Eveningthaw wasn't one to raise his voice during meetings. He graduated in a time when RiverClan was a lot more stable, and had a lot more respect and reverence.
But even pious soldiers have their limits. And he was a dutiful RiverClan warrior first and foremost. And he wasn't about to let his clan f e s t e r .
rot.
or decay.
Stars forbid he let this circus continue any longer. Oh, but she cares! Oh, give me a break. the feeling is slow, constricting up from the deepest pits of his stomach. It is genuine, harsh, and uncompromising. So, she was going to go around killing deputies on a whim? and for what?For WHAT? There was nothing- no proof of anything. Word against word. It was hearsay- and sure, maybe she didn't cross the border. But she shredded WindClan's deputy when every clan in the forest already loathed RiverClan, and her explanation was that she didn't cross the border. Lot of good that mattered now they were claw-deep in a war that would fill their graveyard to the brim.
If they even got to keep that. If there was anything left of RiverClan to rebuild. If there was anything left. He hoped- knew -StarClan was writhing in shame at the pathetic state RiverClan was in. Stooping so low as to let this crime go unatoned. Not him. There are lines.
There are lines. And too many have been crossed today.
"I want everyone here to take a good hard think about this. Dusklion was- and is a good warrior, sure, I know that well too. But the line has to be drawn. First Fallownose- then what? Who? Whatever the intention, whatever the goal, look where her decision to gut the rabbit has landed all of us! Caught in the middle of two clans that already want our heads, and one that's buddy buddy with our enemy," Eveningthaw lifted his voice above the ruckous, genuine vitriol dripping from his words. Passion. Certainty. "You don't exempt someone from this sort of thing just because she's been good before. This is blood! This is war. We won't have enough graves to hold all the bodies that will fall by the end of this mess, all because our deputy couldn't handle scaring off a moor-runner without snuffing out his life."
"How many people have to die for her before her life is worth the same as any of ours? How many apprentices and warriors will we lose to this war that culminated over her irrational decision? If she were a warrior, what then? We'd have called for her execution, her exile. Without second thoughts, too, because RiverClan doesn't tolerate endangering clanmates. We saw that first hand last meeting. I watched my daughter's blood spill on the packed-down earth, and I understood. I thought RiverClan was setting their rules and following it. What makes her exempt?"
Eveningthaw took a quick breath and composed himself, his lashing tail the only indication of his now stifled fury.
"She started this war. Maybe not entirely, but the last drop of blood that brought the whole forest turning on us was bled by Dusklion. She started this war, she should be the first to fall in it."
His sharp green gaze turned to stare the topic of the hour in the eyes, scrutinizing her. Sharp as a blade. "A warrior need not kill to win their battles. My vote is on handing Dusklion over to Twilightstar and preparing ourselves for an all out war. If RiverClan is going to enforce rules, they better apply to all of us."
He meant every word he said, venom dripping like the blood of the WindClan deputy. If the first blood shed in this war was Fallownose's, if that was the catalyst to cut to the heart and tear RiverClan to shreds, then by the stars, she deserved to be the second casualty. For throwing them into this whole mess. Over what? Insults? Belittling? He looked away to keep himself from glaring- unlike the Sleuth, he was no good at keeping the stony-cold look when pissed.
This was absurd. Were all these warriors going to play pretend, like the deputy didn't throw the whole clan into the fray? Were they supposed to fight her battles for her?
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. ]
-❅-❅Dawnripple❅-❅-
She/her|Warrior|riverclan
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Dawnripple looked at the leader thoughtfully, head tilted to one side. She frowned. Second chances deserve to be given, she thought. "In the same way," she mewed a loud, "We're all the same. Mistakes can be forgiven. I will forgive." nodding once, Dawnripple gazed at the deputy. She remembered her own mistakes, when she had also begged the stars to take it back. but she had deserved a second chance, so Dusklion did too.
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Rest In Peace Jellie
Canary call... The first to fall... Forever caged in different walls....
___________________-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-___________________ Flamegaze|Character Creator|Random Art Shop
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Rainingpaw stood back up again. "There you said it", she yowled! "You cite from the warrior code and yet" she looked straight at the warrior. "and yet you say this war is because of the action of mercy. You-y all of you say you don't want a war but can't you see?" She continued. "Can't you see we already are? We are screeching at each-other like a group of ROUGES when we should be mending relationships. It is GREENLEAF! Why WHY are we torturing Windclan apprentices!? Why is executing the only thought. I am aware that Fogmuzzle was a danger and if killing was needed then fine. What needs to stop is resorting to this every time a cat has a punishable fault" Rainingpaw sat back down but not in a submissive posture. She would interject if needed.
