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Post by Hellion on Oct 2, 2018 5:25:36 GMT -5
It was a silly endevour to venture out of camp to go hunting with the current weather. He had done some coaxing to encourage Duskrose and Dunefang to join him. The siblings weren't eager to go but eventually agreed once they realized den repairs was on the list of warrior duties. Neither of them enjoyed that part of the routine.
Striding out with his long legs, Aspenfire studied the foggy terrain and found it difficult to navigate then he expected. Duskrose and Dunefang were a strong sibling pair, able to hunt and battle in tandem. It helped they were of similar size and body structure. Not that Aspenfire minded. He could hunt on his own for a bit. Giving a signal to the pair the direction he was headed, Aspenfire wandered off on his own.
Scenting the damp air with little success, Aspenfire relied on his sight and hearing to pinpoint prey. Failing two times before making a successful kill, Aspenfire's spirits were dampened. He wondered if the siblings had better luck.
Gathering his kill he turned to head back and suddenly felt lost. The fog had gotten worse, covering the forest floor and making finding any landmarks almost impossible. Attempting to remain calm he dropped his kill to scent the air. Expecting to find the telling scent of Duskrose or Dunefang, he only smelled the damp air. He wandered further then he thought.
Determined to keep his kill, he headed in one single direction, watching for any marks to help guide him home.
However, that was shortlived it only took a few heartbeats before he saw movement. A calico she-cat emerged from the fog, followed by a smokey tabby she-cat. Unable to recognize them he knew they had to be NightClan cats. He was outnumbered but judging by the size of the tabby it was likely a warrior and apprentice pair. Not looking for a fight, he took a few steps back in an effort to avoid it all together.
That didn't help him any because seemingly out of nowhere a large grey tom-cat came up behind the tabby she-cat and gave a signal. There was little warning before the smaller of the three started to sprint toward him. The others right behind her. Reacting he bolted away from them and headed in any direction. He was no match for three cats at once.
The pounding in his heart kept him going until he could see the muggy outline of StarClan's claws. Begging his legs to carry him faster, he willed himself to hurry to make it there. It would be a huge insult to StarClan to fight on such sacred territory. He prayed the cats chasing him had the fear of StarClan in their hearts.
However, StarClan was not looking out for him. He had little experience traveling to StarClan along the NightClan border and when the earth gave way to the side of the river, he scrambled. Cold water touched his forepaws as he attempted to step back to no success. The earth behind him was muddy and quickly gave way under his weight. Deciding his best bet would be to jump and hope he made it to the other side, Aspenfire gave it his all.
Launching himself from one side of the bank to the other he barely managed to make it halfway, the river was swollen from the past rain.
Landing in the painfully cold water he gave a yelp of surprise. His caught prey a forgotten memory as he struggled to swim, fighting against the current, barely able to keep his head above water. He called out for help, begging Duskrose and Dunefang would rescue him, he'd even take the help of the NightClan cats if they offered it.
Flailing, he fought for his life. 21 Moons TreeClan Tom Aspenfire Honesty has a power very few people can handle ## Taxx Fawn for implied nettleheart Notes: present cats. gracklepaw & ashfang |
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Post by Taxx on Oct 2, 2018 21:46:46 GMT -5
Ferngaze of RainClan Ferngaze padded beside the river, along the border RainClan shared with NightClan, pausing now and then to sniff to make sure the markers were where they were supposed to be and adding her own. She was behind the others of her patrol, their paw steps a bit muffled by the heavy fog, but their scents clear through the moisture. The river bubbled at her side, but though she longed to take a moment and drink, she knew falling behind the patrol wouldn't be wise.
Then, from behind, she heard a splash and a yowl; between the frightened cries, she heard laughter. Spinning around, Ferngaze called to her Clanmate. "Badgerfur!" The tom would hear and backtrack; Ferngaze was already bounding toward the calls for help- names she didn't recognize, she realized, but brushed that aside as she spotted the flailing cat. Gathering herself, she sprang into the river toward him.
Icy water surrounded her, but Ferngaze held her breath until she broke the surface again, strong strokes carrying her toward the struggling tom. He was panicking, which she could understand, but in floundering like that he was just wasting energy. And then, just before she got within reach, the tom fell still and began to sink.
