Welcome back patrol (Closed)

Marshstorm padded to the apprentice's den. His dark body stood out sorely against the brightness of the snow, even in the soft light of dawn when it was bathed in the soft orange and pink hues. His amber eyes settled on the form of the darkest coloured apprentice. His own, who had been missing for so long. He remembered the rush of relief when he saw her. Saw that she was safe somehow... his gaze trailed over to the golden brown tabby next to her. Lynxpaw had been missing as well, though he had heard little of their adventures. He remembered that sunhigh when Copperpaw had raced into camp with them. The sheer relief that they were alright.

He padded forward and nudged Batpaw and Lynxpaw with his large paws. Waited until there was some stirring from them before he spoke, his gaze trailed over sleeping cats in the den.
"Come on you two, it's time for patrol." He meowed softly in the darkness before he slowly made his way out of the den to wait for them by the camp entrance. A yawn on his muzzle as the morning light hit his face once more to welcome him to the daylight. He wondered how their training would be affected by their adventure. Had they honed their skills? Had they picked up any new ones?

Lynxpaw scrambled to his feet, his eyes wide with fear. His fur rose as he struggled to get his bearings. Where was he? In the belly of the monster? In a cardboard box? In a rain-soaked alleyway?
The apprentice blinked, looking around. The acrid scent that he'd grown accustomed to was no longer present, and the sound of quiet breathing surrounded him. He twitched his large, tufted ears, registering Marshstorm's voice.
Of course. He was in the apprentice den, safe and warm. "Yeah... yeah, of course." The brown tabby let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Casting a brief glance at his siblings to make sure all was well with them, he began picking his way towards the entrance of the den. When he walked he swung his head back and forth, a mannerism he unknowingly borrowed from Sharptooth back when they'd been journeying together in Twolegplace.

Batpaw pulled herself to her paws faster than she might have before, glancing around to see where she was. "Oh," she whispered, realizing it was just the apprentice's den. She was fine, Lynxpaw was fine, and they were home.

Much like Lynxpaw, she made sure the rest of her siblings were still peacefully asleep before she followed Marshstorm outside. Now that she was actually awake and aware of her surroundings, she lazily trailed after her mentor and her brother, looking almost like nothing had changed. "Where are we going?" she asked, looking to Marshstorm. She wondered why he'd brought Lynxpaw along as well, though she suspected it might have something to do with their recent adventures.

"We are going to a small clearing near Snakerocks." Marshstorm answered with a calm smile at the two apprentices. He frowned in thought at Lynxpaw's walking mannerism. It was... familiar... it made his heart ache but his mind race. He couldn't place it however, and shouldered the thought away. If it was something to worry about, Pricklepaw likely would have said something within the first day. He was blunt like that.

Instead, he lead the two apprentices to the top of the ravine.
"I admit, I find myself curious about where you two have been." He meowed after they had reached the summit. His tone was calm and polite, without a trace of accusation. He found it hard to believe two young apprentices would just run away, especially with a sibling left behind. The stench of twolegplace clung to their pelts, an odour he recognised with distaste and concern. He knew he wasn't going to be the last cat caught.

At least they hadn't been taken as far as he had. To have made their way back, to have made it out they would have needed quick thinking and cunning. He stopped their journey at a small patch of bare snow, where bushes curved around a small clearing. Snakerocks was still many tail lengths away, but it was the nearest marker.
"I won't ask you to tell me everything if you are uncomfortable... but I too once escaped twolegs." He explained slowly. It was a tale he never openly told. He had learned on his travels not to boast, and to speak of twolegplace among clan cats seemed taboo... unkind as well. He remembered the ache in his paws during the long journey home. "It took me many moons to return to the forest. I am glad you have come back as fast as you did." ...before it was too late. his mind whispered softly.

Lynxpaw stared at his paws as Marshstorm spoke. "I too once escaped twolegs." They'd been through the same thing. The small apprentice glanced up at the deputy, scanning his face for any sign of fear or pain. He found none.
Surely if Marshstorm could go through such an ordeal and be able to discuss it with others, he could too.
"They came out of nowhere, with these gigantic cobwebs..." Despite his determination to share his side of the story, the young tom felt his heart begin to race.
"They took us to a monster, but we managed to escape, a-and..." He trailed off, taking a series of short breaths before speaking again. "A little while later, w-we met... well, I think she's the b-bravest cat I ever knew." His young voice was filled with conviction. It pained him to think of her, but it was important that Marshstorm knew about her. Even if that was the only thing he could manage to say...
"Sharptooth guided us through Twolegplace, a-and..." He lapsed into silence as his paws grew numb, turning his wide-eyed gaze towards his sister in a silent plea to fill in the details.

