private FAMILY JEWELS ‧₊˚✩彡 HOWLFIRE

[CROWSIGHT]

Talking to Howlfire was difficult. He'd never had a meaningful conversation with his step sister? It felt almost wrong to call her that. Not because they lacked any sort of relationship, but because she seemed more mature. More adult than Fireflypaw. Having a mate and kits that he trained with a bit as peers did little to dissuade him from the notion. Some may argue that Howlfire had kits too young and she was still very much not adult, but he wouldn't know. Adults had families and she was an adult. It's all very confusing! He's been wanting to speak with her. The issue is that he is clueless on what they could talk about and usually she is with family. It seems awfully rude to insert himself and ask for her time when she is busy. He can picture her disgruntled expression when she is drawn away from her mate just to for him to fumble his words and have no clear direction on what he means to express. However, this time he has good reason to speak with her. An inquiry about her family and something that she has a right to know.

Crowsight is thankful the warrior's den is empty besides her when he finds her. Fireflypaw is sure to be a little upset if he doesn't return to the medicine cat den soon, but he's certain his brother would forgive him once he figures this out with Howlfire. The black smoke stops in front of her, "Uhm. Howlfire I need to to talk to you about some things. And ask some questions." I should just go for it. She's less likely to want to speak if I'm vague. He turns his head to look at their surroundings. The warriors should be in the middle of patrols. His attention returns to the she-cat. "Skyclaw told me something strange, but I'm not sure if you already know about it. He was talking about Blazestar. Doing something to him? And I was wondering if you could tell me about them? Your family? To try and make more sense of... Everything?"

// @Howlfire plops this down for you! I'm so sorry that this is late but this is sort of backwritten to three days after the prey stealing thread (before he is given the green light to return to warriors den)​

 

[Howlfire]

When Howlfire had been born, she was one of five. As time passed, though she lost one littermate, she gained many more siblings, both biological and adoptive in a sense. Her father becoming mates with Bobbie had meant that her older kits, had become extended family in a sense.

Crowsight finds her at a lucky time - both from his point of view and her own. When he calls out to her requesting that they speak and that he has questions to ask her, she's immediately curious. "Ask away," Howlfire responded, nodding for him to continue. When he first mentions Skyclaw's name, she can't help but roll her eyes because of course he just had to be involved. Her mind is already imagining some comment about kittypets again but she visibly tenses at the mention he had done something to Blazestar. What could Skyclaw have meant by that? She has to know if Crowsight knows more so she can try and picture what he meant in her head. "What do you mean he did something to Blazestar? What did he say to you exactly?" Howlfire demands to know. She realises she's probably coming off a bit strong and tries to relax herself slightly. "Sorry, that came out sharper than I meant it to..." Howlfire mewes, shooting Crowsight an apologetic look. "What did you want to ask about my family?"​

 

[CROWSIGHT]

The ferocious manner in which she demands answers startles him, hazel eyes widening, his frame leaning back to create some distance between them. What do I do?! The young warrior remains silent, waiting for Howlfire to relax. When an apology is given, he exhales a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. It is reassuring to know that she isn't cross with him, but it is evident that this conversation was going to be a sensitive one. If the mere mention of her father's name was enough to practically interrogate him, then he must be prepared for the possibility of his step sister shaking every speck of information out of him. Not that she was going to, considering he planned to tell her everything he knew. After all, this was about her father and her brother (whether or not she cared about Skyclaw was not his concern).

A black paw waves wildly side to side, "N-no, no! It's okay Howlfire, really! This is about... Your father after all." Yes, he had many inquires about her family (by some extension it was his as well), but that would come after. "I need to tell you what happened first, so everything makes sense." This was going to be a rather long story, therefore the tom takes a seat.

