Do you Plead Innocent or Guilty? (Closed)

Curlyfeather didn't like the situation she was in. Then again, she was a small, deaf, weak, and stubborn ShadowClan warrior with anger issues, so she hardly ever felt comfortable where she was. The only time she had allowed herself to relax was right before she went deaf. So she was done expecting everything to go perfectly. Even so, she was between a rock and a hard place. Accuse her former mentor, a cat she knew to be loyal, of an awful crime, or let a possible codebreaker go on unpunished. With most other cats, she would have already ratted them out to Scorchfang. That was just how she was. But because Blazeflight happened to be an old friend, she would be extra sure. Though the three-legged warrior had never bothered to learn her silent language (most of the clan hadn't even known that was a thing) and communication would be difficult, a confrontation would be best. Flat out ask her what had happened, state her suspicions, and see how the other she-cat reacted. Simple. Hopefully her lip reading had improved enough, and this wasn't someone who talked quickly. Especially when they were nervous. Still unsure about what she was doing, she padded over to the warrior's den, remembering the first time she did this so long ago. Quickly searching the den, she saw the pelt that she knew and recognized. Stopping, she realized she was about to pass the point of no return. If she woke her former mentor up to talk with her, she couldn't play it off as catching up for old time's sake if she decided to pull out last minute. That just wasn't something she did. So now she would have to face the consequences whether she was right or wrong. A bit nervously, she nudged the ginger she-cat.
"Blazeflight? Can you go on a hunt with me?" Curlyfeather asked quickly, hoping she wasn't yelling and waking the entire clan up. Pacing back and forth, she waited for Blazeflight to join her. Oh StarClan, she hoped she was doing the right thing.

Grunting with the effort it took for Blazeflight to rise to her paws and pad towards the entrance to the camp, the scarred she-cat made eye contact with her former apprentice and nodded, knowing any words that passed her maw fell on deaf ears and that they would be all but pointless. As she approached the younger cat groggily, Blazeflight could only wonder what had led her to ask. Both of the ShadowClanners had plenty to do for the night, and it was very unlike her to just ask for a hunt from the middle of nowhere. Was there something that the she-cat was missing? The fact that the earless warrior was pacing when she met her side only made her more nervous, but she tried to hide it under a facade of happiness, an emotion that she usually showcased on her russet features. Flicking her tail towards the exit, a way of telling Curlyfeather to follow her, she began to hobble into the marshy territory with a plethora of questions bubbling in her brain.

Once Blazeflight had reached her and had began padding out into ShadowClan territory, Curlyfeather followed her uneasily. What if she was making a horrible mistake? Unlike some cats, she simply could not pretend to feel a different way than she did constantly, or pull this off as a normal hunt. No, if she didn't get out what was on her mind, this would only grow more awkward. Though awkward silence didn't bother her much, she could just feel the confusion and slight nervousness wafting from the other she-cat. The only was this could be more uncomfortable was if she wasn't already used to it. So she better just cut to the chase and ask it. But not while they were still near camp. She didn't want anyone to hear them, especially if she was wrong. That would be plain old embarrassing. Once they were a good distance away from camp, she would ask. And she wouldn't lead up to it with any unnecessary 'You're probably wondering why I brought you here' foolishness. Why would she? It wasn't like she could talk for the pleasure of hearing herself speak, and not hearing herself speak caused her quite the opposite of pleasure. Just the question as straight forward as she could would be all she needed to do. Soon, they were at an area that fitted to her liking. Taking a deep breath, she prepared for possible humiliation.
"Why did you meet a ThunderClanner at the Thunderpath yesterday?" Curlyfeather blurted out quickly, not wanting to take any more time than was needed. Now the question was out there. Not the accusation yet, she would have to listen to what Blazeflight hd to say for herself first. Nervousness tried knots in her stomach as she waited, hoping that her former mentor would have the sense to talk slowly and clearly.

