Teaching Fish to Swim

Only a pawful of sunrises had passed since Dappleshine had returned to the warrior's den, her daughter making a new nest in the apprentice den. It had been a little lonely, and the gray warrior watched as her daughter began her training, carrying out her duties with the same excitement and love for life as she always had. Today, however, Dappleshine had spoken to Addershade about taking her daughter for the day so that she could learn a valuable skill, one that all RiverClan cats needed to know. She padded to the entrance of the apprentice den and poked her head in, finding her daughter's nest at the edge of the apprentices quickly. Nuzzling her head quickly, Dappleshine purred softly. "Wake up, my minnow, you get to come with me today." After making sure her daughter woke up, she backed out of the den into the middle of camp, sitting as she watched for her daughter to bound out of her den.

Dacepaw woke from an abstract dream of soft, warm colors to the soft, warm gray face of her mother, like waking to a dream from a dream. Immediately the newly named apprentice's notorious whisker-rattling purr started up from the dark of the apprentice's den, and the little tortoiseshell's paws curled and uncurled contentedly as the warrior murmured softly to her. Though drowsy, Dacepaw heard her mother's words clearly, an invitation to awaken and spend the day with her instead of going to regular apprentice training. The she-cat rolled to her feet the moment that Dappleshine began to withdraw, gently shaking her pelt to remove the scraps of moss clinging to her thick, pale fur.

The energetic she-cat was fully awakened by the time she left the den, her green-hazel eyes glimmering with life as she sprang to the center of the camp after her mother. "Good morning, mommy!" Dacepaw purred with delight now, running up to Dappleshine and rubbing her head on her mother's chest. She looked up with curiosity. "What are we doing, momma?"

Dappleshine purred as her daughter ran up, rubbing her head on her chest. She licked around her daughters ears before Dacepaw looked up, asking what they would be doing today. Smiling, Dappleshine winked at her and stood. "Today we're going to learn a very valuable skill, one that you will need as a RiverClan cat. It's time for you to learn how to swim, my dear." She motioned for the small she-cat to follow her as she padded out of camp, leading the way to the Broken Pools not far from camp. Wading in to one of the deepest ones, she swam in a small circle to demonstrate before padding out, the water streaming off of her pelt in small rivulets. Since we're surrounded by water and rely on the river for most of our prey, you need to know how to navigate it. So this is your first lesson! Are you ready, my dear?"

The excited kit gazed with anticipation up at her mother as Dappleshine gave her a lick and then stood, enticing her with the promise of a valuable skill - one that all RiverClan cats needed. Dacepaw's tail quivered as Dappleshine announced, "It's time for you to learn how to swim, my dear." "Really?" Dacepaw gasped, and her paws began to work out the ground. Her mother knew her well, though; she didn't give Dacepaw time to grow too restless before she was on the move, leading the way out of camp and beckoning for her daughter to follow. The tortoiseshell she-cat bounded immediately on her mother's heels, following her out the entrance. The excitement of being able to leave camp hadn't worn off; it was electrifying.

Dacepaw drank in the sights around her as Dappleshine lead her across the territory. She had seen a little in her first days as an apprentice, but it all felt so new. She knew she wouldn't remember the way. It didn't matter; her mother would take care of them. Soon enough the landscape started to be broken up by large, glimmering pools of water. Dacepaw was amazed, and she stared at each of them as they passed by until the silvery queen stopped beside the one she wanted. Dappleshine explained again why they needed to learn to swim, and then she asked, "Are you ready, my dear?"

"Yes!" Dacepaw responded enthusiastically, and she whirled and bounded to the edge of the nearest pool of water, gazing with a mesmerized expression over the surfce. "Are there fish in here?" she asked her mother.

Dappleshine purred, her daughter's reaction having been exactly what she had anticipated. "Really!" She exclaimed, Dacepaw's excitement filling her with a similar giddiness as the two walked together.

She watched Dacepaw's expression carefully, but it shone with excitement and readiness as she bounded to the edge of a pool, peering into it. Chuckling at the sudden, unexpected question, Dappleshine padded to her daughter's side and peered into the water beside her. This pool was fairly empty, the only exception being a few very small tadpoles, lazily circling as they figured out their own way in the water. "Usually there's not. The flood several moons ago, before I was even born, may have gotten some stuck in the larger, deeper pools. These more shallow ones, however, will most likely have some tadpoles, or frogs, more than any kind of fish." She pointed out the small creatures to her daughter before straightening up and wading into the pool.

"Come, dearest, follow me. We'll have you swimming in no time, you'll be a natural!Your paws will instinctively want to move once you get deep enough in, so what we're going to do is see how that goes and then work on getting it to be more fluid, alright Dacepaw?" She smiled at her daughter warmly, curious and excited to see how she would do. She was RiverClan through and through after all.

