Whipping Winds [WindClan Sitewide Topic]

"Help us?" Softbreeze echoed scornfully, "The only way you could us is by leaving!" She screeched in defiance. "We don't wan-- no, we don't NEED your help. You cannot force us to become apart of you, cats should willingly join you! If they don't, then you don't KILL them!" The molly hissed, ears flattening a hair backwards. Still, her pelt lay flat and her claws tucked in. She regarded Olivestar coolly, although her eyes as green met blue gave away her relief that her friend was by her side. "Go back to Hay, protect her. I don't like how they're eyeing her."

Taking another step forward, she locked eyes with Theron. "Rescuing cats who are in need, like your friend here-- Roe, was it?-- is honorable, truly, but we are in no need of a savoir. The only threat I see is you and your crew of bandits and the only solution I see-- that involves no bloodshed-- is you leaving. You are travelers, correct? You cannot expect us to stick to your way of life after you leave. Even if you were to leave a few cats here, we will outnumber you. The Clans are large and when a threat rises, we rise higher. Your dead friends brought death upon themselves when they attacked WindClan before. Tell me, are you okay living with the guilt? The guilt of knowing each and every one of these asylum cats will be killed or chased off in the future. I sure hope so, because you'll have an eternity to think about it once you're dead." Softbreeze sneered practically, mocking. Attack her if she must, but this cat would lay not a single claw on her Clanmates. "There is absolutely nothing you can do to hurt me. You know why? Because when I see these cats again, they will be in StarClan, happy, healthy, and waiting to welcome me."

"Can you say the same? Will you see your loved ones after you perish by our claws? Oh, and by the way... You didn't just kill Puddlepaw. You killed Finchstar. Twice. That's three for three, plus Grousefrost's hearing! You chose to fight us, you cannot blame us for the repercussions of your own actions. Those cats died fighting for what they believed in, and so did ours, isn't that honorable? Can't you let them rest peacefully, are they not worthy of that at least?" The last part was more sad than angry, and her gaze softened momentarily. She shook her half pale-gray-pale-orange tabby head and sighed, eyes hardening again. "Why can you not take no for an answer? By the time you kill all the cats who rebel, there will be no cats on your side nor ours. Family is by chance, Kin is by choice. You say we can worship our ancestors, yet we can't see them? Why is that? If we are one group, as you say, why can we not gather together to discuss how we have all been faring, to check up on each other, and ensure our safety?"


"Aren't we individuals? Don't we all have specific needs? What if we want a moment alone, to cry, to pray, to let your emotions out onto the moors. Those are private affairs of the heart. Surely you cannot intrude on those? We have lived like this centuries before centuries before centuries before Finchstar was born. We have not starved. We have not been driven out of our homes. We have not perished. We have flourished, we have grown, we have united. Love bonds us together; all you bring is hatred. You are like a foxglove seed in a leaf of poppy seeds, just waiting to strike, waiting to kill." Softbreeze was on a roll. Morningdove and Softbreeze truly were kin, it would seem. Both skilled in the art of speeches-- long ones, at that. Her tail wanted to lash, but with barely enough restrain, she willed it to stay still.

Despite her confidence, she was terrified of leading her Clanmates' to death. But she knew they'd follow her. They believed as she did, and even if she hadn't stood up, some other cat would've. She was certain. Softbreeze knew for a fact that no matter what was threatened to be ripped from her, she would never stand down entirely. She may not have been a fighter in battles, but she was ten times more warrior than any other cat in spirit.

The tom's crooked smile soon fell as he realized Theron wasn't taking him seriously. She treated him as if he were an insignificant, useless kit. "It's because of my size, isn't it." He growled under his breath, mismatched eyes narrowing. When he saw his mother coming toward him, he felt some of the anger go away. His mother had always made him feel calm, it was as if she had some kind of power. The anger lingered for a moment before disappearing. He watched as his mother defended him, his expression had now fallen to a blank stare. That was when Theron started talking. Something about her words made him uncontrollably angry, as if she were personally attacking him. The fact that she thought that just because she had to tell of some cat's death, she had the right to kill.

