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Description
The day was hot, all days were hot now, but this patrol was cooling down from the Green-leaf heat. The patrol was headed by Shiver Of Many Dappled Clovers, a blue tabby tom cat who had been hunting for the Tribe for many moons now, who was also an uncle and role model for Ice When Pond Melts, another blue tabby tom Prey Hunter. Clover had decided that the group had done good in their hunting and deserved some free time.

Dust Under Rabbit's Foot, a tan tabby she-cat, was splashing about upstream with fellow To-Be Prey Hunter: Eel Hidden At Lake's Floor, an older, black she-cat. Hissing Fangs On Thistle, a ginger tabby tom Claw Guard, was resting on the part where grass met shore near them. The tom was clearly not happy about the patrol lazing about, but Clover was both in charge and older than him, so he couldn't do much in protest.

Ice and Clover laid at the bank of the river, downstream of Dust and Eel, letting their paws be gently touched by the shallow waters that came by, as they made small talk about the day. The remaining Claw Guards and Prey Hunters laid in the shade under a small tree near where the To-Bes were having their fun.

Clover was telling Ice that he was getting questioned by Bug That Crawls On Tree, the Speaker for the Prey Hunters, and how he believed the tom was considering him for the role of Speaker. Ice congratulated his uncle, but secretly he hoped it was just a misunderstanding. Bug has been a great Speaker for the Prey Hunters, if he was looking for someone to replace him then that would mean he was retiring. Ice wasn't sure if Bug had a say in who got to be Speaker after his retirement, surely his opinion could potentially influence others, but how powerful could it really be? He wouldn't mind Clover being Speaker, it just seemed sudden and out of the blue.

Ice's ears twitched when he heard unusual splashing coming from upstream. Looking to where the To-Bes were, he saw Dust getting close to the deep end of the river. He took note of it, but Thistle was quite close to them, he had faith that they wouldn't get into much trouble with the grumpy tom watching. Ice continued his conversation with Clover.

Some time passed and Ice heard odd splashing again, but this time it was accompanied by a deep voice.

"Clover!"

The two blue toms dropped their conversation and turned to Thistle, who was on his paws, dashing into the water. Ice noticed Eel's fearful expression, and a complete lack of a certain tan she-cat. He scanned the area in a hurry and spotted Dust far into the deep end of the river, and going downstream at a rapid pace. She must have been swept into its current, she was struggling to fight the way the river wanted her to go; it was a battle of strength and she was losing.

Ice sprang to his paws, "We go this!" he shouted over to Thistle, he knew the tom wasn't a very strong swimmer, but he and Clover were, they could handle it together. Without waiting for his Uncle's cue, he ran onto one of the stones used for fishing and leapt as far as he could into the waters to get as close to the struggling tan she-cat as he could.

Landing into the water, the blue tom went against his instincts that screamed for him to fight the current and instead used it to get to Dust quicker. "Dust! Don't fight the current! Just relax!" They had just finished hunting all morning, she couldn't spend her remaining energy fighting the river, she'd grow too tired to stay afloat. Ice could see the fear in her eyes, but she must have trusted him because he could tell she was just focusing on staying afloat. Seeing her fear just made him more determined to help, this must be what drives the Claw Guards to dive in head first when they see a cat in danger.

The two cats had floated down the river a good amount when Ice reached the To-Be, he grabbed her scruff to make sure they didn't get separated as he looked around. Thistle didn't heed his words when he told the ginger tom they had this, as Ice could see the older cat hurrying down the river's bank, water splashing all around him as he raced through it. Clover on the other hand was much further up the river, like he was hesitant on helping.

The Prey Hunter looked down the rushing river, he could see that if he started swimming to shore now that he and Dust would collide with some river rocks; that would do nothing but cut them up and make their bodies scream with pain, they didn't need that, certainly not at a time like this.

"Swim to shore!" Thistle yelled, not understanding why Ice hadn't yet. The tom must have tunnel vision to not see the rocks up ahead, or maybe he couldn't recognise what it looked like when rocks pointed against the river's flow; both were likely.

