Drowned Screams [OPEN]

OOC: So when I originally made these characters, I had something cool planned, but it turns out (as I'd feared) that I just... can't keep up. It's hard enough with just one character for me, let alone three. I know a bunch of you have way more characters and way less free time and still manage just fine, but I'm too lazy and unmotivated, as sad as it makes me. So I'm killing Oak and Snow. I'll of course keep Sparrow alive, and I'll do my best to be an active RPer from here on out, but I just can't juggle these three at once.

I'm pretty sure it's been at least a month since my last RP topic here. That fact always made me felt horrible as time stretched on, but I was just too daunted by the prospect of having to make three different topics. So hopefully this makes things a bit easier for me from now on.

As for how they'll die, I'm not quite sure yet. It depends on how things turn out I guess.

In other news, the Meddie Curse is real.

IC: Leaf-fall rains had turned the river into a roaring, churning torrent. A miserable gray drizzle had settled on the forest that day, soaking everything, especially Snowpaw, to the bone. "We shouldn't be out here..." he mumbled, shivering. Tendrils of mist snaked out from ThunderClan's woods like reaching fingers. Blankets of yellow leaves covered the opposite shore. "Sunstar will get mad."

"Get a backbone for once, Snowpaw," Oakpaw snapped over his shoulder. He set his mismatched eyes on the stepping stones. They rose sharp and sudden out from the frothing and foaming water. The river had risen, it seemed, and it threatened to swell over and drown the only safe connection to Sunningrocks. "You agreed to come, didn't you?"

Snowpaw glanced down at his dirty paws as he picked his way down the muddy riverbank. "Yeah, but..."

"Well, you can be a coward like always and go back," his brother interrupted, voice as sharp as claws, "or you can shut up and follow me."

Anger blossomed in his chest, but Snowpaw bit back his retort and continued to the water's edge. Overhead, dull gray skies hid a dim white sun. It was Sunhigh, probably, but it was impossible to know for sure. This is dumb. Snowpaw glanced out to the far shore again, wondering if it'd be best to swallow his pride and just head back before anyone knew they were missing. "Sparrowpaw will be angry that we left her out. She loves doing this kind of stuff."

"Let her. She gets to go out every day with that frog-breathed ShadowClan runt." Oakpaw snorted. "To go pick flowers while we're here picking fleas out of elders' pelts. Have you ever thought that a medicine cat is kinda useless?"

Don't talk about her like that. Snowpaw tail flicked in irritation. "Who else would heal?"

"You mean heal the weak?"

He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Useless mouths." Oakpaw dipped a paw in the water. "Elders, cripples. Cats that can't fight or hunt on their own. The medicine cats keep them alive. That's all they do. Sometimes warriors get hurt, but if you're strong you can live through it. If not, well, you weren't very useful anyways."

Snowpaw looked away in disgust. "That's awful. You're awful."

"I'm realistic. We'd be stronger if we didn't bother with medicine cats at all. Sparrowpaw's a better hunter and fighter than you. She should be hunting with us."

"But what about StarClan?" he bristled, ignoring the jab. "Medicine cats are the Clan's only link to StarClan."

Oakpaw twitched his whiskers. "Come on, Snowpaw," he said, laughing under his breath. "You don't still believe in those kit-tales, do you? Now come on. Let's get across."

Without another word, he bunched up his hind-legs and bounded forward, landing squarely on the first stepping stone. Oakpaw sprung forward again, out to the next. Snowpaw cursed silently and leaped after him, landing clumsily on the spray-slicked surface. This isn't safe.