FENNELSTING.
warrior of shadowclan
With a little bit of hindsight, Fennelsting couldn't help but think, perhaps his idea of untethering the boat Oceanstorm and himself had met at all those moons ago to take a little joyride down the river was a stupid idea. But then again, none of the ideas he ever had were truly brilliant. This was certainly evidenced by the fact of the rocks looming ahead, waiting to shred their treasured boats to smithereens with them atop it.
The whole thing had started out with an arranged day of meeting between Oceanstorm and himself, an occasion that always happened at the boat they'd found waylaid on the river that was ThunderClan's and ShadowClan's border. Sometimes, it was true, they might have found themselves bumping into each other at a Gathering they both got to attend, but it was much easier and more guaranteed to simply schedule their hangout times. From sparring to simply talking, Fennelsting adored the time he got to hangout with his best friend and crush. It was just happenstance that he suggested they spice up their meeting that day by finally cutting their boat loose and seeing where the current took them. Sue him for the idea being highly spontaneous and poorly thought out, but what wasn't spontaneous and directionless with the ShadowClan warrior?
"Ocean, if this is the end, I just want you to know you made a mighty good best friend," he lamented dramatically, glancing away from the jagged rocks and towards the spotted grey tabby beside him. Cats not having thumbs, it was unsurprising he'd quickly dropped the one paddle they had into the river not long after they'd shoved off from shore. They would likely survive the crash they were about to tangle themselves up in, but he also knew it wouldn't be a fun situation. Lots of bruises and swallowing of water involved, if he had to hazard a guess.
Everything from the point at which Oceanstorm’s head dipped once more beneath the waves was a blur. She thought she heard a voice- a she-cat’s voice- who she did not recognize. Where was Fennelsting? Her lungs were on fire. Her vision was blurred between bouts of blacking out entirely.
Suddenly her body was freezing, laying on solid ground. She was emptying her lungs onto the slick frozen shore, her eyes and nose streaming as if she were having an ugly cry. She was dimly aware of someone washing her thick dappled pelt, but her senses were still too waterlogged to register the context of this sensation. Settling instead for resting her white-tipped chin on the pebbles, she relished the feeling of fresh air in and out of her battered chest. The air outside was frigid and stung the tender insides of her lungs. They’d been through a lot. But along with her heart, which had also been putting in overtime, they succeeded in bringing her back down to earth.
It was then that she was blinking up into the face of a beautiful she-cat.
“Wow.” Oceanstorm choked hoarsely. “Did we die and go to StarClan..? ‘Cause you’re…a vision.”