border IT'S COLD, I MEAN, REALLY COLD &. shadowclan patrol

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

DON'T YOU GIVE ME UP, PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP​

---

there is a certain heaviness to the air as the patrol makes their way to riverclan. they'd never had to go this far, having to ask for permission to cross through thunderclan's territory just to get here. but desperate times called for even more desperate measures. with every little bit of time that the kits were gone, they feel themself slipping away. sadness to uncertainty. uncertainty to frustration. frustration growing further to anger. anger simmering back to agonizing depression. they still just don't know how they could have possibly let this happen. grief washes over them as they walk, though they are dead serious in words and gait.

"i will remind you again, we are not here to play. we are asking if they've seen our kits and seeing if they can keep an eye out for them."

chilledstar lashes their tail, turning back and waiting patiently upon the border, just for a patrol to passby.

"excuse me, but i need to speak with smokethroat."

they don't miss a beat. their gaze is cold and precise, as their claws gently scrapped against the cold ground from thunderclan's side of sunningrocks. they don't know if that was ever solved properly but there would be time for that later.

"kits have gone missing. i need to speak with smokethroat, now."

demanding but polite enough to not cause issues. they're holding back for the sake of this kits. pitchstar was much more comfortable being insane about stuff like this.

// @Lilycrest @FERNDANCE @SCREECHPAW @Ptarmiganpaw @sprucepaw @ASHENPAW no need to wait for them but please don't double post until @Smokethroat replies !
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[willowroot]

( ☾ ) she finds herself reluctantly marking the border between riverclan and thunderclan when a new scent approaches. her longing gaze snaps from sunningrocks, where she had once lounged without complaint, to the figures atop it. shadowclan cats, with a bristling, worried chilledstar at the front. brows furrow as the warrior steps forward to greet the odd patrol, but she is interrupted before she can speak. kits have gone missing. green eyes widen, worry immedietly flooding her senses, and willowroot will turn to her apprentice. "robinpaw, please fetch smokethroat immediately," she orders quietly, before turning back. "oh starclan, i am so sorry to hear that!" she will call, feeling icy water gently lap at her paws.

"i've sent my apprentice to fetch smokethroat for you. i hope we are able to help!" her mind drifts to the brief week she had spent in the shadowclan nursery. who's kits could they be? there had been several shadowclan litters, one litter motherless. kits missing this soon after the rogue invasion does not bode well for the clans.
// apprentice tag @robinpaw. ​

 

[Ptarmiganpaw]

Ptarmiganpaw still cant believe they lost kits. It was something he never expected. He follows the patrol quietly, chest tightening as they pass through Thunderclan territory even with permission. Perhaps that wasnt what he was upset about. The kits were at the forefront of his mind, and he feels.... Ashamed, a little. Were....Was his clan really that inattentive that two kits could just wander off? He didn't want to believe that. They must have followed one of the queens who were leaving to go home.

He looks up when they reach the Riverclan border, standing beside his mentor. He knows better than to speak out of turn, so he keeps to himself, giving Willowroot a respectful dip of his head. He hopes Riverclan can help.​

 

[iciclefang]

Iciclefang slips through the reeds, the scent of ShadowClan searing her nostrils. She can tell none of the cats who’d journeyed with them are present, and she finds herself slightly disappointed as she comes to stand beside Willowroot. Chilledstar’s voice is cool and urgent; they demand to speak with Smokethroat, and the tortoiseshell’s ear twitches at the mention of missing kits. “Stars, they’d have traveled a long way to be here,” she murmurs to Willowroot, shaking her head. To the patrol, she says, “I’m sorry to hear that.” Empty words, but there’s nothing she can say to manifest ShadowClan’s lost children. She imagines Chilledstar knows how fruitless this patrol is, and is making it out of sheer desperation to find the missing kits.

She turns to @CICADAPAW . “You must remember, since you were in their camp only a short while ago, who that is. Do you recognize any of the other cats?” She tests his memory, more than anything else, though she does not know the specifics. It’s possible ShadowClan did not mingle much with those quarantined to the Burnt Sycamore.

, ”​

​

 

[lichenstar]

⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆ ✧　 　 · 　 ✧ ⋆

---

If she didn't know better... it would almost seem like Chilledstar missed the company of the other four clans. She went through all this effort just to come see them again and pry after some 'missing kits' but Lichentail found that to be an unbelievable story if anything. Kittens did not just 'disappear' and especially not all the way to RiverClan. The little rats would drown before reaching them or... be eaten on the way there. Truly it was a hopeless cause to be here, asking after Smokethroat (as if their deputy didn't have enough on his plate without this wild goose chase to waste his time with).

