sensitive topics thus kindly I scatter | death

[Flycatcher]

2. A monster on the thunderpath

CW: blood, gore, bone, dead body

The patrol had been going well. They had successfully caught two squirrels and a less than impressive mouse and the cats present seemed eager to catch more. It had been too long since ThunderClan had enjoyed such a prosperous day of hunting. Flycatcher knew they should have been heading back soon but he wanted to let his clanmates enjoy this; it had been a while since they had anything good to celebrate. "We'll pass close to the ShadowClan border before we head home," Flycatcher mewed to his patrol as they continue walking. He doesn't intend on getting too close to the border however lest the ShadowClan cats think they were goading them. Though that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

After trekking a little further, Flycatcher instructed the patrol to return home, finding no further prey. It was a slight disappointment but they should be proud of what they had caught. To the left of the patrol sat the thunderpath (albeit hidden behind bushes) and the scent of monsters was particularly strong today. They were about to take a right turn and walk further back into their territory, when the ferocious growl pierced the air. A monster. Flycatcher tensed, eyes going wide at the sound. The ground beneath their paws seemed to vibrate and the growling was so loud it almost seemed like one was right behind them. "HIDE!" Flycatcher yelled, darting for the cover of a thick bush. The patrol waits for a moment, half expecting to see one of the metallic beasts come rolling past. But nothing happens. The growling persists, peaking for a moment, before trailing off as unknown the cats the car responsible sped away.

When the sound eventually dissipated, Flycatcher poked his head out of the bush. "I think we're safe," He mewed, looking around to be sure. "I think it's gone now."

But whilst the noise of the monster had ceased, a new sound had replaced it - a loud wail. And it was coming from the thunderpath.

Against his better instincts, Flycatcher heads towards the thunderpath, curious about who or what is making the noise. When he comes across the scene, he spots two cats on the thunderpath, a tortoiseshell cat lay flat on its surface and another standing over the fallen figure trying to rouse them. At first, Flycatcher thinks they are ShadowClan cats, or perhaps even rogues but there is a faint smell on the wind, almost hidden by the stench of the monsters. Kittypets. The cats on the thunderpath are kittypets. He feels pity for the two but knows they can't stop. Flycatcher turns to move away but it is only then he seems to really perceive the cat hunched over trying to rouse the other. "Moth?!" His voice comes out as a startled gasp.

On the thunderpath, a blue tabby she-cat whips her head around at the sound, eyes landing square on her younger brother. "Fly!" She calls out. "Flycatcher! Help me...help me please!" She whines, gesturing for him to come near. "It's my daughter, Rose. She isn't moving."

Rose. The name vaguely rings a bell in his head. One of his sister's elder children, a sister to Stormypaw, Cloudypaw, and Pebblepaw. Flycatcher does not commit to helping her straight away, but takes a step neared to see what has happened, wishing he hadn't as soon as his eyes fall upon Rose's body. A smear of blood lies behind her, a sickening marker of where the monster had first struck. Blood also trickles out of her mouth. Despite this, her body is largely free of blood. The only sign of anything wrong is the bone jutting out from a hind leg. Rose might have been a pretty cat once but the monster has left her broken and bent and dead.

"Moth, you have to get off the thunderpath!" Flycatcher urged.

"N-No!" Moth shook her head. "Not without Rose!" A frantic expression took hold, and she looked between FLycatcher and the ThunderClan cats behind him. "You have herbs, don't you? You can help her?"

TLDR: Whilst leading a patrol, Fly and the other patrol cats are nearby when his niece is struck by a monster on the thunderpath
Rose is already dead and Moth is in denial and refusing to listen to reason. Feel free to move Rose and/or Moth though do note there have been a lot of monsters on the thunderpath today and another might be on its way in my next response​

 

[Flamewhisker]

BORN TO FIND THAT GREAT UNKNOWN ⋆⁺₊⋆
It had been a successful day for their patrol. Even if she hadn't managed to catch anything, she had still enjoyed the fresh air. It felt amazing to be out here again, and even though her entire body ached from the distance they had walked so far already, her eyes still glowed happily. I won't be able to move tomorrow. she thought to herself. She knew she was out of shape, but she didn't realize she was this out of shape. Her paws felt as though they would fall off. "We'll pass close to the ShadowClan border before we head home" At her mate's words, she would dip her head in agreement despite of how tired she was. She knew that he would let her go back to the camp if she asked...but she was too stubborn for that.

Once they were finished and getting ready to leave, a loud rumble seemed to cause the air around them to tremble. All of the fur on her body spiked up in alarm, and she followed him into the nearest bush. It had been a long time since she had experienced a monster...she pressed against Flycatcher's side, her body trembling slightly.

