Unusual Punishment [CLAN MEETING!!]

He'd discussed it with Thrush and Dove, taken into account their own concerns (which reflected his own, for the most part), and split his mind trying to come up with some other scheme, but in the end he had to finally move his tail and take the plunge. Leaping onto the High Rock yet again, he prepared to bring forward the proposal, knowing he'd have his work cut out for him the moment he opened his mouth.

Better than leaving it.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the High Rock for a Clan meeting!" The call rang through the chilling air of the camp, summoning his Clanmates.

Humph. Why was this happening? Maybe someone had died. Hopefully that little bratty kit- but no, Minkstar wouldn’t call a meeting for that. Prickletail plopped down in front of the Highrock, in the back of the gathering crowd. If anyone tried to sit next to him… well… he hadn’t been in a good mood lately, and he doubted that was going to change anytime soon. Maybe they were going to fight someone. Maybe they were going to do something- quite frankly, Prickletail couldn’t care less.

Wolfblaze heard the call to gather, and wasted no time in lumbering over to sit. Inwardly wondering if Kestrelswoop would be coming to sit soon, she shook out her thick fur, glancing up at Minkstar. There were no apprentices becoming warriors yet, were there? This was something else then, something probably important, and less fun than she'd like. Unless it was fighting... she did like that. Part of Wolfblaze knew that she should try to curb her love of combat, if anything, for her kits, but then again.... it was still fun to fight. She just had to be the best so she wouldn't be injured, ever.

A call rang out behind Pheasantpounce, stopping the cat in her tracks. She turned her head, watching others gather around Minkstar. The warrior was just about to go out for a quick hunt but a meeting had begun. I could still leave, just slip out before I'm seen. The temptation was strong, but the sight of Prickletail somehow nudged her in the right direction. But besides that it was the respectable thing to do. Calico paws turned, heading towards the Highrock. She sat down by her brother, but not too close to annoy him further. Pheasantpounce wondered what was bothering him, she wondered if she could ask. Quickly dismissing the idea she looked up to her leader. What's this all about anyway?

Quaildock plopped down, as he stared up at his father. Judging by his expression, something serious was happening... Let's see what trouble is happening this time.

They'd gathered, and there was no going back now. Taking a deep breath, he took the plunge. "As you are all aware," He began, "Since Robinloft's murderer was discovered, we've been seeking a way to get justice. I've talked with Wolfstar, and after a few suggestions on my part, and a lot of deliberating on mine and the rest of our high ranks part, we've come to a solution." He let a slight grimace twitch at his maw. At least he couldn't forget this route of punishment - it'd been on his mind so much lately even the holes in his mind couldn't make it disappear. "It's a solution I would have rather avoided, but I don't see any other way, since SkyClan has ruled out both exile and death, and Wolfstar's made clear that anything less wouldn't have any effect on Briarthorn. Because of this, I want to understand your own objections, and hear out any ideas you might have before we make any moves."

"The punishment we agreed on was that for a period of at least two moons, Briarthorn will be forced to stay confined in ThunderClan's camp, doing menial jobs and otherwise forced to endure the reminders of her actions. She will-" A murmur rose from some of the cats in the crowd, ears twisting backwards and eyes tightening in the crowd. He kept on, flicking the tip of his tail up for silence "-she will have a SkyClan cat as a guard to make sure tempers don't boil over and anyone makes any moves they regret." He blew out a breath, still hearing grumbles. "Look, I don't want a reminder of the reason Robin isn't around anymore, either, but the only other options I can see are to let her off without any punishment or declare war on SkyClan. War that could end with the rest of her family dying on a bloody battlefield, in case you don't remember what happened when they attacked WindClan. I'm open to suggestions, but not to methods of assassination."

Prickletail pricked his ears as Minkstar began to speak. Hm. He hadn’t known Robinloft at all. Everyone else seemed to be displeased… well, misery did like company. Maybe if everyone else was miserable they’d keep to themselves.

The tabby tom shrugged, an expression of whatelseistheretodo? written on his face. Having a murderer in camp sounded… interesting, at least. As long as he didn’t get murdered- but as far as he was concerned, she could have her own way with pretty much anyone else.

"Are you joking?" A voice spoke up from the gathered crowd. "I mean you have to be. A murderer? In our camp? And a guard? Do you even here your self right now?" The one eye warriors said standing in his spot.

"You just want us to accept her in, let her sit around in our camp, eat our food with leaf bare coming, and do tasks that our apprentices already cover? That sounds more like a reward rather than a punishment to me." Starlingflare growled out. The Tom straightened out, tilting his head on a mocking manner. "Oh you killed Robinloft! Come rest in our camp! Eat our food! Thorns she would probably be happy to considering she already jumped ship from her original clan once!" The gray Tom's tail lashed furiously behind him. His single yellow eye looked to the other, before moving back forward. "You are crazy to agree to this. I'm not taking care of her and I'm sure as thorns not letting her or her 'guard' eat our food."

