pafp SPLISHY SPLASH! [swimming race]

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 Finding ways to stay busy when stuck within the confines of camp is proving difficult today. He’s already been shooed out of the elders’ den, the gross old sniffly cats claiming that he’s too loud or something. Maybe they’re too quiet, have they ever considered that? They don’t even like to play mossball! But that’s fine, because even if there’s nothing else to do in camp, Crabkit can always find one of his siblings to play with—and just as he thinks this, he spies a speckled gray and black form not too far away. The little tom goes bounding over to his littermate, a bright grin on his face. "Cragkit, let’s play a game," he says, mossy eyes shifting to settle upon his tricolored brother.

"It’ll be… a race! In the water!" He wouldn’t call himself an exceptional swimmer by any means, but he’s sure he can beat Cragkit! "First one to that rock and back wins!" He points with his paw to a stone that juts up out of the water in the middle of the river, his tail flickering excitedly back and forth. Then, without waiting for a response, the ivory and orange tom leaps into the water, letting out a shout of excitement as he starts to paddle.

  • ooc: @CRAGKIT my little guy rolled a 2 :)
  • 80686810_XM15QxfLERsjOog.png
    CRABKIT ❯❯ he/him, kit of riverclan
    𓆟 ginger and cream tabby with rippling white spotting and mossy green eyes. highly emotional and difficult to keep focused on one subject.
    𓆟 son of iciclefang ; brother to cragkit & pinekit
    𓆟 peaceful and healing powerplay permitted
    𓆟 penned by foxlore
 
// omg I didn't realize I was a MONTH LATE TO THIS I'M SO SORRY!!

Cragkit is always down for a game, his brother knows this well. At his approach, he flashes the other tom with a half-grin, eyes lighting up at the prospect of any sort of activity they can entertain themselves with. "Yeah!" He trills his agreement, getting to his paws eagerly. He admittedly grows a bit nervous at the prospect of a swimming game...isn't mama supposed to watch them if they get in the water? But before he can argue, Crabkit is already off, splashing into the water and the competitive side of the kit gets the better of him. "Hey!" He yowls after him, bounding into the shallows until his paws no longer touch.

He kicks and kicks and kicks just like Iciclefang taught him, his long tail streaming out behind him like an otter's. He pants with exertion, but he won't give up, not when his brother's red coat is just in view. An ivory paw slaps the rock and he turns as quickly as he can, planting his hind paws on the stone. With a hefty push, he shoves himself back towards the shore, the boost sending him just a little ahead of Crabkit on the way back. Just a little further...
 

Tigersplash had taken to the river from such a young age, from the moment her mother so much as let her out of her sight was she off trying to leap into the shallows before some perceptive warrior stopped her. It brings a warm feeling to her chest to see young Crabkit and Cragkit eagerly leap into the river, undeterred and entirely confident in their abilities, the river was as much as their friend as their denmates - it was Riverclan's greatest ally and yet even with her confidence the two young toms could handle the light tug of the current in the shallows she won't put her faith entirely on her "old-friend". She'd be as swift as a fox on a fallen sparrows nest jumping in to the rescue if she saw so much as one of their heads bow under the water for even a second, Iciclefang could hopefully get a few more moments of shut eye without her fur going grey from the stress of watching these two kits. She slowly gets off of her haunches and comes padding over to sit in the sandy bank, she watches them as they clumsily paddle her whiskers twitching in amusement. They of course were not experts but neither was she nor any cat at such a young age even if she'd never vocally say as much!

Cragkit was going to wear himself out, his paddles were hectic lacking method and even as he gains the lead Tigersplash isn't sure how much longer he can hold it. "let the water carry you, you don't need to paddle so much little warriors!" she'd call out to them both, but she wouldn't fault them if they were to busy locked in on their competition to hear her. She was much the same when it came to races even now, though she's sad she doesn't have many clanmates to compete against as she did when she was just a young scrap.

 
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 Crabkit thinks he’s doing awesome, right up until Cragkit starts swimming right at his side. He opens his mouth to shout his surprise when his brother’s dappled gray form glides past him at last. Water flows into his mouth, and he splutters out a gasping, "ACK!" Now Cragkit is definitely gonna beat him, and their mama is gonna be so mad when she finds out he swallowed so much water! Crabkit flounders for a moment, orange-capped paws treading at the water with a level of panic that’s clear even from the shore. And from the shore, Tigersplash’s voice rises above the sound of water in his ears. She tells him and Cragkit to let the water carry them. They don’t need to paddle so much—but if they don’t paddle then they’ll sink, won’t they? Crabkit doesn’t know if that’s how the river’s current actually works. But Tigersplash is a warrior, and warriors know best, he thinks…

His paddling slows, paws treading more gently through the water. He’s not shouting at it anymore, not fighting against the river’s movement. No, now he’s just suggesting that the water gives him what he wants. And the water… isn’t agreeing to his suggestions. He kicks his paws powerfully once more, starting to grow tired as his brother draws closer and closer to the shore.

