[Deleted]

Shaking each of her paws rigorously to get rid of as much mud as possible before entering the apprentices' den, Puddlepaw would have cussed under her breath - if cussing out loud was not a sign of poor manners. And Puddlepaw would rather eat crowfood than be accused of such a thing!
With the snow melting all around there was no use in washing her feet outside as they would just get dirty again the moment she set them down. So against her preferred method of cleaning before going inside she would have to clean herself up properly here.

It was not just her paws that were covered with mud however: Most of her muzzle, throat and even chest was too as she had endulged into searching the ground very closely, namely digging for pebbles under the muddy snow.
A quick scan of the den told her that the reason for her unusual prey was right where she expected him to be.
Riverpaw, after being released from the medicine den was still told to rest by Dewfrost so the den was a safe bet these days.

After she had hidden the pebble underneath her, she started cleaning her paws first, moving on to her muzzle and chest next while buying time to think about what to say.
She had distanced herself from Riverpaw when he became too much for her after...
But that was before he had got sick. And before he almost drowned, only being saved by a TreeClan warrior- which did not end well at all.

Puddlepaw was just glad her friend, if she was even still worthy to call him that, was alive and well.

And that was the reason she had been out after training today to find the perfect pebble for him. It was a gesture he surely would understand, a timid question to become friends again.

Alright. Enough stalling.
Her smooth pelt was mostly clean now, yet she was unaware she had missed a rather large clump of mud under her chin, as she picked up the pebble, a beautiful round one of bright colour and only little rough surface, and approached Riverpaw.

"Good evening,Riverpaw." She said after placing the pebble neatly down between him and her. "May I keep you company?"

Puddlepaw did not quite know what to do with herself so she sat down on her heels to keep her paws from fidgeting while she anxiously awaited his answer. Her gaze kept moving from the pebble to Riverpaw and back.

[/font][/div]

Tags: ♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟

[♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟]

[googlefont=Cinzel:900][googlefont=PT Sans][googlefont=Archivo Narrow:700][googlefont=Playfair Display]

if i could begin to be
half of what you think of me
i could do about anything

RIVERPAW

6 moons // rainclan // apprentice

[attr="class","rivertxt"]

[attr="class","rivertfl"]H

[attr="class","river-content"]e was back in his old nest. Well, the moss had been changed, but the spot was the same. Under strict orders from Dewfrost that he needed to rest up in order to fully recover from being sick for so long, Riverpaw had begrudgingly accepted and was now curled in the softest moss bed he had ever been in. No fever, no vomiting, no confusion, no cold churning water. Just moss and smooth pebbles around the base to keep the nest from coming apart as he tossed and turned in his sleep.

One blue eye opened as he heard the sound of pawsteps approaching, and he lifted his head hopefully, expecting to see Rustpaw or Poppypaw. Instead, a familiar blue-grey shape pushed into the den. Riverpaw closed his eye again, used to the distance that had grown between him and Puddlepaw since they'd been apprenticed. It was fine. His feelings weren't hurt. He certainly hadn't moped about wondering what he had done wrong or agonising over the many different reasons that Puddlepaw possibly had for not liking him anymore. He certainly hadn't even thought about their forgotten friendship since he was three and a half moons old. Of course not. She could be friends with who she wanted, and he had his own friends now, too. Besides, Drizzlepaw was a massive pain in the tail and it was nice to have an excuse to avoid Puddlepaw's identical sister.

He heard a light dropping sound and opened his eyes to find Puddlepaw was standing next to him, and a smooth pebble lay right in front of his nest. He lifted his head in surprise, looking at her with questioning blue eyes. May I keep you company? He sat up as if he'd gotten an electric shock, staring at her as if she'd suggested they go catch pike with their tails. "Really?" Was the first thing he asked, his face a mask of genuine surprise. Then he nodded, feeling as though an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He dug through his nest and lifted out a smooth pebble from somewhere in the bottom, put in place to keep his bed sturdy and comfortable. "Remember how to play?" He asked, with a somewhat cocky smirk.

[attr="class","rivtag"]tagged @elek

[attr="class","rivnotes"]notes PEBBLE TIME

[newclass=".rivertfl"]font-family:Archivo Narrow; float: left; font-size: 40px; font-weight: 700; padding:20px; color: #1d2929; text-shadow: 1px 1px 0 #ccc, -1px -1px 0 #ccc, 1px -1px 0 #ccc, -1px 1px 0 #ccc;[/newclass]
[newclass=".rivertxt"]width:410px;background:transparent;font-family:PT Sans;font-size:11px;line-height:15px;color:#ccc;text-align:justify;margin:auto;margin-top:-250px;background:transparent;[/newclass]
[newclass=".rivtag"]background-color:#1d2929;font-family:Playfair Display;font-size:12px;color:#9ac6c7;letter-spacing:2px;border:1px solid #ccc;padding:10px;[/newclass]
[newclass=".rivnotes"]background-color:#1d2929;font-family:Playfair Display;font-size:12px;color:#9ac6c7;letter-spacing:2px;border:1px solid #ccc;padding:10px;[/newclass][newclass=".river-content b"]color:#9ac6c7;[/newclass]

[Deleted]

She leaned back sharply, only short of flinching back, in surprise when Riverpaw sprung to sit upright without warning.
At first she expected him to walk away without a word, she would have deserved it for how she had let things pan out.

But he seemed more surprised than anything and her words almost stuck in her throat when she responded: "Yes, really."

Puddlepaw readjusted her posture when his face seemed to light up and she watched him turn around and dig in his nest with mild curiosity.
She had always enjoyed his bursts of energy before... well, it had all become too much for her to handle but right now she was glad to see he hadn't lost his spark.

And even more glad, albeit surprised, that he seemed to seamlessly accept her attempt at an apology.
Puddlepaw was not quite sure she deserved his friendship after the way she had behaved but she vowed then and there that she would do better by him and be his friend forever.

A small laughter escaped her when he dug up a pebble of his own.
Talk about being prepared!

"It wouldn't hurt for you to refresh my memory," she purred. Puddlepaw was positive her eyes had to be glowing as she settled down, tucking her tail underneath her for comfort.
She did remember the rules but sometimes she didn't all trust her memories from before the grief.

"I'm sorry I pushed you away, Riverpaw. You were always a dear friend to me and you are in no way to blame for my shortcomings."
Puddlepaw tried not to avert her gaze as she did form a verbal apology.