private hate the sin, love the sinner ࿐࿔ interrogation

[lichenstar]

✦˚.✧˚✧˚✦˚ ✧ ˚✧˚✦˚✦.˚✧

CLAIM THE BURIAL I SEEK IN DREAMS FLOWING RIVER CEMETARY ✧

• Moonbeam must have known then... had sought to give Lichenstar a moment of peace (or maybe just prevent her from jolting upright and opening fresh wounds at the cost of a third life). Hazecloud had practically grabbed Beefang by the tail at the first opportunity to learn the truth. Iciclefang had left without so much as a glance... and would it have mattered? Would it have tempered the geyser that bubbles under the surface, ready now to burst with the admission sorrowfully confessed by another. One who had been kicked over and over again by a hypocrite. Would not welcome her, sought to scare her back into the arms of her mother in ShadowClan. Because she was selfish... and selfishly she hoped her own children would never run from her.
  
  A bitter, angry part of her hoped they chose to now. Even if it meant losing good apprentices... loyal ones. The mournful mother in her hoped they didn't hate her forever for her deceit.
  
  "Willow den... now."
  
  It isn't a question... a command... every member of her council was to show their hide for this and most especially the dappled figure of the accused... the adder in their nest who had spent all this time biting them and pretending to be the harmless moss instead. She paces the few strides of her den she can, trying not to turn into a rigid statue of fury. Shards of sky scour the ground like it may have answers, some sort of resolution that might make this feel better. That might clean up the mess. How did one handle a betrayal of this caliber?
  
  She had no humility.. had been comfortable in her lie even when faced with others who'd done the same. She'd feigned herself the perfect warrior, fit to cast down judgement on what were her peers in crime. "No one... leaves this den... until we've... decided what... to do... with her." Her tone is jagged, as if she struggles to speak past jagged glass in her throat. Her vision glances over Iciclefang but quickly flees, growing sickened by just the sight of her, or maybe just afraid for what she represents. A confrontation she hadn't imagined... a snapping of trust so deeply ingrained in all her choices.
  
  A lead warrior. Not some bumbling oaf that nodded his head and could hardly lead a patrol with any amount of confidence. She'd stood at Gatherings as a representative of their pride and joy. How far from those graces she'd fallen... And for a ThunderClanner. Those self-important, squirrel-eating thieves. Perhaps their delusional nature had been endearing to her.
  
  "Say it." Her lips pull back in a growl, a barely restrained snarl, "Admit it... now. With... your own... tongue."
  
  She would not suffer to continue to hear it parroted by everyone else. Either she had some scrap of honor to face this... or there was nothing left of her worth salvaging.
• about
  
  speech hex code ✧ #6368A5
  
  ooc notes ✦
  tagging ✶ @iciclefang @hazecloud @Moonbeam @robinheart @BEEFANG @Snakeblink @FERNGILL @FOXTAIL
  penned by tieirlys
• ˚　　★⋆. ࿐࿔　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 .
  
  　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　 　　　　 ੈ✧˳·˖✶ ✦　　˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚ ★⋆. ࿐࿔
  
  　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 　　 　　　　 ✦　　​

​

 

[iciclefang]

She had been expecting this meeting; by the time Lichenstar pulls her and the others away from their nests, she is well-prepared. Beefang had wasted no time in going to first Moonbeamm, then Hazecloud, though Iciclefang has no way of knowing where Lichenstar herself had heard the truth. It's all throughout camp, now; they'd all seen the way Pinepaw had rejected her, had all witnessed Crabpaw's frustration, Midnightash's hate.

Her tongue feels like ice in her mouth, clumsy and cold and in the way; she does not verbally acknowledge her leader's order, but she pushes herself to her paws immediately and trudges toward the willow den. The eyes of her Clanmates settle on and sear through her pelt; she can feel their ire like pinpricks in her flesh.

Iciclefang sits while Lichenstar paces. She wraps her tail around her paws, and she waits. Her leader's fury is palpable — it statics the air around them, threatens to lift her fur. When at last the lynx point turns blazing blue eyes on her lead warrior, it is with a ragged demand: "Say it. Admit it... now. With your own tongue."

She meets her leader's gaze steadily. "It's true." There is no denying it. She had not denied it on the battlefield, when her child faced Flamestar's fury; she would not deny it here, to her councilmates, her Clan leader. "Many moons ago, I was mates with a ThunderClan warrior named Stormywing. She mothered Cragpaw, Pinepaw, and Crabpaw."

The admission is bitter, as though she's stolen something from Moonbeam's den and allowed it to singe her tongue. She can feel the pelts of her councilmates begin to bristle, can sense their narrowing eyes. Iciclefang does not look their direction, not yet — it is her leader she must spill her truth to first.

"It happened on the journey to the mountains." She sighs. Memories of swollen water beading on her pelt, of dragging Stormywing to safety by her scruff, bombard her. Fragments crash around her like rockfall. "I saved her life. She saved mine in return. We spent every day beside one another. There were times we did not know if we would make it home to our Clans." The darkness, the cold, the way their tails had twined for comfort. "We fell in love. We knew we were wrong for doing so, but the lines were blurred, there, in the mountains. We were fools." She smiles, but there's no joy in it, not when she's in distended time, not when she's surrounded by bristling pines and drowning in golden eyes.

"I intended to break it off when we returned, but I didn't. Not at first. We kept seeing each other, at Sunningrocks. The Twoleg Bridge. It wasn't often, but it was often enough for..." And here she falters. All the starry skies in the world hadn't been enough to save their relationship, in the end. "I found out I was carrying her kits. And I knew that had to be the end. It had gone too far already, and I had to think of their future." She exhales. It's long and bitter. "I told her these kits would be raised by me alone. That they would only know RiverClan until the day we all died and met StarClan."