The rumbling dies down, and alone in the silence is a wail.

Her blood turns cold, and her joints stiffen. The wail was from a cat. Had the monster claimed a life, or was someone injured? Our kits! They were apprentices now. Her heart starts to race, and her body begins to tremble...but after a few moments she realizes that the wail wasn't her children's voices...but she still had to check. Following Flycatcher, she makes her way to the Thunderpath, and hesitantly searches for the bodies. It was two she-cats. One was flattened, and one was mourning. Even though she didn't recognize them, her heart broke for the one who had survived. It was a horrible way to lose someone.

Moth?!

Flycatcher's voices startles her, and her fur raises defensively. How did he know this she-cat?! She whipped her attention around to her mate, searching his gaze intensely. She called back to him, obviously knowing who he was. Rose...Moth... Those names sounded familiar, she had heard them before...

"Your sister!" she blurted out, her eyes now widening. This wasn't some other lover, it was his sister! And her daughter had just been killed. She followed him to the edge, and once she did she let out a whimper of her own. Her gaze filled with sympathy for the mother as she imagined if it had been Falconpaw or Stormpaw. "You must get off! Please!" she would exclaim, her legs trembling from being this close to the path.

N-No! Not without Rose!

Moth was not cooperating. A growl formed in her throat, and she quickly looked from side to side. She couldn't see any monsters coming, or at least not yet. She wasn't going to let Flycatcher's sister die like this. Using her back paws to launch herself forwards, she would attempt to launch herself across the Thunderpath. Once she was near his sister, she would attempt to jump towards her, paws extended in hopes to push her shoulders squarely, hopefully causing them to both land on the other side.

[₊⋆]​

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[Flycatcher]

Despite Flycatcher's pleas, his sister refuses to cooperate. Not that he can really fault her at this moment. She had just watched her daughter get cruelly struck down and die. As much as he wanted to move, he could understand why she didn't want to leave her daughter's side. If the situation was reversed Flycatcher would probably have done the same.

After a few moments pass of Moth refusing to move, Flamewhisker darts across the thunderpath. "Flamewhisker!" Flycatcher calls out, motioning to try and stop her or pull her back. But Flamewhisker has already gotten away from, and having caught Moth off-guard, knocks into her and mercifully lands safely on the other side. Flycatcher breathes a sigh of relief to see they're okay but he can hear Moth still wailing on the other side, trying to get away from Flamewhisker. Another monster can be heard approaching now, slowly rumbling from the opposite direction. Flycatcher knows is he doesn't do anything Moth will only get herself hurt as well. So, in the short moments before the monster is upon them, he darts across the thunderpath himself, grips the scruff of Rose's body and just barely manages to pull her back on his side of the thunderpath before the monster passes.

His heart was hammering in his chest at the close call, but he is glad to have moved Rose. He might not have known her truly but she was still family, still his niece. She deserved better than to be left on the thunderpath for the crows to take. His gaze lingers on Rose's broken form before looking across at Flamewhisker and Moth. "You can bring her back across now," Flycatcher called out. Technically, Moth would be on ThunderClan territory then and she was still a kittypet so he wasn't sure she would be permitted to linger long if some clanmates had their way. He did not even know how Howlingstar would react, though he hoped the leader would be sympathetic to the situation. ​

 

[Flamewhisker]

BORN TO FIND THAT GREAT UNKNOWN ⋆⁺₊⋆
The mother's wails were loud, almost like a siren trying to alert Shadowclan that they were on their side. "Shh! be quiet!" she would hiss, the fur on her neck bristling. She knew Moth was grieving, but they weren't supposed to be here. If they were caught, they would surely be shredded, but they had to wait for a safe moment to cross back.

She could hear the monster getting closer, and she saw a flash of blue run onto the Thunderpath. Her throat seemed to close as fear consumed her. All of her muscles stiffened in horror as she watched her mate grab the deceased body, and go back to the Thunderclan side. "Flycatcher." she would whimper, as she prayed he made it back to their side before the monster claimed him too.

The roaring was too close now, and pure terror overcame her. She forced her eyes closed, knowing full and well that she couldn't watch. If she lost him over this kitty pet, she would kill her, even if she was his family. The monster raced away, and after a few moments she slowly opened her eyes. There were no bodies along the path now. Relief rushed over her like a wave. Now she had to figure out how to get back across with this kitty pet.

"When I say run, run like you never have before." she would grumble, hoping the kitty pet would listen to at least one thing she had been told today. Was she going to have to shove her across again? The red tabby glanced back and forth and listened carefully. Nothing was coming that she could tell. "Run!" Using her shoulder, she would attempt to shove Moth harshly as she darted back towards Thunderclan's side, hoping to give her a boost forward.

