Riverbanks

Duckstep yawned, watching the river gurgle past slowly. He was able to be out here without another warrior watching him. He could go hunting when he pleased, and best of all the Clan trusted him more. He was warrior now; the only thing he could think of that could be better was becoming leader one day. The sun was high in the sky, beating down on him. Standing he stretched, then lowered himself into the cooling water with a sigh of relief, paddling around.

Hidden in the reeds, Mintcloud watched the other RiverClan warrior contently, eyes glowing. The warm rays of the sun comforted her, gently coming down. Skies were clear without a cloud in the sky, it seemed so wonderful to go for a swim. Seeing Duckstep go into the river and start swimming, the silver tabby she-cat followed slowly, staying in the reeds. However, because she was so focused on watching the tom, Mintcloud tripped over a rock, letting out a soft cry of pain, before slipping into the river, hitting her head on the bottom of the river. Getting up, she slowly emerged, gasping for air before paddling gently with the current of the water. "Oww...." was all the she-cat said.

Duckpaw paddled around, watching Mintcloud with a tilted head. Swimming over, he licked her between the ears. "Are you okay? Did you break anything? Could it have been fatal?" he worried, his paws churning the water as he circled her.

Hearing Duckstep, Mintcloud muttered, "I-i'm fine... It shouldn't be anything too serious. I was just being a bit clumsy, that's all." Feeling the tom lick her, the silver tabby blushed heavily, feeling hot with embarrassment, though she felt warm inside from questioning of whether he liked her or not. Moving her legs swiftly through the water she stopped in a certain area, mewing, "Want to race me?" Smiling, she hoped he was fine with the idea.

He smiled, tail lashing in the current. "From here to where?" he challenged, lifting his chin, dripping with river water.

"How about from here to the beginning of the gorge? It's a bit far, but it'll be a good exercise," Mintcloud mewed, her eyes shining in determination to win, though her overall emotion was really calm. The she-cat was always like that for some reason. Churning her paws around to stay afloat, she beckoned Duckstep with her tail to the shore. "We'll jump in from the shore, swim our way through the river, staying on our own side until the beginning of the gorge. The first one to jump out on the shore at the finish line wins, alright?" the silver tabby said, tilting her head before giving a small smile.

"Alright." he said, nodding as he climbed onto the bank. "Ready?...Go!" he shouted, running along the bank before diving into the water.

Mintcloud had just gotten out when the tom had said "go." "Oh, this is going to be fun." The she-cat let out a sigh before paddling through the river quickly, passing the tom before she started to slow down to catch her breath.

Pushing ahead, the bulky tom let the current push him when he got tired and paddled the rest of the time. After a while of swimming against Mintcloud, he could just start to see the gorge. He glanced at Mintcloud then pushed on. He climbed out on his side of the bank, then rolled over on to his side, panting. "That was.. a good race.. huh?" he said between gasps for breath.

Leaping swiftly onto the bank as Duckstep got up, Mintcloud purred, "Of course! That was great, and fun. I just went easy on you this time; have fun trying to beat me next time." Just teasing the tom, the silver tabby nudged him gently. Strangely, she wasn't exactly out of breath, but she was still breathing heavily - just not as heavily as Duckstep was as he gasped for air.

He cuffed her ear, purring. "I'll always beat you in a race!" he said, having regained his breath. Lowering his paw, he tipped his head. "Why aren't you so tired?" he questioned.

"Sure you will," Mintcloud mocked the tom teasingly, waving her tail. Licking one of her forepaws, she replied simply, "I told you I was going easy after all. You didn't think I'd lie now, would you?" Her eyes gleaming, she wondered what else they could do outside of territory before having to return home. It was fun to hang out with a fellow clanmate just outside of camp, and besides, the clear water and warm sun as well as bright skies made it impossible not to want to go out there.