GOD SETS YOUR SUN [🌘] Return w/ ShC kits

[SOOTSTAR]

Sootstar returns to camp with three cats at her tail. Two of which were even smaller than her, kits who still stunk freshly of ShadowClan, but their pelts as dirty as a tunneler. At the rear is Sootspots, the ‘hero’ who had assisted in saving the poor kits from their ‘neglect’ in ShadowClan. That would be the story Sootstar spun at least… She suspects not everyone will be quick to fall for it, she’s always received a good dose of non-believers and cats who seemed to see through her. As usual if anyone posed a problem she suspects she’ll be able to take care of them.

Heads turn to face the two tunnelers and the kits. Pelts across the sandy hollow prickle on edge at the scent of ShadowClan. Before anyone can approach her to ask the obvious question she yowls, ”Let all cats old enough to race the moors gather beneath the Tallrock!” It felt good to say her meeting call again. For awhile she had thought there may be a chance she’d never perch upon her stone throne again.

Leaving the kits at Sootspots side, she scales the rock with elegant speed, over her reign it’s become second nature getting up here. Now that she towers her clan she looks down at them to meet their confused and answer-seeking gazes.

”First, I’d like to thank all of you for your efforts, ferocity and strength. You’ve proven once again that WindClan can conquer any challenge StarClan throws at us.” White fur puffs out with pride, the slightest of smiles tugging on her lips. ”The past few moons have been hard… and the next few are going to be tough. But know that we are strong, and we are WindClan. We are the feared, not the fearful.”

Now her gaze shifts over to the two kits, she smiles gently at them. ”That is why we have rescued two kits from the neglect of ShadowClan. A source from inside their own clan had informed me of the ways they were treated and begged me to take them back to WindClan, a clan that could properly foster and raise them.” Even as the words leave her lips she can sense the uncertainty and questions in the air. She walks a narrow ledge and her silver tongue might not be enough to convince them all. Still… all she needed was enough faith. ”This needed to be done quietly, so I asked Sootspot and the ShadowClan cat to work together to bring the kits to WindClan. Sootspot bravely risked himself to bring them home and used the tunnels to sneak them back, WindClan commends him for his bravery.” She nods firmly to her gray and black-furred son.

”The kits need new names, their ShadowClan names will no longer represent them here. From this day forward I name them Larkkit,” Her nose points directly at Halfkit, ”and Ouzelkit.” Then respectively Tanglekit.

”Moonwhisker will watch over these kits alongside her current litter until they are ready to become apprentices. But it is the task of the entire clan to ensure these kits are welcomed. Teach them our customs, show them what it means to be a WindClan cat. I suspect they’ll quickly be impressed in comparison to their old clan.”

☾ INFO BATTLE

• >> @Halfkit @TANGLEKIT @SOOTSPOT
  This takes place BEFORE the journeying cats have returned!
  This is not the long-awaited meeting with apprentice and warrior ceremonies, that is still to be posted
• 
  » Soot ․ Sootstar
  » WindClan Leader
  » She/her ․ Mate to Weaselclaw
  » Tiny blue smoke she-cat with green eyes.
  » "Speech" ․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A high-stamina foe who can be difficult to hit.
  » Excels in quick, short moves.
  » Fights to kill and maim
  » Fatal attack of choice is an underbelly dive.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​

 

[Halfsun]

During the entire meeting, Sootstar's voice is like a low drone. A faint buzz compared to the excitement that draws her attention as she looks from one face to another. So many other cats, so many strangers! The idea should scare her, should make her nervous and afraid of the unknown but all Halfkit can think of right now is the look on Pink-kits face when she saw her again. Would she be as excited to see her as she was? Only time would tell.

She does manage to pull her eyes away from the searching long enough to acknowledge that here, in WindClan, she would have a new name. That was perfectly fine with her. To be honest, she had always wondered what it would be like had she not been named for the she-cat who had died at her birth. Would cats stop looking at her funny? Would Ashenpaw actually be nice to her?

For once in her life she is mercifully quiet, but it is only because there is a slew of emotions and thoughts raging in her mind that needed sorting. "Ouzelkit, that's a pretty name" she says softly to her sister, a smile on her face. If Tanglekit was still nervous and apprehensive she wanted to comfort her. This was all just a big game, after all.

​

 

[Lilacstem]

When Lilacstem spots Sootstar with kits her curiosity is immediately raised. She doesn't assume anything nefarious is going on, just that they were lost orphans perhaps and that Sootstar had graciously rescued them.

