New Divide [Wolfstar]

Beechface awoke with a start, ears pinning back against her skull as she glared at the entrance of the medicine den and the descending half-moon beyond. She'd fallen asleep easier than she'd thought, but while she hadn't made the physical trip to the moonstone she still felt weary. As if she hadn't really slept.

Well, she hadn't, really. Starclan revelations, and all that.

A revelation that had been utterly useless, without any substance or information. It had been meant to placate, soothe, maybe, but all Beechface felt was anger. Their ancestors saw how the clans were suffering, and were... Watching? Standing with them? They weren't doing a thing! They weren't helping! They were useless.

Was it even worth telling Wolfstar about? Would he even want to hear it, since he'd so cheerfully made Dawnhawk, traitorous bastard that he was, deputy? He hadn't even brought it to her first, either he knew what her reaction would be to the very idea of it, or he didn't trust her.

Yet he'd went and done it anyways.

With a growl, the large medicine cat sat up, staring at the entrance to the den for a moment before she began to give herself a quick grooming. She wasn't sure she should even go directly to Wolfstar with... was Starclan's message supposed to give them hope?

Movement at the entrance of the den, and Beechface paused in her grooming, eyeing the unfortunate soul who was intruding on her privacy with cold, suspicious eyes.

The SkyClan leader had spent most of the night perched, alone, at the entrance of his den. It, like his every waking moment, was empty without Blossomstep at his side. She still wasn't speaking to him, and though some minute, bitter part of him resented the fact that he'd gotten the cold shoulder instead of the benefit of the doubt, he still didn't blame her.

The half-moon came and went, and only once the sky was turning pink on the horizon did he slide down, landing silently upon the chilled ground in the empty camp, and pad purposefully over to the medicine den. Beechface wasn't talking to him, either, but he was the leader and she was the medicine cat. If StarClan had contacted her, had said anything about the current state of affairs, he needed to know about it.

"Beechface?" he called quietly into the gloom of the stone cavern. "I need to speak with you. Will you take a walk with me?"

Beechface was furious. Wolfstar had rubbed being a medicine cat in her face, and had then promptly gone and made a unilateral decision affecting the clan without even acknowledging her. It hurt, and Beechface was seldom one to express such. So she did what was familiar, comfortable even, and hid behind the depths of her anger as she addressed the leader.

"Oh, now you want to speak with me?" Beechface curled her lip, "you seemed so eager to name a traitor as deputy that you forgot to tell anyone. Would you prefer a rogue healer, too?" The words tasted bitter on her tongue as she stood, roughly stalking past Wolfstar into the coldness of the clearing. She continued out into the forest. Wolfstar had wanted to take a walk, so a walk they would take.

"The half-moon was last night, and I'm assuming that's why you've chosen to actually talk to me for once. Starclan offers nothing. This was out of their control. They say they're supporting us, that they're watching and listening. That we'll somehow overcome all of this." The medicine cat's tail lash in frustration.

"If they were actually supporting us, they could do something tangible, show us something. Instead they give us empty platitudes." A glimpse of wherever Bloodstrike had been taken, a reason as to why this was happening. They all knew that Starclan had the power to act. And all Beechface had gotten were empty words that rang so very hollow.

The soft twitter of a bird caught her attention, Beechface's gaze flicked up to see the feathered thing perched on the low-hanging branch of a tree. Herbs were pointless to collect in the bitter cold, but fresh-kill would always be useful.

Or maybe Beechface just needed to feel blood beneath her claws. With the rogues around, she'd been watched too closely to hunt for herself and sneak prey onto the fresh-kill pile like she'd done as Sagelight's apprentice.

Muscles bunching, the tabby and white she-cat leapt upward, jaws snapping closed around a fine-boned wing as her claws dug into bark. She pulled herself up, using one heavy paw to end the bird's pathetic suffering.

It was a pity that the bird wasn't the golden tom masquerading as Skyclan's deputy.

