The future's in your paws. Shape it well.Roleplay in a cat Clan of warriors. Based off the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Takes place in an AU before the cats in the books existed.
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The forest was empty. Not in the way it had been when the dogs were terrorizing all of SkyClan and scaring the prey into their holes, but in a new, worse way. As Firepaw crept from the camp, tail low to the ground and fur bristling, his yellow eyes shifted uncertainly from side to side. Things had been great before those beasts destroyed everything...taken everything. First Honeydew, then Sunfire. Though, with Mintglade, his littermates, and even Blazepaw by his side, Firepaw was certain everything would be alright in the end.
He'd been wrong...so wrong.
Since the day the dogs came to their camp and killed not only Greywing, but Blazepaw as well, Firepaw hadn't had a single good night's sleep. Every time he closed his eyes for more than a few moments, it was like he'd been transported back to that horrible day. The screams of his dying clanmates would echo in his ears and he could do nothing but watch helplessly as they fell - one by one. He would try to move, but his paws would be rooted to the ground. He would try to scream, but no sound would come out. He would try to save Blazepaw in any way he could - throw himself in front of the dog, claw its eyes out, kill it - but he never succeeded.
Now, as Firepaw trekked further away from the camp, every shifting shadow of the pre-dawn light made his fur stand on end. Each call from the waking birds made him jump, his claws extended. The tortoiseshell tom didn't know where he was going, just that he needed to go - he needed to find Hornetpaw. No cat knew where his brother had gone - not even Wolfstar. Nobody even seemed keen to find his missing brother because, really, what was another missing cat in the face of all they'd lost? Well, to Firepaw, it was everything.
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[Nectarflower] T5 WC Permaqueen
[Hemlockfox] T4 WC Hybrid Medicine Cat
[Wiggleworm] T3 TC Warrior
[Firetreader] T1 SkC Warrior
[Moonpaw] WC Apprentice
[Lykaios] T1 Rogue
Last edited by GravisCordis on Mon 1 Jul 2024 - 8:30; edited 2 times in total
Subject: Re: Where Have You Gone? [O] Wed 12 Jun 2024 - 13:24
Stoatclaw was busy in the nursery, and while some of Honeypaw's training had taken a back seat, the apprentice didn't mind. When she wasn't on patrol with other warriors, she found herself bringing fresh kill to the new kits and queens in the nursery, and sometimes sleeping in. It was... Nice. Not that she'd admit it. Her training had been a more relaxed pace, and while a more ambitious cat may have chafed under such, Honeypaw did not mind.
She was curled in her nest but not asleep when movement at the den entrance made her ear twitch. Firepaw, she realized, probably going to train with one of the others. With a yawn, and after a moment of thought, Honeypaw shook off the moss clinging to her thick fur and gave her pelt a quick groom.
She just caught sight of the apprentice's tail leaving the camp when she made her way from the den, though it seemed most of their clanmates weren't awake yet. Odd... Honeypaw followed the older apprentice, curious. Another warrior was just ahead of him, surely.
Or perhaps not, the realization crept up on the younger, more naive apprentice slowly as she trailed after Firepaw, leaving the camp behind. The tom was... Jumpy, like he was expecting trouble. Or expecting to be caught, maybe. Which might be it's own sort of trouble.
"Firepaw...?" Honeypaw's tone pitched in question. She wanted to ask what he was doing, slipping out of camp alone, but couldn't bring herself to do so. Her cousin looked... Well, he looked a mess, clearly. He wasn't the only one, the young she-cat had noticed how sad some of her older clanmates seemed... But the other apprentice seemed more approachable than some of the large, stern warriors to her. Only he'd snuck out of camp alone, and Honeypaw was far from sure that he'd wanted company in the first place.
Subject: Re: Where Have You Gone? [O] Wed 12 Jun 2024 - 15:56
Hickorypaw Apprentice | Skyclan | He/Him
Hickorypaw lay curled up in his nest, his breathing shallow and slow as he blazing gaze glared at the entrance of the den awaiting the first rays of sunshine. This was an everyday occurrence for the young tom. Except something changed. One of the other apprentices walked out of the entrance and his sister seemed to follow right after.
A low growl grumbled out of Hickorypaw’s throat as he quickly leapt out of his nest without a moment of grooming his tangled fur. He crouched down and swiftly moved through camp without making a sound. He peered back over his shoulder to make sure no warriors were following, especially his useless mentor and his accomplice.
