sensitive topics I'm prepared to give you all of me || drowning

[owlpaw.]

CW; Third and fourth paragraph depicts minor blood.//
I also realized it may not have been realistic for an 8 moon old to save a full grown warrior by himself. :3//

A scream echoed from the river. Birds from around him scattered within seconds from the protection of thick canopy leaves, but the apprentice does not hear even his own scream. He would only feel his jaw drop open as suddenly his mentors paw slips on the side of the riverbank, and he would suddenly watch with mismatched eyes his mentor go under, disappearing down into its depths.

His face twisted and in a matter of a second, without thinking about it, Owlpaw moved the fastest he had ever moved before. His stocky form darted forward, his own body disappearing into the rivers shores, feeling the weight of the water pushing against his body.

Owlpaw had never been so focused before. He felt like... He had all the strength in Riverclan as his hind legs kicked hard against the current, and his front paws rapidly dove through the water. He came back up, gasping for breath, gaze a wild frenzy of desperation that he had never felt before going under again. His body pushed forward, barely seeing sandy fur twist and turn at the end of his vision in the water. One more push off, and finally- he felt it. (CW) There was blood mixed in the water, he tasted the iron scent as his jaws gripped the warriors scruff, scrambling and kicking off the bottom of the river. Everything he possibly could to pull his mentor from the depths of the water. Stars, he's seen blood, but he swore he was swimming in a pool of it. (End)

Brown fur shifted. His own air was running out. The apprentice would grip the much larger cat in his jaws, but it was slowing him down. It felt like minutes, hours. Owlpaws lungs were burning, before finally, he felt enough footing that he could push himself back up. And both their heads finally broke against the surface of the water. Brown and silver fur braced, using the strength of his shoulders and chest to push his mentors limp form- (he swore he could still hear his heartbeat, or was it his own?)

"Help! He-heelp, someone! Please!"

He wasn't strong enough, his muscles burned. Even with the adrenaline coursing his veins, the apprentices gaze was wild and frantic. Coughing escaped the apprentice, water escaping from his own lungs, but he still pushed. And he still screamed for help despite the pain and water that escaped him.

His voice had never been so desperate before. And he had never felt so tired before. But his eyes narrowed, and he inhaled, before gripping his mentor again for better holding, and pushed harder. "Please, wake up! I need your help, nightingale! Please!" he was crying now. The salt of his tears burning his eyes. Or was it from looking desperately for his mentor under the water? Hopefully it wouldn't be too noticeable, but honestly, he didn't care.

He couldn't do this alone.

Another scream for help, before both of their heads went back under, his cry suddenly interrupted by water engulfing both of them.
​

 

[BEEFANG]

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ — The scream that rang out startling the fish that Beefang had been focused on cannot help but frown wondering whose shouting though her attention snaps to the river noticing how there's scarlet and she squints to see Owlpaw sinking alongside something else. The young warrior turns to her apprentice and says to him in a hurried manner "Go get Moonbeam, now!" She hopes that he listened to her since the next thing she did was slip into the water already paddling in the direction of the bloodied water trying not to wince at the smell of it. The black smoke takes a deep breath only to dive into the water as she reaches to grab onto Owlpaw's scruff and with her back leg would kick away Nightinggalestrike from the jaws of the apprentice. If she's successful then she resurfaces with the apprentice not wanting a repeat of Magpiepaw as their heads burst from the water and the bicolored molly takes a greedy gulp of air.

"Swim fishbrain!" She hisses through his scruff as she tries her best to keep the both of them afloat, she wishes that she didn't have to struggle so much but due to the apprentice not being the size of a kitten... It's proving to be difficult. By the time that she manages to reach the shore, the black smoke can feel her sides heaving in the slightest from having pushed herself to save Owlpaw and make sure that she didn't end up drowning in the process. Once the feeling of sand and pebbles are underneath her toes, she let's go of the apprentice allowing him to drop onto the ground lightly and she glances over in the direction where his mentor floats. Someone else would have to retrieve the body and she knows it would likely take up to two warriors to do so possibly.

