SeaClan: Low Tide

Chapter Sevėn

A good week had passed before Littlebloom deemed Tidepaw well enough to resume her training, and the little apprentice was eager to get back on her paws. A few mentors had decided that getting their apprentices comfortable with water was a must, and she was on what was called a swimming patrol. Saltblaze led her from camp, chatting quietly with Yewburr and Baldface every once in a while. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but Saltblaze looked pained to be talking about it. His tail would twitch in agitation and his claws were out, shredding anxiously at the sand every now and then.

"Hey, Tidepaw, are you sure you're alright? You spaced out there." Dazed, Tidepaw shook her head and looked up at Splashpaw. The black-spotted apprentice was growing like a weed, and Tidepaw noticed the beginnings of muscle in Splashpaw's frame. It wasn't uncommon for a SeaClan cat, but Tidepaw found herself favoring it over her own sleek build. "I asked if Fishpaw's all you thought he'd be."

The large grey tom, once aware of Tidepaw's existence, had been strangely kind to her, offering her prey and asking to share tongues. She saw the approving look Baystorm would give her when she agreed to either, and impressing her Clanmates was something Tidepaw strived for. It wasn't hard to pretend to like his son, but Tidepaw avoided him when she knew no one would be watching. It was never because she disliked him, though. Fishpaw wasn't an unpleasant cat by any means; he was just strange.

"He's kind of weird," Tidepaw mewed, sneaking a glance at him now and then. "I think he likes me."

"Ooh," Splashpaw said, hopping excitedly, "Will you take him as a mate when you become a warrior?"

"I don't want to take him as a mate," she whined. Shrimppaw looked at her strangely, and she quieted down a bit. "I don't like him like that," she whispered, "It's weird. He's weird." Her ears went a little pink at the tips. "I like someone else."

"Who?" Tidepaw looked at her paws, studying the ground as she traversed it. "Who is it? Tidepaw? Tell me!"

"It doesn't matter," she meowed quickly, staring pointedly away from Splashpaw. Then, she smiled slyly. "Female leaders don't usually have kits, anyway."

"A kit shouldn't worry about becoming leader," Crabfoam chided, cuffing his daughter gently. "You need to focus on being a good warrior, first. Defend your Clan, challenge all trespassers, follow the code. You'll do just fine."

"Says you," Yewburr hissed playfully, "Mallowstar made you a warrior at Spikepaw's age! How aren't you already deputy?" He and Crabfoam are the same ages apart as Spikepaw and me! Tidepaw thought. Would he be teasing her when he was a warrior?

"They offered the position to me around the time Olivebird was expecting," he replied as he waded into the water. "I said no. I just didn't think I could handle the responsibility of being deputy, a father, a mate, and a good warrior. I still think I couldn't handle it, and Coralspray's doing much too good a job of filling the role. Fishpaw, Tidepaw, the rest of you! Into the water, please. I want to see which one of you can swim the fastest to that rock."

"Me!" Tidepaw yowled, taking a running leap into the icy depths of the ocean. There was a brief moment in which she was completely under and she thought she might drown, but her legs moved instinctively, and her head broke surface. Water rolled off of her pelt naturally, keeping her afloat rather than dragging her down, and she paddled furiously toward the boulder jutting out in the distance.

"No fair!" she heard Fishpaw exclaim, and she turned her head to see him standing at the shore. "Spikepaw gave Tidepaw lessons when she was still in the nursery!" He pawed at the water, fur spiking as his paw was soaked. Beside him, Splashpaw rolled her eyes and pushed him in, cackling as he flailed wildly in the water. Her movements, while not as graceful as Tidepaw's, were strong and sure as she quickly gained on her. She squeaked and thrust herself through the saltwater, legs tirelessly pumping her toward her goal.