Ice On the Rocks (Pebblepaw)

[Shells]

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[atrb=background,http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/2859/icemid.png] Placing one small paw carefully after the next, a skinny, white apprentice made his way from the RiverClan camp towards the river. Although he was fearful of the rushing waters and knew to stay clear of them, the young, white tom was full of energy and wanted to catch some prey for the Clan. He had finally been made an apprentice and was able to leave the camp. As an apprentice, one of his duties was to hunt and provide freshkill for the Clan. Crouching silently behind a thick patch of reeds, Icepaw stuck his pink nose into the air and sniffed for a prey scent. This was the best time of the year for him because his thick, white coat provided extra camouflage in the snow and extra warmth from he cold. Standing up swiftly, Icepaw stretched his long, slender limbs until he staggered slightly from becoming unbalanced. Feeling refreshed, Icepaw padded out of the reeds in search of some prey. The small, white tom was clumsy and over-enthusiastic, but he was extremely diligent and hardworking. Determined to catch something for the Clan, Icepaw dropped to his belly and slithered through the icy mud, looking for any sign of movement. After a few minutes of searching tirelessly for a sign of prey, Icepaw stopped to clean himself. I'm not giving up, Icepaw told himself. I'm just taking a short break so that I can allow the prey that heard me to come out of their hiding places. He was not one to give up on anything, no matter how difficult, if it helped the Clan or a fellow Clanmate. Truthfully, he had not really learned how to hunt yet. In fact, the only thing he had really learned was how dangerous the river was. His instincts told him to stay as far away from the river as possible. Plopping to his rear, the lanky white apprentice lifted up one of his front paws and began to clean himself. As he brought his rough tongue through the fur on his right paw for the third time, Icepaw discovered that he was stalling. After all, when had he ever been concerned with his appearance or how clean he was? Grooming was not his top priority. In his mind, his fur was such a pure color of white, that he would never be able to keep it clean, no matter how many times he cleaned it. Plus, his fur was so long and thick that it took extra time to make sure every inch was clean. In a list of things important to RiverClan and its well being, grooming and keeping a shiny coat was not one of them. A sudden flash of brown caught Icepaw's eye. Bright blue eyes darted in the direction of a small squirrel racing along the banks of the frozen river, away from where he sat. Catching a second wind, Icepaw bounded enthusiastically after the squirrel, splashing through mud puddles and slipping a few times toward the river. As soon as he noticed where he was heading, he attempted to skid to a halt, but it was too late; Icepaw tumbled toward the icy water of the fierce river rapids, his life flashing before his eyes as he prepared for his journey to StarClan. Just as he expected to meet the icy water, Icepaw felt his small frame crash into what felt like rock, and his body came to a stop. Lifting up his head wearily, he could see that not only was the squirrel gone, but he was collapsed on the frozen surface of the river. His heart began to beat quickly as his mind buzzed with what he should do. Somehow the ice had not broken yet, but one wrong movement and he could go crashing through the ice and he would be trapped underwater forever. Digging his claws into the ice on either side of his body, Icepaw stared fearfully out toward the RiverClan camp. Maybe someone would come to his rescue? After all, apprentices that went missing for a long enough time were always searched for eventually. But how long was he willing to stay on the ice?

[makronyx]

PEBBLEPAW;;

Eyes squeezed tightly shut and tail curled around her, Pebblepaw lay basking in a small patch of sunlight, trying to fight off the frigid air of leaf-bare. The tiny she-cat was a newly appointed apprentice, and thus didn't have many expectations in RiverClan, so many didn't even notice her taking a moment's rest in camp while she awaited her mentor to take her out training.

Yawning, she finally got impatient and decided to take something from the fresh-kill pile, when, out the corner of her green eyes, she caught site of her brother, Icepaw. The white tom was heading out of camp...by himself. Pebblepaw nervously looked around, waiting for someone to call out to him, but no one seemed to find it out the ordinary. They were apprentices now, but it seemed odd Icepaw wouldn't be going with his mentor, Applesauce. However, the worried feeling she had soon evaporated into excitement. Maybe they could go exploring, or even hunting together! They could bring back a pile full of prey to the proud eyes of their clan mates, and prove their worth as true RiverClan warriors!

Pebblepaw sprang to her feet and eagerly followed his path, only to realize he was now too far ahead of her to see. She scented the air, catching whiff of him with a cool gust of wind in her face, and stalked after him, taking slow, low footsteps to practice her hunting crouch her mentor had begun training her for.