Iciclefang closes her eyes, remembering the tears beading on Stormywing's face, the heartache she'd shoved so deep down it had festered and died. She remembers the lonely moons of her pregnancy, the emptiness in her nest, the dreams where she walked mountain tops. When she opens her eyes, they are narrow and full of something like remorse. "I cut her out of my life, and out of my kits' lives. It was my intention for them to never know the truth. I wanted them to be loyal RiverClan warriors, to never be forced to look across the river and see anything but a Clan full of enemies."

She straightens, now letting her gaze sweep across the council, those who had found her cruel at times; those who had found her unyielding; those who had found her stalwart. To know she has tarnished that hurts more than she can reveal, but there is nothing she can do now, and naught she can fault them for. "I was young, and I was foolish, and I made a mistake I cannot take back. But all I have done since then has been for my Clan. Say what you will about me, but my kits are becoming fine RiverClan warriors, and they are strong. This will not set them back for long. They will hurt, and they will grieve, but they will make you as proud as they have made me. This I swear. And I..." She flicks her gaze back to Lichenstar, "I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for this, if given the chance."

Iciclefang finishes; she has nothing left to say. She has told them things she intended to die holding onto, things she wanted to forget entirely, and now the remnants of her life are held between their paws.

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Iciclekit . Iciclepaw . Iciclefang, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 29 moons old, ages realistically on the 17th.
  — mentored by Smokestar ; mentoring Pinepaw ; previously mentored Cicadaflight
  — riverclan lead warrior. mudpelt x icesparkle, gen 2.
  — former mate to Stormywing ; current mate to no one.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  sh tortoiseshell and white she-cat with ice-blue eyes. confident, capable, proud, dry, conceited, condescending, distrustful.
  
  

​

 

[hazecloud]

—————————————————————⊰✿⊱————————————————————
The metallic tracing of Lichenstar's wounds had hardly been stitched together by the time they are roused for the next step. Which direction this step is heading is still lost to the deputy, her conversation with Beefang still whirling through her mind. So many moons hidden beneath her nose, so many glimpses she had turned the other cheek from, assuming it to be innocent camaraderie in the need for survival. She thinks of cats like Doeblaze and Needledrift, Orangestar and Honeyjaw. Cats she had befriended and kept in good favor, but never gone so far as to cross borders for.

Uncomfortably she sat within her own den. It feels far different from the comfortable space she, Lichenstar and Salmonshade would occupy. Absence of it's dizzying warmth and only stuck with stifling tension. She locked eyes with Beefang first, having the bicolored molly in this same den just a moonrise ago.

This is bad. It's more than that, 'bad' is too simple to describe the hot water Iciclefang has dunked herself headfirst into. Her stomach churned, her mouth felt dry, and her face contorted with each emotion that rolled through her body as Lichenstar struggled to settle. The sound of the pointed mollys paws hitting against the cold earth sent a bristle shudder up her spine.

Iciclefang descended into her woeful truth. An admittance that cut through her chest like a knife, that she so badly wanted to be some horrible lie cruelly spread. Beefang had heard true, then. They owed Pinepaw's life to a ThunderClanner for being her savior, because the reason she existed at all was due to the very same cat.

Stormywing, Stormywing. The ThunderClanner with a shameful kittypet past. All things Iciclefang had once despised so purely, unforgivingly. Her eyes cast back to Lichenstar as the calico continued her confessional, plunging towards each event that led to the other. So it had started with the bridge, and she cannot help the confused judgement that relentlessly raced through her mind, repeated thoughts that once flickered through her own. How her anger towards Rookfang drove her closer to Batwing. The fear of losing to whatever force confronted them brought them closer, but she didn't love him. Not the same way she loved Lichenstar and Salmonshade.

The lines were blurred...

"I know..." Her voice is hardly audible while Iciclefang went on without a skip in her beat. Not just with Batwing, but for the many cats they met and worked with. Saving one another day after day from the harsh, unfamiliar world. Friends that they so quickly regrew tension with as they returned to the real world of the Clans. Back to Sootstar's madness, back to Howlingstar's passive mockery.

"But you lied." Hazecloud sighed as she struggled to focus between Iciclefang and Lichenstar. Honesty was Lichenstar's vice and virtue, her most holy commandment, she knew her mate could not let it go. "Did Smokestar know? Did you ever plan on telling anyone? Why, why didn't you before..." Before it all exploded. This was a flood they couldn't usher back into a stream.

Hazecloud can feel her heart ache as she watches her friend defend the rights of her kits place. She feared to do the same once, when fresh snow freckled the shores and ice clung to the river stones. When a stuffy-nosed girl wandered too often into places she shouldn't, when her Clan would forgive her silly nuisances every time. "Your kittens aren't in danger here. Not from RiverClan but... Do you have any idea what this may lead to? What if Flamestar decides she has a right to them, even if Stormywing concedes?"

Half. That was what Lichenstar had given WindClan. Splashdance was just fair game to Pikesplash's insolent actions. Were any of them aware of the precedent set before them?

✿ ———— I'll be your regular mama ✿ ————— And I'll put that gun away

•  
• 
  
  
  Hazecloud
  —⊰⋅ Deputy of RiverClan
  —⊰⋅ She/Her
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ LH blue smoke with green eyes.
  