Ice was still holding onto Dust, making sure both of them stayed afloat, he couldn't tell the Claw Guard why he was essentially doing nothing. He waited, hearing Thistle yell to his right, until they passed the river rocks. It was then that he started fighting the river's wishes, pulling the young cat with him back to solid ground.

They were heading for river rocks again, but the only way to avoid them this time was to swim faster. He could feel the water at his paws trying to push him back into the river's stomach, but he wasn't going to let himself nor Dust succumb to that fate. He widened his strokes, pushing much more water away than before. He was able to move away from the rocks in time, but Dust got a nik on her leg.

"Ow!" her body stiffened and she curled her legs into a ball, this was going to make it harder to move her.

He pressed on, his wide strokes and flat paws aided him well. The further away from the middle of the river he got, the easier it was to fight the current. He got close to the edge of where the shore made a sudden drop, grabbing onto the soft sand to heave him and Dust where they could stand. But as he attempted to pull them from the current, the sand under him collapsed, catching him by surprise. They both momentarily dipped underneath the water, Dust panicked and tried to swim, loosening Ice's grip on her.

He pulled them both back up, their faces now completely drenched in water. Ice noticed that they had been sucked back into the river, but thankfully it was only by a tail-length. Despite his loose grip on her, and her flailing around to stay afloat, Ice made up for their set back and swam back to the shore's edge, swimming further this time before setting his paws on the sand below. He let go of Dust's scruff so she could stand too. His muscles burned and he quickly realized how tired he was.

Panting, the blue tom looked where they had landed: they had gone all the way down the river to the very edge of the territory, he couldn't even see the patrol they were with before. Thistle padded up to them in the water, he had followed them the whole time, he panted lightly, but it was probably more from emotional exhaustion than physical.

"Are you two alright?" Thistle's deep voice, though usually harsh, had a slight hint of concern in it.

"I got hurt…" the To-Be mewed, lifting her leg out of the water to reveal a cut.

"I should take you back to camp, you could get an infection".

Ice looked around for Clover, but found no sign of the older blue tom. "Where's Clover?"

"Back with the others. It appears he.. gave up…" the tall tom's voice had a hint of a growl behind it, rightfully so.

The head of a patrol just… leaving when two cats were actively in danger? That wasn't normal.

"I'll take her back to camp," Ice placed his tail on Dust's back, "You should get back to the group, they'll need help carrying the prey back to camp".

Thistle looked at him sharply, looking at him for a long pause, as if he was waiting for Ice to back down from his gaze, but he didn't. "Alright, we'll see you back at camp," with that he turned away and began to head back to where the group was last seen.

Ice looked to Dust and flicked his tail, leading them back to camp.

"Ice…" Dust's voice sounded quite shy, "Could we stop and eat? The smell of the Healer's Hut ruins my appetite".

The smell of the Healer's Hut ruins her appetite? What an odd thing. He didn't want to stop for long, the longer they took to get there the higher the chances were of her cut getting infected. "Alright," he mewed, "But you'll have to eat it as we go".

"Eat as we go?"

"Yeah, walk, drop it, take a bite, and walk again".

Dust gave him a questioning glance, but hesitantly nodded.

They were in the field, which was good as it was filled with voles and mice, both small and quite easy to eat, birds and fish required too much work to do before one could get to eating. He still smelled like the river, which would aid him as it masked his scent from unsuspecting prey. It took little time before he could spot a vole, it wasn't much but it would subside her hunger for now. Despite how tired he was, he was able to easily catch the tiny rodent, bringing it back to the she-cat.

As they walked, and the other periodically eating as they walked, Ice thought about his Uncle. He couldn't shake off the idea that Clover wouldn't follow them during the ordeal. Ice didn't hesitate to save their newest recruit, he even honked at a Giant to save a cat that said he wouldn't save him! It was just wrong, who just turns their back when a young cat and a member of their family is being sucked down a river?

