Coursing River [C]

After returning from a patrol, it was relatively easy to slip back out of camp.

Lagging behind once they returned, letting the other warriors chatter among mouthfuls of prey as they brought their catches over to the fresh-kill pile.. it almost felt too easy.

Webpaw hovered near the mouth of camp, tail flicking restlessly. He was eager to slip back out into the territory, and it didn't look like anyone had been watching him.. Now was his chance! After a quick double, triple take, the sleek tom quickly turned around, worming his way into the open.

As soon as he was past the entrance, he broke into a bound. ..or at least, the best he could. The mud clung to his legs, threatening to pull him into the earth, and more than a few times he tripped over his own legs. He didn't care, though. He relished every moment he could spend in the territory, and being on his own for the first time?

Oh, StarClan, he loved it.

After what felt like a moon and a half, he slowed down to a trot. The marsh had slowly given way to firmer ground, and the further he got from camp, the more he loved the feeling of soft grass underpaw. The trees had thinned, too, and suddenly he felt very exposed.. and lost.

It's fine. I'll be fine. I'm not the first cat to do this. He repeated those words to himself a dozen times. He had trusted his paws to take him this far, so he would trust them to get him home, too.

Exploring outside camp had been so wonderful already. There was no one there to bother him, no constant buzz of voices, no one asking anything of him.. there was only the gentle sound of the breeze, the warm sun overhead, and a bird calling in the distance. He could spend the rest of his life out here, really.

He had found something to marvel at every foxlength (except when he came across the Thunderpath which, even though it had been quiet, terrified him deeply—he'd already heard enough about it from Rosethorn), and as he found himself approaching a thick grove of trees it was no different.

Making out the Great Oaks, Webpaw picked up the pace again and barreled into the clearing, cheering his delight as he did so. It was odd to see the space so quiet, so empty, but he reveled in it. He almost felt overwhelmed with options. There was so much to do, yet so little..

He settled for trying to scale the Great Rock. He approached it, paced around it several times, stared up at it's dizzying height. It seemed too high to climb, but he was already taller than his siblings, and it might be fun to try. Crouching down low, he wiggled his haunches then sprang, stretching out his claws to hopefully hook into any grove he could. He caught a few notches in the stone, and his hind paws scrabbled against the stone as he tried to pull himself further up, but he resigned himself to letting go, hitting the grass with a soft huff.

Standing up and shaking his fur out, he turned back towards the rock with a determined gleam in his eye, focus zeroed in on sizing it up and making it to the top.

Sneezingpaw wasn't a cat of very many thoughts. She did what she pleased and befriended everyone she met (even if it was one sided), so it was if no surprise when left camp with her head held high in her bounce step trot fashion, leaping playfully at a bird and batting the air.

"Hah!" She huffed, landing on her paws-- or so she thought. Her front paws landed on solid ground, but her hindlegs preferred the idea of shooting in front of her front legs, which didn't make any sense, they were called back legs because the go in the back, unless of course the cat in question was blind. Then any leg could be a back or front leg, but Sneezingpaw didn't find it very nice of her back feet to try and make her front feet upside downy brain, and when she flopped over onto her chin, she assumed her chin agreed with her. Her tail floated down like a giant fluffy moth and with a gentle swoosh sound plopped on her head and right over her eyes.

Blowing raspberries and wind, she attempted to regain eyesight, and giggle snorted when said motion (and more likely the reed less than three feet away) caused her to sneeze three times. After a moment of laying there and giggling, she decided to keep walking. Mountainpaw was busy helping Dennisbro today, much to her sadness. Then an idea hit her. Fourtrees! She hadn't been there in a while. Though she was sad at the idea of adventuring without Mountainpaw.

Striding mixed with hops and trots, she eventually arrived in Fourtrees, and caught sight of an unfamiliar pelt. Delight glittered in her eyes, and she bounded forward in a hare fashion, tackling the cat playfully. "Hiya, hi! I'm Karensneeze! Wait no, I mean Pawsneezing! Awe, wait tha's not right either, oops! I'm Sneezingpaw, but you can call me Karen, or whatever else you'd like, s'long as it's not mean! What's your name? Do you have two names? I know lots'a cats with two names!" The overly energetic apprentice eagerly mewed, eyes shining in delight at the idea of a new friend

Crouching as low as he could, Webpaw gave his haunches yet another determined wiggle. This would be his, what, third, fourth attempt? Well, whichever try this was, he felt like this was the one. With a lash of his tail, he sprang off the ground, claws outstretched, and no sooner had he got into the air did he hear a voice crying out and paws thundering towards him. With a yelp, he made an attempt to twist towards the stranger, and no sooner did he lay eyes on her had she tackled him straight out of the air.

With a groan, the tom silently willed the ringing in his head to stop so he could process exactly who it was that had attacked him. And when his senses finally did clear, he was...

...terrified? In awe? Appalled? Terrified?

Instantly he was wiggling away from her, scrambling backwards with all his fur on end. Of all things about her, he couldn't get over the size of her– he'd considered himself tall since he became an apprentice, but he felt like a kit again next to the massive she-cat. And stars, she was rambling, going on and on with a lot of words she said too fast, or that just.. didn't make sense. She wasn't a threat, clearly but regardless, her unconvential approach and boundless energy put him off.

"I'm.. sorry. Karen..? Two names? I–" He shook his head, mind buzzing with everything she'd thrown at him at once. Okay, okay, what had she said her name was.. whatever it was, he'd missed it. He'd settle for Karen. "My name is Webpaw. I'm from ShadowClan," the apprentice mewed, straightening himself.

He wasn't really sure if he was making an effort to look less hostile or an effort to look bigger. Less hostile would work best, probably. She was friendly, if a sensory headache. He tried a smile that looked a lot more like a mess of bared teeth.

He inhaled, trying to the scents he'd learned. "Are you– are you RiverClan? What are you doing here?"