​

 

[robinheart]

Robinheart sits stoic, unyielding to the hammering of the organ within her chest, her citrine gaze drifting from member to member gathered in the willow den. Her first council meeting and she feels… scared. Not for herself, but for the lead warrior she once shared the nursery with.

The medicine cat apprentice had not pried when accusations flew over top her head, her attention fixated on Pinepaw in the moment. Her trembling paws trying to heal as Moonbeam instructed; as Moonbeam hoped they'd be capable of when she chose the tortoiseshell as her apprentice. And now a different life lay within her novice grasp. A call to help decide Iciclefang's fate.

She listens.

She learns.

And through it all she finds heartaching similarities. The foolishness of youth. The fear of breaking a code, of abandoning all one has been taught. The quick dive into love… and the loss of love. Motherhood.

The measures a mother would take to protect her own.

"Why, why didn't you before…" Hazecloud asks of Iciclefang, trailing off in mournful memories. She too had shared the nursery with Iciclefang. There were bonds. Emotions. Ties to the lead warrior pulled so taut they could snap.

"You…" Robinheart finally speaks, carefully… gentleness enrobing her next words, "were afraid." Her eyes lock onto Iciclefang, brows knit together ever so slightly. "Fear can make someone think irrationally. To flee, as I had done as a foolish apprentice," the ghostly weight of her collar sends a shiver down her spine, the whisper of 'kittypet' and 'traitor' echoing in her mind, "or to fight. And it seems… you've been fighting for a long time, Iciclefang." There's pity in her tone, a sadness cloaking her features as she continues. "Fighting to keep prying eyes away from you and your children. Fighting to keep the status quo… Fighting to atone for what you've done," the list could go on, but the medicine cat apprentice trails off with a frown, diverting her gaze for a moment.

"I believe what you've said though – about spending the rest of your life making up for your lies. And, I think, you need to add making things right after all you've said about the half clan RiverClanners residing here," Splashdance, Swiftfire's children… Gladefrost's kits (not that Robinheart would ever reveal their true heritage). She looks back at the tortoiseshell stood trial. "You are a RiverClanner. You helped save us by going on the journey. You took in Lilybloom's kits and nursed them alongside your own. You served your clan well, all while living in fear day after day. Fighting the truth was… foolish. But it was the choice you made. And if… Lichenstar wishes us to make a choice now…"

Robinheart glances at her leader, visage soft and crestfallen. The blue lynx point's jagged and icy edge sting even the softhearted medicine cat apprentice, whose mind yearns for mercy.

"I could not condemn you to exile or death. But I would see you demoted of rank, place Pinepaw under another's training, and ensure you do spend the rest of your life making up for this."

As for Flamestar's possible claim over near warriors, halfclan children borne of a whirlwind romance, Robinheart cannot know if that would come to pass. But if it were… Iciclefang would have to willingly let one or two of her children go while remaining within Riverclan herself. To fulfill her promise. To fulfill a new precedent.

Robinheart hopes it would not come to that. Just as she hopes Iciclefang's confession has earned her some mercy from the rest of the council. Ever a bleeding heart, never one to cause bloodshed, the tortoiseshell leaves her statement at that.
​

[ penned by kerms ]​

 

[FOXTAIL]

Foxtail feels his heart racing in his ears as he follows Lichenstar into her den. He sits down without saying a word, and he wraps his bushy tail around his trembling paws. Lichenstar wastes no time turning her battled scarred gaze to his fellow lead warrior. StarClan— she hasn't been able to properly heal as an urgent matter must be addressed.... and the tom's nervous gaze briefly flicks over to Iciclefang. We need to hear this from you, and not from some ThunderClanner. Foxtail thinks as Lichenstar hisses out, and all eyes land onto the tortoiseshell if they haven't already.

She opens her maw, and Foxtail remains quiet as she begins to lay out her case to them. He blinks with surprise as she opens up to them.... acting so vulnerable around a group of cats who, mostly, aren't pleased with her right now. He can hear the pain in her voice.... the shame that comes off of her pelt. It causes him to wince as she speaks of their young, foolish love during the journey, and how she regrettably admits it didn't stop once they returned to their clans. By the time they realized they took it too far, it was too late.

He continues to listen, and the lead warrior begins to feel confliction brewing in his chest. On one paw, the lead warrior feels disappointed in her. If he were to guess which RiverClanners partook in a forbidden relationship, the tom would have never chosen her. She seemed too prideful.... too devoted to her Clan to even consider love that's beyond their borders. He's seen how she's acted around Splashdance, and it further saddens him when he looks her way. From an early age, she taught her kits that being half-clan was.... unacceptable. He remembers how she spoke to Pinepaw, back when she was Pinekit, about the former ShadowClanner— and his heart aches now, knowing more about the truth.

On the other paw, she speaks of genuine regret, and of shame. He knows she's right that her kits are turning into fine RiverClan warriors— they have made her proud, she's worked hard on raising them on her own, and will make the rest of the clan swell with pride on the day they receive their names. But his heart aches for her kits.... who are going through so much confusion and grief. Her kits don't even want to look the tortoiseshell in the eye, and he knows that must break Iciclefang's heart. She was willing to die with this secret, Foxtail wonders, She never wanted them to know.

His ear swivels as Hazecloud and Robinheart take their turns to speak, and the lead warrior gives them a shaky nod. The kits are, and will continue, to be safe in RiverClan. ...But he can only hope Flamestar won't try to claim some of the kits, who are rightfully theirs as well. These kits can barely be called kits at this point— they are a few short moons from receiving their warrior names. All they know, all they've been taught, is RiverClan. Iciclefang had done a stellar job on keeping their ThunderClan origins a secret.... but it wasn't enough to stop her former mate from claiming them on the battlefield. It saved Pinepaw's life, but her life will never be the same.

