pafp HIDE AWAY IN THE NIGHT // missing clanmate

[LIGHTNINGSTONE]

// Please wait for @CICADASTAR to post before posting!

He doesn't know how his keen ears has not picked up on it in the night, nor how he could have slept through the small gust it might have caused to have the she-cat slip out by his nest, for he had placed it strategically so. All he knows that when he wakes with the sun, Boneripple's nest is empty. Hazel eyes narrowed, he had slipped from the den without haste. She could have been eating breakfast or grooming herself before the day's patrols. After all, she knows she cannot leave without another warrior until Cicadastar lifts her punishment. He peers around camp and yet again there is no sign of her. It takes him some time to search every nook and cranny of camp, and as his clanmates begin to gather to hear the day's patrols, he abandons camp all at once. He had a mission assigned to him, and he does not intend on failing it.

Her scent takes him all the way to the border of Twolegplace, and that cements what he had been dreading. Boneripple had left the clan. There is almost a smug satisfaction that grows within him - he had always known she was never a true RiverClanner. A traitor to ShadowClan first, he never thought she could learn to be loyal, and that is what she has proven today. Good riddance, Is all he can think as he heads back to camp.

It is almost Sunhigh when he arrives back at the island. Pelt dripping from swimming back across the stream, he scans the camp until his eyes land on his leader. He cannot act as if he's failed. He is reporting back, doing his job, no one can fault him for that...right? Lightningstone shoves any bit of doubt from his mind with a swift shake of his head and strides up to Cicadastar with his tail curled. "Boneripple is gone. Fled in the night. Her trail leads into Twolegplace," He states calmly, usual bored expression unreadable.​

 

[CICADASTAR]

the day has just begun to crest when cicadastar emerges quietly from his den — no longer simply slipping out from beneath smokethroat’s short, well - muscled limbs.. but his children’s, as well. weaning them in - den had been a blessing, his mate’s refusal to condemn himself to their medic’s stone nest working ever in his favor for the time being. his son’s limbs grow ganglier with each day, his heart pounding sympathy for the ivory - splashed tom as he weaves his way out from the tangle of beekit’s thick curls. starlightkit’s twitching form settles drowsily at his mate’s slow - moving belly, never rousing as he steps light, careful, finally creeping over cicadakit’s long, crooked tail where it splays askew.

he spots lightningstone’s approach, quirks his ears curiously — it had been roughly a moon since boneripple and lichentail’s admonishments, each dawn passing without incident bringing them closer to full freedom once again. he expects something simple, something droll ; they had both been behaving well since the day they’d earned his ire, time pulling them closer to their next clan meeting. a punishment duly spent. however — " she what? " a rounding snap, already standing to full height as if he could spot her skulking over his shoulder. gone. disappeared, in the night. he stands jagged, rigid as his angled body would allow him to be, tall ears pointed back to slant sharply at the rolling sky, ” fled? fled from what? her common sense? “ shouting, shouting — less at the blue tom to his front, moreso spitting at the sky, the ground, feeling as though froth bubbles angrily at the corners of his maw…

when a sudden thought spikes him in the skull.

” where are her children? “ rapid, a baring of teeth as he whirls around quick enough for the pebbled ground to spin — moves towards the apprentices den, loud and bellowing, a violent, snapping change from the delicate departure from his own sleeping family. sablepaw, stalkingpaw.. had she taken them? they were riverclan apprentices, after all ; they had no business anywhere else, a life in the twolegplace? what a joke! what an embarrassment! after all he’d done, to spit in his eye like this! his fur is bristling, fur along his shoulders jutting at the blades, ” where are they? sablepaw? stalkingpaw! “

COLD & CRUEL LIKE WINDS ON THE SEA  ╱ INFORMATION ✟

• i. loooking for @Sablepaw and @Stalkingpaw.
  
