RiverClan Leader's Den

[Dizerel]

Originally Posted by spade

If den walls could talk, the ones that surrounded Kestrelstar right now would be screaming. Agony ripped through the tom as he furiously dug in the corner of his den, sending dirt and soil flying out behind him. Claws were curved and hooked, and the leader ignored the snags that caused drops of scarlet to stain his fur. "Traitors, all of them," he gasped, sucking in air like a vacuum and trapping it in his puffed out chest. Dig. Dig. Dig. More dirt, the pile behind him growing.

So entranced by his current task, Kestrelstar failed to noticed the figure that stood in the entrance to his den. A friend, a close confidant, a cat he hadn't talked to in awhile. Finally, her voice got his attention, and like a startled bird Kestrelstar's head snapped up. Warning bells rang in his head as he turned, muscles tense and claws out. Ready to go on the offensive, the leader advanced forward, eyes wild. Until he realized who it was.

"Junipersong-" Air rushed from his lungs as it was evicted from his chest, his frame deflating as the realization that this wasn't an intruder. Adrenaline seeped out of him as the gray tabby turned, retreating back to his hole. Not quite done yet. Curving his paws once more the leader set to work before stopping again. That was rude. He was leader still, despite the shadows that plagued his mind. "What did you want to talk about?" It was robotic and forced, but at least it provided him a break. Turning, Kestrelstar looked at Junipersong again, studying her as if he was trying to crack a code.

She did sort of walk into the leader's den without being invited in first, but she was certain that Kestrelstar wouldn't mind too much. If he did, he could just tell her to keep it in mind for the next visit. Though, walking in immediately made her feel disoriented from the giant pile of dirt that was still growing, and the large hole. She hadn't been in the leaders den many times before but its obvious that this wasn't how it was supposed to look.

She flinched back a bit as he snapped his head towards her, his claws still extended. Even if he hadn't intended it, it looked fairly threatening. She started to feel uneasy now. Normally she would be hopping from paw to paw, but now it was more of a nervous shifting of weight back and forth, her tail betrayed the unease that she felt by hanging low towards the ground. Were those rumors really true? She shuddered to think so. This had to just be stress getting at him. And as unhealthy a coping mechanism as digging a hole in your abode was, she could also think of far worse coping mechanisms too.

"Ah I... See that you are renovating. I didn't want to intrude or interupt you or anything but I know that recent times have been... more than stressful, so I thought that if you had the time, we could just chat? Get some stuff off our chests, help each other through our problems." She tried to smile. Normally it was bright and natural, but for once, it looked a bit forced. She tried to phrase it as 'the both of them' mutually helping each other, since that was more appealing than just saying 'you have a problem and we should talk about it'. Hopefully through this strange and somewhat crazed exterior he had right now, there was still the same Kes she knew and loved underneath.

[WarriorzFan]

"Kestrelstar! Amazing work back there at the meeting! I really enjoyed it when you brutally murdered that traitor Quietclaw! I support your Decisions as clan leader and no one has the right to say anything, especially him. Oh right, he doesn't exist anymore...Anyway, how has the day been?" he asked with a Genuinely cheery smile on his face.
@spade

[spade]

Originally Posted by Angelique

⮩Petuniakit

The she-kit was back in this place. It had been a couple of days since she had been brought back to camp. She had let those shells and flowers sit for so long. It was about time she gave them to the leader. It was the main reason for sneaking out of camp in the first place. She wanted to help decorate his den for him.

Petuniakit sat her stuff down and looked around. Yep! Still boring! She looked over at his nest to see Kestrelstar himself. Half of her thought he wouldn't be in here just like last time. "Hey I brought you some den decorations. You know to make this place less boring.", meowed Petuniakit.

Plus she had heard what happened at the meeting. Hopefully, she could try and cheer him up. Petuniakit hated to see cats upset. Maybe a break would do the leader some help. Or not. She was just a kit and didn't quite understand.

// @spade; \\

Voices. From the outside world. Stirring in his nest, Kestrelstar took a beat before he lifted his head, sleep still dancing in his yellow eyes. For once, it had been just that - sleep. No mysterious dreams or training in the Dark Forest with Blossomclaw. Just a nice, peaceful abyss that the leader had gratefully handed himself over to. He could feel strength ebbing back into his muscles, the flow of the lives given to him during his leader ceremony expanding.

It still didn't mean he appreciated kits in his den, but at this moment Kestrelstar was too disoriented to really see who it was.

