Family Meeting [c]

Ashfall made her way to the lone stump, looking over her shoulder every once and a while to make sure her brother and mother were in tow. She had asked them to come with her, to talk, which was something they hadn't done since Dawnhawk had revealed himself. Her family had just seemed scattered to the winds, and Ashfall refused to let them go too far. She wouldn't let the actions of her father break apart their family, and so they needed to be on the same page.

She came to a stop near the stump itself, looking out at the territory for a moment. It was the perfect place to talk while still knowing if there was anyone around to listen, you could see just about every part of the territory from there. Ashfall had worried that her father might try to listen in, but those worries were soothed by the high visibility. Still, she would keep an eye out.

"So...obviously I brought us all out here to talk. Since we haven't since... well since Dawnhawk revealed who he was." Ashfall spoke it a way foreign to her, it was nervous and careful. Usually, she sounded sure of her words, even if she wasn't sure, but feelings were hard, and she didn't want to hurt her family. "I guess I just wanted to know what you guys thought of it all. You have both have just seemed so distant lately." Her gaze fixed itself on the distant moors, awkwardly looking away. It felt unfair to ask her family to put a label on their feelings when she had not done so herself, but what could she even begin by saying?

When Ashfall had come to find her, Sunnyskip's heart had leapt into her throat. Still, she had followed her daughter without any fuss, and as they reached the lone stump that looked out over the territory she settled in to wait for her to speak. Her ear twitched when she finally did, and she tried not to wince at his name, but couldn't help it. She inhaled sharply, eyes widening as they focused on a spot in the distance before she sighed and forced herself to relax. After another moment of silence, she spoke, voice cracking slightly. "I'm sorry, both of you. I... I had no idea. I wish I could tell you how I feel, but I'm honestly not sure myself. I'm still trying to work through my emotions myself, but that's no excuse for leaving you guys to do so alone as well. I'm sorry for that."

Ryesnap followed the patrol of kin lazily, moving in wide arcs and often shuffling off on a tangent to investigate an odd rock or feather or plant. He scented the wind and admired the taste of pollen and sweet water on his tongue. How odd that nose and mouth were so connected. Scent and taste were nearly interchangeable... this revelation, yet another distraction from what he knew was eventually coming.

When they stopped, the tomcat did not sit down or make himself comfortable. He stood rigid, barely waving in the wind that brushed over his thick tail and short fur. Ashfall and Sunnyskip exchanged a few gentle words, meowing only loud enough for the three to hear. Ryesnap did not look them in the eye, but gazed blankly into the abyss of Highstones far, far in the distance. He thought about all that he knew and shivered harshly. Eyes fluttering shut, Ryesnap imagined that he might disappear from this place and never have this ridiculous conversation after all. It wouldn't happen; StarClan would never bless him in such a way.

"I've got nothin' to say," he muttered. "Why are we even out here? Are we gonna hunt? You know there are kits back at camp that gotta eat, right? Seriously, are we just gonna sit here and spook the rabbits away?"

"Yeah, cause you need to hunt more. You disappear on the daily, all day, I'm sure you've brought back enough prey to feed the kits while we talk." Ashfall brought her gaze on her brother, tone vaguely annoyed. She was having a tough time keeping her voice devoid of emotion, maybe because her brother could annoy her like no other. "Mom, I'm sorry that you're still hurting, I hope this talk won't hurt you more." Her gaze had turned to her mother. Ashfall didn't want to hurt either her mother, or her brother, but they needed to talk about Dawnhawk. It was the kind of conversation Ashfall hated, but there was no turning back at this point.

The tip of Ashfall's tail twitched anxiously as she began to speak. "Obviously we need to talk about Dawnhawk. Ryesnap if you say anything along the lines of 'what's there to talk about' I swear-" She gave a pointed look at him, wanting him to not just brush her words off as he did before. "Anyway, I believe that he's done more than he is letting on." She paused for a moment. For all the information she had learned, for everything she had done, she had no proof, just hunches and more hunches. Copperfox had been vague, Ashstorm had been vague, she was so close yet so far and it was frustrating, but she had to believe that she was right. "I was going to ask Lilacstar to reconsider letting Dawnhawk stay. The problem is, I don't have any proof. There have just been so many factors though, we can't trust him. It isn't like he trusted us anyway." Her gaze dropped to her paws, the hurt of her father's betrayal seemingly flaring up once again. "Maybe I'm wrong, maybe he is being completely truthful, maybe my instincts are wrong, but I can't take that chance, I won't let him hurt either of you again." Ashfall only then looked back up at her family, they might call her crazy, but she would do anything to protect them.

Ryesnap's tone fit his name, and Sunnyskip flinched a little bit at his indifference. He had always been stubborn, but... She frowned as her daughter spoke up, and she lifted her head to meet her gaze with a small smile. Shaking her head gently in an attempt to reassure Ashfall that she would be alright, she waited quietly while Ashfall spoke. "He might have done more, I honestly don't know. I had no idea he was anyone other that who he had claimed to be... It sounds silly, really. I trusted him so readily, most of us did." Her heart twisted as she saw the hurt in her daughter's eyes, and she brushed her tail to her shoulder lightly. "Hey, if he has done more, we'll work through it together. What he did and what he does doesn't have to affect us anymore than we want it to. We were blind to what the truth was, so we can take what we know and apply it, and prepare for what may come because of the truth." She mewed, drawing her tail back close to her as she turned to gaze at her son. What were his thoughts? Was he going to participate in the conversation at all, or would he remain as cold and distant as he had been?