It's gonna be a fight!

Screeching as Sedgestrike's claws dug deeper into his pelt, Tinystar began to panic as the warrior spoke. He'd just become leader, and he was going to die at the paws of a hateful tom? He made a promise to protect SkyClan and couldn't let his clan down like that!

Somehow wriggling free of his opponent's grasp, the small, bloodstained tom found enough strength within himself to rear up on his hind legs. Slashing wildly at Sedgestrike's face, he forced himself not to wince at the unbearable pain that ran down his sides.

Tinystar used Rear-up to Slash, causing 20 damage, and costing 15 stamina.

Tinystar:
HP: 81/115
SP: 160/200

Sedgestrike:
HP: 20/60
SP: 155/200

The wild slashes reminded Sedgestrike of his training sessions with Honeypaw. Their violent, but effective training sessions had left them both with bruises. The blood shattered the illusion, as did the slash that hit his face, leaving a crooked gash from his nose and over his eye. He snarled and reared up in the air. Compared to Tinystar, his height probably made him a mountain. The side-ways blow knocking Tinystar off balance.

All at once, Sedgestrike's anger flickered with panic. The branch was slippery with blood, the small tom had just recieved a full side-ways blow... and now...

he wasn't on the branch anymore.

Sedgestrike stared at the air in front of him for a moment, before he looked down in a wide-eyed panic. His chest all at once felt too tight. Tinystar landed on his paws, he had to have, he was skyclan even if he was a pathetic excuse for one.


Sedgestrike used Rear-up-to-Slash

Sedgestrike
20/60 HP
140/200 SP (-10)

Tinystar

68/115 HP (-11)
160/200 SP

Before he was able to most out of the way, a blow that was too fast for him to try and grab a hold of something to save him from falling, knocked the wind out of him sent the small leader plummeting off the branch. Unlike most cats who would've struggled but somehow landed on their feet, Tinystar's situation was much worse.

Having just been in a fight, blood had begun to cloud his vision, so he wasn't exactly able to see where the ground was. Not to mention, with the wind completely knocked out of him like he'd never felt before, he wasn't able to regain his bearings fast enough, which was one of the most important things SkyClan cats relied on when falling from trees, on the slight occasion that they did...

While to most cats standing bellow it probably looked like his fall was only mere seconds, Tinystar felt as if he had been falling forever, until the world around him sudden went dark.

Landing with a crack and then a thud, the abnormally small leader's body went limp as soon as it hit the ground bellow Tallbranch. Unable to find where his feet were in time, and having been falling at a weird and awkward angle, he'd landed on his neck, instantly breaking it upon impact. Now, laying bellow Sedgestrike, in front of his entire clan, was the unmoving, bloodied, mangled, body of their leader.

There was no pain, no suffering, but it had been done, none the less. In such a short time of being leader, Tinystar had been struck down by a vengeful clanmate, and lost his first life.

Tinystar has lost a life.

(I don't mean to become the center of attention but this needs to happen)
The dull look in his eyes... Tinystar had lost a life? Rippedstar and Poplarstar had seemed to only have one life, but what about Tinystar? The nightmares of her father's dull eyes filled her vision and, trying not to retch, she backed into her den and fainted into someone's nest. .

"You monster!"
It was Mintwhisker that broke the silence that stretched over them all. Positively livid with rage, the she-cat stalked to the base of the tree, looking up at Sedgestrike in an expression of complete, utter contempt. "You mange-pelted excuse for a warrior! You're no better than a kittypet! Do you know what you just did?"
If Sedgestrike had been on the ground, Mintwhisker would've done everything in her power to end the sorry tom's life. Unfortunately, the warrior was perched high in a tree, and Mintwhisker was on the ground. Helpless.

Lilypaw crept forward, clear-blue eyes wide with shock. "Tin-ystar?" Her voice cracked as she nudged the fallen leader's marred pelt. This was familiar. Far too familiar.
She looked up at Sedgestrike, shaking with fright now. Her mentor was a murderer, and now she was alone. Tinystar had left her, just like Rippedstar. Just like her mother.

