Gone with the Wind - Missing Kits [Open, Clan Topic]

In any emergency, there were two types of cats: ones who stood by and fretted, wringing their paws and  scrunching their whiskers and thinking such useless things as Oh, this is horrible! and I sure hope somebody does something! -- and cats who took action, who refused to stand by, paralyzed by fear and indecision, in the knowledge that if not me, then who?. Cats who stood up, looked fate in the eyes, and placed themselves not in the role of a backdrop, a footnote in the annals of history, but in that of someone who, at the very least, had made an attempt to help, no matter how futile. There were two types of cats: those who did not, and those who did. Morningdove, of course, liked to think of herself as the latter; her very brand was formed on it, in fact. When her Clan and her mentor had stood by and watched their leader die, frozen with fear; when the cats of the forest whispered in hushed tones about their impending demise, seeming to accept it as an inevitability; when all seemed lost and in the forest's darkest hour, it had been Morningdove who took action. It was her thing. So to see that very same mentor who had stood by in fear - now the leader of the Clan, standing up and doing the same, taking charge and displaying absolutely the kind of stubborn refusal to roll over and play dead that Morningdove herself practiced? Well, she couldn't deny it was the most inspiring thing she'd seen in a long time. Olivestar had grown, and every word she spoke carried with it an aura of energizing command. In that moment, there wasn't a single cat in WindClan who wouldn't have followed Olivestar through a hurricane and out the other side, Morningdove thought.

But as vital as action was in times like these, it was nothing without a plan- and a plan was nothing without adapting to the environment. Quite literally, in this instance; with the fog blanketing the moors, even the best search teams would be hard-pressed to find anything more than a ghost of a scent. But the same applied to the kits as well, of course (or whoever had taken them, a far worse possibility) - so in order to find them, the Clan would have to rely on something more than dumb luck. For a few moments, the risen warrior looked at the assembled cats, the genesis of an idea forming in her mind: it wasn't much, but it was something, enough to give the queens hope, enough to, just maybe, work. The search teams were already preparing to leave, but they were still the core of her plan, and enough warriors and apprentices were gathered to make it viable... so she spoke, her voice cutting through the fog and filling the air. "Everyone-- wait."

"One of three things happened. The kits are still here and we're all just bli-" A glance to Wildflower, and; "-we just haven't noticed yet; the kits left on their own and got lost; or they were taken by an outside force. If it's the first, we have nothing to fear, so let's focus on the last two; in either instance, they can't be far. The kits aren't familiar with the territory yet, and if they were taken by a predator or another Clan, they'll struggle to navigate as well. But we know the moors, and we know every kitstep of our territory. We won't get lost, but we're not going to find them by stumbling around like a dazed squirrel." The warrior turned to Olivestar, giving a slight nod of respect- Morningdove had an idea, perhaps, but in the end it was ultimately Olivestar's call to make. "We should race to the border and make a cordon around it, our patrols spread out and encircling the territory. Each cat can be just close enough to the others that they can call for help if something goes wrong, and from there, we all just slowly move towards the camp. That way we know they can't have left our territory - we'll get to the border faster than they will, with our speed and knowledge of the land- and after that it's only a matter of time until they're found. We'll need everyone we have to help, but it's our best chance at finding them before something else does."

"Thoughts?"

It was unfortunate that Daypaw didn’t handle stress very well, and she couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit guilty. The queens were the ones suffering, not her, but somehow the apprentice had already drawn attention to her by simply being silent. Every time her name was called, she flinched. Miraculously, though, she was able to stay back at camp to look for the kits. Cold relief extinguished the flaming anxiety that had been steadily growing in her heart. With every ounce of respect she had in her, Daypaw dipped her head towards Olivestar upon being given an order.

“Yes, Olivestar. Thank you.” She said, timidly, before turning to begin her task.
Now, all the she-cat could think about was whether or not the kits would be found. Less than a moon ago, she had been a kit herself. What if that had been her? What if it had been her mother letting out wails of grief? She couldn’t imagine the pain that the queens were going through. A mother’s protectiveness of their kits was fiercer than any predator that loomed in the shadows of the forest.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the familiar flash of fur that was her mentor, Downtuft. Immediately, she was being given another order that was repeated by Shyfawn. Daypaw didn’t know Softbreeze that well, but helping the medicine cat would definitely be better than going on a patrol. At least, that’s how she saw it. She looked down at the parcel that Softbreeze had passed her. The herbs inside would help to relieve some of the stress she was feeling, but wouldn’t the queens need it more? The bi-colored she-cat found herself picking up the parcel and slipping it into the nursery for one of the queens.
“Here you go. I’m so sorry about the kits. It's okay to be scared, we all are, but we'll find them. Try to eat this in the meantime, it'll help.” Daypaw told the queen, sympathy coating her voice.

