The final straw (Tagged and open)

[Clemintine]

Glorilyss CaℳI Falcon

Pebblestar raced in front of Tigerfang and Mudpaw as they left the pond of truce, she wouldn't wait for the two, her fur spiked as she dug her claws into the earth pushing herself faster, she looked like she was going to kill someone.. The leader twitched her ears backwards wondering if Tigerfang knew what she was about to do and if he was keeping up. her heart raced as she neared TalonClan mountain and she stopped to glare up the mountain. Her paws moved swiftly pulling the she-cat up the side of the mountain, leaping from edge to edge, swiftly. She reached the ledge that came out from TalonClans entrance, she stopped and walked slowly into the camp as she was about to unleash hell. 

The leaders eyes narrowed, the always sweet and kind she-cat looked vicious, she looked cold-hearted and down right mean. A hiss rumbled in her throat and she stalked pass a few cats who back away in shock and fear. Her claws scraped against the hard rock floor as she glared at the Medicine cats den. "Duskflame!" her voice was strict and loud echoing throughout the cave, she felt her heart pounding in her ears as she was ready to burst with anger. 

--

[Falcon]

Mudpaw followed yawning, he was tired but he didn't want to miss this he didn't know what exactly the leader had heard during their 'hunting' trip but he was worried for Duskflame, she was one of the few cats that had understood him during his painful journey in his dreams and his identity he didn't want Pebblestar to hurt her, mentor or not

[Midnight]

"Pebblestar?" Briarclaw called, baffled as to why the leader was so angry. She charged into camp and yowled for Duskflame, so whatever was going on was definitely important. Briarclaw felt a chill roll down her and her fur stuck up everywhere. Briarclaw's paws hit the ground, rose, and hit it again at a very fast pace, the sound and vibrations filling the cave. Briarclaw's ears were roaring and she could feel and hear her pulse with every movement she made.

And yet she wasn't the one about to be yelled at. Duskflame was. So why was she so worried? Briarclaw couldn't imagine what Duskflame was about to go through, what she must be feeling, considering how everything in Briarclaw's body shot right up when Pebblestar pounded in and yowled.

[CaℳI]

Tigerfang stood up quickly as Pebblestar raced past him. What the? She told me to wait here! He pushed Mudpaw slightly with his paw as he took off, "Keep up Mudpaw! We have to go!" He said sharply as he took off is full strides running behind Pebblestar. He had to keep glancing behind him, didn't wanna leave Mudpaw lost in his nightmares, wondering around through the territories, but it didn't matter, Mudpaw would keep up right? Tigerfang wasn't a fan of Duskflame in the least so when he heard Pebblestar yowling out her name, he could have probably guessed that something dramatic was about to go down.

Just what Talonclan needed! Some well deserved excitement since Talonclan was awfully quiet and calm....yeah definitely not. Tigerfang started pouncing up on rocks as he finished his climb to the top of the mountain, entering Talonclan's territory slowly.

[Glorilyss]

It had been a rather quiet day, the sort with an oppressive heat and a sky half-clotted with clouds that tried to press their gray bellies onto the top of the craggy mountain. It didn't quite look like it was going to rain, but as Duskfeather peeped up from the camp's entrance towards the silver-gray sky above her, she rather wished it would. The opressiveness of impending storm weather was enough to make her skin crawl; she felt like they were on the edge of thunder and lightning, and that the fragile balance between light and storm would break.

Well, she was right about that, at least.

The she-cat returned to her den, listlessly sorting herbs. Her mind was only half on her task, the other half a whirl of a feline's natural fear of storms and the increasing frenzy of her Clan's spiritual well-being. One kit at least with a Dark Forest experience, another with murderous instincts; one warrior who had nearly murdered his own son after heading into the shadowy wastelands. What was TalonClan coming to? It was as if the physical laxity of mentors and apprentices had something to do with, or maybe were caused by, the equal softening of their morality. She'd had no chance to confer with StarClan on these matters, and though she'd been waking in the middle of the night to watch the sky for signs and welcome the dawn in search of portents, nothing had happened. She'd quietly asked her ancestors in her heart with every bit of her heart to send her a word, a sign, that she should remove herself from this position, or to tell her if she was in the wrong - but the silence from above remained unbroken, and so she could only assume that she was where she'd been called to be.

