[Clover]

Originally Posted by fenic!

Mentorship.
Love.
Risk-taking.
Friendship.
Generosity.
Forgiveness.
Clear-mindedness.
Confidence.
[tba].

Those were the nine lives he had been given by the cats of Starclan, as he had received a message from his ancestors, one which regarded his own destiny and future- not as a warrior, as he'd always expected. It was his job to become a leader, to be able to help his clan recover from the dark era which had ravaged the forest, and to bring about peaceful tides for Riverclan. Russetswirl- no, Russetstar, had always held a piece of hope in his heart through everything bad which happened to him, and he found himself being given nine lives of the missing pieces, the ones which had helped him form to become a leader others could be proud of. Mentorship, to understand that he had to teach his entire clan now- that he had to guide them well, and to help everybody in Riverclan grow and prosper. Love, to understand that no matter how much heartbreak he went through personally, he was loved by all those he would lead, and that he had to love them all, like they were his very own kin. Risk-taking, to make the biggest choices in the smallest amounts of time, and to do things with efficiency, not caring about the dangers of a choice if it was to save his own clan. Friendship, to foster the bonds he already had with his clanmates, and to realize the inner worth of those around him in order to lead them with kindness, and a fierce heart. Generosity, oh, that was a life to fester an inner feeling inside of him, which told his own heart that he needed to give love to everyone he met, to extend kindness and give them happiness as long as they stayed as kind as he. Forgiveness, to be able to forgive those cats who betrayed Starclan during these times of despair, to understand the feelings going on in their hearts and expand on them with all of the help he had. Wateredge's life of clear-mindedness gave him knowledge on a trait he desperately needed, after living almost his entire life having his optimism exploited by his sister, and only being able to see the monster she really was after a battle, and a heated exchange of words- it was the life he needed most. The life of confidence wasn't much for him, and he still had pride in his soul- and [tba] was [tba].

Now, he needed to put those lives to use, to make something out of them as he padded up towards his clan's meetingplace- the Streamstone. He'd only recently entered camp as he left from the Starcave along with Geckoleaf, having been proclaimed a leader by Starclan and left to clean up the mess which was brought onto the clans by Bucknight, their previous leader who'd been killed in the clan's liberation. Letting his paws drum across the stone quickly as he entered the area, the chausie began to climb onto the rock, letting his paws sink into the chilly snow of leaf-bare as he looked out over the clan, taking in a deep breath as faint whispers of nervousness hit the tom, before finally letting out a deep, rumbling yowl- Russetstar made his announcement. "Let all cats old enough to swim gather under the streamstone, for an announcement!" He announced, looking out into the crowd of cats scrambling around the clearing in their daily lives- hoping this would go just as he hoped.

He needed to save this clan.
[ @Clover ] [ all cats apprentice age and older who reside in riverclan are encouraged to reply to this post, no matter the rper! ]

Geckoleaf had followed the new leader back to camp, with a sort of somber air about her. It was good to have another leader, someone to help guide RiverClan through the mess that Bucknight had to left to them to clean, scrubbing away the ashes of his empire. And she knew that Russetstar would do it, with grace and dignity. He would not leave his clan wallowing in ruins, but he would rebuild it, stronger than before. Yet, she still could not help but feel melancholy at the passing of power, again. It had happened too many times, even within her young life. RiverClan was now lead but the young, and inexperienced. Though the leadership was full of intelligent juvenile felines, but they lacked so much. She and Russetstar had none of the wisdom and experiences of their mentors. They didn't know how to choose carefully, for fear the ramifications of what they did backfire and hurt their clan. She knew they'd learn, of course they learn, but their wasn't anyone to guide them. StarClan was a support strut, but they had always been distant, and hard to understand. There were leaders in other clans, but they were hardly ones to count on.
Following the young leader onto the Streamstone, she verged off to one side, and paused a distance away. Sitting down a distance away from Russetstar, she turned her gaze to the gathering swarm of cats. Pelts and eyes melded and blended together, creating a sea of sleek-coated warriors, all poised to listen to the strange cat who had leaped onto the rock reserved only for high ranks. She understood the confusion they must feel; why was Russetswirl, as they knew him, calling a meeting? And why was their medicine cat, quite literally, backing him up? It didn't matter though; soon, they would know the reason.