  • ooc:
  • 80686810_XM15QxfLERsjOog.png
    CRABKIT ❯❯ he/him, kit of riverclan
    𓆟 ginger and cream tabby with rippling white spotting and mossy green eyes. highly emotional and difficult to keep focused on one subject.
    𓆟 son of iciclefang ; brother to cragkit & pinekit
    𓆟 peaceful and healing powerplay permitted
    𓆟 penned by foxlore
 
Cragkit cannot hear his brother’s shout, the water slapping against his pinned ears deafening him. His only focus is reaching the shore, winning. And when he finally feels sand beneath his paws, he finishes the race scampering out of the shallows and giving his pelt a quick shake. “Beat ya! I win! I-“ As he whirls around, he notices Crabkit floundering in the deeper water, not really moving anywhere. Worry hitches in his throat, clogging his words for a moment as he tries to think of what to do. “Mom! Mom!” He finally begins to yell; it’s the only thing he can think to do!

He looks to Tigersplash, a panicked expression on his face. “Help him! Please!” Cragkit isn’t a strong enough swimmer to help his littermate to shore. He’s too little, too weak, still. A warrior can help him, though, right?

// shouting for @iciclefang
 
Cragkit's pitched - up shouts are meant for his tortie ex - mentor, but the panicked edge—a well - honed weapon Cicadaflight has accidentally sunk into his own chest more than once—draws the black - and - white tom's attention in a heartbeat where he's taking a rare moment to relax in the shallows of camp, letting crystalline water pour from one calloused paw to the other. The gentle greenleaf current that's giving Crabkit such a time is nothing to a warrior who'd built his swimming skills on the cold, windswept days of deepest leaf - bare . . . it's merely a pleasant, translucent paw sweeping tangled black curls to and fro. For a moment, he lets ever - tensed muscles loosen, white lashes coasting low over tired eyes as he imagines he's merely another strand of river - weed, waving to and fro . . . a silly fantasy, but one he can momentarily indulge.

. . . Until Cragkit's frantic shout shatters the air like glass and he's up, moving on pure hot - blooded instinct, duotoned eyes snapping wide open as he whips fluidly about, dripping tail and legs flying behind him in a quick, lithe motion. Back in the water, shoulders rippling like the waves as his forelegs propel him towards a spluttering Crabkit; the little tom's gasping water and his tiny orange paws flail wildly at the small foam - capped waves coming in to shore. Rather unceremoniously, he aims to seize the kit's scruff—Crabkit's a lot less little when you're carrying him ( it can't be more than a moon or two till he's apprenticed, huh? ), and corded muscle stands out in a long swan neck as he hauls the boy to shore. Powerful forelegs pump at the water, less focused on following the current and more on getting his ex - mentor's son to shore before he drowns.

" Sorry to steal your rescue, Tigersplash, " he murmurs ruefully once he's hastily dumped the ginger tom - kit onto the sandy earth, blinking apologetically at the faux - tortie warrior who, no doubt, had made a similar attempt to tow in the child. Shaking excess water from the dragging fur of his forelegs, he glances with a mixture of amusement, exasperation, and the dregs of adrenaline at Tigersplash, attempting to thump Crabkit gently on the back with one heavy paw to help dislodge any excess water he'd swallowed. Leftover adrenaline serves to dispel any notion of his usual anxious introspections, instead leaving behind some remnant of humor. The frantic thump - thump of Iciclefang's paws is no doubt approaching, rabbit - quick, and her jerks his head towards her rapidly appearing tortie form, remarking with no small amusement, " She probably would've killed me if I hadn't, though. "

OOC :
 
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 He’s tired. His legs are starting to feel so heavy, dragging through the water like it’s mud. But he can’t give up yet, because Cragkit is ahead of him, but his brother hasn’t won yet! He spots the dappled form of gray and white moving quicker than he is through the water, and he just knows that he has to move faster. But maybe… maybe he isn’t as good as Cragkit, because he’s starting to sink more than he’s moving forward. He sees the other kit pull himself out of the water, but he can’t hear the triumphant shouting because suddenly he’s up to his neck in the river’s water and he’s flailing more than paddling. "Craggy, help!" He cries out, even though he doesn’t actually want his brother to come back in after him—no, don’t help, don’t help me!

