Nesting [semi-open]

It was the consequences of her actions, her own stupidity. The betrayal to her disappeared mate, Lavenderdrop. But even then, there was an odd peace in the molly's step, even as she seemed to be near practically waddling in response to the kits swollen in her belly. She had made her decision, and it would be for the best of Windclan. They didn't need any reason to have conflict with Windclan, not to mention over half-blooded kits. Sure, Windclan needed the numbers... but they didn't need any reason for them to be of traiterous blood.

So there she was. For once, her pelt was dry, as she'd found the small path that didn't involve jumping into the water to cross into Riverclan territory. Each step the golden molly had taken was that of a cat who was there with a purpose - but non-threatening, as well. It was truly a shock to her that she hadn't come across any cat, especially considering her moor-ridden scent would be such a stark difference to that of Riverclan. Nevertheless, she followed her nose, trailing to where their scent was the strongest. It had to be their camp. Whether or not Owlshriek or Perchstar would take mercy on her would remain to be seen, but... it was worth a shot.

She stared at the pools of water in front of her, guarding the camp. Part of her was terrified at the idea of swimming, especially given she was much heavier with the life she supported. It seemed her small moment of terror was answered though, especially with the faces appearing. Maplespring would waste no time in introducing herself, however. Her head dipped in deep respect, not even truly bothering to register just who it was who was approaching her.

"Riverclan... I-I mean no harm. I'm Maplespring from Windclan and... I was hoping to speak to Perchstar. A-and... Owlshriek." Why she suddenly seemed so shy, why the lump in her throat all of a sudden seemed massive... Well, it made sense. She was in the heart of the territory of who she should call her enemy.

The member 'Kitty' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Camp Invasion Dice' :

OOC: For clarification, I am going to say this is right before-- or very close before-- Perch goes to SkyClan. That way, we can avoid paradoxes. :)

As always, the growing threat of furthered tensions with SkyClan was looming over Perchstar's head, as dark and ominous as the literal cloud of blackness that had swallowed the sky less than three moons ago. It had been a couple of days since the Gathering. She had wanted to go immediately... but the longer she put it off, the more she dreaded the confrontation. Bloodstar was not a reasonable cat. She had suspected already from watching his and Jaystar's interactions, and the Gathering had already confirmed her fears. The tom was selfish, rude, and refused to see beyond his own nose as to what was right or wrong. Was all of SkyClan like him? Or was he simply ruling with an iron claw, and causing the Clan's current state of chaos? Did the rest of the Clan agree with him... or would they want another potential murderer gone out of their midst? The trouble from outside their borders was bad enough. Then, her warriors-- Rushtalon, Robinpatch, Tinypool even-- were disappearing at an alarming rate. It should have been a moon of peace and prosperity, as a wonderfully lush newleaf turned slowly to a prey-rich greenleaf. However, things were bad... and they only seemed to be getting worse.

Distant voices. One unfamiliar. And a scent that didn't belong. Perchstar's ears pricked up sharply at the sound of a cat she did not recognize. Who was this? Had SkyClan sent an envoy? Was it some other Clan? Urgency leading her paws, the leader swiftly made her way out of camp, following the strange scent. There, just on the borders of RiverClan's small island camp, were two cats. Poppyshine she knew, but... who was this? A heavily pregnant golden she-cat, smelling of WindClan. There was a hesitancy to her words, and uncertainty laced her gaze. Perchstar blinked curiously. This did not seem to be a violent act, in any case. There was no threat from this she-cat. Then why...? She had asked for Owlshriek? Intriguing. A friend, perhaps? Or... Interest and suspicion mingled in the gray-and-white she-cat's stomach as she stepped forward, making herself visible. "State your business, please," she ordered quietly. "I doubt that a queen would be Shrikestar's messenger of choice. Are you here of your own volition, then?" What reason would a WindClan queen have to be this close to their camp? Surely not...?

Had she not been there in praying for refuge, to be taken in by Riverclan for them to raise her kits, she likely would have chuckled alongside Poppyshine's comment about this being no leisurely stroll. It was quite far from an understatement to say that it was a journey that Maplespring had ever even wanted to take. Finally raising her gaze to see who exactly the voice belonged to, there was a prick of familiarity as she believed to have seen that face before. Riverclan's deputy. Maplespring didn't quite know her name, but she knew she was due respect, her head dipping once more. Her emerald gaze caught sight of the deputy's own growing belly, and a small prayer to Starclan went up in hopes that it would only add sympathy to her case.

