Announcing the Unannounced {Open-Clan Meeting}

ooc: malpe hasn't posted, but as i said in my post gustpuddle is supposed to be standing out there, so he isn't hiding her away or anything, characters can just up and talk to her

"Crowstar is dead. I cannot change the circumstance. But, these kits are not responsible for the crimes of their parents. They have Skyclan blood and it is only right they be with their clan. As much as I do not approve this sort of thing happening, and it does break the code, it has been done. Gustpuddle made the right call in bringing her kits to Skyclan. They should not be in Windclan. And, it is best for them to be raised by their mother. Here. We cannot change the past or mistakes, but do what we can out of it." There were questions, of course, he had been prepared for that. But, he had hoped to have a simple and quick announcement before this was over. Rippedstar knew no more than them about what had led the former leader to be with a Windclan cat, nor how that had transpired. All he knew was that there were half-Skyclan cats who were thankfully now in their rightful home and that was enough for him.

He shot his adoptive daughter a concerned glance as he finished. If she was so opposed to the kits, he would make sure to keep an eye on her. Rippedstar then turned to Blossomheart, "Feel free to speak to her. She is a clanmate now." The black and white tom flicked his tail as he glanced at the kits again. The leader wanted to return to them, but he could not quite yet. Gustpuddle's edition to the clan would likely be the biggest change. But, he wanted the clan to see the value in these kits being in their rightful place instead of having to fight over them. Gustpuddle's willingness had made the process so smooth. Although it was a whole new life for her, the she-cat was doing the best for her kits, and this was it. He shot her a grateful look, regardless of whether she saw it or not.

Rippedstar's words hit her like a falling branch; Windclan stench still clogging her senses. The memory of Ashstar's burning gaze filled her mind -- almost murderous.

What was Rippedstar saying? That Crowstar -- their leader -- had mated Windclan filth? It was such a violation -- an utter disregard for the code that it had Honeypaw reeling for a moment. The ginger she-cat may still have been an apprentice, but her younger moons were long gone; Honeypaw knew exactly what words he spoke in that firm, commanding voice.

Her ears flattened. How could it be? Crowstar had been their leader -- of Skyclan blood... how could he have done such a thing -- taken the code he vowed to uphold before his ancestors and shatter it, like it was dirt beneath his paws? To mate with their enemy?

It shook her long enough for Sedgestrike's snap to cut through her, dark tabby tail lashing in growing disbelief.

"Training? Now?" Honeypaw hissed to the sleek white tom, gaze intense, for once not understanding her mentor's words. Gillpaw was an infuriating apprentice, but he wasn't a Windclan rabbit-chaser -- traipsing into their camp!

Fernpaw was right! How could they just accept this? For that matter, how did they even know this was the truth?

Brushing off her mentor's glare, the angry she-cat's claws unsheathed into the ground. They couldn't change Crowstar's "mistakes" -- but how did they even know there were any?! Crowstar was their leader! He was Skyclan! Honeypaw's mother had thought the tom was weak, pathetic -- but not even she would have thought Crowstar was capable of this!

Honeypaw had grieved the death of a loyal, honorable leader of Skyclan. The tom had been soft, pitying -- letting in the filth that her mother had foretold would bring ruin. But that did not make him an oath-breaker!

"How do we know they are Crowstar's kits?" she hissed, brushing off Sedgestrike's glare. The bristling she-cat didn't know who she was talking to -- Sedgestrike, Fernpaw, even Blossomheart, who seemed to take this so easily it made Honeypaw sick. Her slit amber eyes snapped to the skinny filth in their camp -- Gustpuddle. Why should they believe that their leader had mated such filth? "Because she said so?"

At Rippedstar's completely unexpected announcement, Tigerpaw was so startled that she was unable to react for a few minutes. As several of her clanmates erupted with shocked exclamations, the striped apprentice remained frozen in position, staring up at Rippedstar with a blank expression. The sharp, foreign scent that had struck her as soon as she had stepped out of the Apprentice Den was undoubtedly WindClan scent. Rippedstar had not given much details, but it was clear what he was trying to say. Yet her mind could not process the reality of it. Crowstar... had borne half-clan kits? The fluffy black tom that had been SkyClan's greatly loved and respected leader, the cat who had nobly given his last life in order to protect his clanmates, the one that all of SkyClan had mourned at his death--Crowstar had broken the warrior code? Such thoughts rushing messily and chaotically through her head, Tigerpaw barely heard what was being said by her clanmates. She was only snapped out of her dazed state when Rippedstar spoke again. How could the black and white leader speak so calmly about something like this?! And how had Blossomheart accepted it just like that?! Did they even understand what they were saying? A wave of disbelief washed anew through the tabby as her wide-eyed gaze swiveled from Rippedstar to Blossomheart, and then to... Gustpuddle.

She couldn't understand it. She just couldn't understand it. Why would Crowstar do such a thing?

Out of the confusion, Honeypaw's hiss reached her ears. Tigerpaw was quick to grab unto it. "Honeypaw's right! Why should we believe such a thing?"

