JUST SEE THE SURFACE — search party

[Orangestar]

Several sets of paws drum against the dirt, a staccato rhythm of purpose, as Orangeblossom leads her patrol out into the territory. The sun is just starting to dip low to the horizon, colouring the clouds rose at their edges and searing the eyes through the gaps of leaves. But it's perfect light to see by, and they'd need all the help they could get. Ordinarily, Orangeblossom would never form a patrol this large unless it was specifically for the purposes of training; this many SkyClanners would scare off half the prey between here and twolegplace. As if to prove her point, a chickadee calls out in alarm and takes off in a flurry of feathers to the safety of the boughs above their heads.

But if there was ever a situation that called for seven cats, this was it.

Once they're a good distance away from camp, moving at a pace that both she and Figpaw and keep up with, Orangeblossom slows and turns to face the patrol as they come to their respective halts around her. "Split up, fan out. Call out to the rest of us if you find Howlpaw's scent or if you get into trouble - if we have trouble hunting over the next few days, I'll take the blame. If she's here and she's stuck, she needs to be able to hear us coming."

It's only after she turns to start her own search that Orangeblossom realises that she'd been calling out to be heard - the wind has picked up around them, tugging at her long fur. This might make things more difficult.

— info

• // any character is free to catch howlpaw's scent, however it will stop abruptly several fox-lengths shy of the twolegplace border. the wind is also picking up!
  
  @eveningpaw @Auburnflame @Dandelionwish @FIGPAW @CHESTNUTSPLASH. @YOUKAI | DUSKPOOL though other skyclanners not on another search patrol are welcome to hop in!!! :3c
• 
  orangeblossom. tags.
  — she/her, skyclan deputy.
  — mentor to eveningpaw.
  — attack in #e08550. uses trees as an integral part of her fighting style.
  — mean enough to note that her thoughts don't reflect my opinions as a writer haha.
  — penned by mercibun; @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots. :]
  — art by merc!<3
  

​

 

[Auburnflame]

Patched paws strum against the nettle-laiden floor, kicking up bits and pieces as he travels through the territory within the patrol. His expression is set into one of stoicism, but concern and worry flare within his eyes. It had been almost two days, had it not? Howlpaw wouldn't have just—disappeared. There had to he a scent trail somewhere, they just had to find exactly where to start. Any able bodied man and woman were on the hunt for the mottled molly, searching desperately for her. Orangeblossom turns to them all then, an alarmed chickadee fluttering away with frenzied chirps to alert of danger. His whiskers twitch, honing in on her words before nodding in understanding. Fan out. Search the whole territory. Call out if you find something.

He hopes there will be something to find.

Auburnflame strides away from the gathered patrol, flicking his tail in thought as he moves along. Dusted nose aimed to the floor, trying to find some type of scent from the apprentice. The wind begins to pick up, whipping at his feathered flanks and whips at the gangly pines above him. Great. Just what they needed, wasn't it? The warrior clenches his jaw in annoyance, nearly piercing the inside of his own lip. Would they ever find her? Would this become a recovery mission instead of a search party? A tinge of fear settles within the tom's abdomen like swallowing a stone, his stomach twisting and churning with anxiety. No, we will find her. We will find her alive—StarClan please.
He travels towards the Tall Pine, wintry jaws slacked open whilst drinking in the air around him. Wind streamlines into his mouth, mingling so many scents together into one. Auburnflame hisses lowly, stomping a crimson foot onto the earth. "Why is it that it seems everything to working against us?" His tail lashes in frustration, huffing out in order to calm himself.
​

[ SETTING FIRE TO THE SKY ]​

 

[eveningsun]

eve followed along with the patrol, her gait uncharacteristically calm. it scared her that howlpaw had just disappeared like that, the apprentice's mind could only go to the worst scenarios. nobody knew if she was hurt or worse. all of the unsureness made her uneasy. in a timid glance, she looked around hoping to see a flash of recognizable fur.

