Oh stars, he remembered the gathering. Seems fades was deciding to address it now. The one-eyed cat glanced over and saw his former mentor/leader, furbs. He flashed her a soft smile before standing up. It was hard for him to stand out due to his smaller size compared to other cats, some younger than him. Their blueish pelt and half-missing face made it easier. "I'd like to say some stuff. Now, I don't care if yall don't like it, It's my thoughts. I've been here since Beanstar's time, Since the flood," he shuddered slightly at saying the word, he had lost his eye there. "And have been here through too many leaderships. I'm 15 damn moons. In my time, Fadingsun has been one of the greatest choices of deputies ever. If furbs can choose a worthy deputy, then so can fades. Dusklion has proved herself time and time again. She's done so much for this clan. With that being said, Sure, She killed Fallownose. But that doesn't mean she can't be the deputy. RiverClan needs our high ranks now more than ever, and I can see no better fit than dusklion serving as deputy. N if any of yall don't agree, then say it to my face. I dare you," he snarled the last part. Every word he said was true. If someone had something to say about Dusk, they would have to face Rainpaw. Rainpaw flashed a crooked smile to the deputy before nodding to his mentor and leader. With that, they sat back down.
x ghostie is haunting this signature
Bean's favorite staff member Lillian was here
lio sneezed here (achoo)
you see crude graffiti... it spells "velli wuz here"
Rose caught the sickness (oh dear)
fenrir stares at rose with a spray bottle of water in hand
My Soul is in @/Ian's basement with some ice cream
Bearsnout
28 Moons || RiverClan Warrior || He/Him
Beefed Up Tier 1 || . . .
The Gentle Giant
. . .
Bearsnout's ears perked from where he sat at the entrance of the camp as he heard the sounds of chattering coming from outside the camp. He listened and tasted the air for a moment, alert to make sure it was his own Clan and not intruders. But as they came closer he soon detected the voice of his Clanmates and their comforting fishy scent. His heart stopped beating so rapidly and he relaxed. He'd been on edge recently. Especially when protecting the Clan. Everyone hated them at the moment it seemed, and many of their warriors had decided to go to Gathering. Someone had to stay back and guard the camp, so he took it upon himself to do so. It seemed like everything continually got worse and worse for RiverClan. All the Clans saw them as weak. And their stupid, stupid Clanmates couldn't seem to stop making it worse. He was absolutely dreading to hear everything that Fadingsun and the rest would have to report.
As he watched his Clanmates filter in he offered them each friendly smiles and dips of his head to Fadingsun and Dusklion. He waited to make sure that everyone had returned from the Gathering before leaving his spot by the entrance. The tom let out a yawn. Fadingsun would probably let them know in the morning or something and tell 'em everything that happened. The Maine coon headed towards the warriors den, planning on hitting the hay for the night. Someone else could take watch. But Fadingsun did something unexpected.
When their leader leapt onto the Floodstone and announced that they'd be having a meeting his heart fell to his stomach. Oh StarClan. It seemed his prediction was right. Something definitely happened at the Gathering. The tom made a U-turn and headed back to the Floodstone with a worried gaze. He scanned through the crowd to find someone who'd probably give a trustworthy recount of what happened. The large tom found his way to Stagheart through the crowd of cats gathering at their leader's call. He'd taken a liking to the older cat after the beaver fight, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't admire his leadership skills from the event. Bearsnout approached him the tom, weaving his way through the crowd. "Hey, Stagheart, what exactly happened at the Gathering? I was back here guarding Camp." He asked with an uneasy frown.
. . .
@squidz - hope you don't mind if i toss bear over!
— STAGHEART —
very large & muscular light brown tabby tom with stark greenish-blue eyes and a torn ear; beefed up tier 1
[ riverclan warrior | tomcat | 50 moons | gruff & battle-hardened, yet thoughtful; loyal to a fault ]
—
[ooh i absolutely do not mind at all!! i already luv bear's character <3]
Stagheart was lost in his own thoughts when Bearsnout approached. Blinking out of his anticipation, he turned to the large tom, remembering his efforts in the beaver extermination event. He had grown to respect the younger warrior from that, seeing a lot of promise in his strength and drive. Those were the kinds of warriors that RiverClan needed to thrive once more.
