Pious No More [open; CLAN MEETING]

All three toms sitting together near the back of the crowd, Cedarfur, Smokepelt, and Ryecloud all listened with curious ears. When Brindlestar finished, none of them said anything, all lost in thought. Whether StarClan had actually turned their backs on the clans was a mystery in of itself and the only thing that could be done about it was wait and see. Until then, there was clearly a more pressing threat that needed to be dealt with...

Brindlestar's words brought stability to his otherwise frantic mind. Now that he knew what was going on, he could act on it. He still couldn't do anything, but how could StarClan do such a thing! Surely they weren't turning their backs on their descendants that had been there for them for so long? No longer was he scared, now he was angry! "We trusted StarClan! How dare they decide to kill cats that are no longer pure! No cat should be punished for the mistakes of their parents!" His fluffy tail lashed, and his golden eyes were filled with rage. "If StarClan wants to hurt my friends, they'll have to kill me. Who knows if I'm pure or not but this isn't right! It is not just!" His pelt bristled and he seemed on the verge of clawing any cat that dare say otherwise. Until StarClan could convince them that they weren't doing this, that it was some plot, some lie, he would no longer believe that they were there to help the clans.

Countless expressions, depicting various emotions, were turned skyward as a result of Brindlestar's proclamation. In the immediate aftermath of her words, much too many questions came much too quickly for her to even properly absorb them, let alone think of a response. As a result, she was forced to instead remain settled atop the Tallrock and peer down at her Clanmates with a sour expression as they continued to chatter like a flock of starlings. Perhaps under ordinary circumstances, it would irk her nearly as much- but these circumstances were far from ordinary and she was running on literal fumes at this exact moment in time. Tail flicking irritably in a bid for both silence and unadulterated attention, the pale-furred molly's mouth was twisted in a morose scowl. "There isn't anything to be done for the moon or sun," She began simply in response to Deerpaw's wary words, "So we shall continue with as much normalcy as possible in the mean time. Perhaps once the immediate threat passes, insight will grant us a potential course of action in regards to that matter." Twisting around to catch a glimpse of Barleytuft's worried, and grotesquely discolored, features, the young tom's blatant hesitance wasn't lost upon her. "However unnatural these abilities are, he was certainly not lying about them."

The irritation was much more prevalent in Brindlestar's gaze as she peered down at Graybriar, that age-old lingering sense of distrust still wholly content to make itself known. Ear twitching with slight annoyance at the grey-furred Queen's attempts of reasoning, her weight was shifted upon the smooth surface of the well-worn stone. "Our first loyalty is to WindClan, just as every other Clan's loyalty is to itself. They do not fight our battles, just as we do not fight theirs. We drew together once and all it earned us was the death of the sun, moon, and Littlestar." Her voice was clipped as she pointed out the already ill-fated results of the Clans collaborating. Straightening up slightly, the pale-furred molly remained silent as Pigeonstorm voiced his rage and distrust. Blinking for several moments in the wake of the scarred tom's words, her gaze quickly moved towards the petrified Littlepaw. "No cat shall die." Brindlestar mewed firmly in response to the young molly's words, "Regardless of what abilities this cat might have, he is merely a cat with a single life. He can only do so much."

Springing down from the Tallrock in a singular motion, the pale-furred Leader paused to give Lionpaw an approving glance. At least several of her Clanmates were willing to fight for the living, instead of blindly trying to justify every misstep taken by their supposed ancestors. Shaking herself vigorously to force away the lingering tendrils of exhaustion that still clung heavily to her in the wake of such an eventful past few hours, her eyes stung rather profusely as they ached for the prospect of a well-needed rest. "For now, our only course of action is preparation. Patrols must be out constantly- the freshkill pile must be stocked and our scent markers must never grow stale. The camp shall be guarded no matter the time of day, and sentries shall be placed at the borders as well. If Lichenmask and his followers try to strike, we will be fully prepared. They will never even get remotely close to this camp."

Barleytuft simply shook his head at Brindlestar's reply, but he did not argue. He could scarcely believe that their warrior ancestors, who they had always sacrificed so much for, would turn on them with such a terrifying display of malice and hate. The proof was in the sky, and in his leader's report. Barleytuft's faith in StarClan was shaken, and for a moment he was worried that his overwhelming grief over Oakberry's disappearance and hurt at StarClan's betrayal would be enough to make him collapse to the ground.

However, Brindlestar's fierce defense for the protection of WindClan calmed him a little. He clung to that feeling despite that she spoke with such hostility to the other Clans who were likely suffering the same shock - likely worse, in ShadowClan. However, Barleytuft finally found himself and nodded in agreement. "We need to make sure WindClan survives, whatever the danger is that we face," he stated, then added grimly, "even if it's our own former Clanmates."

Shadekit sat, staring down at her front paws, eyes cloudy and unfocused. She couldn't process what she was hearing. Why would Starclan betray us like this? Why would they allow such cruelty and chaos now, after the numerous amounts of times they had saved the clans before? After all the effort they've put into keeping us alive, why would they suddenly try to destroy us? It would be counterintuitive to destroy us after all these seasons. She pawed at the ground nervously, squeezing her eyes shut. It just makes no sense!