private CHANGING TIDES / prompt

[SHININGSUN]

☼ Prompt: The shimmering scales of a fish
@CLAYFUR

It had meant to be a typical day of hunting among the crags of Sunningrocks for mice and voles, but something else had stolen Shiningsun's attention that day. From the high vantage point he could gaze out at the river as it flowed a short distance away, and among the grey and blue hues of the water's surface came sparks and flashes. The gleaming proved too much to ignore and lured in by the tantalising display the ThunderClan warrior soon found himself perched at the very edge of the river itself. Fish with elegant, shimmering scales swam just below the surface, dancing in their own unique way and leaving their audience hypnotised. A foolish idea sprang into the warrior's mind and before he could stop himself he was already in the midst of reaching out to touch one of the fish.

With a splash the large warrior ended up in the water as the bank of the river crumbled under his weight and sent him tumbling into the current. The pursuit of beauty could very well spell the end of him. Frantically he thrashed about as he desperately tried to keep his head above the surface, but bit by bit he slowly began to sink down further. Fear enveloped him as he feared the worst...
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[CLAYFUR]

That Sunningrocks still belongs to ThunderClan is a crime, a wrong that has yet to be righted. Clayfur took a life for the land, and yet it still wasn’t enough. He only hopes that the rock he’d left in memory of Clearsight still lies where he’d left it; if it’s been moved, then he doesn’t know what he’ll do with himself. He hates to linger at the border across from Sunningrocks, the memory too painful to force himself to stay any longer. He’s planning to keep moving along, but a flash of movement catches his eye. There, on the river’s bank, stands an unfamiliar figure. A ThunderClan warrior, by the looks of it, and they’re staring into the water as though they’re hunting. Typical ThunderClan, he thinks with a curl of his lip, taking things that don’t belong to them. First our land, and now they think to take our prey. What’s next, our kits? Brown fur bristles, but just as he’s about to call out something crude to the enemy, he sees the bank begin to give way. He takes a step forward, calling out a warning. "Hey-"

He isn’t quick enough, and he watches the other go tumbling into the water, flailing as he sinks below the glittering surface. The ThunderClanner is no better than a stone in the water, and for a moment Clay freezes. The deep, dark, lurking rage comes to the surface, screaming and snarling at him to watch as the enemy drowns in the very river they thought to threaten. But he can’t just watch. He can’t just leave someone to a watery fate, not like this. ThunderClanner or not, Clay cannot just let him die like this.

With only a moment’s hesitation, the brown tabby launches himself off the shore, flying in an arc through the air before splashing down into the river. Water soaks his pelt in seconds, but he pushes himself through the current with ease, kicks aided by sheer panic. He has to dive down in order to grip the other by the scruff, muscles burning as he manages to pull the other toward the shore. Sunningrocks is the closest side of the river—he drags both himself and Shiningsun halfway onto the rocks, far enough out of the water to breathe but not fully on land yet. He’s panting, breaths coming quick and uneven. He glances at the golden tabby, eyes narrowing.

"Hey," he grumbles, tapping a white-capped paw against the other tom’s face. "You’ve gotta help me out here, a little…" Stars, this tom is heavy. It’s a good thing that Clay was here to fish his sopping-wet form out of the water, or else he would have been dead for sure. Well… actually, is he still alive? The thought sends panic spiraling through the brown tabby’s mind. His scent is all over the warrior, and both their scents mingle on the water-soaked surface of Sunningrocks. If a ThunderClan patrol happens to pass by, he’ll be taking the blame for not only a trespassing, but a murder. "Hey, please don’t be dead…" he mutters, giving another tug at the other’s scruff.​

[ YOU ARE THE STARS TO ME ]​

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[SHININGSUN]

☼ Shiningsun didn't wish to believe that this was the end, but as the light began to grow ever dimmer he truly did fear the very worst. All his dreams of watching ThunderClan grow up with him in it was ebbing away, and all the faces of his friends and family started to drift away. This was it... the end. A fate caused by a damned fish.

However, it seemed as though today would not be the day he perished. He felt the tug on his scruff and he was surprised to feel himself being pulled in a different direction than the one the water's current once held him in. Hope swelled within him, though so too did a sense of dizziness as his body continued to struggle with the lack of air in his lungs. He felt faint as he was dragged to shore, though he was fortunately alive for both their sakes. A spluttered series of coughs broke from him, followed by desperate intakes of air before things finally settled for the ThunderClanner. Alive, he was most certainly alive.

"I-I'm not dead... thanks to you." There was an edge of disbelief in his voice as he slowly sat himself up so he could regard his saviour. A RiverClanner had saved him from a cruel fate. "I can't believe a pretty fish nearly killed me. I'm an idiot."
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[CLAYFUR]

The awful coughing from the other cat is a relief greater than Clay has ever felt before. The tom sputters and gasps for breath, and he can only watch silently as the other seems to regain awareness of his surroundings. When he finally does, affirming that he isn’t dead, the brown tabby allows a grin to curl across his face. "Thank the stars for that. I’ve heard drowning is a terrible way to die." His attention skates from the other warrior to the rocks around them, but there’s still no interruption in the form of other ThunderClanners, so he doesn’t make a move to step away as the other sits up.

He can recall when he’d been new to the territory, way back when the Great Battle had concluded, and the river was a more untamable beast in his eyes. These days he feels as though he understands its unruly nature, but to the cats of other clans it’s certainly still dangerous. "You aren’t the first, and you won’t be the last. You’re just lucky someone was here to… fish you out." A hint of a chuckle slips into his last words, tail flicking pleasantly at his side. Now that the ThunderClanner is acting relatively fine and definitely not-dead, some of the tension bleeds from his posture. "Was all that worth it just for a pretty fish, though?" Is ThunderClan having trouble finding prey already? Or is this tom simply a bit like Clay himself, drawn in by glittering scales and shiny fins?​

[ YOU ARE THE STARS TO ME ]​

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[SHININGSUN]

☼ A roar of laughter erupted from the tom as he identified the pun being made, though it did send him back into a fit of coughs. Still, it had thoroughly tickled him and brightened his mood further. "Was it worth it? Probably not, I didn't manage to touch the fish or get any closer. But... it was really beautiful, like a rainbow dancing beneath the water's surface. Though I guess sometimes such pretty things aren't meant to be touched." For a brief moment he lost himself in the memory of the scales, that is until he realised that it must have sounded like he had been trying to hunt the fish. A jolt of concern coursed through him and caused his fur to fluff up. "I wasn't trying to hunt the fish, I promise! I just wanted to... I dunno, not catch? I just wanted to touch the fish, I guess. It's hard to put into words."

Shiningsun realised that he was rambling as a result of his panic so he lowered his head and took a moment to compose himself. After expelling a soft sigh he then lifted his head so he could look at Clayfur. "I promise that I wasn't looking to take any prey from RiverClan. I was just being an idiot by getting too close to the river. My sense of wonder still has a way of landing me in trouble."
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