New Member

[Seafeather]

In the early morning light Seastar stepped from her den, and headed toward the Giant Rock where she talks to the clan. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, meet here for a clan meeting!" She yowled to them.

The dens stirred and heads poked out. The kits in the nursery squealed, a few of them saying "It's my apprentice ceremony!" but were quickly hushed and ushered into the crowd. As the chatting died down, Seastar began the long, and dangerous task of telling a clan that they have a new member.

"As you all know," she began. "Duskwing has told us of the treacherous thing that IvyClan has done to us." The crowd began to mutter. "Please listen. I cannot let her go back to IvyClan. They would tear her to shreds. I have accepted her into our clan. Any thoughts on why she shouldn't be must be spoken now." And with the last sentence yowls rose into the air of protest.

[fαllεη •]

Smokeleaf exited her den just in time to hear Seastar yowl for a clan meeting, and sighed under her breath. She'd been up for two days making sure that Cedarwing and Ashheart had been OK, and then she'd had to replenish her herbs as soon as possible. She'd missed the Gathering to care for those two, and she was actually rather glad to have done so: the last thing she wanted was to be there when FrostClan and IvyClan finally went for each others' throats... Mind you, she did want to be there. no cat was going to get anything more than scars on her watch.
Sitting down on the edge of the crowd, towards her den, she curled the fluffy bottle-brush of a tail around her paws. A kit, ushered backwards by his mother, tumbled backwards over her paws, and she had to growl under her breath. "Be careful, kit," she muttered, but there was no aggression in the words. Lack of sleep would do that to you.

"As you all know, Dusking has told us of the treacherous thing that IvyClan has done to us."
Ah, so Duskwing was her name. Well done that cat, for telling them too little and too late. Ravenslash had figured out the problem the second cats had started getting sick, and she'd waited until the morning after to tell FrostClan. Ooh, the bravery of that cat.
'You can't be too harsh,' part of her chastised. 'You know what it's like to leave a clan behind.' A sigh escaped, but glancing around told her that no-one had noticed. Well, all she could do was pray for rain to wash away the last of the tainted water. 'Though it would be ironic for her to get a taste of her own clan's medicine.'

"Please listen. I cannot let her go back to IvyClan. They would tear her to shreds."
Of course, Seastar was ever the compassionate leader. If she hadn't been so tired, maybe she would have laughed. She saw where this was going.
"I have accepted her into our clan. Any thoughts on why she shouldn't be must be spoken now."
Smokeleaf's purr of approval was lost in the yowls of her clanmates. She understood their fury, but she also understood that Duskwing would not be approved of by IvyClan if she returned. Betrayal wasn't a trait any cat wanted in their clan: Silentstar might have exiled her anyway. Better that she didn't have to suffer the abuse of her clanmates and come straight here than have to go home and see their faces... She flinched. Would things have been different if she'd asked her leader to leave for FrostClan before she had? She tried to tell herself they wouldn't have been, but she knew they would've. Her father had been the reason that she'd come. Being half-Clan hadn't concerned her before that day, but once she knew where her father was from, knew who he was... Anyway. The point was that she was FrostClan through and through now, and Duskwing -while still not in a position to claim loyalty- might be better off here.

Smokeleaf almost went to fetch her breakfast from the fresh-kill pile, then remembered. 'Got to hunt first, silly goose,' she thought, allowing a self-depreciating smile to escape. Well, if she was going hunting, she might as well wait until this meeting was over and see who would come with her. Though who would want to go hunting with a crotchety, half-asleep medicine cat was beyond her.

[Raccoonstar]

DUSKWING

Duskwing looked around at the angry scowls of her new clanmates. She knew they'd be furious, but she didn't know that they'd hate her. She noticed Smokeleaf was smiling, and acknowledged it. Smokeleaf had a nice side. Was it wrong of her to go to FrostClan and try to save them? Would she have been better off staying in IvyClan? No. Silentstar was not going to win her over. Seastar had already. But what if she had warned them of his plan BEFORE they had gotten sick? She might have saved them then. But she knew she couldn't undo these things, so she just sat there, holding a neutral face while hiding her true feelings of wonder, hate, confusion and hurt. She padded off and asked if she could hunt. She got multiple scowls and was forced to vow that she'd use it only for the Clan, but she was allowed. She ran off into the forest to think. This forest was so different for IvyClan! She'd have to get used to it eventually. She spotted Smokeleaf behind her. She whipped around. "Hello, Smokeleaf," she said in a somehow friendly tone, "Um, how are you?" She was rather awkward with new people, but waited for a response of any kind.