Finally, she caught up to him, seeing him not too far in the distance cleaning himself. She was confused for a moment as to why he hadn't noticed her yet, when she realized that not only was she covered by foliage, but that the wind was blowing towards them, bringing his scent to her but her's behind them. Pebblepaw held back a giggle, wondering if she could sneak up and pounce on her unsuspecting bro-

Suddenly, he sprang to life, bolting after a squirrel balanced on the frozen river. Pebblepaw stood watching his silly chase with amusement, until she realized all to late he was heading straight for the sheet of ice. She cringed, eyes closing and head lowering away, just before he slammed into the surface, heart beat beginning to race and fear consuming her. Slowly, she recovered and lifted her head, hoping to StarClan their wouldn't be a hole in the ice, and luckily their wasn't. Icepaw was miraculously still on the surface, claws digging into it and blue eyes wide.

Pebblepaw was stilled by her shock for just a moment, before the weight of the situation slammed into her and she kicked herself into motion. "Icepaw! Icepaw!" she yowled, bursting forward with a spring of panicked energy. She only slowed her pace to a jog when she neared the river, knowing she'd be worthless if she ended up in the same position as him.

The white and gray she-cat crouched before the ice's edge, wide-eyes staring helplessly out to her brother while she tried to fight back panic, "Icepaw...are you....?" Okay, obviously he wasn't alright, and she cut off her dumb question before she could finish it. Pebblepaw was at an utter loss for what to do, never even imagining herself into such an emergency. She nervously batted a paw on to the sleek, clear surface of the solidified river, but quickly drew it back in fear. The ice could crack so easily...it was lucky it hadn't already. Would her added weight do it?

Memories flooded back to her, of the warning her mother and an older warrior gave to her and her litter-mates after Icekit returned one day, body quivering, from an adventure he had sneaked off to undertake. They warned them to never, ever wander onto ice, especially alone, and that Icekit had been lucky to survive. Then, it seemed distanced. Like a weird dream, something that could never happen. But now it was all too real.

"...What do I do?" she quietly mewed, beginning to shake in fear. Did she attempt a rescue? Go back for help? Nothing was clear to the little she-cat...

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[Shells]

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[atrb=background,http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/2859/icemid.png] Blue eyes wide with panic, Icepaw searched the border for any sign of movement. Usually a border patrol passed this way every few hours, but he was unsure of how long it had been since the last one—how long he would have to wait for the next one. What if a ThunderClan patrol were to find him like this? Nothing would be more embarrassing than cats from an enemy Clan finding a RiverClan apprentice in such an odd predicament. The worst part was that he wouldn’t even see them coming because his ack was turned toward ThunderClan territory. If they wanted, they could kill him right on the spot. He had always heard that ShadowClan harvested the evil cats, not ThunderClan, so he could only hope that was true. Sweating nervously under his thick, white coat, Icepaw could feel his paws beginning to slip. If he were to fall, he would probably go crashing straight through the ice. The thought sent shivers through the apprentice’s small body. Swimming was not his strong suit; in fact, he doubted he could swim at all. Even the apprentices in ThunderClan were used to swimming in the small rivers and ponds that littered their territory. Icepaw could feel himself growing hot from shame at his inability to be a normal RiverClan apprentice and learn how to swim like a fish. Although he desired to be the best RiverClan warrior he could be, his fear of water overruled this desire when it came to swimming. Just as he was about to lose hope, a sudden loud crashing noise snapped his attention forward. Relief flooded through him temporarily as he saw his sister crashing through the foliage toward him. “Icepaw! Icepaw!” Her words were fuzzy to him because of the shrill ringing in his ears. He could tell by the panic in her face that she was just as unsure of what to do as he was. “...What do I do?” Pebblepaw’s voice trembled as she spoke. If only he knew what to do; there didn’t seem to be a good solution for his situation. He could have Pebblepaw run back and retrieve a warrior, but what good what that do? The larger the cat, the more likely the ice would break. In fact, he didn’t really need the help of another cat—he was uninjured and perfectly capable of getting himself to the riverbank—but could he bring himself to move? His sister’s presence seemed to calm him down a little and bring him more confidence. If he were to die, Pebblepaw would be left without a brother, and he couldn’t do that to her. If she were to attempt to walk on the ice and help him, he could end up losing a sister, which he was never going to allow to happen. Taking a deep gulp, Icepaw looked into his sister’s green eyes and mewed, “I guess the only thing to do is for me to stop being a kit and walk across to safety!’ His expression conveyed the fear he was feeling, but he attempted to hide it from his sister, hoping to worry her less. Brothers were supposed to protect their sisters—be the strong ones—why did he have to be cursed with this incapacitating phobia of water? What good was he as a brother if he wasn’t as brave as the other warriors in the Clan? Looking back up at his sister, he took a tentative pawstep forward. The ice seemed to sag beneath his paw, but it remained stable as he put his full weight on it. His next step, however, wasn’t so lucky. As he placed a small, white paw down ahead of him, a small cracking noise alerted his ears and made him mew in panic. This is it. This is how I die.