"Y-You were one of the last cats I would've e-expected.... to break that code," Foxtail begins to speak with a shaky voice, lifting his gaze away from his hidden paws. His olive green eyes fall back onto Icicilefang's shameful ice-blue. "It shocked, disappointed, m-me... considering how y-you've treated Splashdance." He hopes she feels shame in how she treated her. She's made a lot of damage to protect her kits, and he winces seeing how it all backfired.

"I h-hope you work to make things right for h-her." And to other half-clan RiverClanners, The words never make it out of his mouth, but he knows her actions must've affected more than just Splashdance. He thinks of Roepaw.... who lost both of his parents in one day. One to death, and the other to the life of exile— her kits at least have the time, at the moment, to process this, while Iciclefang resides in RiverClan. She must worry she'll have a similar fate. His mind flashes to her kits... and then back to her.

"...I-I do not want to condemn to a life of e-exile or death. It wouldn't be fair on you or your k-kits... who still need each other." Pinepaw, Crabpaw, and Cragpaw might want nothing to do with her right now, but it will take them time to open up to her again. And if the council were to chase Iciclefang out, their hearts will ache later when they long for their mother. "I agree with R-Robinheart. I would see you stripped of your r-rank, and have Pinepaw reassigned to another warrior." His paws tremble as he speaks, and he hopes his bushy tail conceals it.

"In m-matter of fact, I would add Splashdance t-to the council... as your r-replacement," Foxtail adds on, his olive green eyes narrowing. In the moons Splashdance has called herself a RiverClanner, she has acted more RiverClan than she has ShadowClan. He thinks how of a natural she is in the river.... how she earned her warrior name early for saving Pebbletail from that otter. He can't even begin to imagine what it's like to be ostracized like she was... from Iciclefang and others... and still push forward. "As for she represents RiverClan better than you do... even though she's half ShadowClan."

I expect you to make up for this, all the way to the day you join StarClan. But he doesn't need to say that out loud, as for she already knows.​

𝐨𝐨𝐜 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭

• 
  
• 
  
  

  ---

  credit to raphaelion (via da) for the artwork <3
  
• Foxtail

  ​
  

  lead warrior
  25 moons
  warmhearted
  timid
  experience: trained
  backstory: [HYPERLINK]
  biography: [HYPERLINK]
  credit to trops for the chibi <3
  

  cisgender male [he / him]
  eyes: green
  pelt: cinnamon/chocolate
  fur length: long
  parents: dawnflower and redfur (riverclan npcs)
  

  ---

  ​

​

 

[BEEFANG]

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ — Beefang's wounds are now patched up thanks to her mate that now sits beside her within the willow tree, she expected the call from Lichenstar and did not hesitate in following after the blue point leader. She settles onto her haunches and spares a glance in the direction of Hazecloud who seemed to search for hers as well, she offers the deputy a quick nod then focuses her burning gaze onto Iciclefang whose the center of everyone's attention right now, and Beefang can feel the fur along her spine prickle as the former queen spills her guts to everyone over what she had done. "But you lied." The blue toned molly says soon mentioning Smokestar and the black smoke has to stifle a growl at the fact that the tortoiseshell had been hiding this for nearly an entire cycle when she sat comfortably in her father and Lichenstar's council.

Hazecloud mentions that Iciclefang's kittens aren't in danger within Riverclan but the thought of Flamestar being bold enough to try claiming now apprentices due to their halfblood makes her tattered ear flick to the side, Beefang remains quiet as Robinheart speaks and she doesn't expect less from the medicine cat apprentice to be such a bleeding heart. She's empathetic, of course, seeing as she was once in the nursery alongside Iciclefang for some time and the lead warrior had taken in the kits of her late sister, Lilybloom. A loyalty to her family that itself is admirable to the bicolored molly but it causes her pupil to narrow as she watches a certain brightly pelted tom from the corner of her eye but once more, Beefang remains formiable and quiet allowing another one of those from the council to speak.

Both of her councilmates do not condemn Iciclefang to exile or death, it doesn't come as a shock to her since the two of them are softhearted and much too forgiving for their own good... That would get them killed on the battlefield even if that fate does not belong to Robinheart anymore, it's still a possibility for Foxtail. The chimera tomcat has the nerve to actually suggest Splashdance to replace Iciclefang within the council and her nonexistent eyebrow raises at the notion, she knows if she were in Iciclefang's situation, she would've snapped at Foxtail for such a bold thing to say but it isn't her in this scenario and it will never be her. She's a true, loyal Riverclanner that wouldn't seek out the attention of some lowlife Thunderclanner that had stolen Sunningrocks from them.

"I'm shocked really and disappointed too..." She finally begins to speak as her jaws part and she continues with a shake of her helm, "For someone born into Riverclan and knowing the code to break it so stupidly... for a Thunderclanner of all things... For Stormywing." She tests the name on her tongue and it makes her want to rinse it off with the river, both distasteful, Beefang spares a glance to all of those around her only to nod slowly "And continuing to sit on the council for as long as you have... I agree with everyone else that you should be stripped of your position and apprentice." It seemed fair and reasonable enough, her eye flicks over to Lichenstar to hold her gaze for a heartbeat if she glanced in her direction while she spoke firmly in front of the council.