• ★ ⋆ CICADASTAR −−−− FOUNDING LEADER OF RIVERCLAN. HOMOSEXUAL, MATED TO SMOKETHROAT. FIFTY MOONS, FATHER TO STARLIGHTKIT, CICADAKIT && BEEKIT. PENNED BY ANTLERS −−−−− ⁺₊✧
  
  
  he / him. tall, elegantly curled smoke tortoiseshell chimera with intense salt blue eyes. his structure sings a feral sort of hymnal, presenting an almost dangerous sort of beauty veiling what monstrosities lie beneath the ivory of his skull. jutting jawline and a squared chin, sunken cheeks drawing a shadow beneath high, sharp cheekbones with tall, angular ears settling high atop the flatter slope of his cranium. he is beautiful ; lucifer in the eyes of an envious god. for all his looks, his expression is lax, void — corpse - eyed and hollow until spoken to, sparking the undead to life. he is tall, lean, cut - glass pretty ; he smiles with too - many teeth, blackened frostbite pulling back his maw to bear canines setn beneath curling whiskers, pantomime skeletal. a predatory gracefulness from the lines that press the image of exhaustion beneath ice water hues to the slow, sure gait in which he walks, nameless strength poorly concealed within the hard lines of his physique. descending from a heritage of overtyped oriental shorthairs, cicadastar stands unnaturally tall amongst his peers, always holding himself with a tragic sort of grace ; poised, prim, and uncannily aware of how he appears.
  
  ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── smells like wet moss and meadowland thunderstorms.
  ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── notoriously paranoid and closed off, cicadastar will tend to lie, assume, and jump to conclusions whenever it suits him. any 'suspicious' ic actions he witnesses or hears about will have a strong effect, and will have ic consequences! if you're unsure of an interactions outcome, please feel free to send a dm!
  
  no character opinions represent my own.​
  
  
• " speech "​
  
  
  

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[CICADAFLIGHT]

✦₊ ⊹—— he is still a kit for the last time, still blessed with the luxury of spending mornings resting in a plush nest full of tangled limbs as opposed to being roused for dawn patrol. but he sleeps light, far too light for one who hasn't yet witnessed battle or been stalked in the night—he hasn't yet woken screaming from his first nightmare, even. and yet, he sleeps lightly, cracked amber eye a smoldering pit in his white-masked face, blinking blearily. his father's back retreats, bottlebrush tail held much more carefully than his own bent one lying unattended about the nest. a second eye opens under heavy curls, an empty glacial plain, and he's up, haulng himself forth from between beekit's careless limbs and starlightkit's prone shape, carefully untangling deer limbs from smokethroat's stouter ones.

he pulls himself through the mouth of the willow den, looking much too weary for a cat so young, thin-boned shoulders shifting under black curls, trailing after cicadastar as he always seems to. he murmurs sleepily, "dad?" but he trails off. it's taken him time to dislodge himself from his family's nest and by the time he approaches his father a shout is splitting the air, lifting a too-large head towards its source—none other than the mottled tom who curls close in their family's nest every night, standing tall and shattered screaming to the skies above. cicadakit flinches backwards, gangly limbs curling close as if to shrink, eyes glittering beneath a curtain of fur as his father snarls and bares teeth, a coldness spearing his heart as it writhes like a fish on a warrior's claws.

fear, he thinks, sinking protesting claws into the earth below. but it don't want to be afraid of my dad, and yet fear is what rakes claws over his heart, making him watch with a lowered head and a crooked tail curled about white paws as his father's rage smashes the muggy greenleaf air into fragile pieces. the warm sleepy peace draped over his back is gone, replaced by a coldness that traces his spine like fangs, feeling alone on the sand, so alone. so afraid. cicadastar stalks towards the apprentice den, bellowing for two cats, and he still doesn't know what's going on. he looks around for someone, anyone, mewling like he's a newborn again, "what happened?"

I AM GOD (✦) 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑰 𝑵𝑬𝑬𝑫 𝑻𝑶 𝑩𝑬 𝑫𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑶𝒀𝑬𝑫

• ooc: ——
  
• disclaimer: it's important to note that cicadakit is not always in a stable state of mind. his view of the world may not always be accurate to objective reality, which may include seeing things that are not genuinely there, reading motivations or thoughts from actions that are not actually implied, and making assumptions or jumping to conclusions. this is not an attempt at metagaming, powerplaying, or mischaracterization, and is not legitimately true or correct to reality or what your characters actually think or believe.
  
  it will always be noted in the post if he is seeing something that isn't actually there. all opinions & thoughts are ic only and do not reflect my thoughts and opinions as a writer.
• 
  — cicadakit
  — he/him ; kit of riverclan ; 2 ☾s
  — "speech" ; thoughts ; attacks
  — penned by dejavu
  

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[✧ Stalkingpaw.]

