A Sparrow's Fall (OPEN)

Mistyrain was already in the clearing when Tinystar called out to gather the Clan together. As her Clanmates streamed out of their dens, she gazed at the small leader with a frown on her face. His expression was not of one who was about to name a warrior or even give a typical announcement. No, whatever he was about to say could be nothing but trouble. A sensation of both anticipation and dread filled her, and as he began to speak, her breath caught in her throat.

"Sparrowpaw's... execution."

What!? What did Sparrowpaw do? The apprentice was a handful, Mistyrain had to admit, but how could a simple assessment bring such a drastic punishment? Tinystar went on to name his reasons... still, how could he consider Sparrowpaw such a great threat to SkyClan? As he finished speaking, there was a short pause, and then he instructed Mintwhisker to bring out the Deathberries.

Mintwhisker stammered out a response, and Mistyrain shook her head. No, Tinystar had not discussed this with her, and clearly not with either medicine cat either. It was as sudden and shocking for her as it was for the pale tabby. "Tinystar, I-I know you've thought this through, but is this... a-are you sure?" she pleaded. In the end, she knew, there was no disputing his authority, but perhaps the response of the Clan could sway his decision in Sparrowpaw's favor.

Tinystar was Mistyrain's brother, leader, and friend. He had supported her when she chose SkyClan as her home. He had given her her warrior name, and trusted her to be his deputy. She wanted so badly to trust him in this situation, and yet it was so hard to accept that such a kind-hearted cat could take the life of another in such a way. Her tail swished back and forth nervously, and her eyes were wide with worry. Should she speak out, or quietly allow Sparrowpaw to die at the paws of a cat whom she trusted with her own life? So many questions, no answers. All the small she-cat could do was wait for Tinystar's coming words, oblivious to her Clanmates in turmoil around her.

"Another broken cat trampled upon by your near-sighted heart...I suppose it was only a matter of time..."

Fernpetal, who had been watching the proceedings in relative shocked silence, turned with a low mrrow as a familiar midnight pelt brushed against her shoulder, continuing on towards the front of the crowd without acknowledging the she-cat's presence.  Her murky green eyes dilated further still; a strange aura seemed to surround the tom, a deep feeling of foreboding rocketing down her delicate spine.  His face was...intimidating.  Like the forest, the green leaves of his eyes had frosted over, leaving only the remnants of death and desperation...so, so far from the Nightstorm she had known for moons.  She had nothing to say, only watching as his slender tail moved slowly forward, until he stood at the front of the crowd, and began to speak.

"Tinystar, will you ever see the truth?  Before you took the place of the honorable Crowstar, I didn't know you beyond the common bonds forged between warrior and deputy...so I don't profess to know if you've always seen the world through the eyes you do now.  You may call me traitorous...my words and ways foreign...my heart lying beyond your interests...all of which may be right; but, for as long as I bear the name and blood of the Tribe of Endless Skies - the true SkyClan - I will never surrender to what I know is unjust.  I have seen many lands far from these borders, the sounds of the rushing waterfall I was born under still echoes in my dreams...yet one thing always remained the same.  The right to build anew.  The star-given privilege to see the consequences of your mistakes, and the ability to try with all your might to fix them, to make the world a better place.  Hardship breeds understanding...you've experienced much loss Tinystar, the same loss I have.  Losing a kit, a daughter, feels like your heart is being ripped out of your chest.  How can you not see?!  Even now, so soon afterward...the death of a kit, the death of a repenting exile, and now, the death of a heartbroken victim are all still deaths.  In your eyes...it seems a pure, blameless life means more than a redeemed life...or a life on the path of redemption.

Or...maybe, their value to you Tinystar is really determined by the blood that runs in their veins...the blood they have no control over, good or bad!"

His peaceful mask finally broke; lip curled in a defensive snarl, Nightstorm's long tail lashed as he stepped forward to stand beside Sparrowpaw, brushing his flank against hers briefly before straightening his spine to its extent, full impressive height displayed, unlike the last time he and the short-legged tom had come to quarrels.  He didn't fear for himself or his position...his racing heart beat for that one last she-cat somewhere in the crowd, his only remaining family member, Forestpaw.  Frostwing was gone...Jaysong was among the stars with her sisters...his parents lay somewhere in the mountains under their graves of stone, and his sibling's voices rang in his mind, pushing him on.  Don't worry about us...we'll always be here brother...you know what you need to do.