Willowroot is sweet in her demeanor, willing to entertain it a real possibility... but Iciclefang hovers at the molly's side her lips move in a tight, scrutinous comment that Lichentail does not hear. She likes to assume the prying shards of glass that were her eyes had seen through the same veiled concern too. "Missing," she echoes, watching Robinpaw be hurried along to go get their new monochrome king. "And you have reason to believe they managed to get all the way to RiverClan?"

There had not even been a single patrol to report an unfamiliar scent... It became more and more evident that this was a baseless suspicion. A dire last ditch effort to find an answer.​

 

[SMOKESTAR]

—————————————————————⊰★⊱————————————————————
Robinpaw fetches him swiftly enough, he was not too far from this area as it were, working on pounce form with Beepaw in the privacy of the shrouded willows near the territory edge that often bent their branches into the river rushing by. Its a minor annoyance to interupt his training with his daughter, but he begrudgingly brings her along with him to the border. His duties were larger now, he often forgot and sometimes he missed the simplicity of just being the quiet attack dog on the side of their mottled king. Then his stomach tightens in memory of the tom and he shoves the thoughts away. This was for the better, surely, it had to be.

He's not prepared for the visitors, surprise evident on his expression for a moment before he pulls back to his usual neutral one. This had to be important or it was absolutely a waste of time - or both. Time to see. As he approached he nodded politely, overhearing the last touch of conversation explaining the issue.
"Chilledstar..." He greets calmly, tone quiet, "This is certainly the walk you've taken in search of ShadowClan kits. I can assure you that we both know they would have had no way to get this far without help and RiverClan has not seen hide nor hair of anything since chasing out the last of the rogues."
It was subtle, but his implication was clear. If their kits weren't stolen by some rogues or another clan they were most assuredly dead and if ShadowClan decided to throw an accusation here and now he'd answer it in claws.
But for now Smokethroat remained cordial, "...we will keep an eye out. Or I will keep an eye out. Everyone else can spare a second." He rolls his shoulders, relaxing, they had nothing to hide and he wasn't going to humor any nonsense.

——✘ when does ripple become a tidal wave ———✘ when does a candle become a flame

• Apprentice Tag: @BEEPAW.
• 
  
  
  Smokethroat
  —⊰⋅ Deputy of RiverClan
  —⊰⋅ He/Him
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ Black tom w/vitiligo & one orange eye.
  

​

 

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

DON'T YOU GIVE ME UP, PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP​

---

the looks on their faces are enough to stir simmering anger within them. they're biting their tongue, trying to be respectful within territory that isn't their own. their tail lashes and they grit their teeth before huffing.

"the queen we had assigned watching them remembers nothing. i would hope they wouldn't be this far from home but you can understand i need to cover every base."

everyone is a suspect. why wouldn't they be? with no lead, everyone seemed suspicious. they can't help the distrust that comes from that. these were cats they allowed to stay within their territory, against their better judgment. who's to say they didn't take the kits? who's to say they weren't lying?

"thank you for trying to keep an eye out."

they speak through teeth gritted, annoyance in their gaze at the subtle aloofness. deep breaths. one in, one out.

"we will continue our search until we find them or their bodies. and sorry, again, for your loss."

with that, they turn tail and head out. there was nothing more to say. where the hell had the kits been?

// out !
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[FERNDANCE]

The ticked tabby was silent, the weight of death pushing more strongly than usual against her agile shoulders. They were dead, they had to be, keeping up a facade did no one any favours, yet... the mask was one the cinnamon she-cat still wore solemnly. RiverClan decided they had not seen them, that was enough for Chilledstar to send their long-travelled patrol home. Her fur bristled, a chill licking down Ferndance's spine as the inevitable seemed to shift closer and closer. What of her own kittens when they arrived? How could she trust ShadowClan to keep them and her safe at her most vulnerable? She didn't follow her clanmates straight away, her head craned to try and search for two creatures above the crowd, two creatures who didn't seem to be around that day. Her tail drooped, disappointed, before she turned her head and joined her clanmates - the good news would have to wait until the gathering, she supposed.