She listens and nods along as Sootstar commends the clan for their strength and ferocity, enduring all that has been thrown at them, feeling a touch of pride that she had helped. Not that she wouldn't have helped of course, WindClan was her home, even if she didn't always agree with what occurred here. She sits with a neutral expression until Sootstar mentions just where these kits had come from. Her brows raise in surprise and then an expression of horror dawns on her. These were ShadowClan kits...she had taken ShadowClan kits.

Sootstar proudly commends her son for his supposed bravery and she scoffs out loud, unable to hide her feelings. "I'd hardly call stealing kits brave," Lilacstem said snidely. She thinks of her sisters' own kits in the nursery and the rage she would have felt if they had mysteriously vanished. "What of their parents? And the other queens? Do you not care what ShadowClan will think when they realise they are gone?" It was incredibly risky to do this. If ShadowClan realised and came looking she doubted they'd be able to fend them off properly.

Lilacstem shook her head, already aware of a few eyes looking at her. "StarClan would not approve of you taking them from their home."​

 

[GHOSTWAIL]

"StarClan is nary more than a host of bodies rotting in flesh and memory." Ghostwail's usual drawl is gone, replaced instead by a snapping of teeth. So rare, yet so suited to her ghoulish face. A mask only slightly lifted to reveal nothing more than a dog ready to bite at the slightest nod from its master. "Sootstar lives, breathes, and cheats death, much more than some glittering corpses can do.... it is known that ShadowClan cats are incapable of doing anything but lie and betray, why should they be trusted with such.... precious..... gifts.... with such a record?"

She scoffs then, a haughty sound that was not meant for such an ugly, twisted face to make, and turns her head to call for her own child. "Thriftpaw, come meet your new friends." Direct, simple, as if she hadn't been ignoring him for weeks. She waits for him to approach with burning eyes, her face falling back into her usual placidity as the yellow tom is beckoned forward. @Thriftpaw ​

 

[Thriftfeather]

Horror grips Thriftpaw as Sootstar presents two ShadowClan kits to the clan — how could it not?

She announces their new names without ever saying their old. Thriftpaw moves without thinking, pushes his way closer to the front of the crowd. He wants to ask a thousand things; he wants to know who they were before WindClan. He cannot imagine that ShadowClan will not miss these two. There must be someone that will notice their absence — someone who cared for them.

“But—” Thriftpaw’s protest dies before it can start. He’s always been a coward, he shrinks, and he allows Ghostwail to call him.

Serpentine as she is, it is Thriftpaw that slithers to her side. He looks awkward in his largeness — too overgrown to be this timid, and he wants to hate Ghostwail in this moment. He wants to hate her and imagines a world in which the truth could come easily from his mouth. But this is Ghostwail’s version of kindness and Thriftpaw cannot fault her for having it wrong.

He turns his attention to Ouzelkit and Larkkit, just as he had been told, “My name is Thriftpaw. I was a loner before WindClan,” He swallows, “But Ghostwail found me abandoned and saved me from that life,” He touches his thorn-torn ear, a nervous habit, and wishes he could hate Ghostwail, “It took everyone some time to get used to me, but they did, and they’ll get used to you too.”​

WINDCLAN APPRENTICE ✦ GOLDEN TABBY TOM ✦ 8 MOONS ✦ TAGS​

 

[PINKSHINE]

Let all cats old enough to race the moors gather beneath the Tallrock!

Umm, so like, that isn't her... But when she glances up and sees a familiar tortoiseshell pelt beneath Sootstar, how is Pink-kit supposed to not run outside all excited like?? She just wants to make sure that is in fact her ShadowClan friend! She's dashing between the legs of cats taller than her, so she can see them clearly, and it is her friend! " Halfstar! —kit. Lark? Lark-kit? " Pink-kit has no idea what an ' Ouzel ' is, and she thinks Halfkit made tons of sense for her before. And Pink-kit's never gonna remember the new name. Why'd she have to change it?

Well, whatever, point is Half uh, Lark-kit is here, now! Yay! Her auntie Lilacstem is saying weird things to Sootstar about parents and queens but Pink-kit is way too focused on her friends to care. " It's me, Pink-kit! " she squeals over Thriftpaw (which is very easy to do). " We're gonna play so many games! And, oh, oh, and I'm an apprentice real soon! How old are you? Maybe we can be apprentices together!"

OOC 🎀 IT'S 4:27 IN THE AFTERNOON, 20 MISSED TEXTS FROM YOU

•  

• NOTE: SHE IS A FEVER COAT BABY!
  