"My den is not boring," the tom grumbled, slowly positioning himself up into a seated position. It was just a simple den, all that was needed was a nest for him to sleep in. That was it, really. Shifting so that he was more so facing the young hairball in his den, Kestrelstar couldn't bring himself to fight with them escaping the nursery anymore. Let them come in, bringing their shells and rocks and dirty paws into his den. "Set them wherever," Kestrelstar muttered with a wave of his tail, starting to groom patches of his fur.

Originally Posted by Stardust~

@spade
[Sorry that these are short!]
---
Mistypaw shook her head. "No, that doesn't sound like any cat would be okay," she meowed. Ugh. She'd just stated the obvious, something that she hated when other cats did it. Now, she had done it herself, and had to find a way around it.

"But I'm pretty sure a lot of cats in the clan like and support you. I bet Stormtalon does, too!" Mistypaw meowed, remembering Kestrelstar's words about her mentor. "I hope I can learn all I can from him." she added, with a small smile as she thought of her mentor. He was really great.
---
Rainyynight backed away. "Oh, okay...," he meowed with slight fear in his voice.

A sigh slipped past his lips as Mistypaw brought up that perhaps not everyone in the Clan hated him. And well... she was right, to an extent. The tom wasn't dumb. He knew that quite a bit of those that still followed him or supported him only did so out of fear. But how else was he suppose to lead? How else was he supposed to make ThunderClan pay? If he wasn't perpetuating the deaths of their Clanmates, who would act? Who would hold ThunderClan responsible?

He had to keep going for the sake of keeping their memory alive. Firehkaw. Fawnsqueak. Lionstorm. Peonypaw. Petuniaflame. They weren't just nameless facesless warriors. They were RiverClan.

With a bit of a delated look, Kestrelstar watched as Mistypaw spoke once more of Stormtalon. He was glad that the young apprentice was going to be learning from someone like the noble warrior. "You will. And one day, when your Clan needs you as a warrior, you'll step forward with all the training you're going to need."

- - -

Good. Fear was what Kestrelstar wanted to see. Fear led to cats following orders, which is what a majority of RiverClan needed to do if they were to overcome the threat of ThunderClan that loomed in the distance. "You disgust me," the leader snarled, scrapping the bottom of his den with unsheathed claws. Anger raged under his pelt but the tom forced it to remain flat, claws sliding back in. "Now get out of my sight unless you've got something useful to report."

Originally Posted by Riverfly

"Kestrelstar?" Ivywing called out at the entrance of the leaders den. She was so exited to tell Kestrelstar the news of Willowvine's kits! @spade

It was a much more calm day for Kestrelstar, and for once the leader was just sitting calmly in his den. The hole near the wall that he had started on soon after the meeting sat unfinished, the pile of soil and dirt still next to it. Truth be told, the tabby wasn't exactly sure what he was building, just that the project provided him with a distraction when it was needed most.

Lifting his head at the sound of foot steps near his den, Kestrelstar frowned. Despite being in a rather "peaceful" mindset today, he still didn't appreciate cats just seeking him out unless they had information to report. "What is it, Ivywing?" he asked, trying to conceal the annoyance in his tone.

Originally Posted by shaded shadow

kestrelstar said rainingpaw i have something inportant to tell you i was out hunting near the thunderclan border and heard and saw willowsong giving informating about riverclan to a thunderclan warrior she said.
@spade

So many cats coming in and out of his den, Kestrelstar wanted to claw his own fur out. His yellow eyes blazed with discomfort in being this social, yet what could he do about it? Nothing, that's what. He was leader. Leader. Not just another Clanmate. He needed to be there for those he led - regardless of what they brought forth to him. But with the scowl that was planted firmly in place, Kestrelstar was beginning to reconsider this part of the job.

That was, until Rainingpaw made his way into the den, mouth already moving. So, the warrior who had been immature in leaving, calling him a kit... He wasn't surprised, to be honest. If anything, it made his lcaws flex in anticipation. Another name added to the list of those he was reconsidering having in RiverClan. "I have strictly forbid apprentices at the border," the leader began with a snap, "...but it appears your disobediance had brought forth some truth about your traitorous Clanmates."

Oh, Willowsong. He hadn't much trouble with this warrior until her rude intrusion into his den with random conspiracy theories and now... this. "I will handle this. Did you hear what was said?" Yellow eyes peered inquisitively down at the apprentice, trying to pry as much information as he could from her.