[//Sunneh// is FuMiNg]

Ashheart

Ashheart glanced at Duskwing and narrowed her eyes in pity as Seastar finished her announcement. She didn't join in the yowls of protest, or the low, hateful muttering between the cats.
No. She would never be that way.
Ashheart didn't understand; Duskwing had tried to save every single cat of FrostClan from a long, painful death of poisoning, the worst possible death for a warrior. And what did she receive in return?
Hate, spite, and suspicion, a treatment worse than a claw to the face. And it was getting worse, with the exception of Smokeleaf; the medicine cat was much smarter than that.
Duskwing gave up all she knew, whether she disliked her clanmates or not, simply to save a bunch of strange cats for StarClan's sake! Didn't her clan understand that?! Ashheart shook her head. FrostClan wasn't acting like itself. Even the kits seemed to regard Duskwing with hostility.
Ashheart's rage grew as the spiteful hissing grew louder when Duskwing offered to hunt. Why were they acting like this? The new clanmate was simply offering to feed the clan!
Unable to contain herself, Ashheart jumped to her paws.
"What are you cats doing?!" she yowled loudly, looking about her so that she could stare every one of the offending clanmates in the eye.
"Duskwing tried to SAVE us and look how you're treating her! This is not the warrior way! Yes, we should keep an eye on her--she'd do the same thing if a FrostClan cat sauntered into IvyClan--but otherwise we should treat her as clanmates should. With kindness and respect." Ashheart's fangs gleamed in the bright morning light as she bared her teeth.
"Don't let past differences blind you from the truth!"
Her tail lashed with her last sentence, and, without another word, she dashed out of camp, clearly irritated.

[fαllεη •]

The medicine cat had to shake her head, trying to clear it. The vines of sleep were still clutching at her face, pulling her eyelids down, but she fought, and managed to smooth her face into an expression that hid most of her sleepless nights. When she realised that her paws had taken her after Duskwing, she hesitated. 'What would you say to her?' A dry comment, something like 'thanks for the insomnia', rose to her throat, but she crushed it. Despite the sharpness she'd called her personality for years, there was still a fight inside for the well-being of her clan. Even though Duskwing's pelt still smelled of IvyClan, would it be wrong to try to treat her with respect? Of course not. She herself had gotten over abandoning her brother with fighting: fought like an apprentice to earn her warrior name all over again.

Duskwing's sudden whip around made her baulk and take a step back. Weren't IvyClan some kind of amazing trackers? She gave herself a mental swipe to both cheeks: no, not every cat was the same. After all, Duskwing herself was living proof.
"Hello, Smokeleaf. ...Um, how are you?"

The medicine cat gave a low mrr of amusement. "Better than you seem to be, Duskwing."
She was referring, of course, to the she-cat's reception: you might bring the SnakeClan softness out, but you sure as StarClan couldn't take out the FrostClanner's bite. She padded up to stand beside Duskwing, giving the warrior an appraising glance. "So..." she hesitated for a heartbeat, trying to keep her fur flat despite the IvyClan smell and her voice as casual as possible.
"Care to let me join your first hunt?"

---

OOC: If Duskwing accepts, do you want to move this to the hunting grounds? ^^;

[Raccoonstar]

(CONTINUED AT FROSTCLAN HUNTING GROUNDS)

[Seafeather]

Seastar

"Well said Ashheart." Seastar stepped down from the rock, not wanting to be the leader but an equal. Walking among her clan like a true leader. Not prideful, but strong and independent. "You all should be lowering your heads to Duskwing. We owe her our necks!" Seastar yowled to everyone. Clearly hating the way they were treating her. "If she never told us, if Ravenslash had never told us too, we would all be dead! And you know it." She padded toward her den and called behind her, "If you have further complaints, see me in my den." She walked into the cool darkness and curled up, waiting for the first cat.

[- - -evening ||]

ICEGLADE

She looked down at her paws, she had no more complaints anymore. She glared at any cat that challenged Duskwing's right to be here. She wanted to be friends with this cat now, but she still was warry of her.