Description
The day was hot, all days were hot now, but this patrol was cooling down from the Green-leaf heat. The patrol was headed by Shiver Of Many Dappled Clovers, a blue tabby tom cat who had been hunting for the Tribe for many moons now, who was also an uncle and role model for Ice When Pond Melts, another blue tabby tom Prey Hunter. Clover had decided that the group had done good in their hunting and deserved some free time.

Dust Under Rabbit's Foot, a tan tabby she-cat, was splashing about upstream with fellow To-Be Prey Hunter: Eel Hidden At Lake's Floor, an older, black she-cat. Hissing Fangs On Thistle, a ginger tabby tom Claw Guard, was resting on the part where grass met shore near them. The tom was clearly not happy about the patrol lazing about, but Clover was both in charge and older than him, so he couldn't do much in protest.

Ice and Clover laid at the bank of the river, downstream of Dust and Eel, letting their paws be gently touched by the shallow waters that came by, as they made small talk about the day. The remaining Claw Guards and Prey Hunters laid in the shade under a small tree near where the To-Bes were having their fun.

Clover was telling Ice that he was getting questioned by Bug That Crawls On Tree, the Speaker for the Prey Hunters, and how he believed the tom was considering him for the role of Speaker. Ice congratulated his uncle, but secretly he hoped it was just a misunderstanding. Bug has been a great Speaker for the Prey Hunters, if he was looking for someone to replace him then that would mean he was retiring. Ice wasn't sure if Bug had a say in who got to be Speaker after his retirement, surely his opinion could potentially influence others, but how powerful could it really be? He wouldn't mind Clover being Speaker, it just seemed sudden and out of the blue.

Ice's ears twitched when he heard unusual splashing coming from upstream. Looking to where the To-Bes were, he saw Dust getting close to the deep end of the river. He took note of it, but Thistle was quite close to them, he had faith that they wouldn't get into much trouble with the grumpy tom watching. Ice continued his conversation with Clover.

Some time passed and Ice heard odd splashing again, but this time it was accompanied by a deep voice.

"Clover!"

The two blue toms dropped their conversation and turned to Thistle, who was on his paws, dashing into the water. Ice noticed Eel's fearful expression, and a complete lack of a certain tan she-cat. He scanned the area in a hurry and spotted Dust far into the deep end of the river, and going downstream at a rapid pace. She must have been swept into its current, she was struggling to fight the way the river wanted her to go; it was a battle of strength and she was losing.

Ice sprang to his paws, "We go this!" he shouted over to Thistle, he knew the tom wasn't a very strong swimmer, but he and Clover were, they could handle it together. Without waiting for his Uncle's cue, he ran onto one of the stones used for fishing and leapt as far as he could into the waters to get as close to the struggling tan she-cat as he could.

Landing into the water, the blue tom went against his instincts that screamed for him to fight the current and instead used it to get to Dust quicker. "Dust! Don't fight the current! Just relax!" They had just finished hunting all morning, she couldn't spend her remaining energy fighting the river, she'd grow too tired to stay afloat. Ice could see the fear in her eyes, but she must have trusted him because he could tell she was just focusing on staying afloat. Seeing her fear just made him more determined to help, this must be what drives the Claw Guards to dive in head first when they see a cat in danger.

The two cats had floated down the river a good amount when Ice reached the To-Be, he grabbed her scruff to make sure they didn't get separated as he looked around. Thistle didn't heed his words when he told the ginger tom they had this, as Ice could see the older cat hurrying down the river's bank, water splashing all around him as he raced through it. Clover on the other hand was much further up the river, like he was hesitant on helping.

The Prey Hunter looked down the rushing river, he could see that if he started swimming to shore now that he and Dust would collide with some river rocks; that would do nothing but cut them up and make their bodies scream with pain, they didn't need that, certainly not at a time like this.

"Swim to shore!" Thistle yelled, not understanding why Ice hadn't yet. The tom must have tunnel vision to not see the rocks up ahead, or maybe he couldn't recognise what it looked like when rocks pointed against the river's flow; both were likely.

