You can't be caught unaware [Open for TC to Join]

So he had been right. This was about Fawnsong's death. But who was Rowanpaw? Swoopnose looked around camp, suddenly feeling like a terrified kit. He moved to beside Robinpaw, just as much for her to comfort him as visa versa. The only reason she wasn't already a warrior was because of RiverClan, and though he was glad she wasn't dead, she had said that the tom would have killed her if Tinytip hadn't stopped him. And he recognized the tortoiseshell as the one who maimed Shrewheart, which according to some cats had caused his death. So as much as ThunderClan was to blame, they weren't the murderers here anymore than their enemies. So much death was horrible, but fighting would only cause more of it. Of course, he didn't say anything out loud, not trusting himself to be able to speak up against two leaders. He just scooted closer to his sister and hoped for the best.

Dappledpaw was irritated when Flickerpaw came to stand next to him, but he couldn’t blame her. But didn’t she understand? He was trying to protect her! He was so grateful that his mentor was there. He didn’t feel a couple of apprentices would be able to face Ivystar without getting ripped apart. But maybe Heatherpetal could help them?

~~~~~~

Robinpaw stared, horrified, at the RiverClan cats, and she had to stop herself from running away. She had come to associate that smell of fish-heads with death. She huddled close to Swoopnose, as if that would make everything go away.

Silverfang fur bristled in anger and all she wanted was to unsheath her claws. Her odd eyes glanced first at Dappledpaw, the cat who admitted that was the murderer. However, her focus soon changed to the white spotted Thunderclan leader joining this mess. The silvery despised that fake mask of calmness. She knew how she was in the battle. Blizzardstar was nothing but the cat who started the war in the first place. However, what truly angered her was knowing that she pretended not knowing about Rowanpaw's death. "Are we sure it wasn't only Fawnsong? Do you think we're not dumb enough to recognize when one of our apprentices was killed, Blizzardstar?! Yes... Rowanpaw was murdered and left in the river where another apprentice found him. It wasn't a predator. It was a CAT! And the only clan that would be angry enough at us for doing such a crime is yours! They found him not far from the Sunningrocks, you know?!" She spatted looking first at the leader and then at the scarred warrior who seemed to share Blizzardstar's opinion.

"And you!" She turned her head toward the true murderer, anger flooding all her senses. "You deserve something worse than that, fox-hearted murdered! Fawnsong was my sister and you killed her coldly! You already had her under your paws but that wasn't enough, right?!" She started, remembering Sandfrost confession what truly happened there. "You were trespassers and she wasn't going to kill you! You broke the Code in any single way! You deserve the worst punishing and crying about it won't do anything! Just accept it and deal with the consequences of your crime, fox-dung!" She didn't care that the guilty was an apprentice. For her, Flickerpaw was the one who murdered Fawnsong. Nothing else.

Assuming that the outbursts by the apprentices were the mewling of outspoken kits too eager to throw themselves on a pyre out of some misguided sense of clan loyalty, she ignored them to focus on what Blizzardstar and that former tribe cat had to say. Which turned out to be as useful as yelling at the blood-soaked rocks of Sunningrocks, pathetic. With a sneer, the silver tabby took a step forward to get closer to Blizzardstar, who seemed to be wilting like a flower in Greenleaf heat, before addressing the pair. "As Silverfang said, Rowanpaw was found dead at Sunningrocks, tossed in mud in some insipid attempt to disguise his murderer's scent, however the area stunk of ThunderClan. Unless you're suggesting that ThunderClan cats happened to be on our lands when our apprentice was murdered, it was one of your cowards that killed a lone apprentice on a hunting patrol."

There was no tears in her eyes, just venom that lashed out at ThunderClan, scanning the clearing for the damned cats that took Rowanpaw and Fawnsong's lives. She didn't lash out like Silverfang, but her words were equally stinging with the coldness of her falsely calm tone. "My grankit, Fawnsong, lays dead in the centre of my camp alongside Rowanpaw, an apprentice that wasn't even born when our feud began. He'd lived scarcely seven moons before his life was taken. Give me their murderers, Blizzardstar, I will not rest until their lives are avenged."

Flickerpaw hissed at the Riverclan she-cat Silverfang, ignoring Ivystar. "What do you think I'm doing, frog face? Don't you think I regret it? Don't you think I wish she'd killed me instead of me killing her? Despite what you think, it wasn't cold-blooded murder! It was an unfair fight that she had the advantage to! I'm not hiding, I'm not crying about it! I'm protecting my brother from taking the consequences of MY actions! If you think the only kind of killing is out of a cold, hard want to kill, think again. I struck her in the wrong spot, and now you've come to kill me, and where does that get you?" Spotpaw hissed. "It gets us revenge! Isn't that what you wanted for Thistlepaw, revenge? So you kill Rowanpaw, who was only a kit less than a moon before, and then this orange ball of death comes along and murders a warrior too! What kind of dirty tricks did you use!?" He snarled. Spotpaw went to stand by Silverfang, his mother. "And that also makes YOU no better than me or Otterleap!" She knew that struck a nerve. And, for once, Spotpaw had no reply. Flickerpaw had played the Otterleap card.

