The wretched truth (Open for TC)

Ridgelight looked shamefully away from the cats that yowled at her. Their words hitting her hard and furious as she tried to reason that she may not have thought it through, but she wasn’t evil. The words longed to leave her throat, but it was Ferretnose’s approach that finally brought it to the front. Was she sorry?

“I’m sorry you all see me as a monster.” She meowed, her gaze falling behind Ferretnose and Bonewatcher to Pricklebush beyond. “I wish I could say I was. I wish I could say I was smart enough… to think things through.” She turned her gaze up to Marshstorm. “I… I didn’t want any cats to get hurt. Not any apprentices or warriors...” her exclusion of kits wasn’t unnoticed as Marshstorm listened. “I tried to pick the best course of action. One that would lead them to less pain. I… I just wanted them… to never have existed at all.” Her head lowered at the confession as the dark tom’s head lifted above her.

It was painful to see this. The sight of a blood covered nest would never leave Marshstorm’s mind. The selfishness of the she-cat before him was almost indescribable, and he found himself yearning desperately that Blizzardshine had been here. The former leader would have been able to be a source of guidance for her kit. Might have offered her more paths and choices. As it was, she chose the worst, and now he had to decide the fate.

The thought of killing her was a brief flash of thought, but it didn’t make it right. Keeping her in the clan would only promote hatred. He looked down to Beartooth. Guilt in his chest for what he knew he had to do. It was the only thing that was fair. He looked to Streampaw and Pricklebush. They too would be affected… but in the end. It was needed. This, needed to end.

"Ridgelight. What you have done is a crime that cannot be overlooked." He began, slowly. Each word clear and pronounced despite the storm that rained down upon them. "Your clear lack of regard for what you did. Your murdering of your own kits, and endangering the clan through willful negligence. I am left with no choice." He paused to take a deep breath. Praying to StarClan that Leopardstar would understand when he got better.

"Ridgelight, you are no longer a ThunderClan cat. The next time you are spotted on ThunderClan territory, you will be fought like the rogue you have chosen to behave like. Ferretnose." He called, looking down at the newly warriored she-cat. "Please escort Ridgelight to the border." He looked up among the crowd of cats. "I need three volunteers to go to each clan and inform them of her exile. You do not need to give the details, just that she has been exiled." He turned his amber gaze to Ridgelight one final time.
"I will allow you a final farewell, and to name your kit. The responsibilities of clan life are relieved of you now." With a final flick of his tail, the gathering was clearly concluded. The punishment was final. He leapt off Highrock, padding over to Pricklebush and Mosspaw to check on the kits.

Ridgelight felt her breath freeze in her chest at the punishment. She turned towards Beartooth, then towards her kin. Realising all at once what she was about to lose. What she had just lost. A heavy weight fell onto her chest as she realised what this meant. There was no home for her now. She turned from Highrock before Ferretnose could make her. A quick glance at the kit who survived.

“Houndkit.” She murmured, then spoke up louder as she passed. “His name is Houndkit.” For all that I could have loved him. She turned, padding away out of the ThunderClan entrance. Away from the hostile glares and angry words that seemed to chase her, no matter how fast she ran.

A wave of relief flooded through the scarred body of the senior warrior when she saw her mate finally duck into camp behind her, despite his gaze being filled with scorn. Although it wasn't the first thing on Dustcloud's mind when she stormed into camp with the kit in tow, the safety of her Clanmates in dealing with the fox had worried her greatly. Mosspaw's familiar face brought her comfort as she entered camp as well- carrying a kit with little hope in her eyes. Her eyes instantly filled with sympathy for the young she-cat as she brought it towards Pricklebush, knowing that there was no hope for the late kit. When the living kit was passed on to Mosspaw to finish cleaning off, Dustcloud stepped to the side of the medicine cat apprentice, attempting to comfort her by placing her tail gently on her back. Seeing such horrible things was difficult for any cat to do, but especially for someone so young... She shook her head, the anger quickly rising once again as her narrowed eyes settled on Ridgelight.

