Eaglepaw
RiverClan
she/her | 7 moons | 58/100
[Golden and white tuxedo tabby with green eyes] Purrks: Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2
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[Fadingsun - @occultation ] [Dusklion - @taillow ]
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Eaglepaw paused her pacing as Fadingsun told her there was nothing he could do, her green eyes snapping to his face. That was it? He would keep an eye out while on patrol? For a moment, pure, undiluted fury shone in her expressive eyes, until it was quickly replaced with a cold, stony mask. Right, because why would he ever want to put cats in danger for this. She hadn't even found anything useful. She hadn't done anything useful. Shame colored her pelt, both at her childish behavior and her hurt at Fadingsun's words, but she didn't let it show. She simply nodded once, dropping her gaze. Never enough, never enough, never enough. "Okay, Fadingsun."
Dusklion. Dusklion, the cat Eaglepaw was simultaneously terrified, suspicious, and in awe of. She swooped in, offering to take Eaglepaw out to look. The apprentice stared at the warrior--because at this point, Eaglepaw was the same size as Dusklion if not bigger--in surprise. Dusklion was... offering to help her. Why? She didn't know Rushwater. At least, Eaglepaw didn't think so. Eaglepaw glanced between the siblings, feeling like they were playing a game that she had not been taught the rules of. Was this just a way to get back at Fadingsun for being leader? By going against his wishes? No... even with Eaglepaw's paranoia, that didn't make much sense. Maybe Dusklion actually cared. Eaglepaw resisted the urge to laugh out loud. No one in this stars-damned clan cared about each other. But she wasn't going to pass up this opportunity. Putting the mask of a young, appreciative apprentice, Eaglepaw smiled. "Thank you, Dusklion. I just... I just want to look around. If something really did happen to da--Rushwater, then it might be a threat to the clan as a whole." And stars knew they had no shortage of those recently.
Fadingsun agreed, and Eaglepaw's frustration alleviated slightly. Once dismissed, Eaglepaw dipped her head to her mentor and padded out, pelt itching as though she had dozens of fleas in her fur. She needed to get out of camp right now before she exploded.
Fadingsun sat upright as Dusklion padded into his den. She brought with her a rather familiar looking face; he recognized this cat from some time ago. She was the one that Cobwebpaw and Sweetsong had a friendly chat with as opposed to chasing her out.
He had no problem with her joining; clearly she was genuinely interested in RiverClan, if she'd bothered coming back. Plus, given her... demeanor, she seemed rather friendly. Not like the type of cat to try to slit his throat in his sleep.
Speaking of her demeanor, his eyes sparked with confusion as she proclaimed "Angry!" seemingly out of nowhere. Nobody was angry; sure, both he and Dusklion could be intense a lot of the time, but he wouldn't really describe it as angry...
She seemed to backtrack fairly quickly, only to immediately get distracted by a ladybug. Fadingsun cast an uncertain glance Dusklion's way, then turned his eyes back to Wisteriawren. "Ah, I have no problem with allowing you to join RiverClan as a warrior. Like Dusklion said, you'll need to train. Every RiverClan warrior needs to know how to hunt, fight, and swim, at the very least. RiverClan is currently in a rather... precarious position, so I prefer you prioritize combat training over anything else."
Fadingsun nodded appreciatively as Fogmuzzle brought some prey for him. He did have the intention of eating better soon, but life had kept him too busy to think much of it. Hopefully things would settle enough soon for him to focus on fixing his diet.
As he began to eat, he asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?" Sometimes cats just came to pay him a friendly visit, but usually he found they wanted something or other.
Eaglepaw was certainly taking this hard. Sympathy flashed through the tom, making him completely forget the annoyance he'd felt only a brief moment before. As much as he didn't feel they'd find anything of Rushwater, if looking a little more gave Eaglepaw some closure, then that was worth it. He nodded to Dusklion. "Very well. The two of you can go out and look some more. Just please be careful." I don't need the two of you of all cats to go off and die.