Originally Posted by Dizerel

She did sort of walk into the leader's den without being invited in first, but she was certain that Kestrelstar wouldn't mind too much. If he did, he could just tell her to keep it in mind for the next visit. Though, walking in immediately made her feel disoriented from the giant pile of dirt that was still growing, and the large hole. She hadn't been in the leaders den many times before but its obvious that this wasn't how it was supposed to look.

She flinched back a bit as he snapped his head towards her, his claws still extended. Even if he hadn't intended it, it looked fairly threatening. She started to feel uneasy now. Normally she would be hopping from paw to paw, but now it was more of a nervous shifting of weight back and forth, her tail betrayed the unease that she felt by hanging low towards the ground. Were those rumors really true? She shuddered to think so. This had to just be stress getting at him. And as unhealthy a coping mechanism as digging a hole in your abode was, she could also think of far worse coping mechanisms too.

"Ah I... See that you are renovating. I didn't want to intrude or interupt you or anything but I know that recent times have been... more than stressful, so I thought that if you had the time, we could just chat? Get some stuff off our chests, help each other through our problems." She tried to smile. Normally it was bright and natural, but for once, it looked a bit forced. She tried to phrase it as 'the both of them' mutually helping each other, since that was more appealing than just saying 'you have a problem and we should talk about it'. Hopefully through this strange and somewhat crazed exterior he had right now, there was still the same Kes she knew and loved underneath.

Renovating. Was that what he was doing? Kestrelstar didn't really have a name for it; all he knew was that it took his mind off of things. A distraction. One that kept his claws busy and not itching to tear into the fur of every traitor in RiverClan with even a hint of ties with ThunderClan. He felt as though he was teetering on a precarious precipice, one that kept him from killing more cats than just Quietclaw. The whispers that sliced through his mind, egging him on... it was hard to resist them when he wasn't occupying his claws with other tedious tasks.

"Reno... what?" It still took a moment for the leader to grasp, but regardless, he gave a shake of his head. "It's the same den it's always been. It's Lionstorm's den, and then it was Sootstar's, and now the honor is passed on to me. How grand." His tone did not, in fact, make it seem as though it was grand in any sense of the world. Kestrelstar instead scoffed at the mere notion and took a seat, tail tip twitching on the ground beside him.

"A chat you want, is it? Well then, let us chat."

Scooting closer to Junipersong, so much so that he was a mere whisker length away from her, Kestrelstar stared at her with slightly wide yellow eyes. "Do you want to talk about the way ThunderClan had been slaughtering us like sitting ducks? Or perhaps the fact that everyone in this Clan would line up to rip out each of my remaining lives?? Or - and here's the best topic of all! - would you like to discuss why there are those that still defend those fox-hearted traitors?" His voice was raised by now, eyes wide and ablaze. "You wanted to talk, let's talk!"

Originally Posted by WarriorzFan

"Kestrelstar! Amazing work back there at the meeting! I really enjoyed it when you brutally murdered that traitor Quietclaw! I support your Decisions as clan leader and no one has the right to say anything, especially him. Oh right, he doesn't exist anymore...Anyway, how has the day been?" he asked with a Genuinely cheery smile on his face.
@spade

Did these idiots not understand that he wanted to be left alone? Prancing into his den without a care in the world, and usually for stupid, meaningless discussions. From where he sat hunched near his hole, Kestrelstar lifted his head, the bags evident under his yellow eyes from lack of sleep. Gleaming in the dim lighting of his den and now fixated on the loud mouth standing at the entrance. He was blabbering something about his tactics when it came to Quietclaw, and the leader growled a bit.

"What the hell do you want, Pikefluff?" the leader snapped, irritation sending the fur on the back of his neck up. All this squabbling and loudness was causing him to flatten his ears back against his head as he pushed himself to his paws. As much as he wished they could just take him back to his nest, instead they turned and directed him towards the warrior now in his den.

Heaving an irritated sigh, Kestrelstar looked up to meet the tom's gaze. "How was my day... you came into my den to ask me how my day was?" Voice and tone both dripped with frustration as his yellow eyes narrowed. Stars, was his Clan really this idiotic? Kestrelstar had half a mind to send him right back out of the entrance with a claw swipe down the front of his face - a gift for coming into his den without permission.

[Madelaine]

Petuniakit nodded. She understood he was having a bad time and she didn't want to make it worst, so she was going to place them down and leave. Maybe one day she could try and be just like Petuniaflame. She so badly wanted to be. She was amazing and she had heard how god of a sister she was to her father.

