but i'm breathing fine > open, drowning

As soon as Rainfall heard a cry for help in the direction of the river she knew what it was. As fast as she could she ran to the river. She saw Sandstep drowning, without hesitation Rainfall dived into the river. She swam as fast as she could.

[fancypost bgcolor=transparent; borderwidth=0px; width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; padding: 5px; color: #0d0d0d;]Liquid crystal swirls encase a fiery gem in their cool embrace, silencing... Suffocating. Capture the pretty picture as they stand and remember them for their final dance on the river's stage, listen to the mourner's wet lament. A pair of smooth emeralds watch on in morbid curiosity. They wonder how long breath can be held, how quickly a drowning cat could drop below surface for good, never to resurface again. Sandstep's cries for help may as well have been directed toward a deaf elder, because Northpaw was not going to be much help here. "Drypaw," meowed the spectating girl. How else would things have ended up here, at the brink of a watery grave?

A break in the serene scene shatters the crystal illusion into several pieces. Secretly she despised the heroic for jumping in like that, for now it might be many moons until her unanswered questions might find definite resolve (because purposely drowning someone would be wrong). In the shadows by the shore she with the disappointed glint in her jaded eyes will wait, hopefully for something interesting to happen in their home where residents teased danger.
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[align=center][fancypost bgcolor=transparent; borderwidth=0px; bordercolor=transparent; width: 325px;][justify][size=9pt]Lionpaw was out of camp for the first time since the accident two days ago - he couldn't stand being cooped up in the medicine den forever, and he was itching to explore. Besides, his broken leg was feeling a lot better already. And so the runtish tom had been hobbling down along the edge of the river, enjoying the breeze that buffeted off the water's surface. Then Sandstep's cries carried to his ears and e froze, spitting the struggling form of the warrior up ahead, only a few feet.

There were many reasons that Lionpaw was the least likely person to be able to rescue Sandstep. He couldn't swim. He had a broken leg. He was considerably smaller than the warrior. And yet he didn't hesitated for a second to - rather painfully - kick the splint off of his leg and dive right in. Call it bravery, call it stupidity - either way, the apprentice was doing it. The cold water burned at his skin, and the pain radiating from his broken leg rendered him practically useless. And yet Lion would attempt to dig his teeth into Sandstep's scruff, hopefully hauling him in the direction of the shore. He gasped for air, coughing as water locked his throat, and yet he continued to push and try to save the other RiverClanner.

/ ninjA'D TWICE
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[justify][sub][size=9pt]Smoke was fishing when he heard the cry for help. He lifted his head and watched the small cluster of cats gather. Curiously, he made his way over, watching intently. Oh, its a cat drowning, he thought as his gaze darkened. He took a spot with the group, watching silently as the savior went in to save the day, grabbing the victim from the hands of his malignant fate. He was unmoved by the scene, despite the fact someone could have died. It's not like they would have drowned, anyways now that he had not one, but two clanmates saving him.
He was next to Northpaw at the time. He thought he heard the word 'drypaw' come out her mouth. Rightfully so. "What Riverclan cat can't swim?" he asked blankly, watching the shapes of cats wade in the cascade of waves that was the river. [i]I thought Riverclanners were thought how to swim. How could he forget so quickly?

/OOPS EDITING

Rainfall got behind Sandstep and started pushing him back to shore. She saw a couple of cats gathering near the river.

[align=center][fancypost bgcolor=transparent; borderwidth=0px; bordercolor=transparent; width: 325px;][justify][size=9pt]Lionpaw felt immediate relief as Sandstep was pulled into shore by another warrior, whose face he couldn't make out at that moment. Of course, it turned to ice cold fear as the apprentice himself was suddenly pulled beneath the frigid river waves. He had been swimming once, in a hotel pool. But that was for a minute or two, and it was without a broken leg. He gasped as he clawed at the water in the direction of the shore, choking on the water in his lungs. "Hel-" he grunted, pulled under once more. Crap- crap- he was gonna die!
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Berrypaw was taught by her father how to swim, luckily. And she was pretty good at it, too. She came over, due to all the commotion, and heard Lionpaw's cry. Her ears perked forward, and went out into the water, kicking her legs under the water, fighting the force of the water. "Hold on, Lionpaw!" she yelled out, then once she got close to the male, she then aimed to grab the other, and if successful, she would attempt to pull him to shore.

[fancypost bgcolor=transparent; borderwidth=0px; width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; padding: 5px; color: #0d0d0d;]Then, just when her last fleck of hope was preparing to blink out of existence, the kittypet who could (drown) started crying for help. At first she couldn't believe her eyes; surely they must be deceiving her! One, two, three times she slowly blinked as if the scene before her would change in the brief periods of darkness which came with shuteye. Upon final confirmation that she wasn't walking in the dream world her jaw would fall slack. It was a beautiful sight, tear jerking even: two Drypaws drowning in a row! Smokebreath's previously made remark came to mind, and to that she sniggered while commenting "wow. They really like living on the edge!"
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[font=trebuchet ms]"At least you're fine." She replied, a small frown touching her maw as she stared at him with almost-concern. "Almost," because she didn't want to show full out emotions any more, and among other things. Tail sweeping, the long-furred apprentice would sit down a little bit from everyone else.

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[align=center][fancypost bgcolor=transparent; borderwidth=0px; bordercolor=transparent; width: 325px;][justify][size=9pt]Lionpaw was practically sucking down air as Berrypaw dragged him to shore. He clawed at the sand, crumbling into a pathetic ball of sopping wet fur. Sides heaving, the small tom picked up his head. Laying before the group of RiverClanners beside Sandstep, his collar wet and dripping around his neck, he felt his face burn with embarrassment and shame. He was supposed to have been a hero, but he ended up having to be saved himself. Northpaw's words were no help. He turned and glared at her with smoldering orange optics. "Sh-Shut up," he would mumble, doing his best not to throw up water - that would only make his situation worse.

"Are you... Are you ok?" The young apprentice asked Sandstep, still breathing heavily. He gave a weak laugh. "Sorry I... made the situation... worse."

wait omg
is northpaw the teatree as in crittercosmos harborclan teatree?? bc I played reyn!!
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[font=trebuchet ms]Sorrow filled her chest seeing Lionpaw crawl up the shore. The feline crossed over, aiming to start grooming his fur so he could dry faster. "You tried Lionpaw, and I thought it was brave." Minnie hummed enthusiastically, returning to try and help clean his fur.

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[fancypost bgcolor=transparent; borderwidth=0px; width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; padding: 5px; color: #0d0d0d;]As long as they lived in RiverClan, Northpaw decided she would never see someone drown and that was kind of okay. There was always room for other dramatic events with the likes of Streamfur around; it was only a matter of time before the fight to end all fights broke out. So she threw away her unrealistic fantasies into the river to sink and quietly sighed before offering Sandstep an apologetic look. She disliked verbal apologies, and that was as good as it would ever get. "Not from RiverClan? That's okay. We will teach you to swim then." Her voice remained cool as to not come across as a pushover.
Oh, but she wouldn't let the freshly exposed Drypaw get off so easily... A mischievous glint shone in her eyes; she had thought of one last thing to say. "Can't have RiverClanners who do not like rivers." An afterthought thrown in for her own amusement, because weak swimmers in a clan prided for its grace in water were usually a rarity.

/yes it is the same teatree! that's so cool, i didn't even know you were on feralfront :0
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