[Justice]

He was waiting, hiding in the shadows that gave him his name. He'd been watching the comings and goings of LightningClan since his run in with Brightpool during Newleaf. She'd told him his sister was alive, and he'd seen her several times with an escort. She seemed well and had put on sufficent weight that he felt better about how long it had been. But still, it was unacceptable that he couldn't come and see her whenever he wanted. It was worse that Brightpool was essentially a kit stealer. He didn't want to fight with her, but she was intent on keeping him from his sister. It was unbarable, and the nightmares he'd been having since then were pretty bad. But it would soon be worth it. He'd see her, he'd talk to her, she'd come back with him. He'd teach her what she needed to survive, and life would resume the way it was supposed to be.

It was just after dark, the heat of the day slowly seeping out as the fireflies began darting about in the field that this clan's couples seemed to frequent. It was good for hunting, and his frame had filled back out with the bounty he'd found there. Nevermind having to avoid the clancats and their patrols. They hadn't caught him yet, they weren't fast enough or smart enough to keep up with his thought process.

Finally he saw a cat coming from the direction of the Clan's camp, a large red furred tom that seemed distracted. Better yet, he was alone. Taking this as his chance the loner tom crept further into the shadows and tracked after the larger male.

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[NPC]Russetfall[NPC]

His thoughts were miles away. On the things that had happened and the steadily lessening time he had with his mate. He felt as though she were pulling further and further away, beyond his reach. He was too frustrated with the entire situation, so he'd left camp alone to clear his head. He wasn't so old that he couldn't defend himself, and perhaps a little moment by himself would help him figure out this situation.

He was so distracted that he didn't see the other tom until he was on top of him. Using a tactic he himself preferred, he'd leapt straight on top of him. He got flattened. But, before he could react, before he could feel anything, the tom was off his back, looking smug but not hostile.

A loner. "What do you want?"

He was gone for hours, hearing out the loner tom that insisted that one of the cats of his clan, Brightpool, had stolen a kit from him. Had taken her from the nest he'd left her in and refused to return her. He didn't believe him, but he had to bring the news to Firestar. She would have to hear this, and the loner wanted to either see her or be allowed into camp. Camp was out of the question, but he could at least bring word to his mate.

Russetfall went straight for their den, popping his head in and hoping she wasn't asleep. StarClan knew she needed her rest. "Firestar?" He butted his head against hers, gently prodding her.

OOC : There we go, feel free to say that he told her that Shadow wanted to see her, so we can move this along.

Hellion

[Hellion]

i'm headed straight for the castle

THEY WANNA MAKE ME THEIR QUEEN

The greenleaf day bad been almost painfully hot. She had to keep reminding queens and elders to get enough water. She even enlisted a few warriors to help with the task, the apprentices busy with tending to their own duties. No one complained, understanding how important it was that those stuck in camp got enough water. Firestar over saw their work as she took frequent trips back and forth from camp to check the water supply. It was always a threat, their water source drying up. It worried Firestar to the point she was constantly checking the supply.

Finally, with the heat of the behind them, Firestar found it a decent time to curl up in her nest for some sleep. Her paws hot and tender from walking all day or checking up on various at-risk members. She climbed up toward her den but paused. The scent of Russetfall was weak, the tom wasn't already inside. Confused where her mate was, Firestar turned in time to see him depart out of camp. His name was on her tongue but she held back. He seemed to be in a mood.

One benefit of having been mates for so long was how easy it was for her to read his body language. He'd come to her when he wanted to talk, she'd have to trust their relationship. Looking back at her den the she-cat entered and curled up in her nest. Fallin asleep was difficult, having preferred the company of her mate in the time of high stress, but she had to settle for sleep without him it seemed.

Firestar had just started to enter a deepr sleep when her name pulled her away from it. His head brushed against her own and Firestar opened her eyes before smiling up at him. "Hey, are you okay? Is there something wrong?" Firestar asked her voice soft and still somewhat drowsy. It would take her a moment to fully wake, but she was able to hear and process what he had to say.

FIRESTAR

background image | castle | table by phoenix

Justice

[Justice]

[NPC]Russetfall[NPC]

"He doesn't seem hostile, and he believes what he says. I thought you would be the best one to deal with him." He gave her a slow smile, head dipping slightly. "Or I could send a patrol after the riff-raff and be done with it." He was trying so hard to be what she needed, but even with this incident the separation between them had begun to take its toll. They'd raised kits together, had apprentices and watched as cats grew into fine warriors, had weathered all the pains and hardships together that came with her being the leader. But she never had time for him, and that hurt.

Still, once she was up he showed her where he'd left the loner, walking along at an easy pace from many moons at her side. He was longer limbed, and she was small, but he never outpaced her. When they reached the waiting black and white tom Russetfall's fur fluffed up a little in agitation before he let it go. This wasn't supposed to be a fight.

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Shadow

He had let the tom go, told him what he needed to say and believed it when he was promised that he would return with the leader. He hadn't done the other tom harm, that would have been counter productive to actually seeing the leader cat. He might not have believed in their rules or their StarClan, but he did understand the heirarchy well enough.

Once he saw them he came out of his hiding spot, appearing out of the shadows once he saw them close enough. "So you're Firestar." He sat down, remaining neutral in his posture and body language.

"My name is Shadow. I appreciate you coming to see me, and my apologies for how late it is." He could be diplomatic, could be polite, but he usually chose not to be. "I wanted to speak with you. During Leafbare one of your warriors found my sister and took her from the nest I'd left her in. Yes, I acknowledge that the nest caved in with snow, so I'm not mad about that. I just want her back. I'm a loner, so there's no way I can simply come and see her when I want. Your cat here made that perfectly clear."

