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

The silvery warrior jumped between her leader and the two young cats, a soft snarl coming out of her throat. Her fur bristling and she instinctively unsheathed her claws, clawing the soft snow and dirt beneath her paws. "Control your mouse-brained warriors, Blizzadstar! You!" Her blue and yellow eyes went directly to Swoopnose. "You're dumber than I thought!
What Otterleap did wasn't right but you and your clanmates were breaking the Code the moment you stepped into our lands! He already is dealing with his own guilt. But these two murderers... we weren't in a fight for territory. Both of them trespassed our lands and murdered my sister and a young cat that was barely an apprentice! Do you want us to leave without punishment? Don't be a naive kit, mouse-brain! I won't let any of you lay a paw on my leader until she's done with this. This is what they earned to stay out of this and no more blood will be spilt." She snarled, ready to defend her leader at the cost of her life if it was necessary.

"S-Swoopnose, calm d-down! There are b-b-better ways t-to solve th-things than like th-this. D-Doesn't anyone h-have any s-sense anymore?! Back a-away,
before y-you cause m-m-more trouble th-than we're a-already i-in. And R-Robinpaw, you need t-to learn y-your place in th-the C-Clan. Back. U-Up. N-N-Now." The silver she-cat held her defensive stance as she looked at the cats in front of her, blazing with anger that none of them seemed to heed her or Leafstorm's warnings. Dustcloud glanced sympathetically over to Leaopardclaw, sure that the younger cat was more stressed out over than the matter than most thought. No matter what came out of this situation, he and Blizzardstar would have to deal with it. She moved her focus back to Swoopnose and Rowanpaw, a low growl building inside of her. Her attention was once more dragged to the RiverClanner wh spoke up once more. She sighed heavily. Couldn't every one shut up long enough for Blizzardstar to say something? "C-Can you c-c-calm down, p-please?! You all e-expect B-Bizzardstar to say s-something, y-yet you won't sh-shut your f-faces long e-enough for her t-to g-get two w-w-words out!" She glared at the she-cat who spoke out, her growl growing more intense by the second.

Robinpaw’s claws sunk into the snow, as she itched to claw them down the RiverClan cat’s face. It was the comment about Swoopnose that did it for her. ”You’re calling him a mousebrain?” She hissed, stepping even closer. ”No one talks about my brother that way.” She growled, fighting to keep her anger at bay. She couldn’t just turn around and attack them! It was likely they would crush her like that tom did on Sunningrocks. No, she had to stop. Fury blazed in her eyes as she gave them a cold, hard stare. RiverClan.... What a pathetic excuse. They really were trying to tear her life apart, huh? Trying to kill her, stating they would kill Specklefang, killing Thistlepaw, taking Flickerpaw away from her family, injuring Shrewheart so he would die on the Thunderpath... Wait. That was it! She saw the she-cat Swoopnose had mentioned, the cat that injured her mentor so he was unable to escape the vicious monsters that rolled down the solid black stone. That only fuelled her anger further, so that it took all her willpower not to pounce on them right that second. ”You foxhearts really do try to ruin the lives of us ThunderClanners, don’t you? Nothing is good enough for you.” She snarled, her tail lashing through the air behind her. She glanced at Dustcloud. Huh. Maybe... maybe she was right. She was overreacting. Hadn’t Leafstorm just told the apprentices to go back to the dens? Well, if it wasn’t for RiverClan, she would have been a warrior ages ago. She couldn’t go on thinking like that! She looked at the warrior who told her to back down, forcing a respectful dip of the head. She made the fur on her shoulders lie flat as she stepped back. They were right. She needed to learn her place. That didn’t stop her anger, though. She turned her gaze back to Blizzardstar. Yes, they all neeed to let her get a word in.

Blizzardstar was left completely speechless when Specklefang stepped forwards and confessed her crime. She knew how terrible the loss of her kit had been, how much she hated RiverClan, more specifically Otterleap and his family, after the incident, it was widely known between the clan how aggressive she could be. But…a murderer?

Of all he words Blizzardstar could’ve used to describe her friend, both good and bad, she never thought murderer would be between them.

For a couple seconds, the world around her changed. In Specklefang’s place, Rockthorn was once more standing. In Ivystar’s, Ashstar. Could it really be, that story was repeating itself? Was she so blind she couldn’t see this as it happened right in front of her eyes? Had she failed so bad that she had allowed the same mistakes be committed all over again?

However, Ivystar’s sudden reaction to Specklefang’s terrible words caused her to snap out if it, returning to the present time. She listened to Ivystar’s words and she couldn’t help but feel a cold shiver run down her pine. Giving away Flickerpaw, send her old friend to a certain death. She didn’t like the option she was left with, not even a tiny bit. Had her clanmates done anything else she would’ve immediately reacted by denying such punishments and try to convince Ivystar to give the a second chance, to let them redeem themselves, oh, how bad she wanted to give them a second chance…

But they had committed murder. They had done the only thing that, in Blizzardstar’s eyes, was unforgivable. There was nothing she could do for them.

