returned [open]

(continuation of this topic

Wolfstorm had taken the trek to Windclan territory, undisputed by any patrols. As he entered their camp he looked around for someone of authority. At least a warrior, someone he could speak too about the strange circumstances that had led Thornkit to end up in his position. He dropped the kit in front of him and glanced around once more, trying to spot a cat. Hopefully they would believ his story and wouldn’t be angry with him or his clan. He would have to speak to Mothpaw when he got back about bringing friends into camp. The young apprnetice most likely didn’t know better, but these situations weren’t desirable ones to be in.

Following Wolfstorm's leave, Sorrelpaw had plodded after him unceasingly. This was drama, and she was going to be in the thick of it for once. She hadn't been told away from Wolfstorm, so she figured it was alright to be there. The gray apprentice huffed as they entered the camp. "You might want to say something so they don't get the wrong idea," she mumbled, catching a hostile glare from a thick-furred gray apprentice. Carefully stepping closer to Wolfstorm, she felt an electric current run through her body. Sure, this was scary, but what a story she'd have to tell Shellpaw!

---

One look at the newcomers, Rainpaw knew he had to do something. That was the RiverClan deputy, he was pretty sure, some random apprentice, and... was that Thornkit in Wolfstorm's mouth? Padding towards the warriors' den, making sure Brindlestar was in range as well, he called out, "Brindlestar, Heronfeather, anyone. You might need to take a look at this." He forced his voice not to tremble as he padded out to meet the small RiverClan patrol. If they wanted to speak to a warrior, too bad. He was an apprentice, yes, but he was a WindClan apprentice, and they could talk to him just as well as any other cat. "Brindlestar and the others'll probably want an explanation," he meowed eventually, voice somehow managing to stay calm.

Thornkit was mewling loudly and with distress, angry at having his nap being interrupted and for leaving his friend behind before he could say goodbye! “Let me goo!! You’re no fun! I didn’t even get to say bye!” He hissed and arched his back, looking for his father or grandmother .

It had only taken the resident Queens hardly more than a few heartbeats to realize that Thornkit had somehow eluded their usually watchful care, and yet the lingering anxiety shared by the Clan had only erupted into the full fury of a raging Greenleaf wildfire when the young kit's scent seemingly vanished at the Gorge.

Several patrols had immediately been sent out in pursuit, most of which were relegated to combing the downstream portion of the turbulent rapids; unspeaking under the mutual fear that another Clanmate had been swept away by the cruel waters. The remaining Warriors were left to seek out any remnants of uninvited intruders, all too aware of the fate that had befallen the ThunderClan kit just a moon or so prior. Thornkit was hardly the first overly curious kit to attempt to venture off without rightfully needed supervision, but it had been more than a few seasons since they had lost a kit in such a seemingly futile manner. Of course such words offered little comfort to Shrikecall, who was likely somewhere along the lowest basin of the Gorge, upturning every stone or awashed debris he could find. The faint warble of a young voice interrupted Brindlestar's unpleasant reminiscing, the sudden downpour of adrenaline setting her entire being alight with the icy flames of reluctance, entirely too unsure of what such summoning could mean.

Withdrawing from the stifling shade exuded by the Tallrock, the pale molly was greeted with a somewhat unusual sight- a pair of RiverClanner's standing idle in the center of the bleakly populated clearing, the Deputy nonetheless, while her young kin frolicked about at their paws. Swallowing down the intense, all-consuming mixture of relief and fury that curled upwards from somewhere low and vicious inside of her soul, the dry earth of the sun-bleached moorland began to crumble under the anxious ravines carved beneath the cruelly hooked weight of her claws. Just leave it to that StarClan forsaken alliance to somehow involve itself in the disappearance of a kit, Brindlestar couldn't help but fan the flames of the sharp paranoia that had embedded itself in the weight of her bones, forever stuck between that nightmare and ShadowClan.

Stalking forward, head low and frighteningly pale gaze twisted into a baleful glare, the ill-tempered Leader did little to stifle the dangerous undercurrent of unpredictability that often guided her hastily-made decisions. "I trust that there is an explanation for this?" Brindlestar inquired, the soft rasp of her quiet question uncharacteristically slow and gentle.