/ in-n-out


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[ASHENFALL]

˚⊹₊‧ 𖦹 Ashenpaw watches the adults carry on coldly with increasing anger. None of them cared, they didn't care about them. Not even Chilledstar, who dragged a whole patrol all the way out here to the stars-forsaken river bothered to give Riverclan even a scrap of a description of the kits. The Riverclanners looked on with barely concealed irritation, as if their patrols were fools for even attempting to look for them. As if their stupid queens and ugly little kittens weren't taking up space in Shadowclan's nursery just half a moon ago. For all he knew, one of them could have scooped up Halfkit and Tanglekit alongside their slimy-tadpole-children, either stealing his sisters out of pure dimwittedness or maliciously taking advantage of their generosity.

"Their names are Tanglekit and Halfkit," He barks across the river, informing Riverclan even if his cold-hearted leader refused to give them actually useful information, "Ones grey and stripy and the other l-looks like... like me." He cringed at his own shitty description and made a quick amend, "...Patchy."

Chilledstar and Ferndance were already on their way out, he swiveled his head to glance at their retreating forms and returned to address Riverclan once more, leveling a glare at @CICADAPAW specifically (if that scrawny little fishy was hiding anything he swore to Starclan he would bite his tail off the next time he saw him.)

"They're not dead, by the way. We'll find them." he bit out one last thing before he turned to join the rest of the Shadowclan patrol, tail lashing with upset.

FOLLOW THE TIDE ˚⊹₊‧ 𖦹 WITH THE MONSTERS ON YOUR SHOULDER

• OOC: in n out ! all ic opinions btw <3
• 
• 
  — ashenkit . ashenpaw
  — ftm transmasc. he/him. 7mo apprentice of shadowclan
  — gay ; single ; not looking
  — longhaired muted blue torbie with heterochromatic pale blue and amber eyes
  — smells like rainsoaked ferns and swamp milkweed
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — fullbody by tropics sticker by saturnid
  — penned by eezy
  — currently in an era of grief and anger, approach with caution. all ic opinions!

​

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[Moonbeam]

For a moment as she neared the border with the rest of the patrol, Moonpaw thought that she was dreaming. Last she had known this was ThunderClan's territory before them and yet the closer they got the more ShadowClan swamp mingling with the scent of the forest filled her nose and slower steps carefully moved forward before listening to what was being said. They had traveled through ThunderClan territory it was then that she realized, and although there were others that seemed annoyed by the swamp-clan's presence Moonpaw couldn't help but feel concerned. Missing kits, so soon after the clans had stayed within ShadowClan territory. If it were Moonpaw she, too, would suspect anyone and everyone that could have taken them, no matter how far-fetched it was.

She listened as Ashenpaw spoke of what they looked like and made sure to commit that to memory. RiverClan hadn't seen the kits - and it was likely they wouldn't, considering the river that bordered all the other clans - but she was going to keep an eye out, just in case. Whether they were taken or they ran away for whatever reason she could only hope that the other clan would be able to find their missing kin.

☾₊ ⊹ give me a ghost of a smile

• mentor tag @salmonshade
• 
  ⋆ ratkit - ratpaw - moonpaw - moon???
  ⋆ female - she/her - 6 moons
  ⋆ homosexual - not looking
  ⋆ apprentice of riverclan
  ⋆ peaceful powerplay allowed
  ⋆ attack - "speech" - thought
  ⋆ penned by tikki

​

 

[DIPPERFROST]

Missing kits. Hearing those words sends a shock of unease down the river-soaked she-cats spine. Her sunset eyes look to the leader of ShadowClan with judgement barely disguised in their depths. How did one just simply lose kits in such a manner? The totality of it is enough to leave her head spinning. Surely there had been a scent trail, a way to follow where they had gone? If not then the answer is obvious to her. They had been picked up by a predator. It is more than likely, in her mind, that a hawk or an owl or some other winged creature had swooped down upon them while no one was looking. Most likely an owl - those silent wings and sharp claws would make quick and stealthy work of their prey. She does not speak her thoughts out loud, but rather she stares at the opposing patrol with disinterest, already dismissing the idea of searching for the marshes youth and chalking it up as a mere fools errand.

A ShadowClan apprentice seems to disagree. Her gaze finds him in the crowd, split featured and so terribly loud. He insists that they are not dead and she wonders only for a moment what stake he holds in their fates. She is not to be left guessing for long. One looks just like him he states and her mind draws the only conclusion it can. Siblings. And she understands. If stars forbid Jaypaw were to ever go missing she would search the ends of the earth for him. "I hope you find them" she speaks up from her mentors side, her plumed tail twitching behind her as she affixes her gaze on the retreating form of the tom who had spoken, sympathy making her heart twist on his behalf.

