Ice Fishing[C]

Bearspirit trekked out towards the edges of the river with Flurrypaw in tow. Another apprentice! He didn't know as much about Flurrypaw as he would like, but fishing was a great way to learn about one another after all. Just as he had with Ebonyhaze when he was his apprentice, Bearspirit was excited to show Flurrypaw how to catch fish.

"Alright... the water will be cold so we won't linger in it for long, but every Riverclan cat should know how to catch fish. There is ice in most spots but some parts haven't frozen over yet. Fishing in leaf-bare isn't the same as fishing in greenleaf, so I'll teach you what I know. Don't get frustrated if you don't catch one right away. This leaf-bare is especially harsh."

Bearspirit stepped onto the river, testing the solidity of the ice. So far so good. He walked across the surface, tail flicking forward for his apprentice to follow. There was a much thinner part of the ice, apparent by his ability to see far more clearly into it. Like his namesake, Bearspirit stood up on his hind legs, raised his forelegs, and brought them crashing down onto the ice. It shattered like glass... plunging Bearspirit's front half into the water. He shot up out of it immediately. True to his Riverclan nature, the icy water fell from his sleek coat in sheets, leaving his skin untouched for the time being.

"Alright... we're going to wait a few moments since that probably scared them." He chuckled. He sat down on the ice, his heavy form surprisingly quiet in his movements. "The idea of this is to keep your paw in the water, and even with water resistant fur... it's going to get cold. But it's important that you wait and keep still for as long as you can stand it. Don't move at all except to breathe. Fish are just as hungry as us in leaf-bare. They will likely come investigate your paw. When they do, swiftly hook your claw into their mouth when they bite it and throw them onto the ice. Once they're flopping around, just scoop them up in your mouth and hold tight until the flopping stops."

It was the best they could do given such harsh circumstances. After a sufficient amount of time passed, Bearspirit nodded at Flurrypaw. "Alright, give it a try. I'll watch."

Bearspirit was taking her fishing. As she pushed through the snow, right behind her mentor, she enveloped herself in worried thoughts.

This doesn't feel right! Mama says that fish attracts dogs... and we're going fishing. StarClan protect us! Perhaps I can just... oh I don't know... I guess I'll just try to convince Bearspirit to do something else?

She wasn't always this quiet, but right now, the idea of fishing was more concerning to her.

Waiting for a moment when the warrior had stopped speaking, she asked. "Should we even be learning how to catch fish? I don't think it's such a good idea... Swanmist says that fish attracts dogs and that we shouldn't eat it. Catching fish to eat would only attract them even more... aren't you scared that dogs will come?" As she talked, Bearspirit moved on, and to Flurrypaw's horror, he broke a hole into the ice. The experienced warrior rapidly explained what to do, warning her about the freezing water. When her mentor looked at her expectantly, she took a few steps back, firmly shaking her head.

"I'm not fishing."

she meowed, persistent. It wasn't the right thing to do! How could she even try? Unaware, the ice she happened to be standing on was thin. Cracks started to emerge from under her paws and the she-cat stood rooted to the spot, unsure what to do. A wave of panic spread across her face when she realized what lay underneath.

Fish.

Bearspirit had not been expecting... resistance. He gave his apprentice a careful thought before he spoke again. "The truth is that any type of fresh-kill can attract any predator. Not just fish and not just dogs. We have a fresh-kill pile all of the time in the middle of camp. Did Swanmist have any objections to that?" He wanted to give his apprentice a chance to think about this and feel like she was being heard. Hopefully she would also realize how ridiculous Swanmist was. But Flurrypaw was still young and impressionable. "In my experience, most dogs don't like fish. Raccoons on the other hand absolutely do, but we can't just not eat something because a predator might come along. We'd starve." And he had more experience with dogs than he ever wanted. His eyes noticed the cracks beginning to form on the ice too. He didn't take her out into the deeper parts of the river. She'd be okay, if upset at being cold and wet.

"Step back slow, keep your paws spread evenly apart. You'll be alright." He spoke calmly and without alarm. If she went under and had problems righting herself, he was confident in his ability to swim that he could retrieve her. And she was a Riverclan cat! The river wasn't a problem for a majority of them.

All that Bearspirit had said seemed to go into one ear and out the other. Slowly, she stepped backward, one paw at a time. A yelp escaped her maw when her hind paw broke through. It started a chain reaction; hind paw out of the water, front paws in. Finally, the ice gave way and she plunged into the freezing shallows. Spluttering, she frantically paddled in the water, trying to pull herself out. It wasn't swimming that bothered her though. Due to the lack of food in her stomach, her energy was ebbing away fast. Thankfully, paws met the pebbly ground. She found she could stand in the water, her head just bobbing above in the hole she had made. That did not stop the cold, however, and her teeth were chattering by the time she was out of the water.

"C-cold... wet a-and f-fish.. f-f-fishy.." she mouthed.

The water resistance of a Riverclan cat was not evident in her coat as the water had soaked thoroughly into her skin, seemingly to her bones. The apprentice managed to shake some of the water out, pelt fluffed up, making her look three times her size.