// :: Dawnhawk Reveal :: \\

OOC: I'd like for him to tell Lilacstar first and then she can reveal him to the rest of camp afterward, if Karuna thinks she would do that.

IC:

There was only so much that he could do to hide the ever growing patches of white and gold fur poking through the coat of darkness on his body. Nightwind was no more... Dawnhawk was returning. He groomed himself quietly at night while Smallbean slept, and more and more fur was removed with each swipe of his tongue. It seemed like a very short amount of time before his true colors were revealed, all of which he'd managed to hide so far from Smallbean... probably. He carefully and quietly stood up, letting the fur, feathers and weeds he'd used to cover his patches of white and gold fall from him and litter the ground around him. Dawnhawk stepped out of the medicine den, his leg almost normal now. Smallbean was a talented healer, as his leg had taken scarcely a moon to heal as much as it had. Still, he knew the journey to twoleg place and back in a timely manner would be too much strain for it.

He went straight for where Lilacstar slept, though in as quiet of a manner as he could. He wanted only her for an audience for now, and he hoped that his plan to weasel his way into Windclan as a loved and respected member would be enough to prevent her from banishing him. Otherwise... well fighting all of Windclan was going to be really crappy with only three fully functioning legs. Exile he could handle, but if they decided to try to bring him to Skyclan... No... No one has any idea outside of Skyclan. I would have heard something by now. He would choose what he would say carefully, but something needed to happen now.

"Lilacstar?" He whispered, leaning close to her so as not to disturb anyone else. "I know it's early, I'm sorry. I wouldn't disturb you if this wasn't important. Can we speak privately? It has everything to do with..." He turned and lifted one of his forelimbs so that she could see the shimmering pale white and gleaming gold of his real fur poking through the black hairs. He looked like a patchy Starclan cat. "...this." He finished, then hoped that they could have at least a few words in private, away from any prying eyes or ears for now.

Lilacstar narrowed her eyes at "Nightwind", although it appeared his fur is not as black as night as she had named him for. With a flick of her tail, she decided to lead the tom to a more secluded area. For now, it would be best if she knew the full story before letting others in on what was going on. Although she could not help but think of the prophecy that Softbreeze had shared with her before she retired. What if Nightwind was that cat siding with the righteous few? What all was he hiding?

Sitting down, she tried to force her fur to lie flat as he looked at the tom, although her anxiousness was still evident. "Alright, then. It seems you have a lot to explain. So I suggest you start talking."

He picked up on her anxiety immediately, and he completely understood. Dawnhawk nodded once at her, and tried to look as calm as possible while his heart thundered in his chest. It took a lot of willpower to not start looking for a fast escape route. "I came here disguised as someone else because I... " He hesitated for a moment, now no longer bothering to use Nightwind's voice. He was Dawnhawk now, from today forward, regardless of what was about to happen. "My real name is Dawnhawk. I am an exiled Skyclan cat. I was exiled because I was part of the Asylum. I believed in Asylum's mission and their idea of peace through unification. I wasn't just another grunt in the Asylum either..." He found a particularly wet spot of morning dew on the grass and dropped his right shoulder into it. He grimaced as the movement caused pain in his leg, but when he stood up straight again, he turned so that Lilacstar could see the scars clearly as his wet fur now clung tightly to his flesh. The mark of the Standard Captain was there... albeit marred from a battle with his brother who left his own scars.

"I held a very high rank in the Asylum as well. I was the Standard Captain... Tawnyflare's Captain. Her name was Raisha, if I recall correctly. I knew that you were accepting of Asylum cats, even if they still wear pelts... but I wasn't sure how welcome a Captain would have been so I stayed quiet." He then sat down on his haunches and his tail tip twitched.

"I didn't have much of a plan when I came here, only that I was tired of being alone and fighting other clanless cats for scraps of food. I didn't expect to make the bonds that I have here. I got so used to being Nightwind that I almost forgot who I was a few times. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. Dawnhawk was very confused and angry... Nightwind is more stable... and certainly far more happy. There were times I wasn't sure that I even wanted to go back to who I was." That part at least wasn't a lie. He had grown to like Windclan and several of the cats in it. Still, if he needed to sever the bonds for his survival, as painful as it would be, he could still do it.

"Anyway... now you know. If you have questions, please ask. Otherwise... I guess it's time to tell the clan about me and for you to decide whether you'll accept Dawnhawk as a warrior into your ranks, or if it's time for me to go."

Lilacstar narrowed her eyes at Dawnhawk, the lashing of her tail much more violent now. This was a name she had heard before. "So, you are Dawnhawk, then? Wolfstar had spoken of you at the previous gathering. You were not any ordinary warrior there, either, were you? SkyClan wants you dead, you know. Wolfstar said you were a liar and a murderer. Now, liar I feel as though I know the answer to, but murderer is quite a bold accusation. What crime had you committed that was so awful that Wolfstar is specifically targeting you, rather than any other former Asylum cat?"

Lilacstar knew that whatever decision she made here, she had to make it a good one. Continuing to harbor Dawnhawk could put WindClan at odds with SkyClan if the latter were to find out. And yet, at the same time, he had been a genuinely good member of her Clan, even had a family, and seemed to love them as well. It would be cruel to take that away, if he truly is trying to start a new life.