The kit placed her things around his den. There it looked nicer. She glanced at him, seeing him in his bad state. She felt a bit sorry for him. When she was an apprentice and learned how to fight she was going to avenge her aunts death. Thunderclan will pay. She padded over to the entrance, but then stopped.

"Before I leave I want you to know that I agree with you 100%. Your a great leader. Thunderclan will pay for what they did.", meowed Petuniakit. She knew she had been trouble, but she really wanted to change. "Thanks for everything you do and I hope one day I'll be able to fight alongside you.", she finished.

// @spade; \\

[Dizerel]

Originally Posted by spade

[INDENT]

Renovating. Was that what he was doing? Kestrelstar didn't really have a name for it; all he knew was that it took his mind off of things. A distraction. One that kept his claws busy and not itching to tear into the fur of every traitor in RiverClan with even a hint of ties with ThunderClan. He felt as though he was teetering on a precarious precipice, one that kept him from killing more cats than just Quietclaw. The whispers that sliced through his mind, egging him on... it was hard to resist them when he wasn't occupying his claws with other tedious tasks.

"Reno... what?" It still took a moment for the leader to grasp, but regardless, he gave a shake of his head. "It's the same den it's always been. It's Lionstorm's den, and then it was Sootstar's, and now the honor is passed on to me. How grand." His tone did not, in fact, make it seem as though it was grand in any sense of the world. Kestrelstar instead scoffed at the mere notion and took a seat, tail tip twitching on the ground beside him.

"A chat you want, is it? Well then, let us chat."

Scooting closer to Junipersong, so much so that he was a mere whisker length away from her, Kestrelstar stared at her with slightly wide yellow eyes. "Do you want to talk about the way ThunderClan had been slaughtering us like sitting ducks? Or perhaps the fact that everyone in this Clan would line up to rip out each of my remaining lives?? Or - and here's the best topic of all! - would you like to discuss why there are those that still defend those fox-hearted traitors?" His voice was raised by now, eyes wide and ablaze. "You wanted to talk, let's talk!"

She was beginning to get really worried right now. It was clear that he was starting to lose his grip on reality. All the stress was building up and he couldn't handle it. Was this her own fault? It had been a while since she last checked in on him. Maybe she was a horrible friend. Maybe if she had just been more attentive and careful, all of this could have been prevented.

Junipersong usually looked very confident. And while her happy smile could waver from time to time, this was the first time Kes would have ever seen her look scared for her own safety. Her deep voice faltering. "R-right. You're right. I uhh.... I like it. You are deserving of such a.... prestigious den." Practically cowering as he inched closer to her.

She winced at his mentioning of Thunderclan. She still had firm beliefs that peace was an option, but even suggesting it she felt like he would slit her throat on the spot. "P-p-please Kestrelstar. I d-dont want any h-harm to befall to you. I j-just.... I wanted to talk... As f-friends. No worrying ab-bout the outside world" She looked like she was on the verge of breaking down. Eyes wide. Conflicted feelings that have never clashed so heavily before inside her mind. All the appreciation she felt from him, as well as the love she was constantly battling and trying to work over, now with a heavy dose of fear sprinkled all over. Fear for herself. For her clan. But most of all, fear for him.

[WarriorzFan]

Originally Posted by spade

Voices. From the outside world. Stirring in his nest, Kestrelstar took a beat before he lifted his head, sleep still dancing in his yellow eyes. For once, it had been just that - sleep. No mysterious dreams or training in the Dark Forest with Blossomclaw. Just a nice, peaceful abyss that the leader had gratefully handed himself over to. He could feel strength ebbing back into his muscles, the flow of the lives given to him during his leader ceremony expanding.

It still didn't mean he appreciated kits in his den, but at this moment Kestrelstar was too disoriented to really see who it was.

"My den is not boring," the tom grumbled, slowly positioning himself up into a seated position. It was just a simple den, all that was needed was a nest for him to sleep in. That was it, really. Shifting so that he was more so facing the young hairball in his den, Kestrelstar couldn't bring himself to fight with them escaping the nursery anymore. Let them come in, bringing their shells and rocks and dirty paws into his den. "Set them wherever," Kestrelstar muttered with a wave of his tail, starting to groom patches of his fur.

A sigh slipped past his lips as Mistypaw brought up that perhaps not everyone in the Clan hated him. And well... she was right, to an extent. The tom wasn't dumb. He knew that quite a bit of those that still followed him or supported him only did so out of fear. But how else was he suppose to lead? How else was he supposed to make ThunderClan pay? If he wasn't perpetuating the deaths of their Clanmates, who would act? Who would hold ThunderClan responsible?

