IT'S GOING DOWN -OPEN-

[ashpaw]

He was supposed to be hunting. That was how the whole day had started. He'd woken up in the early morning hours, ravenous, and stepped from the apprentice's den to find that the fresh-kill pile was...well, a bit lacking. Ashpaw couldn't possibly take any of the prey before the patrols came back, without adding his own in replacement. He could practically see the accusatory looks when the warriors woke for the evening patrol and found they had no food to eat beforehand. With the quietness that always accompanied the young gray tom, Ashpaw slipped out of camp and into the open hills of their territory, ears perked for the sounds of prey. If he could find a juicy rabbit, then he wouldn't feel so bad about snagging a mouse from the pile. Ashpaw couldn't eat a whole rabbit by himself, though he was tempted to try with the way his stomach was grumbling.

He had barely made it down the hill on the other side of camp, leading towards RiverClan and the Island, when he caught the scent of a rabbit. Ears twitching in anticipation, the young tom had stooped low, owl-like eyes peered for the first sight of a bushy white tail, or twitching, tall ears. Parting his jaws, he scented the air, and his mouth filled with the luscious smell of prey. Moving forward slowly, he followed the scent further down the hill until he finally caught sight of a young, plump rabbit sat happily a few tail-lengths away, nose to the sky and twitching. Could it smell him? He certainly hoped not. He fully intended to take that rabbit home with him.

Lunging forward - because on the open moor, you didn't stalk - Ashpaw burst forward from his place and was halfway to the rabbit when it caught sight of him and took off towards the lake, moving so quickly that Ashpaw thought he might not actually catch it. Pushing himself faster, the young tom had just begun to catch up with it when he heard a wild yelp and saw a flash of a dark, burnt-like orange off and behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he felt his heart leap up into his throat. Terror fluffed his pelt as he realized that while he'd been chasing the rabbit - something else had set it's eyes on him.

A fox.

Ashpaw felt as if his legs would burn off when he put on an extra burst of speed, his prey forgotten as his body filled with terror. He didn't know how to fight a fox! Veering to the left, towards the twoleg place, Ashpaw was trying to think up a plan when up ahead he heard the wild, raucous barking of dogs. Veering yet again, Ashpaw darted towards the lake, unwilling to run from one predator only to run into the jaws of another. Glancing over his shoulder told him the fox was most certainly still on his tail. How hadn't he smelled it? Terrified, Ashpaw searched wildly for an escape - and caught sight of the broken bridge jutting out into the lake. Shooting forward, the dark gray tom realized a tad too late that while the fox didn't know how to swim - neither did he - just as he shot off the end of it, and into the water with a loud splash and a yowl of surprise.

all we can do is keep breathing

TAGS | YUP, HE GOT SCARED

[Honeydapple]

"Someone is going to say something." A certain someone already was, so a bit of extra nagging along the way wasn't going to detour her. "Surely you can wait a couple more moons." Of course she could, but why should she have to? Her darlings were training with their father, and thus just fine. She wished her training had been chewing on a bigger cat, and showing his tail what for. Her ears perked listening for a yowl of pain, just in case. She chuckled to herself, those thinner teeth quite painful after all. As expected, she didn't hear anything that would raise an alarm, behind her. There were cries, muffled and made sporadic by something. They weren't deep enough to be her mates, yet still an octave too low to be her, or anyone's kits for that matter. She ran towards the noise, using it for as much an excuse to finally stretch her legs and to get to the source as quickly as possible.

This is getting awfully close to RiverClan... ah, but that just may be perfect. Having some mother or even a leader praise her for saving a valuable member of RiverClan would surely get her some looks at the next gathering, hopefully of the envious and or awe stricken variety. "Oh what a kind hearted cat you are, Honeydapple, and so brave too!" She nearly ran off the bridge herself, but luckily her brain made note of the ground changing before her eyes did. Said eyes focusing from the blur of a run to the pristine clear a trot offers, the she-cat swiveled every part of her head, trying to see or smell what she was hearing. It certainly would help if the sun would get out of her eyes, spots already beginning to cloud her vision. Wait, make that spot, a big gray spot bobbing in and out of the water. Could Honeydapple swim? She could not, but at least she had attempted to fish, once. Better than nothing she supposed, though just in case she let out a yowl of her own, one that was hopefully less drowned out by the water. On the subject of drowning.. "Can you hear me? Try to bump into or kick off of something to get yourself towards the shore!"

