we're so young // swimming

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    Ever since joining Skyclan she hadn't swam in ages. She missed the feeling of the cool liquid blanketing her lean frame as it twirled and slipped between her thick strands of fur. She missed the welcoming cool it offered when the sun was beating down and baking the mud into a hard concrete texture. But now she really didn't have to worry about the heat scorching her spine like she once had. With the majestic canopy of trees shading Skyclan from the rest of the world there was little sunlight to be felt warming her to the bone. It was a shame really, especially with how much she missed the water and with how much she missed the sunlight. So of course she felt like it was her birthday upon finding a stream just deep enough for her to wade and possibly float on the surface of it.


    Grinning widely to the point of her cheeks and healing scabs hurt she quickly waddled into the cool depths with a soft sigh. Crouching in the shallows she finally allowed her usually tense shoulders and stiff limbs to relax as the liquid circled and swirled it's way around her lean body. How lovely this felt.

    Never had the molly been a big fan of swimming, she had enjoyed it lots more when she was a young and living within the barn alongside her family. She remembered having fun splashing around with siblings and attempting to swim around on the deeper end of ponds, which would always cause her helicopter parents to freak out. Now as a mother, she couldn't blame them because she was pretty much the exact same way. Protective, over protective even. Could you blame her though? Especially after Fireflywatcher and Wheatbell, damn. An invisible brow raises in slight amusement when she comes across the scene though. "Ahh yes, I remember you said something about being able to swim. I take it you enjoy the water then?" She asks as she sits down at the edge of the stream. "I never learned how to swim. If we ever somehow got flooded and you guys don't know where I am, I'm dead." She muses slightly.

       

    ✦ ✧ ✦ A RiverClan cat by birth, Heronswoop had been fond of the water and of swimming from a young age. Besides her family, swimming was what she probably missed most of all about RiverClan; not that she had had much chance to do so in the days leading up to when she left due to the toxic water. She had been on a walk again, her children left under the care of their doting father for the time being, when she stumbled upon Sharkscar and Lavenderskies.


    The stream was a bit of a surprise for Heronswoop, but it was nice to see fresh water again after so long. The little stream also seemed deep enough to wade in, and possibly even float in, so Heronswoop could not resist walking into it. The feeling of cool water against her paws made her ache for home. For a moment, she closed her eyes, forgetting the other two felines present, and letting her mind wander back to the first time she learnt to swim. Tempestwing had taken her and some of the other kits down to the river. They handn't properly swam then, but it had been her first experience of the water, and a memory she cherished.


    "This is nice," Heronswoop said softly, her eyes opening. "I haven't done this in a long time."

    As cool water flowed through and around her fur she sighed softly. This was amazing. She missed swimming so much more than she thought. Eyes closing in pleasure she was returned to reality as Lavender stepped up making a few jests of her own for once. Smirking slightly the chausie glanced over her shoulder at the deputy. "Oh, I'd never let you drown," she answered with a wave of her wet tail, hoping to splash the older molly with a few droplets of water. "Maybe someday I could teach you," she added with a simple shrug along with her offer. Shark wasn't exactly a spectacular teacher but perhaps teaching an adult would be easier than teaching a child.


    The feeling of rippling water beside her drew her attention to the pretty young queen. Heronswoop, that was her name she believed. Giving the calico a onceover from the corner of her eye she smiled softly in the former Riverclanner's direction. "We Riverclanners never can stay away from the water can we?" She poked with a tilt of her head in the queen's direction.

    ✦ ✧ ✦ Heronswoop laughed at Sharkscar's words. She may not have been RiverClan anymore, but she still retained some of he skills from her old clan. "I think it just comes with having RiverClan blood running through our veins," She mused.


    She blinked, and then turned to look over at Lavenderskies, who sat by the edge of the small stream. "I'm guessing you can't swim," Heron said, referencing Sharkscar's earlier comment about not letting the older molly drown. "If you're ever interested, I'd be happy to help teach you as well. But I understand if you'd rather not. Swimming isn't for everyone."

    It was weird watching Heronswoop almost without thought to begin wading in the stream, she didn't mind her paws getting wet on a hot day but she really didn't care for much more then that. She wasn't sure why exactly but that was just the way she was. RiverClan cats were just weird, what about them made them enjoy the water? Maybe it was just because that was the norm within RiverClan? Huh... She then snorts, "Maybe you'll be put to the test one day." She muses with a soft smile, "And if you don't save me I'll be sure to haunt you until the day you die as a ghost. So watch out."


    Her ear gives a slight twitch at their suggestion of teaching her, maybe. She wasn't opposed to it but she definitely wasn't for it... she'd have to give it some thought. Maybe if it was a hot summer day and they were all bored- hell they could teach others then too if they wanted. "I appreciate the offers." She tells them with a small purr, "I'll have to think about it though. I'm not opposed to doing it one day."