Oak trees and Marsh lands (Open)

His paws sank into the ground. They spread to distribute the weight, but they could hardly carry him safely on the marsh lands when his heart was beneath the murky surface. The large tortoiseshell tom followed him. Green eyes and starry pelt less furious now that he was doing as the cat wanted. It still felt so wrong to him… so hollow. His family and friends… his mate, his daughter… they all resided in ThunderClan.

Still it was ShadowClan’s marsh he was forced to walk. His throat still stained red with blood that covered the white patch with murky red. The tom beside him barely spoke. There was hardly a need, and Oakstar’s throat felt tight with words he knew he’d regret saying later. Nothing he could say… he could not declare a hate or disdain for StarClan. Not when Leopardstar and Wolffang were there… when the rest of his family walked those starry skies. It was this … group, of cats he hated. Brackenstar behind him… and the one who’d fought beside him against his sister. The other one, who’d approved or ordered it. Which he wasn’t quite sure, but with the way Brackenstar had spoken… the tom had probably been the main influence.

Oakstar winced, ShadowClan’s camp entrance in view. He didn’t want to enter. It felt wrong, to be here like this. There wasn’t more than a moment of hesitation, before the choice was taken from him. The large tom growled as Brackenstar shoved him through the brambles with vicious force. His legs, still weak from death folded and made him tumble inelegantly into the mud and dirt. His ears pinned back as he drew his paws under him, ready to stand and reclaim his dignity. He didn’t get that much. Brackenstar laid a paw between his heavy set shoulders. Pushing the earthly tom down.

---

Brackenstar stared down at the tom on the ground. His paw pinned his weaker opponent easily. It would have been enough for him once, if Oakstar had just returned when he was told to. But no, the tom had to make it difficult.
“Flintstar.” Brackenstar yowled, his gruff voice loud. “ShadowClan! I bring this traitor to you. From this moon forward, Oakstar will now be known as Marshpaw, and he must live in ShadowClan as was intended.” His gaze swept over all the cats in camp. The stars in his pelt were brighter now.

Too bright. He didn’t have long.

Flintstar had been pacing in his den, a nervous energy filling his paws that he couldn't explain. Perhaps it was still the events of the Gathering that was stuck in his head, of what choices he would have to make. Of... A voice caught his ear, causing his blood to run cold. A voice he recalled calling his mother's name before the tom had struck her down. Of the tom that had struck an apprentice at the Gathering for speaking against them. Brackenstar...Calling his name. He spun and hurried from his den, fear rising in his throat that the choice he was dreading was upon him...

And he quickly froze at the sight. Oakstar laid in the middle of the clearing, crimson staining his throat and pelt as Brackenstar stood above him, a heavy paw on the ThunderClan leader's back. He stood there, frozen in shock as the StarClan cat went on. Oakstar - Er...Marshpaw? - was to live in ShadowClan. As...intended. But... Oh. He was a clan-hopper. That had to be it, why else would this be happening. Flintstar stared at the fallen leader in shock, trying to make sense of this. He had a feeling that the ThunderClan leader had tried to deny this order and... "...I see," he finally uttered, his gaze steeled as he thought about this. He had accepted that he wouldn't follow The Righteous Few forever - but...He wanted to play along. To not draw their wrath until he had no other choice - if anything to get the element of surprise on them. But to accept Oak...Marshpaw, that wouldn't hurt the Clan. It would save the ThunderClan leader's life, if anything.

"Very well then, Brackenstar," he replied before he turned his head toward the medicine cat's den. "Mothglow! Eveningpaw! You are needed! Please tend to...Marshpaw," he said as he turned his attention back to the StarClan cat. Words could barely describe the hatred that Flintstar felt toward the glowing tom but there was little he could do - it was not the time to raise claws against him. There was a small problem that the tom slowly realized - ShadowClan already had Marshcloud. It felt...Hm, strange to have both a Marshcloud and Marshpaw.... "Tell me, will he be Marshpaw forever? Or if he proves himself as a true ShadowClan cat again, may I be given the honor to name him the ShadowClan warrior he always should have been?" he questioned, careful to play toward Brackenstar's expentations. Truth be told, Flintstar felt strange about this entire thing - Oakstar was not a ShadowClan cat. He was the ThunderClan leader but if this was the game he had to play... Then so be it.

