TW: Sensitive Content Territory RC you tiny boat with oars // gale + torrent

[Orcapaw Orcapaw]

x

The weather had been declining for quite some time, the throes of leafbare beginning to rear it's ugly face. Orcapaw's mentor had slipped during a patrol and been confined to the Medicine Den, leaving the apprentice largely to her own devices without training being provided. She was growing tired of it, boredom creeping in. There was only so long she could wander idly, chatting with the other apprentices, before they got pulled away for hunting practice by their own mentors. Her ears twitched, and she turned her head towards the camp entrance. Would anyone really notice if she went for a wander for a bit? It would be nice to stretch her legs, not to mention getting a better look at the territory might be nice.

The apprentice lowered her head, looking around briefly. Her clanmates seemed focused on their own sharing of tongues, some laughing as they talked. Apprentices focused on their mentor's shining faces as they padded out of camp together, it was the perfect chance to flank them and go for a small jaunt around the territory. Her fluffy dark frame stood out like a sore thumb, so she stuck close to some of the others leaving camp --- making it appear like a typical mentor and apprentice patrol. Once she was out of sight of the larger camp, she ran, the feeling of the cold leafbare air hitting her face felt like a divine freedom.

She pranced happily, small remnants of snow lingering to the cold Earth --- a quilted blanked of disturbed white from the various paws that had trod across this territory before she had. While the river was cold, the swirling rapids made it so it never froze over. She giggled to herself, a skip to her step as she made her way North; towards the Skyclan border. A small hill stood on their territory, one she had never had the privilege of seeing the top of. She was sure that the swelling rapids below looked beautiful from above, but she had always been pulled away by her mother and mama, as well as her mentor --- speaking of danger. She rolled her eyes, she knew it couldn't be that dangerous. They were careful, obviously she wasn't going to jump into the river --- that would be foolish with the torrent being as strong as it was.

She padded towards the river, nose crinkling at the bitter feeling of cold coupled with the mist spraying from the water. She walked close to the edge, head tilted as she tried to look towards the small set of falls that was a natural beauty in their territory. She took another step towards the river, perhaps it was her own inexperience about the weather --- or perhaps the cold had caused the bank to weaken. Whatever it was, she felt the crumble, but was unable to do anything about it. Her footing lost as the bank her back paw was standing on crumbled into the water, taking Orca with it.

The initial shock of falling in caused her to let out a small shriek, kicking and spluttering as she attempted to claw her way back onto land. No matter what she gripped, her paws would slip. The bank crumbling into the rapids alongside her. Her eyes widened, her body being pulled by the torrent of water towards the falls.

I can't die. Not like this.

She tried again to grab the bank, to pull herself ashore --- but to no avail. As her body kept being tugged towards the rapids, she spotted a large rock jutting up from the depths. Her claws dug into it, her wet and cold body clinging to it as she could still feel the current pulling her. The bank was ever so close, tantalizingly close. She gripped the rock with her back paws and one of her front, claws leaving gashes as she leaned with her other --- trying to get a grip and pull herself back to dry land. She knew Duckpaw would make fun of her if she came back to camp soaked, but it was her best chance.

Mousedung! She couldn't reach the bank, legs far too short and unwilling to lean further for risk of entirely losing her grip on the rock. Her red eyes widened, realizing she was alone out here --- at the mercy of this current.

"Mom! Mama!" She cried out, knowing they were in camp sharing tongues --- but praying they could come running. "P-please! Help me!"

OOC // @Torrentsky @Galerunner

𓆝𓆟༝˚｡⋆𓆜⋆｡˚༝𓆞𓆝

ORCAPAW

APPRENTICE OF RIVERCLAN
she / they, AFAB, female
07 moons old, ages on the 10th.
smokestack x lichenberry + mistyhowl, littermate to duckpaw
mentored by npc, mentor to no one yet

SPEECH // THOUGHTS // INTERACTION

penned by asteiri!

