There's A Murderer In Our Midst. [OPEN TO ALL OF SHADOWCLAN]

Silentpaw's head whirled. What was going on? Gingerstripe? Honeydrop? Murder? She was too young for all this. It must have happened before she was born. The snow-white she-cat stared fearfully at the ginger tabby tom. What would happen to him? Would he be okay?

Honeydrop? Sootpaw didn't recognize the name, but still a murderer was a murderer all the same. "What's wrong with you? How could you kill another clan cat? Especially a she-cat!" He hissed, knowing he could be heard but unable to stop himself. He didn't yet know the full circumstances behind Honeydrop's death, or even that she was a past medicine cat. He was too young after all.

Thornpaw glared daggers into Gingerstripe's pelt. She didn't know the tom, nor did she want to. She just knew that he should suffer the same fate as his victim. Despicable.

Wildpaw who had been sitting quiet until he heard what Sootpaw said "She-cats are weaker than us toms! She simply couldn't defend herself and when you can't do that you die" Wildpaw grinned and purred quietly.

Scorchfang overheard Wildpaw, and fury rose up in him at his apprentice's and little brother's words. He was saying nearly the same things he himself did when Honeydrop was exposed long ago. He whipped around and bared his teeth at Wildpaw, his voice loud and echoing through the air. "Don't you ever say that again, Wildpaw! She-cats are just as important as toms! They have the compassion that we toms can lack sometimes, and they can hunt, fight, heal, and lead a Clan just as well as any other cat! We lost a valuable medicine cat and many cats here lost a dear friend! How would you feel if Crowfur or Rowantalon or even Magpiestar died, and someone told you that no one would miss them because they were a tom?"

He felt so bad. He felt so bad for snapping at his beloved brother, for yowling so loudly out of turn for the entire Clan to hear. Embarrassment courses through him, turning his ears hot against the cold leaf-bare air. But... it was better he said something than someone of higher authority. That would've been much more humiliating to Wildpaw; it was so embarrassing for him when Magpiestar himself cuffed him over the ear and snapped at him for speaking out of turn as an apprentice.

Silentpaw's eyes widened with hurt at Wildpaw's words. Did he feel that way about her..? Oh... of course he would, she was weaker than most she-cats. After all, all she did was cower in fear when things like this happened. Still, hearing that from him hurt more than she could have expected. She looked up at Scorchfang at his outburst. Maybe Wildpaw was right, all she was useful for was becoming a queen.

Sootpaw unsheathed his claws at Wildpaw's words, bristling in offense. Friend or not, that was out of line. "What's wrong with you?! Are you that mouse-brained to think that a warrior is useless because of their gender? Even if a cat is weak, shouldn't we protect them rather than kill them or let them die? We have to protect our clanmates at any cost, and help the weak become strong!" He snarled. The smokey tabby relaxed a little when Scorchfang went off on Wildpaw, agreeing with the warrior.

His sister however, agreed partially with Wildpaw. If a cat is weak they should just die. Weakness shouldn't be tolerated, it just drags the clan down after all. But all she-cats being weak? Excuse me? Thornpaw shot to her feet and began to charge at Wildpaw. "I'll show you weak, crowfood!"

Badgerkit stood in the nursery with wide eyes. Her fur was puffed as she sensed the hostility through the clan. She carefully walked out and slowly inched closer to the accused cat. She was finally by Gingerstripe as she pressed a small paw on his back. "W-Why would you kill someone l-like that? I-It's not r-right! W-Why didn't you go t-to your family? T-They could've helped y-you feel b-better!" she squeaked.

Ooc Mobile

Nettlesting snapped and stormed over the sqaubbling apprentices, blocking the path of the charging apprentice. As that cat laid on the ground from the impact, Nettlesting swatted Sootpaw upside the back head with a sheathed paw. "Shut up and listen. If you can't behave in such a serious matter as this, you never will be true warriors." With that, he walked up to Gingerstripe and resumed his menacing glare. "And how did you kill her Gingerstripe? Tell the clan."[/color] he growled low, fur raised.

Ooc; seriously guys, stay on topic and don't go off on your own tangents. If you want a fight over sexism feel free to do it in a related thread.

