Open Territory You don't spell love... [bear sighting] you feel it

[flowercloud]

{$title} This bear is Docile!! It seems as soon as it sees the cats, it's more scared of them then they are it....

Flowercloud still felt the weight, even if most of it had lifted. Her green gaze was distant, but she felt more involved. She had been speaking to her friends more often, had been enjoying light hearted events rather than dreading having to even look another's direction. And slowly... Slowly Flowercloud was starting to find herself again. But it wasn't easy. It wasn't easy when she still felt like someone was telling her that something needed to change. But it was all out of her control, and there was nothing she really could control. Sure, others had begun asking about the code, but it didn't change the fact that they were still left in the dark.

Why would Coffeestar let that happen? Why would they leave warriors who were supposed to follow them without any sense of what they were supposed to be doing for their ancestors? Was... Was that why Skyclan was brought here again? Flowercloud was far from sure, and the thoughts swirled as she gave a gentle smile to the cat beside her. "Absolutely. I'll mention it to Hawkstar and see what we can arrange for you." It felt different this time around being deputy. She had already experienced it, but she hadn't been in a right mind even then to really figure it out. The days ticked by, and it felt like a crawl to her, but she was persevering.

Her eyebrow still stung, but it wasn't pain anymore. It had become a divot in her face, but it stung with shame of who she had become. What really hurt was seeing the mark down Cygnetscratch's cheek. It made her feel guilty, and she was sure if it wasn't for that- maybe she never would've given in to that dream. Never realized that she was the monster everyone saw. She had been blind to her own mind- and she could finally see. She could finally feel in control of her actions.

"Wait." Her voice was abrupt, interrupting the other, fluffy plumage of tail lifting to tell others to pause. Her maw opened as her head lifted, green eyes slitting as she was alerted to danger. Green gaze scanned, before pushing forward, signaling for the others to follow quietly with her tail. Since Downypaw had inability to hear, she felt it connected some in learning silent ways to speak when needed in order to connect with the deaf apprentice. Some they had already incorporated, but even more had to be developed.

Just through the the foliage, her paw pressing down on the branch to get a better view. A small bear sat, large paws with clawed tips dipping into a nest of bees, pulling out the honey and curling a long tongue around his sticky paw. Honey littered the ground around him where he sat, and bees that swarmed was swatted by the bear as if they were only flies. Green eyes glanced towards her patrols, widened and glossed over in part fear and part confusion. The bear wore a torn red shirt, a collar around it's neck much like a dog- and it's black beady eyes focused on its task- eating every drop of the sweet liquid inside the hive.

She knew one thing- that it was not safe to ignore, so she took a deep breath, shoulders rolling behind her before the forest cat took a step forward and puffed out caramel and white fur, snarling between teeth. The bears head lifted, letting out a soft bleat, before rolling over from sitting. Her heart thrummed in her chest, but her posture remained sturdy. She felt the touches of her clanmates pulling beside her. With another bleat, the bear turned and bolted, bees angry at the destruction of it's hive following suit.

"I think .. this is the weirdest thing I have ever seen..." She murmured, eyebrows knitted together. "Well inform Hawkstar, and keep patrols alert, just in case."

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Anyone can be the one stepping beside her, and anyone can be the one she's responding to!!! But please remember, this bear is deemed docile and will run away if approached.//

flowercloud - 36 moons - skyclan deputy - mentoring none

 

[Quailstep Quailstep]

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QUAILSTEP

TW: mention of wounds & death

Quailstep chatted amiably with the others in the patrol, her paws light and mood lifted. As greenleaf was drawing to a close, things were starting to get better. Rosebelly's death still itched at the Clan, but it was more a scabbing scrape than gaping wound. Even Flowercloud was returning to something like her old self, less closed off. The Clan was settling, even with the haunting threats at the borders. For the most part, Quailstep figured, things were getting better. She could see it many of her clanmates.

However, after a bit of padding along, she was brought to a stop by Flowercloud's scent suddenly spiking, her fur fluffing out. Quailstep stepped forward, hesitant, and couldn't help but also puff out her pelt at the sight.

A bear? And the bees too could prove troublesome if not taken seriously. She stepped beside Flowercloud, hissing at the creature and baring her claws.

"Get outta here!" she yowled at it as it ran. The buzzing of the furious insects rang in her ears, and she turned from the bees to Flowercloud to the rest of the patrol.

"Should we... shouldn't we make sure it leaves the territory?"

Tagging

 

[swarmswirl]

Swarmswirl's opinion on the recent happenings are not truly here nor there. Rosebelly was a pompous fool of a child - his blood shouldn't have spilled for his idiotic actions, truly, but it was due time before all of this new shown itself problematic. The tortoiseshell molly would lay down her life for her Clan thrice over if she must, but she cannot mourn for the dead for much more than a few idling moments. Others can let their wounds fester and infect should they wish - she has a Clan to help maintain.

Operating as if hiveminded herself, Swarmswirl puffs out her pelt and mimics the actions of her deputy. While hardly as large, it seems the bear takes the threat as well as it can and bolts off. The buzzing of the bees still feels prominent in her ears, strangely enough, and she notices what remains of the hive in the grass.

"And chase both it and those bees, Quailstep?" She smirks towards her fellow warrior, "Be my guest. I think I'm going to grab some of that honey. Surely Swallowbreeze will like it enough..." The moggy takes a few strides forward, wary of the lingering bees as she tries to parse out discarded pieces of honeycomb away from the main hive.