[₊⋆]​

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[RACCOONSTRIPE]

The patrol had been quiet, even successful. Despite the stench of a freshly laid ShadowClan marker across the Thunderpath, they are fortunate not to encounter any of the filthy thieves, and Raccoonstripe is silently grateful. He fears no cat, especially not a ShadowClanner -- but he's not in the mood to banter today. The tabby trudges behind Flycatcher and Flamewhisker, using his tail to signal @Moonpaw. and @WILDPAW to follow him. The fumes from the Thunderpath begin to sting his eyes, but he's used to it, and he does nothing but blink the water away.

Flycatcher is the first to feel the earth shake beneath their paws, and Raccoonstripe's fur begins to fluff along his neck at the shriek he emits. "HIDE!" The tabby lets out an angry yowl, streaking for the nearest bramble patch. He only hopes Moonpaw and Wildpaw had the sense to do the same.

Soon, the atrocious noise fades, and Raccoonstripe follows Flycatcher and Flamewhisker's lead, rising from his hiding spot. He gives the white fur on his paws a lick. "They stray a little too far for my liking sometimes," he growls, though his heartbeat begins to slow.

They're all interrupted by a piercing wail. Grief. Raccoonstripe's blood freezes at the sound. He knows it well, too well. Their deputy creeps closer to the Thunderpath, and Flamewhisker accompanies her mate. Raccoonstripe can't help himself -- he begins to wonder if a ShadowClan cat had been following them after all, only to be injured by the monster.

It's not a ShadowClan cat. A kittypet with striped gray fur keens over a tortoiseshell who bleeds from her mouth and head. "How does that kittypet know you?" Raccoonstripe mutters. He can't look away. The scene is gruesome.

But it becomes apparent -- this is Flycatcher's kin. The she-cat who'd died to the monster's paws had been, too, though she walks with whatever ancestors a kittypet answers to now. Raccoonstripe pulls his lips taught, preparing to urge them all to move on, but Flamewhisker foolishly darts across the asphalt to save the kittypet from the Thunderpath.

When all is said in done, this 'Moth,' is safely on their side of the border, all cats present frazzled. Raccoonstripe stares her down, but he doesn't have the heart to say anything -- not to her, anyway. She's not in her right mind, her screaming coming to a halt only when Flamewhisker hushes her.

Instead, he directs his question to his deputy and lead warrior. "What are we supposed to do with her? Where does she live?" He's refusing to look at the mess of the tortoiseshell on the road.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[Flycatcher]

With gentle nudging from Flamewhisker, the two cats safely make it across the thunderpath again, after which Moth practically collapses over her daughter's body, her wailing has now died down into pitiful whimpers.

Flycatcher watches the scene with a sorrowful expression, briefly looking up at his mate to give her a grateful glance. And then Raccoonstripe speaks, asking what they are going to do with Moth. "I will take her home," Flycatcher answers in an even tone, meeting the warrior's gaze. "She lives in the twolegplace. I can take her as far as the border and let her return to her nest." It sounds almost harsh when he says it out loud but Flycatcher has never been to the twolegplace and has no idea how to traverse the place. If he let her lead him to her nest he might never be able to work his way back to the forest.

"What about Rose?" Moth asks, looking up at her younger brother with tearful eyes. An awkward expression takes hold on Flycatcher's features. What would they do about Rose? He couldn't well expect his patrol to take her body back to the twolegplace. "She will have to remain here," He says in a soft voice. When his sister shakes her head, he looks at her with a sympathetic expression. "Moth, I cannot ask my clanmates to bring her back to the twolegplace for you."​

 

[WILDHEART]

"LITTLE HELLIONS, KIDS FEELIN' REBELLIOUS"​

---

Quiet patrols were the worst! Wildpaw wrinkled his nose as the acrid stench of the thunderpath wafted into his nose and stung the sensitive young flesh within. This had been the worst it had ever been during any of his patrols along the ShadowClan stretch of border. It was... unusual. The tom watched his mentor for a time, and good thing too since all hell seemed to break loose for a moment as a shout went out. Wildpaw launched after Raccoonstripe's form as he too sought refuge under the bramble tendrils. Crouched low, he braced himself for the potential danger if it happened to find him. But fortunately the monster didn't find them, but it had found someone.

After leaving the safety of the bramble cover he was greeted with a painful sight. A dead cat, a mournful mother pleading, and Flycatcher talking about taking said mother back to twolegplace. Wildpaw had to admit that he wasn't sure how to feel about the entire matter. He finds himself moving to stand close to Raccoonstripe, opting to remain close to his mentor. Though his gaze is on that of the deceased feline. He finds himself unable to look away from the gruesome sight.
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