Hundred Ways [Open]

She wasn't sure why she returned here, of all places in the territories, but this is where she returned too. Tornshadow settled in just below the Great Rock, the area clear of anyone and everyone but some scents still lingered from the gathering some previous nights ago. The sun was bright in the sky. She could be caught here if someone bothered coming by, but she doubted it. All the clans were too busy in their own territory, too busy trying to keep to themselves. She could only hope Dawnhawk was safe now.

The gold and white warrior let out a sigh as she settled down into the soft grass. Her back to the rock, her eyes looking out into the territory just in case someone approached. She didn't need to be taken off guard, especially not now that she was a rogue.

A sigh escaped Ashfall as she wandered Windclan's territory. Every so often, she stopped and scented the air, wondering if her father's scent would pop up. She hadn't seen him in a while, maybe he finally just ran off. Maybe he was playing the role of coward, again. His actions disturbed her, and she was tired of thinking about him. Maybe he was gone, it'd warm her heart to never see Dawnhawk ever again.

Ashfall's paws lead her to the edge of Windclan territory, then further, off to Fourtrees. She had never seen them in the daytime, perhaps they could provide some peace from her thoughts. As she approached, she was jarred from her mind as she spotted a flash of white and gold in the sunlight, and it stopped her in her tracks. When the shock subsided, she approached whoever was there cautiously, unsure if it was her father, or perhaps another. Ashfall held her tongue while she approached, curiosity overcoming any fears of who it could be hanging around Fourtrees.

Tornshadow didn't know what to do, or what direction to take from here.. Perhaps she should go back to Skyclan and inform Birdsong and Maplepaw she was okay, but maybe that wasn't a bright idea just yet. Tensions would still be high, and they probably already figured out that she was the one that warned Dawnhawk about their knowledge. She would have to be sneaky.

She lifted her head to scan the clearing again when a scent drifted across her nose. She was instantly on her paws at the scent of another warrior, her lips drawn back in a snarl. She couldn't take any risks now, even if it might have been another clan. "Who are you? What do you want?" She growled out.

Ashfall's eyes widened for a moment, this was not the voice of her father. Good, she didn't want to see him anyway. Eyes locking onto Tornshadow, she forced herself to relax into a cordial stance. There was no reason to spill blood, and this cat didn't seem like a rogue. Perhaps another clan cat who felt that Fourtrees was a respite from their clan? Suspicious, Ashfall called out to her. "I don't want anything but to be away from my clan's camp. My name's Ashfall, I'm from Windclan."

There, she gave information, that might calm her down, her tone remained cordial and mostly devoid of emotion. At least knowing her name wouldn't hurt Windclan, even if this was a rogue. "I can't quite place your scent, so many clan scents here it gets muddled. I gave my name, now I get yours, that's how this works right?" Ashfall thought it wise to not immediately ask where this cat was from, she seemed aggressive, but she would be too granted that it was rare anyone visited the Fourtrees outside the full moon. Technically, if this was a rogue, they were not technically on clan territory, it'd be rude to chase them off. She didn't need to be returning to camp with claw marks and have to explain she had gone off Windclan territory, Ashfall didn't want anyone to think she'd been looking for Dawnhawk or something of the sort.

Tornshadow let out a small snort. Someone wanting to be away from their camp? She couldn't agree more. "That makes two of us." Well.. She didn't really have a camp anymore did she? Maybe it wasn't right of her to say that. She wasn't Skyclan anymore. She couldn't get her scent? Good, that meant it was fading faster than she anticipated. "Name's Tornshadow." She didn't have a clan so she didn't bother including it.

"Does that work for you? I don't typically don't interact with others, but seeing how this is the fourtrees I can't really avoid it." She stayed in her spot, her blue eyes weary on what this other cat would do. She didn't need any injuries now that she didn't have a medicine cat to rely on.

"Ah, so you're from a clan then? Which one?" Upon hearing her name, Ashfall was immediately curious. It was unusual to see a cat from a clan at Fourtrees during day, but since she wanted to be away from her clan as well for a time, she didn't think much of it. Cautiously, she approached closer, within a few tail lengths at least. This cat seemed friendly enough, and she didn't want to cause a cross-clan altercation. "I'm not much for socializing usually, I just figure it out as I go." She paused momentarily. This was... awkward. "So... your clan having trouble or something? Or you just tired of someone?" Ashfall was tired of her own clan's craziness, maybe she could help out this Tornshadow who seemed to be facing something similar.

Was she from a clan? Well.. yes she was from a clan but at the moment she didn't have one. She was clanless, and as far as she was concerned it was going to stay that way for a long time. "I suppose you can say that.." Trouble didn't cover it in the slightest. Not with how she was treated. "So tired of judgmental stares that you drive yourself out? Now that is more like it." The gold and white warrior answered, covering both questions at once. "Now how about you? You assume I'm out here because of clan trouble so that must mean you have some of your own."

"Oh, doesn't everyone have clan trouble from time to time?" Ashfall was suspicious, a cat with a clan name, though neglecting to say her clan? That had trouble all over it. Her tone was kept light, however, to keep her suspicions secret for a time, or at least, as secret as she could keep them. She had a question to answer herself now, and she didn't want to reveal too much to this stranger. No telling what she wanted, or where she was from. "My trouble comes from my dad, I suppose. He was pretending to be something he wasn't, and now he's disappeared. Currently, it seems he was a coward through and through." There were no names said, Dawnhawk was a name that everyone in the clans knew at this point, through one mean or another. Still, nobody knew he was in Windclan, or that he had been harbored there, and mentioning his name could spell disaster if she wasn't careful.

