A Sparrow's Fall (OPEN)

(OOC: continuation of this topic)

Entering the camp with Sparrowpaw in tow, Tinystar didn't say a word. Instead, the midget leader jumped up to Tallbranch, his head and tail both held high and a stoic gleam in his icy eyes. "All cats old enough to climb a tree, gather bellow Tallbranch for a clan meeting!" his voice bellowed over the once almost silent camp. Their journey back from ShadowClan's camp had given him time to think about what had happened earlier that day. He hated to have to take such drastic measures, he truly did, but he wasn't about to have yet another uncontrollable cat living among his clanmates and knew what had to be done. Not to mention, on top of her stubbornness was a layer of kindling anger that he didn't even want to have to think about dealing with, so in the end, he'd come to the conclusion that doing this was better safe than sorry.

Sparrowpaw followed after Tinystar with a scoff as he leapt immediately onto Tallbranch. Her head lowered unhappily as she looked in the crowd for Tigerleaf and padded over to her mentor with a tired and unhappy expression. Her thoughts twisted in worry, and dread. This was it. She had blown her assessment... she knew that. It didn't matter that Asterspark had been the one to invade first. She was going to end up an apprentice forever. The thought rose like bile in her throat as she looked down at her paws. Black ears flattened.

As the crowd gathered, she caught the glimpses. Looks that told her how much they didn't trust her. Few cats did anymore... though she had thought no one did. Tigerleaf had at least made an effort... as did Nightstorm. The older black tom was the smallest of comforts to see. Yet all the new apprentices, the young ones that didn't know her father... they both inspired hope and fear. She shoved them away as much as she could, isolated herself. She didn't deserve their friendship.

Mintwhisker limped out of her den, a makeshift cobweb patch tied over one leg. She sat down near the center of the group, eyeing Tinystar curiously. What could this meeting possibly be for? The kits in the nursery were definitely too young to be apprenticed- a warrior ceremony, perhaps?

Amberdawn followed Mintwhisker closely, trying to offer her mentor a shoulder to lean on if she desired it, but the she-cat was strong and carried on by herself. The golden tabby medicine cat apprentice sat beside her mentor and looked up at her leader in his place on the Tallbranch. I wonder what this is about? she thought. Wasn't he out giving Sparrowpaw an assessment today? Perhaps it's her warrior ceremony at last? Amberdawn searched for the she-cat only to find Sparrowpaw looking angry and miserable. That certainly isn't the face of someone about to receive their warrior name. What happened...?

Cloverpaw pricked her ears from where she was laying in the apprentices den. Clan meeting? Cloverpaw poked her head up from the moss and peered into the center of camp. Cats were gathering beneath the tallbranch. Quickly, Cloverpaw scrambled out of the moss and stretched, opening her mouth for a wide yawn. She padded from the apprentices den, going to sit down among the growing crowd of cats. She looked up from where she was sitting and saw her leader, Tinystar, sitting on top. She waited patiently for him to speak.

Pale-colored ears pricking at Tinystar's summons, Tigerleaf emerged from the Warrior Den and slowly shuffled over to the Tallbranch. Her pregnancy was growing more and more obvious as the days passed. Mintwhisker and Condorshade were the only ones that she had talked to thus far, but the rest of her clanmates would soon find out at this rate. It would not be long before she had to move to the Nursery; the thought was a dreadful one. For now, she would cling to life as a warrior for as long as she could. Tinystar did not seem to be in a good mood today, and she did not believe her imagination to be at work. Icy tendrils of apprehension stirring within her, the young warrior searched the crowd for Sparrowpaw. When her gaze finally alighted on her apprentice, the ominous feelings only grew. Had her assessment not gone well? Sparrowpaw certainly was not bearing the overjoyed expression of someone finally about to receive their warrior name. "What happened, Sparrowpaw?" She asked quietly, concern shimmering within the depths of her pale-yellow eyes.

OOC: This topic takes place before Tiger had her kits.

