tunnels RETURN TO DUST — shadowclan tunnels patrol

[cygnetstare]

♱—— she leads her patrol through the tunnels with a care she fails to exhibit above the ground, picking her way through the darkness with every sense carefully attuned. in the wake of her injury she's grown more alert, more dedicated to her work than ever—perhaps the long stay in the healer's den was the wake-up call she needed, with the reminder to bear in the form of a scar. a reminder of exactly what weighs on the shoulders of each and every tunneler, their duties in keeping the tunnels safe and functional; particularly those beneath the other clans' territory, which is the one she leads the group towards now.

the ground begins to grow spongier, the air smelling of muggy trash and muck, of frogs and stagnant pools—no doubt they will all return smelling stranger than ever. there's no trace of the thundering scrapes and footsteps of her last visit here, thank the stars, as the bears are gone. they can only hope the beasts haven't left too much damage in their wake, especially not to the careful coverings concealing their tunnels; she's tasked her own apprentice with carrying the fresh rabbit's pelt needed to conceal their scent, a small but vital responsibility she's entrusted to him. an accented rumble is spoken quietly into dank air, "first exit."

her mew is short and simple as they arrive at the first exit into shadowclan territory, voice pitching lower to add, "make sure to keep 'n eye on the tunnels around you. we don't know if the bears did any damage—last time i was here, their pawsteps were loud enough to shake the earth. make sure to catch any prey you can find, too," instructions delivered, they push forward to the nearby opening on silent paws, flicking their tail in a slight whoosh of air to draw luckypaw over with the rabbit's pelt as they get ready to check the first exit for any damage dealt to the bracken and branches that hide it from prying eyes.

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┏━⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊ OOC ☽ ◯ ☾ INFORMATION₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆━━━━━┓ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ☄. *. ⋆♱･ﾟ:

• ooc: @SOOTSPOT @sanguinerush @JACKDAWHEART @BLUEPAW @LUCKYPAW
  this is my first time icly leading a patrol so let me know if anything is messed up :-)
  

• 

• ♱ cygnetstare — for their downy kitten-fur and perceptiveness (or uncanny gaze) she/they ; afab gender apathetic — windclan — tunneler — 34 ☾s —— cygnetstare is a corpselike chimera, split between long albino fur and a short black smoke pelt; their eyes are an unsettling pink. her creepy demeanour distracts from a strange fascination with death and an obsessive loyalty to windclan. —— smells like grave-dirt and blood ; sounds like vc tbd ; speech in #BF959C, thoughts in #000000 —— peaceful / healing powerplay permitted ; attacks/contact in underline ; will start fights ; won't flee unless ordered ; won't show mercy ; will kill or maim —— pansexual panromantic monogamist, single, not looking ; open to friendships, enemies, casual interactions, long-term romance, plotting ; not open to unplanned battles, flings penned by dejavu— desklamp9 on discord for plots

• battle stuff goes here for fights

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[LUCKYPAW]

Soft paws resolutely follow along, carefully stepping along to avoid getting tripped up again. It's one thing to fall so carelessly on his first day with only his mentor to witness, and it's another entirely to do it again in front of a full patrol, especially when he's been entrusted with carrying the rabbit's hide that was so important to keeping them hidden. A firm grip is kept on the pelt, ensuring it doesn't drag against the ground or slip from his grasp, and it also serves as something to focus on as the patrol grows nearer and nearer to the ShadowClan tunnel entrance. This will be the first time he's entered into them proper, the first time that he's leaving behind the WindClan border, in a way, and just thinking about it sets his whiskers quivering anxiously. At least this isn't new ground entirely, the rest of the patrol surely having done this before, though the thought isn't quite as comforting as it's intended to be - after all, they all know what to do and how to behave, while Luckypaw is left to try not to falter in their pawsteps. Silent save for his breathing and the scuffling of his paws against the dirt, he moves forward one tentative pawstep at a time, lightly probing for prodding roots in his path.

As the ground begins to soften below his paws, the air holding an odd, unpleasant scent, it's clear that they're drawing close to their destination, and with their proximity grows his unease. Who would ever want to live here, where even the very dirt is far mushier than it should be? Even amongst the earthen scent of the tunnels and his just-burgeoning sense of smell, Luckypaw is still able to detect just how off the scent here is; it seems wholly unpleasant, having to live surrounded by it at all times. At Cygnetstare's sudden words, he starts slightly, green gaze flashing embarrassed in the dim lighting at being so caught up in his thoughts that he'd been caught off-guard. A glance is sent to the nearest wall as she continues doling out instruction, attempting to discern whether or not any shoring up is necessary even here, though he quickly tears himself away at Cygnetstare's signal. Trying to avoid too much jostling of his patrol mates, he slips over to stand just behind his mentor, rabbit's pelt pushed forward in a silent offering. This will be the first time he's been on a patrol that needed use of such a thing, and despite any other reservations, he's eager to see the tactic put into action.​

[ PENNED BY HIJINKS ]​

 

[BLUEFROST]

She walks quietly behind Cygnetstare and Luckypaw, her expression carefully concealed even as they near the ShadowClan border. The earth becomes softer, stickier, under her dainty white paws, and she can taste the rancid scent of stagnant water once they make their first exit from the main tunnel. Bluepaw twitches the tattered ear in response to her patrol lead’s instructions. Green eyes begin to wander around, searching for the damage Cygnetstare speaks of. “Here,” she murmurs softly, her tail flowing behind her like gray velvet as she pads to the wall she’d examined.

One of the sticks shoring up the tunnel is bent beneath the weight of the soil above it. She frowns, lifting a paw to delicately check its strength. It feels bouncy and wet under her pads. “This will not hold for much longer,” she says in a quiet voice. “We will have to replace it, won’t we?” She turns to look at a senior member of the patrol, wondering if they were meant to leave the tunnel and trek into ShadowClan to find a stick sturdy enough to shove into this one’s place, or if someone had thought to bring supplies.

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — bluekit . bluepaw
  — she/her, apprentice of windclan
  — bisexual ; single
  — long-haired blue she-cat with white and green eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — art by Meg

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