Rules and Revelations [Forgotten Order Meeting]

The Order had had enough time to recover from fighting Shadowclan that they were able to resume normal activities again. Klaus wasn't exactly thrilled with the loss of vision in his left eye, but he was getting better at handling it. He hopped up onto the gnarled tree, one of his back paws kicking a branch loose, and perched in his usual spot. His heart hammered in his chest. How would his family take the revelation, he wondered. It was only right to tell them though. With a heavy sigh, he plopped his haunches down on the branch and yowled out. "All of you who are cast aside and forgotten, assemble beneath the old tree!" It wasn't an unreasonable time to be awake either, about mid-morning. Klaus then waited, tense, but patient.

Anastasia lifted her head from where she had been resting briefly to plan out her next hunt as her father's voice rang out over their camp. Rising to her paws, she moved to sit a bit closer, turning her gaze up to Klaus'. His eye still didn't look good, though she hadn't spoken to him about it, she was concerned for his well-being, so she would support him the best she could... By doing what she was told to do as well as she could do it.

With a big stretch, Hyacinth pushed herself forward from the slight sunspot she’d managed to find in camp and place a pelt on for a brief moment of rest. She’d been in and out of camp hunting… or at least attempting to hunt for her family, so rest was welcomed however brief it may be. She’d been worried for Klaus over the past moon or so, with his eye being as badly injured as it was. Thankfully, no infection had seemed to settle in, or they might be far worse off than they were. Walking briskly over beneath the tree, she found a seat next to Anastasia and offered her a weak smile.

By now, Aoife had grown used to the call to the group, and it didn't cause her distaste as it once had. She left her position by one of the dens that she was reinforcing with newer branches, and joined her mother and Anastasia where they sat and waited. She lifted her eyes to Klaus's spot on the old tree, his cloudy eye better but still not restored. In general, it was a surprise that everyone had recovered so well from the fight when as whole they knew so little about healing. Maybe she could have a look around and see what she could learn. It would be an extra thing to do to keep her busy, after all, and give her a better scope of the clans and their knowledge.

"What d'you reckon this could be about?" She whispered to her sister, eyes flicking away from her father for only a second.

Klaus's heart quickened. He'd been in this situation before with Windclan... and that hadn't gone well at all. He hated this. He hated honesty and it hated him. He took a deep breath once everyone had gathered... with the exception of Achlys and Achelois. He'd warn them only once when they got back.

"I'm going to start with some changes and then there is something that all of you should know.

First off, anyone in the Order who joins a clan without being given a mission to do so first will be considered traitors. The punishment for betrayal is death. No exceptions. Those of you who have found yourself in clans already will be forgiven this once, but you will remember that your loyalty first and foremost is to the Order. No matter what clan you end up in, you fight for us if tensions arise. Achlys and Achelois are not here. Atalante is the only one that I have sent on a mission to Thunderclan. When you see your sisters, please tell them of this new change and to come speak to me straight away.

As for Atalante's mission, she has been sent to Thunderclan to watch over a new arrival of siblings, of most of you, that are due to be born soon. Hyacinth..."

He looked directly at her and his face fell. He dipped his head in apology, though he knew that would never be enough.

"I knew Waterlily before I knew you, a Thunderclan she-cat. We got along fairly well. One day I got caught in a twoleg trap and they threw me into a monster's belly. She willingly got captured herself after seeing what happened and she was brought to a twoleg nest with me. This twoleg nest was different from the others. There were many other cats there and one of them explained to us that it was called a Shelter. It's where twolegs go to adopt cats and take them home as kittypets... but if you don't get adopted out, you were killed.

Waterlily and I were both adult cats and the shelter had a lot of kittens. We didn't think we'd make it out alive... and that's when she got pregnant with my kits. I'm sorry. I didn't think I'd see the light of another day and neither did she. If one of the twolegs hadn't broken the door to our cage on accident, we might've both been dead right now." He paused for a moment to let her hear his words and process them. He had trouble looking into her eyes. His heart ached for her, something that happened very rarely.

"I apologize to everyone here... all of you. You may speak freely and express your anger if you need to. You will not be punished for it." He braced himself for the impact the words from his family would have.

This was going to hurt.

Ares got to his paws from where he had been sitting, marched over to look up at his father, and sat stiffly. His father had lost his eye in the battle against Shadowclan. He hadn't been there. He should've been there. Did he feel guilty? A little, but defending the camp was important, and if any Shadowclan cats had followed them back he would have been their first line of defense. But he wasn't a guardian, he was a prowler, at the very least he could've infiltrated! No matter, he would prove his worth in other ways. He swore he would.

Then he listened to the announcement. His father had sent out Atalante on a mission to the clans without telling them all about it? Then they had siblings? His father gave them permission to be angry, oh he was angry!

"Our siblings are gonna be born into a clan! They're gonna get brainwashed and whatnot by them! I don't want to fight my siblings if I don't have to, do you even have a plan to keep them from that fate, because if they become a part of that clan, we'll have to fight them someday, and there is no point in Atalante staying in Thunderclan any longer! Explain the point of it all!" He didn't care that he had more siblings, but what truly mattered was the safety of his siblings now. They had to be at full strength to keep up there assault, not- giving more cats to the clan's selfish cause!

