Sunlit Creek [closed]

It began like this.

One quiet, relatively cold afternoon; nothing too abnormal. A Starclan-forsaken early dawn patrol, followed by more training and then a nap, which left Hollypaw to wake from it alone. Grumpy, of course.

And — after a quick, half-frozen shrew and a groom — extremely, undeniably bored.

It wasn’t her turn to feed the elders, or the kits. (Nor — yuck — to clean anything.) And edging hours past sunhigh… well. Way too early for sleeping more.

By the second pace around camp, she was starting to go stir-crazy. And so, naturally, she stuck her head back in the apprentice den (willing it to be more occupied than before) and yowled, “Wasppaw! If you’re in there, get your tail out here!”

...no answer. Or tails grudgingly trudging out, to give Hollypaw an ear-lashing. Where did she go?

She tried the warriors den next, with a softer, “Ravenclaw? Mom? Aunt Ashstorm?”

And then, finally, a poke into the shaded cleft in the rock, which smelled strongly of herbs… and her brother. But, in spite of the emptiness of camp, she heard a murmur of quiet voices — one Muddy’s, the other a warrior’s — and Hollypaw retreated.

Could it be that, literally… no one, no one she knew was here? (Or able to talk to her, in Muddy’s case?) Not even her aunt Ashstorm, or her annoying (if like, generally okay) cousin Lionpaw?

No one?

“This is ridiculous,” she muttered, because come on, she was dying here. There were, of course, other cats in camp. It was never empty. But she wanted to go out. She wanted to run. And her success with bullying other clanmates to take her... wasn’t that great.

She looked to the sky, and sent irritated thoughts toward her sister. At least they could’ve done something fun together in camp. And then she she just… huffingly stalked toward the foliage exit.

I guess I’ll go look for you all. By myself. Alone. The dark tortoiseshell ducked under a bush, to step into the rest of their territory. Not like I’ve never done it before!

There was… a tiny problem with that plan, of finding-adult-warrior. And that… was that to Hollypaw, finding her way through Skyclan was a bit like seeing trees and stones in all directions. With cat scents winding around them, birds chirping. And sunlight shining through trees to melt the snow into branching paths… ones that the apprentice miiight have gotten mixed up.

And… even after settling into a brisk walk to search, she saw no one.

The apprentice held in her eye-twitch for about as long as it took for an acorn to fall. And then — frustrated by the utter lack of kin-included patrols — she just shook her pelt. Unless you were hunting, there were hardly any cats wandering around. ...the border it is, then.

It was like a switch; one moment she was walking, and in the next Hollypaw set off into a ground-eating run. Not a Windclanners run, but a Skyclan cat’s run — full of leaps over stones, steps around footfalls, arcs around trees and foliage. The kind of run you did with a grin and a lot of agility, until you couldn’t possibly take another step.

And she ran.

She ran, fast and sure-footed, with the ease of frequent practice, until she came upon the soft sound of moving water.

Though… no patrol. Her ears flicked, then flattened. Must have missed them… stupid Aunt Ashstorm, stupid mom...

The burn in her lungs felt good, though, as did the chilliness of the air and a long, cold draw from the creek. It was quiet, and the creek wide and gentle and shimmering, dusted with white on either side. And… it definitely smelled like her clanmates, more strongly than anywhere but camp; a border, here. She was alone, but with the smell strong, it did feel like she wasn’t, too. Hollypaw was somewhere, at least.

Moonlit creek.

For some odd reason, Hollypaw felt restless recently. Perhaps it was because of the amount of kits that keeps coming to RiverClan, or maybe she was just worried that she wouldn't have gotten enough prey for them at all. Both, maybe. And the leadership changing— that made her perplexed, too. The anxiety built up in her, and she paced around the clan's entrace, wondering whether or not it was worth it to head out. Alone. It wasn't that she hasn't ever done so before, though it made her feel somewhat unsure knowing that no one would have her back— if something ever did happen. The sun began to slowly set, shimmering with the warm, golden rays of sunshines that set down to the snow. Flicking her tail, Hollypaw gulped, and made a final decision to go on a walk. Maybe that'll help ease her mind, even if it was just for a bit.