"Tinystar...if you go through with this, I don't think I will be able to continue calling myself a SkyClan cat.  I'm sorry, but I refuse to represent a cat who orders the murder of flawed innocents.  There are many cats within your walls who have suffered from the fatal illness of mortality known as pain, causing them to lash out and do things they ought not to have.  I could name one right now, within your own family!  This...is not the way to combat the horrors of the past.  You can't irradicate heartbreak by creating more heartbreak...it always goes on, in an endless cycle, until you succumb to it.  Unless...you fight it.  You learn to come to terms with your past, your tragedies, and your flaws, which is what every cat deserves to experience."

His gaze flashed down to meet Sparrowpaw's, and a brief smile appeared on his maw.

"Sparrowpaw deserves that chance.  Please, I ask you, not from the position of a warrior to his leader, but from one lowly, sinful cat to another...end the cycle.  Let life prevail...and suffering cease."

(OOC: listen to this song for a mood setter)

Casting glances around the clearing as each cat shouted out at him in a frenzy of reasons why Sparrowpaw shouldn't be subject to death, their panicked words flew in one ear and out the other. "Please wait!" "Do not touch her, you monster!" Did they really think he was going to change his mind? What was said was said and would be done. Of course, his daughter's discourse grabbed hold of his interest for a moment, but he quickly pushed it away. This was not the time to get sentimental, even if he had to ignore his own kit to keep his composure. While in the past he'd never thought that he'd be able to take a cat's life so easily, upon looking into her verdant eyes, he didn't hold any regret. Maybe it was the adrenaline that kept the guilt pushed aside, or maybe this was finally it; the straw that broke the monster's back. Only Silverpelt knew, and quite frankly, whatever the reason was, it didn't matter nor would it make a difference for the time being.

His gaze still ice cold, his ears perked as Sparrowpaw spoke, her words barely audible above the panicked crowd. She wanted him to take her life himself? It was an cruel request, but seeing as though her death was inevitable, he wouldn't deny her one wish. If she wanted to die at the paws of her leader, then so be it. Forcing himself to not meet Mistyrain's eyes, he looked back among the crowd. With his patience already having begun to dwindle, Nightstorm only made matters worse and more dramatic, per usual. The tom, having been who knows where, arrived out of the blue and approached the Tallbranch in which he rambled out a speech, again. The black tom was most definitely a respected warrior, but as he spoke, a sense of annoyance washed over Tinystar, more so than the last time Nightstorm had questioned his authority.

"Silence!" the abnormally small leader yowled atop the pleas and cries and stomped his paw down on the branch as he looked around the crowd. "SkyClan, it's time you learned a lesson and it's time that you understand. I hoped for peace, to find a place among my kind, but those were the kittish wishes of someone who was blind. Open up your eyes and see the world from where I stand! Are you all too foolish to see that I only want what is best for you?" he spoke in a somewhat exasperated tone. Were his clanmates really so arrogant that they could see what he was protecting them from? Besides, he knew how Sparrowpaw felt about the clan and how every-cat really felt about her, so he was practically doing her a favor.

Closing his eyes, he took a second to gather his thoughts and taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and looked back to his clan. "I'm the bad guy, that's fine, but it's no fault of mine and some justice at last will be served. StarClan has yet to speak against my decision. Sparrowpaw's fate has been decided and I will not change my mind," the tiny leader meowed callously. "Those are big words for someone who never belonged here in the first place, Nightstorm. If you do not wish to call yourself a SkyClan cat, then exiling you won't be anything to regret," Tinystar retorted, although there was an eerie calmness to his tone as he held his chin high, gaze locked onto the dark warrior, though his gaze soon drifted over to where Mintwhisker had been sitting, though she wasn't there anymore, which sent a sense of satisfaction up his spine, seeing as though his at least one of his closest members of kin was loyal enough to carry out a task in which he'd instructed. Not having time to retrieve her from bothering with the berries, he continued on with the meeting.

"The accused wishes for death by the leader's paws!" his powerful voice rang out among the stifling murmurs. While he was an extremely small cat, he was still able to make his voice be heard when needed. Jumping down from the branch in which he stood on, Tinystar made his way over to Sparrowpaw, his head and tail held high. "You could've been better. You could've avoided this," he began in a softer tone to the younger she-cat as he stood in front of her, as though giving her a false sense of sympathy. "But you didn't, and here we are," Tinystar added with the same unvarnished voice in which he'd spoken to Nightstorm with. "Any last words, Sparrowpaw?" the stout white and grey tom prompted as he unsheathed his claws. Asking a question of such manor put him at a risk, seeing as though she could say nearly anything, but it was the least he could do before performing such a deed.

