sensitive topics quickly they turn sour - hunting patrol

[PIKESPLASH]

--- tw for a animal corpse and vague descriptions of such

( tags ) Smokethroat had put him in charge in one of the hunting patrols. He's never held a lead position in his life before. Last meeting he received his first apprentice and even though it's been a month he can't say that he was great at guiding others. If training someone was considered a lead position or this should be compared as such, he would argue that this was completely different. He would bring Catfishpaw, however she was injured. He was not going to be bringing her even if Smokethroat said injured cats were allowed to come. The cats he did choose to bring with him would be Crappiepatch and Redpath. They were a small group for sure, but he purposely didn't bring anymore members to their party. Good leaders know their limits and for him, two other cats who were warriors is stressful enough! He worried that the pair might think he's incompetent for this or that their lives were in danger.

Keeping in mind of recent events and his own capabilities, he decided to lead the patrol away from the area close to the sunningrocks and beyond it. There were two reasons to avoid the Sunningrocks area. The obvious and most glaring issue would be Thunderclanners, but the second would be the trash that had been found in the river and beyond. He had been part of the clean up crew with Cicadastar, but the trash was abysmal. Anything beyond Sunningrocks was avoided because of twolegs and the abundance of trash one could find. It was green-leaf, which meant the twolegs were around. It was better to be safe than sorry. He wouldn't risk the safety of his clanmates to take a chance to hunt downstream. For that reason, he led the patrol to the falls. It was a relatively safe choice and he trusted that Redpath and Crappiepatch wouldn't do anything dangerous.

They would be hunting a good distance away from the rocks at the bottom. Off everyone went to catch whatever they could within the area and dare he say it, today was shaping up to be a good one! He was able to fish up two perch, a carp, and one smelt! The clan's bellies would be satisfied for today. After all, this was only one out of two patrols! I wonder how Honeystone is doing? Did she take more cats with her? He shook his head and looked at Crappiepatch. They may have been young for a warrior, but he knew he had made the right call bringing him. Crappiepatch seemed to have a good haul. As for Redpath? She did swimmingly as well. He didn't know much about her or spoke to her that much, but he recalled how distressed she was a few days ago. I hope she feels a bit better with this.

In his moment of calm, he spots something strange by the rocks. Fortunately or maybe it's best to say unfortunately away enough from the roaring falls to reach. Immediately his heart races, thinking for second that what he's looking at is Beesong. Bile rises up his throat, which he swallows. Beesong's gone. Cindershade, Smokethroat, and Ravenpaw found him. Beesong isn't here. Strange. The thing is unmoving, yet it's capable of doing damage. He turns his attention to Redpath and Crappiepatch. The wounds of Beesong's death are still fresh. I can still hear her wailing, is what crosses his mind when he glances towards Redpath.

What would Cindershade do? "I... I'll go see what that is. I-if you would like to join me, you're welcome to." Unsure if they know what he's talking about, he points to the lump with his tail. "We did great today, so after. That. We'll head back to camp." For once he curses how awkward and nervous he is. He isn't reassuring them very well, but he wants them to know that he is proud of them and grateful they accepted his request of joining. He will not force any of them to approach whatever that is among the rocks. They trusted him enough with leading and as the one in charge he was supposed to ensure everyone's safety. If they decided to come with them he wouldn't stop them.

Plastering a smile of faux courage, he saunters his way to the lump. He doesn't even have to be a pawstep close to the lump when the atrocious smell hits his nose. Nevertheless, he forces himself to near the darn thing. It's an awful sight to behold. The animal is not a cat and he is relieved only by that fact. There are no cats he knows or has seen with a flat tail. It's a bit odd to see one like this and no one foolish would fight them. He hasn't heard of any riverclan cats trying to fight one. I... I have to report this to Smokethroat, don't I?

// @CRAPPIEPATCH @Redpath , the patrol is noted to be successful and plenty will be caught! it's also been determined that the patrol will come across a corpse of a strange animal (beaver). whether or not your character knows what it is, is up to you!​

 

[Redpath]

Nothing is normal for her. She's not sure how to explain how she feels, but its as if she's waking in a dream. Things don't really feel...Real, she supposes. She quietly follows Pikesplash, gaze distant and not quite all there. Yet, she is still aware of her surroundings. Her ears twitch at every sound, her eyes scan the area around her. Her thoughts flick back and forth between the present and the past, and she almost doesn't register the....

...........

What is that.

Pikesplash doesn't know either. She looks confused. She opens her mouth to speak, but it was such an...Odd looking creature, she didn't know where to start. She follows Pikesplash to get a better look.