A lot of cats had been coming recently to offer their support and appreciation, which warmed Fadingsun. With all of the doubts he had over whether he was leading RiverClan in the right direction, it was nice to know that some cats were definitely in his corner. He glanced in Crowglow's direction, tipping his head to the side. Had he really already developed a reputation as unapproachable and scary to someone?
"You don't need to be afraid to speak with me," he called. "If an apprentice can do it, you certainly can. I only yell at troublemakers." He chuckled with that last line, hoping to ease the warrior's concern.
There were two cats who frequently came to his den: Dusklion and Seabreeze. Fadingsun certainly didn't mind; it was nice to have a couple of cats in this Clan who were as active as they were. It made him feel more secure, as if RiverClan was heading in the right direction after all.
So, even though Seabreeze's arrival woke him from a rather peaceful slumber, he wasn't too frustrated. "What can I help you with?"
Well, Dusklion certainly could've brought worse news from the first Lionheart meeting, but she also could've brought better. Another outsider in their territory, two RiverClan cats having a friendly chat instead of doing their job, Antlermutter dead, Wolfpaw running off... stars, could his Clanmates ever learn to act sensibly?
He let out a short hiss, shaking his head. "I swear, some of our Clanmates really do seem to have bees for brains. I'll issue a reminder at the next meeting that we're supposed to be chasing outsiders off, not having friendly chats with them." There was some bitterness in his tone. "I'm also going to consider a harsher punishment going forward for that sort of problem; do you have any thoughts on that? I don't think it's worth permanently exiling over, but it's certainly a bigger problem than just 'oops, I didn't do my patrol'."
Wolfpaw was an equally-large problem; Fadingsun had a feeling the apprentice probably ran off to ThunderClan, but that was within his right. Nonetheless, he certainly wouldn't have a place in RiverClan again. "If you do see Wolfpaw around here again, chase him off. We don't need troublemakers like that in this Clan. Let him go live with the squirrels. As for Antlermutter, that's a shame; we really could use every warrior we have right now. Nonetheless, we also don't need cats who can't do what they're supposed to. So, perhaps not that large of a loss. Do you know if they took care of the body?"
This was the second time recently that Mistyshard paid him a visit, but this one was much calmer than the last. No reports of a troublemaking ex-Lionheart or of dangerous animals in their territory. A little concern did poke at his pelt as she waited for a few moments to speak, but before he could express said concern, she spoke.
Oh, so she'd chosen an apprentice? Wonderful. RiverClan could use a full high rank team now more than ever, and they didn't need to be left without a trained healer again. Getting someone started on the path to full medicine cat status as soon as possible was paramount.
Berrypaw was a fine choice; Fadingsun didn't know the 'paw too well (unsurprisingly for him), but he trusted Mistyshard to make the right choice. "Very well. I trust that you know what you're doing, and that you'll be there to support this kid. I don't want another child's innocence lost too quickly, if we can avoid it." Too many apprentices had passed through RiverClan's high ranks and come out a lot worse for it.
"I'll announce your decision at the next Clan meeting. For the time being, have Berrypaw come speak with me. I want to get to know her a little, if we're going to be working so closely together."
Fadingsun had just finished tidying up his nest when Redwater called his name. Looking over his shoulder, he replied, "Come on in. What can I do for you?"
Redwater
She-cat {RiverClan} Warrior
Reddish-brown with green eyes
Redwater gulped. “Well, Fadingsun… I was wondering when I’d ever get my first apprentice? It’s been a while since my warrior assessments, and I was… I guess hoping I could get one soon?” Wow. That felt good to get off her chest. It would be great if Fadingsun agreed, and gave her her first apprentice! One step closer to her destiny.
Tell me if I did anything wrong!
__________________
Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair...”
― Susan Polis Schutz
It didn't surprise Fadingsun that Redmire wanted to talk about getting thrown out of the meeting, or the whole situation with Birdsnow. The leader listened quietly and attentively. trying his best to keep any emotions he felt at bay. Redmire seemed to poke at the wrong spots with him, but he wanted to avoid being unnecessarily harsh. He'd told cats that he was open to hearing dissenting opinions in his den, and he wanted to stand by that.