His brother’s calls for their mother are hardly noticeable to Crabkit, but the teeth that dig into the scruff of his neck certainly are. His savior pulls him through the water with ease, and even though relief floods his chest, so does embarrassment. When he’s finally deposited back on dry land, the boy catches a glimpse of the cat who’s saved him—Cicadaflight. Picking himself up off the ground, Crabkit shakes himself off the same way the older tom does before shouting, "Hey! I was gonna…" His protests fall quiet after a moment, realization setting in. He wasn’t gonna make it back across the river, was he? He could have drowned, he could have died, and then Cragkit and Pinekit wouldn’t have their brother and his mama wouldn’t have her son, and then the clan would have to have a vigil like they did for Brookstorm…

And he still lost to Cragkit. The feeling of a heavy paw slamming into his back makes the boy cough in shock. Green eyes shift to stare up at Cicadaflight—the warrior saved him, even though he didn’t have to, because Iciclefang would have killed him if he didn’t? Crabkit doesn’t understand, but he’s still glad the older tom didn’t let him drown or something. "Thank you for saving me, though." For a moment, he simply watches the warrior’s face, and then turns with a flutter of his tail to look at his brother. "I’m gonna beat you next time for sure," he announces, even though the idea of getting back in the water is scary. He can’t just give up, not if he wants to win a swimming race against Cragkit.

  • ooc:
  • 80686810_XM15QxfLERsjOog.png
    CRABKIT ❯❯ he/him, kit of riverclan
    𓆟 ginger and cream tabby with rippling white spotting and mossy green eyes. highly emotional and difficult to keep focused on one subject.
    𓆟 son of iciclefang ; brother to cragkit & pinekit
    𓆟 peaceful and healing powerplay permitted
    𓆟 penned by foxlore
 
It's no small pleasure to watch her sons take to the water like the fish that makes up their diet. Their pelts darken, soaked, their tails stream out behind them, their little paddles send bubbles foaming to the surface to outline their bodies. Iciclefang watches proudly, her ears flicking in amusement at their efforts. Cragkit propels forward with powerful speckled limbs, while Crabkit falls behind. And it's then that she's on her paws, her claws flexing, as her youngest son begins to sink into the water, calls for help burbling from his half-submerged muzzle. "Crabkit! Hold on!"

Iciclefang prepares to launch herself into the water when a black-and-white figure flashes before her eyes, phantomlike. Cicadaflight bends into the river, his jaws closing around Crabkit's auburn scruff and heaving him toward the bank. Iciclefang's heart begins to flutter; she flocks to Crabkit, immediately beginning to lick his wet fur in an attempt to fluff it back up. "You were doing so well," she murmurs. "What happened? Did you panic?"

She tilts her face toward Tigersplash and then Cicadaflight, her eyes shining coolly with her relief. "You just barely beat me to the water, you know," she mews dryly. She dips her head in thanks, though she doesn't so much as say it. "Hopefully you didn't swallow too much water, Crabkit. Do you feel okay?"

  • ooc:
  • DEuJTnr.jpg
  • Iciclekit . Iciclepaw . Iciclefang, she/her w/ feminine terms.
    — “speech”, thoughts, attack
    — 24 moons old, ages realistically on the 17th.
    — mentored by Smokestar ; mentoring n/a ; previously mentored Cicadaflight
    — riverclan lead warrior & queen. mudpelt x icesparkle, gen 2.
    — former mate to Stormywing ; current mate to no one.
    — penned by Marquette.

    sh tortoiseshell and white she-cat with ice-blue eyes. confident, capable, proud, dry, conceited, condescending, distrustful.


 
Iciclefang leaps into action, and as the young tom sees her run over, he whirls back around to yell at his brother, “Just hold on!” But before she can reach Crabkit, Cicadaflight is there, pulling the red and cream tom from the river's waves. Cragkit watches, both relieved and slightly envious of the warrior's effortless strength. I woulda saved him if I could…

When Crabkit is finally on solid ground, Cragkit races over, worry etched on his face. "You okay? That was... kinda scary." His voice softens, concern for his littermate outweighing the thrill of victory…but only briefly. The blue and black tom watches as Iciclefang rushes to his brother, her focus entirely on him. A knot of jealousy tightens in his chest. He shifts closer, ears flicking back as he hears Iciclefang's gentle murmurs to Crabkit. You were doing so well, She coos, and Cragkit can't help but feel a twinge of irritation. Did it matter that he had done well, too? He won, so why wasn’t he being praised? But deep down, the kit knows it’s silly to feel this way. Crabkit had been in real danger, after all, even if he seemed fine now. Suppressing a sigh, he forces a smile. "Yeah, Crabkit, you'll get it next time," He says, trying to keep the edge from his voice. He nudges his brother playfully. "Just remember, I'll be ready for a rematch," Comes his trill, trying to keep the mood light despite the simmering envy.

// omg I’m sorry he’s a butthurt baby