tell me what I missed

He hadn't stayed for the whole Gathering. After realizing that Brackenwing wasn't there, and unable to find a reason worth staying, Owlshade had quit Fourtrees and headed back towards WindClan territory once more, eager to be home, eager to see the faces he'd missed the most. His sister was at the top of that list. So the pale spotted tom half-limped his way through the moors, the bite from the weasel having finally grown swollen and irritated - nothing that would keep him out of commission, but it was a minor annoyance. His paws ached with every step he took, and he longed for the warmth of his nest. Would it even still be there? Or had they assumed he'd left them, or that he'd been killed? Doubt plagued the warrior, running a million scenarios through his head. What if Bracken was mad at him? What if no one had missed him at all?

Owlshade sighed deeply to himself, swallowing back a hiss of annoyance. What harebrained things to think of now, when he was so close to being home... and like he'd summoned it, the WindClan camp suddenly loomed ahead of him. Owlshade paused for a moment, his tail flickering uncertainly. And then he pushed forward, into the camp proper. He was the first one back from the Gathering, and it was quiet. He slunk towards the warrior's den, imagining that it was there he'd find his sister - if she was here. Peeking inside, he said in a hushed whisper, "Brackenwing?"

Upon realizing it was the full moon, Brackenwing had promptly settled into her nest, very glad of the eventual peace and quiet that would surround the camp while her clanmates decided to go to fourtrees. They were more than welcome to go, if Brackenwing never had to set paw there it would be too soon, and Silverwing wasn't around to force her to go anymore. Perhaps if Whisperear went, she might make the trek to that cursed place... Some other time. Not tonight, when she'd only been back on Windclan's territory for a few days herself.

The marbled tabby lay with her eyes half closed, stretched out in her nest. The hushed voice that broke the quiet was startling, and the warrior snapped to alertness, green eyes immediately finding the familiar form at the entrance to the warrior's den. "Owlshade? You're back!" Her voice was hushed to avoid waking the sleeping, but that did not diminish the genuine excitement in her tone as she pulled herself out of her nest and made her way outside. "Were you captured by the twolegs too? I was worried when Whisperear and I made our way back and you weren't here." She mewed, gently headbutting Owlshade's shoulder.

To his relief, it was Brackenwing who answered him, and as he stepped back to let her pass, the warrior let out a purr of greeting, swiping his tongue across her ear when she headbutted his shoulder. He moved a bit further away from the warriors' den, tipping his head for her to follow so they wouldn't wake anyone sleeping. "Yeah, they got me..." he said quietly. "I was asleep, for a while," Owlshade continued. "And then..." he shook his head. "Nevermind, the twolegs don't matter, we got out, right?" He fell heavily to his haunches, curling his long tail around his body, and looked Brackenwing over. "You look alright - are you alright? What's happened while I've been gone?" He fired off the questions one after the other, pausing and giving an apologetic grimace when he realized.

"They- Did the same to me.Took part of my ear for some reason, too." She understood what he meant. "They kept me for a while... Healed my leg and then left me in a distant farm. Whisperear and I only got back a few days ago, ourselves. We missed... A whole foxing lot, apparently. We... might have given Shrikestar a piece of our minds. And Coyotegrin." Her tail lashed once in remembered fury. "Do you want the bad news or the worse news first? We're going to be here a while either way."

As Bracken mentioned the tip of her ear, Owlshade's eyes rose to observe it, and his own twitched in shared sympathy. Why and what exactly the twolegs had done didn't make any sense to him, but it didn't matter now... they were free. He sat and listened to his sister talk, eyes widening slightly at some parts. "You- you did what to Shrikestar?" He was truly interested now, and perhaps even a little wary... he'd always been one to obey what he was told, and follow the code, but he knew that Brackenwing was the same, so if she'd done something contrary to that, surely she had a reason - one he wanted to hear.

"Okay, tell me in whichever order you prefer!"

