Strangers Among Us [O]

Darkspirit lead the patrol to investigate the strange findings that one of the other patrols found. He came across the strange tracks and set one of his paws beside it. The tracks themselves weren't much different in size to his own, but as he pulled his paw away from it, the differences were obvious. These new tracks had much more space between each toe, like a cat was trying to stretch it's toes out to grab something. But it wasn't... this cat, if thats what it was, was only walking normally. Darkspirit bent his head and sniffed the ground, noting a much stronger scent signature from the paw pads of this creature than typical cats. He lifted his head and opened his maw to get as much scent information as possible, perplexed by the foreignness of it all.

"I want everyone to spread out, but no less than two together at all times. If we fan out, we may find these... guests of ours." There was definitely more than one... and that was concerning to him. Not all tracks matched and there was enough to suggest at least two or three. His fur stood slightly as something instinctual told him that this could be dangerous. It was the same reaction he had to scenting a fox or a badger.

Nightdancer couldn't help but feel strangely unsettled as she traversed the territory she had known all her life. The strange tracks that were far too large and shaped the wrong way, the stranger scent in the air that was too strong to ignore; every thought in her head shouted out as if she were walking into danger. Still she chose to ignore the warning signs, pressing on after Darkspirit as the deputy suggested they split into teams.

"There might be something here," she said. "It's unclear. What do you think?"

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

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'Effect Dice' : 2

A strange tingle danced along Firefly's spine as she, too, placed a russet paw next to one of the foreign prints. Though very faded and mushed around, there was a familiar, yet uncanny feel about seeing her patrols prints in comparison. Something was definitely not right, and she was willing to bet her life that they were still around.

The she-cat nodded a ways away from Nightdancer, "Over here as well." A shudder crossed her shoulders as her claws flexed- the anticipation for bloodshed making her only a little impatient.

The member 'Flybot' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Effect Dice' : 3

Goldenfern followed her clanmates, her growing sense of unease shared by the cats around her. At Darkspirit's order, she split away to join a few of her other clanmates from the patrol and scented the air. Her tail twitched nervously. What was happening to the forest, that the land we used to defend and felt the safest in, now makes our every step tremble?

The golden tabby froze as her eyes landed on large, paw-like tracks in the dirt. Undergrowth had been brushed aside and crushed to make way for the creature, and broken twigs laid scattered on the ground. The tracks reaked of an unfamiliar scent, not too unlike that of a cat's. Goldenfern stumbled back, her heart jumping in her throat. "Darkspirit! I found something!" She called out, hoping the deputy would hear her.

rolling the dice here because i forgot :/

The member 'Tiny' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Effect Dice' : 6

OOC: AYO! NICE ROLL TINY!

IC:

Darkspirit spread out with the others and put his nose to work trying to pin down exactly where these creatures had gone. He padded over to Nightdancer and inspected what she'd found. There were signs of some sort of cat passing through but the direction wasn't clear. The area was damp too, which left hardly any scent. "Hmm..." He was about to try to track it further when Firefly up ahead mentioned finding more. He padded up to where she was and looked there too.

Definitely odd tracks, but they were slightly different from the previous ones... he thought anyway. His eyes scanned the forest for more clues around him, but before he could find anything worth while, Goldenfern's voice called out to him enthusiastically. The deputy definitely didn't miss the tone of her voice and he galloped in her direction to see what was found.

There in the dirt were not one, not two... but three very clear sets of paw prints. Twigs had been snapped, bushes moved aside... and even thick tufts of white fur and a separate set of reddish brown. Darkspirit's fur stood on end, but he was sure to keep himself under control.

"Excellent work Goldenfern!" He said, hoping he sounded encouraging despite the knowledge that there were three intruders instead of one or two. "Warriors, to me!" Darkspirit called out commandingly. Once the patrol had gathered around him, he set off at a careful gallop along the trail.

"Stay alert. We don't know who these cats are, but they're not like us. They don't belong here and they might be dangerous." He gave the command loud enough for the clan to hear, but he wasn't yelling. He didn't want to alert their unwelcome guests that they were coming. It was almost scary how easy their path was to follow.

Suddenly the thick, metallic scent of blood hit Darkspirit's nose. It was so thick he practically tasted it. He flicked his tail to signal a slow-down and slowed his own pace to a careful stalking pace. No verbal commands now, not with the scent of blood in the air. He crept through bushes in near complete silence as the scent of blood steadily grew stronger.

He pushed through a few thorny berry bushes, not even flinching as his fur caught on them and was pulled from his skin. Then his eyes landed on a scene that made his heart hammer wildly in his chest. He gasped quietly at the sight of a fox... or what was left of it. Darkspirit curled his tail and twitched the tip rapidly, a sign to be very, very cautious. He crept forward toward the fox's carcass. It had deep bite wounds in it's throat and on the back of it's neck. The body itself had been opened and hollowed out, it's ribs visible through the stringy muscle meat and connective tissue that remained. Flies were buzzing around the remains furiously.

This fox had been dead for hours.

"This is..." Darkspirit couldn't find the words to finish. He shook his head and looked for more clues as to where their intruders may have gone. They weren't here anymore. Scent tracking was no longer an option, not with the blood and the beginning of rot so thick in the air.

"Look for more clues. They may be close. Don't separate this time. The search will be slower but its more important to be safe." There were three of them after all... and if they could do this to a fox... they were no joke.


OOC: One more round!

Darkspirit had investigated her findings and almost instantly called the rest of the patrol closer to track them further. Goldenfern followed behind at a slower pace, careful to keep her ears and eyes open. Her fur pricked nervously as she followed along. Her heart hammered at the thought of unseen beasts prowling through her territory, preying on her clanmates. Thankfully, she didn't seem to be able to find anything. Would it be too much to hope that whatever had killed the fox had gone?

The member 'Tiny' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Effect Dice' : 2

Sunfire bounded after the patrol, his eyes landing on the dead fox. What in the... Sunfire gwakked at the dead corspe in shock and horror. Whatever had done that... was no ordinary fox or badger. In fact, it must have been twice as big. He swallowed nerrvously and quickly looked around him to check for signs of the menace. Thankfully, nothing jumped out to him, and the tom let out a sigh of relief.

The member 'Copperbeans' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Effect Dice' : 3

Pushing through the thick brush to keep up with ThunderClans deputy, Firefly had to backtrack a little as a swarm of flies scattered around her: corpses of long dead, hollowed out foxes lay in a bloodied heap before the ThunderClan patrol. Other than holding back a gag, the russet warrior was on even higher alert now. This was becoming increasingly more alarming with each new clue.

Her green eyes locked on yet another set of strange prints. "Darkspirit... Over there."

The member 'Flybot' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Effect Dice' : 4