The Hour of Justice [RC + WC BATTLE TOPIC]

"Smokeface hush! Let Fishstar do the talking." Thistleblaze growled at the younger warrior. The gray tabby stood near Ivyfall ready to take a stand against her former clan. She knew that she could be recognized by being here but that didn't matter. She was a Riverclan cat, and she would always stand by Riverclan. They didn't need this to turn into a fight if it didn't need to, or before Fishstar got her demands across. Once her demands were said and an answer was given then they could determine if they fought, then they could spit words at each other.

She was angry too. Seeing the deputy of Windclan breaking her apprentice's jaw? She was beyond angry as she remembered. All she wanted to do was dig her claws into Smokepelt's fur and see how he liked being attacked. Maybe break his jaw while she was at it. She didn't care if she was a younger warrior, she would take on the deputy no matter the cost.

Morningfog silently slipped through to Smokeface's side, pressing their pelts together. "Smokeface, try not to provoke any cat, it's the last thing we need right now. If they can work this out, we can go home without bloodied paws! Do you truly want to fight? To cause harm to another? You would be just like the cats you're calling out so, please just keep calm right now." She said, even as she spoke her own tone was strained.

Ooc:mobile

Twistedpaw had just recently napped, but as the low murmur of clan life suddenly raised the anxious yowls, Twistedpaw nervously jumped up and peered outside to see what was happening. Seeing the band of cats smelling like rotten fish, her fur spiked up in alarm and she instinctively blocked the entrance of the nursery, not caring about her messed-up fur and pieces of moss stuck to her pelt. Peering inside, she purred softly and quietly, "Please stay inside. If those fish-smelling cats try to reach in or attack you, go to the back of the den and hit them with your paws if they attack! Okay?"

Emberfall watched as the cats all talked, RiverClan was invading there camp? She couldn't believe it, never ever had she heard or seen this happen before. She has heard of territory attacks about fighting over more territory and what not but this was really new. She kept watching, waiting for something to happen. And just incase, she had her claws unsheathed.

Lilacpaw looked around her as she was swarmed by WindClan cats. She had never seen their camp before, it was so...grassy. She knew that the territory would be plains but never would she think it would be some sort of grassy land. It was so green...

OOC: Feckin late.

((OOC~ Ohh, oohh boy am I late too))

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Fracturedhawk found himself in the center of the prowling group, he could feel the outrage hopping between each cat as they padded forward, out of their territory and onto the moor, then at the WindClan camp.

He let his claws unsheathe and dig into the soft ground beneath him as Fishstar and Ashstar met face to face, the tension almost visible between the two. The young warrior was dying for a fight, and a fight was expected. He doubted Ashstar would roll with what Fishstar would request. So he waited, waited anxiously for the violence to commence.

Turning her head to glare at Greenkit, she growled, "Do not insult leaders like that! Even if they are invading our camp, they are not at the current moment attacking. Do you want to cause it all with a ignorant comment?"

OOC: OMG, I’m so late, sorry!!!

For the first time in the young tom’s life, Sootwhisper didn’t just walked a couple tail-lengths behind the patrol, even if it was as big as this one. Oh no…now he was as near to the front as he possibly could. Even if his face and posture was mostly neutral, like if nothing bad was happening at all, his eyes appeared to be lit on fire, a fire that was running freely through his veins. He was just as enraged as the rest of the clan, and didn’t even think it twice before crossing the border and stepping into the unknown moorlands.

As soon as they arrived to the dip he guessed was the camp belonging to WindClan, he waited. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t tempted to just rush in and give Smokepelt a dose of his own medicine, but he knew better than to try to cause a fight that could be unnecessary if the leaders chose their words carefully enough.

His bicolored yes soon landed on the deputy of the rival clan. Flashing memories of the patrol he joined not long ago, and in which Frogpaw had been so terribly injured, dancing right before his eyes. He was close enough to them not only to see everything that happened perfectly, but to hear the sickening crack made by the poor apprentice’s jaw as it hits the hard rocks, and to smell the blood that soon stained the place that shouldn’t had been a battleground to begin with. He didn’t know if he would be recognized and neither cared to say the least, he just wanted one thing…justice.

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Nightheart was returning from one of her patrols across ShadowClan’s border and felt like if her soul had dropped to her paws when she noticed the army of cats gathered before the camp’s entrance. This could mean many things, none of the good. They had been really successful at recovering from the heavy loses that the Dark Forest brought upon their clan some moons ago, but their numbers couldn’t even compare to those of RiverClan and even if she had faith on her clan, she feared that this could be a war they wouldn’t be able to win if things took a turn for the worst.

