Not You Again.... {private--Lion}

[Azaleapetal]

So maybe Azaleapetal had heard a sickening rumor. A rumor that made her regret ever thinking joining IceClan was a good idea. Her best friend and mate Freezefeather, who was basically the only cat she talked to, knew of her dislike towards Lionstrike. If Aza was more open, she was certain the whole of TreeClan and IceClan would have known by now she utterly despised the former queen. For many reasons she didn't usually recount. She never liked to think about her mother, and it was rude to exclaim around Freezefeather how much Lionstrike was hated when her lovely mate had never even interacted with his. She at least had spoken to her mother, a few moons ago having been assigned the she-cat as her mentor even because of the lack of warriors. At the time, way back when, Aza had utterly loved her mother. She felt pride in being Lionstrike's daughter, the motivation to become a good daughter driving Azalea onward. Her mother had been her idol, the reason Aza even tried to be the cat she wished to be. But when Lionstrike's duties overlapped with her training, her mother became a less important figure. Lionstrike was not the great and beautiful queen who Azalea loved, she became a cat who--Azalea was convinced--was disappointed in her daughter's personality and abilities. And that ruined her mother's image altogether.

But now a stray rumor caught her ears once more. She had heard once Lionstrike had joined IceClan after disappearing from her former Clan's sight. Azaleapetal hadn't even considered ever running into the warrior again when she took the final step into IceClan's chilly territory. She should have, though, because now she stood... somewhere in IceClan territory near the TreeClan border, her frosty eyes that were twin to Lionstrike's catching the she-cat's fur.

Azaleapetal was frozen stiff, not uttering a word, and not processing a thing.

^-^

[Lionstrike]

You would think that I would miss my time as a queen, living in the nursery and giving birth to TreeClan's next warriors. But that was all gone. And, honestly, I didn't miss it one bit. I loved being a normal warrior, even though I was practically useless in IceClan. With my injury from the twoleg place, I was still healing.

My paws had carried me back to the TreeClan border, and I sat staring at the trees. I heard chirps of spring birds and the grass growing, little weeds popping up here and there. I missed the foliage and color. But, I was finally with Robbie again... he was all I had left. My only friend.

I turned my head when I heard something, spotting a rather familiar ginger cat. I felt shock run through me. "Azalea... petal...? What are you doing here?"

[Azaleapetal]

Azaleapetal felt a coldness creep up her spine, and she gave her shoulders a violent shake to be rid of it, convinced it was simply IceClan's climate. Oh her luck. Running into the one cat she never wanted to see again. Aza almost had half a sense to whirl around and storm back to camp, snatch Freeze from wherever he lay, and race back to TreeClan before her mother could spit out another word. Before her mother's face would twist into disappointment and disgust, completely shocked and angry her disappointment of a daughter had followed her.

Aza's lip curled for a moment at such a thought, before her pride out won her anger and her face lost the scowl, and simply glared accusingly at Lionstrike. “The bigger question is,” she growled out, her chin snapping upwards. “What are you doing here? I thought I would never see you again after you... left.”

She should have suspected to run into Lionstrike once more. She should have prepared for this moment. But she had done no such thing. Now her mouth was simply running from things popping into her head, most of it stemming from her hate and anger.

[Lionstrike]

I was definitely shocked to see my daughter here. Perhaps my reaction wasn't as good as it should have been. I mean, I was definitely happy to see her there, but I didn't expect my child to come here. It led my mind to wonder if she had run into Robinstar yet. Did she even know her father? I really couldn't remember.

"Long story short," I began with a sigh. "I was abducted by twolegs and somehow injured by them. I was going to die in a barn, but Robinstar came and found me. He took me here to heal, and I just... haven't left." It sounded like she was accusing me of betraying TreeClan... but...

"Now, tell me why you're here." I stood up, padding closer.

[Azaleapetal]

As Lionstrike explained the reasoning behind her disappearance, Aza felt her claws curl into the frozen earth. She spoke as if nothing was wrong. As if things were just like the last time they had spoken, neutral and ignorant. Lionstrike acted as if she weren't disappointed or angry with her daughter--but of course, Azaleapetal was certain it was all an act--and seemingly without any indication her daughter was far from happy to see her here.

Then the question was directed at her. Aza felt her lip twitching in the means of a scowl, but fought against making such a face, instead responding coldly to her mother's words. "I don't have any connects to TreeClan. So I decided to live in IceClan and start a new life." She didn't go into the details. That IceClan's territory just felt like the place she belonged. That she had left with her best friend and mate Freezefeather. She didn't think Lionstrike needed to hear any of that, or even deserved too much speech from her daughter. Azalea spoke again, though she couldn't help her eyes narrowing and the venom to slip through her voice. "It was a means of forgetting the past. Though I shouldn't have hoped I would never see you again."

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With the avalanche plot in action, do we continue this thread since--technically--all this played out before it hit? Or do we stop it here or something?

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