"But if we are handing out punishments, I doubt that Ferngill had no idea of any of this. After all, he was on the journey with you." She says sharply as she draws the attention over to the red tabby, the very same to have been mates with one of her best friends, and a potential traitor nonetheless. Her bottlebrush tail lashes carefully only for her helm to tilt to the side "You are free to correct me, Ferngill... but if I'm not. It would be wrong to treat the offence of abetment lightly. I will say, I admire your loyalty to your family... It's a shame that didn't extend to your clan." Of course, she wouldn't think him the type to ever rat out Iciclefang and truly, she finds it admirable just as she had stated but that admiration is short-lived just as her respect and trust for both of the littermates that sat in Lichenstar's council.

"The both of them should be demoted of their positions and have their apprentices assigned to different warriors, neither of them should be allowed to train another apprentice until an entire cycle passes." Beefang states at last thinking that this is much more merciful than what she had discussed with Hazecloud and hopefully, it would satisfy the softer council members with what she says. Her tail curls neatly around her tail as she falls silent for a heartbeat only to add "But if anyone else sees you fit for exile, well, I will not argue on it nor would I fight for your right to stay in this clan after your betrayal. Perhaps, if you had come about it sooner, you would've only faced our judgement more lightly and simply removed of your position as lead warrior... but you didn't."

She thinks about the way Iciclefang might've pretended to be betrayed by her former denmate, Swiftfire, when the chimera molly had been exiled and questioned for her dead mate killed by her own kit. How unkind Iciclefang had been to Splashdance despite how the freckled molly still tries to be kind despite this, "If you end up staying... Maybe one day, you will atone for what you did."

DROWN IN YOUR SORROW AND FEARS ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ CHOKE ON YOUR BLOOD AND YOUR TEARS

• ooc —

• 

  WARRIOR SKILLSET;
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧ HUNTING
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧ TRACKING
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✧ COMBAT
  — ✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧ STEALTH
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✧✧✧✧ STRATEGY
  — ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦ SWIMMING
  — ✦✦✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ CLIMBING
• 
  ✦ a shorthaired black smoke molly w/low white and a singular amber eye
  ✦ oftentimes comes off as untrusting of those around her, closed off, and not the easiest to engage in conversation with, she's not easy to befriend. distrusting of outsiders and will snap at you if y/c walks up to her on her blind side. all her opinions are IC only.
  ✦ 16 moons old; ages the 10th every month
  ✦ asexual homoromantic; mated to moonbeam
  ✦ currently mentoring... roepaw ; formerly mentored by smokestar
  ✦ firstborn daughter of cicadastar and smokestar
  ✦ sister of cicadaflight and loveburn
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ✦ peaceful powerplay allowed

​

 

[FERNGILL]

Cold, it was cold in here... Ferngill felt the bite of every frosty glare, the sprawling prickling of ice-shard. His sister sat before them all- put on trial, and he didn't understand it, didn't understand it at all. Why this had to be in front of everyone, why Lichenstar had to make this even more painful than it had already been for her, than it had always been for her, and would always be. His limbs felt locked - he was quiet within the congregation, jaw locking and loosening, a shuffling march.

When his sister laid her story bare, Ferngill was somewhat relieved- there would be no pretences past this threshold, and perhaps that was the best way for it to be, now. If there was some way to make this right... this seemed to be a good first step. Robinheart was sympathetic, Hazecloud more saddened than angry. "They're ten moons old, nearly warriors, born and raised and trained here. ThunderClan has no right to them." Ferngill's voice was hollow, not aggressive- something pleading lay in his tone, a want to steer Hazecloud away from the most horrendous eventuality.

Foxtail spoke sympathetically at first- until he praised Splashdance as a more shining example or a Riverclanner than Iciclefang, and his eyes flashed. There was no need for it, and Ferngill's gaze looked upon a cat he usuelly regarded kindly with a vicious coldness. It was stupid, stupid to pit them against each other; Ferngill shook his head, huffed. He liked Splashdance well, in truth- and none of it was about her at the end of the day, not for him. It was about Pikesplash, who met no punishment, who had not given up his mate and admitted himself he had no intention of doing so.

It was Beefang who finally brought the fire out of him- past icy walls, rage licked it away until there was nothing else. And Ferngill had never hid his emotions well; volcanic spires lit along his spine, bristling. Flaring- and it was stupid, the way he threw himself into the admittance. But it was obvious enough to them all, wasn't it? "What was I supposed to do? She's all I have left!"

It had been a secret he'd kept even still from Sablemist, and felt guilty for it all the while- and now he would never be able to tell her. His dream of a family was drowned beneath the river, lost somewhere unseen. He clung still to his sister's family, to be the best support he could be, to make them feel like Riverclanners; and now that threatened to slip away from him, too. "Exile is ridiculous. We- I was still an apprentice, that's how young we were. And- and...." Ferngill's voice hitched. "I saw some of it. That Thunderclanner, she begged and begged. Iciclefang broke her heart, I- I kept things from my mate, who's gone, just so these kits could have a normal life. So they could go as long as possible without doubting that they belonged here."

