Galeclan; Cats of the Moorlands (Open)

Firepaw's ears perked with recognition, any remaining hostility or wariness melting under the mention of Featherpaw from the other apprentice. Regardless of how he felt one way or another for non-clanborn cats, he could hardly let any sense of pride bar him from the safety of his sister. "... Ugh... She's going to give me an ear-ful herself, I should have let her know where I was going..." He grumbled to himself with sagging shoulders. He had hardly realized how long he'd been out but it had to have been well longer than expected if Featherpaw was fussing. However, the sun had hardly reached it's peak and with that realization came another wave of curiosity overlayed with concern. It was way too soon for the pale ginger to be fussing so much over his absence, for all she knew he'd been taken out by another warrior. What could have rattled her to the point of leaving camp with only another apprentice?

However, it was the realization they'd no idea where she was now that set his fur on end once more, "Wait, what do you mean you were separated?" He asked incredulously, "We can't just leave her out here, but if she noticed you're gone, she'd probably have tried back tracking for you." Firepaw said with a trace of hope in his tone. As much of a clumsy oaf she could be at times, he knew his sister was no fool, though they'd be hard-pressed to find her if they went hunting blindly through the heather. Honestly, he'd barely made it out of the flora himself and he was simply looking for a landmark of escape, not a small cat. "Granted, that only helps if you know from which direction you two had come from."

Amberleaf was finally returning to camp, a small bundle of herbs between his teeth as he passed into the tunnel that led into camp. Certainly he should have asked Featherpaw to assist him if that were all he'd intended to do, but herbs were hardly the full reason for the ginger's departure, quite keen to enjoy a nice nap along the sun-warmed stones of sunning rocks. During the heavy snows of leafbare, he had been unable to enjoy a nice calm nap away from camp, primarily due to the cold wet powder that coated just about everything, but with the snow all but melted in most areas, it was the first time he'd had the opportunity. Granted, with the sicknesses that accompanied leafbare, he doubted he would have had time regardless.

Neverthless, the tom slipped into the camp, freezing with the shock and confusion that accompanied the sights and general atmosphere of the cats within. With clanmates lay unmoving in the center of the camp, the scent of their death hanging somberly in the air, all the comforts of the morning vanished in a flash and were replaced with unease and horror. It seemed he'd only just returned in time to see the leader addressing the clan over the events, and somehow felt more stunned to hear the accusations for the deaths were against Mossclan. What in Starclan is happening..? the Medicine cat thought to himself as he tried to wrap his head around what he was hearing. He'd need to speak with Greystar personally to get a better understanding later, but for the moment, he passed along behind his clanmates and deposited his herbs in the den with the somber reality he'd be spending that night preparing the bodies of his clanmates for their final farewell. At least Lavender was in high supply.

After leaving his herbs, he returned to the clearing and gently pushed through his grieving clanmates until he was standing before the fallen bodies. "Safe journey to you, my friends, as you make for Starclan this night." He offered the prayer quietly, eyes closed in reverence for their ancestors and the cats who would be joining them this night. It was with a heavy heart he sought to find some peace in knowing their deaths themselves were clear, there was no mystery behind how they died based on the wounds that left their fur in matted clumps of dry blood. The only mystery was who and why, and even that seemed directed at the Mossclan scents that clung to the fur of the dead.

Firepaw seemed more than a little taken back by the sheer audacity of the younger apprentice, granted he was only an apprentice himself and held no social authority over another apprentice even if younger but it was still startling. However, it was true that regardless of where Crowpaw had come from, they were clanmates now, he only hoped Crowpaw really could prove himself as loyal and reliable as any clanborn. Although his muscles were rigid, eyes ablaze with pride and indignation, he did not rebuke the younger cat. After a moment of observing Crowpaw, he seemed to relent with the relaxation of his form once more. "Clearly Featherpaw saw you worth trusting on this occasion, I'll defer to her judgement. If you can be trusted, then my trust you will also have in due time." he explained, his tone remarkably calm despite his previous display of subtle aggression. In the grand scale of things, he only wanted his family and home to be safe. Perhaps he was picking up on some of the untrusting teachings of his older clanmates, but he was not so far gone that he was beyond reason and above all else, he trusted Featherpaw not to steer him incorrectly, though he'd still have his own questions for his sister by the end of this.