"......What is this supposed to be. Why is its tail....Flat." She says, covering her nose with a paw.

She would be disturbed if the creature weren't so bizarre. She moves around to get a look at its face. "..................Some kind of. Water squirrel?????"

Just like that, her grief was put on hold to focus on the confusion and bewilderment of this strange animal. She did not stop judging the way it looked. What is wrong with it. Why is it like that. What does it do. Why is it here.​

 

[CRAPPIEPATCH]

The clan is not struggling, for once, but they are not doing well either. Their healer has just died, and the new deputy found strange cats on their land. To top it off, though, the river is acting wrong again, so soon after they just managed to move back to their island camp. They trail along with Pikesplash and Redpath, silent for the most part until the older tom points out an odd, out of place lump. Their stomach churns at the sight of the limp form among the rocks, and sharp teeth dig into the inside of their cheek.

Unlike Redpath, they do not follow after Pikesplash as the tom approaches whatever thing lies amongst the rocks. They had not been there to see Beesong’s corpse—they do not wish to see whoever’s this is.

All they see is brown. Which clanmate is it… Buckgait? They do not know the former deputy well, but they know that Cicadastar would likely celebrate her downfall. For a moment they think that it might be Darkwhisker, and it feels as though the entire world pitched onto its side. They are slipping, slipping, and their claws dig into the dirt as though to anchor them there. It is not any of the cats they care about. It cannot be.

Their fears are eased when Redpath recoils, covering her nose as of to protect it from the vile stench that the thing must be giving off. The she-cat asks what the creature is supposed to be—a water squirrel, she asks—and Crappiepatch skitters forward on nervous, flighty paws. When they reach the older warriors, the calico leans forth, fern-green eyes narrowed at the corpse. "It it gross." Their short tail flicks, eyes darting across the big, flat, ugly tail. What is this strange thing? Perhaps it is better that it is dead, for the sake of the clan. "What is it? Does it eat fish? Does it eat cats? I wonder where it came from… do you think it is related to the low water?"​

[ my my, cold hearted child ]​

​

 

[PIKESPLASH]

( tags ) Truth be told he has no idea what he's looking at or what animal this is supposed to be. One thing he is certain of is this is most definitely not an otter, which he isn't sure to be relived about or troubled by the fact. The truth of this case is that out of all the threats that he knew within their territory it was certainly something rare they came across. He doubts whatever this is plagued the clan before, or maybe it has and too much time has passed that it was forgotten. green eyes trail at the flat tail Redpath mentioned, which he has no explanation for. What bothers him most is not the fact that it is flat, but that it's texture is akin to the scales of a fish or snake. Pikesplash doesn't answer her original question, trying to piece together what this animal could do or how he would even describe it when he was supposed to report it to Smokethroat or Cicadastar.

It does certainly look like a squirrel at least the face reminds him of one, but the fur doesn't quite fit or body physic matches a squirrel description. To him, it appears more vole like in terms of its fur and body shape. The face he supposes looks a little bit like a vole, but he wouldn't call this thing a vole at all. Whatever the case, it was some kind of rodent with a scaley looking flat tail. He glances at Crappiepatch who decided to join them a bit later, and he nods at their comment. "Doesn't exactly help that it's been here awhile either from what it looks like." The smell is something none of them need to go into, honestly it is atrocious. He is simply trying to ignore the fact and not gag.

"I don't know what this is. And I'm not sure if they eat cats, if they do then I'm sure we would've fought some already. This is fairly big so I don't see why it wouldn't have tried to eat a cat before, unless they don't eat cats. As for fish... Wouldn't we know what this is then? Or seen it more? We compete with Otters over fish, so if we look at this thing... Why wouldn't we have seen whatever this is fight otters?" He is not saying he is correct in his assumptions nor is he trying to make Crappiepatch or Redpath believe that everything he says is fact. What he understands is Crappiepatch's worry about how dangerous this thing is, which he tries to acknowledge and provide some thoughts that may assuage the younger warrior.

None of them know what this thing is or what it's capable of. That's what they can agree on. The inquiry of whether or not this creature is to blame for the low water is a plausible given the fact that the clan was currently trying to figure out the cause of such, and today they've found a creature they've never seen before. "Maybe Crappiepatch. It's strange for this thing to turn up in the first place, but this one's dead. There has to be one alive somewhere." I hope there aren't too many of this thing, but we'll have to send out another patrol to investigate the area more thoroughly. ​