Break Away

Redfeather was laying in the camp, trying to take a nap. The strong stench of crow-food and frogs filled his nostrils untill he couldn't take it anymore. Standing up, he arched his back in a stretch and walked outside. Redfeather took a deep breath of the crisp air and tried to forget about Shadowclan.
Pebbles crunched quietly under his paws as he padded along the river shore. It was to cold to swim, but not too cold to dip his paws in. Amber eyes
flitting around, he stared across the river into Thunderclan territory.

Everything in the RiverClan camp felt awkward to Fallencloud; the array of reeds covering the corners, the flimsy-looking dens made from foreign material, the looming figures of water surrounding the camp, the sound of roaring water forever-present in one's ears.

It felt wrong.

She didn't understand how RiverClan survived practically living in the water. Cats - at least sane cats, taking ShadowClan as an example - seem to instinctively know their place; on LAND. Why? She thought sarcastically. Because cats can DROWN, cats fall ill from freezing in the water, cats aren't really BUILT to swim! At least, normal cats weren't. She preferred to think of other clan's inability to swim to be more of a stereotype, and RiverClan just unnatural. It made the so-called weakness in ShadowClan taken as more on a normal sort of level.

After regaining some strength, Fallencloud decided to venture out into RiverClan's territory, to complete the self-assigned mission to discover if there was a part of RiverClan that felt even remotely normal. Her wounds felt stable enough for her to get off her nest, and, even though she was going in the day, she felt confident that she would be fine. Though drowning would be inevitable with such a vast area covered in water, she dearly hoped that StarClan would save her from such a fate.

RiverClan territory was probably the most abnormal she had ever seen. There weren't many places to catch rodents, and the water seemed to flow too fast and was too cold to inhabit frogs. It didn't look much like an area where birds would perch - there didn't seem like any place at all. Once she felt sort of weary, she decided to go back to camp - until she realized that she didn't exactly know where the camp was. Choosing a direction, she walked without really knowing where she was heading, and with a certain hope that she wouldn't wander into some other clan's territory by mistake.

A little spark of hope busted in her chest as she spotted a lithe RiverClan pelt upstream, wading in the river. Finally! Someone who could help her. She slowed her pace abruptly; no need to make the RiverClanner think she was anxious to see them. Once in hearing-range, she stopped to make her presence known.

"Hey..." She greeted awkwardly. "Fine day, isn't it?" Though she cursed sunlight with all her heart - it was the first thing that came to mind.

Redfeather almost gagged as the smell of frogs and lizards hit him. Do they notice it? he thought irratibly.

Well, there was also the acrid stench of their territory. How could they stand the icky mud and the disguisting prey? Shadowclan was
weird...As id Riverclan was the bad clan! Their swimming was a perfect way of defense and attack; no one could hurt them because
they had that petty fear of water. Shadowclan would have to get used to the water, so too bad for their shadowy arses~

Trying not to breath, his mew strained, but polite he forced out an "Very good. You?"

Fallencloud eyed the warrior's expression warily, noticing a slight strain in his words. She supposed that ShadowClan weren't the only ones adjusting. The she-cat would have thought that her own scent - ShadowClan scent - would have dulled after a few sunrises, but she must have guessed wrong. Not that she held any ill will to RiverClan just because they didn't like their smell. They were rival clans, after all.

And the fact that the feeling was mutual.

"I'm fine." She mewed tensely, trying not to look overly content with the circumstances. The sun beat down on her, and Fallencloud felt uncomfortable with the heat. She was not accustomed to having the brightness of the sun shinning in her eyes, either. The feeling of the sunlight on her pelt was unnerving, but she could dully appriciate the extra warmth. She proferred the chill of night, and the cool feeling of the moon's rays. The sun just didn't feel...ShadowClannish. The warrior would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't a little homesick. She sat down hesitently a fox-length away from the RiverClan tom, curling her tail around her paws awkwardly. After a few moments of silence, she padded to the edge of the river, lapping the cool liquid with her tongue. Though the air was cold, it felt unusually dry to her, unlike the dampness of her own territory. Maybe it was just the day. Raising her head, she glanced at the tom - Redfeather, was it? - looking curious.

"Do you come here often?" She asked, not really interested in his activities but finding it polite to ask, if not a little intruding. Maybe if she stayed here long enough she could follow him back to camp.