Snow Day! (Open)

[Silvercloud/Minnowpaw]

A smallish she-cat pounced playfully in the snow, positive now that she was free from prying eyes. She knew she should have a warrior with her but following the rules wasn't always very high on her priorities, besides leave it to a warrior to spoil her fun. Training was boring and repetitive, besides it not like she had an attention span long enough or the ability to sit still.

Large fluffy flakes floated down lazily and the earth seemed to be at peace. All was quiet and still, a slight, but chilly Leafbare wind stirred the flakes as they rained down from the heavens. The sky was a dull gray color filled with thick clouds full of the white stuff.

Minnowpaw turned her splotchy face away from the sky, snow covering her whiskers and stared out at the winter wonderland before her eyes. Tracks of various creatures could be spied heading down to the stream, probably to get a drink. The water would be frozen and the fish buried deep in the pebbles until Newleaf came and thawed them out. It was too bad the stream would be frozen, she enjoyed playing with the fish. Other cats however, wouldn't call it as much.

Minnowpaw snorted and watched as misty vapor came from her nostrils and danced in the wind briefly before cooling. Her aquamarine eyes were bright and full of life, her adorable face expressive. The she-cat twitched her black and ginger tail with delight and continued to bounce through the snow with glee.

Something caught her eye and she paused, curiosity gnawing on her she crept forward with a learner's grace. Minnowpaw reached a slight rise and gazed down at the stream where she spied her attention grabber. It was small and covered with dark, fluffy brown fur. It had small ears and a blunt nose, sort of looked like a mouse. Minnowpaw gazed harder and decided it to be a large water vole.

Minnowpaw cocked her head to the side and lowered herself in the snow. Her rump was high and her tail low, with forelimbs and chest in the snow. Now was her chance to say she'd been out hunting instead of sneaking out. She wriggled her rear with excitement and unsheathed her translucent claws. A good leap would put her right on top of the creature.....

"WEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" She pounced and landed into a snow bank. "Oof!" Minnowpaw didn't have to look at her paws, she'd missed and she knew it. She pulled her head up and shook hard to clear the snow. "Ah ha!" Her bright eyes spied her prey making a beeline for the stream. Minnowpaw released a low growl before charging after her prize rather awkwardly and clumsily through the thick snow. There was no way she was going to be caught again for sneaking out. She really didn't want a new lecture from her fuzzy orange mentor.

Her eyes widened in horror as she realized to late where her vole was going, it was going over it! She doubted the ice would be thick enough to support her weight. Minnowpaw shifted her weight back to her haunches and tried to stop but her paws wouldn't obey her. Maybe I can clear it... It was a slim chance, this part was very wide, it'd be hard for any apprentice to clear except maybe for the nimble cats of the moor.

Quickly the she-cat gathered herself to jump and launched herself at the water's edge. Much to the little vole's horror the little calico scored a direct hit. Minnowpaw hadn't really been aiming for the little creature, but hey she'd take it. With blue-green eyes bugging out of her head Minnowpaw's heart stopped and she sucked in a gigantic breath as a cracking sound rippled all around her and both were plunged into the middle of the stream. Uh-oh not good….not cool…not cool…not cool! “EEP!”

COLD! Freezing cold! The enormous breath was forced from her lungs as her body dipped into the frigid waters. Her mind went blank and numb, too stunned and shocked to do much of anything. "Air! Need air!" Lungs burning Minnowpaw's instincts took hold and forced her legs to move. At least she didn't have the fluff to drag her down like her mentor, but that also meant she wouldn't stay warm as long either.

As she kicked for the surface one of her paws brushed against something furry. After all of this she was NOT leaving without that dang vole. She snatched it in her teeth and clamped hard, so hard her jaw began to ache. Sputtering through the mouthful of fur she broke the surface and kicked wearily for the icy ledge. She hadn't been in the water for more than a minute and there wasn't even a current to fight but she felt so tired. Sleep sounded so good....

Wearily she clawed at the ice, trying to snag a hold but all she managed to do was break it. Grrr where was the thick stuff when you needed it? Finally in a shallower part and closer to shore her claws dug in. Minnowpaw forced her miserable prize onto the ice and enjoyed unrestricted gulps of air. Now to haul herself out, if only she wasn’t so tired…..

The edges of her vision darkened and she became disorientated as a wave of exhaustion swept over her. She still hadn’t been in the water all that long and for StarClan’s sake she was a RiverClaner! Why oh why did she fell like this? What kind of RiverClan cat didn’t swim? With a final burst of energy Minnowpaw dug her claws painfully into the slippery ice. Her grip slipped but she managed half of herself up. She felt her world growing fuzzy and her sides heaving. All that effort for a stupid vole, Russetfang had better be happy. I’m never doing that again! Ever! Tired so tired…..maybe I’ll just rest a few and head for camp…..that…that wasn’t very fun….so cold… Minnowpaw tried to haul the rest of her sodden body out but the strength left her and she collapsed back onto the ice, vaguely aware of her darkening world.

