You Can't Escape From Your Past II (Semi-open)

Stormpaw's ears twitched as Ivystar leaped from the Willow Branch, his yellow eyes narrowing as he watched her, Sweetheart and Reedclaw quickly pad out of camp. His fur prickled. He couldn't forget the terrifying anger in her voice when she called that Clan Meeting, let alone why she'd bother calling one for something as simple as a Newleaf warning. No, there was something else happening here. Stormpaw didn't know what, but he was desperate to find out.
The stormy-gray tom stood up slowly, trying to act as nonchalant as possible.
His mind was racing.
He couldn't follow Ivystar alone. He'd need someone to come with him, but who? He scanned the crowd- he'd need someone dispensable, but smart. Smart enough to get them both out of trouble, but young enough to follow him in the first place. Stormpaw's eyes landed on one tom:
Shadepaw.

"Shadepaw," Stormpaw padded towards the tom as quickly as he dared, fluffy tail low. "C'mon,
let's go. We need to act as normal as possible until we get out of camp. Can you help me track them? It's muddy, so we could be able to follow their footprints." He spoke quickly and softly, his claws half-out. Stormpaw felt a mixture of excitement and dread at what they could witness.
But it was too late to turn back now.

With a flick of his ears, Stormpaw ambled out of camp before turning back to Shadepaw. "We've gotta run if we want to make it before they get back."

Shadepaw looked at Stormpaw as he spoke. The idea sounded great. He was just dying to know what Ivystar needed with his parents. He nodded. ”Alright, let’s go.” He led the way, slipping past the group of cats that was growing smaller in number as they returned to their original tasks. It didn’t take him long to find where Ivystar had pulled Sweetheart and Reedclaw aside.

(OOC: @Pika = I know you are super busy and recovering from sickness, and I hate to rush, but I really need Sweetheart dead. I’m practically RPing with four characters and am not allowed to make a fifth at this point.)

ooc: I was actually waiting on ReedClaw to post since he was supposed to tag along on Ivy's orders. But I'll post without them.

"How could you do this after all you've done?!" Ivystar snarled, the fur on her neck rising into a faux mane with unchecked anger. Her breath came out in swift huffs, the fury building within her into an inferno of frustration and angst. "You nearly drove our clan to war with ThunderClan by aiding in Lionspark's escape, all in the name of the code. But all this time, you were sleeping with a ShadowClanner! Tell me that this is a lie. Tell me that I've misunderstanding something. That Shadepaw isn't Scorchfang's son."

(OOC: Oh, I didn’t realize. I’m sorry. I really wasn’t trying to rush.)

Sweetheart trembled in terror before her leader’s fury, tears beading in her eyes. Her worst fears were coming true. Ivystar knew the truth. But how did she know who the father was in the first place?

She looked down at her trembling paws, both from shame and because she just couldn’t keep eye contact with the furious she-cat before her. ”...I-It’s true. Shadepaw is not Reedclaw’s son.” She looked over at her mate and stared pleadingly at him. ”Oh, Reedclaw, I’m so sorry I never told you. I should have told you that Shadepaw was not yours.” She willed for him to play along. She was not going to let Reedclaw get in trouble for knowing her son’s true origins.

Then she turned back to Ivystar and forced herself to look the Clan leader in the eye. ”I know I have no room to beg this of you, but... please. Please don’t do anything to Scorchfang or to ShadowClan for my mistakes. I was the one who wanted to start the relationship. I was the one who convinced him to spend one last night with me that resulted in me having Shadepaw. He wanted to leave me so that he could focus on becoming a loyal ShadowClan cat, but I convinced him to stay. Do anything you want to me. Exile me, maim me, sentence me to death in the most gruesome way, I don’t care! Just don’t do anything to Scorchfang, please!”

—————

Shadepaw’s eyes were wide. No... It couldn’t be true. His father was a ShadowClan cat? Was that why he found it easier to hunt in marshes than on dry ground, why he favored the dark and damp over the bright and fresh, why he was the only cat in the Clan to enjoy the taste of frog?

He slowly backed away, breathing heavily. He was half-Clan. And his mother never told him! She didn’t even tell Reedclaw! Well... if Ivystar wasn’t going to do anything about this, he would. After all of this, there would be no way Sweetheart would be allowed to live.

Reedclaw stood by his mate's side as Ivystar hurled her fiery words towards Sweetheart. The large tom caught onto what Sweetheart was trying to do. He knew that he should stand beside her and back her up, but if it was what she really wanted. "He isn't mine?" The tabby warrior mustered up a saddened and devastated voice to make it seem believable. Listening to Sweetheart's words, Reedclaw's heart broke just a little as the she-cat was defending the ShadowClan deputy. Reedclaw stood back and let Ivystar decide.

At Sweetheart's incriminating words, the leader closed her eyes to try hide the flash of regret and pain that lanced through her. Even though everything was to the contrary, a faint part of her still hoped that this was all but a foolish misunderstanding. But no, the Stars were not that kind and the warrior before her was a traitor. She'd named her Sweetheart for her kindness, her ability to have compassion and see the light where others would only see darkness. But it was a mistake, she'd stupidly extended her heart to those beyond their borders. A part of the leader wondered if this was her fault, should she have crushed all sympathy and softness out of the warrior?

Would Sweetheart betrayed them if she had made her cold as ice like her?

'That's what you get for trusting, sweet sister.' A voice whispered to her, a stab in her open wounds. Opening her eyes, she banished him and focused on the mewling queen at hand. "Even now you beg for that ShadowClan tom? Have you no soul? Had you have begged me for Shadepaw's life and protection, sworn that you hadn't thought of that warrior since, I would have shown you mercy. But it is clear to me that your turn has completely turned from your clan. Neither your son or mate deserve a traitorous fox like you in their lives."

Ivystar took a breath to compose herself before giving out her sentence. "I, Ivystar, leader of RiverClan condemn you to exile. You will never again walk the lands of your ancestors, and your soul will never be welcomed amongst our kin. I strip you of your name as you are undeserving of the title of warrior. The clan will be told that you died a tragic death by foxes as we went to investigate the bush in my dreams. Good bye, Sweet. You will not be remembered."

Somehow — well, logically if she was being honest with herself — Sweet knew she was going to be exiled. While it broke her heart to pieces that she would have to be separated from her birth Clan, from her very small number of friends, from one of her dear mates and her two sons... she wasn’t too heartbroken.

She never felt like a true RiverClan warrior anyway. She never felt the cold cruelty of a true RiverClan’s heart, or the mercilessness a RiverClanner displayed to their enemies. She never was a RiverClan cat, and being exiled just meant she no longer had to deal with the heartache of slaughtering ThunderClan or robbing WindClan of everything they had.

Sweet looked up at Ivystar. She felt sad, surely, but other than that she felt liberated. She felt free from all her burdens. She dipped her head to Ivystar in a last sign of respect, even though she was no longer her leader, and without another word she padded away towards the territory to leave Clan forever.

~~~~~~~~~~

Shadepaw narrowed his eyes, a growl thrumming lowly in his throat. He couldn’t believe what was happening. His mother didn’t beg for mercy to be shown to him or Reedclaw. She probably didn’t care about either of them at all. She only cared about Scorchfang. That disgusting ShadowClan cat didn’t deserve to live after what he’s done, and neither did Sweetheart — no, her name was Sweet now. She didn’t even deserve that name; that cat was anything but sweet.

He thought Ivystar was making the wrong decision in letting Sweet live, but unlike her, he wouldn’t say anything about it. At least not right away. He swore that he would make that fox-hearted she-cat regret all that she has done to RiverClan.