Deceitful Dawns

The sun was just rising above the moors, though its warming light hadn't yet reached the camp. It would soon be time for the dawn patrol to begin, yet a cat that wasn't participating was still up. Blinking through his sleepy visage, Falconstar stared glumly from his den upon his clan, barely a stirring but for a gentle breeze whispering through the grass. When he had assumed the mantle of clan leader, he had never expected it to go like this. A devastating war that had driven ShadowClan from their home had left many injured and the dead littered upon the ground. His feelings about the clan that lurked in the darkness had been knowingly negative for many moons, but even he had not wanted such a war to occur. He still remembered the look of fear and desperation in Nightstar's eyes before she had fled from their battle, a look that had made the WindClan leader not pursue her. They had used to be friends, or at least as friendly as they could be in different clans; her and Rustfang were two of the few cats he had considered good within that clan. What now? Had she become hardened and evil now that she had assumed Sagewhisker's place atop the clan hierarchy? Was he and his fellow leaders who had waged war upon them good? After such a catastrophe, it was hard to even pretend there was a side of good and a side of evil. Maybe everyone was just wrong.

As if that wasn't enough to keep him up at night, two of his warriors had perished under mysterious circumstances: Owlpelt and Lavenderheart. There had been no reason for Owlpelt's death: he had just seemed to drop dead, though Falconstar wasn't dense enough to believe such a falsehood. As for Lavenderheart, she had just… disappeared. One day, they had woken up and she wasn't there. Despite combing the territory and even leading a small group into SkyWind territory, there was no trace of her. Her scent had been found leaving the camp, but it strangely vanished in the middle of the territory, as if she had been whisked away by something airborne. Truth be told, the fact that she had disappeared without a trace stumped him and worried him greatly, though it wasn't because the last true link to SkyClan was gone. One of his clan members - and he thought of her as such - was gone, and despite his ignorance to her disappearance, he knew that it wouldn't satisfy Reedheart, who would be particularly interested into her unknown whereabouts. Some warriors suggested a fox or a badger had gotten her, and perhaps Owlpelt too, but it didn't add up. There was no scent of the creatures, and besides, why would they take a body with them and not the other one? The scents of the two warriors weren't even in the same place.

He was worried about Eaglethorn, too. While the young warrior had never said it, Falconstar knew that he had been emotionally damaged by the death of his mother and his two siblings. It didn't take much to see the similarities between father and son; they both were not exactly skilled hunters, yet both were adept at battle, and both were quick to anger and grudges. However, the rage that resided in those eyes, the eyes of his mother, sometimes gave great uneasiness to the leader. There wasn't supposed to be hatred there, not in those eyes. He knew about the warrior's kill of Daisynose in the great war; it was a bragging point for him, and that wasn't how he was raised. Raccoonstar's paranoia was also there, he noticed it constantly. Eaglethorn did not make his opinions hidden about how the other clans were all plotting against them and how cats without pureblood were destroying the clan from within. That was another worry, don't be fooled. The fact that his clan was starting to grow full of cats of rogue, loner, and kittypet blood, and even of mixed blood from the other clans gave him pause. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before there was no WindClan blood left in the clan, and then what? Could a clan like that even function when all of the blood that made the clan what it was was gone? Were the other clans suffering an epidemic like this as his own clan was?

As the sun continued to rise and his warriors began to stir within their dens, he realized that he wasn't going to be content with just laying here. It wasn't like he was going to be able to go back to sleep: he had spent the entire night falling in and out of slumber, his fragmented dreams plagued with half-blooded cats and a vengeful ShadowClan, darkness covering his dreams only to be illuminated by the unblinking eyes of Reedstar and Dewstar. Pulling himself to his paws, he decided that he needed to talk to Ravenwing. Maybe the medicine cat knew something. Padding over slowly as his warriors moved about, getting something from the fresh kill pile in anticipation of the dawn patrol, he poked his head into the medicine cat's den. When he reached it, his mind had become clear enough that he knew what he wanted to query about: Owlpelt's death. "Ravenwing? Are you up?"

Throughout the night and up until dawn, Ravenwing had been awake, sorting different herbs and constantly leaving every now and then to go and collect more to replace the wilted plants. Scanning through as much territory as she could to gather more, there was no telling whether or not there was going to be another war like the other. It was too vast and the shaky alliances between three clans can so easily break. Sooner or later, the clans will rage battle with one another with the number of murders that had occurred - not just in battle with ShadowClan -, but the deaths of warriors after the combat. So many different spirits going to join StarClan so soon. And it wasn't satisfactory to her that there were so many disappearing along with the battle without her knowledge, most of all, her own mother vanished. First, many of her own siblings had died at a young age. Her father, Twistedfoot, along with the sibling she bonded most with, Badgerpaw, gone. And now this?

