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Post by Cinder on May 6, 2008 14:49:51 GMT -5
Stormpaw padded through the ferns, the sounds of the river gurgling and gushing in her ears. She licked her lips thirstily, thinking of all that cool water... The newleaf sun was beating down on her pelt, and she felt the beginnings of a headache pound on her skull. Blue eyes sparkling, she turned to call to Shiningkit. "Come on, I'll race you to the edge!"
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Post by shiningheart on May 12, 2008 15:15:59 GMT -5
Shiningkit didn't wait to pelt ahead of the apprentice. She squealed at the fresh forest scents. Shiningkit had never been out of camp, and in her mind, she officially dubbed Stormpaw her best friend for taking her out. She skidded to a stop though. At her paws was the edge of the water. The river was flooded.
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Post by Cinder on May 13, 2008 14:39:18 GMT -5
Stormpaw gasped for breath as she skidded to a halt beside Shiningkit. Wow, I didn't expect a kitten to run that fast... Cold water seeped over her paws, and she leapt back with a shudder. Sparkling droplets flew through the air as she shook her paws frantically, trying to get rid of the water. Realizing that Shiningkit would probably think that was very odd, the apprentice stopped flicking her paws and blushed under her fur. Now that she noticed, the river was in full flood. A glistening dark cascade of water stretched all the way across the wide clearing, almost touching the trees on the other side. She could see grass in the depths of the water, where the river had reclaimed the bank. "Wow." Stormpaw meowed, eyes wide as moons.
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Post by shiningheart on May 13, 2008 17:25:33 GMT -5
Shiningkit dabbed at the water with a forepaw, watching the ripples spread out. She looked around and spotted a tree. One of it's branches was hanging over the water. Shiningkit looked at it curiously before climbing the tree and crawling as far as the branch would let her. She looked at her reflection in the river, or at least tried to. The current was distorting it. Shiningkit heard a crack and the branch jerked a bit. Shiningkit looked back and her skin paled underneath her fur. The branch was breaking.
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Post by Cinder on May 15, 2008 14:38:47 GMT -5
Stormpaw's whiskers twitched in a smile as she watched Shiningkit dab at the water. The grey she-cat padded over towards the branch, intending to join her friend. I wonder if I could catch a fish from there...
Crack!
The apprentice let out a gasp of horror as she saw the branch quiver. She hadn't realized how spindly it was when Shiningkit had first climbed onto it. Now it was snapping... Horrible images flickered in front of her eyes. Shiningkit falling off the branch. Into the water. Drowning. "No!" Stormpaw yowled, and sprang forwards.
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Post by shiningheart on May 15, 2008 22:09:38 GMT -5
"No!" Shiningkit yelled back to the apprentice. She jumped to a different branch, just as the one she was standing on broke off and fell into the river. Shiningkit watched it get dragged away swiftly by the current. She hadn't realized how fast the river was flowing. She looked down at Stormpaw. "This branch is thicker than the other one. It will hold for a while." Even as she spoke, her tail dipped in the water. "Well...it's flexible, meaning it won't break as easily. So get help!"
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Post by Cinder on May 19, 2008 15:27:04 GMT -5
Everything seemed to move in slow motion after the first crack sounded. Stormpaw lunged forwards, a desperate cry on the tip of her tongue. The branch fell forwards with a crack like a gunshot, Shiningkit leaped in a blur of fur and clung to another branch. There was a huge splash as the dead branch fell into the center of the river. The grey apprentice skidded to a stop, her eyes as round as full moons. her fur was fluffed out so much she resembled a grey puffball mushroom. I thought she was going to die. A shrill meow distracted her from her terrified thoughts.
"This branch is thicker than the other one. It will hold for a while. Well...it's flexible, meaning it won't break as easily. So get help!"
Her friend was clinging to a branch that was barely a fox-length above the water: as Stormpaw watched, the kit's tail dipped in. Thoughts began a frantic chase around the inside of her skull. Will that last long enough for me to get help? She had no idea. The grey cat took a step forward, thinking frantically. Can I reach her from there? But wouldn't it be smarter to get a warrior to help? But can I run to the camp and back before she falls in?
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Post by shiningheart on May 19, 2008 18:41:22 GMT -5
Shiningkit thought quickly, pushing all panic to the back of her mind. It wouldn't do her any good to panic in what could be her last moments. 'I could just yell at her, but...come on, a kit ordering an apprentice? She'd probably hate me for that!' And shiningkit was not keen on the idea of losing her best friend. She gazed around the bank for anything that could help. The only thing that looked to be of any use was a sturdy log about three foxlengths away from Stormpaw. But would the apprentice be strong enough to move it before...She didn't even want to finish the thought. Getting help was their only options. She knew she'd be yelled at for it later, but...She took a deep breath and bellowed as loud as she could, "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! GO GET HELP!" She screeched to Stormpaw.
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Post by Cinder on May 20, 2008 14:48:01 GMT -5
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! GO GET HELP!"
Shiningkit's bellow snapped Stormpaw out of her horrified daze. The apprentice gaped at the small kit for a second- Wow, that was loud- and then snapped her mouth closed. Okay, I have to. Shooting one last glance back at her friend, the grey she-cat turned and raced away. She wasn't particularly speedy, but she knew that she had to run as fast as she could if she wanted to save Shiningkit. Please, StarClan, give me strength.
ooc- So, should she go back to camp and find someone else? Or I could have Frostflash find them...
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Post by shiningheart on May 20, 2008 17:38:45 GMT -5
(....eh heh, right, you're the EmberClan deputy as well, aren't you...Okay, then have Frostflash find them!)