Oakstar - Marshpaw - whatever he was to be called... He would have a place in ShadowClan. He would be safe for many moons to come if Flintstar had anything to say about it.

The cool night had offered Redwolf a moment of respite in her tireless work, and she had taken it, resting near the entrance of the warrior's den. When the entrance to camp rustled, Redwolf was on her paws in an instant, ignoring the dull ache of her tired body. The scent of ThunderClan hit her nose, and her hackles instantly rose, only to fall again as Oakstar of all cats rolled into camp with little dignity. She began to approach the ThunderClan leader, only to stop in her tracks as one of the Righteous Few strolled in, pinning Oakstar down with a paw placed onto his back.

She grit her teeth and bared her fangs, hackles raising once more as Bracken star began to speak. It took a lot in her to keep herself from attacking the starry piece of foxdung where he stood, but she swallowed her rage, and dug her claws into the ground, imagining that it were Brackenstar's pelt.
Oakstar? Living here? Who are they to say who lives where?

She glanced around at her Clanmates, gauging their reactions to Brackenstar's nonsense, but truthfully, she was looking for Smokepaw, Briarpaw, and Viperpaw. If the starry mange-pelt were to try anything against them, he was going to have to go through her first.

Mothglow emerged from the medicine den, thoroughly unimpressed at her moment of rest being disturbed. "Yes, I do have ears, Flintstar," she muttered to her half-brother. "I'm almost certain the whole forest heard him speak." Any lingering irritation vanished, however, when she laid eyes on the cat in question - Oakstar (or Marshpaw, she supposed) had certainly seen better days, judging from the blood on his throat. She observed Brackenstar, who pinned the tom to the ground with his paws. "I need to treat his injuries. If you're not going to bring him to the medicine den, could you let him stand so I can look him over properly?"

She tried to sound polite as she spoke, despite her lingering resentment. Everything about this situation felt wrong - but she'd never had any problems with Oakstar, and she considered Mossbloom a dear friend. She would treat him with the respect he deserved, then - as both a leader and warrior, whatever StarClan thought. She could certainly treat him with kindness, they couldn't keep her from doing that.

Ravenmist padded out of the warriors’ den, muscles tensed in anger. Not only did they demote Marshpaw, they sent him to live here? Flintstar had already agreed, not unwise. But the blind deputy wasn’t about to fully concede with the StarClanner’s demands. She was not about to treat a respected leader like an apprentice. She didn’t visibly acknowledge Brackenstar’s presence, simply padding over to the former ThunderClan leader, keeping a respectful distance to give her younger sister room to work.

Mothglow was handling Brackenstar’s presence well enough, and Ravenmist figured ignoring him would do more good than adding another voice. Perhaps, she thought with a bit of amusement, he could even get frustrated at the deputy’s refusal to acknowledge him.

“Marshpaw will remain so, until he has learned his true place. Until he has learned the lesson that ShadowClan is his home, above any and all else.” Brackenstar applied more pressure, before he finally relented. Green gaze snapped to Mothglow’s as his paw touched Shadowclan’s ground once more. He glared at Flintstar with clear disapproval. “Your mother nearly destroyed my great clan with her wrecklessness. I expect far better from you.” The words came out as a clear snarl. He glared at Ravenmist, who ignored him... but his gaze grew incredulous. “Although I see it’s too late... a blind deputy will not suit you for long.” The stars flickered in his body as he began to slowly fade. Letting the cats of Shadowclan get a good look at him before he vanished into the night.

---

Oakstar felt numb. No, not Oakstar… Marshpaw. It hurt to have his name stripped away from him by the starry cat. His constant prayers to Starclan… did they have no meaning? Was he still to be so punished despite his devotion? It seemed so. Marshpaw felt his chest clench in agony as Mothglow approached. Despite the tom’s heavy paw being gone, he felt it’s weight. The claws that dug in. The clear warning.

He couldn’t let anything happen to his family further. He had to face this.

He swallowed his fear and uncertainty. Made aching and tired muscles push himself onto his paws as he breathed in a forced bout of calm. Let it wash over the hysterical tears that threatened at the sheer loss. Now, was not the time for them.