"YOU THINK YOU HAVE IT SO BAD!?" Those were the first words he yelled as he was being nudged away by his mother. He struggled against her,and eventually gave in when she grabbed for his scruff. Even so, he continued on, anger seeped through his every word. "I'VE LOST MY DAUGHTER, MY MATE, I WAS PUT THROUGH THE DARK FOREST BY SOMEONE WHO THOUGHT I LOVED HER, AND NOW ANOTHER ONE OF MY KIN IS KILLED!" Hatred burned in his eyes as he watched Theron. He didn't realize that he had said too much about Cedarheart, instead he kept going. "I'VE BEEN TORTURED BY APPRENTICES, TAUNTED, AND HATED BY CATS WHO WOULDN'T BE LIVING WITHOUT ME!" Tears welled in his eyes, although he couldn't tell whether they were from anger or sadness. One of the things he had said apparently hit a soft spot for him, but he couldn't tell which. All of his words were a blur. "Do you see me killing because of this?" By now his flank was heaving and he was panting, trying to catch his breath from all of the yelling.


When Thaila stood up, he challenged her from where Spotlake had him held. He didn't wait at all to catch his breath. "If you care so much about family, THEN WHY DID YOU KILL PART OF MINE!? We're perfectly fine on our own! Does it look like we're fighting each other?! We were just fine before you fox-hearts came here, why don't you just leave." His words repeated some of Softreeze's points, but it wasn't as if he were listening to her. All he could hear was his own words and those of the cats he was yelling at.

Theron watched in silence as Softbreeze went on and on, ears twitching. With all due respect - the she-cat had points. They didn't want them - that was fine enough. But it was almost laughable that she thought they would be able to rise up. They were already making steps to that - the Clans wouldn't be able to see each other, not with them watching every patrol, forbidding Gatherings. In the end, this was for the better...But Theron didn't care about their complaints, not yet. Not now. Clearly, this cat didn't understand the situation. "You..." she started, taking in a deep breath with a soft laugh. "You really don't understand this, do you? I've told you the terms - surrender or die. This is for the better, I don't care how blind you are to not realize it at the moment. But if you don't see my words as a true threat..."

She drifted off for a second, her eyes caught some movement - a shape poking around one of the dens that didn't belong to any of her cats. The pelt was...Familiar. Her eyes narrowed, trying to place it before a sigh escaped her. "You claim not to fight among yourselves but I've heard the stories. The war between Clans - fighting over territory and misplaced paws. History was bound to repeat itself - you all were bound to be at each other's throats again. We are here to stop that. But it didn't have to be this hard - you just had to hold your tongue. You could grumbled to yourselves, but no. You all are just a kits who wants to scream and yell - not realizing that even words hold the heaviest of actions," she meowed, turning her gaze back to Softbreeze. "Surrender - that is your only choice. I will not accept arguments, calling us names like you are nothing more than kits. We are not playing around. We had only taken a couple cats and are promising to help protect so many more. I could say I am sorry for the deaths that we have caused, but you would not accept them. And I had hope the price of Goldengale would be enough - but perhaps you need blood to be spilled because of you not behaving like you should - when I was content to spare you all from here on out. Alois," she snapped, turning to stare at her other male companion who had been waiting quietly since he had released Hayglow. "Her. Bring her here," she meowed with a jerk of her head, pointing out the she-cat that had caught her attention.

Alois sprung into action - delight in his eyes as he sprung into the elder's shoulder, knocking her to the ground. It was getting boring without any action. He had always enjoyed the thrill of a fight and while he knew - and respected - that they were suppose to try to have these go smoothly...Well, he couldn't deny the thrill at getting to see Theron at work again. He grabbed her by the scruff, easy with his large frame even as she struggle as he started to drag her back to his Captain without any issue.

Hayglow had felt better as Softbreeze had moved to be somewhat between her and Theron - even if she knew the medicine cat wasn't good for a fight. There was some relief to see her auguring but there was also hesitation in Hayglow... She had been at the claws of these cats - there was the barest of blood trickling from where her skin had been pricked that made her know that they weren't fooling around. So when one of her Clanmates were pointed out and ordered to be brought to Theron, her heart dropped...Mostly when she saw who it was. "D-Dappleshine!" Hayglow sobbed at the sight of her mentor being dragged into the paws of those vicious cats but her paws were frozen in fear, unwilling to move as she silently pleaded for somebody to do...To do something!

