ripple colony high hopes — accidental drowning

[DAWNSTORM]

die with memories , not dreams .

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Kaede broke the surface with a choked wheeze, water gliding down his face and causing ripples in the disturbed water. Dual optics narrowed, nose wrinkling at the onslaught of burning it brought, shoulders quivering as he coughed, water sputtering from an open maw as he drew breath. Damn. He huffed, paw reaching to press against the shallow wound across his cheek, pulling back with a wince. His gaze veered, following the trickle of watered-down ichor, staining his fur and turning the water a diluted crimson. He sighed, pulling further back from the water, ears flat against his helm.

Was this the feeling of failure? His maw remained empty, unable to catch any fish once again. His brother had been far better at catching fish than he ever could. Kaede winced. Oh. His muscular build would be his downfall, wouldn’t it? The bi-colored tom sighed, darkened lips pulled into a bitter grimace. A truth he knew all too well. A truth driven into him since birth. Of course, it didn’t hurt any less than when he realized his father would never see him as something worthy. “Always a disappointment.” He hummed, voice void of emotion save for the hurt that swirled within his dual-toned optics. That was fine. He was alright with it as much as it pained him to realize. He just needed to be better. He needed to prove to Father that he wasn’t a screw-up. Maybe one day he would make his father proud, but that day seemed far out of grasp as Kaede peered into the watery depths, blood welling up from the cut his father gave him.

With a shaky breath, Kaede dove headfirst into the water, paws cupping the water until he remained afloat, head bowed to peer into the water, catching sight of a few fish fluttering about. With a narrowed gaze of determination, Kaede set off to ( drown ) hunt like his father asked, ignoring the burn of his nostrils and throat, chest quivering in need of air, but Kaede was a stubborn tom with accomplishing his father’s expectations if it killed him. ​

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thought speech​

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[RYESTALK]

——————————————【 She/her | 34 moons | Ripple Colony 】——————————————

【◈】The sound of splashing and wheezing quickly draws Rye's attention from where she rests further downstream, immediately putting her on alert as she scrambles to her paws. While low, the river is still dangerous in its own right; some of the others had attempted to fish, but that's about as far as she'd trust the waters, thus far unwilling to step too deep as to fully swim along the banks. For the most part, her intuition's served her well, and so she rushes forward in the direction of the distressed noises, ears perked for any signs of further danger. What greets her is a familiar form wreathed in water, and she's only just there in time to watch Kaede dive back below the water's surface. Nobody else seems to be floundering around in the water, so Rye can only assume that he's the one who had been making those terrible hacking sounds - though, why would he dive back under if he had already been choking on the water?

Clearly, something's not right here, and so she plows onward, whiskers twitching as her paws slip past the mud and into the water. "Kaede. Kaede!" she calls out to the tom, louder after hearing no response the first time, wanting to give him a chance to resurface in case he actually did have control over the situation. When that doesn't work, she lets out a curse under her breath as she wades further into the water, picking her way closer with a growing urgency. Would she be able to haul him back out successfully? It's not like she has much of a choice, anyways - Rye can't just leave him to drown like that. Taking a deep breath herself, she steels her nerves, biting back any anxiety she feels in favor of focusing on her haphazard rescue mission. Reaching forward, she'll attempt to snag whatever is most accessible with her teeth, pulling back and in the direction of the shore. Even if she can't get a good grip, hopefully the sudden sensation will at least alert him to her presence and inspire some sort of motion in Kaede.

[penned by hijinks].

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[✧ Frondfeather.]

I'LL BE THE MAGIC STORY YOU'VE BEEN TOLD
frond | 24 months | female | she/her| physically hard | mentally medium | attack in bold #674099

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Though frond likes to think of kaede as a good friend, there is certainly a lot she about him doesn't understand. An orphan herself, she doesn't know much about family - or why it is exactly, he holds his fathers words in such high esteem. But then again, he's always been a bit odd, a bit strange - words from one cat can mean something else entirely when spoken by kaede. But se certainly doesn't expect to stumble across such a scene as this - her friend seemingly drowning beneath the current. Rye beats her to the punch, diving down to try and pull and tug him up, and though she hesitates for a moment, uncertain if he actually needs help or if they are overreacting she too leaps to the rescue - quiet literally, as she runs and umps into the water, strong legs propelling her forwards as she circles the two, not confident in her own breath-holding abilities in comparison to her swimming skills. 'I hope he's okay...'

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[cougar]

Cougar barely knew these cats. They had just joined the colony shortly before being displaced, and left after the move to visit their mother. Who was dead, by the way. That didn't make him heartless, and certainly didn't mean he'd just watch one of them drown. Hearing the splashing, and Rye's panicked calls, Cougar picked himself up from where he was, rushing out of the nearby reeds. His ears flattened at the scene, and Cougar was rushing into the water alongside Rye. "If you start to go down, let go!" Cougar warned Rye.

He inhaled deeply, just incase water was splashed up into his mouth. and underlined to grasp Kaede wherever he could and attempt to drag him back to shore with Rye's help. In the case that Kaede came to his senses and broke out of their grip, he'd likely let go, but right now, he was focused on getting the colony-mate air and someplace dry to stand on.​

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"speech"​