GOOD, SOLDIER. // argument

[hyacinthbreath]

@EMBERFANG

The thing about being Lead Warrior was that she had to make the members of WindClan respect her somehow. Why? Because it was only natural, wasn't it? She was a soldier still, but similar to a Lieutenant in kind- so of course, those lower in rank had to obey her. She'd help lead them into battle, she would keep them in line- because anyone who was a threat to Sootstar, and she meant anyone, would be forced into submission with her very paws if they had to be.

She had no mercy in mind for the rebellious type.

So how, on this hot summer day, did she get confronted by someone like Ember? Her eyes rolled as the molly questioned why she was bossing everyone around like she owned the place. She was no Sootstar, but even she knew she had to listen to Duskfire if he commanded her to do something. She was a good soldier, and she would continue to be. But why couldn't the others be the same? Why must they always step out of place?

"I'm sorry, what did you just say to me?" She asks, ears pricking forward and an air of annoyance surrounding her. How dare this cat act this way, when Sootstar let them live here so kindly?

// Please don't try to step in and try to stop them until permission is given! Since this argument is gonna get a bit messy before people can step in. Your character may watch and listen, though- feel free to gossip.​

 

[SOOTSTAR]

Basking in the sun just outside of her den, the blue smokes ears perk up at the sound of bickering.
Eyes fluttering open, she eventually finds Hyacinithbreath and Emberfang looking... quite irritated with each other. Instantly, Sootstar takes her lead warriors side. Emberfang has been a thorn in Sootstar's side during her stay occasionally, so it was natural for her to suspect Hya had a reason to be offended.

Yet she does not get up to stop the bickering, her eyes simply watch.
Could her lead warrior defend her authority and dominance? If she couldn't, Hyacinithbreath likely wouldn't be all that good of a lead warrior as the blue smoke hoped... What a test this would be.

With intrigue, she watches.​

---

 

[Duskfire]

I WANT SOMETHING JUST LIKE THIS​

---

The sound of Hyacinth yelling at someone was quick to capture the toms attention, drawing green eyes away from the finch he was eating to instead focus on her and Ember. From the sounds of it the shacat had said something the lead warrior wasn't to fond of, and while he wasn't usually the type to eavesdrop, it was a little hard to not overhear at that point. A part of him wondered if he was supposed to do something, if he was expected to step in and solve this as the clans Deputy. his gaze would instinctively look to Sootstar for guidancce, but the shecat was simpy relaxing nearby, watching the scene unfold.

He forced himself to relax, understanding that this was another lesson be it purposeful or not, and his attention went back to the two quarelling shecats as he took another bite of his lunch. Maybe altercations like this were okay for people to work out amongst themselves? Hyacinth was a Lead Warrior after all, so she had to have the ability to use her authority at some point. Besides, Dusk had defended himself when Pebble had tried to degrade him in front of the rest of the clan and that had gone fine.

Stars, he still had so much to learn.
​

---

windclan warrior - male - 17 months - homosexual - polyamorous - single - tall, strong bengal tomcat

 

[Moonshadow]

ALL THE KING'S HORSES​

---

Moonshadow slipped through the heather tunnel back into camp, a lark hanging limply from her jaws. The hunt today had been plentiful, a blessing as she could feel the morning was a bit cooler as of late. Leaf-Fall would be upon them soon, so the more prey they found now, the better.

A familiar voice touched her ears and she would look up from the fresh-kill pile to see Hyacinthbreath and Emberfang seeming to be in the midst of a heated discussion. Moonshadow felt worried for the molly that was quickly becoming her friend, but as much as she wished to step forward and intervene, she noticed that Duskfire and Sootstar were simply watching.

