calm waters and stepping stones // clay

[Raccoonpaw]

The only normal thing now seemed to be the river itself. Sure it changed with the weather like when it rained or snowed, or got smaller in size depending on the time of day, but it was still a constant. It wasn't random cats pushing their way into the river territory. It didn't suggest they where trying to attack them nor where trying to force them to join Riverclan or leave their home. It stayed as this brilliant marker of blue waters and silvery fish below the surface, served a purpose for the whole forest. It was fresh water, a place to sunbathe or cool down from a hot summers day. The river was a special place, and one they could never leave behind. Even if it risked that of Buck being upset with them, but what other choice was there? Raccoon didn't want to find another home, didn't want to leave the river behind for someplace else.

This place had been their home since they where a kitten, and they weren't about to just allow some cats to take it over or chase them out. The black-legged cat had walked down to the shore of the river and gently pawed a stone across the sand. Orange eyes stared into the clear waters of the river and a soft sigh escaped their maw, what other choice was there. The words echoed through their mind and made them swat the pebble to send it soaring across the water. It skipped a few times across the surface before dropping into the water below. Raccoon gave a small shake of their head, there had to be a better way, right? It couldn't just be Riverclan or nothing, right?

They where unsure, and the thought only saddened them. What if Buck was right? That these cats where no good and would only cause more problems? That them dividing was not the best thing in the world? Wouldn't that cause more problems than before for the clans? Raccoon was no expert but the battle had been about differences, what did splitting into five solve? Wasn't that counter productive? Another shake of their head and the looked down into the water, giving a small huff, "Clan cats are weird[/i]," They muttered to their relfection. ​

 

[CLAYFUR]

The river was quickly becoming Clay’s greatest enemy in the new territory of RiverClan. He’d seen ponds and streams, yes, but he’d never seen any body of water as monstrous or intimidating as the river. Had his sister, her mate, and their daughter not traveled here, Clay would have stayed as far from the river territory as possible. He didn’t know what any of them were thinking, really, choosing this place to settle down.

He hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings until a voice broke through his daze—”Clan cats are weird—and he glanced up to see Raccoon standing near the water’s edge. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but like, it wasn’t as though they had said anything bad, so he supposed it was okay. Trotting a few steps closer, Clay would chuckle and sit down a safe distance from the river, a place where he wouldn’t be able to somehow fall in again. "You can say that again," he commented, shooting the younger feline a bright smile. "We are weird, aren’t we? I mean, we called this place RiverClan." A really weird, obvious name for a clan that had chosen to live beside a river.

Tilting his head to the side, the tom regarded Raccoon with bright eyes and a flick of his striped tail. "You lived here before we got here, right? Weren’t you heckling our leader when we first showed up?" Without waiting for a response, Clay launched into another question. "What’s it like around here? Are there any good hunting spots that aren’t… in the river?" Fish are good and all, but after his tumble into the river a few days ago, he wasn’t eager to dip his paws back into the water anytime soon. Maybe a resident of the territory would know more about land prey than he did.
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[ PENNED BY FOXLORE ]​

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[Raccoonpaw]

They should probably be use to the amount of cats that now lived by the river at some point, but still they did jump when a voice seemingly responded to their words. Raccoon flicked their ears back in embaressment before giving a light laugh, "Riverclan is a bit on the nose if you ask me," They mused back as this brown striped tom sat a few paces from them and the river. Curious as to why he seemed to avoid the river like that, did something happen? Regardless they didn't really have time to question it before this cat started to bombard them with their own investigative questions.

"Yup! I have lived here my entire life!" They gave a grin, they loved this place. The river, the willow trees, the streams that came from the river- it was all their home. Though Raccoon did bristle when asked if they had been the one hackling that of the leader of this Riverclan, "I wouldn't say I was hackling him, just more so- bombarding him with several questions," They gave a meek chuckle at their own words before giving a small shrug, "It is not everyday that a large group of cats decides to come across the river and declare it as their home,"

Raccoon though did consider their answers to his following questions about what it was like here and if there was any better spots to hunt than the river, "Well it is very- wet here I guess? With the streams and stuff, it almost as bad as the marshes if you ask me in terms of being damp all the time," They gave a gesture with their paw and snickered a bit, "Though some great places to hunt around here are like near the streams or under the willow branches, water voles like to hide there as do frogs! Frogs aren't really-tastey but they work in a pinch," ​

 

[CLAYFUR]

Clay didn’t exactly need a reminder that RiverClan had just marched into the territory and claimed it as their own, with no regard for those who already resided there. The black and white cat didn’t seem too upset, anyway. But it was still worth remembering, that as much as they liked to talk about how Briar’s group had pushed them to war by moving into the forest, they could be doing the same thing to these loners who already lived here. Maybe nothing is going to change, even with the split into five clans, because no matter what they do or where they go, there’s always going to be someone encroaching on someone else’s chosen land.

"Yeah, that was sort of rude, huh; we just moved in and didn’t even ask. Sorry about that." He shot a sheepish grin to the other feline, tail flicking against the ground. "I hope we haven’t upset the, like, balance of anything here." He didn’t exactly feel guilty; he wasn’t the one who chose this territory. But since he was a part of RiverClan, he felt the need to offer some sort of apology to the younger feline.

He got lost in thought for a moment as they explained that the land was wet and damp. The idea of dashing through a wet territory didn’t sound very appealing to Clay. If that’s what the marshes were like, then it was no wonder Briar’s group of cats were so antagonistic. Of course they’d want more territory, if their part of the forest was that bad! He was struck by the mention of frogs, though, and made a face, lip curled in disgust. "Wait, do some cats actually eat frogs? I thought that was just made up to gross me out!" Surely frogs couldn’t taste good enough to warrant eating one.
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[ PENNED BY FOXLORE ]​

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[Raccoonpaw]

Raccoon gave a small shrug at the toms apology; it wasn't really warrented. The only thing it seemed to upset was Buck, but she was very easily upset about most things. They were rather excited about the prospect of Riverclan. It would be interesting to see how things played out for them and the other clans, espeically if most of these cats weren't use to water and swimming. That would be funny to see them try to learn the land and the rivers current events. Ha, current events, what a great joke they'd have to save that one for Frost.

"Of course they do! I know the marshes have frogs too, but they mainly have like lizards and stuff," Raccoon responded with a little giggle at the other and put a paw over their nose to muffle the laugh, "They're not as bad as you think. Can be quite tastey on a summers day," They gave a grin and then got to their paws happily, "Though if you wanna know about the river, you gotta come along with me to see it! Knowledge is best learned by experience cause I can sit here and tell you all day about it- but youll never truly get it," They flicked their bushy black tail and gestured for Clay to follow them up the bank. ​