Splish Splash [Willowface & Dawnpaw]

[Twilidramon]

The light drizzle was wearing down to a harmless sprinkle as Willowface padded out of camp. Her minnow earlier would hold her over until the next mealtime, and she was looking forward to not only catching some juicy for herself - but helping Dawnpaw catch something, too.

The young apprentice was just behind her, Willowface knew, and the older warrior began thinking of a way to make her feel more comfortable fishing in the lake. Novices were always nervous, after all, and a calm patience was key.

Her apprentice would have to make it out of camp first, though. The gray tabby sat down to wait, cleaning off the minnow that remained on her whiskers.

[Spade♠]

Dawnpaw followed Willowface out of the camp, hoping that the fact that she was moving around would hide her nervous shaking. Her trembling paws made her trip and she covered it by loping the rest of the way to catch up with her mentor. She opened her mouth to speak and only squeaked instead. She snapped her jaws shut in embarrassment and cleared her throat. "So I'm gonna learn how to fish?" she asked.

[Twilidramon]

Willowface nodded calmly. "Yes," she purred back, hoping she sounded comforting. "It's not so hard, don't worry."

The long-haired she-cat led the way towards the lake, making sure she set a pace that Dawnpaw could keep up with. They reached the lakeshore, and Willowface felt the pebbles shift beneath her paws. Their side of the shore was less rocky than, say, ThunderClan's side; but the stones were slick and wet from the rain.

"Be careful," Willowface offered. "You might slip on the stones if you don't watch your footing - the lake's not so deep here but I don't want to be fishing you out, dear."

[Spade♠]

Dawnpaw hesitated behind Willowface as they reached the shore. The pebbles were pretty to look at, but they also looked slick. Her mentor confirmed her suspicions with her warning. Carefully, she set out to follow, being very aware of where she placed her paws. RiverClan cats loved to swim, but Dawnpaw hadn't tried it yet and she wasn't sure she wanted to get her pelt soaked for the first time by falling into the shallows. Her paws slid on the smooth stones once, but she managed to catch herself before she completely lost her balance.

[Twilidramon]

"Now, we don't want your rump getting sore from sitting on these stones," Willowface told Dawnpaw. She began moving the stones, digging out a space for she and Dawnpaw to sit. "Fishing is a test of patience, and it's hard to keep your focus when you've got a stone up your tail-end!"

Willowface patted down their fishing-spot. There were dozens of other like it, dotted along the shore, from the other hunters of RiverClan - but a new one would work just fine. She wanted to show Dawnpaw how to make a comfortable place to sit.

"Leave a little room too for your catch," Willowface added, finishing up. "Fish are slick, and these stones are slick, too - the fish can slide right back into the water if you're not careful! There, done - what do you think?"

[Spade♠]

Dawnpaw watched intently as Willowface began making a place for them to sit. Looking around, she noticed that there were many spots similar to the one they were making. Her ears pricked in surprise when Willowface mentioned the fish slipping back into the lake. "I think it looks good! Has that ever happened to you? Like.. have you caught a fish and then lost it again?" she asked.

[Twilidramon]

Willowface purred. "Everyone does," she insisted. "Fish are very wiggly, you see - especially when they come out of the water. They can't breathe air like we do, so when they're out of water they wiggle around to try and get back. That's why you need to kill them quickly."

She gestured for Dawnpaw to sit in the spot she'd made. The rain eased off now, but clouds still hung in the sky. With a glance, Willowface knew that sunshine wouldn't be too far off.

"Come, sit," she mewed. "We'll try it for ourselves."

[Spade♠]

Nerves were making Dawnpaw's paws shake as she took a seat next to Willowface. What if she made a fool out of herself? What if she could never learn how to fish? Would they let her stay in RiverClan if she didn't know how to fish? She took a deep breath to try and calm herself down and glanced at her mentor, waiting for instructions.

[Twilidramon]

Willowface touched her nose calmingly to the young cat's ear. "I'm going to have to ask you to stop shaking, dear," she meowed quietly. "Just for a little bit."

Moving into position, making sure her shadow lay on land and not on water, she instructed, "Now - the main thing you need to be aware of is your shadow. Fish like bright things, but the dark scares them away. If your shadow falls on the water, any fish that are there will scatter. Understand?"

[Spade♠]

Dawnpaw focused her energy on keeping still and narrowed her eyes in concentration as she focused on what her mentor was telling her. Don't cast a shadow over the water, that was easy enough. "Got it," she meowed. She took a mental note of the way Willowface was positioned and nodded to herself when she saw that she was deliberately keeping her shadow off of the water.