Lifting her head up to the disappearing stars as the sun rose up, wondering whether there was to be an omen for them to tell her, giving her the answers she had been seeking, there was none. However, just as she was about to lift herself from her own nest to continue collecting herbs, the sound of a faint voice called. Scarcely twitching her whiskers, Ravenwing realized who was summoning her over - Falconstar. Truth be told, the medicine cat had noticed the restlessness of the leader often and all of the mysteries that were coming up and about. He was wanting an answer from her, an answer to the dreams that he had seen, and an answer about the sudden disappearances. Perhaps she could figure out something about the darkening nightmares, but there was only one death she clearly knew about - Owlpelt's.

While she had hidden it away, her motives was to simply keep Twopelt from being exiled. WindClan needed their warriors at the moment if there was to be a battle, and the dead warrior's son, while the sanity was gone, could stand as a formidable ally to the clan. However, it was only sooner or later that her leader would be questioning about this. And she wouldn't hesitate to state the truth if it came to that.

Ravenwing after a long moment of pondering within her own thoughts, she gave a solemn nod to Falconstar and beckoned him in with a gesture of her tail. It was finally time to start stating the truth after so long. There was her own secret which she would not speak in order to keep the other three involved away from trouble, but any other mysteries, she was to speak. Her eyes were frosted over with bitterness and harshness, though for once, she didn't seem as critical as usual. Perhaps it was from all of the different cases coming about and how she needed to soften up slightly, but either way, who knows?

"Here.... For answers, correct....?"

Nodding, Falconstar padded into the den and sat down, silent for a moment as he gathered his thoughts before saying anything. Finally, when he felt he was ready to say something, looked over at Ravenwing. "You saw Owlpelt's body before we buried it," he began. It wasn't a question, but a statement. "Did you notice anything strange about it? Something that didn't add up about how it was assumed he died?" It bothered him, like an itch that couldn't be scratched, that nobody seemed to truly know how the warrior died. How could that be? His eyes searched hers, desperate for an answer he wasn't even sure she had.

The first question was an easily answerable question for Ravenwing. She knew the answer no problem. Not even hesitating to think for once, the black medicine cat replied, "Claw marks.... Twopelt.... Fur stuck..." That was the simple response she needed to speak. Nothing more, nothing less. Meeting his gaze with her own, cold and critical as she searched to see his small reaction or perhaps an even larger one then she imagined at the revelation. However, surely he'll need proof of some sort, though... Was she really supposed to be so blunt and just state something, despite the fact that it was her own kin who was a murderer?

Falconstar's eyes widened in unbridled shock. Twopelt? Is that what Ravenwing was trying to tell him; that Twopelt had killed Owlpelt, his own father? That was rather shocking to believe, perhaps even too scandalous. "Do you… do you have proof of this?" he asked his medicine cat, keeping his voice calm despite how uncalm he felt about what she had told him. Honestly, he didn't even want to believe that one of his own warriors was a cold-blooded murderer. Hadn't there been enough of that?

Looking straight into Falconstar's eyes, detecting his own shock and doubt about her words, listening to him when he hesitantly asked her whether she had proof or not, Ravenwing gave a short nod, preparing herself to fully speak for the leader. While she was not one who normally could project full sentences daily, the medicine cat was going to force herself into doing so this time. Taking a deep breath, beginning to give him the details, keeping her gaze on his, noting that she was to be serious about this. "On the same day that Owlpelt had died... I had ignored a warrior who had gone in to get me for Twopelt's shock and the lavender for Owlpelt's body. However, when I left camp, I detected something suspicious in the area, eventually finding the fallen warrior." Stopping herself there to allow her leader to absorb the current information, the she-cat was wondering at all whether or not she was trusting her with this at the moment. She didn't display any uneasiness about revealing this nor did she quite know why she was speaking out about the situation either. Continuing her words, Ravenwing opened her mouth once again to add on, "Upon seeing it, I knew why one of my clanmates had gone in to see me... There was the fact that Twopelt was in shock that made me wonder why and I eventually examined Owlpelt's body, seeing the tuft of fur stuck behind as well as claw marks with the blood surrounding. No fall from Outlook Rock should cause blood to spill. Not that I'm aware of. I don't have the piece with me, but if you're willing to come with me outside of camp so early in the morning, I can easily show you where I left the fur I found at the site..." By the time she was finished speaking, the medicine cat felt almost dizzy at speaking so much. Never in her life had she spoken like this, and she didn't believe she would be making anymore exceptions any time soon.

