crime and punishment | tag: tango/leopardstar

[Lo]

DUSKFIRE

The she-cat winced as she padded back into camp after the gathering that night. Adrenaline still coursed through her veins from the events that had taken place that night. The hostility between the four clans had very nearly come to a head and broken out into battle and bloodshed right there at Fourtrees. She should know because she’d been one of those with her claws out, and if she’d been close enough to Brokenstar to get a clear leap at him, she’d have been in a whole mess more trouble than she was in now.

Leopardstar had told her to meet her in her den when they got back to camp, and the tortoiseshell was ready for an earful from her clan leader. Big trouble lay ahead for the four clans, and Duskfire was absolutely seething because that mangy flea-ridden monster they called Brokenstar had completely ignored her protests. It still didn’t change the fact that she had brought shame upon her clan and her leader for speaking out as she had, but she hardly felt she was really the one to blame. Brokenstar should have never become clan leader. He was a menace to the forest and a plague upon their clan.

Her head dipped in a rare display of submissiveness, Duskfire slunk to the den of her clan’s leader. She wondered what her punishment would be. Would Leopardstar strip her of her warrior status? Would she make her do apprentice duties until she started acting her age? Yeah, Duskfire had screwed up but she couldn’t help feeling that the blame didn’t rest solely on her shoulders. Leopardstar could not have been so ignorant about the tortoiseshell’s temper that she’d actually thought it would be a good idea to take her to the gathering tonight? Well, at least Leopardstar had made one good decision that night in throwing off the yoke of opression that Shadowclan had been keeping them under.

They were finally free.


OOC: Hope you don’t mind me starting this, Tango!

[TANGO]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image: url(http://i42.tinypic.com/n2nzas.png); width: 500px; height: 594px;border:1px solid #000000] Leopardstar couldn't bring herself to sit still. The night had certainly not gone as planned. Her stomach felt sick at the thought of everything that had been said in the clearing. Had she really declared the entire forest her enemy? She did not doubt that RiverClan could take on the other clans. ThunderClan was imploding, ShadowClan was underfed, and WindClan was just desperate not to be kicked out of their home again. Separately, no clan was a match for hers. But what if they worked together? There were so many more prudent ways she could have dealt with things. She had so carefully thought out what she was going to say... How could she have strayed from her memorized speech at the last minute? Her words would betray her. Speaking of rogue words... Leopardstar thought ironically as Duskfire sidled into the den. Embarrassment burned her face at the sight of the tortie warrior. The words Leopardstar had spoken at the Gathering were bad enough; at least she had had the right to speak. It was far out of line for any warrior to address the leaders at the Gathering. The bengal fixed Duskfire with a hard stare. "What did you think you were doing tonight, addressing Brokenstar like that?" she demanded. "Do you think I can't speak up for my own clan? Or did you not believe me when I said that the clans would be looking for any excuse to fight?" Her eyes were sharper than her words, and they watched the she-cat expectantly. These were not rhetorical questions. Even if Leopardstar already suspected the answer, she needed to hear Duskfire account for herself.