Track Him :) [Beech/Holly]

OOC: Immediately follows This Topic.

IC:

Bloodstar let out a long, summoning yowl. Two warriors to his location immediately. The red tom had run off at least 30 minutes ago. The scent of blood.... and urine... was still fresh, leaving a scent trail where ever he went. Maybe they were about to discover where the rogues lived... and Dawnhawk too. His warriors likely wouldn't be thrilled about the smell but at least it was easy to follow. Bloodstar was content to wait for the warriors and give them their instructions.

Beechfang growled as the squirrel darted into the tree at the sound of a yowl in the distance, ears flicking back in dismay. She recognized her father's voice though, and the summons that the yowl had been. Bloodstar wasn't the type to call warriors to him at random for no reason... So with a huff, Beechfang turned, weaving through the rocky terrain of Skyclan's territory towards the source of the noise.

"Dad, what-" The stench hit her when she opened her mouth to speak, and Beechfang's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Ugh!" Blood and pee. And rogue. Gross.

"What happened? More rogues?" She asked, eyeing her father with the critical gaze of a medicine cat looking for injuries. Sometimes, the habit was hard to break, even though she'd spend seasons absolutely despising the task that had been put upon her shoulders. Still, it was obvious to any cat that Beechfang was much happier as a warrior. Less stressed, too. Mostly. Though the scent of rogue and her missed catch wasn't helping her current stress levels at all.

Hollyshine flicked her ear in surprise as she heard a familiar yowl — Bloodstar?. The finch she’d been attempting to snatch — tittering obliviously on the branch above — startled as well, immediately fluttering into the sky. Fox-dung! So close, too. But she saw her Aunt Beechfang (a distance away, but visible from her vantage) stand at alert. Her aunt would know; so she quickly leaped down and followed.

It could be rogues, after all. Her eyes hardened and energy pulsed through her, at the thought.

She found Bloodstar and Beechfang not so far from each other, and came to a skidding stop beside them. Sharp and alert, she scanned the area — no sign of rogues at all; it was just rocks and forest — but when she breathed in sharply, it was — Is that blood? And... urine? “Um... are you okay?”

It was obvious there had been a fight, now. But her grandfather was obviously victorious. She flushed. “Er, should I do something? Are there more close by?”

Beechfang and Hollyshine arrived and Bloodstar smiled approvingly. He didn't have to wait long before they showed up. Good warriors... both of them. He couldn't help but snicker at their upturned lips at the scent. He too didn't like strong smells... but in this case it was about to work in their favor.

"I just fought with one of the rogues. Definitely Dawnhawk's son, he confirmed it. There is a blood and... yes pee smell to follow. I let him go on purpose with the hope that he would unwittingly lead us to where they all lived. I want the two of you to follow him and report back."

Regular cat scent might be hard to track in the snow, but the blood provided both scent and a visual of where Ares was going. The pee scent was an added measure, fairly water proof as it was designed to mark territories and hold scent for quite awhile. Bloodstar didn't know how Dawnhawk hid his scent every time, but he'd like to see if his son had the same talent.

"If you find out where they live, do not engage them. Come back immediately as fast as you can. Do you understand?" He looked particularly at Beechfang. She was the least likely to run from a fight, and he understood the mentality, but this time was different. He'd feel sick to his stomach if something happened to either of them.

One of Dawnhawk's kits... Of course. "Starclan forbid we go more than a moon without trouble from his filth." Beechfang muttered bitterly. "Not the brightest kit, was he?" Good, if that were true. Judging by the rank scent of urine and the blood trail... Beechfang thought the assessment accurate.

A low huff escaped her at Bloodstar's warning. She met his pointed stare and her tail lashed once, but Beechfang contrary to popular opinion, was capable of learning. She could even back down from an argument... When she wanted to. And this was too important not to follow orders on, regardless of how she would've enjoyed tearing Dawnhawk's fur out. "Understood." She wasn't dumb enough to charge headlong into a group that supposedly had the numbers to attack Shadowclan on their own territory, let alone numbers to apparently maul Bloodstar to death. If they could find out where Dawnhawk was hiding himself without being detected, that meant Skyclan could call on others to help bring the fight to him and end this, finally. Dawnhawk had caused enough problems for multiple clans now, and none of them could possibly deny that. She was being given another opportunity to prove herself, and she would do everything she could to do so. Especially if it meant causing Dawnhawk as much pain as he'd inflicted on Skyclan.

"As I said, I don't think he's holed up in twolegplace anymore. We'll need to leave quickly if we're to stay on this trail." Disgusting trail, but it was something. The weather had been unpredictable recently, and while the clouds above weren't heavy with pending precipitation for once, Beechfang did not trust that they would stay that way if they waited to leave.

Dawnhawk. Hollyshine shivered at the name, a mingle of fear and excitement. This was about Dawnhawk? His was a name you spoke to scare kits, though not Skyclan ones. (Or at least, not ones like Hollykit.) Hollyshine had been aware of him all her life. In a distant, villain-like way. She’d been told of him in shadows of terror and revile, but the way her Aunt Beechfang reacted was visceral. It was odd to think, but... She knew him. Everyone did.

And he’s my uncle. The young warrior bristled. She knew that, but didn’t really think of it consciously. And he had a group of rogues now: enough to ravage Shadowclan. Hollyshine had seen them at the Gathering, and they’d looked it. She didn’t know much about Shadowclan — they never seemed terribly impressive — but for there to be enough filthy rogues around to do it to any clan... She straightened, and looked fiercely at her leader. This was important. “I understand!”

It felt, bizarrely enough, like being sent off on a predator hunt — if with far more seriousness. And our prey are rogues.

A rogue, that is. Dawnhawk’s son.

Green eyes flicked to her aunt, who’d Bloodstar addressed last. This was her Aunt Beechfang’s specialty, after all, and Hollyshine was sharp and alert — ready to follow. The thought of the rogues who’d torn her face, and killed Bloodstar, made her own blood boil. “We’ll find them,” she said with certainty.