i could wreck it (OPEN to ThunderClan)

Softfall fell silent at Stoat's request.  He was very grateful for Starlingflare's input.  At least someone around here still had a sense of reasoning like him!

Stoatstar wanted to take this to his leader den so be it.  Without another word he followed his leader into there.  He listened to his leader speak once they were all in the den.

He wanted an explanation of what happened ok fair enough... he had just given one... oh a calm and reasonable one ?? hmm ok he would do his best to keep just to the facts and not dive too much into pure anti Riverclan propoganda as he had when addressing the crowds earlier.

"Very well..." he said starting off stepping forward.

"I was out hunting and that is when I picked up on a Riverclan cat nearby.  I followed them a ways to try and see their intentions and if they were alone or if it was a group effort to attack us.  Once learning that they were alone and were hunting I attacked as that is within my right to do so. They were on our land by quite a ways and were clearly in the wrong." he explained.  He did his best to say it flatly and not let too much anger into his voice.

He turned to Perchfall "You could have attacked me too on that day when we first met.  You choose not to but if you had there would be no code broken.  I choose to attack which is also legal.  This is the way things are..." he was so tempted to throw an insult of how she did not know this by now but for once in his miserable life he held his tongue at this point and stuck to just giving her a side glare.

Turning back to Stoatstar he shrugged "That is what happened... Could I have not attacked as viciously or hard? hmm perhaps but I wanted to send a clear message that our land is ours" he again held back from stating that Riverclan had already taken enough from them and that rightfully sunningrocks should be Thunderclan's too...  knowing that his leader was on the verge of punting him all the way past the moonstone he didnt add that bit in.

"If it helps you make your decision I would do it all again" he added on sitting down meaning every word he said.  "So best tell your cats to stay off" he sneared at Perchfall... Less they wanna end up like Beaverpaw he thought internally to himself but didnt dare say that bit at all

Of course, it would not be that easy. Perchfall had hoped, but mot expected, that it might go well enough for her. But of course, that would not be the case. Not with the kind of cat that Softpaw was. No.... Softfall, as he stated, with as much sarcasm and malice as he could possibly fit into his voice and expression. The amount of vitriol this tom held... and what had she ever done to him? She had shown him mercy. She had been reasonable, even understanding. The acts of former leaders were not her fault. Though she knew this, it still made the ice in her veins run colder at the reminder. Some cats considered her an enemy. And for that, Poppypaw had nearly died.

Apparently falsehoods were this tom's strength. RiverClan had not been flourishing during the harsh leaf-bare. No Clan had. Did this tom have anything reasonable to say? Certainly nothing with any respect for the high rank of another Clan. Minnowfin, bless his heart, stayed silent. The poor deputy was doing his best. He obviously didn't know how to deal with his Clanmate either. Then, another tom spoke up.

Calling redresses for crimes long past... what was she supposed to do about that? "May I remind you," she responded, tone measured and calm, "that I was not deputy at that time? I have no claim over actions that were taken previously. Even now, I am not the leader of RiverClan. Rest assured that those actions are not condoned by me. If I was in charge when they happened, then action would be taken." She wished someone better was in Jaystar's place... The smoky black tom seemed to have no care for such matters. But how could she explain that to this hostile tom? She sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly under the seeming weight of her duties, even those she could not fulfill. "As it is... I do not know which warriors did those things. If I did, I would do my best to help. But I can only take these things one at a time. And right here, right now, I seek justice for my apprentice. Justice does not pause when it has been neglected. All we can do is act upon it when we see it needed."

Finally-- thankfully-- Stoatstar spoke. Waiting with bated breath to see whether he would echo the hostility towards her, or even respond, Perchfall's ears perked up in his direction. Follow him to his den?... That made sense. Sometimes the input of Clanmates was unwanted. Letting out an inaudible sigh, the gray and white she-cat flicked her tail lightly and followed the tom up to the small cave in the rock. She was glad that Minnowfin accompanied them as well. Once they arrived, he spoke further. At his words, though a pit slowly grew in her stomach, she nodded. Would Stoatstar take Softfall's word over hers? That was likely what this would come down to.

Surprisingly, the young delinquent was actually capable of speaking more quietly. Why had he not done so in the first place? Either way, despite sounding more reasonable for a brief moment, the tom's words danced around the issue rather than addressing it. Glares, of course, accompanied his sullen tone. The pure waves of hatred rolling off the tom almost made her physically pained. How could any cat hate her so much? Either way, biting her tongue so hard it almost bled, she waited her turn to speak, ignoring his threats and angry looks. And then, she spoke.

