Searching for the Culprit

Nightstar sat near the entrance to camp, calmly waiting for the warriors she had chosen to join her on the patrol. She had already gotten the general idea where the attack happened. She really wanted to check, so no more attacks like Mapleface's would happen. She shifted her paws, feeling the cool air of leaf-fall seep though her thick pelt. The sooner they started the better.

ooc: Feel free to join.

As soon as Nightstar set up the patrol, Gingerheart was there ready to go. There was no way that she was going to let this fox get away with hurting one of her own, especially since Mapleface was both clan mate and kin. That was just preposterous to let go. Already digging her claws into the ground as she approached the leader with an angered expression crossing her face, she was ready to come face to face with that horrible creature. Oh how her paws ached for action again. It had been so long since she had been in any kind of fight and now there was this thing to deal with. Yep. All of her frustrations were going to come out on this fox. If she had any say in it, the beast would leave with no fur and its stubbed tail between its legs. Thankfully, she knew that they already had the advantage. It seemed that Thrushstripe had already blinded it. Thank Starclan. All they had to do was finish it off. "Alright, Nightstar. I'm ready when you are."

Eagleclaw poked his head outside the Warrior's den.
Nightstar chose me to fight a fox. I'm certain this means that she trusts me.
Nodding, he ducked into the cold moonlight of early leaf-fall. He stretched, clawing at the ground. Straightening, he shook his head and fluffed out his fur.
Getting colder.
He thought, padding over to Nightwing and Gingerheart. He ducked half outside of the camp entrance, snapping his head this way and that. A frog hopped past a fox length away. Ducking back inside, Eagleclaw anxiously paced, his shiny claws gleaming in the moonlight.
"What's taking the others so long? We should be shredding that flea-ridden, red-pelted thing to crow-food by now!" voice full of fighting spirit, rage and a hint of loyalty, the muscly tom stopped his pacing to raise his white chin.
"I know that you both are older than me and of a higher ranking," he paused, trying to get them to believe he actually respected them-- ha! Well, at least, he did respect Nightstar. Respected her in a hateful, envious way for her high status. Status that would be his before he spiraled up to sit on his starry haunches all day and watch the real cats have all the fun, fighting and hunting. Nodding to each of them, Eagleclaw continued on. "But I'd like to make a suggest for our patrol of fighting foxes." his voice was blunt and he smiled, a calm smile, an eerie smile, a smile that meant well but had something more behind it all.

Wait, what? Who did this cat think he was? He was a brand new warrior and he was making suggestions? Gingerheart narrowed her eyes at the young tom as the tip of her tail slowly began to bounce up and down in annoyance. She was already flustered with the fact that the fox had done so much damage to Mapleface, but now Eagleclaw was just waltzing up like he owned the place? Yes, at first she was liking this young warrior but as soon as she heard the "but" at the end of his second sentence, she knew this probably wasn't going to end well. He did have a good fighting spirit inside of him-- something she did in fact admire-- but his suddenly ambitious attitude cut her off quick. "Now what would you have to suggest?" the senior warrior asked, her irritation showing quite well in her voice.

Nightstar's blue eyes sparkled with amusement, but calmly replied. "I am not pleased that a newly named warrior like you would try to suggest something. However, I am always open to what my warriors have to say." A twitch of her whiskers showed that she was highly amused. A warrior, only a day or two promoted, wanted to make a suggestion for a patrol the leader herself had set  up. Frankly, Nightstar had only chosen him so he could experience what happens in patrols like these.

Eagleclaw glaned Gingerheart's way, then nodded back to Nightstar.
"Very well-- thank you for listening. My suggestion is that we split our patrol in half as best we can-- on half to stay ahead and find the fox, the other to lag behind and look for clues the first half may have missed, or if necessary, run back to camp for reinforcements."
Giving his white-silver head a nod, he sat back on his hindquarters and looked between them both, waiting for their approval.
Approval they're bound to give. The idea is perfect.
He reassured the infinitesimal doubt growing inside his head.

Nightstar shook her head. "What clues would we be searching for? We start at the attack's site, then make our way following the fox's scent. It hasn't rained, and even with the puddles it should be easy to follow the scent. Considering the attack was a day ago." She mewed calmly. "With the number of warriors I picked out, it wouldn't be wise to split up the fighting force. The higher number of warriors in our patrol, the higher change we will each come out with scrapes or bruises. So, unless you have anything else to back up your suggestion, shut your trap, and wait for the others." Her last the last part of the sentence twisted into something more of a command then a suggestion.

Nightcloud came padding from the trees, her eyes flicking with slight fear. Truthfully, tracking down a fox wasn't what she really wanted to do, but it was blind wasn't it? So hopefully this would go well...Of course, she had heard most of what Nightstar had said, so she held her tongue as she waited for the others. Of course, her heart warmed when she saw Eagleclaw, standing so proudly and so brave...She was proud of him; not being afraid of such a vile creature, mostly after what it had done to Mapleface...

Tail-flickering, Eagleclaw scowled at his superior and turned his head. He noticed Nightcloud, trodding over to her.
"Oh, you're coming too?"
The younger warrior said. He meant to sound as if he wanted her to go back for mere protective purposes, but his voice sounded cold, blunt, distant.
"I didn't hear your name called. It's nice to have you along."
Eagleclaw added hesitantly, nodding his head.

An ashen grey head poked inbetween two trees. "Am I too late to come?" Cinderfrost asked, tail swishing gently in the night air as she squeezed in between the trunks of two rather large trees.

Gingerheart quickly closed her mouth as soon as she heard Nightstar speak to Eagleclaw. Yep. The little rat definitely got what he deserved, although he didn't seem to phased by it. Whatever. He wasn't going to last very long here if he kept that attitude up. Not respecting his elders? Who was he? It was only when Nightcloud and Cinderfrost show up did Gingerheart finally calm down a little bit. Good. At least there was some other warriors coming along. It definitely looked like a good group. That fox wasn't going to be any match for them... at least for this old she-cat. She was ready to rip some fur and watch it run off out of the territory. It was time to let out some long-held anger. So, long story short, she was pumped. "Greetings you two," she mewed before turning her head towards Nightstar. "Are we waiting on anyone else?"

Nightstar shook her head, and rose to her paws. She glanced over the warriors assembled. Her blue eyes never staying on one cat longer then another. The leader slowly turned to face the exit of the camp. "Once we reach the scene of the attack, stick together. We don't know how far away the fox ran." She paused, waiting for her words to sink in, before turning her head to the exit. Nightstar took off, her paws guiding her though the oh-so familiar marsh. Fully expecting her warriors to keep up with her.

Nightcloud smiled softly at Eagleclaw, and turned her gaze to Nightstar as she spoke. She nodded, and quickly followed the leader, racing though her mind what she was going to do. The fox was bind, but if it felt threaten, it would still be a strong foe. It would be greater for the cats to attack it all together, so it was clearly that sticking together like Nightstar said was the smart idea. Of course, the reason question is how they would fight it. The fox is blind, but that does mean that the other senses will be heightened and it will not be an easy task at all. Sneaking up on it seems like the best idea; try to get a few sneak attacks in before it is fully aware of the Clan, and that wouldn't be that hard; after all, they were ShadowClan cats! She smiled softly as she ran the idea though her mind. She may not like fighting, but having an idea of what to do surly was going to help in the long run.

~Question. Do I have to be a warrior to join this? Cuz I'm still an apprentice ..... .___.~

Ooc: Yeah. xD It wouldn't be smart for Nightstar to bring apprentices to fight a fox. (You wouldn't be an apprentice if you would post in your training. ;-;)