"You lied to us," Hawkpaw says, his tail flicking back and forth. Stonefur is calm, unreactive. He's waiting for Hawkpaw to continue, although Hawkpaw guesses he knows what this is about. "You're not our father."
There's a spark of anger in Stonefur's eyes, but his voice is steady when he says, "I raised you, didn't I?"
"But you didn't sire us."
"That's not a requirement, Hawk."
"But you still lied."
Stonefur looks exhausted. "I never lied. I raised you, I am your father."
like mistyfoot gets back and she's so angry at leopardstar. doing one right thing at the end isn't enough to make up for it. stonefur turned back just to make sure she was okay, and he never showed up in thunderclan.
was he not worth saving? did he mean so little to her?
she's overjoyed that he's alive but he's sitting on the flat stones with leopardstar. sharing prey with her. and his ribs stick out like stepping stones from the river, his fur is dull and crossed in angry scratches and scars, but he's still looking at leopardstar with the same deep, adoring love, and she's got her head on her paws, looking at nothing.
featherpaw and stormpaw see it too, they hesitate behind her.
"why's he---" featherpaw starts to say, but she cuts herself off, like she knows the answer isn't something she wants to hear.
mistyfoot gives each of them a lick. she doesn't want to leave them anywhere, but she doesn't want to bring them straight to leopardstar, and she's not sure how this conversation is going to go.
dawnpaw enters camp, her ears folded, and mistyfoot sighs in relief. dawnpaw is their sister: mistyfoot can trust her, at least for a moment.
"go wait with dawnpaw," she instructs, not taking her eyes off of leopardstar and stonefur.
stonefur says something, and leopardstar tilts her head towards him, but doesn't respond. he lowers his head in line with hers, and she touches noses with him, briefly.
So kinda on a hurt Mistyfoot/star bender, buut: (Set in Leopard AU, but with the thought of Leopard and Misty raising their kits together. Maybe Misty's are a moon younger ten Leopard's, idk)
During The Kin and Darktail has pushed Riverclan out of it's territory Mistystar and Onestar get in a fight and Onestar says "I can't believe Leopardstar let you be deputy and that Starclan gave you nine lives--you can't even keep your kits alive, much less a clan!"
Feathertail: *a sharp gasp left her, and Stormfur stands beside her, both of their pelts bristling.*
Greymist: *a deep growl leaves her throat, followed By Hawkfrost's own. Frogheart's eyes gitter with ice, his long claws glittering in the sun. Mothwing drops the pile of herbs shows using to help Kestrelflight, rage fluffing up her pelt as the large group moves towards Mistystar and Onestar. Stonefur stands between them, and shakes his head. Greymist can't help but speak up: "Reedwhisker and I are still alive! Feathertail and Stormfur are still alive!"
Onestar: he snorts in disgust. "One disabled and useless daughter, one son who couldn't save his little brother--" (he's blaming Storm for Ripple's death even though he has no evidence.)
Hawkfrost: "She's got us too. Our mom always trusted her and believed in her, so fuck right off, Onestar. We will get Reedwhisker, Shadepelt, and the others back." Onestar takes a step back as he spots Stonefur and Leopardstar's kits-Warriors, now--all three are sitting side by side, and while Tigerstar's contribution is there, right now, he can see Leopardstar and Stonefur all over them. The way they hold themselves, how each of the siblings have a rosette mark somewhere on their pelts, and how their posture is all Stonefur's own. He frowns as Bramblestar separates them. "Enough Onestar-dnt you dare say what you're thinking because you'll piss me off, alongside Twanypelt and her son. I think tonight Windclan should sleep in the tunnels around Thunderclan camp."
are we not all, always on a hurt misty bender? i assume people who stick around here are, at least.
anyway i don't actually have anythign to add to this: it was good and i liked it. that is all. thank u for sharing.
Leopard Anon: I like the idea that Stone, Misty, and the rest (except Leopard) never find out about Tigerstar threatening Mudfur. Especially like the idea of Stone, Misty, Dawn, Feather, and Storm not understanding why Leopard starts getting closer to her father again.
shadepelt 🤝 leopardstar
the rest of the clan doesn't understand why the fuck they're willing to talk to mudfur.
that said. i feel like if leopardstar finds out. she'd tell the others? or at least stonefur? like i dunno i feel like. she'd feel guilty. like she knows they all hate him because of her, in a sense, and that's unwarranted. hhhhhh okay
cw: sexual assault
but yeah just to reiterate. i think whenever. however. leopardstar finds out. she feels really fucking guilty.
how could she think that of mudfur?
never mind that mudfur was playing the role tigerstar assigned him as well as he possibly could because it meant leopardstar wouldn't be killed.
[unrelated i just had an idea. that. like. tigerstar takes stonefur aside at some point. for what i don't know. like as some kind of punishment. or maybe stonefur is threatening to do something. that riverclan won't let him do this.