Firestone stayed in his spot, waiting for Nettlesting announcement. His eyes widened in surprise when he started. A murderer... who? He wondered looking at his fellow clanmates but incapable of telling who could it be. Then, the medicine cat continued, saying the name of the victim: Honeydrop. His biological mother. The she-cat who lied to him and his brother all their lives... was murdered? By a Shadowclan cat? The large stocky tom knew that only one clanmate would be angry enough at her to do such a thing... but he didn't want to believe it... even if Nettlesting said his name.

Gingerstripe

His green eyes immediately gazed at his brother, desperate to find that he was at surprised at him. But he wasn't. The ginger tom knew what this was about. "Please... say it's not true, Gingestripe..." He whispered, his expression filled with pain and vain hopes. And then... everything crumbled down in the moment his brother admitted his crime. The flame-furred tom thought that there was nothing worse than what he felt the day that Flamestrike and Honeydrop's relationship was revealed. He was wrong.

Gingerstripe was the only kin he could trust... but the tom wasn't sure about it anymore. Just like his parents, the lean orange tom betrayed him... he lied to him and kept him in the dark until now. Firestone clenched his teeth and dug his claws into the snow, his fur bristling. He didn't know what to do. Even if he felt heartbroken and betrayed by his brother... his closest friend... there was a part of him that didn't want him to leave. If Gingerstripe left... then he would have nobody of his family with him. All gone... because of the net of lies they created during their lives.

He lifted his head and fixed his eyes filled with tears of anger and frustration that he didn't drop yet in Gingerstripe. "Please, please don't take me away from my family! They're- they're all I have...." He heard him say. Was that a lie too? If his brother somehow escaped from this without being exiled... would he be able to see him as the way he used to do? Would he have the same relationship? Of course not... he murdered their mother, the medicine cat... and he didn't tell him a word about it even when they said that together, they would face everything, as brothers and best friends.

Littlebrook’s eyes glazed in a kind of tired horror. Someone had murdered Honeydrop. Someone in ShadowClan. There was only one cat that she thought of, but immediately the thought was shaken from her mind. That was ridiculous. Gingerstripe would never do anything like that. Especially if- Her thoughts were cut short as the name of her adopted son rang out through the clearing.

“No.” She murmured softly in grief. Not Gingerstripe. “There must be a mistake..” She whispered to herself, though she knew Nettlesting would never make an accusation like that if he wasn’t 100% positive he was right. Her body threatened to collapse into nervous shakes, but she caught herself. She was deputy of ShadowClan. She couldn’t fall apart in front of her clan. Not like this. So she forced herself to stand tall, head raised high, and small shoulders stiff, she looked at Gingerstripe. Her sorrowful blue gaze the only sign of the turmoil that was going on inside of her. She wanted desperately to leap infrong of the ginger tom, if only to protect him from Nettlesting’s hostile glare, but she knew that would only make things worse. It would be seen as favoritism, and who knows. Maybe it was.

"Please, please don't take me away from my family! They're- they're all I have...."

That outcry almost undid her. She choked back a cry as she gazed at his broken features. He had been doing so well. He hadn’t gotten into any more trouble. He seemed to be closer than ever to his brother, so why did StarClan feel the need to bring this up now? Why did any of this have to happen? Why was her family increasingly getting smaller by the day? This leafbare has not been kind to the small tortoiseshell she-cat, and it took all her strength to keep herself together in this moment. Was StarClan testing her as a deputy? Had she angered her ancestors in some way? The deputy was entirely confused and full of grief, but she didn’t let it show. She had to at least appear strong as everything around her fell apart.

(mobile)

His icy eyes flooded with anxiety, Ryeheart's body tensed at Nettlesting's words; '..we have been living with a murderer in our camp for many moons.'  He couldn't mean him, could he?  In the tom's eyes, he was a murderer.  He had torn out Swoop's throat and let her bleed to death on the Great Rock...but it was the only thing he could do to save the clan from Smokefang.  It must've been the will of StarClan that she died, why would they turn against him now?  Then again...if Willowpetal hadn't been pregnant with his kits she wouldn't have died giving birth to them...did that make him a murder too?  His heart beating fast, he silently begged for the medicine cat to continue speaking, to give him relief from this guilt one way or another, but when the tom spoke the accused's name, it wasn't his.  The name of the victim wasn't Swoop, or Willowpetal.  No, it was Gingerstripe who had killed, and Honeydrop's blood was on his paws.

