( ♬ ) Throughout the trek, Aspenpaw is silent, following along in Weaselclaw's pawsteps as she tries to prepare herself to come face to face with these rogues. She's not completely unaware of Sootstar's plans of recruiting them; she knows enough that she's able to come along, after all, but the idea of what she doesn't know puts her on edge. Hopefully, they'll all just agree to join without much fuss, even if she's still wary about the whole plan in the first place, though having so many capable Windclanners here certainly helps to reassure her that even if they don't meet with peaceful negotiations things will be okay. As they get closer, she tastes an unfamiliar scent in the air, one that makes her nose wrinkle. Underlying beneath the scent of many cats in one area is something sharp, almost sour in nature, and it makes Aspenpaw uncomfortable. Scooting a little closer to Weaselclaw, she almost jumps when he speaks, instructing her in how to act. Only nodding in response to his words, she straightens her posture in order to appear more like a brave Windclan warrior than the uncertain apprentice she currently feels like.
It doesn't take long for the rogues to begin to gather, and she watches with wide eyes as cats of all shapes and sizes appear, united only by their sharp gazes and their interest in the Windclanners. They're not what she had imagined them to be like, looking much more hardened and unwelcoming than she had thought possible, though so far Aspenpaw's only real frame of reference for outsiders has been the other clans. She can feel some of their gazes on her and it makes her pelt crawl, though the apprentice keeps her head up high, trying not to appear intimidated in front of them. Sootstar addresses their leader and someone else and she listens along silently. Already, it's clear that they hold disdain for the Windclanners, and it seems more and more likely there's not going to be a mutual, peaceful understanding between the two groups. As Aspenpaw wonders just how this interaction is going to proceed - will Gin back down before Sootstar will? - suddenly her leader is lunging forward, attacking Gin. Stiffening, she glances to Weaselclaw and the rest of Windclan first, and to the rogues second, but as no one else moves to join the two battling cats, it's quickly clear that this fight is only between the two leaders for now.
Once Aspenpaw knows she's not expected to leap into battle immediately her gaze is locked back onto Sootstar and Gin, just in time to watch Gin's retaliation. As the tom clamps down on Sootstar's throat, she winces, waiting for the next blow to be dealt, but as the seconds crawl by she begins to realize that something is very wrong. With dawning horror, she watches as her leader sinks to the ground, unmoving, and her maw drops open slightly as it hits her that Sootstar has just died - has been killed by the very rogue she sought to recruit. Rather than step back, Aspenpaw reflexively takes a step forward, as if she can do anything about the situation, though she's stopped as Weaselclaw is held back from joining the fight. Numbly, she glances back to Gin and the rest of the rogues, praying to Starclan that they won't continue the assault, though for now Gin seems satisfied with having dispatched Sootstar, claiming once again that the rogues will not be returning to Windclan.
Of course, Sootstar isn't down for long; in her shock at having witnessed such a violent scene, Aspenpaw had almost forgotten that her leader had been crowned Sootstar for a reason. Almost missing it, her gaze snaps back to Sootstar as the molly suddenly rises, slashing into Gin just like he had torn into her, and then for the second time that day it's over, with one leader triumphing over another. This time, however, there's no chance of the fallen cat rising back up. She hardly acknowledges Sootstar's declaration or the acquiescence of the gathered rogues, instead only staring at the blood that was pooling on the ground, that had soaked into fur. It's not a sight she'll soon forget, and though Aspenpaw's feelings of shock haven't quite faded, she finds that she also feels something else welling up inside, some small pinprick of emotion - something akin to pride in her clan, and in Sootstar, even if it's tempered by queasiness at the sight of so much blood and the thought that she had just witnessed not one but two cats take one another's lives.
( WE'RE ALL JUST SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING ☾ )
