Field Trip

OOC: This topic starts in Shadowclan, but since most of the topic will be in Riverclan I put it in the Riverclan territory section.

Shira had promised her kit that she would show him Riverclan.  He deserved to see the place where he could have grown up.  Maybe he could meet his grandmother.  Well... that was the thing, she had never mentioned to Ivystar that they were coming for a quick trip.  She was sort of nervous about that part.  Well, mostly nervous about seeing her mother again.  Ivystar would probably have questions, Shira knew and understood this, but at least she would hopefully have to ask them more civilly if her grandkit was there.  Although, Shira still did prepare in case it wouldn't be that civil of a conversation, mostly just because she knew how she would have reacted to her kit just leaving without saying a word to her.

She also thought that she might not even run into Ivystar.  Even though she might like to give her mother some clarity, it wasn't her top priority.  "Alright, Webshadow," she said.  "Time for you to go see what Riverclan is like."
______________________________________________________________

It was going to be a late night... or, um, morning for Webshadow.  She decided that maybe going in the day would make cats less likely to attack because they could see better.  It felt nice to be walking around in the sun again, even if her eyes hurt a little from the bright light now.  Still, it wasn't that bad at all, she would take the pain anyway.  Although, she did also think that it was really hot in green-leaf when the sun was out, and she was almost panting by the time they made their way through the marsh and reached Riverclan territory.

"So, here it is Webshadow," she exclaimed.  "Welcome to Riverclan."

Staying up into the morning was nothing new for Webshadow.

He had spent most of his apprenticeship rolling around fitfully in his nest or pacing around camp while the rest of his Clan slept. He enjoyed the early mornings, though he rarely saw much past dawn. He felt extra tired today, anyway– he had taken to using his privilege as a warrior to spend as much time out of camp hunting or patrolling as he could. His eyes were groggy when his mother wake him up, and it seemed that sleepy haze wouldn't leave as they set off.

Was he supposed to make conversation? Probably... But this was his mom. There was no point in making small talk with her. He still wasn't quite sure what to small talk about anyway, so he stayed quiet and kept his head low as they padded through the marsh.

Soon enough, it gave way to softer, firmer ground as he followed Shira out of the deep marshes and along the banks of the stream. It was quiet and shallow, but the tabby watched it with curious eyes anyway. Distantly, he thought about his dream spent with Dappleshine. Maybe when they got closer to RiverClan he could see how well those skills translated.

By the time they crossed through ThunderClan and made it to their destination, Webshadow was hot, the weather doing nothing to help wake him up. It seemed like his dark coat soaked up every one of the sun's rays, and all he wanted was to crawl back to the dark corners of ShadowClan's camp and rest there. But... they had come all this way. Shira has made the effort to bring him out here. He shook himself out and finally lifted his head.

Pausing beside her, he looked over the territory in front of him with wide eyes. The stream they'd followed had widened into the river proper, coursing by with a gurgle that made his ears twitch. It seemed like there were reeds everywhere around them, whistling quietly when the breeze stirred them, and there was so much grass, dark and green and so so soft looking. Trotting closer to the bank, he bent himself down, staring at the way his reflection rippled on the water's surface.

"This is it?" Webshadow mewed softly, touching a paw to the water. His image broke and warped but eventually came back together again. "I mean– this is RiverClan? Well, of course, there's a river..." Lifting himself back to height, he turned towards Shira. "We can't cross, right? That would be bad, wouldn't it? Well, but," his tail twitched, and he looked away thoughtfully, "but I want to go over there. Do you think a patrol will come by?" He stared into the distance, narrowing his eyes as he searched for any sign of approaching cats.

Shira looked at Webshadow as he looked at his reflection in the river.  She would look in as well, but she understood that she had scars that would just remind her of horrible memories.  Even the ones on her shoulder she now hated.  Shira sighed.  She seemed to not just be able to forget, no matter how much she wanted to.  When she was younger, she didn't care about hurting cats to help the larger mission.  She thought it would end up better in the long run.  Then she learned the truth and realized what she had done... and now she just couldn't forgive herself.  And the scars that she had gotten, mostly from the other cats fighting in self defense, definitely wasn't helpful in her trying to forget.

Shira then focused on the questions her kit asked.  "Hmm," she started.  "It... should be fine.  Just make sure that you don't go in a different clan, otherwise I'll let you lead the way."  It was rare for Shira to let others lead, but she came to Riverclan for him, so she might as well let him explorer.