lost little lamb [skyclan patrol/open]

[QUILLSTRIKE]

NOW IN ITS' PLACE IS SOMETHING NEW
I HEAR IT WHEN I LOOK AT YOU​

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With his patrol in tow, Quill was quick to lead the way out of camp and toward the shared border between them and Riverclan. While Skyclan was a mostly safe place, he wasn't an idiot. Shit happened and cats got hurt, and while one might see the good weather as a blessing, it also meant an increase in predators and strangers hanging around the territory.

"Spread out, but stay within sight of each other. I don't want to miss anything because we left gaps." he instructed as the group made their way through the pine forest.

Quill immediately began to trying to track the younger shecat, jaws parting and lips curling to taste the air more efficiently but finding no fresh scent or tracks along the way. It was disheartening, but they still had a border to search, and as it came into view the chimera would let his mismatched eyes scan the opposite bank of the rushing waters in search of a Riverclanner. He would have to speak to at least one of them to see if they'd spotted anything, and hopefully they'd be willing to keep an eye out.

@SILVERSMOKE @CHRYSALISPAW @TWITCHBOLT @Sharpeye @Bananapaw
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skyclan - male - 12 months - bisexual - homoromantic - single - very tall tabby tomcat with broad shoulders

 

[Sharpeye]

☁ Howlpaw was missing. Had the apprentice wandered off on their own accord, or worse still been lured or stolen away? Sharpeye could only hope that one of the patrols would be able to track down the wayward youth, whether it be the one he was on or another.

The warrior followed Quillstrike's lead to the RiverClan border, all the while attempting to catch on to any scent of interest or anything that provided a visual clue. But there was a worrying lack of it. However, they would have to keep looking all the same to ensure that nothing was missed. "Bananapaw, keep your senses sharp. Tell me immediately if you think you've found anything."
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[SILVERSMOKE]

RiverClan was not a place the lead warrior would've thought to check, but with emotions running high and orders from his deputy, Silversmoke decided that the flooded banks were worth investigating regardless. As with most patrols, he was quiet, his eyes as sharp and predatory as an eagle's as he assessed the scarcely familiar border that they shared with their ally. It was still not a label for maine coon felt comfortable with, though it was not the time for worry about the growing list of favours SkyClan owed the swimming cats, he still feared the worst if they somehow had found Howlpaw. He nodded and prowled a short ways away at Quillstrike's instruction, the tip of his tail twitching as his attention settled on his apprentice. "Be honest with the RiverClanners about why we are here if you see one of them before we do. Asking you to be nice is like asking a bird to stop flying but... " His ears angled forwards and backward in a routine motion. "The life of your denmate is on the line here." He grew quiet, as if the tom himself couldn't admit such a thing within earshot of the ally. His hypocrisy was no badge of honour, but he felt it as he turned away from the chimera to do his own scouting.

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[RAVENSONG]

"What are you all nosing about for?" The raven-colored apprentice put bluntly, a set of freshly scarred judgmental eyes staring at the SkyClan patrol. What, did they want a piece of sunning rocks too? Their movements were peculiar for a routine border patrol—they seemed to be looking for something. His mentor not far off, Ravenpaw had wandered toward the scent of SkyClan. This was one of the only Clans who had not slighted them yet in his memory.

They are allies. Ravenpaw reminded himself. But after being attacked twice now in a single moon, one could not loose anything by being wary. This was a game of survival, and Ravenpaw was determined to see it through the end.

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[TWITCHBOLT]

Head bowed low, Twitchbolt walked not long behind Quillstrike- though there was no easy banter in the air between them, no trace of jabbing or teasing. A cumulonimbus lurked above them all, casting its stormy shadow- Howlpaw was gone. Departed in the morning and hadn't been seen since- but they'd not taken moons to notice. Surely, surely- she couldn't have gone far. What Twitchbolt normally spiralled about was the worst-case scenario, and though the image of his parents' deaths was still fresh as a new wound in his mind, he could not let himself replace his mother's ever-snarled face with Howlpaw's. She was better than them. Fiercer- and definitely more independent.