"Bearsnout," he greeted with a nod; it was a friendly one, though you couldn't really tell that well with the way his entire body was tense and his fur bristled. Obviously his curtness wasn't for his Clanmate, but for the terrible news dropped at the Gathering that he'd now have to share.
"Fadin'sun's gonna get right to it, I bet," he murmured, trying to keep his voice below the assembling Clanmates' babble. "But it ain't nothin' good. WindClan told us of a few more... things our Clan has done that we didn't know 'bout, true or not, in front of everyone. Then she goes askin' Bumblestar 'n Dawnstar to see her after... I reckon we're on the verge of war real soon. Maybe with more than one Clan." The last part he muttered darkly, the distant yet blazing look in his eye speaking the rest.
Right as he finished speaking, Fadingsun's yowl silence the Clan. Stagheart snapped his jaw shut and turned to his leader, still sitting beside Bearsnout. Immediately Stagheart felt dread and anger both return, boiling like a hot spring in his belly. So the leader believed Twilightstar! If he did... did that mean Dusklion told him? Surely Fadingsun wouldn't think his sister would do such a thing without her confession?
He nodded to Redmire's words — she was absolutely right. And he didn't want to say it, but how could they be responsible for the other cats' actions? Nobody listened to any old warrior. He tilted up his chin, eyes narrowed as he searched for a reaction from Dusklion. So far, it looked like the dark tabby had her head tilted down, avoiding looks from everyone. She wasn't defending herself.
So if it's true...
He was conflicted. Part of him felt hollow at the premise that their own deputy killed another — had it been an accident, or an incident in cold blood? Was it self-defense or an intentional murder? Regardless, WindClan's deputy was dead. And he could wholeheartedly agree with Fadingsun on the point about their own deputy's position.
Stagheart briefly stood up; he never spoke at meetings, never saw the point. But this time, Fadingsun was actually looking and asking for responses. He was a senior warrior, after all; surely they'd want his opinion. And the last thing he wanted to see was the deputy he'd already grown to respect and follow be kicked out in the state they were in. They needed all paws available.
"I'd like to hear Dusklion's side," he meowed firstly, his gruff drawl sounding strange to him as it rang out into the air. "But... regardless, Fadin'sun is right. We can't get rid of our strength, our leadership, when we're just now startin' to turn things around... or, at least, tryin' to. I don't see Dusklion as the type of warrior to murder in bloodlust — maybe she was attacked? Self-defense? An accident? Whatever it was, she's been strong, loyal, 'n gets things done 'round here. That's what we need — not more position hoppin'. Not more instability. And definitely not more warriors who only complain 'n do next to nothin' for the Clan they swore an oath to."
He let his stark blue eyes, tinged with green, survey the assembled cats. The sight of the baffled, tattered Clan was enough to move him — and he didn't feel things like that too easily.
"I live for this Clan, and I'd happily die for this Clan. I have faith that our high ranks are tryin' to do the right thing, 'n that they'll have a plan to get us out of this mess. We all need to believe that, or we got nothin'." He had to trust in that. Or else, he wouldn't have much left but to go down with them.
With a huff he sat back down, hoping his words would reach some proverbial deaf ears.
__________________
*despite everything, it's still you.
Berryshine is RiverClan's medicine cat!
she and Cobwebfern have a semi-closed den policy.
Springburst was expecting to see Cormie coming to her side and not someone else, at least it was someone familiar. She honest to god had thought that Rainpaw had vanished like those she knew, never to be seen again. She turned her head to face the smaller cat, happy to see the other but not all as excited as she normally would be. A task to do since the tension in the air made it feel like there was a heavy rock on everyone, very suffocating. Spring wished that Cormie was here, the other made her feel relaxed to be around. "I've been on an adventure out of camp, got to see new sights and calm my mind" she answered. It was kind of the truth, she also wouldn't let the other know she only came back for one cat only otherwise she would have gone to another clan.
