brand new life i've been looking ⚘ blazestar

[Dandelionwish]

Dandelionwish gave his haunch a cautious sniff, no infection as Fireflypaw had said and seemingly no risk of getting one at this point. It was a relief to know that the injuries were clean enough and that his one lesson he'd given WindClan had been kept to despite it all; clean your damn claws. It had certainly saved him trouble, which was all he could ask for now. Anything else was out of his paws and no matter to him. So quick to coil and strike at the slightest offense, it was a wonder WindClan had not collapsed upon itself already beneath Sootstar's iron rule. The ex-medicine cat scoffed and rolled his shoulders as he lifted his tail end up to test the strain of the wounds along his hips and back. Seemed fine, hurt a good bit but it was a tolerable pinching pain rather than the agony he'd felt before-they'd closed up well.

Well, he wasn't going to be in any shape to sprint for his life again anytime soon but being able to stand and walk around was certainly an upgrade. Dandelionwish stretched in his nest in the medicine cat den, claws unsheathing and sliding back in as he arched his back to stand up proper. Blazestar had visited briefly when he'd just woken up wanting to speak and he could barely remember his fractured discussion with the leader while bleeding out on his border; now that he was more oriented and able to focus it was prudent he got that sorted out as soon as possible. Pausing only to make Dawnglare aware he was going to speak to the leader, so the tom didn't suspect him of sneaking about to cause mischief, he exited the den and peered around the camp curiously. He still had no idea where anything was, only the faintest hint of which den was which based on the cats congregating around it and a few suspicious glances were shot his way before he finally tried to ask. A few SkyClanners walked away before he could even approach and he sighed but found he could not even get annoyed at it, what else did he expect? Eventually he did find a few willing to direct him and he padded along toward the elderberry bush he was told the den was located, limping slightly but not as terribly as he expected he might given the stenuous activity. Poking his chocolate masked face in through the shrubbery he blinked the spots from his eyes the sudden shift in lighting caused, "Blazestar? Ye wanted a proper talk'n? Feel fine 'nough to give it now if yer good fer it."

- @BLAZESTAR
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[BLAZESTAR]

Blazestar knows some of his warriors are not pleased with his decisions lately to take in the three WindClan refugees, and he himself has doubts about what sort of consequences his Clan will face as a result. Even so, he could not turn Dandelionwish and Daisypaw away to die, and Coyotepaw... well. That decision was multi-faceted.

Dandelionwish manages to make his way to the entrance of his den, and Blazestar calls, "Yes, come inside, please." He stays curled in his nest, but his eyes are sharp. "Glad to see you're up and walking now." He flicks his eyes from injury to injury, grimacing again before he gets straight to the point.

"I know what happened with Honeytwist... Pitchstar made it quite clear." His voice is dry. "But... why were you replaced, Dandelionwish? What did they do to you and Daisypaw?" He blinks. "Were you two the only ones chased out?"

He thinks he is prepared to hear the finer details of Sootstar and WindClan's brutality, but truthfully, he does not know what Dandelionwish is going to tell him..​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[Dandelionwish]

The chocolate tom takes a moment to get comfortable stepping in, wary of being under the ground even slightly because he had never held a fondness for the tunnels and his own den back in WindClan had been so wide and open to the sky still, just places where the herbs would be safe were covered from the elements. SkyClan was quite the change from his usual but he couldn't say it was unpleasant, the alternative was much worse.
"Well enough I reckon, thank ye..." His paw was going to be a problem for the rest of his life now, but it shouldn't hinder him too much and the scars were nothing really. Most cats had scars, his were a reminder he had escaped near death though he was still uncertain of the cost of it.
Blazestar's question is not a surprise, he expects as much and was willing to give answers but he had not thought of how to formulate them and pondered quietly for a moment in silence before actually giving a sigh, partial smile on his maw borne of politeness and nothing more.
"I...well, I asked Dawnglare for catmint at a meeting with the other healers. Sootstar would not've been too fond of that, but I was willing to risk it even knowing the answer might be no despite it." Her pride would always go before her clanmates, of this he was certain, "I..admittedly it was my own fault my clan even found out I asked, I was at a loss...at my wits end...expected us all to die and I lamented it on my return without a thought. I had no way of knowing it would...it would escalate like it did, but by the time I realized they'd already headed out to raid you."
He understood the desperation, but he would never condone it; WindClan had not won itself any allies in its actions and they held no right to it. He didn't know what he intended to do but it hadn't been enough anyways, only more wounds to tend; cats died regardless. Nothing changed.
"When they returned I...lost m'head, I challenged her authority, I yelled, I ....frankly made myself a right target and then she claims she had a dream of dandelions filling her clan. Weeds, she called'em..."
Weeds. As if they were not beneficials herbs, beautiful yellow blooms, clumps of lost wishes waiting to be made. Only Sootstar could see such a sight and decree it dangerous. "Had it in her head it meant I was going to cause them problems, promoted a cat she knew I wouldn't deny nor fight on the spot and claimed me as a prisoner. She kept me trapped in my den til I finished teachin'em. Put guards outside. Was right sure she intended to kill me when it was all said and done...why wouldn't she? What I know about WindClan, herbs, having me elsewhere at all was just 'nother sign of her clan's failings."
He had no shred of doubt he'd be dead if he awaited his sentence proper, he'd have never been allowed to go. "Debated just...acceptin it, I failed StarClan, they had wanted me to help change things but I couldn't...but then I got a dream...field of dandelions filling the moors before bursting into flames...ashes to soot...it felt like a warning. So I took it, I fled that night, tried to get out quick but they were on me fast and I..."
Recalling it was a blur of chaos, he felt like pieces of it were missing in his memory as if he had blocked them out, "Daisypaw got caught up in it tryin' to help me so I took her along else they'd kill her as a traitor, I have....my clanmates-I...few of'em tried to help...I think they might be dead now..." Coldsnap. Coalfoot...where were they...? Dead. Probably. All because of him.
He was not aware he was shaking until he glanced down and saw the tremors in an outstretched paw so he tucked it up against him with a frown.


