𝓢𝓪𝓰𝓮 riverclan. apprentice . 11 moons ───────────────────────
As the river gushed over the rocks, its silver light glittering in the bright sun. Sage jumped onto one of the bigger rocks that overlooked the river, before glancing back over his shoulder toward his companion, Palepaw. Every time he looked at her, he felt his heart jump into his throat. Her beautiful cream-white pelt looked so pretty in the daylight. He was persistently teased by the other apprentices, because his affections for her were so obvious...to every cat except him. Or, that was more accurate to say...they had been. Sage, in growing up, had managed to come to terms with his feelings and accept that ever since they had met, he'd been in love.
Since they had first met, with him dangling uselessly from a tree by his collar, he had grown quite a bit. His frame had filled out with lean muscles, and he had gotten a lot taller, his legs able to easily churn water and swim just as well as any Riverclan-born cat. As he gazed at Palepaw, he realised that she had grown too. The pair had been close ever since she brought him back to the clan, but as they neared warrior age, he felt like things were getting more...romantic between them?
Maybe that was his imagination. There was no way she would be interested in him like that, they were just friends, after all. And yet, his heart ached to tell her. Originally, Sage had decided that he would tell Palepaw how he felt once he finally received his clan name, but Snowstar hadn't given it to him yet, and since her disappearance, the clan was waiting for Copperstar to settle in fully...
"Hey, Palepaw, hey..." Sage grinned at the she-cat, playfully. "Bet you can't catch a bigger carp than me! The one I caught the other day was the biggest in the fresh-kill pile!" Swishing his tail, he glanced down into the water, looking for the first fish to scoop out. Maybe he could tell her how he felt soon...
𝓢𝓪𝓰𝓮
riverclan. apprentice . 11 moons ─────────────────────
The tom's ears flicked and he huffed with a little bit of humility, his gaze lifting from the water to slowly glance over Palepaw as she settled herself down next to him. He glanced down to her shoulders, and then back up again, trying to look anywhere but into her eyes. The former kittypet's heart was hammering in his chest even now, he didn't want to tempt fate and push it all the more.
Little ripples speckling the surface of the water told him that there was prey beneath the surface, and his mouth watered in anticipation. He couldn't wait to prove her wrong, and catch the biggest fish she'd ever seen!
As their pelts brushed, he felt his heart leap into his throat, and his paws lost their grip on the rock he sat on, and his paws slipped into the water. Trying to play it cool, he readjusted his sitting position as if he had just been getting comfortable the whole time. Peering back down into the water, his brow furrowed with concentration. The determination on his face only increased as he raised one paw, preparing to strike down under the surface.
Her compliment brings a wide grin to his face, and his chest puffs out with pride, face momentarily turning to give her ear a quick lick. It was as he did so that he spotted the silver glint of scales beneath the surface of the water. Quick as a flash, his paw splashed out, claws hooking into his target. His muscles rippled as he focused on bringing up his prey. When retracting his paw, a large trout balanced at the end of his claws, flapping uselessly as it tried to escape.
Sage flicked it up onto the riverbank, leaning his head down to give it a killing bite. Turning back toward Palepaw, he smirked at her playfully. "Think you can get one better than that?" He teased, flicking her with his tail. But, he couldn't resist...he took the chance to curl his tail around hers, gaze dashing off to the side to avoid hers.
⊱ ──── {⋅. ✦ .⋅} ──── ⊰ Palepaw ⊱ ──── {⋅. ✦ .⋅} ──── ⊰
The gentle splash of river tides against smoothed stone would always be a pleasant one to her ears, dark lashes fluttering downward as she allowed her mind to drift off with the running water, soothed by the cool breeze and earthy scents that surrounded her - that surrounded them.
Her name was what prompted her back to reality, an easy smile settling onto her lips as the dilute gray of Sage was just there in her view, tail sweeping around to her flank as he beckoned her forth into a friendly little competition. "You think I can't? Careful Sage, I'm the one who first showed you how to fish." The words were uplifted by a gentle, harmonic sort of laugh, a little melody that typically was only heard when spending time with that same cat she had quite literally gone out on a limb for and rescued just a few short moons ago. Eyes of endless blue glimmered with a clear humor, raising to delicate paws with a quick stretch before stepping forward towards the water - just to his side. Ivory fur brushed against his own as she settled, letting her eyes watch the little disturbances on the surface of the water even if her attention might've been more on the feline at her side than the task at hand. Sage had been growing into quite the fisher, much to her delight, finding his place in the clan one pawstep at a time. Taking the chance every time it came along to learn their ways and how to fit into them, reminding her every time that she was right to take that chance that day. No matter how much she might've been reprimanded for it, or how many times she had bared her teeth at the other apprentice's for questioning her, Palepaw had never once regret it. "I guess I'll admit you are getting quite good though. Maybe I finally have a bit of competition here." The small feline adds, unable to move forward without giving credit where it was due. Sage had to work harder than the rest of them. An outsider couldn't just be good enough, they had to prove more than the typical riverborn. Palepaw shifts as they watch the water, leaning her shoulder into his own, surrounded only by good company and birdsong.