Swanpaw blinked and lifted her head as Tinystar's voice rang out. From where she was lying in a small pool of sun, she could see that he didn't look exactly... happy. Immediately, a spike of concern shot down her spine, and she scrambled into a sitting position, eyes big and round as she padded cautiously over to the Tallbranch. What happened? Is it something bad? She glanced around as she settled near the back of the crowd, seeing Sparrowpaw sitting next to Tigerleaf and looking in an even worse mood than their leader. I thought Sparrowpaw's assessment was today? The whole thing didn't feel right, and a foreboding feeling tingled through her from head to tail-tip.
Above her, the sun shone weakly between needled branches, a cool wind stirring the tree limbs and letting only fitful patches through to her fur. She shivered slightly in the chilly breeze, shifting her paws underneath her as other cats joined the uneasy grouping under the Tallbranch. The tense feeling only intensified as more cats walked over, their looks ranging from curious to concerned.
Sparrowpaw herself, though... the apprentice was sitting noticeably isolated from the others, her mentor the only cat by her side. After a moment's hesitation, Swanpaw got to her paws again and padded silently over to where Sparrowpaw and Tigerleaf were, sitting down and feeling her ears burning slightly as she avoided their eyes. I know what it feels like to be alone.... A twinge of sadness burned in her chest as she remembered her littermates, most of them dead and gone. I won't let another willingly cut herself off.

Watching as his clanmates gathered bellow, Tinystar took this time to think about what he was about to do. Sparrowpaw, although he'd initially had hope for the young she-cat, had begun to show signs of uncontrollable aggression, just like Sedgestrike. Under other circumstances, such violent gestures might be dealt with, but not someone of such a bloodline. Her father had proven that.

Unfortunately, conducting such a ceremony wasn't an easy task. The last thing he wanted to do was be hated by his friends and family, or possibly even looked at as a tyrant, but in the end, there was only so much mercy he could give. If he didn't do this, no matter how jarring it may seem, he might never gain his clan's respect, which was something he couldn't fail to retain, seeing as though him and his clan needed to be on the same page at all times, for no one knew what the future might hold. Not only that, but part of him was tired of being seen as a softpaw. Yes, he was small, and yes, he had a reputation of not being to most merciless leader in the forest, but it was time he put his paw down and show them that he meant business, even if it was a bit shocking, even for himself.

Clearing his throat with a small huff, he lifted his striped grey tail to silence the subtle buzz of murmurs bellow.

"We gather here today for Sparrowpaw's..." he paused for a moment, his thoughts roaring and head becoming hot. Was he really going to do this? Yes, yes he was. He was done living in a state of constant fear if another one of his lives was going to be taken and this was the only solution; for him and his clanmate's safety. Pushing away any last hint of doubt that lingered, he stood up a bit straighter, a blank expression on his face. "... execution," he finished the first part of the spiel firmly.

"Sparrowpaw, step forward," the small leader spoke loudly, turning his cold gaze towards the she-cat. "After witnessing your aggression, it is clear that you hold traits frightfully similar to your father's, which is something I can't let go without consequence. After failing to end a fight with a ThunderClan cat and attacking Mintwhisker during your Moonstone, plus showing other acts of belligerence during your everyday tasks, you are here-bye deemed a threat to SkyClan's safety. Exiling you would only result in you being a bother to other leaders and their clans, and so you shall be executed in order to rid the forest of one less... nuisance," the midget leader mewed. Every word that escaped his maw felt as jagged as a boulder, but in the end, he'd only spoken what he'd been truly thinking, which made him wonder what other crude emotions were hiding in the depths of his mind...

"Mintwhisker, please bring out the Deathberries," Tinystar added, just before the clan burst out into confused mews and yowls. As expected, such news would be shocking, but in accordance to the Warrior Code itself, his word was law and he wasn't about to change his mind, no matter what they would try to plea.

"... execution."

Perhaps StarClan had deemed Tigerleaf to have grown too arrogant. She had a loving mate, an apprentice she could more or less call a friend, and kits that would eventually be born into the world. Even if it was a small effort, she was beginning to connect with her clanmates. The suffocating loneliness that Ashpaw's death had left with her was still present; however, it no longer threatened to swallow her whole, instead lingering right out of reach. When had she ever been this happy? When had she ever felt more at home in SkyClan? Only in her kithood, before her parents and littermates had left her one after another. In recent days, she had even begun to believe the truth in Foxhunter's last words to her. The clan was her home, and her clan members her family. Unfortunately, dreams could only last for so long. Reality clawed her harshly across the face, its jeers ringing within her ears. Bloated with the temporary happiness she had been granted, she had grown too arrogant, believing such times would continue on. Now she was being punished. With that one word of Tinystar's, the young warrior's world seemed to come crashing down.

Even as Tigerleaf struggled to process what she had just heard, she lost the breath in her lungs. All of a sudden, she found herself unable to breathe. The pale-yellow eyes, fixed on the small figure atop the Tallbranch, slowly widened. Wait. What is—? H—hold on! Somewhere in the back of her mind, a tiny voice screamed out. Tinystar continued to speak, the leader's words ringing out clearly and mercilessly. As if there was nothing at all unnatural with what he was saying, as if what he said made complete sense. "Mintwhisker, please bring out the Deathberries." At that moment, the striped she-cat heard what she believed to be the cruelest words that had ever been spoken.