"I am sorry… for this intrusion Flintstar." He croaked through a throat that ached. His amber eyes sought the yellow ones of his fellow leader. A resolve in them. He was in Shadowclan for now… and there was no choice. No option. Leopardstar’s encouragement ran through his mind. To some of them, he was still a leader. By being put in Shadowclan, perhaps it was time he showed Starclan he was still worthy of his title. Of his clan.

Ebonypaw’s ears twitched at the commotion. Frowning, she hurried over, and her jaws dropped in surprise. Oakstar? Here? With...a Righteous Few cat? What... The moment she heard that he would be living in ShadowClan as “Marshpaw”, Ebonypaw froze. He’s becoming an apprentice? How dare they! Ebonypaw growled deep in her throat. It wasn’t fair that they would strip Oakstar’s leadership and make him a mere apprentice.

Flintstar glanced around as he heard the familar pawsteps of his Clanmates start to gather, his ear twitched as he heard Mothglow speak up as she brushed past, asking Brackenstar to step off of Oakstar so that he could tend to his injuries. Another presence however caught the leader's attention, eyes falling onto Ravenmist as he spotted his deputy. He...Hoped she approved. He still wanted to speak to her, to make it clear that he did not plan to go along with Brackenstar's schemes for long - for her reassurance that he was moving toward the right path... But for now, it was best to keep face with the StarClan tom - try to at least convince him that he was on his side.

Speaking off...Brackenstar finally spoke, confirming that Marshpaw, he was to remain until he saw fit. Annoying but Flintstar hadn't truly been expecting any different. With any luck, this wouldn't be the case for long. His eyes narrowed as Brackenstar met his gaze, bringing up his mother. His ears flattened, the barest of a growl rising in his throat as the fallen leader insulted both Thornstar's memory and Ravenmist. His claws dug into the ground, holding his tongue until Brackenstar had disappeared from sight. Finally, the snarl worked its way out of his throat to be audible. "This is my Clan," he growled as his eyes remained fixed on where Brackenstar had been standing...Although he hoped that the fallen leader couldn't hear him from...Wherever his rotten hide had slunk off to "Your reign died with you. I will lead ShadowClan as I see fit..."

Slowly his anger faded as he watched as Oakstar...Marshpaw shakily got to his paws, apologizing. His hatred of Brackenstar could wait - he would not bow to his every whim, not forever and not for much longer. He had been named ShadowClan's leader after all - Brackenstar's time to rule had long since past and he was even more blind than Ravenmist was if he thought he could truly control them with his twisted ideals. "It is of no trouble," he replied, dipping his head to the ThunderClan leader - not caring if Starclan no longer saw him as such. He didn't care what they thought, not anymore. "You are welcomed here, even if this is not on the best of terms. Although, I will admit I am...Surprised," he note as he took a good look at the tabby. "I was not aware that you once called ShadowClan home. I...Do hope it will be a comfortable stay here for as long as it lasts."

Ravenmist dipped her head to Marshpaw, silver-tipped tail giving a single twitch as Brackenstar spoke. "If there's anything I can do, let me know. That star-ridden fool might think you dishonorable, but the honor of a warrior lies in their loyalty, not in past events." She gave a light purr, her meow filled with quiet confidence as she turned towards Flintstar, sightless eyes glimmering with humor. "Hah! Well-spoken, Flintstar. It will be a merry day when I meet him in battle and show the 'Righteous Few' just what a blind deputy can do."

There wasn't a question in her voice. It would end in battle, she, Morningpaw, and the others were sure of it. For they wouldn't stand down, and neither would the StarClanners. One group would wipe out the other, and the Clans had to succeed. They would succeed, or the so-called "Righteous Few" would have no living cats to execute their plan upon. That is, unless cats from the Clans turned out to be frog-hearted cowards. Ravenmist wasn't a born fighter, nor an aggressive cat. But she would do what she had to to destroy the enemy, and keep Morningpaw's group, her Clan, her family, safe.

