pafp stand and fight - confronting trufflepelt

[emberstar]

IT WENT FROM A SPARK TO AN OPEN FLAME ⋆⁺₊⋆ There he was. It hadn't taken much effort to find Trufflepelt, he didn't seem to have even tried to hide his scent. Emberstar and her patrol had only left Howling Wind's side a couple of minutes ago, stalking through their territory in tense silence, before they caught sight of the greying tom. He didn't even seem to be trying to hide. His gait was relaxed, confident. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought that this was still the strange old friend that she had welcomed into her clan.

It was uncanny.

"One of you stay hidden and scout the perimeter, make sure he's alone. Everyone else fan out and follow my lead. If he runs, I want to force him toward the border, we can't let him head toward camp. Wait for my signal to attack, this could be a trap." Emberstar whispered to her clanmates beside her. Until she knew what was going on, she was going to take every possible precaution. She wasn't going to risk any more of her friends today. Looking to every face for confirmation, the leader took a breath and signaled the patrol forward with a flick of her tail.

"Trufflepelt!" she called out toward him, the word spat from between her teeth. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the blood still on his fur. Her fury rose anew. "We welcomed you into our home, you were our friend, and now you attack Howling Wind in cold blood! Why?"

Though she was asking, in part, to give time to make sure he was alone, she did want his answer. He had always been a little odd, sure, but he had been her friend. She had never though him capable of this.

//wait for truffle to post ​

 

[TRUFFLEPELT]

Where might they be hiding? Wallowing in their sorrow alone, he might wager. Sad as it was to see so many with heads bowed beyond saving, eyes glazed glittering with tears. They looked beyond the pale, into the world that Trufflepelt could send them to if they would only allow him! Accept his help, as Howling Wind had...

Emberstar- she spoke harsh, hissed. Strange to hear such venom from a leader he'd only known to be benevolent, pleasant toward him and all. Tusk-toothed smile ever adorned, he looked upon the leader with eyes of reverie. Gilt and guiltless, his eyes roamed her expression, searching for the gratitude he had expected- he would think that she of all would understand the will of the Stars. But she asked him why, and scarlet-gloved paws took a step closer to her.

"My friend!" His voice sang, skipping above the clouds. "You do not understand. Howling Wind was so, so pained." Such a shame he had to spell it out, but he supposed even ThunderClan's leader had not been contacted by StarClan in this way. Perhaps they did not believe her capable of the mission they had given him. They had kept him and only him alive to carry out this duty, and foolish he was to think his mission would be one shared, even for a moment. "The loss of kin is an abyss that can never be filled. She would have suffered lifelong for this loss- so I relieved her of that suffering!"

"The Stars showed me the Truth! I am to send all who suffer in a way unfixable by life to StarClan, so they may be free!" His tone was celebratory, triumphant. Surely, surely with this illumination they would understand! They would fall at his feet, thanking him for his bravery at carrying out a mission. They would take his claret paws and guide his claws to Little Wolf, to Raccoonstripe, to Graystorm- even to Blazestar, perhaps. An honour!​

( PENNED BY PIN )​

 

[RACCOONSTRIPE]

( ☄. *. ⋆ ) "One of you stay hidden and scout the perimeter. Make sure he's alone." Her orders are hushed but firm, fire dancing in rainstorm eyes. Raccoonstripe doesn't have to be told twice; the broad-shouldered tabby slinks away from the group, paws feather-light despite the frosty crunch of leaves underpaw. The old fool isn't hiding, that's for certain; though his withered old claws are stained with his mother's blood, he's jovial, relaxed.

He tastes the air as he sneaks a half-circle around Trufflepelt. There's nothing else here, not even a mouse. The old man is alone.

His chest begins to warm, inner flames threatening to spill. His eyes are almost black with desire, shiny like polished onyx. His muscles bunch, and he waits. Waits for the man to speak.

Emberstar confronts him. "We welcomed you into our home, you were our friend, and now you attack Howling Wind in cold blood! Why?"

Trufflepelt doesn't seem to understand what he's done. Is he that old, has he lost all remaining sense? Raccoonstripe waits in the undergrowth, jaw almost dropping in disbelief, at the fool's rambling. "The Stars showed me the Truth! I am to send all who suffer in a way unfixable by life to StarClan, so they may be free!"

He's heard enough. Raccoonstripe prowls slowly from his hiding place, eyes dark pools of shadow stretched across his seething face. He announces to Emberstar and the rest of the patrol, "This old fool is alone. He's lost his damn mind." The tabby lets out a long, low hiss that sounds like sparks flying. "Since you love StarClan so much, let me help you meet them yourself."

He pounces, claws unsheathed and fore limbs stretched towards the greying tom. Raccoonstripe will aim to bowl him over and pin him under his weight. If successful, he'll rake his claws across Trufflepelt's chest.​

( I CAN SEE THE SKY LIGHT UP , AND THE GROUND EXPLODE )

 

[Rabbitnose]

Rabbitnose had to pry Sparkpaw away, but eventually the two were following after Emberstar and obeying her orders to fan out.