Just as she had lifted her head to part her maw to speak, the familiar sight of the grey and white leader caught her attention. The golden tabby showed a similar display of respect, her body language still showing more nervousness than any type of hostility. "I -Yes, of my own volition." She first stated. Her head hung just slightly, and her claws anxiously kneaded at the ground beneath her paws. It seemed words weren't her strong point at the moment. "Perchstar, miss Deputy - forgive me, I don't know your name - I-I come to Riverclan to seek a home for myself and my kits. I ask this because... I'm carrying the kits of one of your warriors. Owlshriek is his name and he... he doesn't know." The golden queen was practically shaking from her nerves at this point. It felt as if she was in the midst of a life-or-death situation, with Starclan and Perchstar's mercy being exclusively where her paws rested. The sound of her heart pounding in her chest wasn't getting any quieter, either. A weariness tugged at her bones as well, and she had to sit, keeping her gaze away from their eyes. It wasn't out of being untruthful, if anything, it was clear she was speaking the truth. It simply was the Windclan queen's silent plea to the she-cats in front of her for mercy.

Maplespring took a deep breath. "Shrikestar has strict rules on forbidden relationships, and I-I understand if Riverclan is the same way."

Perchstar stood perfectly straight, looking down at the shame-faced WindClan she-cat with no trace of the emotions she felt crossing her face. Curiosity, cautiousness... and a slight tinge of the all-too-familiar dread that had accompanied her ever since the discovery of Cloverheart's body in the river. Already, her leadership had been off to a rocky start. Other Clans seemed determined to never let them have peace. And depending on what this intruder said, that trend might not be stopping anytime soon. Soon, the WindClanner spoke up. She did not give her name, but instead-- after a few honorifics that had been dearly missed from the snappish SkyClan leader-- stated her business, as she had been asked to do.

"I'm carrying the kits of one of your warriors. Owlshriek is his name and he... he doesn't know."

"What?" The word slipped out before Perchstar could stop it. It wasn't as incredulous as she felt-- rather a flat word, an expression of confusion, an inability to understand. This WindClan queen... was Owlshriek's mate? The ambitious son of Jaystar had taken a mate outside of his Clan? He'd always seemed to slink in Poppyshine's shadow, basking in her light. But Poppyshine had Rushtalon's kits. Was this some sort of retaliation? A mistake? Either way, it was against the code. The leader's mind moved quickly, running through several different scenarios. It was hard to wrap her mind around. But as she did, a prickling heat began to rise in her pelt. Not quite the blood-shattering anger she had felt at Cloverheart's death. It was a different feeling. Not a pleasant one, however. A warrior that she had begun to trust had let her down. "Owlshriek," Perchstar called out, an unfamiliar snap of irritation in her voice, "come here at once." She did not remove her eyes from the WindClan queen's trembling form, but rather trusted that her voice would carry to the code-breaking tom that she knew was within camp. This was not necessarily the she-cat's fault. She was reasonable to ask for asylum... and yet, the leader could not help the sharp tinge of annoyance that stabbed through her paws at the sight of the groveling warrior.

Wow. That was a new tone from Perchstar he had never heard before. Offering their elders a sheepish smile, he rubbed the bile on his paws near the entrance. The tom really didn't want to carry the scent of bile to follow him around all day. While it was normally apprentice tasks, he enjoyed visiting them and hearing their stories. Sometimes they repeated their stores of conquest and adventure, but it mattered not to Owlshriek.

The story about the giant hawk faded to the back of his mind as Owlshriek trotted towards the entrance. A pang of nervousness shot through him. What had he done to earn that weird tone from Perchstar? Ears out to the side, the warrior splashed his way towards where he was called. The tom was confused until the scent of WindClan hit him. Was that? Owlshriek slowed his approach, stopping a fox length away. Why was it that this cat always seemed to find her way to him? Either by nearly falling in the gorge, or drowning in the river. It was one night when they appreciated each other's friendship. One night and, well. Yellow eyes flicked towards her round abdomen.

He was going to be a father.

Oh, stars, how does one do that? What was a father, besides being needed to create the kits...? What was their job? What did they do? What was he going to do? How could he support and protect these kits if he didn't know what to do? His paws felt rooted in the ground, the small puddle soaked his paws. Certainly, the bile had been washed off by now. But--

His eyes flicked from Perchstar to Maplespring. He couldn't look Poppyshine in the eyes. "...avoid the gorge this time?" Owlshriek offered, managing a small smile. Though, it was quick to vanish into worry. But, his mind began to work out the situation. The problem was staring him in the face. They both broke the warrior code, and Maplespring had already gotten her punishment. Jaw set, he turned to Perchstar. A determined glint reflected in his yellow eyes. "We met after she almost fell into the gorge, then again after she almost drowned in the river." He explained, though, not looking like he was finished speaking. "Maybe it was adrenaline, but we have broken the warrior code. Maplespring has been through enough if she is here. Please, let her rest and find safety here." Was it, love, he felt for the mother of his kits? Or was it a feeling of responsibility?