Anastasia purred as her mother joined her, pressing her head into her shoulder gently in greeting. "Hi, mama." She mewed softly, turning to Aoife as she joined them. With a small smile, Anastasia shrugged. "I dunno... He looks nervous though. I don't think I've ever seen him look like this before." She mewed, quieting back down as he began to explain the purpose of this meeting. Her expression soured as he mentioned the idea of her siblings joining clans, eyes narrowing as he tail subconsciously thumped against the ground. Well that explained where Achlys and Achelois had gone... And also Atalante, but at least she had been assigned to be there. She had been missing her company, so it was good to know where she was. Why she was there was the next to be answered, and Anastasia gasped softly at the news. If he had met this other she-cat first... Why had he accepted her mother? Did he not care for either of their feelings? He seemed genuinely sorry, but... These kits were younger than they were, far younger... She frowned slightly, leaning close against her mother's side in silent support as she gazed up at her father, uncertain of how she felt. She was upset, yes, but she wasn't necessarily angry... Ares spoke up, and she didn't move her gaze from Klaus, simply listening to her brother's words and waiting for the response.

Aoife wasn't against by the reinforcing of rules around betrayal. Even if her loyalty was more strongly tied to her family than the order, at the end of the day, weren't they the same thing? Not that she could ever see herself joining a clan, it would be too far from her home, too different from what she was used to. However, the idea of Achelois and Achlys being considered traitors unsettled her. What if they refused to come home? Aoife knew she would never lay a claw on her kin, no matter the circumstances, but knew that might not b the same for everyone there.

New siblings?

She didn't hear much of what followed, questions turning in her head. They were her family, but carried not only the blood, but probably the ideologies of clan cats. Unlike Ares, she tried her best to keep her voice calm, even if it came out a little strained. "What if we meet them in battle? What comes first - our groups or kin?" She was unsure if she even wanted to know them, but, knowing Aoife, she would end up wanting to connect with them eventually. If it meant more members for the order, then that was a plus.

Hyacinth quieted down as she heard Klaus begin his announcement, leaning into Anastasia’s greeting with love in her gaze. She nodded along with his statements about joining the Clans, now knowing about Atalante’s assignment and breathing a quick sigh of relief about Achelois and Achlys. They were safe, assumedly, and she knew where they were. She preferred to have them under her watch, but she knew they were no longer kits- they were grown, and there wasn’t anything she could do about it but hope they stayed safe and watched their backs. She’d always be there for them, but she wouldn’t hover. She knew better than that.

Then, Klaus continued.

Hyacinth’s jaw dropped in surprise, anger, and confusion. ”You… You what?” She muttered, A dozen thoughts swam in her head, hurt clear in her pale green eyes. Anastasia’s gentle touch barely phased her- her gaze remained set on Klaus. Posture rigid, almost as if she was frozen in time, tears began to well up in her eyes. Voice breaking and on the verge of tears, she called out, ”You used me, didn’t you?” Tail lashing, Hyacinth shivered with anger underneath the weight of her badger pelt. Her pelt was hot and her tears burned even hotter as they pricked at her eyes. ”Three cats is hardly a force to be reckoned with… But a litter of kits you can mold and shape however you want? Oh… I should’ve known. If I cannot trust your loyalty to me, how can I trust you to protect our kits? How can I trust your loyalty to us? I… I thought for once someone had my back. Someone I could trust. I don’t care what you thought would happen. I’d die before you ever had to question my loyalty to you; to our kits.” Her voice shook just as much as she was trembling. Her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it pulsing in her ears, tears freezing on her cheeks as they fell. ”You’re a foxheart, Klaus.” She mumbled, barely loud enough for him to hear from where he was perched. She held his gaze for one more long moment before getting to her paws and walking away from camp, tail low and head sunken between her shoulders.

And then it came, the flurry of questions and blatant anger. Oh how he hated telling the truth. It may have been the right thing to do, but he hated it with a fiery passion. Ares brought up good points and Klaus was more than happy to address his concerns.

"Atalante is there to watch Waterlily for now. If she becomes isolated within her clan because they find out who she had kits with, we might be able to bring her to us. If she has the kits in Thunderclan, Atalante will be there to prevent them form being entirely brainwashed. We will avoid Thunderclan as much as possible, but if it comes down to it we will fight them... and capture them. I don't imagine Thunderclan would be more than we can handle, especially not new, young recruits such as them."

He felt like he addressed both Aoife's and Ares's concerns. Then Hyacinth... Klaus physically cringed at her reaction. He sighed and refused to meet her eyes. She was right. Absolutely right.

"I didn't use you Hyacinth! How was I supposed to know that you'd have... so many." That said it had certainly worked out well for the Order. They had benefitted quite a bit. "If that was my goal I would have got Cleo pregnant too!" But she was already walking away... okay fine. This was a conversation for another time. Now that he was publicly humiliated...

"Anything else or are we done here?" He asked, looking at everyone else.