private BIRDS OF A FEATHER [ splashpaw ]

[PEBBLEPAW]

(☼) he's been given the afternoon off from training, a gift he appreciates more than foxtail will ever know. it's a gorgeous day, sun bright in a cloudless sky, temperature not hot enough to down cats in their dens, but warm, with a fur-ruffling breeze that acts as a coolant. the river sparkles in midday light, chattering along over stones and sand, whispering through the roots of willow trees that line the bank. to have today free, is a gift pebblepaw could never have dreamt up. for splashpaw to have today free is even better.

sunlight ripples off of the water as pebblepaw leads his friend towards the shore, stomach contentedly full from a fish they'd just shared. the queens had been fed, elders too, and now they have all the time in the world. the snow-dusted tail twitches and flicks with little jolts of joy as the apprentice and his friend pad along familiar trails, pelts dappled by criss-crossing willow branches. he brushes against her in a brief expression of friendliness, offering her a smile. "how was your morning? is lakemoon a good mentor?" he imagines she is, with her being an original riverclanner and all that. strong and stern is how he sees her, though stricter now that lilybloom is gone. she's a good cat, a fine mentor for his friend. "foxtail and i were on a skyclan border patrol. not much happened, though."

they've reached the water's edge, where the river laps at its bank. small droplets of water bead upon white paws, and pebblepaw will test the temperature, tail flicking over his back as it appears warm and comfortable today. "feel like swimming?" he asks splashpaw, ember eyes meeting river blue, her expression sending a shiver down his spine. his stomach flips a little. odd... the fish he'd eaten hadn't seemed bad, and his companion hardly seems sick. brushing off the racing of his heart, he turns and bounds in to his broad shoulders before bending to briefly duck his head under. "c'mon!" he'll encourage, stepping back into the shallows. "you've really gotten the hang of swimming, you know. when ospreypaw yanked you under a bit ago you really held your own."

I DO NOT HAVE WINGS, LOVE ☼ I NEVER WILL

• // @splashpaw <3 " #848DAE"
• 
  
  
• 
  PEBBLEPAW ☼ HE / HIM, APPRENTICE OF RIVERCLAN. MENTORED BY FOXTAIL. 8 MOONS OLD, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a large blue tabby with low white and vitiligo. pale blue fur covers the length of pebblepaw's stocky body, sliced through with darker tabby stripes and spots. baleful orange eyes peer out of heavy set sockets, and his muzzle, paws, and tail tip are dashed with white.

​

 

[splashdance]

Ospreypaw's attempt on her life (if she wanted to be dramatic) still flutters like a butterfly in the back of her mind. She tries to say that it does not bother her - surely, RiverClan apprentices jest with one another in the same unfriendly ways. But she's never seen Shellpaw and Pebblepaw tussle with a means to harm, nor can she imagine Dizzypaw or Mothpaw edging towards her with ill intent. Just... Ospreypaw. The meal she shares with Pebblepaw is filled with giggles and conversation but she cannot wipe the smug look from Ospreypaw out of her mind. It makes her mouth feel like its filling with acid, truly, though now a part of her fears her body rejecting becoming a RiverClanner.

Soon after bones have been cleaned, Pebblepaw takes her for a casual walk. She keeps close to him, finding his company most enjoyable among all their peers. He's softhearted and warm - much kinder to her than his sister, at least. Splashpaw cannot help but wonder how those two managed to be from the same litter... But then again, all of her littermates save for Bonepaw were talkative fools. Maybe Bonepaw is the same outlier as to Pebblepaw... Or maybe - Splashpaw thinks, as her friend mentions Lakemoon - she's the odd one, now, due to leaving at all.

"She's... tough, but she's nice. I don't think her kits like me, though," Splashpaw neglects to mention how her mentors from before had treated her. No ill will sent her way, but the first hardly paid mind to her and the second treated too much like a joke. Mentioning Graykit and Snowkit is far more in line with casual conversation here - she's better off letting talks of ShadowClan go unsaid.

He wades into the water some, turning back to look at her. Owlish blue eyes hold his gaze, and though not for him, they spark with fear for a moment. It flashes, uncertainty, before fading just as quickly. The discomfort (she decides to call it) churns in her gut but she does not mention it, casually wading into the water alongside him. "It's a nice enough day for it...!"

Before she knows it, he's off, dunking his head beneath the waves. He returns with an excitable grin on his face and Splashpaw can't resist - it'd infectious. Worry itches in her paws but she makes her way towards him, "I tried my best!" she says, a pitch to her words. As she errs deeper into the water and begins to tread it to the best of her ability, she looks back towards Pebblepaw. She almost anticipates that he will do just as Ospreypaw did - but then, in the same second, she shames herself for thinking so. She trusts Pebblepaw, immensely so even. He wouldn't bring harm to her if he could help it.

"Just... stay close to me? Please?" Splashpaw asks, trepidation in her voice. She wants to dip beneath the waves but - what if she doesn't come back up? Would he save her? "It's safer to swim with someone you trust, I think," she continues, her normal grin stretching across her face.​

 

[PEBBLEPAW]

(☼) "of course," he murmurs warmly as she steps towards him, watching the anxious smile on her face falter a bit. the mention of ospreypaw has shaken her, and he mentally berates himself for it, but leans his body in to brush against her as water laps gently over her flank. "definitely," he'll reply, filled with sun at the idea of her trust in him. "i've got you, splashpaw." his voice is sincere, gaze meeting her own with genuine friendship. "she shouldn't have done that to you. it was mean. riverclan cats don't bully." pebblepaw sniffs, mind glowering back to the picture of his friend's panicked face beneath the waves. "you can trust me, and i trust you."

separating from her for a moment, he steps deeper until, should he be a bit shorter, his paws would no longer touch the ground. he'll stand firm as soft waves wash over his back, ember gaze turned back to find his friend. "think you can make it deeper?" he asks, encouragement in his tone. should she attempt to step closer to him, he'll wait where he is, grin flashing again when she meets him at tip-toe level. "there you go! look at you, riverclanner!" she's a natural in the water, webbed toes helping her paws churn to keep her upright. river-spray sparkles across her dark coat, the bright splashes of moonlight on her face glowing bright in the sun.