"You have yet to address the claims that I actually made, Softfall," the deputy said quietly. "My apprentice was not hunting. She wandered over the border, and once she had realized her mistake, attempted to leave. Then, you did not only attack, as was your right– but, you attempted to murder her." Not narrowing, not glaring, her eyes simply met that of the young, misguided tom. "I did not misspeak," she continued simply. Her tone was measured but powerful. "You did not simply attack with excess force. You attempted to kill a cat. I know this because you said so as you attacked her. You said it was to get back at RiverClan. Do you deny this? You cannot simply talk around the issue and pretend that is not what has been said. If you were a reasonable warrior that had your leader's confidence, I might trust your omission of details. However, we have met before. You lied to my face that you were not stealing prey, when in fact you were. Stoatstar obviously knows this as well. Neither of us are fools."

Letting down part of her mask for a second, Perchfall allowed her straight, tall deputy posture to lean forward a little. She glanced at the leader before continuing. Then, closely, she looked into Softfall's face. Maybe he could be reasoned with. "Softfall… I know you do not trust me. But trust me when I say this: I am not a vengeful or bloodthirsty cat. I do not delight in, nor even condone the deaths of any ThunderClan cat. I am deeply sorrowful that our Clans' relations are not as good as they could be. However, your overly violent actions will not help your Clan. Murdering my apprentice would not bring a single soul of ThunderClan back to life. All we can do is take what we have now, and move forward. So tell me, Softfall. Did you truly try to kill her?" If she had lost Poppypaw... she would have been lost. Killing another cat was a horrible action, condemned by the Code. Surely he had to understand that. However, lying would not help him. If he confessed and apologized, maybe a better point of agreement could be reached. As simple as it would be to take him by the scruff and toss him into the river.

Called to join the group as they moved to Stoatstar's den, the grey and white deputy followed at the back of the cat train. Being inexperienced in the area of decision-making left him eager to listen. What Starlingflare had said was also valid, but he had not been there when it happened, so what Riverclan had to say would also need to be heard. The young deputy took a seat beside his mentor and tried to be of help. Intently, he took note of Softfall's description of the events that had taken place on their territory. Perhaps the tom could've left out the sneer at the end; that would've helped keep the calm instead of arousing anger. Softfall is right in saying that it was within his rights to attack a trespassing cat, be it an apprentice. But to kill? In the end, he had restraint, yet...

"The warrior code makes it clear that we should only kill when necessary." Minnowfin stated quietly, his gaze lingering on Softfall's grey pelt. Letting Softfall have a chance to answer Perchfall's question, he then slowly, carefully worked through his words,"You both have valid statements. It is true that Softfall did have the right to display a show of aggression and warn the trespassing apprentice. However, the apprentice did say that it was an accident. I agree that Softfall should have been more merciful with your apprentice, but unfortunately, the damage has been done. The only thing we can do now is to have an adequate consequence." Turning to Stoatstar, he looked into his eyes then turned back to face Perchfall. I hope this meeting will settle things between us...

OOC: Ripped said I can post now so that Stoat has actually something to go off of when he replies which makes good sense to me :) so minor posting change in order.


IC:

Softfall was not happy at all at how Perchfall had just brushed off what crimes Riverclan had commited against Thunderclan... so she admitted that Thunderclan cats had indeed died by Riverclan claws.  This angered him even more until he was just about visibly shaking from holding back swiping right now at the deputy who spoke these lies!

Then something occured to him suddenly and the anger vanished replaced by shock and despair... the fighting that Starlingflare had mentioned and the deaths between their two clans ... it all lined up perfectly with when he was born from a timing perspective... The pieces began falling in place for a very clear picture and the more he thought about it the more he felt a rising pit in his stomach...

To summarize what he knew...
1) his parents ... his real birth parents were dead...
2) no one in Thunderclan would ever talk to him about it... whenever he asked appledapple or stoatstar what happened to them they quickly changed the subject and never gave him an answer
3) the timing of everything fit too close together for this to be a random coincidence... it wasnt until starlingflare and perchfall had their back and forth that it dawned on him...

Riverclan had killed his parents!

and the reason appledapple and Stoatstar had never brought it up was because they already knew how angry he was at Riverclan and they likely didnt want to add fuel to the fire understandably so... everything fit so perfect... and in his mind Riverclan was the absolute lowest of the low so how else could have done it?

The realization left him very stunned and instead of anger a pained confused expression flashed over him as he sat down quickly...

He shook his head refocusing but remained seated... the shock was still strong and it had replaced all of his anger... for now.

