sensitive topics DAISY IN BLOOM — intro ; drowning

[reedpaw]

her morning had started like any other. rising early to go out with her mentor on the dawn patrol before returning home for a quick meal before heading out for training once again. never did she think that she would be ending the day early.

searching through the fresh kill-pile, reedpaw would nose around before selecting a fat and juicy trout, sitting down to eat, she would stare at the trout for several long moments before picking at it. while it was one of her favorite pieces of prey, she couldn't ignore the pit of dread building in her stomach. a discussion with her mentor had led to her being assigned the task of swimming lessons later that afternoon.

while she knew she was born into riverclan, she couldn't quite understand the need for starting so soon. why not focus on other training first? deep down, she knew that one day she would learn how to swim. she wasn't against the idea of it. it was the worry that she wouldn't be good enough or the other apprentices would make fun of her for making a simple mistake that really drove her to avoid the lesson. as strict as her mentor was, she knew she would be unable to avoid it for much longer.

pawsteps shook her from her troubled mind as she watched one of her clanmates approach the freshkill pile, searching for something to eat themselves. "here, i'm not as hungry as i thought i was, do you want the rest?" she'd muse quietly, gazing up at the cat who approached her, quickly averting eye contact as they looked at her. pushing the partially eating trout to her clanmate, she would nod her head to reassure them that she was certain before standing up to follow her mentor outside of camp.

her dulled eyes would linger on the cats around her mentor before briefly filling with light, pleased that they weren't dedicating the rest of the morning to swimming after all. falling quietly into line behind the patrol, she would nod to the cat nearest her as they headed outside of camp towards the river. while she hadn't had many formal hunting lessons, she supposed today with paws on experience, was the way to learn. for a few moments she would watch as her clanmates spread out along the river, silently dividing themselves out as they arrived at the hunting grounds. watching their movements, she would make a mental note of their techniques before gaining the slightest bit of confidence that would allow her to try things out for herself.

trembling paws would guide her as she took a seat beside the river, staring down at her reflection. how was she supposed to do this? she knew she could, but for whatever reason that nagging feeling was eating at her again. closing her eyes, reedpaw would exhale softly, allowing herself a moment to relax before opening her eyes again. a flash of light would catch her attention, resulting in her moving to a better position where she'd be able to attempt to catch the small fish. paw outstretched, she was ready to swipe when suddenly, she found herself crashing into the river below.

it happened so quickly she hardly had any time to react. sinking below the now chaotic wake, she was aware of her clanmates' growing alarm but found herself frozen, unable to do react. as her head broke the surface, instinct kicked in and she found herself panicking. lashing out at the water in a desperate attempt to keep herself above the surface before falling under the surface once again.
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OOC NOTES . ◭ . CHARACTER INFO

• ooc : this is so bad and all over the place but it's been almost two hours and i want to be done lmao. she won't be hurt from this just traumatised and unwilling to go near water for the time being.
  
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  — ic opinions
  — open to minor/healing powerplay
  — reedpaw / riverclan apprentice / feminine pronouns / biography
  

 

[CICADAFLIGHT]

In the days since her return, Cicadapaw has become his mentor's shadow. Surprisingly dutiful, he follows her instructions to the best of his ability, training and swimming and sparring. When he needs to know what is going on, or what to do, he glances to her expression to try and read the best course of action. If he should need further clarification, he mutters his questions. It's a common sight around RiverClan—Iciclefang's gangly apprentice murmuring a question or a remark to her. That isn't to say his overlarge ears haven't earned their fair share of cuffs, or that he hasn't started a fight (or two, or three...), but he tries to be better. Tries, even if it's pointless, even if he's walking on rotten ice and he knows it.

As he and @iciclefang skirt the river's shoreline, Cicadapaw keeps one exhaustion-pitted eye on the roiling waters, ever alert for a fish or an excuse to dive into those soothing depths. If his mentor instructs him, he listens obediently, nods appropriately. Silence is common with Cicadapaw, though with Iciclefang he finds his words coming surprisingly easier—especially given his mentor's gossamer-glass demeanour, cold and cutting. The patrol they tag along with disperses and he perches at the river's edge, waiting for a fish—technically he ought to slap them out of the water in the more classic (and easier) manner, but there's something special about diving to the river's heart to retrieve his catches.

Iciclefang corrects something and he leans away, trying to keep his gangly and rippling shadow off the water as not to scare potential prey. In moments like these, it's easier to forget that raw and bloody crevasse where his father had once resided, the hole torn into RiverClan's heart. Into his heart. He's waiting, one eye on his mentor and the other on the water, when some commotion catches his eye nearby. Another fishing pair, mentor and apprentice, flying foam—the other apprentice is in the water. Is she a drypaw or something? She's flailing, hardly managing proper swimming or diving, and if her mentor's not quick with it, they're going to have a dead 'paw on their hands, he notes dully.

Cicadapaw's eyes stutter towards Iciclefang, asking silent confirmation. Whether he receives it or not, he jolts to gangly legs and dives in as he's practiced. No time to luxuriate in the silence or appreciate the weight of the dark water; hard strokes on long legs make for fast work and in a matter of breaths he's reached the flailing apprentice. She's lashing out, not controlling her limbs, and naturally she's under the surface as a result of her unfortunate technique. A sharp inhale and Cicadapaw dips under, seizes her by the scruff and yanks her upwards, for once grateful for his ungainly proportions.

