LET'S RUMMMBBBBBLLLEEEE {Closed Topic}

The bright light of day was slowly being covered by the dark night sky. The stars shone brightly this night as if they were trying to make up for the lack of the moon. For the moon was only a tiny sliver in the sky, but with the cat's great sense of eyesight, having next to no light was no problem. Especially for the clan that was used to the dark of the night.

Crickets chirped wildly somewhere in the night, their ever present voices were always in the background. The clan cats have gotten used to them over time, and they only became a topic of conversation when the contributors to the conversation had nothing whatsoever to speak about.

The leader of ShadowClan was awake in her den, she had long since been up, contemplating her latest decision at the ShadowSky territory. There, Nightstar had given up the territory without a fight, and a few harsh words. The black she-cat had never been one for fighting, she'd rather do things diplomatically. Which, might be a shock to the other clans, thinking that every cat in ShadowClan feels that they much uphold their pride with every ounce of blood.

Not true. However, there are some cats in ShadowClan, that did not appreciate Nightstar's choice. And if the leader knew her old friend well enough, that she would show up right about...

...Now.

Gingerheart had been thinking everything over for the past few days, but every time she thought about it, she simply became more enraged. It was awful that Shadowclan had just become the butt of jokes in such a short time all because Nightstar didn't want to fight. She risked the pride of Shadowclan and its reputation as well as extra land because she decided to be a coward. Even though thinking back on the numbers, Gingerheart knew that they would have lost, but at least they would have lost with honor and dignity.

The senior warrior didn't exactly barge straight into the den, but she did bust through the entrance and stand halfway in and out of it. Granted, she really didn't think this was a good idea considering she was going up against her own leader, but she needed to talk to her. This was about keeping up their reputation! The intimidation! Being able to just look at someone and scare them. That was the goal, and it all was washed away. It didn't take long for Gingerheart's face to turn from a look of stone to that of anger, irritation, and simply annoyance as she stared at Nightstar. It was the same face she had been wearing through everything she did and her emotions got to the point to where it was even affecting how she hunted and how well she checked the borders. Of course, this only made her more upset so at this point she's just following Murphy's Law: what can go wrong will go wrong.

Even still, Gingerheart couldn't even begin to form the words that wanted to escape her mouth. Everything was jumbled up inside of her head like bees swarming as she tried to think of what to say, but there was nothing. It was just anger and frustration. Behind her, her tail lashed about as she just looked at her leader... since that was all she could do...

No words where passed between the two for what seemed like the longest amount of time. Nightstar looked back at her friend, her blue orbs watched Gingerheart's emotions switch from a variety of negative emotions. Considering of what happened a few days ago, around this time, Nightstar knew exactly what was upsetting her. Not to mention that she knew why as well. Mentally sighing, Nightstar started the long awaited conversation.

"I know why you are here, Gingerheart." The leader kept her blue eyes on her warrior. "And I will not apologize for my actions. They were in the best interest of ShadowClan." Nightstar lifted her head and flicked her tail, asserting her position on the subject.

"So making all of Shadowclan look like fools was in 'the best interest?'" She asked coldly. It wasn't very often that she got this way, but she couldn't help but want answers. She wanted to know why Nightstar did what she did. In a way, Gingerheart just needed to know the answers to the never-ending questions in her mind. "How are we supposed to show our faces anymore? Just giving up land like that! Not even trying!" A small growl rose in her throat as she continued to think about the subject. It was just angering her more to talk to the Shadowclan leader, but the conversation had already started. There wasn't much stopping it now.

The leader looked to her paws, a shadow casting over her face. The blue eyes of Nightstar seemed to turn to chips of cold ice, straight from the river during leafbare. Anger seeped in like a cool mist, her features softened, a calm anger. Nightstar looked up at her friend, her eyes boring into Gingerheart, what shone in her eyes was a mixture of disappointment and frustration.

"Pride?"

The moment of quiet dragged on for a few long heartbeats, before Nightstar continued, repeating herself one more time, and then some. "Pride? Is that all you are about?" The white tipped black ears folded back. "What about your clan mates? What would you do if your kits died as a result of a battle that could have never been won." The leader quivered for a moment, closing her eyes in a vein attempt to control her anger.

"They could have died for nothing."

"They wouldn't have! I wouldn't have let that happen!" Gingerheart hissed before she tried to calm herself. Death was still a very touchy subject to her-- one that she could never get rid of from the back of her mind. Not after Sagestar or Cedarfur; Rustfang; her own kit almost killed by a fox. Thoug this wasn't an argument they should be having, the warrior needed to get it out of her system. She took a step farther into the den, drawing closer to Nightstar with her eyes almost staring daggers. "No one would have died if it came to a battle, I would have made sure of that, but we just left without even trying to keep that land! How are we supposed to face the other clans now? They'll be laughing at us at gatherings! We won't be able to go anywhere or do anything! What happens when we run into another clan's patrol that's getting onto our territory, huh? Just tell them they can have that too?!"

Nightstar's head up at her friend as she took a few more paces into the den. She knew that the yelling was going to gather attention from the other cats, however, she knew that Gingerheart needed to get this out of her system. Feeling the anger dissipate, Nightstar let the warrior ramble on. It was only until Gingerheart was finished, that the leader spoke again.

"It is impossible to save everyone, Gingerheart." She gave her old time friend a sorrowful look. The tiny frame of Missingkit popped into Nightstar's thoughts. StarClan had decided to take the little one, and because of that, no cat had a say in the matter.

"I know you are worried about our pride, however, showing them that our pride has been wounded will only give them more reason to laugh." Pausing, the leader's eyes give away to a hint of determination. "Of anything, their pride should be hurt. WindClan had to rely on another clan for help. Proving that we are a worthy threat to them. To give farther evidence to that testament, next gathering, we will walk in with heads held high." A small smirk played on the leader's muzzle. "Hopefully the land will be ours again, and then some more." Nightstar relaxed, her ears folding back to their original positions. "Until then, we will continue on, and our borders will never be safer."