Suddenly, the patter of paws rang outside of the camp; the medicine cat climbed to her paws, eyes raking over her collection of herbs and wondering what new crisis was brewing outside, what medicines she might be called on to give. Indeed, her nerves were only wound tighter at Pebblestar's screeching her name. The she-cat refrained from dashing to the threshold of her den in concern; she processed to the exit quietly. This was no medical emergency; there would not have been such obnoxious venom in the leader's voice if it had been. Duskflame, the daughter of a madwoman and a murderess, felt the warrior blood in her stir. She was no shrinking kit to fall back in fear; she leveled her gaze with her leader, noting how flustered she was, and inclined her head gravely. "Pebblestar." She was like a snow princess, an ice queen: very grave and silent and cool. "Is there something I can do for you?"

[Clemintine]

The leader noticed as a few cats started to follow her, despite all the drama she knew her Clan was behind her, her eyes flickered from den to den waiting, watching for the familiar pelt to show up. A breathy hiss escaped her as the feline finally made an appearance, her sharp claws scraped against the hard rock floor as she turned her furry onto the she-cat who deserved it. "There is plenty you can do for me Duskflame!" her voice was sharp "You may start by joining that brother of yours." what did Duskflame think she was doing? Acting calm, acting innocent?! Pebblestar felt her fur spike out like she was a porcupine. Her eyes narrowed and she felt a hiss rumble up but didn't let it escape "StarClan knows your wrongs, and yet you stand before me acting like you still have done know wrong? To allow your own brother to take the fall for your mistakes... that's pathetic." Pebblestar thought of Mossthorn and how he had been a wonderful warrior but then fell and was banished because of Duskflames own wrongs. 

The she-cat stood tall her tail whipping back and forth and her green eyes never left the she-cat before her, she felt her paws tingle, clearly she was ready to fight this cat but she stood there glaring down Duskflame instead of pouncing on her, the more she thought about it the more enraged she became. Her tail lashed back and forth and she toke a step towards the medicine cat "I have spoken with Midnightstar, my decision is final and I know StarClan is here to witness this. TalonClan no longer has a Medicine Cat. You are to leave TalonClan immediately and never return." Pebblestar took another step now only being half a tail length away from the She-cat her eyes showing no regret or sympathy for the she-cat "Duskflame, I banish you from TalonClan." Pebblestar Let a hiss slip by as she spoke the last few words "Leave.. now!"


Ooc: owo They should.. so fight.. be so funny.. owo...

[Falcon]

Mudpaw looked distressed between Duskflame and Pebblestar he didn't want to say anything against Pebblestar but he didn't want Duskflame to leave the clan either, she was like another mother to him, she actually cared about what happened to him when he was hurt or when he was feeling like he didn't matter "D-Don't we need our medicine cat P-Pebblestar" he stammered quietly looking down at the ground, he wanted to ask why she had to leave but that was all he managed to get out from his suddenly tight throat

[Midnight]

(ETA: I feel it would be really interesting if, at the end, Pebblestar decided to keep Duskflame prisoner so she can teach the next medicine cat (while making sure someone's on guard duty to keep watch on Duskflame and how she teaches) and to torture her or something. After the next medicine cat's fully trained, she can be gone.)

Briarclaw halted at the edge of the cave. She knew it best to keep quiet, that this was a huge deal and something between Pebblestar and Duskflame only, but it was also something that, as the deputy, she needed to know about. Briarclaw wished that Pebblestar had discussed this with her first, feeling a bit of disappointment and hurt that Pebblestar didn't, but considering how Pebblestar charged in without any hesitation, Briarclaw decided that there was no way there would've been any pre-conversation.

When Pebblestar spoke, banishing, Duskflame, Briarclaw flinched. What had happened? She'd always been too wrapped in her deputy work that the Clan's drama-related affairs had no effect on her, hadn't even crossed her mind. Had Briarclaw really been missing out on so much? She tipped her head in confusion, utterly lost on what these "mistakes" were.

And then she remembered them. The little tortoiseshell kits. The gossip surrounding the fact that Mossthorn had kits with some outside she-cat and that they were his. There was nothing else that Briarclaw could think of mistake-wise. Had those kits been Duskflame's all along? That was the only solution that ran through Briarclaw's head, but she couldn't be sure, and she didn't think it was a bright idea to ask Pebblestar about it right then or at any point in the near future. There could've easily been some other "mistakes" that the deputy simply did not notice.

When Mudpaw spoke, Briarclaw shot him a sharp glare, flicking her tail-tip on his back. "Not the time," Briarclaw hissed quietly, willing the apprentice to just shut up for once. Wasn't he part of the reason why Pebblestar had been so stressed lately? Things might not have worked out this way if the leader hadn't been constantly dealing with Mudpaw, and by saying something at this time, he was really asking for it. When would the poor tom learn?

