Be Warned (Closed for Leo/Bliz)

It was shortly after the meeting he had called had broken up when he headed right to the camp that would be the most likely safe haven for the murderer. The reddish medicine cat was exhausted. But there was no way he could stop now. This would be where he ran to first. He had to barricade this. He had to stop Gingerstripe. Finally, Nettlesting made his way to the ThunderClan camp. He had been there maybe once before on a random trip as an apprentice. Quietly, he sauntered in. He didn't feel threatened one bit. Medicine cats had no borders. The tom made his way to the large rock. "Blizzardstar! It is Nettlesting. I need to talk to you." he said, exhaustion weighing his words.

Blizzardstar was laying down under the brambles that made up most of the protective wall of the camp, eating a scrawny, half-frozen mouse from the small fresh-kill pile that her and her warriors had managed to gather in this harsh leafbare when the smell of the marsh and pine needles reached her trained nose way before Nettlesting walked in. She would’ve felt alarmed, or at least worried, if the strong scent of herbs so distinctive of medicine cats wasn’t mixed with the known scent of ShadowClan.

It wasn’t hard to recognize the medicine cat from ShadowClan as she stepped in “Over here, Nettlesting!” She called at her as she pushed the half-eaten mouse aside and covered it with some snow, she would finish it later. She wasn’t surprised to not be spotted, after all, when sitting on the white snow under the irregular shadows of the brambles, she tended to camouflage a bit too well.

She walked towards her with tail high and kind yet serious eyes. While she hadn’t fully recovered from the latest events she had decided to push her self-loathing aside at last and be the strong leader her clan needed so much in these dark times. She had to put their wellbeing over her own, bring them hope of a better future, even if that meant to put on a mask and suffer in silence.

“What is it? Why did you come all the way here from ShadowClan? Do your clan needs help? Maybe herbs?” Secretly she wished that wasn’t the cause of the visit. While she would be willing to share some herbs with their neighboring clan if they seriously needed them, their stocks were quite low already.

Nettlesting turned his head and padded over to the ThunderClan leader. He admired the leader. He sat in front of her, and as the questions came roolling in, he shook his head. "No, our herb store is low but it is Leafbare. All of our stores are low. Sadly, I come for something serious." The medicine cat paused. How would he approach this? "Now, we have had a terrible tragedy in ShadowClan. I have been approached by StarClan in my dream stating that she was murdered by one of our own- Gingerstripe." he took a deep breath. "He has been exiled from ShadowClan but I come to you requesting you not to accept him into your clan. He is dangerous, unafraid and unremoresful for taking Honeydrop's life. A medicine cat." his voice got serious, his eyes stern and a little... scared.

Blizzardstar’s ears dropped and her eyes went from the medicine cat to the snow at his side “I see…” Funny how only minutes ago she had been wondering on how she was supposed to figure out the veracity of the exiled warrior’s tale, how she was going to ask ShadowClan to give their version of the story without bringing a whole patrol of their cats to her camp seeking to harm Gingerstripe or kick him out from the territories for good.

The timing of Nettlesting was way too perfect. Could this be StarClan pulling the threads of destiny to help her out in her dilemma?

With a deep sigh she turned towards her den, where she had ordered the tom to stay for the time being “Gingerstripe! Come here!” Her voice went from its usual tone to serious and almost emotionless as she gave out the order.

Her attention soon returned to Nettlesting “He arrived not long before you did, but your tale and his clash with each other. I don’t want to make it seem like I don’t believe you, but this needs to be cleared out” The white leader stepped to the side so Gingerstripe and Nettlesting could see each other face to face.

Her ice blue eyes landed on Gingerstripe first “You claim this murder was nothing but an accident, one that you deeply regret and changed you for the better, but in the end things got out of hand and caused your exile” Her gaze then went from the former warrior to the medicine cat “You claim he’s dangerous, a murderer that holds no regret nor fear towards such action” She took a step back to give them some space, guessing a debate was about to take place, a debate that would finally clear things up and place the ginger tom under the light he deserved, whether it was that of a cold-blooded murderer that had to be chased up immediately, or that of a cat seeking redemption after a tragedy that deserved a second chance “Who is telling me the truth?”.


