Plot Thread Closed Thread Herald of Darkness

FALLKIT

Fallkit's tail fluffed out as he heard the she-cat's yowl through camp. The past couple of days had been full of agitation for the young kit. He had seen his sire--he knew he had--and every time he'd tried to explain it to Brightmaple, the queen hadn't seemed to fully understand. She was more worried about him, which he supposed he should be grateful for...but there was a bigger issue at paw.

"C'mon, Brightmaple!" He stumbled past the she-cat through the nursery entrance. "Something's happening, I gotta go see what that they say!" Maybe someone had listened to him when he said that loner had been his sire. Maybe they were going to pull his kin back together. Somehow.

Doveflight quickly padded over, gazing up to the cat who yowled, her ears front to attention.

Aspenberry looked startled at the sudden announcement, not having notices Fawnbriar on the Talking Cliff. It wasn't common for the deputy to make a speech from up there, and she had a bad feeling. With her gaze now fixated on her deputy, she padded over to join Cloudflare. Her tail twitched slightly, praying to StarClan that the news was good. 

In the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder where Badgerstar was.

Brightmaple's ears perked as she heard Fawnbriar's yowl from the Talking Cliff. The fact it was the deputy making the summons and not their leader made her fur bristle with forboding. As Fallkit hurried out and called for her to follow, she made her way after Fallkit and over towards the elder's den, casting a worried glance at Barleyswipe.

Boulderdash padded wearily over to where Shadesleek sat and watched her sister's tail thrash. With Cloudflare, she had escorted the loner back to the border and then rushed to find all of Pinestep's patrol before coming back to camp. With mismatched eyes, she looked at her sister, her expression both tired and worried. Even if Shadesleek asked her what was wrong, she had no idea how to put her thoughts into words at this time.

Fawnbriar's gaze fell over the clan, not wanting to have to tell them what she knew. Hopefully Rowanglade and Piperpaw would be back soon to relieve the churning of her belly. Her tail twitched and she sighed softly before lifting her voice for all to hear.

"Cats of Windclan, there's a reason I called everyone back to camp at this time. Cloudflare's patrol came upon a loner at the border earlier. The loner claimed to have an important report and was escorted here to speak with me, Rowanglade and his escort. The loner reported having seen a black tom with scars being ambushed by two-legs and being taken away in the belly of one of their monsters. The fact that Badgerstar's hunting patrol came back without him and the fact no cat has seen him since might only be coincidence, but Rowanglade and Piperpaw have gone to the Moonstone to speak to Starclan and see what information they can confirm on this. Once they've returned, we should have most of the answers we need."

Copper eyes, which had been looking towards the backwall as she spoke, once again swept over her clanmates and she waited for the tumult to begin and readied herself to attempt to answer potential questions or offer what little comfort she could in the current chaos of the clan.

Piperpaw:

The trek had been hard, and for what? To get disappointed. Piperpaw didn't have anything nice or good to say at the moment so she let her mentor do the talking, her tail drooping. She was nearly on the verge of tears - not just from sadness but also anger. Frustration.

Starclan was of no help at all! She stomped off towards the medicine cat den, not waiting for the gathering to be over. What could they do anyways? What was the point?

FALLKIT

The brown-and-white she-cat atop the cliff spouted a bunch of words and names Fallkit didn't understand. Patrol? Two-legs? Moonstone? All he knew was that someone named Badgerstar was missing, but still alive. So...that was good, right? He looked up to Brightmaple, puzzled, only seeing her with a worried expression. He pouted, hoping to hear more about that loner or whatever, if that was indeed the same cat he caught a glance of.

Brightmaple's fur bristled and her copper eyes widened in horrified disbelief. How could Starclan have let this happen to Badgerstar? How could Badgerstar have let that happen to him? What did that mean now for the clan? Out of maternal instinct and habit, she swept her tail protectively around Fallkit, seeking comfort from the movement and the little body as she tried not to tremble under the severity of what was happening, wishing she press herself to Barleyswipe or Fawnbriar for comfort as well. "What are we supposed to do if the two-legs took Badgerstar away in a monster? It could have taken him anywhere!"

Boulderdash's expression went utterly blank the moment Rowanglade confirmed the information they had been give by the Loner, her mind stuttering to a halt as it began trying to process everything being said. Everything had been stable for the clan until now and even her generally laid-back and optimistic attitude was having trouble figuring out how to react to everything.

