running down to the riptide { private

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  • [center][fancypost=;border:0px;width:430px;text-align:justify;color:pink]It was funny that Rosewater had joined a clan that had a river as, basically, the main attraction, and had even been named after it, because the white kitten simply couldn't swim. Her mother had taught her all sorts of other skills, but swimming? Nah. There hadn't been anything larger than a puddle-sized pond where Rosewater had formerly lived, and she had only gone near the water to drink from it. Now, here she was, at a clan that lived behind a cave with a waterfall, of all things- and where did that water come from? The river above, in the ghost town. The ivory-colored feline had gotten curious, not knowing much about the territory besides that the swamp was absolutely disgusting and way too boggy (this was a problem, since it was the main territory), and climbed the treacherous path to the top of the cliff, to look at the ghost town. She hadn't come in contact with much human things, and had marveled at it for a while, until her attention turned to the river.


    It was a mass of churning water, and it looked scary, but since Rosewater had never seen such fast-moving water, she had decided to approach it a little closer. The bank of the river was sort of muddy, a sharp contrast between the dry earth around the rest of the ghost town, and the little cat recoiled in disgust. However, as she did so, one of her paws slipped. In a heartbeat, she had fallen into the river, clawing at the sides of the bank but getting no traction. Rosewater's paws frantically slapped at the water, but it was no good. It was all she could do to keep her head above the water, much less actually move to the side of the bank and get out.

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    [font=Mistral]Ramses Harbinger-Xerses
    [font=times]duncan vantas xx kali xerses ☼ [color=white]male [color=#99C68E]☼ [color=white]riverclan [color=#99C68E]☼ [color=white]trainee [color=#99C68E]☼
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    [color=#e0e0e0]They say that drowning people are usually silent, but Ramses had never experienced this for himself. Currently, the large - and handsome, if you asked him - direhound was basking at the top of the falls, soaking up whatever weak winter sunlight was filtering down to earth. Ordinarily, he'd be swimming, but it was exceptionally cold that day and if it was too cold for Ramses, then you knew it was damn fucking cold. Usually, it was hard to keep him out of the water. Ever since he had been a tiny pup, the damn creature was swimming and swimming and swimming, much to poor Kali's horror. He lazily rolled onto his belly and blearily blinked a few times, on the verge of nodding off fully, when he thought he saw something strange in the water.


    An ice chunk, perhaps? Possible, but unlikely, considering it hadn't snowed recently and the river hardly ever froze except for way downstream, where the current slowed to a steady bumble. His bright orange eyes strained a bit, and opened wide when the realization of what he was looking at hit him like a ton of bricks. "Oh, shit." He leapt to his dark paws, taking a rapid glance at the drop off the falls, right next to him, and the bedraggled, struggling cat that was quickly being pulled towards the edge. There was time, but none to spare. Ramses launched himself forward, hind legs creating deep impressions in the dirt where he took off, and raced along the bank. He was thankful that despite the frequent naps, he was agile and in shape, because he needed it now more than ever. His tongue lolled as he pelted for the town in huge strides, his eyes trained on the bobbing white figure like a hawk. 150 feet away, 110, 80, 63, 30 -- and he took off, nearly slipping on the muddy bank as he launched himself the final distance into the water. Time stood still as he impacted the river, and he could not find his breath for several moments. The cold had ripped it from his lungs. Finally he inhaled, and lunged for the cat's scruff, missing it by centimeters. "Don't panic." he assured, his voice impossibly calm in the direness of their situation. The roar of the falls was growing louder and despite him being as at home as an otter, he could feel panic rising up in his own gorge, threatening to suffocate him. He thrusted powerfully to close the distance between them once again in preparation to make another grab for her.

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  • [center][fancypost=;border:0px;width:430px;text-align:justify;color:pink]She had been sure that she was going to end up at the very least really injured. Probably dead, you know, because she was heading for a waterfall, after all. But then, out of the corner of her eye, Rosewater thought she saw something streaking toward her like a frigging bullet, and then suddenly that something was in the water with her, lunging at her and missing her scruff (she hoped that was an attempt to save her, not to kill her or something horrible like that) and telling her not to panic- that reassured Rose that the animal probably wasn't trying to bite her neck. She couldn't really get a good look at whoever had just leaped into the water, but he looked to be canine, and his coat was in tones of brown. Rose didn't have much time to look at much else of him, though, because her eyes were filled with water, and her nose was filled with water, and her ears were- oh, damn, even her bow had gotten wet. Even at a time where her life was at stake, Rosewater hoped that her silk bow wouldn't get too damaged by the water.


