Thus Says The Lord [c]

Lilacstar had reached the end of her patience with all of this nonsense. She had just chased Dawnhawk out, which surprised even her, and now she had to deal with a potential traitor. She had Swiftspirit in her den waiting for her. As a former loner, Lilacstar figured she would have learned how to sniff out a lie, and as one of the few who had trusted her decisions, Swiftspirit was a cat she could trust for this job. All of this had left her so bone weary, she really needed the help.

"Shrikestorm. We need to have ourselves a little talk. Mind coming into my den with me?" Despite the polite wording, it was clear that this was not a request, and her tone left no room for argument. Already she was leading the way, her pacing brisk. Not often had the leader been seen truly mad. But if anything could set her off, putting her Clanmates in danger would surely do it. And that was exactly what happened, whether the culprit realized it or not.

Swiftspirit could feel Lilacstar's impatience mounting seemingly by the hour, and when the leader had explained what she wanted Swiftspirit for, the former loner merely nodded, retreating to wait for Lilacstar and Shrikestorm.

"Lilacstar, Shrikestorm." They had finally arrived, and Swiftspirit greeted both as she would any other clanmate. Lilacstar was clearly furious, and she was here to make sure nothing drastic happened and to put her training to use. Not that anyone needed to know where that training had come from. Lilacstar had attributed it to Swiftspirit living as a loner before joining the clan, and she hadn't shed more info on that. It wasn't technically wrong, at least... And if Lilacstar was an angry as she appeared, she needed someone with a cool head to help her. As for Shrikestorm... Swiftspirit hoped that he hadn't been the one to tell Skyclan of Dawnhawk's whereabouts. She wasn't blind to her clanmate's faults however, and this wasn't anything personal on her end. She was here to figure out the truth and nothing more.

Shrikestorm nodded briefly at the 'request', following behind Lilacstar to her den. It didn't take much brainpower to know what this was likely about. Though Lilacstar seemed calm on the outside, he could almost feel the seething coming right off her fur. She was furious about something, and he had an idea of what it was. He had never seen the leader angry before though, and he remained curious as to how she would deal with this.

As he entered her den, he saw Swiftspirit there already. 'Ah...' So Lilacstar had backup. It was an interesting case. On one hand, Swiftspirit was a former rogue that Shrikestorm had specifically been against joining. On the other, the two of them had been surprisingly courteous with each other during the times they spent together. He stood there at the entrance, facing the leader and the outsider warrior. What would they attempt to drag out of him? Only one way to find out.

"Shrikestorm, are you aware of the group known as the Righteous Few? They were cats of StarClan who were against outsiders. But they took their dislike to extremes, and many cats died as a result. Well, I had received a prophecy from Softbreeze a while ago saying that a cat in our Clan is turning out the same way as those cruel cats. I shook it off at first, but then I learned someone, a cat from our Clan, had told SkyClan of Dawnhawk's presence. Now, I understand a dislike of the tom, and it is fine to disagree with my choices. But when a cat deliberately goes behind my back and puts the Clan in danger, then we have problems. Now, my hopes are that this cat, who I am sure meant well, will come forward, but I don't suppose you know who this is? Surely you have some idea?"

Lilacstar, as she spoke, kept her back to Shrikestorm. She did not want to look at him. In her mind, he was already guilty, after all, who else could it be? And she thought if she looked at him now, she might just attack him for what he had done. But he deserved a fair trial, at the very least. Hence why Swiftspirit was here.

Lilacstar didn't turn to face Shrikestorm, and it was then that Swiftspirit realized just how furious the leader was. Lilacstar spoke of the Righteous Few, which Swiftspirit so far had only heard the occasional mention of, she'd never been alive to witness whatever they had done first hand... And as such their name held little meaning for Swiftspirit. She wasn't sure that bringing them up here would be productive, and her gaze flicked up to Shrikestorm's for a moment with the tiniest twitch of her ear. They were here to discuss Dawnhawk and who had told Skyclan about them, nothing more.

Shrikestorm frowned slightly, but obviously Lilacstar wasn't looking at him to see. "I have heard of them." He remembered being told of them by Olivestar when he was a young warrior. The Righteous Few... The fact that even StarClan themselves would want the clans to mingle to such an extent was worrying. Not only from the words of his leaders, but from StarClan themselves.

