๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ [หskerษb - stรคr] โ 53 moons
๐ซ๐ค๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฑ. a tall, muscular black oriental tom with pale green eyes
location: camp | tags: brightnoise; the clan
Scarabstar nodded thoughtfully as the medicine cat began to speak, his eyes fixing on some spot on the other side of the cave. He was pleased that Brightnoise was thinking the same thing as him: he himself had just been about to extend Timber an invitation to stay with the Clan when he first spoke with her, but they had been interrupted by Frostpaw and Lavenderpaw's return with Dovemourn's body. "I feel the same way," he replied, still staring. After a moment or two, his eyes gained sight and he frowned at the sight of so many cats up and about, but no deputy to be seen. Must have slept in! Scarabstar thought with a flick of his tail tip; so, he wasn't the only one failing at his duties. All was well, though: he could see to the patrols himself.
When Brightnoise posed her question, Scarabstar looked to his paws, his expression sobering. He had been chosen as Clan deputy for his strategy and foresight, his ability to consider every option and outcome -- his plans hardly knew failure or error. But at the same time, he struggled with immediate action. He needed time to think things thoroughly, and there was no denying that yesterday's major events had sent his mind reeling, desperate to find something he knew he could address. "I do not blame myself for the actions of the twolegsโฆ" he said slowly, "But there is no denying that I forgot about one of my own warriors, Dovemourn. While we were here, recovering, her son and another apprentice were out searching for her. I should have known...."
Scarabstar sighed but after a moment steeled his shoulders and turned towards the clan. "BearClan! You may organize yourselves into patrols today. Stay away from the explosion sight, and keep an eye out for any outsiders who may have been drawn to it, as well as twolegs. If anyone can find marigold, make sure to bring some back, as Brightnoise's patch was destroyed." He paused to make sure his demands were heard before he turned back to the medicine cat, awaiting her answer and wondering what she would tell him.
- ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ [plษm - หsperล] โ 32 moons
๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฑ. a molly with black-and-white splotches and amber eyes
location: forest, heading east | tags: sparrowtail + raingaze
- Plumsparrow blinked rapidly at Sparrowtail, her eyes widening at his words. "O-oh...maybe sometime..." she mewed, trying to be polite and not offend him. Socializing was certainly not her forte, and she was surprised he was being so patient with her; other cats always snapped and told her to spit out her words, which tended to only make her stutters and stammers worse. "Perhaps the weastern border- I mean, the eastern...western is where the explosion was, so prey may have scattered elsewhere..." she trailed off as the tom nudged her with his tail, risking a glance at him before ducking her head. Were all of her clanmates actually this nice? Maybe it was only the few that Plumsparrow had trouble with. Still, the thought of leading a patrol brought a fresh wave of apprehension to her belly. What is she walked funny, or tripped?
By now, Raingaze had approached, offering her a smile that she hesitantly returned. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad; the two toms seemed friendly enough, and once she settled her nerves, she would probably be more likely to carry a conversation without tumbling over her words like a newborn tumbled over its paws. She stood up and beckoned with her tail. "Away we go," she chirped, pushing down the worry in her stomach as she trotted to the cave's exit.
She crossed the stream without a problem and let the territory envelop her senses. "Think there will be more explosions?" she asked to no one in particular, staring out towards the west where the events of the day prior had unfolded. Plumsparrow had been hunting when the explosion had happened, and recalled her experience with a humorous glint. "A-at first I thought Twolegs were hunting in the woods. I cowered on the ground like a kit before I realized what really happened." The bicolored molly's voice was growing more confident now that she wasn't in a cave full of her clanmates. She'd always felt more alive in the forest, and she only hoped her faith in her hunting abilities would keep her from becoming a nervous wreck.
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ โ [kwil - doun] โ 30 moons
๐ถ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฑ. a large, long-haired white tom with pale green eyes
location: camp | tags: cloudburst, thrushfeather
Quilldown squeezed out of the warriors' den, blinking tired green eyes. He was late to rise, but it didn't seem like any patrols had been sent out yet, so he wasn't all that concerned about receiving any sort of judgmental looks from his clanmates. Even better, he had no apprentice that would have had to wait for him to rise.
The large tom bent himself into a deep stretch before stopping to tease bits of nest material from his pelt. Quilldown was normally a pristine snowy white, his fur as soft as the down of a bird, but now it was matted and gray from the dust of yesterday's events. His paws were still sore from trekking back and forth on the cave floor, helping to clear away the rubble, and then from having gone out hunting to fill his clanmates' hungry bellies. He couldn't imagine how his father might be feeling right now.
After he was somewhat satisfied with appearance, Quilldown rose and strode over to his father, who was speaking to Thrushfeather at the moment. "Something about a patrol? I would love to join, if you'll have me." It had been awhile since he had been out with his father, and Quilldown was interested in what Cloudburst thought of yesterday's events; they hadn't the chance to speak much with all the buzz in camp.
- ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ [หlavษndษr - pรด] โ 10 moons
๐ ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฑ๐ค๐ญ๐ณ๐จ๐ข๐ค. a tall, lanky lilac-point siamese molly with blue eyes
location: clan territory | tags: firefang
- "Yes, Firefang," the molly replied, feeling relief at the fact that they were finally starting some training. With only two or so moons left before she was ready to become a warrior, Lavenderpaw enjoyed the challenges her mentor came up for her to really sharpen and hone her skills now that all of the basics were behind them. She thought of their past sessions together and felt her irritation with him fade away. The ginger tom had always had her best interests in mind and had always supported her desire to go beyond. In a way, he had taken up part of the role that Whitepine, her father, had left behind after he died.
Lavenderpaw's whiskers twitched and her blue eyes deepened with determination. She owed it to Whitepine to become the warrior he'd wanted her to be -- and she owed it to Frostpaw to be a worthy competitor, even if he was older than her. Turning, she dipped into the ferns and bounded nimbly away with hardly a sound, her legs carrying her through the trees with the graceful swiftness of the deer that often perused BearClan territory. The molly slowed once she could no longer scent Firefang and focused on her task. If this was going to be an ambush, perhaps she could tip the odds in her favor. As tall as she was, her mentor was a full-grown warrior and had the advantage of strength and experience. Most likely, Firefang would leap on her back and pin her down so she couldn't get out from beneath him. What if he came from the side?
Knowing how she could solve a problem or two, Lavenderpaw headed to the river. He could only attack from one side here, and if he did, he would have to soften his attack so as to not send them crashing into the rapids. The banks were more open, so she'd be able to see if he came head-on -- which meant his best option was from the rear.