Briarclaw couldn't say for sure whether or not Pebblestar was right in the situation, not having all the information, but the best she could was show some respect. With that, the deputy dipped her head to Pebblestar, her eyes flicking up to watch whatever else was about to unfold, her mouth sealed shut.

[Sand]

Rosepaw came out of the apprentice den when she heard the commotion. Her ears went up when her leader said something about the medicine cat making a mistake and letting her brother take the blame and she frowned. 'It must be some big mistake for Pebblestar to punish her, the only thing that she could have done to make the leader this angry is to have broken the codes,' she thought bristling.

"Good riddance," she hissed. She couldn't help it she was assuming that Duskflame had done the worse. She hoped that the medicine cat would run out of the camp with her tail tucked in between her legs after all the medicine cat most have done something really terrible to have been exiled. She couldn't believe that her den mate was speaking up in favor of Duskflame.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "She's our leader Mudpaw, I think she knows what she's doing," she meowed trying to keep her mew calm. Shaking her head she watched the deputy trying to judge her re-action on what Pebblestar was doing. Since she had told Mudpaw to be quiet she supposed that the deputy thought Pebblestar knew what was best.

[Skiv]

Ivyheart was still waiting for Tigerfang, Pebblestar, and Mudpaw to return. She was the only warrior in camp at the moment that knew about Mudpaw horrible nightmares and that Pebblestar went to go chat with Midnightstar about it. She was ordered back to camp, which she was disappointed about but there was nothing the tabby warrior could do. She was ordered by their leaders to go back to camp. So now her waited.

Thats when Pebblestar stormed into camp. She looked pissed. Ivyheart wondered why their leader was so mad. Was it some thing that Midnightstar said to the Talonclan leader? Ivyheart had no clue. Then she saw Tigerfang followed by Mudpaw into camp. They both followed Pebblestar and then Ivyheart saw the shape of their deputy approach as well. Something was terribly wrong, Ivyheart stood up and padded a bit closer. Thats when it happened. Pebblestar banished Duskflame. Ivyheart couldn't believe it, what could Duskflame have done so wrong that she was banished. Ivyheart padded over to where Tigerfang stood and asked with her eyes, Do you know something more that I don't know

[Glorilyss]

Duskflame could hardly believe it; for one, was Pebblestar really so utterly mouse-brained as to banish the only source of StarClan's guidance and the more earthly medicinal aid that she represented? What a fool she was being; it would have been a highly humorous moment, and for a second Duskflame actually felt a hysterical bubble of laughter crawling up her throat. Before she could make even the first noise, though, she clamped her jaw shut. None of that. She couldn't all any of them to think she was losing her reason; she had to remain, as ever, calm, collected, and utterly unshakable. The she-cat, in fact, didn't move at all; she allowed Pebblestar to advance, did nothing to stop her speaking against her, as she knew it would be interrupted by the brash feline. She stayed utterly stolid, every line of her body as immobile as if she'd been carved from granite.

"Pebblestar, I think you've jumped to conclusions far too quickly." When she did spoke, only after Pebblestar's voice had finally lost its last echo, the contrast between Duskflame's cool words and Pebblestar's throaty violence was magnificent. "You say that your information comes from Midnightstar - you mean, I am assuming, the former leader of MidnightClan." For the most part, cats lost the competitiveness of Clan rivalry when they journeyed into the sky, but what TalonClan cat could ever fully trust anyone else? "You took your orders from a cat that did nothing to help the Clans when the Birds attacked everyone - but you do whatever he wishes concerning your only medicine cat?" She didn't need to expand on the idea to make it seem like a most foolish thing to do - and also one that rather cleverly portrayed Pebblestar as the cat's-paw of Midnightstar.

"You say that I am guilty of what my brother did. You yourself know, as will the other warriors in this Clan, that my brother and I were not close." She lifted her eyes past Pebblestar, raking the gathered cats there with a gaze like a live coal. "My mother's affections came between us, and there was always a competition between us. You know, too, that little mattered more to Mossthorn than his own honor. Would that sense of honor," She dropped her gaze back to her leader now, "allow him to lie to his leader and claim things that he wasn't guilty of? There was no love lost between us; my brother would never have sacrificed a place in this Clan for me. All he wanted before he was banished was to make sure that his kits would be well taken care of - if you recall, a fate that you, Pebblestar, threatened to deny them. You threatened to throw them out, into the cold, into the middle of leafbare, with no Clan to succor them." Her casual shrug said everything, but mostly that she did not think much of Pebblestar's generosity.