To her surprise, it was Roe who stepped up. "Theron!" he hissed softly, fear flickering in his eyes. He could feel his heart hammering, dread filling him. He had always been mocked by some of the Nightstrikers for his hesitation - he didn't like killing cats, but he knew it was for the sake of Asylum. But...But this? There was no reason for this! He couldn't stand by - not when there was still a chance that everybody could walk away with their lives. "Surely we don't need to take another life - they aren't fighting us. They surrendered, even if they want to argue with their words," he murmured, eyes flickering around the cats. "Please, all of you. Just...Just let this happen. We don't need to fight. This is for the best."

Despite being his Captain, the words actually got Theron to pause as Alois dropped Dappleshine off at her paws. "...You are sweet, Roe," she murmured softly...Before she looked up at him with a glare. "But we are Nightstrikers. We do what we must. We use force with no hesitation. Remember that - for the glory of Asylum." She raised her paw as Alois pinned Dappleshine, claws glinting in the moonlight before she brought it down...Slashing the elder across the face - striking both eyes. "...But fine." She retracted her bloodstained claws, ignoring the screams and cries of the scarred elder as she turned her attention back to Softbreeze. "I was content to leave you all unharmed minus my actions against Goldengale. But you do not seem to know how to hold your tongue. This is not a game. We've grown to this size because we are not afraid to use force. All you had to do was hold your tongue, summit to Asylum without a whimper and you would have been allowed to live your lives. Stand down and know your place and I will release this she-cat back into your care... If you continue to argue, her life is forfeit and may not be the only one lost. We are not monsters - monsters do not show mercy. We do what is required and we hope you will do the same. Finchstar told me that you all cared for each other - so. Back. Down. And pray that when I tell this to Eris, she does not choose to change the terms of your surrender as punishment."

As one of the cats screeched, shouting loud and clear to make her opinions known to every cat in hearing range, Thalia shrunk into herself. She was only doing what she was told, following orders; but there was a barely-visible flinch with each accusation, as if the words burned her. It felt almost like they did - she wasn't responsible for what had transpired in the last interaction between WindClan and the Asylum, wasn't even any more responsible for what bloodshed had occurred tonight than any other Nightstriker.

As she began to recover her senses, gathering her thoughts - another, smaller cat joined in the shouting. She caught less of what he said, though there was something about all that he'd lost -  it seemed that in WindClan, every cat's tale was tragic; could these clans really not see how much better things were in the Asylum when they'd suffered so much already?

"WindClan might have a history with Captain Theron... But I've done nothing to any of you. To you, I'm only a stranger. One that dared to hope that maybe... We might find friendship." Her pelt started to slip as she turned to gather herself once more, and she moved to fix it; but instead it fell to rest on her shoulders - and to reveal that a rather young dilute calico was hiding beneath it, as well as the pain in her expression - and the tears on her face that she'd tried to hide. "We're not parasites. We're not savages. We're not monsters. If you're to judge us, then should we not extend that same judgment to you? To me, WindClan is a place of cats who see no problem with cruelty; who refuse to listen or see reason."

She paused, just long enough to take a deep breath. "And yet, I don't want to. I want to think that maybe some of you aren't so bad. That maybe, with time, we can even learn from each other."

She was so distracted with her own speech that she almost missed Theron's - which she strained to listen to, to learn what she could about these cats from the one who'd met them before - as well as the resulting action. It was more senseless bloodshed, more violence that could have been avoided if WindClan was reasonable enough to listen - but the elder she-cat's life was spared, it seemed, and she would take what solace she could in that.

So intent had Dappleshine been on trying to find Fogpaw, that she didn't realize one of the shadows, a rather large one at that, had lunged right for her. Lack of practice from her moon in the elder's den had weakened her, along with her aging heart, and paired with the shock and surprise of the attack there was little she could do to prevent being bowled over like a wet reed bending in the wind. She could have sworn she heard a crack as pain shot up her hind leg, and she bit back a gasp of pain. Teeth were in her scruff, she was being dragged, but to where? Confusion and pain dulled her senses, down was up and left was right before she was tossed to the ground, landing painfully on her back. One leg stretched out awkwardly as she stared up into a face that had been one of the many to haunt her nightmares and waking hours, and a voice called out. Hayglow. Her apprentice... Her first and only apprentice in WindClan. Oh, there was so much to say and do, and judging from the expression on the Nightstriker's face, there was far too little time to do it.