"What had you been up to while I was gone? Hope it isn't about any kind of trouble" she gave the younger a look. She had noticed the others changed demeanor after the camp raid, was Rainpaw behaving like they should or not was her main concern. The warrior didn't want to find out the hard way that the scum of this clan had corrupted Rainpaw to cause mischief with some other cat or clan. Otherwise, she'd be disappointed to hear them joining in on one of the troublemakers that leeched off the clan. Personally, those kinds of cats needed to be kicked out and fend for themselves since they acted like they didn't need to listen to the rules.
Well, that kinda relaxed her a bit though she was still on edge, convinced this meeting was going to be a whole mess. How right she was to think this meeting was about something bad, she hated being right. Springburst hadn't gone to the gathering so hearing all of this was brand new to her, one she didn't like. Her main focus right now was the fact that the so-called leader was blaming everyone here for this mess. That had Springburst shooting up to stand on her paws as she glared up at Fadingsun. "I'm sorry but are we gods or something that we can read the minds of the idiots who choose to disregard orders or rules and cause havoc? How can we hold them accountable for their actions when we don't know what kind of stuff they are planning?! Get your head out of your ass and listen to what you're saying carefully because you're saying that we have to do your job and punish the idiots who can't keep their urges of violence in check!" she hissed out.
No way in a cold day's hell would she sit here and take the blame for idiots' actions when she had nothing to do with it. She'd gotten involved in stunts before and had nearly gotten her nose torn off her face. Last she checked she was sure it was the job of the deputy and leader to discipline the trouble doers, not the warriors. If he was saying for them to interfere with them all she could see is others getting harmed while doing so, because who would be afraid of someone with the same rank as you? No one would that is her answer. "How about punish those who committed the damn crime instead of trying to play a blame game on the entirety of the clan."
Honestly, demoting Dusklion wasn't a good idea right now, especially if the windclan leader could be lying. She agreed on that with most speaking out right now. "Personally keep her for now, because who knows if that leader is lying about this, it'd be pretty stupid to take their word and demote Dusklion with out any proof of it."
@Bean [ speaking to rainpaw for a few mins] @occultation [ speaking directly to Fading]
header art by night/nyx
══ ❀•°❀°•❀ ══
__________________
Any actions or words said by my characters are not a reflection of how I feel!!
Activity going to be extra low, dealing with moving issues
As Fadingsun began to speak, all of the anger deflated out of his body. Nothing but pure exhaustion remained. He was sick of it. Sick of this Clan, sick of tragedy after tragedy after tragedy. Maybe the forest would be better off if RiverClan broke apart and faded into obscurity.
High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]
"By now, I'm sure many of you have heard the news that was revealed at the Gathering. Fallownose was murdered by Dusklion for reasons that weren't made clear. On top of that, two RiverClan warriors were responsible for torturing a WindClan apprentice. I'm sure I don't need to tell those of you who weren't there that the sentiment from Twilightstar was nothing short of scathing and hell-bent on destruction.
"I spent the walk home from the Gathering debating on what to do about Dusklion. My initial inclination was to demote her, but after thinking it over more I do not know if that is the best course of action for RiverClan at this point. Before you all get your pelts up in a bunch, let me explain.
"At this point in time, every single one of us is guilty of contributing to the horrific, disgusting state this Clan is in. If you didn't directly participate in some sort of act that antagonized another Clan, you're not free from guilt. You're guilty of failing to hold one another accountable. You're guilty of inciting, encouraging, participating in, and tolerating in-fighting and ridiculous arguments instead of healthy discussions about how to fix this stars-forsaken Clan. Every single cat here, except for the kits and our youngest apprentices, is responsible for what this Clan has become, and for the war looming.