˚⊹ MEET ME UNDER SHINING LIGHTS ⊹˚

---

stalkingpaw & 10 moons & polygender & any pronouns & riverclan apprentice​

---

Stalkingpaw has always been a bit of a heavy sleeper, only made moreso after a long day of hard training. Her swimming was finally begining to improve, and so she'dgone to bed with aching limbs and sore muscles, the land of dreams overtaking her the moment her head hit the moss. She sleeps through most of the chaos, only waking to cicadastars thunderous roar - still half asleep she stumbles from her den, emerald eyes half-lidded and pawsteps clumsy. "Ah- hm? What'd I do?" she asks through a yawn - he hadn't accidentally thrown sticks at anyone this time, and it's not as though she'd given anyone mousebile again recently - so at least, she doesn't think she'd been roped into anything bad. Unless. this can't possibly be just because she'd brought a lizard back for the prey pile right? Or because she'd slept in? She wasn't on patrol until later. A frown tugs at her features as a paw comes to rub at her eyes, graceful form rocking back and forth as she tries to pull herself from the lingering throes of sleep, and her mind races to figure out what she could've possibly done to warrant such a rude awakening.

— I've been waiting right here all my life ⊹˚

• Actions && "Speech," && ' Thoughts/Quotes '
  
  ooc: —
  tw/cw: —
  
• 
  — a beautiful white furred apprentice with a black face and stripe down her back, and starlike freckles upon her cheeks. emerald eyes are wide and expressive, by far her most stunning feature. stalkingpaw is an emotional feline, quick to act and react before she really thinks, but you know that whatever she says and does is always honest and well intentioned.
  
  — physically easy && mentally medium
  — non-violent powerplay allowed && healing powerplay allowed && minor injury powerplay not-allowed
  — please attack using [b][color=crimson]action here[/color][/b] and tag account

 

[otterbite]

Gentle dreams, or as close as gentle can be for the tom, has kept his comfortably rested in his nest. Ripplewave may have found the perfect way to defeat the buzzing energy bouncing at the apprentices paws, swimming practice. Endurance was not immediately a strength Otterpaw possessed, but his mentor sure appeared to work hard at helping it develop. He slept through the night with ease after training the day prior, deep in soundless slumber.

Suddenly his limbs woke him with a jolt. An inhale sucked quickly between his teeth and he looked around. Eyes hardly open as he was tore from his sleep. The shouts from outside the den he recognized were coming from Cicadastar, and he hardly processed exactly what they were for. Who they were for.

"Got me woken up." He grumbled after Stalkingpaw's question, slipping out of the den and stretching the drowsiness from his muscles. He groaned obnoxiously as he felt the tension in his shoulders disperse, replaced with prickling annoyance.

Cicadastar might as well have woken the entire camp. Just when he was enjoying a lazy morning. ​

RIVERCLAN APPRENTICE ✦ BLUE-BLACK CHIMERA ✦ 4 MOONS ✦ TAGS​

 

[BEEFANG]

( ) Beekit had been sleeping soundly on Cicadakit and had not stirred when her father had left the nest, she had been drooling on her younger sibling though that stopped when Cicadakit had gotten himself out of the nest did she plop down onto the nest which caused her to lift her head up rather dazed. Mismatched eyes blinking a few times to adjust to the darkness of their willow den seeing the silhouette of her gangly brother heading out, Beekit groaning quietly to herself debating between sleeping in longer or getting up. The dark furred molly unsheathing her claws and extending them out, she pushed herself up to her paws moving away from Starlightkit then heading out of the den. Shaking her unruly curls out of her face, she is still drowsy but suddenly the yelling of her father tore the sleepy fog that clung to her young mind away and her pupils grew in size.

The eldest of Smokethroat and Cicadastar's litter now completely awake, she's uncertain of how to feel about her father suddenly raising his voice like thunder roaring within the sky during a storm. Her owl sized eyes focusing on the form of her brother who had followed after Cicadastar, large ears laying flat against her head did Beekit dart over to Cicadakit immediately pressing into his side gently and pushed her nose into his shoulder briefly. The small molly's heart racing within her chest, she had never heard Cicadastar shout or let alone sound so angry and she is uncertain of what to say. "I don't know... But I'm here," She mumbles under her breath to her brother knowing that he must be as frightened as she was.

