private euthyphro's dilemma

[RAVENSONG]

There is little to be thankful for, with their home gone, his fishbone collection and work gone, and security gone. Ravenpaw cannot bring himself to feel any optimism. Although he bit his tongue and assured himself that he was okay being the orphan, the outsider, the loner, the cat with no friends, there was no doubt that the fact ate at his heart like a worm through a rotten fruit.

Fatigued, he held a bound of reeds tightly in his jaw, about to carry them back to help weave together new nests for the kits. The patrol he was with was a little further away, forcing Ravenpaw to traverse some slippery stepping stones among the swollen river banks relatively alone. One misstep and he slipped, going down silently with a cry. Panic rushes to his head, so stifling he can barely breathe. His phobia kicks in like the bite of a dog. It takes a minute or so for him to realize he's only elbow deep in water. He pulls himself up and scrabbles to dry land, droplets streaming from his chin and chest as he pants.

"Trout-dung." He hissed, watching helplessly as the reeds he had been carrying is swept down the stream.

@FERNPAW

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[FERNGILL]

Fernpaw, too, had lost a considerable collection in the cascading chaos of the flood, waters whisking away hoards of scaled and feathers, lost baby-teeth and pebbles of all sizes. Not everything had been taken away, but some of his favourite things had. Maybe it was all just stuff, but it was stuff that meant a lot to him- stuff that had been gathered over time, lots of time. And maybe it was pathetic to be upset, but- he'd let himself be pathetic once in a while when no one was watching.

Distractions stormed away in his mind as he trailed behind his patrol, a frown set upon his tiny skull and scrunching up his ill-favoured features. Only the harsh splash of a body encroaching waters snagged his attention, softened his face- his head whipped around to where Ravenpaw had fallen, the drypaw apprentice heaving himself out of the fright waters. Immediately Fernpaw rushed to attempt to aid him- to at least check.

"Oh! H-hey, you alright?" A tilted head accompanied his inquiry as he looked up at the pitch tom, eyes searching his face for any sign of pain or discomfort. Even for an apprentice who liked the water, slipping into these cryogenic depths could never be good for you.​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[RAVENSONG]

"Ye-yeah, I just—" Ravenpaw shivered under the new, heavy weight his dark pelt carried, now logged with river-water. He stretched out his hind leg and shook it, sending little droplets flying everywhere.

Fernpaw was the ugliest of Mudpelt and Icesparkle's children. Iciclepaw was overbearing to Ravenpaw and he secretly believed that she disliked him for his heritage. Fernpaw's brother Darkpaw did not hold the same amount of fire, but he was also a little silly with that pebble he used to always carry around. He had never had more of a work spoken to the orange apprentice before. Ravenpaw blinked, evaluating his peer carefully. When he decided Fernpaw was not judging him, he breathed out a sigh.

"I lost my reeds." He grunted, shaking himself to rid it of the water again. "You like the water, don't you? How do you get dry fast?"

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[FERNGILL]

He did not shy away from the recoil of water that flung in a spin from Ravenpaw's foreleg, used to- and, in fact, fond of- the water. Something that the pitch apprentice pointed out once he'd admitted his ailments. Craning his neck, bulging eyes of blue caught a small smudge floating on top of the water's surface, soggy and half-sunk. Right, yeah- those were the reeds, then. Luckily they were no unique resource!

"Hm- yeah, it's... well, I like it, yeah." Fumbling words, bungled, botched- he seemed not to mind, his unsightly but genuine smile still set upon his disproportionate face. He didn't want to say certainly that the water was great- Ravenpaw clearly didn't seem to think so, being a drypaw. He wondered what had drawn the night-painted tom to RiverClan if it had not been the river... but drypaws were just as useful as any other warrior.

And anyway- someone being inexperienced with the water was an opening, apparently, to deliver some smidge of knowledge. He'd- never really been asked for advice before. For once, the lights did not switch off behind his gaze as he thought- anything relating to swimming, he could give as if it was instinct. "Oh, you had it right, sort of! Just shake your whole body super, super fast like this!"

It was a rowdy but accurate demonstration; it felt like he was shaking his very skeleton. But it'd work as well as anything to help get Ravenpaw drier. not completely dry, though... there was no magic cure there, as far as he knew.​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[RAVENSONG]

Ravenpaw winced at his choice of words. Of course Fernpaw liked it. Everyone here liked the water. As far as he was aware, he was the only drypaw apprentice. He had to wish that at least one of Boneripple's ShadowClan kits would end up hating the water just as much as Ravenpaw did. At least he would not feel so alone.

He swallowed and blinked, watching Fernpaw give a vicious shake of his own body. "I fear... I may get you wet, too." He stepped back a few mouse lengths before steadying his legs and giving himself a massive shake that flung several droplets in various arrays. Ravenpaw stopped abruptly, losing his balance on the smooth riverbank and stumbled to the left. His eyes were dazed and he looked into Fernpaw's bulging ones—not very beautiful ones, but incredibly helpful ones at the least.

"How was that?"

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[FERNGILL]

"S'okay, I don't mind!" chirped the diminutive apprentice, nothing if not always earnest. Swimming was all he was good at, really- if he cared about a few stray water droplets, he'd have nothing to show for his six moons of apprenticeship! Still, he let Ravenpaw take those few steps back- and then, night painted blur, he shook himself as vigorously as Fernpaw had instructed. It felt... good, to have someone listen to his advice for once! Usually he was the one taking instructions, even off of other apprentices.

A grin delighted his disproportionate face, a tangible glimmer of approval in murky-blue eyes. "Yeah, perfect!!" he chimed, trotting on the spot as if he might freeze to death if he stood too still. "Sometimes you can wipe yourself on the ground too, but, uh..." With an oversized paw he made a vague gesture to the waterlogged ground.

"Do you, uh, want help gathering some more reeds? The movement'll probably help you dry off more," he hummed, fine to grab some extra if Ravenpaw decided he didn't really want to keep going. He knew as well as everyone how hard it was to get back up after a failure.​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[RAVENSONG]

Ravenpaw did feel a hint of embarrassed humility at being taught such a simple thing by another apprentice. Though he and Fernpaw were not too far apart in age, and this fact soothed his self-consciousness. Ravenpaw made a bleh noise as his thick fur puffed up from the sudden shaking, making him appear a hair larger than normal.

"I think I'd prefer rubbing against a tree." Ravenpaw remarked dryly with a hint of humor as he showed a sliver of his teeth in his strange way of smiling. "Imagine all the twigs and leaves you'd get in there, even if it was newleaf." He knew some cats were just born into this life. Fernpaw had it all. Ravenpaw would kill to have the sort of comfort the orange apprentice had in this environment.

His tongue passed over his lips at the suggestion. Naturally he wanted to turn away the offer, but he decided to take a chance—see what Fernpaw was like. "If you don't mind, that is."

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