camp my heart is paralyzed [ return with news ]

[Flamestar]

She was true to her word. After Blazestar and his patrol had left the border, she would turn and begin to make her way back to the camp. Howlpaw was not her kit, but even so, it didn't make this any easier. She had been in this situation before, with Morningpaw. The last time, she had to tell Little Wolf that her daughter was dead, and now she had to tell her that her other daughter was missing. She wanted to tell herself that at least this time Howlpaw was not dead...but how would she know what? What if Skyclan found her body somewhere?

The closer she got back to the camp, the heavier her paws felt. Her heart felt as if it had a weight in it. She was grateful for the presence of her apprentice, even though the trek she had preferred to stay silent. Words were repeating over and over in her head, but no matter how many times she played the scenario in her mind, she couldn't the right words. Are there even right words? The answer to that was simple...she knew how she herself would react in this scenario.

As the pair emerged through the camp's tunnel, she would dismiss Cloudypaw with a flick of her tail. Her apprentice didn't need to be burdened with this...she would bare the burden. The Lead Warrior took in a deep breath. She would beckon for an NPC, and once they padded over she would ask them to grab Howlingstar, and to have her meet her at the nursery. With heavy paws, she then made her way to the den she had formally slept in.

She stood for a moment outside, her eyes closed as she tried to think of words. However, her mind failed her once more. Just...get it over with. "Little Wolf? Can we speak for a moment?" she would call, hoping the queen would come out alone, without kits in tow.

//
@LITTLE WOLF @HOWLINGSTAR

[₊⋆]​

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[HOWLINGSTAR]

When Howlingstar's presence was requested, her stomach immediately began to twist. What now? What could have happened? Normally, patrol reports go to Flycatcher, then he brings the summary to her. To go straight to her was never good news...

She strides swiftly towards Flamewhisker, who stands outside of the nursery. She appears anxious and the tabby can't help but let her tail-tip twitch in apprehension. She'd been out with her apprentice, hadn't she? What news did she bring that was so urgent, and why to the nursery? "Flamewhisker, you have a report?" She mews as she comes to a stop next to the ginger she-cat, her head tilting with curiosity. At the back of her mind, a small voice chirps, The dogs are back. The thought sends a shiver down her spine. No, they couldn't ever return, ThunderClan drove them out. Surely it's something else.​

 

[BLIZZARD FANG]

Blizzard Fang had always been one who stayed in his own lane. Never is he caught being nosy, in fact when a discreet conversation happens to take place nearby he usually got up and padded out of earshot. However, for the same reasoning Howlingstar noted, the silver Tom finds this peculiar…

”Theres no trouble, is there?” Blizzard Fang politely sounds a couple paw-steps away from where he at his mouse.

tags​

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[LITTLE WOLF]

Little Wolf is napping in the nursery when she hears her name being called from outside. She lifts her head and blinks sleepily in the direction of the sound. Flamewhisker is calling her... She leans down to give Skykit and Duskkit each a quick sniff, a gentle lick on the head, and then she gently extracts herself, taking extra care to not disturb them or wake them up. She pauses for only a moment before leaving the den, taking a second to look back at her kits sleeping forms. A small smile pulls her lips upward and she feels her heart warming at the sight. She is reluctant to leave this peaceful moment but she cannot ignore the urgency in her friend's voice.

She flinches against the sunlight, her eyes used to the dim light in the nursery but it doesn't take her long to recover and she's looking Flamewhisker in the face, seeing the worry written there. Her eyes instinctively flick to her mother, resting there for a bit before moving to Blizzardfang, who asks if there is any trouble. "Yes, Flamewhisker, what is it?" she asks, a nervous feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
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[Flamestar]

It didn't take long for Howlingstar to arrive, and Little Wolf to emerge from the nursery. She would dip her head in greeting to Blizzard Fang and their leader, then return her gaze to the ebony she-cat. Her stomach twisted, recalling the last time she stood here giving the queen news. Even though this time was different, it would still be difficult.

"I was hunting with Cloudypaw when we smelled Skyclan on the border. We went to check it out, and found Burnpaw and Flycatcher there too." she paused, taking a moment to shuffle her paws. "Blazestar was there with search patrol." Her mouth felt dry..."They were asking if Howlpaw had come here. She has gone missing, and they cannot find her."

