No Muddy Pawprints - Missing Kits [Open, Clan Topic]

Flintstar's ears twitched at the sound of panicked voices, stirring him from his slumber. He huffed as he raised his head, shaking away the remnants of the moss that stuck to him and the traces of his sleepiness. His eyes narrowed as he picked up the true fear in the voices, pushing himself to his paws as he shouldered his way out of the den and into the crisp, fresh night air. A few of the queens were crying in the camp clearing - one simple phase on their muzzles. "Kits...Missing." The leader's eyes widen as he came to a stop, a feeling he hated so much - raw fear - struck through his chest. Silverkit. His youngest daughter, the only kit in his newest litter. His little pebble... The leader's paws were swift as he charged across the camp, poking his head into the nursery...Only to be relieved to see the familiar form of Freckleface, wrapped around the tiny body of their daughter.

But before, he wouldn't have been able to name all of the kits in the nursery - he were never good with interacting with them, but he had spent as much time as he could spare seeing to Freckleface and Silverkit - he had gotten to know the other kits...And so, he tried to count out the bodies he could see. ...And soon, he realized that he saw no sights of two of his brother's kits. His paws were rooted in place, rotating his ears to better hear the still frantic cries of the queen who had brought all of this to their attention. He pulled away, heading towards the Jaggedrock and jumping onto it. "I want any able body and willing cats to circle the camp and make their way outwards, try to pick up any traces of where these kits might be. They couldn't have gotten far on their own and there has to be some sign of what happened."

Murkykit was confused and disoriented, having woken up to her mother and others running around in a panic. Stumbling out of the nursery and watching the chaos with wide eyes, she tried to make ears or tails of what was going on. Kits were missing... She wasn't missing though? Peeking back into the den, she saw familiar faces of other kits, but some spots were empty. Narrowing her eyes and trying to figure out who was missing, she realized it was some of the younger kits. Burntkit and Emberkit, maybe more? Stepping back out if the den, she looked up to Flintstar. She was almost six moons old, and would be an apprentice soon.... Waiting for him to look her way, she mewed out loud. "How can I help? I can check the camp, since I'm not an apprentice yet?"

Mistypaw had been woken by the sound of the queen's frantic yowls, and he poked his head out of the medicine cat den, unease and curiosity at the situation quickly flitting across his features. It wasn't long before he managed to pick up on what was happening.

The dark-furred apprentice slipped from the den, padding over to where Flintstar stood just in time to hear his leader's orders. Heedless of the herbs still pressed into the side of his face (they would be gone soon enough, he'd been reassured) the apprentice glanced into the nursery briefly, noting the absence of one familiar calico and white kit among them.

Emberkit. Ebonysong would be distraught.

Flintstar had specifically said able-bodied cats to search the camp, and Mistypaw was still healing, but he wouldn't just sit idly by. Briefly he glanced down as one of the kits had spoken. She wasn't familiar to him, but seemed just as eager to help as he was. Still, a kit being left unsupervised couldn't be allowed at the moment, not when other kits had seemingly vanished.

"I'll help search the camp." He said. The medicine cat wouldn't be thrilled, and she'd definitely kill him if he went out of camp, but Mistypaw could do that much, at least.

Flintstar's ears perked at the sound of a soft voice, looking down to see a kit - Murkykit - questioning how she could help. He paused, almost ready to tell the kit to simply return to the nursery but then Mistypaw spoke up, catching the leader's attention. The tom was still recovering from his recent dog attack and while Flintstar knew how terrible the wait for recovery was, he also knew how important it was. But...They did need all paws for this, so he nodded. "Murkykit, help Mistypaw check the camp. Try to see if there are any weak points where somebody could have gotten out of - try to find out how they left the camp."

Brighteye had been out for a hunt, at an unusual time even as a Shadowclan warrior. Still a few fox-lengths from camp, her pace sped up at the sounds of distress in camp. What happened? she thought, breaking into a run despite the heavy bird in her mouth. I swear to Starclan, if anything happened to Mistypaw while was out... But what met her at the camp entrance was not what she was expecting. Flintstar, Mistypaw and an older looking kit were frantically searching camp. She was about to question their intentions when she saw her friend Ebonysong's worried face as she stood outside the nursery. The words that followed soon explained everything. Kits were missing from camp.

"I'll help," she said as she approached Mistypaw. He shouldn't be doing searching, she thought, but she bit her tongue to stop herself telling him to rest. Her attempts would be useless. Instead, she decided to search with him and the kit, so at least she could watch him to make sure he didn't overexert himself or try and leave the camp. She rushed to the camp boundary and checked carefully for holes small enough for a young kit to slip through. There was nothing. Absolutely no clues. Trying not to give up hope, she called to Mistypaw, "There's nothing over here by the camp entrance!"

Snowmud lifted her head at all the racket. "What in the name of Starclan is going on?" The elder said getting up onto her paws. Missing kits. The older she-cat's silted eyes dialated. "I'll go and check around camp." Snowmud offered before running off to check for any weak spots.

Ever since the first cry for help, Freckleface hadn't been able to stop shaking. Silverkit was still by her side when she woke, but that didn't stop the full-blown panic attack that had ensued. By some miracle, some gift granted to her by StarClan, her dear kit hadn't gone missing along with poor Emberkit and Burntkit. It had happened under her own nose- she had somehow missed the kits going missing while sleeping in the very same den as them. She was sure that they had just snuck out las many mischievous kits did, but fear still rendered her speechless and unable to move. The little she-cat knew that she should be out searching for the kits along with the rest of the queens, but she was rooted to the ground, curled around little Silverkit like she might disappear if she moved an inch. When Flintstar showed up in the nursery, she couldn't fight the temptation to lift her cheek to his, nuzzling it for the comfort of both herself and the leader. "I-I'll stay here with the rest of the kits, k-keep and e-eye on them..." She mewed quietly, wrapping her tail around Silverkit just a bit tighter.

