The black and white tom-cat watched Jayflower, rushing forward to help them both climb back on to dry land. He checked them both for injuries, a small gash had opened up on the apprentices head, but other than that they were fine. "You have to be more careful, next time I'll go with you." He stated, not accepting no for an answer. They didn't need anyone in their patrol getting injured.
Ocelotstride stuck close Tidebreaker, her blue-green gaze watching the flashes of light break through the darkness of the dreary clouds and pouring rain. She raised a brow slightly toward Heatherpaw, wondering why he'd chosen to dive back into the water in the first place. The Bengal came up with not a single answer as she padded into the fishy camp with the group
Coughs raked through Heatherpaw's little body as Jayflower heaved him up onto the shore. He blearily looked up and panted, "T- thank you..." as he tried to reorient himself to his new surroundings. [EaC Camp]
Jayflower stepped to the bank with wide eyes. She glanced at the others before she shook her coat and leaped to the struggling Heatherpaw. She kept her head above the water choosing her path carefully. Once she got to Heatherpaw she dove under the water and came but up when she was under Heatherpaw's front half. She posisioned herself so the tom was draped acrossed her shoulders. She turned and swam back to the bank of the river careful to not let even Heatherpaw's whiskers touch the flowing water. She dragged tom to shore and layed him down carefully. She gave him a minute to catch his breath before noticing her side leaked red. She relized she must have bumped into a rock when she dove down. It wasn't a major injury, so she didn't bring it up.
Milfoilcloud gave Jayflower a slight dip of her head, acknowledging the other cat's attempt at comforting her.
"Let's get going, then," Heatherpaw replied and started off at a headlong pace toward the camp, glancing back occasionally to make certain that the rest of the patrol was staying with him. It was tough-going, each step seemed to take twice as much energy as it would otherwise as his paws sunk into the thick mud. Soon they were at the crook in the river enveloping what remained of their camp, now an island against the rushing river.
"Hello?!" Heatherpaw shouted, though his voice was carried away by the wind, with no chance of reaching any cats that potentially remained trapped there. "I'll go over alone, all of you stay here. I'll be back soon if no one is there, if I seem to be taking a while, send the strongest swimming pair over."
"Alright," Milfoilcloud gave a resolute nod and Heatherpaw dove into the water. He easily swam the first fox-length before an underwater rock sent the current spiraling, bashing him against it. He coughed, faltering, and was pushed underwater, his mouth filling with water as he struggled to right himself and continue across the water.
"Heatherpaw is right. If we split up we are more likely to get lose." She glanced at Milfoilcloud. "Our best chances to find the lost cats is to stay a group. As silly as that sounds. If a cat is in danger it would best for all of us to have strength in numbers." Jayflower stepped toward Milfoilcloud, knowing the she's sister was one of missing cats. She smiled to reassure Milfoilcloud.
"You guys don't know the territory," Heatherpaw cautioned. "We know which way the river flows and where cats were when the flood hit, so we can work off of that. If we split up, chances are we're just going to lose more cats."
Milfoilcloud nodded, a shiver running down her spine as lightning cracked overhead.
Tidebreaker glanced around at the small patrol, taking note that there were more Moonclanner's than Earthclanner's here. He sighed, blue eyes focusing on Ocelotstride again. "We'd probably have a better time if we split up. Cover the entire territory." He suggested, waiting for Heatherpaw's approval.
Jayflower walked with the group taking a second to glance back at the river then turned back and padded along side her clan-mates and the earthclanner. She scanned the tree lines carefully searching for any sign of life is the storm.
(I'm so sorry I forgot about this)Opalfur nodded a thank you to Jayflower once again after they had made it across, before flicking an ear at Heatherpaw's words, acknowledging what he said."I hope we aren't too late." She murmured.
After the last of the MoonClanners had made it across, Heatherpaw steeled himself and dove into the water, his paws beating heavily against the water as he tried to propel himself forward.
"StarClan!" He swore as he caught a current and was pushed downstream a fox-length before regaining his composure and making it to the other side. He shook out his pelt, dog-like, and called "Okay, we'll need to do that again to get to the camp. Everyone, please stay close together!"
Heatherpaw waited silently as the MoonClan she-cats helped each other across, struck for the first time at how much they simply sounded like his sisters. These weren't the harsh, militaristic cats he'd always been taught to fear at their northern border.
Jayflower nodded and smiled at the she-cat to try to calm her nerves. She stood on the side of Opalfur so the flowing water would push into her first so if she slipped she would be able to quickly steady her. This also made it easier for Opalfur to lean against Jayflower. She walked close to her so she was always touching the other she in some way. Once they where in the middle of the flowing river she looked at Opalfur. "Are you ready?" She mewed loudly.
Opalfur looked towards Jayflower, her eyes still wide, but she felt a little better at the offer."Thank you." She meowed loudly over the rain, her eyes filling with gratitude.
