so maybe this was a mistake [minkpaw, deerpaw]

[wrenpaw ✿]

wrenpaw was not supposed to be out of the camp alone. not that that had ever stopped him before - okay, well, maybe sometimes it had. it wasn't like he was particularly much of a rebel or anything. in fact, he liked to follow the rules when he could - who didn't? rules were good. rules were fine. but -- sometimes he needed some time to himself, he couldn't lie about that, and really who could blame him? there was always so much on his mind, and today in particular he had found it increasingly difficult to focus as the day went on. fortunately, he'd gotten the day's training and duties out of the way fairly early, so he'd had a lot of time anyway ... but not time that he honestly wished to spend in the camp. camp was home, sure, but it was -- too loud, too many cats and -- not enough room to think.

and so he had found himself slipping away just before sunset, when every cat seemed preoccupied with the day's end and sharing tongues and freshkill. no cat had noticed him leave - not even goosekit, thankfully, who often liked to act as the apprentice's tiny shadow whenever he spent time in the camp - and so now he finally had time to allow himself to simply wander, both in body and in mind. he let his thoughts drift as his paws did, carrying him carefully through the familiar territory that was treeclan. and if he let his thoughts wax poetic a bit and murmured musings pass from his mouth, who was around to hear but himself? he could recite all he wanted about the beauty of the trees or the drifting leaves or the smell of distant rain in the air. there was no one around to hear him.

he was surprised when he reached the border, the river stretching out before him dark and terrifyingly intriguing. the current was fast, and the sparkle of the last of the sun's rays reflecting off of the water was almost dazzling. not that he would ever chance to take a dip. he was no rockclanner - treeclan cats didn't pretend to be fish like they liked to do. besides, he would be lying if he said he wasn't the tiniest bit fearful of the thought, anyway.

he hadn't meant to come this far. in fact, he hadn't meant to stay out this long at all. just a quick walk, some fresh air - this had been entirely out of the realm of his intentions. whoops. not that he wouldn't at least enjoy the cool river air for a bit while he was here. then he would go back, face the inevitable music - of course it would only be his luck that someone would have noticed his absence by now. well. he'd have to deal with that when he returned. for now, he let his gaze drift down to the water, and then up to the rapidly darkening sky - the sun was almost past the horizon, and he was sure soon the first stars would be starting to appear. it was funny, how the river could be both so beautiful and so terrifying all at once. he did enjoy coming here, much as he would never test the waters himself.

"are not beauty and peril two branches of the same weathered tree?" he mewed softly, to himself, then immediately closed his eyes and shook his head. "no, no, that was terrible. oh gosh. what am i even doing." he should probably go back to camp.

[minkpaw ❖]

Minkpaw padded along the riverbank behind her brother, flicking her tail about and watching the fish darting through the water. She and Deerpaw had snuck out of the camp for one of his many investigative trips, hunting down quiet noises and fleeting shadows in the woods. She never really paid attention to what he was trying to look for, since she didn't really think anything was out there. But Deerpaw did, and she would never leave her brother to wander around the woods completely on his own. Too much fun for him to be having without her. Of course, there will be the issue of sneaking back into camp, but that's pretty much second nature to the two of them now.

She was starting to get hungry though, so at some point she stopped watching the insects flitting around and started watching the river for signs of fish. She could dip in just for a snack... there probably wouldn't be any issue with that, right? She glanced up the river to find a good place to dive in, but was distracted by movement along the other riverbank. The dying light made it hard to distinguish the features on the other side, but it wasn't hard to see that another cat is pacing along. A Treeclan patrol? Minkpaw darts up to her brothers side and quietly meows to him. "Deerpaw, there's a cat on the other shore."

[Deerpaw ☆]

Deerpaw's head jerked up, ears shooting forward. Sure enough, there was another cat pacing alongside the river. He could here the tom whispering something to himself, but he couldn't make out what it was. He silently scolded himself for not noticing his presence sooner; he had been so absorbed in the odd tracks in the mud that he hadn't even caught the other cat's scent. Now, of course, it was hard to miss. He smelled Treeclan easily, being downwind of him. Deerpaw couldn't make out his exact pelt color because of the darkness, but he guessed it was probably a darker brown, or even black.

He turned to Minkpaw, his eyes narrowed. "What do you think he's doing? He definitely shouldn't be out this late; he seems about our age." Then again, he thought, he and his sister weren't exactly supposed to be out either. "Should we call out to him? Maybe he needs help." Deerpaw stealthily moved closer to the river, trying to get a better view of the Treeclan tom.

