We're All Mad Here

[hedgie]

Alright!

This what she'd been waiting for all day, ever since her eyes had opened up that morning. Now she was out of camp, and on a patrol. It may not have been the biggest patrol of her life, but it was something to do, something to help her Clan. The only thing that bothered the small-sized calico was the make-up of her patrol. She had Silverstipe, who seemd like he wasn't in the best of moods, Cloverpaw and Pebblepaw, who would probably be doing a lot of chatting, and Rosepaw.

What to do with Rosepaw? That poor she-cat was so shy and so...different that Patchclaw didn't know whether to be thrilled or upset about having her on the patrol. The Riverclan deputy shoom her head, came to a stop at the river's edge and turned to face her patrol.

"Aright, everyone. I hope you know what we're here to do and if you aren't, then I'm wondering what you're doing here. Now listen,' she rasped, giving them all her siganture icy stare. "We havr traps to find, and i think we'll make more progress if we all seperate. That means you are to go and look for this trap, and any others, by yourself. No pairs, groups of three, or anything of that sort.' She knew that wouldn't make certain members of the patrol happy, but with such a small amount of cats and a wide area to search, it was necessary. "If you find anything, come find me and bring me to it. got it? Good. Now get moving."

She stood there on anxious paws, ready to go.

[lemonwing]

Rosepaw shifted from paw to paw as Patchclaw gave her short pep talk. As the RiverClan deputy sent around a glare, the young apprentice turned her gaze to the ground before her, trying not to meet anyone's eyes. It was bad enough that Badgerclaw had made her go on this stupid patrol, but worse that she knew who was on it.

Silverstripe was moody today, and Rosepaw was definatly not in the mood to get snapped at by a tom. The two best friends, Pebblepaw and Cloverpaw, had each other. At least they had a shoulder to lean on on bad days. Plus, Patchclaw was the leader of the group, and she had an air about her that made Rosepaw nervous.

As the group finished listening, Rosepaw got ready to go out of the camp. One good thing about this patrol was that she would get to be alone without unwantedly being questioned. Rosepaw gave the two she-cat apprentices as a sad glance, and thought she saw a sympathetic glance from one. She couldn't be sure, though, because they were about to split up.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

As they walked out of camp, Silverstripe's green eyes were focused on his paws. He padded fast enough to keep up with the patrol but not particularly fast or slow. He tried to assure himself that a patrol like this could keep his mind occupied, when they had to search for traps so more cats weren't injured like Puddlepelt. But he was still in a rotten mood, and wasn't much concerned with talking with anyone. He was normally polite and quiet but not at this moment. This time he was quiet but in more of a sulky mood rather than respectful.

When Patchclaw finally stopped and spoke to the patrol, he listened with his gaze lowered. Silverstripe realized he was the only warrior on this patrol, the other three of the five cats being apprentices. But he didn't feel too concerned about it; they were only looking for traps which would be a simple job. It wasn't a border patrol, and they were safe in their own territory, not needing full warriors.

Wordlessly, the newly-made warrior departed from the group, heading further toward the river. Some peace and quiet would do him good, if a patrol won't. Hopefully there won't be anyone around and he would be alone. If there was, then today definitely wasn't his day. His continued fight- and possibly the end of his friendship- with Dewleaf had undoubtedly ruined everything. He wasn't the least bit concerned with things returning to normal, because at the moment it seemed impossible. The silver-furred tom could hear the sound of rushing water ahead and prayed no one else was there.

((Cai can post Dewleaf now. ^.^))

[:c a i:]

Dewleaf was certain that Silverstripe had just created a whole new level on her annoyance scale. She was livid; she couldn't believe that her so-called best friend could be such a mousebrained piece of foxdung! Well that was it! She was sick of him and sick of waiting around for him to come to his senses. She'd move on, because she didn't need him. She wouldn't let him think for a moment that she did. Because she didn't. Absolutely not. No way.

After her little collision with poor Slatepaw, Dewleaf had kept her furious pace up, charging through the undergrowth until she neared the river. She hadn't looked - or cared- where she was going and scarcely acknowledged that she had climbed up the highest point of the riverbank where there was a steep, sandy slope leading down to the water and simply stormed on, muttering curses under her breath as she let out the boiling anger she held towards Silverstripe. The annoying thing was she still loved her best friend, yet she simultaneously really didn't like him. She wanted to say she hated him, but of course that was completely untrue. She doubted she could ever hate Silverstripe, no matter what he did.

"He's such a pain!" The angry young she-cat spat at a passing sparrow who looked utterly alarmed and flew away promptly. "He's had so many chances to just say he's sorry! Why doesn't he just say it? He's such a wimp!" There was no one out here to hear her ranting at the passing wildlife and she was glad for this, since her current colourful language wasn't something she wanted to end up reaching the elders' den. They would never stop giving her lectures then. But Silverstripe deserved to be called all the worst names under the sun for being so rotten to her! What kind of a cat ditched their best friend for silly apprentices?