The older tom was quite jumpy and Hickorypaw had to fight the urge to jump out at him, instead he just rolled his eyes at the other apprentice. His eyes remained narrow as he followed his sister and cousin through the forest, finally Honeypaw had said something and made herself known. He quickly picked up pace while staying close to the ground and brushed his tail against his sister’s. “Whatcha doin out here without a warrior? Aint that against the rules…” He playfully hissed to Firepaw. Discord: ChaoticCrow | Timezone: Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) | Code (c) Kieer
Firepaw padded through the forest, ears pitching this way and that as he desperately searched for any clue as to where Hornetpaw had gone. His tail flicked in annoyance as he lowered his head to the ground and snuffled through the undergrowth for several moments. Nothing. Just old scent trails from patrols the day before. It was as if his brother had vanished into thin air. There wasn't a trace of him left behind - just the cold nest that was quickly beginning to lose his scent. Firepaw's eyes began to burn as he lifted his head, yellow gaze distraught.
How could a cat just disappear? At least when Sunfire vanished, there was a reason. But Hornetpaw? There were no dogs, no foxes...nothing to explain why he was gone. He mulled for several moments, frozen in thought, when a voice echoed from behind him. Firepaw whirled around, expression tense, and stared at Honeypaw like he'd just been caught eating crowfood on the side of the thunderpath. "Honeypaw! I-" He paused as Hickorypaw emerged from the undergrowth as well, the fur lifting along his spine. Just great.
"That was when there were dogs prowling around." He snapped impatiently. "We killed them. It's different now." There was a touch of defensiveness to his voice as he spoke and Firepaw frowned at them, put off by having been followed. "But it's none of your business. Go back to the camp. I'm busy." From the tone of his voice, it wasn't really up for debate but, honestly, there wasn't much he could do if they refused. Honeypaw's presence, he might've been able to put up with. But Hickorypaw was a different story.
He was annoyingly confident...very self-important. Firepaw doubted he'd be much help anyway. The last thing he needed was his cousin tagging along a crowing on and on about whatever it was he was interested it. This wasn't some silly little outing - he was trying to find his missing brother. Every other cat seemed keen enough to give up, but not him.
Subject: Re: Where Have You Gone? [O] Mon 24 Jun 2024 - 15:45
Whatever the reasoning, it was clearly distressing to the older apprentice.
For a moment it looked like she'd get an answer out of Firepaw, until her brother butted in. "Be nice, will you?" Honeypaw grumbled at her brother's hissing. He'd followed them out of camp too, it seemed, though it wasn't that surprising. Where one apprentice snuck out and another followed, well, what was one more?
"We're not alone now, right?" Honeypaw's fluffy tail flicked as she glanced at her brother, then back to Firepaw, "Really though... Why were you out here alone? Looking for someone?" The she-cat paused then, "Oh. It's Hornetpaw, isn't it? He's been gone for a few days, hasn't he?" An uncharacteristic frown settled onto the apprentice's face. They were siblings, she was pretty sure, if that were the case no wonder the tom seemed so upset.
Subject: Re: Where Have You Gone? [O] Fri 28 Jun 2024 - 11:52
Hickorypaw Apprentice | Skyclan | He/Him
A frown formed on Hickorypaw’s face at his cousin’s remark and his sister’s scolding. “Don’t go getting your tail in a knot, I was just teasing.” He mewed as nicely as he could. Then his sister mentioned Hornetpaw. He remembered playing with his older cousin not that long ago and he didn’t seem to have a thorn in his rump like the one standing before him.
“Well, if you are looking for Hornetpaw, I would think having help would be better, don’t you Firepaw?” Hickorypaw purred as he walked forward and pressed into Honeypaw. “I mean if it was my sibling I would gather as many paws as possible to find them!” A smile was on his face as his orange gaze met his sister’s blue eyes. It was true, he would gather as many cats as possible to find Honeypaw, but he couldn't say the same about his other siblings. She was something special whereas his other siblings were just annoying. Discord: ChaoticCrow | Timezone: Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) | Code (c) Kieer
Firepaw looked between his two cousins, yellow eyes bright against the dim forest. Honeypaw seemed to be arguing in his favor and, better than that, wasn't getting on his nerves. It was just...odd talking to her after what happened to Honeydew. He stiffened as she continued, pelt prickling at the mention of Hornetpaw. She was right, of course. Only a fool wouldn't be able to puzzle out the reason he was out here so early. "Yeah." He meowed eventually; voice low.
"After Sunfire and Blazepaw...I just don't want to lose Hornetpaw too." Speaking Blazepaw's name aloud for the first time since his death hurt but, oddly enough, felt good at the same time. Hickorypaw butted in at that and though Firepaw was trying to ignore him, he couldn't turn down the offer. With a reluctant dip of his head, the tortoiseshell tom turned to scan the undergrowth once more. "Alright. I guess having help will make finding him easier." He left little room to suggest that they may not find him. The idea itself seemed absurd.
