[Raggedclaw]

Originally Posted by Nettleclaw

The cats turn their heads to one another, contemplating Hawkface's suicidal invitation. "By all means," Crowspot unwelcomingly adds, "If you still believe in the old ways, come on then. It'll save us from having to pick you out ourselves when your time comes."

...No one comes forward. As if in a trance, Spottedpaw takes a kittenstep towards the group, but she snaps out of it when Mothpaw suddenly yowls out, "Mom! Mom, where are you?!"

It suddendly occurs to Stormbreeze that there would be no way Mothpaw's mother would stand for this, much less leave him to die. He scans the crowd, expecting her to be pushing her way through to them by now. "Clifftail?" he calls out and ends up catching Crowspot's attention.

"Feh!" Crowspot spits, then addresses the clan, "Keep them surrounded, we follow the river all the way to it's source." He stands and stares down Mothpaw with a hiss, "She's made her decision. Now move!"

Mothpaw silences himself. He didnt want to believe it, but it really was him and Clifftail fighting last night. He didnt want to think about what he couldve meant. If anything, he was proud of the damage she dealt to Crowspot, though suprised he wasnt limping from how bad his hindleg looked.

Some of the cats stay behind, which means the rest surrounding and forcing them along truly has thier devotion misplaced. Stormbreeze still seeks the opportunity to escape, but though he doesnt hold that much faith with Hawkface's mews, he finds it best to just go quietly as he said.

Hawkface walked with his head and tail held high, showing in every inch of his pelt the confidence he had. Softtail stuck close to Stormbreeze, limping along. She gave a quiet whimper and nuzzled Stormbreeze to calm her fear.