Private Thread Flailing or Failing?

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa. Pressure that'll tip, tip tip 'till you just go pop, whoa.
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Cottonbright hesitated at his question, her ears flicking once as though she’d been caught in some harmless secret. She hadn’t meant to be mysterious but the walk here had been long and close to a border besides.

"I… suppose it does look strange, doesn’t it?" She meowed, sheepishly. The water thundered down the rocks ahead, its spray rising into the warm air. Cottonbright watched it for a moment more, just enough for her eyes to meet his then flick away shyly.

"I...like the mist as it rises. This place has always been one of my favorite places to visit. I thought… maybe you might like it too."

"Your happiness is mine."

≿━━━━༺˚˖𓍢ִִ໋🌊❀˚˖𓍢ִ✧˚.༻━━━━≾

Bayflower had come here everyday at random times, hoping over and over again that he would see his RiverClan friend. Cottonbright. But alas, the mouse-brains they were had not set a time or day for their reunion so she had to keep guessing.

But perhaps it was her lucky day. She had been making her daily trip to the River Corpse when she spotted a familiar cat. Goosesong? Goosesong! The molly couldn't help but smile. But was he still as cold as the last time they had met? Probably.

However, just as she was about to consider turning away to leave Goosesong alone, she saw another familiar face that made her purr. "Cottonbright!" the she-cat called, padding over with a bounce to her step. "I... Um... Hi! What are you guys doing here together?"

What are you afraid of losing if nothing in the world actually belongs to you.

~･ﾟ: *~･ﾟ:* 🫧 *:･ﾟ~*:･*

Goosesong's eyes drifted to where the mist rose from the foot of the falls and tilted his head. There was, indeed, a strange beauty to it. Goosesong nodded toward his clanmate in agreement to her first statement. "The mist is nice." He agreed, voice a little softer than usual as he took a deep breath in. 

Though, he took a pause and glanced over as a familiar scent drifted into his nose. The form that stood before himself and Cottonbright was who he assumed it was, Bayflower. The WindClan warrior he had encountered a few moons back... and a few times at gatherings when the both of them were in attendance. however quiet or lacking their pleasantries would have been.

"Good day to you, Bayflower" He greeted, glancing at Cottonbright as if to ask if Bayflower was welcome to enjoy the mist just as much as the both of them had been. If that was truly the reason why the two were there.

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa. Pressure that'll tip, tip tip 'till you just go pop, whoa.
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Cottonbright startled just a touch at the sound of her name, her fur fluffing before smoothing again. Bayflower’s appearance seemed like it arrived like a gust of warm wind and Cottonbright’s paws shuffled in the grass as she dipped her head in greeting, shy... but genuinely pleased that they were meeting again.

"Bayflower… hello." Came the soft, almost hesitant drawl of her voice, her lime eyes sweeping sideways to catch the silver tom in her sight. "You know Bayflower too?"

She took a small step closer, clearly welcoming the other cat's presence, and the small of her tail flicked towards the falls. "We were just… visiting the falls. The mist is n-nice this time of season... and the water vole are especially plentiful here among the stones. Ah..." She was beginning to ramble, let alone reveal information. She stopped herself from saying more, but meowed.

"Are you still… um… excited to try swimming? You mentioned before you wanted to learn."

"Your happiness is mine."

≿━━━━༺˚˖𓍢ִִ໋🌊❀˚˖𓍢ִ✧˚.༻━━━━≾

Bayflower beamed at the sight of the two, purring. "Hi, Goosesong! Guess what?! I'm a senior warrior in WindClan now!" The molly cheered, not remembering if it was something that had been announced at the previous gathering. If it had though, the she-cat didn't care.

The voidful feline's smile held just as much joy as Cottonbright's if not more, tail twitching before listening to Cottonbright speak. "The mist really is nice this time of season, huh?" Bayflower purred, dark eyes meeting the other molly's green ones. She liked listening to her ramble.

"Oh yes! I would love to learn how to swim! Would you two teach me? Pretty please?" The molly also wanted to learn to fish but that could wait. One paw step at a time.

What are you afraid of losing if nothing in the world actually belongs to you.

~･ﾟ: *~･ﾟ:* 🫧 *:･ﾟ~*:･*

Ah so that is why Cottonbright had invited him, to help the WindClanner the basics of swimming. Seems that Cottonbright still missed the experience of training. Except this was no apprentice, this was Bayflower, a warrior of WindClan. However, when it came to swimming, he supposed any WindClan cat could make a fool of themself trying to swim.

"Oh, yes." Goosesong answered Cottonbright, his tail barely brushing her flank. "We exchanged words at the border a few moons ago." He added, there was no lean in his tone in any direction that would insinuate it would go beyond typical manners between warriors from opposite clans. 

Goosesong didn't have much to say to Bayflower's promotion aside from a respectable nod, one that another of the same status would give to another instead of a nod that may be given to a cat lower than himself. Not respect or congratulations in words, but a congratulatory gesture in his own right.

He agreed with the both of them on the topic of the mist, but he did so without words, a simple nod and an approving look in his aqua eyes. 

Bayflower's interest in swimming didn't shock him exactly, he always seemed to spot the black figure skulking around the gorge. Glad that they were careful enough not to topple down... unlike his littermate... though in her case it wasn't carelessness, just bad luck. "We can teach you, although it isn't a job made for two teachers. Cottonbright may take the lead, I'll give my opinion when I'm needed." With his acceptance, he stepped back, if this was Cottonbright's intention, she can have this.

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa. Pressure that'll tip, tip tip 'till you just go pop, whoa.
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Cottonbright’s ears perked at Goosesong's agreement as her attention swept back to the black she-cat.

"A-A demonstration… yes, that might be best." She mewed, dipping her head. "It's easier to see than explain at first. And this spot is gentle enough for a beginner."

She took a few steps forward, nudging aside a reed with her shoulder as she motioned Bayflower closer with a flick of her tail. "I'll show you how RiverClan cats enter the water… um… slowly at first. You don’t want to shock your paws or lose your balance. You can watch and when you feel ready, we'll help you try. I promise we won’t let the current take you."

A shy, tentatively sweet smile broke through her muzzle as she slipped into the River with all the grace of a cat baring it's clan's name.