As Sparrowpaw stared down the tiny leader, she heard the complaints. The calls against it... the questions. She was uncertain if it was just because she was an apprentice... after all, most the cats didn't care about her. She turned her head to glance at the crowd, from Mistyrain's shocked expression... to Tigerleaf's... to... Mintwhisker. She blinked slowly, uncertainty welling in her chest. The she-cat who had killed her father, hidden it while Sparrowpaw searched for him in vain without a word. The same she-cat... who had practically raised her after her mother and sister's deaths. The kind she-cat who wasn't ... afraid of her like the others were. A sharp pain stabbed her chest. The claws of emotion prickling her skin and flesh as she tried to push it back.

She couldn't falter. Even as her gaze turned to Tigerleaf, fell upon Nightstorm as he padded up beside her. His words a comforting balm on moons of pain. She was grateful as his pelt brushed against hers. The strength behind that long black coat offered a protection that she was denied. As she turned back to Tinystar, his words sent a spark of warmth down her spine. Her green eyes narrowed. What was best for them? Perhaps... it would be more beneficial if she died, but each time she tried to believe that, a brief flicker of moments echoed behind her gaze.

Tigerleaf, undaunted by her efforts to get away. Unafraid even though Sparrowpaw's heart was so broken already.

Nightstorm, Strong and secure. His companionship was... nice. Not that she had interacted with him much.

Mintwhisker... she closed her eyes. For a moment, she could believe she was sitting in the herb den once more. The soft scents of mint, coltsfoot and moss. The gentle sight of the tabby gently guiding poppyseeds out from a flower with a patience that seemed impossible. The soft darkness of the medicine den interrupted only by a trickle of water from melting snow deeper in the den. Her heart pounded painfully, as though Tinystar's small claws had raked right through it.

Her eyes reopened to Tinystar's words being spat into her face. The irony of it all... those words were exactly what Sedgestrike had told her. She remembered his brutally difficult lessons, the demands for her to be better. How relieved she was that her father wouldn't be leader... and here he stood. A smaller version of him, as though his actions long ago had corroded him into a cat beyond recognition. Her gaze hardened, posture straightened as she took the last deep breath she ever would.

"Guess my father was right about one thing." She meowed with strength, her voice carrying through the clearing. "You were never fit to lead this clan." As the words finished, she refused to back down. She wouldn't blink, wouldn't give him the satisfaction of even a blink when the claws bite into her flesh. As her heart cried for what could once have been. If she had just learned to forgive herself. If she had different parents... now, she would never again run the forest of SkyClan. Never climb the strong mighty boughs that touched the sky.

Never again, would she go hungry. Never again, would she sleep beneath the stars.

Maybe... maybe this was her penance. Maybe now... StarClan would forgive her.

One frail voice came floating from the elder's den, soon followed by the terrible visage of SkyClan's sole elder. Ever since Leafbare had began he'd ceased taking honey to soothe his smoke-scarred throat. "If we slay every young cat for the sins of their parents, Tinystar, none of us would be here today. No crime I've heard - hhhack - committed by Sparrowpaw seems to merit immediate execution, nor have they ever. What do you think you are protecting us from? Are you so full of yourself that you think you can see the future?" Scorchbranch's voice broke into a fit of coughing and wheezing. 'StarClan isn't going to take me yet, and this apprentice neither!' The tom, practically a sack of bones, shivered in the cold. Though he could barely see much within a fox-length, the ancient tom fixed his bleary eyes on where he thought Tinystar was. "If StarClan showed you what she would do, then why did they not tell Mintwhisker, or Amberdawn? Be wary of what the dead say, for the Dark Forest can pull clever ruses on any cat." He prayed to StarClan that somehow, this young cat would be saved, but experience brought the darker end to mind.

Though they were useless, Firflower's ears were pinned tightly against her head. Reading those words come from Tinystar's mouth filled her with every negative emotion she'd ever experienced - and some never before. A pit had formed in her gut, but out came a plume of fire. She paced back and forth behind the crowd, her gaze no longer a calm sky blue but white-hot embers, fixed on Tinystar's form. Now more than ever did she wish her tongue could obey her command. She wanted to yowl and scream, but all that came out were wordless hisses and chits. Seeing Nightstorm stand up to this unjustified murder gave her more resolve, though she knew not of what would happen to him. Nothing Sparrowpaw had done justified this, any other apprentice would receive in-clan punishment, even exile would be extremely harsh! Her eyes moved to the form of Mintwhisker, daughter of her mentor, kind medicine cat. Seeing her only bolstered her feelings. 'How dare he force her to do such a thing, too!' Had Tinystar lost his mind?

