A Smoky Problem [Open]

Lilypaw lead Smoke into camp. Most cats were in their dens. Perfect. She didn’t want to attract to much attention. ”Here we are! I can try to find Silverstar.” she mewed optimistically, looking around for someone help Smoke’s problem. She wanted him to get Breezebranch’s approval so they could be friends, but that would never happen if he murdered cats.

Smoke looked around the camp with a blank expression as he sat down and waited.

Silverstar was peacefully eating from a small sparrow near the other side of camp, when he saw one of the apprentices, Lilypaw, enter camp with an unfamiliar cat following her. The cat didn't seem like he was from any clan, and was that... blood? "Lilypaw!" he called, swiftly licking the bits of sparrow blood from his jaws before standing up. "Who is this cat?" he asked, starting to slowly approach them to try and get a better look at the stranger. His tone was noticably less calm than when Breezebranch brought Icepaw in. 'Please, StarClan, let that blood be his own...' he thought to himself as he stared at the unknown cat.

OOC: How dare you not allow Breeze into this topic xD

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"Lily!" A voice yowled by the apprentices den. Mudpaw had been worried for her sister since she went out to find Sorrelpaw. That had been well before sunhigh; it was just past sunhigh now. She ran over to her sister and gave her a swift lick. Peering behind her, she frowned in confusion. "Where's Sorrel?" She asked, scanning the clearing for the brown and cream apprentice. "Didn't you find him?" She asked, then seemed to notice Smoke. Her eyes widened as she saw the blood on his paws and picked up a familiar scent. Sorrelpaw...

"L-l-lily..." She whispered, backing away. As Silverstar approached, she looked at him with scared eyes. "Silver.... He smells like Sorrel!" She wailed, crouching down low.

Lilypaw glanced around nervously. ”This is Smoke...” she started. ”He needs... help.” she said, not wanting to reveal what had happened in the forest. ”He’s my friend.”

Smoke looked at all the cats around with with an emptiness to his eyes. He knew he didn’t have to kill the cat but he couldn’t stop that bloodthirsty part of him. He wished he could be a normal cat and have a normal life without and killing but knew it was impossible. When he met lilypaw he thought everything could change, he could change, but that was just a dream that had to fade eventually.

(Jeez I got deep lol)

Silverstar looked towards Lilypaw as she started to explain. A friend? What exactly... Then his eyes narrowed as he heard Mudpaw. As Smoke's scent drew into his nose, his heart sank as the young apprentice's scent clung to the smell of blood. "Lilypaw," he said blankly, "As we all worry about trespassing rogues, you go and befriend one?" He took a deep breath. "What does this Smoke need so badly that it calls for you to lead him into our camp after he killed one of our own?"

Shrikepaw joined the gathering crowd of cats, her fur bristling as she picked up the scent of an unknown cat, and worse, blood. The black and white she-cat hissed as she saw Smoke with blood on his paws.

"A murderer! He has SkyClan blood on his claws!" She spat, glaring at the rogue with narrowed green eyes.

Lilypaw looked down, sighing. ”He has a good heart, but he can’t control himself. Please, just help him so he stops killing. It will help us as well!” she pleaded. It would be more safe if she could hang out with her friend without the threat of him killing a random cat. She knew that if he could control it, he would be a great cat. ”Please?”

It wasn't long after the commotion started that Sorrelwing padded into the camp with a border patrol right behind her. However, the putrid smell of blood that permeated the air on top of hearing Lilypaw crying about helping Smoke stop killing very quickly enraged the Skyclan deputy. With a loud yowl, she sprinted into the clearing, only stopping at the sight of Silverstar. Immediately, she shifted her focus toward the apprentice and the rogue. "Help this Smoke stop killing? Help this cat who clearly killed our own clan member? How much of a mousebrain can you be Lillypaw?" she hissed. "If he can't control his own murderous urges, then we should just kill him now and put him out of his misery!" Her fiery glare shot towards Smoke as she clawed at the ground, ready to pounce on this tom if he dared tried to move.