By the time she had stopped, the molly blinked, glancing around the scenery in confusion. It took her a while, though only now did she realize that she was just on the edge of what cats called the "Moonlit Creek." It was unfamiliar and strange to her, though she appreciated the nice view.. Until a familiar scent hit her nose. SkyClan. Her body almost tensed up in realization, taking just a step back as she considered whether or not to stay; or to go. Though maybe it wasn't the time. If she backed up now, her scent would linger here— and she'd have no further explanations for it. Stiffly giving her tail another flick, she stepped forward once again, and once more, until the scent of the borders were clear to her.

If it's already have been done, at least I should tell the other cat to excuse myself— and hopefully head back. Unscathed.

A cat seemed to appear from the corner of her eye— and Hollypaw soon realized that it was the apprentice she'd met from the Gathering before. The tortoiseshell molly; whom was known to her also as 'Hollypaw' was there. She was sure, that if it were a patrol of warriors nearby instead, she would've been turned to mousemeat by now. She felt glad she wasn't, though Hollypaw now stared at her— and the molly blinked back at her. "Right; this isn't the kind of situation we'd expect for us to meet up again, is it?" She anxiously muttered, even if most of it was to herself. This wasn't her clan's side of the territory either way— and she felt the need to keep herself high-alerted. Her whiskers twitched, and she waited for Hollypaw to speak up.

The member 'Arcana' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Invasion Dice' :

I guess I’ll go back to camp, Hollypaw thought to herself. Bloodstar’s orders were orders, and Ravenclaw had never implied there were exceptions. But…

The creek shimmered, oddly beautiful. Their border with — Riverclan, right? Or was that somewhere else? Hollypaw frowned, unsure. But it was also fairly peaceful, and her limbs burned after her long, tiring sprint. She sat. Maybe… maybe it’d be alright, for a few minutes.

She wasn’t going to be alone for long, after all. (And it was her mom’s fault, for not being here anyway... Hollypaw was looking for a patrol.)

She rested her head on her paws, seeing a flash in the distance — one that reminded her, oddly enough, of that Riverclan apprentice she’d met at the gathering. Pale tabby fur. The tortoiseshell shook her head, and then — looked again, and wait a second—

That was her! Looking so innocent, even. What was she doing here? Didn’t she know this was the border?! The small, light-colored form seemed frozen by the opposite end of the creek — about a family of fox-lengths away.

Even on that side of the creek, it was still Skyclan land.

All her suspiciousness — and quite an impressive amount, for such a tiny body — flooded into Hollypaw, crystallizing her vision. It had previously been buried by sympathy, since the molly clearly had a terrible name, at no fault of her own. But… was it possible… she was a prey-thief?!

Her eyes narrowed. It would be… an elaborate deception, worthy of an elder’s tale. Being all polite and nice at a Gathering, gaining their sympathy for a night, before — before sneaking off to steal their prey!

Was it possible—?!

At the possibility, an energy rushed through her; with a smooth leap, Hollypaw swiftly mounted a rock on her side of the creek. (And… nearly missed, but nobody saw that! Probably!) She scrambled on top of it; like most boulders in Skyclan, it was large, probably the size of a den, but she had enough practice to haul herself up. Making it abundantly clear that the Riverclanner had been seen, Hollypaw stared fiercely down from it.

“Hey! You! Icepaw, or — whatever your name is! What are you doing here?” she spoke loudly, trying to project authority and leaderness! “This is Skyclan territory! You aren’t supposed to be here!”

Her tail lashed. Hollypaw knew she shouldn’t have trusted a fish-face. They just — seemed nice and looked pretty, that was all! ”And you better get out of here, before I call someone!”

Or... Er, wait, she was never supposed to be alone! All the clans knew that; it was so they were always strong! ”I — I mean, before the scary warrior with me makes you!”

Nodding in confidence, glaring what she hoped was a scary glare, Hollypaw stepped forward to say more and—

—slipped. She would’ve been embarrassed had she not yowled in surprise.

It was like a moment suspended in time, that feeling of nothing beneath her, before she hit the water — and the hard riverbed beneath. It was such shock of cold her screech of surprise cut off in the splash.

Knowing that she'd been noticed, Hollypaw gave the SkyClan apprentice an awkward dip of the head. The other apprentice warned her of having a warrior close by, and she cocked her head to the side. Hollypaw gave the air a sniff, though no scents of other warriors close by were there— and the only strongest scents seemed to be the border's, her own, and Hollypaw's. Just as the other molly stepped foward to say more, Hollypaw opened her mouth to an abrupt yowl— and then came a splash. The other molly's shriek had been cut of by the fall, and so her body tensed. And so without thinking, she braced herself for the fall, and let herself leap into the cold riverbed.

