The future's in your paws. Shape it well.Roleplay in a cat Clan of warriors. Based off the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Takes place in an AU before the cats in the books existed.
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Air streamed around Hemlockfox as he tumbled head over paws, his blue eyes bright with terror as he dropped through the air, pelt soaked down to his skin from the storm that raged around him. He could vaguely make out the reddish shape of another body a few tail-lengths below him, and watched, almost as if viewing the scene from outside of his body, as the fox flailed, lashing out with its paws in a futile attempt to find something to grab on to. He should be doing the same, but it seemed pointless to fight against forces so far beyond his reach. He was falling - had been for some time - it seemed.
If he tried to stop his descent, he'd only succeed in breaking StarClan knows how many bones. It was best to give in, let the angry river take him and hope he survived the roiling current. But...that wasn't him. He was supposed to fight with everything he had. Every fiber of his being screamed not to give up. Stars, he still had so much to do - so much to make up for. Hemlockfox felt his eyes begin to sting, but he couldn't tell if it was the wind, or tears. Bubblebeam. He'd never gotten the chance to apologize - to make up for how their last conversation had gone. Sorrelmist, too, deserved an apology. And Sunfire. He had so much he needed to say to them all.
Fog rose up around Hemlockfox as he fell, his mind torturing him with images of a life he'd never get to see finished. Oatfluff was there, for some reason, and the seal point tom distantly wondered if his clanmate was okay. Was he still up there, at the edge of the gorge, or had he fallen too? Then, despite the river having just been so far beneath him moments ago, Hemlockfox hit the surface, all of the breath suddenly gone from his lungs. He sank underneath the water like a stone, his limp body being dragged into a swirling vortex of foaming waves. The shock of cold knocked some sense back into him, though, and he kicked out frantically, silently begging to StarClan to save him. He didn't want to leave things the way they were!
With a gasp, Hemlockfox resurfaced, desperately sucking in a breath before he was sucked back under again and dragged to the bottom of the river. He was slammed into a rock, ribs aching instantly from the force of the impact, before he was dragged in a different direction. The river was in a state of chaos - whipping him first one way, then another. His lungs burned, but Hemlockfox fought against the current, anyway, determined not to die like this, without any say. Determination could only get him so far, though. He was too weak to push his way to the surface a second time, his body weighed down by fatigue. He could barely think anymore, past the swarm of bees that seemed to be buzzing in his brain and through his body.
A wave crashed over Hemlockfox again and he let the current take him this time, his eyes heavy. Instead of being thrown to the bottom of the river, though, he hit a rough, stone slope and opened his eyes, vision shaky. Instead of violent rain and an angry river, the water around him was calm, almost eerily so. He was still in the gorge, but wherever he'd ended up, it was somewhere safe. At least, safer than before.
Mustering the last of his strength, Hemlockfox dug his claws into the small grooves of the stone floor beneath him and dragged himself halfway out of the pool of water he'd found himself in. Without the water to buoy him, though, Hemlockfox's limbs gave out and he collapsed to the ground, everything from his chest down submerged, still, in the frigid water. He coughed up dark water for a few moments before even that became too much effort. Wheezing and dizzy from blood loss, Hemlockfox dropped his head and hardly even felt it when his chin cracked against the stone.
Subject: Re: Underneath that Waterfall [C] Today at 15:15
OATFLUFF
Are you going to age with grace?
Oatfluff's stomach seemed to drop as he realized he was falling. He could no longer feel the ground beneath his feet; instead, it was replaced by the rush of air. All he could hear was the rumbling of the earth, the howling wind rushing faster and faster all around him. It was an odd sensation. All his life, he'd been able to count on the ground beneath his feet, the soft mud that always held him fast. Now, though, there was nothing to stop his fall, nothing to grab onto. Even if there was, by some miracle, a branch or a ledge for him to grab, he could never react in time to reach out for it. He was doomed to fall, wherever the gorge led. He knew it was certain death. That was what they were always told as apprentices, wasn't it? Stay away from the gorge. If you fall in, you'll die. Their mentors ushered them past it on patrols. Even as warriors, most kept their distance from it if they could. One wrong move, and you were headed to StarClan.
Just like he was now. He was sure of it. Any moment, he expected to hit the rapids hard, and wake up to find those starry grounds surrounding him. Would Hemlockfox be by his side when he opened his eyes? Would his family welcome him? His mother, father? He hadn't known them in life. He'd only been a newborn when the sickness had taken them. Would Sycamorepaw be there to greet him? He relaxed at the thought of seeing his old friend again. It'd been so long. StarClan would be nice, he decided. His family and friends would all be there. Hemlockfox, too, probably. He was sure his friend was dead already - how could he possibly have survived? Oatfluff wasn't sure how long he'd been falling, but he knew his death was rushing up to meet him, faster and faster. Would it hurt? He was scared, he realized. Scared to die, scared to leave his Clan behind, all his friends and loved ones.