Her lone eye focuses onto Owlpaw and shakes him lightly with a drenched snowy paw as she huffs "... Y'okay?" Is the only thing she can manage between soft pants as she tries to regulate her breathing and the rapid beating of her heart within her chest.

DROWN IN YOUR SORROW AND FEARS ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ CHOKE ON YOUR BLOOD AND YOUR TEARS

• ooc — sent Roepaw to fetch @Moonbeam

• 

  WARRIOR SKILLSET;
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧ HUNTING
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧ TRACKING
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧ COMBAT
  — ✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧ STEALTH
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧ STRATEGY
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦ SWIMMING
  — ✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ CLIMBING
• 
  ✦ a shorthaired black smoke molly w/low white and a singular amber eye
  ✦ oftentimes comes off as untrusting of those around her, closed off, and not the easiest to engage in conversation with, she's not easy to befriend. distrusting of outsiders and will snap at you if y/c walks up to her on her blind side. all her opinions are IC only.
  ✦ 14 moons old; ages the 10th every month
  ✦ asexual homoromantic; mated to moonbeam
  ✦ currently mentoring... roepaw ; formerly mentored by smokestar
  ✦ firstborn daughter of cicadastar and smokestar
  ✦ sister of cicadaflight and loveburn
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ✦ peaceful powerplay allowed

​

 

[Moonbeam]

A sobbing and shaking Roepaw is what greet Moonbeam as she was getting ready to go about her day, quickly telling the medicine cat through stuttering words what had happened and where it was. Upon her instruction he led the way, running to the river within the territory to find Beefang pulling a wet Owlpaw out from the river, and quickly she left Roepaw behind to rush forward as quick as possible to check on the apprentice, not noticing at first the floating body of Nightingalestrike, nor the way the blood she scented in the air came from the dead mentor instead of the very alive - thank StarClan - apprentice being dragged out. "What happened?" She'd speak to the younger cat as a nose moved across the apprentice to make sure he was okay before maw opened to taste the air once more.

The blood scent was still there, but it wasn't coming from Owlpaw, and eyes searched out once more before eyes landed on the warrior - a cat she didn't know was dead yet, she hadn't been able to look him over so it was possible... it had to be possible - and she rushed forward, tail sweeping past her mate in a desperate attempt to get her to follow, as though Moonbeam was a strong swimmer she was not big and it would take more than just her to get the warrior back to shore for her to look over. Roepaw would stay behind to look over Owlpaw, that was certain, as though the apprentice was the most scared thing the medicine cat had ever seen he cared enough to stay near the water to ensure that Owlpaw would be fine until they got back.

If followed she would grab onto the scruff of the floating feline and behind to swim back, dread filling her at the lack of movement coming from the other, at the way the wound on his head had slowly stopped bleeding as if there was no more blood to lose.

CAUSE LIKE CONTELLATIONS ꕥ A MILLION YEARS AWAY

• --
• ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ flesh wounds
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ infections
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ aches & pains
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ illness
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ breathing
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ traveling
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ broken bones
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ kitting
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ poisons
• 
  ꕥ SH white masking cinnamon torbie w/orange eyes & small ears
  ꕥ 15 moons old; ages the 17th every month
  ꕥ homosexual polyromantic ; mated to beefang, crushing on redacted
  ꕥ currently mentoring none
  ꕥ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ꕥ easy in combat unless in water, focuses on defensive tactics

​

 

[owlpaw.]

Everything burned. His throat, his eyes, his nose- he had never drowned before, and though his feet kicked, his paws moved, they only grew weaker. He was always persistent, but this persistent was new. He had no idea his mentor was dead, he had no clue that his attempts were futile.

He was losing the light that reflected at the top of the water, his paws were going nowhere. A smart person, they would have said to give up. But he would never be accused of giving up. That just was not him, and it never had been.

