Betrayal [IMPORTANT]

ooc; at this point there's nothing more for mags to say that hasn't been said ;; pls chill y'all

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The leader let out a yowl, his voice soaring above the commotion of his clan. With a swift leap, he jumped down from his perch, landing in the mass of agitated cats. The tom took large steps towards the "reunited" family stood, his fur fluffing up as he pounced forward, grabbing Gingerstripe's scruff in his mouth. Magpiestar dragged the warrior away from his mother, tossing him to the ground when they reached the outskirts of the crowd. "Be quiet!" he spat, muzzle scrunched up as he growled at the red tom. The black leader turned his eyes to the rest of ShadowClan, his face filled with fury. How dare they show such disrespect?!

"Everyone be quiet!" He couldn't sit by and watch them fight like apprentices. He couldn't sit by and watch them question him. Even if he was a failure. He was still their leader.

"I didn't gather you here for you all to spit insults at each other. I called you so I could announce Honeydrop's punishment!" he spoke with more conviction than he had felt in moons. His golden eyes, livid with frustration, brushed past every pelt in the clan until they rested on the medicine cat. "You. You are finished. You have served your duties as a medicine cat well in the past, but now it's time to step down. I cannot let such disgrace continue to serve in my clan." His tone was filled with bitterness.

"Roaringblaze will tend to your wounds, but I will have you escorted to the Thunderpath. I expect you to be far from ShadowClan territory once you are well enough. At the full moon I will announce tonight's events and your new label as a code-breaker. You can live the rest of your days in peace, as long as you stay away from ShadowClan," the old, dark tom spoke. "My disappointment knows no bounds, Honeydrop." With that, he turned away, dismissing her and Roaringblaze to thei-- no, Roaringblaze's den.

He stomped back to the Jaggedrock, hopping back onto the perch. "As for all of you who dared to speak out of turn, I am truly astonished by this act."

"Scorchpaw, hold your tongue. She may be a traitor but you disrespected all great she-cats throughout the moons. I expect you to apologise to Littlebrook, your deputy, before the night is gone." He huffed and turned to the two warriors that spoke for him.

"Snakeblaze, Willowheart. I appreciate your thoughts but is not your place to address the clan so. As you said, Willowheart, 'You're warriors. Now act like it.'. I may be a weak tom, but I assure you I have no intention of letting such wretched actions to pass by my nose without punishment. Rest assured, Honeydrop has been punished more than either of us can imagine. She may leave in peace, and I expect every cat to respect that. After she is gone, should she return, she will be treated like any traitor or rogue." Magpiestar let out a deep sigh and turned his sights onto Gingerstripe.

This tom would not get away so easily. "For attacking Honeydrop, you will be confined to the camp. Your duties will be and are limited to cleaning the elder's den, tending to their needs, and helping Roaringblaze in his den until StarClan gifts us with his apprentice. Treat him like an apprentice until he earns back his rights as a warrior. I will reconsider your punishment after one moon."

The leader could feel the weight of responsibility begin to drag him down. His heart had grown heavy over the kerfuffle. He shouldn't have to discipline his clan so much. He was obviously doing something wrong to cause so much contempt in his warriors. The tom's eyes fell downwards to his scarred paw. What could he do? While he was his cowardice self the clan fell into disarray. He had only spoken out from pure anger and discouragement. His frustration forced him to take action. But could he continue on from here? If he couldn't accomplish anything with his normal behaviour, would he have to carry on a false, frustrated persona? Would ShadowClan be happy, safe, and loyal then?

The confusion began to fill his mind. Let's finish this quickly, he thought to himself and turned back to the crowd. "I say these words before all of you and our warrior ancestors on this night. Honeydrop, from this day forth, is no longer the medicine cat of ShadowClan. After her recovery, she will be exiled and labelled a traitor and code-breaker for all to know. You are all dismissed. You may take a moment for yourselves, but I expect every cat to return to their duties before the moon sets in the horizon. Littlebrook, I will speak with you later, when everything has calmed down." Magpiestar nodded and sat on the Jaggedrock, waiting until each warrior, queen, and apprentice fell back into their regular routine.

The words of her sons and Clanmates hurt more than the physical blow that hit her face. Honeydrop staggered back as Gingerstripe struck her with his claws, snarling at her, pure hatred in his eyes- his green eyes, so much like his father's. The tom she had loved with all her heart... and where had that led her? He had betrayed her in the end, just like everyone else. The fruit of their apparently one-sided love had been three kits... and they hated her now. My son... my son. Firestone defended her at first, and a tiny bubble of hope swelled in her chest, but at the anger in his eyes it deflated immediately. Scorchpaw, Snakeblaze, Willowheart.... She was grateful for Littlebrook and Roaringblaze's support, but she knew that they would likely regret supporting her. Every Clanmate, every cat that she loved would abandon her, scorn her, hate her. There was no happy ending for this story. She would become a tale for mothers to tell their kits... the traitorous medicine cat who was so horrible as to fall in love and show emotion, therefore committing an unforgivable crime. Of course, she deserved it. But why, why couldn't she have had a single happy second in her life? Every degrading word was a blow to her already broken, injured heart. Why? Why couldn't they just leave her alone? Magpiestar could have told her personally... she could have just left silently, removing herself from her son's lives for good without ruining them.... But no, that could never happen. The former medicine cat deserved this pain and suffering. She had broken StarClan's sacred law, and now she would pay. Abandoned by every cat she loved, betrayed by those she held most dear, she would leave her home, and likely die alone and broken on some cold, crowfood-smelling Twolegplace street. She wasn't surprised at Magpiestar's words or his designated punishment, and her already numb emotions couldn't be any more agonized or miserable than they already were. But with some of his words she could completely agree.... "She has already been punished more than either of us can imagine."