He had to keep going for the sake of keeping their memory alive. Firehkaw. Fawnsqueak. Lionstorm. Peonypaw. Petuniaflame. They weren't just nameless facesless warriors. They were RiverClan.

With a bit of a delated look, Kestrelstar watched as Mistypaw spoke once more of Stormtalon. He was glad that the young apprentice was going to be learning from someone like the noble warrior. "You will. And one day, when your Clan needs you as a warrior, you'll step forward with all the training you're going to need."

- - -

Good. Fear was what Kestrelstar wanted to see. Fear led to cats following orders, which is what a majority of RiverClan needed to do if they were to overcome the threat of ThunderClan that loomed in the distance. "You disgust me," the leader snarled, scrapping the bottom of his den with unsheathed claws. Anger raged under his pelt but the tom forced it to remain flat, claws sliding back in. "Now get out of my sight unless you've got something useful to report."

It was a much more calm day for Kestrelstar, and for once the leader was just sitting calmly in his den. The hole near the wall that he had started on soon after the meeting sat unfinished, the pile of soil and dirt still next to it. Truth be told, the tabby wasn't exactly sure what he was building, just that the project provided him with a distraction when it was needed most.

Lifting his head at the sound of foot steps near his den, Kestrelstar frowned. Despite being in a rather "peaceful" mindset today, he still didn't appreciate cats just seeking him out unless they had information to report. "What is it, Ivywing?" he asked, trying to conceal the annoyance in his tone.

So many cats coming in and out of his den, Kestrelstar wanted to claw his own fur out. His yellow eyes blazed with discomfort in being this social, yet what could he do about it? Nothing, that's what. He was leader. Leader. Not just another Clanmate. He needed to be there for those he led - regardless of what they brought forth to him. But with the scowl that was planted firmly in place, Kestrelstar was beginning to reconsider this part of the job.

That was, until Rainingpaw made his way into the den, mouth already moving. So, the warrior who had been immature in leaving, calling him a kit... He wasn't surprised, to be honest. If anything, it made his lcaws flex in anticipation. Another name added to the list of those he was reconsidering having in RiverClan. "I have strictly forbid apprentices at the border," the leader began with a snap, "...but it appears your disobediance had brought forth some truth about your traitorous Clanmates."

Oh, Willowsong. He hadn't much trouble with this warrior until her rude intrusion into his den with random conspiracy theories and now... this. "I will handle this. Did you hear what was said?" Yellow eyes peered inquisitively down at the apprentice, trying to pry as much information as he could from her.

Renovating. Was that what he was doing? Kestrelstar didn't really have a name for it; all he knew was that it took his mind off of things. A distraction. One that kept his claws busy and not itching to tear into the fur of every traitor in RiverClan with even a hint of ties with ThunderClan. He felt as though he was teetering on a precarious precipice, one that kept him from killing more cats than just Quietclaw. The whispers that sliced through his mind, egging him on... it was hard to resist them when he wasn't occupying his claws with other tedious tasks.

"Reno... what?" It still took a moment for the leader to grasp, but regardless, he gave a shake of his head. "It's the same den it's always been. It's Lionstorm's den, and then it was Sootstar's, and now the honor is passed on to me. How grand." His tone did not, in fact, make it seem as though it was grand in any sense of the world. Kestrelstar instead scoffed at the mere notion and took a seat, tail tip twitching on the ground beside him.

"A chat you want, is it? Well then, let us chat."

Scooting closer to Junipersong, so much so that he was a mere whisker length away from her, Kestrelstar stared at her with slightly wide yellow eyes. "Do you want to talk about the way ThunderClan had been slaughtering us like sitting ducks? Or perhaps the fact that everyone in this Clan would line up to rip out each of my remaining lives?? Or - and here's the best topic of all! - would you like to discuss why there are those that still defend those fox-hearted traitors?" His voice was raised by now, eyes wide and ablaze. "You wanted to talk, let's talk!"

[INDENT]Did these idiots not understand that he wanted to be left alone? Prancing into his den without a care in the world, and usually for stupid, meaningless discussions. From where he sat hunched near his hole, Kestrelstar lifted his head, the bags evident under his yellow eyes from lack of sleep. Gleaming in the dim lighting of his den and now fixated on the loud mouth standing at the entrance. He was blabbering something about his tactics when it came to Quietclaw, and the leader growled a bit.