Ice was still holding onto Dust, making sure both of them stayed afloat, he couldn't tell the Claw Guard why he was essentially doing nothing. He waited, hearing Thistle yell to his right, until they passed the river rocks. It was then that he started fighting the river's wishes, pulling the young cat with him back to solid ground.

They were heading for river rocks again, but the only way to avoid them this time was to swim faster. He could feel the water at his paws trying to push him back into the river's stomach, but he wasn't going to let himself nor Dust succumb to that fate. He widened his strokes, pushing much more water away than before. He was able to move away from the rocks in time, but Dust got a nik on her leg.

"Ow!" her body stiffened and she curled her legs into a ball, this was going to make it harder to move her.

He pressed on, his wide strokes and flat paws aided him well. The further away from the middle of the river he got, the easier it was to fight the current. He got close to the edge of where the shore made a sudden drop, grabbing onto the soft sand to heave him and Dust where they could stand. But as he attempted to pull them from the current, the sand under him collapsed, catching him by surprise. They both momentarily dipped underneath the water, Dust panicked and tried to swim, loosening Ice's grip on her.

He pulled them both back up, their faces now completely drenched in water. Ice noticed that they had been sucked back into the river, but thankfully it was only by a tail-length. Despite his loose grip on her, and her flailing around to stay afloat, Ice made up for their set back and swam back to the shore's edge, swimming further this time before setting his paws on the sand below. He let go of Dust's scruff so she could stand too. His muscles burned and he quickly realized how tired he was.

Panting, the blue tom looked where they had landed: they had gone all the way down the river to the very edge of the territory, he couldn't even see the patrol they were with before. Thistle padded up to them in the water, he had followed them the whole time, he panted lightly, but it was probably more from emotional exhaustion than physical.

"Are you two alright?" Thistle's deep voice, though usually harsh, had a slight hint of concern in it.

"I got hurt…" the To-Be mewed, lifting her leg out of the water to reveal a cut.

"I should take you back to camp, you could get an infection".

Ice looked around for Clover, but found no sign of the older blue tom. "Where's Clover?"

"Back with the others. It appears he.. gave up…" the tall tom's voice had a hint of a growl behind it, rightfully so.

The head of a patrol just… leaving when two cats were actively in danger? That wasn't normal.

"I'll take her back to camp," Ice placed his tail on Dust's back, "You should get back to the group, they'll need help carrying the prey back to camp".

Thistle looked at him sharply, looking at him for a long pause, as if he was waiting for Ice to back down from his gaze, but he didn't. "Alright, we'll see you back at camp," with that he turned away and began to head back to where the group was last seen.

Ice looked to Dust and flicked his tail, leading them back to camp.

"Ice…" Dust's voice sounded quite shy, "Could we stop and eat? The smell of the Healer's Hut ruins my appetite".

The smell of the Healer's Hut ruins her appetite? What an odd thing. He didn't want to stop for long, the longer they took to get there the higher the chances were of her cut getting infected. "Alright," he mewed, "But you'll have to eat it as we go".

"Eat as we go?"

"Yeah, walk, drop it, take a bite, and walk again".

Dust gave him a questioning glance, but hesitantly nodded.

They were in the field, which was good as it was filled with voles and mice, both small and quite easy to eat, birds and fish required too much work to do before one could get to eating. He still smelled like the river, which would aid him as it masked his scent from unsuspecting prey. It took little time before he could spot a vole, it wasn't much but it would subside her hunger for now. Despite how tired he was, he was able to easily catch the tiny rodent, bringing it back to the she-cat.

As they walked, and the other periodically eating as they walked, Ice thought about his Uncle. He couldn't shake off the idea that Clover wouldn't follow them during the ordeal. Ice didn't hesitate to save their newest recruit, he even honked at a Giant to save a cat that said he wouldn't save him! It was just wrong, who just turns their back when a young cat and a member of their family is being sucked down a river?