[taillow]

Dusklion - RiverClan Deputy

No, no, no. Of all the ways that the world could possibly take her out, this was not going to be one of them. Dusklion refused to die in the water. Kicking out hard and strong she connected with the otter, hoping to deliver as much damage as possible. She was faintly aware of pelts in the water - had her patrol not retreated?? - and suddenly the otters grip on her was gone. She twisted in the water to get a better view and - Wolfhive???

What was he doing here? Was there a ThunderClan patrol nearby? The thoughts raced through her head like lightning, too fast to latch onto as she immediately went to work lashing out with her claws to deal as much damage to the creature as she could. A bigger splash had the deputy twisting her head to avoid getting more water blinding her but she immediately looked back to see - what was Sedgeflake doing here???.

Whatever was going on in the forest today, this was the last outcome Dusklion had expected.

Not that the RiverClan deputy would complain, because it appeared with their combined efforts the otter had decided to flee. Seeing it swim downstream, the other otters on the bank let out odd, high-pitched noises before disengaging with the cats they were fighting and following after, leaving the bank empty.

"Get out of the water, now!" Dusklion's sharp voice came boomed, glancing towards Wolfhive. She wasn't sure if he knew how to swim all that well - and he didn't exactly look the healthiest right now - so without hesitation the gray-furred deputy flanked him and jerked her head sharply at Sedgeflake to flank the other side. Powerful paws churned in the water as the deputy eventually made it to a dip in the shore, latching her claws on and scrambling out.

Exhausted and out of breath, but not for a second letting her guard down, the deputy swung her head to survey the aftermath. The otters were gone... and so was Mudsmoke. A painful shard of grief stabbed deep within her chest as she spun around, looking at the still tainted water. There was no sign of him, likely washed away with the stream. Out of the corner of her eye Larkwing was hauling herself back onto the shore, along with - Fishfreckle?? Stars above, did the entire Clan follow them out??

Turning to look at Wolfhive, Dusklion parted her jaws to speak to him when her mental check-list of the cats on the shoreline was off. Catfishwhisker, Floodsight, Larkwing... Jayfrost. Where was Jayfrost? "Where's Jayfrost??" Panic lined her words as she spun around, ignoring the way the world shifted under her paws and black lines circled her vision. He wasn't on the bank, he wasn't hauling himself out onto the shore... "Jayfrost??!?" Paws drummed along the shore, stumbling here and there as Dusklion searched the river. He wasn't there... or there... "Jays!?" Where was he??

Her friend... Perhaps one of the only true, genuine friends she had in the Clan (she had more, but Jayfrost had always been different...). Blue eyes filled with a fear uncharacteristic of the normally spitfire deputy, claws out and gripping the ground. The water was red, and she couldn't see him anywhere... had the water taken him away?? She needed to look for him, she need to -

She couldn't. She had an entire patrol behind her, cats injured. She couldn't look for her friend. He was... he was gone. For a moment the deputy simply stood there, staring downstream, whiskers quivering. She had felt the tear between her personal urges versus what was best for the Clan before this, but stars it was hard to stand on the bank right now and not run down the length of the stream looking for Jays.

Eventually the deputy turned around, trying to steel her expression as she faced the patrol once more.

[ @Idiotic.Bean101 @Neptune. @Dark @goodacacia @alec @BEAR. ]