Reunion [Tornshadow]

Birdsong had stalked out of the medicine den, deaf to whatever Shadewing or Beechface might've tried to say. She'd stalked out of camp, ignoring the friendly concern of... one of her clanmates. She'd stalked through the territory, and had only slowed once she'd tripped over a rock and had nearly been sent sprawling into thick undergrowth.

Birdsong stood, gaze sweeping over her surroundings with a huff. The sky was darkening, she realized, and she'd run all the way to the Thunderclan border. Common sense said that she should go back to camp at least but camp was filled with everything she didn't want to deal with. Her own father had lied to her for all this time... The clan's medicine cat spat on the warrior code, and wasn't even the first to do so without any sort of consequence. Was the entire clan filled with such cats? Filled with liars who didn't care about the rules at all? What was the point of even having a code if nobody followed it?

Her mind ventured briefly to the sight of Beechface flinching at her words, shoulders drawn. There had been guilt on her face... But no remorse. Wrenspring hadn't shown any remorse, either. Her own father had lied, and Ravenclaw had been in on it this entire time. Three of the cats she'd always trusted. Even if she hadn't liked Beechface and had feared her, Birdsong had always thought of her as honest. Turned out she was every bit as bad as the liars she claimed to hate, a hypocrite down to her core.

Suddenly, Birdsong wasn't so sure she wanted to go back at all. Thinking of Skyclan made her eyes sting, her chest hurt... She'd always been honest, had always strived to uphold the rules, and the rest of the clan was perfectly happy to act like the rules didn't matter. They were perfectly happy to lie and let others believe some foxdung story. And she doubted anyone else in the clan would care that their medicine cat, deputy, elders... all did it.

Maybe Skyclan wasn't worth going back to at all. Tornshadow had already disappeared, Quietstep had gone missing after the battle. Her father was dying. What did Birdsong have left in Skyclan? Her ears flicked back at the thought of Shadewing... But her sister would find a way on her own. She was smart.

Birdsong began to walk again, following the border. She wasn't about to trespass on Thunderclan territory, but she also didn't feel like spending time in Skyclan territory. The more she thought about Skyclan, the less she was sure that she wanted to go back.

A slight shift of the wind brought a scent to her, and Birdsong paused, trying to make sense of it. It was familiar... But didn't smell of Skyclan, or any clan. Rogue, then... Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she followed it. Like her, they were sticking to the clan borders.

A flash of white and gold fur was just visible in the undergrowth some distance away. Birdsong's eyes widened in recognition, and she picked up her pace a bit to get closer to the she-cat.

"Tornshadow!" She called. Her voice sounded a bit hoarse from crying... And maybe a little desperate, too. Tornshadow had left the clan, but she was alive. Birdsong nearly bowled her cousin over, pressing against her with a purr. "I was worried about you, mousebrain!"

Tornshadow was lost in her own thought... While Skyclan territory wasn't exactly where she wanted to be, there wasn't really much other way to get to the two-leg place. She needed to find somewhere to rest.. somewhere to find some prey that wasn't on clan land. The last thing she wanted was to have a clan after her.. Especially Skyclan. Part of her could laugh though.. Ever since she left not one of them bothered to find her.. No rumors of being searched for.. It really showed they didn't care about her in the slightest.

The gold and white rogue paused in her stride as soon as she heard a rustle of brush.. Ears perked eyes wide, mouth open looking for scents but as soon as it hit her it was too late she turned on her paws, stance defensive until a voice hit her ears. Birdsong..? She straightened up, claws digging into the ground ready to brace for impact as soon as her cousin came near, but it never came.

"Birdsong..?" She wasn't even sure if this was real or some cruel trick.. But it had to be. She wasn't sleeping. "What are you doing out here? Are there any others near by?" She asked worried about her cousin being followed. She didn't need to deal with the rest of Skyclan as well.

"Where have you been? Not that I blame you for getting out... I'm starting to think that was the smart decision. It's been... one thing after another since the gathering." Really, it had been 'one thing after another' for longer than that, but Birdsong had been able to brush aside a lot. There came a point where that was impossible however, and things were well beyond that point now. The tabby eyed her cousin, lips curling slightly at the question. Of course she'd want to know if anyone had followed.

"I... Hope not." Birdsong muttered, uncharacteristic irritation in her voice. "I don't want to see any of them at the moment." Birdsong sat, though her tail flicked back and forth restlessly.