It was hard to tell.

"Perchstar, please do as you see fit for me. But please give her a place here, even if at my expense." She looked exhausted and haggard, any decent cat would see that. It was his hope that Perchstar would find mercy in the Queen.

"Hi, Owlshriek." It was... oddly comforting to the molly to see the tom who was why she was even here in the first place. At the same time, she couldn't help but feel even ashamed that he was the father to her kits, that he would have to share this burden with her. The sight of him seemed to somehow calm the nerves within her just enough that she was no longer actively trembling, but the weariness of her journey certainly was beginning to tug at her frame. Even with as youthful as she was, any cat who was carrying kits like she was would certainly be tired from walking as far as she did. Even if Owlshriek wanted nothing to do with her after all of this... she was appreciating more and more the way he seemed to vouch for her safety.

What surprised her was the reaction of the deputy. She certainly didn't expect to be vouched for, but all she could assume was it had to do with the fact they shared a status of being queens. She lifted her head slightly, mostly in surprise, but in gratitude as she gave a small nod. It would ultimately be up to Perchstar, after all. The odd thing was that she had said all that she needed to, and while she certainly wasn't against begging Perchstar for mercy... Maplespring knew when to stop. Too much could easily turn her away, and it was the word of Perchstar's own clanmates at this point that outweighed hers much, much more than anything else she could say ever would.

Well, at least Owlshriek freely admitted to it. Perchstar couldn't tell whether she was relieved or disappointed. Still, a surprising amount of annoyance continued cycling through her system at her own warrior's actions. Breaking the code... well, she supposed there was no going back. All they could do was deal with what was in front of them. And thankfully, neither of them were making this difficult. They admitted fault, and asked forgiveness. When Poppyshine spoke up, the leader glanced over, ready to listen to her friend's valued opinion. The words she spoke agreed with the thoughts that had begun to bounce around in the back of Perchstar's head. More kits for RiverClan... and potentially another warrior, depending on whether Maplespring (as Owlshriek had said her name was) ended up recovering from the physical toll that this journey had evidently taken.

"Thank you, Poppyshine," she said finally, after a few more moments of contemplation. Perchstar nodded at the deputy, then returned her gaze to the shameful pair. "Maplespring is your name?" she asked the queen, looking at the obvious swell of her belly. Heavily pregnant, and very tired. The leader's voice softened. "My deputy makes a good point. Since Shrikestar was so open with his policies against outsiders, you have nowhere else to go. I am not lacking in sympathy... and the code is very clear on giving innocent kits a home. Should you promise your loyalties to us, and allow your kits to be raised as RiverClan, then you may stay in the nursery. With the state you are in, you have no reason to exit camp anyway. You will remain within the borders of camp at all times. After your kits are raised to apprenticehood, we will re-evaluate your standing within the Clan." She did not want to voice the sudden thought that struck her... the thought of how Mallowmist had looked when she was so close to kitting. The remembrance of the young warrior's death. "Depending on your actions... there is a possibility you may be welcomed as a warrior of RiverClan."

With a flick of her tail, Perchstar moved her attention to Owlshriek. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her voice returned to its hard, neutral tone. "As for you...." This was a far less easy decision. She had extended a fair amount of trust to the warrior, even after her initial prejudice towards the son of the leader who had nearly destroyed RiverClan by welcoming the Dark Forest into their borders. Though she had seen the ambition behind his eyes, she had believed he was capable of controlling it. But apparently he had not quite managed to do so. It had been an accident... but though his explanation was solid, it was not an excuse. "Since you have told me honestly, your punishment will be lighter than it would have otherwise been. For one moon, you will add apprentice duties to your regular list of chores. You will change the elders' bedding, patch up the dens around camp, and other such things. You will not attend the next Gathering. Furthermore, you will not be allowed to patrol alone. Any time you leave camp, you must take another warrior with you, and inform me or Poppyshine. After this moon, you and I will have a talk, and I will revoke your punishment if I see fit to do so." She shook her head. "I am disappointed that you would do this, Owlshriek. But I still have faith that you can be a great warrior, if you learn from your mistakes." Her piece had been said. Would both react accordingly?