We All Look Elsewhere [Closed]

ooc; We All Look Elsewhere (Revisited)

Underneath the refracted, pale moonlight, two cats made their way away from the comfort of soft nests. It was the usual method for the marsh-dwelling cats but with the dusk sun still clinging desperately to the horizon most were still sound asleep. All around the cattails and other various foliage glistened with dew that formed from the melting ice crystals. Everything in the forest had begun to thaw and the marshlands were no exception. This particular night also brought on a warm gale that ruffled Burntstag's coat in a pleasant manner. His pace quickened as a result. As he padded along, he nearly forgot that there was another cat at his side. Littlepaw was going to meet his companion for the first time. Since he had met the Thunderclan tom, he had become more and more consumed with thoughts of the future potential. Although there was only the pair of them now, more would come too. In time, his sister would see the need for the change that would come over the forest. He'd asked Flintfang to bring Dawnpaw and Duskpaw but assumed the latter would not show up due to the sickness that he had heard about at the last gathering.

"We're almost there... not far now." He meowed, excitement creeping into his voice. Just ahead was the tunnel where both his Thunderclan sister and Flintfang would be. Together they would share their vision of what was to come.

Dusk fell, muting the shades of a red sunset with those of blue. Stars began to twinkle in the sky, watching from above as two cats padded beneath the trees. The first few signs of Newleaf were beginning to emerge, despite the cold wind that plagued the forest. Flintfang felt it too. It was a subconscious thought, it kept him on his toes. Something new was coming, change.

Dawnpaw was nothing like Burntstag, in Flintfang's opinion. The diluted calico was intelligent and calculating, but lacked the personable nature that the gray tabby valued so highly in his companion. It was a wonder that the two were even related, but Flintfang attributed it to being separated for most of their lives. The thought of it made him angry, the way the clans tore the two apart to keep them with their birth clan. No siblings should be separated like that...
Burntstag had told him everything, he knew about Lichenmask and his cause, and knew how opposed the tri-colored tom was to it. He knew about how Marshstorm and Froststone pulled his family apart like it was crowfood. It made Flintfang's blood boil.

Walking along with Dawnpaw provided much food for thought, mostly because the silence was good for thinking. The tom was eager to meet Burntstag's sister. Duskpaw and Dawnpaw had been interesting enough, and the tom assumed Littlepaw would be as well. The night was cold and windy as the two cats entered the tunnel under the Thunderpath. This place held a special position in Flintfang's mind. This is where history would be made, where plots had been thought out, where minds were healed.

Carefully finding a seat, the tom sat and waited for his companion and his sister, eagerness eating at his pelt like a fox.

Dawnpaw followed not far behind Flintfang. She wasn't opposed to walking with him, merely busy contemplating what was to come. Her yellow eyes flicked about as she considered what this meeting would be about; she knew that Burntstag and Littlepaw would be there, but why was Flintfang? His presence felt like an intrusion. But everything would be revealed soon enough. The value of patience was priceless. Dawnpaw had to learn that over her long, uneventful apprenticeship, which of course should have ended by now. The familiar frustration with her mentor pricked at her once more, making her wonder what she'd done wrong to be assigned to such a worthless pile of fur. She was strong and brave, and she was certainly not a small cat. It couldn't have been because of her bloodline... right?

Her thoughts were cut off when they reached the tunnel entrance. It was strange, and she stopped to smell it for a bit to try to understand what it was and find out who'd used it recently. All she could detect was Flintfang next to her and the overpowering scent of the Thunderpath, so she gave up on that endeavor and followed the warrior inside, albeit cautiously. "How did you find this?" She meowed softly, still wary of someone unsavory finding them even though the were concealed.

