[Deleted]

Hemlockpaw stood before his sister's still body, the foam at her mouth stark against her black muzzle, her eyes staring out, unseeing. This… this wasn't supposed to happen. Ravenstorm…. His entire slim frame trembled as he tried to take a step toward her, but his legs wouldn't move. He was hardly aware of the commotion around him as he stared down at his sister's cooling corpse.

”You want to know what it does, don't you?” Magpiewing's smooth voice encouraged his son's curiosity, “You can find out and make your mother happy all at once. Just give this mouse to Gorsetail.”

The black and white tom slid a leafbare thin mouse his way, giving Hemlockpaw an affectionate flick with his tail to hurry him along. Heart pounding at the idea of finding out just what the poison would do to a cat firstpaw, he took the mouse up by the tail and carried it over to the deputy. However, before he could properly offer it, his sister had appeared as if from nowhere and claimed that the prey was poisoned. He hadn't known what else to do, stammering that of course it wasn't, but his sister had just gotten strange look in her eye and taken a big bite out of it before he could even stop her.

What had happened next was… so intriguing. Tremors ran through the she-cat's body and then she collapsed, convulsing, as foam began to form at her mouth. It had worked so quickly. She was dead before any medicine cat could have done anything for her. And that's when the camp broke into a panic.

Guilt riddled him as he stood over Ravenstorm. Why had she eaten it, if she knew there was poison in it? Why hadn't he tried harder to stop her? Why had he been so engrossed watching the effects of the poison as it killed her?

Suddenly a furious screech cut through the chaos in the camp as Mockingbird pinned her mate under unyielding claws before the entire Clan, “YOU! You killed my daughter! Tell them, you foxhearted traitor!” Her lips were drawn back in a snarl, one paw on his throat, claws drawing forth tiny droplets of blood as she held him down. He was already bleeding from a gash over his eye as well, and several other scratches along his body.

He gasped something out quietly to her, too quiet for Hemlockpaw to hear from his place beside Ravenstorm, his eyes wide as he watched his parents. Mockingbird hissed and took her paw from his throat, but didn't let him up. After a moment Magpiewing raised his voice to be heard, spitting, “Just kill me already, you've all been boring me to death from the moment I was unfortunate enough to be born into this Clan of lemmings!” His bright yellow eyes glittered with malice as he glared up at Mockingbird, his fangs flashing in a dark grin, “But I sure made things interesting today, didn't I-”

Mockingbird slapped his muzzle with an unsheathed paw before two Clanmates stepped in to pull her away and she wailed for her lost daughter. Magpiewing stood warily, eyes darting around at the rest of the Clan as if expecting one of them to take Mockingbird's place and continue the abuse.

Hemlockpaw watched his father, not knowing what to do. This wasn't right. It was him, it was him too…. Magpiewing was only…. He found himself taking a step forward, but suddenly Mockingbird was beside him, her tail blocking his way as she crowded him close, looking for all the world like nothing more than a distressed mother taking comfort in protecting her living kit from danger in their midst, her whispered words only for him among the muttering from the rest of the Clan as they awaited Lionstars judgment, “Say nothing. Do you understand me?”

“But-”

“Nothing.” And she immediately took to raining licks down over his head and face, her voice returning to a normal volume, “My kits... my poor kits….” Hemlockpaw was left with little recourse but to obey his mother, and watch with wide, mournful eyes as his father's fate was decided. This wasn't supposed to happen….

---

Fawn Taxx Phoenix Justice (justice, no obligation to post, just wanted to tag you to keep you updated since hemlock is amberwing's apprentice)

Leafbare 24 Sunny but still extremely cold. The snow is no longer powdery but hard and ice-like.

[Fawn]

Lionstar

The crown is getting heavy
But they've written my name in the stars

Lionstar woke to the high-pitched shriek of a queen in distress. Bits of the nest he shared with Honeysong were thrown haphazard as he got to his paws and pelted from the Ancient Stump; in the heart of camp, a bewildering scene was unfolding. To the side lay the limp body of Ravenstorm - he felt his throat tighten at this unexpected loss - surrounded by a distraught Mockingbird keeping her remaining kits close, and noticeably away from her mate, Magpiewing.

"What's going on?" Lionstar's voice loudly called for order, making sure no cat could ever complain of not being able to hear him.

"Magpiewing killed Ravenstorm," shouted Silverwind, the warrior's pelt bristling. Her brother spoke up with narrowed eyes. "No, I saw Hemlockpaw carrying over that mouse."