​

 

[robinheart]

Robinpaw would never have guessed a simple patrol with her mentor would shift into a kitten hunt. Or rather a call to information regarding ShadowClan kits. Worry tinges citrine eyes as Chilledstar speaks, only to be replaced with understanding as Willowroot sends the tortie to find Smokethroat and guide him back to the border to converse with the ShadowClan leader.

Urgency weaves into quick apologies for interrupting Smokethroat’s training with Beepaw as Robinpaw explains the situation. Smokethroat is hasty in heading back to where the apprentice had come from, her own multicolored paws hustling behind to keep up. He speaks to Chilledstar in a manner befitting a leader, offering a firm answer and his word that extra attention will be devoted to keeping an eye out for the lost kits.

The ShadowClan patrol begins to fall away, but not before sharing the kits’ names and appearances. Tanglekit and Halfkit. Robinpaw will remember those details. She glances at Willowroot as if nonverbally promising her mentor that she’ll help keep an eye out for the kits before looking back to the ebbing patrol. “Have you asked the daylight warriors of SkyClan if they’ve seen new kits at the twolegs place?” Robinpaw inquires quickly, almost without thinking her words through. Her collar weighs just a bit heavier around her neck as she recalls how twolegs had been eager to capture her and take her home. “Twolegs can be selfish creatures… if they noticed the kits it seems plausible they could have captured them and taken them into their homes.”

 

[BRISTLEPAW]

He keeps his steps in time with that of his mentor, not wanting to fall behind given the patrol they are on. He feels most comfortable when he is patrolling, able to look about the territory and keep himself busy so that he doesn't think too much on the things he has seen. The pain he has witnessed to himself and others. It helps to keep himself moving, never thinking about Reedflower and her death or the deaths of so many others. He just has to hope that they are happy in Starclan. It's really all he can ask for with everything that has happened. His muzzle is in a firm line when he smells that of Shadowclan, finding it so odd that their smell is so close. "Lake...Lake...? What's Shadowclan...what are they doing here?" He asks his mentor curiously as they get closer ans it doesn't take long for his question to be answered.

They are looking for lost Shadowclan kits. For a moment he wonders if Riverclan will help but the indifference to such a dire situation makes him frown a little. That...that isn't right. His eyes shift to look at Smokethroat before then looking at the leader of Shadowclan who is leaving now. If he was of Shadowclan would they do the same? It rubs him the wrong way but he stays silent on the issue given that he is too young to understand such things as he is often told.
​

OOC NOTES . ◭ . CHARACTER INFO

• ooc : — mentor tag @Lakemoon . ​
• 
  

  bristlepaw - tom / 3 moons old / riverclan kit / aspiring warrior / mentored by lakemoon

 

[sprucepaw ✰]

"I-Spy, with my little eye..." she begins her turn, having spent some of the trip picking out the orange leaf litter and sprawling squirrels with her companions, only to be interrupted by Chilledstar. This is no game, she is reminded, and it takes a tick for her to register why. Of course, they wouldn't be privileged through another Clan's territory for no reason. Kits, lost ones, are too be found!

... Not here, however.

Her silence is awarded with failure as many of the RiverClan cats, some biting with annoyance whilst others nearly weep pity, deny them access to the missing kittens. Like some of her Clanmates, she cannot ignore the air of suspicions - however like them all she does not voice her concerns. After all, 'Let's go search their camp!' does not sound like something that would fly with any cat present. Well... maybe Ferndance. And Screechpaw. Screechpaw did agree to the game, after all.

Her gaze flutters to Robinpaw as the she-cat says something about twolegs. "Oh! Good idea!" she cheers back, tail twitching as she does. Maybe she can pass it along to the SkyClan patrol - if they hadn't already thought of it. How twolegs would've stolen their kittens is beyond her - but hey, they're here, by the river, looking for Halfkit and Tanglekit. Surely everyone's suspended reality for the sake of avoiding the obvious. They're probably dead.

