Edgefrost
&
Desertriver
The golden and black Maine Coon molly was watching her younger brother pacing around, his expression unreadable. It had been difficult to console her brother, because Edge always wanted to appear that everything was okay even if the whole world was falling apart. Truth be told, everyone was worried since the moment Galepaw had disappeared. While some had assumed that he left to join his mother, a majority of the clan knew that the eldest son of Edgefrost wouldn’t stray far away from home. Desertriver had seeked out Copperstar in the morning, and requested for herself to lead a patrol. Although she’s Galepaw’s aunt, her nephews had become more like sons after Snowstar’s depature and loved those boys as if they were her own.
Blackthorn had agreed to look after Edge’s kits who were in the nursery, as the curious kits had been wanting to leave camp to search for their eldest brother. Sleekfeather had taken Sleetpaw and Jaypaw out of camp to have a moment away from everyone questioning if they had been okay. Looking around, Desertriver had seen Blankstone and a feeling of awkwardness had overcome her. Snowbound and herself had grown to become best friends, and she knew that the white tom didn’t have the best relationship with her mother. However, she needed Blankstone in this case as the older molly was realistic with situations. The petite molly had padded towards Blankstone, her amber-green eyes watching the older molly for a moment before dipping her head “I’m leading a patrol to search for Galepaw, I need your help.” She said, before watching the molly agree.
Looking towards Honeywisp, Desertriver had liked the other molly. Despite the self doubt that Honeywisp had in herself, she carried herself well. Looking towards the smaller molly, Desertriver mouthed ‘Patrol.’ towards her. The golden and black molly was attempting to form a patrol without Edge’s knowledge. Seeing Stormgrowl at the entrance, she had told him earlier to meet her there so they could leave without Edge. The black and gray tom was on edge these days, no one could escape his short temper at the moment but his kits. Stars, even Desertriver had gotten chewed out by him at some point. It wasn’t until his back was turned that Desertriver and the others had quickly made their way out of the camp, however she cursed quietly upon hearing pawsteps approaching them and the familiar scent of Edge was close by.
The large black and gray tom’s face remained neutral as he padded towards the she-cats and Stormhowl, his dark green gaze remained forward. Edge’s eyes narrowed when looking at his sister, and had cut her off when she opened her mouth “I’m joining.” Edge simply said, ignoring Honeywisp, Stormgrowl and Blankstone’s words. Stars, he practically ignored their entire existence as he passed by them. At the moment, they were irreverent to him. Galepaw was his priority. “Ed-“ Desertriver said but the tom let out a low growl before turning to look back at his sister and the others with a darkened look.
“I am looking for my son, you can follow me or you can go home. Unless you have a lead on him, I don’t give a shit to hear about anyone’s opinions.”
With that, Edge kept padding forward and left the others behind while Desertriver let out a sigh and flicked her tail to signal the patrol to start moving.
Edgefrost
+
Desertriver.
Desertriver’s ears were pinned to her skull as she heard the growling grow more near, her heart beating fast as the small Maine Coon was backing slowly away from the bush. It wasn’t until suddenly an object came out of the bushes that caused Desertriver to gasp loudly as she froze in place with the ears in front of her now. Different color and size ears were laid in front of her, some were freshly ripped from the head of felines while others were rotting. Keeping herself in front of Honeywisp in order for the molly to not look at the body parts, the golden and black molly felt her breathing was quick, her chest rising and falling heavily. Never seeing such a sight like this, it left Desertriver almost terrified. Flicking her feathery tail from side to side. Within that, she felt the figure of the shadows had disappeared and it was only her and Honeywisp at the moment.
Feeling her ears ringing, suddenly feeling a figure pressing up against her. Looking towards Edgefrost, the massive tom was looking at the ears with a frown on his face. Even Edge was surprised, and he wasn’t phased much by anything. “Blankstone, return to camp and tell Copperstar about the bodies.. Stormgrowl, go with her “ Edge ordered, not caring if the senior warrior disobeyed him. His dark green gaze looked over at the small form of Honeywisp and went towards her, his expression was unreadable at first before nodding his head. “You need to go back to camp, get yourself checked by Rainysky.” The black and gray Maine Coon’s voice was unusually soft, his rough voice was gentle towards the small molly. Looking at Honeywisp for a moment, he turned towards his sister who looked panicked. Moving towards the ears, he blocked the view from his oldest sister.
