How Does Riverclan Do This?

Krystal decided that it was time to head out. She wanted to see what the clans had to offer. So, she headed out of the twoleg place and towards the clan territories. Today, Krystal decided to explore the Riverclan territory. She walked slowly making sure to look around carefully. How would she ever decide which clan to choose? There were four of them and each of their territories were so big. When she finally got to the large river she smiled. This must be where Riverclan was. She looked around before looking down at the water. It seemed pretty high today, or maybe it was supposed to be this high? She wasn't sure. She bent down and took a drink from the cool cold water before raising her head. Now that she was here she decided to try her paws at hunting and see if she could catch fish.

That would be the first indicator that she belonged here. She lowered herself down and stared at the water. She saw a few shadows of the fish in the water. So she waited patiently, her eyes on her meal. Then with one quick swipe.....she got nothing. The fish swam away. Krystal tried again, and again, and again, and again. Each time she came no closer than she did before. How did Riverclan do this? This was so hard. The fish swam away before her paw came close. She continued to stare at the river, she wouldn't give up. She had to get it right eventually, or maybe she didn't. Maybe she didn't belong in Riverclan after all? If she couldn't catch prey then she would have to try catching other prey but.. the problem was she wasn't very good at catching anything. At least, not yet. She sure she would be, eventually. She hoped.

Streamtail was passing along the riverbank, when she spotted a loner she hadn’t seen before. She looked like she was trying to fish. Getting closer, she called out. “Hey! What are you doing here? Some cats will see you, and they won’t hesitate to attack you. I won’t, but if you’re trying to seem like a RiverClan cat... you need to learn how to fish, properly.” She flicked her tail, slightly worried about what some other Riverclan cats would do to this loner. Suddenly, Streamtail spotted the collar on the cat’s neck, and withdrew in shock. “You’re not a loner...you’re a kittypet.”

Willow bounded through RiverClan territory, going to the river once again to practice her fishing skills. Hopefully no RiverClan cat would attack her this time. She burst through the underbrush onto the riverbank, surprised to find another outsider there. Streampaw was there too, talking to the outsider. "Hey, Streampaw!" she called happily, waving her tail in greeting. "Who's this?" she questioned, motioning at the other cat. Catching a snippet of their conversation, she muttered, "Kittypet. You won't survive long if you meet a clan cat who's not friendly." Turning to her RiverClan friend, Willow asked slyly, "Where did the other lovebird go?" she teased, not seeing Applefang anywhere.

Krystal looked up when she heard someone coming and saw a cat. Slowly she stood up and flashed the cat a smile as she listened to what he said. He seemed much older than her. "Hello there!" She was about to answer his question when another cat came. She called the other one Streampaw. She smiled at her then gave a nod. "I came here to see if this was the right clan for me. I want to join one of you. The kittypet life is too boring, too predictable. So I came here to see if I was able to catch fish but catching prey is really hard. My name is Krystal and you don't have to worry about me I'm not here to cause any trouble I want to try and figure out what clan I want to join. Nice to meet you Streampaw, and what is your name friend?" She turned to the stranger and gave her a bright and friendly smile.

Streamtail rolled her eyes at Willow, her pelt growing hot. They were officially mates now, and Applefang was super kind and fun to her. “What about you and Faaaaang.” Streamtail smirked, drawing out the “a” purposefully. The last time she had seen both of them, they were pretty close, and she was sure that she caught Fang staring at Willow once. “Also, I’m a warrior now, too! Streamtail.” Turning back towards the kittypet, she flicked her ears in confusion. “Krystal? What in the StarClan is a krystal?” Frowning, she turned towards the kittypet. “So...you want to join one of the Clans? If you do want to join RiverClan, we can teach you how to fish. That’s a pretty important part of our daily lives: Eating fish and swimming.” To demonstrate, Streamtail dove into the water with barely a splash, and smiled at both of them.

"Hello," Willow mewed curtly and dipped her head at the kittypet, Krystal. "Krystal," she muttered, the name tasting foreign on her tongue. "What an odd name. I'm Willow," she added to answer the other outsider's question. She glanced at Streamtail. "Well congratulations on becoming a warrior!" she purred, happy for her friend. Then she shot a playful glare at the other she-cat. "Fang and I are just friends," she grunted, rolling her eyes when Streamtail slipped into the river without a noise. "Stop showing off," she snapped in mock annoyance.