Ferngill's breath shuddered away. Hot tears pricked at the edge of his singular vision, burning a line down his cheek. "We're not traitors. Iciclefang gave up everything so she wouldn't be one. So her kits wouldn't be mothered by one. I'm loyal to RiverClan, I always have been... but I'm loyal to my sister, too. My-" And tears pushed to the forefront, and he gasped in a juddering sob, feeling utterly pathetic. "My family. And Stormywing is not part of it, and has never been. All of it ended moons and moons ago."​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[Moonbeam]

She knew that the time would come to move into the willow den, for her to follow after Lichenstar and the rest of the council to speak to Iciclefang, to discuss what was to become of the member of the council that had broken the trust of not only the higher positions in the clan but the clan as a whole. The words Beefang spoke to the medicine cat rang in her ears as soon as she sat beside the other, orange eyes flickering between those present for just a moment before Lichenstar began to speak. She demands the truth, demands the tortoiseshell lead warrior to share what had happened with her own tongue, and a small sliver of hope is there - minuscule as it was - that the ThunderClanner was mistaken and that she just thought that the kits were hers when in reality it was other kits, but Iciclefang begins to speak and everything is immediately confirmed.

It's true. A small breath she didn't realize had been held leaves her now, ears moving back to press against the top of her skull as more words tumble out, as more of the story is explained. This had been going on for a full cycle of the seasons, a journey sanctioned by StarClan to the mountains, a journey that the lives of the clans depend on and she claims the lines were blurred, that they did not know if they would make it back or not. Of course they'd make it back, why else would StarClan send them? It's the lack of understanding, the lack of actually being there in that dangerous journey that makes Moonbeam blind to the dangers that they had truly faced. Of course she'd heard stories - they'd been there with her the majority of her life now - but she hadn't actually gone, so she could only think that if she had been chosen to go at the time then she would have been stronger than that, better than that, for though she was a medicine cat now and useless in the ways of battle she had been an apprentice training to be a warrior at that time, and she would have known more.

She keeps silent, lips tightly pressed together as the rest of the story unfolds, as others speak around her and vouch for what they think should be done and she is surprised. To her, there was a simple clear answer. Not only did Iciclefang break the code, she did so as a lead warrior, as one passing judgement to others for doing the same thing while remaining silent about her own transgressions, a cat like that was no RiverClanner, whether things had been cut off or not. A cat out to protect themselves and just the family forged by blood did not belong in a clan where family was those around you, where you had to trust a cat with no relation to you to have your back... and right now she could not trust Iciclefang to have her back. Exile. It is the only thing she expects to hear, the only answer that made sense yet it comes from no one as a punishment, the only time it is mentioned is what-if's and that she couldn't be condemned to it, so for the moment she remains silent still, ever silent as she usually was in situations like this, in meetings and gatherings.

But if we are handing out punishments, I doubt that Ferngill had no idea of any of this. After all, he was on the journey with you.

Eyes widen slightly at the thought, head swiveling quickly to the orange tabby as he is quick to admit his participation, defends himself and his littermate quickly and without hesitation and she feels her throat tighten slightly. Not only did she feel betrayed by one cat she had looked up to but two, both saviors of the clan that they claimed as home and claimed loyalty to, both keeping secrets that had caused such a rift in the clan. "One of you could have come forward when things went too far instead of hiding it, instead of participating in decisions of what happens to a clanmate when one of you had done the same." She's quick to speak now, tail lashing out behind her before eyes turn to Iciclefang. "When Pikesplash had done the same you wanted him exiled, said that he couldn't be trusted and should be sent to ShadowClan to live with his mate. You broke it off, sure, but why should we trust you - a lead warrior, a member of multiple leader's councils - more than him when you not only broke the code but broke it with a ThunderClanner of all cats?" She would not outright say that she vouched for exile, she would not be the only one to do so, but it was clear by her words that she thought the punishment Iciclefang wanted for Pikesplash was the punishment she, herself, should have to endure.

"As far as punishment goes I think she should be demoted... I think that's clear of the minimum of what has been said so far, and though I do not approve of what Ferngill has done either we're not here to discuss him, nor is he the one who actually broke a code." He was just someone who happened to be trustworthy enough to keep secrets for blood family, ignoring the consequences of them with the family he had within RiverClan. "Though I'm sure the clan already knows by now, I want it to be known why she's being demoted, whether it be from her own maw or yours Lichenstar, for there have been too many cats breaking our trust in this way." Let it be an example of what could happen, for next time she won't be so lenient on her suggestion for punishment. Anything to make sure cats knew they could not get away with it, that they would be found out in the end, that there would be consequences for breaking the code and maybe they wouldn't come out of it alive.

CAUSE LIKE CONTELLATIONS ꕥ A MILLION YEARS AWAY

• --
• ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ flesh wounds
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ infections
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ aches & pains
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ illness
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ breathing
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ traveling
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ broken bones
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ kitting
  ꕥꕥꕥꕥꕥ poisons
• 
  ꕥ SH white masking cinnamon torbie w/orange eyes & small ears
  ꕥ 15 moons old; ages the 17th every month
  ꕥ homosexual polyromantic ; mated to beefang, crushing on redacted
  ꕥ currently mentoring none
  ꕥ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ꕥ easy in combat unless in water, focuses on defensive tactics

​

 

[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

The voices of the council overlap themselves like streams of snowmelt in spring, rushing past Snakeblink, washing over him. He sways a little where he sits; his whole body hurts, though the worst of his wounds are limited to his shoulder and face, and his blood still thrums with residual fear long past the battle. It’s taking most of his energy to focus on words through the haze. What he hears has his pelt prickling in outrage--and, truly, in betrayal.

For so long Iciclefang has been the epitome of a RiverClan warrior. Smokestar’s first pupil, who never bends and never wavers, who lives and breathes for her clan. It comes like a blow to the head to hear that she has hidden this for so long, advised Lichenstar while keeping them in the dark, lied to all of them--judged others by laws she herself did not uphold. How many more has she broken? Oh, to the darkness with the code, for all it had done for them--how many more secrets did she keep against the clan, with only her kin in the confidence?

