Dappleddusk remained on damage control for the rest of the night, working alongside Beewatcher and the clan's mediators, Hollyclaw and Heatherflower.
The most important cat in need of their attention was obviously Sandfeather, but they squared away any other cats visibly shaken by the day's events to be spoken to individually. Beewatcher herded Sandfeather away to a private corner far from the medicine cats' den where Eagleburn remained, having an apprentice fetch some catmint from their stores.
With everyone delegated and working on their tasks, Dappleddusk found herself slowly padding towards the medicine cats' den. She knew full well Oatstar had been in there since the end of the gathering--she had watched him slip in, and never come back out. She should be avoiding the den, in fact. She should be furious and focusing on other tasks to keep her mind busy.
But she wasn't going to see Oatstar.
She needed to see Eagleburn.
"--I didn't know what else to do."
As she slowly poked in her head, barely missing the apprentice skirting past her on catmint-fetching duty, she heard Oatstar's whisper.
"I understand, you were put into a difficult position," Eagleburn's reassuring, deep voice answered, soothing. Dappleddusk felt her lip curl at the sound of him reassuring that coward, but...
It was all an act, wasn't it?
Eagleburn knew exactly how to play into the tom cat's feelings, making him feel validated, but also further enmeshing them.
"Dappleddusk, you can come over. It's alright."
Foxdung. She forgot how keen his senses were with the absence of his sight.
Oatstar likewise seemed surprised, sitting upright in a shock as his interim deputy slunk forward. Head down, shoulders hunched, tail low, she looked ready to swat at Oatstar, and he shrunk back, no longer confident as he was outside. But she chose to sit, ears flat as her tail wrapped itself over her forepaws.
"So you heard?"
"All of it. A bit too much, actually."
Eagleburn seemed perfectly fine with it all by Dappleddusk's assessment, licking a paw and lifting it to groom his ears.
"I would have given everyone more than the night to settle their feelings, but I know, Oatstar, you were under pressure."
Oatstar looked away, shameful. Good, thought Dappleddusk, resisting the urge to sneer.
"In the morning, before the dawn patrol, let me speak with the clan. Let them address me as they need."
Dappleddusk and Oatstar both looked at Eagleburn in shared surprise.
"Are you a glutton for punishment?" asked Dappleddusk, incredulous. "They'll rip you to shreds!"
"And they won't feel at peace until they have a chance to do so," Eagleburn firmly replied. "Do you think Sandfeather will leave peacefully? Not only that, but if she leaves, you fracture an entire family of good cats who have been nothing but loyal to DawnClan. Sandfeather's grandmother was one of our founders when HillClan fell."
Ugh, he made a good point.
"Then, you are...?"
"I want to open a dialogue, and if Sandfeather, or any others, are not satisfied with that..."
He quieted, flexing his claws into his mossy bed.
"They can speak to me through their actions."
Unable to believe her ears, Dappleddusk stared.
"You're willing to risk getting killed in a fight so they can get over themselves?"
"I killed Bayspots. Even while it was self-defense, it is, as you said Oatstar, a sin and a smear on StarClan's face. How else should I show to Sandfeather that I truly seek redemption and forgiveness for committing the worst possible thing?"
Dappleddusk fell silent, and Oatstar, of course, had no good advice, only shifting nervously. Unfortunately, Eagleburn made a good point. While it was utterly insane, forcing Sandfeather to leave was far from a good idea, along with not letting her work through this anger and letting it simmer. They could see a civil war within their very clan.
"... Very well," Dappleddusk sighed. "I will do whatever I can to help."
Eagleburn's whiskers twitched, letting out a short purr.
"Thank you, Dappleddusk. Oatstar, are you okay with this?"
"Of course."
Dappleddusk loathed how quick he was to agree, glancing over at him. Oatstar's eyes were wholly on Eagleburn, however.
"Whatever you need."
Nodding, Eagleburn yawned.
"For now, both of you should get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day."
