And the thunder rolls... [C]

Dawnhawk waited all night for the gathering to end. Once he saw Windclan returning, he carefully looked for familiar pelts that were certainly not from Windclan. He was pleasantly surprised to see that that wasn't the case. He climbed off of Tallrock and waited at the base of it, looking for Lilacstar. He scanned the faces of his other clanmates too, looking for any sign or hint that they knew what had happened. Once Lilacstar was in view, Dawnhawk approached her immediately and nodded in the direction of her den. This wasn't news that he felt the need to give all of Windclan right now. They didn't like it the last time he made his announcement... he wasn't eager to yell from Tallrock again. He walked calmly towards the leader's den, but patiently waited for Lilacstar to enter first, as it was her den and not his. Once she had, he followed suit, exhaling a sigh that he'd been holding since they left.

"Lilacstar... A Skyclan cat visited me while you were gone. She came here, found the camp and passed on troubling information. Uh... don't worry she's my daughter and is still loyal to me. She's no threat to Windclan. I escorted her out and told her not to come back, as a Windclan warrior should, but she told me that Skyclan knows I am here. The medicine cat knew... so either Starclan told her or someone in Windclan did." Dawnhawk had suspicions that if anyone in Windclan would say anything, it would be Shrikestorm. The reason for that being that he had figured out the resentfulness of the Windclan cat early on when he was still Nightwind.... and that Shrikestorm hadn't had enough brains to keep his emotions in check and being the most verbal about his dislike of the current situation. Still, Dawnhawk was curious to see how Lilacstar would react... and if she would have similar suspicions that he had, before we started pointing paws.

Lilacstar narrowed her eyes. So then there was only one answer for this, then. "Wolfstar didn't know you were here. At least, he gave no signs of knowing. So that means Softbreeze was right. There is a traitor in the Clan. Their deputy was acting hostile to Dayspring, so it is safe to say that he knows as well, so we are on very limited time. Dawnhawk, I am sorry to go back on my word, but you must understand that the safety of my Clan comes first. I am going to have to ask you to leave. If SkyClan knows you are here, then they will be coming here. I have already put my Clanmates in too much danger by sheltering you at all."

Her claws dug into the ground as she tried to wrap her head around all of this. SkyClan knew. They were coming here. One of her own Clanmates told them. They had betrayed the Clan and put them all in danger. Someone whom she had trusted. She brushed aside her own medicine cat believing that no cat in her Clan would ever bring them harm. She had been too naive.

"We will try to buy you enough time to escape, but there is only so much I can promise. Try not to let anyone in the Clan see you leave, or it may get to SkyClan. With luck, we will have reinforcements within RiverClan, so don't worry too much. And I will make sure your family here stays safe. I wish you luck, Dawnhawk, and for what it is worth, I do honestly believe you were a good warrior while you were here, even if others do not see it that way."

It wasn't what Dawnhawk wanted to hear. He stared at her while she talked, patiently letting her finish. Once she had, he blinked at the unexpected compliment of him being a good warrior. In a way... yes, he supposed he'd been good, but far from what she actually believed him to be. Which was why he knew he needed to stay, and he needed to convince her of that.

"Protecting your Clan is your priority? Lilacstar, I have a family here. I have fought predators off of the moor, trained apprentices that weren't getting good enough lessons from their mentors when they came to me for help, fed the queens in the nurseries and the elders in the elder's den. I brought information to you that you otherwise would not have gotten and even sent my own daughter away when she came to warn me because she isn't a Windclan cat, and for no other reason. I am a Windclan cat. I am your clan." With that point driven home, he paused to let her think for a moment before he continued.

"If you seriously believe that just by sending me away, Skyclan will stop, then you don't know them as well as you should. That's another reason why you need me here. I can help protect Windclan and I will. I know those cats that are coming here, I know their strengths, weaknesses and what makes them tick. As I've already told you, I've spent time as their warrior as well as ruling over them for a short period. I know a lot more about them than any Windclan cat. I'm your best bet, if your intention is to keep Windclan safe." He glanced outside the leader's den. His eyes narrowed and his pupils constricted into thin slits as the first light peaked across the more and hit his face.