Though the camp was not crowded, the cats that had been here all seemed to chime in at once, everyone having their own view on what happened. Lionstar's teeth showed in a grimace, and he scaled the Ancient Stump, fur raising along with his voice. "Silence! Magpiewing, Mockingbird, come forward."

The cats that had corralled Magpiewing in reluctantly parted, allowing the bleeding tom to approach the ancient stump. Mockingbird left her brood in the care of Owlstrike and Yewfang, the queen stepping forward with a hauntingly cold look in her eyes. Her anger and her heartbreak seemed authentic- and so too did the malicious amusement on Magpiewing.

"Speak." He looked at Mockingbird first.

"My daughter is dead, Lionstar, and the murderer responsible is the one who dared call himself her father." The look she gave was one of challenge, daring him to exercise his authority. It waa clear to him now more than ever, just exactly where Ravenstorm had gotten her sharpness. Her ferocity.

"Lionstar, may I speak?" The pale coated shape of Sprucefur slipped through the crowd, the deep scar over his eye still looking raw, though the branch trail battle had been a half-moon ago. "I was standing next to Gorsetail when..." The tom's ear twitched. There wasn't a singular word for what had transpired. "When all of this happened."

"Proceed," said Lionstar, tail twitching in irritation over the entire situation. A dead Clanmate, another betrayal of character that had cost someone their life. Why did TreeClan have a history of breeding such deceit?

A soft growl ushered from Mockingbird, but she held her tongue. Her claws were unsheathed, eyes narrowed to eerie golden slits but she stayed put; it was unclear who her target was, to Lionstar. It should be Magpiewing - but the way she looked at Sprucefur made it clear her temperament was... volitile at the moment.

"I saw Magpiewing whispering to Hemlockpaw. That's just before Hemlockpaw brought Gorsetail the poisoned mouse." Sprucefur glanced at Mockingbird, as if sensing the danger she posed moreso than her ex-mate. Mockingbird's pelt began to lie flat.

"Then Ravenstorm got in the way. She said something to Hemlockpaw and then took a bite out of the mouse. She might have saved Gorsetail's life, willingly or not."

Lionstar sucked in a breath, letting it out in a slow, condemning hiss. "Magpiewing." He addressed the accused cat, finding the cuts and wounds already inflicted on the tom to be a weak punishment for his actions. "You have made yourself an enemy of this Clan and an enemy of your own family, through the attempted murder of Gorsetail. That you would use your own son to try to poison my deputy is beyond forgiveable. It grieves me that Ravenstorm lost her life in this twisted little charade of yours."

Should he allow Magpiewing a chance to explain himself? No. There was no mistake. The mouse was poisoned, and the target had been Gorsetail. There was no excuse the slimy tom could provide that would ever justify this.

Lionstar's claws gripped the bark of the Ancient Stump. "I exile you from TreeClan for your crimes. You will be forbidden to set foot on TreeClan territory, and any warrior that catches you trespassing shall treat you as the rogue that you are. Be grateful I am not making you finish the half-eaten game you started."

As much as he wanted to see Magpiewing choke down the rest of the poisoned mouse - which still lay beside the body of his daughter - integrity ruled out. Feeling wary and alive with a restless, displeased energy, Lionstar called to his warriors. "Timberfrost, Pumafang, escort this traitor to the mountains. Zephyrfang, Foxfire, dispose of the mouse. Make sure its buried somewhere no Clan cat will find it. Falconstorm, please see to Ravenstorm's body."

What a mess, thought the golden tom, his gaze never leaving Magpiewing as the black and white warrior was escorted from camp. And yet why am I not surprised?

I've been building up all these kingdoms for so long
It's good to be king

96 Moons || TreeClan || 787 Words || Tags

@zen @jet Justice Phoenix Abyss Taxx

[Deleted]

BELIEVE IN STRENGTH

Pumafang

TreeClan erupted into a sea of insults, inquiries, and intrigue after Ravenstorm lay still. Her writhing calmed, leaving her eyes cold and dead. Hemlockpaw was wordlessly staring. Wordlessly. Everyone saw it, how the she-cat intercepted her brother, though only those close enough to the siblings could hear what she had said. Ravenstorm had announced that it was poisoned, and upon the confused eyes that met her, succumbed to the effects of Magpiewing and Hemlockpaw's deceptions.

How interesting. Pumafang thought, watching as the scene played out. Lionstar had handled it like he would have expected: virtuously. TreeClan's leader had managed the situation with the support of many moons under his belt, though Pumafang wondered how many cats like Magpiewing and Hemlockpaw had actually been born into TreeClan before the black tom's time. He had heard tales of Grayowl, though no matter how hard he looked for the traitor beyond the border, the rogue had never appeared.

