Welcoming Committee (Open, Darkstar needed.)

The kit squirmed and darted away from the turmoil. His fur spiked with clumps of blood despite Emberheart grooming some of his fur. His clumsy kit legs and oversized paws made him stumble and trip everywhere as he tried to find the exit to camp. He stood a few foxlengths away from them, spine arched in a pitiful attempt to intimidate them. They were all so angry! His tears dampened his fur even more as he whimpered in fear.

Cloudpaw's gaze softened when the kit ran away scared.

"Alright," Emberheart growled, standing, her fur blinding in the sun's rays: "Everyone shut up. We can discuss this later. All we're doing now is scaring him." Her ear flicked as she gazed at her clanmates wearily. "Don't crowd him. Some of you—" she stared pointedly at Cloudpaw—"should leave. Darkstar will take care of this and until she does, we need to stop snarling around a kit, let alone one who's mother was just murdered."

The warrior shook out her pelt, before turning back to the kit, crouching down and pricking her ears in play to show him she was no threat.

"Who will take care of him?" asked Blacktwig, sounding more concerned than angry now. As he backed away, he allowed his fiery gaze to sweep the throng of felines, eyes a blazing spherical mass of... protectiveness? Blacktwig hadn't been as devoted to kits' lives since Mottledwing and Mothstrike, and they were both warriors, or... deceased. Blacktwig shook his head at the thought of seeing his children's neck snapped, severed tendons exposed. He was a looming figure before; now he simply seemed like a cat who was standing by, viewing the worthless bedlam.

"What is going on here?"

Darkstar appeared in the camp's entrance, clearly exasperated and irritated. Her tail lashed as she pushed through her Clanmates, struggling a bit due to having only three legs, but she soon made her way to Rockpaw. She could only let out a sigh as she stared at her apprentice. 'Why is it that when anything happens, it's always him?' She turned her head to the other cats surrounding them. With a voice eerily similar to her own mother's, she uncharacteristically snapped at them, "If what you're doing isn't helpful to our Clan, then go do something else! If you want, make a hunting patrol and speculate among yourselves, otherwise, leave the interrogation to me."

Her bright yellow eyes held a bit a sulfur as she quietly asked Rockpaw, the tom who'd she's taken in as both her apprentice and a sort of adoptive son, why he was so covered with stinking blood and had brought in a similarly rust-splashed kitten. "What have you done?"

Blacktwig scowled at Rockpaw, obeying Darkstar's words with an alacritous nod. He looked at Emberheart beside him, who seethed just as much as he did. His muscles protested as he walked; maybe he had been standing there for an extensive period of time, but he pushed through a thick curtain of moss nonetheless. He felt as if his voice was bound to his larynx, therefore it uttered no words. The inapposite snapping of Darkstar made his fur rise along his spine. The lean tom's senses vied for food, and so he padded to the pile. But he found that no ravenous intents struck him, so he got up, thinking that he should make use of himself an organize a patrol. He shook his head. Some other cat could start a patrol, if they felt that this was an appropriate time. He didn't think it was.

Cloudpaw, still by Rockpaw didn't leave. She wasn't going to leave him like this. "Darkstar. Rockpaw killed this kit's mother in self defense. He was going to just chase her out but she attacked him and he accidentally killed her when he was defending himself, and he didn't know she had a kit." The snow colored she cat meowed.

Rockpaw shrank away from Leopardpaw, in fact, he shrank away from everyone, his breath coming in short bursts. When he saw his mother figure step out he was about to run to her with hopes of consolation but when he heard the anger in her voice he froze and shrunk away, only having Cloudpaw to back him up, 'I didn't mean it!' he yowled in his head. His relief with Cloudpaw though was short lived. "Cloudpaw, leave it I've got to do this, you'll muck it all up." He grumbled, hardly having the energy to speak with real anger.

When his mentor approached him he meowed softly. "C-Can we do it in your den? I don't wanna be out here anymore..." He softly asked, shuffling uncomfortably.

Cloudpaw nodded stepping back and going back over to her brother who stared at her.