Dawnhawk noted every twitch of Lilacstar's body, every miniscule facial expression... Though he kept himself fairly calm and reserved on the outside, a prize-winning poker face, his mind already raced. Throat nose eyes ears belly flank... Eyes nose belly throat... Ears eyes nose belly flank... He ran through various battle sequences that could occur and the best way he'd take one of Lilacstar's lives if this was about to go poorly. He'd drop her, then bolt aw- No.... his leg. Maybe he could run fairly quick enough even with a splinted leg to get away from Skyclan cats, but a whole clan of Windclan cats?

Thoughts of fleeing were out the window. If this ended poorly he was going to die... but he'd take as many as he could with him before he drew his last breath. Fortunately this wasn't his only plan, but a last resort. "I'm aware that Skyclan has called for my execution. That's... another reason why I'm hiding here." Now... to be very very careful with what he was about to tell her...

"I have murdered two Skyclan cats. The first one was to prove to the Asylum that I wasn't about to betray them, a fair suspicion. That was their condition: I bring back a Skyclan cat to prove my loyalty. I don't have to tell you how ruthless they can be. I heard what had happened to Windclan when they came. If they had even a sliver of doubt, they would have asked me to meet them somewhere and that probably would have been my gravesite. Even if I wanted to back out, once I met their leaders and saw their headquarters, I couldn't have. So I did what I felt I had to." He never was proud of himself for killing Swansong, that much was true. He'd had nothing against her, but unfortunately she had been an easy target when he had been given his first mission. So down she went.

"The second I killed was a warrior that Bloodstrike sent after me after the Asylum had left and I was banished. They were hunting me. In self defense I gutted one. I admit the tactic was brutal, but I wanted to make them afraid to come after me again. I know I stand no chance against an entire clan alone, so if I could get in their heads and make them feel fear, maybe they wouldn't try that again. I guess I was wrong." He was definitely not about to tell her about Featherkit... or attacking his sister the medicine cat on multiple occasions, or killing his own guard to make him look innocent. And he definitely definitely wasn't about to tell her that he had hunted Smokefeather and permanently injured her... she deserved it anyway.

"I felt the need to even go to the Asylum to begin with because... I don't really want to talk about it but I'll come clean anyway. Tell the clan whatever you want but if you could keep this between us I'd prefer that you did." He sighed once and kept his voice level to the best of his ability. A lot of anger and pain surrounded what he was going to say to her next, even if he was partially only telling her to garner as much sympathy as he could.

"My dad, being the deputy, was busy a lot. He cared about me at one point but he was always gone. My mom on the other paw seemed to always have some disdain for me and she..." His fur actually bristled and his claws flexed into the earth below. It still hurt. He hated to think about or talk about it, even when it was to his advantage to do so. "Lets just say she wasn't exactly the caring type when it came to me and she took advantage of the fact that Bloodstrike wasn't around much. She made it very clear one day how much she hated me and wished she had killed me as a kit, and all of her forced "sparring" with me started to make sense."

His eyes had gone cold when he explained, and a strain in his voice that wasn't there prior made itself known. He swallowed and took a breath to clear it. "Anyway..." He didn't continue. He'd let her take all of this information in and make her own decision.

Well this complicated things. On one paw, he had SkyClan wanting him dead. But on the other paw, despite his mistakes, it was clear that he was trying to change his life around. He had been a good warrior to WindClan, doing no wrong to any of her warriors. He was a wonderful mate and father to Sunnyskip and their kits. He treated every member of the Clan with respect. She had made her decision.

"I wish you would have been honest from the beginning, Dawnhawk, but I can understand your reasons for not doing so. You truly have been put in a difficult position. That being said, despite your past mistakes, I do believe you are trying to change your life around, and you have been a good warrior for my Clan. So yes, I will accept Dawnhawk into WindClan. But it will be up to you to tell the rest of the Clan about who you truly are, and I am afraid I cannot promise their reactions will be as you might desire. As for SkyClan, I will deal with them as best as I can, should it come to that. I never really cared too much for Wolfstar, anyway."

Her whiskers twitched with amusement, a sly grin appearing on her maw. What happened from this point on would be up to Dawnhawk, and he would have to make the decision on who he wished to be. Whatever that may be, she would support him.

A stone face stared back at Lilacstar as she spoke. He was very very careful to keep any sort of smirk or otherwise betraying emotion off of his face after she had finished. His plan had worked... His lies had worked. He now had a base of operations while seeming to be a changed cat. He had, a bit, but not as much as Lilacstar might believe at this point. While he had no ill will towards Sunnyskip or their kits, or even really anyone in particular in Windclan, they had all been used for this one moment. He had time to heal his injured leg completely, had cats that would fight Skyclan for him, and he would further weasel his way deeper into the hearts and minds of the clan cats.

"I'll do that, thank you for giving me a second chance, Lilacstar." He nodded once, tipping his ears forward in respect. "I don't mind skipping out on going to gatherings, if that would make things easier for you. They were never really my thing anyway, and I am sure it would only bring trouble to Windclan if Wolfstar knew." Though a big part of him would love to see Skyclan in conflict with another clan. He would take advantage of that chaos and kill as many as he could, even if it wasn't Windclan involved in the conflict.