OOC: You two feel free to post without waiting for me. Blizzard will be mostly listening and taking mental notes until she is certain Ginger either deserves his chance or needs to go.

At the sound of the leader's voice, Gingerstripe rose up from the corner of the den in which he had been nervously waiting and thinking. He padded cautiously outside, wondering what the leader had in kind now. To his astonishment, Nettlesting stood in the middle of camp, looking all high and mighty. The tom stopped short in shock. The tom who had so cruelly and uncaringly gotten him tossed out of his home, in front of the entire Clan, was here now to throw him out again. Gingerstripe didn't bother to disguise the cold anger in his eyes, but instead channelled it into a cool and calm gaze that met the hot-headed medicine cat's. "I know what you think of me," he meowed in a measured tone, "but you hardly even know me. How could you possibly assume I'm 'unafraid and unremorseful' without giving me a chance to fully explain myself, or even taking in the explanation I did give? Did you not hear me literally begging for a chance to stay at my self-proclaimed mother's feet?" His tone was quiet and bitter, but he held the other tom's gaze. He would not break down this time. He would not lose control. Incredibly conscious of Blizzardstar's gaze, Gingerstripe stood tall in the face of an enemy.

Nettlesting carefully tucked away the shock. How dare Blizzardstar blindside him like that? Nevertheless, he squared his shoulders to the murderer. Just because Gingerstripe was taller than him did not mean he was not standing higher in their position. He took a couple seconds to collect his thoughts. If Blizzardstar chose to allow Gingerstripe to stay, he would have to enact some sort of threat. But maybe that was not necessary. Finally, the medicine cat spoke. "Not know you well?" he said coldly. "Do you forget who have tended to your wounds for moons now? Who helped give birth to your kits? Who tended to them through their training? I am not stupid Gingerstripe, my eyes are always peeled and I know every cat in the clan like the back of my paw. I am a medicine cat." Nettlesting began to pace around Gingerstripe, his fur raising along his spine. He would smash every ounce of pride left in this cat. He was nothing but a beetle to be eaten by the frog. Him. He would destroy any semblence of life for this murderous cat. "Do you know what remorseful cats do, Gingerstripe? They admit to their crimes soon after the crime. If you were truly sorry and regretful, the guilt should have eaten you alive by now, Gingerstripe. It should have choked you every day until the only relief you could have was to puke up the truth. Honeydrop waited so many moons for you to confess and cleanse your soul. So many moons, but you said nothing." Nettlesting was on a roll. All he could see was Gingerstripe frozen in the snow, like Roaringblaze. Or Gingerstripe destroyed by a monster, like Honeydrop. The medicine cat stopped his pacing behind the former ShadowClan warrior. "Any cat can beg and plead for their happiness, Gingerstripe. Even the most guilty of cats. You obviously were more concerned about your happiness all these moons than the truth and justice. You had your chance to fully explain yourself. For many, many moons before StarClan decided it was enough time. You had so many moons to explain yourself, but you weren't guilty enough to do so. And now, you're not guilty for what  you did.... You're guilty that you were caught!" The reddish tom ended his sentance on a growl, almost a small hiss. He turned his head to Blizzardstar. His eyes staring straight into her blue eyes. "Hear me now, Blizzardstar. If you take in this murderer, I will do everything in my power as a medicine cat to isolate your clan from the rest of the forest. For our safety. Don't let your clan harbor exiles. Don't forget, he killed a medicine cat and StarClan gave him moons to plead his case, but he said nothing until he was caught." Nettlesting closed his mouth but kept his gaze. What would Blizzardstar do?

