stumble in the dark | open (JOINING)

[center][fancypost=background:;width:50%;padding:3px;line-height:1;text-align:justify;]The feline moved quickly, bouncing from one stepping stone to the next. On the slippery rocks the she-cat was finding it hard to maintain her hold, teetering with every move she made. Around her swirled the river, looking rather chilly as it rushed past the rocks emerging from its depths. In truth the water wasn't rushing nearly as fast as she made it out to be, the biting wind that whipped through her fur causing her to dislike the idea of a swim much more than she usually would. Truth be told the tabby cat didn't have a problem with water, but on a cold evening such as the present one she certainly did prefer to be warm.

Crouching on the stone her grassy coloured eyes were on the one ahead of her. It was only a small leap away and it was the last jump before she would reach dry land. The girl's muscles tightened and released, propelling her body forwards. She could feel the smooth granite under her paws and yet the rock had been much wetter than she had anticipated. Unable to find a hold on the slippery surface the feline found herself skidding forwards, slipping into the river with a hiss of surprise escaping her lips.

As she hit the water her whole body was taken over by the cold, the water immediately soaking her through. For but a second she was under the water before natural instincts kicked in and, finding that the river's current wasn't nearly as strong as one might think, she pushed herself to the surface. Propelling herself towards the bank with a paddle-like motion, a look of surprise could still be seen in the green of her eyes, even as she pulled herself from the water and up onto the island's sandy shores. Her brown and white tabby fur was drenched through, sticking to the girl's athletic and well-muscled frame as she moved. Pausing with her paws sinking into the sand of the island, the eyes of the girl caught a flicker of movement up ahead and her head snapped up to lock upon a stranger approaching.

She was intruding. She knew that. She was sure that her scent and unfamiliar appearance would certainly alert the approaching clanner of the fact, too. A slightly nervous expression crossed her face and her brow furrowed slightly. Would RiverClan take kindly to her intrusion when she gave the reason why she was here? She certainly hoped so. The stranger was getting closer now and the tabby could feel the need to speak. She was sure that RiverClan wasn't hostile, yet she didn't want to be attacked for her intrusion nonetheless. Grimacing slightly the girl pushed a small and nervous smile up onto her maw.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm intruding," the girl's spiel began with an apologetic look at the clanner. "but really, I don't mean any harm by it." Surely her drowned-looking appearance would show that she was no threat as she didn't seem to be able to cross a river without falling in. Speaking of falling in, she felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment at the thought that the RiverClanners could have seen her clumsiness. "I'm just here to join. My friend told me that I could find RiverClan here. I'm sure you wouldn't have heard of her before as she's not a clanner, but she told me I could find you all here and I did mean to get here much sooner than this," here her green eyes flickered up to the darkening evening skies and the readily rising moon. "but I'm not really the best with time management." She was vaguely aware that she was rambling, something the chatty feline tended to do when she was nervous. Here her voice trailed off, her seemingly endless flow of words coming to a halt as she finally took a breath in order to look out at the clanner. One thing was missing of course for she hadn't even bothered to off up her name, not that she'd noticed of course.

[center][fancypost=background:;width:50%;padding:3px;line-height:1;text-align:justify;]The flash of movement that had first caught the young feline's eye had been a flicker of alabaster. As she'd raised her head to look at the creature coming towards her, she had at first been confused. It was a snowy coloured girl, a fox who, if Whittia was any judge of age, seemed to be around her own age. It wasn't the girl herself that was confusing. It was her tail. The stranger was approaching her and the tabby cat could feel her skin crawling slightly. She wasn't a judgmental person but she was easily intimidated and the sight of a fox carrying a sword with her tail. Plus, the girl didn't look too welcoming either, although the food in her maw certainly did seem inviting.

Somehow the feline managed to keep her nervous and sheepish smile on her maw as the fox looked out at her with eyes that she found to be a rather startling light blue. Blinking green eyes out at the clanner, the tabby cat didn't relax until the fox before her spoke, her whole being seeming to become more inviting as she did so. With pricked ears, the girl felt herself straightening slightly and her smile widening as she heard the words. She was in? Just like that? Splendid! "Thank you! Gee, I really did think joining would be a little harder," her words came out with something like a sigh of relief. "but it's great to meet you. Also, your tail. A little intimidating with the whole blade thing, but that's pretty great. I can't do that myself." As always, Whittia was honest - "Were you born being able to do that?" - and inquisitive.

Someone else was coming. She could see them now, the movement drawing her emerald eyes away from the snowy furred fox. This time her gaze was meeting a male, someone with an easy smile and... a guitar? Managing to match his friendly smile despite the fact that her nerves were returning at meeting yet another new face, the tabby cat's ears were pricked up to attention as the guy before her spoke. He was asking a question and the girl felt her skin prickling just a little. She was plenty good at asking questions, yet the answering of them, especially when the questions came from people she wasn't familiar with, left her nervous.

Her nose twitching, a small habit that often gave away her anxieties, the girl gave a nod of her head. "Yes of course, sorry," her smile here was an apologetic one, for why had she not introduced herself earlier? "I'm Whittia Smith - most of the time people just call me Whit, but that's up to you." Having introduced herself, the girl's gaze flickered to the unknown fox and then back to the male. "Might I ask what your names are?"