TWG ~ I Can't Lose You

_{Keep in mind this is before the drought.}

Creekpaw touched his tail to her shoulders and laughed a little awkwardly, his ears tugging down, embarrassed that he'd been so thoughtless. "Oh, haha, it's nothing. We all have our own strengths. For instance, I'll bet you'll whip me at swimming, or even tree climbing for that matter. For all my talk, I could definitely use a lot more practice." He smiled encouragingly after attempting to lift her spirits. The Apprentice looked back ahead of him and nodded. "Yeah, I think we're just about to the beach."
Sure enough, the rocky ground began to dissolve into gritty sand, and he cracked a giddy laugh when the water came into sight and the soft lap of the waves could be heard. "Look there we are!"

Palepaw stiffened slightly at the caring touch. She smiled shyly and dropped her ears as well. "Yeah...I know..." She replied quietly. Her face lit up when Creekpaw said she could probably beat him at swimming or climbing. "You better believe it!" She said using the same tone of voice as if she were showing off to one of her brothers. As she walked forward to continue the trek, the apprentice was practically bouncing on her toes. "I can smell the lake!" Palepaw exclaimed, suddenly feeling much more comfortable around the tom. Her blue eyes sparkled like the water's surface when they reached the beach shore. "This'll be so much fun." The grey cat whispered.

"You bet, so what are we waiting for?!!" He shouted, giving her shoulder a slight push as he raced past her. Without hesitating he leapt into the water, much to his shock, to be treated with cold water. His body dove completely underwater and he started paddling his legs viciously to surface again. Bursting through the water, his jaw chittered. "Brrr rr, not necessarily my brightest idea."

At the light shove, she smirked and bunched up her muscles ready to run. Palepaw was about to spring off in the direction of the water after Creekpaw when he resurfaced clearly freezing. The grey apprentice stiffled a laugh. "I'd say it's not your hottest idea." She purred as she strode over. The shecat enjoyed the feeling of the sanding bending and morphing beneath her paws as she walked across it. "The sand feels kind of warm." She noted. "Maybe the water hasn't had enough time to warm up since it's so large." Palepaw sat on the soft tan shore and watched her friend shiver. "You, uh, ok?"

Attempting to win a losing battle, Creekpaw tried to keep his face still, but the cold shudders were too much. He released another airy laugh at himself. "M-more or less, but know what would make me feel even better..? COMPANY!" Hastily and without warning, he shot dripping from the lake and dragged Palepaw into the freezing water with him, laughing heartily once more as they thrashed and tread water.

"W-wait..whaaattt?" She shrieked when Creekpaw pulled her into the freezing water. Her eyes bulged as the cool water stung the skin beneath her thin fur. "C-creekpaw!" She shivered. "It's s-so c-cold." Palepaw thrashed her paws to stay afloat. She looked over at the grey tom and smirked. She swung a front paw across her and at her friend. With the motion came a wave of ice cold water. The pale colored shecat giggled at him when he got splashed. "Payback!"


The frigid water pelted him in the face, causing him to snort and gag over the chilly stuff, though a pleasurable laugh despite it all could still be heard from the grey apprentice. His fur hung heavy in the water while his whiskers dripped, though he continued to paddle and grin. "Well, then, how about this!" He retaliated, swiveling his paw like hers to create a similar surge of water.

Palepaw laughed at her friend's fur. "You look so strange like that!" she commented still laughing. The grey shecat was distracted by her uncontrollable laughter over something that seemed hilarious to her, that it gave Creekpaw the ability to retaliate. Palepaw shrieked at the feeling of cold water hitting her in the face.

Creekpaw experienced a small triumph as his friend crumpled beneath the impact of his wave. Though dripping, his whiskers twitched while his eyes preened through dilated, playful slits. However, after a few seconds passed where Palepaw didn't resurface, his euphoria dissipated and bubbled out, a small panic beginning to bud. He glanced around hastily and called out desperately. "Palepaw, hey!"