Batpaw understood the look on her brother's face - and, admittedly, the feeling of not wanting to go into the details. "Sharptooth..." she said quietly. "We'd been walking through the rain when we found her. She didn't make it... I don't think she would have, even if we hadn't been attacked by the fox." Admittedly, Batpaw wasn't sure of that, because she was just an apprentice. She wasn't supposed to know. All she could offer was her best guess, and that was it. "But she helped us, and she stayed behind to fight the fox so the rest of us could get away, even though we tried to fight too." She paused, looking down at her paws and then up at her mentor. "Lynxpaw's right. She was brave."

Marshstorm listened to Lynxpaw's explination of events with a slight frown on his muzzle. The poor apprentices must have been scared and confused like he had been. He could remember being inside a monster. The disgusting smell of it's pelt, the cold and strange texture of the beast's belly as it rumbled and churned beneath him. He suppresed a shudder, glad that they managed to escape early. As Lynxpaw mentioned a strange she-cat, his head tilted thoughtfully, surprise visibly showing as the name was finally dropped.
Sharptooth.

The same she-cat who had allowed her mother to take blame for a crime she committed. The she-cat... who was exiled from ThunderClan. His thoughts churned over the meaning. Her lies and deceptions had lead her to ultimately be exiled... but it was good to see that she was kind beneath it all. Perhaps, the path to StarClan was not yet lost to her. Marshstorm smiled softly as he took comfort in the knowledge, attention turning to Batpaw for the rest of the details which he absorbed with a steady blink and a slow nod.

"Sharptooth was a brave and fierce warrior." Marshstorm admitted calmly. A frown returning to his muzzle as he realised... they didn't know. Unless she had told them, they had no idea what she had done, but should he be the one? It seemed cruel, to rake her name through the mud when she had done them the tremendous service of defending the young apprentices from danger. "It sounds as though she is fairing well." He decided instead, turning in the direction of a mouse scent before he paused, then looked back at them. "I am very thankful to her for returning you both... and I am happy to see you both back." He leaned forward to nudge each of them briefly. The contact a simple reminder of their presence, as well as a comfort that they wouldn't dissappear. The clan would do it's best to prevent that from ever happening to them again.

"...We still need to hunt. However, I don't see why we can't make this fun." A smile reappeared in his expression as he gestured to the thin area of forest around them "For each prey you catch, I will answer one question. Unhindered."

Lynxpaw smiled weakly as Marshstorm spoke. He understands.
However, the next thing the brown tom said made the small apprentice shuffle his paws. "It sounds as though she is fairing well."
Lynxpaw's tufted ears twitched. "She..." He began, shifting his gaze towards Batpaw in a desperate plea for help. "She..." Marshstorm didn't give him time to finish, and Lynxpaw lapsed nervously into silence.

Suddenly, a series of snapping twigs caught Lynxpaw's attention. He stiffened, his large ears swiveling to pinpoint the source of the sound. For a moment, the tom stood completely still. Then, as if by some silent cue, Lynxpaw threw himself into the undergrowth. Several scuffles and a muffled yelp later, the tabby tom emerged with a thin, struggling hare in his jaws. The entire thing was nearly as large as he was, but it had clearly seen better days. Its fur was patchy and thin, and it's beady eyes were clouded. With a grunt, Lynxpaw managed to wrap his jaws around its neck. Within moments, the hare had ceased to move.

Lynxpaw set the hare down gently, uttering a brief thanks to Starclan before turning towards Marshstorm with a crooked grin. "First question:" He mewed. "Why do Thunderclan and Riverclan dislike each other? Father always looks so unhappy whenever he speaks to Jaystar at the gathering..."

The member 'Drippy' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 1

Batpaw had set her sights somewhat lower than her brother's admittedly impressive catch. She spotted a mouse not far from where they stood, and fell into a hunting crouch as she approached. She drew closer slowly, before finally getting close enough to pounce on top of it and kill it with a quick bite. She brought it back to Marshstorm and Lynxpaw, fairly pleased with herself. She considered her question carefully. There were a great many things she wanted to know, after all, but one thing stuck out to her now. "What do you know about Sharptooth?"

The member 'Holly' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 6

Marshstorm watched the two apprentices hunt with pride. His eyes watched Lynxpaw's every move as the bobbed-tail tom moved with all the swiftness of a windclan cat to catch the hare that foolishly startled out of it's hiding place. A small cloud of steam blew from his nose as warm breath met with cold air as he considered the question with gravity. He had promised... and he would not shy away, even though it was a question that made his pelt itch uneasily. His mind wandered towards RiverClan with concern for the young Hailpaw.

