The Boy Prophet - RavenClan Plot Thread
Mar 28, 2018 1:11:14 GMT
Stormy, Sloth, and 6 more like this
Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 1:11:14 GMT
Days have passed since Petalflight's disappearance. After sending a patrol to follow her tracks, it was discovered that the she-cat's trail led beyond RavenClan boundaries. Biding his time, Sootpaw waited patiently for Petalflight to return, but upon sending another patrol and finding no trace of the she-cat's scent, he has decided it is time at last to announce her disappearance to all of RavenClan.
Sootpaw pushed his way through the lichen drapes sheltering the entrance of the medicine cat den. The sun blazed down into the clearing, casting long shadows across the ground and filling the air with it sweltering heat. At the fringes of the camp, the trees that circled the perimeter of the camp rustled dryly; like an owls grip, Greenleaf, persisted, not once considering the damage it was doing to the forest and the creatures that lived within it.
Running his tongue over chapped lips, Sootpaw paused to gaze around the camp. The clearing was filled with the hustle and bustle of Clan life. Warriors padded across the clearing to snatch a bite to eat, others sat in pairs to exchange gossip between one another, while others—as is the way in RavenClan—remained quietly to themselves. A queen was chasing her kits across the clearing, and two apprentices were pretending to be frogs.
None of them seemed the least bit perturbed that their medicine cat had gone missing—not a single one looked as distraught and bone-tired as he did, and for a moment he allowed himself to envy them. But then he remembered they had no reason to. Cats absented themselves from the camp all the time, and Petalflight was no exception.
Moons could pass before they’d notice, Sootpaw thought bitterly, tugging up stalks of grass with his paws. So long as I’m around to pull the thorns out of their pads, anyway.
Sighing, he got to his paws and made to the center of the clearing.
It had been nearly ten sunrises since Petalflight’s disappearance. Save for Sootpaw and the search party he’d organized to hunt for tracks, not a soul knew the medicine cat was beyond RavenClan boundaries; without a sign of fighting, injury, or blood, it was almost as if Petalflight had vanished into thin air.
Which means I ought to tell everyone the news before they find out on their own.
Sootpaw’s stomach turned at the thought, but it was too late now. His paws had already led him to the smooth, uprooted boulder Petalflight used when she gave counsel. Staring up at it miserably, he imagined Petalflight sitting there, looking put together and composed. She’d always known the right thing to say…
Snap out of it! Shaking his head stubbornly, he bundled his haunches and sprang up to the very top of the boulder. Smooth, sun-warmed stone rubbed against his pads, and as he paused to gaze around him, he was taken aback.
Despite the boulder being relatively small, he could still see over the heads of every cat in camp from where he stood—and there were plenty of those at this hour now that the weather was tolerable.
It’s now or never.
“Ahem. Excuse me,” Sootpaw called out feebly, turning his gaze over the sea of twitching ears and dark pelts. “Excuse me. I, um, I have an—“
A shrill cry interrupted him as two kits came bundling across the clearing, their mother padding after them in hot pursuit, cursing sharply under her breath. With a low growl, she snatched one up by the tail and hissed for the other to follow before taking her brood back into the shade of the Nursery.
“As I was saying…” Sootpaw’s voice faltered.
No one was even listening to him. Their heads were all dipped in conversation, their eyes everywhere but where he was—a fly could have garnered more attention from them than he did at that moment.
Flushing, Sootpaw gazed down at his paws. It had been foolish to think he could make a Clan announcement, as young as he was. He may as well wait for another, more experienced warrior to take notice of her absence.
Dejectedly he made to leave, but something kept his paws rooted. What would happen in the moons to come if the Clan was oblivious to Petalflight’s absence? They had every right to know what was going on, especially now when tensions were so high.
Drawing courage from that, Sootpaw turned back to face the swarm of cats, sitting up a little bit taller and puffing his chest. This time I must be heard. “All cats of RavenClan gather before me! I have an announcement to make!” His voice rang clearly throughout the clearing, and as he allowed himself to savor the sound of it bouncing off the oaks, he studied the crowd apprehensively, waiting for the eyes to turn towards him.
TAGGED: [All cats of RavenClan]