Realizing that Marshstorm would be the one to decide Ridgelight's fate troubled Dustcloud. Even though she trusted that whatever verdict her mate decided on would be fair and just, making such a decision could not be easy. She lifted her chin a bit as Ridgelight spoke, knowing that she herself could have nursed those kits. It wouldn't be long before her kits would be born, and she was sure that she would've had plenty of milk to spare for the unfortunate kits. All this could have been avoided, and the kits could have been happy. Her anger only grew when her former apprentice tried to justify her actions, believing that what she did was okay. It was with great determination that she remained in her spot next to Mosspaw instead of getting up and showing Ridgelight a piece of her mind. All of the resources the she-cat could have ever needed- ThunderClan had fantastic medicine cats, a nursery where she could birth her kits in peace, Queens who could have taken care of them! Everything that the rogues that prowled the forest dreamed about was sitting right there for her, yet she still decided to take it for granted. Fury flashed in her icy blue eyes as her claws dug into the dirt below, the fur on the back of her neck sticking up despite the rain and her ears pinned against her skull.

Exile... Harsh, but necessary. Another ThunderClan warrior lost to their own misdeeds, and what a shame it was. Dustcloud's eyes lingered on Ridgelight long enough to see the realization of what she had done crushing down on her before they shifted to her mate. "I as-assume that th-the situation with the f-f-fox was handled?" She inquired softly, her glare finally softening as she locked eyes with Marshstorm. When she received a gentle nod, she then continued. "I'll let R-RiverClan and Sh-ShadowClan know if I-I'm not n-n-needed here." She sighed with a shutter as the rain soaked her fur.

Mosspaw listened intently as she gently cleaned the small kit, shielding his body with her own from the rain. Marshstorm stood to make judgement on behalf of Leopardstar, and she worried for a moment if their leader was okay before discovering that she was almost a little grateful that a cat who had been there, and seen the true, horrifying state that the nest and remnants of the litter had been left in, was the one to decide the fate of the she-cat she had once considered kind and gentle, trustworthy even. Her ears perked slightly as Marshstorm asked how many there had been, before flattening down tight against her skull as Ridgelight said there were five. They had one dead, she could immediately tell from Pricklebush's stance that there was nothing that could be done, and the little hope she had held for the second kit perished. One, though, was alive, shielded from the evil cat that had birthed him and the chilling rain that fell from the sky by cats who had found him, plucking him practically from the jaws of death.

She hissed to herself as she admitted to knowing the fox was there, and the realization the calico medicine cat had been trying to force out made itself abundantly clear - Ridgelight had known exactly what she was doing, and held no remorse for her actions, even defending them. Turning her head away from the two cats sitting at Highrock, she focused instead on the kit in front of her. Beartooth's kit. She respected the tom, and felt sorrow at what he was having to face. Wishing that there was something she could do to help, she decided she would try to coax him into eating some poppy seeds before he went to sleep, make sure he at least got some rest... The she-cat who birthed the kits however... For the first time Mosspaw held no remorse for another cat. Her heart broke for her siblings, including Streampaw and Pricklebush, but for the cat herself? Nothing at all but disdain.

Marshstorm didn't keep them waiting long for his verdict, and stripped Ridgelight of her duties to ThunderClan, casting her out. A flicker of pity rose before it was squashed with the she-cat's next words, still defending her choice and showing no remorse. She stiffened under Dustcloud's comforting tail resting on her back as Ridgelight approached to name her kit, a luxury Mosspaw wasn't entirely sure at this point was truly deserved, but Marshstorm's decision was to be followed. Houndkit she thought as she kept her face turned away from Ridgelight, the blood of the tiny tom's siblings and the fox staining her white chest, shining against the four long scars that resided there. It wasn't until after the she-cat turned and made her way out of the camp that Mosspaw let out a breath, tears swimming in her eyes. The tom was now almost completely clean, and as Dustcloud volunteered to go inform ShadowClan and RiverClan, she shook her head.

"No, Dustcloud." She looked to Pricklebush, who seemed frozen in shock and dismay at the events that had unfolded. More gently, she continued. "I believe you should stay. Your kits will be coming soon, and we can't risk something happening in the travel. As your medicine cat, I'm telling you to remain in camp, safe." She looked to Marshstorm, her gaze firm and unyielding. "I can deliver the news myself, as a medicine cat I'll be allowed to cross the borders without issue. Before I leave though, give me some time to care for what needs done. Please." She lowered her head to the tom, waiting for his response.