"won't they?" tigerstar asks. his muzzle is so close to stonefur, he thinks he can see scraps of golden fur on it. or maybe he's imagining things. "do you think your clan so foolish they don't already know?"
and stonefur's ears fold and---
"if you get smart with me again," tigerstar warns, like a mentor to a new apprentice, "i will drag her out into the centre of camp. i will call a clan meeting, drag every one, elder to kit, out of their dens, and we will see what they do."
anyway, back on topic.]
so leopardstar is tearing herself up about that.
how could she not even ask him?
never mind that just looking at him made (makes) her feel sick. never mind that she could go her whole life without hearing his voice again. never mind that his scent triggers flashback. never mind all of that.
he was only ever in that position because she made the wrong choices.
so i think she'd talk to --- maybe her whole circle, or maybe just start w stonefur, and tell them. yeah just stonefur. because she doesn't have to be anything but herself next to him, and because she doesn't have to explain anything to him, and this is hard enough.
and stonefur looks into her eyes, and --- he wants to say, "that's the stupidest thing you've ever said," but she doesn't need that from him ("stupid bitch," tigerstar says. "did you really think i wouldn't realize? did you really think you could outsmart me? you're just a dumb whore."), and then he wants to say, "i think you've finally lost it," but she spent long enough thinking she was crazy, so he doesn't say any of that.
"you don't have to hate him," leopardstar says. "it wasn't his choice, any more than it was yours."
and maybe that's true, but.
"but he hurt you, leopard." stonefur chooses his words carefully. he doesn't want to upset her more. "it doesn't matter why."
Leopard Anon: Leopard getting close 5o Kitting and Mistyfoot going to Thunderclan to ask to borrow Cinderpelt cause Stonefur, Dawncloud and Feathertail (Dawncloud maybe broke down and told Feather and Storm what happened after they were rescued) won't allow Mudfur into Leopardstar's den. Stormfur trying his best to help by bringing borage and poppy seeds, trying to remember what Cinderpelt used for the queens in thunderclan. Both him and Feather snarling at Mudfur as he tries to help, and shooing him back to the medicine den. Dawncloud with Leopard and Stone in their den, helping the best she can with the herbs Storm brought, waiting on Misty and Cinder.
point of clarification: dawnflower.
dawncloud's in SHADOWCLAN having her own plot and a half. i mean dawncloud's probably a good name for dawnflower it'd just get confusing.
cw: implied/referenced sexual assault
anyway yeah YEAH let's bring the whole gang in. dawn and feather and storm are littermates after all. we can pull mosspelt in too somehow i think. i think she deserves. hm. thoughts. thoughts thoughts thoughts.
i'm not sure when i'd want the kits to be born...like one or two moons after (or literally any value between 0 and 2), but. yeah. hnng. mudfur gets things ready, i think. stormfur goes to collect them from him, angry and angry and angry, and mudfur is trying to explain what everything does and stormfur is too angry to care but he's trying to listen bc what if he misses something that could help her.
hnnng.
everyone is incredibly anxious. because. well. it's a stressful time. it's been a stressful pregnancy. and everyone's worried about brightsky.
(yeah ik that's not technically how brightsky died but. you know how it's part of my canon that mistyfoot has two litters, and that deadfoot mentors mudclaw? so is, "brightsky dies in childbirth.")
which like. isn't helping matters. no one is SAYING they're thinking about brightsky but still. leopardstar's. it's complicated. she's got a lot of complicated feels to process and they're very low on the list of things she's dealing with and basically being compared to her mother is the LAST thing she needs right now but it's on everyone's mind, including hers.
like. tigerstar told her she would die like her mother. except she had nine lives and she would die nine times.
so she's scared and upset and she doesn't want any of this to happen but she doesn't have a choice. stonefur doesn't know how to help her. mistyfoot left to get cinderpelt.
she's been prepared for when they'll need her, mistyfoot just has to alert her that when is now.
mudfur drifts into the general area, feathertail and dawnflower send him off.
probably mostly feathertail. i imagine...dawnflower doesn't want anything to do with him either. like. y'know. there dawnpaw was, sleeping alone in the apprentices' den because tigerstar wouldn't let her stay with mosspelt (there are plenty of other apprentices, after all: tawnypaw and cedarpaw and rowanpaw and dawnpaw is so alone she wishes she knew where featherpaw and stormpaw are), wondering how mudfur could say that to his daughter.
what could he say to her.
so yeah i think dawnflower's pretty big on staying away from mudfur, at least given someone else is there. like feathertail and stormfur and mistyfoot and mosspelt.
and the kitting it's going fine but none of them knowing anything about that.
cinderpelt and mistyfoot return and leopardstar doesn't want to do this and she doesn't have a choice. she never wanted kits, but they are being born.
she presses against stonefur and tries to breathe.
everything goes alright, in the end. cinderpelt looks over the kits, and they are healthy. leopardstar is exhausted, and she wasn't in good condition (i haven't forgot about THAT part of the original prompt), so she's weak, but all three are healthy.
cinderpelt leaves, but not before going over basics with mistyfoot, just the things she can think of that might help, and promises she'll be ready to come back if they need her.
no one told her exactly why they did, but she can guess.
the clan wants to know how leopardstar and the kits are, and mistyfoot more or less tells them to fuck off. she sends dawn and feather and storm to get sleep, and settles in. she can hear her brother purring.
WRT to the newest part of the leopard au and leopard being pregnant at the end would there be more ambiguity as to the paternity of her kits? ( making it easier for them?)
hmm maybe?
depends how long after tigerclan the kits were born. two moons is ambiguous, one moon isn't.
buuuuut.
stonefur and leopardstar being mates makes things easier. more normal. like. they can kinda just. have two parents and not ask questions.
oooh.
well.
there's a tempting offer. they don't ask questions. why would they?
