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The water lapped on the shores of sunning rocks, it's small but noticable waves were the only sounds that filled the air as it gently bobbed up and down
Bluefur stared at the water, feeling colder than usual because of it. There was a sick feeling in her stomach that wouldn't go away
"Do I really have to do this?" Bluefur asked, it kept everything she had to not tremble in her voice
"Aw come on it's not that bad" Oakheart assured her, drapping a tail on her back, "Besides you taught me how to climb a tree, I think it's only fair that I teach you something"
Bluefur gave Oakheart a side eye glance, he looked calm and serene - of course he did this was his natural habitat - she focused on her breathing to ground herself. Then she looked back at the water, it wasn't much of a looker at night, the only thing that she could make out was the reflection of the moon and a few twinkling stars, other than that it was pitch black, like she was staring at an endless void that could swallow her whole
Aannd the feeling came back
She took a tiny step back, "Is night really a good idea to do this?"
"Anytime is a good time to take a swim, besides when else are we going to do this, it's not like ThunderClan is gonna let you waltz in here and hang out with a 'dangerous' RiverClan warrior" He mocked
Bluefur let out a half laugh, then stared back at the black void. She tried to steele her confidence
"Alright let's go" Oakheart suddenly dashed away and Bluefur immediately missed him beside her
He then leapt up and jumped in the water making a decently sized splash, big enough to wet her paws. Bluefur shuddered away, slightly miffed
"What was that for!"
Oakheart head came bubbling out of the water and laughed, "Gotta get your paws wet somehow, let you get used to the water first"
Bluefur rolled her eyes, "A warning would've been nice"
"And give up he element of surprise, ohh Bluefur you forget your warrior training so quickly"
That elicited a snort form her, "Whatever fish face"
"Come in!" He called out, "The waters great!"
That snapped Bluefur back, she watched the shore with... No, no! It was just water, she drinks water, there was nothing to be afraid of. Not that she was afraid in the first place just uh, wasn't used to it
She stepped forward and padded all the way until the shore, the waves just barely reaching her paws. She took one of her paws and dipped the edge of it, she shivered and immediately pulled out
"Hey" Bluefur heard the sound of water bobbing around to see that Oakheart was at the shore looking at her with a slightly concerned expression, "If you're not sure, we don't have to-"
"No no no" Bluefur interrupted, "I'm... fine, just- not used to the water"
Oakheart stared at her for another heartbeat, "Okay if you say so" He rised up form the shore to stand beside her
"Your soggy now"
"Water does that" He said, he then took the place beside her, Bluefur felt the cold water grazing the side of her fur, "Alright, so we're gonna ease you into it, I'll be right here beside you every step of the way"
"Okay" Bluestar breathed in and out, feeling a small but grateful comfort in having Oakheart with her
She then took another step forward, the water lapped up her paw her instincts flared up to immediately retract it, but she kept it in place. See, it's not that bad
She took another step, then another and another. Now all four of her paws were effectively in the water
She looked beside her and of course Oakheart was there, he gave her a reassuring smile, she couldn't help but smile back
"The water looks terrible on you" She snickered
"You'll learn to love it" He smirked, "Just like me"
She scoffed and rolled her eyes, feeling a little bit lighter already being in the water and being able to joke with Oakheart
She took more steps into the water, slowly more of her legs were submerge underwater. She frozed when a wave was suddenly bigger than she expected and scrapped her belly
Her breath got cut off as she suddenly panicked, her legs were stiff but her mind was racing. Her eyes darted all across the lake, the water felt like it was closing in on her. Consuming her
Then Oakheart's voice pierced through the senseless noise, "Hey hey calm down, deep breathes deep breathes, your fine, your safe, I'm right here"
Bluefur anchored herself to Oakheart's voice, took back control of her breathing. She closed her eyes feeling her legs again, slowly she felt calmer
She looked back at Oakheart
"You want to continue?"
She hesitated but then nodded. She swallowed a lump in her throat and tried to get back the confidence she had before
She took another step forward, noticably more carefully now, wary of any changes in the waves. A few more steps and she was getting her confidence back. She was doing it, this actually felt kinda-
A rock gave up on her foot and down goes her head. Her vision turned pitch black she tried to scream, but air wasn't coming out of her mouth, air wasn't coming out of anywhere. She wasn't hearing anything, she wasn't seeing anything. She thrashed her paws desperatly trying to grab onto something, anything
It was just like her nightmares but this is supposed to be the part where she wakes up
Then her paws felt something, it was soft and squishy but she didn't care. She dug her claws into it and suddenly she was yanked out. She took a deep jagged breath, manically panting
"GET ME OUT OF HERE, GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
Her request didn't take long to be granted as she suddenly felt the thing she was digging her claws in moved. She swayed back and forth but she had planted herself firmly on the moving soft surface, as she felt the water cold air of the water moving away from her
She wasn't ready to open her eyes, she was afraid of falling back to the freezing embrace of the water, she didn't know if she would ever let go. What if she let's go and goes back to the suffocating feeling of the water's-
"Ah- Ooh- y- your on land now Blue, also your kinda tearing my skin off" She heard a strained Oakheart. Her heart skipped a beat
Without thinking she retracted her claws and fell sideways, in the heartbeat she was in the air she regreted ever letting go, until hit the sandy ground with a thump
She heard another more squelching thump beside from beside her and she didn't need another heartbeat to be immediately on her feet
"Oh my stars!" She choked out, quickly examining over Oakheart
She put her paws over his body, now seeing that some of his fur was caught in between her claws. She scanned the damage that she'd and could see some blood on his side mixing in with the water, it wasn't much but that didn't mean Bluefur didn't hurt him
"Are you okay?" She asked
"I'm fine, it's just a scratch" He said, waving it off, "Are you okay?"
Bluefur was still recovering from the thrashing. She looked at her paws, they were trembling and she was shivering
Oakheart heaved himself up, before she could protest that he should lay down and rest he already pressed himself against her, they made a wet squishing sound as he did
Bluefur couldn't help but lean over and drape her head over his, "I'm sorry- I- I'm sorry" She couldn't keep in her tears as they streamed down her cheeks
"Shh, hey come on there's nothing to apologise for"
"You got hurt because I was afraid of some stupid water!" She sank her claws deep in the ground
"It was an accident, it happens" He said, "And there's nothing wrong with being afraid"
Bluefur opened her mouth to say something, but he jaws were to weak to say anything. Her words melted away into sobs. She pressed herself further down into Oakheart, burying her muzzle into him, she didn't know if she'll ever let go