private SINK OR SWIM // family

[skyclaw]

"I don't want to hear it, Howlingstar," he huffs. His tone is terse, frustrated, yet as he follows his grandmother into her den he feels no different than a kit being chided for their misbehavior. The warrior is young, and his spirit is fiery - he would have half the mind to cuff Bravepaw's ears, as if the young tom had any idea of the trouble being half-Clan would cause him. Children are pathetic in their inexperience, yet so is he in his few months into warriorhood. He grinds his teeth as he sits down, ears folded back as he patiently waits.

Upon return, some of their patrolmates are sent off. Some to fetch Burnstorm and others Moonwhisper, yet Skyclaw knows too well how fast gossip will travel. He sucks on his teeth with an annoying click noise following suit. So many of his Clanmates are... unwelcoming to outsiders. As they should be, if he's honest - but he's born and raised as a ThunderClanner, he's only just found out about this anomaly in his blood mere moons ago. None would cast him aside as less than now, would they? He swallows, but he says nothing more until his elder siblings arrive. Even then, he only gives them a cursory glance before looking back to Howlingstar.

"You should tell them," he says. And it's not of willingness to be open. It's of spite. He and Duskbird (may his soul rest) had to experience the news through their secret keeping grandmother, as their father bled to death on ThunderClan grounds. Burnstorm and Moonwhisper - they should find out of their shared heritage in as close of a way as possible. Skyclaw mourns the fact that he cannot spill the leader's blood once more, as if doing so made the scenario far more authentic.

[ @BURNSTORM @HOWLINGSTAR @Moonwhisper ]​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

As Howlingstar enters camp, she does so on swift, purposeful paws. In a clipped tone she sends clanmates to retrieve Skyclaw's two remaining ThunderClan siblings while she leads the young offender straight to her den. This isn't good. Fireflypaw, sweet as he may be, had made a foolish choice to say those words so blatantly, so publicly. Now, the secret she had been holding onto since Little Wolf's second pregnancy has been shared with the world, and like her grandson, she knows how quickly word will spread around camp. She wants Burnstorm and Moonwhisper to hear it from her, first.

Now, as all four of them sit in her den, she looks to Skyclaw as he speaks to her. There is bitterness on his tongue, and she isn't surprised. He has been angry ever since he'd found out. Drawing in a breath, she looks to the lead warrior and then the queen, something tense and cautious in her eyes. "There is something...something the both of you should know," She begins, a sigh escaping brown and white lips. "I should have told you long ago. Skyclaw and Duskbird...they are not your half-siblings. They, too, are fathered by Blazestar." She waits, expecting anger, expecting shouts, before continuing, "Little Wolf and I wanted to keep this a secret to protect them. Your mother and father made a dire mistake. But we did not want Skyclaw and Duskbird to suffer the consequences of the clan knowing they were products of a broken code. Of they themselves knowing they were half-clan. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She dips her head, feeling guilt tie knots in her throat. If she should go back, she doesn't know if she'd make a different choice. She still believes she did everything in her power to protect them. But would it have been less painful for them - for everyone - to know from the beginning?​

 

[BURNSTORM]

Burnstorm still remembers the day his parents had been forced to seperate. Foolishly, he had held onto that childish hope that his father would choose him, would choose his mother and ThunderClan over his desire to lead. But the allure of power had been too strong for him and Burnstorm has to wonder if perhaps it was something else as well. Someone else if his new mate had had anything to do with it. But his mother had seemingly moved on quickly as well and, at the time, it had made him question everything he knew about their love. Needless to say, it had been a confusing time in his life. There was a part of him, he thinks, that knew the truth. Little Wolf had loved his father with all her heart, and he has no doubt that if the rest of her family had not been in ThunderClan, he would be a SkyClanner right now.

When Howlingstar calls himself and his siblings into her den, he only has to wonder for a moment what this is about. A long silence passes between them in which his gaze shifts between Skyclaw and Howlingstar, studying their faces until his brother breaks the quiet with a request to their grandmother. Burnstorm says nothing as the information is revealed. This news came as a shock, sure, but he merely blinks, turning over the information in his head. "Thank you for telling us" he says simply, no trace of anger in his voice. He understands, better than anyone, why his mother had kept it a secret from them. "Skyclaw" he says, turning to his brother "Im going to tell you something I wish I had realized when I was younger. Having Blazestar's blood running through your veins does not make you less in any way. Sure, you'll have to prove yourself more than any other cat and there will always be those who think of you negatively because of it but you can prove them wrong. You can show them that you are strong because of your blood, not in spite of it. Remember, you are half our mother as well."

( ☼ ) come and take it

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  BURNSTORM THUNDERCLAN LEAD WARRIOR ; HE / HIM ; BROTHER TO MORNINGPAW, MOONWHISPER, HOWLFIRE, FIREFLYPAW, SKYCLAW & DUSKBIRD ; MATE TO ROEFLAME ; FATHER TO DOVEKIT, BEETLEKIT, AND LITTLEKIT
  

  A large, sharp tongued, tom with long black fur and golden, oval shaped, eyes.

  ✦ Difficult in battle. A skilled fighter + fights honorably
  

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