↬ catvent day: one
↬ username & id: dimi. 908977[list=][/list]
↬ clan archive: Heart of Decay↬ word count: 650
↬ prompt: Winter was always a rough month for most clans. The Heart of Decay, however, actually prefers Winter over Spring, since the rain shows that Spring brings forces them to relocate all their resources and dens higher up to avoid floodings.
The highlight of winter for cats in the Heart of Decay, and also the part that makes it hard at times, is the large river freezing over. The youthful ones enjoy it, but the medicine cats who need to tend to injuries with wet moss have a much harder time doing so.
But it was Envy and Onyx's kits first winter. The way the snow shined off the surface entranced the kits - so much so, that it led Crow and his little sister, Ruby, outside of the camp. Crow disappearing for a few hours at a time was pretty normal, and well.. Ruby would always tag along. His mothers had faith he would keep the two of them safe.
Of course, not all the cats of the clan trusted this. And so, one adult cat, unknown to them, trailed closely behind, hiding behind trees out of sight. Crow stopped before the river, his eyes twinkling in curiosity.
"Ruby, the river looks funky, doesn't it?" Crow asked, his head turning to peer over his shoulder.
"It looks like.. stuck. It's not moving like it normally does!" Ruby moved forward, moving to place her paw in the water.
"Woah! That's gonna be too cold!" Crow moved his paw underneath Ruby's, the cool feeling of ice stinging his pawpads. "Wait. It's not wet!" Crow's paw slid back and forth across the ice for a moment. "What is this stuff?!"
"Well, if I can't fall into the water..." Ruby dramatically stepped backwards, kicking up dust behind her before taking off, lunging herself onto the ice. She stumbled onto her stomach, spinning in a circle a few times before stopping. She then rolled onto her back, laughing loudly. "Crow! You gotta try it! It's so fun!"
Watching Ruby spin about unpredictably was enticing. Soon after, Crow got a running start as well. He stumbled onto the ice, and eventually crashed into Ruby, the two laughing as they slid even further. Crow tried to get to his paws once his momentum slowed, but stumbled back down. "This stuff is slick!" He yipped, followed by more laughter. His ears then perked forward towards his sister - he had heard something. A rumble, a... crack?
"Uh... Crow?" Ruby asked, looking down beneath her paws. As she uttered his name, the ice fell beneath her, the molly plunging into the cold water below.
"RUBY!!!" Crow yelled, and without hesitation, he dove into the cold water after her. The cold burned, his eyes stung as he scoured the water for her, his eyes wide in fear. Oh Stars, how could he have let this happen? He'd never be able to face his mothers again if Ruby was gone. If any of her sisters were gone. He'd never forgive himself.
The air in his lungs was draining quickly, and as his eyes finally met Ruby's silhouette, his vision became blurred. He suddenly regained his vision in shock as a spiraling blue light appeared before him, a paw reaching out. Crow swam towards it, and after grabbing Ruby by the scruff, wrapped his front paws around the paw. He was pulled through, and when they emerged, they sat atop a tree branch, the two kits shivering.
Before them was a silver molly, her blue gaze fixated on the kits. "You're lucky I was here!" She hissed.
"
Lily! We didn't know the water was underneath it!" Crow wailed. He then turned to Ruby, who was shivering, and appeared unconscious. "Is she going to be okay?"
"Yes. She will be. We need to get back to camp though."
And that was the day Crow learned NOT to go onto thin ice, especially with his family involved.
