- Apr 28, 2024
- 52
- 17
- 8
It was just meant to be an afternoon tryst of sorts. Something silly to get their minds off of a hard day's work.
Algaepaw had dragged his friend Eelpaw to the edge of the water, the waves beneath the ice susurrating some unknown silent song, like it was aglitter in childlike opportunism. She hated how the ice kept away the life-giving water, though she reasoned that there was always a reason for something. Perhaps the river simply wanted to hibernate along with the squirrels and mice, conceal itself away from the unfettered cruelty of leaf-bare. The sun lie gently upon the blue sky, and hardly covered itself up in veils of thick stormcloud, as though it aimed not to hoard such wondrous and lucid color from the world. Tender breezes nipped gently at wiry whiskers and curled purls, though it did not aim to knock away or erode at those it passed. Unbecoming of the harsh season, it was a perfect day. "Come on, it's just ice! Don't tell me you're scared of walking on it." Algaepaw grinned with her typical sharktooth smile, her eyes painted in sidereal speckles of light, pinpricks of white upon widened, owlish gaze. The pair stood with their paws just at the edge of the ice, of which did not dare run nor meet their footfall, instead remaining completely and utterly still. "I dare you to put your whole body on the ice for... a minute! What, you think you'll get wet or something?" Algaepaw laughed heartily, cuffing Eelpaw gently upon one ear.
After many protests in the form of insisting that they were alright and that they didn't need to do this, Eelpaw finally agreed to Algaepaw's ebullient demands. He couldn't understand their hesitance towards swimming or even being near the water. After all, Riverclan was born and bred to withstand the rapid temperament of the river, so any feline that did not fit the bill was an immediate oddity to the molly. Still, it was fun to tease, and even more fun to watch someone hesitate with a task so simple. Algaepaw figured that they would be safe, for fate always stood by his side, like a companion bathed in recondite tongue and reason. Fate had granted him audience with Riverclan's leader, had allowed him to become the son of the medicine cat apprentice. Thus, it must have favored him, for no other rationale than he had been born of the stars' careful handiwork. Soon, Eelpaw found themselves entirely on the ice, struggling to balance on the slippery surface like a blind bat stumbling along the ground that it did not belong to. "You're uh, you're doing great!" Algaepaw struggled to hold in her laughs, peeking out through a cupped paw to her mouth.
Crrrrrrrrrrrk. Something other than them let out an unseemly groan, like an undercurrent of an unknown force, a sign of disgust from what presided over the two apprentices.
In an instant, Eelpaw had been dragged to the waters beneath. Fate had turned its tides, as if it were a latent consciousness blooming through the midst of minds, a disturbance in how Algaepaw had perceived himself. She had always thought herself above the wheel of fate, not as an orchestrator but as its interpreter. Now, she could not understand why it had chosen to take her friend. She froze in place, like every action afterwards would leave her in a pitfall, an unforeseen circumstance that rendered her away from control over herself. Was this fate, too? Was he meant to watch Eelpaw die? His heart caught within his chest, as though he held a dying fish within the cavities of his gut, wresting and rending terribly against the walls of his composure. He took one pawstep back, and perhaps it was better to run to the camp for help. Then, he recalled what the elder warriors had told him before setting off many days ago - a cat in cold water will succumb much faster. I can't let them die because of my own foolishness. The thought came as not a star-shine and white-hot revelation, but like a covert shadow that rested beneath the folds of his own destiny, it would come bleating and lifeless upon his paws. He had always used fate as a shield from accountability, a dull blade to lessen both the pain and the pride of his misgivings and his accomplishments. But this was entirely her fault, for she had goaded Eelpaw into a trap she did not make. It was all her doing, a transgression from the static nature of kismet's threads.
Algaepaw leapt into the hole in the sheet of ice, feeling as the frigid water violently raptured him, as though he were some wretched instar not yet ready to face the world. The temperature pierced through his very bones, settling quickly into each crevice of his bird-boned body. The water thrashed at him, and the cold wracked at his nerves and his vision, as if it damned him from the very start. And yet, he persisted out of the adrenaline that pumped through her veins like a thin, straggling rope of ichor. He grabbed onto the scruff of the slowly sinking Eelpaw, though in his haste the water rushed through his nostrils and esophagus, like barbed wire ripping through his orifices. His lungs burned from the inside out, catching fire to the rest of his viscera, a sensation that stole his breath from him. Panic struck him, as disorientation twisted his senses and the water only pulled him deeper. Still, she paddled as best as she could towards another slight shaft of light through the murk, a hideaway sanctuary that called so sweetly to her. She paddled, paddled, paddled with the strength given to her by her heritage. I can't... I can't reach it... She felt her energy ripped away from her, though it was not a vehement action, and she simply loosened her grip.