No! Lunging forward, Ferngaze reached out with her front paws, snagging claws into the black-and-white pelt and hauling herself close enough to sink her teeth into his scruff. With that grip gained, she headed back to the surface and her side of the river.
Badgerfur and Stormfeather were waiting; the tom took the stranger's scruff and hauled him out while Ferngaze followed, shaking out her fur once back on land. Prodding the black-and-white tom's shoulder, Ferngaze leaned over him, waiting for him to wake up. STEADY AS THE RIVER RUNS |
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Post by Hellion on Oct 3, 2018 3:11:52 GMT -5
The flailing was doing little to help him and the longer he struggled the harder it was to keep his head above the surface. Coughing and spitting up water he kicked hard against the water but nothing helped.
Feeling his heart pound in his chest and the sensation of water filling his lungs, everything started to burn. That burning turned into pain and it built to the point he couldn't hear the secondary splash of a cat joining him. In fact, he barely realized what was going on and all but accepted his fate when he started to sink. Exhaustion was a terrible feeling.
But that sinking feeling didn't last long. By the time he came to he felt a certain pain near his scruff and phantom pain of water in his lungs. The ground beside his head was soaked and understood that most of the water had been expelled. Blinking he was greeted by the sight of three cats. He assumed them to be RainClan.
"He seems well enough, can you stand,?" Spoke one of the larger cats, Aspenfire nodded his voice lost as he focused on his breathing. "Walk along the river and you will find where TreeClan normally crosses for the Gatherings. Learn to swim or stay away from the water," Badgerfur added as he turned to Stormfeather and flicked his tail for him to follow. They expected Ferngaze to follow them.
This will scroll. 21 Moons TreeClan Tom Aspenfire Honesty has a power very few people can handle |
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Post by Taxx on Oct 3, 2018 9:24:37 GMT -5
Ferngaze of RainClan It didn't take long for the strange tom to regain consciousness, his bright amber eyes blinking open to stare up at them as his chest heaved. Badgerfur spoke up, asking him if he was okay and gaining a nod in response before ordering him back to his own territory and turning away.
Round-eyed, Ferngaze stared after her Clan mates as they strode away into the fog, to continue their patrol. They were going to just leave him? What if a fox came? Or Demon? He'd stand no chance, even if he wasn't half-drowned. Her paws worked against the damp grass for a moment, torn between leaving and staying...
"Come on," she urged, flicking her damp tail at the tom. "Up you get. You can't stay here and StarClan knows you'd probably die in the river if I let you go alone. My name's Ferngaze- what's yours?"
STEADY AS THE RIVER RUNS |
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Post by Hellion on Nov 5, 2018 13:49:00 GMT -5
Giving his head a shake, Aspenfire attemtped to clear the last bit of water from his ears. His nose still had faint traces of it making it diffifcult to smell, not that it mattered. He wasn't planning on moving anytime. He wanted to simply lay on the bank until he was certain his paws would work and his lungs wouldn't give out.
So it came to him as a shock when the she-cat remained. Sitting up slightly he followed her command and got up the rest of the way. Shaky but able to stand. At his full height, he was fairly larger than her, not that he was in shape to fend her off. He prayed she wasn't going to taunt him for one.
Taking a careful step back his amber-hued gaze studied her. She didn't seem threatening at the moment but judging by her ability to assist in hoisting him out of the river, he didn't doubt her strength.
"I'm Aspenfire," He answered, feeling shame trickle into his cheeks. He had a strong sense of self-pressurvasion, but he also knew fighting against the river had drained him. "I think I can make it back, you should catch up with your patrol" He advised but in that moment a powerful cough forced him to turn away his head to avoid hacking in her direction. It seemed there lingered some water in his lung, he'd be feeling it for days to come. 21 Moons TreeClan Tom Aspenfire Honesty has a power very few people can handle |
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Post by Taxx on Nov 6, 2018 17:54:24 GMT -5
Ferngaze of RainClan Well, there was nothing wrong with his legs, it seemed. A bit wobbly, but they held him as he stood, and Ferngaze's tail flicked in relief. As close as he'd come to drowning, he could have been a lot worse off, and she was pretty sure Badgerfur or Stormfeather wouldn't have been willing to fetch their medicine cats to treat a rival Clan cat.