"I heard whispers while at the gathering, but I could not tell you where they were coming from. If one of us did say something to the other clans about Dawnhawk, then they did not say it to me." Was he lying to Lilacstar? Bold-facedly. It was for a purpose, though. If Lilacstar knew the truth, he had no doubt that he would be sent off the moors. If WindClan was truly going to be in any danger, and with Dawnhawk there they would be, then his strength was needed as much as the rest of his clanmates. He told SkyClan, but they deserved to know about - and remove - that traitor. That did not mean he wouldn't defend his clan against them, or anyone else. "Lilacstar, if we are truly in danger, then I cannot cast suspicion on any of my clanmates. We would all be needed to defend this clan."

"You heard whispers? You heard whispers?!" In an instant, Lilacstar had rounded on the warrior, screaming furiously in his face. "Why did you not investigate? Or, more importantly, why am I just now hearing about this? Shrikestorm, do you even realize how dire this situation is? Cats are going to get hurt if we don't put a stop to this! What are you holding back? Who told SkyClan?!"

Lilacstar had to force herself to back away, taking deep breaths, her tail lashing behind her. Her brows furrowed in thought as she tried to figure all this madness out. "Shrikestorm, the battle will be lost if I don't even know who I can trust. This Clan will fall apart. And if you are unwilling to come clean, then any blood spilled will be on your paws. Do you understand this? Now, I am going to be more direct this time, as I am sure you know what is on my mind. Did you, or did you not, tell someone in SkyClan of Dawnhawk's presence? I know you were quite adamant on getting rid of him, but please tell me you would not go so far as to betray your Clan."

Now her eyes were one Swiftspirit, looking for a reaction from her. Seeing if Swiftspirit spotted any lies in what Shrikestorm was saying, although even Lilacstar had found holes in his story thus far. But Lilacstar was all too emotional for proper judgment. She needed the voice of reason Swiftspirit was able to provide at this moment.

"I always thought it strange how accepting windclanners were of outsiders... but not all of them were, and not all were accepting of Dawnhawk, both when he was Nightwind and when he revealed himself." Swiftspirit chose her words carefully, gaze locking on Shrikestorm, "I could see those cats wanting to tell Skyclan in the hopes that their supposed criminal would finally be ousted... And he's been ousted, now." Her gaze was sharp, piercing. She had noted Shrikestorm's frown, and the defensiveness to his words. He'd always struck her as the honest sort... Unused to lying. That assessment seemed partially correct.

"Regardless, Skyclan knows, and they don't seem to be the sort to let things go. Especially when they warned the gathering about him multiple times. He's theirs to punish... But they don't know he's gone, do they?" She glanced over at Lilacstar, "Rash decisions would be unwise, I think. If Skyclan comes for Dawnhawk, we're going to need our warriors. Especially ones who care more about Windclan's safety than a cat who is now gone." Shrikestorm had faults, but he was a capable fighter, Swiftspirit had seen that much first-paw. He also, for all his faults, had been devoted to protecting Windclan, from what she was able to tell.

What a strange sight to see: two true WindClanners arguing for what felt like the soul of the clan, while a former outsider was there calming things down and defending Shrikestorm, at least partially. It almost threw Shrikestorm for a loop more than seeing Lilacstar genuinely angry. Not quite, though. He had seen that Swiftspirit was on the more intelligent side, of outsiders and clan cats both. She was willing to hear out what others were saying, even if it wasn't what she agreed with. That was something Shrikestorm could respect, and it was somewhat of a relief that it was her there than someone else. He wasn't sure this conversation would be going quite as civil, all things considered.

"I would never betray my clan," Shrikestorm insisted, finally letting a bit of his cool slip. It took some effort not to step closer to Lilacstar, to argue directly in her face. To allow someone like Dawnhawk stay in the clan... To him, that was a much bigger betrayal. He wanted to believe that Lilacstar had WindClan's best interest at heart, but he was no longer sure of that. Especially after this conversation. "If SkyClan comes for Dawnhawk, and they see he is not here, perhaps they'll leave. If not, then I will take them down with my clanmates, because WindClan is my home. I won't let anyone destroy it." To his chagrin, he had to add in his mind, 'Even if they're within the clan itself.'