orangeblossom said to spread out, but the tortie was reluctant to create distance from her mentor. if something had gotten to howlpaw, it could still be out there, right? waiting to snatch up any more unassuming apprentices. the girl shuddered at the thought. tentative steps carried her far enough away to not have any other skyclanners scent in the mix, while still remaining in the deputy's line of sight. her jaws parted trying to catch a scent, but the wind whipped long fur into her face. this was all so creepy, she didn't like it one bit. another attempt brought her head closer to the ground, but still nothing. ears twitched backwards in frustration, before she moved onto another area and repeated the same actions. ​

[ FALLEN STAR ]​

 

[FIGFEATHER]

Figpaw cannot help but think of the time she went missing. Had they looked for her as they now looked for Howlpaw? Her heart shatters at the thought, oh how much worry she must’ve put her clan through! As she hops forward her mind races about where Howlpaw could be, they wouldn’t find her in a thunderpath ditch… would they? It’s exactly as Tallulahwing, Twitchpaw, and Daisyflight had found her so many moons ago.

”Howlpaw!” Figpaw yowls, her words echoing faintly in the air. The wind stings her eyes as she pushes forward, so many scents fading in and out from her nostrils. Nearing the Twolegplace border her eyes flicker for both Howlpaw and Fanta, would her kitty pet friend be looking for her today? Now would be the worst of times, but maybe she has seen Howlpaw? Figpaw realizes it might actually not be a bad idea to ask the kitty pets in general; but if their daylight warriors hadn’t seen anything would they have any better luck?

That’s when it hits her nose, the familiar scent of Blazestar’s daughter. ”I smell her!” Figpaw exclaims in a shout to her patrol, but the scent was fleeting. As soon as she found it the wind seemed to sweep it away. ”Howlpaw! Where are you?!”​

---

Spoiler: TAGS ★ 03/27

( primary character / "speech" / ic opinions )​

╰ ★ ჻ 001 GENERAL INFORMATION ,
· FIGPAW, AMAB — she / her
╰ ‣ 11 moons .
╰ ‣ skyclan apprentice . believes in starclan

╰ ★ ჻ 002 VISUALS & AESTHETICS ,
· DOMESTIC FELINE, smells like pine nettles & sap, status — 100%
╰ ‣ A red tabby she-cat with orange eyes. Mangled right hind leg.

╰ ★ ჻ 003 MENTALITY & MANNERISMS ,
· ENFP-A ❝ CAMPAIGNER❞ , Gryfindor, Lawful Good
╰ ‣ Excitable, generous, caring, quick-to-act, distrusting, resentful
╰ ‣ finds relative ease relating to others . kind-hearted, will show mercy
╰ ‣ cats of windclan blood or those she deems morally inferior will be met with her ire

╰ ★ ჻ 004 INTERACTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS ,
· NPC X DAISYFLIGHT, sister to Greenpaw, Violetpaw, Snowpaw & Butterflypaw
╰ ‣ Pansexual . mistakes admiration for romantic feelings
╰ ‣ Crushing on Fanta
╰ ‣ Apprentice to Tallulahwing
╰ ‣ good fighter . excellent hunter .
╰ ‣ unlikely to start fights . will flee .
╰ ‣ attack in underline . penned by user @ava.

 

[DAWNGLARE]

O traveler, O wanderer... He puts his prejudices aside for her sake– to have more minds, more noses on the trail of scent. If clan cats were good for nothing else, it would be their claws or their noses, made to pick a part the sullen scents of nature, unaccustomed to the brightness of any twoleg's home– scents you can practically see. No, out here it is nothing, and their senses must accommodate to such.