Jayflower glanced at the fearful Opalfur. Her head was low from the weight of the water in her thick coat. She padded to Opalfur and stood next to her. She looked at the she-cat. "It's ok Opalfur, I will swim with you. You can lean on me and use me as a steady point." Jayflower yelled over the rain.
Opalfur had her paws rooted to the floor, her eyes wide with fear. She did not like swimming, and she certainly didn't want to swim in this weather, She didn't want to admit it, but she hated water."I don't think I can... do this..." She muttered, fear lacing each word she spoke. "I... I can't... do this..."
Jayflower stayed toward the back of the patrol her ears perked. She listened to all of the other cats carefully and also scanning the surroundings. Her only hope was that the cats they were searching for were alright and unharmed. Her clan mates meant everything to her, and knowing that a few were in grave danger angered her.
"Alright." Heatherpaw meowed with a sharp dip of his head. He doubted that she was actually as skilled as her sudden confidence was trying to feign, but now wasn't the time to contradict her and start a fight. They needed to hurry, if the lost cats weren't already dead, they were in grave danger. He almost signed in relief as she made it across, hoping that it would ease the other MoonClanners' worries.
'Trust me, I wouldn't rely on you even if the fish started to leap out at us!' Ocelotstride thought with a huff at the sudden confidence in the Earthclan tom, Heatherpaw. "I was just wondering, I won't need your help anyhow." Her words were blunt and simple before the molly's pretty gaze flashed to the river again to watch the black and white tom make his way into the water. For a moment, she almost had forgotten that he was half-clanned, however that quickly changed when Tidebreaker spoke. 'Starclan, when did you get so tall?' Ocelotstride wondered, a thoughtful smile appearing on her muzzle that lasted only a second as the rain streamed down her forehead and she placed her paws firmly onto the river's shoreline, waiting for the others to prepare themselves to do the same.
The black and white tom-cat nodded his approval at Heatherpaw, before taking up the lead of the patrol. He glanced at Ocelotstride again, slightly amused by her misery. He wasn't a huge fan of a water, but when he was younger, Blacknose had taught him and his brother's how to swim. Fadewhisker had joined begrudgingly, but now he had his father to thank because he'd never willingly volunteer for this rescue mission is he didn't know how to swim.
"It's alright, I can help everyone across." He waded into the running water until he was chest deep. "It's shallow enough until we get to the middle. I can give you all a boost in order to send you over."
The black and white tom-cat watched Jayflower, rushing forward to help them both climb back on to dry land. He checked them both for injuries, a small gash had opened up on the apprentices head, but other than that they were fine. "You have to be more careful, next time I'll go with you." He stated, not accepting no for an answer. They didn't need anyone in their patrol getting injured.
Ocelotstride stuck close Tidebreaker, her blue-green gaze watching the flashes of light break through the darkness of the dreary clouds and pouring rain. She raised a brow slightly toward Heatherpaw, wondering why he'd chosen to dive back into the water in the first place. The Bengal came up with not a single answer as she padded into the fishy camp with the group
Coughs raked through Heatherpaw's little body as Jayflower heaved him up onto the shore. He blearily looked up and panted, "T- thank you..." as he tried to reorient himself to his new surroundings. [EaC Camp]
Jayflower stepped to the bank with wide eyes. She glanced at the others before she shook her coat and leaped to the struggling Heatherpaw. She kept her head above the water choosing her path carefully. Once she got to Heatherpaw she dove under the water and came but up when she was under Heatherpaw's front half. She posisioned herself so the tom was draped acrossed her shoulders. She turned and swam back to the bank of the river careful to not let even Heatherpaw's whiskers touch the flowing water. She dragged tom to shore and layed him down carefully. She gave him a minute to catch his breath before noticing her side leaked red. She relized she must have bumped into a rock when she dove down. It wasn't a major injury, so she didn't bring it up.
Milfoilcloud gave Jayflower a slight dip of her head, acknowledging the other cat's attempt at comforting her.
"Let's get going, then," Heatherpaw replied and started off at a headlong pace toward the camp, glancing back occasionally to make certain that the rest of the patrol was staying with him. It was tough-going, each step seemed to take twice as much energy as it would otherwise as his paws sunk into the thick mud. Soon they were at the crook in the river enveloping what remained of their camp, now an island against the rushing river.
"Hello?!" Heatherpaw shouted, though his voice was carried away by the wind, with no chance of reaching any cats that potentially remained trapped there. "I'll go over alone, all of you stay here. I'll be back soon if no one is there, if I seem to be taking a while, send the strongest swimming pair over."
"Alright," Milfoilcloud gave a resolute nod and Heatherpaw dove into the water. He easily swam the first fox-length before an underwater rock sent the current spiraling, bashing him against it. He coughed, faltering, and was pushed underwater, his mouth filling with water as he struggled to right himself and continue across the water.
