Quote:
Originally Posted by Duskflight
@ Charmer
Dawn. He used to wake up before it, eager to get on with the day, but lately, he's felt nothing but fatigue, weariness about what would go on during the day. He was doing his best not to show this outwardly in front of his clanmates, but in his den, his shoulders sagged and a much older look touched his features. As if moons of uncertainty and fear rested on him, turning him into a weary elder unsure of even the most basic of decisions. And this dawn, he didn't bother to get up, instead, he was still quietly dozing in his nest. He would still go out for his daily walk, his daily hunt, and perhaps even join a border patrol, but not so early.
Be it a curse or a blessing, Grousestar has always been a light sleeper. While he didn't hear the other tom actually come in, his head did lift as soon as he heard the voice. His head spun for a second and his vision was blurry momentarily, but it would clear and in the darkness he could make out the silhouette and faint appearance of Shinefang, the smell of the medicine cat den clinging to the older toms pelt, also helping the leader to identify who was in his den at such an early, or late our, currently, he wasn't sure. A soft grunt of dismissal would escape him when the apology was given, the brown tabby shifting around to sit up slightly in his nest. And he would remain quiet as the medicine cat brought up his troubled appearance the other day, the softest of sighs escaping him. If he noticed it then surely others of the clan have as well. He thought bleakly.
Slowly, still without saying a word, he would lay back down. He's a trustworthy cat, surely enough. Even if he did something I wish he hadn't.. Now isn't the time for a lecture though is it? He deserves at least to know what's going on. If I don't trust my medicine cat, or my deputy, then who would I trust at all?
" What I'm about to tell you needs to be kept absolutely quiet. You will not say a word about this to any other cat, not Ringpaw, not anyone." The tone of his voice was stern and hard, a tone he didn't like to adopt often, but this deserved it. He needed Shinefang to know this was serious, and if word were to get out about the formed alliance... There would surely be war. War that they did not need at the moment. They had an advantage that needed to stay quiet.
" Under secrecy, I have formed an alliance with Windclan. We will help them when the time comes. I have neglected to tell the clan because I don't wish for anyone to speak about it and accidentally let the other clans know about this secret alliance. It will only bubble into war prematurely. War is sure to happen eventually, and Skyclan would have needed to choose a side eventually as well. So I decided to choose now, and I decided to make this to our advantage. No one will expect it, and hopefully it will lead to less casualties on our end." This was said much more quietly, the leader settling his head into his paws.
" I know what you did to Fallenstar at the gathering Shinefang." Grousestar's emerald eyes looked up at the older tom. " I will not punish you, as he did deserve it. But just know that I'm disappointed with your lack of restraint. That action right there could have started something before it needed to be started." |
Shinefang listened gravely to the leader, the words hanging between the two of them like a scent. So this was the news that had been weighing on the usually merry but suave young tom. It was indeed a heavy burden to carry, and carrying it had left a mark on the tabby tom. Maybe it was the like, of the way his voice flowed cold like an icy stream as he said without any room for misunderstanding that this news must stay between them, but he thought he could see lines of wisdom etched in Grousestar's muzzle that hadn't been there before.
The medicine cat nodded, solemn and sincere. "Ringpaw doesn't need to concern herself with clan politics anyway. I swear to you, I won't say a word to any cat."
Sure enough, Grousestar was aware of what had happened between himself and the leader of Riverclan. Hearing that he would not be punished was a minor relief but the burning coals of his rage for Fallenstar's, for Riverclan's utter lack of care for its medicine cats still smoldered in his gut. He lowered his head. "I wish I could tell you that I was sorry for it...the truth is, I'm only sorry that my actions could have endangered my clan. Even so, I take responsibility for my actions. It was foolish and it was against the warrior code, and it won't happen again." Shinefang silently looked at the ground. He meant everything he said, but privately, he hoped that if Starclan was apt to show him more favor than they had in the past that they would punish the fish brained leader and his clan for the wrongs they'd done... for what they didn't do for Juniperpaw.
Lifting his head and keeping his voice low, Shinefang addressed his leader again. "You don't have to explain yourself to me... but why align with Blazingstar? He is reckless. He endangered his clan by attacking in leafbare when herbs and prey were so scarce that he himself admitted that his clan had gone hungry. He cost his own clan and Thunderclan lives that might have been spared by attacking when both clans were most ill-prepared. Not to mention dragging Shadowclan and Riverclan into a fight that wasn't theirs to start with and causing even more deaths. I'm not saying they were wrong to retaliate when Thunderclan stole their prey, but I'd say his actions agree with me when I say that Blazingstar has not led wisely thus far. Why him?"