Where Did You Go? (closed)

Sablepaw's tail flicked behind her, the russet red gleaming for a moment as it flashed into a patch of sunlight. She sat on a rock, its surface rough beneath her paws, just out of the way of the entrance to camp. Minkstream and Batbite weren't back yet - they were probably searching again. And she found herself waiting, a hurt feeling of confusion simmering deep in her chest. One paw gently traced a pattern on the top of the rock, the feeling of lichen bumpy under her paw pads. Where did she go? Why did she go? To seek the world, some said - to follow in the pawsteps of her parents.

Then why didn't she tell us?

Lirista would have gone with her, would have dragged her siblings, her parents. If they had to go, they would have gone together. Maybe that was why she hadn't said anything. The end of her tail flicked again, out of the shade of the ravine wall into the sun again, restless. Her head glanced around, blue eyes sparking in frustration as they flicked over the quiet camp, murmurs coming from the elder's den and others padding quietly doing their duties. Falling limp again, her tail brushed down over the rock, and she sighed, letting her eyes wander to her paws, scrunching white toes against the sandy grey underneath them before letting them spread again.

I wish I could help.

Kerath was... well... he was struggling. His family was slowly starting to lose their minds with worry and sadness. Hickorypaw, another one of his sisters, had left without any word and hadn't returned since. He couldn't shake off the feeling that maybe, she wouldn't ever be returning. He hated himself for thinking those thoughts but they were all he could think as of recently. It hurt. It hurt knowing that Dock would just straight up disappear from their lives without saying anything. They would've all gone with her if they knew. Maybe, she didn't want that to happen. Kestrelpaw felt like he'd been an awful brother. What if he'd spent more time with her? Would that have changed her mind about leaving? There were a lot of 'what if's' but none of them were useful in their current situation. He was desperate to help his parents search. He wanted to contribute something.

The brown and white tabby paced around the camp, a fruitless attempt to calm his ever growing nerves. If he wasn't very good at relaxing before, he certainly couldn't do it at all now. He was even starting to lose sleep as well. This anxiety wasn't good for his health and he needed to do something to distract himself.

As his green eyes scanned his surroundings, he spotted his sister, Sablepaw, sitting on a rock very close to the camp's entrance. She seemed to be just as worried as he. His paws automatically began to lead him to her. Maybe they could distract each other for a while. Something was needed to put their minds to rest.

"Sablepaw? Are you waiting for mom and dad?" he asked softly once he reached her, gaze displaying his upset mood. Hopefully they would both get back soon. He worried for them.

The sound of padding pawsteps approached, and Sablepaw's ears twitched around a second before her brother's voice spoke up, and she blinked around, broken out of her thoughts. "Oh, um, yeah."

Her shoulders sagged, and she let out a sigh, the end of her tail twitching as she glanced back up at the trail. "I... don't know what to do. I wish we would help." She glanced back at her brother, helpless confused sadness in her blue eyes, ears twisting back slightly. "She's gotta be out there somewhere, I know it. But I... don't know where."

"I... I don't know what to do either. I feel useless right now." he confessed, shoulders slumped and a pang of frustration making his chest ache. "She just left without saying anything. I-I... maybe if I'd been a better brother, she wouldn't of left? I don't know. I really want to do something. I need to. I can't keep pacing the camp and doing nothing while mom and dad are spending so much time in searching. We have to go out there. Maybe... maybe we can ask the rest of our siblings to come with us and we can all go and try to find any trail of hers? We can have a better chance as a group. It's the only thing I can think of... sorry if it isn't a good suggestion..." he said with a sigh, green gaze nervously shifting around. He didn't want to get in trouble but he'd take the risk for Hickorypaw. He'd do anything for his family. He and Sable seemed desperate enough to go and do their scouting but he wasn't sure if Thrushnose or Quailpaw would be keen on helping out. He prayed to StarClan that they'd agree.

Sablepaw's ears dropped slightly as her brother spoke, his words echoing how she felt, too. And then they stiffened as he miserably confessed maybe he should've been a better brother. "N-no, you're-!" But her voice was quiet, and he continued on. Setting her jaw, she leapt down from the rock, her blue eyes searching his face as his gaze wandered all over the place to anywhere but her own.

"We have to go out there."

Her ears pricked, a sudden spark igniting in her eyes, her maw opening slightly.

"Maybe... maybe we can ask the rest of our siblings to come with us and we can all go and try to find any trail of hers? We can have a better chance as a group. It's the only thing I can think of... sorry if it isn't a good suggestion..."

"Are you kidding?!" Her voice was high-pitched with excitement, her tail sticking straight up. "That's- that's it! We can go and find her! If we all go, we can find her!"

She bumped him on the shoulder with her nose and darted past, throwing over her shoulder, "We've got to go and get them! They'll come, I know they will!"