The vitriol wasn't unexpected, but it still hurt, and the leader said nothing as the medicine cat preceded him into the forest. Once they were alone, she unloaded on him, and Wolfstar's brow knitted at the "advice" StarClan had given. That didn't make sense. He knew they had the power. He'd seen it with his own two eyes. Why, now, did they seemingly abandon the clans to fall? Dissolve at the behest of the Asylum?

"I don't understand," he said quietly, though it was more to himself than Beechface. The trilling of a startled bird, and then the scent of blood, made him glance up to see his granddaughter scaling a trunk with the feathery creature in her maw. He suppressed a sigh of exasperation, tail twitching irritably. He wanted to have a civil conversation, and she was doing everything she could to prevent that.

"Beechface," he said softly, not allowing himself to show even a hint of the frustration he felt. "I know you're upset, but please, talk to me."

Nothing.

Shifting on his paws, Wolfstar stared up into the branches. He didn't like to climb... that was no secret. His own mentor once shared the sentiment, had never taught him properly how, and it had never really held him back. Now, as he stared up at Beechface's feathery tail hanging several fox-lengths above him, he felt his resolve harden. That's not gonna stop me. Crouching, he prepared himself and then sprang upwards, his claws gripping the bark, and hauled himself up the tree and on to the same branch as she. "Please."

"That makes two of us." She muttered darkly in response. How anyone understood Starclan's motivations at all was beyond Beechface. Mossbloom had mentioned just how unhelpful Starclan could be, but this was wrong. What was the point of having powerful ancestors if they refused to guide and help those stuck in the world of the living? She was powerless to do anything, the clan was powerless to do anything. Yet Starclan was being as unhelpful as ever.

"Why, so you can rub it in my face again, about how I'm not cut out to be a medicine cat and that I'm the one putting my clanmates in danger?" Beechface hissed, not at all in the mood for a civil conversation. The hurt was starting to bleed through the fury of her tone from before, and her claws sank unnecessarily hard into the feathers of the bird she had caught before she dropped it to lay on the branch.

Wordlessly, she leapt to the next branch. She didn't want him chasing after her to try and talk. She'd told him of Starclan's "message" and as far as she was concerned, that was the only thing that needed to be said between them right now. Not lashing out at the leader was a struggle, one Beechface felt very much like she was going to lose if she had to sit around and listen to him right now. She didn't want to lash out at him. The rational part of her brain told her it was a terrible idea. Told her that her words weren't doing either of them any good. But if she didn't hide behind her anger, she'd break down in tears. And she couldn't... Couldn't afford to show vulnerability when Wolfstar had already thrown all of her insecurities in her face. When Dawnhawk was their stars-forsaken "deputy."

"I never said you weren't cut out to be a medicine cat!" Wolfstar snapped back, trying and failing to hook a paw around her hock as she climbed yet another set of branches. As his paw dropped down to the branch, it landed on the bird she'd discarded, and Wolfstar swayed for a moment before righting himself. A tendril of nervousness crept down his spine at the thought of following her even higher, but he swallowed down the fear, determined.

"Beechface! Listen to me!"

Claws sank into the bark again, and Wolfstar climbed after his granddaughter. He reached her new limb, heart pounding in a mixture of adrenaline and unease. This was as high as he'd ever been before, the ground a dizzying length away when he glanced down. He immediately regretted it.

"Never once, not in your entire life, have I doubted you," he hissed, now an unmistakable edge to his tone. "Not when you were to be a warrior, and not after StarClan decided otherwise. You can pretend like I'm some monster that you hate because I made an executive decision for the sake of my clan, but you know, I know you know, that I would never do anything that I didn't think was for the best for SkyClan."

"I've always supported you, every step of the way, even when you were angry and bitter and cold. So no, I'm not here to rub it in your face. I'm here to ask for your support. I need your support. Because we need to stand together now."