"Please wait!" Tigerleaf screeched. For what might have been the second time in her entire life, the striped she-cat's voice rose above normal speaking volume. Her heart pounded in her chest, each beat so loud she feared her clanmates might hear it. Blood roared in her ears, while a sharp frost seemed to pierce through her very being. At once, she was both oblivious to her surroundings and intensely aware of everything that was happening around her. Horror-struck gaze never leaving Tinystar, she stumbled to her paws, her short tabby fur prickling. "Sparrowpaw isn't like her father! She isn't a bad cat at heart. I've trained her! I know that! You'd know, too, if you only spent more time with her. She hasn't... she hasn't even gained her warrior name yet. What did she do to possibly deserve death?!" The words tumbled right out, half tripping over themselves. In desperation, she swung around to face Sparrowpaw. Tinystar could not actually intend to execute her apprentice. This situation could not be real. She could not lose another friend.

As her father started speaking, Swanpaw allowed her ears to prick, a sudden small spark of hope lighting up her eyes at his first words, despite the utterly frozen tone they were spoken in. Maybe this is Sparrowpaw's warrior ceremony. She cast a quick glance at the cat beside her. Sparrowpaw's look was more one of dread than anything else. Something is wrong here.... Looking back up at Tinystar as he paused, she couldn't stop the feeling of tension creeping up her own spine, its cold claws whispering dreadful thoughts of seeing a Clanmate exiled.
"...Execution."
Her ears suddenly lost their ability to hear as her eyes grew wider and wider. "Wh-what?" She didn't even realize she'd spoken, but her voice was so quiet no one would have been able to hear it. This-this can't be. Not- My father wouldn't...! But, looking up at that cat standing on the tallbranch, a frost seemed to surround him. Not the beautiful frost of a leaf-bare's moon, but a cold frost that cruelly froze anything in its path, a coldness that strangled whatever warmth she'd ever seen in his eyes.
And she realized, in the horrified depths of her shivering form, that this wasn't her father. It couldn't be.
As the horrific thought blazed across her mind, her ears drew back on her skull, almost disappearing into her head in a look of terror so stark it hurt. That leader stood on the branch, and called for Mintwhisker to bring out the deathberries, that horrible cat that held her father's form, but wasn't the cat she knew. Every memory of him blew through her head, that cat who had nuzzled her dead brother Softkit with a loving purr. The leader who had come back from ThunderClan broken, with terrible news, and had told the Clan with tears in his eyes. The cat who had been there for her, when she was at her most lonely....
And she found herself rising, her ears still plastered to her head, but a gleam of rage sparking in her narrowed eyes as her lips peeled back from her teeth. "Do not touch her, you monster!" She yowled at the top of her lungs at almost the same time Tigerleaf leapt to her paws.
She rose to own paws as Tigerleaf's flow of words stopped, her pelt bristling out and making her look almost twice her size. If eyes could burn, her's would have at that moment. "How dare you order a cat's death just because they aren't perfect! How dare you order any cat's death! Sparrowpaw might not be the nicest cat, but if we give her a chance, she can become something more!" She took a gulping breath, her eyes still burning, but a look of pain now entered them as her pelt smoothed. "I- I don't know why you are asking for this to be done... But the father I know would not order the death of another cat. I know how you feel, after- a-after Leafkit's death, but you cannot just order a cat's death when you feel upset! A leader is meant to be kind, and firm, but not- not like this!"
Tears filled her eyes, blurring the cat standing on the Tallbranch in front of her into a smudge she could barely recognize, the chill in the air knifing through her pelt to the skin beneath.

Spottedleap, situated near the warriors den for a midday nap, watched with interest as Tinystar returned. There were obvious signs of a battle on Sparrowpaw's pelt, and the small leader was not happy. Just what kind of assessment had this been? The youngest warrior watched with confusion mixed with morbid interest. He was certainly not prepared for Tinystar's announcement.

Gasps, then whispers, then yowls filled the camp. The young tom himself was taken aback, unsure what to make of the situation. Sparrowpaw... he didn't know her very well. What did she do that was so bad to deserve this? She was doomed by her father's blood. Spottedleap's ears flattened against his head. It didn't seem fair... but some of her actions were questionable. Mostly the "attacking Mintwhisker" bit. Surely someone who attacked their own medicine cat had issues.