The young tom jumped slightly at his sister's outburst. He wasn't usually this jumpy but it's been a tough time for them all and he doubted anyone in his family felt like themselves. He was thankful she zipped past his little self-loathing comment. He really didn't want to dwell on that any further.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, Sable. You're right. We've got to go and tell the others right away. It may be our only chance to get Hickory back and I know we all want her back." he meowed, eyes portraying diluted mirth. He cracked a tiny smile when she bumped her nose to his shoulder. He quickly did the same right before she darted away. His smile widened and he raced after her and only slowed a tad once he was hot on her heels. "I hope we find them fast. I really can't wait." he said, breath a tiny bit ragged. Hopefully they could locate their siblings quickly.

OOC: Since I got a pm that means I can post in her now right?

Daris lifted his head at the sound of paws as he saw Kerath and Sable. His sister going missing had hit him really hard and really missed her. "Oh hey guys. Do you need something?" He asked, looking sadder then useal.

Like any forest cat, Thrushnose was no stranger to losing things. A pretty bug she’d found tucked into the nursery’s darkest corner, trampled by careless paws. Her kithood overconfidence, torn out of her by dogs. Her certainty in who she was, who she wanted to be, and how to bridge the gap between the two. But until now, she’d been lucky enough to never lose someone else. It made sense, in a way, that Hickorypaw would be the first to leave. She was curious, brave, sure of herself in a way Thrushnose admired almost to the point of envy—an adventurer through and through. If any of them could make it alone, it’d be her. That didn’t make it easier to understand. Why not ask the rest of them to come along? At the very least, why not say goodbye?

She needed to think. To think, she needed quiet. And so she’d left the buzz of camp behind, wading from sunlit patch to sunlit patch and letting her mind drift alongside the rest of her. Dimly, she recognized she’d been going in circles, catching ever-fading hints of her parents’ and other siblings’ scents in the same places every time, but she didn’t want to wander too far by herself.

Abruptly, the haze of thoughts broke. Thundering pawsteps, her siblings’ voices— Thrushnose’s head jerked upright just as Sablepaw and Kestrelpaw came crashing through. For the first time in sunups, their eyes were bright. Nearby, Quailpaw raised his head. Whatever bit Sablepaw and Kestrelpaw apparently hadn’t gotten to him yet; his sorrowful expression was utterly out of place on him. Thrushnose blinked at the three of them, one by one, relief and confusion mingling on her face. “Find who fast?”

(ooc: Yep, we posting here!
Alright, so, the basic plan is that the siblings go out and search from the place Dock's scent trail disappeared to, which i've canonized in my head was around the twoleg bridge. Basically, this means they go across RiverClan territory in an effort to reach the Abandoned Barn, in case she went there because of Batbite and Minkstream's stories. Along the way, they encounter a few RiverClan cats, and depending on the way things go, will either reach the Abandoned Barn or get chased away and have to return back to ThunderClan territory. Either way, they won't find Hickorypaw, and we'll have a wrap-up topic to finish everything up by the river - whether that's near the Abandoned Barn or in ThunderClan territory. After that, we may or may not have one in ThunderClan camp where they return and Minkstream is a little grumpy.
A note for paradoxes: this happens around the time the kits go missing from ThunderClan, so in the next topic [the one where they try and trace her path to the Abandoned Barn] you can reference that event just so it's all around the same time and you're not paradoxing too much [hopefully]. It's a bit of a grey area, really, so don't worry about bringing everything in line because even I don't know anymore. Who knows, maybe Laurelkit ended up in the same place Dock did?
If you have any questions, feel free to PM or just ask 'em in this thread when you reply with your character)

IC: Sablepaw scrambled up to her brother, hope rising like a fire in her chest and leaving no room for anything but a determined, set jaw as she bumped her head against his shoulder. "Yeah, Daris, we need you!"

And then Thrushnose's voice brought her ears twitching around, and her eyes found her sister blinking at them, looking vaguely confused. "You and Quailpaw, but also Hickorypaw! Kestrelpaw had a brilliant idea to find her!" Her tail waved at him, her mind bouncing too far ahead for her tongue to catch up. "It's really good, and uh - tell them!"

Kerath nearly crashed into Sablepaw in his hurry to find their other siblings. His shoulders sagged once Quailpaw and Thrushnose came into view. He stepped back a bit to let Sable address them. He silently prayed that they'd be in to help. Deep within him, he knew they would love to go out and find Hickory but you can never be too certain.

He took in a big breath, claws digging into the ground below in an anxious manner as he listened to his kin speak to one another. He was quickly shaken out of his thoughts when he heard his name be mentioned followed by a tail waving in front of his face. He quickly shook his head and offered the others a sheepish expression. Luckily, he somewhat caught the last part of his sister's words and could infer from there.

"O-Oh! Um yeah! I told Sablepaw that maybe we could all go and try to search for any trail Hickorypaw could've left behind. We have a much better chance to try and find her if we work as a group." he said, his voice gaining more and more confidence as determination set in. He was ready and absolutely willing to do what he must to get their dear sister back.