A shadowy tom looked their way- his voice was sharp, and Twitchbolt flinched at the noise, eyelids being overtaken by a sequence of spasms. Thankfully, after a moment, he managed to collect himself- especially as another cat asked the same question in a slightly politer manner. "Uh, we- we're not here for- for anything from you. We've, uh- one of our apprentices has gone missing." That's what Blazestar had instructed them, right? Be honest. "Her name is- Howlpaw. Have you... seen her?" A long shot, perhaps- but how else would they find her?​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[Cindershade]

She moves slower than usual along the border, ears flicking to and fro as she begins to settle along the fronds. A good fishing spot it was, cloaking her newly scarred frame in the cat tails and sedge, eyes trained upon the water in focus. Rustling is heard over head, across the current of crystalline waters. She pays no mind to it at first, pointedly ignoring it to hunt. Border patrols traversed their land all they wanted, it never seemed to bother the fish too much. But this particular patrol dwelled along the bank, looking over the river and sniffing the air. Cindershade sighs, ears sloping back dramatically as she leaves her position.

She emerges from the foliage like a shadow, chartreuse eyes luminescent against dark fur. Her wounds were still new, now scabbed over. Beesong wanted her to rest, but she just couldn't. She got too antsy and too irritated just sitting there. Her paws traverse towards the edge of the bank, toes enveloped into cooling water as she stared at the group. A familiar face among the crowd, the silver tom that towered over her—eyes of various shades of blue and green. Silversmoke. The lead warrior dips her head towards the group, but her tense shoulders have away her wariness. "SkyClan," she begins, shaded tail swaying back and forth. "You seem very observant of our borders today. Something you need?" He tone contained a certain coolness to it, masked in a cordial manner. RiverClan had suffered enough trouble as of late, they did not need it from their supposed ally. She looks to Ravenpaw, an icy stare for him to hold his tongue as she waits for an explanation.

A smaller tom pipes up and speaks, telling them about an apprentice that had went—missing? The black mollys brow quirks together, staring at then for a moment before answering. "No, we haven't seen any strange apprentices here. What does she look like?"
/you didn't see Ferretwhisker here. You didn't. Also I got ninja'd

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[ SILENCE IS DEAFENING ]

 

[CLAYFUR]

Trailing behind his clanmates, Clayfur sticks close by Cinder and Ravenpaw. The two dark cats are each strong in their own right, but this close to the border he worries about attacks. They’re only met with SkyClanners, though, and the brown tabby would normally be excited to see the other clan’s cats. Now, though, he only manages to keep his tears at bay.

"Hey, SkyClan," he greets, tail flicking kindly. They are the only clan that he feels he can trust anymore—although he can’t dredge up his usual cheer to greet them.

Twitchbolt’s news about Howlpaw going missing makes Clay’s heart skip a beat. Is there another killer out there, taking away apprentices again? Gloom only turned up missing not too long ago. "What does Howlpaw look like? I’ll keep an eye out for her." He knows that she’s one of Blazestar’s kits—he hopes that the red-pointed leader is doing well. Surely Blaise has lost enough, hasn’t he? His mate, three of his children, and now another? Clay hopes no terrible fate has befallen her.
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[ YOU ARE THE STARS TO ME ]​

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[QUILLSTRIKE]

NOW IN ITS' PLACE IS SOMETHING NEW
I HEAR IT WHEN I LOOK AT YOU​

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Quill nodded as Silversmoke spoke, knowing his words weren't exactly out of line. Quill wasn't known for being the most patient cat, and it was no secret he had a natural talent for coming off as disinterested or cold even when he didn't mean to be.