Ever unimportant, though, why fuss over such a thing. His mind is quick to flit between what concerns him– frantically to and from the thought of Howlpaw. He takes to the trees– bounding out and about. The branches shake with the carelessness in which he strides, but it is hardly a concern, "Howlpaw?" he joins in on the crying, wraith-like whine. Frantic claws pick scrape at the bark he stands other, but he is hardly paying enough attention; would not worry about it if he was. "Is it because you fell? Anyone might've, and your fall was gracious, indeed!" A lie, he would later realize, but for the moment he is sincere, whiskers quivering in his remorse. "Anyone lesser would have split their skulls clean open–!" Numerous! Numerous souls he could name within their very clan... His gaze rakes over their very faces.

And "Why, indeed?" His soul-stare reveals little, in this instance. None of them were without their faults, but none were so bad as to prompt Howlpaw's taking. Something worse, something looming, a sin deeper than the void itself harbored by one of their own. He didn't think any less. These few held a penchant for their trouble making...

But for once, there is hope in golden eyes. Dew on the tip of a rosy nose. His head swivels toward the call. Her scent. He teeters, wide-eyed for a moment, before bounding to come beside her. "Oh, say it so? Your nose has not softened like the rest of you?" He does not mean it maliciously so, for, he would love to be as soft as she was, and would happily kiss his carnal senses away in exchange of it. He had another hand to guide him, anywho. It is faintly there, the sun-kissed lingering all of blaze's kin seemed to inherit. There, but then gone again. He heaves a shuddering breath. Eyes drift to the expanse of twolegplace, but he prays it isn't so. For someone forest born and raise, he could not imagine it spelled anything but death for them. Oh, still, "Has she...?"​

 

[Auburnflame]

The swivel of ears towards the younger voice of Figpaw, barely catching her call. ...smell her! Howlpaw! ....you? He takes no time in wandering idly about any longer, trying to catch wind of someone that just was not there. Auburnflame carries himself on lengthy strides, kicking up nettle and dust behind him as he sprints towards Figpaw's voice. His heart pumps furiously in his chest, slamming against the ivory cage of his ribs and the roaring of blood was pounding in his ears. Had she found her? Was her scent still strong? Hopefully they'd be able to track her down now with a lead!
He soon reaches the apprentice with Dawnglare at her side, huffing and panting with a widened gaze at the two. "Did you say you smell her, Figpaw?" The warrior breathes out, trying to steady his wild beating heart and regulate his breathing. Oh, say it so? Your nose has not softened like the rest of you? Dawnglare had spoken to her, his way of speaking always confusing Auburnflame—but he was growing used to how the healer vocalized his words and their meanings. Soft like the rest of you? Huh? The calico's brows quirk together as he stared at the cinnamon tom, mint hues briefly meeting a frigid blue before shaking his head to ward off the meaning of his words. It didn't matter now. They had to find Howlpaw. Eyes followed Dawnglare and Figpaw's own line of sight, drifting towards the wooden fence—beyond that, to the distant skyline of Two-Leg Place. A subtle fear pierces his heart, frozen shards prick at his dusty salmon pads—was she really there? His throat begins to form a lump, mouth dry and spinal hairs prickling. "You don't really think she would," He pauses, looking towards them both whilst knuckles knead the earth. "Do you?"
​

[ SETTING FIRE TO THE SKY ]​

 

[FIGFEATHER]

Dawnglare steps up beside her and she looks at the medicine cat expectantly, see? See?! It’s her! Yet instead he (unintentionally) insults her nose, asks if it too is going soft! The red tabby gives the strange Tom a frown but manages to bite her tongue, besides it seems like he might’ve at last picked up on it’s trace.

Auburnflame was at her side now too, his blue gaze pointed at the twoleg place as a question drips from his maw. You don’t think she would, do you?