"I'm sure you know how much Skyclaw hates kittypets and Blazestar so much that he's nothing to him, and he insulted Fireflypaw when I went on a patrol with him near Thunderclan's border. I just had to fight Skyclaw. While we were fighting he managed to pin me down and before he... Uhm." A paw is brought to the new scars on his eye that were inflicted from the Thunderclan warrior. "Did this. He told me I was just as pathetic as Blazestar. Then, this is what Slyclaw told me... Just feel lucky. I'm letting you off better than I did him..." Silence fills the space between them. He isn't sure what else to say. If there was anything else to say. If he wasn't clear enough. If he was overthinking this whole interaction. He wouldn't put it past him to concentrate on what was meant as a bluff, yet something within him is yowling that there is more to what Skyclaw had told him. Why of all things did the Thunderclan warrior say that?

The silence begins to gnaw at him. The urge to explain to fill it overpowers all, "I've! B-been thinking about it since then. Maybe it was to make me upset, but it just seems weird. I could be overthinking, but why would he say that? What could Skyclaw even do that's worse than my eye? I figured asking about your family would help make things more sense. There's so much I don't know, or since... Uhm this is your dad and brother, maybe you'd know?" Oh, you're rambling! Be quiet! Let Howlfire gather her thoughts before you keep on yapping till the sun rises. And so, the black smoke would snap his jaw shut, fidgeting. If anything was obvious, it would be the fact that this has been weighing on his mind for some time now.​

 

[Howlfire]

It's a small relief he doesn't seem too put off by her intense response.

As Crowsight says himself, Howlfire is all too aware of the vitriol Skyclaw carried towards kittypets and Blazestar, as well as the spat that had occurred between him and Fireflypaw. She didn't know Skyclaw had scarred Crowsight in the scuffle on the border but it doesn't surprise her in truth.

What she can't wrap her head around, however, is what Skyclaw had supposedly said to him. I'm letting you off better than I did him. What was that supposed to mean? What had Skyclaw done? Howlfire is grateful that despite Crowsight's following rambling, he doesn't push her too much for a response and lets her process things on her own time. "I don't think you're overthinking, Crowsight. It just seems very strange. I'm still struggling to wrap my head around it," Howlfire admitted, with a nervous chuckle. "Skyclaw's hatred towards my father does not surprise me. It's a similar view shared by some of my ThunderClan kin I fear." Her mind immediately thinks of Moonwhisper in particular. "I just don't understand what he could have possibly have done that was worse. I don't recall a time when Blazestar was heavily injured except for when he got caught by those foxes..." ​

 

[CROWSIGHT]

A sigh of relief leaves his maw when she reassures him that he is not overthinking. It is a small comfort in the nights of confusion that have passed since Skyclaw uttered those words. The fact that Blazestar's Thunderclan kin share the same view doesn't surprise him nor hurts. While he is technically family with them as well, he can't say he knows them other than Skyclaw and Howlingstar. They have their own reasons for seeing things they way they do, who is he to start demanding them to change their ways? "I see. It does little use to tell me who doesn't share the same view considering I am a stranger to them. Howlingstar is nice however, she was kind to us and asked us how we were."

"Did we ever find out what happened with those foxes? I can't remember much about it. It happened too fast, but even if we don't think about the foxes... If I were to do something to Thunderclanner, I would have to meet them, right? So wouldn't that mean Skyclaw had to meet Blazestar for him to do something?" This idea has been on his mind for so long, as it makes the most sense to him. However, he is not privy to what goes on between Blazestar and his Thunderclan kin. What he knew was that Howlingstar and Blazestar was friendly, but that was not outlandish. After all, Howlingstar was the grandmother of Howlfire. He recalls Fireflypaw greeting her happily and the two exchanging affection before Skyclaw intervened and made a muck of things.

// so sorry this is super late​

 

[Howlfire]

"The foxes..." Howlfire mumbled quietly when Crowsight mentions them. Did they know what happened to them? Howlfire thinks she recalles Orangestar sending patrols to look for the creatures that had taken one of hise lives, though she did not recall if they had found it afterwards. Perhaps they hadn't and that very same fox stuck around to strike Orangestar down moons later. "You know, I don't really remember what happened with them. I assumed they had been dealt with but I don't really know."