"And," she all but yowled, her voice picking up a little now, "You claim that Mossthorn didn't have those kits, but rather I did - and yet you still banished him!" Her tail had risen like a salute to a general; in a way, she was just as formidable as Pebblestar, except for the one difference. She had been the mouthpiece of StarClan for moons now - what secrets was she privy to? Whose lies could she unveil? "I saw the looks you gave me when he brought his crimes and kits before you - you had already decided to accuse me, and yet believing that I was the guilty one and not Mossthorn, you banished him, all while you believed him to be innocent." She shook her head. That was, really, the most damning thing: who could banish an innocent warrior, believing the whole time that he was innocent? No one but a tyrant.

"I don't know what you have against me, Pebblestar, but if you're willing to take it out on your entire Clan by denying them StarClan's guidance and the knowledge that I have, then your heart is darker than you claim mine to be. What would happen when a queen's kitting goes wrong? If a Clan attacks? If a plague of blackcough comes?" As she spoke, she let her eyes hit the crowd behind them, resting on queens, warriors, and apprentices alike, all come to see the burning of the witch. Everyone loved scandal, after all. She hadn't even used her biggest point. "You could claim that StarClan would save your Clan in those cases. but if StarClan believes I did such things, why wouldn't they have struck me down? Gotten rid of me? Either StarClan can't remove me, or they won't - because they know that I am innocent. They have made their will known in allowing me to stay and help my Clan." Again, the slight shrug, as though to say that she didn't care one way or another. And in a way, she didn't - but she knew she was a far bigger enemy to Pebblestar once she was out of the Clan, and if the leader had half a lick of sense, she'd keep her enemies where she could see them.

[Glorilyss]

[Are we going to continue this? Clemintine ]

[Clemintine]

Pebblestar lifted her head up higher, she felt her ears heat up as she felt like Duskflame was challenging her. The she-cat raised her voice so it would echo throw the Clan "Yes, Midnightstar the former Leader of MidnightClan. I toke orders from MidnightClan leader. Who are we to judge? When we all come from different Clans, who are we to disagree when yes, she may be MidnightClan but still she is STARCLAN." Pebblestars green eyes left Duskflame and began to look at the cats who came out to see what was happening. Pebblestar allowed her gaze to drift back over to Duskflame "You have no place to try and put my Clan against me, I have done no wrong, I simply looked to StarClan for answers, while you... You had kits, the one thing a Medicine cat is told not to do, you went and did it."

Her voice had dropped but then she allowed it to get louder once more letting the Clan hear her "Not that you can deny it.. " her eyes stared down a few cats "As if NO ONE noticed Duskflames swollen stomach, As if NO ONE noticed the smell of milk and how you looked at those kits Mossthorn had. It was wrong of me to allow you to stay, however I am here to fix that wrong." her eyes narrowed as her long striped tail thrashed back and forth "I never wanted to throw the kits out into the cold, I myself toke in these kits! Your brother got what he deserved, any cat that will lie straight to their leaders face, to StarClan, for a cat who has done wrong, deserves such punishment." 

Pebblestar ignored Mudpaw and knew she would deal with him later, or Briarclaw would, Pebblestars ear tiwtched at Duskflames words, what was she being serious..? The leader flashed her head around and bared her teeth "You don't know what I have against you?! You can't be serious... Now you question StarClan, are you saying StarClan wouldn't help us?" the leader felt the need to pounce on Duskflame, she was sure Briarclaw and Tigerfang would back her up even if the rest of the clan didn't.. Pebblestar inhaled deeply before continuing. "you can say what you want, but that won't change anything...actually.. you can stay..." Pebblestar smiled and tilted her head "You're right... We need a medicine cat... You can stay here in TalonClan and teach the Medniece Cat Apprentice until he or she is old enough to take over. Then you will be forced to leave. And don't try to decline my offer because it's not really an offer, it's more of a... you're going to be our prisoner." Pebblestar whispers the last few words stepping closer to Duskflame, in all truth she believed this to be a well thought of plan but she also wanted Duskflame to squirm.


"Briarclaw!" the leader turned her green eyes and searched for the deputy, she would make Briarclaw in charge of having cats watch Duskflame. Pebblestar felt like her mind was going to explode, a cat would have to be insane to be leader... guess that made her insane. 

Midnight For Briarclaw