She felt glad she was RiverClan; and that she'd agree to learn how to swim during these moments when cats' lives were in danger. Her paws sturdily guided her over to the molly, and when realizing she was close enough— took ahold of Hollypaw's scruff. Hurriedly, she unknowningly swam to her clan's side of the creek, and set the molly down on the land. She panted, glad to have reacted fast enough for the situation. The cold droplets trailed down her fur and onto the soft; yet chillingly cold snow, and her blue eyes stared down to the apprentice in concern. Panting, she took notice when Hollypaw rose up again, and she backed away to give her some space. "Are you alright?" She managed to ask, yet quickly changed the question again, "Nevermind— that wasn't so bright of me, sorry. Of course you're not alright in such a state. Do you think you're able to head back?"

Even if she was— or wasn't, Hollypaw had a feeling that the molly needed of rest first. Then the image of SkyClan accusing her of something mistaken flashed through her mind; and she froze in horror, stiffening a gulp.

Hollypaw had fallen, once, when she was a kit.

She’d been playing on top of the medicine den — a long, angled stone that made her feel on top of the world. Waspkit — was somewhere else. But it had been something to prove how brave she was, only… in the middle of naming her territory, she’d lost her footing, and there were several seconds of terrifying free-fall before she hit the ground.

On her feet, at least. Hollypaw had touted it proudly as Skyclan instinct. Even if secretly, she felt so shaky afterward, like her heart would explode from her chest. Like she could’ve died.

Waspkit might’ve made fun of her, if she’d said. But then her sister would be right, ‘cause what Skyclan cat was afraid of falling?

She’d been leery of trees, ever since. Reluctant. Falling to the ground sounded awful.

Falling into water — even such a minuscule distance — was worse.

No matter how shallow it was, or how — how gentle the current was, any water in leaf-bare was evil and it ate through her chest into her heart. It was a shock of burning cold and it was the blossoming pain of her head against bedrock — no landing on four paws… no immediately being wrapped in her mother’s embrace. Her paws kicked, weakly.

Something squeezed her heart, icy cold.

It felt like so long, unable to move, until iron teeth took hold of her scruff. Like a piece of prey, they dragged her, forcefully. Hollypaw felt like a newborn kitten — unable to resist, even as her heart leapt at the sight of strong limbs and pale fur.

Icepaw.

Riverclan.

It was even more biting, like fangs in every part of her skin, when half of her was dragged onto land. Dragged, like — a rabbit, or a big piece of stubborn prey. She took deep, gasping breaths as the sun warmed and the cold snow burned.

She felt so — dizzy, like those few moments as a kit, breath taken away. Her vision blurred, and then cleared, but it was so disorienting. It was enough, though, to see… pale tabby feet. And hear words, as if far above her.

Who is she… talking to…? “—all right?”

Dizzily, she stumbled to her paws, looking around. There was something… warm, dripping from her skull — after an investigative paw, it came back… red. The creekbed, or the rock?

That wasn’t good.

“Nevermind—“ the voice felt distant, almost chastising. But to whom? “—such a state.”

Hollypaw took a deep breath, still feeling… cold, nauseous. She didn’t feel so good.

“—head back?”

Hollypaw’s head raised, but when she saw the Riverclan molly’s face, she seemed — pensive. Stiff, as if facing something uncomfortable. Almost not wanting to look at her.

Confused, the Skyclan apprentice teetered, and then it came to her. That’s because she wasn’t talking to me.

They weren’t on Hollypaw’s side of the creek anymore. Here, it smelled faintly of Skyclan, but also… not far… of Riverclan.

Icepaw isn’t alone.

She’s talking to someone. Maybe — a few someones.

Suddenly blood raced through her body, and Hollypaw’s ears raised, eyes blurry and wildly looking through the forest behind her — where are her clanmates?

It — suddenly made total sense. Why would an apprentice come to Skyclan territory alone? And then all Hollypaw could think of was herself… alone. Two, three Riverclan cats, and — Icepaw pulled her from the creek, to… make sure she stayed quiet?!

Hollypaw — and here she stumbled —  could definitely take one Riverclan cat. M-maybe two. But three?

The bits and pieces of the Riverclan apprentice’s words came to her. Was… she trying to ensure her silence? To see if she’s in any condition to— head back and tell her clan? Are they trying to silence me? Because I’ve seen them prey-stealing?

