PAFP Camp I FEEL I'M SINKING ☾⋆⁺₊ STUCK IN MUD

[Crescentpaw]

Crescentpaw finds interest in wandering the island that makes up his new home's camp, this RiverClan as Pikestar had said. He likes the name, assuming that it's very literal since the camps rivers seem to be ever running. The frosted ground giving way to fresh rainfall, leaving the terrain particularly treacherous. Well.. not actually, there was just large puddles and pockets of mud surrounding Crescentpaw as she walked today. It wasn't ideal for him personally, his white pelt seemingly a magnet for this kind of terrain, it's why she disliked the sand while at the Shipyard after all. Still, she could learn to make do with this, eventually she would just wash it off anyways, he is thankful for being particular about these kind of things.

He isn't too sure when things go embarrassingly awry, he had made an effort to catch up to Lichen as she was presumably also going for a walk. To where he wasn't sure but he was confident that the quiet adult, warrior, he thinks is the new word to use, would humour her for a little bit. He likes Lichen, sees them and Haze around Smokewreath's lot, which he also likes. So really it just seemed natural! Even if sometimes they're a little scary, that's just cuz they're quiet, kinda like da in a way. There's a quiet faith that she would just shoo her off when he was getting a little too far in his wandering "so do you like the territory?" No doubt she's seen more than he has.

There's a small stretch of silence, too focused on thinking what he should say next to pay attention to the large pocket of mud that opens up ahead of them. "Do you think we could see actual flowers he- wah-" she cuts herself off with a small cry of confusion. Paws caught in the sludgy texture and falling face first into the soft clay. With a rather dramatic "blegghhh" she spits the mud out from her his mouth, though still feeling the grit between his teeth. Going to reach a paw out to wipe the mud from her eyes when he notices a slight pull against him. Almost as if the earth wasn't quite ready to let him go from the prank it was pulling, there's a seedling of panic within his chest as she shakes her head to try and clear the earth from his eyes. Blinking over at the now bleary figure of Lichen, embarrassment pitching his tone to that squeaky kit like tone that reminds her of her younger moons.

"Can I? Um... I'm stuck" he admits with another tug of his paw, caked in mud. There's a harder tug and it becomes free, just for her to stumble and for it to catch into the mud once again. Much to Crescentpaw's devastation.

|| Please wait for @lichen

 

[lichentuft]

lichen

Trying to gain familiarity with a new place took a lot of conscious effort... and with Haze's... disposition, it made Lichen all the more anxious to be certain this place was secure. Eyes thin with skepticism trail the dampened plains, making note of every tree, every blade of grass that moves too easily under the stiff breeze.... perhaps it is that heightened alertness that tells her she is being followed without need of acknowledging it out loud. It isn't a bother... Crescentpaw is not as obnoxious as half the children his age and for that, she ought to thank him for his service.

Still... she'd be surprised to hear that the younger cat finds her a reassuring presence despite her standoffish presentation. "Like it? Uh.." it wasn't a thought in her head as she'd begun her self-imposed patrol... she bides her time for a moment to consider the dew-dusted fields... the bubbling creeks... the freshness of the breeze not tinged in salt. "I think so..." It'd have to be good enough... there was no more hunting for new land to be done. They'd settled... and she couldn't ask Haze and Smoke to flee with her from this commitment, much as she wanted to some nights.

The question about flowers goes interrupted by the sound of a thick, goopy squelching... and an exaggerated gasp of shock. Had... Crescentpaw missed that huge mud puddle? Lichen had made a point to hop across it to avoid getting stuck herself- "Use your eyes while you're talking," she meows dryly, "You're lucky it's just mud and not a hawk." She relents in her lecture as the young cat asks for some assistance in getting out, accepting that she will have to get her own legs dirty to pull him out sufficiently.

Wading into the muck, Lichen grimacing against the sensation of half-solid mud gliding between her toes. Hopefully the river wouldn't be terribly cold to wash off in later... Settling herself close to the child's flank, she presses her shoulder into her to try and help shove her along. "You'll be alright, I'll help you wash off... and maybe we can go look for some flowers." A peace offering or a tantalizing treat to encourage an honest effort to escape.

 

[Russetfall]

FALLING FOR THE PROMISE OF THE

EMPTINESS MACHINE

Despite the bumps along the way, Russetfall found that she didn't entirely hate the idea of the new structure Pikestar imposed. The young and injured were cared for instead of left to fend for themselves, and true to Pikestar's word no one had been left behind at the shipyard as well. It wasn't perfect. Far from it in fact but it was at least somewhat of a step in the right direction.

Speaking of steps, Russetfall lifted her head from her paws just in time to spy Crescent...Crescentpaw following after Lichen to the edge of camp and... oh. Oh dear. Well, like Lichen said he was lucky it was just mud and not a hawk.

Rising to her feet Russetfall trotted over, bemused expression on her face. This was the last thing Lichen wanted to do, she was sure. "Having fun with mud puddles, you two?"

Gingerly stepping to the edge of the puddle she extended a paw, meaning to hook it under the apprentice's foreleg. "Let's get you out of there. I'll pull while Lichen pushes, ok?" If Crescent reached for her she could hopefully better reach him to pull her out by the scruff without meeting an equally muddy fate.

ITS BEEN DECIDED HOW WE LOSE

RUSSETFALL

— Life Guard of Riverclan
— She/Her
"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
— A Green-eyed Chocolate Mackerel Tabby With Low White
#8a2c55