The Silk Serpent of Burnt Eden [Wolfstar]

Dawnhawk had meant to meet with Wolfstar much earlier for this conversation, but he had duties pop up elsewhere and then he decided to go report his success to the Asylum headquarters. He'd been rewarded and had some quality time with Iniko, a break from work that he didn't know that he needed. He had returned to Skyclan camp just the other night and curled up in the warrior's den beside Honeycomb. After a few hours sleep, Dawnhawk was awake again. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon, the time he normally got up. It didn't matter how late he went to bed most of the time. He had a habit of waking early for as long as he could remember. Now, instead of hunting, he was going to speak to Wolfstar about his decisions. No doubt the leader had gotten backlash from other clanmates. He should be fairly worn down from it all, the stupidity and emotional outbursts of most of these Skyclan cats were exhausting if you weren't used to it. At this point, Dawnhawk had switched mental gears to not just endure it, but to revel in it. He had become something that they could never be and they were clearly jealous. Hurt, yes, but jealous more than anything if they just thought about it long enough.

The pale tom got up carefully, trying his hardest not to wake Honeycomb, before he padded quietly to the leader's den. He thought he saw some movement inside. He crept closer, not necessarily wanting to wake Wolfstar out of a sound sleep. Movement again... maybe Wolfstar wasn't sleeping so soundly after all. It had been a cold night... and Blossomstep didn't seem to be in there. Oh boy... A twinge of sympathy wormed it's way through Dawnhawk at the thought of being in trouble with a loved mate. Siblings spitting venom at him was nothing new, but if Honeycomb were to refuse to talk to him or lay next to him at night... That wasn't somewhere he wanted to be.

"Wolfstar?" Dawnhawk called softly. He waited at the entrance of the den. If he didn't answer, he was willing to wait outside for awhile until the leader woke up.

The movement inside would prove to be the dark tabby tom pacing, back and forth, on the inside of his den. Sleep as usual lately hadn't come easy, and instead he'd been fated to lie awake, alone, in the nest that he and Blossomstep once shared, until he could no longer do so and resigned himself to a frantic, almost neurotic, striding within the den. Blessedly, a voice at the entrance broke the quiet - Dawnhawk's voice - and Wolfstar paused, one paw in the air, and looked out.

Was there trouble? The leader frowned, finally lowering his paw and calling in response. "Dawnhawk? You may enter,"

Dawnhawk heard his name and was granted permission to come in, so he stepped inside the leader's den to find Wolfstar... not at all sleepy and looking tense. That made sense. Now where to being with all of this... The pale tom sat calmly, an indication that he planned to be here for awhile. "Extremely risky on your part... naming me your deputy. I see it... hasn't won you any favors." He made a subtle gesture with a nod of his head at the empty space where Blossomstep typically lie with him. Dawnhawk wasn't here to poke fun at the leader at all, so he quickly moved on to another subject.

"You named me your deputy and I accepted this position, however, if the pressure from the clan gets to be too much for you, I will not retaliate if you unname me. I swear it." Dawnhawk was serious. It was better to offer Wolfstar a way out if he wanted to take it, rather than have him fear some sort of backlash if he did. "You asked me several days ago about Bloodstrike... I didn't answer you then because I didn't know how to. As your deputy, I will do my job to the best of my ability and tell you what you... think you want to know." Dawnhawk sighed, frustration etching it's way onto his face. His tail flicked and his claws pierced and repierced the earth below him several times.

"Bloodstrike cannot be allowed back to the clan... we can't even send in caretakers for him without him becoming violent. We have managed to care for him thus far... though the Asylum has their ways of pacifying otherwise unruly creatures. He's hurt a lot of cats... a lot that only wanted to help him. The only reason he is even alive right now is because I have fallen into favor with the higher ranks of the Asylum and I keep asking them to be patient and give him more time. But Wolfstar... I don't know if he'll ever..." Dawnhawk's breath caught in his throat. He glanced over his shoulder, paranoia taking hold. After a few seconds of quickly glancing around outside, the pale tom moved closer and spoke lower. "I don't know if he'll ever be right again." Dawnhawk didn't meet Wolfstar's eyes. "From what I have heard of the cats assigned to care for him... when they came back to be treated... it sounds to me like he thinks he died and is in The Dark Forest. He lashes out at anyone that gets near him." Dawnhawk took a long pause for Wolfstar to digest the words.

"I wanted him to come back. I did." Dawnhawk finally met Wolfstar's eyes. There was a wetness to them that wasn't there before. "Out of all of the cats in this clan and even between him and my mother, he had always treated me well. I didn't want to see him end up the way that he did, but I had no authority at the time of the..." What word did he want to use here? Invasion and take-over were harsh... "The night the Asylum came. I yelled out that the nightstrikers were not to make a martyr of him because that's the only thing I could have said to have possibly made them listen to me. Otherwise... I was just some mewling kit savage trying to save his father rather than have total loyalty to the Asylum."