Her eyes narrowed, the image still fairly blurry. Her legs were shaking and she steadied herself with a paw in the snowy dirt. And then Hollypaw struck like a viper, bowling the Riverclan molly over. Surging forward — and ignoring the wave nausea that came with it — she sharply pinned her enemy to the ground, paws pressing into her throat. Firmly.

“If there are any warriors out there, and I know you’re there, I’ve got—” and oh, mousebrain, she didn’t know this cat’s real name! She huffed, glaring down briefly at the molly. “I’ve got whatever-your-name-is! And if you come any closer, I’ll — I’ll rip her throat out, I swear!”

Hollypaw initiated battle, using Leap-and-Hold on Riverclan Hollypaw. Deals 6 damage and costs 15 stamina. Hollypaw (Riverclan) is pinned for 1 turn.

Hollypaw (Skyclan) [disadvantaged]
15/15| 15/30

Hollypaw (Riverclan)
14/20 | 60/60

The member 'ginger' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 3

Although still dizzily, the other molly stood up. Then just in a split second— she felt herself being bowled over by a ball of fur. Sharp claws firmly pressed down her throat, keeping her still to the ground.. And perhaps it was only then did she truly feel the adrenaline of battling. This isn't like the Gathering from before. This was a real, ongoing fight! Though her gaze shifted from disbelief, to a puzzled, baffled state of confusion. Just.. What was going on? Was there really other warriors? Her nose twitched, though no other scent than Hollypaw's and her own seemed to have been detected. Maybe out of her adrenaline, that it kept her away from properly being able to identify it out. And as threatening as the molly's words seemed to have spoke to her, she knew, that Hollypaw would never actually do so. What would SkyClan do if they knew an apprentice of theirs have torn another's throat out? Perhaps it was real, or perhaps just bluff. Either way, she needed to attack back. This wasn't the time to go over a threat.

The molly rolled over onto her paws, attempting to throw the apprentice on top of her off. Though as she tried, the younger apprentice managed to get a firm grip on her; not allowing her to break free. Nonetheless, while the SkyClan cat focused on her neck, she managed to hiddenly strike her from an unnoticed spot. Hollypaw went for her front leg— the very one that held her down. She felt her claws meet skin, and she recoiled her paw after a quick slash.

Hollypaw used Dusk and Twist, costing 5 SP and dealing 4 damage. Passive Slippery Coat ability active. Attempt was Unsuccessful!

Hollypaw (SkC) [disadvantaged]:
11/15 HP (-4)
15/30 SP

Hollypaw (RC):
14/20 HP
55/60 SP (-5)

dice roll

The member 'Arcana' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 1

Hollypaw kept the molly pinned with a forepaw, trying to get her head to stop pounding. She screwed her eyes shut, wincing — it felt like an unbearable weakness, like number one on what not to do when… Er. Holding an enemy cat by your claws. When potentially surrounded.

But ouch, water really was evil…

Waiting for the pain to pass, it only took a second: quick like a fish, with a twist of fur, the molly tried to slip free. The Skyclan apprentice stumbled, eye snapping open — Starclan, she’s fast! — and threw her weight to stop it. But not quick enough to stop the slash of claws, like fire, across her foreleg.

Fox-hearted, mousebrained claws—!

Hollypaw flinched, resisting the urge to coil the injured limb to her chest. Adjusting her grip to pin the shoulder as well, she dug her claws in just a bit. It wasn’t with as much ferocity she’d like, as Hollypaw kind of wanted to lay down, but... the attempt was definitely more than she expected, from quiet Icepaw.

And my leg… ouch!

The Skyclan apprentice had kept her grip, but only barely; the attempt made her pant from exertion. That would’ve been bad! She cast her ears to the side, keeping alert for any voices — but there were none!

What… gives?

“Hey, fishfaces!”  Hollypaw called, still breathing a bit heavily, one eye closed and the other glancing up. “Not going to say anything? Don’t you care about Icepaw!?”

Honestly, she felt a bit affronted on the pale she-cat’s behalf — what kind of rotten clanmates were these? The prey stealing kind, apparently.

If it were her, she’d be spitting mad. (Well… she’d just not get pinned in the first place, obviously — but still!)

“You shouldn’t be stealing!” she mewed sharply, looking down at Icepaw. That was basic stuff! Even if it’s probably fish and they’re gross. “But you need better clanmates.”