She ignores the dreadful thought, tossing a, "Thanks!" over her shoulder before moving on with her Clanmates.​

 

[CICADAFLIGHT]

Cicadapaw trails his mentor dutifully, shaded head bowed discreetly as to avoid excessive eye contact. In the gaping cavity Cicadastar had left, and with Smokethroat further drawn away in the flurry that had followed, he finds himself clinging to Iciclefang. He may not like having her for a mentor, exactly, but he doesn't hate it—he tries to save his smart remarks for apprentice fights, at least, and sooner or later he'll weasel out of camp before she can rouse him. Soon. It'll be soon.

Nobody is ever on their border for a good reason. Chilledstar demands an audience with Smokethroat, speaking in a cold tone reminiscent of his own mentor about missing kits and the immediacy of the issue. Willowroot sends off her apprentice, and in the meanwhile Iciclefang poses a question to him. Cicadapaw is mingled in emotion, unsure whether to indulge his impulse to snap that he'd been in no right mind at the time or to listen to that waning voice telling him to impress her. A glance at Chilledstar's stern face decides it. He exhales slowly and mews, "Um, I recognize Chilledstar." Obviously, you idiot. "And, um....that apprentice." He jerks his head towards Ashenpaw's sour patched face and mutters lowly, "The one glaring at me like he wants to bite my ears off."

Smokethroat arrives quickly alongside Beepaw, and Cicadapaw's gaze stutters towards his sister. He is calm and cordial in the ways Cicadapaw is assured he would not be in this situation, as he had proven he would not be, and with that Chilledstar takes their leave. Leveling a partially obscured, appropriately sunken glare at the bitter ShadowClan apprentice, he glances up at Iciclefang. "Is all of ShadowClan so....angry?"

appearing unsightly ✦ ( with devils inside me )

• 

• 

  cicadapaw ; apprentice of riverclan
  x. he/him ; 5 moons ; tags
  x. unsightly black-and-white tom with heterochromatic amber and blue eyes
  x. played by dejavu
  x. son of smokestar and cicadastar ; brother to beepaw and starlightpaw. apprenticed to iciclefang.

​

 

[SCREECHSTORM]

The trip to RiverClan's border is a long one, but one that Screechpaw takes in with an eager gaze and a bounce in his step.

He shouldn't be this excited, he knows, as he walks somewhere between Chilledstar and Sprucepaw. This is a serious matter, after all - the tinge of worry for his fallen caretaker's missing kits is still carried in his excited strides as he takes in new surroundings. The dark-furred tom wants to remember it all, commit landscapes to his memory; for, if anyone can help it, he probably won't find himself back here any time soon.

Ears perk up at a new round of his and Sprucepaw's game, and a split-toned gaze prepares itself to dart around their growingly unknown surroundings, to find the winning objective of their game as quickly as he possibly can - the round ends before it can begin, though, interrupted by his mentor up ahead. Oh. Were they here already?

Paws fidget beneath him as he listens to Chilledstar's words, listens for any answers from the RiverClanners that step forth to speak with them. None that Screechpaw recognizes - the river-dwellers hardly recognize who they're asking for either. And Chilledstar, they seem so quick to give up, to end their adventure now and turn back home before Screechpaw can have much time to explore new lands. Two-toned eyes look up toward his mentor, growing wide in disbelief.

Was that it? Just like that? They've not even been here for long!

"Are you sure?" he asks of the RiverClanners, perhaps out of turn for his position as the leader's apprentice as he aims to both stall and gather more information at once, "Are you really sure you haven't seen them? Maybe they're hiding in... in your nursery, or something. Did you even make sure you don't have extra kits wandering around? What if —"

His questions are stifled by Chilledstar's departure - by his patrol-mates following suit - before he can form an accusatory opinion in his inquiries. Screechpaw huffs in annoyance, in defeat.

"You should really double check, y'know!" he says in his farewells to the opposing clan, tail flicking behind him as he turns to leave too. Sun-dipped limbs move to catch up to Sprucepaw. "It's your turn," he reminds her - if they were to return home so soon, they might as well continue their game of I Spy on the way back.

✦ ABOUT

• 
  
  SCREECHKIT ‣ SCREECHPAW, Apprentice of ShadowClan
  — Forestshade x Vulturemask
  — AMAB; He/Him
  — A black/red tabby chimera tom with mismatched green eyes.
  — Mentored by Chilledstar
  — "Speech"; Attack
  
  ✦･ﾟ: * — His loud entrance into the world bestows upon him a name apt for the path the tom forges. As the troublemaker of his unknowingly half-clan litter, Screechpaw is bound to be known for his curiosity-led escapes and poor attendance as he steps foot into his apprenticeship.
  

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