The elder had awoken with a startle. The yowls and cries chilled him to the bone. He almost thought it to be an attack on the camp but relaxed that notion when he remembered that none of the clans were really hostile toward each other at this time. He cranked his head up enough to try and make out what they were panicking about. Kits? Kits missing? The old tom sat up quickly and wasted no time in trying to get himself up onto his paws. He needed to help. Snowmud was already ahead of him. He couldn't have her be the only elder lending a paw.

Oakshade limped away from the elders' den, determination in his eyes. His mangled back leg was dragged behind him yet it didn't hinder his brisk pace. He was able and willing and going to help out no matter what. Those poor kits were somewhere alone and most likely frightened. Just thinking about what could happen to them out there made him shiver.

"Flintstar! I'm going to help too." he called to the leader. He turned away, not waiting for a response, and began to head to the edge of the camp, pace quick. He'll be starting his investigations with the perimeter. They needed as many cats searching as they could and he knew Flintstar wouldn't turn his offered assistance away.

"No, no, no, Mistypaw you are not going to help search the camp. Get your soggy hind back here before you hurt yourself again." Cinderpaw stood just outside of her den, in between the two large boulders, body splitting the ivy curtain as it fell from her frame. A couple of cats cast disturbed looks her way due to her tone, but Cinderpaw had grown used to it by now. It was the least ShadowClan could do to tolerate her grumpy disposition, seeing as she had to deal with their mouse brained apprentices like Mistypaw for instance. Frustrated, the massive she-cat padded to his side to examine his head, hazel eyes searching Mistypaw's wounds carefully, making sure none of them had reopened. "Kits go missing all the time, they're frog-brained." She whispered to the dark apprentice so no one else could hear. "But it'd be even more frog-brained to bleed out in the clearing after ripping open your injuries. Go lie down, I'll look instead."

Cinderpaw stood tall to gaze at her father, Flintstar. She'd sent his camp patroller, Mistypaw, back to his nest. But while the clan was her father's realm, sick and injured cats were hers. She trusted his judgement with her life and more, yet needed the camp to settle down before making a decision. It felt as if the clearing along with her head was spinning. "You can come with me, kit." Cinderpaw bent down to stare Murkykit in the eyes, looking rather intimidating with her large frame. "Dad.. Flintstar. What do we do? With Mistypaw back in the medicine den, I'm free to help. My claws are yours." Spoken like a warrior, and yet she wasn't one. An aching tugged at Cinderpaw's heart to delve deep into the forest and pin point their missing young with her nose alone, as a warrior should. The clan would congratulate her, Cinderpaw would have earned their favor, and Emberkit and Burntkit would be safe... But she was a medicine cat, and her calling was here. It shattered her heart, but never showed on her face.

Tinypaw joined the rest of the Clan as they were woken by the sound of frantic queens. It didn’t take long to pick up on what had happened. He cast a quick glance around the camp, taking a head count of all the cats looking in corners here and there within the camp wall. There’s too many cats looking in camp, he thought with a prickle of annoyance. Surely if the kits were still in camp, someone would’ve already found them-- or at the least scented them-- by now. Even if they snuck out through some sort of gap in the camp wall, wouldn't it make sense look outside camp for the kits, and not for their exit? He caught sight of his father and sister and bounded toward them. Flintstar would know what to do. “Has anyone started checking outside camp?” He asked with a twitch of his tail. “I’m ready to help… Wherever you need me.”

Ebonysong didn't wake up with the warmth of her kits next to her, and that instantly scared her. Jolting up with a gasp, the queen flipped the nursery inside-out trying to search for her kits. "E--Emberkit? Burntkit?! Kits where--SMOKESPIRIT--" Mind whirling in panicked confusion and gasping for breath as Ebonysong stumbled out of the nursery, her brain barely registered the other cats in camp as she continued to scream for both of her kits. Whirling around and sprinting over to Flintstar, the usually collected she-cat almost completely broke down. "Flintstar--please. Let me...let me and Smokespirit help...Dear StarClan these are our kits I--" What if they were dead? Her fear rose even more as Ebonysong's ice blue eyes filled up with tears, looking for her mate in the crowd of panicking cats. Burntkit is the only surviving kit...and I can't lose another Ember, not again.

Mistypaw shot Brighteye a grateful look as she also volunteered to help. He'd been about to turn and do just that, before Cinderpaw's voice rang out. Foxdung, he kept the thought to himself.

"Cinderpaw-" He began. Someone had to look for the kits, and she was yelling at him to get back to her den and lay down? Mistypaw wanted to argue, and for a moment it looked like he would. He was mostly fine now, or at least felt like it. And missing kits were surely more important than his half-healed wounds.

Mistypaw's gaze shifted to Flintstar, a pleading look for him to override the overprotective medicine cat. Cinderpaw was asking him to sit around helpless while she joined the search herself. He acknowledged the use a medicine cat could be if the kits were injured, but he didn't want to just sit around helpless while the rest of the clan searched.

Murkypaw nodded, setting off with her own personal mission to search every corner of the camp. She hardly noticed when Cinderpaw emerged from the medicine den, sentencing her helper back to his nest, as she moved to thoroughly investigate even the smallest nook and cranny the camp offered.