Littlepaw was padding alongside her brother, keeping pace with him, even when he quickened his pace. She was a grown she-cat now, a little late to get her warrior name but that was alright. She could wait, she was patient and kind, if it took her a little longer to gain her clan-mates trust then it was of no worry to her. But what concerned her, just the littlest bit was that they were off to meet their sister and some stranger! "A-Are we really going to meet Dawnpaw and a friend of yours? I mean don't get me wrong but isn't this breaking the code in some way? I'm really excited to see Dawnpaw but I don't know if we should really be doing this? What if we get caught? Or punished? What if we can't go to gatherings and see them anymore? Burnstag, my brother, my tom, my clan-mate, my litter-mate, my blood, my best friend, my brother in arms, if I don't get to see my siblings every moon because of you or this I will literally pull a dad. I will take you, and hover you in the air and not let you come down. I mean it! I really will! Dad's gotta have given us some kind of Starclans prophet power y'know?" She meowed, bumping her shoulder with her brothers.

She had lost some of their initial closeness with Burnstag due to their separate dens, no longer did she get to sneak into her brother's nest and snuggle up against him. She missed it, which, her first rule of business once she got her warrior name was to sleep next to her brother for old-times sake. But as a warrior and a growing she-cat she was expected to be independent, but her clan-mates could pry her relationship with her brother from her cold, dead, paws. She loved her brother to pieces, he had been there when she needed him most, had allowed her to find comfort in him after their parents had been slaughtered in cold-blood.

He and Littlepaw had physically drifted apart, given their duties demanded different things of them in clan structure. And as they padded along, the tom found himself enjoying her company once more. Her upbeat personality was perhaps one of the few reasons that Burntstag was able to keep himself from becoming too stoic, from thinking too highly of himself; she helped to keep him grounded. It was for this reason he was thrilled by the idea of her joining him in the search for a better life. There was so much that she had to offer. Feathery tail flicking behind him, the long-furred calico felt a prickle of irritation as she mentioned the code. Worse yet, their father. Any other cat might have truly drawn annoyance from within him but with Littlepaw, it was forgivable. For not, her eyes had not been opened to the grander world at large. That would all be changed shortly as she was welcomed into he and Flintfang's ideals.

"Blood was never intended to be kept apart, Littlepaw. We're all bound by birth. And Flintfang has proven himself to be a worthy companion. There is nothing to fear, dear sister." His tail flickered across her shoulder, and the tom offered up a gentle smile of reassurance. After, he looked away. Eyes trained on the path set before them, the mouth of the cave came closer and closer, the darkness drawing them in, inviting them to share in its concealed nature. Littlepaw bumped their shoulders together and his ears twitched at her final words. Picking the right response with her proved to be slightly more challenging than with most. Eventually, he settled for a prying question. While it could have come off as challenging, his tone was light and his head cocked as if to portray curiosity, "Don't you think that the Starbrains who send our father, who stripped him of his life, would relinquish any power in our paws? Or, perhaps, take our lives as well?"

Before they could further the conversation, Burntstag slipped into the tunnel. The stone walls pressed at his coat, disturbing the well-groomed pelt. But it was a comforting sensation rather than one that filled him with aggravation. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he could make out the frames and patterns of the two cats they had come to meet here. Burntstag caught the words that left Dawnpaw's maw and as he approached, he uttered a reply on Flintfang's behalf, "Shadowclan secret. Perhaps if you joined us across the border, you might know such things too. It is your birthright after all." The pleasant smile never left his maw as he butted his head against her shoulder in an affectionate greeting. As he pulled back he caught the Thunderclan tom's eye and gave him a dip of his head in greeting. If it weren't for Flintfang, the siblings would have likely not had their reunion. Nor would there be such mounting prospects on the horizon. They were truly changing the course of the future, together. Already he owed so much to the tom whose path had just happened to cross his. Fate.

Burntstag had never believed in fate, nor the nonsense of believing in the path Starclan had set out for you. If there was anything he had learned in the moons of his life, both from being born as an exile to life within Shadowclan, it was that Starclan aided as much as a diseased rat in the middle of leafbare. But it appeared that some force had drawn the pair of them together. And he was not one to change the course of what was to be, no, Burntstag would help to spur on the subsequent revolution. He settled back on his haunches just across from Flintfang and allowed for his sisters to have their own moment of reunion. Once they were finished, it would be time to reveal that there was more to this meeting than simply family time. He knew that if they heard what had to be said, there was no way they could deny the need for a renewed future. Something had to be different from the pointless moons of arguing and anguish that had been borne from a maggot-infested code. No, once they new, Littlepaw would no longer concern herself with things as trivial as a broken rule. This was far greater than that.