Her ears slowly lift up from her skull to see that Cicadastar had stormed in the direction of the apprentices den and she can't help but ponder what had happened as well with confusion in her face. The molly glances over in the direction of Lightningstone still unable to shake this feeling of unease, it clings to her like a tick and it feels just as uncomfortable. ​

( KILL EM WITH THE MOJO ; CINEMATIC SLO-MO )

 

[lichenstar]

It was not uncommon to see the striking figure of Lightningstone dipping out of camp and back in again... it had become a familiar almost forgettable sight especially as of recent. Lichentail barely noticed his comings and goings and when he had left in such a hurry that morning, the point had hardly blinked at it.

Idle musings had found most of her morning, wading in the river shallows if only to relieve some of the sting on her paw pads where the sun had begun to scorch the earth that day. Her mind wandered briefly, fleetingly as she watched what few clouds remained float by.

The voice that whipped through the air like cat-tails thrown aside during chase had once been aimed at her and it would be a lie to say it didn't make her skin jump.

Turning with mouth slightly agape where a surprised breath had leapt from, the gray molly moved with urgency to investigate the yelling. There were not many the thorn-laden brow would spit such words about...

Few who had earned such ire.

And though she was grateful for the show of support it had been in that moment where her own over-confidence had earned her a tongue lined with claws... now it seemed a glaring admission of guilt.

"Kingsblood," she meows softly, crouching to stand aside Beekit and Cicadakit, addressing them in kind, "There is no need to be afraid..." Her voice is level, meant only to reassure them that Cicadastar's anger did not mean danger was immediately present... though it had piqued her curiosity as well.

Watching with them as he trailed towards the apprentice's den shouting about someone's children. Had Buckgait's litter done something foolish? Brookpaw was among them... and though she refused to admit it, a pang of anxiety sat in her chest for the thought. She did not adore spending time with the impatient little girl but... she held no illusion that her safety wasn't her responsibility now.

The thought did not pester her long (and, she realized now thinking, didn't explain Lightningstone's completely calm demeanor) as the river's founder called for Stalkingpaw and her sibling. Then that must mean...?

Oh Boneripple... what have you gotten yourself into...?​

 

[Sablemist]

In every situation you give me peace

Peaceful slumber becomes abruptly shattered the moment Cicadastar draws close and shouts within the den. An ivory splashed face shoots up from ebony paws, periwinkle eyes blinking away the blurriness of her vision. Sablepaw's attention flickers to that of her sibling before finally landing upon the fuming river king. He stood before them both, frothing mad with wild bristling fur. He did not display such livid anger often. She could have sworn she felt her spirit temporarily leave its body and visit starclan before being kicked back into the land of the living. Why was he shouting for them like this? There was nothing she could think of that would land her any form of scolding from the lithe leader.

It takes a moment, but she musters enough willpower to keep her voice relatively even. "Y-yes, Cicadastar?" Sablepaw utters softly, stirring within her nest to right her sprawled limbs. Carefully she picks her way out of the woven material, taking a single step or two. "Is-is something wrong?" Worried blue eyes peer just beyond his shoulder, noticing the crowd beginning to form.​

Don't gotta be afraid because you're in the lead​

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[SMOKESTAR]

He is woken suddenly, alarmingly, to the sound of distant shouting of a familiar tone and his head snaps up from the nest immediately. Smokethroat is a cat who is used to waking up and orienting himself with a swiftness, but it does take him a moment now to assess the empty nest where only Starlightkit remained slumbering blissfully at his side and when it processes he has risen stiffly to stand in one push. A movement that was not quite as fluid as it once was, he was still feeling the effects of carrying around such a cargo for so long and his reflexes had dulled somewhat, but a gentle nose dips down to nudge moss about the still resting figure of the blasphemously named kitten before he makes his way out of the den to find his others.
It is not hard to spot them, Beekit an orb of bouncing dark-furred energy and the tall lank twig of a form next to her being her somewhat more awkwardly shaped sibling. Cicadakit walks like he still has not figured out how his legs connect to his body and it is both concerning a somewhat terrifying to witness. When Cicadastar had warned him with a teasing remark about legs during their initial talk he had not thought much of it. But yes, now he understood. Legs indeed.
The dark deputy strides forward briskly, swooping in behind the two kits to cloak them in his shadow and loop them back from following their other father too closely with a curled tail, "Come now, you've left-" He still struggles to say the name out loud at times, "-Starlightkit alone. Let's leave Cicadastar to his important leader business."
Lone orange eye dances over to Lichentail's face, tries to read something in her expression and gives up quickly before tilting his head to the apprentice den in a silence query; wondering if they knew what was going on, for he only heard the shout itself with no substance and Lightningstone too was nearby with a furrowed brow.
​