Keeping her gaze on the pair, Moonshadow would walk over to where the Leader and Deputy were reclining and settled herself down as well. If Sootstar felt they should intervene, then she would not hesitate to obey. ​

 

[EMBER]

Emberfang couldn't give less of a shit about the authority figures of this clan. She's only here for her family, not to be ordered around like she's no more than a puppet for WindClan's disposal. So, when Hyacinthbreath began barking out orders to her and everyone else around, the annoyance comes naturally to her. "She thinks she's so important with that fancy title, huh?" Snorts the flame-kissed molly to the nearest clanmate, a little too loudly. Being quiet and down-low was never something that came easily to her. Pale blue eyes glint in the sunlight, her fiery tail lashing. "Bossin' everyone around like she owns us."

Hyacinthbreath whips around, and on instinct, Emberfang smirks at her indignation. Oh, these snobby bastards are so easy to piss off. She could just look at them wrong and she'd get yelled at for the next quarter-moon over it. Hyacinthbreath demands to know what she'd just said. Emberfang's eyes go half-lidded, her toothy smirk growing. "Did you want a quick summary or a detailed analysis, princess?" The snarky response falls from her mouth before she could truly think about what she was doing.​

 

[hyacinthbreath]

Hyacinthbreath was never the patient type when it came to getting what she wanted. She was impulsive, and made brash decisions when she was overwhelmed with emotions she couldn't contain. Part of her longed to be back in the quiet forest she had been born in, to leave peacefully away from the Hell that was the cats in the Clans. But she had made a choice, and leaving Sootstar's side wasn't an option when her devotion already ran through her blood.

Emberfang's snarky retort is met with an unimpressed glare in the Lead Warrior's eyes, and the feeling of being watched only made her much more irritated. She doesn't look back, knows that Sootstar must be watching her. How could she not, when she trusted Hyacinthbreath with such a leadership position? She trusted her, and that meant Hyacinth had to live up to her expectations. She stands, walking over to the molly only to shove her face into Emberfang's own personal space. There's a moment of anger, an ocean of emotions that threaten to swallow her whole- and yet she tempers it, taming the waves until they have no choice but to settle down.

The voice, however, that leaves Hyacinth is one of calm fury- of a tempest waiting to let loose. She's already in Emberfang's face, already up in her personal space; their noses almost touching. "Talk to me like that again, and you won't be seeing the light of day for moons. You'll be the perfect fit for the first permanent resident of our tunnels. Don't you think, Emberfang?" She threatens, continuing- "No light for days, barely any food to eat until you learn how to hunt in the tunnels on your own, risking infection and sickness the longer you stay in there.. It's such a shame Sootstar gave me free reigns over the tunnels, isn't it?" She growls coldly at the femme, tail tip lashing yet her tail remaining still otherwise. If she misspoke once more, Hyacinth felt like she would lose her shit.

"Don't forget that it was Sootstar who gave me this title. I might not lead this Clan, but I help run it. I earned my place here in WindClan as a Lead Warrior. Have you earned your place yet, Emberfang?" She snapped, her jaws closing with a loud snap; a warning snap of her jaws at the other warrior. Once finished, she waits- fuming, sides heaving. And yet there was a calm in her eyes still. She wasn't backing down from this. If Ember wanted to play for Dominance, Hyacinthbreath wasn't going to back down so easily.

// You're free to have your characters step in if it gets physical or too verbally rough, although it's really up to Nico if it even goes that far.​

 

[GOLDEN.]

"Uhhhhhh..." was the enthralling reply that had fallen from him slack-jawed in response to Emberfang's comment. His gaze would flicker to the lead warrior in question, someone he'd identified as a nuisance the moment he'd arrived. Frankly, he agreed with fiery molly, but he'd be a fool to admit such a thing, especially now, essentially fresh meat within this sun-bathed hollow.

The moment Hyacinthbreath whips around, annoyance thick on their tongue to spit at Emberfang, Goldenpaw is side-stepping away. His jaws snap shut, hopefully before he could be accused of saying anything ( of value, at least ). His eyes widen a notch at the sudden escalation of the situation. Sootstar, along with the rosette pelt of her deputy make their appearance. He wasn't sure if others felt it, but oh, as an empath, he could sense that things wouldn't end well here.