A glimmer of hope, though, as a new face stepped forward, pleading with Theron. They had surrendered, he was right - so why was this happening? Was this her punishment for retiring? For giving up? Her struggling grew more feeble as the pain in her leg sent bile up her throat. That hope was dashed, however, with the she-cat's next words. "Raventail!" She cried out as she was pinned, and as she stared wide eyed up to the barely lightened sky she realized this may be her last sunrise. The thought barely had time to form before her sight was taken from her, and her pained screech echoed over the moors, seemingly carried on the wind that had called her name. She couldn't see, it was so dark, only shadows. Her nightmares had taken hold, and she was lost in a world with no light, no dawn. Was this what death felt like? No, she thought, she could still hear her own whimpers, although they were a distant echo. It was as if she had withdrawn into her own mind in a desperate attempt to escape the pain. "Raventail...." She whimpered feebly, trying and failing to lift her head. If these were to be her last moments... Perhaps these cats would grant her the ability to die at her mate's side.

Before Olivestar could move, Softbreeze had begun to speak once more, saying everything that she wanted to say, and more, that she couldn't in lieu of protecting her Clan. Still, she knew that these cats weren't likely to tolerate such outbursts, and once the medicine cat had finished her speech, Olivestar took a step forward, opening her mouth to try and defuse the situation before it got any worse. However, she didn't get the chance, Theron cutting her off before she could speak a single word, and no matter her attempts to get a word in edgewise, the gray leader could not.

She took another step forward when the Nightstriker captain ordered one of her subordinates to drag Dappleshine to the center of camp, and with a sinking heart, she took a third step forward as Theron raised her cruel claws and scored them viciously across the elder's face, catching both eyes in the strike. With a gasp, the leader darted forward to stand between Theron and Dappleshine, and stood tall, once again, using her body as a shield. With the clearing silent aside from the cries of pain from behind her, the leader raised her voice, directing her message to her Clanmates.
"WindClan! It is obvious that these cats will stop at nothing to get what they want! If you are unhappy, that is fine! I am not happy about this myself! However, do not provoke them! They have clearly demonstrated the lengths they will go to if you do not comply!"

She lowered her head to be level with the captain's.
"Theron. The next time that you or any Asylum cats lay a claw on any WindClan cat, it will be me. I will not stand by and let you harm any of my Clanmates."

Turning dramatically, she crouched down to Dappleshine, and helped the elder to her feet, guiding her back over to where Softbreeze stood, another comment from another Nightstriker catching the leader's ear. With a nod at Softbreeze, Olivestar padded over to the cat making the comment, the words striking a nerve within the gentle leader. She padded over to Thalia with slow and sure steps, drawing herself to her full height, standing over the fox-pelted she-cat, looking down with an air of disdain.
"WindClan? Cruel? You are sorely mistaken. WindClan was the Clan that brought me and my brother in as kits when we had no family or home. WindClan is the Clan that actively brings in outsiders and lost and homeless kits willing to join under our rules. WindClan doesn't unfairly punish cats that make mistakes, and WindClan certainly doesn't maim or kill cats for speaking their minds. If you think WindClan is cruel, that's on you, but we are no monsters, we are no cruel cats, just because we take issue with an unwanted invasion."

With that, she turned her back on Thalia and returned to her place beside Softbreeze and in front of Dappleshine and Hayglow.
"Is there anything else that you want, Theron? Or is that all from you? Truthfully, the quicker you go, the better, your presence is causing my Clanmates lots of distress."

The young fox-pelted she-cat tilted her head and looked up at the leader, curiosity showing through the drying tears and pained expression. "That's nice... Um, Olivestar...? Is that right? But I don't see any proof of that. Just your words, which, um... You clearly don't trust us. Which... You don't need to, really. But how am I supposed to believe you're telling the truth about all that? These are your cats, aren't they? You could easily be lying to protect them. And I wouldn't blame you for doing that, because it means you care about them - and that's admirable. Even if they seem cruel to me..."

In truth, she was still young and inexperienced; and yet despite that she put all the confidence she could manage behind every word. Finally, she smiled up at the WindClan leader. "...But I didn't call any of you monsters. I wouldn't do that! Really, I don't think cats can be monsters. Mean, yeah; cruel, maybe - but not monsters."