"I trusted you, Tinystar. As a kit you showed me the beauty of our clan, and agreed that violence doesn't end more violence. You must know that this can only cause more grief and violence. The cat you once were is gone. I made a promise to StarClan that I would prevent any other cat from committing an act of violence, and it would be shameful to go against such a serious vow. You tell yourself what you're doing is to end violence, but you must know in your heart that you are creating far more. Division within our clan, blood and death on your claws. You know this isn't right," Clearpaw called out, but he doubted that he was heard above the similar cries of other cats. His chest filled with hope and pride as he saw and heard other cats knowing what was right and standing up for it, knowing that the beauty in a cat's soul was far greater than any sinful act they did could ever cover. Life was so precious, even if it was in the paws of a cat he didn't like. Sparrowpaw deserved punishment, but nobody deserved death. The wounds that littered his body from the day before still ached as he stood up, leaving the medicine den and padding to the beneath the Tallbranch. For a moment, he was uncertain. The warrior code, or his promise? It was something that pained him, but he knew the right choice. It was more difficult, but as clear as his name. Taking a deep breath, he stood next to Nightstorm and Sparrowpaw.
"Do you not remember that day, moons ago in the medicine den, saying that peaceful solutions should be how we solve problems? Did you not tell me that you didn't want to fight, and that you should only do so to protect your loved ones? Because I remember that, and those were what you told me as a kit. I may be an apprentice, but so is Sparrowpaw. If you're taking her this seriously, at least listen to me. You were the one who made me think there was hope for this clan to find peaceful solutions, now I see that my hope is gone. This isn't to protect the clan, this is to make yourself feel better. Murder under the excuse that she made a mistake. Life is beautiful, precious, and something that should not be so easily dismissed for being flawed. I have never liked Sparrowpaw, but I am wise enough to know that murder is wrong. As leader, you should know that as well. I know my words will do nothing to change your mind, but I would be breaking my promise to StarClan if I didn't do anything. I will not do anything physically to stop you, but I will stand here, and let you know what you're doing is wrong. You know that. It would be wrong for me to hurt you, so I will not, but it is also wrong to let you hurt her. Please, be a good cat. I've seen you do it, just do it again."
For a few moments, Clearpaw thought his words might actually work. They weren't as poetic and long as usual, but still full of passion. That's the kind of talking most cats listened to the most. But as he looked at Tinystar, he saw that Sparrowpaw was right, This cat wasn't fit to lead a clan. He had let his fear of letting another cat become like Sedgestrike control him, until he was the one who made his fear come true. Their leader was turning into the evil he was trying to prevent. It was pitiful, but no excuse for what he was doing. Hearing Nightstorm's exile brought fear to him for a few moments, wondering if the same would happen to him. But no, he was doing absolutely nothing wrong. StarClan would realize that, and everyone else in the clan as well. This couldn't be allowed to happen. At least not if he could help it.

While such words from her father had once pierced him like a thorn to the heart, her words had less significance, considering her current position and his current, odd, addrenaline filled mental state. Un-phased by her sharp words, Tinystar stood up on his hind legs and drew back a paw full of sharp claws, completely toning out his clan members who still attempted to converse with him.

"And you and your family were never fit to be SkyClan cats and should've never even dared to step foot in this forest," the glaze-eyed leader snarled, mainly referring back to her relation to Rippedstar, who'd been a WindClan cat. But, also due to the fact that none of her family held many SkyClan traits, which was understandable, given their mixed lineage...

Without a second thought, Tinystar brought down his paw and slashed a clean cut across Sparrowpaw's throat, sending blood splattering on his once clean white pelt. Taking a step back, he watched as the apprentice fell to the ground, her life beginning to ebb away, and the once dense air was filled with a subdued gurgling sound. His gaze not leaving the she-cat in which he had just terminated, the leader's stubby legs began to shake as the tangy blood scent filled the tense air. He... he had just killed a cat; an apprentice. Was he right to do such a thing? Was this really what StarClan would've wanted? He had hoped for a sense of relief upon ending her life and the last reminder of Sedgestrike, but instead, there was just a growing pit in his stomach that began to ache, just like when he had lost his father, brothers, and many kits and other kin over the moons.

With thoughts of regret and guilt beginning to creep their way into his mind, he hastily shoved them away. Standing up a little taller and not letting his shoulders haunch over, he turned back towards the Tallbranch. Hopping back up to the top, the blood stained leader looked out among the crowd of cats once more, forcing himself to remain strong, at least outwardly. "Sparrowpaw's execution has been concluded. Now to N-Nightstorm's exile," he spoke loudly. His voice faltered at some point, since even though he hadn't been himself through this entire ordeal, exiling a valued clan member was still difficult, even after such a sudden and brutal execution.

