Not only did she hear the call but she also spotted her sister joining the slowly forming group of kits. With a light jog leafkit would come over to join in on the group, partly curious for the challenge.
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Any actions or words said by my characters are not a reflection of how I feel!!
The muscular gray tabby straightened himself and welcomed the kits with a strong purr: "Hello, hello everyone! We'll have a lot to talk about, so let's start as soon as possible, shall we?" He made sure that everyone was listening, then remembered something else. "Right. I kindly ask all of you to keep quiet as long as I'm explaining things, and only speak when I ask if you have any questions. In turn, of course.
"Etiquette" means "good behavior", so this is already a way to show me how well you can behave yourself during important moments.
He sat down comfortably and relaxed, clearing up his throat before speaking. "...Gatherings. An opportunity offered by Starclan to us, where a peaceful meeting is held between the four clans at the Seastones every full moon. My goal is to teach you the best behavior in opportunities such as this one."
"Remember, kits. When you're participating in a Gathering, each one of you is individually representing Thunderclan. Your actions, your words, your choices. It's not only essential to be respectful in those situations, but to stay clever as well and protect your clan's best interest." This might be a bit complicated to understand for the younger kits, but he was sure the mentors would do a good job with it anyway.
"Gatherings are an opportunity to share news and meet new cats from other clans - I said news, not secrets." This was particularly important, so he glanced at each one of them before continuing. "First. Cats don't talk while leaders and high ranks are speaking. They listen.
Secondly. You must treat every other clan cat with the same respect as you treat your own. Be careful, because not all cats from the other clans always follow this rule... but again, not all of them have good etiquette. This means they also put their clan in a bad light.
...Thirdly." And again, but he wanted to repeat it as much as needed to make sure nothing would be spilled by mistake. Especially now, with so much tension with Shadowclan. "No clan cats may share or reveal secrets or whatever piece of information with others that might put Thunderclan in danger. This might mean our camp's position, our special battle moves, our clan's hunger state, or even our health. How many prey and herbs Thunderclan has is Thunderclan's only business."
This was the most essential, he decided with satisfaction. However, thinking back at some memories brought other suggestions for the young kits to hear. Yes, that might be useful as well. "Mh. Fourth. You always follow your leader and their orders. You can't join the Gathering if you're not led there by a high rank, got it?"Stars, it sounds so stupid but still, cats do that every now and then."Always follow your clan and stay in line. Don't wander. Don't play during the travel. Don't get lost."
"But the most important rule of all is... that no matter what, the truce shall be held under the full moon at the Seastones. Never, and I say never, provoke Starclan by going against this law." But then, had it even some meaning anymore? What would these kits think when they'll get to know Dawnstar and her ways? Sootfur felt utterly alone when mentioning Starclan, as if no one in Silverpelt was actually watching over him, nodding in approval.
"I think that's it for now. I'd suggest all of you, when you first become apprentices, follow your mentors and not get split up by your clan during your first time. Listen to your older clanmates, and never forget that you're behaving for the whole of Thunderclan. Never for yourself alone."
And unfortunately, that was a thing Sootfur had had to learn by himself during Sparrowstar's leadership.
The gray warrior took the chance to get to his paws and stretch his body with a loud yawn. "Any questions?" He asked then.
Keeping his mouth shut in fear he'd be kicked out of the lesson he listened extremely closely. Wildkit kept listening to every word. Then it came time to any questions. He had one! Clearing his throat he looked at Sootfur. "What happens if Starclan gets angry? Will they show a sign or will we actually see one?", he asked. Wildkit wondered which one was which. It would be pretty cool if they got to see a Starclan cat.
Marigoldleap is a pretty active Riverclan warrior and I really want her to be as active as possible, so if there is ever a plot Idea and you need an extra cat feel free to reach out to me. Her and me would love to have something to do
The two kit's listened intently. Lotuskit made an admirable effort to calm herself enough so that she could be etiqettely (little did she know that wasn't a word) listeney (that wasn't either) so Sootfur could talk. Fireflykit was too timid to ask any questions, but Lotuskit had about a hundred. "Are you allowed to throw moss at Dawniestar during a Gathering?" Perhaps not the most intelligent question, but she was curious.
Oh, Wildkit's question was an interesting one. Unfortunately, Sootfur didn't have any satisfying response to that. "Well... Starclan usually communicates with us with signs, so I guess that would be the way they would show us. Only medicine cats and leaders actually see their spirits." He explained seriously, trying not to think about the lack of care that their ancestors had shown during the last Gatherings and Dawnstar's attacks.
Fireflykit's question made him chuckle, and suddenly he felt much lighter than before. "That would be very funny Fireflykit, but unfortunately no, we aren't allowed to do such things." He replied with a joking smile on his face, though his voice was firm as he told the kit so. "Always show respect to other cats, especially leaders. Even if they are very, very, very unfriendly."
”Now, let’s move on to the next part: our clan meetings.”
“Meetings are called by a clan leader whenever news or special information are to be spread among the cats and are always led on the Stormcrest here in Thunderclan, but usually kits aren’t allowed to such meetings. That said, it strongly depends on the subject for which the leader has called out to the clan. For example…” He took a few paw steps toward the entrance of the Kit Corner so that they could all have a view of the Stormcrest. Sootfur stared wistfully at the new place that was once a beautiful willow tree, before their old camp was destroyed in that terrible fire.