Brackenwing inhaled, a sigh escaping her. "Blazefang is now in Thunderclan with her mate. Smallbean was captured by twolegs and hasn't returned... But if Whisperear and you and I returned, I think he can too." She hoped. That was not what she had yelled at Shrikestar about, of course, and Owlshade wasn't dumb enough to think it was. Her claws flexed into the frozen ground beneath. "Daisybreeze and Lynxpaw are dead. Foxes, I think they said." Her tail lashed once, a mix of guilt and grief for Lynxpaw clouding her expression. "That alliance with Shadowclan that should never have been made is no more. We're not at war - yet." Brackenwing was not optimistic and never had been, when it came to Shadowclan. "Apparently our warriors like to trespass. Rather than issue warnings or talk about it, our two boneheaded leaders ignored the problem until Nightstar's warriors caught uor warriors on their territory. Not for even the third time, apparently. I'm not sure how any of it is connected because Shrikestar and Coyotegrin - who he seems to need to defend his every action - cannot keep a story straight. Apparently Silverwing attacked their warriors - or tried to commit murder and disobeyed Shrikestar and Smallbean. In the middle of the shared camp at highstones. I don't believe she would ever attack anyone without provocation, but they weren't clear on the details. They have their heads so far up Nightstar's tail that all the blame seems to be on Silverwing anyways. She was exiled. Without warning or any other punishment even considered. While Shadowclan knows about the tunnels they should have never known about in the first place."

"Oh and Coyotegrin had another litter of kits. Because that's the important thing for a leader to focus on when he can't be bothered to know what his own warriors are doing, let alone discipline them appropriately before resorting to exile as his first option." She couldn't hide her disgust with Shrikestar or his mate at this point. "All this in the... Not even a full moon that I was gone."

"Oh, Bracken..." Owlshade closed his eyes briefly, leaning in to his sister and pressing his head against her. "I'm so sorry." He hadn't been super close to Lynxpaw, but the grief was still there, and moreso, Brackenwing's sorrow was almost palpable. He couldn't even imagine. He pulled away as she continued, listening intently though he wasn't sure he wanted to hear anything more if it was worse than that.

The pale warrior's expression darkened markedly as she went on... Silverwing, exiled as a first reaction? Over another clan? Owlshade growled lowly in a mixture of anger and disbelief, his long tail lashing. He'd just seen Silverwing, speaking to Sleepyhollow at the Gathering. Maybe that's why the other warrior hadn't looked pleased to see her. Rising to his paws, he paced a fox length away, and then back to Brackenwing's side. "That makes no sense. Why would exile be the first option? Does Shrikestar think that WindClan having fewer warriors is what's best for the clan, with the deputy still missing, too?"

He paced away again, claws digging into the grass, and then turned to look at her. "Maybe we could speak with him - to see if he'll reconsider. Surely it was a heat of the moment thing? Something that can be rectified? If we're facing war with ShadowClan, we need Silverwing. We'll need every paw we can get." The tom's voice was strained and held an edge of almost-desperation. This wasn't what he'd imagined he was coming home to... but here it was, and here they were. Owlshade padded slowly back over to his sister, sitting in front of her. "What should we do? What do you want to do?"

Brackenwing leaned against Owlshade, grateful to have her brother back. She hadn't been the best mother to Lynxpaw, and Owlshade hadn't been that close to his niece either, but losing the cream and white apprentice had been a blow she hadn't expected. Too late to fix their relationship... Too late to fix a lot of things that needed fixing. She wouldn't let the family she had slip by her paws as well.

She shook her head wearily at his questions. "I don't understand it either. The way they spoke... It didn't make sense. I know Coyotegrin can't stand her, and Shrikestar... I don't know. I should find Silverwing, even if she's exiled I can't imagine she would willingly leave Windclan behind. She has to be close." Brackenwing frowned, "I just can't believe that she would do what they said she did unprovoked. If they even gave us the full story. I know she's impulsive but that can't... That can't be all of it. There has to be more to it."

"I just saw Silverwing," Owlshade told her quickly. "At the Gathering!" Thoughts raced in his head... in the time it had taken him to get here, and have this conversation with Brackenwing, would the Gathering be over already? "I didn't know she wasn't supposed to be there, or..." what would he have done? Told her to leave? Unlikely at best. He liked Silverwing, and the fact that she'd been exiled over something so small really frustrated him. "Maybe if we hurry, we can catch up with her?" He turned towards the direction of Fourtrees, trying to calculate the distance... and that's when the sky darkened.

Thunder and lightning exploded in the distance, and the angry sky roiled above them. Owlshade's pelt prickled uneasily. "Or... maybe we should go home, and wait to see what that's about..."

"She showed up to the gathering?" Oh, Silver... Brackenwing just hoped that Shrikestar hadn't seen her. She nodded at Owlshade, a flicker of hope burning in her chest at the thought of catching up with Silverwing before she was gone. And then thunder roared above, a spray of lightning in the distance making Brackenwing's fur lift and her ears flatten. "Stars, it's always something on the full moon. What could they have possibly gotten into this time?" She shook her head and huffed. "I'm sure Windclan will be back quickly, at least. I'll find Silverwing later. You must be tired - go get some rest." She added, gently pressing her pelt to Owlshade's.