"Heatherpaw is right. If we split up we are more likely to get lose." She glanced at Milfoilcloud. "Our best chances to find the lost cats is to stay a group. As silly as that sounds. If a cat is in danger it would best for all of us to have strength in numbers." Jayflower stepped toward Milfoilcloud, knowing the she's sister was one of missing cats. She smiled to reassure Milfoilcloud.
(No worries, Opal :) )
"You guys don't know the territory," Heatherpaw cautioned. "We know which way the river flows and where cats were when the flood hit, so we can work off of that. If we split up, chances are we're just going to lose more cats."
Milfoilcloud nodded, a shiver running down her spine as lightning cracked overhead.
Tidebreaker glanced around at the small patrol, taking note that there were more Moonclanner's than Earthclanner's here. He sighed, blue eyes focusing on Ocelotstride again. "We'd probably have a better time if we split up. Cover the entire territory." He suggested, waiting for Heatherpaw's approval.
Jayflower walked with the group taking a second to glance back at the river then turned back and padded along side her clan-mates and the earthclanner. She scanned the tree lines carefully searching for any sign of life is the storm.
(I'm so sorry I forgot about this) Opalfur nodded a thank you to Jayflower once again after they had made it across, before flicking an ear at Heatherpaw's words, acknowledging what he said. "I hope we aren't too late." She murmured.
(Over ten)
After the last of the MoonClanners had made it across, Heatherpaw steeled himself and dove into the water, his paws beating heavily against the water as he tried to propel himself forward.
"StarClan!" He swore as he caught a current and was pushed downstream a fox-length before regaining his composure and making it to the other side. He shook out his pelt, dog-like, and called "Okay, we'll need to do that again to get to the camp. Everyone, please stay close together!"
Heatherpaw waited silently as the MoonClan she-cats helped each other across, struck for the first time at how much they simply sounded like his sisters. These weren't the harsh, militaristic cats he'd always been taught to fear at their northern border.
Jayflower nodded and smiled at the she-cat to try to calm her nerves. She stood on the side of Opalfur so the flowing water would push into her first so if she slipped she would be able to quickly steady her. This also made it easier for Opalfur to lean against Jayflower. She walked close to her so she was always touching the other she in some way. Once they where in the middle of the flowing river she looked at Opalfur. "Are you ready?" She mewed loudly.
Opalfur looked towards Jayflower, her eyes still wide, but she felt a little better at the offer. "Thank you." She meowed loudly over the rain, her eyes filling with gratitude.
Jayflower glanced at the fearful Opalfur. Her head was low from the weight of the water in her thick coat. She padded to Opalfur and stood next to her. She looked at the she-cat. "It's ok Opalfur, I will swim with you. You can lean on me and use me as a steady point." Jayflower yelled over the rain.
Opalfur had her paws rooted to the floor, her eyes wide with fear. She did not like swimming, and she certainly didn't want to swim in this weather, She didn't want to admit it, but she hated water. "I don't think I can... do this..." She muttered, fear lacing each word she spoke. "I... I can't... do this..."
Jayflower stayed toward the back of the patrol her ears perked. She listened to all of the other cats carefully and also scanning the surroundings. Her only hope was that the cats they were searching for were alright and unharmed. Her clan mates meant everything to her, and knowing that a few were in grave danger angered her.
"Alright." Heatherpaw meowed with a sharp dip of his head. He doubted that she was actually as skilled as her sudden confidence was trying to feign, but now wasn't the time to contradict her and start a fight. They needed to hurry, if the lost cats weren't already dead, they were in grave danger. He almost signed in relief as she made it across, hoping that it would ease the other MoonClanners' worries.
'Trust me, I wouldn't rely on you even if the fish started to leap out at us!' Ocelotstride thought with a huff at the sudden confidence in the Earthclan tom, Heatherpaw. "I was just wondering, I won't need your help anyhow." Her words were blunt and simple before the molly's pretty gaze flashed to the river again to watch the black and white tom make his way into the water. For a moment, she almost had forgotten that he was half-clanned, however that quickly changed when Tidebreaker spoke. 'Starclan, when did you get so tall?' Ocelotstride wondered, a thoughtful smile appearing on her muzzle that lasted only a second as the rain streamed down her forehead and she placed her paws firmly onto the river's shoreline, waiting for the others to prepare themselves to do the same.
The black and white tom-cat nodded his approval at Heatherpaw, before taking up the lead of the patrol. He glanced at Ocelotstride again, slightly amused by her misery. He wasn't a huge fan of a water, but when he was younger, Blacknose had taught him and his brother's how to swim. Fadewhisker had joined begrudgingly, but now he had his father to thank because he'd never willingly volunteer for this rescue mission is he didn't know how to swim.
"It's alright, I can help everyone across." He waded into the running water until he was chest deep. "It's shallow enough until we get to the middle. I can give you all a boost in order to send you over."