Immediately, he joined Crowpaw upon his words, sniffing at the pawprints of which he could confirm certainly seemed to be Featherpaw's. "Good job, looks like she did pass back already." he replied, though a curious glance flickered in his eyes. "We should follow these to her then... but I have a question. What did bring you two speeding out after me so unprepared?" Firepaw added, prepared to head after Featherpaw as they spoke. After all, again, he had never known Featherpaw to be so frantic about his absence unless he'd been gone far longer than a few simple hours, let alone so impatient she'd leave camp alone without a warrior.

Thistleheart could only offer a half-hearted shrug as his eyes rose to catch the sight of his clanmates, seeming to regain his composure to some degree despite the lingering sadness. Exhaustion still weighed him down from the whole encounter, the adrenaline having long since left his syste, but the stinging just above his eye had dulled dramatically. He'd almost forgotten he'd taken a swipe to the face when he fled for help. Among the outrage and the Leader's attempts to regain control among the outcries for justice, the shock seemed to be easing from his mind and he regarded Sycamoreheart more clearly. wish I knew... Maybe some strange power grab, though the timing seems rather inconvenient for them. Far be it from me to understand the mind of a Mossclan cat."spat his final words with a disdain for the other clan, anger in his forest green eyes.

Even so, his gaze continued to be drawn back to Robinflame, the anxiety flickering in his gaze undisguised as more concerns overloaded his mind. Not only had a whole patrol been taken out, but among them had been one of their deputies and though this was hardly the time, he couldn't help but wonder when they'd cast stones for his replacement. Reedwing had taken on many tasks herself, but there was no denying Robinflame tended to see to a number of them himself as well, the tom could hardly imagine it would be easy for Reedwing to suddenly double up on tasks and amongst such a crisis at that. "I'm just hoping it doesn't esculate from here, in regards to more of.. this. Although, without the benefit of surprise, I doubt we'd be so thoroughly defeated again." He replied, defiance in his tone despite the worn sigh that escaped him. He could barely make out the slender black form of Shadowstep as he slunk away, but couldn't deny that as much as it was the patrol's fault for letting the fighter go, he too felt anger and the compulsion to lay some blame on the ever distant Shadowstep.

A bemused glimmer flickered in the large warrior's eyes as he replied, "And perhaps thats why you are the tracker and I am not." Birchheart surely had not the excessive ego necessary to take offense to being incorrect, or at least deemed incorrect, for his own baseless assumption. If nothing else, he only wanted to find the apprentice quickly and return him safely to the camp for the sake of everyone's worries. He only hoped that in their quick departure Reedwing or Featherpaw had taken initiative in letting Wisteriaflower know of Firepaw's disappearance. If only so the poor she-cat was aware that some cats had already been sent out after him, though he supposed it wouldn't have assuaged the fear of his unexplained absence in the first place. Nevertheless, when Kestreltalon called, he approached to examine what had caught the tracker's attention, listening to the explanation with renewed hope that they were on the right trail. "Well done, that means were going the right way at least. I bet the little scamp thought he could go hunting on his own or something." There was no malice in his tone as the broad-shouldered tom spoke, although he'd always been known to be a bit soft, it was hard to fault the apprentice for eagerness. Not that he believed punishment wasn't in order but, he certainly wasn't the one to be too hard on his youngest clanmates for little acts of foolishness.

