FISH IN A BIRDCAGE [♱] SEARCHING

[SHARPSHADOW]

" We— We ought to check closer to the ThunderClan border. "

Sharpshadow strides with purpose. She doesn't have time to care about the gross squelch of mud between her toes, or a dead tail that catches on nettles. More time wasted is time that a fox could take to stumble across a lost apprentice. More time that Snowypaw could be wondering– why is no one looking for me? She hopes that Marblekit was right, just... on patrol. They couldn't afford to stand around and wait for an answer.

No one's seen her since the gathering... Snowypaw knew her own territory by now, didn't she? Odds are, she was elsewhere... Her gaze hardens at the thought of travelling to every border in a search... It wouldn't be a first, for ShadowClan. Things like this just happened here. They just happened.

Part of him thinks they should go ahead and rush to WindClan... but they should sweep their own territory first, before assuming anything. That's what supposedly spotless Sunstar would say, right? it's what Howlingstar would say with her small smile, I'm better than you. Of course it's easy for ThunderClan to be that way. It afforded them nothing to be kind.

He doesn't cry out for Snowypaw, only in paranoid concern that the call of his voice would bring eager, drooling jaws their way. Instead, he mumbles with clicking teeth, " Would she have really gotten... lost? " There had to be more to it. There had to be.

// OOC: backwritten, shortly following the realization of Snowypaw's disappearance! apprentice tags @Halfpaw @sneezepaw​

 

[FERNDANCE]

She walked, and it was like every step was heavier and heavier into The Swamp of Sadness.'I wish it hadn't been this easy for you... Snowypaw...' She wished someone had been able to stop her adolescent daughter, she wished they had paid more attention to her, she... she wished for her to be happy, so at odds with the dagger of deceit she was forced to wield that it was a wonder the blade hadn't turned on herself yet. Attending Sharpshadow's patrol was a no-brainer for the mother, the whites of her eyes stained a red hue as she investigated false leads. Every flattened fern had an explanation, every paw print in the mud carried a scent that was not familial. 'Did you leave at the gathering?' Would that be worse than Snowypaw sneaking out, knowing her clan had willfully left an apprentice behind? Her thoughts went to Shadepaw and Bloodpaw and Bonepaw, how they must be feeling, how she could protect them. Ferndance blinked and looked around; she thought minutes had passed, but she'd barely moved a mouselength since the time her angry panic began.

Her head turned to the Lead Warrior, the fact that he even breathed a word about her daughter that wasn't regret was almost an insult... almost. There was a rare tension in her shoulders that caused them to shudder, she didn't like it one bit. "Granitepelt was spotted... a half-moon before she went missing," the flat-eared she-cat pointed out in a whisper, her side rapidly rising and falling. 'What if she didn't get to safety? What if she's... not actually ok? How can I know when RiverClan can't tell the truth?' "If he's hurt another one of my daughters, I'll..." The muscles in her neck oscillated, her mouth slack as she pictured it tearing at the tom until his lungs were ribbons. "No... no... she's lost. It's ok, she... never did know the territory very well." Snowypaw had preferred the camp, spending time in the Nursery with her younger siblings. Her first gathering with ShadowClan had been her last, but the longer she thought, the more realisation sunk in. 'I should've escorted her... I was so worried about getting caught I didn't think about the danger she'd put herself in...' Gone were the days where a wander through the territories was safer, now, cats with grudges would rally entire armies to their sides over crowfood.

"Didn't know the territory... Snowypaw didn't know the territory at all..." she trailed off her self-assurance as she moved away from the patrol to gather her thoughts.

​

 

[MIRESTAR]

@Snowpaw. ​

Mirepurr's involvement in the search is a no-brainer, much like for Ferndance, except for different reasons — reasons still united under the same way of thinking. They do not pretend to understand the full scope of her pain; parenthood is not something you can experience through empathy alone... but at the very least, Mirepurr can sympathize with the anxiety and concern for poor little Snowypaw's well-being.

Already their maw opens to answer Sharpshadow but Ferndance is quicker. Thank StarClan for that, because Mirepurr would have opted to defend Snowypaw and in turn Fleabounce, too. Is it possible for an apprentice at that age to not be familiar with the territory? To not know every nook and cranny, to not have one's paws traverse the land without a second thought?