When the voice piped up again, Olivestar turned her head to regard Thalia once more, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"I don't lie. My Clanmates here can attest to it. I wouldn't have been made deputy, then leader if I were. Do you see wounds on my Clanmates that were not borne from Asylum claws? If you are to stay here with WindClan, you'll see in due time that I am not, in fact, a liar, and that we are not, in fact, cruel. Do with that what you will."

With that, she turned to face Theron once more, the look in her eyes speaking to the fact that the normally gentle leader's patience was beginning to run out.

As accusations began to fly from the WindClanners’ mouths, Pyrik wrinkled his nose, half in surprise, half in confusion. Stealing…kits? They hadn’t even stolen prey from the Clans, let alone kits! Asylum had come here to help, to make things better, not to take out the Clans at their foundations. WindClan seemed insistent on making things harder for themselves anyway. Some were noisier than others, some lashed out with claws, all in direct defiance of their leader. Pyrik’s eyes went wide as he watched, stunned into silence. Was this really how the forest cats operated? Thank goodness Asylum had arrived when they did—WindClan would never make it through the cold season like this.

When Theron demanded one of the older cats hiding near the back be brought forward, Alois leapt to obey. One of the WindClanners, a dark-furred tom, lashed out at him. Breaking away from his spot in the wall of pelts, Pyrik charged into the WindClanner’s side. His speed sent them both tumbling. Pyrik regained his balance first and pressed a paw down on the tom’s throat, claws unsheathed, just as some of his fellows were doing. He glanced up for only a heartbeat, making sure no one else had tried to stage an attack while he’d been distracted. The tom used that opportunity to squirm out from under him; however, rather than take aim at Alois again, he merely stumbled off toward the newly-blinded one, a threat no longer.

Letting out a relieved sigh, Pyrik turned his ears back to the conversation—specifically, the one between Thalia and Olivestar, since it seemed less tense than Theron’s negotiations. Careful to keep his own pelt secure over his head, he shuffled closer to Thalia, simply because no one else had and anyone could see the drying tears on her fur. “Are you okay?” he asked in an undertone, eying Olivestar the way one might eye an adder that wasn’t quite dead enough to stop twitching.

---

Dappleshine’s steady weight against his shoulder tempered his racing heart, if only a little. Fogpaw was a warrior in all but name; she could handle herself. She was fine until he saw otherwise. That thought still couldn’t keep him from searching. From the corner of his eye, he saw one of the Nightstrikers break away from the pack in the center of camp—and seize Dappleshine, wrenching her away. With a startled yowl, Raventail took a swipe at the retreating Nightstriker, only to be knocked aside and pinned by a shorter cat wearing a fox pelt. The cat’s paws were small—smaller than his own, even—and Raventail rolled out from their grip in time to see Olivestar ushering Dappleshine toward Softbreeze, leaving a smear of brilliant crimson as she went.

This time, when he darted forward, the Nightstrikers didn’t see fit to stop him. Maybe they could tell he wouldn’t dare fight, not when Softbreeze’s resistance had already caused this much. “Dappleshine!” Raventail pressed up against her side, trying to keep her steady, remind her he was there; in doing so, he saw exactly what the Nightstrikers had done. Bile crept up his throat again. “Stars, Dapple—” Raventail buried his nose in her fur, ignoring the blood, ignoring everything, trusting Olivestar would be able to fend off any attacks for the moment. “It’s okay, I’m here, I’m not going anywhere—”

He leaned back. His eyes fell on Goldengale again, every bit as ragged as she’d looked before. Not much better than Dappleshine looked now. Then they drifted to Softbreeze, bright with desperation. “Softbreeze,” he murmured, “please.” Protesting this was the noble thing to do, the thing he wanted to do when he searched himself—but being noble came at a price not a single WindClanner, least of all his mate, deserved to pay.

"You really are heartless..." Softbreeze whispered in horror as she wrapped herself around Dappleshine, trying in vain to lick away the blood that just kept flowing from her new wounds. "She's an elder, she was no threat! As long as I am living and breathing, WindClan will always be WindClan. Olivestar, I am done talking. Do what you must, I have a patient to treat and nobody will stop me from doing so." She mewed, voice harsh and tired sounding before she looked over to Smallbean and Spotlake. "Smallbean, Spotlake! Come help me move Dappleshine to my den. I can't treat her injury properly out here."