Willow scanned Krystal from ear to tail-tip, wondering how the kittypet would fit in. "The clans usually don't accept outsiders. And you're a kittypet, which is worse. Do you even know how to defend yourself? Can you hunt? Are you ready to go hungry and give your food to others? Will you defend your clan with your life?" Willow shot question after question in Krystal's direction, giving her a hint of how harsh clan-life was. She hadn't experienced it herself, but she knew about it thanks to her Riverclan buddies.

Krystal listened to Streampaw who announced that he was Streamtail now. Then the cat turned to her and asked her a question. What was a krystal? Well that wasn't easy to answer. "I don't know what a krystal is, my twoleg just gave me the name but whatever it is I like it." She listened to him as he spoke then got into the water with ease. It didn't looked too hard. She gave a bright smile and took a deep breath then moments later she leaped into the water with a huge splash. She lost her balance briefly as the water pushed against her and the way she entered probably wasn't a good start. She flailed her legs trying to get a steady footing until eventually, she decided it was best to lean against the older cat. "This is harder than it looks. It isn't too bad though. I take baths all the time so my fur is super clean. I always enjoy the water. I don't know which clan I want to join yet though. I would love to learn how to fish. I bet they taste so good but there are so many clans. It is hard to choose one." She then looked to Willow who had addressed her, asking her a bunch of questions.

"Well there is no harm in trying Willow....but no. I never fought or hunted in my life. I want to learn how to though! Kittypet life is too easy, too boring. There is no challenge or fun or adventure. It is the same thing every day. Joining a clan may be hard especially learning everything but it will be worth it. I like the idea of having to try hard. I like the idea of having to work for my food. I heard about the clans from my mother. She told me how the clans lived in the wild even in winter. She told me that they hunted for themselves and fended for themselves. It doesn't sound easy but I'm willing to learn. I'm willing to take the risks I just need someone to teach me." She smiled then looked to Streamtail. The current was strong, she was glad that she had someone to help her if she got pulled away. She just needed time to get used to the current and learn how to swim properly.

Streamtail nodded at Willow. “Yes, clan life is pretty harsh...these days, though, our leaders are pretty strict about letting outsiders in...so you must learn to live like us.” She felt Krystal’s side pressed against hers, and Streamtail laughed. “It’s better if you stay in shallower water first. You too, Willow. I can teach you both how to swim.” Rolling her eyes at Willow, she grinned mischievously. “You call that showing off? This is called showing off.” With that, she leaned back and vanished under the water. When she reached as deep as she could, Streamtail kicked her legs, propelling herself upwards. She broke the surface of the water, then arched her body to dive back in the water again. “That was something I’ve been working on. If you two could learn basic swimming, soon enough, you’ll be able to do that too.”

Willow stared at Krystal. "What will your twolegs think if you just disappear? Won't they be worried? And you can't just want to do it. You have to actually know and understand how. Because what if there's a great hunger and you decide to abandon your clanmates to find food with the twolegs? What if you also get bored of clan life? And I don't think anyone would train you when you always have the option of running away after learning all the skills you need and teach it to someone else. The clans wouldn't like it if you shared all their secrets."

Willow glanced distastefully at the river. "No thanks. I'd rather not get my fur soaked," she sniffed, acting as if her only priority was to keep her paws from getting dirty. "It would be a shame to get my beautiful pelt wet and disgusting." She grinned, then padded to the edge of the river. Daintily dipping a paw into the rushing water, she splashed some in the direction of Streamtail and Krystal before dashing away upstream. Assuming it would be harder for Streamtail to swim against the current, she sat down at the edge and watched the shadows under the surface of the water intently. Quickly, seeing a flash of silver, she whipped her paw into the river and scooped a fish out of the water, where it flopped around as if trying to jump back into the current. Willow aimed a swift blow at the head of the fish and it stopped moving, dead. "I think I improved," she muttered to herself and looked around, wondering if Streamtail would try to pop out of the water and scare the living daylights out of her.