"I've told you my troubles, do you want to talk about yours? Other than those judgmental stares you've gotten." Ashfall cocked her head slightly, flicking an ear. Information for information, that was how she worked, that's how the world should work. Though, she wasn't about to push her for it. It was only how the world should work. Giving information first generally would put others at ease, then she'd get their information without as much of a fuss. It seemed only polite at that point, she supposed.

Tornshadow didn't say much about Ashfall's words or troubles. Who was her dad? As far as she was aware Windclan didn't really have any issues like that but it seemed a lot of the clans were the same. They all seemed to have parental issues somewhere.. but she didn't exactly blame Dawnhawk for her troubles.. It was all Skyclan and their treatment of her. Now it was time for her troubles? Was it not obvious?

"Take one look at me and guess where my troubles come from. Not to mention being his daughter. Skyclan never took kindly too it, and now look where it got them. One less clanmate." The gold and white warrior said. Not that being clanless was something easy, but it was better than being spoken about badly on a constant basis. "Only so few bothered to actually get to know me, others avoided me or talked badly about me. My former leadership didn't even like me." She explained. Her loyalties didn't lie with Skyclan any longer.

Ashfall's tail-tip twitched, the only thing that would give away her state of mind. Of course... The gold and white of her fur, her eyes, then being from Skyclan. She could only stare blankly for a moment as the puzzle pieces fell into place. Not only that, but Tornshadow had left Skyclan, meaning that it was relatively safe to speak to her of Dawnhawk. Skyclan was worse than she thought, bullying someone for who her family was.

"So Dawnhawk is your father?" She finally muttered out, staring curiously. "I suppose if you're not a part of Skyclan anymore... then it'd be okay to tell you. It's only right. Dawnhawk had children in Windclan as well. It seems that we're kin, you and I." Ashfall had hesitated to say so much, to someone she wasn't entirely sure she could trust. Yet if Skyclan had slighted Tornshadow, she wouldn't tell them of Dawnhawk being in Windclan. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry that Skyclan treated you that way. Nobody should be blamed for the sins of their family." Another thing Dawnhawk had not told them about. Maybe it was her fault, she had never asked if he had a family in Skyclan. Still... she wished he told her. Another telling thing, Dawnhawk had never trusted her... not like she had trusted him as a child.

"Huh.. I should have figured as much since he was there for quite a while. I just never thought.." She didn't really know what to say. She never thought he wouldn't move on from Honeycomb? The she-cat that disappeared and left her only kit behind? She scoffed.. Of course he would. At least Dawnhawk always treated her well.

"So we are related? You don't really share the gold coat or the eyes like my brother and I did, but I suppose that is to be expected. I haven't seen him in... a while. I hope he is doing okay." She didn't really know the exact amount of time, just knew that it had been a while.

"Yeah.. they always treated me terribly.. There was one cat that refused to even look at me. She would always leave the area if I was there.. It felt horrible.. I hated every second of it. I hated serving a clan that I knew wouldn't protect me if they had to just because of who I am related to. Even going as far to make up lies to try and make me hate him, when he was the only one that was ever nice to me." She stated with a slight growl in her voice. He was the only one that treated her well, the only one that treated her like family.. If only her brother hadn't died.. If only her mother didn't leave.

If Ashfall had eyebrows, one would have been raised. "Dawnhawk treated me well, mostly before we discovered who he was. He told us he was a murderer, a cat that had worked with the Asylum. It was a betrayal, he didn't trust his family, and now we bear the weight of the sins he has committed only for being his kin. Windclan has treated me well, despite being his kin, perhaps because he did not come from there. What lies did Skyclan make up about him? Now I'm curious, what's more heinous than murder anyway?" Ashfall had sat herself in a comfortable position, genuenly curious what her newfound half-sibling would tell her. Skyclan making up lies about Dawnhawk sounded... strange, it made little sense to her.

Tornshadow shook her head. She knew of what he had done with the Asylum. She knew that he had killed before. She understood why he did the things he did, and at this point she kind of wished Asylum was still around.. At least they treated her with better kindness than Skyclan did.

"They claimed he killed a kit, which I know he never would. I'm aware of his murders, but he did what he had to do to survive, just like what I'm doing now." The gold and white warrior said. "I just want you to know.. if he treated you with kindness then he really did care for you. Even if what he did changed it all.. He did care." She told the other, knowing some where not able to receive his kindness like she did.

Ashfall's eyes narrowed as she listened, getting to her paws once more. "An entire clan telling lies? Unlikely. It's hard to actually get a plan to work, and something like that? One of your nicer clanmates would've gotten guilty, and told you." She looked carefully at Tornshadow.. how sad that a whole clan had been so terrible to her, that she could not believe that her father had done something so despicable. A clan wouldn't create a lie simply to spite one cat.

"Well, I should be getting back to camp. Nice talking with you Tornshadow." Ashfall began to leave, having turned already, before turning her head over her shoulder one more time. "Dawnhawk never fought to stay with me, he just left. His care disappeared when his disguise did. He used me. I hope he doesn't use you. I mean that." With that, she moved on. She had learned vital information, but it would do no good now. Her father was gone. So she was once again left with more questions than answers.