Sedge's demand. (closed)

How dare he? The silver tom stalked angrily into camp. His tail twitching as he glowered up at Poplartooth and ... Rippedstar. After a couple days, he still couldn't quite believe he had been so openly passed over. The good choice, rejected for a cat that the other tom barely even knew compared to him. What was wrong with him?

What was wrong with him? Sedgestrike thought bitterly. Was he not a good enough cat? He fought off enemies, he patrolled the borders vigorously, his apprentice was coming along in leaps and bounds, and he hunted plenty of prey for the entire clan. It made no sense. It aggrivated him, crawled under his pelt like fleas until he eventually walked into the leaders den and sat, pointedly, where Rippedstar would be able to see him whether leaving or coming in. He glared at his leader when he saw him.

"Care to explain?" He asked coldly. His green eyes cold as he evaluated Rippedstar's response. "Why did you pick him, over me? What has he done that I haven't?" He stepped forward. "I have done very good work for this clan, and you skipped over me, like I was nothing!" He ignored it as his voice rose to an accusing yowl. "ANSWER ME!"

Rippedstar had only left for a moment, just to head for the freshkill pile and grab something small to pick away at. With the medicine cat, his adopted daughter, constantly checking up on him, he felt obligated to at least attempt that much. But it was quickly back to Crowstar's den after that. The black and white tom still refused to accept it as his own. It was only out of obligation he lived there. This was what the clan wanted to see from him. A half-sigh escaped out of the corner of his mouth around the mouse as he padded towards the hallowed out boulder that made up the leader's den. While still a tail-length away, he hesitated. No cat was even allowed to enter these days because of his own kit-like hope to preserve the scent of his lost mentor. But, each time he went it, it made it more and more his own. A factor he was not yet willing to accept.

As he padded in, it only took a moment for his eyes to adjust and to realize there was a cat waiting inside. The angry words exploded from the warrior and what was a split-second of devastation in the leader almost immediately became a flash of anger. Rarely ever did Rippedstar lose his patience nor control of his actions, but at once he was racing towards Sedgestrike, and like when they had trained together, bowled him over and pinned him to the ground. Immediately, he was spitting at the younger tom with an intensity that was so unlike him that he probably seemed like another cat, "What are you doing in here? What right do you have to walk into his den unannounced!?" His paws were spread evenly over the warrior, equally distributing his weight. Any of the questions asked went over the leader's head, he was focused on other things. It hardly even occurred to him that Sedgestrike was the cat who he was nearly about to slide his claws into.

To say Sedgestrike was surprised would be a gross understatement. He felt terror sink into his pelt as his former mentor raced towards him, surprised to feel the tom's full body weight slam into his and bowl him over like a kit. Sedgestrike snarled at the assault. The question confused him, and he hissed back bitterly.
"It's not his den anymore!" He spat at Rippedstar bitterly. "I came to talk to you!" He twisted underneath the black and white tom. It brought back memories of their training.

The first time he had been knocked over as such. Back then, he had felt some guilt, some remorse. He had reason to feel those things. This? Sure, he was willing to admit his words had been harsh, but what had he actually done? He did all his duties and had just been sitting there to talk to him. It wasn't as though he had lounged in Rippedstar's nest or shoved him. Those thoughts in mind, he attempted to shove Rippedstar off with his hind legs.

As Sedgestrike writhed underneath him, the momentary anger seemed to fade away and his senses returned. It dawned on him that he was attacking his own warrior. No matter how mousebrained or disrespectful the tom was, it did not justify what he was doing. Irrational, Rippedstar internally chastised himself and stepped off. Seemingly, all the energy he had was spent in that one moment and it instantaneously fell away. Blue eyes, filled with momentary rage died down into dull and near lifeless pools of... nothing. There was no emotion there and he moved away from the warrior. As he did so, the black and white tom muttered, "I will never be able to take his place. No one will." He turned his gaze away to the den of the wall that he had stared at for endless amounts of time. There was no exclaimed apology for the actions, instead, he merely flicked his tail.

The enraged version of Rippedstar gave way to the husk that was his true self, the real cat he had become. Something about being back with his apprentice, no matter what the situation, caused his defenses to die down. He couldn't quite place it. A strained sigh left the black and white tom and at that moment it was easy to see just how truly he had been broken by recent events. This was the part of him the clan did not see now, the one he shoved away in the back of this den that had become both a prison and a comfort to him. After allowing a stretching silence, he turned back to Sedgestrike and meowed lowly, "What did you want to talk about, Sedgestrike?" His voice sounded just as genuinely exhausted and torn up as he looked. Rippedstar could barely meet the eyes of the silver warrior as he awaited a response.