Dacepaw waited patiently for her mother to join her at the water's edge; it didn't take long before the queen was peering into its glimmering depths as well. Dappleshine took a moment to search, but that instant was long enough for Dacepaw's vivid imagination to begin blossoming with thoughts of minnows and dace and perch and salmon and a great big trout shooting up from the depths to flail their fins in a flashy display, glinting in the sunlight. Instead the silvery queen explained how there usually weren't, but that the flood could have trapped some. She also explained that the small ones might have tadpoles, and Dacepaw watched with awe as her mother pointed the odd little creatures out. Their larger, grown counterparts - the frogs - were elusive and strange, and Dacepaw loved them.

Dappleshine began to stride into the water, inviting her daughter along, and Dacepaw sprang lightly into the air before splashing in enthusiastically in her mother's trail. She hardly needed an invitation. The water sprang up quickly through the fur in her toes as she waded ub, but she felt her oily fur begin to quickly plaster against her body, trapping air in and keeping the water out - though it wasn't too cold, being shallow and in the greenleaf sun. Dappleshine instructed her to siimply go as far as she could, and Dacepaw was glad to do so. Several quick steps in succession, until she took one and suddenly she found her mouth had gone under. She hadn't stopped, though, and her second step took her - somehow surprisingly - a step even deeper so suddenly she was staring in the water.

Then the kit seemed to finally register, and she jerked her head up to break the surface with a sneeze and a snort. Dacepaw took in a shaky breath, and she coughed a little water up, but she found that she was floating, at least a little. The tortoiseshell floundered for a second until she had turned herself around towards her mom again. She opened her mouth to exclaim excitedly, "Momma! I--" I'm swimming! she nearly said. She cut off with a sputter as a tiny ripple wave splashed into her mouth, and she started flapping her paws about with a slight panic.

Dacepaw entered the water as enthusiastically as Dappleshine had anticipated, and she watched as her daughter took a couple steps too many, her head falling under the water. Dappleshine quickly waded to her daughter's side, and within a couple strides Dacepaw's head rose above the water. Sighing in relief at the sneeze that came from her daughter, she smiled encouragingly, attempting to hide the worry in her gaze from when that little head had dipped below the surface. Dacepaw had gotten her bearing slightly, turning herself around, and started to say something before a ripple from their movements came and splashed into her mouth. Dappleshine barely registered the panic in her face before she stepped forward, raising a foreleg to rest under her daughter's belly, holding her body and head above the water while still allowing her legs to be free.

Attempting to calm Dacepaw before she got too upset, Dappleshine chirped lightly. "Shhhh my dear, you're doing a fine job. I'm right here, don't lift your legs so high, try to keep them in the water. The splashing disrupts the water, and makes it harder to stay afloat, but if you keep your legs under you in the water it'll help you remain upright." She stayed close by, using her tail to gently nudge Dacepaw back towards the shallower part of the pool, stopping when her daughter's paws just touched the bottom of it. "The water moves when you do, which is why it splashed you. It's like it was playing a little trick on you, see?" Once she had checked her daughter was safe and alright, she removed her paw from under her belly and flicked it across the water, multiple droplets scattering across the surface and making small ripples. "The best trick you can play back on it is learning how to navigate it."

There was a comforting pressure on Dacepaw's chest as she was lifted slightly out of the water. She felt her mother supporting her and relaxed in her mother's care. She blinked her eyes hard, ridding them of the pool water. Dacepaw turned her eyes up to her mom and coughed a little again; her spirits were barely dampened, even if she was a bit drenched. Dacepaw smiled now and nodded vigorously in acknowledgement of the instructions that her mother gave. All the while, she continued to catch her breath from when she had stumbled under the surface.

"Don't lift your legs so high," the queen explained gently. Dacepaw kept her paws lower, but how could she keep them low and move them at the same time? Dappleshine pointed out that the water splashed her whenever she splashed it - she'd have to try to figure out what her mother meant. Keep her legs beneath her and paddle... She wasn't sure if she could do it. Still, she was going to try! Her mommy believed in her, and she knew she could do it, so she would do it. Dappleshine helped to guide her back towards the shallower areas a little; when Dacepaw's feet brushed the ground she immediately began bouncing from her mother's grip, mewing with a slight rasp in her voice, "Okay momma! I'm ready!"

With the thought of trying not to move the water, Dacepaw hunkered down and started trying to pad along slowly and careful so as not to disturb the water. It worked well for the first several steps, and she asked, "Am I doing it?" She angled a little more towards the deep water. One step went well; the second didn't touch the ground, and Dacepaw's head submerged partially, but she managed to suck in a breath before going under. When she came back up she had moved a little deeper, but she was managing to float again, and she kept her paws adequately underneath her. She couldn't think of how to possibly steer without picking her legs up too high, though. How did she do it the first time?

