Never Betray A Snake [C]

Dawnhawk had left Dawnpaw at the Asylum Camp, confident that his new found friends would keep her safe while he was gone. He had things he had to do and it was too dangerous taking her with him. The twice exiled cat moved shamelessly and fearlessly into Windclan territory, easily remembering which tunnels lead where and using them to his advantage any time he scented a Windclan patrol. What surprised him was the scent of Riverclan here as well. What in The Dark...? He thought to himself the first time he came across their fishy, oily trail. Having spent time in Riverclan territory as an apprentice, he knew their scent anywhere. He wondered if maybe Riverclan now occupied Windclan territory, but how much sense did that make? The last time he had seen Riverclan, their numbers weren't necessarily extraordinary... Curiosity piqued, and a little bit of worry as well, he was determined to at least find Sunnyskip, Ashfall or Ryesnap to get some information out of them. He knew Ryesnap had been distant from him, but he was still his son. He hoped there was still some sense of loyalty somewhere, despite all that had happened.

As Dawnhawk moved underground, occasionally breaking the surface to creep through the moor grass to a new tunnel system, he nearly found his way back to Windclan Camp before he scented not just a Windclan cat, but Sunnyskip. He hadn't seen her since Lilacstar had told him to leave. Now... he was going to see if Lilacstar had informed his family what had really happened.

Or was Windclan about to inherit Skyclan's bane?

"Sunnyskip!" Dawnhawk called out to her from a rabbit burrow. His voice wasn't loud, but she would hopefully still be within earshot of him. "I'm in a hole! Come here for a second!" He said, though he wasn't about to let his bright white and gold pelt be above ground for any lengthy period. He waited, hoping she would come to him and that he wouldn't have to chase her erratically through tunnels.

Sunnyskip was wandering the moors, not entirely sure where her paws were taking her. She hunted along the way, leaving a trail of carefully hidden prey to collect once she reached her unknown destination. As she walked, her mind wandered. Now that the adrenaline from the battle had dissipated, she was left wondering what had happened to Dawnhawk. Was he still okay? Where did he sleep now? Although they hadn't quite been able to make amends, she had still imagined he'd be nearby.... Lilacstar had told him to leave... But she didn't say anything past that. Had he wanted to stay? Fought against it? Or had he gone willingly, having wanted to leave in the first place? He had claimed that he still held feelings for her, and regretted what had happened... But he didn't even say goodbye. She frowned as the breeze seemed to carry a voice towards her, an all too familiar one. In fact, she almost dismissed it as wishful thinking generated by the memories swirling in her mind. She paused though, and when she did the voice continued, drawing her close.

She peered into the darkness, not quite entering the burrow. Crouching at the entrance, she spoke softly, in disbelief. Surely she was hearing things... Or had he really stayed close, waiting for the chance that finally appeared? Had he stayed to explain, to say goodbye? Or some other reason? "Dawnhawk?" She mewed softly, hesitantly, as if she was scared to speak too loud and shatter a fragile dream.

Well... she didn't seem angry at least. That much was encouraging. Klaus pulled himself to the entrance and met her eyes, only coming out of the hole about a quarter of the way. "Hi!" He said to her with a smile. He appeared far more confident than he felt, but that was a skill he had down to an art. "I'm glad to see you're alright. How did that battle go?" He hoped she wasn't about to give him bad news. He especially hoped she wasn't about to tell him that she thought he was a coward. That would only mean that Lilacstar was going to pay with her remaining lives, or wished that she could trade, with the devastation that was about to befall Windclan.

"I hate that you even have to tell me. I wanted to be there." He reassured her, eager for her response. He glanced around for any sign of another Windclan cat. Seeing no one but each other, he pulled himself out of the hole the rest of the way. He gave himself a quick shake, determined to get the grainy sand off of his skin.