    As she floundered about like a confused fish that natural selection would totally kill off, she managed to stutter out as she beat the water, trying to move toward him but failing pathetically, "HOW DO- NOT- PANIC?!" [color=pink]It wasn't the most helpful thing she could have said in that situation, but Rosewater was totally panicking, and what she said was absolutely sincere. She had no idea how to swim, and this dude was telling her not to panic? It was like asking Rose to be a nice person- not gonna happen.

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    [font=Mistral]Ramses Harbinger-Xerses
    [font=times]duncan vantas xx kali xerses ☼ [color=white]male [color=#99C68E]☼ [color=white]riverclan [color=#99C68E]☼ [color=white]trainee [color=#99C68E]☼
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    [color=#e0e0e0]Were they in any other situation, Ramses would've snickered at her fractured sentence, but at this moment he hadn't even really registered it. The gap between them and death was closing - he knew this drop was fatal, because it had recently killed his own mother. With wide eyes he looked at the waterfall's edge and made his second attempt for Rose's scruff, his large jaws snapping through the whitewater to clamp down on her, significantly harder than he'd intended. It wasn't exactly the right time to treat her like a damn flower, Ramses was in full on get the fuck out of here mode, and if that meant he drew a little blood then oh well. As soon as he felt her scruff in his mouth, he threw himself sideways in the direction of the bank and paddled as hard as he could for the it. He made agonizingly slow progress and continued to be dragged ever backwards, but eventually he was within distance of the bank. He felt his pads scrape at the bottom of the river - he could almost touch! His gaze was ripped back to the fall's edge - they were mere feet from being dragged over. Finally!


    He made full contact with the river bottom, and, as he took his first full step, the rocks beneath his paws shifted. He did not even have time to think as he felt the pit of his stomach drop. His footing was lost and he immediately was dragged backwards by the current once more. Desperately he scrambled at his lost footing, mentally looping the words no no no no no through is head. Time seemed to slow and he felt his back legs in open air - they were quite literally on the sharp verge of the fall. Until, once more, his front paws struck something solid and he hooked on like his life depended on it, which, uh, it did. A boulder protruding from the water at the very precipice of the waterfall - Ramses hauled half of his body out of the water, but the current spun him around unexpectedly, so that he his front end swung over the drop off. His grip on Rose tightened as she was dangled precariously over the edge. His nostrils were flaring and his heart felt like it was about to burst as she swung like a gentle pendulum back in forth in his jaws for several long seconds. They were miraculously anchored by the rock and with a mighty effort he managed to get himself all the way onto it and fully out of the water, so that she was no longer dangling over the drop off. He still didn't release her yet, probably to her annoyance. Now they had to find a way off of this damn thing and onto shore. "Think I can make that jump?" he asked with a devilish grin through a mouthful of her pristine white fur. He was running on pure adrenaline.

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  • [center][fancypost=;border:0px;width:430px;text-align:justify;color:pink]Everything was happening so fast for Rosewater- too fast. First, her "rescuer" had clamped down on her scruff like he got a damn prize if he bit her hard enough, which wasn't all that pleasant, and she may have sort of wanted to smack him (which would have been a terrible idea, but Rose wasn't thinking rationally) in the face and tell him to loosen his grip. But then the next thing happened- she could have sworn that the water had gotten shallower, like they were near the bank, and the next thing she knew, Ramses had slipped and then she was fucking dangling over the edge of the waterfall. She had frozen, stiff as a board, swinging ever so slightly. Then, she was on a rock, and that was significantly better, but it still took her a few seconds to process what Ramses had said, because really all she could hear was the blood rushing in her ears.


    "NO! THAT'S IDIOTIC!" [color=pink]She spat in response to his words, feeling too sick and afraid to say or, uh, yell much more. She felt like she needed to barf up a bunch of water, but when they were on a rock and she was currently being held by her scruff by an unfamiliar RiverClanner, it probably would not have been the best idea. It would probably actually make the situation worse, so Rosewater gulped and tried to fight the feeling, hoping upon hopes that Ramses did not try to jump. Rose didn't exactly feel like dying that day.