Part of Pumafang thought that they were just stories, and that the evil tom never really did exist in the first place.

Though regardless of his doubts, he wanted nothing more in the world than to bring traitors their well-deserved justice. He craved to see the vagabond take just one step back onto TreeClan territory, just one step, so he could have an excuse to bring Lionstar his body. Perhaps Pumafang jumped to violence far too quickly, though it was how he was raised.

It was what he was trained to do.

When he heard his name, the chocolate black warrior pulled himself to his paws, grabbing the vole he hadn't even started eating and walking it over to one of the elders. He hadn't remembered her name, didn't really care, though the newfound light in the she-cat's eyes instilled enough energy in the warrior to hunt a thousand voles more.

Despite his rather unremarkable outlook on life, helping others was one of the few things things that grounded him in reality.

Along with pain, discomfort, and revenge.

Pumafang plodded over to Magpiewing with Timberfrost, and they wasted no time leaving camp.

The black warrior didn't want any traveling herbs, and he wasn't going to give the medicine cat even the slightest chance. Though his haste wasn't just to avoid Falconstorm: Magpiewing was exiled, and having him in TreeClan camp one second past the words that sentenced him to homelessness made Pumafang cringe internally. He was going to do everything within his power not to rip the tom to pieces, though he couldn't help feeling a little more volatile than normal, vengeance for the death of a cat he wasn't personally vested in making him seethe, like a volcano set to erupt.

He didn't know why he felt so strongly, though he knew one thing: Magpiewing was an exiled warrior, and he wasn't going to be protected and supported by TreeClan any longer.

Not today. He thought to himself as he squeezed out of camp with the tom and Timberfrost. The thought that his quisling, Hemlockpaw, was still harbored in the safety of TreeClan made Pumafang snort softly. Not ever.

TREECLAN | WARRIOR | 27 MOONS

Word Count: 527
Tags: Fawn @zen
Notes: xxx

[Abyss]

The day before the Gathering. You wouldn't think that anything major would happen so close to the time when the five clans would be meeting. Then again, there had recently been a lot of Treeclan drama. This was just a bit much.

Treeclan was just going about its normal day. Some cats were out and about, some were out on patrol, some were still recovering from the Nightclan incident. At the moment, Leopardpaw, his sister Acornpaw, and their mother Robinflight were laying near the Warrior's den, having a quiet family conversation. Foxfire had just returned from a solo-hunting patrol of her own, dropping a single mouse in the fresh-kill pile. It was as she did this that there was commotion suddenly. A scream echoed through the camp, causing Leopardpaw and his family, as well as Foxfire, to turn their heads quickly. They each turned just in time to see Ravenstorm collapse in front of her brother Hemlockpaw, violently convulsing and foaming at the mouth. The little family off to the side all stood, but Robinflight ordered Leopard and Acorn to stay where they were while she trotted forward. Foxfire also ran forward. There was hardly any time for reaction before Ravenstorm was dead, Hemlockpaw standing in front of her and a mouse at his paws. The whole clan was now in camp, looking over the scene. Foxfire watched as Mockingbird attacked Magpiewing, looking as though she wanted to kill him right then and there. What exactly was going on, Fox, Leopard, Acorn, and Robin didn't know. But when Lionstar was called, each of them listened intently. When the situation was explained, everyone was either terrified, furious, or quiet.

Leopardpaw and Acornpaw still stood near the Warriors den, looking onward with very concerned and worried expressions. Robinflight found herself heading back to her own kits, grooming the two that were currently in camp aggressively. It was then that Lionstar gave the orders. Timberfrost and Pumafang were to escort the now exiled Magpiewing out of the territory. It was also then that Zephyrfang and Foxfire herself were ordered to dispose of the mouse. The deep red she-cat nodded, padding forward towards where the mouse was located. As she neared it, she also knew that Hemlock paw remained where he was, the mouse at his paws. As she neared, there was a very clear look in her eyes as those pure amber eyes remained locked on Hemlock rather than the mouse.

'You are not innocent either.'

Even as she bent down to grab the tail of the poisoned mouse with her jaws, her eyes remained on him, narrowed and had the same expression in them. She even let out a low and quiet growl towards the young male before picking up the mouse, allowing the place where Ravenstorm, Hemlockpaw's own sister, had taken the bite of the mouse to hang in front of his face for a moment. She then turned, exchanging a look with Zephyrfang before padding towards the entrance of the camp.

Words: 501 | @zen Fawn @jet | Notes: If I left out someone tag wise let me know.
Made by Abyss

[Taxx]

Adderpaw

"I see things no one else sees."