"And... I can help you sniff out your traitor. I know you know I didn't get where I am now because I'm stupid." He looked at her again with a playful smirk. "I have an idea of who it could be, but I'd rather ask you if anyone comes to mind before I jump to my own conclusions."

"And what has brought you here, Dawnhawk? Out of all the Clans you could go to, why WindClan? Forgive me for saying this, but something isn't adding up. You knew that by coming here, you would be putting this Clan in danger. You revealed yourself to the entirety of the Clan, and now all of a sudden SkyClan is coming after us. And now we need you? And you just so happen to know who the traitor is as well, hmm? I also did not get where I am because I am stupid, and I believe you have overstayed your welcome. Or, if you choose to remain, I am sure Wolfstar would love to see you."

Lilacstar narrowed her eyes, her tail lashing. She had a feeling she knew who the traitor was, yes, and she would speak with him as well. But if Dawnhawk was here to harm her Clan, then she would shelter him no more. Now, she had to do damage control for what he had caused. And her patience was really running thin with the tom because of it.

The sudden change in tone and overall attitude sent a wave of anger through Dawnhawk. His ears rotated back a bit and his own tail began to twitch. His jaw clenched shut and his toes itched as he kept his claws sheathed. "What brought me here was a rogue that knew you had a reputation for accepting anyone and everyone into Windclan's ranks. I told you this when I came here, even if it was under a different identity. I'm not sure what isn't adding up as you put it. Unless you assume I have some ill-intent for Windclan... in which case you should have ousted me the second you knew who I was. I don't have any malice for Windclan, and even after this little betrayal, of myself and your own word, I still won't. And yes, you do need me, but if you really think me being gone will solve your problems then of course I will go. As for your traitor, I have a very good idea of who he is, but it doesn't seem like you want to hear it from me. I can tell you he is a far bigger threat to your clan than I am, if he did inform Skyclan of my presence here even after your approval and my choice to be honest to the entire clan. If he is guilty of that, then he's the one that got you into this conflict, not me."

Dawnhawk's fur had bristled during his speech, but he forced it to lie flat now. He made sure to take another breath to calm himself down. He wasn't interested in trouble with Windclan, but he certainly wasn't about to take any foxdung from a leader that was so flip-floppy in her decision making. She claimed that she wasn't stupid, but Dawnhawk had yet to see any real reason to believe that. Maybe she wasn't. Maybe she was simply inexperienced, but that was no excuse. You were either a good leader or you weren't, at the end of the day.

"Tell my family I didn't want to go and that I didn't abandon them. Goodbye Lilacstar." Dawnhawk wasn't about to wait to hear anything else that she had to say. He pivoted on his heel and was gone with the speed of a Windclan cat. He had a plan to find mud, cover himself in it to kill his scent, and bolt away to a random border. As his paws carried him across the moor, the fury that he'd kept under control during his conversation with Lilacstar bubbled and boiled to the surface.

A growl ripped through his throat and his legs pumped ever harder to increase his already breakneck speed. The instant he found mud, he threw himself down in it and rolled until it covered him. The Asylum had taught him how to kill his scent and he would continue to use their teachings to the day he died. Once he was certain he was sufficiently covered, but not to excess so as to leave a mud trail, Dawnhawk changed direction from his original path and bolted.

I chose to be honest... and look where it got me. Idiot, Dawnhawk! He wouldn't be making that mistake again. Never again. He was regretting not going after Tornshadow. If he could get her away from Skyclan, they could be outsiders together. It wouldn't be an easy life, but he was sure that she had matured enough at this point that they could make it work. He would be around, hoping to pick up news somehow about how this conflict was going. He hoped Windclan would win... he hoped Riverclan would assist Windclan too. If Skyclan became weak over this war, then Dawnhawk planned to start picking them off one by one.