He listened quietly to the rest of Perchfalls side of the story.  From what Softfall had seen Poppypaw was hunting on their territory ... this was not the truth but it was what he believed the truth to be, as what other reason would she have to be there he figured.

Then Perchfall asked him the big question... did he intend to kill Poppy??
He blinked a couple of times... for in absolute truth he didnt really know and that frightned him a bit more than he would have liked...

Sure during the fight he had said whatever aggressive thing came to mind and during his rage he had tried his best to attack her quite hard... at the time of the battle he had never gotten the opening to deliver a final blow to her ... but if he had gotten the opportunity would he have gone for it???

He wasn't sure.  He had killed Beaverpaw yes... he had killed before... but every night for weeks afterward he awoke from sleep in a cold sweat thinking back on it. His concious was eating him alive over that decision and he truely did regret it. And that was under different circumstances... it had been one clean blow rather than a fight before hand... would he really kill again?

It was a simple question really that Perch was asking... "Do you deny trying to kill her?" she had asked ... the truth was ... he didnt know if he would have or not...

he was glad in some sense that she had gotten away but angry also that she had gotten away. He didnt know anymore what he wanted.  All he really wanted was Thunderclan to do well and Riverclan seemed to be the biggest obsticle stopping that.  

However, now that Skyclan had given a large amount of land over... was there really any more need for bloodshed? His consciences told him no.. but the amount of anger he had was not easily undone.

Everyone was looking at him holding their breath... they all wanted the truth.  That was the truth though it was messy.  He didnt even know if he wanted to kill Poppypaw.... If he wanted to not get skinned alive by Stoatstar the obvious answer was to just lie and say

"ohhh no of course not I would never kill anyone"... he thought to himself... but that was a lie and as twisted as he had become... Stoatstar represented the highest level of Thunderclan which is the only thing he really cared about.  Stoatstar deserved more than a lie.  His level of respect for the leader was quite high and during the gathering he had felt so bad for the little tom who everyone else was so quick to blame... Sighing, he closed his eyes.

"You all want the truth?" he said slowly knowing that was more so retorical than anything else .

"Very well ... I will tell you the entire truth... but " he said reopening his eyes looking straight into Stoatstar's

"I want the whole truth about my parents...my real parents...no more games from it no more  "we will tell you laters" If i am being honest with you now I need at least the same from you" he said not looking away from stoatstar

"Did riverclan kill them? ... if not tell me who" he demanded but not in a harsh voice... it was quiet actually almost breaking as he said it.


Pausing for a little bit to let that sink in he nodded and turned to Perchfall.

"The truth... is I don't know if I would have killed her... I never got the opening to go for it ... If there was an opening I hope so much that I would not have taken it" he said also looking her in the eyes

"In my blind rage I might have but I hope so much that I would resist and let her go ... I am glad she got away before I found out" he said quietly.  

Tears started forming around his eyes but he didnt let anyone see that.  Keeping a straight face he still glared at her but it was a little less intense hearing how she had wished that things could be different between their two clans. He wished the same deep down but it was hard to admit that being so far down the path he was already on.


An author's note:
Softfall is at the balance between the two paths he can take. The gathering post also showed this was coming up. How stoatstar responds to his questioning will determine alot about which direction soft is gonna be going. Anything less than the whole truth from Stoat will result in Soft's continuing into darkness. The truth from Stoat will have unknown implications even to me. Ripped good luck I cant wait to see what happens overall :).

Stoatstar sat there still, but with a thoughtful expression across his maw. Or maybe it was the nagging exhaustion at the back of the mind. He wasn't sure either way. Regardless, the leader was attentive to the conversation. Even if he lacked the desire to deal with this, it was his duty as the clan leader. And Softfall had already proven to be trouble in the past. Even now, the young tom couldn't manage to keep any handle on his emotions as he spoke. The longing to let out an annoyed sigh was overwhelming but he stuffed it back for the sake of being in front of an enemy deputy.

Perchfall's account was reasonable, rational, as any interaction with her had been. He appreciated the manner in which she handled things even if his disdain for Riverclan ran deep - both by birth right and previous experience. But she hadn't been there herself. No matter the concept, it would be the word of a Riverclan cat against the world of a Thunderclan cat. Normally, he would be inclined to trust his clanmates, especially when this was a kit he had helped to raise. Softfall was the opposite of Perchfall. The young warrior had proven himself to be impulsive and irrational. It bothered him now that he felt he couldn't trust his own warrior's word, especially since they'd had a previous conversation Softfall had already gone back on.