Her tail lashed at the thought, once again feeling a bit sorry for the she-cat —even if she momentarily felt too dizzy for more than that.

Skyclan Hollypaw is pinning Riverclan Hollypaw, dealing 6 damage and costing 15 stamina. This is the last pinned turn.

Hollypaw (Skyclan)
11/15 | 0/30

Hollypaw (Riverclan)
9/20 | 55/60

“Not going to say anything? Don’t you care about Icepaw!?”

Hollypaw felt even more confused at the sentence. Perhaps the molly really was worn-out by now.. Or at least, she really seemed like it. She knew that there's be no point in continuing the fight, and sighed, eyes narrowed at the molly on top of her. "There's no one there, Hollypaw. I promise you." She firmly spoke. As she continued to get accused of stealing prey, the she-cat's eyes widened in disbelief. "Though, wasn't I only at my clan's side of the territory..?—"

"But you need better clanmates."

The apprentice's eyes continued to widen even further, and she opened her maw in disbelief. "Don't say that to my clanmates, even if they aren't really here." With enough force, she pushed herself away from the other cat; tail lashing behind. "This fight is pointless, Hollypaw. We're both tired enough, and we should head back to our clans." She spoke, trying to keep it as respectful as she could. The other apprentice has already gotten tired enough from the creek fall, and she'd make an attempt to stop the fight now. She herself felt more tired as the fight continued on, too.

Hollypaw (RC) is trying to stop the fight, and is also deciding to not attack.

Hollypaw (SkC) [disadvantaged]:
11/15 HP
0/30 SP

Hollypaw (RC): (no longer pinned)
9/20 HP
55/60 SP

Hollypaw blinked in surprise as the molly beneath her spoke. Through the ache in her skull, what she heard — again — made no sense. You, Icepaw, are so confusing. Well, duh, your clanmates are here. Who else would you have been talking to?

The molly seemed so… resigned, for a moment, before — ouch! — strong limbs kicked her off. She felt the pain settle in her chest, momentarily off balance as the Skyclan apprentice stumbled onto half her paws.

That... was a kick. Hollypaw felt suddenly drained of energy. Maybe from holding her, too.

And yet she kept talking, almost — incensed. The Riverclan molly was, again, not making much sense. But some inner-reflex kicked in, at the words — ”Who said I was tired?”

Perhaps it was kitten-reflex. But then, Hollypaw wasn’t one to agree to anything easily. (Not if she would make a ruckus about it.) It seemed a bit ridiculous in the circumstances but Hollypaw wanted to pout. ”And it wasn’t pointless, it was strategic! If your clanmates hadn’t…”

Hadn’t… run off?

Something about what Icepaw had said entered her mind. There was something not right about warriors not coming to help… it was odd. Could she be right…?

She glanced around, eyes sharp to catch any sight of fur in the woods. It was Skyclan land, for a bit — as far as the little bit of woods stretched. Granted not far — maybe Icepaw had come here on accident. But… there was also only one set of tracks.

Had she been wrong…? No—! But, then. Who was Icepaw talking to?!

She whipped around, giving a startled look to Icepaw. ”If there’s no one here, then — who were you talking to?!”

Hollypaw took a tiny step back… thinking of how she’d wondered if the she-cat could be… a spirit? She’d just pinned her, so obviously not, but…

What if there were someone else?!

Skyclan Hollypaw acknowledges the end to the fight. (Reluctantly.) But is also spooked.

"Hoolllypaaaw!!" Newtspring probably would have told her something around the lines of her scaring away the prey, in a very creative way, hard for her to mimic fully, needless to say she came back from a hunt and was notified that hollypaw was looking for her, but of course she being the impatient sister didn't wait for her to get back home and went out looking for her. She's been following her scent for ages and what appears to be towards riverclan area.

I really do hope she didn't think I get kidnapped or something.

"Hoolllypaaaw!!"

Wasppaw. Somehow, Hollypaw immediately recognized the tone of her voice. Although she wanted to reply back to the she-cat beside her, the figure of Wasppaw from afar has caught her off guard. That must've been her, looking for Hollypaw over here. Two cats with the same name.. not very often to encounter, though fairly confusing to address to each of them. Spotting her figure approaching closer and closer, the molly took in a deep breath, exchanging a dip of the head to Wasppaw from the other side. Manners were still important— even in this situation, after all.

"I already told you, there's no clanmates of mine, Hollypaw. There's only your clanmate approaching: Wasppaw. I went out here alone," She replied.