Warrior Cat Clans 2 (WCC2 aka Classic) is a roleplay site inspired by the Warrior series by Erin Hunter. Whether you are a fan of the books or new to the Warrior cats world, WCC2 offers a diverse environment with over a decade’s worth of lore for you - and your characters - to explore. Join us today and become a part of our ongoing story!
News & Updates
11.06.2022 The site has been transformed into an archive. Thank you for all the memories here!
Here on Classic we understand that sometimes life can get difficult and we struggle. We may need to receive advice, vent, know that we are not alone in our difficult times, or even just have someone listen to what's going on in our lives. In light of these times, we have created the support threads below that are open to all of our members at any time.
Turtlepaw crouched down by the pool of water, gazing down. The bottom was swirling with mud and she could barely see the flash of scales through the muck. It was a tricky place to be fishing, especially for an inexperienced young apprentice, but she was determined to find prey back. She needed somewhere quiet to hunt. She needed privacy too.. she couldn’t stand to let everyone else watch her flounder and fail, it was too embarrassing.
Finally the calliby shot forward, striking the water with one paw. She batted at the fish a few times before it slipped from her grasp, and she cried in frustration.
The sound of splashing water drew Pinepaw to where the apprentice was fishing. His head tilted slightly as he watched before she cried in frustration. With that, he began to approach her and meowed, "Doing a little fishing today?" The tom had had much practice with fishing in his travels before he arrived in SwiftClan, and had always enjoyed it.
Turtlepaw turned quickly to face the other apprentice, placing the water at her back, as if she could hide the entire river from sight. She was tense and uncertain. She didn't like letting other cats see her mess up, and her frustration was ebbing away into am embarrassed blossom of heat across her cheeks.
Pinepaw took note of the uncomfortable energy and dipped his head slightly. "I'm sorry if I intruded," He began, sitting down and wrapping his tail around his paws. "But I may be able to help. I've practiced fishing a lot in my travels. It's quite peaceful when you get the hang of it." His head tilted slightly to the side then, as if inquiring silently if she would be interested.
So he was good at fishing. Turtlepaw deflated a little. Everyone was better at fishing than she was. Fishing was in her blood, or supposed to be; why was she so bad?
She glanced back up at him and paused, seeing the question in his eyes. Only then did she recognize his offer, and immediately she brightened. "Would you teach me? Please? Just a little?"
A small, soft smile graced his maw at her question. With another deeper dip of his head, he stood and approached the flowing water, stopping once to stretch his front legs out before setting back on his haunches. "Well," He began softly as he eyed the murky water for any signs of passing fish. "Firstly I would say this water is probably giving you a lot of trouble. But it's not impossible to work with." Pinepaw paused as he tried to figure out the best way to explain the technique. The tom found it a bit harder than he expected to find the right words but shook his frustration away and spoke again. "I think the key is patience. And timing. Oh, and quick movements.." He trailed off as he realized how not smooth his training speech was going already and gave a small grumble.
"Perhaps I will just let you watch me for a moment. But bear those things in mind." With that he trained all his attention to the muddy water, feeling a tingle in his paw as he noticed the glint of scales amongst the muck. Slowly he raised his paw as he trailed the prey, getting familiar with its sudden movements and patterns. With a sudden flash of movement he struck his paw into the water, claws extended, and practically scooped the fish right out of the water. It landed with a flop on the ground next to them and he killed it swiftly.
The water was the problem? Turtlepaw glanced back at it, puzzled, before she remembered. She had known from the start the low visibility would only make things harder, but she wanted someone quiet and isolated to practice, where the fish would have a harder time escaping and she would go unnoticed by her clanmates. She had failed the second, but she still had hope their prey was a prisoner here.
Patience. Got it. She didn't have a lot of patience, but she could figure it out. Timing was tricky, though. And quick movements? Turtlepaw was fast but not fast enough, the fish always seemed to know her movements before she did.
"Okay," she agreed uncertainly, and sat back to watch. Her eyes flew wide as he hooked the fish so easily. "How did you do that?" she sputtered. Until then, Turtlepaw had honestly expected him to have some special secret technique, but he had struck the water similar to how she did, trying to scoop it out. "That never works for me, it always swims away!"
He dipped his head and gave a small chuckle. "Perhaps you just need more practice. Eventually it's as easy as catching a mouse," Pinepaw insisted, almost nodding to himself. "After watching fish for so long, you get used to the crazy way they move. They're fast, but I know you're faster!" He mewed encouragingly, attempting to project his own sureness of the other apprentice onto her.
"I think keeping your paw perched still for as long as possible helps too. Tricks them into thinking it's not really there, I guess," He murmured, thinking to hard into it and starting to wonder himself how he scooped it up so easily. With a shrug he moved back from the water a bit, inviting her in for another shot. "Give it another shot. Take your time with it."
Turtlepaw blushed and looked down at her paws, both longing for and embarrassed by the praise. She wanted to be quick enough, she had a long and thin body like a speedy cat, but she worried she was just too clumsy. Prey moved so fast and it has taken her ages to trap a mouse, and wish were even faster!
She looked at at him again after his offer. “Well,” she scuffed the ground with one paw, “okay… I’ll try.” She shuffled forward and sat down close by his side, leaning over the water to search for fish. Remembering his advice, she lifted one paw and dangled it awkwardly over the pond.