If I were to do something to a Thunderclanner. Crowsight's musing gives her pause, brows raising when she thinks she understands what he is implying. Say it plainly, Crowsight, she begs silently, tell me what it is you think happened. "I doubt Skyclaw would want to meet Blazestar willingly or even seek him out on his own," Howlfire is quick to remark. "Skyclaw...he hates - hated - Blazestar. Maybe that's too harsh or maybe it isn't but it's what I believe." Her head raises at this, though she doesn't know why. It isn't like she needs to justify herself to Crowsight as knows all too well himself of the vitriol that many ThunderClan cats carried for Blazestar. "He hates that he shares blood with a kittypet. Moonwhisper too, maybe even Burnstorm though he's luckily mellowed with age. So I doubt they just 'met, if anything it was more like they were forced together."​

 

[CROWSIGHT]

Howlfire's answer is not reassuring. He had assumed she would know what happened given that this is her father and she would want to hunt down and know the status of the fox that took a life from her father, right? The very fact that she was just as clueless as he was troubling. He can't help himself from commenting on it. "You don't know either? Something weird is going on. If he lost a life to a fox why don't we know much about what happened to it? This was Blazestar we're talking about. I would've expected us to track down and chase the fox off or kill it, but nothing came out of it." He can't remember much about the end result. So many things were going on at the time and it felt as if the fox issue was swept under the rug.

All he can do is listen and take in the new information Howlfire is bestowing upon him. It is true that he can't see a manner in whichSkyclaw sought out Blazestar willingly. Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way. What if it was your father who saw Skyclaw? A name draws him out of his thoughts. Moonwhisper. That is the first time he's heard of them. A family member. Burnstorm is new to him as well. He's not sure how to feel about them, but that was an issue meant for another time. "No it isn't harsh. You're not wrong. His hatred goes beyond that. He told me that Blazestar was never his father. That Blazestar was dead to him. Sharing blood with Blazestar means nothing to him." He thinks not how it may affect Howlfire to hear her own brother talk about their... Her father in such a manner. Someone she loved dearly was reduced to nothing by a member of her own family.

Perhaps he can be tactful, quickly moving the conversation along. "I think them being forced together is more plausible. But... Who says Blazestar didn't go see Skyclaw? Skyclaw is still his son, so he might have wanted to see? How his son was doing. Maybe it sounds farfetched, but we can't rule out the possibility that your father went to Thunderclan to see Skyclaw. Or... they could have run into each other by accident? How friendly is Blazestar with Howlingstar anyway?"​

 

[Howlfire]

Crowsight assures her that her words weren't too harsh and she flashes him an appreciative smile, despite still feeling otherwise on the matter. "You know, as much as I hate how he thought of Blazestar, I can almost understand where he's coming from," Howlfire admitted, Well, she wouldn't have been so outright dismissive of him and her blood, but she could imagine carrying that same anger. "I can't imagine how it must feel not knowing who your father was, or assuming he was dead, only for it to turn out he's leading the neighbouring clan." She paused and her amber eyes drifted elsewhere, looking anywhere but at Crowsight for a moment. "I imagine it must have been somewhat similar to how I felt when Blazestar revealed Skyclaw and Duskbird were in fact, my full siblings." That had been one of the few times Howlfire had been genuinely angry at her father.

Crowsight's notion that it might have been Blazestar is an interesting one, because strangely, Howlfire could see him doing such. Attempting to reach out his sons, only for it to go awry. "I'm not sure I can believe that Blazestar purposely went seeking him out," She said, dismissing that part of his theory. "If he wanted to have done that, he could have done so before then. But let's say he saw Skyclaw on the border...it doesn't seem too out of character to assume he might have said something to him, or perhaps tried to explain himself."

Howlfire frowned slightly; she did not like where any of this was going. ​