But, evidently, it brings Ferndance some sense of comfort. Mirepurr won't be the one to take that from her- not now, not ever.

Instead they wish to soothe her further... try to, if nothing more.

"I'm sure he didn't." They believe it, somehow, like it's not just words to fill the space. "We would know by now. Granitepelt has the tendency to... spread his message, especially now."
​

 

[Snowlark.]

[ ༻❄༺ ] He stayed close to Mirepurr, his thoughts trained on finding the black and white feline, memories of the time when she had been a newly made apprentice, how he had encouraged her to eat snow, or the time he helped her with some tips and tricks with hunting. He knew there had been confusion amongst the clan due to their shared name but that had been something the two could kind of... laugh off at and now... now she was gone, was she also another to fall victim to the marsh's cruelty or was she still alive? He'd only hope for the latter.

Ears perked forward while listening to the warriors as they spoke, his eyes trained on everything around him from patterned down grass to the pawsteps that still were imprinted within its land from past patrols. "Snowypaw is strong, I'm sure she's okay" he said with a reassuring tone, even if the other hadn't been super familiarized with the marshlands, she was still strong and that was something they all had to give credit to her for, and his only hopes was... wherever she was that Snowypaw was safe, that's all that matters for the meantime, for now. She was safe, and she will come home in one piece that...that did not have to bury another.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── You ve wasted your life , but thanks for applying ──┐‎

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  "speak""Thoughts"
  
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  Snowpaw ❄ He/Him, apprentice of Shadowclan, 10 moons.
  ⭃ Lithe long hair blue lynx sepia with high white, and yellow eyes. Stubby tail, permanent resting bitch face
  ⭃ Hailfreckle x Mudsplash
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted (ask first) / / underline and tag when attacking
  ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by Ryn ↛ @/Rynnaro on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[Halfsun]

Snowypaw had been a denmate, a fellow apprentice, but to say she had known the girl well would be a lie. They had been acquintances, sure, but they had never been close neough that Halfpaw would consider her a friend. Still, it a shock to the system to hear that she had gone missing. It could've been her, it could've been Singepaw or Thornpaw or Laurelpaw. Any of them could be net. Why couldn't they hold on to their apprentices? Was there some sort of curse that you must bear when the -paw suffix clung to the end of your name.

The adults speculate on where she went. Granitepelt's name is uttered like a bad word, under the breath and full of fear. Halfpaw has to resist the urge to roll her eyes. He was not the boogeyman, some unknown monster waiting in the shadows to kill random children. He was just a cat, same as the rest of them. "I'm sure we would've smelled him by now" she says, her nose scrunching in emphasis as she talks.

When Ferndance brings up the possibility that her daughter might just be lost she can't help it, a quick but loud HAH! leaves her maw before she can think twice. She tries her best to stifle the giggles with a quick apology "Sorry sorry" she says "But you must really think your daughters a tadpole brain huh?" you'd have to be to not know the territory by her age. Everyone was thinking it, she could tell by the looks on everyone's faces when she looks around with narrowed mismatched eyes. She was just the only one with the guts to say it. Like usual. "I bet you guys anything a twoleg picked her up and we're wasting our breath out here searching like this while she's curled up somewhere safe and warm." it was the most likely explanation, anyways.

( ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ) no fake friends, forced smiles, or favors

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  HALFPAW SHADOWCLAN APPRENTICE ; SHE / HER ; SISTER TO APPLEPAW, ASHENPAW, SWANPAW, GARLICPAW, THORNPAW AND LAURELPAW
  

  A fluffy she cat who's fur is half cream tabby, half blue tabby split by white. Her eyes are two mismatched shades of blue, with one being a light icy blue and the other being darker in color.

  ✦ Easy in battle + still learning how to fight
  

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[SHARPSHADOW]

Ferndance looks to her, and all at once, she feels the pressure of a mother that's lost her child. She and Ferndance weren't... friends, but the same way it had been for Smogmaw, her heart ached in the name of a tragedy that no parent should face. That no Clanmate should face. That she didn't want to see happen again to ShadowClan in her lifetime, if she could help it. Her whisperings take on a fearful edge, and Sharpshadow regrets not being someone fit to comfort mourning warriors. " That — that's true, " she replies, and her swallow is too loud in her own ears. Her jaw goes slack, confronted with a possibility that is... just that, but that she desperately needed to be untrue. They all needed that, she thinks.