Softbreeze had asked both of those cats over for a reason; both had been keen on agreeing with her and would likely get hurt if they kept up. Softbreeze didn't like it, but what choice did she have? She'd thought they'd lash out at her, not some innocent bystander. "Oh... And by the way, Theron, if Goldengale had been alive, I would have given in easier. You brought this upon yourselves." She hissed.

And just like that, with the help of the two warriors, she carried Dappleshine into her den. "Hayglow, Raventail! She'll want to see you when she wakes up, please come with me. I also need to examine you, Hay," She murmured as she passed by the duo, giving Olivestar a solemn nod of agreeance. She'd cooperate.

For now.

Eagletalon had watched with slitted eyes. Thankfully after Roe had been ordered to realse her she had snuck back into the lines of Windclan ready to take any action that might occur.
She didn't feel like it, but perhaps these cats had come to save them? All of her life here in Windclan had been tough and it sounded like these cats brought with them Starclan, perhaps if they submitted life would be easier and no cat would go hungry. She could relax knowing that not a single kit would die from hunger, cold or other things. Maybe these cats would protect them?

She stepped out. "Olivestar," she hesitated. "I have lived my whole life in Windclan. Perhaps Starclan has sent these cats to us to help us survive the winters? They are strong, fit and healthy and have managed to keep generations alive, to keep all of their elders and kits strong. Perhaps we could use their help in the upcoming winters if it would mean that all of the clan would be strong, fit and healthy?" she asked the leader openly. She knew that this idea were to be scorned by her clanmates, but after the points in which Thorem had made, she felt bad about attacking. She had thought that they were here to kill the rest of the kits, which would make sense.

Eagletalon cared much for the clan, but she didn't understand why they were being so proud. Yes, these cats killed Goldengale and killing was against the warrior code but these cats where offering protection against all of the predators that usually attacked the clans. If they would work under the protection then the clan cats wouldn't get hurt so much.

As Spotlake held tightly on to Smallbean's scruff, all other sounds being drowned out, she heard Softbreeze. She nodded at the medicine cat, softly letting go of Smallbean before rushing over to the Dappleshine. The asylum really doing this huh? They really thought that hurting and killing cats would get them to follow them. Well Spotlake knew she wouldn't. As she helped Softbreeze carry Dappleshine towards the medicine cat den, thoughts ran like rabbits through her mind. Were the Asylum good cats? Theron defintly wasn't. But one of the other cats did speak up, Roe, and possibly kept Dappleshine from being killed. Then again, it could've just been a ruse and Roe knew that Theron wouldn't kill Dappleshine. But maybe it wasn't.

Letting out a soft sigh, Spotlake gently put Dappleshine down into one of the nests and sat down near the entrance of the den. To watch. To watch Theron and see what the evil cat would do next.

Theron was prepared to let nobody near the elder - Dappleshine, if the guard's cry was to be believed - but...Olivestar was the one to approach. With a soft growl, she stepped back to let the leader help the elder to her feet - unwilling to make a move against the cat who had at least given in so quickly. She raised her paw, trying to lick it clean of the blood as cats reacted in horror - Olivestar telling her to leave, the mouthy one calling her heartless. Perhaps - it was something she had accepted moons ago, but all they had to do was take her threats seriously enough. "I need to make sure you understood the gravity of this situation," she said simply, lowering her paw. "Now. I will...Take your heed, Olivestar. I have other matters to attend to. My forces will remain of course, get settled in but I suppose I need to see how well the other Clans are handling things."

She paused as she spared a glance at one of her youngest Nightstrikers, Thalia, who had burst into tears. She hesitated, mouth opening to say something but she held back. Words were...Never her strong suit. She was a cat of action - not of comfort. "...Roe. See to it that Thalia is...Alright," she ordered. "Lexine, you stay here with him. Alois and I will be at the camp - return to us when you see fit," she meowed, before she pushed past the cats and exited the camp with Alois, leaving the rest of the Asylum forces to get settled into their new posts within the surrendered WindClan.



