Fading's first search party

[occultation]

( @Blaaze @Fits )

Posting order will be Fading - Heron - Gold

Once Goldfish and Heroneye showed up, Fadingstar wasted no time in leaving. He followed Dusklion's scent trail up to the cliffs where it abruptly ended, saying nothing along the way.

At first glance, there wasn't much to go off of. However, he was going to go through every nook and cranny, looking for any sign possible that could lead him to where she might be.

Turning to look at Goldfish and Heroneye, he tersely said, "Look around for any signs or clues. Any cue as to what happened or who might be responsible, if anyone. Be mindful not to stray over the border; we haven't had any interactions with our neighbors and I'd prefer to keep it that way."

With that, he began his search around the area.

[ This search party will not be finding Dusklion. In my next post, Fading will be finding some blood; you're welcome to have your cat find a few tufts of her fur strewn about. Since Dusk fell, her scent ends abruptly. ]

[Fits]

Heroneye
| she/her | RiverClan | Warrior |

Heroneye scanned the area with her eyes. If absolutely nothing else, she could say definitively that Dusklion had passed through there, her scent still hanging in the air. But, well, that was just about all. To say that she had disappeared was just about the most accurate thing that could be said. Her scent trail cut off suddenly, as though she really had just... vanished. Without a proper scent trail or clear indication of her whereabouts, actually finding her would be just about impossible. But that's why we're here, she reminded herself. To find that indication. The deputy would be found that day, be it by Heroneye's patrol or another. And everything would just go back to normal. Surely.

But enough dawdling. Heroneye got to work inspecting the area. She walked in small strips around the perimeter of the area, eyes fixed on the ground. As far as she could tell, there was at least no sign of an outsider attack; the only cats' scent she could pick up were those of RiverClan cats, and she had no reason to believe that there was some kind of an assassination attempt. Still, though, she wasn't about to jump to any conclusions.

Heroneye paused as she noticed a tuft of brown fur on the ground, laden with Dusklion's scent. "I found some of her fur," she announced in a slightly wavering voice to no one in particular. It wasn't particularly significant, but it was something, and she was having trouble finding much of anything else. Silently, she continued on searching, trying not to acknowledge the sinking feeling in her chest.

( @occultation ; @Blaaze )

[Blaaze]

♤ Goldfish ♤
♤The Ace of Spades♤
Go With The Flow | Agatha Kitty [IN USE]| Primal Instincts [Climbing]
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The tortoiseshell yellow gaze was flicking around as she searched silently for any traces. Remains. A horrible word to describe it, truthfully. The thought of finding the deputies remains was rather scary. No, horrifying. Gritting her teeth in disapproval and horror, The Ace of Spades grasped a piece of Dusklion's fur and sniffed deeply, making sure to catch the scent. Frowning, she followed the scent about, but was unable to truly find where it ended, it took a lot of concentration to follow it. But, she eventually found out where it led. She bit her lip- hard. A dot of blood on her lip. She licked it up, but her eyes didn't leave the cliff. Like an Agatha Kitty, She realized what had happened. Or had a good idea of what likely happened. She was almost completely certain the dark tabby deputy had fallen and not been taken or killed by anything. The clues were miraculously helpful with her deducting skills. "Stars dammit." She hissed to herself, before grasping a tuft of fur and placing it dutifully off to the side. Then another tuft, in case they never found her, Goldfish was certain that they would need something to bury. Or she would. Just to make herself feel better, feel braver. More useful. Her eyes strayed back to the cliff uncertainly. "I think ive come to a rather unpleasant conclusion." She said tightly, moving picking up a scrap of fur in between her claws before letting it fall slowly into her pile. "Dusklion.. most likely fell and died looking at the evidence." Her voice involuntarily faltered a bit. Hopefully she wasn't stating the obvious. Her eyes stared soberly at the small pile of fur she had collected. She felt sick to the stomach. Goldfish didn't want to see anyone die. But Starclan was so damn cruel. She had never been that close to Dusklion, but they had taken everyone else from her, too. Minnowkit, Pepperbounce, wolfpaw, daisypaw.. Rookrat left on her own. What did she do wrong?
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@occultation @Fits [let me know if I missed anything or if I should edit my post!]

[occultation]

( @Fits @Blaaze )

While Heroneye and Goldfish looked around themselves, Fadingstar went to work sleuthing. There wasn't much to go off of. No outsider scent hung in the area, aside from the other group's border markers. It was hard to pick out any individual scents (aside from Dusklion's, but that was only because he knew it so well).

The idea that a RiverClan cat was responsible for her disappearance wasn't out of the question by any means. Nobody else in the Clan knew about Thunderchaser's actions yet, so it wouldn't surprise Fadingstar if nobody else drew the same potential conclusion as him.

If someone really had assassinated Dusklion, they would pay in the worst way he could think. He'd unleash his dark side without remorse, and make them regret ever even thinking about laying a claw on Dusklion.

His blood ran cold when he saw a few spots of blood. Dusklion's scent clung heavy to the blood, suggesting it was hers. It wasn't enough blood to suggest a severe injury, but it was still concerning. She must have been attacked, but by what or who? A predator, or ill-intentioned RiverClan cats?

Fadingstar turned as Heroneye announced a piece of discovered fur. Not anything significant on its own, but when paired with the blood it definitely suggested some sort of violence had occurred. He bristled as Goldfish joined to proclaim that Dusklion probably died.

"No," he said through gritted teeth. "I refuse to accept that she's dead. Dusklion is tougher than that; a simple fall wouldn't be enough to kill her. She's survived too much for that. It does seem like she was attacked, but unless we find a body I'm not losing hope."

The leader leaned over the nearby cliffs, looking down them to see if he could catch sight of anyone, or any more clues at least. Coming up with nothing, he sighed in a mixture of frustration and defeat.

Turning back toward the camp, he quietly said, "I don't think we're going to get any further here. We can at least conclude that she was attacked, she fell, and she probably left the area since I can't see anyone down there. We should head back to camp; I want to hear if the other search parties found anything."

Trying to refrain from stealing another look at the blood he'd found, he started making his way back to camp.

[Fits]

Heroneye
| she/her | RiverClan | Warrior |

Heroneye glanced uneasily at Goldfish as she made her analysis. Ultimately, it was a distinct possibility that Dusklion had indeed fallen, perhaps even to her doom. The mountains were just as unfamiliar as they were treacherous, after all--not to mention the possibility that she had been attacked. Still, though, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive at the prospect of declaring that she had likely died so definitively, considering how the leader might react to such a statement. She didn't know him or his sister that well but had to imagine that there were very few cats who would react positively to the possible death of their sibling.

She flinched a bit as Fadingstar spoke through his teeth, insisting that his sister must still be alive, somewhere. Though it was true that there was currently no way to confirm Dusklion's status, he was still clinging too strongly to the possibility that she could be alive... If it turned out that she had indeed died, reality would hit just that much harder.

"Right," Heroneye began evenly. "We can't confirm anything until a body is found. But..." She paused, gaze drifting to the ground as she considered her words. "We must be ready to accept any conclusion." With that, she quietly followed the leader back to camp.

( @occultation ; @Blaaze )