Their expressions were very different. Rabbitnose was focused. Angry. A hunter ready to pounce. Sparkpaw was....

His face held nothing but hurt and betrayal.

Trufflepelt was his mentor.... How could he? He liked him....

He wanted to cry.

They listened to him speak, both were unnerved at what they heard. Sparkpaw laid his ears flat. Was he.....Was he also a target, then? He still missed his sister. Would Trufflepelt try to kill him too?

Sparkpaw bore his teeth a little. He leapt from the bushes as Raccoonstripe made his attack.

"YOU'RE JUST SAYING WE'RE BETTER OFF DEAD!!" He shouted.

Rabbitnose leapt after him. He was going to wait for Emberstar, but Raccoonstripe attacked, and then his son did, and well. He couldn't let him get hurt.

Sparkpaw wasn't sure about hitting old people but he did give Trufflepelt a good clawed whap in the face.

Rabbitnose was ready to pounce at a moments notice. He wouldn't attack yet. If Trufflepelt ran, he would chase. He was as quick as his namesake and would be on him in two shakes of a rabbits tail.
​

 

[WILDHEART]

"LITTLE HELLIONS, KIDS FEELIN' REBELLIOUS"​

---

Wildpaw rolled his tongue across his lips as he lingered behind Emberstar, Rabbitnose, Sparkpaw and Raccoonstripe, his body rigid as he heeded the orders given. Revenge was to come, he could sense that much, but would Emberstar's soft heart threaten to get in the way? With luck it would not, but if it did... well, he'd make sure that it was quelled.

He took up position and he followed along behind the she-cat as they closed the distance on Trufflepelt, and it seemed as if the bastard wasn't even going to hide. So Trufflepelt really was a mad old fool, blinded by their own perception of the world. Wildpaw deemed such ideals to be dangerous and quite the obstacle in his own path that he wished to set out.

"You're a threat to us then, you'll pursue your crazy beliefs even if we exile you I bet! That only leaves us one choice..." Wildpaw drew closer now that Raccoonstripe had made his move to pin the older warrior. The young tom flexed his claws as he primed himself to attack at a moments notice, to rush to Raccoonstripe's aid if he so required it.​

★ ​

 

[emberstar]

IT WENT FROM A SPARK TO AN OPEN FLAME ⋆⁺₊⋆ Emberstar blinked, bristled as Trufflepelt dared to call her friend. He didn't deserve to say the word. The longer he spoke the more her fury grew, how dare he claim that Howling Wind deserved to die, that it was what her friends in the stars wanted. Not only did he attempt to murder her living friends, he spat on the graves of those that had died, that she had helped bury. His deeds were an insult to Rain and Haku and all the others that had died in the great battle.

Emberstar would kill him herself, if she got the chance.

"Remember who you speak to when you talk of the stars." She hissed back, fire in her tone. Her claws unsheathed as she took a step forward. "I knew them, I fought with them, I was their friend! As was Howling Wind! They would never want this." She bared her teeth. "How dare you insult them like that!"

Racoonstripe leapt from his hiding place, declaring Trufflepelt was indeed alone, and pounced upon the greying tom without hesitation. Emberstar was glad for it. With a flick of her tail she signaled the rest of the patrol forward to aid in the attack, and charged. With alarming speed, she leapt forward with her claws extended. Aiming to swipe at Trufflepelt's face, and hoping to hit something vital.

One way or another, this monster would not live another day in her territory. ​

 

[Patchpaw [in.]]

THERE'S A WORLD THAT WAS MEANT FOR OUR EYES TO SEE​

---

While orders were given and cats split in all different directions, Patchpaw hadn't a clue on where to go. She ended up following after her mentor's footsteps, and when they finally found Trufflepelt and had him pinned to the floor awaiting his sentencing by Emberstar's judgement, all Patchpaw could feel was the growing dread and the nausea rising from her stomach once again. She stopped just short of the crowd, watching uneasily as threats were given and questions were pressed; she didn't feel the cold anymore against her pawpads.
They were going to kill him. The recognization of his fate leaves a bitter taste in her mouth and she swallows thickly, trying and failing desperately to ignore the reddened stains on Trufflepelt's paws or the weak and sickened look in his eyes, driven mad by his own head. Patchpaw would not help them with his trial.

Instead, she chooses to observe, instinctively hoping for another, better solution to this insanity. Wildpaw and Raccoonstripe were both ready to send his soul to StarClan at Emberstar's final verdict, Rabbitnose stood tense in case he attempted to flee, and Sparkpaw's voice filled the air with a devastated rage. Trufflepelt was his mentor, Patchpaw realized with a start as the apprentice bounds forwards, and she swiftly follows after him, though she makes no effort to injure or threaten the poor demented tom. She could feel a twinge of sympathy for Trufflepelt, deep within the heart of her chest, but she could not bear to act on it; he attempted to kill Howling Wind. This was out of her paws now.
Oh, StarClan, why does it have to be this way?