This was all quite a lot of information to take. Why would Twopelt kill his own father. And if Ravenwing had known this, why hadn't she come to him with the information? Falconstar's mind was buzzing with all of this newfound knowledge, but he didn't put words to any of it. Instead, he nodded towards his medicine cat and stepped out of the den. "Yes, we should go see." Part of him didn't want to see this, proof that his own warrior was a murderer, but he was the leader, and he needed to stand strong and see this evidence firsthand if he was to do anything in response to it.

Seeing the leader's nod, Ravenwing started a brisk pace out of the camp, wary to make sure none of their clanmates followed them or awoke from this, wishing to get this over with. Glancing slightly at Falconstar before adding on to her words as if she had figured out his thoughts, knowing that it was an easy question to wonder why she wouldn't have told him before. "I said nothing as it didn't seem to be of necessity before. However, upon your request, I was willing to speak. It has nothing to do with Twopelt being my kin." Heading over to where she had hidden the evidence before in the territory after a number of moments of padding across soft moorland. Looking around as she reminded herself where she had left the tuft of fur, the medicine cat eventually found it, tossing it over to the WindClan leader. Now standing by Outlook Rock, Ravenwing mewed, heading back to incomplete sentences, "Sufficient...?"

Falconstar looked over the tuft of fur, easily connecting it to Twopelt, which just seemed to confirm the dark tale that Ravenwing had told. How could this be true? How could a murderer be living amongst his ranks? If this was true - and it certainly seemed like it was - he couldn't allow a killer to be anywhere near his other cats, in case the urge to kill struck again. "If this is true, Ravenwing," he mewed quietly, "I will have to banish Twopelt from the clan. I cannot allow a killer to stay within WindClan." This was troubling indeed, but these were troubling times… If indeed he had killed Owlpelt, then he would have to be banished, and Falconstar could only hope that no other clan would take him in. Who knew what he would do there.

OOC;; Apologies for late response.

IC;; Glancing over towards her leader, fairly aware that she had just exposed her kin to banishment, the medicine cat showed no signs of grief or the like. There were too many possibilities for simply banishing him where Twopelt could easily go on and create his own blood shed war, though staying within the clan would result in them perhaps getting betrayed by their own clanmate. There were few choices to make, and sometimes, the way life was placed out, it would be too risky to try and allow other fragile souls to be taken. Ravenwing gave a small nod to Falconstar before pondering a moment, inquiring, "StarClan...?"

Falconstar didn't understand what Ravenwing meant when she asked about StarClan. Perhaps she was curious about a sign, and if anyone would know, it would be her. Still, there wasn't time to wait for StarClan. He knew what he had to do. "I'm sure StarClan would approve of removing a murderer from our midst," he assured his medicine cat before heading for the warrior's den and poking his head inside, calling for Twopelt.

Twopelt woke up and looked at Falconstar. "Oh, hello Falconstar. What do you need?" he asked, not too sure of what was going on.

With Twopelt called, Falconstar led him away from the warrior's den and towards the edge of camp, before stopping and turning to face him. "Twopelt, you've been accused of killing your father Owlpelt. Your fur was found on his body upon inspection. I want you to tell me the truth, Twopelt: did you kill Owlpelt?"

"I... We... Er..." Twopelt stuttered, before sighing and saying, "Yes. It was me. I killed Owlpelt. Just... Just do whatever you want. Exile me, kill me, it doesn't matter. I certainly deserve it."

Falconstar's eyes widened in surprise at Twopelt's confession, so easily obtained without any fight. So it was true: one of his clanmates had killed another in cold blood, and they freely admitted to it. Anger slowly built up and burned inside his chest, but he knew striking out would only lead to more complications. The thought of ending his life, a life for a life, appealed to the leader, but horrific flashes of dead bodies littered across swampland almost made him visibly shudder, and he knew it couldn't happen… not again. Even if he deserved it, this was someone who had been a clanmate, and so exile would have to be his punishment, and hopefully it would mean something, anything.

"I'm sorry, Twopelt, but this is an unforgivable crime. I'm exiling you from this clan, and I will make sure that the other clans know not to take you in. The gift of life is something a murderer does not deserve, and I nor my warriors will hesitate to kill you if we find you on our land again. Leave now, before the rest of the clan wakes up. I don't want to see you on the moors again."