"So, it is true..?" he breathed, starting to lose his ability to keep the swirling vortex of anger contained inside him. He shot a look towards the deputy as she darted into the scene. For a second, he considered letting her tear this murderer into mince meat. "Perhaps we should let the warriors of StarClan decide if he truely has a good heart..." he said, bits of sunlight reflecting off of his unsheathing claws.

'What am I saying?' he realized, closing his eyes and forcing his claws to sheathe. The anger didn't go away, but he just stared at Smoke again. His eyes narrowed as he took a few paces backwards. He then held his head up high in order to address the entire clan.

"I will allow you all to give your opinions on what we should do about this tom here. But, I want to give him a chance to speak. So, don't attack this cat..." he spoke then adding more quietly, "...not yet, at least."

Lilypaw looked at the ground as the deputy spoke. Her harsh words made a spark of anger start to rise in Lilypaw. She looked at Sorrelwing, her eyes full of hurt, and looked back at their leader. She waited for his verdict. When he finished speaking, Lilypaw sighed, letting out a burst of relief. ‘Not yet, at least.’ The words rang in the she-cat’s ears. Would they really attack him? Her eyes traveled to the tom, her friend, and she waited, hoping he could say something that would spare him his life. Come on Smoke, you can do it... she thought, desperately waiting for his statement. She wanted him to be saved. Her whole body was tense. What would she do if they attacked? Would she defend him, and loose the trust of her whole clan? Or would she fight against him, loosing his trust. Both situations seemed horrible. She couldn’t pick between her clan, her family, and one of her best friends. She prayed that neither situations would have to happen, and that Smoke could come up with something good to say.

Ooc: Breezebranch can actually hop in now, more drama for my baby Lilypaw!

(OOC: YESSSSSSSSSS!!!)

A limp and dead sparrow in her mouth, blocking all other scents, Breezebranch delicately picked her way into camp. Then she saw him. That rogue. The same one she'd saved her Lilypaw from- wait, Lilypaw! The rogue had blood on his claws. And Lilypaw looked anxious. Mudpaw was standing defensively by her older littermate. Motherly instincts kicking in, she dropped the sparrow and with a caterwauling yowl, launched herself onto Smoke without any hesitation.

All else was forgotten in her rage. Treeheart had been taken from her by a rogue. Spottedoak, Acornmask, and Flowerstream had been taken from her by the Dark Forest, who were no better than rogues. Silverkit had been lost to the churning river. Owlstorm, Honeytooth, Pebblepaw... All victims to rogues. Mudmask, her brave Mudmusk had been taken from her. All of her internalized pain was released, vengeance lacing every claw as they tore at his pelt.

"You filthy rogue! Stay away from my daughter! Stay away from my family! Stay away from my Clan!" She snarled at him, pure hatred in her voice.

To say she was scared would be an understatement. Mudpaw was petrified. Silverstar had barely stopped speaking when her mother walked into camp. The second she saw Smoke, the peaceful look in her eyes transformed into something like raw hatred. Mudpaw had never seen her mother so angry. Her mother leapt on top of the rogue, ferociously clawing him, snarling and hissing.

As her mother told him to stay away from her family, she realized with a shock just how much her mother truly loved them. I mean, she was willing to claw- sharp, and unmerciful- a rogue because she felt he was a threat to her family- and he very well may be.

(I know I said I wouldn’t post until I’m ungrounded but I can’t let smoke be attacked)

Smoke was about to explain everything when suddenly lilypaw’s mother came crashing down on him with claws and teeth at the ready. As the Tom was being attacked his killer side was about to come out. Smoke didn’t want to kill lilypaw’s mother so he pictured her sad face to ease the hunger known as bloodlust from his mind and body. He stayed still as the she-cat attacked him knowing if he fought back then he was in no shape to call himself a friend. As he laid there he looked around at all the other cats. Some looked scared since the leader told them not to attack, others looked excited as he was finally getting what he deserved, and others looked almost sad as they watched what was happening. He finally looked to lilypaw who was anxious and also frightened. He gave a slight nod to tell her it was alright before going back to BreezeBranch. He sent a silent prayer to the beings the cats referred to as ‘Starclan’ and waited for his death that he knew he had deserved.

