[Softfeather x Embermist-FIN] He WHAT?!

[belloblossom]

Softfeather hadn't attended the Gathering, because of all the little black kittens that had entered the camp one day. She had stayed behind to watch over them in the Nursery, because even if she wasn't nursing any of her own little ones, she was just as much a queen as anyone else and would claw the ears of anyone who tried to tell her otherwise.

She'd woken up a bit when the patrol returned from the Gathering, with bristling fur and wide eyes, but she told herself that she'd ask Autumnriver for the news in the morning. He didn't seem to mind her company and she'd grown fond of his. Curling herself around a cluster of shadow-colored kittens, she'd fallen asleep for the remainder of the night.

By the dawn of the next day, the Clan was abuzz with the news. A strange cat had come in and spoken of dogs ruining the Gathering. The calamity that broke out and how Brightstar had thrown one of their own from the Clan. Groggy early in the morning and weary from watching over the little ones, Softfeather made her way towards the Warriors Den to hear the specifics from her favorite ginger tomcat.

"Autumnriver?" She mewed into the den, giving her some strange looks from the warriors within. "Autumnriver, are you still asleep?" She started towards his nest, but... it was empty. It smelled as though he hadn't slept in it the previous night either... She raised her head in a mix of confusion and distress. "Has anyone seen Autumnriver?" She asked to the cats around her. "Please, can someone tell me where he's gone?" Maybe he'd just gone to make dirt. Yeah, that was it! He just got lost in the woods trying to come back last night... That was absolutely it. Absolutely.

Chisato Mikami

 

[Chisato Mikami]

“He’s not here.”

The words were bittersweet as Embermist spoke them, approaching his mentor from behind. He didn’t know what else to say to Softfeather. His mentor had always been kind to him. How would she react? He watched Autumnriver and Softfeather get closer. He had thought maybe they would get even more close, but now he wasn’t so sure what was going to happen. A part of him wanted to look for him. To leave Lightningclan for what they did. Autumnriver was the only reason why he was there in the first place. Without his father, who else did he have there?

“Brightstar threw him out.”

belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Softfeather whirled around to face her former apprentice, Embermist. She should have gone to him as soon as she couldn't find Autumnriver, she realized. Embermist was Autumnriver's son, after all.

"What?" She asked, bristling. "What do you mean? Why did Brightstar do that?" She came up close to Embermist as she looked down at the ginger tabby. "Embermist, what happened?"

Chisato Mikami

 

[Chisato Mikami]

“Brightstar threw him out!” Embermist said. “You must have heard the stories! Some mouse brain tom interrupted the meeting. He spoke of dogs in the forest and scared everyone! Autumnriver wanted to lure the dogs away, but because it was against what Brightstar wanted, she threw him out!”

Embermist was speaking loudly now, catching the attention of those around them. “Brightstar wanted to come back here and hide.” Embermist could feel his body shaking. He felt like he did when his mother died. Like he lost everything all at once again. Without Autumnriver there, he didn’t feel like he belonged anywhere. It was all Brightstar’s fault. “She’s a coward…”

belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Softfeather bristled with Embermist's harsh tone, but she couldn't blame the young tomcat. His father had been thrown out of the Clan. She closed her eyes, steadying herself. Of course. Of course, the one tomcat she thought she could settle with, instead of just using him for kits would get himself thrown out of the Clan. He probably didn't even think of the consequences, of her or their future together. Just like a tomcat.

Opening her eyes, she leveled her gaze with Embermist.
"I understand that you are upset, Embermist, but you should not stay such things about our leader. You are still apart of LightningClan, even if your father isn't. He could've apologized to Brightstar... but he didn't. So maybe he wanted to leave. At the very least, he didn't consider the future he could've had if he stayed. But we are here. We are still loyal to Brightstar. We can mourn his loss together, but in the end, we are here." She looked towards her leader's den. "And I have no intentions of changing that." She beckoned with her tail. "C'mon. Let's get something to eat by the fresh kill pile. If there's nothing worthwhile there, we can go for a hunt. See if there's anything out and about there instead." She suggested to her former apprentice.