Figpaw couldn’t say. Maybe she had saw something in the twolegplace she wanted or thought she had wanted. Maybe it was a newfound friend. Despite its dangers, something always drew the SkyClan apprentice back into it’s borders to explore, even after her accident. ”We have to look!” Figpaw declares with determination, looking to the warriors, and Orangeblossom once she arrives for further instruction.​

---

Spoiler: TAGS ★ 03/27

( primary character / "speech" / ic opinions )​

╰ ★ ჻ 001 GENERAL INFORMATION ,
· FIGPAW, AMAB — she / her
╰ ‣ 11 moons .
╰ ‣ skyclan apprentice . believes in starclan

╰ ★ ჻ 002 VISUALS & AESTHETICS ,
· DOMESTIC FELINE, smells like pine nettles & sap, status — 100%
╰ ‣ A red tabby she-cat with orange eyes. Mangled right hind leg.

╰ ★ ჻ 003 MENTALITY & MANNERISMS ,
· ENFP-A ❝ CAMPAIGNER❞ , Gryfindor, Lawful Good
╰ ‣ Excitable, generous, caring, quick-to-act, distrusting, resentful
╰ ‣ finds relative ease relating to others . kind-hearted, will show mercy
╰ ‣ cats of windclan blood or those she deems morally inferior will be met with her ire

╰ ★ ჻ 004 INTERACTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS ,
· NPC X DAISYFLIGHT, sister to Greenpaw, Violetpaw, Snowpaw & Butterflypaw
╰ ‣ Pansexual . mistakes admiration for romantic feelings
╰ ‣ Crushing on Fanta
╰ ‣ Apprentice to Tallulahwing
╰ ‣ good fighter . excellent hunter .
╰ ‣ unlikely to start fights . will flee .
╰ ‣ attack in underline . penned by user @ava.

 

[Orangestar]

Eveningpaw is always within her line of sight, a calico flicker among the shadows of the sparse undergrowth. As the rest of her patrol does what she's ordered and splits up to continue the search, she's silently glad for the company of her apprentice even if neither have any luck catching Howlpaw's scent. This way, she'd be able to ensure at least one of them got back to camp safely, or could send the young molly running if they need reinforcements- Orangeblossom's paw catches on a tendril and she stumbles, managing to catch herself clumsily, but she hisses at it as if she'd been stung. Stupid vine.

I smell her! Her head jerks upwards at Figpaw's call, inhaling a sharp breath. She can't catch the scent from where she's standing, but the ginger-and-white deputy darts between trees and hops clumsily over roots and rocks to rejoin the patrol, keeping her pace just slow enough that Eveningpaw's shorter legs wouldn't be left behind. Dawnglare and Auburnflame beat her back to the apprentice, her cousin shooting their healer a bewildered look that Orangeblossom doesn't want to know anything about. Yet they all seem to be pointing their noses towards Twolegplace. That's ... concerning.

"She has no family in Twolegplace, no connection - why would she go there?" She mutters the words half to herself, tail lashing in a futile attempt to rid some of her nervous tension. Louder, she addresses her party over the wind as they set off: "We'll look. Let's go. Figpaw, Eveningpaw, do either of you know if Howlpaw has any kittypet friends? Any cats that she might have come this way to visit?"

— info

•  
• 
  orangeblossom. tags.
  — she/her, skyclan deputy.
  — mentor to eveningpaw.
  — attack in #e08550. uses trees as an integral part of her fighting style.
  — mean enough to note that her thoughts don't reflect my opinions as a writer haha.
  — penned by mercibun; @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots. :]
  — art by merc!<3
  

​

 

[Dandelionwish]

"Poor lil' darlin..."
He didn't know Howlpaw too well, most the SkyClanners still gave him plenty of space but remained amicable, but you'd be a fool to not be familiar at least a little with Blazestar's kits. A pretty little tortie, seemed a touch more temperamental than her father or brother, but he didn't think she was the sort to run off on her own like this. Something had to have happened and that something revealed itself in short order. Two-leg place.
He glances to Figpaw, the little yellow apprentice who caught the scent and then directs his focus to Orangeblossom, the only one of any real authority present (no, Dawnglare didn't count-he was a nutter.).

