Ceaderstripe pads beside Heatherfur and Fluffypelt. Cocoapaw and Brightpaw are in the back of the group chattering quietly.
Burntwhisker stops walking to let Brightpaw and Cocoapaw catch up to him.
"How are your legs?" He asks.
"Good," Brightpaw flexes her legs, "definitely getting better."
"How long do you think until we get there?" Fluffypelt looks to Ceaderstripe.
Ceaderstripe squits her eyes as a cloud moves away from the sun and it shines brighter, "a few days at this pace, at least."
Fluffypelt nods, "ok."
Ceaderstripe is still exhilarated from her swim this morning with Pinestripe and Hazelstripe.
"Hey Froststar," Hazelstripe flicks her tail teasingly, "you wanna go for another swim?" She motions her head towards the river to their left.
"Not at the moment," he rolls his eyes.
Ceaderstripe looks as far ahead as she can see.
"Something is blocking the water!" Ceaderstripe begins running towards where the water is blocked.
She stands on the edge of the cliff and looks down to the water below. She looks to the blockage and sees wet stair like things.
"Let's go down," Froststar suggests.
Ceaderstripe pads slowly towards the steps, water trickling down them.
"Be careful, they're very slippery," Ceaderstripe warns.
"Thats not my problem," Cocoapaw calls from where he's standing on the cliff wall, "This is easy."
Heatherfur laughs, "not all of us have the power to walk up and down walls."
A fish flops by Ceaderstripe's paws. Brightpaw, who was standing beside her, lunges for the fish.
The colorful young cat slips and starts to slide down the steps, "Help!"
Hazelstripe pushes past Ceaderstripe and reaches for her apprentice who is quickly sliding downwards. Brightpaw slides down quickly, bumping and squealing. She splashes into the water at the bottom.
"Brightpaw!" Hazelstripe does a similar maneuver to the one she did when going after Brightpaw on the mountain, making herself slide down into the water.
Hazelstripe begins thrashing in the strong current. Pinestripe looks at her.
"What are you thinking?" Ceaderstripe asks, already expecting her to try to rescue them.
Pinestripe jumps straight off the wall and into mid air. She begins falling down.
"I will save you!" Pinestripe calls out as she falls through the air, her face scrunched up.
"And probably die trying!" Cocoapaw swipes his front right paw to the left.
"Oh my Starclan-" Shrewtail trails off.
"She's insane," Burntwhisker mews, "both of them."
"Its not just them!" Ceaderstripe jumps off into the air and drops down into the water, making a big splash.
She goes against the strong downwards current and swims to the surface where she latches onto Hazelstripe's scruff, sinking down under the water as Hazelstripe weakens.
"I've got you," she mews around her mouthful of fur, "I've got you."
Hazelstripe let's herself go limp and soon passes out.
She paddles to where the water is more shallow, a good distance away. Her legs grow tired as she continues.
By now the whole group had made their way into the water, Froststar paddles beside Ceaderstripe.
"Let me take her," Froststar offers.
"Ok," Ceaderstripe's mew is muffled by fur, "just- just be careful."
"I wouldn't dare let go of her," Froststar admitted.
Ceaderstripe nods and gives Hazelstripe to Froststar the rest of the way.
They get to where the river stops, shallow and dry. The river definitely used to flow through here, its path is engraved in the tall stone walls.
"We need to wake her up," Froststar lays Hazelstripe on the dry, sandy, ground.
"Hazelstripe," Ceaderstripe shakes the splotched she-cat.
"Step aside," Burntwhisker pushes Froststar away from Hazelstripe.
"I'm staying with her!" Froststar objects, standing at her head.
"As long as you stay away from my mate," Burntwhisker mutters.
"I- as lo- Ceaderstripe!? She and I are friends, nothing more," Froststar growls, glancing at Ceaderstripe.
"Sure, now you are. But before," Burntwhisker trails off.
"Before we were friends," Ceaderstripe looked straight at Burntwhisker's eyes, "Never were we anymore than that."
"Mhm," Burntwhisker rolls his eyes and starts pressing Hazelstripe's stomach.
"You and Rubyfur however," Ceaderstripe rolls her eyes as she trails off, shifting her paws on the dry ground.
Hazelstripe sputters and Ceaderstripe hears the thrum of paws heading their way. Ceaderstripe glances to where Pinestripe is pressing Brightpaw's stomach.
"Rubyfur thought all of that in her own head, I was busy thinking about my former mate, a selfless cat, and what she had done," Burntwhisker growled.
"Yes, what did I do?" Ceaderstripe sits, wrapping her tail around her paws.
"Not only what you did," Burntwhisker glares at Froststar, "what the two of you did."
"We never did anything!" Froststar shouts.
Brightpaw coughs and sputters.
"You're ok!" Pinestripe jumps excitedly.
"And beside, Froststar's got a mate," Hazelstripe coughs.