Chisato Mikami

 

[Chisato Mikami]

“I’m not really hungry…” Embermist said, looking away from Softfeather. Brightstar accused of him of so many things. It was Brightstar that said this wasn’t Autumnriver’s home. Why should Autumnriver apologize to her when all he wanted was to keep everyone safe? Embermist needed to see his brother. Even if Blotbreak was in Riverclan, he needed to see someone, anyone, that wasn’t supporting Brightstar’s decision. His claws flexed into the dirt as he looked over to the exit. If he left, he would most likely never return. “I really just…. Just want some alone time…”

belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Softfeather looked sympathetically at Embermist and moved back towards him, placing her tail on his flank.
"I'm not sure I can be alone just now." She told him with a sad smile. "Will you at least sit with me a while, or a walk perhaps, to the border?" She studied the look in his eyes and wondered if she dragged him to the ground, or perhaps if she sat on him, if she would be able to keep him in LightningClan.

No... He's surely been through enough. He needs his father. He went through so much just to find him. She sighed and glanced towards Brightstar's den. The disloyalty couldn't stand, if the rumors were true, but did she have to kick out the ginger tomcat.

"Come on, Embermist." She said and began to make her way towards the Clan entrance. "Walk with me."

Chisato Mikami

 

[Chisato Mikami]

Embermist sighed as he stared at the ground. There were others looking at him. Watching him with disgust in their eyes. Some didn’t have any feelings at all. ‘These ungrateful cats… he just wanted to protect everyone! WHY can’t they understand that?’ The thoughts ran through his head. He didn’t look up as he followed Softfeather to the camp entrance. Was she leaving? After she had just said she was loyal to the clan? No, that wasn’t it. She was just keeping an eye on him. Like a mentor would an apprentice. He wasn’t her apprentice anymore though.

“…..”

belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Softfeather turned back to look at Embermist, watching him with wary eyes until he came up to stand beside her. With a nod of approval, she started through the entrance, moving towards the RiverClan border.

"I'm sure no cat thinks poorly of you, Embermist, for what Autumnriver chose to do." She began. "So long as you aren't about to publicly call out Brightstar for not believing in her own code..." She gave a small shake of her head. "Then I'm sure in a few days time, everything will have quieted down and cats will be onto a new source of conversation. Like the prey shortages...Or Brightstar's idea to expand further." She added. "Give it time, if you're willing to and perhaps things won't seem as... extreme as they do now."

Softfeather turned to fix a gaze on the young warrior.
"Are you willing to give it an honest try?" She prompted him.

Chisato Mikami

 

[Chisato Mikami]

“Is that what you think?” Embermist asked, not looking up. “That he called her out for NOT believing it? He quoted code to make his point, to humiliate her. You’re like the others! ALL HE WANTED WAS TO PROTECT HIS HOME. To protect all the cats in the forest. Why is that SO hard to understand?” Embermist sighed, turning to walk away from his former mentor. He just couldn’t fathom why everyone was pinging Autumnriver as the bad one here.

“I don’t want to talk to you anymore. You’re not helping.”  

[belloblossom]

Softfeather pinned her ears at his harsh tones.
"I literally just heard about it this morning, from you and from other cats. You've just said it yourself, your father intended to humiliate his own leader! What kind of loyalty is that? I'm suspect he may have had good intentions, Embermist, but the way he went about it was wrong."

As he turned away, she moved to intersect him. "I cared about him too, you know. You aren't the only one that's sorry he's gone. So stop acting like you're the only one hurting." She hissed. "He gave up his life here willingly, when he acted against our leader." She swung her tail towards her belly, longing briefly for now what would never come to pass. "You can see him as a matyr, but he left us, Embermist. If his loyalty to Brightstar isn't something to be questioned, maybe you should think about how he disregarded us to easily." She bristled and tears pricked at her eyes. Bitter and hurting, she snorted. "But fine, walk away and sulk on your own if it makes you feel better. I'll be here when you face that he obviously didn't love either of us more than he cared about his own pride." She said, before she stormed off, moving back towards the camp.

He could've had a nice life with me. We would've been happy together. Why did he have to throw all of that away for some stupid argument?!

Chisato Mikami

 

[Chisato Mikami]

Embermist didn’t really hear what Softfeather had said. Was it too much to ask to be alone? He didn’t look up as she walked away either. He just had too much on his mind. There were dogs in the forest. What if they got to Autumnriver? What if he was already dead? He at least deserved to be buried and not left for crown food. He looked around him, grateful that he was alone for once, he trotted off to the toward the meeting place. He had to find Autumnriver, make sure he was at least alive.

“They don’t need me here anyway…”