Her gaze flickered in disbelief at his attempt at bravado- and then the deep, ragged cough that tore at his throat. "Yeah, and fish can fly. Come on, Aspenfire, let's get you home. My patrol will wait." She hoped, anyway. "There's a shallow stretch further ahead where you can cross to StarClan's Claws, and then back to your own territory."
Flicking her tail at the TreeClan tom's shoulder, she started off, keeping her pace slow at first, waiting for him to join her before moving a bit faster. It wasn't far, but she'd rather not run into any other RainClan cats and have to explain why there was a TreeClan cat with her- or make her Clanmates wait while she guided Aspenfire back to his own territory. STEADY AS THE RIVER RUNS |
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Post by Hellion on Nov 15, 2018 0:30:39 GMT -5
His ears pitched forward, curious as to why she was being so kind to him. While RainClan didn't have the history of being cruel to passing cats like NightClan did, he wasn't quite sure if he could trust her. They were rival clans still, but the faded memory of Lionstar taking a few kits to RainClan to be nursed came back. Along with it came the sour memory of his own upbringing. The betryal that followed right after learning that he was in fact an orphan and not the true son of Moonfeather.
In the moon since talking with his adoptive sister Fawnspring. Aspenfire had tried to find a way to forgive what happened but struggled. Moonfeather lied to him and even if she had every intention of telling him when he was older she still decided to wait. Petty as it was Aspenfire clung to that like a squirrel to a branch.
Caught in a mental fog for a minute. He nearly stumbled over his paws to keep up with her, but once he gained his stride he walked smoothly beside her. Breathing was easier now that he was walking. The discomfort from the water in his lung was gradually fading away. The longer he walked the less annoying it was.
"Thank you for helping me and I'm sorry if it gets you in trouble," He meowed, breaking the silence with a weak effort to engage in conversation. He wasn't the best and considering his recent near-death experience he didn't know where to start.
21 Moons TreeClan Tom Aspenfire Honesty has a power very few people can handle |
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Post by Taxx on Nov 26, 2018 22:27:22 GMT -5
Ferngaze of RainClan It was quiet for a moment, but the tom's heavy steps told Ferngaze that he was still following, so she didn't look back until he spoke again. Blue eyes turned back over her shoulder and smiling at the big tom. "Don't worry about it... I couldn't just stand back and watch you drown. My Clanmates may not be happy with me-" and judging by the scowl she could see on Badgerfur's face as he and Stormfeather followed, that wasn't a 'maybe', it was a 'definitely'- "but I'm a warrior so I won't get in too much trouble."
Ferngaze paused at the border stream, dabbing one paw in the water before glancing at Aspenfire again. "Can you make your way across? The water here isn't deep, we use it to make for an easy crossing for new apprentices. One step at a time!" she assured, and then waded in, pausing with the water swirling around her legs, showing the TreeClan tom how high the water went.
"Get going," Badgerfur growled from a few tail-lengths back, tail flicking in annoyance. "We have a patrol to finish, and Ferngaze shouldn't have to guide you every step of the way." The look he flashed her meant that there'd be words about this later, but she refused to feel guilt for saving Aspenfire. Their patrol would be done in good time- this was just a slight detour. STEADY AS THE RIVER RUNS |
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Post by Hellion on Dec 8, 2018 2:55:53 GMT -5
He forced himself to mirror her smile. It comforted him to know she wouldn't get into too much trouble. While he didn't know much about her he'd still feel bad if she had gotten in trouble because of him. Aspenfire wanted to think the warriors the follow after him but judging by their scrowls he didn't bother. Ferngaze remained the friendliar of the bunch and he much rather have her company.
The arrival to the border stream put his mind at ease. Comforted the moment he started to recognize certain trees and scent markers. He could make it home no problem, thanks to Ferngaze. Following after her into the stream, it was easy to see their height difference. If there hadn't been an audience of RainClan cats gandering at them he'd try to make her laugh.
Hearing the growl from the other tom, Aspenfire's ears flattened at the harshness of the RainClan warrior's words. Realizing their time was coming to an end, Aspenfire waded a bit further away from Ferngaze but not before touching the tip of his tail to her flank.
"Thank you for saving me back there, I owe you," He meowed, dipping his head in grattitude. Not wanting to keepign the patrol much longer, he hurried across the stream and toward the well known trail home. 21 Moons TreeClan Tom Aspenfire Honesty has a power very few people can handle |
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