A wide smile grew on Flintfang's maw as the figures of two calicos emerged into the tunnel, blotting out what light remained. "Burntstag" The tom purred, shifting over a little to accommodate for the two extra cats. The she-cat beside him had to be Littlepaw, whom Burntstag had spoken highly of. Her green eyes seemed to glow in the growing darkness, dilute tortoiseshell pelt swirling like the stars in the sky, it took effort to pull his eyes away.

"So..." Flintfang coughed, shifting his gaze to meet Burntstag's. "It's good to finally meet again. And Littlepaw, it's... good to meet you."
He felt at home, surrounded by cats with whom he shared no blood with, but who he understood. The situation itself stood as an example of Lichenmask's blindness. Blood meant nothing to the two toms that resided in the tunnel. Flintfang wondered if Burntstag's sisters thought the same. That was the very reason why they were all gathered here, under the rising moon, to strip the corrupted ways of the warrior code away, and be birthed anew. Flintfang wanted to speak of the tyranny that racked the forest, wanted to tell the two she-cats of all the ways the clans had lied to them, if they were anything like Burntstag, they'd understand.

Slivers of moonlight shone into the tunnel, sliding between the tops of heads, and gaps in shoulders. Flintfang's green eyes watched them with interest, pooling over the exposed parts of the tunnel, lit up by beams and exposing the grimy floor the four cats stood on. Perhaps that's what truth was... Perhaps it was a sliver of light, shining through the darkness, exposing the dirty society they lived in. Whatever it was, Flintfang knew that the truth wasn't glorious or good. It was a constant battle, a fight to the death. Teaching others of the corrupted system was no easy feat. Flintfang decided to keep his jaws closed, relying on Burntstag to make the connection. Soon they'll learn.

Her orange eyes flicked towards her brother when she heard his voice for the first time in a long while. Admittedly, his presence and Littlepaw's was a comfort in these dark and cold times. Dawnpaw rolled her eyes at his suggestion of leaving ThunderClan, a soft hiss following. "Keep your secrets. Our birthright is scorn and nothing more." Despite these harsh words, she stepped forward to meet his affection with a gentle nuzzle against his cheek and a quiet purr. It was a pleasant thought to be reunited with her kin once more, but she didn't know if Duskpaw would agree. Besides, Marshstorm would be disappointed... although why it mattered if this unrelated tom cared eluded her. "Burntstag, is it? A good name. Congratulations on completing your training; ShadowClan is stronger for it." Dawnpaw meowed, smoothing out the edge of jealousy in her meow. She'd have her own name in time.

Dawnpaw's attention turned to her sister, her gaze becoming soft. Littlepaw had always been so emotional compared to the rest of the litter. Somehow, this registered in Dawnpaw's mind as more innocent and childlike than the rest, but that didn't make her a less valuable sibling by any means. The striped tortoiseshell stepped towards Littlepaw, extending her nose to offer her sister a soft touch and licking down a stray clump of fur on the other she-cat's cheek. "I hope you've been well," She meowed, much kinder than she would have spoken to any other cat. "it's been too long. I regret having been kept from the last gathering, though I heard it was quite a mess. We seem to be missing a member this night." Dawnpaw said, noting their last brother's absence. But he was dull and not very family-oriented, so it made sense for him to be excluded from something clandestine such as his meeting.

