NEVER TOO LATE ⚔︎ fishing

[Petalnose]

Flames once flickered in weakness, mere sparks glowing within the confines of a frail furnace. Dying flame. It looked for help it once didn't need, it quietly searched for that gust. It came hastily with volume in response to the quiet call, pushing sparks back into flame. Assistance aided independence. The flame grew and spread; it was strong once more. Independence would turn to be assistance. Flames gave warmth to the worthy and flames scorched those who weren't. An aiding gust would turn to be an aiding flame.

Thin and tall frame settled at the riverbank once more. Eyes searching and scanning the freezing waters. A shadow briskly darted in her direction and swiftly she struck. Paws that met icy waters soon hit her victim, scooping a crappie into its fanged death. Average, but it'll do. At least, her fishing hadn't gone rusty. Knowlege never seemed to rust.

@Cricketpaw fun lil optional apprentice tag :3

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[Larchtuft]

Though most didn't go looking for him, if anyone ever did want to seek Larchtuft out, the first place to look would be by the river. Perhaps nine times out of ten you'd find him there, taking any moment of free time he had to sit and watch the water course past, warm eyes practically aglow with contentment. Often, too, his body would be taut and his claws unsheathed in clear preparation for fishing: both because he was good at it and because he enjoyed it, he fished more often than was strictly necessary as part of his warrior duties. Sometimes he didn't even catch the fish, merely watched them with rapt attention, whiskers trembling.

Today, though, he wanted to catch something. The tussle with Thorn had left him bruised and bleeding, with a shallow but unmistakable slash down his flank and bite marks to his neck - and his pride was smarting. Might as well do something he was good at, right? If he couldn't fight much better than a half-drowned apprentice, he should at least make sure bellies were full. Or as full as they could be during leaf-bare. The scruffy tabby was a few fox-lengths downstream of Petalnose, tracking the movement of a perch, when the ferric tang of a successful catch caught his attention. He moved nearer to the lead warrior, interest clear in his eyes as he studied the freshly-caught crappie. "First of the day?" Larchtuft inquired politely.​

 

[FERNGILL]

The river's frigid depths, at the apex of leafbare, were not being kind to Ferngill today. The frustration wasn't the same as it had been when he was younger, though- he knew he was at least capable of catching fish at this point in his life. With leafbare's chill, the water was less kind, more numbing...

Of course, Petalnose had settled back into routine well. He'd expected nothing less of her- when she dredged a catch from the deep, Ferngill's aqua eye flickered to admire her catch. It wasn't a carp or anything, but it was something- in times as volatile as this, anything would do. Knowing Petalnose, though- he imagined his friend would not stop at one.

"Send me some of your skills, Petalnose," Ferngill joked, grin on his face- though it wasn't one of animosity, jealousy or inferiority. He only hoped the good luck, the good hunting, would flow down the river toward him, too.​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[ROOKFANG]

THE HERMIT ─── Rookfang knew a little too well the familiarity of strangeness when it came to returning to tasks after an absence. He never had realized how much of a routine their lives were connected to until he had been forced to lay uselessly for what had felt like months. The scar that was now scathed over his right eye was now the foggy stranger when he had returned to fishing. It had not gone as well as it was going for Petalnose, then again she held a ferocious determination that no exhaustion could shake off. His vision seemed to have permanently been hindered, the fogginess now a constant and with the heavy blankets of powdery snow glinting with the sunlight, it had felt impossible. After a few moons, he had been able to pick up his pacing and strikes but now and then, all that he caught in his fangs was freezing crystalline droplets and frigid air.

The rugged seal point was crouched a little far off from the others, his gaze had been locked onto the glinting surface but his tired murky blue eyes were now dragging to look over to Petalnose and the others. Deciding to join in, he followed behind Ferngill and Larchtuft, deciding to stand beside the other toms as he gave a brief nod of approval towards the direction of the lead warrior. "You're quick to get back to work. Well done." His slashed ear twitched as he squinted against the sunlight to the catch that was latched within her teeth, pleased that she was healthy enough to push out energy to fish within the cold rippling river. With everything happening from the losses of clanmates and the intensity of the weather taking a toll on everyone in one way or another, Rookfang silently thanked Starclan that Petalnose had not succumbed to leaf-bare, he was not sure how Riverclan would feel if she ever faded away without a fight. ​

 

[valesight ➶]

⸙͎｡˚⋆ ⍋ ѧѦ ѧ⍋ ⸙͎｡˚⋆

"Oof- Hey!" He'd been stalking Rookfang's tail for the last ten minutes and just when he'd leapt for it, the warrior had gotten up to wander off and investigate something else. Picking himself up from the snow-dusted silhouette of where he'd landed, Valepaw lets out a small huff of disappointment before scurrying after his older brother with prying hazel eyes, raking them over every tabby pelt in sight before turning his nose up to stare at a squinting knight with a small frown.

