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No matter how loud she screamed, she could barely hear herself over the angry, white waves that crashed against her tiny island. One minute, she was smacking a pebble around, and the next she had moved far faster than she even thought was possible. She honest-to-stars thought that all that was happening around her wasn't real, and that she's wake up in her nest any second now. She'd be with her dads and Auntie Dream any moment now. Any time now.

Her tiny claws had etched the surface of the stone as the waters rose further. She felt the puffy fur of her tail grow cold as the icy waters seeped through it. Without a shred of screams left in her system, the tabby closed in on herself. Her throat was so sore, and it wasn't like she saw her family around.

She'd croaked out a few more times for Dad or her Papa to come swoop in and save her. Especially as the adrenaline in her blood seeing ts way out, Mistletoekit was left hanging on some rock and a colder fear freezing her up. She closed in on herself, eyes closed and self curled into the tightest ball she could manage. The water used to be such a friendly creature, yet all it wanted now was to swallow her. Like a pack of barking dogs, the tide became aggressive as the heartbeats ticked by.

Shortly after she felt the water lap at her nose, she felt someone's teeth dig into her scruff. She groggily opened her eyes and craned her neck to get a better look at her savior. While she was upset that it wasn't the safe face of Pillowfeather or the soothing one of Rushingflame, she felt vaguely relieved by the yellow eyes that stared back at her.

Mistletoekit thought she heard the she-cat say something, but she wasn't sure if it was the pounding water or the roaring noise in her ears that masked it. Dazedly turning her head, she caught a glimpse of Sealbite dragging an older cat to higher ground.

She didn't remember even being picked up and moved, but the slap of the cold water as it submerged the lower half of her body had her from muzzy to supercharged in a snap. The way her emotions were tugging her to extremes so many times in a row was wearing her out horribly. Since she hadn't answered Pumpkinpatch's question, the warrior had decided to carry her entirely instead of trusting her to half-swim with her back to safety.

She felt like her spirit was watching her from somewhere else, because she was confused by herself when she wasn't throwing a fit. She was five moons old. She was practically a warrior, yet here she was curled in on herself and whimpering like some LeafClan lackey.

From the cave, there wasn't much else she remembered. One second she was ferried out of the cave, and the next she was plopped at the feet of her family. Her lip trembled violently and she remembered springing instantly to Rushingflame the second she saw him and just shaking. He had pulled her in and let her rest between his forelegs while Pillowfeather thanked the two for rescuing his daughter.

She remembered Pillowfeather licking her cheek and resting his chin on her head after that, and that she had gratefully leaned into his touch. Dreamcloud had also grabbed her a fish to eat. Mistletoekit had been uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of that night, barely speaking a word while she and her littermates coped. Sinking her teeth into the cool, gray skin, the kit simply assumed that she was going to be just fine. That it was all over now, and she could get back to focusing on her apprenticeship again.

Yet here she was, a few moons later and barely anything to show for it.

Rolling over the char she'd nabbed from the pile a little while before, it flopped with a wet slop. She didn't understand why, but after a mix of couple bites and staring off into space, she was taken back to that time for a blink or two. The apprentice didn't get what her deal was- char had been a classic favorite of hers- yet all at once she was no longer hungry. Suddenly irritated, she lifted a paw to get some nameless forest gunk from between her toes. She flattened her ears after nipping at the leaf shred and set a course for the camp's outskirts so she could sulk in peace.

She hated having the floor of her camp being spongy with grass instead of sturdy with stone.
A small voice reminded her of the benefit of having been uprooted.

By moving SeaClan to the woods, it meant that Mistletoepaw had been able to venture out without the need of swimming.

She ripped her claws through a patch of the forest sod, choosing to ignore the snag that caught on her as she stewed. Why this? Why now? And who was she kidding? At the rate she was going, she wasn't ever going to swim. She was going to be left behind, but at the same time, she dreaded the thought of voicing her concerns.

A good portion of her family weren't even born in SeaClan and they still took to the water easily enough. Her aunt had been born in HighClan, and her own father had been a kittypet to start. By all means, if they could do it, the cat raised from the ground-up in SeaClan should be able to as well, right?