Fawnbriar had tried to prepare herself to reply to any questions the clan brought up and had opened her mouth to reply to Barleyswipe, only to be interrupted when Rowanglade and Piperpaw returned to camp. She had to shoft a forepaw to keep from lurching forward in disbelief at the medicine cat's words. Badgerstar was still alive! She honestly had no idea how to reply to Brightmaple or Barleyswipe but had to admit that they both had good points. She didn't have any ideas on how to move forward and desperately hoped Starclan might have told Rowanglade something they could go off of. "Did Starclan tell you what we should do? Is there even a chance we can rescue him? Brightmaple has a point. How are we supposed to track the monster that took him?"

((@semi : Please refrain from trying to time-jump threads ahead. The rest of us aren’t finished with the situation we’re dealing with! The point of this thread is the leader issue. If you want to have your character wake up from a nightmare you should do it a new thread. It’s considered bad manners to hijack a thread and try to completely change the subject of it. Especially when it’s a major clan-wide plot thread!))

Healing is a matter of time,
but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.

‹‹‹‹ ››››

”StarClan has limits. They tell us what they can, but we are the ones who must make the decisions and act.” Rowanglade’s voice was tired. She wished that StarClan had all the answers. Instead they had cryptic hints and suggestions. She was honestly just happy that they had gotten straight enough answers about what they had needed to learn. The lack of clear answers already rankled her apprentice more than she was comfortable with.

Her tail waved slowly behind her as she considered the challenges of the situation they were in. ”If we wish to try the first step is to know more about the monster. If we’re lucky we might be able to find our way to the right place. If not, at least we will have tried!” Rowanglade did her best to seem hopeful in front of the clan. They may never managed to recover Badgerstar, but she wouldn’t give up on him without at least trying. Even if it meant another interview with that loner tom. She and Fawnbriar would have to make plans to ensure the clan had was led until the rest was figured out. If they didn’t find Badgerstar soon the coming gathering would be… Interesting to say the least.

Piperpaw:

The apprentice felt dead on her feet as she paused at the entrance of the Medicine Cat den, sinking to the ground with both emotional and physical exhaustion. She wanted to scream - yowl out at her clanmates - it's hopeless! Starclan just leaves us to our own devices. They brush us off and don't even care their own chosen leader is missing.

But, Rowanglade was a good mentor, and she didn't want her to lose face. So Piperpaw curled up with her back to the clan and let the tears that had threatened to overtake her the entire walk home fall silently. Although it was obvious to those closest to her, it was better than alerting the entire clan to her distress.

Aspenberry stared anxiously up at her deputy, not having spoken until now. ‘Should we send a few to go speak to that loner again? Or send out a patrol of sorts to look for Badgerstar?’ 

She knew it was a high chance that it was an effort full of false hope, but Badgerstar was their leader for StarClan’s sake, they had to at least try! Her mind was spinning, anything they did was risky. Sending out a patrol could mean more cats getting taken, but doing nothing was not the right thing to do. At this point the thing that made the most sense was to talk to the loner again, sending back the cats that talked to him before.

Her tail twitched as the stared back at the ground, before directly speaking to Fawnbriar. ‘I can go if you need. A trip outside our borders sounds exciting, and if it’s for our leader, I’m even more than happy to.’

Aspenberry’s explorative nature was itching to go somewhere other than the lands she saw everyday. Despite loving her home dearly, there was something about finding somewhere new that put her at peace. She also wasn’t exactly sure if she was the best choice to go out and search, even if she had others with her, but it was the fact she offered that counted.

Aspenberry gave Cloudflare a warm glance, relieved to see she had some support. With Cloudflare at her side she knew they had a good chance of finding some sort of clues, and with Fawnbriar leading the clan from home, WindClan would stay strong. 

She was honestly glad that someone had offered to go with her, as the thought of trekking out into the unknown was a little daunting, and seeing as Cloudflare was one of her closer friends within the clan, she couldn't be more than happy! Was two enough? She wasn't entirely sure, but it would do. Keeping warriors at home was just as important, and she was sure that Cloudflare and herself were both perfectly capable of taking care of themselves outside of a clan environment. Now she just had to get her deputies approval to leave. She wouldn't just leave if no one actually wanted her to!

'Yes, even better that two of us go. I know it may seem hopeless, but something is better than nothing. We are both capable warriors, and Badgerstar needs our help'. She held Fawnbriar's gaze, a look a determination flooding her face, but there was still an underlying hint of respect. She would try her best to convince her, but ultimately what they do is up to Fawnbriar, and she would respect her decision. Who knows, maybe she has an even better plan.