I Think I Made a Mistake (CLOSED)

The sudden appearance of their leader startled Marshkit. He backed up until he was next to Puddlekit with shame prickling in his pelt. He knew they had been wrong in leaving the camp without permission… but… he looked at the Skyclan cats warily.  When Leopardfang arrived, followed by their mother, he felt the urge to lower down into the snow. He wanted to be back in the nursery, away from their stupid mistake.

Haze flight and the other she-cat’s exchange struck a cord with Marshkit. Suddenly, he felt even more ashamed. Those Skyclan cats were enemies from a different clan, they shouldn’t have been so close to the border but… he felt a strange sense of hope that the tom was his father. From his mother’s words he had to be. The elation was short-lived however as the guilt started sinking in. He stepped close to Hazeflight, trying not to look as embarrassed and afraid as he felt.
“Mother… it’s not…” He started, his voice a tiny squeak full of fear. It was hard to reign in, to sound normal again. “W-We wanted to know who our father was.” The confession was quiet. Marshkit was certain that it was unheard, but it made him feel better, even though they were probably still in trouble.

Hazeflight looked down at her kit softening her gaze." Stay close, Marshkit. These cats can't be trusted." she muttered. hazeflight lifted her head to look at Adderpaw. The silver she-cat raised herself to her full height a snarl rumbling in her throat." No, I know perfectly well what Eagleheart was doing. That foolish tom was looking for my kits. Even a mousebrained kit like you could figure that much out." Hazeflight spat glaring down upon the smaller cat.

Eagleheart crouched into a defensive stance, his fur bristling at the sudden arrival of all the Shadowclan cats. Of course she has to be here... Hazeflight's appearance made him uncomfortable. He had hoped to never see her again after the kits had been born. The fact that it was the leader and deputy that joined her only confirmed that the warrior was about to get in big trouble. The young warrior glanced at Adderpaw. Eagleheart had dragged her into this. Lastly, he looked over the kits, coming to the realization they were his and the reason they were currently all in this situation.

"Is it a crime to want to see my kits?" He growled at the others, letting the hatred creep into his voice. It took everything in him to not lose his temper in that moment. It had been a while since the tom had been this frustrated, but in that moment he didn't care that is was Thrushstar and Leopardfang he was facing. After a moment of glaring at them he added, "They shouldn't even be in Shadowclan. The only reason you have these kits is because I made the poor decision to let them stay with their mother." His words word venom, directed mostly at Hazeflight, and he spat them hastily.

***

Instead of shrinking down like her littermate, Wolfkit flattened her ears in anger. It frustrated her that her mother had come after them. Hazeflight had always hovered over them. She knew that it wasn't good to be found by the clan leader either, but in her head, it wasn't a bad thing to go out looking for their father. She stepped closer to Puddlekit, as if to defend her from their mother's anger and whatever else could be dangerous in that moment.

She stood up straight and met Hazeflight's eyes with an look that seemed too intense for a kit, "It's like Marshkit said, we were looking for our father. Because you never told us about him." The young she-cats words were icy. Wolfkit couldn't possibly understand the intensity of the moment, but being almost old enough to be an apprentice, she could grasp enough. Her eyes ran over the impressively muscular frame of the strange warrior cat. His claws were out and his fur bristled. Both awe and a prickle of fear ran through her. A familiar feeling washed over her as she saw the tom. She cocked her head in brief confusion, but then it hit her.

"Father...?" She breathed incredulously, just loud enough for those close to hear.

occ: again, so sorry about screwing this up, but I actually prefer where it's going now. Thanks Edgy!

The last time they had spoken she was mewing a tearful goodbye, now she was standing in front of him ready to rip him apart if she had to. " If you wanted to see your kits so bad then why didn't you make any attempt to see, Emberpaw, at the gathering? It isn't a crime to want to see them, it's a crime to trespass or ShadowClan territory and then attempt to steal the kits! Don't you ever think I want to see Hollypaw and Badgerkit? At the gathering you made it pretty clear you wanted Emberpaw and I to have nothing to do with you or her. You can't have everything, Eagleheart, you pampered little full clan blood wrench!" Hazeflight hissed her tail lashing from side to side. The silver cat snarled her ice blue eyes filled with rage and hatred. It could of been different, she would of been over joyed to see Eagleheart and would more than likely let him see the kits. But this changed everything for good and bad.