  

• ( I MISS YOU, IT'S MAGIC! ) PINK-KIT KIT OF WINDCLAN. DAUGHTER TO BRIGHTSHINE & HEAVY SNOW. SISTER TO HEATHKIT, DOWNYKIT, & FINCHKIT.
  —— SHE / HER; UNOPPOSED TO THE USE OF OTHERS
  —— CURRENTLY 3 MOONS OLD. AGES EVERY 16TH
  
  A tiny, longhaired calico she - kit with yellow eyes, ringed blue around her pupils (sectoral heterochromia). While you can clearly see her flame markings on her face, the rest of her body is currently covered by a grey fever - coating. Though the whites of her are still very much visible. Pink-kit bounces around WindClan without a care in the world! Her emotions are big, and she makes little effort to regulate them, resulting in both her usually cheerful disposition, as well as making her prone to sudden bouts of extreme anger or sadness. Rarely seen without a smile!
  

  HEAVY IC OPINIONS! Pink-kit is a very irrational and childish character!​

​

 

[SNAKEHISS]

Whatever news the moor runner had been expecting to hear from Sootstar's maw today, it was not the addition of ShadowClan kits to their ranks. A scowl initially forms upon his maw, disapproving of the presence of new mouths to feed. Snakehiss cannot attest to how badly ShadowClan treats their young, though he knows at least that it is a horrid environment to be raised in — squishy, damp, pungent, reeking of dead toads and mud. WindClan was superior to that weak, spinless clan in every way — besides, Chilledstar had forced the other clans to hunt in the Carrionplace! Sootstar had lost a life to the diseased rats, even. Maybe this was her way of ample payback for their mistreatment.

His focus is quickly torn from the new addition of smelly swamp kits to the blatant disrespect of the Moor Queen; a reptilian-like stare locks onto the pale, multi-colored molly. Snakehiss sometimes vocalized his distaste of Sootstar's penchant for pitying orphaned loners, lawless rogues, and curious kittypets, but never to her face. Never for the entire clan to hear. Lilacstem was not brave — she was foolish. If there was anything in that barren skull of hers, she would keep her trap shut no matter her feelings on the situation. Snakehiss himself had his own reservations about the matter, but voicing them was guaranteed to land him short of Sootstar's favor. He dared not risk that.

Instead, Snakehiss decides to speak up and garner the blue smoke's favor. "Speaking out against Sootstar, are we? Typical of a cat of your blood." He dispenses a retort, venom dripping from his words. She, and any cat with a brain, knew what Snakehiss was referring to. He didn't have to spell it out for them.

He slightly angles his ears, silently disagreeing with Ghostwail's thoughts but willing to let the others think otherwise for his own reputation's sake. Sootstar was not stronger than StarClan. She would not outlive them. All cats met their end eventually, and it just so happened that she could delay her death nine times over. For now, however, as long as the Moor Queen lived Snakehiss was her loyal warrior.

Lilacstem was a warrior many, many moons his senior and yet he felt no shame for calling her out in front of everybody. He was well within his right to, as far as he was concerned. "Well? Anything more to say? Go on, see what happens. You can join the rest of the filthy traitors." Mallowlark, Emberfang, and Pollenfur. Lilacstem could join them and be a happy family once more!

All the more deserters for him and Sootstar to hunt.

✰ INFO

• 
  
• 

  ✰ SNAKEHISS
  —— he/him; warrior ( moor runner ) of windclan
  —— bisexual; single; not looking
  —— long-limbed black tom with green eyes, a small white chest patch, and a notable bite mark on his right foreleg
  —— "speech", thoughts, attack
  —— link to full tags; @ on discord for plots.
  —— penned by beatles

​

 

[Morningsong~]

Morningsong stares wide eyed at Sootstar's announcement. This is HORRIBLE. Was she not thinking? Did she think Shadowclan wouldn't notice their missing kits? Shadowclan had offered them refuge when they needed it most, and this is how they repay them??? This is awful.

This is going to cause... A war. He can feel it. She stole kits, and when Shadowclan finds out- and they will, because eventually those kits will patrol the border... They're going to march on these moors. And he wont blame them! He'd do the same thing! This-

This is like a dog looming overhead, waiting to crush the bones of its victim. What was she THINKING.

He isn't sure if these kits were mistreated. They dont...LOOK mistreated, but looks can be deceiving. If they were, then maybe...Its good theyre here, but... His fears still stand. Shadowclan WILL come for these kits one day.... And there is no fury like that of an angry family protecting their own. He almost feels dizzy with his thoughts as they spiral into near apocalyptic predictions when Snakehiss spits his usual venom at Lilacstem.

