Don't Fall from Grace [c]

ooc; Set post-gathering

It wasn't a place that she often traveled to, but sometimes, it was necessary. After all, borders had to be marked and maintained. It was just a rather thankful thing that they had a massive landmark to gauge themselves on. Still, it was a place that couldn't help but unnerve the golden molly to some degree. So many horror stories of cats falling in to their deaths had been implemented into he rmind, and being a cat that wasn't even remotely used to swimming, she was at the disadvantage should any problems occur. Shaking the nerves from her pelt, she went towards the border, the heavy scent of water trickling into her nostrils.

Her steps grew more careful as she walked towards the edge, checking in some places to ensure it wasn't slippery to step before she continued on. Her head would brush gently against the rock of the side, marking the Windclan side with her scent. It's just a normal border refresh, Maplespring. You're fine. The heart beating in her chest certainly wasn't helping. If anything, it was only distracting. Newleaf brought with it the sound of rushing water, and she couldn't tell what she was hearing more: Herself, or the rushing waters below. It would only serve as a fatal distraction though, as her paws found a slippery spot, and in an instant her claws were digging into the stone for dear life. Hind legs scrabbled at the rock in an attempt to gain more footing, but there was just no good place to get a grip.

"If there's any cat out there... HELP!" She yowled, the light echo of her voice only flattening her ears with the fear that now pounded visciously in her chest.

The river was their border more often than not. Despite that, proper border maintenance still demanded the refreshing of scent markers even in less-traveled locations. It wasn't a task that required the presence of multiple cats, and Owlshriek could manage most of the territory on his own. So even then, he was at the Gorge. A part of the territory he scarcely visited. Though, wasn't for his fear of falling into the Gorge, no. It was mostly because there wasn't much to catch up in this area. But, the land is land and RiverClan could take what they got.

As he marked near the edge, a yowl caught his ears. Eyes narrowing, Owlshriek looked ahead to see the form of a cat hanging onto the edge of the WindClan side. What sort of mouse-brain got that close to the edge? If anything, a few tail lengths away were perfectly safe to mark-- The she-cat's grip slipped, and rocks tumbled into the gorge. Owlshriek glanced between the cat and the river ahead. Did he have enough time?

Resigning himself to having to cross borders to help, Owlshriek let out a sigh before yowling back "Do not panic, it will only make you slip further. I'm on my way!" Before belting towards the river ahead. It was a bit of distance he had to cover. Not just the falls, but also a good distance in the river that would allow him to be swept down the river during his crossing--just before the falls.

Without much hesitation, Owlshriek barreled into the water and pushed off with his hind legs. His fluffy coat clung to his body the moment he exited the current, dragging him down as water streamed from his tail and pelt. But, he continued forward, trailing water after him as he made his way towards the mouse-brain who thought getting close to the edge was a smart idea. Though, as he approached, Owlshriek nearly stumbled after recognizing the she-cat. "Maplespring?" He asked, reaching her a few moments later. Now there, he shook the water from his pelt and braced his paws on solid ground.

"Work with me here, Maplespring. On three, try and pull yourself up. Ready?" He hunched over, finding purchase on her fluffy scruff. "One, two--" He thought he was standing on solid ground, but as he began to apply pressure to pull her up, Owlshriek could feel it begin to give away. They had to be quick. "Three!" With quick paws and a solid grip on her scruff, the RiverClan warrior heaved.

"Do not panic, it will only make you slip further. I'm on my way!"

The voice calling her way was both a relief, but it was one that couldn't get close enough to her fast enough at all. She knew it was a voice that she had heard before, but one that her mind couldn't put a name to rather quickly. At least, not while she was much more focused on trying to keep herself from ending up in the rapids of the gorge. Her claws continued to dig into the side of the rock face as deeply as they could, to the point she could feel each individual claw aching from the pressure of digging in. She had no choice, though. One tiny slip, and her entire body would plummet below.

It was a relief to see the pelt be a familiar one. In any other circumstance, it would certainly be grounds for a fight for a Riverclan cat to be on their side of the border. But it was hard not to appreciate the savior before her. Not to mention, all of the water clinging to his pelt only showed off his frame, and it gave her something to focus on other than the fact she was paw-steps away from death. She gave a nod in response to him asking her name, as if confirmation on her identity.

The moment his grip solidified around her scruff, she shifted herself just a bit. Luckily, there seemed to be a hold her back legs could grasp, finally. If she put any more pressure as if to heave herself up, their attempt would be futile, unless she waited until he was ready. Being of Windclan, her back legs were her most powerful. So the moment he got to three...

Her back legs sprung against the hard surface. She could feel it give way, but it was as if her paws and the surface simply bounced off of each other. It brought the two warriors up onto the proper ledge of the gorge, and the splash of the fallen rocks landing into the water was a sound that made Maplespring's eyes widen. A large gulp and she peered over the edge, only to see what easily could have been her fate. Shaking her head and stepping away, she could really only focus on slowing her racing heart, and giving thanks.

"Thank you... Owlshriek..." The adrenaline rush left her panting, not to mention the soreness that now throbbed in her paws from clinging so desperately to the rock. "I didn't notice the slippery patch... thank you... I would've ended up dead." She could only nervously laugh as her gaze would look to meet his own. Any hostile instincts she should have had in response to his trespassing were clearly gone for the moment. After all, saving a life... She was genuinely thankful.