(Wow this is long :D)

"Breezebranch!" Silverstar yowled to the she-cat, his voice laced with toxicity of anger and pain he held back all these moons. Something snapped deep within him once Breezebranch started to viscously tear apart the rogue like a fox does to a rabbit. He leaped forward and quickly grabbed the warrior by the scruff and yanked her off of Smoke as if the rogue had a tick. The leader tossed Breezebranch away from Smoke before staring down at her with a scorching golden gaze. Silverstar's claws unsheathed against his control as his paw tips started to quake. At this point, he's forgotten about his calm personality, his own emotions were pulling the strings now. "I understand how you feel, but you aren't showing any more control over violent urges than him!" he hissed as he stared down at Breezebranch.

He then looked around and raised his voice as he addressed the mass of warriors and apprentices around the scene before them. "You all relish in pride of your own morality and nobility, yet here we all quickly resort to violence and death? Some of you even enjoy watching someone's life almost be taken? Yet we say we're better than the rogues?!" he spat as he stared at all of his clanmates. He drew his lips back in a snarl as he continued in a slow voice, "You will contain yourselves unless I say otherwise. I am not asking anymore. This is an order from your leader. Is that clear?". As the clan fell silent, Silverstar whipped around to face Smoke again.

"Don't think for one second that I'm on your side, rogue. You have one chance to tell them your story. Whether or not they accept it is outside of my paws," he told Smoke, his piercing eyes unchanging from when he was talking to his clanmates.

"But--" The deputy was about to protest against Silverstar but was quickly cut off by a furious screech as Sorrelwing watched Breezebranch sprint into camp and barrel into Smoke without so much as a second thought. Everything unraveled from there until Silverstar stepped in yelling at the clan once the queen was free from the rogue. "I dont care what comes out of his mouth. Hes a murderer and deserves to be treated as such..." she hissed under her breath.

Lilypaw watched as Breezebranch entered the camp. Oh no! she thought. As the she-cat lunged onto Smoke, Lilypaw let out a yelp. ”Stop!” her voice rang out. She couldn’t believe her mother would hurt her friend like this. She couldn’t meet her mother’s gaze. As Smoke nodded to her, she inhaled sharply. To her surprise, Silverstar spoke what Lilypaw had been thinking. He actually sort of defended the tom. As he looked back at Smoke she felt a bit more nervous. As the deputy spoke, she rolled her eyes. She couldn’t meet her gaze either. ”Give him a chance!” she hissed at Sorrlewing. She waited for the tom to defend himself.

Smoke winced as he sat back up and looked at all the cats surrounding him. “My story isn’t much of the hero kind but I will try to explain everything. I came from very far away where their weren’t any twolegs or what you guys call clans. I was raised by my mother as my father was mostly out getting food. One day when I was around 6 moons old my temper got the best of me and I lashed out at my parents. I didn’t mean to, but one thing led to another and they both died. That was the first time I ever killed something or someone and I was scared. I ran off into the wild and over the moons I killed more just to survive. When I traveled here and met lilypaw I realized killing wasn’t the answer but since I did it for so long I now can barely control it. I can leave or you can even kill me, I just don’t want to suffer like this any longer.” He mewed without looking at lilypaw the whole time.

Shrikepaw and Breezebranch had a pretty openly strained relationship, but when the she-cat came into the camp and attacked the rogue, the apprentice couldn't help but sort of chuckle and smile a little. She'd never agreed with the queen more than in that moment. She rolled her eyes as Silverstar stopped Breezebranch, shaking her head. As the outsider was given a chance to speak, she hissed again, keeping her glare on the tom.

"For once I agree with Breezebranch. This tom killed one of our own! And to even listen to his...attempt at a sob story is disrespectful. We are allowed to protect our Clan, that is in the code, and that's why we're still better than rogues." She spat out, her claws unsheathing but digging into the dirt beneath her paws. For now. She was meant to listen to Silverstar, but at the same time, this would not be solved this way.