However, few were unaware of Kestreltalon's strict adherence to the warrior code and the general rules that came along with it, and Birchheart was far from one who wouldn't be kept in the loop. Honestly, perhaps this stern reverence to the code that had rubbed off on Firepaw, after all, up until this instance the lad was remarkable stalwark on the side of the Warrior code. "Oh, there's nothing to apologize for, Kestreltalon. The timing is surely at it's worst but what apprentice hasn't wandered off once or twice in their training?" He replied with a level of sympathy for the Tracker. With a family with some unusual tendencies himself, Birchheart could pull from some experiences at least, the folly's of youth and the odd extremes a cat would go for one thing or another. His sympathy extended into a soft glance towards his fellow warrior, knowing well no warrior necessarily wanted to have to tell an apprentice of tragedies that had befallen the clan, especially so young. He couldn't imagine the queens were having a good time shielding their inquisitive kits from the realities of death either. However, as they came in visual range of the very outskirts of the Heather bed's something caught his attention suddenly, birchheart blinking with suddenly upright ears. It wasn't only the sight, but a very fresh scent blowing towards them of which he assumed the Tracker had already caught. "... Featherpaw and that new apprentice weren't out this way recently, were they?"

Featherpaw had padded along the edge of the Heather beds for a short few moments after breaking back into the moor, initially hoping she might catch a rustle within the flora to signify her lost companion and her brother. However, she was tragically met with only sounds she couldn't further identify as more than the wind and was realizing she'd have to head back in if she hoped to find the toms. She lacked much of the usual apprentice training, having been selected quite early as the Medicine cat's apprentice, but every cat had some basic sense of which she felt she was going to have to rely on in this case. At least to the young ginger's benefit, she was far more desensitized to the powerful scents of herbs and flowers than the average apprentice. She took a quick glance out towards the moors, as if gathering her nerves among the anxiety that presented itself the longer they remained out here. That anxiety doubled at the sight of faint figures a distance away, both with ginger coats, though she couldn't make out who exactly they were from this distance. However, friend or foe, she knew all three apprentices, herself included, would be in a world of trouble if they were caught out here.
With hope she hadn't been sighted, the young cat dived back into the plant-life, anxiety driving her to quickly return to the last place she'd been with Crowpaw in desperation to find the dark-pelted form among the colorful plants. It wasn't long before she'd found her own pawsteps and began hopefully following them once more, trying to be more attentive to any sign of them diverging, unaware she was prone to bump into the two apprentices that were using her pawsteps to find her as well.

It was difficult to ignore the mixed emotions that raged within the camp's clearing but Amberleaf seemed to do so well enough under the circumstances. Perhaps it was that calm demeanor that had served him well as a Medicine Cat, though it had undoubtedly served well to create certain distances as well. Even so he would grieve as much as any for their fallen clanmates, though he would take comfort in knowing they would surely all join those who looked upon them from Starclan. He soon became aware he had been actively approached by another, turning his head to view the gray tabby attentively. "Undoubtedly a tragedy, it has been quite some time since a simple border patrol has gone so awry." The ginger tom replied solemnly with a sigh, his mind drifting back to the death of Liontail so many moons ago. No outright declarations of aggression or war had been on the table for a long time now, though mistakes in the past had hardly prevented some souring feelings between the clans.

However, he certainly appreciated Greystar's strength to remain unswayed by the anger of the clan, Amberleaf himself unwilling to condemn Mossclan to guilt until after the discussion at the gathering. He only hoped Starclan had something to share with him before then, though even when they did they were as tragically cryptic as ever with their messages. "If Starclan has secrets to share, they've so far chosen not to share them with me. Perhaps this will change, only time can tell." He explained evenly, perhaps a bit lackadaisical in his appraoch to the messages of their ancestors. Certainly he took them seriously, but none knew better than a Medicine Cat how fickle their ancestors could be. Even so, he liked to think it was faith in the clans themselves that led Starclan to be the way it was, a desire for the clans to remain independent and capable of walking with their own paws. "For now, Take comfort in the knowledge our clanmates have joined those very cats this night, and strength from Greystar's guidance. The gathering approaches soon and our answer are more than like to be found there."