SPRING GRIND 💪💪💪| Retro Daisyfire + Thunderwillow swimmie

"Hwuh? Get ME?!" Thunderwillow swayed dramatically with the muted force of the warrior's nudge, staggering back to full height with the aghast expression of a cat suddenly determined to prove her worth. Veering back oncourse for the rapids- well, as rapid as the waters could flow with Starclan's grace guiding them to buffer zones- she stomped a little harder in her stride, as if to display the very strength called into question! While there was never shame in accepting help from a clanmate, it'd be a true affront to his pride and honor to be tossed astray in a plan of his own making! As outspoken and bold as Daisyfire was, he was just as much so, and all the more ready to accept a challenge! "No way! I'll swim to the lake and back before I'm weak enough to let the river take me down! I promise- You can count on me!"

In spite of her original recoil, the tabby sprung back easily from the moment of doubt, already grinning toothily towards her clanmate with pure, unstrained excitement. After all, a moment of doubt was just one pawstep away from becoming an opportunity for self display! And there was nothing better than showing her stuff, especially for a cat who was far from easily impressed. Bounding in higher, more sprawling strides, Thunderwillow broke forward to close the distance towards the rushing water as its sound breached her ears. "Almost there, almost there!"

The forest breeze captured Daisyfire's words and carried them to golden ears, tickling Thunderwillow's spirit and lifting her head in swelled pride. That's right! While the river had no hide or hair to speak of, unlike all of Moonclan's tangible enemies, it was an obstacle to overcome regardless! If the past moons had taught him anything, outside of mostly being confused, it was that threats could take many intangible forms! But just because you couldn't kill something didn't mean you couldn't tame it under a powerful paw- He was willing to bet, especially in front of such a strong contender for a fiery equal, that his paws were just the right size and shape to smack a river into place! Maybe, sometime long ago, that was just how rivers were dealt with in the first place!

But there was no time to get stuck in the past! The water awaited in its present form, ready to be wrangled into submission! Thunderwillow's shoulder brushed the edge of the treeline bordering the shore for a mere heartbeat before recoiling, thundering the short distance to circle back towards his clanmate's approaching figure. "WOOHOO! Just ahead now!" She pranced in a wide hook to retread ground, an enthusiastic if unnecessary guide for the shorter cat. "GO GO GO!"

Where Thunderwillow had recoiled before, his clanmate darted across the border between forest and rivershore, disappearing into the swells as smoothly as a salmon. How courageous! "Whoa, whoa! Let's go, Daisyfire!" With his cheer still resonating across the water, she didn't wait a moment longer. Like a twoleg's monster gone drastically off-course, the broad tabby lunged for the water just offset from where the other waded, breaking the surface with a thunderous SPLASH! The cold shocked her body slightly, rendering her tense and braced for an already completed impact during his split second below the water- Over in the moment he breached upward, thick fur slicked back to frame a now thinner face as a result. Eyes narrowed in recovery, Thunderwillow spotted her partner swimming just a little ways nearby!

"Talk about a wake-up call! Geez, you can practically feel leafbare travelling upstream! Hehe." Big paws paddling hard beneath the surface, pushing the persistent currents of the volatile waters far below, she observed Daisyfire, now Daisydoused. "How's it feel, huh? You got it?"

"Hm, hm!" Thunderwillow enunciated loudly over the sound of the river, rivulets from his ear tufts beginning to drip slow onto his cheeks. It harkened back to her suffix's namesake, forming faux tears of freshwater framed onto an otherwise unperturbed face. With a hearty shake of the head, sopping fur flopping wetly at the motion, she declared the obvious: "I never regret anything! Not even my worst defeats!" A warrior overcomes every obstacle! YEAH! It was good to hear that Daisyfire felt the same, always blazing bright and true to himself even in the face of the great and mighty Pansystar! A clanmate you could rely on through and through. Paws thwapping at the surface of the water suddenly, he pushed a little closer to the tom, making a big show out of surveying the flow of the surrounding waters. "Whatcha think, then? Start swimmin' this ways or that ways, or just keep workin' the waves where we are?"

Neither option was more preferable than the other- When it came to Thunderwillow, she could make the best of just about anything. It was harder to push a warrior of her stature along, even in the worst floods, which made any challenge at least moderately reasonable. "Think you wanna brave worsties? I've got your back no matter what!" The promise was accentuated with a powerful stroke of the forelegs, sending the molly wobbling out of the water a few inches further than even he would have expected. None too eager to start flopping around like a salmon just yet (that's for the lake!), she let herself sink back down to the swells, submerging the ruff of her neck fur so that he remained a golden head adrift in the stream.

The thwack of Daisyfire's tail against the river sent ripples outwards, immersing Thunderwillow's neck in a new lineup of tiny waves! It heralded his neck decision- he lunged forward into the water in a stilted, sluggish motion that didn't at all suit the force put into the action! "Whew! This is tougher than I thought! But you're right, all the way! We've got this! Just pretend.. it's a hoard of Sunclan invaders!" With another jolt forward that really only put him another inch closer to his desired direction, paddling like a beast at the current, he squinted through the spray he was starting to kick up in order to smack at an offending intruder! Otherwise known as a nearby ripple! "Boom! Pow! Gotcha! Don't give up, Daisyfire!!!"

In her efforts to destroy the barrage of water cats pushing her back, Thunderwillow began swimming in earnest. Long, hard strokes that cut through the water pressure, propelling her still slowly onwards, but progressing nonetheless! Sopping tail flapping at the water behind her, she shot a triumphant glance towards her clanmate, who seemed to have the river down pat! A tiny, scolding voice at the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like her father reminded her that the number one cause of getting washed away if not drowned in the rapids was overwork, exhausting your limbs and leaving you helpless to the violence of the water and all its obstacles. But that was for losers! Besides, this river doesn't have any big, scary rocks in it that I can see!

A slog of water weeds carried astray from their anchor point immediately smacked into Thunderwillow's muzzle. "Phfhfht!!! Peffhht!! Blah!" She said, with considerable dignity. As she spat the fibers from her mouth, she shouted back a warning! "LOOK OUT!! The enemies have trick shots!"