TIDE IS HIGH — slipping into the river

[SLATESNARL]

Heartache seemed to be an endless cycle for SkyClan recently, and for what reason Slate cannot say. Bad things have been happening since leafbare and, just when they anticipate catching a break or finally moving on from senseless tragedy, disaster strikes again. Was StarClan truly to blame for this? Slate never believed them to have much power, as they only seemed to come and go as they pleased, but why would they inflict so much onto a clan that has done nothing? Alternatively, why wouldn't StarClan help them? SkyClan has suffered enough.

Caught up in his own frustrations, resisting the urge to curse and spit at the skies, Slate found himself far too close to the river's edge. The patrol had only been meaning to mark their border with RiverClan, but it appeared that the lead warrior was taking things to another level. One misstep from his hind leg causes the Maine Coon to slide backward, sending his entire backside into the cool waters. "Foxdung!" He exclaimed in shock, the temperature of the river sending a shockwave up his spine and prompting his fur to bristle upward in a static-like state.

Scrambling to haul his large form out, half of his charcoal pelt waterlogged and sopping, Slate desperately dug his claws into the ground and crawled back onto land. The extra effort left the hulking mass of a cat catching his breath, air chuffing in and out of his lungs as he attempted to calm down. The water-induced panic only prompts a distant memory of him nearly slipping into the rushing rapids on the lungwort journey ( and reminds him of just how much he hates water ).

𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈 ✹ .　 + 　˚ 　　 · 　 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐄

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  a lead warrior of skyclan, slate is forty moons and is mentoring coffeepaw. he is a hulking longhaired maine coon with black fur and prominent reddish rusting on his chest and belly. scars litter his form but are prominently present on his face. ✦

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[TWITCHBOLT]

He'd never bothered to blame StarClan for much- in his own life he'd never felt them interfere, except when they plucked a life from the depths and stirred it right back into a leader's injured body. Hyperaware of misfortune, Twitchbolt knew too much about awareness to ever think misfortune was the doing of StarClan. No, they could give warnings, but it was always a cat's choice whether to heed them or not. If you knew a fox's jaws were agape beyond a border and still flung yourself into them ... then your broken bones were your own fault.

Well, except when you slipped into it ...

Foxdung- a harsh cry that erupted out of Slate, and from a little distance away Twitchbolt's head swivelled so fast it was a wonder he did not strain something. Green eyes flashed wide, and he hurried over without thinking twice about what he'd actually do to help ... he couldn't swim if at all, and Slate was quite a bit bigger than him. Luckily, the dark tom managed to heave himself out of the river before Twitchbolt had to consider anything.

A crooked tail swooped behind the tall tom, attempting to ferry him closer to the shore- and his shoulder was there if Slate needed it, but he wasn't sure how much his balance would fare if that offer was taken up... "Are you alright...? Did you twist anything?" Shaking pupils looked him up, down. "Your- your thoroughness is appreciated, at least ..."

\ apprentice tag @CANDORPAW ​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[DOEBLAZE]

The sun beats down on the freckling place between Doeblaze's tightly - wound shoulders, the warming rays doing little to deter the tension nesting there beneath tufts of lilac fur. Unconsciously, her mind was running much the same narrative as her patrolmates, as it was apt to do when left idle—what had SkyClan done to deserve all the world had seen fit to inflict upon them? For as long as she had inhabited the pine - forest Clan, misfortune after misfortune had been aimed at them, precisely calculated to sink deep into the Clan's beating heart—and why, she had no idea. Their leaders had always been just and compassionate ( her heart gives a warning twist ), their deeds as good as they were able; they did not wage war or steal kits, so why? Why bring all this damnation down upon their unsuspecting heads?

Doeblaze shakes her head lightly as if to shoo fur out of her eyes, willing the thoughts to dissipate. What's done is done, she reminds herself. She can only look forward, only strive to help support Orangestar and the council in ushering in what will hopefully be a brighter day for her Clan. Her mind seems determined to run this groove into the ground, though, and in an effort to deter it, her holly - spiced gaze turns towards @cloudypaw~ at her side. " RiverClan is led by Lichenstar, with her deputy, Hazecloud, " she explains to the tabby, voice a low trill in tandem with the river's gentle burbling. She begins, " Lichenstar took over leadership pretty recentl— "

" Foxdung! " comes a harsh yelp of interruption, and much like Twitchbolt, Doeblaze's head shoots upward on her neck, turning automatically towards the direction of the cry as her own seaglass eye snaps wide. Oh, stars, what now? She herself had required rescue from an experienced RiverClanner on the journey, so if Slate was swept away ( hard to imagine, given his size, but you really never knew ), it'd be up to hoping a particularly generous RiverClan patrol wandered by. Thankfully, the lead warrior hauls himself out, looking half like an enormous, furry drowned rat as he crawls back onto dry land.

" You okay? " she calls as she hurries over, beckoning Cloudypaw with a white flag of a tail. Twitchbolt pursues much of the same line of questioning, though Doeblaze can't quite bring herself to swoop her tail around Slate as he does—not that she really has enough tail for that, anyways. Once it's presumably affirmed that the Maine Coon is well, if a little out of breath, the absurdity of the situation mingles with relief to pull a snort from her at Twitchbolt's last remark. " Snrk— "

" And that's what not to do on the RiverClan border, " she mrrows with some amusement as she glances at Cloudypaw, her eye sun - warmed green and crinkled at the corners with amusement. Doeblaze's gaze flickers to the crystalline waters and then back to Slate's panting form, shaking her head as she remarks with a shudder, " I have no idea how they do it. Swimming, I mean. "

OOC : —

♥︎

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[CANDORPAW]

The curse brings his head to a jerk — and with some pride does he note that his reaction time is similar to that of the warriors. This is what made SkyClan so noble, so valiant, that they turned their eyes quick and hurried on without hesitation... A river - beast could be killed! The water itself, conquered! ...Somehow, most likely. Though he — nor the likes of even his mother, apparently — hadn't a clue how... RiverClan apparently did so every day. If they could figure it out, they likely could, in a pinch!

Thankfully, Slate is safe and sound, regardless of the reality of the warrior that went in, and the sopping wet beast that fished itself out. Is he allowed to find it amusing? Surely not! Not when he could have easily been eaten, or swept away, or eaten! For shame, young Candorpaw! He flattens a wobbling smile into a stern look, pinched brows and a neutral - set maw. Though Doeblaze herself threatened a laugh, Candorpaw was not always so sure of which morals stood above others... Don't listen to her, or something along those lines, Drowsynose had said... If Doeblaze was only sometimes right, Blazestar, almost certainly, had always been right. What should I do? He'd like to ask, but... y'know.

Candorpaw peers into the water, pondering if he would be able to conquer it as easily as RiverClan could, had he a mentor that knew it just as well... Advice is always good, and so it is advice that he gives, " A warrior should not find themselves so distracted! " he wisely says, a paw hovering over the water as he scans for one of the fish things RiverClan liked to eat.​