⇺ [ Nimbus ] ⇻
Molly • 27 Moons • Warrior
Location: Forest • Mentions: Patrol

Not even the warmth of Newleaf could chase the cold currently gripping Nimbus' body, sadness enveloping the tabby she-cat as she searched the forest for any sign of her friend's battered body. A familiar scent tickled her nose as the breeze shifted to blow towards her and Nimbus' heart sank. She'd heard the news the night before. There were no chances of recovering Ashblaze alive, but...part of her had still hoped. "This way," she called, voice loud enough to be heard while still remaining quite muted compared to her usual tone.

Following Ashblaze's scent, tainted by the reek of her blood, it wasn't long before Nimbus spotted her broken form discarded along the border. She searched the surrounding area for any sign warriors of PineClan may still linger before stepping forward. As she arrived at Ashblaze's side the sight of her shredded throat proved too much for her and Nimbus lowered her head, eyes scrunching shut and teeth gritting as she suppressed the mournful yowl threatening to explode from her chest. Her claws unsheathed and pierced the dirt beneath her paws, momentarily immobilized by her grief.

Gathering what little composure she had left, she touched her nose to Ashblaze's cheek. "I'm going to make sure Timberstar bleeds for this. We'll give him a fate worse than death. He'll regret ever being born once we're through with him." Hatred pulsed through her like a wildfire, leaving her feeling overheated and wired. She almost hoped a PineClan patrol interrupted. She wanted the feeling of her claws and teeth tearing through flesh, the taste of their blood in her mouth, the sounds of their pained shrieks. They had lost cats before, but this one...this struck at the heart of the Clan. Shadowfang's own daughter.

"We have to get her home," she spoke at last, rising to her full height, her gaze settling on those who attended the patrol, voice now filled with resolve. "Who will help me carry her?"

 Pouncival|Warrior of theRogues|Bi-colored Grey and White tom|Location: patrol|Mentions: Nimbus
Pouncival had followed the patrol with a bit more spring in his step than the others. Perhaps it was his youth, or his newness to the clans but the gravity of their search didn't quite seem to resonate within the tom as much as it did the others. Sure, his usually chatty words were currently being withheld, but he looked about the forest more as if he was taking a casual stroll than looking for anything specific. As the sharp tang of blood and the scent of cats grew stronger however, he seemed to slow, as Numbus, who was leading the group, found what they were looking for.

The cat they were looking for was dumped so unceremoniously, Pounce had a hard time believing that she hadn't just collapsed there herself. It was odd, the fact that this Pineclan put forth the effort not only to kill one of their own, but then drag her out to the crows. Granted, he didn't have much perspective. Back at his old barn, only one cat had died and they had done so alone and in a place where the two-legs ended taking care of it. The thought of murder, deliberate and violent, was just, well pointless. He didn't however, speak these thoughts as Nimbus grieved. Briefly, he wondered if they had known one another, it didn't seem as if the rogues and the clan cats got along based on his few moons in the clan, and it didn't seem as if they allowed cats to escape. Lost in thought, he almost missed Nimbuses words as the she-cat rose to her full height and addressed those waiting.

"Here." Pouncival spoke up quickly, glad to be of some help. He trotted forward and bent, using his jaws to get a gentle grip on the fallen Pineclan warrior, trying not to scrunch his face at the fur and blood that offended his mouth and nose.

Arie|8 Moons Old|Trainee|Small white & tabby/calico Tom|Mentions Directly: OPEN|Mentions Indirectly: Shadowfang, Ashblaze|Location: Tunnels/Camp

Arie wrapped his tail around his small paws, the young tom let out a sigh. He had stayed behind and not joined the patrol, sent out to search for Ashblaze's body. His amber eyes drifted, to look in the direction of where Shadowfang was resting. He felt bad for the commander, the tom had just lost his daughter. The young tom dug his claws into the dirt, 'Pineclan, they were so cruel and still are, how could so many cats be alright with that?', he wondered.
The young tom let out another sigh and his head sank a bit, when was this going to end? Arie shook his head, his large ears twitching back and forth as he did so. He had been lucky enough to not have faced too many of the Pineclan warriors and those he had encountered, Arie had been fortunate enough to have been with warriors or senior warriors. The young tom sat near a tunnel entrance, so when a spot of sunlight hit his white and calico/tabby spotted pelt, Arie looked up. It was the middle of the day, still his thoughts went to Starclan. He still had not gotten completely used to the thought of dead cats watching over them, still he sometimes did catch himself wondering if his littermates and parents were up there, watching him? Getting to his paws, the trainee looked around this camp. If the warriors saw him lazing around like this, he'd just get into trouble. Not really seeing much to do, most of the warriors seemed to be out on patrol or still in their nests, the apprentice walked over to the fresh-kill pile and started to sort through it. If rotten prey stayed on the pile, it would just rote the rest and start to stink. His face scrunched up, as his jaws clamped around a decaying squirrel. "Gross", Arie mumbled, as his face contorted even more. Quite gingerly, he carried the prey to the entrance and took it outside. Fining a bush, he quickly buried it. "That was disgusting", Arie said, smacking his lips, to get the gross taste out of his mouth.