Dumbstruck, the tom watched the warrior step forward and admit to his crimes, and a cold ball of fury began to form in the pits of Ryeheart's stomach.  No matter what Honeydrop had done, she hadn't deserved to die!  Even after it was revealed that the kind-hearted she-cat had taken a mate and birthed kits, the ginger warrior still held fond memories of the medicine cat.  If he was being honest, he understood her pain.  Watching your kits grow up right in front of you, but not be able to know them, sounded like the greatest pain imaginable.  Could that have been his own fate, if he had kept contact with his children?  In the end, Ryeheart chose to stay silent.  It wasn't his family, and it wasn't his place to condemn Gingerstripe; he trusted Magpiestar's judgement, and was confident their leader could handle this.

Wildpaw glared at Scorchfang as he yelled at him. He rolled his eyes when he turned around and when Thornpaw charged towards him he just growled quietly, completly sure that he would beat her in a battle anyways. He then looked at the other cats and waited for Gingerstripe to tell them how he had killed Honeydrop.

Sootpaw's pelt heated with embarrassment at the medicine cat's scolding and he looked downwards. He didn't regret voicing his thoughts, but he felt stupid for being so loud and insistent about it. There were more important things going on after all. He turned his gaze to Magpiestar in hopes his mentor wasn't too ashamed of his mouthy apprentice.

Thornpaw scrambled to her feet after a moment and huffed, cleaning her pelt. Whatever, she didn't know or care about any of this anyways. It wasn't her problem. She'd put Wildpaw in his place later.


_{^{(Ahh the naivety of apprentices)}}

Willowheart's amber eyes narrowed as Gingerstripe spoke, and she stood up angrily. "Murderer!" She hissed, her tail lashing. "Coward! Attacking the defenseless!" The skinny she-cat's white paws kneaded the marshy ground as she spat, her fiery temper and a strong sense of justice once again spurring her on. Her voice became shrill as she spoke. "Is this what Leopardstar would've wanted? Is this what Flamestrike would've wanted? You're a mousebrain, Gingerstripe. A silly, self-absorbed mousebrain who thinks that he can just go and do whatever he wants without consequence-" She stopped suddenly, painfully aware that the others had fallen silent. Suddenly, her voice became much quieter. "Um... yeah. You disgust me, Gingerstripe. That's all." She ended lamely, sitting down again.

Rowantalon gasped softly, his hazel eyes widening. "Gingerstripe..." He mewed quietly, his ears twitching. The small tom shook his head, standing up, but staying back. There were enough cats crowding around him, so instead the stocky warrior remained seated.
"He admitted it," Rowantalon sighed to himself. Suddenly the tom felt very, very old. 'It seems that despite the war for Sunningrocks, Thunderclan and Riverclan aren't the only clans suffering greatly this Leafbare.' He thought to himself, turning his sad gaze on the young red tom and his family. He remembered what it was like to be young and hotheaded, but to kill a cat, especially one that couldn't defend themselves?
"Everyone, quiet please. Thank you, Willowheart." He knew that Magpiestar was in control of the situation, but he wanted to get a quick word in, so he glared at the apprentices and younger warriors until they had all lapsed into silence. "Gingerstripe." Starclan, how had his once-honorable clan gotten so... barbaric? Fighting apprentices, murderous warriors, unfaithful medicine cats... "Here's my understanding of the situation. You killed Honeydrop, a medicine cat with no battle training, who had no ability to defend herself. You acted against Magpiestar and his verdict that Honeydrop would be exiled and unharmed. You then deceived all of Shadowclan and told nobody of your actions, until Starclan themselves had to take action to inform us." His voice stayed level as he spoke, and didn't change in volume. "I would like to ask you one question, Gingerstripe, before Magpiestar and Littlebrook share their thoughts. Are you sorry? Are you ashamed that you killed your mother?"

