dive in and swim away

Batbite found her paws carrying her to the riverside. If she wanted to learn to swim, she'd need to teach herself; if she wanted to teach herself, she needed water.

The memory of the flood made her shudder slightly, but she was still willing to learn. It wasn't like RiverClan owned the skill, not the way they owned Sunningrocks - she cast a displeased glance in the general direction, why couldn't they just share it? Regardless, she could learn to swim if she chose to. Besides, she had no desire to catch their fish - at least, not today. She was pretty sure she could figure out how to catch some eventually, and it wouldn't be a bad skill to have.

Focus. Right. Today she was here to swim, once she figured out how. And so it was that she ran toward the water and leapt in with a splash.

Sputtering, she stood; she'd managed to launch herself just far enough that she was soaked to the top of her chest. She was smaller than most warriors, and supposed they'd have an easier time of this - for now her main goal was learning how to swim without accidentally drowning herself. Experimentally, she lifted a single paw, then both her front paws, rearing up and bringing her paws back down at full force.

And, once again, she was left sputtering, soaking wet despite the sun overhead.

A splashing sound echoed through the air, followed by sputtering. Surprised by the sudden noise, Dappleshine jumped along with the bird she had been carefully stalking. The bird let out a loud call before flying off, and the RiverClan warrior let out a hiss of annoyance as it warned all the prey within earshot. Well, there would be no prey caught here today, at least not until much later. She straightened, ears perked to pinpoint the splashing noises. She reached the bank of the river, and peered out from her cover to see a drenched cat, sputtering and looking lost, but utterly determined. After a couple heartbeats of watching the weird sight of the strange cat lifting her feet and pushing them down, she relaxed her fur and stepped out of the reeds. "What are you doing? Are you in trouble?" She mewed, waving her long-furred tail in a friendly greeting. No sense in being hostile until she had a reason to be, if this cat needed help then it would only be right for her to help, wouldn't it?

At the sight of a cat from another Clan, the soaking wet warrior realized she might not have thought this through. There was no way to tell whether a RiverClan cat would attack her as a trespasser, was there...? Still, this one didn't seem openly hostile. Actually, Batbite thought she looked the slightest bit familiar... "Do I know you from somewhere?" And, like that, it clicked - this was the cat that had been fighting at Wasppaw's side, wasn't it? "You were at the battle, weren't you? In the mountains, with Wasp. ...Er, Wasppaw."

"And I'm not in trouble," she added defiantly. "Not yet, anyway. I'm learning how to swim, and I figured that to learn to swim, I needed water... And the river's the only water on ThunderClan territory with enough space to actually practice. Unless RiverClan's decided they own that too, I guess." Her gaze shifted to Sunningrocks for a moment more - it was quite clearly on their side of the water, any furball with eyes could see as much; and while her loyalty lied more with her friends and her kin than her Clan, she also believed in common sense.

Not that anyone telling her she couldn't swim would stop her. She'd just need to be creative and spiteful, and she was already both of those things with the right motivation - being told she couldn't do what it was she wanted to was more than motivation enough.

Pausing at the question, Dappleshine tilted her head, trying to think back to that day. She didn't recognize this black she-cat, but it had been in the middle of a battle, so she could have been spotted from afar while the at the time apprentice completely missed it. Ears swiveling forward as the ThunderClan warrior said Wasppaw's name, she gazed at the she-cat for a couple heartbeats. "Yes, I was there. I'm sorry, I don't recognize you... How do you know Wasppaw? Were you guys friends?"

The she-cat smiled lightly at the defiant statement, followed by not yet, anyway. Learning to swim, hmm? She blinked in surprise, a ThunderClan cat learning to swim? This was certainly a sight. But with the river's currently still high levels, it was not the smartest idea to try to practice, let alone learn, and especially not alone. She shrugged at the comment about RiverClan owning the river. "As far as I know, the river is not ours to claim." She didn't miss the shifted gaze towards Sunningrocks, but since the she-cat didn't say anything about it, she disregarded it.