"RiverClan..." He began slowly. "Our clans have always been at war with eachother. I'm sure you've both seen sunningrocks. There are strong arguments to say that it belongs to us since it is on our side of the river. Many bloody battles have been fought, all in vain, to take that piece of land." He explained slowly, then nodded to Batpaw with a proud smile. "In recent history however, RiverClan has suffered the loss of an apprentice at our claws. Leopardstar wishes for the animosity between our clans to end, but RiverClan's grudge is as deep as their river and just as cold in the leaf bare. It will be many moons before we can regain their trust once more, and during those moons, Jaystar may choose to keep poking the wound." He paused then, unable to give more of an answer to the question, so he turned to Batpaw's question with dread in his chest.

These apprentices seemed fond of Sharptooth... he wasn't sure what he should say, she was clearly trying to redeem herself. He sighed, heavily as his head dipped to the height of his shoulders.
"Sharptooth was once a ThunderClan warrior." He explained slowly. " I do not wish to reppeal her good deed by helping you return... but you will be warriors one day. You deserve the truth." He lifted his head then, heart still heavy... but he couldn't allow the loss of a single warrior to weigh his heart down. "She murdered a RiverClan cat, and lied about it. Make no mistake, had she come forward, perhaps a nicer arrangement could have been made. A demotion, or even suspension... but... she held her silence. Even when her own mother claimed the deed for her own. She was quiet as her mother ate deathberries before Ivystar, and it was only through StarClan that she was ever found out." He turned his amber gaze at Lynxpaw and Batpaw in turn.

"She was exiled. Though I hope that she has found a way to StarClan's light once more... we had to prioritise the safety of the clan as a whole." As his sentance finished, his tone shifted slightly with regret. They had to protect the clan, Leopardstar's judgement was sound, but he hated the idea of taking the apprentices clearly good view of her away. Still, it should be better to hear it from him, rather than diluted through the clan gossip as some truths became muddled.

Lynxpaw's tail twitched as Marshstorm spoke, nodding as he explained the dynamic between Thunderclan and Riverclan. "It's on our side of the river, after all..." He mewed softly, a small frown on his face.
The next thing Marshstorm said only made the apprentice's frown deepen. "Sharptooth? A murderer?" His tufted ears flattened on his head as a series of realizations filled his mind. "But... wait! If Sharptooth didn't find... Starclan's light, what happened to her when she... when she..." He trailed off. Was Sharptooth in the Dark Forest right now, facing an eternity of pain and fear? The things she did were awful, yes, but... It felt like everything he knew about the tabby she-cat was conflicted. She was a brave leader, but she also did some horrible things.
The small tabby tomcat was so distracted that he jumped as several robins burst from a nearby cluster of undergrowth. With a surprised squeak, he leaped into the air in a vain attempt to snatch one of the birds out of the sky. He landed with a thump on the ground, his thick fur disheveled as he struggled to regain his dignity. With a grumble he continued to walk, trying his best to ignore his rather embarrassing attempt.

The member 'Drippy' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

As Marshstorm spoke once more, despite the revelations his words brought with them she found herself realizing that he might not have understood exactly what she meant when she'd said Sharptooth didn't make it. The revelations were a surprise, and she was sure her uncertainty was clear to see on her face. She'd have to take some time later to sort out her feelings: a patrol wasn't the time to deal with learning that someone who had saved their lives, and given hers in turn, had such dark secrets. Another mouse caught her eye, and she decided further explanation could wait a few moments as she fell into a hunting crouch. A quick approach and quicker pounce landed her a second catch for the day, and in true sibling fashion she shot her brother a glance despite her thoughts, silently teasing him.

After a moment, however, she placed the mouse with her other catch and turned her gaze to Marshstorm. "Marshstorm, when I said that Sharptooth didn't make it back...  She didn't make it back to the forest, that's true... Because she stayed behind. To protect us." This time, she hoped the implications were clear: she still couldn't bring herself to say it directly. A single moment's silence followed, as Batpaw decided to voice her true feelings on the subject, whether or not they'd make sense to either of the cats she was with. Lynxpaw had been there, true, but she wasn't sure if he'd feel the same way she did. "I don't care if she made some mistakes before. She was there for us when we needed her to be." Sharptooth had saved their lives. That was what mattered to Batpaw. Maybe she'd care, eventually, once she thought though the reasons behind her exile, what she had apparently done. But right now, she didn't care in the slightest. There were other things she wanted to say, that she might have if she was feeling braver, but that would have to do for now.