Dewleaf stopped up short, suddenly running out of ground to rampage over. Her heart skipped slightly as she realised she'd very nearly gone rushing straight over the edge and would've gone head-first into the choppy river, and then who knows what would have happened then. Dewleaf swallowed and was about to back away carefully, but then she nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise. She had thought she was alone, but then she saw a figure approaching the river and had a moment of irrational panic. Her alarm only grew when the figure turned into a cat with silver fur and dark stripes.

Oh, he had just brilliant timing.

Dewleaf was in a risky position at the very edge of the riverbank as it was. If she hadn't stopped to stare at Silverstripe's approaching figure, then perhaps she would have walked away without a scratch. But it seemed her lucky stars were not out today.

The edge of the sandy bank she was perched upon was soft and crumbly from being dampened by rain. As Dewleaf stood on it, it gave way and broke off from the rest of the bank. She was high up and taken completely by surprise when the ground under her paws simply disintegrated. There was no time for action. No time to right herself. Dewleaf was thrown down in a shower of sand and rock, tossed about and crashing into the rockface. She let out a yowl of shock as she felt herself fall, completely helpless. She could do nothing to grab hold of anything; she could not even tell which way was up. All she knew was that in a matter of seconds, she was dazed and semi-conscious as she tumbled all the way down and was plunged into the river's cool grasp, her head dragged under.

Her mouth opened to scream, but all she got was a mouthful of rushing water.

Silverstripe!

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Silverstripe was scanning the ground around him as he walked, searching for any signs of what a Twoleg trap might look like. He was searching for anything weird looking that didn't belong, he guessed, but he had no clue exactly what they would look like. He kept his mouth open and nose alert, searching for scents, but he didn't know what a Twoleg trap smelled like, either. So much for this being an easy job. At least he had something to focus on, instead of sitting in camp and letting his mind wander. It wasn't like he had much to think about except how badly this day had gone so far.

Another of his senses caught something ahead, and he continued until he could see the river in the distance. The loud voice sounded horribly familiar and he recognized the frustrated, angry tone as Dewleaf's. Just great, he almost felt like cursing at his own luck, the one cat he wanted to avoid. Especially since she was undoubtedly still furious with him. He looked out and saw her facing him and noticed she was on a high slope, but that was all he could see from so far away.

As he stood there he deliberated what he should do since they had both seen each other. He wanted to just turn around and search somewhere else, although it wouldn't do their faulty friendship any good if he walked away. But it would be the easiest thing to do and he was fairly sure she didn't want to speak to him right now. Maybe that was what he should do. He started to move back, away from the river again. Until he looked back up the riverbank.

He saw her starting to fall, and saw the rock crumble beneath her paws. He saw the look of terror on her face. Then he heard the yowl as she fell, full of shock and fear. In less than a second she was out of sight, gone down the edge of the other side of the slope. A moment later he heard the splash. His paws felt frozen, unwilling to move until his brain registered what was happening in front of his eyes. Then he burst off, running toward the bank and up the slope. He stopped with his paws barely touching the edge of the cliff and looked down into the water. A chill went through his fur when he saw the gray-brown she-cat getting pulled under the water and thrown downstream by the current.

Not Dewleaf.

Not his best friend.

Unlike the rest of his Clan, Silverstripe disliked water as much as a WindClan cat might. His fur was too thin and unprotected to stand the cold rushing water and he hated the feeling of wetness on his pelt. But none of this was going through his mind right now. Staring down at the river and judging the distance to the surface, he knew he would better expect the fall and not be caught off guard. He braced himself and leaped off of the edge, and into the water.

The cold water, even more frigid to him, shocked him. The current was already pulling him downstream, too strong for him to try to swim against it, especially being as inexperienced in the water as he was. But he was able to make his way to the surface again and keep his head above the water. He searched frantically for her familiar pelt, trying to see through the spray of water splashing at him. He couldn't tell for sure, but he thought he could see her, not far away. Silverstripe pushed further downstream, letting the strong current help him get closer until he was a few tail-lengths from Dewleaf.

Finally he reached her. He grasped her scruff tightly, unable to tell whether or not she was conscious. It had been a steep fall, and he would have been more worried if he wasn't preoccupied with getting out of this stupid water right now. Fixing his eyes on the shore, he pulled Dewleaf with him, struggling to swim strongly enough to fight against the river that was still tossing them downstream. He just had to make it to land, that was all that mattered.

((That took forever. X.x Long post is long.))

[:c a i:]

The river had always been Dewleaf's friend. It had nourished her with its plentiful fish. It had cooled her when the sun grew angry. It had served as a place to sit and think.

But now it turned against her. It became a cruel tyrant which dragged her head underwater and crushed the air out of her lungs, never letting her back up to the light to breathe the live-bringing air she was becoming starved of. She still tried valiantly to stay afloat, but the tumble down the riverside had taken its toll on Dewleaf. She was dazed, confused and her hindleg wasn't moving properly. There was no way she could fight the current now. Maybe these were her final moments? Was she going to die? Could this be how it ended for her? If it was, it was the worst possible way to go. She was terrified and alone. It would be slow and agonising. It wasn't even an act of courage. It was nothing more than a stupid accident which wouldn't have happened had she not been so angry that she had gone so close to the edge of the unstable riverbank. It could so easily have been avoided, yet here she was, slowly drowning as her nose and mouth were invaded by the chilly water.