She nodded slowly as Ivystar placed her terms before her. If only Specklefang had known when to shut up, if she had only kept her hatred filled opinions to herself, Blizzardstar would’ve immediately done everything in her power to get her to keep her life in exile. But she had just dug her very own grave by allowing her emotions free and tongue loose. A mistake she was quite familiar with and still was trying to correct.

“By forcefully leaving her clan, leaving family and friends behind, Flickerpaw will be facing the closest thing there is to exile. By staying in your clan, living between those that she hurt and knowing her claws are and forever will be stained with innocent blood for the rest of her life, she will also be forced to live in constant regret and shame. I just ask you to treat her well and not punish her further than that” She looked at Flickerpaw with saddened eyes. She knew that she was going to make a choice of this kind when she walked out from her den, but it didn’t make it any easier.

She then turned around to look at Specklefang. She had to clear her throat to force the words to come out. She still couldn’t believe it, she was trying really hard to wrap her head around this but failed to do so over and over “I-I…” The voices of her clanmates either trying to save Specklefang’s life, to the point of challenging Ivystar, were only fueling her grief, her hesitance. She had to bite her tongue to stop words from making it past her muzzle and remind herself exactly why this was happening to hold back and not attack Ivystar on the spot to defend the big warrior.

“Otterleap did something terrible that I’ll never be able to forget, I won’t deny that. However, just because he did something like this and, as far as we are aware, got away with it with nothing more than his guilt, we won’t let ourselves fall as low as that” She looked at the cats around her, a mix of grief and anger shinning in her eyes as she did “Ivystar may not be ThunderClan’s leader, but the cats that were murdered belong to her clan, the families and friends that are grieving for them are those under her lead. One of such cats is right here, standing between us, and with very justified anger and even hatred towards us for the loss we caused. RiverClan has as much right as we do to demand justice for such an outrageous crime. This is not a mindless act of petty revenge”.

She allowed some seconds of silence to pass, allowing her words to sink in the cats around her for as long as this short peace lasted and trying to put her own thoughts in order. Once more she turned around to look at Ivystar, trying to remain as calm as possible, put a barrier between her emotions and her mind “You know I don’t approve of taking the life of another cat under any kind of circumstance, but I know well that our points of view differ on this, so while I’m not comfortable in the slightest I can tell that for your and your clan’s point of view, what you ask for is completely justified. But before I can even think on handing Specklefang to you so you can punish her as you see fit, I need to know exactly how you plan to proceed, and ask for you to take in consideration Specklefang’s request. A quick death doesn’t deserves pain in exchange”.

Flickerpaw's world was silent, slowing. Blizzardstar was letting her go and letting Specklefang die. She slowly turned to her family. "I- I suppose... I guess this is... goodbye. I'll... I'll see you in Starclan, if that's even where I go..." She said defeatedly.

W-what? No! Flickerpaw couldn't be taken away... not forever. Not her sister...
Maybe, if it was any other ThunderClan cat, then Wisteriapaw wouldn't of reacted the way that she did. This was her littermate that they were talking about. The group of five siblings had their own ups and downs, but in the end, they all loved each other. That was all that mattered. Now, they were being separated. Perhaps, one day, Flickerpaw may be spared and returned to ThunderClan, but Wisteriapaw doubted that Ivystar would have that kind of sympathy. Blizzardstar's words seemed to pass through her ears too quickly for the apprentice to even hear or comprehend them, and she slowly lifted her head up to glance at Flickerpaw. The ginger-and-white cat padded forwards, slowly, and settled down beside her sister.
"I-I hate th-this s-so m-much," The she-cat whispered, "I-I w-would go b-back to Snaker-rocks and k-kill a-all the s-snakes in the f-forest if it k-kept you h-here... if i-it kept y-you home."

Emotions were threatening to spill out of Wisteriapaw as she began to visibly shake, and she could even feel her paws vibrating as she stared down at the ground.
"I h-hate this s-so m-much!" She suddenly screamed, "Th-this whole s-stupid rivalry th-thing h-has g-gone too f-far! Wh-why ca-can't it just...stop?!"
Even though she hadn't even yelled more than a sentence, Wisteriapaw still felt drained after her miniature meltdown. It suddenly occurred to her that she spoken out, and now she felt more timid than ever. Her ginger-and-white ears flattened against her head, and pressed her nose into Flickerpaw's shoulder fur. This was so unfair... for both Clans.