He glares at him and curls his lip slightly. "Don't talk to her like that." He says flatly. "Her concerns are valid, and we need to think about what will happen because of this."​

 

[VIOLETHEART]

Rescued two kits from the neglect of ShadowClan. Violetheart found himself narrowing his eyes at the declaration, and those same eyes then moved to fall upon the two kits - Lark-kit and Ouzelkit, Sootstar had named them - that were currently sitting beside Sootspot. Violetheart himself was no strong supported of ShadowClan, but he certainly had his doubts about the true nature of the reason as to why there were now two ShadowClan kittens that would be living with WindClan.
There are those among his Clanmates that speak out against Sootstar's decision, but there a more among them that speak in her defense; he tries not to appear too discomforted by Ghostwail's blatant disrespect for StarClan, though he knows that such a belief has been slowly worming its way into WindClan cats' minds since StarClan had been forsaken by Sootstar. A Clan was led by its leader, after all, and all of her beliefs and convictions were at the forefront of their life in that case.
"Lilacstem and Morningsong have a point," Violetheart rumbled as he glanced between the gathered cats, frowning at the sudden tension between them all. "We will welcome these kits, but we must also be prepared for the consequences of... assisting in their rehabilitation." He wouldn't be found heaving criticisms onto mere kittens, but Morningsong was right - ShadowClan would not let their kits disappear without a search, and, if it came to it, a fight.​

 

[SOOTSPOT]

The Tunneler had already decided that he did not like these kittens. Their very existence had made his mother cross with him, and no amount of public praise could take away the rejection he had felt when she had fawned over them. Seating them beside him was like putting rats before a full snake; there would be no threat so long as he was sated in attention elsewhere. He was but a footnote in a grander plan, but a heroic smile appeared upon his maw as his 'bravery' was commended. Sadly, not everyone saw it like that. Sootspot turned his head sharply towards Lilacstem at her insult towards him, his tail lashing madly - had it not already been established that StarClan was too dangerous to follow? "It is hard for a mother and father to miss their young ones while they live amidst the stars. They can see them at any point, ShadowClan or otherwise." His whiskers twitched, eyes on the crowd like a set of hungry weasels. Tension filled the air, now would be the time when traitors took their stand, now would be the time for his mother's army to strike down another wave of threats. Already, a few names danced around his head, the dreaded 't' word hanging off of his tongue, threatening to be spoken with each new dissenter.

"We are all loyal to WindClan here," he lied effortlessly. "And a loyal WindClanner would never violate the trust we put in them as family. But, if a WindClanner were to do something as disloyal as endangering our kittens by letting their neglectful old group know where they are, well... a debt would need to be repaid in full." The tongue would go first, so it would tell no more truths. Then the eyes, so they would witness no more crimes. Then the ears, so they would hear no more confessions. His unsheathed claws would not be the ones to deliver justice, his eyes subconsciously shifted to Ghostwail as he thought about it, then to Snakehiss, though less eagerly. No, there was no need for ShadowClan to know until the kittens were old enough to make up their own mind about their old group. He had called them clever (they really weren't. Stars, he did not enjoy imagining himself at that age), he would just have to hope the label still fit when ShadowClan was ready to learn of the duplicity.


​

 

[RATTLEHEART]

Their leader's voice echoed over the moors, accompanied not only by the newly strengthened and familiar scent of Windclan, but by something far more concerning. Worrying enough to rouse Rattleheart from where he lingered near the edge of camp, far from everyone and still trying to work up the energy to reach the badger set once more. Perhaps a part of him was delaying his departure intentionally, selfishly clinging to the camp because he had been away from it for so long - an understandable longing, at least. Though now he wished he had already departed, so he wouldn't have been around to see the newest atrocity Sootstar had committed.

The tunneler's often neutral expression was gone, replaced by a sharp frown that remained glued to his face even through his ragged, pained breaths. His voice, though soft and hoarse, joined the other expressions of dissent that had begun to rise from the crowd. "Forget about what Shadowclan will think, what about what Shadowclan will do? Mistreated or not—" His brief statement of doubt over the honesty of Sootstar's story is quick and hidden, but spoken aloud all the same. "—they won't just let potential warriors slip through their claws. They'll come for these children, and we'll end up paying for it." It's the most he's spoken since yellowcough had taken up residence in his lithe form, and it leaves his lungs positively burning.