OOC: both crap oh boy

Echopaw stood horrified staring at Tinystar. "Y-You killed him, you..." she said. She wanted to help her leader, but she was frozen in horror.

Oceanlight watched the situation. "Why is it that you have no respect for your leaders and what they say? You are nothing more than a rouge." she snarled. Taking your own leader's life is against the code, it shouldn't be accepted from anyone.

One moment Tinystar was on the Tallbranch, slashing at Sedgestrike; the next, he was not. Tigerleaf felt her heart pound against her ribcage, blood suddenly turning to ice in her veins. Her golden eyes were stretched wide. He had fallen. Tinystar had lost his grip and fallen. Down, down, down. That moment felt like a mere couple of seconds, and at the same time it seemed to last forever. The short white tom twisted as he plummeted through the air. He wouldn't make it. The horrifying realization came to the young she-cat almost instantly. He wouldn't land on his paws that way. "No--" Her voice squeezed out a barely audible cry.

Crack.

The striped warrior squeezed her eyes shut just in time. Her ears folded tightly against her head, but it did nothing to shut out the all too audible sound of bone snapping. No. No. She didn't want to see another cat die! Her whole body was trembling violently. Images floated up from the depths of her memories. Faces--faces of cats she had known, of cats that had died. She didn't want to see that blank-eyed stare on another cat again. She kept her eyes closed, as if they were shutters that were somehow closing the horrors of reality out. The voices of her clanmates rang out. Y--you killed him, you... Tigerleaf whirled blindly, brushing up against another cat's pelt. On stumbling paws, she found her way back into the Warriors' Den by gauging where it was from memory.

ooc; she's been here the whole time hahaha

Mistyrain had known from the beginning that this was Tinystar's fight. This was not something that he would want her to intrude on. Even so, she had struggled to stop herself from yowling her disapproval and fighting Sedgestrike herself. She couldn't believe he would dare to openly insult his leader in front of SkyClan, not to mention the entire Gathering!

Even though she knew Tinystar was more than capable of fighting the wayward warrior on his own, she still held her breath along with every other cat in the crowd as they struck each other with harsh blows atop the Tallbranch. And suddenly, it was over. Tinystar plummeted to the ground, landing with a sickening crack in a way that cats weren't meant to land. His body went limp, and he stopped breathing.

Sedgestrike had killed Tinystar. The flea-brain had had taken his leader's first life.

The small she-cat leapt forward. "Look what you've done, you fox-heart!" she yowled, scowling up at Sedgestrike. "How could you do such a thing? I don't see why Tinystar even puts up with you!" she demanded. Her breaths were heavy, panting, as she stood glaring at the older tom.

Mintwhisker's yowl broke Sedgestrike out of his daze. The sound of Tinystar's neck breaking, of the little warrior's fall would ring in his ears forever. He looked down at the clanmates who seemed mixed in confusion, anger and shock. His green eyes looked down at Sparrowpaw imploringly, but he was met with sadness. He looked down at the little white shape again and leapt down from tall branch. He lifted a paw and tried to nudge the small leader.
"T-tinystar?" He whispered. He could practically hear his conscience screeching at him that this, this could be the last mistake he ever made. That this was foolish and stupid. He could hear Rippedstar's dissapproval from StarClan, could see the look on Poplarstar's face when he found out. He had won... but... his tail drooped as he nudged Tinystar again. His heart lurching with each moment the little tom didn't respond. This victory was supposed to prove he was better, superior to the other tom in every way.

So why did he feel so terrible?

