pafp NAILS ON THE FLOOR AND SOOT ON MY TONGUE ✿ caught

[Daisyflight]

"SUREFIRE, YEAH, THE SETTING SUN WANTS COMPANY"​

Wind hurried the dark clouds overhead, their languid tails tangled with the white of fairer skies. Daisyflight had swept from camp the instant the rain had cleared, eager to be rid of the grim mood it brought. Patrols still needed to be run despite twoleg activity, though with greater care.

The risk of capture was so foreign to her life in the forest. It echoed the past in ways that itched down her spine. The lead was not unfamiliar with the twolegs tactics, having avoided capture amongst the streets several times in her youth. But it had been easier then, with the barren concrete corridors letting them see them from further off. She had yet to see the make of the ones that had snatched their clanmates but suspected the twolegs must be making efficient use of the foliage to conceal them.

Thinking of their clanmates bottled against the wall of a twoleg nest drew acid along her tongue. To have not been there, when Twitchbolt- a drop of water hit her brow, shattering her woe. At least her old apprentice had Quillstrike with him, whom she suspected would do all he could to protect him.

Flag-like, Daisyflight’s tail rang water droplets from laden leaves. She stayed alert at the front of the patrol, particularly aware of her family member’s locations. Having Butterflytuft and Snowpaw with her was a mixed blessing- while she could keep an eye she still worried about errant traps. Their pathing took them parallel to the twolegplace’s border, with what she hoped was a large enough buffer to keep them safe.

Eyes slit against the dew-bright backdrop, she looked back to the others, wondering-

A cold click, metal, burned through her. Her eyes shot to the earth below, fearful of the telltale sight of slate grey, only for her senses to catch up and ring- to the left. Whiskers broad, Daisyflight looked in horror as a shift in the green-weave of ferns revealed a dreaded box and within it, Butterflytuft. Keening slipped through her teeth like water and the molly lurched, desperately aware that the door would slam shut in a heartbeat. Taken, taken and unable to stop it- stolen-

In two long strides, the calico lanced towards her daughter and into the steel hutch. Heart in her throat, Daisyflight managed a low, "I’m with you." Relief cracked through her frame. Stricken, she searched for any injuries or marks on the sunset-stripe warrior in the dim light.

Reality smothered her at once. "Stay back! There are traps- don’t come closer." Lungs still flooded with panic, the molly’s call was hard. She pressed against Butterflytuft, unable to face her in the tight space. The forest was a wilted blur from behind the bars and the lack of clarity fanned the flames. What about the rest of the patrol? "Butterflytuft and I are-“ The words caught in her throat. -there could be more." Daisyflight looked frantically for the dove-grey of her son amongst the leaves.

/ please wait for @butterflytuft and @Snowpaw
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[butterflytuft]

She thought they'd been far enough away. They couldn't see the fence-line, at least, and she thought that meant they'd be safe. Besides, with her mother, she felt much safer. So she treks along without too much worry, her tail flicking nervously as she pokes her nose through the undergrowth in search of prey-scent. When she catches the scent of something strong and dare she say familiar, her ears perk up with curiosity. Closer, she creeps, head ducked and fur fluffed out. The smell takes her back to her kithood when twolegs would put strong-smelling mush into her bowl, and while it was never as good as fresh-kill, it was food.

She follows her nose until she sees it. Piled onto the ground within some ferns lies the food she remembers eating in her early days. Yellow eyes blown wide with wonder, she creeps closer and closer until she hears it. A click. The tortoiseshell warrior freezes, tail fluffing out as her ears flatten. "Daisyflight?" She calls for her mother, voice wavering. Paws thud against the ground and the lead warrior is thrust into the trap with her. A fearful yowl leaves her as she presses into the calico's fur. "We- we- we're in a-" She stammers, tears already pricking at her eyes. They've been trapped. Huddling into a ball, the tiny warrior wraps her forepaws across her face, covering her eyes.​

 

[Snowpath]

He has been on edge since they came out on patrol, just the mere descriptions of the iron locked jaws that had captured Slate to carry him and presumably several of their other clanmates off by two-leg hands had left him wary of even being in the area where it happened. Snowpaw wondered if their clanmates were gone forever, killed by those horrid upright walkers; but another part of him feels foolish for thinking it. Surely, if they were caged and taken away, they were alive? What was even the point of capturing a cat just to kill them later when it would have been so easy to do so here in the forest while they were retrained in such a way? No, surely they were being made to be kittypets or something like that. Prettied up to be playthings. It was a far he imagined far worse than death being wild born as he was.

