Possessed [C]

The fresh-kill pile was the highest it had been in months and the Asylum had only had control of the forest for a few days. Dawnhawk had found himself busy with other matters after the takeover, but had eventually found his way back to Skyclan territory. It was nearly sunhigh, a time that Dawnhawk at one point had hated since it generally marked the end of his ability to hunt. Now however, it hardly mattered. Dawnhawk hadn't had to hunt for himself since the Asylum took control of the forest. Dawnhawk approached the fresh-kill pile and spotted a small rabbit as well as a rather plump pheasant. Ignoring the eyes set upon him by his clanmates, the pale tom reached down and took the rabbit by the ear as well as the pheasant by the foot. The prey items weren't both for him... no. He couldn't possibly eat all of this in one sitting.

Dawnhawk walked to the entrance of the Medicine Den, peering in to see Beechface inside. Going through herbs perhaps? It didn't matter to him anyway. He set both prey items down and cleared his throat. The two nightstrikers that always accompanied him were present, as were the guards outside the medicine den. Dawnhawk nodded once at his own guards, dismissing them for the time being, but the guards to medicine den stayed put. He didn't have command over those ones... yet.

"Beechface..." Dawnhawk said his sister's new name on his tongue for the first time. Somehow... it seemed rather fitting. "My sister is a fully-fledged medicine cat and I only just now heard about it. I'm sorry... I've been busy with... other matters." He flicked his tail to gesture at the camp in general, which was now crawling with foreign cats. "I saved one of these for you. I'd like you to come out and eat with me while we talk. I haven't been able to congratulate you properly." His words were pleasant enough, but his tone held a hint of warning to them. She was not to refuse his invitation. He allowed a moment to pass between them so that she could have time to process the veiled threat in his voice.

"You can pick whichever one you like. I have a taste for them both." He nodded at the small rabbit and the fat pheasant at his feet. He offered Beechface a small smile, but there was hardly any warmth behind it.

Beechface stared down at her herb store in dismay. She should have been happy that their stocks were so high with leafbare approaching, but right now she had trouble coming up with any emotion that wasn't anger.

Pawsteps at the entrance to the medicine den, and the source of Beechface's anger had the gall to step inside. Without the trail of guards, she noticed. Beechface watched him out of the corner of her eye, refusing to speak for the moment. Her brother liked to talk, at least some things hadn't changed.

"Busy with betraying your own family?" Beechface snapped at him, tone sharp as she turned to glare at her so-called brother.

"You can go eat dirt. Somewhere else. Away from me." She added, eyeing the catch with disgust. Eat with him? After what he'd done? Maybe the stars would take pity on her and she'd choke to death.

Of course, his tone implied that she didn't really have much of a choice, and Beechface, for all her anger, wasn't dumb. A frustrated huff left her. He had the numbers to do anything he wanted, and they both knew it.

"What do you want from me?" Her tone was no less hostile, but if he was really going to make her go out into the forest with him just to eat, there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

And there it was, the immediate snark and spit flying from Beechface's mouth. It didn't even faze Dawnhawk anymore at this point. He'd be more worried if she started treating him with any sort of decency. Or anyone really.

"Traitor. Fox-heart. Arrogant. Dirt-eater. Mouse-brain. Mouse-heart. Beechface... I am so bored of these names. Can you maybe come up with something more interesting? The lack of vocabulary in this forest is depressing." He picked up both prey items again and moved them closer to the edges of camp, flicking his tail for his guards to encourage Beechface to follow him. He plopped the rabbit and the pheasant down in a pile of leaves, doing his best to keep them off of the ashen ground.

"Ward," He commanded the pelt-ward, not even bothering to address the weird, stunted cat by his name. His face was smashed in and his head look far too round... and his eyes just... Well they were arguably more round than his head and yet looked far too big to have been placed there naturally. "Pluck that pheasant. My sister shouldn't have to prepare her own food." The pelt ward didn't argue but immediately went to work on pulling the feathers out with impressive speed. Rip. Rip. Rip.

