to be surrounded by a life of... rules and borders. But nonetheless, his curiosity was peaked at the fact that his brother had chosen this life. Perhaps it held promise that Mud couldn't see yet.

[Thistledawn]

Originally Posted by Boba Fett

Brackenpaw steadied their breathing and made sure to keep their gaze away from any water this time. They changed their expression back to the calm and content one that they always wore, or they tried to at least, they didn't know if it was actually working or not. Brackenpaw wasn't an expert at acting yet, though they intended to be at some point,"N-No I-I'm fine Silvermask" they mewed, slightly shaky. Brackenpaw noticed the shakiness in their voice and cursed the river, vowing never to look at it ever again unless needed. But for now, Brackenpaw needed to steady their voice,"I'm fine," they repeated, sounding calmer now. But their was something forced about the words, like trying to push two north-side magnets together. They gulped and looked at the sky. It looked somewhat like the river,nut less flowy and warmer looking. Somehow, the sky always seemed to steady their fear of water.

"You're lying." Silvermask mewed frankly. She searched Brackenpaw's eyes, but couldn't find anything more than their obvious nervousness. The queen watched as the apprentice tried to recover from letting their guard down. "You don't need to always be strong, Brackenpaw." Silvermask said gently. "It's okay to have a weakness and expose it. You don't need to put up walls like this." It sounded almost like the silver tabby was pleading. She inched closer to the younger cat as if offering a shoulder to cry on. "Tell me what's bothering you."

[Seraphon]

Originally Posted by Thistledawn

"You're lying." Silvermask mewed frankly. She searched Brackenpaw's eyes, but couldn't find anything more than their obvious nervousness. The queen watched as the apprentice tried to recover from letting their guard down. "You don't need to always be strong, Brackenpaw." Silvermask said gently. "It's okay to have a weakness and expose it. You don't need to put up walls like this." It sounded almost like the silver tabby was pleading. She inched closer to the younger cat as if offering a shoulder to cry on. "Tell me what's bothering you."

Brackenpaw contemplated for a moment on wheather to trust Silvermask. Well, she did know them as a kit and has always stood by them even with their gender choice. It would be stupid of Brackenpaw to keep this secret from her when she obviously knew something was wrong. Brackenpaw gulped. Their heart was beating fast with the nervousness of telling her. What was she going to say? What was Brackenpaw going to say?! Their stomach was churning at this point and it felt like pebbles had been lodged in their throat. They cleared their voice to try to shake the feeling but it didn't help, so they just took a deep breath and sighed,"S-Silvermask? I-I'm a dry-paw... A-Afraid of water... they turned away from her, flattening their ears just enough so that the river sounded more like the wind on WindClan's moor. They had never told anyone this before and they weren't sure how Silvermask was going to react about this now.

[RedHead]

Originally Posted by Boba Fett

Brackenpaw looked back at her and smiled,"Alright!" they mewed. They closed their eyes and thought about what to say for a moment,"Well, you see. I'm Non-Binary," they said calmly, though, to Brackenpaw it kind of felt awkward saying it, even though they were proud of that fact,"I guess that's one interesting fact," they purred,"Now it's your turn! Give me one interesting tid-bit about yourself!" they mewed cheerfully, still trying not to look at the river. There was much they could have said to Splatterpaw about themself, but it was far too much to say without her interrupting or getting bored. For Brackenpaw, when they started rambling about themself, getting interrupted was inevitable.

Splatterpaw wasn’t too surprised by their response. She had met many cats who were not “normal” as other cats put it. She herself was one of those cats, someone who didn’t follow the “traditional” values of cats. “That’s something good to know!” She exclaimed, smiling at Brackenpaw. She then flicked her tail as she thought of something she could say herself. Her golden eyes went to the river, and she watched the cool water splash across the rocks, and against the banks. “Hmm.. well, I was given my name after my older sister, Orangesplatter. Most cats think it’s because of my pelt though.” Splatterpaw did have an interesting calico pelt. Instead of having straight calico spots, the colors looked like they were “splattered” across her pelt. But Splatterpaw loved her pelt very much, and she didn’t care what other cats thought of it. “Your turn again?” She phrased it as a question, not completely sure if her companion wanted to continue the little game.

[graves]

Originally Posted by yummyluc

suddenly, there was a change in beetleskip. he stopped dead in his tracks and turned his gaze to a rather plain, suspicious-looking bush that was just beginning to grow in its leaves but was still dusted with a thin layer of snow as newleaf was slowly setting in this season. his green eyes narrowed and his mouth parted slightly as he tasted the air. feathers. a blackbird, it had to be, from the light footsteps and the way it was pecking at the bush. probably getting supplies to create a nest. carefully, he padded his way around it and spotted the bit of black material that made up the bird's cover. it paused, sensing beetleskip's eyes on it, so so did he. it was a standstill until it began pecking again and beetleskip edged closer. closer. pupils dilated in concentration, tail twitching in anticipation. the blackbird paused again. beetleskip was very close. he had to strike now because he knew the blackbird was getting ready to take off, so he did. it happened so quickly, it was nearly silent, and before he even knew it, beetleskip had a freshly-killed bird hanging from his jaws.

risingcreeks eyes narrowed as he focused his attention on the new vole scent he had caught. it was small and fast, and the tom made every pawstep light against the melting snow as he stepped forward, green eyes narrowing into slits. his ears twitched as he heard prey being caught, beetleskip? that was fast. he saw him in the distance, his long light fur standing out against the frosted grass, who was carrying prey in his mouth. he took a moment to gaze at him before he forgot that he too was trying to hunt. he turned his gaze back to the vole, seeing it farther away. if he didnt strike now hed lose it! with quick movements he sprung forward, claws stretched out, only to be mess with soggy grass. damn. he had planned his timing wrong..and perhaps had been a bit distracted aswel. he sighed, turning around the way he came, padding over to beetleskip,"Good catch, better then what i did today," he laughed.