---

Rigid, stressed, he stalked forth until he was in the near vicinity of his half-brother. Studying from afar, observing the intruders, his pupils shrinked to beligerent slits. The ThunderClan leader... bloodied, dirtied, clinging to the foul mud, degraded without an ounce of dignity spared. Pinned down, restricted, humiliated.. by... Smokepaw strained, struggling to retain aloof composure as astonishment restrained his senses. Dumbfoundedness seemed to reek his brain, Confounded and dazed... by this cat...



Hoarse, grating, a husky breath. Scratching upon the tip of his parched tongue as his insides seemed to wither from the intoxicating distress. The agonising shock crawled, raked his guts, poised to swallow him, engulfing with excruciating silence. Smokepaw was stunned, gaze motionless as they gaped on the star-sparked pelt. His wide paws flexed with terse unease, razor-sharp claws slithering beyond their sheathes, tightly clasping the damp soil beneath. Chapped lips, pressed together; taut with paralysis. His intimidating figure halted all signs of presentness: his breathing ceased, all oxygen robbed from his lungs... leaving him deprived of his senses. Leaving him with nothing more than mere hollows; nothing more than emptiness. Terror creeped up his throat, jabbing it with debilitating numbness. Smokepaw's eyes flashed; flickers of raw emotions sweeping his murky depths, like vivid strikes of lightning awaking among a shadowed overcast.


Logic was upon the last on his mind. His resolve, the fragile glass shard, shattered promptly. This cat was one of the Few... one of the few whom had set that horrendous fate upon his mother. Violent and deranged... and the one wisp of a word that he registered from Flintstar's address confirmed his apprehension. Brackenstar. Sounds droned on until they were only reminiscent to white noise; humming buzzes, static crackling in his ears... shielding the world from his view. Mundane speeches, the expected expressions of fight, flight or fight... who were he to listen to those... when hovering before him, was him? Flintstar, Redwolf, Ravenmist, Mothglow, Ebonypaw... all of them... lost to him. This was someone who had been heavily involved in the conspiracy against his mother... and for all he knew, may have been the one to have inflicted thag final blow. One who had been heavily involved in the murder of Thornstar, of Torrentstar, of Finchstar. The loss of three leaders... and each one of their racking deaths - the trauma, the anguish - that persistently haunted him... had made him live with this blindness. Three, now four... how many more? The searing agony, the tormenting grief - these had granted him with a new light, a new perspective... that would allow him see the faults of the dead. Through their false promises, through their wicked lies... lay sadistic villains.

Flintstar suddenly jolted as a yowl shattered the air - watching as Smokepaw went sailing through where Brackenstar had been standing heartbeats before. Seeming lost and confused before he started to wail at the sky, demanding the tom show himself for justice. The leader was lost for words at his brother's action, unable to think of a word to say before he sighed softly as Smokepaw denied letting Brackenstar once heartbeat of satisfaction. He slowly padded through the clearing, circling his half-brother close before he paused...And awkwardly laid his tail over his brother's heaving shoulders. "Our time will come, Smokepaw," he said to his brother, his voice carrying a rare softness. "I do not like him any more than you but we must stay our claws until the time is right." There was a pause as he lifted his gaze to glance at the Clanmates that surrounded him...Before he sighed.

...Was it worth it? To even keep up the illusion any longer? No. No it wasn't, he knew where his Clanmates stood. There was no reason to deny it - if StarClan was truly all seeing...What point was there in even attempting to play along when Brackenstar was around? It would only give him the satisfaction that he did not deserve. "ShadowClan! Hear me!" he bellowed from where he stood next to Smokepaw. "These...Righteous Few think that they can control us. Through fear, through force. But we are ShadowClan. This...Brackenstar does not know what it is that makes us strong. It is not our bloodlines - the cats that came before us. It is who we are now, loyal and true to our Clan, to our family. Every cat in this camp..." he actually drifted off in the middle of his speech, glancing over at Marsh...No, Oakstar. Smokepaw was right.