She/Her | Chaotic Good | Warrior
Go With The Flow [Active]
Cherryswirl had been silent for most of the meeting, aside from earlier offering the spot beside her happily to Springkit. Her stomach was churning, the sudden bombshell sending her reeling as she wrapped her tail instinctively around the kit beside her. Maybe her grogginess made the delivery of the news worse... At this point, who killed who and the clan is in shambles that didn't seem to matter to her. Golden eyes flickered around the clearing, watching each cat voice their opinion - though she couldn't really make out what they were saying. Her muscles tensed. Her breathing wavered softly, as she sucked in a deep regulating breath. Her eyes wandered down to the kit beside her... how would this affect them? Was... was Riverclan really falling apart now?
"Ha..." She let it puff out from her lungs, before calling out finally, "Why aren't we more focused on the actual issue...? Shouldn't we be prepared to go to war then? Defending our home and clanmates? If Windclan is looking for revenge or justice or whatever they think it is... then it doesn't matter whether Dusklion is deputy or not - they'd go for her all the same." It was something to think about... Sure, Fadingsun had already considered demoting his sister... but had he considered the thought that he might seriously lose her? ...probably.
"Wasting our time like this will only put us further behind - the other clans could be making their way here as we speak and we're worried about whether or not Dusklion should or shouldn't be demoted? We have bigger problems than poor decisions and accidents right now. We should be training, reinforcing, or evacuating our kits, queens and elders right now!" Her tone fluctuating sounded almost desperate for someone to echo her words. This was a waste of time. Moving quickly to her paws, Swirls called out once more,
"We can determine Dusk's fate at a less pressing time! Sounds like the clan is majority in agreement anyway! We need to start preparing for this war, Fadingsun!"
Status: Alligator bites are focused on the down stroke of their bite. YOU CAN HOLD THEIR MOUTH SHUT. [YAY]
Gender: Any pronouns, but non-binary
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Re: RiverClan Floodstone
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshdo
Rainingpaw stood back up again. "There you said it", she yowled! "You cite from the warrior code and yet" she looked straight at the warrior. "and yet you say this war is because of the action of mercy. You-y all of you say you don't want a war but can't you see?" She continued. "Can't you see we already are? We are screeching at each-other like a group of ROUGES when we should be mending relationships. It is GREENLEAF! Why WHY are we torturing Windclan apprentices!? Why is executing the only thought. I am aware that Fogmuzzle was a danger and if killing was needed then fine. What needs to stop is resorting to this every time a cat has a punishable fault" Rainingpaw sat back down but not in a submissive posture. She would interject if needed.
Martenburr
He/him
Purrks: Beefed Up Tier 2, The Collector, Herbal Knowledge Tier 2
[/COLOR]
"Rainingpaw's Right! What are We? Shadowclan Now? Exacution is Extreme! basically murder! What happened to Simplier Punishments like camp comfinement? temperary Exile? How Are You Going to Fix this Clan Like You Say Your Going too When All This Seems Like is utter chaos and division among clanmates?!" Martenburr Meowed loudly, moving to stand where he could look directly at Fallingsun and could be seen as well.
"i mean no Disrespect Fallingsun... but i don't think this is the way! instead of punishing those who speak out so terribly you should listen to them! take their worries into account and Discuss them! Instead of Scaring everyone! "
Martenburr frowned "all this border hostility isn't good either... i fear we'll end up going to war... and i don't wish to loose any of my clanmates to fighting. Perhaps What Dusklion Did Was Justified to You High ranks But honestly? I Think She Shouldn't have sunk to Fallownose's Level. She should have Ignored Him! Been The Better Warrior By Not Reacting to Such Stupidity That Fallownose was Spewing. violance is Not The Anwser! at least not all the time! Do you know how many battles and lifes where ended because of honorable warriors sinking to the level of the scum trying to start fights? How many Would Be Here Still today if that hadn't happened? the list would be endless!
Had She not Reacted and Had Chosen to Ignore His Foolish Hostility Then Perhaps We Wouldn't be in this Position... About to go to war! it fills me with sadness the idea that blood shed will come... cats... who have families and loved ones... will surely be lost on each side... a terrible tragedy.