Roe stood there somewhat awkwardly as he watched his Captain leave, sparing a glance at WindClan as a whole. "I-I...I'm sorry," he murmured, ears slicking back as he turned to make his way to Thalia's side. "She is...Forceful. She is a Captain now - she doesn't like people talking back to her. She...She really thinks she is right thought - she is right. This is for the better, even with the blood she isn't afraid to spill to get you to see it," he said softly. He came to a stop next to Thalia, raising a paw to wipe away at the tears that fell down her face. "I'm sorry you had to witness that. It shouldn't have... I'll admit it - Theron was a bad impression on them. But in time, they will realize that we aren't bad cats - aren't monsters. You are always free to come find me if you need somebody to talk to, you know that right?" he said, ducking his head to meet her gaze. "I'll always be here for you, kid."



Hayglow was rooted in horror at the sight of Theron striking down Dappleshine - almost relieved to hear the pained cries of her mentor simply because it meant that Dappleshine was alive - she hadn't been killed with that blow. She wanted to run to her mentor's side but she...It was similar to the first horror she had felt when she had realized that being a warrior had meant killing prey - having never thought of taking a life, even of something like prey, before. To truly see a cat with an intent to kill another was...Terrifying. She remained crouched, ears slicked back as things seemed to wrap up - only snapping out of it as her name was called by Softbreeze. "R-Right," she murmured, pushing herself up as her tail curled beneath her, slinking off to the medicine cat den. Truth be told, she didn't want to see Dappleshine - not like that. Not in pain, not injured. But her throat still ached from where claws had dug into it...And really, she needed the comfort of Softbreeze's sweet smelling den. It had always been a source of comfort - reminding her of the day she had been found.

Since there was no use fighting, Lilacpaw begrudgingly turned and walked away from the nursery. Why guard it if she can't defend it, after all. She couldn't help but notice that one of the strange cats had been crying. Why would she be so hurt, when they were the ones invading? It kind of pained her heart, seeing such a young cat so invested in her cause. She might not like what was happening, but maybe this cat wasn't so bad?

With her head low, she made her way over to the cat. Olivestar would most certainly not approve, but at least she wasn't causing trouble, right? "Um, hi. Uh, this is awkward but since we will be living together, maybe we can get to know each other some? Uh, I'm Lilacpaw. And those are my moms, Olivestar and Zinnia. I'm sorry they made you cry. they're really nice cats though. And, uh, may be you're right. Maybe we can learn from each other. So, what do you say? Think we can be friends?" She kneaded her paws on the ground. She didn't agree with much of what was said, but like this cat had said, maybe there were some good cats. And maybe this was one of them.

I just hope I'm doing the right thing.

As Captain Theron left, asking Roe to ensure that she was alright, Thalia shrunk into herself. She'd managed to disappoint her Captain already, she was sure, on her first proper interaction with outsider cats (well, they weren't outsiders now, but still) - she'd broken down in front of everyone, and her pelt had fallen to reveal that she was already in tears, top it all off. She supposed trying to speak to the WindClan cats hadn't helped, but it was true that she only wanted to help.

Roe's words were at least reassuring, a reminder that this was all for their goal. That despite Captain Theron's... Ah, direct methods... They still weren't bad cats, regardless of what was said. "Right... It's still hard to hear what they think of us, though," she murmured, finding it easier to force a smile as he reminded her that she could always talk to him. "I know, and I will if I need to. Thank you, Roe."

Another cat approached after, and she shrunk back at first - expecting to find herself on the receiving end of more harsh words - but this cat proved to be kinder than the others thus far, despite the admittedly awkward introduction of both herself and her mothers. But Thalia, who had been crying in their camp a few short minutes earlier, certainly wasn't going to be the one to talk about awkwardness. Instead, she offered a hesitant smile in response. "Um, hi... Lilacpaw... My name is Thalia... And, um, yes! I hope we can be friends. I look forward to getting to know you all better!"

---

As Theron took her leave, Zinnia's attention - which had been mostly focused on the leader of this invasion - shifted to her daughter; she'd done her best to keep a close eye on Lilacpaw whenever she could as of late. As Lilacpaw dared to approach one of the Nightstrikers - the young one whose predator-pelt had fallen, and who had been in tears despite the fact that she was on the side of the invasion - and offer a tentative friendship, Zinnia instantly grew wary, narrowing her eyes.

The other cat proved not to be particularly hostile, however; and she relaxed, though only slightly.