[wrenpaw ✿]

it was a few moments before wrenpaw took notice of them. when he did, though, he was mortified - two rockclanners, probably about his age, and they seemed to be staring at him. of course, it wasn't like he could make out much more than their silhouettes in this darkness (they seemed to be tabbies, he could see that much) - but they at least appeared to be looking his way. had they heard him? "oh no," he mumbled. "oh no oh no oh no..." his life was ruined. two rockclan cats had overheard him waxing poetic in the moonlight and he could never go to a gathering again.

okay, so maybe he was overreacting just a little. still - he didn't want to stick around, not when embarrassment washed over him like the waves that lapped just below his paws. fur fluffed out a bit still from his startled realization that he wasn't alone, the calico cat scrambled to try and whirl himself around and flee - and made a misstep on the damp riverbank, suddenly plunging one paw out and downwards toward the cool water. wait -- before he could so much as right himself, he'd fallen completely into the river, a cry of surprise the only thing to escape him before he slipped beneath the surface.

the water was icy cold and seemed to drag at his fur - nevermind that he didn't even know how to swim. panicking just a bit, he floundered as he tried to figure out which way was up; he'd fallen at an odd angle, and everything was so dark. the current tugged at him as one of his hind paws met earth - and then he kicked off, trying to launch himself towards what he hoped was the surface. he broke the water with a gasp, but before he could so much as finish the breath he was back under, inhaling water as he went.

well, this was certainly a predicament. paws flailing as he tried to find some sort of hold, even as he was dragged even further along by the current, wrenpaw coughed beneath the waves; his lungs burned from the water he'd inhaled already, and he struggled to not let any more be breathed in. eventually, his forepaws struck something hard - a jutting rock, it seemed like - and he scrabbled his way up, clawing his way up over the water, though everything from below his midsection was still submerged in the frigid river.

there wasn't much he could do besides cling to the stone, digging his claws in as much as he could. even still, though, the current still pulled from all around him - and he could already feel his grip loosening. flattening his ears to his head and sputtering a bit, he turned to try and peer around him, noting that the current had dragged him onto what was technically rockclan's side of the river - though only slightly. well, great. now he was trespassing too. coughing and shivering, he squinted as he tried to make out the shapes of the two cats he'd seen earlier on the shoreline. "um," he tried, though his voice was a little raspy from the coughing and the water he'd inhaled, and he couldn't get out the rest of what he'd meant to say at all before he was wheezing again.

[minkpaw ❖]

Minkpaw stared as the other cat suddenly slipped and tumbled into the water. It would never occur to her that a cat couldn't swim, since everyone she knew could swim. It was only when the other cat popped up farther down the river and suddenly went back under that she remembered Treeclan cats are horrible swimmers. She turns to her brother and mews "Yeah it looks like he needs some help." She dashed along the riverbank, following the curve of the shoreline, until she noticed that the other cat had managed to cling to a rock, still half in the water. Minkpaw ran down to the water's edge and, after looking back at her brother and making a 'come on' motion with her tail, she dove into the water and paddled out towards the panicked cat.

The water was cold, but not quite cold enough to keep from swimming over to the rock and digging her claws into it's uneven surface. She held herself their for a moment to catch her breath, then released the rock and swam over to the other cat, using her teeth to grab hold of the scruff of his neck. Despite her grip on him, and that he was a little on the small side, she could tell she wasn't strong enough to bring him back to shore on her own. She would need her brother's help to make it back.

[Deerpaw ☆]

Without a moment's hesitation, Deerpaw leaped in after his sister, bracing himself for the chill of the water. He hissed as he made impact, the cold current washing him towards the drowning, maneuvering himself through the river. The tom was flailing his legs haphazardly; no wonder he couldn't keep himself afloat. Deerpaw pushed forward, picking up his speed when his sister grabbed the tom's scruff.

Breathing in deeply, he dove into the cold, bringing himself underneathe the tom and then swimming up. The tom rested on his back, and Deerpaw made his way to the shore. He struggled under the other cat's weight, going under and resurfacing over and over again. If he didn't get to land soon, there would be big trouble. His paws touched pebbles, and he dragged himself forward, hissing when one of the rocks cut his pad. He scrabbled for a proper grip, but with the tom dragging him down, he couldn't get a firm hold. "Minkpaw, get to the shore and pull him up!"