She had been observing from within the medicine den without so much as a squeak. Eyes wide and glassed, little diamonds twinkling in her corners of her eyes. Hackles raised, numbness fluttering within her chest as she shrunk further into her nest. And yet, her eyes were glued to the scene, petrified, a reflection of her distress. When Breezebranch had barrelled into the scene, she had witnessed how the tranquility in her loving eyes had been substitued with pure, unrelenting wrath. Her mother, hurtling into camp, throwing herself onto the rogue with a display of unrestrained fury. The resentment kindling deep within Breezebranch's gaze was enough to fracture her world. Mama... that isn't you... To witness how Breezebranch had shredded a stranger with every fiber within her, seething with rage, regardless of if it was a demonstration of her precious motherly love... was traumatising. Brindlekit wanted to bury herself deep in Breezebranch's embrace, the only one who would truely be able to quench her horror... but seeing her in that state, was enough to restrict herself from doing so.

As her mother was dragged off the unwelcome visitor by the leader, she let out a soft wail. She so desired to curl, to drown out the world, the cries, the hisses, the snarls at each others' faces. But... what she truely desired, was for them all to stop. Faltering with each step, she staggered warily beyond the safety of the den. The tantalizing aroma of herbs dissipated in a split second, and she was instantaneously enveloped with the scent of fear, fury, and blood. In the center of it all, stood Lilypaw... mere whiskers from a murderer. Seeing how close they were, dazed her with panic. "Sis...?" It was a scarcely audible whimper, buffeted into oblivion by a few crisp gusts. Quivering, engulfed by the squabbling, she winced as a rustic bitterness seeped into her nostrils. The taste of blood lingered on her tongue, causing her to cringe and retract. A tingling sensation tickled her throat, triggering an abrupt bout of racketing coughs. She stumbled momentarily, halting in her tracks as her whitecough wheezes resurfaced. Recovering at an agonising pace, Brindlekit's trembling was ceaseless as she redirected her wide glossy eyes to the clearing, and with each throbbing heartbeat she saw the restraining space... warp. Intimidated, stunned with fear, as she cowered beneath the shadows of all the cats before her. Blood, cats, blood, scary rogue, anger, mama, sisters, fight, blood, screaming, scared.

"Stop fighting... stop fighting, p-please! I don't l-like.. I don't like it..." A misted veil enshrouding her vision, her gaze flickered fleetingly to the rogue. Blood tarnished his paws, and that frightened her even more. Chest heaving rapidly, streaking colours, constricting darkness. He could hurt anyone! He could hurt her. He could hurt Silverstar, or Sorrelwing, or Shrikepaw, or Mudpaw, or Breezebranch, or- or-

The bushy grey pile of fur, also known as the Clan's medicine cat, followed Brindlekit out of the medicine den warily, observing the scene taking place. His green eyes took a lot of things at once that he wasn't really sure how to interpret-- one of the sweetest cats he'd ever known was being pulled off of an unfamiliar cat, practically spitting with rage. Mistedsong's face twisted into a frown upon spotting the blood on the stranger's coat, of which was obviously not his own. The medicine cat had not caught much of the exchange while still in his den, but based on the reactions of the other cats, he was pretty safe in assuming that it was from one of their own, although Lilypaw looked unharmed. He padded up to the kit currently in his care, stroking his tail along her side in an attempt to ground her. "Brindlekit, you need to breathe," he mewed softly. "Silverstar has it under control, your family will be safe," he consoled the panicking kit. The medicine cat directed his eyes towards the aforementioned leader. "Silverstar, what exactly is going on here?"

Silverstar didn't reply to Smoke's story, just nodded a bit. He didn't respond to his clanmates comments on his tale. The leader took a deep breath as Mistedsong approached. He still didn't feel noticably different on the inside, but still he did his best to sound and seem more calm. He stared back at Mistedsong as he started to explain the situation. "Lilypaw brought this rogue, Smoke, into our camp, he... killed one of our apprentices. She wants us to help him..." he took another deep breath before continuing. "He claims that he knows what he did was wrong, but he can't control himself since he needed to use these murderous behaviors in order to survive for most of his life. So, Lilypaw is asking us to help him learn to control his urges." he finished.