"If I demote Dusklion, I might as well demote this whole god damn Clan, myself included. Clearly I was negligent; I could've done more to encourage Birdsnow to hold our warriors accountable. I could've been at the WindClan border more often, ensuring it remained secure. At this point, demoting Dusklion won't fix anything. WindClan is still going to attack us, and likely try to eradicate us completely, and it's for many reasons more than just Fallownose. It's for the apprentice who was tortured. The three buffoons of ours who invaded their camp. Beanstar's actions. Every other goddamn thing this pathetic Clan has done over the past season-cycle.
"None of us have any moral high ground to stand on here. We barely have the right to call ourselves warriors. I'm choosing not to demote Dusklion because we need a deputy right now. I do believe she cares for this Clan, and that her act was one of reckless stupidity rather than an intent to incite war. I encourage you all to recall how efficiently she dealt with Fogmuzzle, and every other threat that has faced this Clan. She has risked her life time and time again for RiverClan. She will face repercussions for her decision, but I do not believe that weakening our Clan by stripping us of a deputy and of a capable, loyal warrior is the right move to make when we're about to have hell rain down upon us.
"However, I want to provide an opportunity for you to share your thoughts. If you're in support of my decision and believe that Dusklion should be allowed to remain deputy, I want to hear you. If you believe she should be demoted, I want to hear it. If you want to abstain, that's fine too."
With that, he curled his tail around his paws and waited for the chaos to begin.
Adderpaw
Determined ⋆ Loyal ⋆ Lawful Good ⋆ She/Her ⋆ Beefed Up T3
“One day I’ll be the greatest warrior of all the clans!”
"Fadingsun how could you see me in the crowd and put such a blanket statement out that all of us are bad? I am trying my best here to stay level headed but I'll be frank with you. Saying that and lumping me in with that really is pissing me off." Adderpaw said with her tail lashing. Right here we go.
"There are many cats like me that work as hard as possible to keep this clan afloat and we cannot read minds or see the future. It would be impossible for us to keep everyone in account as you think we should. What it sounds like is you want us to read their minds to know that they are going to commit atrocities. If I knew someone was going to torture an apprentice I would have dragged them to the Darkforest myself."
"Talking about torture. It is a bit ironic that you are yelling at us about this torture but you openly let a cat slowly be torture in front of everyone. This is just going to encourage the twisted minds lurking in the dark to do this themselves. If the leader isn't stopping it and is telling others to do it then it must be ok!"
"For Dusklion I think to repay for the murder she should try and defend us from the impending war coming towards us by, while on the battle field show she knows the warrior code and defeats her enemies without killing them, and she better beat up as many windclan cats as she can. If she kills anyone? Demote her, simple as that. But I am not asking for her death, if she needs to flee during the first cat or be killed, flee. That shouldn't be marked against her but she should do something else to prove herself back to us." Adderpaw felt like she may be being too harsh but killing another clan deputy and causing a war, then getting to live was a light sentence to what some cats would do.
Marigoldkit
She, Her\Kit\6 moons/Riverclan
"Keep your head up! You need to look at the world around you!"
· · ─────── ·· ─────── ·
The small apprentice aged kit nearly leaped in surprise. She didn't expect to be approached so soon, heck she didn't expect to be approached at all. The cat whom had come to talk to her (albeit quickly since he had to skid to stop himself. Sand went flying and Marigoldkit used a paw to shield her hazel eyes) was a cat she didn't exactly recognize. But maybe he recognized her? That was a possibility.
Hmm... Maybe she had seen him before. She wouldn't dwell on it though. New friends were new friends regardless of where they came from.
She listened to the excited words that laced her clanmates mews. Marigoldkit found herself wanting to stay despite the danger she recently discovered. Who knew that meetings hadn't only been a place to exchange information but also a place too... Marigoldkit winced at the thought, her eyes trailing to the patch of (hopefully) dried blood.
"Hello," she chirped enthusiastically. "Yup! It's my first one." The small cat confirmed with a smile that was more directed at the other kit than the meeting.
As Marigoldkit continued to listen she caught wind of how this other kit thought of the last meeting. I mean, he could be right about it being exciting, but guessing by the blood that stained the clearing it was probably anything but.