Dustcloud's shoulders slumped at Blizzardstar's words as they echoed in her ears. Everything else was drowned out, she didn't comprehend anything that happened after that. Surely, Blizzardstar wouldn't let her be taken like that? Not even an attempt at compromise? Her ears were pinned back against her head, in a more depressed way than angry. She walked over to Flickerpaw, resting her chin on her head for a moment before looking towards Wisteriapaw. "C-C'mon, let's g-get you b-back in y-your den, l-like Leafstorm s-said." She gently nudged the she-cat, and her tone was odd for her. It was motherly, and gentle. She smiled weakly, looking at Wisteriapaw with sorrowful eyes.

Scarletpaw stubbornly refused to go back to the apprentice den. She couldnt do anything for Specklefang now, but she could still help Flickerpaw. "You cant take her!" she growled. "Both Otterleap and Flickerpaw killed another cat. Neither meant it, and t-they both regret it. But you dont see us stomping into RiverClan camp and demanding to take away Otterleap. Scarletpaw was afraid of speaking up to so many cats and two great and powerful leaders, but all she cared about was saving Flickerpaw. She should have known better, but she continued to rant. And even if we wanted to, we cant because you took Lionspark as a hostage!" Finally stopping to breathe, Scarletpaw glared at the RiverClanners.

Emberheart listened to Blizzardstar speak, but didn't have much time to process her leader's words before yet another apprentice started shouting.

Scarletpaw may not have been Emberheart's apprentice, but the warrior's patience was running thin. Well, actually, it had run thin the moment Ivystar had stormed into ThunderClan's camp demanding justice. Each voice that rang out frayed the thin string keeping Emberheart's temper in check, and Scarletpaw's outburst was simply the last straw, the thing that had snapped that fragile string entirely, and the ginger warrior rounded on the apprentice immediately.

"That is more than enough from you, Scarletpaw! You will not speak to your seniors that way, whether or not you agree with their decisions! Now, are you going to heed your elders' orders and go back to the apprentice's den quietly, or do I have to drag you back myself?"

All he had heard about since returning was of the war that had arisen between them and Riverclan. It was futile and stupid. Of course, Blizzardstar had wanted to feed the clan, but in this cold weather, hungry bellies were a given. Senseless fight only escalated issues. From what the tabby warrior had seen, now, it was simply a back and forth of seeing whose claws could cut deeper. He hated that mentality. Reno had embodied that concept far too often. The power struggle irritated him. When the Riverclan cats stalked into camp, Coyotefang's amber gaze lazily glanced up from the ground. There was no prey before him and he expected it. That was what he had gotten himself into coming back to the clan.

His interest was not there. Nothing was going to be gained by whatever the leader had to say to them. The cycle would only continue on. However, he did rise to his feet just in case a battle broke out. He was ready to leave, or at least hang to the side. Why did this pointless struggle have to be his? One ear flicked as he half-listened to the exchange of words and the yowls that went back and forth. Quickly, he pieced together what had happened. Murder. Killing others recklessly was supposed to be against the code. A low hiss escaped him. They were more idiotic than he thought. Coytoefang did not step forwards or jump to anyone's defense as each one of his clanmates seemed to be doing. He stood with his feet planted firmly to the ground.

As Specklefang stepped forwards, his amber eyes bore into her with the most passionate glare. He had always had a distaste for the massive beast of a warrior. Time after time she had proven herself to be just as cold and fox-hearted as his father. Oh, she did try to rationalize it, but those words meant nothing to him. Unlike the rest, he would not be leaping to save her. That did not say much. This warrior would never step forwards to give his life for a clanmate for the others. Except, this particular instance was different. Thunderclan needed to be rid of cats like Specklefang and Flickerpaw, specifically Specklefang. The apprentice could have simply made a mistake, but this monster had proven her true nature time and time again.

"You all jump so quick to defend her," he meowed lowly, barely audible to more than the warriors who stood very close to him, "but, at least this killing would have logic behind the motives. Has everyone so easily forgotten how in the past she was willing to break the jaw of a clanmate? And now stooping so low to murder as everyone condemned Otterleap for doing? Maybe this is finally her justice for everything..." The tabby tom's words trailed off into the wind. Any cat that managed to catch it would hopefully catch the sense muttered in his words. He could only hope.

Scarletpaw glared at the warrior, tempted to disobey his orders, but thought better of it. She whipped herself around and stalked off towards the apprentice den.

As Specklefang's hind legs threatened her, Ivystar merely readjusted her position to force the warrior down by clawed paws digging into her chest. It would restrict her breathing, make it hard to inhale after each exhale but it was what the murderer deserved. Otterleap had been crushed by his crime, and had all but wasted away, but this foxheart thrived in the pain she'd caused. Though she'd planned on a swift death, her words only inflamed a crueller, darker part of the leader.