Owlpaw suddenly felt teeth around his scruff, and felt a jolt of a foot as his mentor was kicked from his jaws. For a moment, he wanted to succumb to the darkness, not even really knowing what it would mean but to just want to rest. but once he felt the grip of safety, and as soon as his maw opened to inhale air, water escaped from his lungs, coughing, air- hope. it sent a new rush through him, a numbing sensation that suddenly, the feeling of falling was no longer. Adrenaline pumping yet again in his veins, the apprentice wouldn't fight Beefang, quickly and fluidly moving his legs to help Beefang in saving him.

He had never thought he would needed saved, the entire time the usually selfish apprentice would not think of himself. He only thought of Nightingalestrike. Finally, ground reached their paws, and his scruff was released, and he quickly scrambled to safety. More water. More burning, until finally he lowered himself down on shaky limbs and heaved air as if he had never breathed such a wonderful thing.

The chocolate and silver apprentice looked to Beefang, his ears pinned back, and his body trembling. Never had he shown such emotions, but it was as if everything escaped all at once. His tail curled tightly to his side in a pitiful show of horror. "I- I really tried, Beefang, I'm so-so sorry," he said through shaky breaths. His attention turned to Moonbeam, his expression filled with blooming disappointment in himself on top of the shock. As she leaned forward, to sniff at him, he wanted to plunge into her soft fur, but he held himself back, tense despite the shaking he could not control. "We- were were practicing water sparring, and he, he slipped and I, I tried to save him-" he barely managed to get it out, face a grimace as his eyes followed Moonbeams to the floating body of his mentor.

As they left to rescue, his face was nothing but guilt. he fell onto his stomach, a paw placing over his face. "I was being as fast as- as fast as I could, and, there was a lot of.. a lot of blood, Roepaw." It had been a long time since he wanted to grip someone, to shove into someone's fur- and it was never an emotion he really had to experience. Usually, it was easier to just pretend life was all fun and games. But it wasn't, not now. "I failed him. I failed Nightingalestrike." It hurt to say out loud. But the panic over took his words, it spiraled his mind into something he did not want or desire. He hated exposing himself. He hated the feeling of being so... Open. "I just- I just got so... Tired... do you think he's going to hate me?"


​

 

[SUNPAW.]

Screaming. Screaming that she knows. Not that she knows the sound of Owlpaw screaming, but she knows that apprentice. Her friend. It's a sound that instantly sends chills down her spine, because Owlpaw should never sound like that.

It's one thing to be out training, to pretend like the water belongs to RiverClan and RiverClan alone, the cats who can tackle the streams and currents the same way their paws can take to the ground, but mother nature always comes around to show them just how fragile they can be. It's not necessarily the thought process she's taking as she's rushing towards the sound, having abandoned Foxtail at the first sound of Owlpaw being amiss and taking off to the underbrush like a shot, but it's something similar. The cold chill of this shouldn't happen here that sinks down into her bones.

Everything in this area was chaos, and in an instant, Sunpaw makes the decision to abandon the chaos to the older cats and turns her focus onto Owlpaw instead. The air here tastes weird, wrong, and she pins her ears back. It's weird. It's like none of what's happening in front of her feels real - so she can't even imagine what it feels like to Owlpaw.

"Owlpaw!" she calls instead as she strides the last few foxlengths to his side. He's okay. Phyiscally. And Owlpaw is saying things that are so confusing to Sunpaw - how could he think that? How could it be his fault? Her mouth opens to snap it, instantly, but she forces her breath to intake, like a hiss through her teeth and pull herself back. She reaches out instead, to jab a paw gently into his shoulder. Then, after a moment's hesitation, she hooks her paw around his neck and pulls slightly Somehow, she's just more than glad that he's okay. Even if it was his mentor's loss. "You're soaking wet, Owlpaw. Come here."

"...You're an apprentice. If your mentor couldn't take the current, then you definitely couldn't," she finally states. She's not sure if it sounds cold, or if she's just being right, or how Owlpaw will take it - it's a frustration for her to deal with later. "...I think if you fought that water any more than you had you'd both be dead. If I was Nightengalestrike, I wouldn't be mad at you."