That didn't stop her heart sinking whenever Pumpkinpatch suggest they try training by the rivers of the forest. The streams still ran with white rapids and conspiring swirling eddies. She was so scared of getting swept away that she's become quite talented at putting it off, whether it was by opting to help the elders with ticks instead, or throwing a fit. The primal part of her head was content living this way, but her truer self just wanted to rip off the cobwebs and get it over with. She knew that her mentor was catching on, but she wasn't exactly going to acknowledge that just yet.

All in all, she knew she was being pathetic crybaby about it all. At the end of the day, she wouldn't be a proper apprentice of SeaClan until she started learning how to swim. Did it help that it was Pumpkinpatch was going to be the one to teach her? Sure. Did it change that she seriously didn't see an outcome where she could make the water a part of her arsenal of stealth attacks? It sure didn't.

Lost in her head, when a cat stumbled over an odd stone near her, her ears shot up and she sprang to a gawky stance.

"Watch it, Barracuda!" she spat. He had crash-landed about a foxlength from her, but the younger apprentice still felt as if lightning shot through her bloodstream. Her pupils had expanded in an instant from jerking back to the present. Charged from being so startled, the scrawny she-cat made sure to tilt her head up at the older tom to stare his eyes down to snarl. "Stars! Why're you always always so clumsy, rabbit-brain?!"

Her mouth snapped into a greedy simper as the gray tom's expression changed to one of hurt. Satisfied, Mistletoepaw stamped her foot and felt a flare of satisfaction. She licked a paw and swiped it cockily over an ear, but felt her tight grin start to slip.

Justifying her meanness to herself was a strong defense mechanism of hers, yet it seemed to crumble now of all times. Her mind went to Shrimpcloud, likely watching her from StarClan, and the ache Mistletoepaw's chest only expanded.

Whatever, she sneered to herself, that dumb cat's always tripping over something or another. It's annoying.

Everyone was always doing something wrong. It meant that her aversion to the water was okay, because at least she wasn't just taking up space like a lot of these cats.
Yep. It always added up like that. No change.

She was definitely normal when she drew back from the heart of the camp, off to the apprentice's den to brood without another word to anyone else.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

No matter how loud she screamed, she could barely hear herself over the angry, white waves that crashed against her tiny island. One minute, she was smacking a pebble around, and the next she had moved far faster than she even thought was possible. She honest-to-stars thought that all that was happening around her wasn't real, and that she's wake up in her nest any second now. She'd be with her dads and Auntie Dream any moment now. Any time now.

Her tiny claws had etched the surface of the stone as the waters rose further. She felt the puffy fur of her tail grow cold as the icy waters seeped through it. Without a shred of screams left in her system, the tabby closed in on herself. Her throat was so sore, and it wasn't like she saw her family around.

She'd croaked out a few more times for Dad or her Papa to come swoop in and save her. Especially as the adrenaline in her blood seeing ts way out, Mistletoekit was left hanging on some rock and a colder fear freezing her up. She closed in on herself, eyes closed and self curled into the tightest ball she could manage. The water used to be such a friendly creature, yet all it wanted now was to swallow her. Like a pack of barking dogs, the tide became aggressive as the heartbeats ticked by.

Shortly after she felt the water lap at her nose, she felt someone's teeth dig into her scruff. She groggily opened her eyes and craned her neck to get a better look at her savior. While she was upset that it wasn't the safe face of Pillowfeather or the soothing one of Rushingflame, she felt vaguely relieved by the yellow eyes that stared back at her.

Mistletoekit thought she heard the she-cat say something, but she wasn't sure if it was the pounding water or the roaring noise in her ears that masked it. Dazedly turning her head, she caught a glimpse of Sealbite dragging an older cat to higher ground.

She didn't remember even being picked up and moved, but the slap of the cold water as it submerged the lower half of her body had her from muzzy to supercharged in a snap. The way her emotions were tugging her to extremes so many times in a row was wearing her out horribly. Since she hadn't answered Pumpkinpatch's question, the warrior had decided to carry her entirely instead of trusting her to half-swim with her back to safety.

She felt like her spirit was watching her from somewhere else, because she was confused by herself when she wasn't throwing a fit. She was five moons old. She was practically a warrior, yet here she was curled in on herself and whimpering like some LeafClan lackey.

