Rolling in the Deep [c]

Poppypaw

Poppypaw rarely went out on her own anymore, but something almost called her to do so today. It was probably the nightmare she’d had last night. She’d dreamt of the river, and how terrified she was when she fell in. It was a memory that clung to her like burs tangled in her fur. The fear was starting to become annoying the more time passed. She wanted to prove that she was a true RiverClan cat who could swim! That was probably why she found herself walking along the bank of the river now, but she couldn’t bring herself to step into the water. The sound of the water roared in her ears and she thought she could hear herself falling in and splashing around-

Wait. That’s an actual splash.

She hurried down the river, trying to find the source of the splash, when she spotted the head of a cat bobbing in the current and scarcely hanging onto one of the rocks. Her heart skipped a beat in fear and she sprinted over. “Hang on!” she called. When she arrived, she helped grasp his scruff and haul him all the way up onto the rock. It was all over in a matter of seconds, but Poppypaw’s body trembled in a mixture of fear for the cat who had fallen in and terror of reliving her own memories. She quickly backed away several paces to get away from the edge of the river and coaxed him with her. “Are you alright?”

Now that he was out of the water and she could get a good look at him, Poppypaw was struck with how strange his color pattern was. She almost would have mistaken him for a raccoon with the way the dark fur striped across his face and his tail ran with stripes. The second thing she realized was that he didn’t smell like RiverClan, nor like ThunderClan. There were faint traces of…SkyClan, was it? SkyClan on his person. But even that wasn’t very strong.

“Who are you?” she asked, tilting her head. She should be chasing him out of RiverClan territory, but the poor cat had just had the fright of his life in the river. Besides, Poppypaw didn’t have it in her to truly chase anyone away. She wasn’t frightening.

Poppypaw

Poppypaw sat down when he let himself fall to the ground to catch his breath. She licked at some of the wet spots on her fur. Normally she would do the same to assist a fellow cat, but with how little she knew about him—and her not-so-great experiences with cats outside of her clan before—she didn’t want to be quite so forward as she was with her RiverClan cats.

She frowned when he said that other cats would have let him there. “Any cat who would have left you is cruel,” she meowed. “I promise that not all cats are so cruel, even if the meaner ones might be who come to mind first.” He must have had bad experiences with others if that was his first thought. Poppypaw had only recently encountered true cruelty from other cats. It was easy to understand how such cruelty could lead to such a warped view.

When he introduced himself in full, Poppypaw found herself giggling. He was so full of showmanship! After having so many cats back at camp wearing haunted expressions or be full of lethargy, his energy was quite welcome.

“I’m Poppypaw of RiverClan,” she replied warmly, giving him a smile.

With her introductions out of the way, his name intrigued her. He had no suffix, and she’d never heard of a word called ‘aether’ before. Her mind went back to Moon, another cat with no suffix. He’d been a part of RiverClan and then left, being taken in by Twolegs for a time. Was Aether like that too?

“Where did you get your name?” she asked curiously. “I’ve never heard something like it before.”

Poppypaw

“Oh, I think the naming system is quite useful. You can always know how you stand with other cats,” she explained. “And names are a matter of pride. I can see why having a single name would be useful, but earning a new name shows that you are putting effort into your clan, and they are acknowledging your efforts.” Her heart swelled and she puffed out her chest a bit. “I’m going to be earning my warrior name soon enough. I don’t know what it will be, but I’ll be happy to shed the -paw title.”

Poppypaw relaxed again and tilted her head. “You…aren’t from a clan, are you?” she meowed. If he had been from a clan, then he would understand the importance of the naming conventions. He found them weird and was happy to not be a part of them. She was vaguely aware of loner cats that existed in certain areas of the forest, as well as kittypets and even cats of the rogue organization that Morningstar was a part of. This cat didn’t smell like the Twolegs, so a kittypet was likely off the table. It didn’t seriously occur to her that he would actually be involved with Morningstar and the other rogues, though. They were cruel and had brought monsters into the forest; this cat seemed kind and happy and so unlike those that invaded the Gathering.

Poppypaw

As much as Poppypaw wanted to argue, that fact at least was true. “I suppose you’re right about that,” she admitted softly. “Your own clan does come first. I understand why. But that doesn’t mean that cats can’t still get along with others. And it certainly doesn’t mean a cat should ignore another that’s in trouble.”

She gave him a smile and asked, “If you aren’t from a Clan, then where are you from? I’ve heard there are loner cats that live out near the Twoleg place. Are you one of those?” She sniffed again and tilted her head. “But you do smell a little of SkyClan.”