//mentor tag (mentioned) @FOXTAIL ​

 

[BEEFANG]

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ — The bicolored moggy manages to catch her breath only for her lone eyes pupil to narrow as Owlpaw begins to sniffle about how he had tried and a part of her wants to cuff the apprentice for being foolish as he put his own life at risk. Beefang grits her teeth unable to raise her paw at him when her own apprentice arrives with her mate in tow and before she could growl at chocolate tomcat that he could've died, she feels the brush of Moonbeam's tail sweeping past her in a beckoning manner. "D... don't do it again." She says with a quick snap of her jaws before following after the medicine cat into the river once more as her legs push her forward until she joins Moonbeam in bringing back Nightingalestrike and until they reached the shore once more. Her fiery eye fixed on the injury on his head wondering if he could've lived had he not fallen unconscious within the water and it causes her to feel her chest tighten at the fact another one of their cats had lost their lives to the river.

Sunpaw seems to bolt over to the scene already pulling Owlpaw into an embrace but Beefang doesn't bother to listen to what the apprentices say to other as she focuses onto her mate and the stilled form of their clanmate, a frown tugging at the sides of her mouth only to speak "I can help you bring him back to camp..." Its the least that she could do to make things easier for her soulmate even if the black smoke feels a little winded from dragging Owlpaw to shore and then retrieving back the body of Nightingalestrike. Beefang turns her attention to the trio of apprentices only to give a curt nod "Let's head back to camp, it's been... a long day." She decides to say with a sigh slipping from her jaws and her wet tail slapping the ground behind her in frustration.

DROWN IN YOUR SORROW AND FEARS ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ CHOKE ON YOUR BLOOD AND YOUR TEARS

• ooc —

• 

  WARRIOR SKILLSET;
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧ HUNTING
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧ TRACKING
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧ COMBAT
  — ✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧ STEALTH
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧ STRATEGY
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦ SWIMMING
  — ✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ CLIMBING
• 
  ✦ a shorthaired black smoke molly w/low white and a singular amber eye
  ✦ oftentimes comes off as untrusting of those around her, closed off, and not the easiest to engage in conversation with, she's not easy to befriend. distrusting of outsiders and will snap at you if y/c walks up to her on her blind side. all her opinions are IC only.
  ✦ 14 moons old; ages the 10th every month
  ✦ asexual homoromantic; mated to moonbeam
  ✦ currently mentoring... roepaw ; formerly mentored by smokestar
  ✦ firstborn daughter of cicadastar and smokestar
  ✦ sister of cicadaflight and loveburn
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ✦ peaceful powerplay allowed

​

 

[owlpaw.]

Beefang looks... He didn't know. But he felt she had more to say. "I- I don't understand what I did wrong," he says, softly to the leaving warrior. Don't do what again? Don't try to save someone? How could he not? He would want to be saved- and, And wasn't it warrior like to save one another? He was mixed in a spiral of confusion, uneasiness.

His ears perked, though his eyes were distant as the golden eyed molly came up to his form. He couldn't be more relieved to see her. He shifted as she jabbed his shoulder, but she hesitated, and his eyes shift to hers. Blue and green against golden, and everything seems to go blurry as water edges his vision in a burning sensation of tears as her arms wrap around around his neck. A paw lifts to hold her closer for a moment, burying his face in her soft fur, inhaling sharply.

A tight sob had escaped, though quickly pulling himself back together and shaking his head. "I understand, but- but hes- he c-cant be dead," he said, his gaze drifting to the unmoving body of his mentor, frowning slightly towards the sight. "He, he isn't right? You can, you can still save him, right moonbeam?" He asked, insistent, mouth twitching in a frown he fought.

The leafbare was near, they couldn't lose another warrior. His stomach was near his paws, because he knew, he knew that no one could lose that much blood and still breathe. His ears flattened against his skull, choosing to duck it back into sunpaws pelt, shoulders raising in a deep sigh before pulling away. "yeah... we have to take him to camp... To... Say -" he couldn't finish his words, mouth snapping shut and head dropping low.

"Thank you guys..."

And I'm sorry, Nightingalestrike.
​