Drowned (open+intro)

[rhybbear]

A mostly white form could be seen at the edge of the river. He was peering in at the silver bodies darting to and for. Curiosity drew him I'm closer for a better view. Cocking his partially ginger face, his green gaze watched them. They had small thin bodies with large buldging eyes. They were weird to look at. The unnamed tom kit reached out a paw, only to be grabbed by the current and thrown underwater. Whenever his maw broke the surface of the surging river, he let out cries for help.

[Fireflake]

Pebbleshade froze in his tracks and stopped to stare. The river rocked violently back and forth like a tail lashing at him. This wasn't an uncommon scene for the tom, after he'd nearly drowned in the flooding of MistClan's camp, but today was different. Today he wasn't staring at the river. There was a small figure beside it.

The tom stepped forward with hardly a sound. He had come this far out looking for prey, but as he drew closer he could see it wasn't prey playing dangerously close to the river. That was a kit. Just as he opened his mouth to question why the little one was so far from its mother, he was interrupted by a sickening splash. He flattened his ears and wasted no time running toward the water.

The warrior reached the edge and time seemed to slow. He was the worst cat for this. He knew it. He was one of a pawful of MistClan cats that couldn't swim. Still, he'd been shown how to fish once, and this was similar... right? The young, broken cries for help threw him into action again. Pebbleshade himself leaned precariously over the water, which had already carried the young cat a fox-length from where he'd fallen, and stuck his front leg in with hopes of hooking the small form out.

[Dragon]

Maplepaw was out alone hunting for the clan. But if truth be told he just really needed to be by himself. He had been thinking about the previous nights training, his shoulders still stung where Smokeface had raked him with his claws. But it was a good pain one he had gotten from battle training with his Dark Forest Mentor. He enjoyed every second of his training with Smokeface and did his best to make sure he didn't miss a night.

So lost in thoughts was he that he hadn't scented Pebbleshade walking almost the exact same path as him up ahead. But what he did notice was the sound of a splash in the river followed by tiny screams of help. His ears pricked up and he spotted Pebbleshade trying to hook an unknown kit from the river. He would love to just sit and watch how this played out. But if Pebbleshade spotted him he would question him about why he hadn't helped. The tom obviously didn't know how to swim. He himself had made sure it was one of the first things he had learned after finally being made an apprentice since that was how he had nearly died. Letting out a long sigh he took off running for the river and dove in after the kit hoping to help either push him towards Pebbleshade or to grab him, himself.

[rhybbear]

His lungs were burning as the surging water rushed in. Air and water bleeding together. An unknind mixture has been blessed upon the small boy. With green eyes, he could see two forms on the other bank. One tried feebly to get the water to circle to him so, in theory, he would be washed that way. The other dove into the water and swam upstream to meet him. The younger tom attempted to grab him, but with the water rocking the kitten side to side, it was hard to get a hold of him.
However, the apprentice's attempts did not die in vain for his body helped guide the white and ginger kitten towards the warrior. The kit couldn't breathe anymore. There was too much water in him to make way for oxygen. With one past thrust of his hindlegs, he made his way to Pebble and was plucked free from the water

[Fireflake]

The rushing in Pebbleshade's ears seemed as loud as the river itself. His grappling was desperate and fruitless. Whether or not he could rescue the kit, he was fairly sure, would be up to luck or to StarClan. Neither seemed to be on his side these days. "What-?!" slipped out as the droplets from another large splash hit his whiskers. Maplepaw appeared in the corners of his vision and he felt it was suddenly a little easier to balance.

The kit was jolted toward him for just a moment. Pebbleshade's paw hooked onto the little one-- who didn't seem all that little when he was wrestling against the current and gravity itself-- and he threw all of his weight on his hind paws. A lurching feeling sloshed in the pit of his belly as he reeled backward, then both he and the kit where on solid ground. Yes!

A short gasp was all the warrior had time for before he rolled back to his paws and patted the kit's back with his paw. He didn't know what he was doing, really, but he'd seen the medicine cats do this after the flood and hoped it might help the kit choke up the water. "Maplepaw," he breathed, glancing back to the apprentice. It was clear that he knew what he was doing. Thanks flashed in his mind, then questions about if there was time to get the medicine cats, but eventually he just nodded and looked back to the kit, waiting with wide eyes for a cough.

[Dragon]

Maplepaw growled between his teeth as he tried to grab the kit but the current kept pushing him away. But at least he had managed to push the kit towards Pebbleshade. He did his best to keep the kit from drifting away from the tom so when he finally snatched the kit and pulled him out he let out a sigh. The current swept him a few tail-lengths before he managed to scramble out. Once on solid ground again he gave his pelt a shake than ran over to Pebbleshade and saw the tom rubbing the kits back. "Turn him on his side. That's what the medicine cat did to me when I almost drowned in the flood." He nudged the small kit onto his side then pushed against his belly hoping to push the water out of the kits lungs. He was just glad he remembered this from when it was done to him. After all the work he did to save the stupid furball it better not go and die on him now. "Come on breath kit. Don't you want to see you mom and dad and siblings again?"

[rhybbear]

He wanted to puke. But he couldn't. Something was in his throat preventing from allowing anything come out. His belly was pressed on and his body was jerked aside. As the pressure of a paw pressed down, a rock shot out of his maw ands soon, water flowed out of him. It hurt. The child wanted to scream in pain but all he could do was throw up the water and heave as fresh air surged into his lungs.
Air now filled his belly, and the ginger and white kitten looked between both cats. He felt like these cats were angels sent to save him but in reality they were just cats and it still meant he was abandoned. Or orphaned. He really didn't know what happened to his parents after being caught together in those traps near the twoleg place.
After a few moments of breathing, he whimpered and rushed to nuzzle the cat closest to him. He.... didn't know what to do. He was alone.

[Fireflake]

Pebbleshade took his paws off of the kit and allowed Maplepaw to push on his belly. Just as he'd leaned over the river he now leaned over the kit, waiting with pricked ears for a cough, and slumped in relief when it came. "Great StarClan."
It seemed like cascades were falling from the kit's mouth, more than he should have been able to hold inside of him, but finally the little one had gasped. Pebbleshade followed suit as the kit's soaked fur brushed against his.

"Okay, it's alright..." he murmured. "Are you alright? Here, let's groom your pelt. You don't want to get a cold."
The tom rasped his tongue against the kit's fur, then pulled back hesitantly. The scents hitting his tongue weren't MistClan's. Of course, through the waterlogged fur, it was hard to catch anything, but none of the typical markers were there. No moss... no milk... no MistClan. For the first time Pebbleshade looked the kit over in full and realized that he didn't recognize him.

He continued to groom for a few moments, burying his unease, then drew back once more and looked at Maplepaw. "Have you seen this kit before?" he asked quietly.

[Dragon]

Maplepaw relaxed as the kit began to vomit water out of his mouth. Once the kit was done it had buried its face in Pebbleshades fur. He turned and began to groom his own fur trying to dry it just as Pebbleshade did so to the kit. When the older tom asked if he recognized the kit he looked up from his grooming and took a couple of steps closer and lt the kits scent run over his tongue. But all he could get was the scent of water and wild. He looked the kit up and down closely. "No, I don't think it's a clan kit." He nudged the kit and gave it's ear a rough lick. "Hey what's your name? Who are your parents?"

(sorry it's not very good I'm really sick right now and wasn't planning on posting at all today but I saw this thread and couldn't help but to post)