The nursery had become a hub of activity since Thornkit had disappeared. Queens, warriors, and apprentices kept hovering nearby to keep a watch on the remaining kits until the search for Thornkit turned up any evidence of the little tom’s whereabouts. Featherkit liked having so many cats around to talk to, but being confined to his nest was less than ideal. With a heavy sigh, he rested his chin on his paws and stared out into the center of camp. It was much harder to find something fun to do inside the nursery.
It felt like ages before movement outside caught his eyes. He blinked, and jumped to his paws when he realized what he was looking at-- some newcomers to the Clan, with Thornkit in tow.
“Thornkit’s back!” He yowled and launched himself from the nursery before any of the queens could stop him. The bundle of fur bounded over to welcome his denmate back, completely oblivious to the older cats. “Thornkit!”

Thornkit arched his back his fur lifting on his spine as he growled at the deputy annoyed that his gun adventure had been ruined, however the sound of his grandmother’s growl and intense feeling of wariness and trepidation crawled up his spine and made the wayward Kit shrink in on himself, his tail curling around his paws.

He’s never fully been at the receiving end of his leader’s ire but now it seemed that he might be.

He tried to speak however was bowled over by another scrap of fur and in true kit like fashion, forget his impending punishment in favor of playfully pawing at Featherkit, purring and nuzzling his denmate. “featherkit! Guess what! I got to go fishing and I learned to swim kinda and I saw another camp! It was so fun!” He squealed .

Featherkit returned Thornkit’s playful blows, giving up on the little tussle to roll onto his side, unusually large eyes trained on the other tom kit.
“Fishing and swimming!” He squeaked out in surprise, bringing up a hindpaw to scratch lazily behind his ears. “I didn’t know we could do that out on the moor!” He rolled over onto his back, his mind swirling with the new possibilities Thornkit had described, churning his legs clumsily up in the air in a mimic of what he thought swimming must look like. It took a moment before he turned his eyes up to the two strange smelling cats that had brought Thornkit home. “Did you come to teach the rest of us how to swim? Is it hard?”

Thornkit mewled happily, “haha no no like this, Mothpaw said it’s like running on land but in water .. to keep your head up!” He rolled over and pawed at the air. “I even know how to fish!.. well kinda you have to be fast and very still at the same time” he purred and glanced up at the two riverclan cats . “They spoiled all my fun I was gonna nap with Mothpaw their camp is really neat” he huffed .

Willowkit poked his head out of the nursery, ears pricked and straining to hear what was going on. By the stars, he'd almost napped through something big, thank Starclan Featherkit had been so loud! His green eyes narrowed as he looked over the two, apparently Riverclan, cats. Ugh. Not that he'd ever actually met one before but... He'd heard warriors talking about the weird swimming cats. Why any cat would want to get wet was beyond his understanding.
He slipped out of the den, ducking to the side to avoid the attentions of the queens, his own mother being out searching for, the now returned, Thornkit, and sidled his way over, glaring as imperiously as a kit was capable of. Of course Thornkit would do something stupid like wander off on his own. "Got yourself in a bit of a mess did you?" He sniffed, sparing a disdainful glance for Featherkit's antics.

Thornkit rolled back on his feet and lashed his tail from side to side, “ hey willowkit, “I wouldn’t say a mess.. I met a new friend today and .. I went on a patrol.. I’m practically an apprentice now~” he said proudly, “I’ll be a warrior in no time and then leader~” and then everyone would play moss ball together it was a perfect!

Willowkit sniffed again, flicking his tail dismissively. "I'm sure. And it would be safe to assume you did so outside of our territory?" His eyes briefly flicked to the Riverclan cats, it could be interesting to hear about what lay beyond their territory... He'd certainly not been allowed out of camp with the stories of the rouges floating about. He knew far more about the rouges and their attacks than his mother would approve of, listening in on conversations while playing or pretending to be asleep had turned out to be an excellent way of learning things he wasn't supposed to hear. The information certainly didn't make him at all nervous about leaving the camp or give him nightmares. Definitely not.
He blinked hard to refocus, maybe he'd ask some questions about the territories later, have to be careful with enemy clan cats in earshot. Who knows what they could be up to.

Wolfstorm nodded, slightly intimidated by the Windclan leader. ”I am so sorry, I spotted Mothpaw, an apprentice bringing in a kit. It was a misunderstanding, and I know you all must have been very worried. I know I would have been if it was one of my kits.” ended the tom with a slight chuckle. He hoped it would end peacefully, as it had been nothing but a pair of cats in the wrong place at the same time.

