seeking justice [o]

Sootstorm had watched in silence from the corner of the camp from the moment Leopardstar's arrival was announced all up until now. That was, until the maiming of his daughter was dismissed without so much as a reply from the ShadowClan leader, let alone an apology. She then had the absolute nerve to insult Tigerstar's ability as a leader to his face, then gave a threat as if she were giving them mercy. Who did she think she was? If Tigerstar willed it, the entire WindClan would be upon her, tearing away every one of those lifes that were so foolishly given to her. Did she really think that just because ShadowClan had won a battle against WindClan seasons ago that she could just stroll into camp insulting their leader in front of their entire Clan while acting as if the near death of one of their apprentices were their own fault? As if a mere reprimanding would suffice for the giant scar that now marred Crakeburn's shoulder. Rarely had the tom ever experienced anger, not even when his own mother chose to abandon him, or when his friends were killed, mauled to death thanks to the perceived fault of their medicine cat. But now? ShadowClan had gone too far. Truly, they didn't think this through. Leopardstar could preach all she wanted about not wishing for a fight and wanting to exchange words rather than claws, but she couldn't hide her true colours for long. If that was truly what she wanted, she would have sent a messanger asking for a talk with Tigerstar about the borders rather than sending her deputy to assault whichever poor soul was closest to the border. She would not have stormed into the camp to trigger everyone with her words. No, Leopardstar wanted war, or perhaps her head was really so high up the clouds that she couldn't see what could possibly go wrong. She spoke of ShadowClan not being pushovers? Well, really, she must think WindClan was.

A huff of contempt left Sootstorm at the arrogance that reeked from the she-cat that stood alone in their camp, accompanied by a warrior who she did not request to stand beside her. Where was Crakeburn? He wanted to be by her side, comfort her and let her know that whatever transpired by that border, it wasn't her fault. She was an apprentice, and was nothing but brave for protecting her Clan against a warrior who was so obviously stronger than her. Rage churned in his belly as he watched Tigerstar and Leopardstar. It wasn't his place to step in, not when Leopardstar had requested specifically to speak to Tigerstar, but stars it was difficult keeping his mouth shut. Tigerstar was passive enough, and yet he was labeled as uncivil and scheming? That was his brother that stood the disgusting, and honestly unnecessary insults. Finally, he knew what it was like for Brackenwing. He understood what it felt like to have rage and anger burn inside him and the overwhelming urge to lash out, to wipe that high and mighty expression off that fox-hearted she-cat. And here he had been hoping for peace, for the exact same words that Leopardstar echoed but refused to upkeep.

But the tables had turned. If Leopardstar had not realised it yet, he would help her be reminded of this one fact: WindClan was now the one that was much bigger than ShadowClan. Forget the past, when ShadowClan outnumbered WindClan by swarms. WindClan was now the stronger Clan, and she had walked right into it's heart. Sootstorm rose from his position, conceiling his rage with a mask of complete blankness that was somehow much scarier. The emotions that once so strongly controlled the tom was gone, wiped away in the crash of raging waves that now overtook him. Happiness? Peace? No, they belonged to a cat who could afford to dream. Sootstorm could not.

Tail lashing, the tom slid out from behind his brother, unreadable narrowed eyes meeting Leopardstar's gaze in an unwavering hold. He put on a smile, a smile that did not reach his eyes. "Much like ShadowClan, WindClan does not take lightly to blatant disrespect and disregard, nor are we spineless," He began, quoting the words that Leopardstar had so generously used, "As such, I'm sure you'll find it understandable that we find the leader of another Clan coming to our camp to insult our leader to his face, extremely disrespectful, as well as dismissing the maiming of one of our younger members by offering a simple reprimanding as a form of generosity. Seeing as your diplomatic skills are so much better, though I've never heard of threatening to take back territory as a form of diplomacy, must be due to my apparent lack of skill in such a matter, I'm sure you know what to do next." Perhaps his rage was far more evident in his voice than either of the leaders', but he could hardly cared in this moment. He had never felt so insulted in his life before. Even if Leopardstar somehow understood that she had made a mistake, he doubted that she'd swallow her pride to apologise, or even bother recognizing her mistake. And he had thought she was better than her predecessor.