"First and foremost, I've said that my decision on Birdsnow is final. Unless something has happened in the very small sliver of time between that meeting and now, my mind hasn't and won't change on this particular issue. I know you don't like that, but you're going to have to deal with it. I don't want to hear any arguments on that.
"You weren't kicked out of the meeting for expressing dissent, you were kicked out for insulting a Lionheart and being unnecessarily abrasive and aggressive. The cats in this Clan have run around without any order for too long; if we want to get back into a good place, that needs to change. You talk about wanting efficiency; well, if I have to pause a meeting to yell at someone for acting out or to stop an argument that's broken out because someone can't mind their manners, that's rather inefficient, isn't it? It wastes everyone's time.
"I appreciate your passion for this Clan, but you need to learn how to express it in a better way. I'm not going to tolerate cats acting as if they have the right to express themselves however they please without consequence. I'll admit that perhaps shutting down any and all discussion at meetings was too far. Going forward, if you - or anyone else - wants to voice a concern or a question during a meeting, it will be acknowledged and answered, but only if it's presented in a way that's calm, mature, and respectful. No yelling, no insulting, no 'you will do this, you will do that'. I will continue to kick cats out of meetings for that."
He curled his tail around his paws. "Regarding the concern about missing important information, it's fair. I'll instruct my Lionhearts that if they're tasked with escorting someone out of a meeting, they'll also need to check in with someone who was present for the whole meeting and inform the removed cat on what they missed. My Lionhearts are quick and efficient; there should be no reason for information to be going unknown because someone missed a meeting. If a cat is banned from a future meeting, they can approach a high rank or a Lionheart - or anyone else, for that matter - and ask about what transpired. Plenty of cats don't attend our meetings, yet manage to figure out how things are going just fine.
"If you truly want to make things better, Redmire, you're not going to do it by making an enemy out of the higher ranks. All that's going to do is cause this Clan unnecessary headaches. You have a great fire in you, and that's a good thing, but you need to learn how to tame it. Burn your enemies with it, not your own Clanmates."
"Does looking at me funny count?" Redmire bit out before she could stop herself. She let out a huff and ran her tongue over her lips, fighting to keep her words in check before they came back around to bite her. Birdsnow decision final, fine, whatever. It would be Fadingsun's funeral once Birdsnow sunk RiverClan's ship and drowned literally everybody on it and then he had no one to snap at when he got grumpy.
But fine. If Birdsnow kept making a fool out of RiverClan, Redmire had no qualms handling the issue herself should it come to that.
Her ears twitched as Fadingsun carried on. 'Insulting a Lionheart' was definitely a stretch, especially when they'd been asking intentionally stupid questions and saying stupid things. There had been a whole bunch of stupid out of one mouth and the amount was, frankly, astounding. Record-breaking, even. Redmire felt her upper lip twitch and she wrestled it back down - the heat in her eyes said enough without her expression changing. She didn't like this guy's tone. Or his words. Or how he looked at her. Everything screamed self-important and smug and passive-aggressive, and the one good thing he had going for him was that he was actually listening to what she had to say.
Conversation permitted - great. She couldn't promise she would be prissy princess polite, but Redmire was fairly certain she could dial the insults down from twelve to two if she had to. Information sharing - fantastic. The last thing she wanted was to miss out on something, accidentally start a war, and then get smacked because she was kicked out of the Important Information Meeting and didn't get the chance to listen in before someone got to her. Each thing got a curt nod from her in acknowledgement.
But if he wanted her to tame her fire or whatever? "Then let me do that," she blurted. "RiverClan is my home and I want to protect it. All I've ever known of us is shambles and ruin. I want to make us better, I know we can be better. So make me a Lionheart so I can do that and know I'm doing it, or at least tell me how I can without having that role."