Littlebrook stared around the clearing as her clanmates spoke out angrily. How was this happening? Why was this happening? Why did she have to do this? Holding back a sigh of despair, she padded forward until she was in front of Gingerstripe, her face blank. She couldn't let emotion rule whatever she would say. She couldn't be biased. She had to treat him as just any other warrior accused of murder. She had to pretend he wasn't her adoptive son just as he had since that day everything was revealed, so she blocked all emotion from entering her mind, even anger. She was just a cat walking into a mess of a situation, mind wide open. "Gingerstripe. I know that what she had done had turned your whole world upside down, and I know that you were, no still are, hurting. That, though, does not excuse the murder of another cat, a defenseless one at that." She meowed severely, her gaze unwavering as she spoke. "Murder is an extremely serious crime, and with that said, warrants a serious punishment." She spoke loudly for all of her clan to hear. "So, for the murder of the former Medicine Cat, Honeydrop, I strip you of your warrior rank and exile you. I will give you until dawn to leave ShadowClan territory. If any of us see you back here, we will retaliate just as we would to any intruder. If you are not gone by dawn, we will force you out. Is this understood?" She finished grimly, the emotion suddenly flooding back into her deep blue gaze. "You may say goodbye to family if you wish." Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes, but she held them back. She couldn't cry for a murderer in front of her clan. It would be unacceptable. She had just exiled her son, though. Exiled. There was no going back from this, but she knew she had dealt with this as fairly as she could. Her already broken heart was now shattered into a million pieces, and all she wanted to do was yowl to the stars. She wanted to beg for them to make this all just a misunderstanding, but she knew it would be in vain. Gingerstripe had murdered Honeydrop, and there was no coming back from the murder of a medicine cat, even a former one. She wasn't sure what StarClan was punishing her for, but she was almost positive they were punishing her for something. She had already lost so much, and to now make her exile her son? She couldn't chalk it up to fate. It was all too much.

(my heart ;;

"I strip you of your warrior rank and exile you."

As the final blow came down, Gingerstripe fell backwards in shock. Exile. After all that had happened, his attempts to turn his life right side up and make the most of what little he still had, he was to meet the same fate as his mother. Even from beyond the grave, Honeydrop tore his pieced-together life into tiny shreds. His disbelieving green eyes looked from Littlebrook- the she-cat who had raised him!- to Tansyheart and Sparklight, and finally to Firestone. Leaving his Clan... his home... his family. Tears spilled out of the normally strong tom's eyes- tears of shock, if grief, of hopeless rage. He had been right not to accept Littlebrook as his mother, if all she would do was destroy what remained of him. He didn't have very good luck with parents. "You...." he whispered brokenly, voice full of pain and betrayal, accusatory stare fixed on the deputy. No more words needed to be said to her, nor could he say them. She knew she had torn him apart for good.

The lean tom, former warrior of ShadowClan, turned to his daughters, needing to say he loved them, he needed them. No words came. There was only his beseeching green gaze, blurred with tears, searching their faces for the last time. He padded slowly up to Tansyheart and touched his nose to hers, then Sparklight's, needing to touch his kits again before his inevitable departure. It wasn't enough. He forced himself to speak. All illusions of dignity were gone as he sobbed. "I- I love you," he managed to choke out past his emotions, unable to tell them all they meant to him. It wasn't enough... nothing would be.

Firestone. The tom turned finally, shakily, to his brother, fearing the pain and disappointment he knew would be there. Even expecting it, he flinched. He wanted to lean into his best friend's fur, to cry his sorrows away and let them disappear, hear his comforting voice say again that nothing could tear them apart- but this was bound to. His only family left... doubtless he would hate him now. Identical pairs of green eyes stares into each other. Would he turn away from a murderer's gaze? "F-Firestone..." he started through, not knowing how to say what he needed to. He stood there for what might have been a few seconds, a few days, a few impossibly cold and dark and lonely years. There was no way to say it all. His only hope. "Please... c-come with me?" Gingerstripe's voice broke, along with his heart. He knew as he said it that it was no use, but he at least had to try. If his brother was with him... everything would be all right.

Nettlesting stood proud, his eyes digging into Gingerstripe. He curled his lip in disgust as the cat snivled and cried like he had any feelings. He didn't have any feelings. He was a murderer. A cold blooded murderer that killed his own defenseless mother. That had cared for the whole clan. Nettlesting's claws dug into the ground beneath his paws. He would make sure this cat would not be accepted into any clan. Or so help him. He would rue the day he killed a medicine cat.