"But she didn't. Because Fawnsong was way better than you will ever be. She was a warrior that always followed the Code. Not like you, filthy murderer. Did you strike her wrong? Ha! Sandfrost already told us how things happened. You pinned her down where she couldn't do anything but struggle until you killed her! Isn't that cold-blooded for you? You weren't even in danger when that happened because Sandfrost was pushed down by your other clanmate. I don't give a whisker if you have regrets or not. My sister's death won't be left unpunished and death isn't the only way of punishment." She stepped between the Thunderclan apprentice and her son, with a fiery look on her eyes. What she really wanted was to see this apprentice exiled. There was no greater dishonour than that. She puffed up her chest and lifted her chin, looking down at Flickerpaw like she was the worst piece of scum. Then, her sight glanced at Ivystar and Blizzardstar as she returned with Spotpaw to their leader. There were no more words to be told. The proper punishment and the discovery of the other murdered were up to them.

Dappedlpaw watched it all happen with an indescribable anger boiling up in him. No fish-head scum spoke to his sister that way. Not now, not ever. A kind of fire lit up his green eyes as she moved even closer to Flickerpaw. ”No! You filthy water-dwellers need to back off from MY sister!” he spat. He didn’t know what made him say it. A mad desire to protect his family. He even moved in front of Flickerpaw, as if he could shield her from Ivystar’s fury. ”Are you all THAT deaf?! She said she regretted it! If you want to KILL her, you’ll have to kill me first! Not that that would make you any better than the murderers you claim to hate!” He yowled, obviously out of his mind. Why was he doing this? His claws unsheathed of their own accord and raked themselves along the ground, itching to claw their pelts off.

Heatherpetal breathed a shaky sigh of relief. So Dappledpaw hadn't killed anyone after all. He was just trying to save his sister. Well, even if Flickerpaw wasn't her apprentice, she was still Dappledpaw's sister, and her Clanmate. She wouldn't let RiverClan take her life no matter what she did to them. She made quick work in leaping from Dappledpaw's side to Flickerpaw's, trying not to tremble with the intense fear she felt in being the cat that physically stood between the apprentice's life and RiverClan's vengeance.

Birchheart watched as tensions rose higher and higher. The she-cat's ears perked when she heard Spotpaw's voice when he was arguing with Flickerpaw. Her claws sunk into the frozen dirt as she grew stressed. Ivystar wasn't going to start a battle in camp, was she? Certainly not! All of ThunderClan against a patrol of RiverClanners would only result in one thing.

As her siblings seemed to throw themselves into Ivystar's fangs, Wildpaw became horrified. She tried to run over only to be held firmly by the scuff. Twisting, she could see Newtpaw was the one holding her. "Knock it off! Let me go!" With a strained voice, she twisted and squirmed. Finally, she was in a good enough spot to lash at his cheek with her claws, leaving shallow wounds. This caused him to let go out of surprise and she ran to her siblings' aid with a fiery look in her eye. "You'll have to kill me as well!" She spat at the intruders before looking at Flickerpaw with determination.

Newtpaw grumbled bitterly as his cheek stung but he couldn't stay there in the snow. He'd promised to try and avoid anymore suffering over those stupid rocks! His gut twisted as he thought of what his words could do to the clans. What if it made things worse? Not to mention that he was about to go straight to the source. His leader and Ivystar were both together with an audience watching every breath. Right, right. Was was he trying to do here? First, he'd try calming down the situation. Things were becoming an insult-fest between the clans and nothing was getting fixed. Ivystar was also demanding knowledge none of them had. Sucking in a breath, he padded up to the group, and then further until he was near the leaders.

"Ivystar, I'd be doing the same thing if my kin were killed and you have plenty of evidence to prove Rowanpaw was murdered by our clanmates. However, only the two you've already heard confessed. The apprentice's murderer clearly has hidden their identity from both clans. The murders certainly won't go unpunished." he paused to give Blizzardstar a pointed look. An unspoken 'They better not go unpunished.' hung in the air. Turning back the the RiverClan leader, he spoke again. "A murderer of the innocent is an enemy to us all. We should try to figure it out together. You said he wasn't born when the Sunningrocks battle took place, right? What else do you know? It's a gritty question I hate to ask but, do you know how he died?" The tom mewed, letting the sting on his face burn. He hoped it would go away soon, it was distracting him.