He had not been very far from his mother when he heard the sound, fur bristling along his back as his golden gaze darted to the source of it in the distance; voices rose in panicked cries but he could not make out the words, only the familiarity. His mother and his sister were somewhere ahead and he bolted without a thought in their direction, fear of losing them overpowering whatever sense of self-preservation he might have had. When the dappled blue tom arrives on the scene, two cats pressed tight in one of those wretched lattice wound boxes; the familiar spotted coats making his throat tighten, he does not think before rushing to them. White paws batter the sides, ebony claws clicking along the too thick briar-like mesh encircling both as he tries to figure out what to do. "No-no, how do I-how do we open...there has to..." His words are muttered, slurred, panic rising; he doesn't know what to do. The rest of the patrol may be here soon, but so too could the two-leg.

A twig snaps in the distance and his heart drops to his stomach, Snowpaw is briefly frozen as his name; paralyzed with fear, before he turns to hide, expecting the two-leg to arrive at any moment. His rush for cover sends him blindly into the nearest hedge before inspecting it and he slams nose first into copper-taste and woven bars; another cage. Snap, click. The door nearly snaps closed on his tail before he can back out.
A sharp, startled yowl of a noise escapes him. He couldn't help his mother or sister now...he couldn't even help himself.
​

 

[FIGFEATHER]

//this post is written to be Figpaw walking away from her PAFP thread w/Fanta that’s still on-going!

Figpaw stormed off, uncaring if the clan-mates who had observed the scene had followed her. Her mouth felt bitter with rage, but her heart felt like it was being torn in two. Telling Fanta off like that hadn’t been easy… she didn’t want to- but she was loyal to her clan! She could not have distractions leading her to the twoleg place, venturing out there has done her nothing good… That places caused her mangled leg, the stares her fellow apprentices gave her, the comments cats standing as high as Blazestar would make!

They weren’t even wrong. Ultimately she did not blame them, they only spoke the truth.
It didn’t feel right… but with Fanta gone she could focus solely on SkyClan once more.
Or at least that’s what Figpaw told herself until her thoughts were crashed by the sound of metal clashing, cages closing.

Hackles bristle in alarm, she turns around and plunges into scarce foliage. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to hide her from whatever dangers lurked ahead. With a jolt she realizes how close to the twoleg place border she is, and with a glance around she spots the unusual crates. They shifted as if something moved around in its belly, which is when she spots green eyes glowing In the dim-lighting. She sniffs, trying to get a whiff as to who it might be… One thing was for certain, there was a SkyClan cat there… or… cats?

Another crate, she spots white paws scraping at the silver mesh. Looking closer she spots blue and white fur in the crates belly- was that?

No!

Realization crashes down upon her, she knows who these cats are. Daisyflight and Snowpaw! Her heart might’ve just burst right then and there if she had any indication of Butterflytuft’s entrapment too. The red tabby wants to dart forward and attack the cages that held them, save them from the two legs that drew near, but her paws remained frozen in place… Subconciously, she knew she was as good as crowfood if she tried to save them now.

All Figpaw can do is stare at them in horror before they are taken away. For the first time ever she has to contemplate what life will be like without her mother, brother, and sister at her side. If abandoning Fanta hadn’t torn her heart to dust, this most certainly had. Claws flex into the earth and she begins to murmur prayers, hoping that her ancestors will hear her pleas.​

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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.

 

[GREENEYES]

She storms off abruptly, Figpaw. His sister just leaves. Just like that, after threatening to chase off a kittypet. Greenpaw still doesn't know why - she looked harmless to him, but what did he know? It wasn't his call to make. It wasn't Figpaw's either.

But, she storms off so quickly that Greenpaw practically forgets about the stranger. No, he doesn't care what Dandelionwish says to her - why he thinks he's allowed to have more of a say in it, Greenpaw doesn't know either - or what Bananapaw says to befriend the kittypet. He only cares about Figpaw, and whether she's okay.

However, he thinks he needs to know what's happening, to know whether she's okay. She could... Figpaw could be in trouble, and maybe the kittypet could actually be a threat, and Greenpaw wouldn't know, would he?