"...Every cat other than Oakstar is a true ShadowClan cat. The actions of our ancestors does not matter on who we are today. Oakstar is a true ThunderClan cat, even if they believe he should live here. I have promised to use all my lives to protect ShadowClan, all of you. And what Brackenstar desires ShadowClan to be is not my Clan. I will do everything in my power to spare you as much as I can... But we must show them that we will not be silenced by fear." he growled, before he sighed softly and turned his attention back onto the ThunderClan leader. "Oakstar, you are welcomed to stay here until your strength is back. We will find a way to get you back to ThunderClan, I swear to you. Even if the Stars are against us. They do not know us or our strength...Otherwise they would have known better to remain where we could not touch them."

Open malice glinted in Redwolf's eyes as she fixed Brackenstar in a cold glare, hoping with every moment that he remained corporeal, he would feel her rage, her fury, like teeth in flesh. She bared her fangs further with every word that left Brackenstar's mouth, and she was a mousetail away from launching herself at the fox in cat's clothing that stood before her. Before she could react, movement and sound drew her attention, from none other than Smokepaw. A snarl erupted from his maw as he launched himself towards the starry cat, and for a moment, Redwolf was prepared to intercept him, despite almost attacking Brackenstar herself a moment earlier.

She didn't have to. Within the time it took for Smokepaw to cross the camp to where Brackenstar stood, the starry leader dissolved into thin air, the stars in his pelt winking out as his form left the mortal plane. Redwolf's heart sunk as Smokepaw finally broke under the weight, and began to cry, tears streaming down his face and dripping onto the ground below. She watched as Flintstar padded up to the apprentice, and laid his tail across his back in a gesture of comfort, as Smokepaw regained some composure and fixed Oakstar in his gaze. Redwolf approached and copied Flintstar's gesture, laying her own tail across Smokepaw's back.

As Flintstar began his speech, she listened intently, nodding along with his words. When Flintstar was done, she opened her mouth to speak, looking at the ThunderClan leader with respect in her gaze.
"Flintstar is right. If Brackenstar expects us to call you Marshpaw, to consider you a ShadowClan cat, he has bees in his brain. You are Oakstar of ThunderClan to me. No mangy foxheart's rancid thoughts will change that."

Ebonypaw stood at the side, watching uncomfortably as Smokepaw broke down into sobs. She wanted to comfort the apprentice, but she was quite young and didn’t know what had happened between him and Brackenstar. She did, however, agree with Smokepaw on calling “Marshpaw” Oakstar. He would always be leader of ThunderClan to her.

Oakstar dipped his head apologetically. His nose nearly touched the ground, but he didn’t feel in danger anymore. Not from this ShadowClan. He jumped as a cat lunged at where Brackenstar had been, his head snapped up and he hobbled away with his pelt slightly fluffed… until the apprentice started crying. Until they snapped and looked at him, much as the rest of the clan had been. His paws shifted warily, the soft soil of the camp was different than ThunderClan’s. His teeth clenched as he impulsively bit back the idea of hoping that StarClan would let him back soon. There was certainly no guarantees.

When Flintstar continued to address him by his leader's name, instead of Marshpaw… he felt the rising of hope in his chest. None of these cats agreed with Brackenstar’s decision. It helped to quell the unease a little as he felt his legs tremble from the stress. He nodded respectfully to Mothglow, then gasped in pain. The muscles pulled around the old bite wound buried beneath his fur on his hind leg, and he felt the surge of pain before he fell with a wince.

The muscle was sore and tired. Just as his mind was. His family was so close and yet so far, the distance feeling as though it was a whole other world away.
"I… apologise, Flintstar. No… ShadowClan." He finally responded, voice still hoarse from his throat. The would still hurt despite being healed and he found himself glancing up at the cats around him shamefully. His ears flat in discomfort. "...I admit… I was born here. I was an apprentice… before I was captured by humans." The memory still sent a chill down Oakstar’s spine. The coldness, the darkness, the uncertainty if he’d ever make it home.

That single star guiding him home. Feeding him hope… was that the will of StarClan?

"I made it back eventually… but I had no relatives left in ShadowClan… no cats that knew me… and I had relatives in ThunderClan… so I joined them." He rasped. His amber gaze flicked to the ground shamefully. "I know it wasn’t honourable… I shouldn’t have prioritised family over clan… but… I never really regretted it." Not until now at least. Now that all of ShadowClan knew. He hoped they wouldn’t take too much offense to it as he sighed and tried not to lay in a way that aggravated his leg.