A Slippery Mishap (Mini-Plot)

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Stags Zaperex

- Misfortune at the Farm, pt 1 -

The early morning rays of sunlight filtered through the trees above—temperatures still cool enough to see one’s breath with each exhale. A trio of Ravenclan cats made up of Vixenstone, Spiderbite, and Mothpaw found their way to the waters edge beneath the rushing falls. The rise in temperatures had meant more than just the return of prey for Ravenclan; they also had to deal with the rise and rush of the current in the river that backed their safe haven. The melted snow and ice only contributed more to the cold, choppy waters—but even still, fish had worked their way free of the freeze.

The task was simple—catch what fish they could before the return of the dawn patrol.

But life seldom proved to be so simple.

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[Zaperex]

one day you'll leave this world behind
so live a life you will remember

SPIDERBITE

RAVENCLAN | FEMALE | 18 MOONS

Spiderbite yawned, leaning sleepily against her sister when they stopped at the water's edge. The same thought kept passing through her mind--it was too early to be awake. But duty called, and being a warrior couldn't all be fun and games. Perhaps she'd be more awake once they started?

She dipped her paw into the water, jerking back when the freezing waters bit at it like a snake. "No one told this river that it's new-leaf?" she joked, shaking her paw dry. Okay, well now she was awake.

"Do you see any fish in there?" she questioned, peering curiously into the water. Chunks of ice drifted past them, and Spiderbite was beginning to doubt that the fish were back, no matter what cats back at camp said. She wandered along the edge, pausing as she spotted a faint form--on the other side of the river. Hm. "Maybe we can cross over," she suggested. Spiderbite was all right with the water and she even enjoyed snatching up the slippery fish, feeling them wriggle underneath her claws, but what she couldn't stand was waiting about. If they were going to fish, they'd do it right.

TAG: @iderioux , Stags

[Deleted]

mothpaw

Zaperex Stags

- setting fire to our insides for fun to distract our hearts and eyes -

He’d come to find that he was genuinely skilled when it came to fishing.

Rather than drifting farther than the watery border, the mottled young tom cat simply went to it each day—sometimes more than once—and returned with a fish or two as contribution to the kill pile. It made him feel good to be able to do something regularly; the exercise was beginning to hone muscles that had worn away, and the increase in activity had resulted in—temporarily, at least—the quieting of the voice that plagued him. And so, when he had spotted Spiderbite and Vixenstone heading off in the direction of the flowing waters, Mothpaw had nearly tripped over his too-big paws to hustle after them.

When they arrived, Mothpaw’s pale yellow eyes turned towards the small chunks of ice and globs of melting snow that dappled the choppy waters.

They’d be lucky to bring back a couple of fish with all of the activity in the water—but he wasn’t going to miss out on the opportunity... there was something really nice about being by the water.

”No one told this river that it’s new leaf?”

Mothpaw’s tail gave an agreeable flick at Spiderbite’s joke, one of his ears turning towards her in an amiable fashion to show that he was listening to her—even if he didn’t respond. With the followup question, the lanky tom cat slowly made his way upstream from the two she-cats, eying the usual stones he used to hop his way across and into the midst of the moving waters. They were damp from having been splashed so much, but Mothpaw was confident. Bunching his muscles, the youngest of the three—though not by very much from what he could tell—sprang over onto a near stone, claws scraping and grasping as he regained his balance.

It wasn’t the safest way across, but it was the quickest that he knew.

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[Stags]

Vixenstone wasn't a massive fan of the water. She was a horrible swimmer and never really got the hang of it. Despite all the water around her, she took as much care as avoiding it. However, when Spiderbite asks Vixenstone to do something with her, she does it. So reluctantly, the dark tabby came with her sister.

Spiderbite and her now sat next to the river, and the she-cat was trying to hide her unease.

"”No one told this river that it’s new leaf?”

After her sister's complaint, Vixenstone dipped her paw in and hissed in annoyance. "It's freezing cold!" she whined, huffing her fur out. The annoyance faded as she stood up, and glanced to where Mothpaw had wandered up to. "Hey, I've never been on those!" she declared, padding at a fast trot to join the silent apprentice.