"What do I want from you?" He asked, reiterating her question so they could get back on track. "Nothing. What could you possibly give me that I don't have already? I mean... I guess there is always that thank you that you owe me for fighting that rogue she-cat that attacked you. No rush on that though. It's taken so long at this point that I have learned to cope without it." He bent down and ripped off a piece of his rabbit. He swallowed it fairly quickly and his paw raised, gesturing that he had thought of more to say.

"I suppose I would also accept the thank you for freeing this place from the tyranny of Starclan. You are now free to have a mate and kits and heal your clanmates all at the same time! You're free to move on up in the world, sis." He pinched another strip of rabbit meant between his teeth and pulled the stringy flesh away from the creature's body. He would chew more slowly this time and allow her a moment to speak, but if she thought this was even close to over... well she was in for a very rude awakening.

Beechface stared at the pelt ward in open disgust, nose wrinkled as if she'd stepped in crowfood. The thing beneath the pelt was hideous and revolting to look at, but the mindlessness with which they followed orders was even more repulsive.

"I don't need-" She began in irritable protest, but it was too late, the ward already plucking the pheasant at Dawnhawk's order. A resigned sigh escaped her, but she made no move towards the plucked bird.

"Ah, yes, one of... two interactions we've had since kithood that didn't result in us arguing or trying to rip each other's fur off. Don't pretend that you actually cared, it was only because we're family, or something. Thanks so much, brother." She'd forgotten about that ugly rogue until he'd even brought it up. It had only been a season ago, but it felt much farther away than that.

A short, sharp laugh escaped her, and she continued bitterly, "I told Sagelight and Wolfcall what happened that day we fought near the Thunderclan border, after Sagelight had told me I was going to be his next apprentice. I hoped that doing so would make Sagelight change his mind and realize what a terrible idea it was to make me a medicine cat. Instead he offered to let me think it over, then dragged me to highstones anyways. I don't understand how nothing ever came of it, even with our territory going up in flames that night. You think I want to heal, even now? Because I don't, and I sure as foxdung didn't ask permission for a mate and kits. Don't phrase this as a favor to me because it isn't one." Resentment Beechface thought she'd managed to bury burned to life in her chest, an ugly thing that had once been aimed at her former mentors. Dawnhawk had struck a nerve, and Beechface couldn't stop her tirade now, though the more reasonable voice at the back of her head told her it wouldn't do any good.

"Starclan didn't even warn me about that stunt you pulled. You know what I got instead? A revelation about the Riverclan medicine cat." She sneered in disgust, "You nearly killed dad-" Her voice caught, and Beechface struggled to continue. Ears flattened, claws digging into the floor of the den. Tears blurred her vision and she blinked them away furiously.

"You nearly killed dad, and that stress could have easily killed Flowerthorn and her kits. Primroselight was defenseless and they still pinned her down when she could barely move. And the rest of the clan, our family? Don't pretend to care about our lives when you sold us to a bunch of filthy mongrels!" She spat.

She'd forgotten the plucked bird was even there, gaze focused on Dawnhawk and the hideous creature that served him.

Ah he had struck a nerve. A smile danced just behind his lips, though he managed to keep it off of his face for now. How the tables had turned, where before he was frustrated with her on a constant level and she liked to dance on the line between looking innocent and clearly harassing him with her statements. Now look at her... hissing and spitting everywhere. Dawnhawk shrugged.

"Believe what you want. You know what you saw. You were there. Lie to yourself if it makes you feel that much better I suppose. I'm already used to doing things for a clan that never noticed or cared." And he was fine with ending it there. As for her story about how she told Wolfcall and Sagelight about the fight they had in the forest, Dawnhawk couldn't help but chuckle.

"Nothing happened to me because while you were off making friends with a senile medicine cat and a deputy that the leader of our clan didn't even trust... I made a point to make bonds with the only cat in Skyclan who could do anything to me. Spottedstar. I told him about our little spat in the forest too. He merely reminded me that I was not to fight with clanmates, and then it ended there. Wolfcall was just as powerless then to do anything about me as he is now, even with his name being Wolfstar. I play this game better than you Beechface. I always have... maybe that's why you could never bring yourself to lo-" He stopped himself short and shook his head. No... he wasn't going there. He made an outburst with Ashpaw and it pulled him off track before. He wasn't about to do it again.