So what? Petalnose was always good at fishing. The real problem here was that he was never going to catch anything if all his practice ended up in piles of snow burying him where he'd missed. Looking to Ferngill, who sought to borrow some of the lead warrior's skill, he couldn't help but tilt his head slightly, "She can't," he states, taking it for a very literal request rather than a hope for some similarly good luck.

Rookfang's praise makes his ear tips burn- you would've been impressed with me too if you hadn't moved! he wants to object but opts not to in favor of mimicking his hero as a stoic man of few words. Sitting up a little straight, adjusting slightly in a vain effort to be a mirror of his semi-slouched brother, the chimera turns his gaze back to the others with another small frown.

"Good job."

(Was he doing it right?)​

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[Petalnose]

A polite chime lifted her gaze, Larchtuft. A tom she hadn't gotten too familiar with, so far in her eyes, an observant character enduring in curiousity. Had he been fishing too? Or merely watching her? It was complex to grasp a reaction without being observant herself. Petalnose drew her tongue over bloodied fangs with a hum, "Yes.. and may the rest swim into my fangs easier." Flat tongued, she scanned the waters with impatient twitches of her tail tip. Not many were resurfacing, not many this close to the shallows. The chill had seemed to swallow their prey's hunger. It slowed them down. Irritation of the season hadn't let her rest with satisfaction. They needed more than that. They deserved more than that.

A familiar voice ringed in humor, rolling her eyes as they rested upon Ferngill. A ray of sunlight to overclouded emotions, atleast, that was how Petalnose viewed Ferngill. She knew he must've sensed the lightning beginning to strike her pride, "Well.. maybe if you focus..!" A hiss rang from bared teeth, but the glaze in her eyes and scrunch of her nose told the tale of playfulness towards her youthful comrade. If only she could share some skill to make him feel more prideful in himself. He certainly deserved to be proud of himself.

Rookfang joined the two, a face she'd occasionally see whom poked his head in concern when things went wrong for her. Petalnose still didn't hear much from the tom or see, not when she was sticking her head in the bush of her responsibilities. She didn't like when her paws weren't in a place of labor but it seems when she was forced to slow and process, she became familiar with who was around her. It was praise sent her way, praise wasn't what she expected from her clanmates. Fully experienced. In some youths terms, she was even old lacking the grey hairs. Being praised like an apprentice was rather odd in her eyes, nevertheless, she bowed her head towards the gesture in gratitude.

Valepaw was right behind his mentor, quiet and literal as she had last recalled. An odd ball in her eyes, she was certain he wouldn't catch upon metaphors but she didn't quite understand his character. She blamed that on her distance towards most youth, certainly kinds of his personality. Although, she didn't really expect the echo of praise whether it was genuine or not. Siren like eyes fluttered twice in silence before flickering back upon Rookfang. "I hope you two have better luck. The waters chill is harsh upon the bones. I don't understand how fish don't have fur in these conditions."

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[otterbite]

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ- As much as he tried to overcompensate for his difficulty in hunting it was not hidden knowledge how poor Otterpaw was at it. His patience waned too thin to be regarded as anything good, but with Coyotecreek having him focus so much on it these past couple of moons he's turned from a horrible hunter to an average one.

It shows, too. Beneath his paw is no fish worth any awe or mouthwatering desire. It's tiny, probably not much but fishbones and eyes but he caught it. "Fur?" A frown tugged down at the chimera's maw, sticking his tongue out in disgust at the thought. Fish and fur didn't sound appetizing at all. He hardly even ate land prey, he couldn't imagine his precious favorite meals tarnished by the presence of a pelt.

"That would be an abomination if I ever saw one. Maybe it's something t'do with their scales. Immune to the cold or something."

// mentor tag @coyotecreek

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── IM OUT OF CONTROL ⋅❁⋅ OH, HOW I BURN FOR YOU ──┐‎

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  OTTERPAW ✩ he/him, apprentice of riverclan, eleven moons.
  ⭃ scruffy blue/black chimera with white undercarriage and green eyes. noticeable kinked whiskers
  ⭃ adopted son to pikesplash // apprentice to coyotecreek
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay requires permission / / underline and tag when attacking or making an action toward
  ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by beatae ↛ gonkpilled on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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