Still, he was partially glad Mothpaw had found Thornkit, with the current rouge situation. He had heard about the mauled kit from Thunderclan. And after the gathering, he was surely on guard.

Thornkit was happy to see his den mates again despite willowkit’s annoyance of him. “Well ya.. But it was still a patrol, like real apprentices do” he huffed and flicked Willowkit with his tail playfully . “Besides I got to eat a fish~” he purred proudly.

The barren, sand-softened earth trembled softly under the soft steps of Brindlestar's calculated movements, the barley discernible shuddering of shifting earth and decaying foliage the only genuine indication of such finite movements. The stiff breeze, made choppy and weak by the scraggly collection of wilting foliage that clung to the dry soil, only served to intensify the cloying scent of unfamiliar scents that wreathed through the still camp. Sniffing irritably, the Leader was forced to pause for a moment- features drawn tight in an outward expression of her disquietude at the strangers milling about in her camp, and the rambunctious kits scrambling about at various different locations strewn across her line of sight.

Terse muscle corded and coiled sharply within the unkempt mane of the pale molly's coat, an undeniable visual of her foul temper. Outrage, hot and overtly pungent in its cresting flood, promptly died upon the tongue at the sudden blanching attempt to further cool her irritability. Flinty stare verging on hardly anything more than a narrow glare, tension was palpable in the reflexive twitches that crept through her tightly wound muscles- the sudden influx of agitation made her muscles go tight, her pulse go fast, everything screaming with the urge to further snap her teeth.

"While a kit cannot possibly be expected to understand the fully brevity of their actions, the same cannot be said in regards to a cat old enough to be entrusted in tasks that could very well walk the line of life or death." There was palpable venom in the curt hiss of Brindlestar's melodious voice, the slow rasp of her careful words made all the more drawling by the seething undercurrent of ire. "These actions could've very well resulted in the tightening of unwarranted relationships at best, or in war being laid at the paws of Lichenstar at the worst. I trust that you would do well to pass along this warning."

There was a curt note of dismissal evident in the parting statement, a chilly and entirely uncharacteristic well-mannered silence permeating the lingering silence left to simmer.

Willowkit eyes Thornkit doubtfully, only acknowledging him with a short sniff, his attention immediately shifting to Brindlestar. He carefully held his tail low and still behind him, but the tip rebelliously twitched in excitement. A war?! And a warning to the other clan?! His fur prickled slightly with tension as he glanced between his leader and the grey tabby from Riverclan. Maybe... Maybe he should back off a bit? Not that the other clan was scary. He knew he was perfectly safe, they were in Windclan's camp and they had returned Thornkit but... Willowkit sighed dramatically before muttering to himself, "Yeah, whatever." He stalked back towards the nursery, a much safer distance away, but stayed within earshot so he wouldn't miss anything.

While he might not have understood the larger words Brindlestar used with the strange RiverClan cats, he understood the tone she used-- and he understood “war”. Featherkit’s pretend swimming slowed as he began to listen to his leader, his paws still stuck up in the air. “We aren’t really going to war, are we?” He asked as he rolled onto his side. He looked up at his leader with a troubled gaze, tilting his head to one side thoughtfully as he glanced over at Thornkit. If they did, then what would happen to Thornkit’s new friend?

Thornkit’s good mood faded at the tone of Brindlestar’s voice and he laid his ears back along his head as he tried to sneak out from between the two, not wanting to be caught in the middle despite all of this being caused by him. We’re they really going to war with riverclan? They seemed so nice .. Mothpaw was so friendly and taught him to swim and fish . He didn’t want to have to hurt him.

Wolfstorm gulped anixiously. Brindlestar didn’t just look bad. She was positively fuming! But, it was completely understandable. If something had happened to any of his children, especially when they were kits, he wouldn’t have been happy. ”Of course. I completely understand where you are coming from, and there will be some consequences from this. I assure nothing will ever happen again. I am so, so sorry.”

His job was too keep the clan safe. Now he was practically starting a war between the two clans! Brindlestar was intimidating normally, when she was mad she was terrifying! He hoped this would all work out. ”Alright, we are gonna head home.” He said after a moneymaker gesturing to his clan mates. Once they reached camp, Mothpaw was gonna have a little conversation with him.