He paddles to shore, no small effort with her half-drowned shape to tow, dumps the other apprentice unceremoniously onto the sand. Cicadapaw straightens up and shakes himself like a dog to free water from tangled curls, glances around for his mentor. What does it matter if he saves some helpless apprentice? What does it matter, when he couldn't save Cicadastar? Suddenly, he just wants to go back to fishing; suddenly, he wishes he'd just stayed where he was. "Don't—Don't freeze up like that," he mews flatly once he's caught his breath, disapproval etching itself in his voice. It's a rare moment for him, being the scolder instead of the scolded, the rescuer instead of the rescued. "Kick your legs. Are you a RiverClanner or what?"

something holy wants to get out ✦ ( but you can't let it )

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  cicadapaw ; apprentice of riverclan
  x. he/him ; 5 moons ; tags
  x. unsightly black-and-white tom with heterochromatic amber and blue eyes
  x. played by dejavu
  x. son of smokestar and cicadastar ; brother to beepaw and starlightpaw. apprenticed to iciclefang.

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[carawaysong]

-ˋˏ ༻✧༺ ˎˊ- there was a violent thrashing in the river, one carawaypaw heard all the way downstream where she collected reeds from the bank. then it was silence, submerged, drown. she had yet to witness all the river was capable of. it fed them, kept them secluded with it's rushing currents. and now, reedpaw was drowning in it.

her heart raced as she pushed forward to where the apprentice fumbled, abandoning all of her work. the tabby reached the spot just as cicadapaw dived in after her, plucking reedpaw out and unceremoniously dumping her soggy frame onto the sand. just like that, it had happened and it was over. what if nobody had noticed?

carawaypaw wanted to push back against cicadapaw's harsh words, tell him that he was being unnecessarily mean. but it was true, wasn't it? she had known the basics from a very young age, something about it was almost innate. if she hadn't, she certainly wouldn't be attempting to cross until she did. a small frown pulls on her maw, green eyes cast a worried glance to iciclefang not far away. reedpaw would be okay though, right? surely this one mistake wouldn't end her life. "are you alright? is she breathing?" she questions cicadapaw, unknowing of how to even attempt at rectifying this situation. they were close in age, but he had been an apprentice for longer. her troubled gaze flits back down to reedpaw, hoping to see the apprentice's flank move deeply.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── you're in the yard 《✧》 i light the fire ──┐‎

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• CARAWAYPAW ✧ she/her, apprentice of riverclan, four moons
  ➺ carawaypaw is a pretty longhaired silver tabby with green eyes and a long, lithe frame. born into riverclan, she loves her home and has a deep fascination with becoming a warrior to provide for it. for now, she is heavily focused on her duties as an apprentice and trying to balance them with her enjoyment of less serious activities. she is currently apprenticed to nightfish.
  ➺ willowroot x poppysplash ↛ sister to bumblepaw, tidepaw, mosspaw, hazepaw, antlerpaw, and buckpaw
  ➺ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking ↛ see battle info here
  ➺ penned by vayle ↛ @vayl3 on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[DAWNSTORM]

die with memories , not dreams .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

He’d been at the shore when it happened, reminded of his unfortunate time in the water, nearly drowning more than once when he’d been with his father training all those mornings and nights until he coughed up water. Another apprentice appeared, rescuing the fumbling apprentice, and dragging them to land with little effort.

Frowning, Dawnstorm reached the worried group with a subtle twitch of his tail, helm lowered to peer at Reedpaw’s drown-ridden frame with narrowed hues. He may be a bit slow to read people, especially phrases or words that go way over the tom’s head, but he wasn’t stupid. Maybe he was. He’d have to ask Cedarblaze. If he asked his father, then well—Dawnstorm would never hear the end of it.

Remaining unnaturally calm, the chimera hummed, realizing he may be invading their space by taking a few steps paw. “Fine.” He uttered, deadpan with a slight tilt of his helm. “Take deep breaths. Does it sting?” The tom had enough drowning incidents to know what it felt like, watching the apprentice with an inquisitive blink of his hues. He appeared colder and heartless than he was, but Dawnstorm was never great at expressing himself than with deadpan words and phrases that did little to get his thoughts out. ​

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thought speech​

 

[Petalnose]

Petalnose wasn't sure what emotion to express as she saw Reedpaw flailing about and Cicadapaw immediately answering to the call of danger. This time she hadn't been needed and she nodded to the younger feline in acknowledge of the good deed. Carawaypaw rushed to assure good health and Dawnstorm set forth instructions to breath.

The tall feline crouched to Reedpaw's height, sniffing her to assure good health and aiming to draw her tongue across her back to warm her up from the chilled water. "C'mon now. Get up... You allowed panic to cloud your mind. You got to stay calm." She meowed firmly with a crease of her brows. It was frustrating to see a failure within the waters, concern about drypaws had abrupted within her thoughts. It was a dangerous territory to home within without knowing the basics to their lessons. Certainly, they were more like safety lessons. Quickly a drypaw could fall to disaster and slip into the afterlife. Swimming lessons she noted to task with permission, another mishap they couldn't handle. They couldn't handle more loss. No, not now.

A harsh glance was directed towards Reedpaw's mentor, certainly, they could've acted faster than Cicadapaws swim across the bank? She growled in frustration, watching to see the apprentice rise once more.

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