She'd watched. That was what she was best at, after all, and there were so many opportunities to sit in some dark corner and watch the lives of the rest of the cats play out, watching them interact- whether in a friendly way or not- drawing conclusions on what she saw and pondering the parts that weren't so easily figured out. It was endlessly entertaining, and there was seldom a time when she wasn't intrigued by some cat.

And she had seen everything that had happened, while everyone else had been oblivious. She had seen Magpiewing talking to Hemlockpaw, saw him nudge the mouse toward his son, tracked Hemlockpaw across the camp to Gorsetail- saw Ravenstorm intercept her brother, snatch the mouse from him, take a bite of it. She hadn't understood exactly what Hemlockpaw had been doing until Ravenstorm collapsed, frothing at the mouth, wracked with tremors; Adderpaw had half-risen, eyes fixed first on her older sister before flicking to her gray-pelted brother, watching the focused stare as the poison all too quickly claimed Ravenstorm's life.

She didn't call for help for the black she-cat. There was no need to, really. Others had noticed, and they were suddenly milling like ants when their nest had been stepped on. Panic descended all too quickly and Hemlockpaw, still standing near Ravenstorm, was blocked from her view. Mindless, all of them. Foolish cats. She was caught off guard, however, when Mockingbird suddenly hurled herself on Magpiewing, and the young she-cat's eyes widened at the sight of her mother and father fighting- at the very obvious blood staining her father's pelt.

Lionstar spoke up then, got them all under control again, demanding an explanation- and a slow sinking in her gut came when Mockingbird publicly accused Magpiewing of the act- an accusation bolstered by Sprucefur, who admitted to seeing Magpiewing talking to Hemlockpaw before the apprentice had carried the mouse over to Gorsetail. Slowly padding through the crowd, ignoring the brief glances at her, Adderpaw made her way toward her brother, still sitting close to the dead she-cat. Not their sister, not anymore. A dead cat, whose spirit had left for StarClan.

She sat next to Hemlockpaw, ignoring Yewfang and Owlstrike; leaning her shoulder into her brother's, she offered silent companionship. She said nothing, merely observed. And the bad feeling only got worse when Lionstar announced his judgement- exile.

He was going to go away. She was losing him- losing the only like-minded cat in the whole Clan. Would she ever see him again? She didn't know- and yet what could she say, or do, to make him stay? Against the word of the Clan's leader, which according to the code was law, she could do nothing. The two cats named to escort Magpiewing away stepped to his side, and Adderpaw shifted, her tail flicking once in a second of panic, the need to say something...

She crushed it. She would not beg him to stay like a little kit. He was going to go and she couldn't stop it. Then, momentarily, her attention was sidetracked by Firefox as she came to pick up the poisoned mouse- the ginger she-cat's gaze lingered on Hemlockpaw, the missing chunk of meat with the crushed yew berries mute evidence of the means behind Ravenstorm's death dangling in his face. There had been little hope for the black warrior from the moment she had taken that bite. How disappointing- Magpiewing had claimed she had had so much promise- that even he had trouble sometimes knowing what went on in her head.

Like now. Why had she done it?

Disdain for the foolhardy act of eating the poisoned mouse clouded Adderpaw's eyes as she glanced down at the cooling form lying close by. It had been her choice- but what a waste. "It wasn't your fault." Adderpaw spoke for the first time, casting a glare after Foxfire and then swiping her tongue over her brother's ear. "Don't blame yourself."

Rising then, she took a few steps forward, shaking off Yewfang's attempt to halt her and raising her voice. She didn't care who heard- didn't care what they thought. She wasn't letting her father leave without saying something- who knew if she'd ever have another chance to talk to him? "Safe travels, Magpiewing. I'll never forget the time we spent together."

She turned back to her brother then, sitting down once more at his side, and turned a fixed, unblinking gaze toward Lionstar.

@zen Fawn || Notes

[Deleted]

Maplebrook 

---

The silvery grey tabby was just returning to camp with the limp form of a bird hanging delicately from her jaws when she heard a scream, a cry of distress from a semi-familiar source...Mockingbird?? It was not the yelling that surprised her, it was the words themselves. " You, You killed my daughter, tell them, you fox-hearted traitor" she had screeched at him, eyes looking wild and frantic as she rounded on her own mate of many moons to accuse him of murder. Maplebrook pushed her way to the front of the crowd of ever-growing cats to see what the whole thing was about, a mouse lay at Hemlockpaw's paws and he sat staring at the still form of his older sister Ravenstorm whose rapidly cooling body stared unblinkingly ahead. The whispers had started: poison, Gorsetail, Magpiewing, Hemlockpaw, and Traitor were just a few that her keen auds picked up on. 