Blossomheart stared at her Clanmates. "So you would turn away a mother and her kits in need, just because you don't trust her? She's a queen! I doubt that she would lie about such a thing and it takes great courage for her to admit it! Have a heart!" She whipped around to go have a friendly chat with Gustpuddle and get to know her.

Sunpaw had gathered with her Clanmates at the sound of a meeting being called, but her attention was only caught when the subject came to light. Crowstar had had kits with a WindClan cat? She was fairly certain no one had seen that revelation coming, but their mother staying in SkyClan was something she hadn't ever heard of. Still, according to Rippedstar's words this... Gustpuddle was their Clanmate now, and she wasn't about to deny her leader.

Hearing her Clanmates, however, she paused. "Why would any cat willingly give up their home, their friends, their families, to run off to another Clan without very good reason?" she asked, unable to see anyone she knew doing such a thing. "I'm sure Rippedstar doesn't approve of your doubting her, either, seeing as he just declared her a Clanmate, same as any of you."

"Why is it so hard to believe she'd lie?" Honeypaw mewed sharply in reply, tail lashing as she spoke. Blossomheart was a loyal warrior, she knew -- but the long-furred she-cat was naive if she thought to trust this Windclan filth so blindly. "We don't know her!"

It was Sunpaw's words that made her hackles raise, however.

"And this 'very good reason' happens to be that she has Crowstar's kits? Our leader?" she hisses, rounding on the golden-furred apprentice. Tigerpaw's support made her bolder as she flicked her ear, amber eyes blazing. "And right after he dies defending Skyclan, too. Isn't that just convenient?"

The she-cat really should have chosen another tom if she wanted to make her lie believable. Why not Foxhunter? He wasn't there to defend his honor, either!

"Hey rat for brain look at the kits." The black and white apprentice growled at the apprentice that should just keep her mouth shut. "If they are truely Crowstar's kits then wouldn't they look like him? Yellow eyes? Fluffy? At least have some black on them?" The black apprentice was now glaring at Honeypaw. "And don't you dare speak ill of the tom that gave his life so that you may live. If you want to think it's convenient that dogs got into the camp maybe you should go find it convenient to go find them again and die." Shrikepaw hissed. "Maybe you should shut your mouth and start thinking things through for once fish face." The tom growled before stalking off to go meet their new clanmate.

"It's convenient for the Windclan snake-tongue -- that the tom she claimed gave her kits isn't here to defend himself!" Honeypaw snapped at the apprentice stalking away from her, correcting him sharply as her claws unsheathed into the ground. How dare Shrikepaw twist my words! "And don't you dare say I'm disrespecting Crowstar, you mouseheart! I'm defending his honor! It's this Windclan she-cat staining his name!"

The ginger tabby was bristling, the rage brewing within her -- at Gustpuddle, at Shrikepaw. "Crowstar was Skyclan! He would never have done something like this!"

OOC: >u< this is getting intense, lol

Shrikepaw turned around and hissed at the apprentice. "This is the same leader that let in a Windclan cat before, that let the tribe in, my father in. The same cat that let Shadowclan cats live here, and gave shelter to rogues. And you say this is beneath him? The same cat that let us have our current leader? You claim the code but you forgot about a part of it. The leader's word is law, and yet you are arguing with him. The only disloyal cat I see here is you." The tom growled. "Crowstar was a loyal and great leader always doing the best for Skyclan. Just because he had a different mate than what you expected doesn't mean any of that changed, or do you want to make him out to be a traitor? Honestly I wouldn't put it beneath you at this point."

Mumblefoot had padded over with the rest of the clan. And he was just as shocked to hear about the parentage of the kits. However, it... it made sense that she had brought them to Skyclan. What other reason would the she-cat have for abandoning her home? Besides, Gustpuddle certainly did not look the part of a cheerful new clanmate, if anything she looked like a cat who had gone through a hellish few moons. His ears flattened as he considered his own unfortunate events recently and he felt a pang of sympathy for the other small warrior. He had been just about to pad over to her and welcome her like the leader had instructed, but was stopped short by the arguing of a couple cats. A low sigh broke from his chest. Couldn't they just get along? He debated stepping over and decided he was a warrior after all and had to.

"H-hey, I saw them. They are certainly Crowstar's kits. And regardless, we cannot be upset with them over things they cannot control." The lie slipped in easily with the usual stumble at the beginning of his speech. Despite growing more confident over the moons, high tension situation still made him uncomfortable. More verbal confrontations between cats, Mumblefoot had grown increasingly used to battles. His ear flicked as he piped up again, trying to stand between the pair of apprentices and ultimately settling for standing off to the side, "Even cats like Crowstar screw up sometimes, I guess? I don't know... but, I trust Rippedstar. He wouldn't let any bad cats in camp, right?" Although the depths of his gaze reflected a flicker of insecurity, he spoke in favor of his father. They had never been the closest but this was his leader now, and that had to mean something.

ooc: crap bc im supposed to be doing a paper oops

"No cat is faultless, Honeypaw," Sunpaw declared. "Crowstar was a cat just like the rest of us. He was a kit, and an apprentice, and a warrior once. So he apparently made a mistake. So it had consequences. So he isn't here to deal with them. So what? Claiming Gustpuddle is lying to disgrace his good name will do nothing for any of us, and more kits in SkyClan can't mean anything but good news. You're searching for problems where they don't exist. Besides," she added, "I still haven't heard one good reason she would abandon her entire life in WindClan if they weren't Crowstar's kits."