 

[iciclefang]

Iciclefang isn’t in the habit of intruding on the leader’s business, but when it’s shouted out across camp, she counts herself included. The tortoiseshell lifts drowsy blue eyes from the vole she’d selected from the fresh-kill pile, each narrowing into slivers of ice as two black and white apprentices stumble fearfully toward a shaking Cicadastar. She sees two of Smokethroat’s kits stumble out of the leader’s den, their eyes wide with surprise, with fear, and Lichentail and Smokethroat usher them back to their nests, mercifully safe from the River King’s wrath.

But who has earned his ire today? She lifts her chin, the vole left warm and untouched between her paws. “Fled? Fled from what? Her common sense?” His voice is like the frozen crack of the river had been that day, the day he’d plunged deep into icy depths and had nearly been lost. Iciclefang’s mind paints a clear picture then. Sablepaw and Stalkingpaw look bewildered and nervous, standing before their leader, summoned.

She throws Otterpaw—insolent, but in his place, she’d have agreed—a curious look. “Something bad has happened,” she says, but even as she speaks the words, she feels the truth behind them. If Boneripple is gone—surely, their Clan is only better off. Had she been a different sort of cat, her heart would cry with pity for Stalkingpaw and Sablepaw, but she resolutely believes them to be better off, too—if it’s true, if her assumptions are not baseless.

Iciclefang’s eyes flick to Lightningstone, face impassive as he reports whatever he’s discovered.

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — iciclekit . iciclepaw . iciclefang
  — she/her ; warrior of riverclan
  — lesbian ; single
  — short-haired tortoiseshell with white markings and ice-blue eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Pin

​

 

[FERNGILL]

Sablepaw? Stalkingpaw! The words pierce the air, and Fernpaw's eyes fluttered open. he was still somewhat unused to the shrunken world he had dwelled in ever since his injury, and the groggy blur over his single working eye disorientated him for a good few moments. When he finally shot upright, he scanned the den to try to locate either apprentice. Oh, no- no, no. Not another one, gone without a trace. He already felt the pit building in his stomach, the precarious threat of tears, for Stalkingpaw, for Sablepaw...

Oh- oh. No- no, they were here... he immediately felt embarrassed upon worrying so much, seeing them standing before Cicadastar. Fernpaw swallowed, exiting the den into the morning light and floating awkwardly near the entrance of the apprentice's den. He wasn't the type to talk back to his leader- he wouldn't dare, and he knew Cicadastar always had RiverClan's best interests at heart. But he had only ever known Sablepaw as a force of good in his life, sky-eyed positivity- he couldn't fathom that she'd done something wrong, and hesitated to jump to any conclusion. Worried, he set an aquamarine eye upon her, confusion abound in the verdant depths. He hoped she was alright- he'd not want to be on the receiving end of Cicadastar's temper, especially if he hadn't done anything- and he wouldn't, just wouldn't, believe that Sablepaw had. ​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[willowroot]

( ☾ ) willowroot counts herself as a friend of boneripple. moons ago, before her own kits, before buckgait's demotion and the flood that had ravaged their camp, she shared a den with the black and white she-cat. two queens of the nursery, they were, raising their kits together. willow remembers many days of babysitting while letting her companion stretch her legs. the patched queen had done the same for her. something like that bonds a pair, and even if they were not best friends, they counted on one another.

as cicadastar's voice breaks the peaceful midday chatter, the femme flinches, sweeping her tail around her stomach instinctively. since the birth of his kits, cicada has been softer, but it's times like these that she remembers hyacinth's exile, and the vicious way he'd demoted buckgait. wide eyes watch as the long-legged king strides towards the apprentices' den, snarling the names of boneripple's children. willowroot recalls a few moons prior, a midnight conversation with the former shadowclanner. if something happens to me, you'll look after my kits, won't you? she had vowed to her friend that day, and she did not intend to break her vow.

standing, the warrior makes her way over to the apprentices' den, standing a few tail lengths away. she sees the wide gazes of the two black and white apprentices, hears the anger in cicada's voice. brows furrowed, she awaits his judgement. she will keep her promise to boneripple, no matter what. ​