"Kittypet friends common with ya'll? Pardon, ain't too familiar with it, but if so that's a good start. Reckon we can jump in a few yards and say hi to the local cats then? Or would that spook'em too much." If they were familiar with SkyClan it might be worth poking about regardless.
His ears prick upward, swiveling into twin triangles atop his head as he listens. What a loud and boisterous place, nothing like the two-leg place that was near WindClan where they remained mostly quiet and kept to themselves. This felt more like a two-leg clan than just a single den. It was a little offputting, he wouldn't lie. Dandelionwish swiveled his wheat stem between his teeth.
"If its worth doin' then let's do it."
​

 

[FIGFEATHER]

Figpaw is grateful Orangeblossom agrees they should scout the twoleg place, now all Figpaw has to do is pray the scent of her clan will keep Fanta from approaching her. Now wasn’t a good time, especially with Dawnglare present…

When asked if she has any idea why Howlpaw would venture to twoleg place she shakes her head, ”I don’t… not that I know of.” The last bit is murmured under her breath, but still audible for those who stood close. Howlpaw could be like her and have secret friends in the twolegplace for all they know… Sure her figure hadn’t been changing, but maybe she wasn’t indulging in the same kittypet activities Figpaw was.

To Dandelionwish to decides to answer, ”Depends on the cat, but most are spooked easily when they scent us ’forest cats’!” She recalls Fanta being mildly intimidated by Figpaw during their first encounter at twoleg place’s border. ”A whole patrol of us will send many of them running. Might prove difficult to get much out of them.” Perhaps if they split up Figpaw could find her friends and acquaintances… but she figures the idea would not fly well and doesn’t speak it.​

---

Spoiler: TAGS ★ 03/27

( primary character / "speech" / ic opinions )​

╰ ★ ჻ 001 GENERAL INFORMATION ,
· FIGPAW, AMAB — she / her
╰ ‣ 11 moons .
╰ ‣ skyclan apprentice . believes in starclan

╰ ★ ჻ 002 VISUALS & AESTHETICS ,
· DOMESTIC FELINE, smells like pine nettles & sap, status — 100%
╰ ‣ A red tabby she-cat with orange eyes. Mangled right hind leg.

╰ ★ ჻ 003 MENTALITY & MANNERISMS ,
· ENFP-A ❝ CAMPAIGNER❞ , Gryfindor, Lawful Good
╰ ‣ Excitable, generous, caring, quick-to-act, distrusting, resentful
╰ ‣ finds relative ease relating to others . kind-hearted, will show mercy
╰ ‣ cats of windclan blood or those she deems morally inferior will be met with her ire

╰ ★ ჻ 004 INTERACTIONS & RELATIONSHIPS ,
· NPC X DAISYFLIGHT, sister to Greenpaw, Violetpaw, Snowpaw & Butterflypaw
╰ ‣ Pansexual . mistakes admiration for romantic feelings
╰ ‣ Crushing on Fanta
╰ ‣ Apprentice to Tallulahwing
╰ ‣ good fighter . excellent hunter .
╰ ‣ unlikely to start fights . will flee .
╰ ‣ attack in underline . penned by user @ava.

 

[eveningsun]

figpaw's call had her following as quick as she could at orangeblossom's heels. a scent had been found, it's trail leading to the twolegplace. she took a moment to catch her breath, but her mentor was quick to lay question's onto her and the other apprentice. figpaw was quick to respond with a no, she had to agree, shaking her head. eve hadn't caught wind of the leader's daughter hanging around out here too often, she supposed forest born cats had less of a reason to. although, that still failed to explain why the scent had been found this far out.

dandelionwish offered an idea, one she didn't think was too bad. "what if we split up?" she offered despite not being crazy about the idea. if something was out there that took howlpaw, surely it would pick them off too. "or we can make the daylight warriors ask around? they gotta have some friends in there, someone had to see something." ​

[ FALLEN STAR ]​