camp Swamp of Sorrows || Anxious Pacing

[Frostbite]

He can't believe this is happening. They can't find them. They cant find them ANYWHERE. What if something happened to them? What if an owl took them and thats why they cant find them? What if they aren't in the territory anymore- What if they're in someone elses territory? Surely that clan would bring them back, wouldnt they? Frostbite has been in and out of camp ever since Halfkit and Tanglekit were found to be missing. He has taken little time for himself and it shows in how unkempt his pelt is, covered in dirt smudges and debris.

He paces the camp nonstop, he has left a trail of pawprints for each time he's gone from point A to point B. But he does not stop. He is worried sick, and the fear and anxiety gripping him is even worse than what he had felt before he had his kits.

"How could this have even happened. Was nobody WATCHING them?" He speaks to nobody in particular. "Could they have gotten mixed up with the other queens- no... I'd have seen them when they rejoined with their clans.. I was there to watch them go..."

Anger drips into the pool of emotions. Of course kits would go missing from Shadowclan, he thinks. Of course. Look at this clan. Everyone here is twisted in some way. Depressed in some way. Chilledstar even had to make an announcement about mentors abusing apprentices, for stars sake. He thinks about Poppypaw's mother who never cared about her. He thinks of Betonyfrost, who seems to be allergic to being called a mother. Forestshade, who rarely spends time with her kits.

He thinks of every time an abusive mentor turned up, though he cant recall any recently. He thinks of the general attitude of Shadowclan.... And it makes him realize. It feels as though Shadowclan isn't the family it should be. Perhaps its the swamp. The hardships they face. But is that really it?? Possibly. He himself was cold and heartless before he found his way here. But coming to Shadowclan is what finally caused his heart to thaw, and now he is undyingly loyal to this clan.


He wants better for this clan. He's not sure how he'll do it, but he will find a way. But it has to wait, Halfshade and Smogmaw's kits are missing, and he must find them. He finally comes to a stop at the edge of camp and sits, resting his paws for likely the first time today.

He blames himself most of all. He swore he would protect them, a silent vow to the stars above. Already, he has failed phenomenally. "Oh Halfshade.... I'm so sorry." He mutters to himself.​

 

[smogstar]

Pawing over camp's threshold on that day was not unlike stepping into a separate reality. Returning to a ShadowClan so embroiled in tragedy and disorder caused him to feel like a foreign cat in the very heart of his homeland. Each tidbit of news flung his way, no matter how devastating, was processed, registered and accepted the moment it hit his ears. Halfshade had passed away while birthing a litter. Said litter had their safety compromised and fell victim to abduction mere days before his return.

A day later, the full extent of this fresh, appalling reality pressed upon him physically. Coping with his mate's passing demanded every grain of strength he still possessed, but the gnawing uncertainty around their new litter, and what perils may befall Tanglekit and Halfkit, kept him treading the fine line between anguish and total collapse. The stress makes for restless sleep, and Smogmaw's bearing reflects this debility through a pensive frown and a heavy sag to his posture.

He finds minimal solace in the fact that others shoulder through similar grief. Be it about their own losses, or the strain that comes from ShadowClan's security being undermined, Smogmaw sees likewise weariness across all the clanmates he surveys. Such holds particularly true in Frostbite's case, whose grievances suffuse the air with harsh-spitten enquirings. The deputy lends an ear to what he, a father just like him, has to say. It had to have been a fleet-footed kidnapping, carried out when the clan's collective attention lay elsewhere. An intricate, well-thought-out scheme—suffice to say, Granitepelt's theory about rogues seems bereft of possibility.

When the snow-furred warrior's musings land on the departed queen's name, the frown written in Smogmaw's expression deepens. "Frostbite, stop." Keeping a sound mind is the only way they'll untangle this mess. Languid pawsteps carry him towards the other tom, skidding to a halt a pace away with a flick of the tail. "Keep your wits about you, you'll need them."

It may very well be Frostbite's fault that they'd gone missing, as per what little he knows about how it all unfolded. However, fretting won't mend a thing; the mind has better uses, and it is ingenuity that paves the way to results.​

 

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

DON'T YOU GIVE ME UP, PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP​

---

chilledstar hated to agree with smogmaw sometimes. despite him being their deputy, they certainly had their differences. differing opinions made for an interesting match, so long as smogmaw remembered his place. but chilledstar has always been a cat with an alignment of themself. they didn't like many, only ever protecting the young and trying to make decisions that were right for their clan. others probably hardly thought so.