MISTYSHARD
she/her | riverclan medicine cat | 38 moons
dreamwalker ⦁ beefed up t2
Perfect, Fadingsun approved of her choice. The silver-furred medicine cat nodded thoughtfully as the leader mentioned not wanting another child's innocence lost. Maybe it would turn out to have been a bad decision. If Berrypaw ended up like Fawny, Stonepaw and Tansypaw.. she would be filled with guilt forever. However, she promised herself she would not let that happen. Berrypaw was dear to her and she wouldn't let that get ruined by a role in the clan. Perhaps a slow approach to everything and not overwhelming the 'paw would be helpful. She was definitely planning to talk with the apprentice once the news were announced to the clan - perhaps the talk would seem useless to Berrypaw but to Mistyshard, making sure her apprentice felt comfortable and guided meant the world.
"I won't let her innocence get lost too quickly, I promise. I'll make sure to guide her on every step of the way. She... I just feel like everything about her fits. But I will not overwhelm her." The lanky feline nodded, amber gaze meeting Fadingsun's. Sending Berrypaw over to come speak with the leader? Sure, she could do that. "Of course, I'll tell her to come over in a moment," she mewed casually.
"You know, with all these new beginnings, I am really starting to doubt the competence of some of our clanmates. But you're doing great so far, Fadingsun. I... I don't know if you need this but I suppose i'll say it anyways. I believe in you and your plans and hopes for RiverClan. Maybe it seems like an empty-hearted promise, but I don't say this to every leader. Just know that even with some cats not believing in you, you're doing great so far and I'm grateful to work with you. I think this will actually be a new beginning for this clan." A comforting smile appeared on her maw.
Seabreeze
He/him | Riverclan Lionheart | Moons: 18 | Purrks: Go with the Flow | The Collector | Ultimate Predator |
“Ocean waters rising above your neck
You feel the glass start to crack.”
Seabreeze immediately felt guilty as he realized that he woke up his leader. But it would be worse to turn back now after he was already awake than it was to continue with the conversation. Though he wanted to turn back, he really did, Seabreeze still wasn’t sure about him and Rabbitpaw. But Rabbitpaw hasn’t been trained at all in a moon so it was something that needs to be addressed now, not later. Okay, this was fine, everything was fine. This wasn’t Seabreeze's fault, was it? The lionheart took a few moments to enter the den and then settle down to sit and talk, the absence of his tail rang out suddenly. The first time he’s noticed its absence in awhile…but he was stalling in his own mind. He needed to focus. After some time he finally got the words to… you know, communicate.
“I, umm, I’ve been trying my best with Rabbitpaw but I just… we’ve gotten nothing done for a moon. I’ve tried to talk with her several times, but she doesn’t really respond, very much, and I don’t want to push her because I went through something similar when I was an apprentice but… then she was at Owltalon’s event, which is great, but it made me realize that maybe training wasn’t the problem it was just training with me. I’ve been thinking about it and I mean, she’s my first apprentice so maybe that’s why, but I need help with trying to get things to work between us, or for Rabbitpaw to get a mentor who she wants to work with. You know?” The lionheart didn’t mean to ramble that much and the question could have been a lot more straightforward but this was something more personal and emotional for some stupid reason. It shouldn’t be. It was an observation and Seabreeze needed to make something work for his clan, he does that all the time, but again… knowing that Rabbitpaw wasn’t training or the likes because of him kind of hurt. He’s a warrior, a lionheart even, something like that shouldn’t be such a big deal… Maybe he wasn’t fit to be a lionheart.
How many warriors have this issue with their apprentices, does Owltalon have an apprentice? Is she dealing with something like this? Probably not. He thinks back to the apprentices that he has given lessons here and therefore it's always been something. Minkpaw seemed angry about him giving her lessons, Eaglepaw had been short with him in the beginning, Toadpaw left, the kit lessons fell through… Seabreeze shouldn’t have that many failures, but he hasn’t looked at them like that yet. Eaglepaw opened up after a small bit, Strawberrypaw was engaged and eager learner, Sagekit, Aspenkit, and Gullkit all came around, Ravenpaw and Beanpaw were active as well. It was… the failures were louder than the successes. He shouldn’t have any failures as a lionheart. As a proper warrior. Things were so busy, Seabreeze hadn’t even realized just how much he hasn’t hit the mark lately. He had felt okay in his obliviousness. But now he realized and now he had to be kind of upfront with his failures. He needed to get Rabbitpaw someone who can help her and if that wasn’t him then it wasn’t him. That was that.