“Go with Honeywisp, I’ll be back in a bit.” Edge said, his sister turning back to look at him. Ignoring her glance, the tom turned to look towards the ears. He needed answers, where did the ears come and why did the killer so recklessly almost reveal himself? Most importantly, Edge needed to see if there was any trace of Galepaw. An image of a familiar face entered his mind, wondering if a certain beautiful blue Maine Coon molly was avoiding the area and staying in the cave with her friend. Letting out a soft sigh through his nostrils, the massive tom began moving more into the Riverclan territory and into the direction of where the killer was at. Blackthorn and Sleekfeather could lecture him later, he couldn’t care less if his actions were reckless.
However, returning to camp that night… There were no answers to his questions. Galepaw was still missing and the killer had gotten away from Riverclan territory.
Edgefrost
&
Desertriver
Desertriver’s green-amber eyes’s were slightly widened in horror at the sight in front of her, stopping in place as she was beside her brother. Stars, this was a horrible sight. It wasn’t until hearing Honeywisp screeching and crying that caused the small Maine Coon molly to snap out of her thoughts and look towards the golden tabby molly. Eyebrows furrowing for a moment, it hit her that Honeywisp had not seen such a sight like this in her life, it was more gruesome than a warrior’s death. Desertriver had been so used to such sights with her upbringing, Blankstone was just a disturbed individual that it seemed like a normal day for her when the white molly slipped into the bloody water to start collecting the bodies and bringing them to the shore.
One of Edge’s eyes twitched at the sound of Honeywisp’s cries, as the molly was clearly in distress and was babbling like a kit. The large Maine Coon noticed his sister’s look at the corner of his eye but ignored it, Edge wanted to smack Honeywisp into some sense and tell her to shut up. “Great Starclan, I’m going deaf.” Edge muttered to himself, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Stormgrowl was investigating the area, Desertriver went towards Honeywisp and pressed against her “Come, I think I need a breather outside.. I could also use someone to talk to.” The golden and black molly, attempting to soothe Honeywisp as she did with her kits when they were in the nursery. Looking back at Edge and Stormgrowl, she nodded “Honeywisp and I will be at the entrance, we’ll do some investigation work with the trail before heading back to camp.. We’ll send a word to Copperstar to start sending some cats out.”
Without waiting, Desertriver led a distressed Honeywisp out of the scene and back into the woods. A couple of moments had passed before Edge had slipped into the water to help Blankstone with lifting the bodies into the water. The bodies were rotting but also bloated from being in the water for a long time, Starclan knows how long they been there for. “Look.” Edge grunted, his eyes narrowed at one of the bodies. It was carved with an R at the side of it with a couple of teeth missing. This was completely new compared to the Thunderclan patrol, no teeth were pulled out of the victims.. But mainly their ears. Why had the teeth been pulled out now within Riverclan? So many questions, Keep it in mind readers.. No clear answers yet.
An R? What could this possibly mean? There were so many questions. Lately it appeared that there were no signs of civil war or any bad feline within the clans after Sandadder’s death. Could it be a rogue? No, Edge couldn’t remember anyone that had sketchy behavior within the outskirts. This was another kind of breed, some kind of evil that couldn’t be explained. Letting out a soft hum, Edge slipped out of the bloody water and towards the area that began piling of the deceased felines. Observing the bodies, he noticed the R carved into different parts of these feline bodies. The pattern remained the same, these bodies were completely mauled. Some faces were recognizable while others faces were too far gone, they would need family members to identify the bodies.
Desertriver was leading Honeywisp out of the area and back towards the trail, biting the inside of her cheek. It was a heartbreaking scene. Looking back towards Honeywisp, the molly offered a smile of sympathy “It’s never easy, witnessing those kinds of things..” Desertriver said, looking at the trail of blood ahead of them. Seeing the limbs spread out was an unsettling feeling, she never seen this kind of murderer before. This was definitely a new killer compared to her father and brother, this one was too flashy. Biting the inside of her cheek, the golden and black molly began looking into the grass. It wasn’t until she heard a stick snapping that caused her to turn around quickly, spotting Honeywisp… She noticed no sticks around the golden molly. It wasn’t until she heard a low growl within the bushes that caused Desertriver to become frozen.