By the time he found himself upon the surface just fox-lengths away from where the two once were, Algaepaw collapsed flank-side-up onto the unforgiving sandbanks besides the stream, slick water upon his pelt like fulgid eyes of the heavens. Eelpaw lie right besides her, though Algaepaw could not see nor touch her. The afternoon sun now seemed to blind him, stare straight into ambrosia-laden pools, and flood him in its jagged rhapsody. Splutters erupted from his agape maw, but he couldn't quite seem to get the fluid that infested his throat out, and it was as though he attempted to cough out moons of arrogance and blame in the manifestation of liquid. No matter how much he choked, it never truly released itself from her windpipe. He couldn't cry out to Eelpaw for help, he couldn't say a word to any woebegone soul who would encounter him, as though his language had become abstruse and unnecessary in such dire moments. As a thrumming heartbeat turned to static noise, he could hear... voices, as clear as a ringing bell in an empty field. Were they her own, or of Starclan?
I understand now. His last thoughts ploughed upon the fresh soils of his thought, gentle and comforting ripples. Eyelids fluttered shut, unwilling to allow more light to fester in his ailing eyesight. I'm not above it at all. Fate was never on my side. Or, maybe it was, and this was my end. It was always going to be a sacrifice for someone else. I think I was always meant to be a toy to higher forces. But, I never expected myself to go so soon. I wanted to see so much of the world. I wanted to see where the river ended on the horizon, or how deep the water could get. I wanted to see my siblings grow up with me alongside them. I always thought destiny would shield me from tragedy. I've overestimated its patience. I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you. I'm sorry for trusting my own fate. Will I still see you...?
Algaepaw had dragged his friend Eelpaw to the edge of the water, the waves beneath the ice susurrating some unknown silent song, like it was aglitter in childlike opportunism. She hated how the ice kept away the life-giving water, though she reasoned that there was always a reason for something. Perhaps the river simply wanted to hibernate along with the squirrels and mice, conceal itself away from the unfettered cruelty of leaf-bare. The sun lie gently upon the blue sky, and hardly covered itself up in veils of thick stormcloud, as though it aimed not to hoard such wondrous and lucid color from the world. Tender breezes nipped gently at wiry whiskers and curled purls, though it did not aim to knock away or erode at those it passed. Unbecoming of the harsh season, it was a perfect day. "Come on, it's just ice! Don't tell me you're scared of walking on it." Algaepaw grinned with her typical sharktooth smile, her eyes painted in sidereal speckles of light, pinpricks of white upon widened, owlish gaze. The pair stood with their paws just at the edge of the ice, of which did not dare run nor meet their footfall, instead remaining completely and utterly still. "I dare you to put your whole body on the ice for... a minute! What, you think you'll get wet or something?" Algaepaw laughed heartily, cuffing Eelpaw gently upon one ear.
After many protests in the form of insisting that they were alright and that they didn't need to do this, Eelpaw finally agreed to Algaepaw's ebullient demands. He couldn't understand their hesitance towards swimming or even being near the water. After all, Riverclan was born and bred to withstand the rapid temperament of the river, so any feline that did not fit the bill was an immediate oddity to the molly. Still, it was fun to tease, and even more fun to watch someone hesitate with a task so simple. Algaepaw figured that they would be safe, for fate always stood by his side, like a companion bathed in recondite tongue and reason. Fate had granted him audience with Riverclan's leader, had allowed him to become the son of the medicine cat apprentice. Thus, it must have favored him, for no other rationale than he had been born of the stars' careful handiwork. Soon, Eelpaw found themselves entirely on the ice, struggling to balance on the slippery surface like a blind bat stumbling along the ground that it did not belong to. "You're uh, you're doing great!" Algaepaw struggled to hold in her laughs, peeking out through a cupped paw to her mouth.
Crrrrrrrrrrrk. Something other than them let out an unseemly groan, like an undercurrent of an unknown force, a sign of disgust from what presided over the two apprentices.
