Strong (Open, I guess)

[drippingpaw]

Drippingpaw sat at the edge of the falls. It was amazing to him how quickly he had grown, in both body and mind, and emotion. Hours ago, it seemed, he had been a bouncing young kit. Minutes ago, he had been a young, eager apprentice. Moments ago, he had been angry, confused, happy, tired, and many other feelings that just couldn't all be processed at once. Now, at this moment, he stood at the falls. He envied the falls, really. They were so powerful, so knowing, so uncaring about what happened to them. Drippingpaw wished he could have that non-emotion, wished he could just let things slide. It would never happen, he knew, but it couldn't stop him from thinking.

He would be a warrior soon, he realized. How much longer could it take? A moon or two, as long as he was ready, which he was sure he was. He was very proficient at fighting, able to think on his feet and swipe with speed and strength. Hunting may not be his best suit, but he aws good enough at it to provide partially for the Clan. How much longer till Lichenpaw was a warrior too? Drippingpaw couldn't explain Lichenpaw. He didn't know what she meant, or what she wanted. He didn't know what he wanted. Drippingpaw realized how close to the falls he was, and backed away. He would have to be more careful.
With everything.

[kelsey .]

shadowpaw only had come to the falls once, and he had seen a vole go down them, geting killed nearly instantly. It was a dangerous place. Why he wanted to go there today was beyond him, but he needed a little adventure. He was angry for various reasons today, too: his father was dead, his mother abandoned him...and he would find her someday and hurt her for all the wrongs she had done to him and Lichenpaw. Hadn't she been the one that said she'd never screw up her second litter? But Chasinglight was like that: She was like the falls. Beautiful and promising, yet destructive and painful. She was very much close in personality to the water she was born next to.

Expecting to see no one around, Shadowpaw made a grand entrance, leaping in strongly, paws extended, until they slammed down onto sheer cliff, spraying dust into his company's eyes. He was feeling more and more like his esteemed father lately, and at first didn't care about his clanmates poor eyes. His kindness tugged him otherwise. Shocked, he padded up to Drippingpaw, eyes wary and sympathetic.
"I am sooo sorry!" He said pleadingly, begging for forgiveness of any sort. He looked at this cat closely. He had seen him and his sister, Lichenpaw, around a few times. He wondered if Drippingpaw had noticed Lichenpaw's mood change since her fake father, Rootclaw, had left. she was a lot kinder now, more like he himself, and he liked it, but he wasn't sure how long it would really last. He was confused lately, and Lichenpaw's behavior change had given him a little whiplash. Speaking of whiplash, water was sparaying onto the two apprentices, foamy riverl water filling his nose and mouth and eyes. Spluttering, he back up slowly.

[drippingpaw]

Drippingpaw's eyes suddenly stung as he heard a voice- Shadowpaw, I think-suddenly beg for forgiveness, like it was the worst thing he had ever done. Drippingpaw swiftly plucked his paw into the falls and jsut as swiftly pulled it out, sprinkling water into his eyes to clear them out. Looking at his paws, Drippingpaw chuckled, noticing he now lived up to his namesake. Looking at Shadowpaw, he mewed out a 'Hello'. Some dirt had gotten into his throat, and he dared not put his whole head into the falls. The coughs started, and finally, when Drippingpaw felt slightly better, he put on a small smile and walked up to his young friend.
"Hey, Shadowpaw! How are you? What brings you to the falls?" Drippingpaw hadn't noticed up till now how much deeper his voice had gotten. It felt good, somehow, to know that he was a bit ahead of his friends on the growing-up scale. Digging his wet paw in the dirt, he waited for an answer.

[kelsey .]

Shadowpaw smiled half-heartedly. Good 'ol Drippingpaw, always cheery and just...awesome.
"I'm very angry." He said curtly, not wanting to plague Drippingpaw with details. It was then he noticed how much older Drippingpaw had gotten. He'd make a great warrior someday, he knew it. Shadowpaw still had a light voice, be it had changed marvelously over the past few moons. He wondered if Drippingpaw would stick around for his painful story. Maybe the two could talk about Lichenpaw. He desperately needed to talk to someone about her odd behavior and Drippingpaw seemed like a good candidate. After all, Shadowpaw could see his sister and Drippingpaw together in the hazy future. It was just something he could tell, something was was obvious yet only oblivious to the naked eye. You had to look closely for their relationship, and it was a skill already mastered by the young tom. Besides, he thought Drippingpaw and Lichenpaw would make a cute couple. If only he had a love...