Which brought her attention back to the meeting itself and its purpose. It was natural for the siblings to desire to see each other. In fact, Dawnpaw had been yearning for the next gathering when Flintfang brought the meeting to her attention. The important question, though, was the gray's tom involvement in the affair. Dawnpaw could not say much of Burntstag's usual demeanor or intentions because she didn't spend much time with him; she couldn't say if this was typical behavior for him or not, so glances between him and Flintfang were lost on the ThunderClan sister. But her clanmate mentioned having seen Burntstag before, and a sense of anticipation began to grow inside her. Was something happening? Dawnpaw's mind flitted to Duskpaw. His sickness was soul-rending for someone who had no one else to love and live for. A brief wave of anger came over her at the thought of Burntstag attempting, either purposefully or not, to replace Duskpaw with some clan cat. Her long pelt prickled, but beyond that, she hid her suspicions well and waited for the toms' next move.

Before Littlepaw could give her brother a response, they had come to a stop inside the tunnel. Her eyes first landed on Flintfang, uncertainty cloud her gaze before she looked to the other cat in the tunnel. Her eyes sparkled with recognition as she nuzzled Burntstag and then her, licking some of her fur flat as she pulled away with a soft chuckle. "Dawnpaw! It's so nice to see you! Yeah, the gathering had my head spinning! Mintwhisker said Jaystar and Goldeneye were like... y'know, and Goldeneye shot back with 'well you murdered Sedgestrike!' and well... I don't really remember much after all that." Littlepaw exclaimed, returning a nuzzle before she shuffled back to sit next to her brother. Not paying Flintfang much mind, he was a worthy companion after-all.

When he spoke to her she nodded respectfully, "It's nice to meet you too. Burntstag speaks very highly of you!" She chirped, though she was very careful to keep her volume down, this was a very secret meeting after-all. Littlepaw kept her eyes on her brother, he had orchestrated this but said nought a word of what it was actually to be. Curiosity hammered at her veins, a slight tremble to her in her building excitement. "So? What is this about?" She mewed, wide green eyes full of stars.

There was a momentary surprise as Dawnpaw hissed a response to his words. But he simply blinked, hiding the shock. Could it be she had already formed some sort of true allegiance to Thunderclan? One that triumphed her own kin? Regardless, she held a point. There were scorn and shame to their family name. When she hinted at Duskpaw's absence, it was met with a mere flick of his ear. "I wasn't sure if he would make the journey," Burntstag dipped his head in a mild apology to his sister. Their Thunderclan brother had been weak and uninvolved. Since their kithood in the barn, he had seldom heard a word from or about the other tom. This was a meeting he would have hardly fit into, even if it appeared to be simply a reunion of kin, "Is it wrong for me to want to see my beloved sisters? And a friend?" There was a hint of a smirk at the edges of his maw, one he wore boldly.

With introductions out of the way now all that he had to deal with the words that stuck to the roof of his maw, threatening to spill out without proper taming of his tongue. There were so many things to introduce to his dear sisters, a broad new horizon that so far only Flintfang had gotten a glance into. His green gaze flickered across their expressions in an attempt to garner a reading. There was enthusiasm budding behind Littlepaw's eyes and less so with their Thunderclan-devoted kin. Burntstag didn't let it slow him but he paused to glance at Flintfang. There was almost a nervousness in the pit of his stomach, but more so due to his own unadulterated passion for the journey that they would all soon embark on. With a slow intake of breath, the calico tom felt the soft thrum of his own heartbeating at the thought of the world he and Flintfang had dreamed of, "We're here because of the future. Our father, in his own crazed way, had managed to be right about something... the three of us were born with a great purpose."

He paused, testing each word between his teeth, and yet allowing it to echo softly off the lick walls of the tunnel, "Lichenmask believed the clans were wrought with depravity and I have come to see that is true. But not because of the will of Starclan and a long dead code our pads no longer walk, but rather for the ignorance that the old ways are dead and that for there to be survival, there must be unity. We're here sisters because the clans need to end." If it weren't for their shared beliefs, he and Flintfang would have never formed the friendship that they had in the limited structure of the code. There was a tugging at the very fiber of his being to bring about a change so radical and revolutionary, that everything that had happened for the last many seasons under the name of Starclan would merely be a memory. With the help of his kin, his Thunderclan brother, all of it would come to fruition. This was just the beginning. And now, they knew.

occ; chucks my least favorite burnt post ever for the sake of getting it done