In an instant, Eelpaw had been dragged to the waters beneath. Fate had turned its tides, as if it were a latent consciousness blooming through the midst of minds, a disturbance in how Algaepaw had perceived himself. She had always thought herself above the wheel of fate, not as an orchestrator but as its interpreter. Now, she could not understand why it had chosen to take her friend. She froze in place, like every action afterwards would leave her in a pitfall, an unforeseen circumstance that rendered her away from control over herself. Was this fate, too? Was he meant to watch Eelpaw die? His heart caught within his chest, as though he held a dying fish within the cavities of his gut, wresting and rending terribly against the walls of his composure. He took one pawstep back, and perhaps it was better to run to the camp for help. Then, he recalled what the elder warriors had told him before setting off many days ago - a cat in cold water will succumb much faster. I can't let them die because of my own foolishness. The thought came as not a star-shine and white-hot revelation, but like a covert shadow that rested beneath the folds of his own destiny, it would come bleating and lifeless upon his paws. He had always used fate as a shield from accountability, a dull blade to lessen both the pain and the pride of his misgivings and his accomplishments. But this was entirely her fault, for she had goaded Eelpaw into a trap she did not make. It was all her doing, a transgression from the static nature of kismet's threads.
Algaepaw leapt into the hole in the sheet of ice, feeling as the frigid water violently raptured him, as though he were some wretched instar not yet ready to face the world. The temperature pierced through his very bones, settling quickly into each crevice of his bird-boned body. The water thrashed at him, and the cold wracked at his nerves and his vision, as if it damned him from the very start. And yet, he persisted out of the adrenaline that pumped through her veins like a thin, straggling rope of ichor. He grabbed onto the scruff of the slowly sinking Eelpaw, though in his haste the water rushed through his nostrils and esophagus, like barbed wire ripping through his orifices. His lungs burned from the inside out, catching fire to the rest of his viscera, a sensation that stole his breath from him. Panic struck him, as disorientation twisted his senses and the water only pulled him deeper. Still, she paddled as best as she could towards another slight shaft of light through the murk, a hideaway sanctuary that called so sweetly to her. She paddled, paddled, paddled with the strength given to her by her heritage. I can't... I can't reach it... She felt her energy ripped away from her, though it was not a vehement action, and she simply loosened her grip.
By the time he found himself upon the surface just fox-lengths away from where the two once were, Algaepaw collapsed flank-side-up onto the unforgiving sandbanks besides the stream, slick water upon his pelt like fulgid eyes of the heavens. Eelpaw lie right besides her, though Algaepaw could not see nor touch her. The afternoon sun now seemed to blind him, stare straight into ambrosia-laden pools, and flood him in its jagged rhapsody. Splutters erupted from his agape maw, but he couldn't quite seem to get the fluid that infested his throat out, and it was as though he attempted to cough out moons of arrogance and blame in the manifestation of liquid. No matter how much he choked, it never truly released itself from her windpipe. He couldn't cry out to Eelpaw for help, he couldn't say a word to any woebegone soul who would encounter him, as though his language had become abstruse and unnecessary in such dire moments. As a thrumming heartbeat turned to static noise, he could hear... voices, as clear as a ringing bell in an empty field. Were they her own, or of Starclan?
I understand now. His last thoughts ploughed upon the fresh soils of his thought, gentle and comforting ripples. Eyelids fluttered shut, unwilling to allow more light to fester in his ailing eyesight. I'm not above it at all. Fate was never on my side. Or, maybe it was, and this was my end. It was always going to be a sacrifice for someone else. I think I was always meant to be a toy to higher forces. But, I never expected myself to go so soon. I wanted to see so much of the world. I wanted to see where the river ended on the horizon, or how deep the water could get. I wanted to see my siblings grow up with me alongside them. I always thought destiny would shield me from tragedy. I've overestimated its patience. I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you. I'm sorry for trusting my own fate. Will I still see you...?
- OOC: Permission given to powerplay @eelpaw ! No need to wait for a reply from Eelpaw, but Algaepaw is dead </3 rip king she died selflessly
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—— ALGAEPAW / He/She / 8 Moons
—— Apprentice of Riverclan / Sibling to Redpaw and Rivuletpaw / Mentored by Lichenstar
—— A wiry, wild-furred blue tortoiseshell with high white and freckle-like spotting. Brilliant yellow eyes, like twin molten suns.
—— Chaotic, obsessive and strange, Algaepaw is a weirdly refreshing character to encounter amongst the sea of her dutiful kin. Beset by nature and her patterns, he is quick to connect the dots even when no such connection truly exists. Somewhat easy to befriend, provided that one can handle his mannerisms and tendency to weave tall tales.
—— Penned by Tempest. Contact on Discord (naruk4mi) for plots and threads.