"I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry." Her voice was little more than a defeated whimper, as broken as she was. The destroyed she-cat leaned against her former apprentice, needing his most likely misguided support more than she had ever needed anything. Code-breaker, rogue... traitor. Oh, Puddlepaw, please forgive me... and spare my sons.

--

Gingerstripe couldn't believe how many people were opposing him. First he stared in disbelief at Firestone, his brother, as he shouldered his way between the orange tabby tom and the traitor who was the subject of this whole meeting. "Get out of my way, Firestone," he hissed through clenched teeth. "She deserves to die." But his brother wasn't the only one in his way now. Now his "mother" came up as well. Littlebrook. She was just as much as fault as the traitorous she-cat who had unfortunately birthed him. "She is not my Clanmate... and for the record, you're as bad as she is. You lied to me. I thought you loved Dad- I thought you loved me- but it turns out you're just a sick liar who preferred a code-breaker over me. Now, get out of my way!" But he had already been delayed for far too long. Snakeblaze, Roaringblaze, Willowheart... many more of his Clanmates came up and tried to stop him. Now there was no way for him to give his disgusting mother the punishment she deserved. Maybe he should let the leader punish her- but no, he was sure to be too lenient, too weak. She deserved d e a t h.

He was so focused on his anger and frustration that he didn't notice that the leader was coming up to him until it was too late. Gingerstripe let out a tiny yelp of pain and protest as Magpiestar's teeth dug into his scruff, dragging him away from the traitor and commanding him to be quiet. Despite his regular respect for the new leader, a tiny spark of resentment burned in his heart. If he was any kind of a leader, that tom would let me kill her and say "good riddance." What does he plan to do instead? He didn't have to wait long for an answer. Only exile? And after she recovers?! The punishment was far, far too lenient. It seemed that Magpiestar was still holding on to some preconceived notion of respect towards the disgusting piece of crowfood that he was unfortunate enough to be related to. Just the thought of carrying her tainted blood in his veins was enough to make him sick. But then the leader's eyes found him. Confined to the camp? Treated as an apprentice? What?! The ember of resentment that had been kindled burst into a hot, raging flame of anger. How dare he? However, no matter how furious the ShadowClan warrior was, fighting with Magpiestar was not his battle. The leader's word was law- so dictated the warrior code that had been so flagrantly disregarded by his traitor of a mother. So Gingerstripe bowed his head in apparent obedience, not letting others see the flame in his dark green eyes.

Honeydrop was going to die... even if it would be by his paws.

Listening to the leader speak, Mudfoot's stomach dropped when he began to mention his daughter, Honeydrop. The clan began to explode with whispers and mews of anger and confusion, but he just sat there, staring up at his father. The kits that Littlebrook had been looking after... those were her's? Snapping his head to the medicine cat, Mudfoot couldn't break his gaze away from her. Not only did she have kits as a medicine cat, but with Flamestrike of all cats? The cat who'd killed his mate in cold blood? He would never forgive Flamestrike, even if he was dead.

Prying his gaze away from Honeydrop, he looked to Littlebrook, who was sitting right next to him. "L-littlebrook... you didn't tell me these were Honeydrop's kits," he mewed softly and looked to the ground, his energy too drained from all of this to possible yell or show his disappointment. Of course he could understand why his mate had kept this from him, seeing that the news was pretty shocking, but even so... he couldn't help but feel somewhat betrayed. First Hawkstrike and now Honeydrop. He didn't how much more of this he could take.

Littlebrook held back a surprised gasp as Magpiestar exiled the sweet golden medicine cat. Blinking back the pain, she stayed where she was, watching on with grief and sympathy. This reminded her so much of when Lightningstrike had been exiled her, and it pained her too much to speak. Suddenly, she looked up at her leader as her name was spoken. She knew this was coming. Of course he'd need to speak with her. Dipping her head respectfully, she flicked her ear. "Of course, Magpiestar." She replied, keeping her voice steady. She was a bit nervous for what the tom had to say, but she couldn't dwell on that. Whatever happened would happen and there was nothing she could do about it. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she looked to her mate with sadness in her eyes. "I.. I couldn't.. You have to understand.. It wasn't my secret to tell." She meowed, her taut voice filled with pain. Oh she prayed to StarClan that this tom that she loved would understand why she had kept it from him.