It didn't take long for cats to appear on the opposite bank, drawn in by the crowd of Skyclanners searching along the river with purpose. Twitch was quick to speak up, and when one of the Riverclanners asked for a description so they could keep an eyes out, Quill didn't hesitate to provide one. "She's cream, with chocolate and orange patches and tabby markings. On the smaller side, with hazel eyes." he informed them. "She's been gone since earlier today, so if you see or hear anything we'd be grateful to know, even if it's just predator sighting along the river."

He did his best to offer the riverclanner - Clayfur- an appreciative half smile for their offer, hoping it came off as such instead of something forced. He never had been the greatest as emoting, even if he was glad that they were willing to keep an eye out without having to be coaxed into it.

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skyclan - male - 12 months - bisexual - homoromantic - single - very tall tabby tomcat with broad shoulders

 

[LILYBLOOM.]

An apprentice was missing? How odd. And so soon after Gloompaw too...could that be a coincidence or was it something more sinister. Padding up alongside her fellow RiverClan clanmates, she would stop to nod in SkyClan's direction. "I cannot recall seeing any cat matching that description, much less an apprentice," She said in a somewhat rueful manner. "I hope you are able to find her soon and that nothing bad has happened to her." And she genuinely meant it. Hopefully, it was just a case of an apprentice being too curious for their own good and that this Howlpaw would return home soon enough. ​

 

[CLAYFUR]

The dark-striped SkyClan warrior—a tom who looks strikingly similar to Cicada, he thinks—gives a detailed description of the clan’s missing apprentice. It’s helpful, enough for him to picture the apprentice in his head, and Clayfur’s urge to help the other clan only grows.

His niece seems to feel the same, offering her hope that the other cats will find their missing clanmate. "I haven’t seen her, either. I’ll let SkyClan know if I notice anything, though," he offers. We, he wants to say, but he can’t speak for all of RiverClan. He looks to Cindershade, hoping that the lead warrior will offer their aid in full. They’re already keeping an eye out for Gloompaw; what’s one more apprentice to search for?

He’s already thinking through the route for the patrol, trying to scrub his memory for any glimpses of a multicolored apprentice or even a predator. "Do you know if she can swim?" His stomach turns uncomfortably, the memory of bloody blue fur, an empty apprentice’s nest, making him feel sick.
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[ YOU ARE THE STARS TO ME ]​

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[CHRYSALISWING]

He heard the garbled babble of the brook with keen ears, as though it spoke to him in disjointed language, with words and pitches tangling in turbulently-trite time. Perhaps the Riverclan cats could more easily decipher such a song, for they swam along the strings of the stream's symphony, but Chrysalispaw could never claim to do so. It must seem like background noise to those that lived by it, but he felt it would irritate him before it ever soothed such a bitten soul. Chrys tailed the Skyclan search party as a shadow, with occasional bursts of flame catching in the light, before they would return to the canopy's cast darkness. Now that the snowmelt was but a merely bittered memory, he was able to conceal himself in the umbrae of which seemed to birth him. He quite enjoyed the coolness of the forest - it was unlike water, so eager to swallow and swell. The air, by contrast, merely enveloped. A heterochromatic gaze darted about for any flashes of cream or red against the displays of the leaves and folioles, or any loose yarn of a scent trail to lead him to the missing apprentice. He sensed naught but the forest staring back at him. (Did it know where Howlpaw had taken herself?)

"I don't think so." The chimaera finally piped up as he draped the gloom away from a shade-dipped pelt, facing the unfamiliar Riverclan cats with a gaze carved in slight ire, a smoldering coal more than a hungering wildfire. He didn't necessaily abhor Riverclan. They had come to their aid at the Windclan raid, after all. He tried not to allow the scent of fish-breath to display disgust on a stony face, so he merely dipped his head and mulled over why they even bothered to come here. Why would she even run to Riverclan? She didn't have family here, did she? Well, she mentioned having some in other clans, but that was Thunderclan. At least, to his knowledge. What did she even want to do? We're wasting our time, a grim thought pecked at his mind.
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