How much longer would she have kept this one, had Flamestar not forced it from her former mate’s throat while keeping one of their own under her claws?

What was I supposed to do? She's all I have left!

He cuts a glance at Ferngill, uneasy with understanding. Would he have done the same for his own siblings, for his mother? For Lichenstar, Turtledove, the cats he considered his dearest friends? Perhaps. Yes, most likely--but the commonality gives rise to bitterness on his tongue rather than forgiveness. He did not have that choice. The clan is all he has left, the blood in their veins the only family line he can hope to keep a hold of--he does not get the luxury of choosing who to offer his loyalty to between kith and kin. Why should they pick and choose, trusting the yearnings of their hearts rather than the needs of their clan?

But he is last to speak; by then, anger has gone through him like the tide, and there is little left but weariness on his tongue. He would have done the same in their place, he thinks; for one major exception.

”Your ruthlessness towards Pikesplash and Swiftfire I could understand,” he hisses through his teeth, wary of moving his jaw and causing the wounds on his face to reopen. ”When I believed it rooted in deep respect for the code. But now it seems to me that you were merely being a hypocrite.” Pain is making him blunt, and he dislikes the way words slip from his tongue unbidden. Still, he goes on haltingly: ”Was it fear that made you so harsh? Or selfishness, enjoying the safety of your half-clan kits at your side while denying it to them?”

He breathes slowly through a pulse of pain. His eyes fall half-lidded in thought, trying to find her exact wording in the meanders of his memory. ”How can we trust you now at all?” He whispers, with the echo of her condemnation of Pikesplash.

Moonbeam is right--as usual. She could have come forward at any time. Lichenstar might have had mercy. Snakeblink would have helped, would have argued in her favor, before she showed herself so concerned with her family and so little with the safety of their clanmates--of Pikesplash and Splashdance, who had as much of a right to RiverClan as she and her brood did.

Hazy green eyes find Lichenstar’s. His head sways towards Moonbeam and Beefang in tacit support, but it’s to Foxtail that he turns as he rasps out his agreement: ”Demotion, and Splashdance in your place. And until you have proven you will not throw your clanmates in the fox-den to cover your own tracks, I do not believe you can be trusted with apprentices.” ​

——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely​

ooc. information.

• 
  
• 
  
  
  — Snakeblink • he / him. 57 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​

 

[hazecloud]

—————————————————————⊰✿⊱————————————————————
One into the next, the council gave their thoughts voice. Remarks shown in the puffs of mist from their maw against the cold stuffy air, tails lash and pelts bristle. Anger shown from peeking fangs as they speak, ears folded back in crestfallen shame. Hazecloud listened to each word as she looked between the speaker and her leader.

How would this look for me? What if Hazestar had to confront her traitorous friend? She would have rather chewed through her own paw than make such a hefty decision. To hear the words exile thrown in suggestion, to know it would be impossible to please every council members desire for the outcome.

"Very well said, Robinheart." The deputy blinked as she realized the moment Iciclefang had pulled her away to inform her of Splashdance's true origins could have very well been done with more sinister intent. Hazecloud had taken it as the molly wishing to fill the gaps between what Lichenstar had and hadn't told her. Was she using some sort of tactic to make herself feel better, instead? Making sure to spread distrust around Splashdance... for what end?

Foxtail doesn't let it go either, and the wispy-furred queen would nod in quiet agreement. Perhaps that tiff with Sunpaw had added some strength to his spine- she liked his frame of repentance. Iciclefang would see her position filled with the very cat she scrutinized and inflicted her children's ire upon, it would serve a final message to how Lichenstar viewed the disrespect of this rotten 'Clanborn this-and-that' behavior.

It is Beefang that still has Hazecloud reeling about what is truly the right decision. If she were leader... Exile would have been as simple as brushing off a fly for the prodigal girl. It echoed the constricting loyalty Cicadastar demanded, Cicadastar who struck his warriors like dogs onto Hyacinthbreath for hesitating to harm her own kin.

It is the perceptive Beefang that strikes another- Ferngill. It would make sense, even if Hazecloud wished it weren't true. The flame-hearted tom shot back with his defense quickly, and another look is sent her mates way. She knows all too well what Lichenstar would have done with her own twin, had she been in Ferngill's place. Hazecloud stood the same if she were to look at Rosewater in this situation. She knows Beefang wouldn't do as much as Ferngill had, for Cicadaflight. Their loyalty, their Clan, came first. If they had nothing, they had their Clan.

"You will not dismiss my concern." Hazecloud's voice turned sharper the longer she stirred in her frustrations. "We just took their hunting ground. We've killed her hunters, we've weakened her Clans ability to feed themselves. She has absolutely EVERY excuse to look for repayment through them." Just as they've killed RiverClanners that night, what could possibly stop Flamestar from wanting payback through this?

The ginger toms youth suddenly blinds her, and she finds Ferngill's defense for himself, his sister, weakened by their sole connection to one another. Iciclefang had lived with this lie through the death of nearly all her kin, none of them finding the truth until they reached the stars. Just as she said to hope they all would. What a shameful life to want to live.

"You cannot undo a treacherous act. Iciclefang could have killed Stormywing herself last night, or the night she finally came to her senses. It does not reverse the fact that it happened, that she could not control herself. And then to inflict that hate knowing..." She would only be good to continue talking in circles about it all, about all she felt on it. She realized as Snakeblink concluded she had not cast her decision still.

