Did you know you can drown in rivers? [OPEN TO RC KITS/APP & ICEE]

OOC: Any RC kits/Apprentices who wanna drown and be rescued, just join in. Preferably no more than 3. Duskfall ain't a miracle worker. And no, I didn't actually forget, I may have typed it, it didn't post and I didn't realised. Then when I did, I got lazy rewriting it.

The river meant many things to Duskfall. The clear, foamy waters that rushed on through reminded him of what he'd lost, but also the land he stood on had been home throughout those harrowing months when the forest had caught on fire. Trying to fish had been tragic, and it bred a small amount of grudging respect for their neighbours over the river. He'd instead had to become an expert bird catcher, leaping onto unsuspecting birds when they came for a drink. No amount of hoping and swiping improved his abysmal reflexes when it came to fish. It was also where some of his kin had been born, Fawnwillow, Viperfang, Silkcloud, and so many more. They'd all been tiny kits then.

When they'd first gotten back this land, he felt triumphant but bitterness had quickly set in when he realised how many had been lost over this piece of land. His own son had killed another in cold-blood for this. And in turn, StarClan had taken Redpaw.  These were thoughts that haunted him often, but now he simply appreciated the extra prey and enjoyed the river. The way she lapped against his paws, and how the sunlight danced off her surface. It was warm, the warmest it would be for a while, he feared. So he took this little time off, basking in the sun before the Leaf-fall chill took whatever warmth remained.

Until he heard a sound off in the distance.

IC: Slushkit was drowning. She was playing around near the river on a hill, when suddenly she tumbled off and fell in. She screamed and shrieked for help. "Help me, please! Help! Help!"

OOC: Seems like its just you and me.

The brown tom's head jerk to face the direction of the noise, eyes narrowing as he tried to see where the sound was coming from. A flash of fur and the obvious cries of a cat was all he needed before he sprang into action. The tom, despite the uneven footing and general discomfort with water-based activities, fearlessly bound towards the grey cat, which seemed to be a kit. The water was freely flowing with the Leaf-fall rains having fed it till it was swollen more than he'd prefer. But with the little one's life on the line, he plunged into the icy depths lashing out against the waters to reach the kit.

"Hold on." He hissed, spitting out mouthfuls of water.

Barrenkit had watched. The tom had followed Slushkit to the hill and stayed hidden, when she fell into the river. He hadn't noticed the brown warrior, so Bareenkit raced after her. "I'll save you," he squealed as he leaped into the rushing waters. He was sucked under and pushed backwards, then slammed against a rock. The kit managed to dig his claws into the stone and pull himself up just enough to catch a breath and scream. Barrenkit lost his hold and was swept farther away from help.

As the kit saw the older warrior, she remembered Barrenkit at the tom of the hill playing with her. But when she saw him race after her, she screamed "no! No! Barrenkit go get more help-!" But he fell in as well. She screamed and shouted yowling to Barrenkit and the warrior.

Willowkit raced after her sister and Barrenkit knowing full well that they couldn't be out of camp without their mother. "Slushkit!! Barrenkit!! NO!!" She raced along the edge stumbling over rocks and clumps of reeds once in a while trying to reach Barrenkit as a Thunderclan warrior was trying to save Slushkit. She tried to reach out to Barrenkit. "Hold on Barrenkit im coming just stay calm!!" She reached her paw out to catch his pelt successfully but ended up just falling in as well. She kept her hold on the tom and manged to get wedged in bwteens some rocks and holding onto Barrenkits scruff she pulled him up beside her. The swollen river was up her her belly and she slipped a couple of times but she managed to hang on. "Barrenkit are you ok?" The diltued gray and black calico meowed worried for her denmate. She licked his chest a couple of times to stimulate his breathing like she had seen some cats do when kits were born.

Ripplekit was further upstream and he kept sputtering out water. He tried to cry out but the cold water threatened to crush him if he let out a squeak.

