private To the bottom of the river | Carppaw

[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

Snakeblink’s apprentice has been released from the medicine den, and he doesn’t lose any time getting back into the thick of training with her. He’s a little apprehensive — he doesn’t want to push her too hard and see her wounds reopen, is all too aware of how easy it is to aggravate healing injuries — but the falling leaves are a constant, crawling unease up his spine, the lost moon of training from the rogue’s assault heavy on his mind.

With the hungry season fast approaching and Hazecloud’s litter on the way, they need able hunters more than ever. And with Windclan biting at the bit on the other side of the border… warriors as well. Snakeblink cannot promise to turn Carppaw into a great warrior before the air warms again, but…

The river will not flow freely forever. He will do what he can to teach what he knows while he still has time to do so.

He brings her to the riverside around midday, after a short break to deposit their dawn catch on the freshkill pile. The sun is as high as it gets at this time of year, meagerly warming their backs. The water, when he dips into it, is dreadfully cold of course — but not dangerously so, though it has him inhaling sharply as it closes around his chest.

”I thought we would start on Riverclan-specific fighting techniques today,” he tells Carppaw while swimming in loops near the shore to warm himself up. Usually he would ask if she feels up for it today, but time grows shorter as the days do. ”What do you know about how we river cats fight? Go on.”
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——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely ​

ooc. information.

• @CARP-PAW
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 46 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

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​

 

[CARP-PAW]

Carp-paw knows that the time in the medicine den was keeping her behind. She had watched as her friends- the three siblings, black and white dotted. Lean, tall, short, fluffy, the lot of them- they had grown. She watched Moonpaw settle into her new name, become more confident and lean into Salmonshade's teaching. She knew other apprentices were getting ahead of her, and yet, Carp-paw was stuck in the medicine den with Ravensong.

So when she was freed of her not-so-much prison and Snakeblink had demanded they train, she didn't argue. She nearly begged for it, for her paws itched to do more. Despite her brain whirling a million miles an hour, despite the ache in her back that may never go away. Leafbare was around the corner, vision lifted to the bare trees- and the leaves coating the path she knew had only been dirt two moons ago. Her ears twitched towards Snakeblink, tearing her vision from the trees to her mentor in the eddies of water before her.

Carp-paw tried to think back to when the cats fought during the rogue invasion. Did she learn anything? Not really, but that was okay. Let's see... Her tail twitched and her mouth opened. "Riverclan has.. the water. Other clans cannot swim." Carp-paw started lightly, it was a fact she knew- so she could only assume going forward. "That being said I think that using the water to our advantage is our strength- blinding them, surprise attacks. Bringing an element into the fight they cannot."

Carp-paw wasn't the smartest, but she was far from stupid. She'd like to think, anyways.

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‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── ooc ⋆⋅☾⋅⋆ info ──┐‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

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• CARP-PAW ✩ she/her, apprentice of riverclan, six moons
  ⭃ a shorthaired black smoke with blue eyes. her deep smoke colored mottled pelt making for good camouflage in the dark. white mottles her pelt here and there. born to riverclan, she lived peacefully until the rogue attack. sustaining a back injury, she's fallen quiet. loyal to her clan, wants only to make them stronger, but she's terrified of falling short again. the large scar across her back is obvious, and her once-curious nature is now timid.
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by you ↛ @dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

”Very good.” Snakeblink’s tone is stilted, sibilant, but he tries to imbue it with as much warmth as he can. His apprentice is sharp; he couldn’t ask for anything better. ”Yes, that is our greatest advantage. Most cats are poor swimmers, if they can swim at all — once you have them in the water, it does not matter how strong they are, or how fast: you will always have something over them.”

He remembers Sunningrock, Flamewhisker’s vibrant pelt darkened by water as she was dragged beneath by the current and didn’t resurface. On land she could have torn him apart easily; his shoulder aches as he remembers how her mate nearly did that very thing. In water, though…

”Yes, as you said, you could blind a cat with water or hide under the surface while lying in wait. That’s not all, though. In a fight, there is no greater opponent than the river itself. It may drown an opponent, pull them away from you, or bash them into rocks… Its strength is greater than that of any single warrior, and you may borrow it — if you know how.”