---

Falconpaw stared at the scene in shock and horror. Tinystar's body falling, the silver tom who looked so smug. His claws dug into the dirt, a snarl on his maw as he leaped forward while Sedgestrike's paw reached for Tinystar again. His brown body launched at Sedgestrike and sent the silver tom sprawling on the ground in surprise as Falconpaw was quick to stand over him. His teeth near his throat in warning that he would not be allowed to move. As the speckled body of Sparrowpaw moved forward, Falconpaw readied to fight her. She didn't help her father though. She padded over to Mintwhisker and brushed her tail over the medicine cat with a soft whimper.

"Don't touch him." Lilypaw- sweet, soft-spoken Lilypaw, found herself standing at Falconpaw's side, her dark tail lashing the ground in anger as she bore down on Sedgestrike like a dog facing a rabbit. Her claws dug into the ground near Sedgestrike's head as she stared down at him with her father's clear blue eyes. Her spotted face was twisted with rage. "Make one more move, and I swear to Starclan you won't live to see another day. Do you understand me?" This entire display was wholly uncharacteristic, but Lilypaw could hardly think, hardly breathe. She was acting purely on instinct, driven by the deep need to protect her clan, and defend Tinystar's honor. She would not let what happened to her father happen again. Not while she had breath in her body and fire in her heart. Lilypaw was done being quiet.

Mintwhisker turned away as Sedgestrike leapt down from the tree, the fur on the nape of her neck rising slowly as she did so. Her murky eyes were unreadable as Sparrowpaw moved towards her, and the taupe Medicine Cat drew the apprentice close to her with her tail. "Hush..." She turned her head towards Sedgestrike again, the pain and fury evident in her expression. She wouldn't let Sedgestrike harm another hair on any cat's head, friend or no. She would see to it herself that the tom she had once called a friend spent no more time than he needed in the world of the living.

What... happened?

Opening his eyes and standing up, Tinystar found himself standing in a starry field. His wounds were no longer on his body, nor did he feel any pain, which left the abnormally short tom even more confused. In front of him was a small pool of rippling dark, translucent, water. Taking a step forward, he peered down into the water, in which he noticed his own body was laying in. It was an odd concept, looking at himself from above, but the more he stared at the limp, bloodied body bellow, the more he felt his heart began to pound.

He had been fighting Sedgestrike, but then what happened, and how come their fight had stopped in an instant? After a few moments, he remembered; he'd fallen from Tallbranch, or maybe he was pushed... no, Sedgestrike wouldn't have deliberately pushed him, he wasn't like that, right? The tom was filled with a great level of hate and anger, but not so much as to purposefully push his own leader to his demise, or at least Tinystar prayed that wasn't the case.

"Welcome back, Tinystar,"

Gazing around, a familiar voice made his ears perk up and sent his head to snap back around. Tilting his head up, sure enough, his older brother stood in front of him, his soft black pelt shimmering with twinkling star particles, his green eyes soft with a hint of worry.

"Antdrop... what happened? I-I was fighting Segdestrike, and-" the foggy minded leader stuttered, looking down to his paws as he spoke, but before he was able to say anything else, his brother cut him off, which sent him to look back up at him.

"You fell," Antdrop interrupted blatantly. In such a short time, his younger brother had lost his first life as leader, and while it pained him to see the small tom in front of him to lose his first life, what was done was done. "Today, you lost your first life. Whether it's considered to be lost at the paws of your clanmate or an accident is your choice, but either way, you're here now," he continued. "This will be painful, but only for a moment."

Not giving any time for his brother to reply, Antdrop lifted a paw and placed it on Tinystar's head. A rush of energy flowed out from the tiny leader, and he winced at Tinystar's pain stricken eyes,but within just a few moments, it was all over.

Having just been a victim of what it felt like for a leader to lose a life, he kept his gaze on Antdrop. "I... I," he started, lost for words. "How am I supposed to be a good leader, when no one respects me?" he sputtered out after a few moments, but to his surprise, his brother's form had already begun to slowly disappear.