Duskfall lashed out against the water and grasped the silver she-kit in his jaws. His grip was hard enough that the kit would have indentations in her scruff, but it beat being dead, so he didn't loosen up. The risks were high, especially since he was hardly a skilled swimmer. Without delay, the tom scrabbled for land, plopping her down away from the water's reach. He saw that the other kit, Barrenkit, the silver she-kit had called him, had been scooped out by another kit. That one looked just as small as the others,  but by some miracle had managed to save him. Duskfall wasn't going to complain. He was about to giving these little ones a tongue lashing for dilly dallying about a river, when he heard the cries of another.

Without haste, he dove back into the icy stream who's cold bit into his skin. He wouldn't couldn't allow for another to be lost. He'd seen enough death to last him a lifetime. With strong kicks and reckless determination, he scooped up the final kit and dragged his waterlogged body onto land.

He drew all four into his clutches, curling around them to keep them warm as he aggressive licked him. Naturally, the gray/black calico was spared from the worst of his tactics to warm them, but nonetheless, he had no intention of losing any of them to the cold after he'd risked his own life to save them. Only once he was satisfied that they weren't going to join StarClan any time soon, he snapped. "What in StarClan are you kits doing by the river? Do RiverClan queens not tell you about just how dangerous it is?"

Slushkit sputtered and cried. As she got her breath, she heaved and coughed again. At his outburst, she coughed once more. "Thank you for saving me. But, we weren't playing by the river. We were playing behind the hill, and then chased some butterflies up the hill, and t-then I fell down into the r-river..." She sputtered.

Ripplekit let out a furious wail.
"It's my fault! I told them to come with me!" Ripplekit let out a spluttering cry.

Mistfeather raced around frantically, her mouth open in search for the scent of several missing kits. Most of the warriors were already out doing their daily chores, and with Fishstar busy as always, she took it upon herself to find these kits with no help.

The she-cat had just gotten to the river as a brown tom ungracefully dove into the water, and sputtered up for air. From her distances, it looked like some idiotic ThunderClan cat decided to try his best as swimming, but as she grew closer, she noticed the coloured furs that stood out against the black water. Her breath caught in her throat at the site of the kits, but before she could jump in to help, the brown cat was already pulling them safely onto the shore. The silver tabby jolted forward towards them, kicking up pebbles as she ran to his side.

It took until she was right in front of him to notice it was none other than the ThunderClan deputy. She held back a small growl, instead holding a steady and mature gaze. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of being a glorified hero just yet. She pulled Ripplekit and Slushkit from his paws, placing them by hers and licking them dry. "I've been looking for you everywhere! Your mothers are worried sick about you four," she hissed lightly, shaking her head. "I swear by StarClan, if I was leader you would all have to wait an extra moon to become apprentices because of this little stunt. I wouldn't even let you out of the nursery!" Mistfeather furiously licked the two kit's fur, her own maternal instincts returning quickly.

Glancing up at the other deputy, she gave him a nod in thanks. "Thank you for saving them. We know how much you hate water, but you risked your life for our kin anyways." She quickly finished drying their fur and stood up, swishing her tail awkwardly. What else could she say in a moment like this? 'Thanks for saving our clan. We'd have no kits without you.' No way.

Ripplekit let out soundless mews as Mistfeather licked him dry. His shivering slowed until it was a small, unnoticeable shiver.

"I'm sorry Mistfeather. I tried to get them back but then we all fell into the river.." Willowkit meowed as the she cat ruffled her diluted gray and black calico pelt, her bright blue eyes wide with fear, as she huddled next to her brother Ripplekit, and her sister Slushkit.

Slushkit licked her brothers fur. "It's not your fault..." She whispered to him quietly. She fidgeted as Mistfeather dried her off.

All he could make out was blurs of colors and shapes blending together. He somehow ended up on dry land with a big, brown, unfamiliar-smelling tom. He crouched back into Duskfall, clueless as to what was happening. It took him a while to process what everyone was saying and doing. "Sorry," was all the tom kit could mumble.