"Whatever... the point is... that's all done and over with. One thing is definitely clear now though. You are probably the dumbest of all of my siblings. You confess something like that when you are at your most vulnerable? Why not much earlier? Why now, when I could have you killed with a nod of my head? You're lucky I've learned to let most things roll off of my shoulder and keep my temper in check." He tore another piece of flesh away from the young rabbit, finally spilling it's insides that he loved the most.

"Starclan didn't tell you about me because Starclan doesn't care," He swallowed the meat that had been hanging from his mouth before he continued. "They enjoy our suffering. Not just Skyclan, but every clan. The most devout clan has their whole territory burned... but just ours? They tell you about Riverclan's medicine cat... about what exactly I don't really care, but not about me? Because they knew how horrible this situation would be for everyone and they didn't want you to prepare. I've been cursing Starclan my whole life... and I am in a higher position of authority than the leader of Skyclan himself, "Mr. Less Mouse-brained than Spottedstar but still just as devout." What does that tell you?" He clawed out the rabbit's liver and scooped it up almost greedily into his mouth. The heart and liver were the best parts; Oozing with flavor and wet enough on his tongue to quench his thirst. He took his time to savor it before addressing anymore of her concerns.

"I nearly killed dad... The next cat I hear that from I am going to order their tongue removed and I am not kidding." It was certainly something he was tired of explaining to everyone. "Dad would have been fine if he would have just surrendered. Of course we both know that's not Bloodstrike... I had a feeling he'd resist. After I knocked him off of the branch, and believe me that was a losing battle anyway, the nightstrikers would have absolutely killed him... but I stopped them. Don't you remember me giving the order to stop? Bloodstrike is in the condition he's in because of his own selfish pride of "Skyclan doesn't run" and is only alive because I have allowed it. Before you throw accusations make sure you have your facts straight." His claws dug deeper into the open rabbit carcass as he tried to fish out the heart. He hated the stomach... it was always too bitter.

"I wouldn't let any harm come to Primroselight. I'd certainly defend her more fiercely than I would you... and I have for the record. I absolutely care about her. I cared for Dustpaw too. Honestly... I'd say it's a toss-up between Primroselight and Ashpaw as to which of my sisters is my favorite." He finally yanked the heart free and devoured it almost greedily.

"These filthy mongrels are only preventing you from doing anything Starclan has told us that we must do. You do know dad never held Starclan in any high regard, right? Even he knows how useless and cruel their law is. Why everyone else clings to it so fiercely is beyond me. Anyway... you're more free now than you ever have been. The only difference between now and before Asylum came here is that now you can physically see your captors."

He had a lot more to say, but he figured it was time to let her talk again. The rabbit liver, heart and a few bites of muscle meat had him feeling full enough. He glanced at Ward, whom was only sitting there quietly and patiently. "You can have the rest, Ward." He pushed the remainder of the rabbit to the odd-looking cat. Ward's eyes lit up and he nodded thankfully before dragging the rabbit carcass away like some creepy little goblin into the woods.

"You bring out the worst in me, and I hate it. You think I enjoy constantly butting heads with you?" A frustrated breath escaped her.

"Plenty of us don't give a rat's tail about Starclan. We know they're all just laughing at us instead of actually being helpful. There are still those who swear by them, and are blindly loyal, sure. But taking over the clan by force won't win you any respect, nor will it actually help things. How many more mouths do we have to feed with the rogues in our camp? Some of them might be hunting prey, but I see plenty of them just lounging around camp wasting space. What happens when they inevitably get sick and start spreading whitecough and greencough? Am I to be responsible for their lives as well?" She asked, continuing to glare at her brother.

Dawnhawk stared at her with hardly any kind of readable expression on his face as she had her outburst. He was going to be as patient with her as he could, but the emotional reactions from she-cats were a bit off-putting. The toms would glare at him, but when he spoke to them they spoke calmly. Well... most of them. Once she had gotten her concerns out of the way, he nodded once.