"That's uh..." Marigoldkit swallowed. "Nice? I dunno I just... I hope no one dies or something. But that's a silly thought right? We don't kill our own clanmates." Do we?
But they did kill other warriors, for no reason apparently. Dusklion, she didn't know who they were of what they looked like but Marigoldkit already didn't like her very much. Fallownose was also a cat she didn't know and she wasn't sure why he was very important. Then again, a life was a life and life was important. Without it then what were they?
Marigoldkit didn't really have the energy to get angry though she and all that energy to get scared and wonder what this meant for her clan. Would more cats stain the clearing? Oh no, oh no she couldn't handle that.
Subconsciously, she leaned up against this unknown kit, her teeth clenched as if she were riddled with fever... Maybe she was. "I'm Marigoldkit..." She rasped. "Nice to meet you, friend."
Friend. She need a friend. She needed one more than ever.
->> jayfrost <<-
[ he/him | riverclan | 27moons | burn baby burn ]
a tall, skinny, silver classic-tabby with well groomed short to medium length fur and icy blue eyes
CW: hes not doing well, fear, panic attack(???) ptsd (???)
- please no interaction with him unless your cat is aspenkit, marigoldkit, garlicfeather, goldfish, vm if i forgot anyone -
jayfrost wasnt sure which part of fadingsuns speech it was, but somewhere around the middle he found himself nearly shaking in fear, emotions switching from tired displeasure to blind eyed terror in a matter of seconds. all of the sudden he was more awake than ever, hyper aware of his surroundings and himself, his skin crawled at the itchy feeling of sand beneath his paws and in his fur. he whipped his head around, an unnaturally stiff motion, unsure what he was actually looking for, unable to catch up with his thoughts at all as he staggered over towards the familiar kit. perhaps he had been looking for goldfish or garlicfeather but the prospect of any of the kits witnessing what was to come was too much, his thoughts immediately went to the execution last meeting, fogmuzzles execution, the apprentice cutting out fogmuzzles tongue before they had properly stopped breathing, the blood trenched ground after the raid. his breath caught and he briefly felt like he was suffocating again, but it wasnt cold, he could feel the squeeze of his ribcage all the same but it wasnt snow pressing in on him. jayfrost stood, shaken and quietly gasping for breath irregularly for a moment, he wanted to give up, let himself sink to the ground and continue to shake and tremble. he wanted to just let himself turn into a puddle of nothingness and let the tears he couldnt dare reveal to anyone but an empty forest finally spill. the raid, both incidents and memories far more painful plagued him, he tried to focus on the kit as he took the last few steps necessary towards them.
he had composed himself enough to speak normally through the fear "marigoldkit, aspenkit, its late, to the den" he ordered, perhaps a slight tremble could be heard in his low voice, and perhaps one could recognise the unfocussed fear in his eyes. would they go without complaint, he would follow the kits to the nursery to ensure they stay. he had to speak to goldfish, garlicfeather, he couldnt do much but try to fight off another wave of panic at the thought of all the innocent kits, all the kits he couldnt protect.
As Rosehawk wrapped her tail around Cobs and seemed to understand what Dusklion was asking, the deputy felt grateful. Even though her words were false, the small dark tabby appreciated the sentiment. It was a clear sign that not every cat in the Clan hated her, but two voices out of the many were still too quiet for her chaotic mind to hear. She was going to be demoted, she knew. Fades believes Twilightstar. Believed that she would cross the border. Hadn't defended her in the slightest - in fact, had left her on the stones without so much as a brush of his tail or a bump of his shoulder. It made her feel... defeated.
Turning her gaze now as her brother began to speak, she could see how clearly he was hurting. Disappointment, that's what she was. She was a disappointment to him and right about now the dark tabby knew he was regretting asking her to be his deputy. Tears stung at her eyes but Dusklion refused to let them fall. Instead she sat up straighter and watched him.