Maplebrook watched in silence as Lionstar gave his judgment towards the tom accused of murdering his own flesh and blood, exile. Relief washed through her and she found herself nodding in agreement. Exile was a lot nicer than the fate of Ravenstorm. Ever since losing her first and only litter, Maplebrook had grown resentful of death, so much so that she would not even wish it on her worst enemy. 

The emerald-eyed she-cat sat in silence as Lionstar ordered her clanmates to either escort Magpiewing from the territory or deal with the poisoned mouse, instructing Falconstorm to deal with the body and the silver she-cat stepped forward to help. "Ummm Falconstorm, May I help you carry her?" She questioned the medicine cat before attempting to lock gazes with Mockingbird. " I am sorry for your loss Mockingbird, May Starclan guide her" she spoke gently, peacefully and without any undertone of scorn that often accompanies her words towards the older and the admittedly strange she-cat.

" What killed her? I saw berries in the mouse  but I did not recognize them, what were they?" She whispered to Falconstorm with a tender expression. She had avoided the tom for so long after the death of her kits, not that she blamed him, his face just reminded her of the pain. He was a good cat, sworn to protect the clan, never to betray it, like she had.... although having an inter-clan relationship with a cat from Lightningclan was not as bad as murder. Her guilt ate her alive for so long and it took her to get over it. Somedays she stared into the eyes of her fellow clanmates and imagined what color eyes her own kits had and what they would be like as warrior apprentices but the thoughts were a rabbit hole, one that she could not fall into or risk never getting out. 

So she had focused on training her brain on more trivial matters and talking to other's to expand her social circle, she had earned the respect she had earned from some of her clanmates and while not everyone liked her, she had her support and that was all that mattered in the end. 

---

Tags:
@zen , @jet , Justice , Phoenix , Abyss , Taxx , Fawn.

[Deleted]

With nothing but amusement on his features, Magpiewing moved past the Clanmates that parted for him as Lionstar called him forward, a slight limp in his step as he came to stand a short distance away from his mate before the leader, gazing up expectantly.

“Oh Lionstar… as if I was ever a friend,” his bright yellow gaze glittered with delight, “How many more of your enemies hide in plain sight, I wonder?” He stared up at the leader, unfazed by the judgment Lionstar had given him. But let them doubt and suspect each other. Let them live in fear that this would happen again because he had not been working alone. Let them wonder. His whiskers twitched with amusement even as the cats Lionstar had called to take him away stepped forward to get him moving.

Hemlockpaw stood as if frozen in place as Lionstar announced his father’s fate. Words bubbled up, cries and pleas, but his jaws locked closed as his mother’s warning bounced around in his mind. Say nothing. Instead he emitted a low whimper, and then Adderpaw was at his side and he was pressing into her fur for comfort, “I’m sorry… I didn’t….”

Foxfire came to retrieve the mouse and leveled her accusation at him and his ears flattened against his head, his gaze on his paws. I know…. His sister’s reassurance did little to assuage his guilt. His father was exiled and his sister was dead and there was no denying his part in it. Would his mother hate him too? Maybe not… why wouldn’t she accuse him in front of the Clan too, if she was angry with him? He buried his face in his sister’s fur before she stood and took a few steps after their father as he was led away.

Magpiewing paused but briefly as he heard his daughter call out to him, so briefly most likely didn’t even notice the hitch in his step. He did not look at her, his expression did not change. Instead, his tail flicked once, the only acknowledgement he gave her that he had heard, and something the rest of the Clan would probably dismiss as a careless gesture than a last word to his daughter.

Safe within the confines of his mind, however, he was delighted by her public show. It would fit so nicely with his parting words to the Clan. Adderpaw was intelligent, so much like him, and he knew she was quite aware what she was doing. She wanted them to suspect her. She wanted them to fear she would follow in his pawsteps. She wanted them nervous and fearful and paranoid. And yet they could not be sure. She was his daughter after all. Was it not natural for a child to care about their parent, regardless of what they had done? It was all he could do not to laugh.

Nightsky stood near the camp entrance, his bright green eyes wide as Magpiewing and his escorts neared and he stepped aside for them. He did pause then, sneering at the son he had never claimed, “First your mother, then Bluejay, and now Ravenstorm. If I were you I might wonder if I was cursed. A good thing I rejected you and your worthless mother when you were born or I might be dead already as well.”

Nightsky’s eyes widened further, but Magpiewing was already walking away before his escort decided to get physical to keep him moving.

---

Fawn Taxx