Leopardpaw was still seething with anger; his fur stood on end and his eyes glowed with fury. He opened his mouth, about to release another stinging statement when Darkstar walked up to the group. Forcing himself to relax, he dipped his head respectfully to her before stalking off; not before he shot one last withering glare Rockpaw's way. The spotted tom would not soon forget this.

Darkstar's ears flicked towards Cloudpaw with slight irritation, holding back the little Specklefur within her. 'I asked him.' How in Starclan did her apprentice always get into so much trouble despite her teaching? The leader shook out her neck fur, letting it stick out for a moment like a lion's mane, before allowing her fur to relax again. Keeping calm was sometimes something she had to focus on now; her parents' argumentative spirit had not died in her, it seemed. Why was he out in the territory alone? How did he 'accidentally' kill a cat? Of course, killing a rogue wasn't against the code, although she was sure that killing a kitten's protector was against it.

She didn't look at Rockpaw as she made for her den, but she motioned for him to follow with a stiff tail.

Shivering at the cold in his soiled pelt, Rowan tried to steady his breathing. He padded low to the ground towards the black tom who was still obviously hostile, just not as hostile as he had been before. "A-am I gon-n-na d-die to?" he barely managed to say, his skinny form was shaking and he was still streaming tears down his muzzle. His pelt was splotched with his mother's blood and he had quickly escpaed from Emberheart when she tried to clean it off. It may be the last thing he had of his mother. His bleak yellow eyes looked up into Blacktwig's with all the panic and grief his small body managed. He hunched over to muffle the growling if his stomach and blinked tears away again.

Once inside Darkstars den he took a breath, schooling himself as he looked up to his mentor with a gulp. "I was out hunting because I heard that it was good today and I had just caught a mouse. I was burying it when I saw that kits mother carrying two large squirrels..." He took a moment to compose his shuddering voice. "And I followed her, I just wanted to tell her she wasn't welcome in our territory let alone hunt in it, chase her off you know. So I followed her to her den, thought it'd be useful to know n all, when I got to her den she had completely disappeared! I started scoping out the little stone tunnel she had her den in when she attacked me!"


Rockpaw still remembered the stinging the of his pelt, his face and belly, the blood having clotted in his fur but would likely leave a few more scars. Rockpaw felt sick again as he realized that his clanmates didn't care, even if he had the scars of battle. Still trying to meet his mentors gaze he meowed. "I drew back into the open because I knew I had a better chance at defending myself, I managed to shake her off and bite her shoulder, I just wanted her to stop! That's all that I wanted to do, but she continued attacking me! I was smaller than her and she was stronger as well so I felt as if I had no choice, I thought I was going to die! So... so I bit her throat and I tore it out.." Rockpaw sputtered, feeling the blood that coated his muzzle would leave his fur stained forever.

"I didn't even know she had a kit! I didn't want my clan-mates to think me a coward either because I couldn't chase off a rogue! And now I've gone and killed her and-and orphaned a kit and I'm a complete mouse-brain and if I could take it back- If I could trade my life for hers I would! You have to believe me Darkstar!" He pleaded, slouching as he sat. "If you wish to punish me despite I'll do it without complaint.." He meowed, voice wavering.

Blacktwig shook his head firmly at the kit, trying to cool himself down despite how mad he was. "No," he managed in a hushed tone, partially glaring at Rockpaw. "I'll be sure of it." Blacktwig slunk into his den, those words the faintest reassurance he could offer the young tom-kit. He was out of earshot of Darkstar and Rockpaw's little debate.

Darkstar paused to take a deep breath and calm herself. This was not the time to jab at him with a sharp tongue. Staring as he spoke, she noted to desperation in his voice and felt a tad bit of pity for her apprentice. The leader waited for him to stop before she laid her head on top of his, trying to ignore the stench of blood coming off of his pelt. She would stay in that position until he was calmer, however long that took.

"Rockpaw," she said softly, not moving. "Nothing will happen right now. Nothing will change if you wait to collect your thoughts. All that will happen is that the kit will be staying here." She moved her head so as to look the tom apprentice in the eyes. "You will do whatever possible to make up for what you did, but for right now, I want you to go to Dreamleaf and have her give something to you for shock. We will talk after you've calmed down." She licked his forehead in a relaxing manner, although she was a bit repulsed at the taste of blood.