A frown deepened on her face as Fades did nothing short of lay into them. It hurt her heart to hear this, and if she wasn't so heartbroken by his lack of defense for her she would've found herself angry. Because how dare he blame every cat. The apprentices. The kits. Those who were genuinely trying to bring this Clan back up to what it once was. How dare he lay the blame for her actions on anyone but hers. Fallownose's blood dripped from hers and hers alone - she would make sure the Clan knew it.
How could he say those things about RiverClan? About their home? Yeah, they were in a predicament, and yeah Dusklion knew that warriors represented the Clan - but that was something to say in the face of other leaders, not in the privacy of their own home. More and more her brother's actions had been confusing her. If only she hadn't messed up, and if only she wasn't about to get demoted, she could stay and show him there was a better way. Ruling with a tight claw was good, because RiverClan needed stability. Ruling with a bloody claw... that did no one any good.
Dusklion winced as he called the Clan pathetic. Her automatic love and loyalty had a small growl rumbling in her throat, but it quickly died out. Heart hammering fast in her chest it was becoming clear; he wasn't planning on demoting her. Why? She had been so sure. He hadn't defended her, hadn't said a single word to her on the way back. She couldn't help but figure that this was some sick, cruel, and twisted way of getting back at her. Their heart-to-heart had meant nothing, and it seemed that now he wasn't going to be the one to demote her - he was going to let the Clan she loved more than her own life do it themselves.
Suddenly, the idea of living in a world without her brother didn't hurt as much. It still made her stick to even entertain, though.
His words of encouragement meant little now as Dusk felt her heart break in her chest. They felt like claws to her face, dirt and grass rubbed in a fatal wound that Dusklion knew would be what took her out. She didn't bother to hide the despair from her gaze, the sadness and grief. The... betrayal she felt. Had she murdered Fallownose? Yes. Had it been an accident? Yes. But as far as she figured her brother was concerned, Dusklion might as well have marched directly into WindClan's camp and slaughtered the deputy in his nest.
Then her brother stopped speaking, and the Clan fell into silence. The first voice to speak was a loud one - and it was calling for her exile. Dusklion winced, turning to look at Redwater. The first of many. Someone had to cast the first stone. She gave no words, but simply nodded. The cats who stayed silent she figured must agree with Redwater.
But then... then a voice started, and it was Redmire. Dusklion looked over, unable to hide the shock from her face. She shared part of the deputy's thoughts - in how Fades had took Twilightstar's word as truth without so much as a single word in her defense. And she wanted her to remain as the Clan's deputy. It would've warmed her heart if she didn't feel so rotten over the fact that Twilightstar had been right about one thing; she had killed Fallownose.
Duskleaf was next, and his words started to reignite the little spark that had gone out. She had truly thought that this entire Clan hated her - could she have been wrong? Despite her mistakes, was she really worth defending? Dusk's gaze then flickered over to Talonpaw. She had never known the young tom to be happy over much outside of his mentor, Starlingflight, so his words came as a shock too. Birdsnow... stars, the guilt was still there with that one. Dusk wouldn't retract her statements on how poorly their former leader had acted before getting sick, but she was still here, and still trying despite her sickness. She hadn't run away or fled or tried to hide. That alone drew respect from the deputy.
Despite hearing the nickname she called her brother - one that felt so odd to hear other cats use - Dusklion couldn't help but feel gratitude towards Rainpaw. She had thought for sure the apprentice hated her because of the harsh words she had spoken of his mentor, but it seemed once again she had been wrong. Stagheart was next in the target of her shifting gaze, and he was the first cat to ask to hear her side. It... made her want to cry. Not out of sadness, but out of relief that there was at least a single cat who wanted to hear her side of the story. Along with Redmire, and Talonpaw, and the others who had spoken in her defense, he didn't jump to conclusions. He wanted to see what she had to say, much unlike her brother. The whiplash... well, she could dig through it later.