"You could have fooled me." Dawnhawk said in response to her comment about not enjoying butting heads with him. He felt he had been the more reasonable of the two throughout kithood and their apprenticeships where she had always had a disdain for him since the beginning. He had assumed that it gave her miserable life something to do, and that had been explanation enough throughout most of his life.

"I didn't have much respect in the clan anyway. I was invisible enough to the other warriors and even my siblings that no one noticed the long periods of time that I was gone. I went away for days at a time training with the Asylum and no one even noticed when I got back. Nobody cared. So I'd consider the scowling and scathing comments behind my back nowadays to be an improvement from where I was before." He wasn't looking for a pity party, but it was the truth. He'd hurried home the first three times that he had been away at the Asylum for training. All three of those times, when he came back home in the dead of night and quietly slipped into the warriors den for sleep... he woke the next morning without even so much as a greeting from anyone else. After that, he took his time getting back home from the Asylum camp, finally knowing where he stood with his so-called family and clan.

"The Asylum cats will take care of themselves and will not come to you for medical aid. They don't need you. Unlike Skyclan, they all have basic healing abilities and can take care of eachother, whether medically or in combat situations. They're logical. I don't know if you've noticed, but our fresh-kill pile is the highest it's been in moons and there are less and less predators seen every day." He paused to let her drink this information in before moving onto another subject. She didn't think his forced rule over Skyclan was going to help? He disagreed.


"The only way to deal with extremists, like Wolfstar for example among several others in this clan, is by using extreme measures. I am determined to free all of you from Starclan, even those that desperately want to hold onto these foolish rules and traditions. Unfortunately the only why I can do that is through force, because extremists won't listen to reason or they wouldn't be extremists. They will probably never submit, I know. Once the traditionalists get old and die, their beliefs will die with them. My goal is not to destroy the clans. My only goal is to kill Starclan."

With this, Danwhawk's stare hardened as he focused on Beechface. "Which brings me to the real reason I wanted to talk to you." Now he searched her face for any kind of reaction. Any at all. "I sincerely do congratulate you on becoming a full-fledged medicine cat and earning your name. However... I'm sure you know Moonstone journeys are forbidden. Any communication with Starclan that I even so much as suspect is going on and you will end up where Bloodstrike is, if not in the ground entirely." His voice had gone icy and his stare piercing enough that it could have impaled her if looks really could kill. "I know there are many ways Starclan can speak through medicine cats. I hope you'll prove to me that you're not as dumb as I think you are, or we will replace you with an Asylum healer." His eyes dropped back down to her untouched pheasant. If she wasn't going to eat it, he'd be feeding it to one of the few Asylum cats that he truly liked.

Beechface was starting to tune Dawnhawk out as he spoke about the clan's treatment, or lack of, of him. Had the thought ever occurred to him that there was one single cat at the center of that? Maybe that one, single cat was the problem. But no, it had to be the fault of others, of course. She said nothing as he continued to speak, droning on and on in very typical Dawnhawk fashion.

The knowledge about the rogues having their own ability to heal pricked her interest, but Beechface wouldn't ask Dawnhawk. Instead, she merely gave an irritable flick of her ear.

"See that they do. My herbs and nests are for clanmates and I don't need to waste anything with leafbare almost upon us." Beechface curled her lip. She was not about to waste her precious herb supply on their keepers.

"So you're going to fight fire with fire, and watch the forest burn? A hostile takeover where you threatened the lives of innocents isn't the answer. It's not going to make things any better." One set of overlords in favor of another, except the previous overlords had only limited power in the physical world, and their current overlords were physically here and able to cause far more damage. No, Beechface did not see any good in Dawnhawk's apparent decision to support a group of thieving savages.

"You've made your point, now go so I might be able to eat this without choking to death." Maybe she'd softened towards Sagelight a bit after his death, but Beechface wasn't about to spend eternity listening to some senile old fool while her clanmates suffered under Asylum's rule. She hooked a claw into the pheasant, dragging it toward her, though it was rather obvious she still wasn't grateful for the food. Still, she couldn't bring herself to let it go to waste.