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    [font=Mistral]Ramses Harbinger-Xerses
    [font=times]duncan vantas xx kali xerses ☼ [color=white]male [color=#99C68E]☼ [color=white]riverclan [color=#99C68E]☼ [color=white]trainee [color=#99C68E]☼
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    [color=#e0e0e0]It was hard to hear because of the overwhelming roar of the whitewater, but he was fairly certain he'd just called his brilliant idea idiotic. He had half a mind to throw her retort right back at her - seriously, who the hell lived in RiverClan but didn't know how to swim? As a lover of all things water, this was borderline unfathomable by Ramses. He was a damn fish.
    His blood was still pumping with adrenaline as he weighed his options. Jump, maybe make it to shore. Swim, maybe make it to shore but also probably get immediately swept over the edge, considering they were moored right in front of the drop off, and he could see the dizzying drop mere inches away. He glanced at the surging water before them and made his decision. If they were going to die, they might as well have a real shot at it. A heartbeat later, he gathered his muscles, crouched, and sprung into the air once more. Once again it felt as though time slowed. He landed heavily with his forepaws and chest covered in mud, meaning Rose was lathered in it as well. He hadn't been trying too hard to keep her out of the muck, what with focusing on not dying and all. His hind end was still in the water, he hadn't fully cleared it, but he had enough purchase to haul himself fully out and onto the grass above the mud. It took him a few seconds to realize he could drop Rose, and he did so unceremoniously. He glanced at her, panting heavily - the adrenaline was leaving and the shock of the cold was beginning to set in. Everything ached, he was so goddamn tired. The large direhound flopped down, beginning to be racked by violent shivers, both from the cold and from the physical exertion that he'd just put himself through. The both of them were still soaked in the icy water. "Saved your life."

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  • [center][fancypost=;border:0px;width:430px;text-align:justify;color:pink]It appeared that her screechy input did not really help whether or not Ramses jumped to the bank. She had been certain that he was going to miss, or slip on the rock, but he didn't, so it turned out that Rosewater did not die, even if she had been certain she had been about to. Instead, she just got slammed into mud and had one of the most traumatic experiences of her life, but Ramses's idea had not been all that idiotic after all. Seriously, Rosewater herself had never thought up a plan to get off the rock, so her saying that it was idiotic was... really not helpful whatsoever. The kitten heaved a great breath when she was on land, and then retched up some water. With that, she wobbled a few steps and then flopped down, feeling the icy chill of the water soaking into her bones. Worst of all, she was covered in mud. Goddamn mud! Mud on her, on her bow, and mud everywhere. She was so relieved and terrified and angry about the mud, that she was on the verge of bursting into tears.


    The first thing she did, besides flop on the ground, was not thank Ramses for saving her life and ask him if she could do anything to repay him. No, no, no. Instead, she did something really, really Rosewater-like. At least she was still being characteristically unpleasant. "Okay, but, like, I'm covered in... in... mud!"[color=pink] The formerly pure-white kitten practically sobbed, trying to clean herself by licking her fur. That just ended up with her having a mouthful of mud, and spat it out angrily. She was soaked in cold water, had cold mud splattered on her, had almost died, had been saved, and her biggest concern seemed to be the mud. [color=#FFFFFF]"I don't know if my bow's going to be okay! I don't even know if it can go in water and be fine, but now it got coated in mud! Ughhh!" [color=pink]She was tempted to go jump in the river again, to clean herself off, but the smart part of her told her not to do that, and that she was only thinking of that because she wasn't quite in tune with herself right then.


    Rosewater took a huge, deep breath, trying to calm herself down, but it wasn't really working. It was funny how she was going ballistic and Ramses, whom had just had to save himself and her, was pretty chill- it was obvious that they had pretty damn different personalities. The small feline scrunched herself up into a tiny ball, placing her paws over her muzzle and shivering. So many emotions were running through her head, so many that it didn't even cross her mind to say "thank you" to Ramses.