Arie|8 Moons Old|Trainee|Small white & tabby/calico Tom|Mentions Directly: Eros|Mentions Indirectly: Pineclan|Location: Tunnel Mouth

The young tom looked around, when he heard his name. "Morning, Eros", the trainee replied, respectfully inclining his head to the the seasoned warrior. Walking over, the smaller tom looked up at the red abyssinian. His tail twitched a bit, at the larger tom's question. "Well enough", the tight lipped young tom answered. He was not one for lots of words, with his history, Arie always kept to himself. He wanted to have and make friends, but was afraid of losing these friends. He was shaken back into reality, when Eros continued to speak.
"Training?", he asked, half to himself. One of his large ears twitched with pride, when the seasons warrior said, that Arie might not know how to swim. Standing a bit straighter, the calico/tabby tom said, "Actually, I'm a great swimmer. That was one of the first things our mother taught us, just to make sure we could never drown. It also helps, cause I like hunting and the taste of fish." The young tom had brightened, as he spoke. Realising that he had said way too much, Arie closed his mouth and looked to his paws. "Um, sure we can do 'Jump' training", Arie said. Training near the border sounded interesting too, would they meet a Pineclan cat? and if, would they recognise him? Arie flexed his claws into the dirt under paw, he was both anxious and excited. He was not a scared little kit anymore, he could actually fight now. As his thoughts went back to his time in Pineclan, Arie's shoulder wound started to sting.

| Wolfstorm | 38 Moons | Female | Calico | Rogue Clan Warrior |
Location: Tunnels/Camp
Mentions: Eros, Arie

There was a sense of sorrow and weight among the rogue clan that Wolf had found a new home in. Wolf had remained back at camp, reluctant to face what was certain to be another death. In her life, there had been so much death, so much destruction, and all of it had been at the paws of those she had once called clanmates.

There were many that she could understand pardoning, cats who simply didn't know better than the life they'd been indoctrinated to, but others... There would be a dark fate awaiting them. She'd heard the tales of not only Starclan, but of the Place of No Stars. A hiss escaped her throat at the thought. Knowing those brutes, they'd enjoy it there. Nothing but the reek of death and endless battles...

She stretched, hauling herself from her nest. It was high time she properly helped out her clanmates for the day.

The sight that greeted her was dismal. It was as if the sky itself knew of the sorrow of many cats involved in this mess. She spotted Eros and Arie from the corner of her eye and made her way over. Their fresh-kill was dwindling, and it wouldn't hurt to try to stock it up a bit. She looked over at Eros, dipping her head in greeting, then did the same to Arie.

"Morning." Her voice was bland and tired. "Any interesting plans for the day?" She was clearly trying to preserve a sense of normalcy with her clanmates.

⇺ [ Nimbus ] ⇻
Molly • 27 Moons • Warrior
Location: Border - Pyres • Mentions: Pouncival, Juno (Directly) / Shadowfang, Cinderpaw (Indirectly)

The touch of Juno’s tail upon her shoulders saw Nimbus look to the older she-cat bleakly. “Part of me...part of me hoped it wasn’t true,” she murmured softly as Pouncival moved closer to help, keeping his grip despite the mildly repulsed expression wrinkling his muzzle. Just as Nimbus prepared to slip her own body beneath the stiff warrior, Juno instead made it clear she would be the one to carry her home. A protest danced at the tip of her tongue. Nimbus desperately wanted to do this one last thing for her friend, and for Shadowfang, but concluded arguing with her superior would only leave them exposed to a potential ambush the longer they lingered here.

When Pouncival hoisted Ashblaze up by her scruff, Nimbus used her shoulders to lift her hind legs over Juno’s back. As they headed for the pyres she fell back to the rear of the patrol, numbness enveloping her. When Juno began speaking again it took her a moment to process what was being said, hurrying to walk beside her once it all clicked. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Ashblaze’s head lolled to the side as Juno walked, her glazed eyes staring at her blankly. A cold, sick feeling roiled in her stomach and Nimbus’ voice caught in her throat. “I..I will,” she finally managed, reaching a paw out to close Ashblaze’s sightless eyes. Nimbus couldn’t even imagine the state Cinderpaw must be in after witnessing such savagery, not even allowed a moment to say goodbye. She shuddered.

