cold waters [o]

From her perspective, Lightningbreeze had mastered the earth and the sky; racing through the trees as easily as the forest floor. Her steps were always swift and sure, never a moment left to doubt herself. And now there was just one thing left to conquer: the water. Luckily, SkyClan bordered the river. The Moonlit Creek was pretty, and a decent place to get her paws wet, but it was a better hunting ground than it was a training place.

She paced the riverbank, one paw reaching out to brush the water. It was cold- colder than she'd expected- and rushed past her outstretched paw.

There was, really, only one way to go about this: practice. She wasn't entirely sure how it worked, but if all of RiverClan could supposedly do it then it couldn't be that hard.

So Lightningbreeze stepped into the water, one leg sinking into the cold and wet-

And immediately drew back. She tried again, but recoiled at the second leg.

She stepped forward again, willing herself to stay in the water this time.

"Just remember, one step at a time," she muttered to herself. "I can figure this out. Just... Gotta figure out how they do it, then do that."

And get used to being wet, she supposed. This didn't seem like it was going to be a quick process.

Sprucebark was about to head home when he heard the unmistakable sound of his brother... it sounded about equivalent to nails on a chalkboard to him at this point after the last time they got into yet another one of their arguments.

"What now Rowan?" he turned asking slowly realizing Rowansong was further away than he first thought... but his brother was defenetly talking to someone...

With a roll of his eyes... what had his brother gotten himself into this time.

He walked forward coming to the beech of the riverside.

He barely belived his eyes... another Skyclan cat in the river?? Stars this had happened the first time with that falcon dude he had to save and now skyclan was sending more cats in the river??

His eyes narrowed in suspicion more than anything else... why was skyclan so intent to learn swimming now?? First Falcon now whoever this cat was?? What in the world were they up too? Trying to master swimming... sneaking into Riverclan lands??


He let the skyclanner know pretty much exactly what he thought but stayed his usual formal self while doing so:

"The river is not really meant for skyclanners... you should dry off so you dont catch a cold and then go back to your home"

He glanced at his brother with a half raised eyebrow... of course it would be Rowansong to be encouraging something like this... Didnt he know that the clans kept their own traditions for a reason?? ... Actually Rowansong probably didnt know that because he would have been to busy goofing off while Storm tried to teach him lessons... No wonder it took him so long to get his warrior name.

"And rowannn! Dont you have more productive things to be doing than flirting with any she cat that jumps into our river? Perchstar just got back and has kits with her. The clan could use your help unless you forgot all that conveniently " he added on fully annoyed and fed up with his brothers care free attitude.

Lightningbreeze's ears perked up as a RiverClan cat on the other side spotted her and spoke up. So she wasn't the only one trying to learn? That was both reassuring and not: she would, perhaps, have a friend in being soaking wet; but she would also have competition. Competition for what, exactly, she wasn't sure. She knew she wanted to tread water, but did she want to accomplish some other goal, too?

"I race the wind," she declared proudly. "Through the trees, across the ground... And now, into the water!"

She paused, finding that each passing moment it seemed just slightly less miserable to stay where she was. The RiverClan cat's comment, strange as it was (though she supposed being compared to a fish in the water was, perhaps, meant to be a compliment of some kind), gave her some amount of hope.

"All of us, huh? I thought it was just me. I mean, it's not the sort of thing most cats go out of their way to learn, right?"

Before she could receive a proper answer, though, another cat showed up- this one far less cheerful. Still, she wasn't going to let her good mood be brought down by some cat she'd never met.

As the stranger turned to lecture the other cat- Rowan, an interesting name for a RiverClan cat- he was still loud enough to be heard. So Perchstar, who had been announced missing at the last Gathering, had safely returned home. That was good news, then.

But- flirting? That was just ridiculous. There were no cats in SkyClan flirting with her, let alone cats outside it. What would be the point, anyway?

"The river's a border, isn't it? I can be in it, as long as I don't step on your land- and I don't see why I'd ever need to. I guess it suits you well enough, but I'd rather only get my paws wet when I feel like it."

She waved her tail to the newcomer as well as Rowan.

"My name's Lightningbreeze, by the way. Or just Lightning, if you prefer."