And he never even would've had the chance to tell Hemlockfox how he felt.
He realized it as he hit the water with a heavy splash, his body screaming out in pain as smacked into the hard surface. It broke beneath him, and he sank like a stone. Bubbles rose around him as he sputtered, trying desperately to breathe in but finding only water all around him. He sank further and further, the darkness swallowing him whole as he was dragged far away from the sunlit surface. Dimly, he was aware of his body being pulled along by the current, but he couldn't open his eyes in the torrid rush of the current. He kicked his legs blindly, desperately. Soon, his head broke the surface just as his lungs began to burn horribly. He gasped for air before his head was pulled under again.
The river whipped him around. The current pulled him one way, then another. He tried to fight his way to the surface again. His lungs were aching, and his muscles were burning from the lack of oxygen. The only question in his head any more was one of pure survival. He didn't know which way was up, but it didn't matter. As he thrashed desperately against the current, he smacked into something headfirst, hard. Bright white pain exploded across his vision. It felt like his skull had shattered, and water flooded his mouth as he groaned. Pain gnawed at the back of his brain. He was conscious for only a moment longer before he went limp.
When he opened his eyes, he was on stone. His fur was soaked through and through, but he was no longer in the water. The rain had stopped, too. His head felt fuzzy, and he squinted at the light, but he managed to look around for a second before he had to close his eyes again. The light hurt. His head hurt. His body hurt. Where was Hemlockfox?
His agony was almost forgotten as the thought occurred to him. Brown eyes snapped open, searching the smooth stone outcropping around him for any hint of his companion. His gaze landed on bloodied, waterlogged fur only a few foxlengths away, and he forced himself to his feet. He stumbled forward without even thinking about it. "Hemlock..." He tried to call out for him, but it came as more of a groan. He didn't have the strength to make his voice any louder. He stumbled, barely able to walk in a straight line towards the tom, but he managed to close the distance between them. Oatfluff collapsed beside Hemlockfox, all his strength sapped. He prodded him with a weak paw. Was he alive? However long Oatfluff had been unconscious for, Hemlockfox had clearly been out longer. If he was even still alive. Stars, be alive."Hemlock?"
Subject: Re: Underneath that Waterfall [C] Today at 16:10
Hemlockfox"Act like I don't need your love and you call my bluff" -T4 Hybrid MC-
⥊🩸⥋
When Hemlockfox finally regained consciousness, it was fleeting and feverish. He opened his eyes blearily at the distant sound of someone speaking nearby and groaned as he was prodded by a gentle paw. It was hard to hear anything over the pounding in his head, much less the roar of the waterfall behind him, but the voice sounded familiar. "Oatfluff?" The tom's name came out as a wheeze, one that promptly broke off into a violet fit of coughs that shook the medicine cat's body and rattled his aching bones. He wasn't even sure if it was Oatfluff or some creature that was here to finally finish him off. He might welcome it, honestly. His wounds were undoubtedly infected by now and he had no herbs, nothing to eat, and no way to get home.
His hind legs and tail were still submerged in the water, a fact he only barely remembered was dangerous with the temperature so low. Or was he just cold because of how much blood he'd lost? It was hard to tell. How much blood had he lost, anyway? And wait, was it really Oatfluff, or a badger that was in the cavern with him? If it was a badger, it was a generous one for not eating him yet. Hemlockfox chuckled weakly to himself and looked up. Watery rays of light reflected on the stone walls and illuminated a familiar face - bruised and drenched - but still Oatfluff's. "Out." He hissed through gritted teeth. "The water..." He was barely lucid enough to form the right words and had a feeling he'd not be awake for much longer in his condition.
Twisting, Hemlockfox tried to look at his flank, but his muscles seized instantly, and he dropped to the ground with a weak snarl of annoyance. His ribs were bruised at best and broken at worst. He could still breathe, though, so he hoped they were just bruised. "Slow. My ribs're twigs...mhmn" He flexed his forepaws and then tried to move his back legs but couldn't tell if they were paralyzed or just numb from the cold. A problem for later, he supposed. "Be careful." He demanded, as Oatfluff approached. "Lungs...don't break 'em." He wasn't making any sense. It was hard to think. He just didn't need a punctured lung on top of everything else right now.
![Underneath that Waterfall [C] Aa9d24d70df9858f985c454d207b8b3cdc4cf12e](https://64.media.tumblr.com/5dfa3a48a131a2e6d3e25ebfb5b62262/d338c5a9b790fd70-3d/s250x400/aa9d24d70df9858f985c454d207b8b3cdc4cf12e.gifv)