Hazeflight glanced down at her daughter. " Yes, Wolfkit. This sorry of excuse of a warrior was your father. Now I understood why you went looking for him, but if you asked I would of told you rather happily. Your action have consequences and if we hadn't arrived when we had you and your siblings could of come to serious harm. Its just lucky you haven't met any foxes or other prowling creatures who would of loved a little kit to snack on." Hazeflight mewed her voice stern and firm.

Hazeflight sat down and curled her tail around her kits bringing them in close to her. She took a deep sigh before turning back to Eagleheart looking calmly yet with a definant icy glaze at her former mate. " Why are you here Eagleheart? Do you realise what you have done and How you have hurt everyone here? " Hazeflight was young, but wise. Very few cats she knew had been through trauma like her and with the pain came wisdom. The silver queen also knew she had caused more pain for herself and for her clan when she had had kits with Eagleheart and she regretted everything more than you could imagine. At least her kits were safe as far as she knew.

OOC: yo Midnee chill out on posting a bit cx let others get a voice in every once in a while. and no problem Ripped :D this is a lot more fun than shutting it down~

"Hazeflight is right," Thrushstar hissed, straightening his stance slightly as the cats talked. "It would... be different if you hadn't walked into my territory unannounced thinking you would get away with it!" Turning to the queen, he listened to her for only a moment before sighing. "Hazeflight, I know that you and this tom have issues between you, but please, let me handle this." He paused, turning back to Eahleheart and Adderpaw. "I can only imagine what Crowstar will have to say about this incident. Two of his cats intentionally trespassing into Shadowclan territory with no regard for borders trying to see and possibly take Shadowclan's kits without expecting to get caught." It might have been an exaggeration about them taking the kits but he didn't know what their intentions were and he wasn't about to take out any options.

Emberpaw was there? Eagleheart hadn't even realized one of their kits had been apprenticed already. A tinge of guilt hit him, but he hid it well. At the next gathering he would make sure to find his kit. The tom had nothing against his children, but his former mate aggravated him. As she spoke, his claws dug into the ground in frustration. He wanted to lash out after hearing her talk to Wolfkit about him in that way. Anger rose up inside of him and it was all he could do to hold himself back.

He fixed Hazeflight in a cold stare preparing to yowl back at her, but Thrushstar spoke up first. After hearing the leader's words, he was quick to defend himself, "I was not here to steal them. Only to see them." The words came out almost a growl through his tightly clenched teeth. However, he relented a bit and added, "I'm sorry for trespassing. I should have found a better way to see my kits. But how was I to know if she would let me ever see them!" As he referred to Hazeflight, the disgust was evident in his voice.

While he typically would have continued to defend himself, the warrior did follow the warrior code and respect leaders. Eagleheart had no problem with verbally assaulting Hazeflight, but Thrushstar was a different story. It did frustrate him to be beneath another cat, but he couldn't forgot respect. Moonlight had taught him better than that. In a brief moment of silence, he looked over his kits. They were truly beautiful. Once again, the regret of giving them up to the silver she-cat washed over him.

***

Instead of feeling ashamed under her mother's words, Wolfkit grew upset. She batted away Hazeflight's tail and leaped to the side. This was the cat that had kept her away from her father. Hazeflight's jab at the warrior made her stomach burn and she let out a tiny kit hiss. Eagleheart seemed like everything she had hoped for. He was a strong and impressive warrior.

"You took us away from him," She growled, trying to defend the cat she had just met.

Hazeflight stared down at the little grey she-kit. " Wolfkit you don't understand... He agreed I don't think Eagleheart could look after six kits. You have no idea how much pain we've both been through, I hate myself for it. I caused everyone here grief I shouldn't have. Wolfkit, we had no choice..." Hazeflight mewed feebly. She couldn't do it anymore, there was no point and she was pretty sure her kit hated her. She had no choice and it was for the right reasons. " Don't hate me, Wolfkit, please. It was both our faults..."