“Yes, we were,” she murmured, averting her gaze to watch the path ahead of them as they walked. “We knew each other from when I trained in PineClan and after she discovered my identity we did some catching up. I'd like to think we became friends again." This admittance didn't bring her any joy, only pain, and Juno's comment stating there would be more deaths to come made her feel even wearier. How many more cats must they lose to PineClan's curel, brutal beliefs?

Arie|8 Moons Old|Trainee|Small white & tabby/calico Tom|Mentions Directly: Eros, Wolf|Mentions Indirectly: |Location: Just outside tunnels

The trainee looked over, as he heard someone come over and start speaking. Arie nodded his small head to Wolf, in response to the warrior's greeting. "Good morning", the small multi colored tom said. He glanced over to Eros' and answered, "Eros' said, that we'd go near the border for some Jump training", the young tom informed the calico she-cat.
His eyes wandered back to Eros, he was excited for the training. "When are we going to leave?", the small tom asked, pawing at the ground. With anticipation, his large ears and long tail started to twitch.

{Sorry, can't think of anything else}

Arie|8 Moons Old|Trainee|Small white & tabby/calico Tom|Mentions Directly: Eros|Mentions Indirectly: Wolf|Location: Tunnel Mouth

Arie's tail twitched, as Eros spoke. It would be interesting to have Wolf come with them, still he resented the remark that he would be of no use if they bumped into a patrol. It is true, he hadn't really seen any real battle before, but he would still be useful. The trainee did not voice any of his complaints though, only tapping his long tail on the ground with displeasure. Seeing Eros rise and then nod his head to him, Arie looked up, giving the warrior his full attention.
The young tom shuddered a bit, as the warrior asked him how he could hide his scent. Arie hatted to cover his pelt, not because he liked his pelt colors or anything like that, but because the dried mud would start itching after a while. Looking around, the young tom soon spotted what he had been looking for. A puddle, just under a nearby bush. It was thick with mud, leaves, and small branches. Arie shuddered at the thought of having that stuff cover his white and calico, tabby pelt. That would cover his pelt colors, now to disguise his scent. His eyes soon landed on a small green patch, of large leaved plants. That was mint, it would be good at hiding their scent. "Over there", he said, turning back to Eros and pointing with his tail first to the puddle and then the patch of mint. "We can use the puddle to disguise our pelts and then mint to hide our scent", the trainee said. One of his large ears twitched, hopping that his answers had been acceptable.

⇺ [ Nimbus ] ⇻
Molly • 27 Moons • Warrior
Location: Border - Pyres • Mentions: Juno, Pouncival (Directly)

Juno's words brought Nimbus only minimal comfort, but she found herself offering a conceding nod all the same as they reached the pyres. The thought of Ashblaze's spirit entering StarClan rather than wandering lost and alone as PineClan had taught her to be the fate of any Turnclaw or cat who lost their totem was a relief and her eyes glanced upward briefly, wondering if she might even be watching them now. 'No cat deserves a death like this,' she had nearly protested, but Nimbus found she was in no mood for arguing with her superior over what her friend did or didn't deserve. Juno and Ashblaze hadn't exactly shared a loving relationship, and perhaps it was unfair to expect much more from the older she-cat considering that.

Some of the tension in her body eased now that they were far from the border and within the safety of their own territory. PineClan warriors wouldn't dare track them this far and they could perform the ceremony in peace. "Should I fetch Shadowfang?" She questioned, uncertain whether Ashblaze's father would wish to be present for this. She would understand if he found it easier to remain in camp, remembering his daughter as she'd been in life compared to death; fierce, outspoken and full of courage. Yet she also felt he shouldn't miss the funeral. He should be here to bid her spirit farewell, to speak words on her behalf. Perhaps the whole Clan should.

 Pouncival|Warrior of theRogues|Bi-colored Grey and White tom|Location: patrol|Mentions: Nimbus, Juno

Pouncival had kept quiet while the other cats talked, his ears swiveling from side to side the sign that he was merely observing their conversation. Even though he had been with the Rogue clan for some time, their ways and words still made him wonder if they wern't just trying to make themselves feel better about their situation. His own gaze flickered upwards towards the sky. Wishful thinking or not, it at least was a harmless sentiment, and one that seemed to at least do more good than harm. After all, who wouldn't want to spend their days forever hunting with their friends?
Lost in his thoughts for a moment, he didn't realize they had already drawn quite close to the cats 'burial ground. He had yet to be privy to such an occasion as seeing the fires that this clan used, and part of him felt prickly in apprehension, though it was easily beat by the shiver of curiosity that ran down his spine.
"I can also fetch anything, or anyone that may be needed." He mewed, dipping his head politely. He wasn't entierly sure which cat had history with the one on Juno's back, but even he knew that friends often liked to say a last goodbye.