Krystal listened to Streamtail talk, saying that clan life was hard and leaders were strict. She needed to learn how to live like them. She agreed, she would get nowhere if she didn't know how to live with the clan cats. She needed to learn but it wasn't easy. Still she was trying. She watched Streamtail show off and she smiled brightly. "Oh wow, that was amazing." She then looked to Willow who asked her more questions. She laughed at him and nodded her head before answering. "My twolegs will be sad and worried at first but I know they will move on. They won't be alone, they have other kittypets with them and a dog too. If there is a great hunger, and I have joined one of the clans I won't just decide to give up and go home and I won't go home even if it does get boring. It's not my style. Once I give someone my word I stick to it, no matter what. I just need to find the right clan for me. One that I know I can live in, take me in and I can give back to the most. That's why I'm trying to learn how to live like you all. So I can hunt like you hunt for each other. So I can provide and give back to those who have given me shelter and allowed me to stay." It was a long explanation but she hoped that would convince him that she was serious about joining the clans. She would prefer it to her kittypet life. She was already having fun just talking to new cats, and the idea of learning how to swim and fishing sound fantastic.

@Silvershadow @Windwillow

Streamtail nodded at Krystal, then slowly moved away from the kittypet. “Try to keep yourself afloat. Churn your paws hard, and then we can improve from there. Try to imagine the upper part of your body is floating, that can make you feel like flying. From then on we can try new tricks.” With a sly grin at Willow, Streamtail slipped underwater, then used her long tail to tug at Willow’s forepaw. With a final yank, she pulled the she-cat into the water, then splashed water all over the loner. “Revenge is sweet, Willow!”

Willow shrieked when something gripped her paw. It didn't do much other than surprise her, but it was enough for her to lose her balance and topple into the river. Water filled her nose and mouth, and she kicked awkwardly, trying desperately to swim to the surface. Her head broke the surface and she gasped for air, spluttering and coughing. Keeping her mouth and nose above the water, she paddled to the bank and crawled out of the water, sopping wet. Puddles appeared beneath her as water dripped from her fur. "You almost killed me!" she accused, glaring at Streamtail. She shook her head, each paw, and tail, trying to dry herself. The cold was seeping into her bones, and even the sun couldn't chase it away. "I'm going to kill you if you do that again," she threatened playfully, but there was a sharp glint in her eye. "Not all cats are fish hybrids like you, you know," she huffed.

Krystal listened to Streamtail as he slowly moved away. She did her best to listen and follow his instructions. She tried hard to stay afloat. It wasn't easy, and she had to really concentrate on it but she could do it. She smiled brightly and then looked up to Streamtail. "I'm doing it! It isn't easy but I'm doing it. How can you cats do this for so long? You make it look easy." Krystal could start to imagine herself being part of this clan. This was certainly an option. After all, she loved water. She looked to Willow and she wasn't sure whether she should laugh or be concerned. So for now she decided to stay silent on the situation. She smiled brightly once again though at Streamtail, happy that she was starting to learn something.

(Sorry for the slow reply. Been busy)

Streamtail laughed, oblivious to the fact that Willow was kind of serious. “Sorry! Though we like eating fish...we’re not fish hybrids... Just that the oil makes our pelt soak up less water.” Turning back towards Krystal the kittypet, she nodded, slightly impressed. “Try to keep the weight off your upper body. Once you’ve mastered that, Willow and I can teach you how to fish. Also, Willow, you’ve improved a lot too!” She grinned at the longer, proud that Applefang’s teachings had been useful.

Willow glared at the RiverClan warrior, still unhappy at being dragged into the river. "Fish hybrid," she grumbled loudly so that Streamtail could hear. "And I'm not teaching a kittypet how to fish. Besides, are you even allowed to teach random outsiders all about your clan's secrets?" she pointed out despite the fact that she had benefited off of learning to fish from Streamtail's soon-to-be mate, Applefang. She dragged herself away from the water so she wouldn't end up in the river again, running a list of all the possible ways she could drown in her head. Huffing, she dropped onto her belly, feeling the sun starting to warm her back. Keeping an eye on the others, she relaxed, waiting for her fur to dry.