Lowering her ears and trying her best to stay as far as possible from the invading patrol, she rushed into camp and quickly started to look around for her kits, some of which were already apprentices. She wanted to keep them as close as possible during the battle, memories of her mother as she was killed at the battle at Fourtrees haunting her once more and making her fear for their lives.

As she gathered those kits that resembled her and their father so much, more than once her eyes landed on Thistleblaze, her sister, who she soon spotted between the RiverClan cats. She just hoped that Ashstar would be able to handle this, and no blood had to be spilled that day.

(oh god I'm late)

The RiverClan warrior followed her leader into WindClan's moors. Though she'd never admit it, the foreign scent of the moors made her uncomfortable, deep down. But that didn't matter right now. Fury burned in her eyes. Today, they'd get what they deserved.
Tawnystorm unsheathed her claws, letting out a low growl. She'd fight to the end for justice.

Fishstar had to force her fur not to prickle as the WindClan cats slowly began to creep out to inspect the commotion. The RiverClan leader didn't look at any of them, however - instead, she kept her eyes fixed on the camp's entrance. Finally, both WindClan's deputy and leader emerged to face the Clan that had gathered at their doorstep. At the sight of Smokepelt, a barely-suppressed rage ran hotly through her veins. This was the fox-heart who had attacked her son. She wanted nothing more than to sink her claws into him and make him feel the pain that Frogpaw was feeling back at camp, but a good leader didn't fling herself immediately at every cat she hated.. He would get his due no matter which way this encounter went, though.

As Fishstar narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to speak to the opposing leader, however, Smokeface interrupted her and confronted Ashstar himself. She raised her tail and flicked it in his direction to silence him and to signal him to back up. The last thing she needed right now was her warriors speaking out of turn and giving her Clan a bad image.

"Ashstar." The spotted tabby didn't bother to blanket the chilly disdain in her voice. "When I accused your Clan of maiming Shellwater at the Gathering, I had no intention of taking to extreme measures. After all, it was only one warrior, as far as we knew.. One isolated incident. However, not two sunrises after that, your trusted deputy," she hissed, tone growing colder with each word, "attacked my son. His jaw is broken. He may not be able to eat or speak properly ever again. Nothing could possibly justify a full-grown cat attacking an apprentice, and it's happened twice now. This is why I've come up with an agreement." Fishstar raked her gaze over all of the WindClan cats, pausing for a moment on Smokepelt, and then returned to Ashstar. "If you exile Smokepelt and the warrior who hurt Shellwater today for their horrendous acts of cruelty, and chase them out of the forest, we will go back to our camp and leave you be."

A soft whimper tore itself free of Brindlepaw's throat as she listened to Fishstar's outrageous demands- why was Fishstar acting like Frogpaw was the first cat to ever be injured?! Jumping up from her crouch, Brindlepaw scurried through the tense, silent crowd to her grandfather's side, ignoring the hisses from both her clanmates and Riverclan as she scrambled to Smokepelt's side. The moment Brindlepaw reached Smokepelt's side, she pressed her trembling form up against his hard- until it looked like Smokepelt had suddenly gained a large, soft grey patch on his side- and stayed there, glaring at Fishstar and the rest of the Riverclan patrol with accusing eyes. "Ashstar won't actually give into Fishstar's demands will she? She can't drive out her own son just because Fishstar's son is hurt right?" Brindlepaw thought nervously, her wide eyes flickering from the hostile patrol to her own uneasy clan. Brindlepaw crouched lower, winding her thick tail around around Smokepelt's legs- as if she could keep him tethered to herself and Windclan. "I can't believe Fishstar is forcing a situation like this on Ashstar! Making her choose between the last of her kin and her Clan's well being- who does that fat, oily she-cat think she is?" Brindlepaw voiced her anger mentally- making the choice to have more respect for the delicate situation than Smokeface did, all the while staring over at her leader with uneasy eyes.

Waiting for the RiverClan leader to speak, his gaze turned to the cat they called Smokeface, a lesser version of him no doubt. Pfft, looks like even they can't control their warriors, he snickered to himself but kept quiet, keeping his proud posture. Not long after they'd arrived, Ashstar arrived, looking ready for what was to come although he knew that she was just as scared as he was. Half zoning out when Fishstar started speaking, when she spoke his name, his ears perked up and he lashed his tail back and forth. How dare they demand to have him exiled! Could they even do that?

Suddenly, a small body huddled against his and looking down, he saw Brindlepaw, the granddaughter whom he treated like a kit. Gazing into her eyes, Smokepelt gave a small reassuring smile, although he assumed it didn't help much, especially now. Letting out a soft hiss he tried to stay calm to be a good example, but he couldn't believe what all this commotion was doing to everyone, causing such fear and turmoil, and it made him sick. Pressing against her, he vowed to protect his clan, even at the cost of his life, which in fact he wouldn't let RiverClan have the satisfaction of taking his life away from him.