He was quick to roll back onto his paws with a firm glare levelled at Rippedsky. He spent a few moments simply observing the other tom. The way he moved... his head low. It aggrivated him to see his mentor in such a state, when he had once been so strong. He was strong. For a long moment, Sedgestrike watched Rippedstar. His own tension and unease felt like an itch under his pelt.

"Why did you choose Poplartooth?" He asked bluntly. There was no point in mincing words, in dancing around the truth of his presence as he took a step closer. The anger that had been pushed back by surprise resurfacing, though he tried to keep it restrained. His mentor's fragile looking state wasn't one he wanted to break. "Why did you pick him instead of me, am I still not good enough for you?" His green eyes narrowed as his tail lashed angrily. "You can't stand there and tell me I am not a good warrior, that I don't deserve it, so why!?"

As the strained anger lined the young warrior's words, his tail just barely flicked behind him, although, it still rested on the ground. His blue gaze barely flickered up from the ground to read Sedgestrike's expression before he sighed and looked away once more. His meow was obviously drained as he finally responded, "You're a good warrior, Sedgestrike, there's no doubt about that. And... you've made so much progress over the moons." Rippedstar considered what would be the best thing to say. As Sedgestrike's mentor, he had learned to pick around his words and sometimes force a necessary fire into them. Now, he simply was too exhausted to draw from that well of infinite patience, nor conjure up any desire to truly call out the headstrong tom on his irrational behavior. He was just tired.

"I doubt any answer I give you could ever bring satisfaction. But, simply, Poplartooth is a much more patient cat than you. He was the one I believed could best serve underneath me. Your place is as a warrior for now." Rippedstar did not meet his eyes as he breathed out an answer. It sounded much better than calling out his former apprentice for being reckless and unwilling to listen. Somewhere inside there was still that deeply rooted part of him that had grown to care for Sedgestrike. When he finally breathed in, the air caught in his throat. Dealing with so much already, he wasn't sure he could take the anger from a cat he cared for. The rest were dead anyway. As his ears drooped and he settled down in the badger fur-lined nest, his head rested on his paws, "Is there anything else?"

As Rippedstar spoke, the words felt like thorns in his pelt. Ones that stung, but were slowly being removed. The pain of being overlooked outweighed by how his strong mentor... now looked so pathetic. He blinked, anger simmered at the surface, threatening to come out in a yowl, or a hiss.

What would that solve though?

Over the moons he was being trained by Rippedstar, the older tom had struggled to teach him the value in things. Patience, calm and firm were all traits he had seen in this once great cat, who now clung to his nest like a kit. It was pathetic, but it was also alarming, and not what Rippedstar needed. As much as it hurt, maybe Poplartooth was superior in some respects. As he chewed this thought over in his mind, he padded over to Rippedstar and abruptly shoved him.

"Yeah, come with me." He meowed sternly. His green eyes glared down at Rippedstar, but without as much malice as earlier. His annoyance showed in his posture, as he thought about how rediculous this was going to be... but... clearly Rippedstar needed something and if no cat was willing to do it, then he would.

ooc: i am so sorry i made you wait so long! i'm slowly working my way through topics

The leader's head dropped down onto his paws and he stared blankly, almost expectantly, at Sedgestrike as he waited for more yowls and curses to be thrown his way. There was still anger blazing in the young warrior's eyes. And then... conflict. It stirred something in the depths of his former mentor. Rippedstar was surprised to see the anger kept at bay. His ear flicking slightly was the only acknowledgment of any sort of interest. When Sedgestrike came over and roughly nudged him, the black and white tom's dull eyes barely flickered in his direction. He was too tired to fight. Too tired to argue. All he wanted was for Sedgestrike to leave and to leave him alone.

Come with me. If he had any energy, the leader might have scoffed at the demand. His former apprentice now giving him commands. Better yet, he was in charge of this clan now. With a low release of a breath that he did not know he had been holding, the tom almost sighed as he raised himself up onto his paws. His tail dragged through the dirt and he made no effort to bring back his composure as he stepped into the fresh air and padded obediently after his former apprentice.