Stoatfur stared up at Minkstar, a neutral expression across his features. He bliked once, slowly, digesting what had been said. Although he hadn't known Robinloft, the idea of any cat being viciously murdered in cold blood, especially an innocent cat... was unsettling. His instant reaction was to protest such injustice but further conflict and tensions between clans was a mousebrained move; Minkstar was right. This was one of those moments where no true satisfaction could be derived from, only stiff decisiveness towards the most logical couse of action. The warrior understood and his respect for the leader made it all the easier to tame his tongue.

Starlingflare, true to his name in several way, piped up immediately to criticize the judgement. As much as he wanted to swiftly jump to Minkstar's defense, he had to be rational about this. A whole clan was watching after all. From where he sat the little brown and white warrior's tail tip begun to twitch ever so slightly. After allowing a beat when Starlingflare finished speaking, his own voice rose up from the crowd, "Well, I for one and looking forward to having a Skyclan cat change my bedding whenever I see fit."

He craned his neck to look at Starlingflare, "No cat is saying we have to welcome her as one of our own. If prey is short, the Skyclanners will be the first to go hungry. Besides, if she puts even a claw out of place, you're a skilled and strong warrior, I'm sure no cat would fault you for defending your clan." Stoatfur paused, whiskers twitching as he turned to glance up at Minkstar, "You know, that's a good idea. What if Starlingflare helped to guard our Skyclan visitors? I'm sure he could help keep a good eye on them both. I know I'd feel much safer if they were underwatch by one of our own, fine warriors."

Cherrycloud slipped out of the warrior’s den and sat amongst the crowd. Seeing the serious expression on Minkstar’s face, she realized this probably wouldn’t be a ceremony. She thought about what Minkstar said for a bit. She was young when Robinloft was killed, so she hadn’t known her well. Cherrycloud was a surprised when the punishment was announced. She would rather not have a murderer in camp, but it was better than the alternatives. She didn’t speak up about anything, nor did she feel the need to.

Thrushnose watched her father from her seat at the back of the crowd, her expression a shade chillier than usual. She’d already made her objections clear; in doing this, they were handing their kits, elders, and herb stores to a murderer. Even with a second SkyClan warrior accompanying her, Briarthorn held all the power. Either her stay would pass without incident and she’d return home knowing the ins and outs of ThunderClan’s camp and how it was guarded, or she’d force someone’s paw and wind up dead—and SkyClan would never believe it was self-defense. Thrushnose wouldn’t, in their position.

(In retrospect, she’d gotten so far ahead of herself it was a wonder she didn’t trip on her own tail in the process. She still didn’t know if it’d been caution or stubbornness fueling her. But they couldn’t change the truth; it was this or war or nothing at all. Presented with that, Thrushnose had no choice but to back down.)

Unsurprisingly, Starlingflare was the first to protest. Stoat’s voice rose next, and Thrushnose turned to watch her son, ears perked. Maybe she needed to say something here. She was ThunderClan’s deputy, at least for now. Ultimately, though, she brushed that thought aside with a tiny shrug. Minkstar had defended his decision to her and Dovefrost; if it was meant to be, he could defend it before ThunderClan.

Wolfblaze listened to Minkstar, she respected him, and his decisions. Yet this? This wasn't right, and he knew it. They all knew it! Standing to ensure that she could be seen in the crowd, she finally spoke up. "Why exactly should we bow to what Skyclan wants to do Minkstar? A member of our clan died! Reminders of what she's done is the least that should happen to her!" Wolfblaze's voice rose up above the general chatter, directing her objections at their leader. "Look, I respect you Minkstar, and I'll help carry out whatever punishment is coming to Briarthorn, but we're letting a murderer into our camp, a cat that deserves, at the least, maybe a temporary exile from the clans! If she wants to act like a rogue, maybe she can be one for a moon."

Tail lashing, she then padded to where Starlingflare stood, the other cat with objections. "Starlingflare, I'm just as mad 'bout this as you are, but have a rat's tail of respect for Minkstar!" Her amber eyes burned with anger, not at any one thing, but at everything that was transpiring. "If this is the punishment that keeps Thunderclan safe, I'll take it. I won't be happy, and I sure as the stars above would let those Skyclanners starve than do more hunting for them, and you'd better bet that I will remind that murderer every day about what she did, and how wrong she was to do it. I'll even tell her that she belongs in the dark forest, and that she's lucky I don't send her there myself. But I won't disrespect Minkstar for being put in a bad position, even if I don't agree with it. Skyclan is big, and mad. As much as I would love to get on their bad side, I'm not that stupid. Take out your anger on that prisoner when she gets here, not our leader." Wolfblaze was fuming, brain swapping between anger at the lack of punishment and the anger at the disrespect of her leader.