Gingerstripe was not at all impressed by the tom's holier-than-thou, see-all-know-all medicine cat spiel. He kept himself tall and straight, listening with a growing disbelief and frustration to Nettlesting's words. The ShadowClan medicine cat was blind. The warrior saw the fire in his eyes- all he wanted was to destroy every bit of his life, no mercy, no kindness whatsoever. Not only was he a liar, he was a monster. And how dare he threaten a leader, especially one as caring as Blizzardstar? No, he would not let Nettlesting win. He couldn't afford it. Beating him was the only way he could save himself now.

"If you truly knew every cat in the Clan as well as you claim," he growled finally, "then you would know that all your words are lies. I have felt guilt, more than you can possibly imagine. Believe me, I wanted to confess, but you and I both know that doing so would have gotten me thrown out in a heartbeat. Honeydrop was everyone's favorite medicine cat, even after her secret came out. Even if it was an accident, there would have been no mercy, none at all. I was afraid of being exiled from my home, my family. I don't know if you would understand that bond, the need I felt to stay with my brother and mate and kits...." The tom shook his head, forcing himself not to feel the crushing grief again, and continued. "I was foolish to hide my wrongdoing, yes, but after the mistake of being complicit in her death, I would never have been allowed to stay no matter what I did! My only hope was that StarClan would remember Honeydrop as the codebreaking rogue that she was... but unfortunately, our ancestors look after their own, crime or no." His green eyes narrowed, glaring at the smaller, younger bristling tom. "And I think they have pretty poor taste in medicine cats. What chosen paw of StarClan would threaten a leader? Let alone claim to have powers they don't. If Blizzardstar chooses to take me in, that is her choice and hers alone. ShadowClan has no claim over me. They lost that right today."

Blizzardstar looked at the two toms as they started to expose their own side of the story. Her gaze was neutral during the whole time they hissed at each other, almost absent, but unlike what it may look like she was paying very close attention to even the smaller gesture and movement they did and her ears were high and carefully picking every single word that came out from their muzzles.

As the two cats fell silent and looked at her with expectant eyes she finally decided she had to say something. She just wished they had at least cleared things a bit more, but so far she was left with almost the same exact information she had started with regarding the ginger tom’s real involvement towards the former medicine cat’s death “Medicine cats indeed know things even I as a leader can’t understand, but to know all the cats of a clan like you do is a claim I have some trouble believing, Nettlesting. Otherwise why you never picked up the clues and StarClan had to come and tell you about Gingerstripe’s involvement in his mother’s death?” Her calm eyes went from the medicine cat to Gingerstripe, knowing she was going to have to address one of the main facts of this whole thing that had prevented her from accepting him into her clan right away.

“Guilt is like fire, truth is the water that stops it. Nettlesting’s words are true there. If you had that many moons to confess it’s hard to understand why you never did if the guilt was that big. You claim it was fear, right? I don’t know how things work on ShadowClan compared to ThunderClan, but are you completely certain that you would’ve been kicked out? If it was truly an accident, are you sure those around you wouldn’t have been able to understand and, while punishment would still had been obvious, they would’ve let you stay and make up for it?” She knew ShadowClan was way stricter with their rules than her clan for tales she had heard on her past. Marshpaw was living proof of this, as after going missing his very own clan had labeled him of rogue and wouldn’t take him back in, reason why Coyotefang had to bring him to ThunderClan and vouch for him so she would take him in a moon or so ago. This made her leave open the option of fear being justified, but it didn’t take away the fact that he had kept such thing hidden, which in her point of view was still wrong and even suspicious.

“Nettlesting, with all the respect you deserve as a medicine cat, I doubt you have as much experience dealing with situations like this or even understanding them like I do. Yes, I had seen terrible murderers rise, and not only in this clan, but others and even outsiders that had caused clans to gather to fight against them. But just as I had seen those, I had seen cats that are labeled as such, of untrustworthy, even traitors when the circumstances places them under the wrong light…and yet they grow to be amazing and loyal warriors, proving all they needed was a second chance and a paw or two to help them. One of those cats that once everyone thought to be a ruthless villain deserving nothing but the Dark Forest itself is even leader of a clan right now, one I learned to respect and admire” After making herself clear to Nettlesting she shot a glare at Gingerstripe “As a medicine cat, Nettlesting has just as much authority as any leader and has the right to make his points clear”  After those words she curled her tail calmly over her paws, looking at the two cats once more.

