losing strength ❖ closed

It was time to test out that exercise technique that Spotpaw has suggested to her. Duckpuddle had left camp early that morning to get started, and she was honestly eager to do so. While there still was the risk of ThunderClan, what would they want to do with her in the river? Her logic was still standing; ThunderClan cats wouldn't be so desperate as to get their precious pelts wet in order to attack their enemy. The she-cat swiftly padded through RiverClan's territory with green eyes that were tired, yet bright. This had to work, her leg had to be back to normal after some sessions, right? Of course, the warrior told herself that it would be true, but part of her had some trouble believing it. Her brown ears pricked once she heard the familiar rushing of the river, and she sped up her pace a bit in order to reach it quicker. The feeling in her hind leg was still there, and she felt it every single time she placed it on the forest floor. That's when the river came into view. Duckpuddle approached the very edge, and she stared down into its watery depths. Maybe, after she was finished, she could attempt to scoop up a couple of fish if she ran across any. It would be totally irresponsible of her to bypass a chance to pick up some prey for her Clan, especially considering the fact that she was a warrior. As if it was the easiest thing in the world, the she-cat slipped into the cold water. The temperature immediately made her shiver, but she figured that it would go away, soon. Swimming through the water was just as easy as walking on land for the warrior, and her hind leg didn't have that weak, awkward feeling as it churned through the water. Hopefully her session wouldn't be interrupted by anything, or anyone.

Newttongue was watching the current from the border, scrambling up a dead sapling that has only really two foxlengths tall. After lounging there, he decided to tresspass onto Sunningrocks. He did this frequently, gathering shells, scales and interesting plants from them. It was worth it and he secretly wished to be a RiverClan cat for their interesting traits and territory. The tom would try but, the answer was a concrete no on Ivystar's part. Ah, shame. Maybe he could learn them some other way. He had kept to himself after the fiasco at camp and was constantly out of camp now. He avoided Wildpaw as she seemed angry at him for something again. Oh well. Peering out, he spotted a RiverClan cat in the waters. Oh, it was one from the intrusion. Interesting. "Aren't you scaring away all the fish doing that?" he said as if he wasn't trespassing. It puzzled him greatly. Was RiverClan not struggling for food so much they could do this?

Duckpuddle almost leaped straight out of the river due to sudden shock. The green-eyed warrior glanced over at the ThunderClan tom in slight confusion, and then she couldn't help but roll her eyes a bit. Of course, she had to be interrupted...
Why was this cat so curious? ThunderClan had their own issues to worry about, and the she-cat wasn't about to go on a long spiel about why she was doing this. She didn't have to explain anything to this cat. She was still rather angry with ThunderClan, even after the RiverClan patrol had made themselves known in ThunderClan's camp.
"There's still plenty of fish in the river. They'll just come back after I leave. It's not like the fish vanish into mid-air. Why do you care about what I'm doing anyway? Doesn't ThunderClan have their own issues to fuss over?"

"I'm just curious, I have no idea how fish act. ThunderClan's many problems won't stop me from trying to learn. I'd never would have become a warrior if I stopped to worry about every little thing." he meowed. "Fish seem much more reliable,
I wonder why other clans didn't do it when they started."

Duckpuddle merely shook her head, having no idea how to come up with another retort or response.
"Whatever," She began, "Anyway, I feel like it's completely unnecessary that you have to watch me while I try to carry out this task that I'm trying to carry out. I wouldn't even be here right now if it weren't for one of your ThunderClan Clanmates."
Even she had a reason to hold a grudge with the rival Clan, and while the brown warrior had been on the side of peace without telling anyone for a while, she was now wanting to rip the fur off of ThunderClan. War would result in casualties, and possibly even more deaths, and Duckpuddle didn't want any more of that, but she did want to strike back at ThunderClan. What made her fearful, though, was the fact that they may also be facing WindClan at the same time. That wouldn't end well, and the she-cat didn't want to see the results.

ooc; quick bump.

"I wasn't at the battle. I stayed home. Besides, there's no point to formally fight over territory when you can hunt in it regardless." He meowed. "We can't even hunt much more than bugs and rotten fish on the shore anyways." He said flatly, rolling onto his side on the rocks. "Why do you need to swim because of my clanmate? How does swimming help battle wounds?" Newttongue mewed, full of questions for her to answer. RiverClan was by far the most interesting to him. She hadn't tried to chase him off so he'd continue as long as he could. RiverClanners turned their noses up at Gatherings, this was his only chance now.