[Seraphon]

Originally Posted by RedHead

Splatterpaw wasn’t too surprised by their response. She had met many cats who were not “normal” as other cats put it. She herself was one of those cats, someone who didn’t follow the “traditional” values of cats. “That’s something good to know!” She exclaimed, smiling at Brackenpaw. She then flicked her tail as she thought of something she could say herself. Her golden eyes went to the river, and she watched the cool water splash across the rocks, and against the banks. “Hmm.. well, I was given my name after my older sister, Orangesplatter. Most cats think it’s because of my pelt though.” Splatterpaw did have an interesting calico pelt. Instead of having straight calico spots, the colors looked like they were “splattered” across her pelt. But Splatterpaw loved her pelt very much, and she didn’t care what other cats thought of it. “Your turn again?” She phrased it as a question, not completely sure if her companion wanted to continue the little game.

Brackenpaw laughed,"I did kind of think that was because of your pelt," they mewed honestly. One look at Splatterpaw's pelt and you think you know where her name came from. But apparently not,"Hmmm... How about this; I think some of my close relatives were Kittypets," they mewed, not ashamed of that theory at all. After all, weren't some of the best warriors Kittypets? Plus, what did it matter if their ancestors were Kittypets. Brackenpaw wasn't. Just in case Splatterpaw didn't know why they thought that they were related to Kittypets, they flicked their Scottish Fold ear, indicating that they must have a Scottish Fold as their ancestor, and it only made sense for a Scottish Fold to be a Kittypet,"Your turn!" they mewed happily, wanting to continue the game.

[Thistledawn]

Originally Posted by Boba Fett

Brackenpaw contemplated for a moment on wheather to trust Silvermask. Well, she did know them as a kit and has always stood by them even with their gender choice. It would be stupid of Brackenpaw to keep this secret from her when she obviously knew something was wrong. Brackenpaw gulped. Their heart was beating fast with the nervousness of telling her. What was she going to say? What was Brackenpaw going to say?! Their stomach was churning at this point and it felt like pebbles had been lodged in their throat. They cleared their voice to try to shake the feeling but it didn't help, so they just took a deep breath and sighed,"S-Silvermask? I-I'm a dry-paw... A-Afraid of water... they turned away from her, flattening their ears just enough so that the river sounded more like the wind on WindClan's moor. They had never told anyone this before and they weren't sure how Silvermask was going to react about this now.

Silvermask made a conscious effort to not seem surprised or appalled, though it wasn't very hard. Brackenpaw's confession had made sense now that she thought about it. She never had quite guessed that the young cat was afraid of water, but she occasionally noticed their caution around water. "Don't label yourself with that word, Brackenpaw." The RiverClan queen mewed gently. "There's negative emotion associated with that word and that's not how you should see yourself." She positioned herself so that she was in front of Brackenpaw again. She searched for their eyes to meet hers. "Being afraid of the water is nothing to be ashamed of, honestly." The silver tabby hoped that Brackenpaw believed her.

[Seraphon]

Originally Posted by Thistledawn

Silvermask made a conscious effort to not seem surprised or appalled, though it wasn't very hard. Brackenpaw's confession had made sense now that she thought about it. She never had quite guessed that the young cat was afraid of water, but she occasionally noticed their caution around water. "Don't label yourself with that word, Brackenpaw." The RiverClan queen mewed gently. "There's negative emotion associated with that word and that's not how you should see yourself." She positioned herself so that she was in front of Brackenpaw again. She searched for their eyes to meet hers. "Being afraid of the water is nothing to be ashamed of, honestly." The silver tabby hoped that Brackenpaw believed her.

Brackenpaw met her gaze, emotions like sadness, slight shame, anger, and hope all fighting their way to be the brightest in their green eyes. "Alright Silvermask, then what do I call myself?" they asked, pain obvious in their mew but not their eyes. What else could a dry-paw call themselves but a dry-paw? "And yes, i agree, normally it would be nothing to be ashamed of... But i is when youre a RiverClan cat..." They sighed,"You knoq what? Nevermind, you probably don't understand, what with you being able to perfectly fit into your clan and all..." They averted their gaze from Silvermask once again.

[Tazzy]

“I think your the only Riverclan cat worried about drowning. We’re meant for swimming Nightsong!” Silverfeather meowed laughing as the walked together. She found her sisters endless worrying quite funny, though at times she found it obnoxious and ignored it.

@Echofall

[Echofall]

"No, I'm pretty sure a LOT of Riverclan cats are afraid of it. What if a flood came? Or piranhas?" She meowed, plainly. She followed her sister quickly, finding it odd that her sister wasn't afraid of drowning @Tazzy