Vixenstone could see that they were wet, yes, but the connection between being wet and slippery never crossed her mind. Bunching her leg muscles, Vixenstone jumped to the first stone in the river. She made it with only a tiny slip. Without much thought, she jumped to the next one- a much wider gap with raging water between them.

The warrior landed the leap. Well, for a few seconds anyway. As she tried to regain her footing from the impact, her back paw began to slide. Her claws tried to dig in to the solid stone, and she cried out as the momentum from the slip forced her other back paw to slip out underneath her. In a flash, she was in the frigid cold water.

All Vixenstone could suck in was water. Her lungs screened, bubbles escaping as the fast moving current of the river crushed into her body. The water tossed her to and grow, and soon the she-cat couldn't even figure out her way up. The light began to fade as she lost air... Is this how she would die? Her thick fur weighed her down, dragging her. The last she remembered was a sharp pain in her back as she slammed into a rock. It then went dark....

WC: 354
Tags: @iderioux, Zaperex,

[Zaperex]

one day you'll leave this world behind
so live a life you will remember

SPIDERBITE

RAVENCLAN | FEMALE | 18 MOONS

For how quiet Mothpaw had been, he had a daring side! "Guess so," she purred to herself, impressed by the familiarity in his steps as he hopped from rock to rock. Vixenstone was also unexpectedly eager, finding her way up just before Spiderbite. She kept along less than a tail-length behind her sister, delaying her first jump just long enough to avoid crashing into her. Vixenstone had never liked water, though Spiderbite had always told her that she could learn to. You couldn't travel ten minutes in any direction without coming across a river or stream in their territory; it was a mighty shame not to let yourself enjoy that! All it took was some getting used to--

Spiderbite saw Vixenstone falling, swallowed up by the churning waters, and she just... followed her right in, like she'd follow her anywhere else. It was only once she was in the water that the panic kicked in. Crushing cold and dark and where was her sister--her body slammed against what only be Vixenstone, limp, and she surfaced for air before grabbing for her scruff, kicking furiously to keep them from sinking down into the depths, never to be seen again.

Her paws found the edge of the riverbank, but there was no way to lift herself out or throw Vixenstone onto land. Fighting the current was already getting to be too much, her lungs and limbs burning. Through water blurred eyes, she caught a glimpse of mottled fur. "Mothpaw!" she choked out. Fuck! 

TAG: @iderioux , Stags

[Deleted]

mothpaw

Zaperex Stags

- setting fire to our insides for fun to distract our hearts and eyes -

The fact that other cats might not have been as practiced on the slippery rocks wasn’t something that he had considered—Mothpaw had made it to the other side of the riverbed where the more rapid parts of the current were blocked by an outcropping of large rocks farther upstream. This was where the fish typically hid until quieter waters graced them; it had been their destination...

But then Vixenstone slipped.

One of the young tom cat’s ears twitched as he heard the eerie sound of something cat-sized splashing about in the waters. Whipping his head around, he caught sight of Spiderbite diving in after her littermate. Oh no, oh no oh no— Mothpaw fretted as he scrambled through the chilly shallows to the opposite bank. Bunching his muscles underneath him, the lanky tom cat ran alongside the choppy waters, heart pounding as he struggling to keep sight of Spiderbite and Vixenstone. Finally—Spiderbite surfaced with her sister en maw.

”Mothpaw!”

Help them, Mothpaw. Call for help. DO something!

His narrow chest rose and fell as his eyes darted past the pair and back towards the camp. It was still early—there was no promise that any other cat was awake... ”H-he—hp—!” Mothpaw croaked, shaking his head at the deadened, web-filled sound of his voice. It was no more than a whisper; a desperate creaking. Lashing his tail, Mothpaw turned his sighted farther down stream and scrambled to get ahead of the two sisters.

There was another outcropping ahead—if he could get on it and reach far enough, it was possible that he could help usher them across the waters.

Leaping up on top of a thick branch that had been caught in the rocks, Mothpaw stretched out his foreleg with his claws extended to try to grab hold of the sisters before they could drift any farther down stream.