Shrikepaw's previous words had hit Honeypaw like flames, fueling the fire in her chest -- but as he described what Crowstar had done as leader, the cats he had given shelter to, the words hit her like a ton of stones. Her mother's words echoed in her mind -- branding Crowstar are weak leader, pitying... too soft to other clans...

"Another rogue..." the dark tabby queen told her younger self gravely. "How many until Skyclan is overrun, and the code forgotten? Crowstar will bring this clan to ruin!"

Is mother right? she hissed in her mind -- feeling her heart rebel but was it true? Honeypaw had grieved Crowstar believing he had been -- if weak -- still honorable, faithful to his code... But she hadn't known him. Her mother had. Did Crowstar really mate Windclan filth? Was he capable of it?

Shrikepaw's fierce yellow gaze pierced through her, making the she-cat grit her teeth -- stepping forward heedless of Mumblefoot's mumbling words. Her blazing gaze snapped to Sandpaw -- her irritating voice grating in her ears -- and Honeypaw snapped.

"Fine! Say Crowstar did mate with a Windclan mouseheart! Say it's her!" she hissed -- gaze burning through the golden-furred, ignorant apprentice! Who does she think she is? For that matter -- who does he? Whipping around, she glared at Shrikepaw -- who clearly defended Crowstar's actions! "But unless everything you've been taught just slips from your ears, you foolish mousebrain, he mated with the enemy! Your perfect little leader shattered the warrior code! Even Rippedstar knows what Crowstar's done is blasphemy!"

She yowled it, chest heaving and every muscle tense as her amber eyes snapped to the enemy in their camp. Good news that she's here? What was Sandpaw thinking?!

Her mother's hiss fills her ears. "Those not born of Skyclan will always have roots elsewhere -- will have grown and been cultivated on the soil of our enemies..."

How can they welcome her just like that -- like she was not Windclan born, Windclan raised?

"Rippedstar has proven himself loyal to Skyclan -- has spilled blood for us!" Honeypaw hissed, knowing it well from her mother, her mentor; Sedgestrike might not have agreed with their leader, but he respected him loyal to Skyclan. Gustpuddle, on the other paw -- "What has she done? How can you expect any of us to trust her with our lives? You said it yourselves! She left her home, her family, in Windclan -- can you really expect us to believe she's forsaken them? That she'd spill their blood for us, like any true Skyclan warrior would?"

This was why they couldn't accept foreigners in Skyclan! Because the time would come when Gustpuddle would be forced to fight her kin, her clan -- and no Skyclan life is worth being risked by trusting such a torn cat. They had abandoned their loyalties once -- what's to say they wouldn't again?

OOC: darn, honey is just a walking set of contradictions cx

"Her family is here now! She betrayed her clan for her kits, for the good of her kits who are part skyclan none the less. Do you want them to die? Do you want Gustpuddle to go back to her clan and fight her own kits? Just because she doesn't have that perfect blood that you oh so desire? Guess what, none of us have perfect blood." The tom growled. His claws digging into the dirt. "And listen better you rat-brain. I never said Crowstar was perfect. I just said he was loyal to his clan to the very end. If he wasn't he wouldn't have given his life for his clan." The tom growled getting one step closer to wanting to sink his claws into the golden she-cat.

The image of the mother fighting her kits came to her mind, but it only made Honeypaw angrier. The she-cat had brought this upon herself!

"Well, she should have thought about that before breaking the code!" Honeypaw hissed, feeling her claws flex dangerously. "There's a warrior code for a reason, you rat-brain! Or are you too bad-blind to see that?"

Those that broke the code paid the consequences, her mother had always said. "If you bring the wrath of Starclan upon yourself, then you will suffer for it."

She had no pity for Gustpuddle. No, all Honeypaw could feel was for her kits -- their noble Skyclan blood tainted by her affair. It was better that the lying Windclan warrior left! "If they are Crowstar's kits, then they should be with Skyclan. That's the only good thing that's come of her!"

Sunpaw saw that this conversation was going nowhere, and as such she withdrew herself to go offer her new Clanmate some (in her opinion, much-deserved) sympathy. Honeypaw was impossible to reason with, so she wasn't going to keep on trying just yet.

Even if her circumstances had been different - for StarClan's sake, she didn't even know what they were - they were all on the same side. Everyone in this camp was a SkyClan cat, and she was happy to offer friendship to Gustpuddle. It certainly looked like few others were doing so at the moment, anyway.