"And how was naming Dawnhawk deputy what's best for the clan? You had perfectly sensible options! Foxfire, Wrenspring, Primroselight! Even Sunflower would've made a better choice if he died of shock right then and there! Yet you went and chose a traitor, instead!" Beechface shot back at her former mentor. "You chose him knowing it would divide the clan. What did you think would happen? Help me understand how that's supposed to keep the clan safe, because I don't understand your reasoning at all." If there had even been reasoning behind the decision, which Beechface wasn't entirely sure on. The she-cat leapt to another branch, wanting to put distance between them.

"You were somebody I looked up to! But I hardly recognize you since you returned. How am I supposed to trust you at all?" She choked out finally, turning to look at him. Tears stung her eyes and Beechface struggled to blink them away, vision blurring. It was then that she realized how high they'd climbed, and a frustrated hiss escaped the medicine cat. What use was she if all she did was let her emotions get the better of her? She remained on the branch, ears flat against her skull as she fought against the tears threatening.

"You don't understand my reasoning because you're a child, Beechface," Wolfstar snapped back. "You let your emotion sway everything like a kit who's never taken a step out of the nursery, and don't stop to understand reason even when you're smacked in the face with it. You're SkyClan's medicine cat. Sagelight trusted you. Spottedstar trusted you. I trust you. You trained as a warrior before StarClan brought you your true path, but you are not a warrior, Beechface and it's time you start acting like it. Your job as a medicine cat is to heal - not to encourage violence. I watched you take your oath to StarClan - did you just not mean it then? Or is this some new revelation that you've decided to completely disregard the words of that promise?" His voice was louder now, and the force of his emotion made Wolfstar sway a little on the branch that held both cats. He dug his claws in deeper, tail low to try and balance.

"You have no place in conversations about war or rebellion. No cat in SkyClan does. Furthering this hatred of the Asylum publicly and not caring who hears you say it is foolish and stupid. You. Are. Not. A. Warrior."

Pointedly, he stared at her, eyes hard, expression unwavering. "The clan is going to need you. They're going to need you, Beechface, because they don't trust me anymore and they'll never trust Dawnhawk again. You're all they can turn to, now... don't let your emotion lead them any further astray. You need to be the voice of reason where there is none, or SkyClan will never recover from this."

Beechface's fur bristled as Wolfstar called her a kit, the sharp edge of defensiveness creeping into her expression as she glared at him. Clearly it hadn't mattered that she'd apologize after the fact, maybe it never had. She'd thought he of all cats would understand her insecurities about the responsibility that she had never wanted in the first place, but it seemed as though she had been wrong. So very wrong.

Almost like clockwork, Wolfstar brought up Beechface's ceremony. She should have expected nothing less, really. Her tear-bright gaze dropped to where her paws gripped the branch, seemingly unaware of the dangerous distance above the ground that both cats stood on. Maybe she truly was, with how tears clouded her vision. The tears that had threatened began to fall as his words cut deeper than claws ever would.

"I- I wouldn't-" Beechface sputtered indignantly, managing to find her voice only for whatever words she could've said to die in her throat as Wolfstar continued over her, not allowing her to get a word in edgewise. For the moment it seemed as though his words had taken the wind out of her, and the large medicine cat sank back onto her haunches, ears flat against her skull as her tail twitched back and forth.

"Are you going to vanish in the night and abandon us like Spottedstar did, too?" Beechface snapped at him, struggling to cling to that familiar anger and not show her own pain for this traitor wearing her grandfather's face. But the anger had mostly died from her voice, leaving only hurt behind. Even to her ears she sounded weak, the plea in her voice painfully obvious across her face as she gazed up at Wolfstar through tears, hoping that this was some sort of mistake, or a nightmare she'd wake from.

"Wolfstar, I can't-" Beechface choked on the words. He was leaving the entire clan to trust her, alone. He was leaving her with all the responsibility that she had never wanted and still didn't want, only it was worse. Panic fluttered in her chest at the thought, claws clinging to the branch below her as if her life depended on it. He'd purposely shattered any trust the clan had in him, knowing that they'd only trust her when she hardly trusted that she was doing the right thing herself.