"Nightstorm, from this day forward you will be considered an enemy of SkyClan. Your title of warrior has hereby been revoked and if you are seen anywhere on our land after sunset tonight, you will be dealt with swiftly," Tinystar mewed, meeting the black tom's green gaze. Unlike when he spoke to Sparrowpaw, there was a slight look of pain in his eyes, one that wasn't possible to shake off. Losing such a strong warrior... it was certainly a disservice to SkyClan, but Nightstorm had chosen his own path based on his beliefs, and he assumed that they were past the point of him even considering staying, which made Tinystar's heart ache even more. But alas, he stood firm on his words, not letting any of his sorrowful emotions show, well, not yet at least. Though in doing so, the tiny leader began to grow sick to his stomach, which he hoped he would be able to hide for at least a bit longer.

Cloverpaw watched in horror as a large argument broke out across the camp. She didn't know what to think. What had this Sparrowpaw done to deserve death!? She had thought this would be a normal clan meeting! Tinystar's words rung in her head. "Sparrowpaw's......execution." She could hear the screeches of Tigerleaf, other cats protesting against the actions of Tinystar. Cloverpaw knew this was wrong. No cat's life should be taken by another cats claws. And the fact that Sparrowpaw chose to be murdered that to be taken out of the world easily with Deathberries made it worse.

Then she heard more yells, as Amberdawn started to turn to Mintwhisker. Nightstorm shouted out, and quiet murmurs of other cats echoed the background. Cloverpaw was sitting in stunned silence. listening to everything around her. And with Tinystar's might mew, everything went silent for a moment. Cloverpaw covered her eyes as Tinystar went on talking. One thing he said, are words that she'd thought she'd never hear, especially from a leader. "Any last words?"

Chaos broke out once more, filling the camp with yet more screeches and shrieks. There was nothing Cloverpaw could do. If Tinystar wouldn't listen to a warrior, they why would he waste his time with an apprentice?! If Cloverpaw wanted to stay in Skyclan, she knew that she would just have to stay quiet. It wasn't long until her point was proved. It all happened in a flash. More protests. More screeches. And in the midst of it all, Tinystar had swiped his claws across Sparrowpaw's throat as if it were fresh-kill. Cloverpaw swallowed back bile as she stared in horror and disgust at the body laying in the center of camp that was spilling blood. Cloverpaw forced herself to look away from the body as Tinystar said something more.

"Nightstorm's Exile" The cream apprentice jumped up with astonishment at this. "n-no! Not another cat gone!" Cloverpaw hadn't known this cat well, she just saw him around camp, but just voicing his opinion was nothing to be exiled for. If Tinystar wanted to exile him, then he should be exiling everyone else who'd spoken out as well! Cloverpaw watched in disgust as Tinystar stood his ground atop the Tallbranch. Biting back stinging replies to what he'd done, Cloverpaw positioned herself closer to the front of the gathered cats.

(OOC: i felt like I should've posted one more time.)

Swanpaw blinked as something brushed past her shoulder, and she turned to see Sparrowpaw - her features vaguely blurry through the tears still staining her vision - glide silently past, every paw step speaking defiance to the cat crouching on the branch above, his eyes like chips of ice. The apprentice held her head high as she stepped right up to the tree the other cat was in, and bared her throat.
Swanpaw felt frozen. No no, no.... "Father... don't...." Don't... don't. Please. She couldn't do anything but mouth the words, desperation in her eyes.
A spark of hope ignited in her chest as she watched others gather around the young cat, their words reasonable and calm, kind. She stepped forwards once, feeling a need to join them, a need to support them as they opposed the madness that had taken the cat she had once known as her father. But a cold wind stopped her in her tracks, sending chills of ice up her spine as Tinystar snapped at them to be quiet, his eyes flashing as a slight snarl came over his features.
"It's time you learned a lesson and it's time that you understand.... Open up your eyes and see the world from where I stand."
She could not tear her eyes from his face, her paws were rooted to the ground. It almost seemed as though those words were meant for her, a lesson from mentor to a wayward apprentice who just couldn't understand. But... it seemed as though his were the eyes that were blinded, the eyes that couldn't see what he was doing through the fog.  Her ears were beginning to fail, now, as the sheer horror of what was happening reduced her vision to a black tunnel leading straight to his face. The face that was etched in ice.
Other voices cried out, an outcry that blurred into one message: "Stop! You're making the wrong choice!" She noticed Mintwhisker bringing out the herbs distantly, and Amberdawn's shocked response. But she could change nothing, she could do nothing. A ghost is all I am. A sight seen once and then gone, never to touch events.... It was slipping through her paws....
A flash of claws glinting in the sun - or was it a flash of eyes? And the young cat she had been watching collapsed so slowly, like a gentle breeze sighing over the grasses, crumpling to the ground. Red spilled around the small cat in front of her, whose look towards the young she-cat bordered on contempt. Even as she watched, dazed, shaking, he turned away, leaping back onto the Tallbranch. Her world was shaking, shaking. Her legs were wobbling so hard, her stomach lurched, but all that came out was a sob. Tears spilled out of her eyes as she looked at the silent form on the ground, stained in red like poppies.... She felt cold, so cold. The wind chilled her to the bone. Why did I never know her... I-I never knew anyone.... The realization brought another sob out of her, and she fell into a shivering crouch, wanting to scream at it all, at everything.
Distantly, she could hear their leader speaking again, a slight waver to his voice, but nothing else. Lifting her head, she stared upwards at him, her eyes locking onto his face through the tears. "W-what are you?"
Nothing made sense anymore.