[drippingpaw]

"Angry? Why, however are you angry?"
Drippingpaw just loved speaking like he was smart. Truth was, Drippingpaw was very average when it came to intelligence, but after listening to smarter cats and learning the vocabulary, he could make it seem like he was smarter than he actually was. It was a good plan. He liked it.
Looking at Shadowpaw, Drippingpaw assumed that his anger had something to do with Rootclaw, who happened to be the, interstingly enough, root of Drippingpaw's anger as well. Drippingpaw had known Rootclaw had left the clan, which was unfortunate, as Drippingpaw was planning revenge on Rootclaw for himuliating him and abandoning him in front of the Clan. Now he may never get that revenge.
Ripping himself from his own thoughts, Drippingpaw focused on the real problem, Shadowpaw. "Is it because of Rootclaw?" he asked.

[kelsey .]

"When it is not about Rootclaw? He abandoned you, and I know he is out there somewhere with my my mother. Maybe they have a family together, i don't know. It's been three moons!"
He hissed angrily, digging his claws into the sparse geography. Truth was, he knew his mother had feelings for Rootclaw all along, and that they'd abandon riverclan somedtime or another. but why had it been so soon? His mother had lied to him! She probably didn't even think about him any more. Ever. Or Lichenpaw. He sighed and looked up at Drippingpaw apoligetically.
"sorry. It's just every thing is spinning out of control. Rootclaw, Lichenpaw's evil jewel, goes away and suddenly she becomes as nice as a flower in Newleaf...he was the source of all of our problems, wasn't he." It was as much of a question as a statement. He didn't expect Drippingpaw to answer this question, the answer hung around both of them like a petal in the wind. It was obvious rootclaw had destroyed all of riverclan's apprentices: Ghostpaw being corrupted by his lies, he and Lichenpaw being seperated by their mother, Drippingpaw being abandoned and humiliated. and what had been Weepingpaw's problem with the tabby ex-warrior? He hadn't seen his little orange half sister around lately. But Weepingpaw had been mothered by his own mum. If the little apprentice was still around, would she feel the pain he was feeling now? Or would that intellectual young cat care less?

[drippingpaw]

Drippingpaw stiffened, then softened, not knowing what to do. "Listen," he finally said. " Rootclaw is gone. You can think of that as the problem, but in reality, it isn't. He is gone, and I personally think he hasn't done much good for the clan anyway, so there's one good point. Yes, your mother is...gone...and has lied... but you can't change that fact, and you'll be a warrior soon, so look forward to being able to care for yourself soon instead of dreading on that past. Also, Rootclaw leaving seems to have made Lichenpaw happier..." Or is it me? "...which is only a good thing. Really, Shadowpaw, you have nothing to be angry with." Drippingpaw closed his eyes tightly for a split second, hoping what he had said came out the right way. His intention was to make Shadowpaw feel better, but if he didn't, it just wouldn't help Shadowpaw's situation, which would frankly makeDrippingpaw feel horrible and probably ruin his chances with Lichenpaw.

[kelsey .]

Shadowpaw smiled a little at Drippingpaw's words. "Thanks, Drippingpaw. You always make a cloudy day sunny. Your a good friend, you know?" He said, eyes wide. He felt a Little better, but still wanted to find his mother. And see what she was up to. If she cared. Maybe he could persuade her to come back to the Clan. O was she already long gone? away from the forest? He tilted his head away, and then remember his friends words, and tried to cheer up. "Wanna go fishing?" He asked playfully,

[drippingpaw]

Drippingpaw tilted his head. "Hehe, thanks Shadowpaw. Sure, I'll go fishing." Drippingpaw turned his head towards the falls. "Not here, right?" he asked worriedly.

[kelsey .]

Shadowpaw purred. "Definitely not here." He assured his friend, and a thought came over his face. A fun one. "Race ya to the river!" He called out happily. His blended genes offered him the stealth of a shadowclan cat, the spped of a windclan cat, the strength of a thunderclan cat and the power of a riverclanner. He was silenceclan born. he had a mix of clans in his blood. He clawed his way to the river, looking behind him to see if drippingpaw had followed or not.

[drippingpaw]

Drippingpaw sat for a second, confused about what had just happened. But soon, after he saw Shadowpaw running away and glancing backwards at him, Drippingpaw's brain recieved the message and he burst off full speed. Shadowpaw may have been faster than Drippingpaw, but Drippingpaw had something he didn't: A shortcut.
Drippingpaw had noticed, during his night with Lichenpaw, a certain tree the was right near the river. Cutting through the woods would take far less time than going along the water.
Drippingpaw follwed behind Shadowpaw for a little bit, snickering a little. Finally, when he saw the piece of woods he was to cut through, he laughed, shouted "Bye bye!" to Shadowpaw, and charged in. It was while Drippingpaw was running that he thought whether Shadowpaw would follow him in or not. If so, this could get a lot more interesting. And fun.