An indignant grimace painted Wolfstar's face when she asked if he planned on leaving the same way Spottedstar had. The leader shook his head slowly, sadly. Even though all this time had passed, and he'd managed to lock that particular trigger away in some dark corner of his brain, the reminder of what his father had done to the clan made him seize up with anger and hurt. Being compared to that, even though he knew she didn't mean it, stung. "I would never do that to SkyClan," he hissed, ears plastered against his skull. "I'd give my life for this clan, and any one of you in it! Why do none of you understand that?"

The branch swayed precariously again beneath the weight of the two arguing cats, but it held steady. Suddenly, though, it seemed like the fight had left Beechface. She sputtered words he hardly understood, her eyes wide with panic. The anger drained from his face, leaving room for only worry, and regret. He'd never spoken to his granddaughter this way, and only did so now because it seemed like she needed a kick back into reality, but he'd gone too far. "Beechface, I-" he took a step towards her. "Beechface I'm sorry. I just want you to be safe, I want the clan to be safe."

Beechface was distantly aware of Wolfstar's voice, but it sounded faint beneath the sound of her own heartbeat. He had thrown all the responsibility onto her shoulders, the full weight of a clan who wouldn't trust their leader and couldn't trust their farce of a deputy. It was too much, far too much. She couldn't handle this, not now with everything else.

The branch dipped, Wolfstar moved closer... Beechface instinctively took a step back. She didn't want to accept comfort, not from him. Especially when he was the source of the very real panic that was writ across her face. Maybe she would've, if it had been after she'd had time to cool off from the current conversation, or when she wasn't struggling to keep her breathing even. All she wanted to do right now though was get away from him.

Beechface took another, instinctive step back... Only one paw hit air instead of the solid branch. It snapped her out of the mindless panic enough to scrabble at the branch as she began to slowly lose her grip... And it was then that the medicine cat realized just how high up they were. Wide yellow-green eyes shot to Wolfstar as she struggled to find her balance, a cry strangled in her throat. An apology, plea for help, Beechface wasn't sure.

Wolfstar started to back down, as Beechface was clearly not interested in his consoling, and he wasn't about to push her boundaries more than he already had tonight. She said nothing, either because she wasn't able to, or because she had nothing to say... he wasn't sure. And he wasn't sure which he preferred, either. Communication had always been easy between the two of them, and while admittedly it probably wasn't nice to have favorites, Beechface had always been his favorite.

This divide between them stung, too, more than just a leader and medicine cat, this was grandfather and granddaughter. He'd watched her grow up, had been her mentor once. And now he'd screwed up enough that she treated him like a stranger. He was ready to call it quits, to just allow her whatever distance she needed to heal. But then she slipped, her rear paws catching only air as her forepaws scrabbled desperately for purchase. Before he even knew what he was doing, Wolfstar bounded forward, his paws, claws extended, landing overtop her own. "Hold on! Don't let go!" he commanded.

Beechface was heavy, with all of her father's muscle, and a hefty helping of her mother's long silky fur, and though the leader was strong, the branch below his paws didn't give him a lot of room to work. Wolfstar's rear claws pierced the bark, shredding it as he pulled backwards, and the fear in her eyes was reflected by his own.. He couldn't lose her this way. He wouldn't. Lunging forward, his paws left hers at just the moment his teeth sank into her scruff, and Wolfstar struggled backwards, heaving, praying. StarClan, please.

Panic gripped the silver tabby in iron jaws, heart beating frantically as she struggled to maintain her grip on the branch. A struggle that she was losing. Beechface was strong and muscular, but with that muscle came weight. Her hind paws flailed uselessly at the air as her front paws clung desperately to the branch.

Something sank into the scruff of her neck, then. It took the panicking she-cat a few precious moments to realize it was Wolfstar who was struggling to haul her back onto the branch. Her claws sank into the wood, and time seemed to stand still as the pair hung there in that dangerous predicament.

