I Saw the Sign (closed for Peri)

Shrikestorm - still getting used to that warrior name - stood outside the leader's burrow. After everything that had been happening, he knew he needed to speak to Oliverstar. Between what StarClan told him and the pelt-wearers taking over the forest, it didn't feel like a coincidence. Of course, he was still nervous to bring it up. He was a new warrior, and this was the leader of the entire clan. One didn't just bother the leader without just cause. This was too important to ignore, though. He was sure that Olivestar would understand once he explained what was going on. Tentatively, he called for her.

"Olivestar?"

With the presence of the Asylum cats, Olivestar had taken to actually spending time in the leader's den for some semblance of privacy, whereas before she'd only used it to store the various feathers and trinkets that Zinnia had found for her, so that they wouldn't get lost or damaged by the elements. It was now that the leader was in the den, still a little unnerved by the earth above her head, but it was a small price for the sake of privacy in her own home. She hadn't been expecting a call of her name from outside the den, and she recognized the voice to be that of WindClan's newest warrior, and she wondered what Shrikestorm would want to talk to her about.

With a deep breath, she called out,
"Come in, what do you need?"

Taking a deep breath, Shrikestorm entered the leader's den. It was dark, or at least darker than outside, but he could still see Olivestar's shadowed figured, which wasn't being helped by him standing in the entryway. "Olivestar, I..." He hesitated, and it made him feel as if he was being judged. Okay, he could do this. It was for WindClan! And he loved WindClan. "Olivestar, I spoke with StarClan at the Moonstone." Of course he had: that was what he needed to do before becoming a warrior. Why would he tell her something she already knew? He still pushed forward, trying to pretend he wasn't feeling incredibly awkward. "They... told me that something was going to happen. Something bad, and that they couldn't help because the clans had turned their backs on them. What can we do to bring StarClan's blessings back?"

As Shrikestorm spoke, Olivestar felt a frown crease her brow and turn he corners of her mouth as she wondered what he was talking about. She tilted her head a bit in confusion.
Turned our backs on StarClan? What does he mean by that?

Pondering her words for a moment, she spoke, careful with her wording.
"What do you mean by "bad thing"? The Asylum takeover? Also, what did the StarClan cat mean by turning our backs on them?" Sensing his awkwardness, she added, "I'm not upset, I promise, I'm glad you came to tell me this. I'm just confused on what the StarClan cat meant."

Shrikestorm didn't want Oliverstar to be mad at what he was saying, so it did bring him a bit of relief to hear her say that. From his perspective, a former WindClan leader told him of a bad fate befalling his clan, and he didn't want that to happen. If there was anything he could do, he would do it. "A former WindClan leader, he... showed me a river, and how it was polluted with blood. That the... He said that the blood was polluted." His tail was whisking around nervously, despite Olivestar's words of comfort. "I think he was saying that we're going against StarClan by not following all their laws. What if they're unhappy with how open the clans have let their borders be?" StarClan was as vague as he had been led to believe, but he'd had time to mull over their message, and he had a feeling that was close enough to the truth of what Falconstar had said.

As Shrikestorm elaborated further, Olivestar's eyes narrowed a bit. Memories of supposed StarClan cats terrorizing the Clans, the plague that had nearly killed her mate, and the cruel Lavenderbreeze striking Morningdove down filled the leader's head, and ended with the sensation of her teeth in Lavenderbreeze's throat. With a single lash of her tail, she gritted her teeth, trying to think carefully about what she was going to say next.
"I see. You weren't born yet, but a few seasons ago, a small faction of StarClan cats were unhappy with the way the Clans were living, and began terrorizing us. They called themselves The Righteous Few, and their views were widely opposed by the rest of StarClan. They sent a plague to kill the code-breakers, and it nearly claimed the lives of both my mate, and our loyal Clanmates. Then, at the peak of their reign, a large battle broke out, and the rest of StarClan joined us to fight off that small faction. I fought in that battle, and I killed for the right to live life the way we'd like. The Righteous Few and StarClan are completely separate from one another, and are not to be confused."

She took a deep breath as she let the information sink in.
"The Righteous Few did in fact have the ability to send dreams to the living, and I'm afraid that is the case. The cat you got your message from could be a lingering member of that faction, hoping to stir up trouble once more. I just hope that StarClan, and by extension, the Righteous Few, remembers that we, the Clans, fought for the right to live our lives they way we choose to, and won."

"If the cat you saw is wishing for me to banish all cats of impure blood, it's not going to happen. I myself do not have WindClan blood at all, but I am still WindClan. Zinnia may hail from the far away lands of the Garden, but she is still WindClan because she wants to be. What it means to be part of a Clan is not dictated by blood, but by choice, and I will continue to live by and enforce those beliefs because it is right."

With another breath, she continued.
"Again, I'm not mad at you, I'm glad you came to me with this message, but I hope that the courier knows that their message is something that I do not agree with. You're right to be concerned, following the message you were given, but know that anything bad happening to us is not because we live our lives with a... more relaxed grasp of the warrior code. We are still warriors, no matter the blood that runs through our veins. And if anything bad does happen to us, know that I will live and die by my Clan, no matter what, as well as the rest of our Clanmates. We did not take our warrior oaths lightly, and know that no matter the purity of our blood, we all love WindClan, and will all fight for WindClan until we meet our ends."

Shrikestorm's eyes widened as Olivestar told him of the story of the Righteous Few, and battles that had happened before his time. He could feel the disgust laced beneath her words, though she kept her composure throughout their talk. He could only nod slowly, understanding what she was saying, and yet... One thing she had said stuck in his brain. 'I myself do not have WindClan blood at all.' The leader of WindClan wasn't a WindClan cat... He couldn't help but frown, trying to work that fact around in his mind. The blood coming from the tip of the river... Falconstar had told him he would need to stand against those close to him, and there weren't many closer to a clan cat than their leader.

"You're right," he mewed, dipping his head. "We are all WindClan together, no matter what. Thank you for helping me figure out what this message meant." He would need to think on what this all meant some more, but he knew that this wasn't a topic that Olivestar would further entertain. The last thing he needed to do, with all the chaos going on in camp, was antagonize his leader.

The leader relaxed a little bit as Shrikestorm nodded and responded, though she could sense the cogs turning in his brain as he processed all that she had told him.
"Again, thank you for coming to me with the message and your concern. And one last note, I was brought into the Clan as a kit, under the code's rule that no kit in need shall be turned away by Clan cats. When the Righteous Few sent that plague to wipe out code-breakers, I was not affected, as they did not consider my existence as a Clan cat to be breaking the code."

With another nod, she dismissed him, and spoke once more.
"If there's anything else you need from me, feel free to ask."