lingering loyalties [closed]

He'd waited, tail curled over his paws and stomach churning. Conversations like this made him not want to be leader - wishing this conversation on any other cat. These cats who'd become like clanmates, especially if the words of Thrushnose's attacker were true, were likely just like any other of those with misplaced origins. However, their baggage included a tom known for many murders. And he had just attacked one of their clanmates.

As they filtered in he dipped his head in greeting. Pleasantries could have been passed, or anything else, but instead he was more direct, "So, tell me about Dawnhawk."

Summoned into Stoatstar's den, Atalante quietly padded forward alongside her siblings, expression one of curiosity mingled with confusion. So far, she'd kept her head down, doing her duties as an apprentice and keeping a discreet eye on Waterlily. What could Stoatstar possibly want with her? Thrushnose had been injured apparently, though Atalante had been kept too busy to keep tabs on what exactly had happened to her. Her return to camp had caused a bit of a stir, and Ata figured if she was patient enough, she'd get the information she wanted eventually.

Before she could dwell on it, Stoatstar spoke. Dawnhawk... He'd found them out, then, and Ata knew that she and her siblings simply looked far too alike to him to be anything but family. Stoatstar knew the name, so he was familiar with him, or someone else in the clan was and had tipped him off. Waterlily, perhaps? But she didn't seem the sort... Her ears flattened, a look of dismay crossing across her features at the question.

"There's not much to tell." She huffed out, "I didn't agree with what my father was doing, so I left. I wanted a place with more security and less fighting, as I told Minkstar after we fought that dog." She stated simply. And that much did have a grain of truth to it, how else to make a lie believable?

The molly hadn't been entirely happy with the new landscape she found herself waking up in; a new name to go by, no longer the one her parents had gifted her, and living in a group that seemed to mostly despise everything about her and her sisters. Achlys has wondered for how long they'd be able to fly under the radar, learning more about the recent history of the clans and her father in the last moon and a bit they had occupied the camp, her silent nature allowing her to go undetected frequently.

It seemed that StarClan, or whatever they believed in here, were out to cause misery as Stoatstar had called the trio into his den, voice stern and cold as he asked about their father. Of course, she had only ever really known him as Klaus- the usage of Dawnhawk almost made her uncomfortable, to think of the tom having a life before The Order and her family, but she was also aware of it being an unchangeable fact.

Achlys sat motionlessly beside her sisters, grateful that Atalante took charge of the conversation by derailing onto why she was here. Truthfully; if Stoatstar was to ask, Achyls was only here for her siblings. She loved her father, sure, but she felt a compulsive need to care for and keep a watchful gaze over Achelois in particular, leading her to being present in this clan and taking on a new alias. The calico stared wordlessly back at the leader, hoping that her lack of speech in previous meetings with him would be her saving grace in this current one, that or her sisters taking turns talking and allowing her to instead be silent.

If there was tension to be had, Achelois-Loonpaw held none; invisible wreathings of preliminary stressors  slipping free from the glossy clinching of her pale coat as though she donned a mantle of water-resistant duck feathers. There was hardly even a modicum of discomfort to be found within the young molly as she slipped into the habitual space of Stoatstar's private residence, relaxed and confident posturing making it seem as though she was innately entitled to orbit whatever lay claimed by her overseer. It was no trouble at all for Achelois-Loonpaw to feel entitled enough to claim the open earth right next to the smaller tom, willowy frame rising above her mentor as she made to settle herself between Stoatstar and Achlys-Thistlepaw; the organizing of the small little party curling into that of a small semi-circle.

If there also happened to be some semblance of strategic value to such a seating arrangement, she surely paid little mind.

Pale gaze gleaming softly under the reflective weight of keen vision enshrined within low light, the young molly remained idle as Atalante-Featherpaw made a bid for attention in the lingering weight of a charged silence. It was unsurprising to Achelois-Loonpaw to learn that Stoatstar would call her father only by the name Dawnhawk- it wasn't as though the names in which they held were ones that were respected by their supposed new kin and comrades. The tiny pinprick of resentment, wedged down low and hot within the fathoms of her bruised heart, flared to life once again, as it always did when she was made to confront the world around her.

"He stands where he finds himself to be, I stand here," Achelois-Loonpaw eventually mewed after a few heartbeats, pale gaze curious, "but the world is small, there is only so much distance to be had under the same sky."

Stoatstar's eyes narrowed slightly as they spoke. Well, minus Thistlepaw. Perhaps she was not the type for speaking in crowds. However, it was just the leader and her sisters. So, it was him then. Maybe sometime during training he could get her to open up. Briefly it occurred to the tom that such a thought was hypocritical so he brushed it away. Between Featherpaw and Loonpaw, neither offered much assistance. They had left of their own accord? Either Dawnhawk was far kinder to his children or the lot of them were all daft. Regardless, their actions had earned Thunderclan an enemy. And landed Thrushnose in the medicine cat's den.

For a while, he kept his composure without even twitching a muscle. But after Loonpaw had spoken, all he could do was release a mildly agitated sigh from the sides of his maw. Flicking his tail, the leader had to flex his claws to refocus himself, "You all speak so casually of a cat who had murdered so many. While I have no reason to doubt your intentions or Minkstar's decision, it seems your presence has set his sights on our clan. Dawnhawk attacked Thrushnose. He's the reason she had to be dragged bleeding out into the medicine cat's den. What am I supposed to do?" Stoatstar's word were a genuine question. His speech had become emphasized by a lashing tail which still as he posed the question.

What was he supposed to do? If their existence in the clan threatened the lives of others.

"I'm sorry, are his actions prior to us even being born our fault?" Atalante asked sharply, a sudden flash of temper in her cerulean eyes as she replied to the brown and white leader. "I saved Minkstar from a dog. None of us have caused trouble. We've been hunting and defending the clan from predators just as anyone else has, ask Starlingflare." Starlingflare didn't even like her, Atalante was sure, but their training had gone well enough. After killing so many raccoons, it was only natural for some sort of bond to develop, she at least trusted Starlingflare to be honest.

"What happened to Thrushnose is terrible, Stoatstar, but that had nothing to do with me and I only became aware that it was Dawnhawk when you mentioned it. Are you even sure that he attacked Thrushnose because he knows we're here, or is that just baseless speculation? As far as I'm aware, he doesn't know my whereabouts or theirs." She had to be careful now, but plague take the tom for jumping to foolish conclusions and being accusatory. "If he was on Thunderclan territory, Thrushnose would've simply been defending the borders, no?" She didn't think her father would attack unprovoked, especially not when he had a mate and kits in the clan that could be used as leverage if they were ever found out.