As the medicine cat apprentice stared at Tinystar, listening to the arguments around her, her heart began to knot more and more tightly. Oh, StarClan, he's not listening to anyone, Amberdawn wailed in her head despairingly. Someone needed to go up to him, to stop him - to physically keep him from striking Sparrowpaw - but everyone, herself included, seemed rooted to their places. Some voices continued to speak up against the atrocity which was about to be committed. Amberdawn could only continue to watch with wide, frightened eyes and listen with dread as Sparrowpaw spoke her last words, carefully and maliciously: "You were never fit to lead this clan."

More speaking. Protests. Begging. Tinystar responded savagely, voice dripping with venom, to Sparrowpaw. The world seemed to slow as the small tom lifted one pristine white paw and raked it swiftly across the neck of the gray apprentice. As the executed she-cat slumped to the ground, bleeding fatally, Amberdawn found herself wailing in wordless protest despite her previous shocked silence. She continued to stare, for a moment not recognizing that Tinystar had continued speaking again until the word "exile" registered. Immediately Amberdawn's head snapped up as her dark amber gaze locked on her leader, terrified and pleading. Tinystar, his paw still red with blood, declared Nightstorm an enemy of SkyClan. "No..." she breathed, feeling confused and small. She hadn't known either of these cats well, but she had thought she'd known her leader well. And this.... this was all wrong.

Mintwhisker's eyes widened as Tinystar approached Sparrowpaw. His merry blue eyes were narrowed, two shards of ice. Empty. Frozen.
"Tch-" She gaped as Tinystar spoke, his voice sharp, aimed to hurt. Not only was he insulting both an apprentice, but a high respected warrior as well- one that had been close to Rippedstar.
She shut her mouth with a snap, her eyes widening as the short-legged tom approached Sparrowpaw.
She knew what was coming, knew that it would follow her for the rest of her life, knew that she didn't lift a paw to stop it.

Tinystar's aim was true- he was an experienced fighter, after all. Even from where she was sitting, Mintwhisker knew that Sparrowpaw's wound was fatal. The she-cat, theapprentice, was dead; killed by her own leader. Was it ironic that she, the daughter of Sedgestrike, was murdered near the same spot that Tinystar lost his first life?
Why did it matter? Why did any of this matter?

The entire clearing erupted into cries of protest. Sparrowpaw was dead. Nightstorm was exiled. The world as Mintwhisker knew it had ended.
She stood up, leaving the shiny-black herbs where they were. She stepped past Sparrowpaw's body as Tinystar perched on Tallbranch, staring down at them. His fur was stained with blood.
She reached her apprentice at last. "Amberdawn," Her voice was not her own. "Come on."
Without another word, without another glance towards Sparrowpaw's body, the taupe she-cat padded to her den. Her steps faltered when she reached the mouth of her den. With a strangled gasp of grief, she pressed the sweet-sedge into the ground, forcing it into the mud as she moved past it into her den.

Chaos claimed the SkyClan camp. Amidst the outraged yowls and screeches of her clanmates, the young warrior drew her ears back against her head. Tigerleaf found herself shaking—trembling—from the sudden weight of the emotions rushing through her body. Why... why did something like this always have to happen? Was she fated to always lose the cats she cared about? Somewhere in the background, she heard Larkpaw's voice. The warning words of her son, transcending time and space to a past in which he had yet to be born, reached her ears. However, she paid them no heed, barely even registering them. Was she to be quiet, when she was going to lose a another precious friend, another family member? For most of her life, she had sat in silence, content to do nothing but watch from the sidelines. If she chose to hold her tongue now, she would never be able to forgive herself. Foxhunter had been killed by a falling tree, Ashpaw had been murdered by Shade, and Duskflower, Palepaw, and Ripplepaw had died of illness. She was a powerless, mortal cat. Elmcloud had trained her well in battle techniques, but what use were they, when she had been unable to save the ones she wanted to save the most? They had always been out of her reach. At this moment, however, Sparrowpaw was right by her side. If she could fail to protect her apprentice even when she was right there, if she could possibly be pathetic enough to let history repeat again...