Savage.... oh how he really hated that word. It was just as fur-bristling as the word "traitor" that got thrown around so much here. The Asylum cats called him a "savage", a word quite a few of them used for the clan cats. Dawn wasn't liked even there... Honeycomb had been his only source of peace, a recent development that shocked even him.

"I would never have supported the way they decided to do things, with threats of violence. I would have chosen a slower transition, but they just didn't want to wait I guess." Annoyance flickered across his face. He clearly hadn't been in favor of the Asylum's take-over plan... but what was done was done. He would fix what he could and accept what he couldn't.

"Anyway... that's what I know about Bloodstrike. I haven't been to see him because even I am not sure of exactly where he is. I just hear what injured Asylum cats tell me." He waited a few heartbeats before his eyes held Wolfstar's.

"Now... I want to know why you named me your deputy. Why? And also I want to know what your plans are for the Asylum and the clan to start coming together. I want to assist."

Though the answers about Bloodstrike had been what Wolfstar was seeking from the jump, when Dawnhawk provided them, the hole that he thought would be filled by the information that Bloodstrike was at least alive, and safe, just... wasn't. He stared blankly at the wall, trying to process the information that Dawnhawk had provided. They had hurt his son so badly that he thought he was literally dead, though why Bloodstrike thought he would go to the Dark Forest was a mystery to him. Sure, he'd made a plan to assassinate his own grandfather, but... he hadn't gone through with it, right?

Wolfstar let silence fill the air for a long time, too long to be normal, and much too long to be comfortable. He just... stared, and when finally he had to blink, his eyes were still dry. The leader nodded once, finally meeting Dawnhawk's gaze. "Do you not want the position?" he said, tone level and calm. There wasn't enough time for him to respond before Wolfstar spoke again. "I made you my deputy because you were the best choice for what I want: peace. That's it. I want peace, I don't want anyone else to be hurt, or threatened, or... anything. I just want peace."

Dawnhawk had expected a lot of different reactions, but dead silence and complete... unacknowledgement of this information wasn't something he prepared for. As the question Wolfstar finally asked was brought to the forefront of his mind, Dawnhawk had no choice but to focus on that instead.

"Whether I want it or not is irrelevant. This is what I need to do to help everyone. I too want peace. I have kits on the way, though I'm sure my mate would rather keep her identity a secret for as long as she can." He paused for a moment to think. He wouldn't reveal Honeycomb's name, but time would surely allow their "secret" to be discovered. Still, if anyone broke the silence, it would not be him.

"At least as their official deputy, I can protect her from anyone who may mistreat her because they learn who the father of her kits is. Apprentice duty is the worst I can threaten, but for some it is enough. For others... well she is a member of your clan too. Would you be willing to intervene if my powers were not enough to keep her safe? Demotions, perhaps, if she was treated unfairly for her choices in trying to maintain the peace as well?" If Honeycomb would be protected, then great. Dawnhawk could handle all the insults and venom thrown at him, but he wasn't sure he'd tolerate much of it if it was thrown towards Honeycomb. He hoped even Redfall would stand up for his daughter if need be.

If necessary, he'd fight alongside Redfall if it meant his kits and Honeycomb were going to be in a secure environment.

The revelation that Dawnhawk was expecting kits, in SkyClan no less, was met with a stunned silence from Wolfstar. Had he really been so blind as to not see that happening right in front of him? Surely the number of cats that would willingly tolerate Dawnhawk's presence - much less show him genuine affection - was small... so who..?

His eyes narrowed in thought, but clearly, Wolfstar had failed at yet another thing. He shook his head. "No harm shall come unavenged to a member of SkyClan while I still draw breath," he assured the golden tom. He tilted his head. "Though... it would help tremendously if I knew who it was." Wolfstar studied Dawnhawk with a keen, guardedly curious expression. "If someone finds out before me, I'm afraid I won't be much of a failsafe. But if I know, I can keep an eye."

This was something that Dawnhawk had to think about. He went silent for a few moments, debating on whether or not he should give out Honeycomb's identity. Truth be told, her identity would become very apparent very quickly if anyone found out. Maybe it would be best if Wolfstar knew. He hoped.

"Honeycomb. Redfall's daughter." The corner of his lip twitched upward as he failed momentarily to hide his own feeling of triumph. It had been at first to taunt Redfall, whom had had nothing but venom and spitting for the pale tom ever since he was a kit. But the other truth was that he had grown to care for the ginger and gold she-cat.

"I'm sure she'd like the clan to be as unaware as possible for as long as possible that the kits are mine. I deserve the the hissing and spitting behind my back, but she doesn't." He hoped Wolfstar would be quiet about it too, but if not, Dawnhawk could always try to talk Honeycomb into leaving Skyclan and either be transferred to a different clan or just become part of the Asylum with him.