The familiar visage of Dawnhawk appeared from the darkness, and Sunnyskip blinked in shock. She hadn't quite believed that she wasn't just hearing things, so she was admittedly startled by his appearance. She vaguely heard him ask about the battle, and her expression twisted into an uncharacteristic snarl involuntarily, teeth baring not at Dawnhawk, but as if she was back in the battle staring down Wolfstar once more. After a heartbeat she came to her senses, the fur along her spine falling flat again as she shook herself back into the present, a sheepish grin forming as she refocused on Dawnhawk. "Sorry, I guess it's still... Really fresh. SkyClan's brute of a deputy mauled our daughter, and broke Dayspring's leg... Just about broke the other one too. Wolfstar.... He attacked first. Went straight for RiverClan's medicine cat apprentice. No honor in their methods, none at all. It was despicable, honestly. Lilacstar.... Did the unthinkable and attacked their medicine cat in retaliation and was killed in a single bite. Lilacstar was wrong for attacking the medicine cat, but medicine cats aren't supposed to kill either. Wolfstar fell twice.... The medicine cat got him back up after the second time rather quickly though." She hissed, nose wrinkling at the memory. The action made her recall another tidbit that she hissed out. "Their deputy also farted. On Lilacstar's body. They're terrible, all of them." She mewed, looking into Dawnhawk's eyes.

"Where have you been? Where did you go? Lilacstar said that she told you to leave.... Why didn't you come say goodbye?..." She mewed, her voice suddenly soft and almost sad. Her eyes attempted to search his for an answer as she waited quietly.

Klaus's ears folded softly backward in response to Sunnyskip's snarling, but he understood when she said it was still fresh. As she informed of the details of the battle, Klaus's expression changed to one of a barely contained anger. He didn't necessarily look surprised... but the anger was certainly there.

"What a lying sack of foxdung Lilacstar is. Keep my family safe, she said. That mouse-brained moron..." His claws pierced the dirt... but he was snapped temporarily out of his anger with the news that Bloodstrike... farted on Lilacstar? Klaus immediately cackled, shamelessly at this point. If she hadn't been so dumb maybe she wouldn't have died to a medicine cat. She should have been smart enough to listen to him and keep him around. He could have killed Beechface. He'd come close before.

"As I have told her before, Windclan needed me there. I could have drawn a lot of their focus onto me, and no one would have had their legs broken. No one would have gotten mauled or died. I know those cats inside and out. I was, and still am, Windclan's best bet. But your leader doesn't have the faintest clue about anything, so I don't expect I'll even be consulted the next time Skyclan wants to invade."

He rolled his eyes... but when Sunnyskip asked him why he didn't even say goodbye...

Oh Windclan... what a terrible foe you have just awarded yourselves. All because of one idiot she-cat. He growled at the thought, his claws flexing as he envisioned storming Windclan Camp and slaughtering every cat in sight. Wouldn't be his first time going on a killing spree, and likely wouldn't be his last.

"Lilacstar told me to just leave and not tell any cat that I left. I told her no, that I would stay and fight with Windclan and that she was going to need my help. She threatened to let Wolfstar have me if I didn't go. I never wanted to leave, Sunnyskip! I swear I didn't! Do you think I'm a coward??" His tail lashed furiously behind him.

"So why is Riverclan here? I can smell them around, and it's not just one or two cats."

"She did what?" Sunnyskip growled, tail lashing angrily as he shared what Lilacstar had told him. Anger flickered in her eyes as she began to pace back and forth. Every time she thought she knew what was going on, what the truth was... It was flipped upside down. "Of course I don't think you're a coward. Lilacstar said she had told you to leave, not that she hadn't allowed you to say goodbye. Why would she...." Sunnyskip sighed, her shoulders sagging. "... I'm sorry, Dawnhawk. For everything. Truly, I am. I wish... Everything hadn't gone the way it did. That we could go back, not to Nightwind, but to you. I... Wanted things to work. I was trying to come to terms with it all, and just when I started to.... Well, you already know. I'm sorry." She mewed, sitting back down as he asked about RiverClan.

"I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. Lilacstar never really told us, the details, just that RiverClan was allowed to hunt on our territory for the time being because they helped in the battle with SkyClan. I guess she made some deal with them for their help." She mewed, shrugging lightly.