"he's right. don't blame yourself. take a deep breath, and calm down. we will find them, even if i have to march right into starclan and demand where they are."

they seem confident in their ability to find these kits, but with little leads, and no possible way of knowing what happened, they're at a loss. its been days, and they've searched every single inch of this territory. only thing to do now... was to move on to other clans. rogues and predators were the first on the list of suspects but those cats were in their camp. they did their best to be... smart about it. limit who came to camp, who even knew where their camp was, but it wasn't enough. it's never enough.

"we will find them."
​

 

[Briarthorn]

BRIARKIT — hello, my old heart.
The news of Halfkit and Tanglekits disappearance had traveled quickly, and watching Frostbites speedy spiral into madness was an eerie sight. He paces around the camp, he hollers, he demands answers.
From where Briarpaw has stopped in her own tracks, undoubtedly on the heels of her mentor, she watches Smogmaw wearily approach the frantic warrior, Chilledstar not far behind.
It was a tragic thing, it really was- especially for their deputy, but Briarpaw cannot help but think the duo must have run away- or gotten cocky on an unsupervised adventure and found themselves lost.
It wasn’t impossible, Screechpaw a prime example with his many escape attempts. Her sibling was lucky, though. He had her to intercept his idiocy in their kithood.
The raven-furred apprentice cannot offer any comfort, but that doesn’t stop her from watching from afar, her own theories playing out in her mind.
"speech"

tags​

​

 

[SCREECHSTORM]

Tanglekit and Halfkit are still missing, despite Screechpaw searching in all the hiding spots he'd known around camp and a whole search party being sent to look for them. They could be anywhere now, could be lost in the marshlands, in the beyond. He just knows it's not good, their prolonged disappearance, knows it even before he finds himself beside Briarpaw — a rare occurrence in itself — as they both watch Frostbite pace back and forth; as their own father seeks to calm the warrior, so soon after returning from his mountain-top journey.

He thinks of the hole in the bramble wall, the one behind the nursery that led to his own escape. Had that been patched up yet, amid the chaos of everything that had gone on? Maybe they'd gotten through there, maybe he should've told someone else other than Forestshade of its existence. Was this... Was this his fault? Stars, he hopes not; if anything, it would be the older apprentices, for not doing their chores, or something, right?

"Y-yeah, we'll find 'em!" he echoes his mentor's sentiments, though uncertainty begins to fester within him.

✦ ABOUT

• 
  
  SCREECHKIT ‣ SCREECHPAW, Apprentice of ShadowClan
  — Forestshade x Vulturemask
  — AMAB; He/Him
  — A black/red tabby chimera tom with mismatched green eyes.
  — Mentored by Chilledstar
  — "Speech"; Attack
  
  ✦･ﾟ: * — His loud entrance into the world bestows upon him a name apt for the path the tom forges. As the troublemaker of his unknowingly half-clan litter, Screechpaw is bound to be known for his curiosity-led escapes and poor attendance as he steps foot into his apprenticeship.
  

​

 

[scalejaw]

—————————————————【 she/her | menacing 】————————————————

【◈】 Scalejaw's heart went out of Smogmaw and his kits. It really did, not one of those funny, 'oh, your plight is mine own', kind of way. No, she had kept an eye no them best as she could after they were born, but it was... a reality she despised facing. She could not imagine losing her own kits like that when she had them. Scalejaw might have gone insane if she had found them missing. Mind you, times were far different back then, and them missing now, suspiciously exactly after all of the other clans were in their home... She locked the thought away.

Frostbite's pacing was slowly starting to worm a frustrated bead into her brain, and before she had the opportunity to get up and say it herself, Smogmaw and Chilledstar had found their way to the queen. Scalejaw pushed to her paws, slowly padding over, coming to a resting stop beside Chilledstar. Glowing, coal-like optics flicked towards him, then back towards Frostbite. "We will find them." Scalejaw echoed, though the thought she had didn't come to light. Alive or dead, we'll find them.

"yuh"

[penned by dallas].

​

 

[Frostbite]

Several cats come to try and reassure him, but the gnawing anxiety does not abate. It won't until those kits are found. But they're right... This is no time to blame himself for anything. Thinking about what he could have done to change things will get nobody anywhere. He needs to think of what he can do now to change the future. They WILL find those kits. If they're lost somewhere, if they've been stolen, then by the stars he will trespass onto every territory to find them. He takes in a deep breath, and lets it go.

"You're right. We will find them." He says. "And we'll get to the bottom of this, too." He adds.

He suspects there is more at play here, but he doesn't know what. A kitnapping would need a reason, and he never suspected until now that any of the clans would stoop so low. Rogues would, but they never reached camp as far as he knew and wouldnt have had the chance. He was beginning to think that Halfkit and Tanglekit really did decide to go on their own little adventure.

He looks upwards to the sky for a moment, then down again. Its pointless to pray to Starclan, for they will not answer. "Can't do that if I'm losing my mind." He adds on to his last sentence.​