"Keep your paw straighter, more poised," He barely murmured as to not scare away the fish, reaching with his own paw ever so slowly to aid in repositioning hers before beginning again. "Be ready to strike at the right moment. Which way is the fish going? Learn its movements.." Pinepaw trailed off then, his own gaze following the glint through the murky water, almost trying to will the fish to be more predictable. The warmth of Turtlepaw's pelt may have distracted him if he weren't so intent on helping her catch a fish - training always caught his attention before anything else.
She held her breath as he repositioned her paw. He was helping her as a teacher, she remembered, that was all... there was a silly little voice in her mind that was equal parts thrilled and terrified that he was standing so close to her. The other apprentices always talked about the cats they were interested in and how they tried to find time alone with them . . . Turtlepaw's excitement that this is happening! is this happening?! is he doing this on purpose? was then combatted by her horror that maybe he thought she was asking for help because she was interested and just pretending to be this dumb at uh..... what were they doing...... fishing. Right.
How was she supposed to focus on fishing now?
Turtlepaw took a breath and nodded shakily. She stared down at the water, watching the fish swirl back and forth. Her paw ached a little from being so still, but she didn't want to mess up in front of Pinepaw, so she forced it steady. Finally, a fish did catch her eye, it was moving fairly straight and slow, and there was another fish that was probably going to block its way in a second or two. She leaned forward, then her paw struck down and into the water, flipping about wildly and through some miracle, her claws hooked into its gills, and she pulled the tiny prey onto the shore.
She killed it swiftly, then beamed up at him, eyes shining and exhilarated. "We did it!"
He watched her kill the fish with pride, not only for Turtlepaw, but also for himself. It wasn't often he got to teach others something. As she smiled up at him with such excitement at her catch he felt warmth flood him, and a half purr half chuckle escaped his chest. With a smile he dipped his head. "No, you did it. Great job." As he lifted his head he realized how close he really was to her, faces just inches apart and pelts almost brushing. Pinepaw struggled to keep the embarrassment from his expression as he realized it was quite nice but truly didn't know how to handle those feelings, not yet anyway, and also, would Turtlepaw even have similar feelings? His mind began to trip himself up as he tried to figure out what to say now, not wanting this triumphant and memorable moment to be cut short by his own awkwardness.
"Thanks." Turtlepaw could scarcely breathe, acutely aware of how close they had become. This was happening. She wasn't just dumb. Okay, good. Good! These things were supposed to start happening at her age, she had been waiting.... not really eagerly waiting, more apprehensive, but waiting... but he was a boy and she was a girl and she would finally had a cool story to share at the gathering. The calico she-cat took a deep breath, preparing herself for whatever came next -- was this the part where she confessed her feelings?
"I..."
Nope nope nopenopenope. A sudden wave of panic struck her and suddenly he was too close, her heart was hammering and she couldn't take in enough air. Turtlepaw scooted backward to shove space between them and turned away, gasping in another mouthful of air, then hurrying to explain, "I couldn't have done it without you! You're... you're really good at this, Pinepaw...."
The closeness, regardless of the awkwardness, gave Pinepaw a feeling he'd never really had before; a comfort that rested in his bones and made him feel warm and at ease. He was moments away from getting carried away and resting his nose on her cheek, for just a moment, when Turtlepaw scooted away and he was once more flooded with embarrassment.
Feeling the panic in her he dipped his head. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," Pinepaw began, slowly raising his gaze back to hers. "I'm not really used to having any sort of.. well.. close feelings with others." He finished his arguably awkward admission of guilt and straightened up, letting a smile grace his face again. "In any case, I'm happy I could help. Shall we bring our catches back to camp, while they're still fresh?"
"No!" Turtlepaw was horrified. "It-it wasn't you! You were great. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She shuffled her paws, feeling like a complete idiot. "Yeah. Yeah, let's go back now." She leaned down and quickly seized her prey, and stood up to follow him. But then his words struck her fully.
"Um... feelings?" she asked. Tentative. Hopeful but fearful at the same time. "For..... me?"
Pinepaw had perhaps assumed that Turtlepaw would end the conversation due to being uninterested, so his ears perked in surprise when she kept it going. He turned to look at her, perhaps a bit of shyness in his movements now; he felt silly and embarrassed but also so wrapped in the moment that it didn't really matter. "Well, yes.." He responded and gave a soft smile, hoping the warmth behind it would ease her in some way.
"I suppose this is one of the best times I've had in a long time. So, thank you."
Turtlepaw blushed too hard and couldn't meet his eyes, but inside she was glowing. He liked her! Nobody liked Turtlepaw, not like that. She was too shy and awkward and unskilled. The other apprentices weren't mean to her, but she wouldn't consider any of them close friends, and they certainly never looked at her romantically.
"It was the best for me too," she mumbled, and sneaked another look up at him. A bit louder: "I never would have caught that fish without your help. My mentor is going to be proud of me for like, the first time ever. So thank you! It was really nice of you."
The young tom felt warm and glowing inside as well. It seemed the first connection he'd had with anyone in a long time, and he tried to capture the feeling, to bottle it up and never forget it. Pinepaw gave her a small smile.
"Of course, I'm happy to help any time," He nodded, flicking his tail to touch her shoulder. "Really, I'd love to do this again. In any case, are you ready to go back?" His head tilted slightly as he gazed at her, a question gleaming in his eyes.
Turtlepaw lingered in the warmth, smiling up at him. "I'm ready," she agreed finally, drawing on her courage, "but I would really, really like to do this again too."
She felt like she should extend an invitation now, before he slipped away, but there were so few promises she could make. She was an apprentice who had no idea what her plan was for that evening, much less the next day. Instead, she leaned down and picked up her catch.