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[BLAZESTAR]

Blazestar listens to Dandelionwish's tale with slowly widening eyes. He'd asked Dawnglare for catmint, medicine cat to medicine cat, but he does not blame his friend for refusing to help him. In his position, he would not have spared herbs to help a Clan who had slaughtered one of their warriors, demanded an apprentice they'd taken in and raised and mentored -- no. The Ragdoll pities the chocolate point, knowing it must have been an impossible situation to be in. "WindClan attacking us in our home was a matter of time," he says dully. He feels a flicker of righteous anger at Dandelionwish's admonition -- that he'd indirectly led to the awful assault on his camp -- but it sizzles and dies before it can go any further.

Dandelionwish had only been trying to save the Clanmates who had driven him beaten and bloody from his home. Blazestar curiously cannot find it in him to hate the former medicine cat.

"You were imprisoned for speaking against her?" Blazestar stares at him. The prophecy was concerning, but StarClan surely had not instructed Sootstar to kill her medicine cat -- a medicine cat who was StarClan-blessed. He cannot imagine raising his claws against a loyal Clanmate -- especially one their warrior ancestors had accepted as a prophet. "StarClan even aided your escape with that prophecy," he mutters to himself. "Does Sootstar believe in StarClan like she preaches? How could she believe they would want you dead?"

He speaks of other Clanmates, dead. Blazestar shakes his head, observing the tremors racking the young tomcat's body. The Ragdoll's expression softens from appalled to something musingly kind. "You and Daisypaw will be safe here. I intend to keep this information between us, for now, but I will share it with the Clan so they know why you both have been accepted into SkyClan." They deserve to know, a little voice urges him in the back of his head, how deranged and dangerous Sootstar truly is. "You, Daisypaw, and Coyotepaw will continue to be kept away from borders and Gatherings for the time being. As long as Sootstar is WindClan leader, I don't trust there not to be blood spilled over this."

He sighs. "Coyotepaw participated in the raid on our camp, so his acceptance into the Clan will be hard-won. I can't say some of my warriors and apprentices won't be wary of you and Daisypaw as well. Only time will tell. But you have my word I will not turn you away." He frowns. "Your warrior friends, though, who ran with you... if they show up here, I cannot guarantee their safety. WindClan has repeatedly tested and assaulted SkyClan. We are not so forgiving to claws that have shed our blood."

Blazestar is silent for a moment after this, still wrapping his mind around all Sootstar has done to not only his Clan, but her own. StarClan surely can't let this go on, right?

He's afraid he has no answers to that question.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[Dandelionwish]

The fiery tom's absolute horror at what he heard was not surprising, but he was relieved to not see any serious doubts on the leader's face. Even if Blazestar didn't believe everything, despite it being the truth, he seemed to believe enough and that was fine with Dandelionwish. Absolution was never a realistic goal for anything.
He can't answer Blazestar's question. He doesn't know. He truly doesn't, but he does know one thing. "Sootstar believes...what Sootstar wants to believe and if she has to twist something to fit her views then she will..." Dandelionwish was a villain, because otherwise she would be and that wouldn't do.

"I...that's fine." He was surprised actually, but also relieved to hear that the tom was every bit as decent as he had hoped. He thought of not seeing his brother, his sister, his father ever again and swallowed it down. Sacrifices had to be made, after all. One day...one day eventually he'd be able to greet them again. But right now even knowing he was alive was too much to ask and with a sigh he forced himself to just accept it. "Of course...understood."
Sootstar would take this as some kind of insult to her person, or she might not even care, but with how volatile the molly was there was no sense risking it if it could be avoided. It was smart. It hurt, but it was smart. He thinks of the struggles to come, feels a strange sense of relief at once again being put in a position to prove his worth; almost like being an apprentice again and if this was his greatest struggle to come then surely he would manage for he had fought far worse odds in far more vicious battles than mere socializing.
The realization his friends who might escape would be denied possibly stung, but he had to focus on himself for once. For once in his life, he had to not think of the needs of his clan-or rather-his former clan. They were strong cats. They could manage.
Dandelionwish did not swear loyalty to SkyClan, not right then, but he felt that possibly he could. Eventually. The clan had already been alarmingly accomodating to him despite everything and he was caught off-guard by the shift from WindClan to this still, but...perhaps they could make it a home.
"We'll do what we can to not make waves...again, thank you. I know this is a lot to burden you with.." He wished more than ever that his mistakes had not caused such a ripple, that his decisions had not lead to such grief. He would make it up to Blazestar and SkyClan somehow.

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