 

[Galerunner Galerunner]

—————————————————— Rocked by an endless motion ✦

The days were short, familiarly so. It was a strange phenomenon all the same—the stretching and shortening of the days had always seemed to cut away at his time, carving it into little blips of time that winked by far faster than he ever recalled them. The birds had bid him a goodbye as well, with far more ashen-grays and vibrant reds gazing back at him than he was used to. It did not know where those familiar faces had fluttered off to—but if he thought hard enough, thought back to days where he stood on unsteady limbs and peered at a world new to him, he could recognize these strange gazes, these strange songs that was not undecipherable, but new all the same. It was as though the birds spoke to him with a strange dialect, hailing from some world far beyond.

Still, he could certainly understand them. And understand them it did—in fact, it could not help but focus on the tweeting overhead as he tread a familiar path next to his other. Even amidst the cold, unforgiving landscape, Torrentsky had always been there. It only seemed right to trace the paths of their youth now, peering at the changing world around them… but there was a strange energy to the air, a strange sensation in his body as he slowed to a stop in response to a sudden cacophony.

The birds. They had swirled above the two, screeching some dreadful warning that only Galerunner could understand—and he heeded it, heeded something about the river and a small speckled kit—or perhaps a young apprentice, but of course the birds would never make such a distinction. Their ways were strange, alien to him in the same way as his to them, and of course they would not honor something they had no knowledge of. In the end, it hardly mattered—an apprentice would be battered into submission by the raging river as easily as a kit. Gale stood for a moment, curled ears pricked up at the birds as they soared on by—before suddenly, a whispered "The river." before he was off, racing a writhing path on long legs.

It did not take him long to come into earshot of the cries of Orcapaw, nor did it take him long to set his sights on the clambering thing, little claws slotted into a rock that was nothing but a crude piece of gray, devastatingly slick with the cold water, but perhaps reachable by him… And yet he paused, hesitated, with intense blue eyes locked upon the little body. And perhaps this pause was something of shock, or perhaps a knowledge of danger—or even an acceptance of death, of seeing the last visages of a life before it was smashed to bits. So it goes. Either way, his intentions did not change the sorry fact that he remained still—it did not, and would not, change his inaction.

—————Whether truth or just a story

It's not up to you—————

• 
  Galerunner
  ✦—Riverclan Pearl Diver | 13 Moons
  ✦—He/They/It
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A fluffy high white lynx point with curled ears and deep blue eyes
  #87878E #BAB2AC

 

[Torrentsky]

- TORRENTSKY -

Not some average bones, I believe in love!

.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⟡

Torrentsky padded alongside his long-legged friend with brisk pawsteps, his fur often brushing against the other as they walked in tune. It had been a while since they had gone on a walk alone, considering all the concern and bustle that had arisen with the arrival of leafbare. Regardless, his senses remained alert for land prey as they padded onward, enjoying the sun that filtered through the leaves onto his pelt, until suddenly, Galerunner froze.

Torrent slowed to a halt, padding in front of the taller tom to search his gaze, watching as his ears perked and swivelled as if he was listening for something. Torrentsky parted his jaws to ask what he had heard, when the sudden explosion of frightened birds sounded above them, casting shadows as they flew overhead in a panicked-like manner. Torrentsky's gaze shot upward, his pelt prickling uncomfortably, as whatever warning was being screeched throughout the sky clearly didn't sit right with Galerunner–and Torrentsky trusted his friend's intuition.

"What is it?" Torrentsky asked, his tone grave as his eyes flashed back towards the other. Galerunner had replied almost instantly, and as soon as the pale warrior took off, Torrentsky took off with him, watching the tom stream ahead of the path he was following.

Torrentsky's heart began to hammer against his chest, his stride never wavering as he followed his friend through the forest. Before long, frightened cries reached his ears, driving his paws quicker across the earth. The cry was familiar; Torrentsky was sure it was a Riverclan cat, but the fear and utter desperation in their tone made it difficult to pinpoint exactly who it was.