☘︎ “Fades?” She wondered if she was even allowed to call him that. She walks into the leaders den, a bit shaken from what happened at the clan meeting. She didn’t know why he made the choices that he made. Taking a seat, she sighs. “You made quite the introduction for the new cats at today’s meeting…” She tried to be light hearted and funny, but it just made her feel sad. “Why did you do that… say that? Especially with kits around to hear…? Springkit looks pretty shaken from your words, other kits too… I’m just…” She takes a deep breath. “Fogs said some messed up stuff, yes, but I feel like your words went too far.”
☘︎ Moons ago, Pebblesplash would have acted in a similar way, so she felt like a hypocrite, sitting in his den, lecturing him. What else was she supposed to do? “Especially what Talonpaw did, it worries me. Sure he was sticking up for his den mate, but doesn’t a tongue getting ripped out sound… extreme…?” She flicked her tail. “If all RiverClanners ripped the tongue out of our enemies, we would be no better than ThunderClan. I get you want us to be fierce, but to our own clanmates? At least, former clanmates. And Fogs father watched the whole thing. It worries me,” Pebblesplash paused, and then sighed again.
☘︎ “Two wrongs don’t make a right, and although it’s said and done, I feel like things like that should be prevented in the future. Like maybe next time you ask that the lionhearts take cats out of camp, or execute them privately… I feel as if you shouldn’t be putting murder and death onto the minds of RiverClan cats. The code states that…” she hopes he wouldn’t find her words rude. She just needed a reason to his madness.
Status: Alligator bites are focused on the down stroke of their bite. YOU CAN HOLD THEIR MOUTH SHUT. [YAY]
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Re: RiverClan Leader's Den
Skyfall had just gotten back to camp, and decided to immediately inform Fadingsun of what had happened. He padded over to the leader's den and sat himself down before speaking.
"Fadingsun, i-if you'll permit me to explain, Dusklion has just had to exile Appleberry for trying to hurt her. Grimpaw got in the way of a hit, but Crowglow is handling that right now. What matters, is that I was right when I thought he was up to something and I needed to let you know of Appleberry's exile... he lied not only to the clan but mainly to me, by saying he was there for me and cared about me... if only I'd known sooner what he was truly up to, I would've made sure he regretted it... B-but, at least I don't have to constantly worry about him anymore!.. right..?" Skyfall meowed politely and in a tone that showed pain and regret and hurt.
@occultation
Stalking into the den after Skyfall with an irritated expression on her face, Dusklion lashed her tail as she spotted her brother. "Tryin' to hurt me? He tried to kill me, Fades." A glare was shot towards Skyfall, then back at her brother. "We need to keep watch over him, 'n Raininpaw needs a new mentor. I exiled Appleberry from RiverClan, 'n he fled after Skyfall attacked him." Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, the deputy was realizing how shaken up she was after the whole ordeal.
"Skyfall, if you suspected your brother was up to somethin', why didn't you let either one of us know? Why only wait until after your sorry excuse of a brother tried to murder me, hmm?" Pissed off was a great way to explain how Dusklion felt right now as her piercing gaze turned towards the cat in her brothers den. Underneath it, carefully concealed and tucked away, was fear. Fear that Appleberry wasn't the only cat in this Clan that wanted to end her life.
Nervously Rainingpaw walked over to the leaders den. She was planning to talk to Fadeingstar about the way in-which he had handled Fogmuzzle. Most of the kits were terrified and she believed that maybe she could talk it out. Suddenly her clanmates Skyfall and Dusklion rushed past her she worriedly padded over to the entrance. Smelling blood, she stifled a gasp. Is Skyfall alright? Has he done something wrong? she worriedly wondered. She desperately hoped that he wasn't next.
Adderpaw started with no warmth in her voice. She offered no respect, no honor, no fealty, no she was going up to this cat as if he was an equal. Not a leader that she had to bow down to but she wouldn't go as far to throw fowl words. No she needed to keep her pelt and needed to get a point across.
Re: RiverClan Leader's Den
Re: RiverClan Leader's Den