Finally settling near the edge of the crowd, he took a long breath inward to hopefully calm the sting, though it's only a temporary balm for the knot of pain in his chest. "We're already fighting a vicious illness, and only just now have our camp back from the rogues. And now you want us to risk our necks for kits taken from the clan that just housed us." There was a good chance most of them were only alive because Shadowclan had offered mercy, and this was how they were repaying that debt. It made Rattleheart's stomach twist even more than the sickness, yet he was finally forced into silence as another harsh cough wracked his battered body.

He could only pray to Starclan that his words got through to somebody else, even if he doubted Sootstar would even consider them.
​

[ PENNED BY EO ]​

 

[PRAIRIECRY]

cut-glass eyes dart towards sootstar the instant she steps paw in camp. another tunneler and a couple of kits trail her, their tiny pelts streaked with dirt. prairiecry's eyes narrow to slits, wondering whose kits those are, why they're here, why they're with her. still, he can't help but admire the elegance with which she scales the tallrock, for all the tension suffusing his mind as his gaze dances from sootspot to the kits to her. her pelt ripples in the wind, achingly reminiscent of cornflower's, and prairiecry awaits her words with heavy-lidded eyes that belie his excitement.

effort, ferocity, and strength. pearly fangs slip through in a muted grin and his oversized paws knead the earth. sure, maybe she was addressing the whole of windclan, but he was part of that. he would fight a thousand rogues if sootstar asked, he knows he would, and one day she'll notice that. her woven story skates over his head as he accepts it without question, snake eyes sliding smoothly to settle on the newly renamed kits. i will, he thinks, i'll do it for windclan. for you.

no matter if he could care less about the little scraps—he'll do it for sootstar, for cornflower—he'll teach them how to be windclanners. true windclanners, not the mewling children that seem to comprise half their clan. appropriately, the real kits in the camp begin to wail about starclan's approval and stealing kits, but prairiecry keeps his pale gaze fixed on sootstar. around him, the sound builds—the dingy white she-cat and her golden pet, a squealing kit.....it's all too loud. snakehiss is met with a narrowed glance his way—defending cornflower sootstar is his earned right—but prairiecry keeps silent.

a hoarse-voiced tunneler begins to whine about the whole thing, and a clawed ear twitches in irritation. "now you're questionin' sootstar, too?" he drawls, icicle gaze aimed at rattleheart where he rests at the edge of the crowd. "do y'all think you could do a better job in her place? i doubt it. fact o' the matter is, all y'all care about is savin' your own starclan-damned pelts," he points out in a frosty tone, the atmosphere in camp setting him on edge. "shadowclan wouldn't know an adder if it was hanging off their filthy tails. windclan's always been strong, and a few cats bein' weak of mind and body ain't gonna change that."

"i trust our leader, rattleheart. if you don't, maybe you oughta make like the rogues and leave," he concludes, settling back with a disgruntled flick of the ears.

a blessed heart is safe 🌾 ( you cannot take the chance )

• interacting with @RATTLEHEART !! ic opinions only ofc

• 

• 

  prairiecry ; warrior of windclan
  x. he/him ; 48 moons ; tags
  x. gaunt piebald black-and-brown tom with pale blue eyes and extra toes ; has a distinctive star-shaped scar on the bridge of his nose, and two throat scars
  x. played by dejavu

​

 

[SUNSTAR]

✦　　. 　 ˚　.   Conflict has kept Sunstride silent thus far. It is unlike him to wear his expressions so clearly in times such as this, but today confusion is written boldly across his face. His eyes squinted subtly, his ears shifting, his lips taut and mouth firmly shut. His body is terribly still and it takes much effort to keep it that way. He wants nothing more than to lash his tail or pace. Beneath Sootstar's gaze, Sunstride knows he could do neither. It is not that he doesn't trust their leader. She had been through much as of late. Grief took many odd directions. But could this truly be one of them? Could he blame their presence upon the loss of her mate? Could he accept that they would be raised so far from their heritage? Even if they have lost all that mattered to them.

Just the same, he knows that WindClan could provide for them in a way the starving marsh cats never could. He had seen their territory, the prey that they feasted upon. Could he ask them to return there, knowing that they would become rat-bitten warriors, untouched by the stars except as they hid amongst the foliage? There are too many answers here, none of them right. And far too many voices shouting them.

For once, the deputy does not know what to say. His tongue cannot speak out for or against Sootstar. Whatever he may hope of her health, however terribly he might hope for the cat that had once been, when he was proud to follow her — those glimpses seem further apart than they had ever been, and he struggles to cling onto hope. All the burnished tom does is step closer to Rattleheart, unbothered by proximity with his own previous illness. "Enough," he tells the tunneler in a gentle yet firm voice, "Your lungs and body both need the rest. Still your voice, if only for a day."

𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘋𝘚𝘖𝘔𝘌 𝘈𝘚 𝘓𝘐𝘍𝘌 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘗𝘖𝘐𝘚𝘖𝘕; 𝘚𝘜𝘕-𝘉𝘓𝘖𝘖𝘋 𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘋𝘚𝘖𝘔𝘌  ╱╱ 9.16.2023 ˊˎ＜

• OOC. interacting w @RATTLEHEART !
• ✦　　. 　 ˚　.   FORMERLY SUNNVAR. HE - HIM - HIS OR THEY - THEM. DEPUTY OF WINDCLAN. 4 YEARS OLD. PENNED BY REVELATIONS.  —————————
  
  
  ——  a tall auburn tabby with thick fur and bright glacial eyes. sunstride is broad and bold– a creature standing above most of windclan, though not a beast beyond it, with fur that flames red and deepens to a burnt amber with every stripe. his eyes, in comparison, are a pale summer's blue, still as bold as the rest of them. he radiates confidence and self-assured authority.
  
  

  ✦ NPC x NPC. DECEASED MOTHER, ESTRANGED FATHER. NO LITTERMATES. MATE TO WOLFSONG. FATHER TO BEARKIT, SINGEDKIT, RIVEKIT, SUNLITKIT, AND FEATHERKIT ——

• "speech"

​

 

[TANGLEKIT]

This wasn't what she thought it would be.

Tanglekit liked the rules of the game when it was on her own terms. She did not like it when things were switched up. First Granitepelt had promised them a warrior's mission, then she had been entrusted to a strange cat and forced to leave the gray and white warrior behind, and then the permanency of her new WindClan status was announced, privately by Sootstar, and then now publicly.

Ouzelkit watched in wide-eyed horror as the eyes of several strange cats turned to her and her sister. Almost at once, protests broke out. A flurry of white and gray spins toward her sister and Ouzelkit takes a wary step back. This game had gone too far for her—she feels rather small and insignificant as she desperately searches for something to justify her apprehension. But Halfkit is smiling and complementing her new name and Ouzelkit's brain buzzes as she struggles to make sense of what had all just happened in such a short span of time. She is young, far too young to know much better. Why is she not as calm as Larkkit? What is she missing?

Ouzelkit's head whips toward Thriftpaw as he approaches and her voice wavers in her throat. Ouzelkit swallows thickly and tears brim up in her eyes as she quietly erupts into a little sobbing fit that is quickly muffled by her paws pressing to her face to cover it from the watchful gazes of the WindClan cat's.

"It's terrible—I didn't—like it—too dark and scary!" She sniffs, speaking of the tunnel, but her words could easily translate to ShadowClan itself.

​

 

[Lilacstem]

Lilacstem knew as soon as she opened her mouth she was taking a risk. If she were any other cat, her rebuttal would have met with typical annoyance but given who her kin was Lilacstem was risking far more than just getting her ear chewed for daring to speak back.

"Not all of us have abandoned StarClan," Lilacstem mewed in Ghostwail's direction. She does not acknowledge their following words about ShadowClan being capable of lying and betraying. So is WindClan, she thinks to herself. Not that you or any of the cats who worship Sootstar would realise.

It is Snakehiss's words that catch her attention. Her head swivels towards him and her ears go flat against her head as he makes a snide remark about her family, bristling at his threat to say more. It just proves how distrusted her kin are, how they walk a thin line where only one misplaced word would send her teetering over the edge. She is fortunate that Morningsong and Violetheart see some sense, arguing that they should have their concerns. An appreciative glance is given to Morningsong but she wishes he had not spoken, that he had not drawn their ire to him too. Rattleheart too it seems shares her concerns, speaking of the threat of war and retaliation from ShadowClan after they had graciously given them shelter. Lilacstem knew she should have kept her mouth shut but Rattleheart's words embolden her in that moment.

"Forgive me for having my concerns about this situation, Snakehiss," Lilacstem responds, tail lashing. "This is a highly irregular thing to happen. Two kits spirited away from their home, supposedly because they have no kin, because they have supposedly been mistreated." Again, she thinks of her own young nieces and nephews. Surely there would be someone in ShadowClan who missed them, a queen or distant relative perhaps. Someone who loved them and come looking for them. Lilacstem knew of that were her own sisters' kits - either Pollenfur or Brightshine - and they were not present for one reason or the other, Lilacstem would go to great lengths to ensure she knew what happened to them.