As Minnowfin chimed in, Stoatstar nodded his head in agreement. The deputy had been a fine decision and continued to be, even if the clan had not always seen that. He was grateful for the input and took a moment to offer his deputy a soft and brief smile. And then Softfall was speaking again to address the question that hung heavy in the air. His answer was condemning in its lack of certainty. But... there was something else. Softfall had posed his own question. At first he was taken aback and wanted to cuff the young tom for deflecting the conversation. And then he saw the connection, somehow. All this time Softfall had thought Riverclan killed his parents.

"Your parents weren't killed by Riverclan." Stoatstar started. He silently hoped Appledapple wouldn't claw his ears off. But he had never wanted to hide the truth, and if it prevented more undue conflict between clans, there was no option, "Your parents were rogues. Your mother attacked a Thunderclan warrior with the intent to kill and was killed in self-defense. It had nothing to do with Riverclan." His words were straightforward and factual, tone even, as he watched the face of the warrior. As much as Softfall likely needed him to dwell on this conversation, there was another one at paw, and they could talk more about it after Perchfall left.

"After listening to both sides, I've determined that Softfall did not do anything other than defend the borders as he should have. I can't take one cat's word over my own warrior's. But will take Softfall at his own word, that he can't say if he would have killed her. From now on, Softfall will not leave camp without Minnowfin or Mottlerose at his side, and will not be allowed to join patrols at the Riverclan border. I hope this is satisfactory for you, Perchfall. I will handle my clan, just make sure to keep your cats on your side of the border. I hope your apprentice heals well." Stoatstar meowed finally. There wasn't anything else to be said on the matter, a decision had been made.

Having said her piece, all that Perchfall could do now was sit back and watch everything unfold. As much as she wished to demand an answer immediately, others still had to speak, and the perpetrator needed to answer her question. Minnowfin, however, was the first to speak. Her eyes flashed over to the young deputy's as he spoke, his words quiet and thoughtful. When his gaze met hers, she nodded to him gratefully. She appreciated his level-headedness.... it helped her to calm down. The initial rage she had felt was beginning to fade as she forced herself to see things reasonably. Either way, it was out of Minnowfin's paws. Thank you for not hating me like everyone else seems to. I don't know what I would have done if someone else found me at the border. Yet, she did not voice her gratitude out loud, but simply looked at him for a moment, hoping the message would communicate nonverbally. It was still not her turn to speak.

Softfall, for his part, at least seemed somewhat remorseful. She didn't know whether or not it was an act. The tom seemed to live and die on his emotions, letting them show constantly, so she didn't know if he was capable of faking guilt or sadness. But if he was truly remorseful, why now? Why even commit the violent act in the first place? Why not own up to it and accept punishment, instead of digging himself deeper and snarling in her face? As her calm blue eyes met the younger tom's petulant glare, she didn't look away. Whatever he felt now, that did not excuse his earlier actions. He was talking around the issue once again. "I don't know... I hope..." Deep down, she knew that he did know. He was scared of the answer. But that did not excuse the fact that, given the chance, he might have murdered Poppypaw. She might not even have known. Cold ice began to enter her veins once again, but she steeled herself and finally tore her gaze away from the younger tom's to that of the one who would decide his fate. Stoatstar.

Like Perchfall had thought, it did go down to her word versus his. She didn't envy Stoatstar the position, to be certain. A Clanmate, or the deputy of another Clan? It would put anyone between a rock and a hard place. And yet, some small part of her had hoped that she might be persuasive enough-- honest enough-- to show that she was trustworthy. Her heart sank slightly when the other leader spoke.

"I can't take one cat's word over my own warrior's."

Even after you know he is untrustworthy? When he practically confesses to the deed himself? When you have seen him break the code before, and know he would do it again? Perchfall bit her tongue. Of course. I should have known. And yet, that did not make the words any less bitter to swallow. It could have been worse, she could have been turned away at the border, she could have been attacked and driven off. At least they heard her out.... but now she had nothing to show for it. Well, not nothing. At least Softfall would be accompanied now by more level-headed cats. But what was keeping him from breaking these rules? A code-breaker wouldn't stop just because his leader asked him nicely.

Yet, the RiverClan deputy acquiesced. With a simple nod, her face still neutral, she accepted the judgement. She wouldn't make an ordeal out of this; she'd already caused enough trouble. It was certainly not what she had hoped for. But it could have been much worse. "I truly hope, for the sake of everyone involved, that nothing of this sort happens again-- from either side of the border," she spoke simply. "I will take my leave now. Thank you, Stoatstar, Minnowfin." With that said, and one last glance at each cat in the room, she walked out of the den. For some reason, she suddenly felt exhausted.