H O N E Y W I S P
When the patrol happened upon the gruesome sight before them, Honeywisp couldn’t keep her breakfast down. The smell of it alone was enough to make her nauseous but the mentality of putting two-and-two together of what was really in front of them broke her. The warrior was unable to keep her composure. She had never seen anything like it. She had seen cats lose their lives before, she had witnessed loss of life before but this was different. Murder, cold-blooded and cruel torture was something else entirely. Her legs shook uncontrollably and her eyes watered. She gasped for breath, hyperventilation overwhelming her as panic consumed her.
She cried. She screamed. She just couldn’t take it. Her legs buckled beneath her and Honeywisp’s sobs echoed around them. The poor molly tried to keep her shit together but she just couldn’t control the sorrow that burdened her. “S-s-s-so-sorry-” She managed to stammer but as the word came from between her chattering teeth, she wasn’t even sure who she was apologizing to- the patrol of her clanmates or the cats whose lives had been taken from them so viciously.
The horrific sight that met the patrol stuck many of them silent, among them Blankstone herself. Although she rarely spoke, preferring action. As if to demonstrate this she waded into the shallows after a moment of hesitation when her eyes took in the gruesome scene. She took care not to let any of the tainted water in her mouth as she bent down to grasp at one of the bodies with her jaws. The aroma of death flooded her olfactory palate and she gagged slightly, but kept on until she’d pulled the bloated corpse onto the shore.
She stood for a moment catching her breath as blood that stained her pure white coat slowly dripped down.
“I did not see Galepaw among them.” Was all she said.
Stormgrowl
The battle-scarred tom's ears flicked with clear acknowledgement of Edgefrost's scathing comment- he didn't, however, justify the younger tom with a response. It wasn't worth getting into an argument when there was much more productive things to be done. It was when the group was approaching the river that the blood puddle was spotted, and the grey tom instantly swung his head around, the tone causing his fur to spike along his spine.
A growl rumbled in his throat as he padded after Edgefrost, and his eyes met the horror that was to be found where the kits often played. It sent a chill through his very bones to know that a place that was always full of such innocence and joy had been turned into such horror. Glancing back at the patrol, he raised his stumpy tail to signal for attention.
"Someone needs to go and tell the queens that no kits are to be allowed here for at least a half-moon." He rumbled, "Pulling our clanmates free and letting the water clear will take time..." He murmured, his jaw clenched as fury began to rise from the pit of his stomach.
Just what kind of sick, sadistic cat could do this? So many cats killed, and all for what?
TW////// BLOOD AND GORE
Edgefrost
&
Desertriver
Turning back at Stormgrowl, his dark green gaze was narrowed before suddenly stalking towards the older tom. Desertriver quickly saw this and stood in front of her younger brother before the larger tom could be within the older tom’s area. “Edge.” The golden and black molly warned him gently, her eyes narrowed. Desertriver knew about how short the tom’s temper had been lately. Edge’s gaze remained on Stormgrowl, his jaw clenched before suddenly turning away and stalking off “I don’t need some old man whose one step closer into a grave to tell me how to feel.” Edge muttered before Desertriver shot Stormgrowl an apologetic look. The black and gray Maine Coon’s emotions were high as of late, but it didn’t excuse his behavior towards the older warrior. However, Stormgrowl could handle himself as he’s been through a lot with life as it is. Watching Edge stalking off, clearly not wanting to be around the patrol.. Desertriver watched Stormgrowl taking the lead.
This was going to be a headache.
Desertriver would deal with Edge once the patrol made it back to camp, she gave a reassuring smile towards Honeywisp and Blankstone. ‘Why did I have to be born in the messed up family?’ Desertriver couldn’t help but think to herself as she followed Stormgrowl. It was silent between everyone, she could spot Edge way far ahead of the patrol as he was busy sulking around. Although her own kits were about to become warriors within the next moon, Desertriver had asked them to stay within camp with their mentors’ or her own watchful eye unless otherwise. As for Edge’s youngest litter, she had kept a closeful eye towards them within the nursery. Snowbound would help her, staying with her while watching the kits… Stars, Snowbound.. The black and golden molly always worried about him, wanting him in her sight at all times. It wasn’t because he was deaf, but she cared so much about him that losing him would devastate her.