 

[Chrysalisgaze]

♡

𓆦 𖢥 𓆨 𓆣 𐀔 Chrysalisgaze 𐀔 𓆣 𓆨 𖢥 𓆦

The cedar's trunk was thick and tall and Chrysalisgaze found herself scaling it to survey the area. Her sharp claws and lithe body made it quick work, as she climbed to the nearest branch. She saw the patrol below her, approaching her position, and she scanned the surrounding forest for any sign of danger or prey. What she spotted, however, was not what she expected - it was a creature of massive size and round body, a bear, feasting on some honey. It did not seem aggresive and it was no mother with cubs, so Chrysalisgaze wasn't too worried, but she jumped down nonetheless, ready to assist the patrol in scaring the bear off.
The bear wasn't difficult to scare, Chrysalisgaze was more worried about the upset bees, but to the patrol's luck, the insects followed the culprit that destroyed their hive and left the cats alone. "Good thinking, Swarmswirl." she told her sister at the suggestion of gathering the honey. "Let's scrape off some bark to collect it on, so we don't get ourselves sticky."
She turned to the cedar she jumped from moments before and clawed at it, until a piece of bark fell of. Grabbing it in her mouth, she approached the hive carefully. A few stray bees buzzed around, but that was nothing unusual, and Chrysalisgaze carefully scooped up bits of honey onto the bark. She was sure the medicine cat would appreciate this..

 

[flowercloud]

Everyone grouped beside her, or nearby- they all followed her actions- her movements. It would be hard to say she wasn't proud of them. Of how united they each were in making sure to back her up. Quailstep spoke, Flowerclouds eyes watching carefully as she climbed the tree next to them, a lower branch allowing her just enough to see the red shirt the bear wore and it's silhouette trudging off in the distance.

"No, we won't follow it. That bear could be dangerous, even with four of us. It may not be scared, but if we follow it, we could risk danger to ourselves and we don't need that right now. Swallowbreeze needs her herbs for leafbare coming up, and we need to be in good condition." Funny, how she's saying that now- but just a month ago, her and Cygnetscratch wasted precious herbs in a spiral of emotions. It wasn't funny, but it also wasn't the point. Slowly, she slid back down the tree. "It wore a collar- and a twoleg pelt. How weird is that? Do they keep bears like they do other animals? I've seen dogs with that human pelt, but ..." She wondered, aloud, eyebrows pinching in the confusion.

They spoke of collecting the honey, and Flowercloud nodded. "Wonderful idea, swarmswirl! With the cold coming, it'll be needed." She agreed. her paws brought up to the tree log, pulling with her claws to loosen then rip off bark strips. Swallowbreeze would indeed be happy with this. Anything they brought at least would make it easier- and this was a perfect time than any considering the bear had helped substantially.

flowercloud - 36 moons - skyclan deputy - mentoring none

 

[Quailstep Quailstep]

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QUAILSTEP

Quailstep bristles at Swarmswirl's comment. Usually a little teasing from her fellow Clanmates was fine, but to be teased in front of Flowercloud, and especially after the surge of adrenaline... it left a sour taste in the warrior's mouth.

"Right," she muttered, grabbing some of the strips of bark the others gathered, clenching them in her teeth to set them down before the other warrior. Her tail flicked at the comment on the bear's appearance, her curiosity piqued.

"Twolegs do strange things," she said, ears swivelling to catch any further disturbances. "But to put a pelt on a bear... they have enough fur of their own!"

Tagging

SPEECH

THOUGHTS

 

[Chrysalisgaze]

♡

𓆦 𖢥 𓆨 𓆣 𐀔 Chrysalisgaze 𐀔 𓆣 𓆨 𖢥 𓆦

As long as twolegs didn't bother them, Chrysalisgaze did not care what they chose to do. She hoped this bear was just a pet that had escaped, a one-time thing, something that would not cause trouble again. Twolegs were strange creatures, but for the most part, they left the clans alone. She would rather focus on her clanmates than try to understand what they were up to - she doubted she even had a chance to comprehend their actions anyway.
"Let's bring these back to camp." she suggested, pointing her tail at the bark covered in honey. "We should also report the bear to the clan, so other patrols are more careful and vigilant. It seemed rather afraid of us, but the more we let it wander around, the less scared it will be and it might become an issue in the future." Better safe than sorry.
Chrysalisgaze didn't even want to imagine what a bear attack would mean for her clan - minor injuries at best, but major injuries or even death would not be out of the question either. Better to eliminate the risk before the bear became an actual threat.

 

[swarmswirl]

Swarmswirl doesn't notice the bitterness that briefly seeps into Quailstep's gaze. If anything, as the molly draws closer to the remainder of the hive, the tortoiseshell nudges her with her shoulder, good-naturedly. The conversation continues despite them, and the warrior agrees with a slight nod. "Hawkstar won't be too happy," though, truly, would anyone? She can only hope whomever's bear that is locks him back behind enough gates and fences that it'll never make it this far again.

She posits a glob of honey and honeycomb onto the nearest tree bark, still having yet to grasp a piece of her own and deciding to be the one to get her paws irreversibly sticky. "Do you think twolegs would dress us like that if they got the chance?" She asks. As Quailstep says, the bear has plenty fur on its own - it doesn't make any sense for the twolegs to shed their own pelts for it. "I can't remember any kittypet to have worn more than a collar... Or - oh, there was that one who wore a cloth around his neck. I can't for the life of me remember his name..." How long have they been in these pines to have rendered old friendly faces... faceless? It almost hurts.