pafp remember to forget you - patrolling

[DOGBITE]

✦ He needed something - anything - to distract his twisted thoughts. Blazestar's blood, Bobbie's missing eye, Wolfpaw's matching injury, and Drowsypaw's mimicking condition. They could hardly swallow back the rising bile that caused his throat to constrict at the overwhelming thoughts. Dogbite had never felt more powerless in his life, unable to protect his friends from danger. Orangeblossom's continued absence only left him swimming further into the deep end of anxiety. Thankfully, Silversmoke had asked him to take part in a small patrol, aiming to snuff out the attacker. Unfortunately, it seemed their search was rather fruitless even with the aid of his powerful sniffer. One after the other, each trail ended up cold, and Dogbite's scarred cheeks grimaced as the sun's setting rays indicated the time. Damnit. He swore internally, knowing their time had already run thin, and with a lacking trail to go by, it was best to turn in for the night. The rest of the patrol seemed to run ahead, and he decided to stay behind with the gray tom. Slowly, he stepped in rhythm with his clanmate, tattered ears still held in alert but shoulders slumped with defeat. Rarely did he get to have one-on-one interactions with the stern Lead Warrior, and for a change, Dogbite appreciated the shared silence.

Comfortable quiets were rare these days, and the loner in him fretted to admit it. Dogbite loved the socialization, but after spending the majority of his early moons in the quiet of the silver dens, Clan life had been a dramatic change, and in times of distress, he often sought contemplative hush. A flash of wings hardly a step from their eye caused his paws to come to an abrupt halt, and their pelt to rise with surprise, taking the warrior completely out of his somber mood with the duality of shock. "What the-" The pesky insect thumped against a neighboring tree and gracelessly landed on the ground. Upon closer inspection, he noted its freakishly long snout and coiled tail, causing his stomach to twist with disdain. Unceremoniously, he made a 'retching' face and stepped back with a huff. "What a nasty thing. Nearly took my one good eye out." No humor comes from his grumble, only chilled nerves, as his dislike of the strange critter was mad evident.

✦ OOC ✦ INFO ✦

• @SILVERSMOKE - anyone that's not Silver please wait for Dogbite to post a second time before commenting!

• 

• 

  
  
  ———✧———​

  ✧ LH cinnamon tabby w/high white one blue eye
  ✧ child of npc x npc ; sibling to crescent and bear
  ✧ skyclan warrior ; ex-loner ; mentor to littlepaw
  ✧ 32 moons old ; birthday 07/01 ; ages realistically
  ✧ AFAB ; nonbinary ; he/they
  ✧ pansexual ; polyromantic ; single
  ✧ "speech", thought, attack, powerplay
  ✧ peaceful powerplay allowed
  ✧ penned by tasmagoric
  

  ———✧———​

  ​

​

 

[SILVERSMOKE]

Grief was not an easy thing for the tabby; it was a muted, bottled thing, that threatened to explode in violent despair whenever it was full. The events of the moon had not outwardly affected him much, but Silversmoke's inner world had become a tempest, each new change feeling like lightning puncturing his gut. Patrols were a nice change from being left alone with such thoughts, the renewed purpose made the Lead Warrior move confidently through the pine forest, only lagging behind the rest of the patrol because he had seen Dogbite slow down (unaware he had slowed down for him). There was little to talk about, but for once, it did not feel awkward - both had agreed to hunt for an assailant, a conversation could distract them from a rustle from the brush. He tried not to think about the failure to find their target, how disappointed those in camp might be that trusted SkyClanners had not been able to guarantee their safety for the night. His gaze drifted to the distant trees, squinting at the gaps between the pines. 'I wish I could be everywhere at once....' He prayed to the stars that had yet to appear.

A noise from the other sent panic through his heart. Claws unsheathed and the Lead Warrior whipped around, prepared to defend his clanmate against whatever had attacked him. The snarling feline did not see a fanged assailant, he didn't see anything at all until he moved closer to Dogbite, where a dot on the ground was discovered. His clanmate moved back in disgust and, against his better judgment, Silversmoke moved forward. A sapphire eye closed as a green one remained open, making it easier for the spotted tabby to assess the features of the dot. A bug... a bug that he had never seen before, with a nose like a snake's tail and a tail like a scorpion's. He blinked incredulously at it - what sort of abomination had StarClan put in their bereaving forest?! When the cinnamon tabby spoke about it almost taking his eye out, the tom huffed. "A fierce battler then, SkyClan is always in need of strong warriors." 'Butterflytuft might have met the one animal she can defeat,' he thought, somewhat cruelly with their most recent interaction still in the back of his mind. The forest around them got so quiet that Silversmoke swore he could hear water drop from a leaf.

'Stars, I need to sleep.' "I'd let it join, but it'll bring the mood down - oi, bug thing, why the long face?" Tufted ears immediately grew warm from embarrassment. and the Lead Warrior jumped away as if suddenly stung by it. He almost wished he was, if the ground wasn't going to swallow him up after such a joke. "Why am I talking to a bug?" He cleared his throat quickly, not quite looking at Dogbite, but still in his general direction, hoping the other would get their patrol moving again whilst the tabby died of embarrassment.
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[DOGBITE]

✦ It shocked him to see Silversmoke take such swift action and swoop in beside him. Dogbite's eye widened in disbelief as the Lead Warrior judged the annoying critter up close. A moment of suspended silence falls between them only to be broken by an awfully lame joke. The offset jest displaced the scarred tabby for a moment, and he blinked dumbly. Did he just... They had never pegged Silversmoke as the type to play into humor. Much less witness their denmate show any kind of attitude outside of duty. Yet, it absolutely softened the cinnamon and white feline's former ideation. Silversmoke continued to judge the poor little insect as he dished out another cold-blooded observation. That's awfully cute. He mused internally as hoarse laughter pulled from his chest in bubbling giggles. Tears brimmed in the corner of his eye, and he could only manage to sit and catch his breath.

After the last heave of a chuckling fit eased away, he aimed a gentle bump to the silvery tom's shoulder, hoping to alleviate the humility draped across his face. "Beats me." Delight played sweetly on his voice as he took a dig at the pest. "I bet he would be an even better tracker than me and Twitchbolt combined with a snoot that impressive!" Their belly ached from the rapid-fire contractions and it was a good kind of exhaustion. For just a moment, all the stressors of the past few days felt far away. It was now just the two of them at the tail end of a patrol, making fun of an oddly-shaped little bug, and Dogbite couldn't have been more grateful for such a distraction.

✦ OOC ✦ INFO ✦

• thread is now open!
  
  This takes places right before Orangestar's return

• 

• 

  
  
  ———✧———​

  ✧ LH cinnamon tabby w/high white one blue eye
  ✧ child of npc x npc ; sibling to crescent and bear
  ✧ skyclan lead warrior ; ex-loner ; mentor to littlepaw
  ✧ 32 moons old ; birthday 07/01 ; ages realistically
  ✧ AFAB ; nonbinary ; he/they
  ✧ pansexual ; polyromantic ; single
  ✧ "speech", thought, attack, powerplay
  ✧ peaceful powerplay allowed
  ✧ penned by tasmagoric
  

  ———✧———​

  ​

​