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.”
FENNELSTING.
warrior of shadowclan
When the boat smashed into the rocks, the squeak of surprise that filtered from the golden tom's maw was certainly because of the last words Oceanstorm managed to speak to him. But that was all the reaction he was afforded before freezing cold water was assaulting his senses, and he was left with no choice but to kick as hard as he could for the nearest rock and cling on for dear life.
His claws screeched against the wet stone as he fought for a pawhold, clinging against the drag of the current. He saw Oceanstorm tumbling about in the water as she was battered by the current swirling around the rocks, and his fight instinct kicked in. He was going to let go, he was going to head for her and cling to her even if it meant they both ended up dying (at least it would be together at that point) until he saw another grey pelt flash in the corner of his vision before splashing into the weather.
Oceanstorm and their RiverClan savior broke the surface of the water once more, easily making it to the bank, allowing Fennelsting to more thoroughly focus on his own safety until Sealwhisker was able to make it back his way and then cart him to the bank as well.
He crawled off the wood with chattering teeth, rushing alongside the RiverClan cat towards his friend's form. "Th-Thank you," he stuttered, forgoing cleaning his own slightly wet pelt in favor of Oceanstorm's drenched one. She had the thick pelt of a ThunderClan, whereas his was short and adapted for the swamps and marshes of ShadowClan's territory.
"We, we thought it was a good idea. Sometimes our good ideas are s-stupid," he chuckled in explanation between licks to Oceanstorm's pelt. "We didn't know the river got so rocky here." Though that might not have necessarily stopped them, if he was being honest with himself.
It was rather chilly out. Other warriors would opt to stay warm in their nests within the warriors den on days like this if they hadn't been assigned to any patrols, but not Sealwhisker. She had wandered out of camp to collect some nice stones from the river for the kits of RiverClan to play with, but she had happened upon a rock that was in the absolute perfect position to be warmed by the sun. It wasn't as warm as it would have been in other seasons, but it was warm enough for Sealwhisker to find herself dozing off upon making herself comfortable. This peace was short-lived, however, when she suddenly heard voices she didn't recognize. One eye cracked open then immediately closed, only for them to snap open and for her to quickly raise her head once she processed what she saw; two cats in a boat.
'What in the world?' She thought to herself as she watched the pair, totally dumbfounded. She'd seen a couple twolegs take their kittypets out in their boats before, but never just cats alone in a boat going down the river. She was shaken out of her surprise when she remembered that there were rocks in the water, and the boat cats were going straight for them. "H-Hey, look ou-" her call was too late. She cringed as the boat slammed into the rocks, sending the two felines overboard.
"Hold on, I'm coming! Please don't drown!" She yelled, scrambling to her paws and quickly jumping into the river, quickly swimming towards the wreckage. The first cat she saw was the golden tom, who had been fortunate enough to be able to cling onto some rocks. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw the grey tabby breach the water for just a moment before going right back under. "Stay right there, don't let go! I'll come back for you!" she called to the tom on the rocks before diving under to search for the she-cat. The water was a bit murky, but Sealwhisker could see her, weakly floundering against the current. She swam over, muscles rippling under her fur as she positioned herself to pull the other she-cat into her chest, quickly pulling her head above water so she could breathe as she pulled her towards the shore. Once they were close enough Sealwhisker grabbed the boat cat's scruff to pull her onto the bank, taking a moment to examine her injuries. She was still breathing, but she had gotten some pretty painful looking scrapes. She gave the other she-cat a couple good thumps on the back to dislodge some of the water she had swallowed, concern written all over her face. "If you can hear me, I need you to cough up that water, okay? I'm going to get your friend, I'll be right back!" and with that, she jumped right back into the river, making a beeline for the tom on the rocks.
She grabbed a piece of wood that had dislodged from the boat and pushed it towards the rocks "Climb on!" she called, deciding it would be easier to get him to safety this way. Once the tom did what she asked, she began pushing him towards the shore, moving carefully so he wouldn't fall off. Once they were safely on the pebbles of the riverbank, the RiverClanner's attention quickly returned to the other she-cat. She seemed to be in the worst shape. She bounded over to the darker feline, taking a moment to sniff at her pelt. She was still coughing up some water "I know we don't know each other, but I'm going to start grooming you, okay? You were totally submerged, so you need to be warmed up. You should try to get some of that water off of yourself too, Goldie," She instructed, glancing at the tomcat before beginning to lick the she-cat's fur backwards. After a few minutes of this she stepped back, looking over the two cats she pulled out of the river. "How are you two feeling? Should I go get our medicine cat?" She asked gently, stepping away from the other she-cat to take a closer look at the tom. They were both scraped up, but they would probably be alright. "You two are lucky, there wasn't a patrol assigned to come this way til later today. What on earth were you doing with that boat?" She questioned, her bright blue eyes filled with concern for these two strangers.
Oceanstorm stood proudly, her white-furred chest thrust outward as the wind buffeted their faces. They weren't exactly going fast, hardly even a running pace, but it was novel enough not
to be of consequence.
“Fennelsting, I’m flying!” She laughed, her head thrown back. Her neckerchief flapped idly in the breeze.
Her heart lurched however when her eyes snagged on the rocks they were sre to hit. Neither of them had a damn clue how you worked this man-made flotation device. And now they were paying for their mutual lack of foresight.
“And you’ve been a great first mate.” She winked at him, just as the boat made an impact. The groan of wood cracking and splintering was the last thing she remembered before water filled her ears.
If Oceanstorm lost consciousness, it wasn't for very long. When her eyes snapped open they were greeted by the murky sight of the riverbed, this time from the vantage point beneath the water. The world down there was one of a greenish hue, she could see light not so far overhead sparkling on the surface like it was made of diamonds. The rays struggled to penetrate any further than that, a glance below her revealed nothing but blackness beyond a certain depth. A heartbeat later she became aware of the water in her. It was everywhere, in her ears, in her eyes, and even oddly enough her chest. She could feel it sloshing about where it ought not to, cold and obtrusive in her lungs. Suddenly she could feel nothing else but the frantic urge to expel it.
Her head broke the surface after just a bit of awkward paddling; in part due to her natural buoyancy more than anything else. She felt the icy water cascade down her jaws as she heaved, struggling to remain surfaced long enough to clear her lungs so she could cry out. But it wasn’t enough. She was so damn cold she could hardly think, and her shouts for help were nothing but gurgling noises.
This was far past funny now.
“Fennel…shing…” She choked, her face once more slipping underneath the waves. She was becoming aware of pain in her shoulder, possibly from hitting the rocks when she went overboard. There was also blossoming head pain and a severe ringing in her ears. It was making it a real challenge to perform whatever she was passing for swimming at the present moment.
Crap, we can’t go out like this! It’s so stupid! She thought desperately. Surely someone would pass by soon?