He follows after his littermate, though his departure wasn't nearly as swift as hers. He'd lost sight of Figpaw among the brush quickly, bright gaze scanning the area for even a glimpse of familiar twists of ginger.

It's the sound of clinking metal that stops his search, that freezes his paws.

No. No.

How close had they gotten to the twolegplace? How foolish was he, to not have realized until now? And, now-- and now... Figpaw.

He bolts forward, trying to get closer, trying to find Figpaw. Maybe -- maybe he can get her out, knock the cage over, or something. Figure out a way the others haven't tried yet. There had to be something. He can't lose his sister.

There's a ringing in his ears as the apprentice tries his best to keep hidden, to watch his footing as he draws closer. If he gets trapped too, neither of them will make it out of this.

Soon, soon he sees it, the twoleg's trap. Closed shut, wriggling with the weight of its inhabitant's struggle. Greenpaw catches a peek then at who it is trapped in twoleg mesh, and it's not the orange eyes he expects to see. No, it's green, like his own.

It's calico fur. It's calico fur, and tortoiseshell beside her. Patterned splotches he's known for as long as he can remember, forever etched in his mind - recognizable with what little evidence he has in the chaos. It's his sister, but not the sister he'd been searching for, his mother next to her.

And it's his brother, in a cage nearby, white paws scratching at silver, trying to make their escape. Butterflytuft, Daisyflight, Snowpaw - his family members, so many of them, bound to be taken all at once.

"N-No... No!" he finds himself squeaking out in alarm, only to quickly shut his mouth afterward and crouch down further in what brush he stood in.

Greenpaw knows. He knows he can't do anything about it, that three - four? Figpaw, where was Figpaw? - cats are too many for him to save. His family is slipping away right before his eyes, and there's nothing he can do about it but take a step back in fear, hide further in the shadows, and hope the twoleg doesn't find him too. To keep silent, though he wants to shout for help.

He can't do anything now but watch his family get torn apart.

This is a nightmare. It has to be.
​

 

[Sweetybee]

Sweetybee heard the metal click and the cries of her clanmates. Her heart sank and her gut twisted as she crept closer to the noise. It wasn't fair, why can't twolegs mind their own business? She seethed at how powerless they were against these creatures.

She was happy to have a nice one, but he was the only exception. The rest could rot.

There had to be a way to open these traps. Perhaps they could study one, watch how it worked.... There had to be a solution to this.

But for now, all she could do was watch her clanmates struggle helplessly.

She laid low, crouched beneath a bush and peering through the leaves. She couldn't do anything.... But she couldn't just leave.......
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[ThistleBack]

The clinking of metal, a noise that rose panic in his throat like bile. Claws on soft earth tear as he pushes forward to the frantic yowls, he had been behind on the patrol as to allow the family a bit of privacy. It had been a mistake, when hadn’t a decision made with absolute consideration of the possibilities, not been a mistake in this forest? He bolts as fast as he can, but he was no Windclanner.

He skids to a halt against the nettles and crouches in the ferns next to Sweetybee, he peers around wildly. The quiver of silver thin bars, a cage cold and unbreakable. His apprentice and their family, caught in the maw of Twoleg mercy. A snarl ripples over his lips, he peers at the twoleg with rageful greys.

He takes a step forward, considering- the impossible. He stops, he can do nothing. " we will find you. We will bring you home. " he hisses toward the cages, nails digging into the dirt.

​

OOC INFO REF

• —
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  Thirty-seven moons EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Lead warrior of Skyclan since 12.22.22
  — Devoted to Deersong 9.29.22 | polyamorous
  — Father of Coyotepaw, Pricklepaw, and Eveningpaw.
  — mentoring Snowpaw graduate(s) Quillstrike
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
• 
  
  

​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

Rose-gold ears flatten at the shriek of metal clanking against metal. Blazestar's teeth grit, and his fur fluffs out into spikes of terror. "Stay low," he hisses to the young cream tom beside him. He does not feel safe taking @Coyotepaw into the forest with him these days, and the shrill sound of another trap shutting and jostling is a scathing reminder of why. He can hear the whimpers of the cats resounding thinly within their cold, shiny dens, even from this distance.

"Thistleback is here," he murmurs to Coyotepaw, and then he spots two brilliant ginger pelts amidst the gloom of the pines. Greenpaw and Figpaw were here; their fear scent is laden thick with grief.