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    [font=Mistral]Ramses Harbinger-Xerses
    [font=times]duncan vantas xx kali xerses ☼ [color=white]male [color=#99C68E]☼ [color=white]riverclan [color=#99C68E]☼ [color=white]trainee [color=#99C68E]☼
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    [color=#e0e0e0]His heartrate began to go back to normal after a bit, though he was still very cold and tired. Ramses watched with an expression of amusement as Rose threw herself onto the earth dramatically, as if she had just been the one to save them. And as she got a mouthful of mud. "We can go for another swim if you're that worried about it. This time you can haul my ass out." he said, cocking a brow as he continued watch her. Christ, you'd think she were on her death bed, the way she was acting. The mud did not bother him any, and ordinarily being wet wouldn't have either, except he was fucking freezing. The sun was wintry and weak, and didn't do much in the way of warming him up. If they were smart, they'd huddle, but he knew just based off of their limited exchanges that it was totally possible she'd literally lose her mind. "Come on. Let's go find something to clean off with." he said, drawing himself up. He was simultaneously stiff from the cold and felt like jelly from the exhaustion. His plan was to head over to the abandoned town - there would likely be leftover cloths or towels that they could rub up against. As he got to his paws, he did something was certain would probably piss her off. He shook his coat. His long, wild, slightly curly wet wolf coat - shook it all over the place, slinging droplets of mud and water everywhere. When finished, he amusedly stole a glance at her out of the corner of his eye to see her reaction.

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  • [center][fancypost=;border:0px;width:430px;text-align:justify;color:pink]As soon as Ramses joked about her taking another swim, she had whirled around, glaring at him. She knew it was just a jest, but she couldn't help but feel irritated and spooked at the very idea of it. She, having a filter for once, didn't say anything, though. She actually listened, and gave a prim nod when he suggested that they go somewhere to get clean. That sounded like a wonderful plan to her, seeing as stated many times before, she hated the mud. Plus, they would probably be able to find towels and get warm. The mere idea of that made her want to purr- she was shivering so hard she felt like she might trip every time she shivered. "Good idea. I'm way too-" What she was going to say next was never known, because that was when Ramses shook his fur out. More cold wet and mud sprayed onto her, and she ducked down with a loud, "Eeep!"

    She rose again after he had stopped, frowning, her brow furrowed and her nose wrinkled slightly. It was clear the little kitten was annoyed, and was even more so when she noticed Ramses was glancing at her like he wanted to know whether she was pissed off or not. Her fur bristled a bit, although it wasn't very noticeable, because her coat was soaked. [color=#FFFFFF]"You did that on purpose!" [color=pink]She accused, trotting toward him to keep up. [color=#FFFFFF]"Don't you know that it's rude to shake your pelt on others?" [color=pink]She tossed her head with a scoff, not seeming to care that she herself had been quite rude herself.

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    [font=Mistral]Ramses Harbinger-Xerses
    [font=times]duncan vantas xx kali xerses ☼ [color=white]male [color=#99C68E]☼ [color=white]riverclan [color=#99C68E]☼ [color=white]trainee [color=#99C68E]☼
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    [color=#e0e0e0]It was obvious that the indignant little cat beside him was not trying to be funny, but nevertheless Ramses found her amusing. Getting her all riled was like stealing candy from a baby. He looked down at her in mock surprise. "I didn't know that, but thanks for enlightening me. I'll try not to do it again." he said sheepishly. It was a little surprising, if he was being honest - how oblivious she was to the fact that his own rudeness was simply an intentional reflection of her behavior. Ramses knew how to have good manners, of course - if it were Rori or one of his friends right next to him, he'd never have shaken mud and water all over them. But it was fun to toy with Rosewater.


    He continued walking after her little outburst, just wanting to find something to dry off with. They neared the houses, which were in an advanced state of disrepair and Ramses poked his head inside the first one. The door was half gone and he was too tall to fit himself through the bottom gap, so he reared up on his hind legs and ripped the top half off. He stepped inside and began to search around for stuff. "What's your name, anyway, kitty?" he asked as he rummaged absentmindedly through a dresser. He knew she was RiverClan, but they'd never interacted before.

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  • [center][fancypost=;border:0px;width:430px;text-align:justify;color:pink]"You're welcome." That was all Rosewater huffed in response to his "thanks". Rosewater acted mature in some ways, but in others, such as getting sarcasm and joking tones, she was not quite as well to do. She said nothing more as they walked, making only a surprised squeaking sound when Ramses fricked up the door. Still, she followed after him, in search of something to clean her 'ruined' fur. Rose started inspecting a couple of old baskets, pawing at them half-heartedly. Really, she was hoping Ramses would do all the work, because she was a mooching jerk.