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[Zaperex]

one day you'll leave this world behind
so live a life you will remember

SPIDERBITE

RAVENCLAN | FEMALE | 18 MOONS

Inevitably, the river slipped into Spiderbite's lungs, if only a sip's worth. She convulsed in a half suppressed coughing fit, her body pleading with her to let it properly expel the water from her airways. Spiderbite would do no such thing; her grip on Vixenstone didn't loosen whatsoever.
Her swimming, however, was erratic at best, paws slapping against the water in pure desperation, head barely above the water.

A claw caught her shoulder; though her mind failed to even ponder whose it was, she took the opportunity to shoved Vixenstone between herself and the sudden stopping point as best as she could, and dug her own claw into the riverbank, pulling herself onto land in one swift, if strained, motion. Her sister's scruff still within her mouth, she dragged her up alongside her, staggering three steps forward before letting go, collapsing onto the grass. When had the water stopped registering as cold? She was forced to remember it all over again now that she was back on land, the wind freezing against her soaking fur. Blinking the water away, she turned wearily to look at her sister, coughing all the while. Was she okay?

TAG: @iderioux

[Stags]

When Vixenstone was dragged onto land, she finally awoke with a gasp. A gasp quickly followed with a sputter and coughing fit of water. As she emptied her lungs of the disgusting liquid, a trickle of blood starting, tracing its way down her forehead, over her eye, and down her muzzle. She hardly noticed until she was able to sit up, lungs rasping from strain and slight damage. The dark warrior sat with her back facing the rest of the two. She had almost died. With her fur dripping and clinging to her lanky frame, she finally turned around to face the two cats who saved her. "T-thank you." She wheezed out to Spiderbite and Mothpaw. Slowly, she turned to look at the raging river. It was almost her deathbed.... Suddenly, life seemed so much shorter.

---

@iderioux, Zaperex,

[Deleted]

mothpaw

Zaperex Stags

- setting fire to our insides for fun to distract our hearts and eyes -

The moment he felt fur against his claws, Mothpaw heaved with all of his might to try and haul the sisters along to the bank. A choked sound of relief worked its way out of his throat as Vixenstone was finally dragged out. Anxiously panting as Spiderbite joined them, the long furred tom cat circled around the two she-cats and flopped down alongside them, leaning over to try and begin grooming the water free of their pelts. Close—too close, he thought.

If you hadn’t suggested those rocks...

Mothpaw’s ear twitched rapidly, flapping noisily. A tiny mrwl of discomfort was the only noise he made as he continued his work of trying to dry the sisters as quickly as he could. Casting concerned glances at the pair as he lapped cold water free from their fur, Mothpaw’s anxious panting eventually slowed back to a more normal rate of breathing. Were they mad...? They seemed too exhausted to be angry—too relieved at simply being alive.

”T-thank you,” Vixenstone wheezed.

Dipping his head in a nod, something close to a nervous smile tugged at the lanky tom cat’s maw. Looking down at his forepaws, Mothpaw fought against the lapping waves of guilt as he worked to groom Vixenstone and Spiderbite. He’d crossed those stones what must have been hundreds of times with no issues... it was hard not to feel responsible.

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[Zaperex]

one day you'll leave this world behind
so live a life you will remember

SPIDERBITE

RAVENCLAN | FEMALE | 18 MOONS

Spiderbite forced herself up on tired paws, giving Mothpaw a grateful bump with her forehead as he neared. "Close one there," she said with a weak smile. "You saved our hides, thanks!" She did her best to sound cheery to properly show the apprentice her appreciation, but there was no hiding her weariness. She allowed Mothpaw to help dry her fur, too physically and mentally exhausted to attempt it herself. She contemplated lying back down. She decided not to--she'd probably fall asleep here if she did.

Her heartbeat had been slowing from its frenzied rhythm; seeing the blood trickling from Vixenstone's head sent it back up, if only momentarily. They could have died, it reminded her. But they hadn't, and these kind of accidents were a part of life; there wasn't much you could do about them. It was over and done with, so there's no reason to dwell on it, she told herself. She nuzzled her sister affectionately and licked comfortingly at her face. "We should go back, get that checked out by Sootpaw," she suggested, squinting with concern at Vixenstone's head wound. It didn't look too bad, but she was no medicine cat.

TAG: @iderioux, Stags