"want to try going under? i promise i'll keep you safe," he suggests, hyper-aware of their closeness. her eyes are deep river blue, sparkling with uncertainty but also with warm trust. she smells like pine and wildflowers, her soft fur billowing around her with the current. he blinks, and smiles softly, moving to dunk under the waves with her should she decide to do so.

I DO NOT HAVE WINGS, LOVE ☼ I NEVER WILL

• // " #848DAE"
• 
  
  
• 
  PEBBLEPAW ☼ HE / HIM, APPRENTICE OF RIVERCLAN. MENTORED BY FOXTAIL. 8 MOONS OLD, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a large blue tabby with low white and vitiligo. pale blue fur covers the length of pebblepaw's stocky body, sliced through with darker tabby stripes and spots. baleful orange eyes peer out of heavy set sockets, and his muzzle, paws, and tail tip are dashed with white.

​

 

[splashdance]

RiverClan cats don't bully, he says, and yet instead of Ospreypaw remaining in her mind's eye, she thinks of the tom's lilac-colored sister. She doesn't look at him, the lingering disappointment evident in her downturned gaze. He thinks highly of his Clanmates, of his sister... She doesn't want to take that warmth from him. Instead, he instills trust in her, and she takes it. They're friends, after all. He's made it clear since the very beginning that he has no ill will against her, despite her outsider beginnings. She can trust him, she knows it.

He steps away from her, and on instinct she follows. The water isn't as scary with him around, and her fears melt away with the firm encouragement from the tom. She almost shames herself, for after all the work she put in to be a proper RiverClan cat so far... letting Ospreypaw push her beneath the waves almost reversed her effort. Thankfully it seems that Pebblepaw is unwilling to let her fail.

She giggles, "I seem to have a pretty alright teacher," Splashpaw then teases him, treading the water as best as she can. Some moments its easy, and then the waves become a little higher and she struggles to right herself. A flash of fear brightens her river blue eyes, but his promise warms her chest. She swallows, and nods. Splashpaw makes a show of sucking in a deep breath before letting herself sink beneath the water with him. She peeks open her eyes and though she cannot see well, she sees blue-grey fur just in front of her.

She smiles, something warm, something earnest, before she resurfaces. The black she-cat expels the air in her lungs dramatically, laughing again as she does. "Alright, alright - that's not so bad," she says, leaning forward too-briefly to touch her cold nose to his. The former ShadowClanner finds herself distracted, however, as her ears twitch with discomfort. "How do you - oops -" she slips beneath the waves for a second, finding her way back up and easing herself back onto waterlogged land. "How do you not get water in your ears?" Splashpaw asks now that she's comfortably standing.​

 

[PEBBLEPAW]

(☼) he blushes with the teasing compliment, sun-hued gaze meeting river blues that sparkle as brightly as the very water the two felines now tread. "yes, well, i'd say i'm more than alright," he'll respond, lifting his muzzle in mock haughtiness. "plus, you're a pretty alright student too." in his head, there's an emphasis on pretty, but he won't verbally show that. he'll keep his thoughts to himself about his particular fondness for her soft fur and glowing eyes.

the girl before him heaves a deep breath, and pebblepaw watches as she ducks beneath the water. he does exactly as he's promised, keeping his glowing attention upon her dark coat as she lingers for a few moments below the sparkling waves. warmth sends his heart beating, a fondness for his friend blazing in his chest. as she emerges from the deep, she wears a glistening smile, one that pebblepaw is happy to copy. her nose brushes his own in affection, and he feels that bloom of warmth again.

the tabby boy is rendered speechless for but a moment as she speaks, and he gazes at her with unhidden sentiment. she is every bit a riverclanner as she braves the waves, dark fur slick with water. pride in her rings anew. "that was awesome!" he vocalizes, maw shaped in a pearly grin. a thought pours from her own mouth, halted for but a moment by the interruption of a ripple of water. pebblepaw inhales a sharp gasp of worry as she vanishes beneath, only to reappear a heartbeat later. there is no fear in her gaze and so he calms. curiosity rings in splashpaw's voice, and pebblepaw tips his head thoughtfully. "it's kind of just instinct for me, at this point," he replies, sidling up beside her in the shallows. "foxtail taught me to pin my ears back when i'm swimming. kinda uhm, jut your head forward and keep your ears close to your head." he demonstrates, looking ridiculous out of water.

he laughs lightly, breaking his demonstration as he finds his friend again, noting amusement in her own gaze. "i admit it doesn't look that fierce or cool when i do it though." chewing on his lip, pebblepaw scrubs a paw across his face. "you kinda get used to a little bit of water in your ears though. it's hard to stop it."

I DO NOT HAVE WINGS, LOVE ☼ I NEVER WILL

• // " #848DAE"
• 
  
  
• 
  PEBBLEPAW ☼ HE / HIM, APPRENTICE OF RIVERCLAN. MENTORED BY FOXTAIL. 8 MOONS OLD, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a large blue tabby with low white and vitiligo. pale blue fur covers the length of pebblepaw's stocky body, sliced through with darker tabby stripes and spots. baleful orange eyes peer out of heavy set sockets, and his muzzle, paws, and tail tip are dashed with white.

​