And then finally, finally, Beechface caught solid material beneath her hind paws. She scrambled for safer footing, then clung to the branch, breath coming in short, ragged gasps. Tears streaked her face as wide, still panicky eyes fixed on Wolfcall.

"Th- thanks," Beechface managed to croak out. Her throat felt tight, panic an uncomfortable sensation that seemed as if it had no intention of fading away just yet. It prevented her from speaking farther as the medicine cat perched carefully on the branch, shivering.

Wolfstar didn't breathe again until Beechface's paws were on solid ground... well, branch, and then he let go, chest heaving, tangles of fur wound around his teeth. He backed away, limbs trembling somewhat from exhaustion, but mostly fear. "Beechface, I... I-I- I'm sorry," he panted, "are you okay?" He'd almost killed her. His own granddaughter, and he'd almost killed her. Bloodstrike would have never forgiven him, Smokefeather... she'd be furious.

The leader hung his head, breath coming in short, quick gasps. He didn't expect her to respond - it had been more of a habit than anything that he even asked. But now that they'd just narrowly avoided death, Wolfstar was very, very aware of how high they'd climbed. And he was in quite a hurry to descend. But Beechface was on the thick portion of the branch against the trunk, barring his safe way down, and he wasn't about to make her move any time soon. Wolfstar took another step back, allowing him enough room to safely lie down on his belly. As soon as he touched down, there was a crack. Wolfstar's eyes widened, and he looked up to catch Beechface's gaze, the same panic she'd felt only seconds earlier now shining in his ambergold orbs.

The branch below him shifted, Wolfstar swallowed, and then he dropped.

Down, down, down. The branch below him wavered and fell away, and Wolfstar had only a second to register that before he slammed into the first branch, halfway down the tree. He felt ribs crack, and the breath left him in one pained wheeze. This branch, too, broke beneath him with the force of his collision, and again he was freefalling. Several smaller boughs cracked against him without slowing his fall, and then, with a sickening thud, the SkyClan leader hit the ground.

Beechface was still shaky as she gazed at her grandfather, chest heaving. This time she registered the apology, though whatever she would've said in response was once more choked off with her own emotional turmoil. At least Wolfstar seemed to think better of coming near her this time, Beechface could at least appreciate that he was now trying to give her space.

Crack!

"Wolfstar, be carefu-" Beechface's voice was higher pitched with fear. She moved forward at the look of panic on his face, a look that she was sure mirrored her own from earlier. She aimed to close her jaws around his scruff, knowing that she wouldn't struggle as much given that her grandfather weighed significantly less than she did, but was too late. The snap of branches breaking under his falling weight rang loud in her ears.

"No!" Beechface scrambled down the tree as fast as she could, snapping a few more branches in the process. Her descent was far from graceful, and through her heart pounding she could hear the sickening thud as Wolfstar landed.

At least her mother had shown her how to land properly and how to make it down from the trees, though it suddenly made horrifying sense why she'd almost never seen Wolfstar climb trees.

The medicine cat landed heavily on the ground several moments later, hissing as her paws absorbed the impact. Her breathing was uneven, more than it had been before as her gaze remained fixed on the motionless form of her grandfather on the forest floor. Acid bathed the back of her throat as she sprinted towards the fallen leader, frantically checking him over. Broken ribs at the very least, and the leader was laying far, far too still...

She'd killed him. She'd made the beyond foolish decision to climb that tree. Wolfstar was right, Beechface was putting her clanmates in danger.

"Wolfstar please... I'm s- sorry." Beechface choked out, a wave of fresh tears blurring her vision. Something caught at the back of her throat, an uncomfortably familiar sensation, and Beechface abruptly backed away from Wolfstar's body, gagging as the quail from last night decided to make an appearance. Beechface shook her head, blinking, desperate to clear her vision and curb her own panic.

She had to get Wolfstar back to camp, and quickly. But if he had more than just broken ribs moving him would be bad enough. And she definitely didn't trust the rogue she could see in a tree several fox-lengths away to help. The rogues never helped, anyways.