The queen knew the moment her daughter's paws hit stone, as she started bouncing away as soon as she could. The slight rasp worried her slightly, and she made a mental note to mention it to Mistlepaw, perhaps the young medicine cat apprentice would have something to help, or make sure it didn't turn into a cough. Her worry remained silent as she purred in response to Dacepaw's enthusiasm, and she nodded, taking a step back to watch as her beloved daughter tried once more. The little dilute calico hunched down, moving slowly through the water in the shallow part of the pool. "You're getting the hang of it, just keep going and make sure to breath. I'm right here, you're doing a magnificent job my minnow." Dappleshine encouraged, watching as Dacepaw angled towards the deeper water.

She heard the suck of breath as the small head dipped under the water, and she held hers as it broke the surface once more, the apprentice aimlessly floating but floating all the same. Her legs were certainly under the water, and Dappleshine slowly moved to her side, careful to disturb the water as little as possible. "Lay your tail in the water, and kick your hind legs behind you. Your tail will help steer you the direction you want to go, and your legs will give you the power you need to push yourself forward. Your front legs will paddle under you, like this." She placed her hind legs down at the bottom of the pool, lifting her front legs near the surface to demonstrate the motion to her daughter while keeping them underwater.

As Dacepaw focused on keeping herself floating, paddling correctly, and breathing, she wondered how anyone could possibly get the hang of swimming. She was already tired! As soon as Dappleshine made her way to her kit's side again, though, the damp tortoiseshell found her spirits lifting and felt encouraged to keep trying. "Lay your tail in the water," Dappleshine explained, "and kick your legs behind you." They were small, odd pieces of advice, yet as soon as Dacepaw let her tail settle on the surface of the water she found that her body seemed to align itself of its own accord, feeling less awkward than she had a moment ago. Oh! Dacepaw thought in delight and amazement, but she kept her mouth shut.

Dappleshine's instruction continued, and Dacepaw tried to angle her ears to soak in all the information. Tail steers. Back legs push. Front legs paddle. It was a lot to take in, but the apprentice glanced aside and mimicked her mother's form to the best of her ability, already feeling things start to click. Dacepaw tilted her tail slightly to one side and found, much to her surprise, that she started to turn; switching her tail to the other side, she circled the other way again. Suddenly she was delighted, and she felt that she was living up to her name quite well as she splashed energetically through the pool.

Watching Dacepaw with a close eye as she pieced together her instructions, Dappleshine reveled in the amazement and delight that blossomed on her face, even if she didn't voice anything yet. Feeling her daughter's eyes on her, the RiverClan queen continued to demonstrate patiently, her daughter was learning a key part of RiverClan life, and no matter where her life took her this knowledge would by valuable, of that she was certain. All cats should know how to swim, even a little, that had been oh so clear in the aftermath of the flood.

With the next heartbeats, her daughter used her tail to turn one way, then the next, and then she was splashing through the pool without a care in the world, her head held above the water as she paddled around. Slipping to her side, Dappleshine swam next to her with a purr. "That's perfect! You're catching on so quickly, my minnow, you're swimming like one now! I'm so proud of you."

As Dacepaw felt the pieces slowly coming together, her greatest joy was that Dappleshine was there to see it all. She was the teacher here, of course - I think I would have been okay with mommy as my mentor, Dacepaw thought in passing - but she was also her mother, and that meant the world. The apprentice was too focused on swimming to truly process and understand the feelings, however, and so she only recognized them as happiness. She continued to strike out with her paws, gliding through the waves.

When she had gotten the hang of the basics, Dacepaw found suddenly that the silver queen had now joined her, swimming alongside her and speaking with grace and praise. Dacepaw was too breathless to purr, and she could tell she was wearing down, but her face glowed with joy. She angled slightly to bump her body into her mother and rub her head against the queen's shoulder in love and gratitude. Dacepaw found herself submerging slightly at the strain of trying to reach up, and so she relaxed herself on the surface again. Swimming slightly, the apprentice thought, Daddy is gonna be so excited when I tell him! My mommy and I are gonna be the best swimmers in the Clan!

As the mother and daughter swam together, Dappleshine noticed that Dacepaw's paws were slowing down with every kick. Her face still shone with glee, but her body was beginning to grow fatigued, so Dappleshine decided to give one final lesson before calling it a day. Her daughter bumped into her shoulder and sank slightly as she rubbed her head on her shoulder, so the queen nudged her daughter's side with her nose, angling her towards the bank once more with a rumbling purr. "You did such a fantastic job, Dacepaw. Your final lesson for today is this - listen to yourself. If you're getting tired, get out of the water. No matter how much fun you're having, or how safe you think it is, if you start to feel tired then you must acknowledge it and get to solid ground as soon as possible. Please promise me that you will always listen to your heart, and take the time to relax when you need it."

As they padded out onto the bank in the warm greenleaf sunshine, water streamed from their pelts in unison. She took a step away to shake out her pelt, trying not to splash her daughter with the droplets flying from her fur. "You did such a wonderful job, Dacepaw! Let's head back to camp to eat and wait for Sparkfrost to return from his patrol, and you can tell him all about it - shall we?" She purred as she lapped the excess water from her daughters ears, nuzzling her close before turning to head back to camp. What a wonderful day it had been, and she couldn't wait for many more to follow.