With a respectful incline of her head at Minkstar, she sat back down, tail thudding against the earth beneath her. Wolfblaze was angry at everyone in this wretched exchange. Even Minkstar. She wished that he had fought for a harsher punishment, but in her heart of hearts, Wolfblaze knew that messing with Skyclan was a bad idea, even if she wanted to fight them until she bled. She'd just have to make the prisoner's life worse than the dark-forest while she was here. With any amount of luck, that would be punishment enough.

"All of you are fools to accept this so easily." The gray tom growled out. "You are going to allow these cats into our camp? To watch our day to day life? Are we so quick to forget what Skyclan did to Windclan?" He might have been younger at the time, but he still didn't forget it. He didn't forget the damage that was done. "They want their murderer killed but when we ask we have to let them off with a slap on the nose?"

Despite Wolfblaze's anger towards him, he didn't back down. "Heh. I wouldn't be surprised if this was some elaborate plan to learn how we do things and then turn around and attack us when we are vulnerable."

His single yellow eye narrowed as he looked over to Wolfblaze. "It's one thing to respect your leader, but that doesn't mean you have to agree with every one of his choices. He wanted our opinions on this matter, our disagreements so I'm allowed to voice mine. You blindly accepting this because of me doing what our leader asked, shows just how much of a fool you are."

"But it's clear that this action is going to go through anyway. We are just going to bend to Skyclan's will. I'm going to make one thing clear now. I will not go near that murderer, unless it's to end her and her guards life." His yellow eye shifted quickly to Stoatfur before turning back in front of him.

...And there was Starlingflare. Minkstar held back the urge to puff out an annoyed breath, letting the one-eyed tom go on and noting with interest Stoatfur and Wolfblaze's support - with more than a little relief, too, he had to admit to himself. Though the latter's first words made him wince internally, the pit of frustration coiled in his stomach stirring once again. They don't like it, but they can see we're pressed for choices. Most of them, anyway. He could see Sablepaw hanging around in the crowd, a conflicted expression on her face; she wouldn't like this, either. A few of the younger warriors, on the other paw, didn't seem to care. None of them had known Robin. But everyone who had, everyone who did care.... Their faces all seemed to reflect the simmering burn deep inside himself. None of them liked it.

Stars, you'd have to be crazy to.

The support of his Clanmates warmed his heart, though, driving against the niggle of self-doubt that had wriggled to the surface as soon as Starling opened his maw and Wolfblaze brought to the fore its problems, and he inclined his head slightly in Stoatfur's direction. "Stoatfur's right - we won't spare any more resources at the expense of our own cats to keep them comfortable.

As for your other concerns...." He let a sigh puff out in the leaf-fall air, the end of his tail giving a flick. "There isn't much we can do to stop them from gathering information, but I'm hoping that keeping them confined to camp at all times will help minimize that. Also having one of our own warriors keep an eye on them."

That taken care of, he finally let the annoyance leak out a little in the form of a rolling glance in Starlingflare's direction, eyes hooded. "Thanks for the input, Starlingflare. You have no idea how many times me, Dovefrost, and Thrushnose went over all of that. My memory's not the best, but I believe I asked for any suggestions, not 'I hate all of this like everyone else in the Clan, just louder'." He let a hint of steel into his voice, panning his gaze over the rest of them. "I'm not asking all of you to blindly accept this and welcome Briarthorn with open paws, I'm putting this forward to ask you which you'd rather have: punishment, or nothing. Because unless some bright scale has a better idea for said punishment, this is the best we're going to get.

"And if we go through with it-" He let his eyes flick deliberately in Starlingflare's direction again. "No one will lay a claw on Briarthorn or the guard unless they fight first. If any of you kill her, you risk starting war with SkyClan. And I hate to say it, but I'd rather exile you first than have a repeat of the WindClan battle under our trees. If you really don't want that, Starling, then keep your tongue sharper than your claws. For the sake of ending this without needless bloodshed; yes, we do have to bend to SkyClan's will. Thank the stars they were even willing to talk about it," He growled.

Drawing himself up, he let his voice ring out clearly. "All in favour of this punishment, stay by the High Rock. All in favour of no punishment, stand by the medicine cat den."

"Check yourself Starlingflare, there's a difference between blindly following, and respectful disagreement. You were disrespectful fur brain." Wolfblaze didn't always think things through, but she knew one thing, there was a line. There was always a chance she would cross it, but she knew for sure when others did, and Starlingflare was getting pretty dang close. Shutting her mouth, her gaze returned to Minkstar, his voice ringing out across the clearing. She listened to his piece, and she had been right for once, Skyclan hadn't given them much choice. As much as she would love to scratch all their ears off, she had a family, cats she wanted to keep safe. War wouldn't help with that.

Then, her leader's instructions went through her head. Punishment, or no punishment... "Well this is one heck of an easy choice," she muttered, already shoving through the crowd towards the base of the High Rock, sitting down with a huff. She turned to look back at the rest, gaze wandering over them, curious if they would join her quickly... or not at all. "Well? Don't sit on your tails all day!" Ever impatient, Wolfblaze's tail thumped periodically against the dirt, ready to get a move on.