"I don't disagree that demotion is at all unfair. The same as much could be argued for Ferngill, sadly." Compliant in it all, aiding her until it was too late... Hazecloud took another deep breath. "There was once a leader who would have had you chased out with your Clanmates hot on your tail. Ready to take your pelt as a prize."

"I know, that there is no room for disrespecting our higher ranks in you. However, the situation with Cicadastar..." How many seasons ago had that been now? "I would keep the peace. It's not worth the fight... It's hard pretending to be something that you don't believe in, but RiverClan needs to see there is unity within the council."

"If Lichenstar feels exile is what RiverClan deserves from this, then I will not object."

✿ ———— I'll be your regular mama ✿ ————— And I'll put that gun away

•  
• 
  
  
  Hazecloud
  —⊰⋅ Deputy of RiverClan
  —⊰⋅ She/Her
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ LH blue smoke with green eyes.
  

​

 

[lichenstar]

✦˚.✧˚✧˚✦˚ ✧ ˚✧˚✦˚✦.˚✧

CLAIM THE BURIAL I SEEK IN DREAMS FLOWING RIVER CEMETARY ✧

• There is only a single claw pressed into the ice before it fractures, splits and divides apart.... it gives way to the cool, rushing waters of truth and if not for the bittersweet frustration of it being revealed now, after it could no longer be neatly wrapped up and tucked away, it might've almost felt like relief. Pacing of agitated paws, ones worn by indecision and time, slows with the chiming notes of a carefully crafted chorus. It starts somber, growing louder with the hum of dismay and betrayal- cut by the sharpness of a tone keening the loss of their reputations, the trust of their clan. More tones hum a timbre sense of justice, the resounding boom of repentance and the demand a cost be paid.
  
  How they suggest repaying this great mistake varies, ranging as far as a complete loss of right to exist within these borders- would that be fair? To pay for the cost of the muddied heritage and to blood letting for their place at the cost of her own. Lichenstar's ears twitch, a sweeping gaze passing over each speaker with a blooming frigidness.. like frost creeping along glass. Ferngill pleads the case of family and loyalty, proclaiming the crime is not proof of disloyalty- Then what is it proof of? To correct her mistake by striking her claws through the neck of her mate ship was the bare minimum at best... yet he expected them to take that something worth celebrating? Their youth is riddled with naivety... evident in the bristling of sun drop fur.
  
  They were not the only cats to have loved and lost and had little to cling to. A fractured tail whisks in frustration, measuring the normally gentle-hearted warrior with a level stare even as he finds himself reduced to sobs. "You... are the one... that chose to hide. And lie," she reminds him, unwavering even in the face of his grief. With the verbal confrontation that he has left a gorge between his mate and himself and it is likely one that will never be mended. It wasn't a lack of pity that drove her bluntness... he was a sweet tom who had suffered far greater than was due to someone of his nature. But she would not console him for making a mistake he alone chose to shoulder. They had put themselves above their equals to pass their own judgment... and to abscond with the evidence so it may never meet scrutiny. That was dishonest... and sneaky... and undermined the authority they claimed to revere.
  
  Snakeblink puts it best.
  
  They'd abused their positions to hide in plain sight... and withheld no humility for their stance as equals to those they ridiculed.
  
  Her head tilts, bothered... ever so bothered by the tiniest detail of Ferngill's statement. "Without doubting they belonged here." Maybe it was her own fault... for her own burdens of secrecy, that they did not understand who they now held a sword against. One who'd insisted that children of such lawless loves not be punished for the sins of their parents. She'd demanded of Iciclefang compassion towards Splashdance, who only held interest in finding belonging. The very perpetrator of such hatred was the one begging it not be brandished at her own children. Her tongue lies still, opting not to dissect his heartfelt sorrows like they were a piece of prey to be studied.
  
  Her attention slides towards her mate, acknowledging her hurt, her proximity to this. What would you have me do? She cannot empathize with the yearning to keep this secret withheld... her quiet confessional with Snakeblink about her role as the sire of her children had only solidified her need to run towards truth. To press into the ice-dusted willow and tell Smokestar everything, even if it meant enduring his ire. Even if it meant he would revoke her position as his deputy. So if she could do it... why couldn't they? Perhaps it was just a matter of severity... Lichentail's poor timing had not broken any code and that may've made all the difference. What would he have done?
  
  His words were sharp as thorns dug into her pelt... but she had not lied. Would he have ached to be here... to stand in front of his apprentice and hear her swan song defense? Would he feel to blame? Her mind scours conversation, what few moments they may've found in each other's company that were not terse, angry or tense. She'd come back from the Journey and been told to take what she learned... and embrace the differences. Had that inspired this? Did her own paws have a part to play in this unholy matrimony?
  
  She draws in a small breath.
  
  They defer to her... as ever. As was what was expected from a leader. She skirts past the small gathering of bodies, only pausing to turn and gaze upon them from where she signaled her coming departure. "Since your choice... has come... to be... fangs... in the throat... of your clan... They deserve... to be heard." Her tail sweeps with a sort of finality, "Splashdance... Pikesplash... Your kits.... Your clan... that fed you... and cared... for you... through your... deceit."
  
  "This lie... is not so.... fickle... as a secret... kept between... siblings."
  
  They could not hide and cower behind bloodlines and claim it was all for loyalty while residing in a clan. Her own children would not escape her wrath had they put themselves in this position... Whether or not anyone else chooses to believe that doesn't concern her.
  
  "I've made... my decision..." She turns towards the camp, watching the figures of the familiar sliding past, nursing their wounds and collaborating how they might protect and fend for one another. "But... if they... have no... love left for you..." Then there would be no point.
• about
  
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