”Uhm, so… Of course kits have to join in time when they are expected to have their apprentice ceremony. It would bring them shame not to present themselves in time, but that has never been a hard rule to remember so you needn’t worry about it. Now, you might ask yourself when kits shouldn’t be present.” He could think of some examples, but he wasn’t sure how to put them. ”The clan leader might call for warriors and apprentices only whenever a serious subject is to be dealt with. For example, it might be about the death of a cat or an accident with another clan. In those cases, kits are supposed to stay in the nursery and queens look after them.” It might sound annoying to them, but they needed to learn how to obey the clan rules. That’s how they could stay out of danger as much as possible.
”When you are participating in a meeting, the same rules as the Gathering apply - more or less. Since we are in our camp, we can talk more freely if our leader allows us to share our ideas. But you are always supposed to be quiet and respectful while the clan leader talks. Listen to them, stay quiet, and don’t disturb anyone else. Meetings are no time to play, got it?” This was surely easier than explaining how gatherings worked, as every kit more or less might have witnessed a meeting taking place. But still, it wasn’t rare these days to have disrespectful comments or actions even during important events.
Sootfur got quiet again and waited for the young kits to comment, ask questions, and share any doubts. He had to admit, they were already behaving really well by avoiding interruptions and make clever questions! Well, let alone that of Dawnstar, eheh. He thought with amusement.
»»————- ☀︎︎ ————-««
[ @BEAR. Wolfkit
@jupiter Lotuskit, Fireflykit
@Flaming Ice Ashkit
@Catherine Wildkit ☇
Since the class is no longer required, I'll keep everyone in the lesson even if you do not reply after every explanation. However, if I see that your cat is not interacting with attention and interest I'll consider them out of this class!
Also, sorry for the delay! >.<
Okay so there was no starclan coming to tell them to stop fighting. There was only a sign. That pretty much answered his question. Hearing another kit nearby he flickered his ear but didn't say anything. He waited patiently for the next part of the lesson to start. This was so exciting. Wildkit listened in about clan meeting. This time he had no questions, so he sat in silence.
Marigoldleap is a pretty active Riverclan warrior and I really want her to be as active as possible, so if there is ever a plot Idea and you need an extra cat feel free to reach out to me. Her and me would love to have something to do
Not much participation was coming from the kits in today's class, he though with a prick of frustration. Was it because he was getting boring? Starclan, I hope they are at least listening to me!
Well, erhm... Now it’s time we move on to another important topic now.”
The muscular gray tabby took a deep breath and stretched his limbs a little bit before continuing, hoping the kits’ attention would last just that bit of time while he rested his voice. ”How to behave during patrols. Well, let’s start from the beginning.” He twitched his whiskers and smiled warmly at the small kits in front of him. They probably already knew what patrols were, but lots of apprentices still managed to make a mess during their first experience with one.
”Whatever patrol you’re participating in, a hunting or a border one, you are expected always to behave respectfully and correctly. For example,” he continued with a look at each one of them, ”always listen to your patrol leader. The cat who’s in charge of the patrol gives orders and instructions, and you are supposed to follow them. Unless, of course, you truly think there might be a reason not to. In that case, you may respectfully question those choices and the whole patrol will talk together about it. Remember-”, and this was important, ”to always keep calm and maintain order. This is probably the most important lesson to remember right now about patrols.”
”Secondly. When you are joining a patrol, you have been trusted by your clan and your leader. It is a honor to be part of it, and even more duty to your clan. Patrols always come with time deadlines.” This might be the most boring part, but even warriors managed to get that wrong as full-grown cats. ”You are expected to depart as soon as you’re ordered to and come back within the definite timeline that the deputy or Keeper has told you. Avoiding to do such will not only bring shame to you and your mentor-” and as he told so, he hardened his gaze a bit more and looked into each one of the kits’ eyes. ”...But it is also a great loss of time and resources for our clan. If our borders are not patrolled regularly, our territory gets taken away. If we don’t hunt properly, our clan will starve. It is every cat’s duty to provide the clan with what the clan needs.”
Was it enough? Did he miss something?
He was sure the kits might have some questions about patrols, so maybe he should stop a little bit and let all those information sink in before continuing. This must be a pretty heavy lesson for them. Maybe too heavy. But I feel it's important that kits get the right amount of information, and...
Maybe he should just go and talk to Bumblestar. There was something pretty weird in the kits' reactions.
”Well, this is it. Your mentors will explain more in detail your duties when you’re going on your first patrol. Any questions, little ones?” He asked with a hint of hope.
»»————- ☀︎︎ ————-««
[ @BEAR. Wolfkit
@jupiter Lotuskit, Fireflykit
@Flaming Ice Ashkit
@Catherine Wildkit ☇
Since the class is no longer required, I'll keep everyone in the lesson even if you do not reply after every explanation. However, if I see that your cat is not interacting with attention and interest I'll consider them out of this class!
Re: Kit Corner
