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Post by Solaris on Apr 3, 2023 2:22:29 GMT
Day 12 of Thunder Moon 2021 Splash! Goes the Cat
Thunder Moon 2021
Day 12 | Greenleaf
Luna tries pouncing on a frog but ends up diving into the river instead.
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Post by Solaris on Apr 3, 2023 2:23:59 GMT
Thunder 12, 2021 | Sigh Luna stalked through blooming fennel weeds, trying to ignore how the fuzzy leaves tickled her fur as she moved. Her breath had been held for several heartbeats already, and if she blew the chance… Well, her breakfast would go flying away.
She emerged out of the underbrush, slipping in one paw and then the other as quietly as she could. The frog was sitting by the riverbank, still as a stone. But she caught the glint of sunlight on its glossy eyes, and the slightest movement of a breathing creature. Despite her impatience, she forced herself to wait. To keep still. She knew, based on experience, how skitterish frogs were.
Lowering her belly to the floor, she made another advancement, pushing her hind legs down to use as a spring, just as Morpheus had taught her. She braced her legs for power and counted inside of her head.
One. Two—
Before she made it to three, Luna pounced with her claws outstretched:
And dove straight for the river instead, sending water splashing everywhere. Fox-dung! She was plunged underwater, flailing her limbs uselessly around, but it appeared that nothing she did would keep her afloat. Thankfully, her breath had been held when she jumped in, preventing the intake of water into her system. But she could only hold her breath for so long before…
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Sigh
New Warrior
159 Posts
EST; he/him; mid-twenties
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Post by Sigh on Apr 4, 2023 0:15:15 GMT
minnowpaw This was farther from camp than Minnowpaw had used to go on her own, but she was older now, and more experienced; she could push boundaries and step outside of her comfort zone. Also, there was a rather large group of apprentices out hunting, and she didn't want to run into any of them. One disastrous assessment was enough for her, thanks. And the river was a familiar friend, at this point, full of fish and free from the tense atmosphere that seemed to hang over camp lately, like a suffocating cloud in spite of the bright greenleaf sunshine. Although Minnowpaw had never been one to appreciate time by herself, she was learning to enjoy this solitude. Just her, the wind through the trees, the burbling of the river up ahead, and—was that a splash? An intruder? Minnowpaw darted forward, ready to confront whoever it was that had dared to trespass on RiverClan territory. Although I suppose it also could have been a very large fish, she thought, briefly. But no, as she approached the bank, it was not a fish she saw in the water, but something larger and just as silvery—another cat, though smaller than Minnowpaw herself. Minnowpaw was in the water before she could remember her earlier worries about a potential intruder. It was cool, but not unpleasantly so. She paddled with sure strokes over to the thrashing white cat and looked for a way to help her without getting whacked. She's probably too small to do too much harm anyway, Minnowpaw thought, somewhat resignedly, before ducking her head in an attempt to catch the cat's ruff. After a couple mouthfuls and eyefuls and earfuls of water— oh stars I'm so glad Heronpaw's not here to see this—she managed to get a grip and haul the poor thing forward a few tail lengths. They were closer to the opposite shore, which was not technically part of the Clan's territory, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Minnowpaw hauled the two of them along with no small amount of effort—she was larger than this other cat, but not by much—until they reached a shallow enough part of the river for their feet to touch. Leaving her well-drenched companion to fend for herself the rest of the way, Minnowpaw clambered ashore with a shiver. "Are you alright?" she asked, after her breathing evened out a little. |
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Post by Solaris on Apr 10, 2023 1:30:52 GMT
Thunder 12, 2021 | Sigh A strong force ripped Luna out of the water, and it took a moment for her to recognize the embedded spikes in her neck as teeth. She tried fighting against the grip, but her limbs were tired from trying to swim in the river. The creature dragged her away from the deep end until her hind feet felt solid sand underneath. The teeth released its grip on her scruff, though she took another moment to lay on the ground like a sad lump of moss. When she regained enough strength to stand, she choked out a few spits of water. Thankfully, there wasn’t much water that went through her lungs because of her held breath.
But now she had the issue of a drenched pelt… She glanced at her own fur, amused by how slicked she looked. Almost as smooth as a fish! And then she turned up and saw a silver tabby standing a tail-length away, as soaked as she was. She was about to back away and hiss at the stranger, until she realized two things. One, there was water behind her. Two, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together and conclude that this cat was the one who saved her and wasn’t a threat.
“Hi!” said Luna blankly. “Thanks for… saving me! I’m good! Never been better!”
She cringed at how stupid she sounded and looked.
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Sigh
New Warrior
159 Posts
EST; he/him; mid-twenties
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Post by Sigh on May 11, 2023 21:39:06 GMT
minnowpaw Never been better? That doesn't sound like a very good life, Minnowpaw mused, somewhat perplexed. Had she been this strange just a few moons ago, at a similarly young age? Or was the strangeness unique to the stranger? She knew what the answer would be if she posed such a question to her brother— you've always been strange, Minnow, said the Heronpaw in her mind—which led her to believe that maybe the very wet cat in front of her was not being entirely truthful about the whole "never better" thing. Minnowpaw decided to skip asking the question again, in any case. "Did you fall in?" she asked instead. Though, after the words had already left her mouth, she realized she couldn't think of what else might have possibly happened. "You must not be from around here?" she tried instead, still in a questioning tone. "My brother and I grew up learning how to swim, but I guess we were lucky to always be near water." Or, wait, was she supposed to be giving information away about her family and clanmates? It was probably harmless information, and Minnowpaw didn't think the nameless—or probably not nameless, they just hadn't gotten to names yet. Oops. "Sorry, I'm Minnowpaw, by the way," she blurted out, wondering belatedly what exactly she was apologizing for. |
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Post by Solaris on Jun 4, 2023 1:33:32 GMT
Thunder 12, 2021 | Sigh “Uh, yeah! I did fall in!” Luna chirped incredulously, staring blankly at the other cat. “How else was I supposed to be in the water? Unless you’re asking how I came to fall in, in which… actually, I’m not telling you that part.”
The embarrassment was warming her pelt, and she wished she was in the water, drowning away her discomfort, even if Morpheus hadn’t taught her how to swim yet… She hoped, at least in the stranger’s eyes, she didn’t look too much of a fool. And if need be, Luna would have claws bared, ready to strike out!
“No, I’m not,” responded Luna. “Me and my father were traveling the area. I was trying to catch food, but it ran off. I’ve never swam before so, thank you for fishing me out. Of there.”
She must have looked so pathetic. Not that she cared. No, Luna was as stoic as a stone! She did not care what other cats thought of her! It did not matter that she she rarely spoke to other cats outside of Morpheus, she was fine! She puffed out a chest, channeling a disaffected and sarcastic attitude. She rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose at the cat. “Yeah right, lucky to be surrounded by stinky fish!”
And she had never eaten fish before, but she was confident they tasted as bad as they smelled.
Minnowpaw. Right, names, names, names, uh…
“You can call me Luna,” she said, nodding firmly, as if she was all calm and collected, and NOT as if she wasn’t caught making a fumble straight into the water. Moons, she was glad Morpheus wasn’t around; he would lecture on and on in her ear.
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