OOC: hECK
IC:
Leafstorm stepped forward with a hiss, his tufted ears flicking as he pushed his kin aside. "Dappledpaw." His voice was steady as he glared down at the foolish apprentice, waiting until she stepped aside to continue forward. He met Ivystar's gaze and nearly faltered. Her eyes filled with pain and hatred- a look he knew well. Ivystar wasn't any eviler than he was. He took a quick breath and squared his shoulders, his large green eyes filled with an unreadable emotion. The entire camp was ringing with tension, so tangible Leafstorm could nearly smell it. Now more than ever the forest needed justice. "Blood for blood." He rumbled, giving Newtpaw a quick glance as he steered the conversation smoothly away from the unsolved murder. Now was not the time to solve murder crimes that could cost more warriors. His stomach burned with worry at the thought of Specklefang or Sharptooth's exile- the two were both easy suspects, after all, being aggressive and two of the largest warriors in Thunderclan. He gave his head a small shake and pushed the thought out of his mind, his gaze boring into the Riverclanners, cool and calculated despite his inner worry.
"Two lives have been sacrificed because of this accursed war. As for the third, we have no evidence that he was killed by Thunderclanners." He took a small pause, but only let the crowd consider Rowanpaw's death for a moment. "Fawnsong and Thistlepaw's deaths were meaningless. Two young cats have died unfairly, pitted against opponents that had no intention of mercy. Is this really what anyone wants?" His voice grew louder as he talked, his determined tone and the fact that he fully believed what he was saying spurring him on. "As I see it, this entire war has been nothing but low blows and unfair, foolish fights. We cannot stand for this. I will not let strong, capable warriors sit and let this war spill any more innocent blood.
than it already has." His tufted ears twitched as he spoke, his voice quiet once more. "Instead of rushing into action, I believe that we should turn to our ancestors for guidance, and search for a method inside all this madness."
The fluffy tom stood there for a moment awkwardly before stepping back, having said his part.



Sharptooth gasped softly and rushed to Wildpaw's side, pulling her away from the rest of her litter. "Wildpaw, no." She muttered softly. "They made their choice, now they must carry it through." Her fluffy fur was standing on end, making her seem larger than life. "Flickerpaw, Dappledpaw..." She cursed herself for allowing them to grow up so wildly. "Pick your battles, Wildpaw. We can't risk ourselves for a battle that they can't win. We may want to but..." She pulled Wildpaw further back and gave her a hard look. "Stay here. Keep yourself safe. I'll find a way to fix this."

OOC: omg this is becoming exactly how I imagined it with the "you kill her you kill me too"

Flickerpaw simply stared daggers into the two Riverclan cats. Ivystar and Blizzardstar would decide her fate.

Wisteriapaw took a tiny step forward and pressed her nose against Featherpaw's ginger ear. She appreciated his words greatly, but she still felt uneasy about the fact that her siblings were all standing up. Maybe their tactic would work, but what if they all did end up getting slaughtered in cold blood? She shot Featherpaw a glance that was a silent question, asking him to follow her, but she didn't look for long. With silent steps and a wary, timid expression, the ginger-and-white apprentice padded up to stand with Flickerpaw and Wildpaw. She stood close, but she made sure to stay behind them. She managed to lift up her bold yellow gaze a bit and looked at the RiverClan patrol. Maybe her presence didn't make a difference, considering that she had the bravery of a mouse, but she wouldn't just sit by the apprentices' den like a kit and let anything happen to her siblings. The way Silverfang had spoken to Flickerpaw had made Wisteripaw's neck fur prickle with irritation. She had only been a mere kit when the battle over Sunningrocks had occurred, but now she was old enough to be involved in the drama and violence that surrounded the aftermath of the battle. While she had never fought in one, she hated war. It caused death, pain, hostility, and even after the fight itself was over, the negativity carried on for ages.

Tatteredleaf turned to the cats who tried to stand by Flickerpaw. "You would rather risk your clan's safety for the life of a murderer?" The gray and white warrior growled at the apprentices. "Back off and stand down, no one said Flickerpaw would die. Now let Flickerpaw face punishment. She knew what would come the moment she made her choice to kill the warrior." She wouldn't allow a murder to stay in Thunderclan, and when she found Rowanpaw's murderer she would drive them out herself.

Featherpaw could practically taste the tension in the air. He took comfort in Wisteriapaw's presence, but when Sharptooth held back Wildpaw he glared towards her and held his position. Even when Tatteredleaf attempted to order him down, he stood firm. He levelled his glare towards her with his ears flattened.
"She knows she made a mistake." He turned, then stepped forward towards the Riverclan group. To the leader who held more venom in her words then the adders he had helped fight off. He fought back the realisation that this was a terrible decision. Possibly his last, his pelt pricked with unease... but he didn't stop his march until he was directly in front of Ivystar, and without warning. The usually mild-mannered apprentice unsheathed his claws and raked a paw across Ivystar's nose.

"You. Can't. Have. Her." He hissed, his green eyes narrowed as he glared at Ivystar. His whole body tenses and ready to fight if he needed to.

OOC: CAYS
THIS JUST GOT R E A L

Flickerpaw gasped. "Featherpaw!" She was scared. She shoved herself in front of Featherpaw to protect him from any backlash from Ivystar.