"If ShadowClan are so full of liars how do we know we can trust this source?" Lilacstem questions, referring to the mysterious source Sootstar mentioned. Clearly, she trusted them to a degree if she sent Sootspot with them to get the kits out. But who was to say this wasn't some plot to sow dissent among the two clans. "How do we know we can trust their word?" Did they lie about the kits parents being dead? They must have said something for Sootspot to be so adamant about them walking with StarClan.​

 

[SOOTSTAR]

Sootstars tail lashes in irritation as the voices of protest and questioning rises. These were no innocent questions neither, they were questions of her judgement, challenging questions they brought up. Cats such as Ghostwail and Snakehiss rise to put them in their place, for that they have her gratitude, their loyalties will not be quickly forgotten.

Lilacstem and Rattleheart are given particularly venomous looks. She debates not warranting them a response, that the tongue-lashings of their clan-mates would be enough. Sunstride tells Rattleheart to calm down but as Ouzelkit cries out Lilacstem keeps up her questions. Out of patience Sootstar whirls her head around to her and snarls a warning, the fur across her body bristling and her tail is held into the sky as a display of dominance.

”You dare question your leader so relentlessly?! Do you not trust my judgement, Lilacstem? Do you all think me so hare-brained that I trust just any source from ShadowClan? That I do not think what may happen as a result of taking the kits?!” Spit flies from her maw as she hisses, her ire showing in full force as she looks not only to Lilacstem, but her entire clan.

”The answer is simple, ShadowClan won’t know we have the kits. The only way they will know is if someone tells them.“ She raises her head, ”If they find out, I’ll know which cats I’ll look into first. Put this clan in danger, give these kits back to their neglecters, and you will pay.“ Death was the only fitting punishment for such a betrayal, a slight against her and a slight against WindClan that big would not go unpunished. Be it she has to take an eye, an ear, or a cats life, they would fall in line to her and do as she tells them.

”I’ll not be questioned further, not in such a challenging manner. My authority and judgement will not be scrutinized.” She inhales shakily and looks at the crying Ouzelkit, ”You should all be ashamed… What a buzzard-food welcome you’ve given these kits. After all they’ve been through… Your challenges and fear mongering could not even wait until they were out of sight.” She bares her fangs now, challenging anyone to continue to question or argue against her decision.

☾ INFO BATTLE

• 
  » Soot ․ Sootstar
  » WindClan Leader
  » She/her ․ Mate to Weaselclaw
  » Tiny blue smoke she-cat with green eyes.
  » "Speech" ․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A high-stamina foe who can be difficult to hit.
  » Excels in quick, short moves.
  » Fights to kill and maim
  » Fatal attack of choice is an underbelly dive.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

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[cottonsprig]

Cottonpaw does not feel disquieted, not yet, as she trails from her shared den and into the open. They have their home back, finally, after weeks of being displaced and displaced once more. Their things are disrupted and the stench around camp floods her nose, but it's home. And oh, how she missed it. The grey she-cat is more than happy to seat herself and listen to her mother's generalized praise - it's only the welcome of two new souls amidst them that the small apprentice feels unnerved.

Questions and accusations are spouted almost immediately, and some cats are angry in return. She does not recognize the kittens whatsoever, and if they are truly parentless, perhaps their old home will not recognize them soon enough, either. Still, her skin kitches beneath her fur and she sidles closer to Snakehiss, even as his venom-green gaze tears apart some of their defecting Clanmates. She presses her shoulder to his, wanting a spot of comfort.

Eventually, Sootstar speaks once more, lips curled back cruelly. An awful welcome indeed, as one kitten cries and the other one grins with excitement. Would they have been better off, she wonders, damned in the swamps? Or will the silence of their stars provide them a better life? Cottonpaw quickly approaches adulthood despite her name and yet, all the same, she feels too small, too ignorant, to make a decision of this magnitude. She swallows and falls obediently on the side of her family, her mother.

"ShadowClan," she breathes out, ear flicking to the few of many unyielding with their concern, "cannot even keep their leaders alive for longer than a season." Death by the Thunderpath, she recalls, and she wonders if Chilledstar, in all of their chivalry, will die the same way. Cursed, they must be. A curse the kittens will escape, if not to fall into the starless paws of another home. She feels cold.