And she hadn't made her peace with Silverstripe.

How could she leave her best friend, never having been able to say she was sorry? She was sorry; so incredibly sorry. In that moment, as she fought to stay conscious under the battering water, Dewleaf had never been more sorry. She was sorry that she had ever fought with Silverstripe at all and she was sorry she would never be able to tell him how important he was to her. How could she have been stupid enough to let their squabble become a rift between them? Now it was too late, and all she could do was be sorry.

She was growing so weak and tired now, her flailing paws gradually stilling as she lost the energy and the will to try and battle the unrepenting current any longer. It was stronger than her; she was never going to win. The end couldn't be far off now, and Dewleaf felt her last efforts to fight drain away. All hope was lost.

But then it was back. Jaws fixed themselves on Dewleaf's scruff. Something dragged her up until her head broke the surface long enough for her to drag in a painful, shuddering breath. She was coughing, spluttering, struggling to take enough air in to stop herself from choking, but she was alive. Now was not the moment she would join StarClan, because somebody had saved her life. And who was that somebody?

Silverstripe. Of course it was him. There was no other cat to see Dewleaf fall, and the instant his jaws had touched her scruff, she had felt a jolt of pure joy. True friends were there when you needed them most, and this was Silverstripe proving that their friendship was far from over. He was saving her life, and Dewleaf felt her heart skip a beat, despite her dazed and semi-conscious state. He still cared about her. At least enough to brave one of the things he hated most and come and rescue her.

"I'm... Sorry..." Dewleaf whispered, her voice barely audible. She tried to paddle with her paws to help Silverstripe propel them to the edge, but she just felt so tired... So... Tired...

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

The water continued battering at him, throwing him cruelly along with the current. Water splashed over his eyes and nose and made it difficult to get much air. The powerful river kept trying to shove him under and it took as much strength as he could muster to keep his and Dewleaf's head above the surface. He kept a firm grasp on her, determined not to let go until they were both safe. At a time like this he wished he was like other RiverClan cats and felt at home in the water. Normally he just avoided going too far into the water, but now it seemed like the worst enemy he could imagine.

He thought he felt a slight movement from Dewleaf, and wasn't sure whether it was really her or the current. The roar and splashing against his ears may had been deceiving him, but had he heard her say something as well? A sudden wave pushing at him snapped him out of his thoughts and he had to concentrate on getting to the surface and staying there. When he could feel fresh air again he gulped in a breath through the fur in his mouth. Blinking water out of his eyes, he focused his vision on the shore. Was it him, or did the bank seem closer? Was he almost there?

Silverstripe closed his eyes and in one huge effort, pushed more power into his muscles and swam toward the shore. His legs ached with the effort and he felt heavy and sluggish having to carry the extra weight. It seemed like it took ages before he got any closer to the shore, but he kept swimming. This would be no way to let either of them die. No, they weren't going to die yet. He blinked his eyes opened again and could suddenly feel stones beneath his paws. Shallow water!

Soon he could grab hold of the bottom with his claws and waded until he reached further up the shore. He gently dragged Dewleaf's body up until she was just out of the water, then collapsed beside her, panting heavily. Had he really just done that? Threw himself into the river in order to save her? A shiver made its way down his spine and he had to shake the cold water off of his thin pelt, but he felt like he was too tired to even do that. He turned his concerned eyes on the she-cat. "Dewleaf!" he choked, coughing up water as he tried to speak. "Can you hear me?"

[lemonwing]

Rosepaw sighed. Sure, it was easy to find the occasional twoleg trap, but springing it was a whole lot trickier. They were dangerous- ecspecially for a small apprentice like herself.

The young she-cat scented the ground for any trace of a trap, but surprisingly found none. Evidently, they had disquised the scent now, making it odorless, because she felt a snap. Rosepaw looked down at her paw in surprise. The enclosed trap was just inches away from her paw fur, and a small mouse was buried inside, killed from the impact. "it's my lucky day," she murmered to herself.

After a short pause, Rosepaw continued on, not bothering to get Patchclaw. First of all, it was already sprung and no danger to any cats. Second, she didn't want to face the deputy's cold stare. She was just too much of a wimp to do that.

A sound crept around her shoulders, and Rosepaw whipped her head to the left, hearing a muffled voice. In fright of an intruder, Rosepaw dashed toward the safety of a low, damp bush and watched as another cat came into view. Silverstripe. That was odd, he had a look of panic in his eyes! Then the tom dashed off towards the rushing, cruel, twisting river and let out a shout. Rosepaw squeezed her eyes shut in surprise. What was that all about? She wasn't gutsy enough to find out, though. She was in a bad situation. See what was goin on or continue with the trap search. What was the right thing to do?

She decided to stay where she was. After a moment, Silverstripe pawed his way back up, towing a cat up through the water. A she-cat. The cat was drenched, and obviously having trouble breathing!