“Now I guess I need to ask again” Her calm gaze turned serious, staring right into the eyes of the two toms to make sure they were paying attention “Gingerstripe, you claim this to be an accident that you came to regret. Nettlesting, you claim this was a premeditated murder to which he never felt any kind of real regret later on. Who is telling the truth?”.

(ooc; mobile)

Nettlesting hissed in an annoyance, and dug his claws into the ground. Was this really happening. The medicine cat squared his shoulders to the leader. His argument with Gingerstripe was done. "First of all, how dare you scold me and criticise my argument as if I am an apprentice of yours arguing his case for the last piece of prey?" He paused, his anger rising once more. "Secondly, I'm not an all knowing super being that can read minds. This murder happened before I was even in my mother's womb. How is it possible I knew this happened? Despite my asking nobody had even told me Honeydrop of what happened in her life. Even with her being my mentor in StarClan, for all I knew she died of natural causes. Am I to question every single member of my clan? 'Hey, Littlebrook. Just checking. Have you ever murdered your own clan member?'" he shook his head. "No. So your point is moot. And finally," he turned his back to the leader, facing the entrance. "I did not come here to argue with a hypocritical rogue who talks of another code breaking rogue when he is exactly that himself. I didn't need to come here, Blizzardstar. But I came here out of concern for your clan and the forest. You don't want to believe me? Fine, but there will be consequences I must enact to protect the forest and cleanse it. I wonder how Ivystar will react to such a commotion going on in your camp?" Nettlesting frowned. (No, he only knows the tension between the clans, not the Specklefang incident) "I was actually rooting for your clans to be at peace, but all I can be is a messenger, I suppose." He started walking to the entrance. "Enjoy your murderer and isolation!" He called out over his shoulder, flicking his tail as he exited through the thorny barrier.

Blizzardstar looked at Nettlesting as he gave his las arguments. She just sighed as he accused her of criticizing him like he was an apprentice “If I criticize you it’s because your argument had weak points that I hoped you could clear up and reinforce. This is a serious discussion, not a petty one, so I need to be sure to know all the details to take the right choice in the end”.

As the medicine cat turned around to leave, clearly dragged by his fiery emotions, she sighed and shook her head slowly “You come here and call him a dangerous murderer, but when asked to clarify and defend that all you do is bring up how Honeydrop told you Gingerstripe was involved in her murder, not even knowing the whole story or even the specifics of how and why it happened, when on the other paw Gingerstripe admitted such involvement but could grant a full strong story, motives and consequences. The unresentful part is still a bit at question here, as I can’t fully tell if he really lacks such resentment or his fear was truly greater than it” She stood up and padded closer to ettlesting before he could leave “A piece of advice, next time you get a message from StarClan that is as clear as this one, if possible try to get better weapons for an argument like this. You wouldn’t be the first medicine cat I know of whose words can be put on doubt otherwise” As she said this the memory of Sageleaf flashed across her eyes, the one medicine cat that caused her to become a bit more weary of messages and prophecies thanks to Ashstar’s revelation about the deceased medicine cat’s lies. While she understood completely that she had meant well by doing so, the event had caused her to never follow blindly the words of a medicine cat again, and always make sure they were telling the truth and no personal factors, such as family or emotions, were thrown into the mix that could potentially twist a legit message.

Once Nettlesting was gone she turned to face the ginger tom with serious eyes “Nettlesting may had left with weak arguments regarding Honeydrop's death beyond the obvious fact they you were directly involved, making your story seem like the real one, that everything was just an accident that took a turn for the worst. However, he still managed to make clear that you either can commit crimes without regret or lack the courage of a true warrior by not confessing due to fear” She looked around, it was time… “All this will be presented to the clan, your fate now rests on their paws. Come with me” With those words, she started to walk towards the Highrock.