"Lark-kit, Ouzelkit - the two of you have traveled far, yea?" she addresses the little ones seated by her brother's paws. She departs from Snakehiss' side to walk closer to them, "Why don't you come with me to Wolfsong's den, just so we can make sure that you've got no terrible bumps or bruises? Then after, Pink-kit can take you away, I promise," she looks towards the tortoiseshell lingering nearby, offering her and the two new kittens a warm, almost excitable smile.​

 

[FEATHERSPINE]

Featherkit did not believe he'd ever heard Cottonpaw speak so disparagingly- and it soaked a brittle laughfrom his throat, soft and quiet. Death was a force to be feared, that preyed along the sidelines, and refused to let any of them be. Lark-kit and Ouzelkit, then- they'd been given a chance to cheat the death that waited for them in their home. ShadowClan had been horrible to stay in, grimy and crowded and loud- even Pink-kit had hated it. This could only be a good thing for these two kits, couldn't it? Especially if they didn't have any parents. They'd find a new family, here.

That was when Featherkit's sharp gaze of yellow slipped toward the two kittens, then- and for one of them, the she-cat with day-and-night features, a flash of recognition gleamed in his scowling gaze. "You," Featherkit said, his tone coloured with distaste. This was another kit who'd run herself into disaster, with her soon-approaching apprenticeship...

Pink-kit fell over herself, nearly, to greet her- but Featherkit could only look, eyes narrowed. She could only hope the bees would flee from her brain soon enough, before she became an apprentice. Before anything happened to her.​

✦ penned by pin​

 

[Larkfeather !]

Larkfeather is as silent as ever as she looks at the kits her leader presented to the clan, the pride in Sootstar’s gaze resembling how one would gaze upon a trophy, a prized piece of prey.
The lilac warriors gaze is eerily empty, and horror has begun to climb its way up her spine.
She had once been able to remain up-beat despite Sootstar’s antics, her outlandish logic. The silvered molly was her leader after all, shouldn’t some trust in her reign be warranted?
Yet… this was all wrong. Dim caramel apple optics flicker from the kits to the torn up home around them.
She wanted her mother back, she needed to seek out Brightshine and Heavy Snow.
The argument that the two kits would have a better life here was persuasive, but the dazy warrior still had her principles aligned enough to know that what she was witnessing wasn’t right, it wasn’t good.
The clan would begin to break away from a tightly-knitted crowd, and Larkfeather would float away with them, gait unsure.
”Speech.”

[ YOUR SILVER LINING ]​

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[PINKSHINE]

It's getting loud. Like, totally too loud. Pink-kit isn't scared of nothin', but maybe she gets the teensy weensiest bit spooked when Sootstar starts hissing, and she's looking at Pink-kit's family like they're super bad guys. But aren't the bad guys the rogues they all just chased away? What did auntie Lilacstem, or Morningsong do? By the time she actually tries to follow, she's can only be all confused. It's terrible, Ouzel...something says. Pink-kit finds herself humming along in agreement. ShadowClan was terrible. This is terrible, too.

Cottonpaw comes, and she likes Cottonpaw. She thinks that she's betrayed her for a second, when she tries to drag Pink-kit's new friends away, but she says Pink-kit gets them right after, so she guesses it's okay! She perks and smiles back at the Medicine Cat Apprentice. Cottonpaw's so nice!

Not nice are the rest of the cats here. Pink-kit would totally ask Featherkit if they wanna go find something cool to do until the new kits are free, but does Featherkit even like them? Does anyone even like anyone here? Pink-kit watches as the group of cats begin to break off. Why does Larkfeather look all sad? " ...Did something bad happen?" she asks no one; anyone.

staring at the mirror gotta smile, smile 🌸🌷🦄🦩 don't be late, we got plans!

• 

• 

• ( I MISS YOU, IT'S MAGIC! ) PINKPAW APPRENTICE OF WINDCLAN. DAUGHTER TO BRIGHTSHINE & HEAVY SNOW. SISTER TO HEATHPAW, DOWNYPAW, & FINCHPAW.
  —— SHE / HER; UNOPPOSED TO THE USE OF OTHERS
  —— CURRENTLY 3 MOONS OLD. AGES EVERY 16TH
  
  A tiny, longhaired calico she - kit with yellow eyes, ringed blue around her pupils (sectoral heterochromia). While you can clearly see her flame markings on her face, the rest of her body is currently covered by a grey fever - coating. Though the whites of her are still very much visible. Pink-kit bounces around WindClan without a care in the world! Her emotions are big, and she makes little effort to regulate them, resulting in both her usually cheerful disposition, as well as making her prone to sudden bouts of extreme anger or sadness. Rarely seen without a smile!
  

  HEAVY IC OPINIONS! Pink-kit is a very irrational and childish character!​

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