The large ginger tom had been adamant that loners couldn't come to camp if they weren't attempting to join, but that it would be up to Firestar what happened in this situation.

"Lark is my sister. She's a brown and tawny colored she-cat with brown eyes. Long fur, white marks on her paws and chin. The warrior Brightpool took her. I want her back." See, he could be reasonable. He'd even made sure to make it very clear who he was talking about. "She'll confirm that we're kin." Though they looked nothing alike.

Hellion

[Hellion]

i'm headed straight for the castle

THEY WANNA MAKE ME THEIR QUEEN

Firestar took into consideration everything that Russetfall had to say. It wasn't going to be easy to deal with a loner that made such a claim. However, she remained grateful that Russetfall had chosen to get her. In truth she wouldn't have minded if Russetfall had chased the loner away but this way was more diplomatic. Less useless bloodshed.

Heading out of the camp with her mate at her side, Firestar let their shoulder brush together. It was a small gesture but steal meaningful. She wanted to remind him that while she couldn't spend every waking moment with him, she loved and admired him.

At the arrival to where the loner was, Firestar sensed Russetfall's agitation and had to force back her own. Her goal was peace talk, not fight.

The longer emerged from his hiding spot and sat. Firestar did the same with Russetfall sitting directly behind her. In the event the meeting turned hostile he'd be close enough to defend her, not that she couldn't defend herself.

Her ears flicked at the mention of his name, very fitting considering he had just come from the shadows. Firestar decided to remain silent at the tom-cat talked. He named Larkpaw as his sister and while believed him she wasn't about to send the young apprentice to live a loner life. Confident that the loner was done speaking, Firestar opened her mouth to reply.

"I remember the day that Larkpaw came to us. Brightpool said she was in a tunnel and freezing. The she-kit was near death and probably would have died if Brightpool hadn't taken her in and kept her warm," Firestar's words were straightforward and steady. Lacking any sympathy for the tom. Even if he was Larkpaw's sibling he made a mistake something the mother of two couldn't ignore.

" However, I will not deny Larkpaw the freedom to see her brother. I will ask the she-kit tomorrow if she wishes to stay in LighitngClan with us or leave and go back to being a loner," Firestar added before rising up to her paws. It wasn't an aggressive move but a way for Firestar to look at him head on. Making it clear he understood what she was going to say next.

"If Larkpaw decides to leave LightingClan and rejoin you. I will not hesitate to have my warriors drive both of you far away from LightingClan, even if it means they chasing you to the mountains." Firestar was serious with her words, the short stub of her tail flicking back and forth to expel the bubbling sense of frustration.

"Lastly you will never speak of or talk to Brightpool again. Her name shall never grace your tongue. You should be grateful that she saved Larkpaw. A kit you left in the snow knowing that she could have died," Firstar added with a tone of disgust. She continued to stand before him, waiting for his replies or a threat. Regardless she was prepared to react to whatever he did. Either with words or teeth.

FIRESTAR

background image | castle | table by phoenix

Justice

[Justice]

"No in-between." He snorted, fully expecting the haughty reply. She still thought so little of him because he was a loner. Did her precious StarClan not have something to say about it? Of course not. Their StarClan only cared about Clan cats, not those that made their lives by choice or circumstance, as a loner. That was one of the main reasons he had never believed in them.

But it was her words to his treatment of his sister that drew an angry hiss from his mouth, bringing the large tom to his paws as well as the loner's fur fluffed up in anger. "You dare to question how I was raising my sister?! You have no idea what it takes to survive out here. I made a mistake leaving her there, but I had no other choice. I can't hunt with a kit in my pawprints, it's not safe. There's no safe nursery guarded by loads of warriors and queens. It's the life we were born to, and it's either hunt or we both starved." He was angry, he was prepared to fight, and judging by the massive tom before the tiny she-cat that ruled this clan, so was he. "You have no right to judge how I live my life, how I raised my sister. She survived, and yet you make it sound like I don't care about her." His body shook, but the words kept coming, something old and hurting rushing to the surface.

"I dug in that blasted snow until my paws bled, blamed myself all leafbare and newleaf because I thought she'd died. I live for my sister! The tunnels were supposed to be safe! So you tell her about me, and either way we lose. Either I never see my sister again because your warriors chase me off, or we leave the area together because your stupid rules and your stupid code won't let us hunt close by! What choice is that for her? You don't know what life is like, and just because I choose not to be part of your "Clan" it means I'm just not worth the time." His words were choked, the sound somewhere between anger and despair. He didn't like thinking about it, thinking how much he'd screwed up. He'd nearly starved even without her, hadn't really wanted to go on. What did these Clan cats know about loyalty and the strength it took to survive?

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[NPC]Russetfall[NPC]

Russetfall had actually started at the outburst, though remained at guard. He started realizing just how young this tom was, and the way he spoke sounded more like a parent than a sibling. As a father, it pained him to know what this young tom had gone through, but as a warrior, he knew the rules were in place for a reason. Loners had no code but their own, couldn't be trusted. He hadn't reacted at all to Brightpool's name and the suggestion that he never see or mention her again. So their meeting was happenstance rather than intent.

"Firestar." He called her name softly, never taking his gaze from the loner. The tom was vibrating with rage and the nervous energy that many loners had, the fight or flight instinct stronger than some clan cats could speak to. He'd fought his entire life, and somehow Russetfall felt that it was all he knew how to do. Fight, protect, provide.

"Are we done here?" He asked his mate softly, head down and still ready to defend. What did she want to do now? They would already go home and talk to Larkpaw come morning, but was there any way to get out of this already bad situation. He didn't think the tom was lying, but rules were rules and those rules kept them safe.

Hellion
OOC : I hate you. *goes to adopt Russetfall*