Sparrowpaw strode right past Tigerleaf. "S—Sparrowpaw..." The young warrior rasped. Words seemed to choke in her throat, rendering her incapable of saying what she so desperately wanted to say. Please don't go... Her apprentice never looked back. In comparison to the defeated young cat Tigerleaf had once followed out into the forest in the dead of night, this Sparrowpaw seemed a completely different cat. She was stronger, bolder. Almost as if she had not just been sentenced to death, she headed straight for the Tallbranch, her head held high. Sedgestrike's daughter had finally made her decision, but not at all in the way that Tigerleaf had wished she would. The wavering yellow gaze could only watch helplessly as Sparrowpaw practically delivered herself before Tinystar. It was too late. There was nothing she could do. Tigerleaf drew a shuddering breath, even as her legs threatened to give way beneath her. The one who would take Sparrowpaw away was her very own clan leader—the clan leader she was forbidden from defying. The word of the clan leader was the Warrior Code. How could Tinystar executing an innocent apprentice possibly be the will of StarClan? Was this really the Code the clans were bound so tightly by? This was all wrong...! Her features twisting into a snarl of utter frustration, Tigerleaf fought against the heat prickling at the back of her eyes. Unsheathed claws dug deep into the loosely-packed dirt. There was no way she could raise a paw against her leader.

Tigerleaf had never really approved of Poplarstar's selecting Tinylegs as his deputy. Like many others, she had doubted the capability of the short-legged tom in leading Skyclan. Nevertheless, she had not gone against the Warrior Code to defy her leaders. StarClan had clearly acknowledged him, or they would never have given him his nine lives. As time passed, he had begun to prove himself as somewhat capable. While she had still been far from trusting him as a leader, there had been something about Tinystar that she had liked. Perhaps the kindness that had always seemed to flicker within his pale-blue eyes had drawn her attention. At the very least, she had thought that she would not mind having a conversation with Tinystar. Now, however, as she gazed up at the Tallbranch, she found that she could see nothing but a callous tyrant. Her clanmates argued far more eloquently, far more courageously than she did, but even their voices failed to sway the tiny leader's decision. He stood immovable atop the Tallbranch, every word that he spoke cold enough to have come from the leaf-bare chill. He believed himself to be righteous. "What... is best for us...?!" Tigerleaf forced out. Her anger-tinged voice was quickly lost in the clamor of her clanmates, but the glare she sent the SkyClan leader burned with mounting panic and desperation. "Stop, Tinystar! H—how can you seriously believe that you're doing the right thing?!"

Blind to the faces of the SkyClan cats, and deaf to their voices—Tinystar was like a solid rock wall that rebounded all objections. "Those are big words for someone who never belonged here in the first place, Nightstorm.... And you and your family were never fit to be SkyClan cats and should've never even dared to step foot in this forest." Not once had Tigerleaf ever imagined that she would hear Tinystar utter such words. Had this always been how Tinystar had viewed them? As outsiders, simply because of their blood? Even though Foxhunter had died a loyal warrior of SkyClan? In the next instance, the leader's claws flashed across Sparrowpaw's throat. Immediately, time seemed to slow. If Tigerleaf's yellow eyes had been capable of stretching any wider, they did. Blood spurted through the air, coating Tinystar's formerly white paw. Her apprentice fell, hitting the ground with a resounding thud. At that moment, all other sound was drowned out. Tigerleaf never heard Tinystar's next words, never heard the tremor in his voice, never heard him exile Nightstorm. With that one slash, Tinystar also cut her heart to pieces. Suddenly unable to stand, Tigerleaf plopped down unto her haunches. Blood pooled slowly around Sparrowpaw's body, dying the snow a bright crimson. She felt utterly sick to her stomach, but she was unable to tear her gaze away from the sight.

You're... completely useless. This is all your fault. If only you had put more effort into training her, if only you hadn't been such a failure of a mentor, this wouldn't have happened.

The tears rolled freely down Tigerleaf's cheeks. It mattered not that her clanmates were still present, that Tinystar was still watching. Right then, maintaining her flimsy pride was the last thing on her mind. The SkyClan leader could have rebuked her for mourning the death of a potential murderer, but she would not have heard him. Her small figure shook violently. Sparrowpaw...! Sparrowpaw...! Sparrowpaw... I'm sorry. The young warrior's heart wept with the words that she lacked the physical strength to say aloud. I'm so sorry. I failed you. Once again, she had been unable to do anything. Her jaws parted in a silent scream of utter anguish.