Her irises widened, the only hint of her building desire to kill. Other than that, she was still as she listened to Blizzardstar, for once in total agreement with the leader. If only the ThunderClan leader was this reasonable before, perhaps none of this would have happened. Clans mixing in each other's affairs always ended like this, isolation for all times minus when the full moon waxed and waned was the only way.

"Flickerpaw will live a long and healthy life, her punishment is isolation from those she loves and facing the consequences for her actions daily. Not suffering physically, but mentally. It is the same as what Otterleap received. He has lived daily until now in fear that his actions would lead to rash actions such as this, and now he will forever be haunted by his mistake. Few in our clan even speak to him, or acknowledge him as a clanmate." Ivystar allowed them this bit of knowledge, she wouldn't let her clanmate die, he was a RiverClanner, and she protected her own, but she didn't necessary agree with his actions. Though the apprentice was a ThunderClanner, to see a young life snuffed out was always disheartening and the devastation it brought her clan was unforgivable. "Specklefang, I wish for her death to be simple and swift. Three death berries from Honeyspark's den, let her end her own life. She will not get the satisfaction of staining another's claws red, turning them into her. Through this, we will both find peace, and work together to survive this Leafbare."

Frankly, there was a certain hilarity to her situation. She was going to die because of some other cat or cats mistakes and that'd be the end of it, but she did not mind. Her beloved clan was safe to live until the end of leaf-bare, her mother would be returned early and once every cat forgot about her, all would be well. Wheezing, the she-cat sneered, "I'd like to request an audience then, Ivystar. For you are the one to order my execution, then it is only right for you to see it through. I would be honoured." Specklefang hissed. There was no sacrifice too great.

Specklefang's eyes finally sought out her mate, her kits, her friends. She wished she could tell them all that her demise was wrong, that she did not deserve this, so she could clear her name and their minds at least, partially. But no, she'd take this to her grave, quite literally. If she was to die the bad guy, then so be it.

With a deep sigh she nodded. This was the right thing to do, Specklefang had taken the life of an innocent apprentice, an action she still couldn’t fully wrap her mind around given that she had gotten her second chance after mauling her very own clanmate, Blazingwing, all those moons ago.

But if this was the right thing to do, why did she felt so miserable?

She thought she had changed, that Specklefang had found redemption…was she so fixated in this idea, so blinded by such hope, that she had failed to see the truth?

She cleared her throat and blinked a couple times. She couldn’t let the sobs reach her muzzle, her voice to crack nor the tears to show. Her clan was already walking on very thin ice, if she showed the leader of RiverClan or any of her clanmates any sign of weakness only StarClan knew what they could do. If they would try to launch an attack by thinking they wouldn’t be able to defend their lands.

“I understand. While I won’t interfere on the punishment, I ask of you to let go of Specklefang for now. Both her and Flickerpaw have friends and families here who they may not see ever again, so it’s only fair that knowing how this will end, they get to say their goodbyes” She then turned to look at the patrol of RiverClan cat “I’m not your leader, so I can’t order you anything, but I will request you to block the entrance to the camp while Flickerpaw and Specklefang say their goodbyes. We once had another murderer escape because we didn’t take such precaution and I’m sure none wants that story to repeat itself. Plus, you have no reason to show hesitance or try to give a chance for any of them to escape, unlike several of my clan who clearly don’t want to see their…former clanmates gone” The words were hard for her to say, she seriously wanted to trust in Specklefang, in Flickerpaw, but after what happened with Rockthorn she simply couldn’t be too cautious. But what definitely hurt the most was to call them former clanmates, to make let everyone know they no longer were part of ThunderClan.

“When they are done, we shall escort them outside the camp, ready to react if any of them try anything. Here there are many eyes watching, too many ears listening…some of which, shouldn’t even know about this kind of occurrences yet…” As she said the last couple words, her eyes went from the RiverClan cats to the nursery, afraid that any of the young kits could be close enough to the entrance to see and hear what was going on, their innocence and happy simple lives shouldn’t be tainted with these terrible events, not yet “They don’t deserve to be forced to witness how a cat loses their life…I’ll go get the deathberries” With those words, she stood up and walked towards the medicine cat’s den, trying to not think on what she was about to do. Her whole body would enter in an instant lockup if she did, she simply didn’t want to…

But, once again, she had to…

Dappledpaw choked back a sob as he brushed against his sister, possibly for the final time. "Of course you'll go to StarClan. You're a good cat. And a good sister." His voice was thick with emotion as he covered her face in licks. "I won't ever forget you. And I know you won't forget me. One day, I'll find you, and I'll save you and bring you home. One day." He whispered into her ear. He never wanted her to leave. Never. But he was powerless against such great cats.