We have to do something!! (Closed)

Brierpaw's eyes snapped open, whole body tense. He hadn't been able to sleep most of the night, but in the brief hour he'd managed to doze off, he had a nightmare. Cherrymist's screams of pain and terror still echoed in his mind, the wailing of small kits still haunting him as he stood on unsteady paws. The apprentice could no longer just wait around; he was going to go get him mother, with or without permission. The grey and white tom stood and carefully made his way to the entrance to the camp. Spotting the guards at the camp tunnel, he made a show of limping with exhaustion before he paused and pleadingly flicked his tail towards the fresh-kill pile, where a mouse still sat. It wasn't entirely a show; he hadn't eaten since learning about his mother early the day before. One of the guards, a pretty she-cat, looked at him with pity and nodded quietly, turning back to the forest after blinking slowly at him. Brierpaw nodded back and slowly walked over to the mouse, picking it up and nonchalantly looking over his shoulder at the guards. They paid him no mind as he padded into the shadows by the nursery. A few moments later, there was a fresh trail of his scent in the dirt tunnel and his mouse sat untouched by the den.
He quickly made his way around the camp, walking slowly despite his need to print away; he needed to remain undetected. Once sure he was far enough away from the camp he could run without being heard by the guards, he quickly swerved to the direction he thought Sparrowflight might have gone. When he found the cat's scent, he mentally yowled in triumph and started running after it, moving faster and faster as his heart started to pound. As he neared the edge of the territory, he slowed, bending to sniff at the trail Sparrowflight had left behind. It was fresh, and his pelt tingled with excitement as he stepped over the border.

Since Cherrymist had disappeared, the nights had been cold and lonely. Worry had constantly clouded the young warrior's mind. After finding out where his mate had been the entire time, his fears had not subsided at all. Rippedsky tossed in his nest the whole night. A soft nose from the camp clearing caught his attention. The black and white warrior hauled himself to his feet to investigate. Even if it were nothing important, it would give him something other to do than stay awake in his nest all night. To his surprise, it was something that caught his attention. Brierpaw was awake. The young tom disappeared into the dirt tunnel. But did not reappear.

Rippedsky traced Brierpaw's steps, hoping to run into him. This was not the case. His son had snuck out of the camp. A bit of anger hit him briefly before turning to disappointment. The apprentice had not been taking his mother's disappearance well. Rippedsky had tried to be patience and encouraging, but Brierpaw was stuck in his own world of hurt, beyond the reach of his father. Sighing, Rippedsky followed his kit's scent. May be he's just out for a walk? The tom followed a distance behind, trying to see where he was going. Then, once Rippedsky knew, they would talk.

Brierpaw stepped over the border, ears pricked and alert as he stayed close to the ground as he moved. He looked around before rolling in a group of strong smelling ferns and snow, covering the dark parts of his pelt with white while covering his scent at the same time. To anyone not already following him, only the sharpest of eyes would be able to see him slowly following Sparrowflight's trail outside of clan territory. While he may have beennearly out of his mind with rage back in the camp, his more sensible side was taking over and one could see he had the makings of a cunning, stealthy warrior.
The young apprentice stopped dead suddenly, flattening himself to the ground slowly enough to just be seen as the wind shifting to any eyes glancing his direction. But the noise he heard was just a hare, quietly hopping through the snow in search of food or whatever it was a hare would want. Brierpaw's mouth watered as the scent hit him, but he couldn't chance blowing his cover. But something told him to keep still, and he listened to his gut, ears slowly swiveling to find any source of sound. To his surprise, he heard something a few fox lengths behind him. But with the run running past him, he couldn't smell them. Whoever it was, it sounded big, however quiet it's pawsteps were. There was only one thing to do, it the strange creature would find him.
The apprentice bunched up his muscles and exploded out of the snow, the hare streaking away as Brierpaw spun on his back paws and sprang at his 'attacker', making sure to keep quiet in case the cat was in a group. He barely caught sight of black and white fur before he slammed into the cat's body, pinning them with his paw on it's throat to keep it from yowling for help. He was about to furiously question what it was doing here, when he recognized his father. "Rippedsky? What are you doing here?!" He hissed, stepping off and backing a few steps away. Suddenly he brightened. "Did you come to help? I found Sparrowflight's scent! I can follow it in the snow; I'm very good at tracking," he said excitedly, still keeping his voice low in case anyone hostile should be listening.

What's he doing at the border? The tom wondered with curiosity. Catching a hint of Sparrowflight's scent gave him an answer. Rippedsky was too lost in his own frustrated thoughts to notice Brierpaw turning around and leaping at him. Not expecting it, he was knocked over. A grunt left his muzzle. He threw Brierpaw off of him easily and stood, facing the apprentice. His son's words caused him to sigh and he shook his head slowly.

"We are going back to camp, Brierpaw. You heard what Crowstar said. This is going to be solved at the next gathering. We just need to wait for Sparrowflight to come back." With a flick of his tail, the former Windclan tom turned towards the camp. He hoped that his spirited son would listen to him and come along, but something told him it might not happen that way.

//I halfway want Brierpaw to pretend he's hunting with Lilyheart when she comes to get him, but then he tries to sneak off and get's captured because poor Cherrymist man//

Brierpaw didn't move. Instead his wide eyes were locked on his father's back, mouth open in shock. Then his lip curled in anger and his ears flattened. "What do you mean 'going back to camp'?! How can you wait when she's out there?!" He hissed, though he still kept his voice down. Anger, hurt, and betrayal glowed in his eyes. He couldn't believe that Rippedsky of all other would be content to just wait. "What if she's hurt? She would have had her kits by now; why if they're hurt? My mother and my sibling are out there, I can't just sit here! We have to do something!" The tom was shaking now, breath coming in fast pants. The irrational anger from earlier that morning was starting to come back, clouding his judgement.

"Don't you think this is hard for me too?" Rippedsky whirled around to face his son with a hiss. The older tom's ears were flat with frustration. It had been quite sometime that his mate had been missing. He knew full-well the feelings that Brierpaw was wrestling with. His paws had itched to go search the entire forest. But Crowstar had commanded they wait. One cat would not stand a chance against a rogue group. Brierpaw was being irrational and foolish. He's young... The warrior reminded himself, softening up a bit. His eyes pleaded for his kit to understand. He didn't want Brierpaw to think he didn't care either, "Brierpaw, if any cat understands what you are going through right now, it's me. If I had it my way, I would take down whatever stood in my way to save your mother. But it's not realistic. We will save her, son, don't worry. We just need to wait a little longer..."