Springburst seemed pissed at her brother and built off of what Redmire had started; there was no use in blaming the whole Clan for the transgressions of the few. Adderpaw seemed to be thinking exactly what Dusklion had at the gathering - that Fades blunt encouragement of violence at the Clan meeting must've had some sort of play in the warriors that had tortured Twistedpaw. Yeah, regardless of this outcome she needed to have a talk with her brother. This was not the cat she knew. She knew that they'd had to kill to survive while out on their own, but torture... Dusk had never envisioned either of them to be the type of cats that promoted that. She never wanted to. The punishment idea at the end would've had her snorting in laughter if she wasn't trying to formulate what her response to all this would be.
Her ear caught the sounds of Jayfrost rounding up the kits currently present - Marigoldkit, Aspenkit - and she made a silent reminder to thank him later. She didn't expect this meeting to end in bloodshed, because if her brother tried to make a show of executing some cat like last time, unless they blatantly wished for the death of an apprentice - she would stop him.
Finally, in a moment of silence, Dusklion rose to her paws. Trusting that Cobs would be fine with Rosehawk she padded forward. The small dark tabby made her way through the crowd until she stood at the base of the Floodstone. For a moment, the RiverClan deputy simply faced it. She stared at the smooth surface, relishing in the last time of her being here. Standing here. Facing the Clan and cats she loved, despite this hole they'd gotten themselves into. A single tear fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek, but she made sure no more were visible as she turned to face her Clan.
"Twilightstar was right." Best to not beat around the bush. "I was out near Sedgewater Valley when I caught sight of Fallownose. He was alone, walkin' along the border - he was on the border - so I challenged him like I would any other outsider who was too close to our borders. I made sure he knew he couldn't just get that close, 'n told him to back up. He didn't, 'n instead started draggin' RiverClan's name through the mud. He started hissin' 'n spittin' vile words, 'bout me, 'n about this Clan. I... I snapped. I love this Clan, more than anythin', 'n hearin' what the other Clans have to say about us, what he had to say... yeah, I attacked him. I wanted him to back off our border, especially after the stunt WindClan had pulled a few seasons ago when we were stranded in Lions- Rugged Range with nowhere to go. I knew I was outmatched, 'n that he'd likely leave me for dead - but I struck a claw out, 'n he didn't seem to... fight back like I expected. Before I knew it, he was bleedin' out on the border..."
Stand tall. Stand strong. Finish this, no matter the outcome. "I was wrong. I was reckless, 'n I was stupid, 'n I know that. Trust me, I've begged the stars to take it back. I've carried the guilt from leavin' him to die ever since that day. It may not seem like it, but I don't find joy in killin' cats. But I'll do it to protect my home, my Clanmates." Part of Dusklion didn't even know where she was going with this. But she had never been afraid to face her Clan. "'N I wanna make one thing clear." A sideways glance up towards her brother, the briefest flashes of disappointment, before it found the Clan once more, "Fallownose's death is my crime, 'n mine alone. I agree that we've dug ourselves into a hole - 'n that I've contributed to that - but there are cats here who have 'n continue to work their tails off to make sure we climb out. RiverClan sees you, 'n RiverClan will thrive because that hope, 'n that determination, will always outweigh those who try 'n bring us down." That, she firmly believed.
Now, for the decision.
"I've made mistakes. I'm not perfect - never will be. But... stars dammit, I care about this Clan. I care about my Clanmates, 'n I've never loved anything like I love RiverClan. Ever since the day I was brought into this Clan at twelve moons old with my brother, I knew it was my home. I knew I would spend the rest of my days servin' RiverClan. I made it my goal to one day be this Clan's deputy the first day my paws hit the sand, 'n eventually its leader. I've worked hard, 'n... I like to think I've started to make a difference." A breath out. "But I know I've made mistakes. I know I've put us in a bad position, 'n added onto the reason that the other Clans see us as nothin' more than rogues. So I want the decision to rest with you. Not Fades. Not myself; you. The Clan will decide if I'm to remain its deputy. Now that you've heard my side of things, 'n it's all laid out, I will do whatever the Clan thinks is best." Heartbroken, because despite everything, she knew the outcome. She tried her best to hide it though.