[Heathclaw]

Tigerheart sighed softly to himself as he glanced out at the layer of snow outside of camp. Leaf-bare... truly was certainly the most troublesome time of the year. The frigidness wreaked havoc on the elders' aches and pains, and the shortage of food due to the freezing river and the thick snowfall made RiverClan all the more vulnerable to outbreaks of greencough. And, of course, the snow covered most of the herbs. Just when we need them most, of course...

On the other hand, it was the melting of the snow that ensured a bountiful New-Leaf. And once they got through this... kits would start coming, filling the clan with new life. Such was the way of it- a cycle of hardship and happiness. Of course... first they had to make it through the hard part. Tigerheart sighed again as he began making his way out of camp. This herb gathering run was going to be difficult.

He figured that he'd get the most luck searching by the river- some herbs might still be poking out. He'd get at them if he hurried. A few extra herbs might not make any difference... or they might be the difference between life and death. It was impossible to know what fate StarClan had in mind- best to be prepared. Not like Tigerheart particularly enjoyed heading to the stream. Each visit brought up memories that had to be pushed back.

He could feel it starting as the stream came into view. The smell of blood- his brother's body laid out lifelessly on the bank... Stop. Shut your eyes. Breathe, Tigerheart instructed himself, pushing the memory back. He opened his eyes a few moments later, and blinked, confused and slightly worried. The bloodscent was gone... but there was still a tiny body there... and then he realized with a jolt that this was no phantom cat in front of him- it was a flesh and blood RiverClan apprentice!

"Minnowpaw!" Tigerheart cried out, bounding awkwardly towards the half submerged cat. What's she doing here? And how did she get into this mess? The stream was covered in cracked ice- that's how she must have fallen in. He paused as he reached the bank of the river, trying to think up of a way to get at the apprentice without falling in himself. He put a paw tentatively on the ice, testing its strength- luckily it was thick enough to hold.

Without wasting any more time, he scrabbled across, picking up the young cat by the scruff of her neck and dragging her out. Muscles come in useful for some things, I suppose... he thought dryly. He could tell right off the bat that she was suffering from hypothermia, but he couldn't treat her properly here... The best he could do was get her as dry and as warm as possible until she regained consciousness.

To that end, he went to work on licking the wet parts of the apprentice's fur the wrong way, in order to make the water evaporate faster. She'd need some kind of warm covering, quickly, but there was nothing out here that would remotely work. Well... there was one way. This is a professional procedure... Tigerheart repeated to himself as he draped himself over the apprentice, protecting her from the cold and sharing his body heat. The only other thing he could do now was wait.

[Silvercloud/Minnowpaw]

Uncontrollable shaking racked her body as it tried to warm up. The quakes began to lesson as the dark tabby tom set to work. Minnowpaw's mind felt trapped in a fog as warmth started to return to her frozen, sudden body. Without giving much thought to where she was or what had happened, the young cat imagined herself back in the nursery with her mother and brother. The rhythmic strokes of the tom's tongue reminded her of her tortie mother. Ugh she hated bath time! She'd rather be with her brother, having some grand adventure in the nursery.

"Dappledkit" she murmured. "Save me! Dappledkit help!" The words were muffled by the tom's fur and from being in her own little world, but 'Dappledkit' was quite clear. The she-cat started to struggle, trying to free herself from her 'mom'. The effort was feeble but it was something. Minnowpaw pushed her tri-colored paws against her cover, a pack paw pushing into the tom's abdomen. A forepaw trying to haul herself from beneath the brown and black stripped cat atop her.


((Short but it gives you something to reply too, I should have cut the other one into 2 seperate posts so you'd have more to work with.))

[Heathclaw]

Dappledkit... huh. Poor child, thought Tigerheart. He remembered the incident during Minnowpaw's kithood where her brother had been taken from her- such an unfortunate loss. What an incident that had caused, too, between them and WindClan. It was in the past now, yes, but old scars still burned. At any rate, she'd regained consciousness, of a sort, so Tigerheart neatly stepped off and to the side of his 'patient'.

"Minnowpaw. Can you hear me? How are you feeling? Can you walk?" asked Tigerheart. Basics first- they could get into the foolishness of ice-fishing in the winter later. Tigerheart sighed quietly to himself- it looked like herbs would have to wait, today. He gave silent thanks to StarClan as well- if he hadn't decided to go to the stream today... who knew what could have happened to this young apprentice?