Palepaw dove under right after being hit in the face by the wave. She held her breath looking up at Creekpaw from below the surface. She giggled a little but quickly stopped when bubbles rose from her mouth. The shecat was quickly losing air but she didn't want to resurface, she was having fun. The apprentice could tell her friend was starting to become uneasy at her disappearance. More bubbles escaped her mouth as she struggled to stay under. I....I can resurface....I gotta..s-stay under.. Palepaw thought to herself. Her vision started to blur and the grey cat finally gave in. She pushed herself to the surface and gasped for air.

With each second that passed with Palepaw nowhere to be seen, Creekpaw's nerves stood still and, had his fur not been weighed down by water, his hackles would've rose with anxious concern for his fellow Apprentice. With his thrashing to keep afloat creating ripples, he couldn't distinguish any bubbles floating up, and a panic claimed him. His thoughts ran back to when he had lost his brother, Dustykit. He'd been entirely helpless back then too.
He could've cried tears of joy when she resurfaced without warning. "Palepaw!" he exclaimed, paddling closer to her, inspecting her for any damage. There didn't seem to be any, but he wouldn't take any chances. "I think we've had enough swimming for one day, huh?" he suddenly said, switching gears and wanting to leave the waters before any other disaster could strike.

Palepaw was still trying to catch her breath when Creekpaw reached her side. "H-hey..." she said with heavy exhaustion. She frowned at her friend. "Aw but I was having so much fun." she meowed clearly still wanting to play. By the look on the tom's face she knew he was terrified by her disappearance. The apprentice smiled then nodded. "Alright, let's go back and sit on the beach for a minute. I'm still tired from holding my breath." she agreed. Palepaw started swimming back to shore, still glancing back at Creekpaw.

Creekpaw paddled swiftly, attempting to catch up with his denmate without flailing or splashing too much water, failing somewhat in that effort. Internally he grimaced, though he couldn't care the slightest when he realized he just wanted to be by Palepaw's side.

The two Apprentices pulled themselves out of the water, their pelts soaked and dripping, Palepaw beating him to the shore by only a fraction of the second. He didn't spare a second to shake some of the water and dry his own drenched pelt before immediately checking on the lighter Tabby She, inspecting her pelt again for any sign of injury through a hard, scrutinizing stare. He didn't exhale until he was satisfied she really was alright, albeit being a little exhausted.

His green eyes were crestfallen, devoid of the usual shine within them. Moving a bit mechanically, he stood immediately before Palepaw, leaving not even a whisker length of space between them, their gazes meeting for a long, almost frozen second. Without a second thought, he closed in, first rubbing his wet cheek against her own, then turning his head downward so that his forehead rested against her side. "You can't do that to me." he murmured softly, but not quiet enough that she wouldn't catch. "Palepaw, you can't do that. I don't know what I'd do without you. I can't lose you." Stepping back, he shook his head, water flinging from his ears, and returned his churning green eyes to her blue pair.

Palepaw continued to paddle her legs to get her to shore. She could sense Creekpaw had caught up the distance between them. They hauled themselves to shore, pelts practically hanging off their bodies. She tried shaking out her pelt but it was like it was made of lead. The apprentice licked at her light grey fur trying to get it dry enough to shake out. Palepaw couldn't help but feel eyes on her. She looked over to see the seafoam green eyes of her friend. His gaze was anxious and worrisome. Her ears pulled back on her head in confusion. The grey shecat was about to speak when he came close to her. She looked up into his eyes, not like she had much of a choice since he started the connection. Before she knew what was happening, Creekpaw bent his head to touch her own. Her ears burned though she didn't know why. He was just a friend, that's all she'd ever said about him. Now she was unsure. At the tom's words, she held her breath. Palepaw closed her eyes and leaned into the his bowing position. "I-I'm so sorry, Creekpaw..." She replied. "I didn't think you would worry so much. I...I didn't think you cared so much.."

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aaaaannnddd slight feels

Fur and I did this little rp to further enhance their friendship _{and other stuff (;} </s>

So yeah, this happened

art and Pale: mine
Creek: Furdora 
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