"Thank you." Then, with a smile that defied the curdling fear in his stomach, added, "And don't stop me from yelling at him when we find him. He's gonna deserve it for making me worry. That featherbrain'd better have a good reason for being gone so long too." With that, Firepaw tried to tame his dread and turned towards the ThunderClan border. It was the longest border they shared with any of the other clans. "Let's start this way."
Subject: Re: Where Have You Gone? [O] Mon 1 Jul 2024 - 8:05
Good, her brother was behaving. And she nodded in agreement with his words, they were true of course. If one of her siblings were missing, she'd want everyone in the clan looking for them too.
"We'll find him." She tried to reassure, though a younger apprentice who had hardly known the missing tom was probably hardly reassuring to Firepaw. Still, for family she would do anything she could. "It might... Not be his fault though. Don't be harsh on him. I'm sure he's just as determined to come back as you are to find him." Her thought process couldn't allow for anything else. They would find him. And he'd want to come home, whatever happened.
Subject: Re: Where Have You Gone? [O] Tue 2 Jul 2024 - 13:47
Hickorypaw Apprentice | Skyclan | He/Him
So, the annoying one was trying to find Hornetpaw and had decided not to fight against Hickorypaw’s and Honeypaw’s offer to help. Hickorypaw hadn’t interacted with his cousins much, but he had played with Hornetpaw when they were kit; he didn’t seem too bad.
Hickorypaw gave a slight nod to his cousin before following him. “You can do as you please, but my sister does have a point.” Hickorypaw mewed simply as they walked closer to the Thunderclan border. He didn’t get his hopes up in finding the older tom, who knows what was lurking around when he went missing; and if his trail led into other clan territory… well that wouldn’t be ideal either.
“When did you see Hornetpaw last?” Hickorypaw mewed as he sniffed the air. He stopped after a moment, as it wouldn’t do him any good. He didn’t even know Hornetpaw’s scent. Hickorypaw’s orange gaze scanned the forest instead for any type of movement.
Firepaw frowned uncertainly at Honeypaw, his tail twitching back and forth nervously. He wanted to believe her - that wherever Hornetpaw was, he was trying to get home - but nothing was certain anymore. For all he knew, his brother could have been mauled somewhere far from home, nothing but his bones left to tell the story of what happened. A part of him wanted to say something su substantial, something meaningful, but all he could force out was a clipped, "I hope you're right."
His eyes narrowed as Hickorypaw chipped in, though, and he huffed. Whatever. They could think what they wanted, but it wouldnt stop him from chewing Hornetpaw out. Because, regardless, he shouldnt have done whatever bird-brained thing it was that had separated them. Hickorypaw's following question, though, gave Firepaw pause. "The last place I saw him?" He stared ahead as they walked through the forest, eyes narrowed in thought.
"Just...in the camp, in our den. I woke up the morning and he was gone. I assumed he was on a patrol..." Obviously, he'd been wrong. Did that make this his fault, then? Maybe, if he'd noticed his brother leaving in the night, he could've stopped him. Or, maybe, if he'd realized something was wrong sooner, he could've found him by now. He'd try not to make the same mistake again, but it seemed as though misfortune was destined to befall his kin.
Subject: Re: Where Have You Gone? [O] Tue 23 Jul 2024 - 17:08
Honeypaw's tail flicked at her brother's words. Did he have to be so abrasive? He wasn't wrong - of course she had a point, but he could've been nicer about it.
She listened as Firepaw answered her brother's question, ears briefly sliding back against her skull. Could it truly be so easy for a cat to just disappear? "If he'd disappeared while on patrol, I don't think they would have stayed silent about it when they got back to camp..." No, any warrior worth their weight would have looked for him relentlessly, and made sure the whole camp knew about their missing apprentice. "Maybe he went for a walk on his own? Have you checked near the borders, maybe? He could have walked along one of them and found trouble." Stars, she hoped not. And trouble could mean a lot of things. But if Hornetpaw was missing, would he even be on their territory? He had to be somewhere, but if he was in Skyclan territory surely he would have been found already.
Subject: Re: Where Have You Gone? [O] Sat 27 Jul 2024 - 14:35
Hickorypaw Apprentice | Skyclan | He/Him
Hickorypaw gave a huff at his cousin’s response ‘That’s not helpful.’ He thought to himself. His ears flicked at Honeypaw’s reasoning. She could be right or maybe their cousin got tired of Skyclan and ran away. ‘Good for him.’ He thought as he sniffed the air. Still nothing to hint there was another cat around. “Well one thing is certain, we aint gonna find him by just standing here.” He mewed simply before walking forward slowly.
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