He stops his circular swimming and comes to stand near the shore, water rising to his shoulders as he waits for her to approach. ”That is what I shall teach you today.” Later, he will focus on how she could get an opponent to the water in the first place; but that is admittedly more dependent on chance than pure skill, in his case at least. ”Now, why don’t you show me how you would go about pulling me under?”
​

——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely ​

ooc. information.

• 
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 47 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​

 

[CARP-PAW]

Her ears twitch at the praise, a bit of hope biting her heart and holding on. Nervous expression faded into something a bit more... homely for her- vision shifting towards Snakeblink and her ears perking up. She was listening. She knew, deep in her soul, that in order to survive, she needed to listen. She needed to take every bit of information from Snakeblink and hold tight onto it. And- yes, she got something right, so her soul was flying in the clouds.

She sank onto her haunches as she listened to her mentor's explanation, ghostly blue eyes blinking as she focused. Ears twitched, perked, then inclined as she stood up, paws touching the water. Her teeth grit at how cold it was, inhaling quietly. "Is it always this cold?" She said. Carp-paw had only ever interacted with water when it was warm, soaking in the greenleaf sun. Leafbare water was so, so, different. Carp-paw decided to herself that it was too cold for anything but necessity, and this? This was necessary.

She pushed into the water, paddling around for a brief moment to get used to it. She knew getting out was going to be colder, and her breath stuttered, but her eyes rounded back towards Snakeblink. "Pulling under..." She stated, then grit her teeth. Determination found her eyes as she surged forward, then dove under. She'd find the nearest bottom surface, then pushed off, swimming straight up to explode next to him, attempting to push down on his back and drag him down. Stars, it was cold, but she could do this. Her thick fur was helping, but it was the only thing she could think about besides dragging him under.

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‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── ooc ⋆⋅☾⋅⋆ info ──┐‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

• 
  
  
  

• 

• CARP-PAW ✩ she/her, apprentice of riverclan, six moons
  ⭃ a shorthaired black smoke with blue eyes. her deep smoke colored mottled pelt making for good camouflage in the dark. white mottles her pelt here and there. born to riverclan, she lived peacefully until the rogue attack. sustaining a back injury, she's fallen quiet. loyal to her clan, wants only to make them stronger, but she's terrified of falling short again. the large scar across her back is obvious, and her once-curious nature is now timid.
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by you ↛ @dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

​

 

[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

Carp-paw’s wincing question pulls a huff of laughter from Snakeblink. ”In Leafbare, yes,” he hums. ”Colder, even. It will be dangerous by then — but for now it is merely uncomfortable.”

He watches approvingly as she acclimates herself to the harsh temperature. He shifts on his paws, unconsciously setting his stance to match the determination on her face. His claws dig into the soft ground, waiting—

She dives under with the ease of a fish, briefly nothing but a shadow darting underneath the surface as she makes for him. He stays put, allowing her to burst out of the water and land heavily on his back. She’s not very big, but neither is he, and her weight could drag him beneath the surface if he let it — which he does, folding under her weight until water rushes over his head. But he twists under her grasp as he goes down, front paws going for her face, clawless, while his hind paws push against her to break her hold.

He surfaces up with a harsh breath, startled despite himself by the cold air on his wet fur. ”Nicely done,” he says with a nod. ”Attacking from the back gives you the advantage of surprise, but be aware: it may be harder to destabilize a cat much larger or heavier than yourself. On a warrior with my build, though, it is a good call to make.”

Stepping back to give her a little space, he continues, ”Try again. Consider that I have seen you coming, now, and you will not be able to take me off-guard so easily. How would you proceed?”
​

——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely ​

ooc. information.

• 
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 48 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

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