She snapped out of her thoughts when feeling something warm underneath her paws, Desertriver’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment. Her amber-green eyes widened slighly when the sight of blood was underneath her and the smaller Maine Coon quickly backed away from it “Edge?!” Desertriver called for her younger brother, which caused the tall Maine Coon to turn around and quickly made his way towards her once hearing her voice was clearly alarmed. It wasn’t until noticing the large blood puddle in front of them which caused his eyebrows to raise for a moment “What the?” He questioned, looking around. His first reaction was that it was Galepaw’s, his heart was beating fast and felt alarmed. However it changed when noticing pieces of fur that were still attached to skin were surrounding the area, different types of fur and color.
Noticing limbs surrounding areas of grass, from legs to ears. It almost felt like the patrol had stumbled into a graveyard that had the bodies dug up instead of buried. Closing his eyes for a moment, it brought him back memories of when himself and Sleekfeather had discovered Swanpath’s body after she had been murdered by Twilightfoot. Except, this was something much more than his own father could cause. It wasn’t Twilightfoot. It wasn’t until he noticed a trail of blood going towards the direction of a small pond area that Queens would bring their kits. Without even thinking, Edge moved towards the direction of the pond. “Edge!” Desertriver called towards her brother, following after him.
Edge’s gaze was focused on the trail of blood, it wasn’t until the sound of flies were surrounding the area. The scent of death entered his nostrils but Edge had an unreadable expression, only following the trail. It wasn’t until he broke out of the trail and his eyes widened at the sight in front of him.
Inside the pond, there were multiple bodies that were floating within the water. The clear water was now bright red.
H O N E Y W I S P
The plump warrior was beginning to prepare for her day. Soon, Lavendermoon would be setting out the patrols for the day and assigning everyone’s duties. Honeywisp was waiting for direction and soon she received just that- except it wasn’t from their new Clan deputy, but rather Desertriver. The minute she saw the black-and-golden warrior, she knew that a patrol was forming to look for Galepaw, who had gone missing recently. When their eyes met and the other feline mouthed a certain word at her, Honeywisp knew she would be going with them.
She hopped up to her paws, her heart racing. Her pale blue eyes glanced over in Edgefrost’s direction. Is it right of us to leave without him? She wondered, her heart tugging in sympathy for the father. Surely, he would catch on soon enough that his sister was gathering warriors or he would simply go out and look on his own later. The tip of her tail flicked anxiously as she joined her Clanmates, following them quietly out of camp.
Soon though, her worries came true, as the sound of hurried pawsteps caught up to them. They paused to look behind them and found the smoky warrior sauntered up to them and brushed past them hurriedly. She frowned but remained silent. Honeywisp couldn’t blame him for his behavior. If she were a mother and her kit were missing, she was sure that she would react as brashly, herself. Keeping her thoughts to herself, the golden molly followed the patrol, simply glancing between the father and Stormgrowl, who did voice his mind.
Stormgrowl had begun to grow impatient waiting for the search party to join him at the entrance. An apprentice was missing, for Starclan's sake, they didn't have time to sit around barking at each other like dogs. The older tom was glad to see the rest of the patrol finally approaching. At Edgefrost's words, he gave a discontented snort, his one eye narrowed as he padded after the warrior.
Edgefrost's words had rustled his fur, and he couldn't resist opening his jaws to give a scathing reply.
"He may be your son but he is also our clanmate." The old tom rumbled, "We want him back as much as you do." His stare was almost challenging as he looked at Edgefrost, before he padded on ahead to take the lead of the patrol. "You shouldn't upset the cats who are coming together to help you look for him, young'un."
Blankstone hovered by the camp exit amid the cluster of Warriors chosen for the search party. Though most of her compatriots were muttering anxiously, the tall white-furred Warrior did not partake in the discussion. She was privately of the opinion that the missing apprentice had gone off in search of his missing mother. It was a logical course of events. But she saw no point in saying so; a patrol to verify the situation was still prudent.
She began walking after observing a spat between Desertriver and Edgefrost. Blankstone couldn't imagine why the father of the missing apprentice wouldn’t be included in the search, but she said nothing. She hardly knew Edgefrost, a former-rogue and mate to their absent young Leader. But as any Warrior of RiverClan, Blankstone was ready to serve however she was needed.