Hazeflight pulled her saddened gaze away from her daughter and back to Eagleheart. " I didn't mean all of that... It was hard for both us. We are both mousebrained, you were obviously more mousebrained than me for trespassing on clan territory." she mrrowed her tail twitching.A slight trace of amusement made her whiskers twitch as she uttered the last part." Hollypaw and Badgerkit don't know who I am, just like Wolfkit, Puddlekit, Marshkit and Emberpaw didn't know who you were. Eagleheart, I would of let you see them at the gathering... We could of just remained friends, but you make it pretty clear last time I saw you that you wanted nothing to do with us." Hazeflight gazed at Eagleheart her orbs bare of emotion. This is not what I'm suppose to do... I'm just as bad as him really maybe a little less. At least I don't go crossing borders.

Adderpaw merely rolled her eyes at Hazeflight's attempt to be intimidating- all she had really managed to accomplish was spit in her face and try to pass off a lame insult; nothing impressive at all. "The only mousebrain here is the she-cat who managed to let her kits get half way across the territory without noticing. And yet she has the gall to attempt and pin it all on previous indiscretions?" She reflected with an inward sigh; this was not going well at all. She continued to watch the scene unfold between the bickering parents, feeling slightly out of place during it all. Thankfully Thrushstar and Leopardfang seemed more focused on the issue of the trespassing, which was something she felt a bit more able to handle. "I'm sure we'll find out how Crowstar feels very quickly." Adderpaw mewed, dismissing the massive flip in Hazeflight's behavior with nothing other than a disdained twitch of her ear. Returning her gaze towards Thrushstar, the young apprentice shuffled her paws once more and bit back a sigh. "Well then what now? I doubt sitting here and listening to this Starclan forsaken argument is an according punishment by Thrushstar's ideals- no matter how painful or redundant it is." She wondered, twitching her whiskers slightly as she focused more so on the next move rather than the custody argument.

His amber eyes narrowed at his mother when she spoke. Badgerkit and Hollypaw? Marshkit glanced at Wolfkit, then back at Puddlekit. This was new information, and he couldn't help feeling a little betrayed.
"We had other siblings?" He asked, his tiny voice full of accusation. "When were you planning to tell us?" He turned to observe Eagleheart more closely. His father. Their father. It was far better than having a rogue be their father, but it was also disheartening to know that in the end he belonged to a different clan.

ooc: ahhhhh guys I'm so sorry I wasn't getting any notifications for this

Puddlekit felt a jolt of terrible, riveting fear rush through her small body when they two larger cats appeared, their hulking forms visible just above the snow, and she shrunk into her brother's fur, comforted by the warmth and familiarity.

For a few moments, as the patrol appeared and her mother closed around them, the soft scent of milk curled around her and her littermates' small bodies, everything was confusion. She found herself with her claws kneaded into her moss, and when she tore them out, ashamed of herself, she realized something: her beloved moss had been ripped apart.

Puddle whimpered, unsure and afraid and horrified, trying desperately to understand the conversation. She didn't like this she-cat fellow; she smelled different, not like pinesap, and the way she was acting towards Hazeflight made her small form twitch with anger. I'll show her! But she didn't move a muscle—the glaring hatred Wolfkit had in her eyes puzzled her. It wasn't like her older sister, they'd met their father, everything should be happy, what was wrong?

But when Marshkit spoke, the runt ripped her eyes away from the large brown-grey kit, staring at him. "We do?" she asked, then paused, and then added, hopefully, as she threw her blue-grey head back to stare up at the large toms, towering protectively over her, "Can...we go visit 'em?"

It was her last resort to make everyone friendly. Wouldn't they bond over lost relatives? Why isn't this a good thing? 

But her torn moss, disassembled by her own claws, made her heart drop as the odds pointed otherwise.

The back and forth accusations were starting to get on Leopardfang's nerves. None of this emotional stuff really had anything to do with the predicament they were in, and frankly it would have been best for Hazeflight to just take the kits and return to camp. He refrained from issuing any orders in Thrushstar's presence, however. The fur along his spine rose more when the topic of yet two more kits of the illicit pair still living in SkyClan, and he sent a questioning glance to the youngest queen. ShadowClan had only been made aware of four kits, not six. They were rightfully theirs. He raised his voice to speak over the din of kits and warriors hurling insults and accusations.