With that, the apprentice obediently followed Softbreeze without any other word.

Zinnia had joined the gathered cats in time to get the gist of the situation - though she wasn't certain yet which kits were missing, or how many, the distress of queens was, generally speaking, difficult to ignore - and to hear Olivestar's command; nodding solemnly, she stood by her mate's side. "It will be alright," she said softly, confident in her optimism. "Wheverer they are, we'll find them. After all, they're only kits - they can't have gotten far."

Foxspirit woke up to the sound of a queen's cries of horror. "My kits! My KITS are MISSING!" She was up in an instant, rushing for the den entrance, not even bothering to groom herself. Her joints popped uncomfortably, but she didn't care. This was important! Someone's kits... Gone! What do I do? What can I do? Everyone was rushing around in a panic, trying to assemble patrols. Everything was happening so fast, leaving Foxspirit no chance to join in. Suddenly, Morningdove's voice rang out. "Everyone-- wait." She looked up at her grandkit as she began speaking. She listened, nodding her head. "I think that's a good idea. I might be a bit on the older side, but if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know." Though her voice was calm, inside her mind was racing. What could she possibly do to help? What would she have done if her kits had gone missing? Where could they have gone? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then walked over to where Spotlake was comforting the distressed queen.

Spotlake nodded when Olivestar and Morningdove spoke. "Your right." The calico agreed. "Ok. I'll make sure that the entire camp is searched in case we find any clues as to what may ave happened to the kits."

Violetpaw listened as Olivestar ordered, breaking up the panicked movement. Of course she would, she's a leader! Violetpaw nodded. "Alright Olivestar!" She felt pride flood through her. My first mission! The grey she-cat thought excitedly. "You know I'd stick by your side... a... always!" She was scared at first but then her mentor spoke up confidently, it gave the grey cat energy. "Yes Downtuft! I'll... promise to listen. I wont get distracted!" She smiled, but she was trembling with fear.

As she was heading to stand next to Zinnia, Olivestar and Lilacpaw her whiskers twitched. She glanced over at Softbreeze, hoping the cat would smile back.. or at least give her a boost in confidence. As Morningdove walked over seeming to have a plan, Violetpaw felt her hopes lift. "Everyone-- wait." Violetpaw felt more focused than ever as she listened to them. It made sense, and in theory.. It should work. She nodded.

Violetpaw searched through the words of the brave grey cat. And there was a hole, something that the tabby kept saying that didn't fit.. well... Violetpaw. "But what if I get distracted?" She mewled. Fog was horrible enough for the young cat, but she was also the type to get distracted. "And I don't know the territory that well..." She looked to her paws. She was going to be the one to fail the warrior's plan. She was the one that was going to let her leader down. Maybe I should stay back.

Lilacpaw moved forward, resting a tail upon Violetpaw's shoulder. She did not know the other apprentice very well, but right now she seemed like she could use a friend. Lilacpaw offered a smile to the she-cat, hoping it might relax her. "You're being too hard on yourself, Violetpaw. Maybe instead of thinking of what can go wrong, think about what can go right? And if it helps, if we do this plan, we can be beside each other?"

She turned toward her mother, eyes shining. "Would that be alright, Olivestar? That way I can help Violetpaw with the plan! If we do the plan, at least."

Duckkit thinks I hope the other kits are okay and that I might be nearly app age but those other kits probably aren,t.

Almost out of camp already, Deerhawk hardly realized Clearstone was calling his name until the other tomcat forced him to a stop. The senior warrior's heart threatened to beat right out of his chest, demanding his legs start moving again instead of waiting to hear the rest of what the grey-pointed cat had to say.

"I don't think you should go alone. Join my patrol with Amberpaw and I. We'll collect more cats willing to join and then we will head out, as soon as possible, you have my word."

Deerhawk's claws dug into the earth with his mounting unease. Dread wasn't far behind. Face and tail twitching with indecision, he paused for a long moment. His mind screeched for him to run out there as fast as he could, even if it meant going alone, if it meant that he could find Tawnykit and Henkit just a heartbeat sooner. His mate's own panicked words made his pelt ripple like grass in a windstorm. But, no matter how much he wanted to go right now, the still-logical portion of his mind piped up. There was never such a thing as too many eyes or ears. After what felt like an unbearable long moment of deliberation, he finally opened his mouth.

"I'll go with you."