The ginger warrior listened in silence to the pleas of his clanmates. They were desperate, angry even. Afraid. He glanced up at the sky for hints of StarClan's disapproval. But nothing changed. He looked first foo Mistyrain, then for Mintwhisker. He wanted clarity, understanding, anything that would shed light on the situation. He'd only witnessed his own punishment, never anyone else's. He wasn't sure what to judge this by. Spottedleap shuddered at the idea of being executed for a mistake--a mistake he might have made in her place. Still, he remained dead silent. The leader's word was law; the code decreed it. Tinystar probably knew how to determine a threat. Spottedleap was too lost to pick a side.

"D- Deathberries?" Larkpaw meowed quietly to himself, withdrawing from the clearing to sit in the shadows of the pines. He didn't know what to say, how to respond. Death seemed like such a far-away concept to him, something that happened to others in clans other than SkyClan. And to think a fellow apprentice, though she was old enough to be a warrior by now, was going to get executed.

"Mother, please be quiet, what if he gets mad at you too." It was all Larkpaw could think to say, if Sparrowpaw could be executed for aggression, what if his mother was next. The code said for cats to carry out their leader's orders faithfully, for they were chosen by StarClan. Every apprentice knew these words off by heart. But was this the will of StarClan? He didn't know what to think beyond wanting safety for his family.

As Tinystar's voice echoed from the tall branch, Sparrowpaw ducked her dark head lower. Her green eyes gazed towards the ground. Just thinking about the enemy tom invading made her blood boil, her teeth clench. Her claws dug into the snow as she prepared herself for the words of never getting to become a warrior. Of ultimate demotion... or... the exile that Tinystar threatened her with earlier. The word she got instead, jarred her. Execution.

A shot of cold, pounding fear raced through her chest. Her head lifted with wide green eyes as he listed off her "crimes". Her jaw parted, then closed. Her chest ached with the pulsing fear that seemed to consume her for all of a moment as all went silent and still. As if the forest itself stopped moving in shock of the scene now unfolding before it's branches. The warmth of her mentor leaving her side shocked her back into motion. A soft whimper left her jaws as she stared at the striped tabby she had grown somewhat close to. Fully expecting anger, retaliation, even though it was against her mentor's nature to ever strike out like some cats would, she shrank back. A couple of tears fell from her eyes as the reality of the situation set in.

She would die.

Never again, would she hunt in the forest that plagued her. She would never be forced to climb... never have to wake up cold, and starving because she wasn't good enough. Even though no cat said she wasn't good enough, she could practically see it written in their gazes and yet. They stood to defend her. The whispered words of Larkpaw caught her attention. She turned to him with a gaze that was filled with her dread... and yet... the rage built in her chest. So pure and spiteful that it felt like it burned beneath her pelt.

She stood. The action so sudden her muscles tried to sieze as she stalked forward to where Tinystar sat. Her pace steady as she walked around Tigerleaf and Swanpaw with her held held high. Her tail, usually held low and brushing the ground, was lifted and puffed as her claws clicked against the stone beneath tall branch as she leapt onto part of it. A lower part, directly in front of where Tinystar had once died from a fall.

"Why get the deathberries? If you're going to kill me Tinystar..." She swallowed. Forcing back the last traces of fear that lingered in her bones. It was so easy to speak when anger was at the helm. Was this why her father had gotten so lost in it? "Then you should do it yourself. By your claws." At those words, she lifted her head. Bearing her pale jaw as if he was simply going to groom her, or that she would simply scratch an itch. The swallow of her throat, and the drip of a tear against the rock the only things amiss to the action.

Her heart dropped to her paws. Execution.
This wasn't happening. Surely, surely there had been a misunderstanding. Sparrowpaw bore some resemblance to her father, but now that the apprentice was mature, it was evident that was different. Better.
"Tinystar..." Mintwhisker's voice trembled as she stared up at her grandfather, her murky eyes wide. This was an entirely different tom than the one she had grown accustomed to. Tinystar was serious, yes, and a little severe at times, but to order the execution of an apprentice? One that hadn't committed a crime that warranted anything of that nature.
"You... you can't be serious. Execution? I-I... did you discuss this with Mistyrain, o-or...?" Or me?
Her shock was evident as she stared around the clearing desperately, as if searching for a way to appease the furious tom perched high in the branches above them. She caught Spottedleap's gaze and shook her head, the claw marks that slashed across her features obscuring her expression.

Tinystar's word was law. The code stated as much.

"Sparrowpaw." Moons of heartbreak tore the she-cat's name from her jaws as the apprentice stalked towards the base of the tree that Tinystar was perched in. What more could she say? "P-please... don't be f-foolish."
The tabby she-cat started forward as if she was going to embrace the apprentice, just as she did countless times before... everything.