Shiningkit scrambled higher on the branch and gripped it tightly in her paws. Now that that was settled, her terror came full force. 'StarClan, give Stormpaw wings!' She thought desperately.
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Post by Cinder on May 25, 2008 19:40:35 GMT -5
Stormpaw raced through the forest like a grey comet, trees and undergrowth blurring into unrecognizable green streaks before her eyes. One thought pounded through her terrified mind, in the rapid staccato of her paws, and the frantic beating of her heart. I have to get help. Something small and brown was scurrying towards her. the apprentice blinked, not daring to slake her speed. It looked like a mouse. But why would a mouse be dashing right towards h-
Frostflash was hunting in a quiet stretch of EmberClan forest, glad to be away from the bustle of Clan life for a while. She had zeroed in on a unsuspecting mouse nibbling on a beechnut. Yum. Grinning, the cat stalked closer. Just then, the mouse looked up- right into a hungry pair of deep-blue eyes. The beechnut went flying as it bolted. Frostflash lunged for it, but slammed her paws down on unfeeling bark. Angry now, the deputy pushed herself to her paws and raced after her meal. If she had been thinking straight, she would have realized that she had no chance to catch up. She turned her head, hearing the approach of rapid pawsteps. A grey blur burst out of the bushes, heading straight for her. The grey tabby blinked once in surprise, and then they collided.
Stormpaw reeled across the leaves, dazed. Eventually her head stopped spinning, the pretty colored lights went away, and she could see what she had slammed into. Immediately, she wished that the colored lights would come back. Glaring down at her was Frostflash, the deputy of the Clan. For a brief second, fear chilled the young apprentice's heart. But then she remembered why she had been running so fast, and began to gasp out a frantic entreaty.
If looks could kill, the young cat would have dropped dead on the spot. Frostflash's shoulder ached dully where Stormpaw's head had slammed into it, and she glared with all her might at the young apprentice. "Stormpaw, what in StarClan's name-" She paused as she realized that the grey apprentice was meowing already, her tone frantic. For a second, the deputy dropped her deadly gaze and listened. "ShinginkitissttuckinatreeIhavetofindhelpthat'swhyIwasrunningsofastshe'llfallinanddrwonitsallmyfaultIwantedtogototheriverinthefirstplacepleasepleasedon'tkillmeI'msorry." Frostflash blinked. "Um..." The apprentice, perhaps realizing that she should talk a little slower, winced. "Shiningkit's stuck in a tree above the river, she's gonna fall in, I was running to get help please please please don't kill me, Frostflash..." The deputy's violet eyes widened as she registered the meaning of Stormpaw's words. Shiningkit's in trouble... Without another word to the apprentice, she dashed away, back along the trail that Stormpaw had smashed through the bushes.
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Post by shiningheart on May 25, 2008 22:31:00 GMT -5
Shiningkit struggled with all her might to hold on. The bark was slippery and her claws were beginning to hurt. In the back of her mind, Shiningkit noted the water's rising level. Her hind paws were now skimming the surface, making it harder to hold on. 'Please StarClan, don't let me die now!' She thought frantically.
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Post by Cinder on May 26, 2008 8:46:33 GMT -5
Frostflash raced towards the river, her paws beating a frantic tattoo on the ground. Stormpaw was right behind her. The larger of the two grey cats swung her head from side to side, looking for the kitten. "I don't see her..." Frantic fear clutched at her heart. What if she fell in, and the river carried her away? She turned to look at Stormpaw, who seemed to be as scared as she felt.
Stormpaw's sky-blue gaze raked across the tree where she had left her friend, searching frantically for a scrap of white fur to show where Shiningkit was. Her heart almost stopped as she spotted the kit- clinging to a branch, her paws just skimming the water. "There she is!" she called, and raced towards the tree, not even stopping to consider that Frostflash might have a plan of some kind.
The relief that the EmberClan deputy felt was slightly tempered by annoyance at the apprentice's hotheadedness. We need a plan of some kind! But it was clear that Shiningkit was about to fall in, and she wasn't sure that Stormpaw would come back even if she called. The grey tabby leaped into action, racing towards the spindly tree. "Hang on, Shiningkit," she called.
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Post by shiningheart on May 26, 2008 14:23:38 GMT -5
Shiningkit's relief was tempered by the feel of the water lapping at her heels. The water level had risen already, and now lapped at above her hind pads, dragging the light weight kit sideways. Shiningkit's claws dragged on the branch, the current was so strong. Any moment her strength would fail her, and Shiningkit would fall to her death.
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Post by Cinder on May 26, 2008 14:51:19 GMT -5
Fear flooded through Stormpaw's heart yet again as she gazed at the shining surface of the river. The rocks she had once laid on to bask in the newleaf sunlight were now underwater; she could see their pale forms not far from the edge of the water. It scared her how high and how fast the river had risen. Suddenly she was back under the dark water, weeds tickling her paws like thin tentacles and pebbles digging into her back. Her lungs were on fire, starving for air that could not come... The grey cat's running paws slowed to a walk, and then she was standing frozen in the center of the clearing, staring at the river in dismay.
Frostflash's claws dug tightly into the bark of the tree roots as she stepped carefully towards Shiningkit. The river lapped barely a mouse-length from her paws, sucking at the bank with terrifying hunger. The deputy paused right under the branch that Shiningkit was clinging to. The snow-white kitten was just out of reach, her back paws trailing in the water. planting her hind paws firmly among the roots, the grey tabby reached out a paw towards the young cat. It wasn't the greatest of plans, but she could think of nothing else.
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