Bursting through the undergrowth, Torrentsky stumbled to a halt a few tail-lengths past Galerunner, who, to his surprise, stood still–frozen. Panting, Torrensky followed his friend's gaze to the waterfall ahead of them. What he saw sent claws curling around his heart, gripping and squeezing as his breath caught in his throat.

"Orcapaw!" Torrentsky barked, partly in shock, but also to alert Galerunner that it was, in fact, one of their own. His paws had already begun moving before he finished, barreling across the earth towards the apprentice as she clung to life against the rock with tiny claws. His paws trampled across the undergrowth, tooth grinding against tooth as he forced his body faster with every stride. Reaching the bank, Torrentsky's paw slid across a pointed rock, slicing his pad as blood sprayed along the grass and stone. He hadn't felt it, adrenaline rushing through his body as he skid into a halt at the edge, his body almost soaring across the bank and into the water. Dirt and rocks tumbled down the bank, and the rushing current tore them away within the blink of an eye.

Torrentsky fell into a crouch, his paws placed as far as they could reach along the edge of the riverbank without slipping over. Instantly outstretching an arm, Torrentsky's paw reached, and reached, as far as he could muster towards Orcapaw. Torrentsky's eyes were sure to reflect her fear-stricken face, as his own mingled with her shared fear, but also determination.

And somehow, he reached further.

"Grab on!" Torrensky yowled, his hind legs and free paw digging into the grass and hardened dirt, as he watched the apprentice struggle in fear below his grasp, which was ever so close to reaching her.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ You can't change me ⟡ You can't hide me‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

• ⟡ OOC -
  
  
• 
• 

  TORRENTSKY‎ ‎ He/Him | Riverclan Warrior‎
  

  ⟡

  ‎ A rosetted charcoal bengal with a sturdy build and thick, short fur. Torrentsky is usually seen with a determined smile and always stands tall.
  

  ⟡

  ‎ ‎ "speech" // thoughts
  

  ⟡

  ‎ ‎ penned by arsynne on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[Orcapaw Orcapaw]

x

Her plight had been heard, the small apprentice gave a small sigh of relief. Her claws suck into the rock causing deep gashes across its surface, her long fur weighed down against the battering of the torrent that slammed into her. Her red eyes looked upwards, wide in fear. Galerunner, a recent graduate she only knew vaguely. Galerunner stayed stoic, as if assessing the situation, blue eyes focused on her but the tom remained still.

"G-Galerunner, p-please!" She cried out. But the tom remained stoic, was it the incoming danger? The fear of sticking his neck out for her and falling in as well. She could not shout further before heavy footsteps bounded behind the silver tom, Torrentsky came after. A few beats passed before the tom shouted her name, a sure sign he had seen her. Galerunner remained still, but Torrentsky rushed in.

He barreled towards the bank, almost making the same mistake the apprentice had — dirt and debris falling from the bank and being swept away by the battering waves. Their eyes met, and Orcapaw could see her own fear almost mirrored perfectly on Torrentsky's face. She could barely hear the tom over the rushing rapids and the sound of her heart thumping in her ears. Her paws flexed on the rock, terrified to move at all.

Torrentsky crouched, holding himself in place as best he could as a paw reached out to her. It was still a stretch, but if she tried hard enough… perhaps she could muster it. She felt her body being battered by the current, but tried her best to reach for Torrent's paw — her anxiety rising as she grasped the rock harder with the paw around it.

"I-I can't reach you!" She called, tears in her eyes.

OOC // @Galerunner @Torrentsky

𓆝𓆟༝˚｡⋆𓆜⋆｡˚༝𓆞𓆝

ORCAPAW

APPRENTICE OF RIVERCLAN
she / they, AFAB, female
07 moons old, ages on the 10th.
smokestack x lichenberry + mistyhowl, littermate to duckpaw
mentored by npc, mentor to no one yet

SPEECH // THOUGHTS // INTERACTION

penned by you