Make no Mistake, I'll Fight Beside Riverclan till My Death... And I'm Fine With Dusklion Remaining Deputy... But i don't choose to be okay with her actions!" Martenburr Grunted[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT]
RiverClan Warrior ~A beautiful scarred white mollie, pale gray and ginger torbie markings with blue eyes~
PURRKS —> BEEFED UP T1 ——————
| Mentions ———> @occultation | @taillow | @Dust |
| OPEN | ——————
☘︎ Pebblesplash was listening to the chaos, chuckling slightly. Inside, she felt very discouraged from her original goal but wanted to seem calm, collected and even cool to the others in her clan. She fluffs out her fur, standing up to speak. “As much as I hated that WindClan deputy, the others are right… Murder does go against the code… Although I already know your standing with the code, Fadingsun…” Pebblesplash stretched casually and then yawns. She was getting tired of conversations like this, they never fixed anything. “What dusk did was wrong, yes, but we don’t have anyone else right now…” Taking a seat again, she continues to speak, but turns her gaze to Cherryswirl… “But sure, war. It’s a fun thing, right? The death of more clanmates in our clan… Haven’t you the slightest noticed how… close the other clans have been lately…? Surely they might ally against us… And who do we have? Other than a bunch of untrained kit-warriors… hm…? Then what?”
☘︎ During her time in starclan, she was able to see things happening, but couldn’t quite put it into words. She had heard rumors of ShadowClan and WindClan becoming allies but she was still unsure… Regardless, it was always good to pay attention to the what if’s. “It’s been moons since a clan was driven out of the forest, and it’s not gonna be us IF it happens again. We are ALL going to DIE if we don’t do something! We’d be fighting a war with a winner decided even before we drew our claws,” Pebblesplash licks her paw. “What we need to do is fix it, apologize, offer what we can until we gain their trust again… Maybe we could break the trust between the other clans and have them cling to us… What we need is an insider…”
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Notes: mentioned taillow because pebs talks about dusk briefly ——————
Juniperkit looked up at the kind cat, eyes staring almost primarily at her mouth, trying to read the lips as best she could. She was a big girl. Big Juni. Round amber eyes darkened slightly at Dusklion’s appearance, but the kit shrunk away behind Berrypaw and that worked quite nicely.
Nodding slowly as Berry seemed to ask if she wanted to sit by her, the young cat let out a soft, mumbled squeak. ”Y-yes.” She seemed to deflate with relief as Berrypaw said she could sit with her, feeling some weird little feeling of relief. Someone wanted her. Someone was okay with talking to her, or at least willing to pretend. And that was the most amazing feeling in the world. To be wanted.
She didn’t really know what was going on, but the scary tom looked… angry. And he was talking, but she didn’t hear anything. But that was okay.
Then the cats around erupted in emotions and words and staring and there was…. Just a lot. A lot. Letting out a soft whimper, she attempted to snuggle into Berry’s fur, not even aware that she was practically burrowed against an almost-stranger. She was just afraid.
And so she did what she did best. She shut down. Eyes closing, she stopped straining her ears to try to discern words, and instead, she just… sat. It was much easier than trying to keep up, or more so, keep calm. So she sat. Motionless, frozen. Waiting for this to be over.
Twigstep looked around at his clanmates it seemed like more people were siding with him and with that he spoke up again "I agree with pebblesplash what exactly will we do IF we are driven from our home?...I for one do not wish to flee our home" he looked around and back towards pebblesplash and went over to her the older tom sat by her side tall and head lifted meeting anyone eyes that looked at him. His thoughts were racing he had too much at stake here at this meeting on one hand he cared deeply for his clanmates and didn't want anything to happen to his friends but...on the other hand he knew the war was coming and how he used it benefited himself played on these next few minutes he had to be strategic the next moves through. He decided from here on out he would tread lightly with what he said
"Other cats are going to want to leave. I will not leave, ever leave, this clan, but all this will do is drive the few clanmates we actually have anymore away. We have made ourselves alone and I don't think there is any way to dig ourselves out of this hole instead of further in. Riverclan needs people who won't leave, even if they're flawed. Dusklion should keep her rank. Who else is going to be worth being a deputy anymore?"
Amberwing had to say something for once, something to this clan she loved so much. She'd regret it. Maybe she'd die. Starclan knows she'd deserve it.
She didn't know anyone here. But Fadingsun had said as much. She was responsible for this. Maybe if she'd done something worth keeping, everything would be better. She wasn't so much as worth an apprentice to this clan anymore, and she expected to die herself. If she was lucky, maybe they'd keep her ear or something until the next screw up landed them somewhere else. It was the closest thing to a legacy she'd ever have.
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I’m Here..... It’s Been a while. When did I come... I didn’t know
I felt falling and Alone. I'd never grow old and decided. It wasn’t time to go.
As the ship roared past, I stayed. As I had come. Lost. Alone. Empty.
Somewhere. Something. Had brought me here. But what?
Where is the Justice?
]
Re: RiverClan Floodstone