Lilypaw soon heard the voice of her poor sister Brindlekit, who had been stuck in the medicine den for quite some time. The kit was scared, Lilypaw rea.ized. It was her fault. Mudpaw seemed scared, Breezebranch was scared, Brindlekit was practically petrified, and even the most of the clan was wary, at least on guard. As she heard her sister call out for her, confused and scared, then proceed into a coughing fit, Lilypaw couldn’t handle the emotions she was feeling. Brindlekit begged them to stop, and to not hurt-to not hurt Lilypaw. She realized how much her family loved her. They were so scared for her. Lilypaw couldn’t bear it anymore. She ran up to her little sister. ”Brindlekit,” she spoke gently. ”It’s me, Lilypaw. Everything is okay.” she looked into Brindlekit’s eyes, willing for her to accept what Lilypaw had said. She watched as Mistedsong asked Silverstar what was happening. Silverstar explained what had happened, and the apprentice could find no indication of what the leader thought. His voice simply stated the facts, with not an ounce of emotion or expression. Sitting down next to Brindlekit, she got very close to her scared sister, trying to soothe as Mistedsong was.

Smoke watched everything go on and even winced when lily’s sister thought he would hurt her. He knew it was a bad idea coming here and now even lilypaw was starting to realize it also. He ignored shrikepaw’s comment and continued to look at the leader who would be the one to decide his fate. Smoke wished he just left the stupid clan cats and went back to his home that was far away. He knew that would make lilypaw sad but he couldn’t stand to see all the scared faces around him. He was a monster and he deserved better than to have lilypaw and she deserved someone better than him.

Swiftpaw was in the corner of the gathered cats watching with curiosity. She couldn’t hear what the others were saying but she caught little bits. Rouge. Killed. Needs help. She was as confused as ever especially when her mom attacked the strange cat. She wished she could hear what was happening but decided it was better not to hear all the drama just Incase it was to gruesome to listen to at her young age.

(Added swift for the drama, everyone can ignore he tho since she is the invisible cat of Skyclan)

She didn't react when Silverstar had thrown her off that filthy rogue, or when Sorrelwing and Shrikepaw supported her. But she heavily reacted when her kit ran from the medicine den., As Brindlekit hurried to the scene, all of her rage dissipated into thin air. Her daughter, one of her youngest, was sobbing, pleading for them to stop. Eyes that were so filled with rage one moment ago now overflowed with tears as she hurried to her kits' side. Everything else disappeared in that moment. Brindlekit was pleading, begging, sobbing, for them to stop. Lilypaw approached her trembling sister, wanting to comfort her.

Breezebranch stumbled forward, tears lacing her vision until she could hardly see. Mudpaw rushed to her side, worry pushing her forwards. Concern and fear pulsed off of Breezebranch in waves, not for herself, but for her kits. Was Brindlekit alright? Lilypaw, Mudpaw? Where were her other kits? Acornkit, Maplepaw, Swiftpaw, Icepaw, Lionpaw? Were they safe? Was that blood on the rogue's claws one of her kits'? Rage threatened to come back up, but it evaporated as she focused on the trembling and quivering shape of Brindlekit.

She padded up Lilypaw and Brindlekit, her flanks heaving with the tiredness of relief that both seemed unharmed. Nearly collapsing from relief, she wrapped her long and fluffy tail around both of them, drawing Mudpaw into her embrace as well. She saw Swiftpaw standing far away, and nearly cried in relief that she was fine. She desperately beckoned her over with her eyes and ears, hoping she'd understand the gesture. She returned her focus to Brindlekit, keeping one ear cocked in Swiftpaw's direction.

"Everything is fine, lovely. Nobody is going to hurt Lilypaw. Or you, or Swiftpaw, or Mudpaw, or any of your littermates." She soothed, licking her gently. The thickness of her fur did all but practically hide them from view of anyone else. If that rogue wanted her kits, he'd have to come through her first.