Owlshriek relaxed breath heaving from the effort of crossing such a distance so quickly. "I'm just glad I was able to get here in time." He would have never forgiven himself if he had a chance to save another cat and didn't. Even if it was another clan's warrior, it didn't seem right to watch them die. Perhaps StarClan would be more forgiving when it came to crossing into enemy clan territory, knowing life could be saved.

Though, he wasn't certain about StarClan's flexible nature. He had wronged them once before.

The tom's thoughts morphed back to Maplespring, watching her recover from her ordeal. Owlshriek didn't even want to look down the gorge if he was honest. How close he had been while saving Maplespring was enough for him. "Future reference, A tail length or two is safest." He chuckled, finding it in himself to sit down, giving in to the weight of his pelt and sore muscles from the sudden activity. "How are you feeling? I didn't pull too hard on your scruff, right?"

It would've been easy for many other cats to be snarky in response to his comment about keeping away from the edge. Truth be told, Maplespring never had it in her to have that type of snark, much less after all that happened. Instead, she simply let out another nervous chuckle, nodding in response. It certainly would be her plan from then on out whenever Smallbean or Shrikestar assigned her to the border patrol.

In terms of how she felt... Truly, it was her claws that ached the most. "Digging into rock that desperately for that long? I'll leave it at this: ow, my paws. It's a good thing I'm not on a hunting patrol." Maplespring chuckled again. Yet again, she found it rather easy to talk to the dark-pelted tom. The sound of the rushing water reminded the golden tabby just what it was that Owlshriek had done in order to actually be able to save her. "No worries about my scruff, you were just fine. Are you alright though? I couldn't imagine swimming across those currents... Especially with all that fluff." She mused, taking the time to actually look at him now that her life no longer was in danger, as well as the fact that there was sun illuminating his fur instead of the gentle glow of moonlight. He wasn't a bad looking tom at all, in fact, she actually would call him rather handsome. ... Not that she'd directly say it out loud. Not at the moment, at least.

The realization on where exactly they were at finally hit her mind. He was in Windclan territory, as a Riverclan warrior. "In terms of having crossed our border... I won't chase you off until after you've caught your breath. I doubt any other patrols are going to come this way, either. Even if they did... Windclan takes life-debts rather seriously, and I think letting you have a moment to breathe on our side is a small price I'd gladly pay for you saving me." Maplespring rambled for a moment, giving a brief smile. "Oh!" Soon after her face seemed to turn into one of surprise, as if she had forgotten something obvious. They were still rather close enough to one another, close enough she could stretch out her paw to gently rest it atop his own, even for just a slight second. "Thank you, Owlshriek, for saving me." After all, thanks was certainly in order. Her paw recoiled back to tucking under her chest, not opting to linger for long on the Riverclan warrior's own.

"I find myself quite used to it." He quipped, an amused smile playing on his face. It had been quite hard to get used to, and in moments such as this, he genuinely felt it. It had started to dry out, just a bit. But the tom knew that he was soon to reenter the water. Despite that, the way she spoke, and the paw on his own left his ears heated. Fighting the heat, the tom turned his attention to his pelt, trying to at least dry his face with his paw. "It's good to know WindClan isn't foxhearted." Owlshriek mused, letting out a small purr before catching himself on it.

Halting the rumble in his throat, the tom cleared it and offered a response. "It was my honor." He informed her. Such a sweet she-cat, the realization that such a life could have been lost with inaction...Owlshriek found himself watching her gaze as he became lost in thought. The thoughts were going many tail lengths a second, but, the main thought shone through. He was very thankful he was there to save her life. Otherwise-- "StarClan would have gained a bright star too soon."

Oh stars, had he said that out loud?

Clearing his throat once again, Owlshriek stood to his paws and shook out his pelt. "I should go."

Maplespring felt similar heat rushing to her own ears at the compliment. It was one that repeated over and over in her mind, forever embedding itself within her memory. Since Lavenderdrop's disappearance, the molly hadn't felt that type of warmth. It was one that she figured out rather instantly, and she found herself trying to dig it all down in an instant. After all, he was a Riverclan cat, and Shrikestar had made his intolerance of relationships with other clans clear. She had to be faithful to her own clan. After all, if she wasn't... where would she go?

Still somewhat stunned by the compliment that seemed to strike her just a bit too much, she shook her head as the tom stood to leave. It felt like words were going to get caught in her throat, but she also got to her paws. An awkward mess was what Maplespring had easily been reduced down to, and it was like she was just a young warrior all over again. Flattening her ears as she looked away for a moment, she finally stepped forward, pressing her nose to the side of his face. "Thank you... again. Please, be safe crossing. I... don't think I could help if something happened." She took a step back, her gaze falling to the earth beneath her paws. After all... it was unlikely they'd ever see each other again, save for gatherings. This alone was a chance encounter. Hopefully, he wouldn't go telling Riverclan about the silly tabby who had almost fallen into the gorge and take advantage of it...

Those thoughts were shaken from her head as her green gaze would watch him leave, and just as he'd told her, she kept a few tail-lengths away from the edge.