From the cave, there wasn't much else she remembered. One second she was ferried out of the cave, and the next she was plopped at the feet of her family. Her lip trembled violently and she remembered springing instantly to Rushingflame the second she saw him and just shaking. He had pulled her in and let her rest between his forelegs while Pillowfeather thanked the two for rescuing his daughter.

She remembered Pillowfeather licking her cheek and resting his chin on her head after that, and that she had gratefully leaned into his touch. Dreamcloud had also grabbed her a fish to eat. Mistletoekit had been uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of that night, barely speaking a word while she and her littermates coped. Sinking her teeth into the cool, gray skin, the kit simply assumed that she was going to be just fine. That it was all over now, and she could get back to focusing on her apprenticeship again.

Yet here she was, a few moons later and barely anything to show for it.

Rolling over the char she'd nabbed from the pile a little while before, it flopped with a wet slop. She didn't understand why, but after a mix of couple bites and staring off into space, she was taken back to that time for a blink or two. The apprentice didn't get what her deal was- char had been a classic favorite of hers- yet all at once she was no longer hungry. Suddenly irritated, she lifted a paw to get some nameless forest gunk from between her toes. She flattened her ears after nipping at the leaf shred and set a course for the camp's outskirts so she could sulk in peace.

She hated having the floor of her camp being spongy with grass instead of sturdy with stone.
A small voice reminded her of the benefit of having been uprooted.

By moving SeaClan to the woods, it meant that Mistletoepaw had been able to venture out without the need of swimming.

She ripped her claws through a patch of the forest sod, choosing to ignore the snag that caught on her as she stewed. Why this? Why now? And who was she kidding? At the rate she was going, she wasn't ever going to swim. She was going to be left behind, but at the same time, she dreaded the thought of voicing her concerns.

A good portion of her family weren't even born in SeaClan and they still took to the water easily enough. Her aunt had been born in HighClan, and her own father had been a kittypet to start. By all means, if they could do it, the cat raised from the ground-up in SeaClan should be able to as well, right?

That didn't stop her heart sinking whenever Pumpkinpatch suggest they try training by the rivers of the forest. The streams still ran with white rapids and conspiring swirling eddies. She was so scared of getting swept away that she's become quite talented at putting it off, whether it was by opting to help the elders with ticks instead, or throwing a fit. The primal part of her head was content living this way, but her truer self just wanted to rip off the cobwebs and get it over with. She knew that her mentor was catching on, but she wasn't exactly going to acknowledge that just yet.

All in all, she knew she was being pathetic crybaby about it all. At the end of the day, she wouldn't be a proper apprentice of SeaClan until she started learning how to swim. Did it help that it was Pumpkinpatch was going to be the one to teach her? Sure. Did it change that she seriously didn't see an outcome where she could make the water a part of her arsenal of stealth attacks? It sure didn't.

Lost in her head, when a cat stumbled over an odd stone near her, her ears shot up and she sprang to a gawky stance.

"Watch it, Barracuda!" she spat. He had crash-landed about a foxlength from her, but the younger apprentice still felt as if lightning shot through her bloodstream. Her pupils had expanded in an instant from jerking back to the present. Charged from being so startled, the scrawny she-cat made sure to tilt her head up at the older tom to stare his eyes down to snarl. "Stars! Why're you always always so clumsy, rabbit-brain?!"

Her mouth snapped into a greedy simper as the gray tom's expression changed to one of hurt. Satisfied, Mistletoepaw stamped her foot and felt a flare of satisfaction. She licked a paw and swiped it cockily over an ear, but felt her tight grin start to slip.

Justifying her meanness to herself was a strong defense mechanism of hers, yet it seemed to crumble now of all times. Her mind went to Shrimpcloud, likely watching her from StarClan, and the ache Mistletoepaw's chest only expanded.

Whatever, she sneered to herself, that dumb cat's always tripping over something or another. It's annoying.

Everyone was always doing something wrong. It meant that her aversion to the water was okay, because at least she wasn't just taking up space like a lot of these cats.
Yep. It always added up like that. No change.

She was definitely normal when she drew back from the heart of the camp, off to the apprentice's den to brood without another word to anyone else.