Clear Sight [c]

By the edges of the waters, a lone kit sat. Her fur stood on end as the chilling winds cut across the still, sluggishly flowing waters, but she remained rooted in the sandy earth, preoccupied with the sight of the dark waters. She wondered if this was the place where her parents had fallen to their deaths, the barely forming ice trapping them under. Minnowslip said that the cold would have shocked them, that they would have died quickly.

Beekit shook her muzzle roughly, chasing away these darker thoughts. Soon to be an apprentice, she couldn't freeze up every time at the sight of water. Backing away from it's edges, she got ready to head back to camp before they noticed her missing when she saw something in the shadows. "Who's there?!"

Perhaps he wasn't supposed to be out alone. That was one of the rules, right? Sparkpaw wasn't sure. Nor did hd stop to think long enough to consider what had truly caused him to stray from the camp walls. Everything seemed so... strange since the battle. He hadn't been able to shake the odd feeling that clung to his pelt like morning dew since he had stared into the eyes of Lichenmask. Talking about the battle was easy enough, strangely including the moment where his teeth had punctured Hillfire's throat and the former Riverclan cat bled over his paws and maw. But Lichenmask was something that puzzled the normally vibrant tom. It stuck on the back of his tongue and mind constantly.

Regardless, the dilute calico managed to push it away for a moment on the pretense he had come out here to hunt for the clan. Sparkpaw had already accompanied a patrol and was due for more later but making sure the clan was fed was a priority. His coat was disheveled as usual, causing the dull nature of it to become even more unappealing. Against that his lack luster, green gaze almost seemed to stand out. Almost. A voice, demanding in nature, stopped him in his tracks. Curiousty overtook the tom's features and he cocked his head as the shape took form as a rather old kit. Immediately a half-smile twitched up the edges of his maw.

"Its just me, Sparkpaw. What are you doing out here alone, uh, er- what's your name again?" He fumbled slightly over the sentence as he strove to conjure up a name. But nothing came.

She wrinkled her nose at the sight of the tom, he looked like a mess. If he'd been in the nursery looking like that, the queens would have given him a tongue lashing followed by a rough tongue bath. 'Did he have no mother to look after him?' she pondered as she greeted her clanmate with a reluctant dip of her head. Most apprentices were proud of their suffix and seemed to spend half their days grooming themselves like a bird preening in the sunlight. He was an odd one. He didn't even chew her out for sneaking out of camp.

"My name is Beekit. And I'm headed back to camp, you can accompany me to make sure I get their safely." Speaking in a rather matter-of-fact manner, she gave him a once over. "Not that you look like you'd be much help."

Sparkpaw was oblivious to the hints of disgust in her eye and merely waited for her to say something. Being perceptive was not his strong suit. The tom tilted his head to the side as he took in what she said. Going back to camp was the opposite of what he wanted to do. After mulling over it for only a moment, he meowed, "Well, Beekit, I'm supposed to be hunting. We can catch a few fish and take you back. The queens will hardly notice." Grinning at his own ingenuous, there was a second where he wondered if Finchstream would be upset. She would probably just be happy to see them though she was great. Besides, Starlord would be okay with this. Jaystar was questionable but the leader was great. Besides, hunting was important.

His head tipped oncd more after he had already taken a few steps towards the water, "Not much help? Why do you say that?" Sparkpaw always tried to do what he could for others, and the kit's words bothered him. Well, more shocked him than anything.

What luck! Beekit reassessed her view of the tom in light of this new offer, to say that she wasn't afraid would have been a blatant lie, but she was to be an apprentice. She had to face her fears, Kitekit jumped into the shallows the other day without even flinching. She couldn't let her younger brother beat her. But to avoid seeming too eager, she turned around slowly, as if weighing up her options, suppressing the twitching in her tail.

"Only if you're taking responsibility. I suppose it'll be better for the clan if we don't come back empty handed..." Her whiskers betrayed her however, perked up, and her eyes dilating with the thought of taking the plunge. Though that soon changed at Sparkpaw's questioning.

"You look like you were in a fight with a shrew and lost, have you n- never groomed y-yourself before." She meowed out, stuttering as she stepped into the shallows that had haunted her dreams for so long. It was cold, but not as terrifying as she imagined, or so she thought until her paw landed on an algae ridden stone, slipping off, tipping her into the waters. "ACK!"

At first, the response was a mere flick of his tail, dismissing any thoughts of potentially getting in trouble. No one could stay mad for long. And nothing was wrong. He'd take care of this kit for sure, and make Finchstream proud! The thoughg caused his tail to raise and he trotted to the edge of the river to peer down into it. There was a faint outline of how own reflection, to which he offered a lopsided-grin reminiscent of his adoptive loner father's.

Sparkpaw glanced up at Beekit as she answered him, unsure of how to take the news. The Riverclan queen who raised him used to try to keep up with his appearance but long abandoned the task, "Oh." He breathed as he turned his head around to lick a small patch of fur sticking up on his shoulder. As soon as a few of the stray furs were smoothed he refocused on the rushing currents.

'ACK!' His head snapped up at once to catch a glimpse of Beekit disappearing into the water. Instinctively, Sparkpaw dove after her and after floundering in the water for a moment to find her scruff, he grasped it gingerly between his teeth and pulled her from the icy depth. Beekit was gently placed on solid ground. The tom's green eyes shone with concern, "Are you okay? It's mighty cold for a swim today. Even Riverclan cats feel cold sometimes."

The moment her head went under, she'd gone limp like a ragdoll, having all but accepted death in the watery abyss. She would die like her parents did before her, the icy waters claiming her soul, sweeping her body far past their territory and leaving her for crows to peck at. But as she'd come to terms with her fate, needle-like teeth clamped down on her scruff, yanking her out of the water to the crisp air.

She was alive.

At first, she didn't say anything, looking dumbly at the tom before her. He'd saved her, dived into the waters to get her. She was a tad bit impressed, but she didn't get much time to dwell on that thought as she ended up hacking out the water she swallowed. Squeaking like a mouse that was being repeatedly stepped on, she heaved till she was certain that she was missing her lungs. To say that she was embarrassed would have been an understatement. "I'm fine.... Can we pretend that never happened?"

The water mostly slid in droplets off his coat. Despite it's disorderly appearance, Sparkpaw's pelt still had the usual sleekness about it that came from eating mostly fish. Instead of shaking himself off like any other cat, his green eyes looked over the kit with worry as the moisture dripped almost silently into the earth on the bank. As she coughed, he pressed his side to hers and wrap his tail around, waiting for the moment to cease.

When she finally spoke, a sense of relief washed over him, similar to the one he'd experienced after the battle when Jaystar and Goldeneye had both come back alive. Sparkpaw let out a low, and mildly exasperated breath allowing the adrenaline in his veins to start to subside. He nodded quickly qnd allowed his jovial nature to creep into his voice, "Probably for the best. I'm sure your parents and the queens would have my hide. Let's get you warmed up and then I'll catch something quick before we get back to camp. Maybe you could even grab a bite. Might make you feel better. Besides, an apprentice and a kit don't count as a patrol." His voice was warm along with the soft smile on his maw as he tried to look into her eyes and reassure her. Sparkpaw's mind did not process any of this, it merely felt natural. As he finished speaking, the apprentice winked as an added measure of his own brand of humor.