"We came back from Windclan to find Foxfire bleeding out, Blossomstep, Cloudmane and Maplepaw were dead. Dad was on the way to join them when I left camp earlier." Her claws flexed, digging into the earth at the thought. She hated that her last memory of Wrenspring would be seeing him hardly able to stand in the medicine den. She couldn't be there to comfort him though, not after what he'd revealed. She'd wanted Beechface to deny it, to say that his mind was going but the medicine cat hadn't. "Apparently Beechface is my mother. He only just now thought to tell me. Ravenclaw knew, some Thunderclan elder mistook me for Beechface at the border a few days before the gathering, and I thought nothing of it." Birdsong's gaze dropped to her paws, tears stinging.

Tornshadow was a little taken back when Birdsong had been harsh in her statement. The gold and white warrior wasn't sure if that was directed at her or not but she soon got her answer. They... their dead..? And they lied to Birdsong? She clenched her teeth. Maplepaw... Poor Maplepaw... Her apprentice didn't deserve that.. She should have returned.. To get her apprentice out too..

"I.. I see.." She didn't really know what to say to comfort her cousin. She wasn't good at anything like this. "Would.. Would you like to come with me then? We can leave the territories and go explore? With you by my side I'm sure we can get through anything." Hopefully this would be good enough. This would offer a way out for her, a way to get away from it all. Was this the right choice? She wasn't really sure but Skyclan didn't deserve either of them.

"I thought I'd just leave camp to clear my head but... The more I think about it, the less reason I see to actually going back." She admitted, "I don't know... Our deputy and medicine cat both openly break the warrior code without consequences. And I thought that they were all honest but they're not. And clearly it doesn't bother my parents that they lied about something so important for so long." If they'd cared about her at all, it would have never been kept a secret.

Exploring with Tornshadow... It would be a way to get away from... all of this. To leave the mess that was Skyclan behind.

"I'll join you." She stated simply. Tornshadow had been her best friend since they were apprentices. She'd never been outside of the territories, beyond the one trip to the moonstone, where Beechface's sudden strangeness made sense, after finally learning the truth. Birdsong shook her head, pushing thoughts of the medicine cat to the back of her mind. "So what have you been up to lately, anyways?" Birdsong didn't think that Tornshadow would have just stuck around the borders, but maybe she had. The territories were familiar ground with steady sources of prey, even if they would no longer be welcome within clan borders. Exploring what was beyond sounded like a challenge, something wholly different, but maybe it was something Birdsong needed.

Tornshadow couldn't help but let out a small snort. Skyclan full of code breakers? The clan was just full of hypocrites weren't they? They chased after Dawnhawk again and again but didn't bother to punish what was right under their noses? It was pitiful honestly.

At Birdsong's agreement, the gold and white warrior nodded. "Alright! Let's get away from the territory first.. I don't want to take a chance of running into anyone. Follow me." She told her cousin, and began padding towards Windclan territory. There was a good spot near by their territory.

As they trotted along Tornshadow spoke. "As for what I have been up to.. Nothing really.. Wandering the territories.. Ran into a half sibling in Windclan.. Met a former Riverclan rogue... Not much else. Rogue life isn't exactly exciting." The former warrior said.

Birdsong nodded, following Tornshadow as she led them away from Skyclan territory. It felt strange yet... It felt right. Freeing, almost. She wouldn't have responsibility to the clan anymore, and wouldn't have the burden of being stuck with lying hypocrites for denmates.

"I heard he had kits in Windclan... I guess she's better off than being in Skyclan." Birdsong mewed, "Sounds like you've been avoiding most of the drama, at least. I'd call that a win." If excitement meant the constant dung-show that was Skyclan, Birdsong was glad to no longer be a part of it.

Tornshadow nodded. "It seems she has built a good life for herself there in Windclan. She has a family which is more than I can say." The white and gold warrior said. "I have been avoiding all the drama so far, which is the good thing about not going to another clan. I don't know if I could ever rejoin a clan." The rogue said to her cousin. "Is that something you could see yourself doing?" She asked Birdsong.

"You have me." Birdsong reminded her cousin, gently nudging her shoulder with her own as they continued to walk. Tornshadow spoke again, and Birdsong was unsure of her own thoughts on the question.

"I don't know..." Birdsong shrugged, taking a moment to think about the question. Would she ever go back? Right now thinking of the clans made her think of Skyclan, and that just made her upset. She didn't like the feeling. "Not soon, I think. And definitely not Skyclan."

Tornshadow nodded. "You are right I do have you." The gold and white had to agree with that. Birdsong was always by her side that was for sure. "I don't think I could ever go back to the clans. Not after I have been treated. If you ever decide to go back I will probably remain a rogue." She said to her friend. Even if the clans were friendly.. It would be hard for her to be loyal to any of them knowing they could betray her at the drop of a leaf.