Looking to his mother and trying not to show his anger and disbelief, the deputy waited to see what she had to say. Would she really exile him for one mistake he'd made?

~~~

Standing where he was and horrified by Fishstar's "bargain," Cedarfur let out a growl although he wanted to yowl. Yes, he understood that Smokepelt had acted out and injured an apprentice, but would they really go to such lengths to get their so called justice? Glancing at the leader and deputy, he couldn't imagine how hard this must have been for Ashstar, having to choose between her clan's safety or her son.

Smokeface no doubt disliked to be shut up, but he understood and closed his mouth, waiting for Fishstar to speak. He could hardly control his anger but it felt like something had easened all of his strain as his leader spoke. Yes, finally, justice! Let's see who laughs now, us, or us? he chukled on the inside, fixing his eyes smugly on the depuy of WindClan, Smokepelt. And if there would be a battle, he wanted that cat's blood on his paws.

He flicked his tail on his mate's back, slightly worried about her presence in the battle. He knew she could fight well, but what if those savages got their claws on her, what would it be? They probably wouldn't resitate to tear her apart, just to see his reaction. The tom noticed his two apprentices, now young warriors, in the crowd as well. Shellwater, he admired her courage, every last drop of it, every single  step she took through WindClan territory was a response to the warrior that had dared to attack her.

Ashstar's tail-tip flicked dismissively at Smokeface's outburst, ears twitching imperceptibly. And the leader accused her of not controlling her warriors? Disgraceful and hypocritical. She wasn't surprised at the news of Frogpaw, as her son had broken it to her a sunrise ago, but the knowledge that he was Fishstar's son put things into a whole different perspective. Her heart sank at the RiverClan she-cat's ultimatum. To exile her son and Lionfur? Lionfur was ambitious, yes, and Smokepelt may have gotten carried away, but to exile them both, this close to leaf-bare when they needed all the warriors they could get, was madness! RiverClan, being bigger and having a more experienced leader, wanted to push WindClan around, make them weaker. Did it give them pleasure to see the once-great Clan so diminished by the Dark Forest? Well, Ashstar would not do that to her Clan- to her son. She knew the vengeance of a mother when her kits were threatened, but this took it too far. She had hoped to avoid a war, but this was not a request she could accomplish save at the expense of her Clan, and she was not willing to do that, to tear her Clanmates further apart. She was caught between a rock and a hard place, a battle and an exiling. In one she would definitely lose cats, but in the other it was only a possibility. Memories of Kestrelstorm's exile flashed through her mind. She had done it once and seen the consequences- she would not do it to her Clan. She could not do that do her family!

"I know your pain, Fishstar." The gray she-cat's voice was quiet and slightly subdued, but she stared her opposer right in the eyes. "I, too, am a mother. Smokepelt is not my only son- he had a brother, Sharppaw. When he was nearing warrior age, he was struck by a monster on the Thunderpath. My mate was with him in his final hours, but I never saw him till they retrieved his body." The pain and sadness showed in her eyes. "It was... a hard time for me. Without my son Smokepelt and my mate Icestorm, I doubt I would have survived." Her tone hardened. "My parents are dead. My brother is dead. My mate is dead. My first son is dead. Smokepelt is the only family I have left. Yes, he made a mistake, and I am deeply sorry for your son's injury, but I love my own son more than anything. I would die if I lost him." The she-cat's voice broke. "It is almost leaf-bare, and we are still recovering from the losses inflicted by the Dark Forest. WindClan simply cannot afford to lose two more warriors."

WindClan's leader found all the weak emotions inside her- the stress, the confusion, the fear, the grief, the pain- and crush them. Only a cold, hot, indignant fury remained, burning slowly through her heart and showing in her spring green eyes, which seemed to darken a shade. "I had hoped that we could avoid a battle, but this demand is unreasonable beyond comprehension. RiverClan does not dictate the code or WindClan. We would rather risk a battle than lose our trusted Clanmates." Ashstar stood from where she sat, feeling the strength of all LionClan behind her sheathed claws. She could feel Icestorm and the rest of StarClan's approval. "This doesn't have to be a battle. Our Clans don't have to be enemies. I offer the help of my medicine cats to your son, and we might share the effort of catching prey this season. We have everything to gain by being allies. But if you attack us, then all that will disintegrate. If you insdist upon a battle, a battle it will be. Choose wisely, Fishstar."

Rippedpaw stayed in a defensive position, waiting for Fishstar's response. Depending on the Riverclan leader's response, a fight would break out quickly.