the secret side of me && mandatory, open

When he got through to Frostpaw, Vertigo couldn't help but smile the faintest bit, feeling both relieved and amused by his half-brother's surprise. It was fleeting, however. Now was not a time for warm condolances and friendly exchanges.

"I can imagine that would put unnecessary stress on you." The cream tabby replied to his kin's suggestion. The mere thought of having so many different memories crammed in one's head, from so many perspectives, all filled with panic and confusion, made Vertigo bristle. Was that really what Frostpaw thought was best? "Is that how you handle things? ...As long as no one else is suffering, it's okay if I have to?"

That faint sting of anger returned.

"That's not all right, you know. You can't possibly think it was okay for you to shoulder such a heavy burden on your own. The fact that you couldn't trust either Lovelace or I enough to speak with us before you did something so drastic speaks volumes about your faith in us. Seeing the Clan like this... I feel like I have already failed them as a leader." The anger, the calm, all of it was replaced by a surge of bitter melancholy that he tried to withhold from Frostpaw. "More than that... I failed you as a brother, unable to see how much you were suffering. I couldn't protect you."

Frostpaw was so young, faced with such a large responsibility. And that broke Vertigo's heart. He knew that feeling. He knew what it was like to have such a huge responsibility to live up to, and to live in fear of the consequences. Vertigo's own situation was self-perpetuated by his need to live up to others' expectations, but the fear was there regardless. He was afraid that to fail meant to be unworthy of his family's love and respect. That to fail meant he would be alienated and alone. Frostpaw, by contrast, was afraid that to fail meant that everyone that he loved, and who loved him, would be killed; thinking about it that way, Vertigo was not surprised at all by the desperation of his half-brother's actions.

But he wanted Frostpaw to know that things were different for him. Frostpaw had so many cats that were concerned for him, that wanted to help him. Vertigo had not had that luxury... and maybe that was all the more reason for him wanting to be there for his half-brother. "I know your heart was in the right place. But this... look at how much it's hurt you. You, and everyone else who cares about you."

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Heatherharvest flicked an ear as Redfur called the meeting over, and padded out of the room with a long sigh. There was no need for her to stay there any longer, especially since the leader and deputy were now assessing the situation. She could hear Vertigo's telepathic thoughts to Frostpaw, but just decided to ignore it. The hooligan hoped that there would be a solution to this madness, once and for all.

[fancypost bgcolor=; bordercolor=#000000; borderwidth=0px; font-family: times new roman; font-style: italic; font-size: 30px; margin-bottom: -9px; letter-spacing: 4px; text-align: center]parisa {{pariskiss'' kiss me[/fancypost]
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[fancypost bgcolor=; border: 5px dotted red; height: 380px; width: 190px; overflow: auto; border-radius: 30px] Cashmere left with no urge to stay and wondered what would happen to their religion next...

[align=center] [fancypost bgcolor=; bordercolor: white; border: 5px dotted red; height: 50px; width: 150px; overflow: auto; border-radius: ]OOC:: Name;; Pariskiss Rank;; Warrior of Fireclan Pariskit/parispaw/pariskiss

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Twistkit's shaky breath started to calm to normal breathing, but she still didn't smile. Her eyes were glossy with some sort of pain, beyond anything another cat would understand. She tried to lay down, but something isolated in her position, and she just stared at Frostpaw. Was everything going to be okay? Probably not. Frostpaw wouldn't hurt her, right? No, never. Unless she wanted him to.

"Frostpaw, please . . . " Her voice trailed off, accented voice ended suddenly. What did she even have to say? This was the other side of Frostpaw, the one he hadn't shown Twistkit when they had first met, when they stole human food, ever. She was aware that there was something up, but decided to never ask, because she thought that he would get stressed. Well, here it was. What was tearing him apart.

Brightpaw had a pump mouse in her jaws. She padded over to Frostpaw. "You, need to eat to keep up your energy." She meowed dropping the mouse to her feet and pushed it over with her nose to Frostpaw.

Ooc: Flooded....I've missed three pages so ignore this if it's out of whack.

[fancypost bgcolor=; border: 0px dashed white; width: 300px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri]OH, JUST SHUT UP!" Firfleck screeched. He'd never been so angry in his life. No more sitting quietly and considering the matter- it was time to take action. "You're all standing around yowling at eachother about this. Most of you want to punish Frostpaw! He killed that cat- this is true. But he thought he was doing the right thing!"

"The amount of pressure on him is ridiculous and you're all adding to that! He's the Divine- whatever that means- but he's still going to make mistakes! It doesn't change his actions but what we're doing right now isn't helping. So, are you all just going to keep lecturing until the next murder or are you actually going to think about the situation?" Where did all that come from?

Yeah, that was loud and probably the longest thing he'd ever said infront of a crowd. Firfleck took a deep breath. "Sorry about that."