    Her ears gave an irritated flick when Ramses spoke again, and she explained why when she spoke. "Uhm, excuse me, don't call me kitty unless you want me to call you... large wolf, or whatever. I don't really know what you are. My name's Rosewater, or Rose or Rosey, but mainly Rosewater." [color=pink]She found a scrap of cloth, probably just a cutting from a larger garment. It was only big enough for her to wipe her face off with, and then it was soaked in water and mud, but at least her face wasn't gross anymore. She paused, and then glanced toward Ramses, [color=pink] her curiosity as to what his name was getting the better of her. [color=#FFFFFF]"How about you?"

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    [font=Mistral]Ramses Harbinger-Xerses
    [font=times]duncan vantas xx kali xerses ☼ [color=white]male [color=#99C68E]☼ [color=white]riverclan [color=#99C68E]☼ [color=white]trainee [color=#99C68E]☼
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    [color=#e0e0e0]She was just a goldmine for him. Pretty much everything she said amused him, and it played in the form of a grin on his dark maw. Everything offended her! Ramses had never encountered somebody so uptight before, it was actually a little bit hard to believe. His own take on life made it hard to understand why all the little things bothered her - but then again, Ramses was hardly bothered by anything. Even a big thing was usually a little thing for him. "You can call me large wolf. Although I'm technically a direhound, not a wolf. Part direwolf, part hellhound." The technicality meant absolutely nothing to him, he was just jabbing at her. "Rosey it is, then. Large wolf will work for me, or Ramses. Whichever you prefer." It was hard to keep his voice even, because he was still quaking with shivers. The cold felt like it had iced over his bones. He continued his hunt, using his nose, and reared up on his hind legs to paw open the top drawer of a particularly tall dresser. He pulled out a bunch of towels and tossed one to the cat. "Use this instead, that little scrap won't do shit." He dunked one of the towels in a puddle of raindwater that was in a corner of the room and proceeded to roll all over it, copious amounts of mud leaving his coat. When he felt sufficiently clean he picked a dry one to try and dry off with. He could feel the outer layer of his coat beginning to dry ever so slowly - it was still damn cold, but at least progress was being made. "How did you end up the river?"

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  • [center][fancypost=;border:0px;width:430px;text-align:justify;color:pink]Uptight- that was a word that described Rosewater very well. Some would choose "snobby", but if it came down to which one Rosewater would prefer, it was uptight. One of the reasons she hadn't flounced off to go clean herself up alone was because Ramses was not like her at all. He was so chill, took her rude comments well. Plus, he had just saved her life, so the white kitten figured that although she hadn't thanked him yet, she would at least stay around him and not run off randomly. Plus, he was searching for stuff to get cleaned off with, and eight paws was better than four when it came to searching. "You're a what now? I don't think I've ever heard of direhounds before." She raised her nonexistent eyebrows. Truth be told, she hadn't heard much about dire wolves or hellhounds, either, but didn't voice that. She didn't like to come off as too uninformed. "I think I'll go with Ramses, just because 'large wolf' is more of a mouthful." She shrugged, pawing at the baskets as if she could make towels appear. None did, but luckily Ramses found one. [color=#FFFFFF]"Thanks." [color=pink]She said, her voice sounding about as ungrateful as one can get before it hits the "completely ungrateful" mark (which was funny, because she was actually grateful- it appeared Rosewater was having a little bit of trouble voicing that correctly, though) copying the direhound as he dipped his own towel in rainwater. Then she began wiping herself off, the mud and cold water slowly leaving her coat. She shook herself off, grabbed one of the other towels, and then proceeded to wrap herself up in it like a little taco, both to dry off and just get warm.


    Ramses's question made her glance awkwardly at her paws. What was she supposed to say? "I wanted to see the water closer and slipped"? To her, that sounded silly. But Rosewater couldn't think fast enough on her feet to come up with a good, reasonable excuse. The ones that popped up in her head were "I was pushed in" (way too dramatic, would involve someone as the villain, and Rose didn't want news getting out to the clan that there was someone out to murder kittens by pushing them into the river) and "I decided to learn how to swim- didn't you see how good I was? I didn't need help" (which was a blatant lie that Ramses would see through in a heartbeat, seeing as he had just saved her). Eventually, she just went with the truth, although she said it as casually as possible. [color=#FFFFFF]"Slipped in. Damn mud did it." [color=pink]She blamed it on the mud, of course.