She seems to soothe herself, in absence of any meaningful reply from Sharpshadow. It was typically a bad idea, to take stock in anything that Ferndance said, but... she'd like to believe that's all. Lost " Really...? " with wide eyes, she asks. She thinks just a few patrols would be enough to get a lay of the land...or at least, one that wouldn't leave you lost for more than a day. Was that really true?

It's bleak, but Mirepurr... has a point. Granitepelt only hid his kills while he was with them ( And that's weird to say, isn't it? Kills like he merely burried his prey for later... ) Now that he doesn't have to worry about exile... Why hide? He's already proven that he can come in and out of their territory as he pleases.

Snowpaw offers small reassurances - but it's not enough. Sharpshadow's ears still swivel toward every chirp and croak in the forest. His eyes are still wide.

And Halfpaw - Halfpaw laughs. It's a gesture that makes her neck taught; that has her teeth grinding together.

you must really think your daughters a tadpole brain huh? No. it was lying. Lying to make yourself feel better. " She wants her daughter to be alive, Halfpaw, " she grits, silver gaze angled straight ahead. Looking at anything would just make her feel worse. " You should remember that Magpiepaw was the exception. "​

 

[lilacfur]

Lilacfur did not wish to feel even an ounce of empathy for Ferndance's position. A mothers loss was a grief unlike any other, she had seen from Starlingheart in the loss of Ghostpaw and Nettlepaw. She had seen as much from Betonyfrost losing Comfreypaw. She had seen the very same from Forestshade when Sweetpaw died. So many lost before even reaching their warrior's moon. Her kits had not even left the nursery yet, she had no desire to even think of how she may feel if her paws fit the trail Ferndance left behind.

The search felt aimless. Snowypaw had disappeared the night of the gathering and yet there was not a single set of eyes that had seen her as they left. No source of records for her presence once she had disappeared into the crowd as apprentices typically did, and now Lilacfur felt the need to keep her own all the more close.

"I'm not sure a twoleg could be missed so easily near Fourtrees." Lilacfur looked down at Shadepaw as teeth sank into the fat of her cheek. "You don't have to stay with me the whole time, if you don't want to." She murmured to the younger molly; though she doubted Shadepaw would take her offer she felt it important to note she would not force her apprentice to continue.

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‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── ooc ⋆⋅☾⋅⋆ info ──┐‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

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  //app tag @SHADEPAW
  

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• LILACFUR ✩ she/her, 20 moons, mother to marblekit and sycamorekit
  ⭃ lh lilac rosette with yellow eyes (carrying cinnamon, solid), a torn ear and claw marks beside her eye.
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by this loser ↛ @gonkpilled on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[SHADEPAW]

Shadepaw's green eyes swept over the ground, the trees, any bits of horizon that they could devour. The mud clung to her paws, reminding her where she was. She was on a patrol caused by her lying, among worried faces, and Snowypaw was probably on sandy ground, getting used to her new clan. A red-hot spark fluttered in her chest and stayed lit as she listened to her clanmates. Ferndance's worried voice poked at Shadepaw like a sharpened claw, each word another bitter pain. She knew where Snowypaw was- was supposed to be- but Shadepaw shared her mother's fear nonetheless. She hadn't watched Snowypaw join the ranks of sleek RiverClanners. She was supposed to be on that sandy ground, far away from ShadowClan's marsh, but who really knew. Shadepaw jerked her head away. The pines loomed. There was no night-black fur among them. The spark in her chest started to fizzle, taken down by Mirepurr and Snowpaw's soothing words, and then ignited again as Halfpaw laughed. The fur along her neck bristled. Shadepaw could laugh at anything, but not like that. She certainly wouldn't say that.

She heard Sharpshadow, heard Lilacfur's gentle voice, but turned toward Halfpaw instead, eyes narrowed. "If you're- if you think- if you think this's such a waste of your breath, why don't you just go back to camp?" She huffed, clearly not asking for a genuine answer. Ferndance was right- Snowypaw hadn't had as much time out in the territory as the other apprentices. She had clung to the nursery, and then clung to camp, and then left it. Shadepaw took a breath in, looked away, and mumbled, "I'm fine," to Lilacfur.​