ʳᵉᵃᵈ ᵗʰⁱˢ ᶠⁱʳˢᵗ: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1309647447 ᴬ ᴳᵒˡᵈᵉⁿᵖᵃᵗᶜʰ ᴵᴵ ˢᵉᵐⁱ-ˢʳᵖ } There was no wind. There were no birds, like Golden had grown accustomed to hearing out in the barrens. There was silence for moments after the leader stopped speaking. All was hushed but few whispers, and the choked sounds Trianglestar was trying to hold back. Goldenpatch paled. She… what was she supposed to do? Unable to train or fight, unable to mediate and convince the rotting swine of a snake or tell anyone /why/ they were doing this, unable to help protect the clan excepting from itself. Goldenpatch II stepped back, shaking. She didn't know where to look, didn't know what to do, what to feel. The world was descending into chaos. She could see it, in the way the cats around her sneered, and hid their scornful gazes. Some didn’t try to hide it. Some agreed with Trianglestar, but Goldenpatch couldn’t see those that understood the leader. They breathed in and out sharply. Stars, they were a /mediator/, they were supposed to help, weren’t they? And they couldn’t even fight to save their clanmates, or try to at most. It’s not like she would be good at it, but at least she would die a-- a hero, right? Doing something to help her clanmates? Not the mediator that couldn’t do anything to fix the rotten mess that stars-forsaken viper had caused, the cats it had hurt. There had to be a solution; something that she could hold on to and gain her footing. Something, /anything/ she could do other than sit and wait things out. A voice whispered in the back of her mind. It wasn’t loud. It rose above the tumult in her head, detached from any empathy, and she hated it. /Why can’t we sacrifice the one child,/ it said coldly, /for the benefit of so many more? How many cats must die before we accept the fact that we could end it all so easily?/ Golden quieted. It was true, wasn’t it? They felt it in their bones. It would solve.. everything, right? And nobody would have to die, and… and… Golden didn’t dare move. The clan dispersed. He stood, face blank, fire crackling in his ears. No... Stars, what were they, a monster? They wanted to slap themselves. /No/. She slumped slightly, guilt racking her body. How lifeless /was/ she? Adoration. A child, in the hands of a snake. Scared, hopeful that she’d be saved. Waiting. If her /one last memory/ was that of the knowledge that Tri had abandoned her, and that she was going to perish alone and away from everyone she loved, having lived not long enough to explore the vastly wonderful and horrifying world… Goldenpatch felt sick. There wasn’t a good way to end this, not any way that would leave Tri’s paws free from spilled blσσd, or his reputation from being tarnished. There wasn't a path she could find by hearing more. The snake was cold blooded, the conniving worm had no /empathy/. And to think many had accepted it, and given it a warrior's name, as if it could be courageous or serve anything but itself. Goldenpatch the second set her jaw. There had to be a reason, something concrete. A belief, a struggle... something that could prompt such an evil to arise from a simple snake. She /would/ find a way to help, a way to fix something. A way to take some of the weight off the leader and deputy’s shoulders. She… she had to. So many... including her, though only partially... disagreed with the leader’s decision, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t /trying/ to do the right thing. Through the pain he must be feeling, the fog he wades through every day to try to protect the clan and his family... Golden saw the stricken expressions of the rest of his children. They all shared the same responsibility and pressure of choice. Golden watched the leader up on the rock, not knowing if he saw her down on the ground. ‘Please,’ he had said, ‘I just… need her to live.’ For once, Enne had found herself agonised with empathy-- something that felt so rare. They found themselves feeling sorry for the leader, who had never been… kind to her, to anyone she was close to, really. Always deciding her fate based on those who had raised her. And yet… there was something there. Something past the frightened animal that wanted to protect it’s own, and remembered the pain it had been dealt. It gave Goldenpatch a little hope, that she may yet win the leader over. And, by perhaps choosing a side, she could do something. Anything, she thought wearily. Anything she could do to help would put her mind at ease. Perhaps... perhaps Pyroclan could find a way out of this mess.