Blazestar is just in time to see a pale gray face, a yellow bandanna, beseeching blue eyes, disappear into the belly of a Twoleg's monster. He sinks his claws into the needle-strewn earth, his limbs shaking with barely-contained devastation. "Daisyflight!" His muscles burn, itch with the desire to chase the Twolegs down, to risk his own safety to free her -- would she not have done the same for him?

The Ragdoll resists the urge to howl his grief. "Butterflytuft... and Snowpaw, too," he whispers, meaningless sorrow that fades and disappears with his Clanmates. "This can't keep happening..." He turns to Thistleback, his dark eyes raw with turmoil. "We have to act... we have to..." But how bird-brained would it be of them to traipse into the Twolegplace again, aimless and exposed, while their camp stays unprotected?

Blazestar's shoulders sag with defeat. He wishes he could share his lead warrior's confidence, but he's starting to feel as though SkyClan will never recover from all that's been stolen from them.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[Orangestar]

"Eve, stay with your brother." Orangeblossom nudges @eveningpaw towards Coyotepaw, trusting - praying - that the two apprentices would stay put and not do anything stupid that could result in them being taken away too. Stars above, that would just send their parents off the deep end. Yowls ring out in the wake of the metallic clangs! of twoleg traps, chilling and numbing one right after the other, and with ears pinned to her skull Orangeblossom realises that Daisyflight and two of her children are the latest victims.

"We have to get them back," she seethes quietly, pausing on Blazestar's other side. Her claws scrape the soil beneath her paws, disrupting the trodden trail and knowing full well that there's no escape for the trio just yet as much as her paws itch to pull at the bars until they give way. "Slate said it was their Shelter, right? We need to send a patrol out in the night to try and find this place. Do you think the twolegs have these traps up past the border too?" She hates the thought of sending apprentices in to such a dangerous situation, but maybe it was a good thing she'd set Silversmoke up on that night training patrol a couple of moons back ...

— 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
  

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[Daisyflight]

"SUREFIRE, YEAH, THE SETTING SUN WANTS COMPANY"​

Movement amongst the trunks gave her pause beside her daughter. She thought she caught the ears of others in the patrol, tucked away. Good. They’d be safe. Then a ribbon of silver broke free. “Snowpaw! “

She met his desperate paws, defeated reassurances clashing with his panicked words. “There isn’t- I’ve seen their make, we’ll be okay. I’m with your sister, I’ll look aft- “ Balmy dread slipped past every blade of fur on her pelt. Twin thumps, an awkward gait. “Snowpaw go- go-!" The cold steel bit her nose as she watched him leave, bated breath thick in her chest. Her eyes creased in bittersweet relief as he left their sight until- Snap, click.

“No!” Ember upon oil, Daisyflight’s composure fled her in a howl. Not another- not without her. As fearful as she was for her and Butterflytuft they were together. What if the twolegs split them, took his cage elsewhere- Her calico pelt was ruffled in a barbed cloak. In all her moons she had avoided these traps and now when she needed to be free most she wasn’t. Incensed, the warrior her forced shoulder against the bars in an attempt to wrench them free.

Thistleback’s jagged silhouette clarified in a moment in her struggle. “We’ll be ready.” She accepted his vow with ironclad conviction. Their clanmates, her family- they’d all be freed somehow. A wink of light burned her eye, stellar-bright. She’d pray to the stars if it took it.

Behind them, the blocky strides of the twoleg became earthshattering. Gravity hung oddly as their box was swooped into it’s grip. Daisyflight stiffened her limbs, trying her best not to jostle Butteflytuft beside her. The sense of the other’s form so close brought an ache to her throat. They’d be safe together.

For an instant, the gloved paw of their captor swept infront of the bars. Still bright with rage, the calico fished for the oversized appendage between the metal with hooked claws. She earnt no blood, but it’s started squeak brought some modicum of satisfaction. A hiss was loosed in reply.

Swept low over the underbrush, their box briefly faced the pine forest. Greenpaw and Figpaw’s pelts were revealed in the emerald quilt. A fresh wave of anguish piqued in her brow. Family in splinters. “Be safe, I promise we will be together again.” The cry was waifish across the distance. In the last moment before the monster’s side clamped shut, Daisyflight saw Blazestar’s sun-tip ears.

/out :,)
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