She thought for a moment before wading into the river a sort ways. "With the water as high as it is right now, it's not safe to practice, or learn, alone. I can help you, if you want, at least get you started on the right path. I can't take you to where we normally practice, but I can help, if you'll have me that is." She looked at the she-cat across the way. There was no way that she was going to let a cat fall to the currents and meet their end, not when she could have done something to help. Thornbriar pulling the other ShadowClan warrior whose name she did not recall now off of the twoleg structure, dangling him above the water had scared her more than she would ever admit. The feeling of wanting to help but knowing she was unable to had struck a chord, and she never wanted to feel that way again. Luckily at the time, the tom had family and friends, and himself, to get him out of the water. Next time a cat might not be so lucky.

"We met at a Gathering, when she called the SkyClan leader a 'stubby little apprentice' and an actual stubby little apprentice almost clawed her ears off," Batbite replied, recalling the situation with faint amusement. Life had felt so much less serious then, death-defying adventures in the Twolegplace aside. It had been so much easier to shake things off and move on than it seemed to be now. "Then, she was there in the mountains, fighting the dogs..." Just the memory of dogs made her itch unpleasantly. Trying to take one on alone had been a mistake, she knew; a mistake that would haunt her for the rest of her life. "That was the last time I saw her... I was going to ask her to teach me, but the opportunity never came up. And now, well... I'm not stupid. If you're willing to teach me, I'm not going to refuse."

Dappleshine stopped in her tracks before blinking and shaking her head, laughing out loud. Between her chuckles, she choked out. "That sounds exactly like something Wasppaw would say. Oh StarClan, what I would give to have been there for that!" Her tail flicked in amusement, eyes gleaming with the laughter she held in. Her face grew more serious at the mention of the dogs, and she nodded. "Yes, we both were there... Along with a she-cat named Mothpaw, from ShadowClan I think she said. The Magnificent Mothpaw, excuse me. Wasppaw... Lost her mother in that fight. She's been sick since, no matter what we've tried to do. I think she just needs some time to rest...." She trailed off for a moment, the worry for her sister clouding her face. Shaking her head slightly as she forced her focus to what was in front of her, she nodded. "I'll let her know I talked to you, and maybe next time she'll be able to come and help. Until then, I'll help you for now, at least teach you the basics!" 


Swimming steadily, paws churning under the water with grace and strength, Dappleshine quickly made it across the river to Batbite's side. Upon reaching the she-cat, she demonstrated some of the basic swimming techniques, starting in the shallower water and churning a single paw in the current in front of her, so Batbite could get the hang of that with one paw before putting it together with the rest. As she worked on it, the RiverClan warrior came to a sudden realization and she looked at the ThunderClan cat. "I'm so sorry, I just realized that I never introduced myself. I'm Dappleshine, what's your name? That might come in handy when I'm telling Wasppaw about meeting you!"

The RiverClan cat's grace in the water... It was something to be admired, Batbite supposed; but moreso it was something she wanted to emulate. "Her mother...? Oh..." Though Batbite had never known her own mother, not enough to feel any strong feelings to her lack of presence unless she thought about it for a while, she wondered what it would be like to live in a world without her father or her brothers... "I'm sorry to hear that."

Doing her best to mimic the other warrior's instructions, she thought that maybe she was starting to understand how to avoid ending up soaking wet and splashing river water everywhere with nothing to show for it. "Right... My name. It's Batbite, but she'd probably remember Batpaw. It's a pleasure to formally meet you, Dappleshine."

"The pleasure is mine, Batbite. I'll be sure to tell Wasppaw that I met you here, and maybe next time I can try to bring her." Dappleshine purred, watching closely as Batbite got better with the simple motions. Smiling as she moved so she was a little further into the river, but still close enough to shore that her paws were still firmly placed on the pebbles under the water, she motioned for Batbite to do the same. "Now that you've got the hang of the basic paw movements, let's try starting to put it together here where the water isn't too deep."Lifting her paws, she slowly began to kick out her legs, pushing herself forward through the shallower parts of the river. After going a short distance, she turned, swimming back to Batbite's side before standing back up. "It's a little hard to explain, really, it's more of an instinct feeling as to what you have to do and when... But I'll help teach you the basics and be here, if you want me of course, while you figure out your own method. Every cat swims differently, so no matter how you do it you're fine... So long as your head stays above the water."