"How should I know? I was never a leader," Antdrop mewed, rolling his eyes as Tinystar began to fade away. "Go ask dad or something," the older tom spoke. While he had the answer, it wasn't the leader's time to learn of it yet. Before vanishing entirely, a small smile replaced his once plain-stricken muzzle. While it wasn't exactly a joyful occasion, he'd gotten to see his brother again. In the past, a little reunion like this would've caused him strain, but now, he enjoyed Tinystar's presence and personally wished they'd gotten to spend more time together. "Until we meet again," he spoke one last time before leaving his younger brother's sight completely and vanishing into a mist of stardust.

Somewhat confused and even a bit disappointed as to what had just happened, a smile replaced his puzzled frown, and Tinystar relaxed his once tense body. It was obvious that his brother may have changed from when he was still a physical member of SkyClan, but even so, Antdrop would forever be Antdrop, a stubborn, sarcastic, big brother. "Until we meet again," he mewed softly, still holding a smile, his eyes began to grow cloudy as he watched the black tom disappear into glittering sparkles. Shaking away the tears, Tinystar knew it was time to go, seeing as though the once vast StarClan moorland was beginning to fade to nothing but darkness, and closing his sky blue eyes, he waited for whatever was next to come, and unfortunately for him, what was about to come next was going to be a challenging decision.

Opening his eyes, the peace he had just felt faded away, and the pain from his battles wounds set in.

Coughing and wincing at the pain that stung his side, Tinystar looked up to see his clanmates gathered around him. "I'm... alright," he huffed and lifted his neck. Assuming that he'd broken it from falling, all there was was a slight soreness as he moved it, which he had Antdrop to thank for. Thank StarClan that his neck and ribs were healed from his fall, but unfortunately, he couldn't say the same for the rest of his gashes and claw marks.

Forcing himself to stand up, the small leader used all his might and pushed himself up from the spot of impact. Heaving and trying not to show that he practically needed to gasp for air, he stood up a little straighter and turned his head towards Segdstrike, who was now standing just a few pawsteps away from him. Sedgestrike... what to do with him.

If he was to be honest to himself, the last thing he wanted to do with the tom was exile him. In fact, most of him wanted to give him a second chance, but he knew that in doing so, he would most likely be going against his clan's wishes, and as leader, his job was to make decisions for the good of his clan, even if it went against his own morals.

Looking Sedgestrike in the eyes and trying not to wince as blood dripped from his wounded sides and onto the ground bellow, he took a quick moment to gather his thoughts and took a deep breath. 'I'm sorry,' he wanted to tell the warrior, but kept silent as he prepared himself.

"Sedgestrike," the blood stained leader began, trying as hard as possible not to stutter as he forced the words out. "Today, you have committed a crime of the highest treason, and I have no choice but to exile you from SkyClan, and I will make sure that the other clans know not to take you in. I, nor my warriors will hesitate to attack you if you are found on our territory again, and you must leave now," Tinystar finished, his gut twisting in it's self. This wasn't right... it was too cruel. Who even knew who's fault it was for his death, but even so, what was done was done, and he assumed that the majority of the clan would blame Sedgestrike for this possible treason, in which their justice seeking voices and opinions couldn't be ignored, even if he thought differently on the matter...

His gaze turned back towards the tiny body as he heard something from the small tom below. Immediately he stepped back, his green eyes staring in disbelief as Tinystar spoke, then rose to his paws. Words died in his throat before he could voice them, that he was happy to see Tinystar move once more and live again... but also the bitter anger of knowing that this could have been him. At least, at one point. His ears flattened as he was addressed. Suffering what Tinystar had to say in silence until... his eyes widened. His body stiffening.

He was Banished?
"You're not serious." Sedgestrike whispered. The silver and black tom looked around his clanmates. Surely they didn't all hate him so much that this was something they would support? He padded over to Sparrowpaw with a wounded expression. "Sparrowpaw-... please..."