"What the hell do you want, Pikefluff?" the leader snapped, irritation sending the fur on the back of his neck up. All this squabbling and loudness was causing him to flatten his ears back against his head as he pushed himself to his paws. As much as he wished they could just take him back to his nest, instead they turned and directed him towards the warrior now in his den.

Heaving an irritated sigh, Kestrelstar looked up to meet the tom's gaze. "How was my day... you came into my den to ask me how my day was?" Voice and tone both dripped with frustration as his yellow eyes narrowed. Stars, was his Clan really this idiotic? Kestrelstar had half a mind to send him right back out of the entrance with a claw swipe down the front of his face - a gift for coming into his den without permission.INDENT]

“Ok, if that’s how you wanna play it...” he thought to himself. “Well...yeah! What else could “How was your day” mean?” He said sarcastically.

[shaded shadow]

So many cats coming in and out of his den, Kestrelstar wanted to claw his own fur out. His yellow eyes blazed with discomfort in being this social, yet what could he do about it? Nothing, that's what. He was leader. Leader. Not just another Clanmate. He needed to be there for those he led - regardless of what they brought forth to him. But with the scowl that was planted firmly in place, Kestrelstar was beginning to reconsider this part of the job.

That was, until Rainingpaw made his way into the den, mouth already moving. So, the warrior who had been immature in leaving, calling him a kit... He wasn't surprised, to be honest. If anything, it made his lcaws flex in anticipation. Another name added to the list of those he was reconsidering having in RiverClan. "I have strictly forbid apprentices at the border," the leader began with a snap, "...but it appears your disobediance had brought forth some truth about your traitorous Clanmates."

Oh, Willowsong. He hadn't much trouble with this warrior until her rude intrusion into his den with random conspiracy theories and now... this. "I will handle this. Did you hear what was said?" Yellow eyes peered inquisitively down at the apprentice, trying to pry as much information as he could from her.

yes said rainingpaw i heard her say that riverclan might try to take some of thunderclans territory and that thunderclan should send out for patrols, that you were a incomplete leader, and that even thought you have been freaking out about the thunderclan issues you haven done anything about them, she also said that riverclan is a total mess and how it has been ages sience their were new apprentices, and how you exiled 3 warriors and killed quietclaw for being a traitor.
@spade

[Riverfly]

"I have great news!" She meowed happily, walking into the den. "Willowvine has had her kits!" She couldn't help the pride in her voice. She still couldn't believe it! She finally had kits of her own! @spade

[~Kitty~]

@spade
“Excuse me, are you in there?” Willow song asked. She knew what rainingpaw had said and would do her best to contribute to the clan. She din’t want to be attacked like QuietClaw.

[Ziera]

// @spade | @Zero - set pre-angst <33 don't worry about matching length, just setting the scene a lil.

Silverfish. Iris. Sky.

"Stay close to me," Stormtalon mewed over his shoulder, thinking wryly to himself that the last thing he needed was Iris getting herself lost in one of the RiverClan dens. She was young, after all - he'd guess three moons or so - and Storm knew from experience about the flighty attention span of a kit; Brightpaw never listened to him for more than three sentences at that age.

...the mental comparison had him stiffening, tension knotting in broad shoulders as Storm reached Kestrelstar's den. Thankfully he'd managed to get himself under control, at least outwardly. But inside? The grey tabby's mind spun with those same three names over and over: Silverfish. Iris. Sky.

Sensing no tricks, Stormtalon accepted that Iris was really his little half-sister (even if the resulting puzzling emotions sent him into a tailspin.) Try as he might to dismiss Iris' claims, if just for her own sake - who else knew what she did? Only Storm heard their mother call his little brother Sky, the secret name he replaced with Bright. Not to mention Iris reeked of Silver's scent.

No. He had no doubt that Silverfish left the rambunctious little snot alone, defenseless in the heart of RiverClan territory and then hightailed it back to whoever's nest she kept warm these days. Stormtalon wished he could be surprised by that turn of events, but her actions now were her actions then: leaving Brightpaw and Stormtalon behind, abandoning RiverClan as if her loyalty meant less than dirt. It disgusted him.

Less than happy thoughts churned tirelessly in his mind but this was...not the time.

Stormtalon nodded toward the den's entrance, not looking at Iris (the resemblance to his mother was uncanny) when he said: "Go on." Following his own orders, the tabby padded inside, feeling the temperature drop a miniscule degree. "Kestrelstar." The tom's head bobbed in a respectful nod, his voice sounding cool yet restrained. "I have a favor to ask."