Patchpaw ever so gingerly steps forward, brushing her side against Sparkpaw's to comfort him. She did not innately know what it was like to have a trusted role model such as your own mentor take such a tragic turn against your own family; she couldn't even imagine Rabbitnose turning out this way.
"I'm sorry, Sparkpaw," she murmurs to him, watching Emberstar with a new weariness in her soft, round eyes.​

 

[TRUFFLEPELT]

It had not been the response he had expected- given a moment he might have pitied them, but a moment he was not offered. Bowled over by the uncannily-similar pelt of Raccoonstripe, spitting image of his mother, Trufflepelt smiled- smiled, until a yelp of pain broke in twain his grin. Sparkpaw, too- claws across the face. "Child..." he shook his head, disdainful through the bubble of blood in his throat. Lightning struck his chest.

Two upon him, then. More yet surrounding, Rabbitnose, Wildpaw, Patchpaw. Foolish, all of them- to deny what he knew to be right. Forward did the leader blaze, and across his eye another bolt of pain struck. Red, red- red in the blur, weight still upon him. Oh, he pitied them, and he would never stop pitying them. Not- not for this. How could they fail to understand? His dreams from the Stars, how quick they were to deny them! The drowning force of tears- the punishment of watching it. Their pain would destroy them if he was not there to remove it! Did they not see?

Tears pricked the corner of his eye, mixed in from the bloodies aftermath of Emberstar's strike. In anguish he was left to cry his question. "Do you not wish to be saved?" Everything he did was to aid ThunderClan, to be the saviour he was destined to be. Why else would fate have left him alone alive, when his children and mate lay dead? His ultimate destiny- what his life had forever meant. It stood rejected in the paws of these cats. Hind paws attempted to kick Racconstripe in the stomach as hard as possible, desperately thrashing in order to free himself from those who outcast their own liberation from suffering. ​

( PENNED BY PIN )​

 

[WILDHEART]

"LITTLE HELLIONS, KIDS FEELIN' REBELLIOUS"​

---

"Oh, we wish to be saved. We wished to be saved from you!" Wildpaw snarled, teeth bared and a look of conviction in his eyes. They all needed to end it together. Seeing Trufflepelt daring to fight back only made the firecracker of an apprentice respond in kind, violence being the only viable option at this point. He lunged forth and he aimed to latch his jaws around Trufflepelt's throat with the intentions of forcing the older tom's head back against the ground, intending to keep the rest of the traitor's neck fully exposed to further attack. He could only hope that someone was quick enough to seize the potential opening so the final bite could be dealt! If they didn't... well, he would be at risk of being attacked himself.​

★ ​

 

[RACCOONSTRIPE]

( ☄. *. ⋆ ) Raccoonstripe wants to flex his claws into Trufflepelt's flesh, wants them to rend his body into pieces so he can feel the pulsing red river beneath. He can see the stunned expression on the old tom's face, can feel his breath catch at the sudden pain. The big tabby warrior sneers into Trufflepelt's face, preparing to shred him entirely, but he freezes.

He's looking at another cat. Small. Young, too young to die, tortoiseshell face aimed at his with shock, agony. Death stills their amber eyes. Pawsteps away, a mother screams, rending the air of Fourtrees --

Trufflepelt's hind legs find their purchase on Raccoonstripe's white belly and he heaves the bigger, younger warrior off. He has a sick inhale, flying backwards and rolling haphazardly into the frost-coated forest floor. There are wounds on his belly, but they are not like the wounds Trufflepelt had given his mother -- shallower, not life-threatening.

Raccoonstripe is stunned, battle-stunned, but he coughs, "Stop! He's going to get away!" Why are his paws numb, why is his heartbeat in his throat? He can't get to his feet. He feels as if he's been dipped into the river and held beneath the surface for too long.​

( I CAN SEE THE SKY LIGHT UP , AND THE GROUND EXPLODE )

 

[TRUFFLEPELT]

The thrashing worked- worked, even as Wildpaw's strike sailed past his skull. Raccoonstripe was off him, he was free, and- and he hadn't a moment to waste. These cats- brutal as they were, they were attempting to execute the one sent from the Stars to be their saviour. Blasphemous, the lot of them- and though he loved them all, he could not reward this! He could not- if he was to finish his mission, he could not die here. He would live- and that vitality sent him lurching to his paws, scrabbling backward as fast as he could manage. Old bones- they had taken toll, but he had never stopped. Running was perhaps what he was best at- he'd run from dogs before, and he was sure that StarClan would ensure his escape, as they had done thrice before.

Blood still clouded his eye, but he still had his bearings- he knew which direction was out, and as long as he was in ThunderClan territory he knew these cats would not cease until they had defiled his destiny. Raccoonstripe made a sound prediction- he took his leave, fast as the breeze, bolting into the depths of the forest and weaving, weaving, weaving. Adrenaline fuelled him, and he could only hope it would fuel him for long enough to get away. Twolegplace would be his destination- there he would find aid for his wounds. There, he would find salvation. There he would find shelter, and he would be able to finish his work.

/ out >:)​

( PENNED BY PIN )​