Sparrowpaw regarded her father with unease. She tucked herself closer towards Mintwhisker than Sedgestrike as he padded over. All at once she wanted to yowl at Tinystar to give him another chance... and yet. She knew her father wasn't the best. His aggression, his perfect ideals... none of them really worked for the clan. She looked away from him, her head lowered shamefully for a moment as she took a deep breath. Echoflame... for a moment she thought she saw her mother in the corner of her eye. Echoflame and Starlingpaw. Neither of them would have wanted this.

"...Just be glad Mother and Starlingpaw haven't seen what you've become." She growled softly, raising her head to meet her father's startled eyes. The bravery of her twin seemed to embrace her like an old treasured cloak as she stepped forward into his face. Challenged him, exactly as she once would have. "You should go! You've done nothing but damage... ever since..." Echoflame left. The words were unspoken, but understood. She knew he had gotten the message as a recently familiar glare returned under the remorseful expression.

She didn't even see his paw. One moment, she was standing nose to nose with her father... the next she was sprawled on the ground as blood dripped down her face.

Sedgestrike stared down at his own daughter in horror. His paw was still raised, claws wet with blood from where he had just... he had just struck her. As if she were a filthy RiverClan or Kittypet. As if she meant nothing. He closed his eyes briefly, but when they opened, it was the Sedgestrike they expected to see. The monster that would kill his own leader, and wound his own daughter. The gash across her forehead would heal though... and even if the words felt like shards of glass in his throat, he wanted to let her know... it was fine to let him go.

"Don't act as if you're my daughter now. You've never lived up to that expectation... and you never will." He turned then, and addressed the entire clan. "If this is what SkyClan chooses to be, ruled by a pathetic Rabbit, then I wouldn't want to be here anyways!" He yowled, then abruptly stalked out of the camp. Leaving his daughter... his clan... and everything he had ever known behind.

Mintwhisker blinked as Tinystar stirred, watching as he turned to face Sedgestrike. The silver tom may have stuck Littlestar down, but he had just convened with one of Skyclan's ancestors and was wiser for it. Tinystar may have only eight lives left, but he had gained a piece of knowledge from the stars. She hardly moved when Tinystar spoke, but something he said made her shift slightly.
"...I have no choice but to exile you from SkyClan..."
Her expression changed instantly to one of complete and utter contempt as Sedgestrike's jaw dropped. Exile? Sedgestrike had put Skyclan through so much: embarrassing them in front of possible allies, dragging Rippedstar's good name through the mud, refusing to respect Poplarstar, and now attacking Tinystar, right in the middle of camp. Certainly, certainly this warranted much more than just exile.
The she-cat gritted her teeth as Sedgestrike turned to look at his clanmates, her murky eyes burning. She scoffed; as if he thought they would welcome him back into their folds after everything.
He deserved nothing from them. Not their respect, not their protection, nothing.
Mintwhisker was so lost in thought, she barely had time to react when Sedgestrike approached. Such a desperate expression didn't look natural on his face. She lifted her lip to show her fangs, trying to step in front of Sparrowpaw. She didn't have to be put through all this... anything Sedgestrike ever said could only harm her. "Sedgestrike-" She half-hissed, her voice a low grumble. She didn't have time to finish when Sparrowpaw cut her off, leaving her side to confront Sedgestrike. It was something that reminded her painfully of Echoflame, one of her first and oldest friends.
The tabby she-cat arched her back in shock as Sedgestrike lashed out at her, leaving a sizeable gash in her forehead. With a small cry, Mintwhisker ran forward, running her nose through Sparrowpaw's fur comfortingly.

"Leave."
It was Lilypaw who approached Sedgestrike first, her sky-blue eyes filled with rage. Sedgestrike may have been her mentor, but Tinystar was her leader, chosen by Poplarstar, chosen by her father. The fact that Sedgestrike had the audacity to even challenge him made Lilypaw want to gag.
"And never, ever come back-"
She was done. Done listening to him, done letting him terrorize her. Done with the waiting, with the cowering, with the threats. "-or so help me, I'll make you wish you were dead."