Something stopped her paws before she made it halfway across the clearing, and she stumbled as if something tripped her. Slowly, jerkily, Mintwhisker turned and shuffled towards her den, her eyes half-shut and unseeing.
She emerged moments later with a small leaf bundle of poppy seeds and three larger, shiny black berries. Peering through haze, Mintwhisker considered grabbed a stalk of sweet-sedge that was lying on the rain-soaked earth in the mouth of her den. With a muffled, choking gasp, the she-cat stepped past it.

She placed the herbs at the base of the tree, her gaze trained on the coarse, moss-choked earth beneath her paws. "Poppy- poppy first." She managed to form the words, but when she spoke all the others could hear was a raspy, half-formed whisper.

Poppy for a peaceful sleep, nightshade for a peaceful death.

As the rest of the Clan gathered and Amberdawn looked between Tinystar's raging and Sparrowpaw's guilty expressions, her apprehension only grew. Something wasn't right - in fact something was very wrong - but she didn't know what yet. Her dark amber eyes, even darker with concern, watched her leader as the stout tom cleared his throat and began to speak. "We gather here today for Sparrowpaw's..." Tinystar paused and Amberdawn's stomach twisted. Wait, was Sparrowpaw getting exiled? "... execution." The golden tabby she-cat sucked in a trembling gasp, echoed by waves of shock from the rest of the Clan, and her heart dropped into her stomach at the word. She wanted to believe Tinystar hadn't really said it, that he hadn't really meant it, but the cold, blank expression in his eyes showed the intention behind his words.

The white-and-gray tom continued, stating Sparrowpaw's crimes to growing gasps and outcries of horror and disapproval. At the mention of Mintwhisker being attacked during a Moonstone journey, Amberdawn's head snapped to look at her mentor beside her, the feeling of betrayal and isolation deepening. She never told me about that! Just like she never told me about Sedgestrike. What else has she not told me? Does she not trust me? the she-cat thought, feeling small and selfish. She threw the thought away as hard as she could, forcing her attention back to Tinystar who was trying to justify his decision to execute her. How could he possibly justify this? she thought miserably. Then, he made it worse: "Mintwhisker, please bring out the deathberries."

Amberdawn gasped with horror and immediately whirled to Mintwhisker, blurting, "Mintwhisker, you can't, we're medicine cats!"

However, her mentor was already staring agape up at Tinystar, her eyes full of shock and pain. The clearing had erupted with argument from countless other Clanmates. Amberdawn shut her mouth; Mintwhisker already knew the weight of this decision. The rest of SkyClan disagreed, too. The tabby medicine cat was already weakly arguing with Tinystar, then looking around desperately for some kind of escape.

And Sparrowpaw gave it to her. Amberdawn could only stare with growing horror and, in fact, fear as the bold tortoiseshell apprentice stood, fluffed with fury. She was not going to accept her fate lying down, and Amberdawn hoped she wouldn't accept her fate at all. Instead, the apprentice said, "Why get the deathberries? If you're going to kill me Tinystar..." The pause was full of the sound of hearts breaking. "... then you should do it yourself. By your claws."

Amberdawn felt her eyes grow wet with tears, and she breathed, "Sparrowpaw, no..."

Mintwhisker had started forward towards Sparrowpaw, choking out her name and some soft pleading. Amberdawn just stared. The medicine cat and the warrior apprentice had been so close when Amberdawn was growing up... What coud have happened to make Sparrowpaw attack Mintwhisker? Realization struck her. Oh, StarClan, she found out what Mintwhisker did to Sedgestrike, the golden tabby medicine cat apprentice thought miserably, staring between Mintwhisker and Sparrowpaw. Mintwhisker killed Sparrowpaw's father, and now Tinystar is asking her to kill Sparrowpaw, too. He knows! How could he ask her to do this? With a look of sadness and desperation, Mintwhisker disappeared into the medicine cat's den.

At first Amberdawn wondered if her mentor was hiding from the situation, but the she-cat emerged a few moments later with some herbs Amberdawn fought to recognize. Mintwhisker spoke, but she sounded too choked to distinguish. The medicine cat apprentice stared hard at the herbs and remembered. Poppy and nightshade. She'd rather kill Sparrowpaw peacefully and painlessly than risk Tinystar making her suffer. Amberdawn tried again desperately, softly, "Mintwhisker... y-you can't..." She turned her dark eyes to Tinystar, imploringly, but her leader was focused on the convicted apprentice.