Duckpuddle wasn't about to spill out all of the information that she knew to this ThunderClanner. She didn't trust him, she didn't trust his entire Clan. The warrior knew that if she didn't control her anger, then she'd end up trying to attack the tom on his own territory. She was smarter than that, right? She could control herself.
"Next thing you know, I bet you'll be asking me why I have a tail, or why I blink, or why I breathe. It wouldn't be the only thing that ThunderClan doesn't understand."

He's actually on Sunningrocls rn]]

"Ah, not knowing is fine as long as you pursue answers. Those are all good questions to ask as well." He said lazily, stretching his legs for a moment. The rocks felt nice on his pelt and he could watch the river much better from the shore than his own territory. Besides,
RiverClan is so different. You can't fault me for wanting to know. All the other clans just tumble in dirt all day some are faster or trudge through the mud but, none of them swim." Newttongue watched a beetle crawl across the rocks and over his paw. He watched it for a bit before shaking it off and letting it fly away. He was getting ready to stand, the agitation in her voice was obvious and he wasn't going to stay too much longer if he could get out of a scuffle with her.

Duckpuddle narrowed her green eyes at the ThunderClan tom for a couple of heartbeats. She had thought originally that he might get bored and leave, but apparently not. Was he trying to annoy her on purpose? The last thing that the brown warrior wanted to do was chase the other warrior off of Sunningrocks, but if it had to come down to that, then so be it. RiverClan and ThunderClan had fought a harsh, bloody battle just so that the Clan that swam in the rivers could take back what belonged rightfully to them. The she-cat wasn't about to let all of the hard work of herself and her fellow Clanmates to go to waste. It felt strange to feel the odd, weightless feeling in her back leg again as she clambered slowly out of the water. The brown fur on the back of her neck stood up rigidly as she proceeded to shake the stray droplets of water off of herself.
"Okay, listen here, ThunderClanner," She began, "My Clan won those rocks fair and square, and I'm not about to let you lay around and use them like nothing ever happened at all. Now get off and go back home."
Or I'll make you leave; by force, Duckpuddle thought the last few words in her head silently.

"Fair and square's got nothing to do with it, RiverClanner. Borders are pointless unless you've got cats lining it." He wasn't going to just slink off. This could be good practice. He wouldn't let it go too far and he planned to slip back across the border in a lazy forfeit before any permanent damage could be done.

short, are we using battle system?]

ooc; no system; duckpuddle's going to end up losing, anyways.

Duckpuddle, despite the fact that her back leg would hinder her from fighting well, unsheathed her claws and let out a low growl.
"What kind of Clan cat are you? Borders are what keeps the Clans safe. Without them, it'd pretty much be open-range, and that would be complete chaos."
The brown warrior shouldered into Newttounge in an attempt to shove the ThunderClan tom backward.
"Now, leave."

Newttongue shook his head. While normally he wouldn't go through the trouble, he still had some pent-up agitation from the intrusion of his camp. His attempt at peace had been brushed off by Leafstorm and now ThunderClan appeared to be protecting murderers. He'd get a point across today. "Listen to me. Clearly, borders don't keep clans safe if your clan marched into my camp to take lives. They cause problems just like this and just like the lives lost here all the time. Borders are nothing but a petty way to have pride. If I need to prove it by sitting here, I will."

"The blood that was shed on these grounds will not go to waste. You may want to take advantage of this just because you weren't there, but I had to fight while I was just a young apprentice. One of your warriors broke my leg, but in the end, it was all worth it; we kept Sunningrocks. I have been hoping and praying that no more blood would be shed here, but I'm willing to make it happen to defend RiverClan's territory. If I popped up on your territory one day, then I highly doubt that you'd let it slide. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. Get out, go home, and don't come back!"
Duckpuddle narrowed her eyes and slapped the ThunderClan tom across the face with her paw. It was sheathed, though. Just like she had said, she didn't want to shed any blood if she didn't have to. If it came down to that, however... then so be it. While the warrior probably shouldn't have been trying to fight with a newly-healed leg, she couldn't just sit there and let Newttounge prance around in her Clan's territory.

Newttongue blinked and shook his head, stunned for only a second. Flicking his ear, he sighed. SHe wasn't listening. He wouldn't mind if she disagreed but, she didn't get what he was saying! Ah, what was the point? He wasn't even able to say what he meant correctly! Well, he couldn't back out now. RiverClan thought they could trample everyone else already. He had to ensure he didn't feed their ego. "So be it." He bunched his legs up and lunged forward, headbutting her in the chest. Surely, she'd be winded from that.