And Finally, We Return [O]

Coyotegrin flattened her ears, distraught. Stressed. Angry. Both Brackenwing and especially Whisperear were close to her heart and only sat here insulting the leader. Her. She had enough of this, all of this. She should have just stayed in the tunnels. "It wasn't just one warrior, Whisperear, it was three. And Silverwing didn't just trespass, she tresspassed and attacked a ShadowClan warrior on their own territory. The alliance helped us, you were just missing for their help. The alliance would still be up if WindClan warriors had an ounce of respect, not learning to keep their paws on their own territory. I'm half convinced we need to retrain all of WindClan with these behaviors. I have not once in my life crossed into territory for 'funsies'. Silverwing also attempted murder in front of our own eyes, disobeying orders from both Shrikestar and Smallbean. She was dangerous and just because you didn't see it, does not mean it didn't happen." She took a breath, trying to compose herself. You can't just come marching back in here and act like the clan stopped existing when you left. Things changed. StarClan knows I am glad you're both back but you're - for some reason - accusing Shrikestar and Smallbean of lying for some StarClan knows why. Maybe you want to be mauled by her next, I guess?"

Her eyes sparked in anger, before she realized she missed Brackenwing's question. "And to answer your question, I killed two foxes on my own while pregnant." She said flatly.

Shrikestar felt as if his anger had petered out after his 'discussion' with Adderdawn moons ago. He wouldn't believe it to be true, but at times it felt like his clan was banding together to deliberately disobey his orders. He glanced over towards Coyotegrin, his mate, defending him, defending this clan. His heart suddenly ached to be by her side, or closer than he already was, but he needed to stand strong. No matter how many cats attempted to undermine the laws of StarClan, he would fight for what the essence of WindClan was. He had done so since before he was deputy, doing what it took to keep WindClan from falling apart during moons of fallen leaders. He wasn't going to stop now, just because a couple of warriors were annoyed.

"When your leader tells you something, you need to understand that what I do is for the best of WindClan. The alliance, the exile, whatever I may need to do next. This clan is as important to me as my family, and my family means everything to me." He narrowed his eyes, keeping both warriors in vision. "You do not have to agree with everything I do. You are your own cats, and I would not rob you of your thoughts. I will not tolerate any more insolence from my warriors, though. I demand respect, and I will have it. For now, you should rest. You have had a long journey. If you wish to say more to me afterwards, then I will continue to listen. That is all."

Whisperear spoke up, voice soft, but their anger was an almost tangible thing. Brackenwing briefly pressed against them in solidarity, fully agreeing with her dear friend's words. All of it.

"Oh, so now it's murder." Brackenwing sneered. "I strongly doubt, if Silverwing attacked them in a shared camp, directly disobeying you and Smallbean, that she did so without any provocation." She would find out what had happened. If Shrikestar and Coyotegrin couldn't keep a story straight and couldn't be bothered to tell her why, she would go to someone who would. She would have words with Silverwing about this. Later.

"You're right, Coyotegrin. Perhaps some of our warriors should be retrained. When a warrior lacks discipline, the fault lies with their leader. And their mentors, who refuse to take care of it before it becomes the rest of the clan's problem." Brackenwing stated, Blazefang had been Silverwing's mentor... Clearly she'd been useless and a traitor, if what Shrikestar and Coyotegrin said was true. "Rules need to be enforced, they're not a loose suggestion. Your leadership is as your rules are going - disrespected. Maybe they would be respected if we didn't have leadership who hid in their dens and allowed their mates to make decisions nobody in the clan wanted in the first place."

"I don't doubt you were doing what you thought was best for Windclan. But this alliance with Shadowclan wasn't it. It was a mistake, and you are as capable of those as anyone, Shrikestar." Brackenwing's tail twitched back and forth. "And Whisperear is right. The only clan that was prioritized in that alliance was Shadowclan, You could have trusted Windclan to take care of itself when our numbers were dwindling. Instead you sought protection for a threat that did not exist and you let her-" Green eyes slid to Coyotegrin then, a flash of burning anger in their depths, "-give them Windclan's most valuable secrets. The threat exists now, because you chose to ally with an overreactive, aggressive foxheart without any thought to the consequences. Because you gave them information that should have never been shared. For what? This is as much on you as it is on warriors who couldn't keep their paws to their own territory. And Nightstar would know about that, considering he has constantly been at our border for seasons. Which you might have realized if you didn't have your heads so far up his tail. You played with fire and Windclan might burn for it. Well done." A leader who would throw away his own warriors wasn't fit to lead at all, in her opinion, and Brackenwing did not care one bit if it was very apparent in her tone.

Coyotegrin's words then, almost an afterthought. "You had kits." Brackenwing repeated, a flash of hot, seething anger making her pelt feel hot. Kits. In the middle of leafbare. When her own kit was dead. When Windclan was supposedly on the brink of war, when their territory was beyond dangerous. What a wonderful time. "Congratulations." Her tone was flat, a hint of bitterness creeping into her expression. She hoped the ferocity Coyotegrin had shown those foxes would be there for Shadowclan. Brackenwing shook her head. "You're right, we should rest." She muttered, turning away. She doubted strongly that she would sleep, but getting out of this den and letting cooler heads prevail before she said something she would truly regret was probably a better idea than continuing right now.

Kestrelpaw was waiting outside the den. News had spread fast about the returning cats, and he could hardly wait to meet them. Whisperear was apparently a sibling, and Brackenwing was one of mom's dearest friends! He could hardly contain his excitement when they were finally leaving, and he could only assume it was Brackenwing because she was not white like Whisperear. "Brackenwing! My name is Kestrelpaw! I am so excited to meet you, I've heard so much about you!" His cheerful tone was a harsh contrast to what happened inside the den, a conversation he was oblivious to. Would Whisperear come out next?