pafp GET IN THE WATER [ defiance prompt ]

[willowroot]

( ☾ ) willowroot has feared the river only twice in their life. they have feared its size and strength through a mighty flood, one that almost swept away her young litter of kits, damaging her entire family. they have feared its swift unpredictability when ice had cracked beneath cicadastar's kingly paws, had sent the god of itself tumbling to his demise, only rescued by a brave warrior. both of these happened in leaf-bare, and neither makes her feel better about how peaceful the river looks now.

sitting on the bank of the ice crusted body of water, the smoke leans over the small hole they have just hammered out of the surface, claws flexing as they await an unsuspecting fish. around her, other warriors do the same, and idle chatter keeps them warm even as a chilly wind whistles through the tree tops on thunderclan territory. a soft skittering sound breaks her concentration, and the motherly warrior glances up to see an apprentice testing her weight on the ice. worry floods willow's chest and she'll call out to the npc girl. "sandpaw, stay off the ice please, love." she'll request, beckoning the pale npc to back off of the river. the apprentice nods sheepishly, scampering back to her denmates. another warrior might've been more stern, but willowroot has learned over the moons that truly, most children just want to be noticed and spoken kindly to. it's not hard to acommodate that.

another few minutes pass- she manages to snag a scrawny looking trout, and half buries it in the snow beside her. a yawn stretches her jaws as she shakes her fur out, about ready to take a break. it is then that she notices otterpaw, about two fox-lengths away, steadily creeping out onto the thinning ice. a frown will replace the contented look as willowroot pads towards the young tom, tail tip twitching. "otterpaw, the ice here isn't as stable, please come back to the shore!" she calls, expecting even this unruly boy to reluctantly bound back. he glances over his shoulder at her before continuing on, and annoyance bubbles in her throat. "otterpaw!"

// pls let @otterpaw reply and then willow reply again, and then this will be open!
(poe, otter can respond however he wants, as long as hes a lil shit about it hehe) ​

 

[otterbite]

It's been clear for the past couple moons the only thing his mentor wants him focusing on is hunting. When they're not shuffling their paws along a border or throwing clawless swipes at one another he's sat at the river. Watching, listening, mimicking, but mostly watching into cold depths hoping a fish would come up. Even then he was much better at scaring it from the surface than catching it.

That's what he had been doing since the suns light broke the surface. Still empty-pawed but his chest full of frustration, but not for lack of trying. The fish just weren't showing up for him to throw his paws against the water. Coyotecreek had told him to wait, that he would return quickly after a brief errand for a Clanmate. The moment the former barncat was gone from his sight he began to pad across the ice to see if there was better luck further in.

Willowroot called out for him to come back and he gave the molly a silent sideways glance. He would never know it, but the smoke was the reason he was a RIverClanner at all. Having allowed him into the Clan on his true mothers request. He would never know it, so she was treated like any other by the boy. Her voice trilled his name once again and Otterpaw does not hide the scoff from his maw.

"I'm not a toddling kit, Willowroot. I think I can find solid ice just fine." He bit back with a frown, glancing down at his paw as the ice beneath began to crack into webs. His frown pulled back into a grimace and he quickly side-stepped away, assuming any direction was a safer option. "See? Just fine."​

RIVERCLAN APPRENTICE ✦ BLUE-BLACK CHIMERA ✦ 9 MOONS ✦ TAGS​

 

[bubbleburst]

"GOT A LITTLE CASH NOW SO THAT SKIRT IS DIOR"​

The luck of hunting is not always so evenly distributed. For Bubblepaw, that luck had been nonexistent for many moons. Of course, the young molly had lacked skills- trained for a moon or two by an aging warrior who hadn't much time to teach her much more than politics and tradition- but once she had refined them, there seemed to be no shortage of fish for her to hunt. Perhaps it was just good timing. Regardless, she sympathizes with Otterpaw's frustration which has blossomed into his sharp words towards Willowroot.

She spots Otterpaw further down the shore. Or rather, he isn't quite on the shoreline anymore, but rather has crept out onto the thin ice itself. Bubblepaw is immediately distracted by the sight. Where the exuberant apprentice might call out her concern, Willowroot has already beaten her to the punch. And Bubblepaw is fairly intimidated by Otterpaw anyway; no matter how many times she tries to reassure herself within, she can't help but to think about the image of that SkyClan apprentice fleeing her clanmate with ribbons of hot blood following him across the river.

Her concern draws her closer, and she frowns when Otterpaw refuses to come back to solid ground. Though here are areas where ice fishing is safe and possible, there are parts of the river which still race past. A familiarly dreadful sound catches her attention, and her gaze snaps down to Otterpaw's paws. "The ice is cracking!" Bubblepaw points out "It will just continue to spread. It isn't safe!"
​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[Minkpaw!]

The tense shouting was a beacon call to the young lynx point. Minkpaw strolled toward the shore, glacial eyes darting around at the gathered cats. Is that Otterpaw, way out there? Oooh, is he trying to break his neck? Even from shore the crisp snaps of creaking ice could be heard loud and clear. More likely the tom probably had pride on his mind, trying to prove some sort of bravery or competence. Oh, how Minkpaw wished to goad the other on, to cheer at his foolish display. But considering Willowroot was her mentor, and the high chance that Otterpaw could actually get himself killed... Uhg, whatever.
"Come onnn Otterpaw, you're not gonna prove very much if you wind up dead," she meowed, her drawl casting over the ice like a storm cloud. despite her careless tone, this was Minkpaw trying. Somewhat. Bubblepaw was already trying the 'scared and concerned clanmate' route, so someone had to go with 'irritating button-pusher'. Knowing Otterpaw, he was more likely to respond if his blood pressure was raised.​