[₊⋆]​

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[Flycatcher]

Flycatcher is not far behind Flamewhisker when she returns to camp. Most of the patrol has returned too, and Burnpaw is close at his side. The patrol had been going well and it is unfortunate they have to bring such unwelcome news with them upon their return. Flycatcher instantly sympathised with Blazestar's agony at his missing daughter, recalling the look that had passed between himself and Flamewhisker. If something had happened to their own children he wasn't sure what he would do. Flycatcher almost wished they could have been able to tell the leader and his fellow SkyClan cats that Howlpaw had wandered into ThunderClan land. Somehow it felt almost worse saying no.

Flamewhisker had already announced the news to Howlingstar and Little Wolf, and Blizzard Fang who stands nearby too. Flycatcher sees no point in saying anything further for the moment, instead letting the others process the news before potentially saying anything more.​

 

[RACCOONSTRIPE]

"Missing? What do you mean, missing?" Raccoonstripe's voice is demanding as he shoves his way toward Flamewhisker and Flycatcher. He looks to Little Wolf to see how she would take this news, and despite what he'd told Howlpaw and Fireflypaw the last time he'd seen them, his own heart twists in his chest. His sister had already lost one daughter -- would StarClan be so cruel as to allow her to lose another?

He lashes his tail once. "Is SkyClan not keeping an eye on their apprentices? How do you lose one?" He thinks, then, of Burnpaw and Moonpaw, and instinctively his eyes search for his kin and his apprentice. Had they heard the news yet?​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[LITTLE WOLF]

It hits her like a tidal wave, this news. She can almost swear she feels her heart stop and her face falls, drawn into a stunned silence at the news. Her jaw parts a little bit but words escape her. Perhaps Flamewhisker is mistaken. Perhaps she heard wrong or even maybe they were talking about a different Howlpaw. Her mind stumbles over any possible explanation that did not involve her losing another daughter. "N-no" is all she manages to choke out, her eyes already swimming with tears.

Her brother speaking is what slams her back into reality with a blinding force. His words confirm that she herself was not hearing things incorrectly because obviously, Raccoonstripe had heard the same thing as she had. Her green eyes search for her other two kits, searching their faces and the way Burnpaw refuses to meet her eyes, his own filling with unshed tears, only further confirms it.

She lets out a choked sob, a noise of pure distress. "Th-the stars couldn't be so cruel..." she says, her voice mostly a whisper as she struggles to hold back the tears that threaten to pour from her eyes. She looks desperately at all the cats who had turned their eyes on her, all wearing matching pitying faces. "Is-is there anything we can do? Send out search parties of our own maybe?" Howlpaw cannot be gone, if Little Wolf allowed herself to believe that she would fall apart here and now in front of everyone. She turns to her mother as she speaks, green eyes sad but hopeful and pleading all at once.

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[HOWLINGSTAR]

Howlingstar's jaw grows slack as Flamewhisker shares the news. Behind her, Flycatcher stands with a solemn expression. It feels as if a rock has been dropped into her stomach and she immediately looks to Little Wolf, only finding that her daughter is looking back at her. It's a reminder that she must remain strong. If she grieves, too, it won't help anything. "Yes," She concludes with a firm nod, turning her attention back towards her deputy. "We'll send out search parties to every border. If anyone catches even a whiff of SkyClan scent I want to know about it immediately." She sends Flycatcher off with a pleading blink before her attention returns to her kin. "She'll be found, by us or by Blazestar. I'm sure of it." She has to sound confident, for Little Wolf. For Burnpaw and Moonpaw.​

 

[Flycatcher]

The reactions of Howlpaw's family breaks his heart. The grief of losing a child is one that many here know all too well. It seemed especially cruel for Little Wold to have already lost one child and now be face with the possibility of losing another. When the black she-cat turns to her mother and asks if any patrols can be sent, Flycatcher looks to Howlingstar curious what the leader might say. He isn't surprised when she agrees to do so; the only thing that outweighs her love and loyalty for her clan is her family. "As you wish," Flycatcher nods curtly. "I will assign proper search patrols tomorrow so as to give SkyClan more time to conduct their own. However, I will inform the dusk patrol leaders to keep a lookout for Howlpaw or any SkyClan scent that seems out of place."

He glances around at the cats present one last time before making a quick farewell and departing to find the patrol leaders he had assigned earlier in the day.

/ out!​