"Mosspaw is right, Dustcloud. After this, the last thing we need is more to worry about... Which also means, Mosspaw, that you shouldn't go alone." Though tensions between Clans weren't as high as times Emberheart could clearly remember, things could always go wrong. "Just as a precaution." What if Mosspaw had been alone when they'd found the fox...? And there were other dangers still that lurked beyond the forest... If she could do something - anything - to prevent any more unnecessary danger, then she was happy to help. "I'll go with you, if you'll have me."

Ferretnose's heart broke with each word. This shouldn't have happened.

Ridgelight was running out of camp before she had a chance to truly escort her. The new warrior couldn't find it in her to treat her like a prisoner. With a quick glance towards Pricklebush, she tried at a smile. Her lips barely moved. "I'm sorry, Pricklebush," she whispered to her friend, "Your family deserved better. Houndkit... deserves better. I know you have a lot to process, but please, for me, think of him. Please, make sure he's looked after. You and Streampaw, you're all the kin he has. Make sure your nephew knows his father, whoever it is. I figure you must have known. The poor tom must be devastated." The rolling thunder awoke her from her misery. Her job was not yet over.

"I need to go track her, before this rain washes away the scent. Check on Lynxtail for me?" With that, the small cat was off, nose close to the ground, following the scent of milk and sin through the undergrowth. When she reached the edge of the territory, she was pleased to find that the warning had been heeded. For all the evil that had been committed, she didn't want to fight the now-rogue. But, if she came back, did any of them have a choice? Sheltered under the leaves of a shrub, Ferretnose stared off past the scent markers and allowed herself the wet, hot tears that were shed for the kitten. No more sympathy or mourning for Ridgelight. For Houndkit's sake, she had to be forgotten. Her poor son.

Throughout the entire ordeal the warrior was still. His whiskers hardly twitched and he lacked the strength to raise his head higher than it took to glance upwards. Marshstorm's harsh yowls forced a shiver to run through his body. Exile.  Ridgelight, who had become his anchor through the death of his mother and a constant companion since youth, would no longer be at his side and share his nest. And all because, she killed their kits. The warrior hadn't even known that he was to be a father. His first litter, his offspring, all that remained were scraps reminiscent of kits and a blood-soaked creature at the paws of the medicine cats. He couldn't even bring himself to tilt his head slightly to take in the sight of his son. Beartooth's breathing was slow, labored and ragged as he sat there, truly unable to process everything that had happened in such a short span of time. There was no code to dictate how he should act and guide his paws. No, this was something the warrior code did not care speak of.

His maw parted slightly as if to attempt to find the right words that could possibly be breathed to speak for such a horrific crime. Nothing. Beartooth's wounds would have shrieked in agony as his shifted slightly, unsure, but he felt nothing but the aching numbness and misery that coursed through his body. At least the scarlet drops that were flecked across his tabby coat had only come from his own being. The tom had not gone close enough to wear the mourning colors of his kin. All he could do was tighten his jaw at the thought and allow those grotesque fangs to dig deeply through the life-long scars of his deformity. It was times like these that he wished his mind swam with some semblance of an idea of how to process such horrible moments. Never before had he felt such heat of pity as he did under the gaze of his former mentor. Pity, rage, and unspeakable horror. The clearing air felt heavy with so many things. Worst of all, he was supposed to be feeling them the worst. Father betrayed by his mate, unknown kits slain as they took their first breath. It was his story. Not someone else's. So, why did it feel so far away.

"You could have told me." His voice sounded foreign and hallow, lacking even the usual gravelly timbre. Beartooth sounded weak. Both the terrible sadness and torment of circumstance were evident. Forest green eyes met Ridgelight's eyes in a moment late plea. Nothing could be done now. She was gone. And, those innocent lives had been stripped away. Most cats seemed to be fixated on the severity of the crime and situational horror. How could the tabby truly mourn what he hardly knew? The fact those kits were his, truly bore his blood and that or Ridgelight, was something he had yet to process. For now, all he could see was the depravity of the she-cat he had loved so unabashedly, and her tail, walking away from the life they had built together since kithood. Perhaps somewhere deep inside, Beartooth wanted to feel anger, to experience the rage that so many seemed to have coursing through their veins in these moments. Yet, all he wanted to do was forget it all and curl up at her side. But that wasn't an option now. Ridgelight was gone, along with four innocent souls. And everything was so much worse.