"The kits always belong to the mother." He interjected, fury sparking in his eyes. He had been a father himself. This young tom knew nothing about raising kits properly. "The mother, after all, has done all of the work and suffered all of the pain. Hazeflight seems to have suffered far more repercussions than you. I wonder if Crowstar has ever disciplined a single cat in his several lifetimes, or if he's simply content to let his clan do as they please? Keep silent, all of you. I don't want anymore wasting time on these pointless arguments. This problem is now between the leaders and deputies; this has passed far beyond your control."

It had been quite some time since Thrushstar had had to deal with any issues regarding kits but he could vividly remember all of the problems that he had while trying to help Mistflower with their own. Leopardfang made a good point about the kits considering the leader hadn't been that great of a father himself. However, the arguing between the queen and the tom along with the intervening of the kits was becoming too much for the leader. With a growl, he turned to Hazeflight. "Hazeflight, get the kits back to camp," he said sternly before his glare moved to the kits. "We will be discussing their punishment soon enough." Almost immediately, the leader whipped around to face the two trespassers. "This little meeting of yours is over," he hissed, his claws digging hard into the soft earth as his ears flattened against his head. "Now I suggest you leave before I give you a good reason to. I'm feeling mighty... generous right now but I will not hesitate to leave you running back to Crowstar with no fur and your... tails between your legs." The longer he spoke, the more his voice turned into a snarl. "Get out!" he yowled.

"No!" Wolfkit howled in protest, straining towards her father, but she was cut off by the barrage of older Shadowclan cats in her way, "I don't want to go back!" They had just met their father, learned they had two other siblings in Skyclan, and now they were being torn back to camp. In the young kit's mind, it was incredibly unfair. She hadn't decided to live here, she hadn't had any say in this or in her past. She looked at her two siblings next to her, eyes pleading for them to protest as well, although she knew somewhere in her that the moment was already over.

***

Eagleheart's tail lashed furiously in rage. He dug his claws into the ground, barely holding himself back from lunging at Leopardfang. The deputy had the nerve to tell him that Hazeflight had more of a claim to his kits than he did. In no way was that true.

"I'm doing a fine enough job raising my kits," He snapped angrily to the deputy, "And the ones I am bringing up have never run off into the forest. Let alone traveled this far before being noticed. If this is better off..." His words were filled with disdain for the Shadowclan cats. Once, he had a soft spot for them because of Hazeflight, but now that was hardened over with a fresh hatred. His ears were flat against his head and he bared his teeth to the other cats. However, his eyes caught a glimpse of Puddlekit, cowering next to her siblings and the desire to attack any cat subsided a bit.

He shot Adderpaw a glance as he turned to stalk away at Thurshstar's words. Within moments, he had crossed the border. Eagleheart decided to briefly face the group once more before leaving. His tone was flat, "I am sorry for crossing into your territory. But this is not over." He dipped his head towards the kits and padded away.

OOC: super out of date ipod

Hazeflight narrowed her eyes at Eagleheart then abruptly clambered to her silver paws. "Come, Wolfkit, Puddlekit and Marshkit. We don't need to be wasting time here. There are better things we could be doing." She mewed icily urging the kits on with her tail. The silver queen glanced back at the other cats behind her, giving each of them a curt nod.

Hazeflight glanced down at Puddlekit's beloved moss torn to shreds by the young kit's claws. " I'm sorry about your moss, Puddlekit. You can meet your siblings at the gathering when you are all apprentices and maybe we can find you some more moss, Puddlekit. How does that sound?" Hazeflight purred trying to reassure her daughter. "I will explain it all later, when your old enough, Wolfkit. "

The silver queen shot a fierce glance at the SkyClan cats before heading on her own way.

Marshkit's eyes widened at Thrushstar's order. His tail drooped and ears pinned as he tried to make a stand with Wolfkit. He stood defiantly when Hazeflight's soft tail nudged him, urging him along as though this wasn't an entirely life changing event. He wanted to know more about his father... about his other siblings.

Her words to Puddlekit, were enough to coax his resolve down. It wasn't going to be long before he was an apprentice. Then he too could meet his siblings and even speak to his father. He turned on the four other adult cats, his steps matching puddlekit's while he walked carefully over the snow.
"It's still not fair." He muttered petulantly.