The question Curlyfeather presented was not one that Blazeflight had expected, and she had to think for a moment what she might be referring to. She'd talked to Marshstorm by the Thunderpath, but she'd been alone... Or, she thought she'd been alone? Shaking out her fur from any debris that might've clung to her pelt on the short walk they'd endeavored on, she breathed out a sigh of relief. She was thinking it was something of more importance, something that might not be focused on such an easy subject. Keeping in mind the warrior's disablement, she began. "The ThunderClanner was Marshstorm, Deputy." She spoke slowly, trying her best to accentuate every syllable so nothing would be lost in translation. "Just a friend, Curly. Just a friend." She looked into her former apprentice's eyes, nodding her head after she finished her sentence to assure her that nothing was going on. It wasn't hard to tell that the earless she-cat suspected some sort of romance, but that was not what had happened at all. After a short moment had passed, she continued. "Nothing bad, met him at last Gathering." She hoped that the she-cat would be able to pick apart the words, even if the last sentence was a tiny bit more rushed than the last.

ooc; it was always a headcanon of mine that blaze called curlyfeather 'curly' just as an affectionate nickname :3

Curlyfeather noticed how Blazeflight shook out her pelt before speaking, but couldn't tell if that was from nerves or relief. Not as much fear scent radiated off of her, but she couldn't tell if the ginger she-cat was just good at hiding things. She had never really known, and some cats were able to control themselves perfectly while spouting out lie after lie. While she didn't really seem like the type who could do that, one could never be too sure. When the she-cat began talking, she tried her best to understand. ThunderClanner… Deputy. While she could tell there was a word in between, she couldn't tell what it was. She assumed that her former meant the cat she had been talking to was the ThunderClan deputy. Okay, that was good and all, but didn't explain why. The next part was harder to decipher. Her name was something she instantly recognized, and the other word was what seemed to be fend, but could also be friend. The first of the two didn't seem likely, but why would the three-legged she-cat be reminding her that they were friends? Was this some way of trying to get her to be nicer to her? While she didn't want to believe that, it was what her mind was telling her, and didn't seem too unlikely. Missing the first part of the next thing she said, all she could make out was this: Met... Gathering. That didn't give her any more information that could support or debunk her suspicions.
"That didn't answer my question. Why did you talk to him?" While Curlyfeather was appreciative that Blazeflight had even said as much as she had, it still gave her information related to her question, rather than information that answered her question. Now she felt a bit more confident in her suspicions, honestly. While it pained her to think like this, everything seemed to point towards that.

Talking to Curlyfeather was no easy feat, so she decided to cut any further explanation and go straight to the point. "Saw him at border, just small talk." Blazeflight was beginning to get a bit jittery, yet still spoke slowly and calmly, in hopes that Curlyfeather would be able to interpret what she was saying. "We were just catching up." She felt the need to assure her once again that they were just friends, that there was nothing else there between them, but she bit back the urge. She didn't want to say any more than she needed to, for fear that she might think she was saying something else and run with the accusation. "It's nothing bad, okay? There is no need to tell anyone, it is nothing bad." This was her clumsy attempt to make sure the she-cat understood that it was nothing big, unaware of the fact that it might seem like the she-cat was imposing a threat.

Border... Talk. While Curlyfeather had the feeling that whatever Blazeflight had said there had answered her question, she could really only make out two of the words. Both of which she already knew had happened. Did she not get the rather obvious fact that she had seen them at the border? Well, her words in between had probably been important. Why couldn't her cursed ears just appear and let her hear like a normal cat? Right then, it was driving her insane.  How she interpreted what her clanmate was saying could determine whether or not she told Scorchfang. And right then, telling the deputy seemed to be the right thing to do, regardless of her personal emotions. Catching up. Those two words were easy enough to understand, but it did beg the question of how long the two had known each other. Had this been a recent meeting or a long term relationship? Which was better?  With a start, the deaf warrior realized that she had already began to accept the fact that her former mentor was in a forbidden romance. Why was it so easy? Looking at the ginger warrior with her blue eyes full of confliction, she realized she was speaking again. Annoyed question, followed by: No need to tell... Bad. Wait, was that a threat? Based on former assumptions, her mind jumped to conclusions of what the other words could be. There was no need to tell anyone unless she wanted something bad to happen to her. No matter how assuming it was, no other option came to mind. This cat was a traitor, and when the kind approach hadn't worked, she had turned to threats. It all made sense now. All traces of doubt must just be blinding emotions.
"I've heard enough." With those three words, Curlyfeather turned her back and walked towards camp, pace quickly speeding up to a run. Blazeflight might have been a good cat, but now evidence pointed to her being a traitor. Now she would have to tell Scorchfang, and not let emotions hold her back. Clan loyalty was not a small matter, and it would be a sin to hide this information because of stupid feelings. A lump forming in her throat, she made her way back to camp.