"If you want me to continue servin' as your deputy, say so. If you'd rather see me demoted, say so. This isn't a decision I or my brother can make; it rests with RiverClan. Because as much as we need stability, I know we also need high ranks we can trust to get the job done. So... I leave it to you all." Exhausted. Dusklion did her best to hide the exhaustion from her eyes - the lack of sleeping, of eating, of all of it. She stood tall, unwavering as she laid her fate in the paws of her Clanmates.
[ i know everyone's getting tired of clan mentions so i sincerely apologize - but feel free to have your character either speak about keeping dusklion in her position or removing her. this will have an impact on whether or not she remains. ]
Winterpaw
(Image by Pangoligon)
- @taillow
...no.
"...Dusklion... I don't want you gone from the rank you wanted."
Winterpaw seemed to agree with his sister.
Okay, maybe a lot of bad stuff had happened, but he relied on Dusklion. She was very good at what she did.
He probably wasn't wise enough to truly make these logical decisions, and he was kind of just trying to do what his heart wanted because she had earned her role in the clan in his opinion and not to remove her because of one... kinda really bad thing.
"I think you deserve to stay."
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Note I have ADHD and autism. I get easily overwhelmed, take a while to write long posts and I struggle to focus. My cats' opinions are not mine. They are whatever they think.
If there was ever a time to say anything, this was it. Duskleaf sat and listened to what the other cats had to say, and the opinions were mixed. Then Dusklion stood up to tell her own side of the story, and it was a little bit surprising when she immediately admitted guilt, but then explained that it was an accident and that she regretted it.
As Duskleaf sat and listened, he realised not a lot had changed, his argument still remained intact. He rose to his feet quickly. "I say Dusklion should stay! It would be crazy to turn on our clan's deputy, especially now! And I don't think it’s right to punish her for a mistake, we all make them, maybe not something like this, but we all still do things we regret! Think about what’s best for the clan! Think about it, why have unnecessary chaos right before we're invaded?" He sat back down again after that, he wasn’t used to raising his voice for so long, and it was beginning to give him a sore throat, so he had to sit back down again and let others speak. Hoping his words had convinced at least one other cat, he did truly fear for the clan if Dusklion was demoted, what would happen when the inevitable war came?
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"You'll take the high road and I'll take the low road
And I'll be in Scotland before ye
Where me and my true love shall never meet again
On the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond!"
Adderpaw
Determined ⋆ Loyal ⋆ Lawful Good ⋆ She/Her ⋆ Beefed Up T3
“One day I’ll be the greatest warrior of all the clans!”
@taillow
With that confession there was certainly a wrench thrown into the cogs in Adderpaw's thoughts. Sure other clan high ranks deserved low level respect themselves but did that put them above the rules about crossing the border. Adderpaw flicked her ears and hummed as she thought about all the implications of this action had, but if it was her right next to another clans high ranks what would she do? Certainly try to chase them off, and Adderpaw wasn't free of accidentally killing someone in a fight. Damn it all.
"Thank you for confessing to your crimes Dusklion. High ranks of other clans seem like they think that they can just trot onto our clans borders, hells Thunderclan seemed it fit to just walk into our camp TWICE and honestly we hardly did anything to punish them for such transgressions. I my stance still says the same anyways. Dusklion should stay as deputy but needs a punishment. If she didn't lose her cool Windclan would have one less reason to try and wipe us off the map."
Call her cruel call her callous, honestly this was going light on actions plunging them further into all out war. This action also seemed to spur the other clans to listen to Twi with could only be about raiding them. Hopefully at least Shadowclan would leave them alone. They had to fight minks recently, maybe their side was hurting enough and Dawn didn't care enough to kick down on a clan already in the pits she wouldn't join in. It was a bit sad she had some hope that Shadowclan leader would be less cruel than her leader but this is what it was.
Re: RiverClan Floodstone
Berryshine is RiverClan's medicine cat! 