Blessed be a WindClan cats speed and smarts. Damned be the annoying small rocks, drift wood, and water bird crap. Finding a spot to wait was a breeze, or at least that's how the story would go. At the very least she'd blame having been just recently in the nursery for any imperfections. The gray cat was probably too focused on surviving to comment on her coat. Ugh, she could almost feel every hair and clump getting out of place. Getting ahead made her limbs burn, and the quickly snuffed thought of springing them into the cool lake pop into her head. "Try to cling and grab, bury your toes in any sand you can catch, just be careful if you've taken in a lot of water already!" Being concise wasn't exactly her forte. She shortened her words as it was, with no witnesses, save for a fox. Wait, a fox? She saw the water drenched thing drag itself out of the water, blood soaking a leg it probably bashed. Whether the fox had the same idea as her, or just a spot of dumb luck she didn't have the time to assess. Eh, it probably knew how to swim, so no need for playing the mouse between two cat paws.

Regardless she took the time to dub herself as likely more clever than a fox. Too hurt or simply done with all of this, she sympathized with the creature and its tangled and muddied fur, the fox trotted back the way she came. Silly thing, must of missed her calling for help. May it dart away to live another, cleaner day. Even in seconds, waiting with your heart racing like this was just awful. She had confidence, deeper and louder than her rattling nerves. Nevermind that all of her advice came from stories, and not practice, witnessed or done. Paw outstretched, and hind claws dug in deep, all there was to wait on was time.

[ashpaw]

The water was like a rush of cold ice biting into his skin. It wasn't freezing, but he wasn't used to being soaked - he wasn't a RiverClan cat after all - and it shocked his body into freezing up, feeling the water sucking him down. With a jerk, the tom lashed out wildly, and felt his muzzle break the surface for a moment, hungrily gasping in air as his paws kicked frantically at the water, unable to keep himself above the surface for more than a few moments. Panic choked him, and he inhaled a gulp of water, sinking back beneath the surface. A moment later, he burst back over the surface of the water, coughing and sputtering, still kicking wildly with no real momentum behind the movements. The water blinded him, and he was suddenly certain he was going to drown - and then he heard a voice calling out to him.

"Can you hear me? Try to bump into or kick off of something to get yourself towards the shore!"

The voice was familiar - and Ashpaw looked around as best he could, water splashing into his face. He caught sight of a colorful she-cat racing along the lake's edge, fluffy and familiar. Honeydapple, an older warrior. A queen, if he was remembering her correctly. A clanmate. Ashpaw tried to process what she was telling him, and began striking down with his hind legs, trying to find something to kick off of. His paw struck something hard and pain lanced up his leg, but Ashpaw didn't give up, kicking down again and shooting forward, closer to the shore, his front paws splashing haphazardly at the water. "Help!" He cried, panic and fear mingling in his voice, though he was sure that no WindClanner knew how to swim.

"Try to cling and grab, bury your toes in any sand you can catch, just be careful if you've taken in a lot of water already!"

Ashpaw sunk below the surface again as her words rang in his ears, bouncing around inside his head. The sand. His paws hit the soft minerals, and he dug his claws in, but the water sucked at his thick coat, and he lost his grip, spinning around in the water. It was as if there was a current beneath the surface, determined to pull him back out, but with each pull it also pushed, and Ashpaw felt his lungs burning for air. With the next push, he kicked at the sand, and felt himself move forward a bit more. His muzzle broke the surface once more, and he started coughing, his lungs on fire and his throat raw. His paws splashed crazily through the water, droplets stinging his eyes as he tried to emulate his best fish. Once his front paws hit sand, he felt the panic simmer in his chest, and he dug his claws into it, dragging himself towards the she-cat and the lakeshore with nothing but pure determination. As soon as he was close enough that there was little water beneath him, Ashpaw collapsed, sucking in greedy breaths. "I-I thought I was going to drown." He gasped, too exhausted to lift his head, his lungs burning too much to express how thankful he was to have an older cat to clear his mind. He would have drown, too, if Honeydapple hadn't broken through his panic with her clear instructions. A rush of water moved over his body, and once more Ashpaw was left coughing and gagging on the sandy lakeshore, sputtering up the water he'd just swallowed, but too tired to pull himself further from the water.

all we can do is keep breathing

farce Honeydapple |