Nightstorm watched, ears pinned back against his head as Tinystar erupted into a ranting tirade, the tom's strong words almost lost within the fray of his stricken mind.  How had it come to this, a kind-hearted, brave leader glowering down at his clan like a tyrant, ordering the death of a she-cat who had had the odds stacked against her since the day of her birth?  She had faced incomprehensible hurdles, yet, none of that mattered.  He didn't care.  The tiny white tom had transformed in his eyes from a leader, to a traitor.  Not only to his clan...but to morality itself.  The insult against his Tribe stung like a claw-scratch to the face, but Nightstorm did not flinch.  His forest green eyes were stone-cold, seemingly unbreakable.  In the end, his statement might've been true...the original SkyClan blood that ran in his veins had long been outcasted, it's time long past.  All of his fellows had either left or died off, leaving kits behind who knew nothing of where they had come from and the struggles their parents had endured.  Frostwing had been right...they had truly lost themselves to the Clans, and their culture twisted by violence and hatred.  Tinystar was right, he had never belonged here after all...not if he had to stand by cats like him.  

It seemed that many others agreed; he could hear the loud yowls and furious spitting of much of the crowd behind him, but he didn't look away from their leader.  He knew that, at this point, words would no longer work.  He was too determined, drunk on a power he wielded without fear of repercussions. Sparrowpaw's next words echoed his thoughts, and just as he finally broke off his gaze from Tinystar to glance down at the she-cat...it happened.  With one strike, it was over.  Blood gushed from the wound as Sparrowpaw fell, blood that he felt slowly meet his front paws, touching his toes in the most sickening sensation he had felt only once before.  "No..."  His pale eyes were stretched to the limit as the tom bent down, landing on his knees beside Sparrowpaw's body and bending his head, face hidden from the crowd.  He didn't cry, or yell or scream...he didn't even look up as those fateful words came.  "Nightstorm, from this day forward you will be considered an enemy of SkyClan. Your title of warrior has hereby been revoked and if you are seen anywhere on our land after sunset tonight, you will be dealt with swiftly."

So...I'm homeless again.  A restless ungrounded soul, with nowhere to run to when it gets cold.  

If the alternative is staying here...then I guess it's fine.

After all...life is just a series of different adventures.

Standing up with his back turned to Tinystar, Nightstorm cast his oddly calm gaze across the crowd, a melancholy smile breaking out across his dark face.  So many cats that he knew, had hunted with and fought beside...taken away from him.  He wouldn't dare to ask any of them to come with him, it wasn't his right, but his heart cried for his daughter Forestpaw, who was nowhere in sight.  Forgive me sweetheart...I'll always love you, and your sisters.  I'll see you again someday, I promise.  While passing Tigerleaf, he briefly pressed his nose against her shaking head, as much comfort as he could give in this dismal moment.  He walked away from the front of the crowd, through the pathway made between them all, and his eyes came to rest on Fernpetal.  Poor girl...the way her wide murky eyes wavered in the sunlight made his heart crack, but he forced himself to remain calm as he bent down to touch noses with his friend, the corner of his mouth quivering.  "Nightstorm, this isn't fair!  You...you can't let him do this!"  "Shhh, it's okay...this is what I chose.  Don't worry, I'll be fine...you take care of yourself.  We'll meet again."  Backing away, he gave her one last nod before coming face to face with his last beloved friend, Firflower.

He could still remember her as a tiny kit, confused but determined.  That heartwarming smile she had on her face when he had long ago shown her a piece of his past still lingered in his mind's eye; but now, her peach-colored face was twisted with anger and sadness.  With a heavy heart, and the beginning of tears in his eyes, he once again raised his front paw and extended it out towards her, bending his head low.  A greeting as a goodbye...it felt fitting.  With a purr he knew she would at least feel, he rested his muzzle against her forehead before stepping away for the last time, faced with the last obstacle.  The camp entrance lay before him...he could still remember the night he had entered for the first time.  Tired, weary, but relieved, he and his Tribemates had filed in and found resting places on the ground, beneath the inky black sky dotted with stars.  The stars his grandfather had been named for...and thus he was named for.  I entered as Night of Stormy Gales...and I will leave as such.

"Goodbye, SkyClan...may the stars light your path."

With those whispered words, the black-pelted tom turned and slipped out between the ferns, his sleek tail-tip vanishing into the foliage beyond.