[font=times new roman]Scribblingpaw narrowed his eyes. Firfleck had a right to his opinion but it was a crappy one. "Sure, everyone makes mistakes but this is a bit more than a mistake. He murdered someone- which is wrong and against everything every one of us has been taught. I've only just become a slayer and I know this. So what are we going to do about it?"

ooc. I wrote this post as if Firfleck said all of that, so if you want to change it, I'll change mine too. XD

ic.
Vertigo let out a long exhale that sent a tremble through his body. Frostpaw -- or the Star Forest, whoever was ultimately responsible for this -- was putting him a difficult place. He did not blame his half-brother, but he was exhausted and agitated nonetheless. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this?

"...I won't tell you that you can't do it. But I can't possibly tell you that this is okay, either." How could he agree to letting someone as young as an apprentice kill cats, no matter what the reason? And on the other paw, how could he risk condemning his Clan to divine retribution for not letting Frostpaw do it? "Do you think... there would be some way for me to talk to them myself? To negotiate?" He felt ridiculous, suggesting that he negotiate with the Star Forest. They didn't have to listen to him; he was just a mortal cat. But he couldn't roll over and let things continue this way.

"I'll go back to the Moonstone if I have to -- maybe you could--" His thoughts were then rudely interrupted by a yowl breaking through the camp, which had just now begun to descend into some semblence of calm.

Vertigo's mental concentration was broken and his patience was worn thin, "Firfleck! Silence! What gives you the right to shout orders over me?" It took him considerable effort for him to flatten his ruffled fur, but anger still flared in his eyes. "We have things under control. I think you need to better assess the situation." Honestly, being accusatory and shouting at everyone was the worst way to "improve" things. "I am trying to speak with Frostpaw. For now, everyone else should listen to Redfur and return to their daily routines. I will make another announcement when a conclusion has been reached."

[fancypost bgcolor=; border: 0px dashed white; width: 300px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri]ooc: Yep, that was definitely out of whack. Oh well, I'll go with it.

Ic: Firfleck flattened his ears against his skull but didn't respond. He felt like a chastised kit. He hadn't actually been speaking to Vertigo nor did he mean to interrupt the conversation he couldnt hear that was obviously being done through telepathy. He certainly did not want to be spoken to at this point. Maybe he'd hide in a corner until everyone forgot.

That wasn't one of his better moves. "Right, um, sorry. I wasn't thinking and...you know, I'll just go." he responded. It wasn't best for him to be there at the moment. The brown tabby retreated back, his embarrassment clear as day.

[font=times new roman]Yikes, not good. Scribblingwords blinked and made a mental note not to say anything. He felt bad for the tom and longed to run after him and cheer him up but knew that he'd probably want to be alone. The slayer watched his old mentor and wanted to see how Deercall would react to all this. It was just a bad situation.

Deercall had just returned from taking the body outside of camp - she needed to ask Vertigo how they should bury it - when Firfleck began his outburst. Wincing, she trotted towards the tomcat as the Boss finished reprimanding him. Pressing up against his side, she gave him a worried glance that said, we'll talk about this later.

"Can you go wait in the main hallway?" she murmured quietly. "I'll meet you out there in a few moments. I need to have a quick word with Vertigo."

Pressing her nose against his cheek in a quick goodbye, she turned around and made her way towards the powerful ginger tabby. "Vertigo?" the Freedom Fighter whispered, keeping a respectable distance from the fragile scene. "My apologizes for interrupting, but I took the rogue's body out of camp. Is there any special way or place we should, you know...bury it?"

Ace looked at Deercall and said. "Bury him like you would a warrior," was his simple reply. Why didn't the loner deserve a decent burial? He didn't ask to be killed. It was the idiotic cats placing their faith in things that didn't exist.

[justify]Freedomfighter was at the meeting for the whole time.[/justify]

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[fancypost borderwidth=0; width: 500][justify]Giving the others a glare so scolding and defensive that it was impressive, even for this particular she-cat, Astral resisted the urge to yell at them (for the situation had already been handled, and she knew not to trifle with such delicate matters) and turned back to Frostpaw. Marigold eyes pleading, begging even, the red tabby welled up with guilt, her mouth working here and there in strange ways. Although she had given the duo some space, Astral decided she still had things to say.

"Frosty. I don' 'are what ya do - murderin' an' all ... as long as ya promise I 'an try ta 'elp 'em suicidal ones 'irst." Her gaze was hard but vulnerable, and she wondered how her brother would respond. She knew that there was something going on between Vertigo and him, but surely the divine would listen to his own sister? Taking a deep breath, she then meowed quietly, "Either way ... 'ank ya, for doin' this all 'or us."

The marbled cat was, after all, pretty sure she would be counted both as a loved one and a blood relative.[/fancypost]
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[justify]Xenonglow had been watching the demented meeting from the shadows the entire time, a look of true horror plastered to her maw. She could never expect that her dear, sweet, 'ol Frostpaw would murder just for the sake of them, for the sake of everybody. Shooting a glance at the feline that was basically chasing her uncle Ace up a tree, she moved forward in the lines, glancing uncertainly at the figure of Astralpaw.

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