If anything, the sudden fury of it all helps to prove Emberfang's point. Action before words, she intrudes on Emberfang's space. Her immediate reaction though, threats above anything else, screamed insecurity to him. It's not like he knew these cats, though.

His only further reply is the quirk of an eyebrow in Emberfang's direction. Just how dedicated to this was she?​

 

[EMBER]

It isn't dominance that Emberfang is fighting for. It's the freedom to do as she pleases without some snotty blue-bloods breathing down her damn neck about it. They seem to forget that she was here first. Her family lived on these moors long before they even breathed in the hills' direction.

Hyacinthbreath's threat earns a bark of laughter from Emberfang, a rough noise that stings her throat. "Oh, yeah, truly a punishment for the molly who spent most of her kithood in the tunnels. Y'know, everyone's always tellin' me to think before I speak, but maybe you should start takin' your own advice before you start spoutin' threats that aren't even that damn threatenin', princess." Hyacinthbreath has shoved her face into Emberfang's, but the flame point doesn't flinch. She straightens up, glaring down at those judgmental eyes. WindClan is full of nothing but a bunch of judgmental assholes. It was a mistake to join them. They should've stayed in their den.

Now, their former home is being used as a prison for those that Sootstar deems worth less than dirt.

It's such a shame that Sootstar gave me free reign over the tunnels, isn't it? Another laugh. "A shame that I know every inch of those tunnels better than you ever will." She shoves her snout down into the other's face, the tail-end of her sentence spoken through gritted teeth. Don't get cocky with me, Emberfang thinks to herself with a lash of her tail. You don't know who you're talking to. Hyacinthbreath knows nothing about her, nothing about her family, nothing about her life. And Emberfang will not sit around and let this 'lead warrior' talk her down until she's nothing but the dirt being walked upon.

Hyacinthbreath talks about earning their place, and Emberfang scoffs. Has she earned her place? The question is supposed to be cutting, but all it does is piss Emberfang off further. "No. And y'know what? I don't need to. That's what makes me different from you; I don't need someone else's approval to know my worth." She decides that for herself. Not Sootstar, not Duskfire, not Weaselclaw or Hyacinthbreath.​

 

[hyacinthbreath]

Hyacinth breathes the very fury that exudes from herself, the responses flying from the mollie's mouth causing a radiating headache to spin at her temples. That's right, she'd been here before WindClan had settled- how stupid of her to think the tunnels would be a fitting enough punishment for her. Hyacinth couldn't help but to agree. As if given an idea based on the words Emberfang spoke, Hyacinth grows stoic once more. She doesn't dare move from her place directly in front of Emberfang, doesn't stand down. To Ember, this might have seemed like sort of ploy to win her own independence. But Hyacinth doesn't care for her reasonings.

"When you joined WindClan, you swore your loyalty to it. To Sootstar. What, do you think talking shit about her Lead Warriors would get you points? Get you seen by your clanmates? If anything, it seems like the one seeking approval is you. Though, it seems moreso attention-seeking than anything." She spits coldly, and there's a sinking feeling inside of her. A dark, looming feeling- one that reminded her of the days she spent in the forest a long time ago. The displays she'd seen before her eyes. This molly knew nothing about her.

"Do you get a thrill out of making me angry, is that it? Because all I see is a spoiled little kit in front of me, who's mad because she has rules to live by now. People to listen to. Well guess what, sweetcheeks? Get the fuck over it. If you don't like it, then I'll escort you to the border myself. Otherwise, shut up and fall in line or I'll make you fall in line." She snapped, fully willing to go through with her threat. She didn't care if this cat lived here on the moors longer. That didn't matter. These lands belonged to WindClan now, and unless she had any plans of forcing the whole of WindClan out, Hyacinthbreath didn't think they'd be going anywhere anytime soon. And neither would she.

Freedom came with consequences. Even she knew that.
​