RiverClan Meetings (August 20, 2024 & August 31, 2024)

[dino.]

What a load of complete and utter dung.

“Spineless,” Redmire spat. That wasn’t what they meant and Fadingstar damn well knew it! If some cats got trials and they spoke out about it, that meant every cat should get a trial, not that Fadingstar should do away with them entirely. Consequences for speaking, consequences for doing, consequences for thinking, unless you were someone who had landed on the right side of his bias and suddenly it was sunshine and rainbows until your dying day in the face of the shadow of judgement and hate he threw over the rest of his Clanmates.

So let’s rattle off the new hit-list, shall we? Cats Redmire really wished she could do away with, without getting caught, in order of least hateful to cats she really wanted to off as soon as possible: anyone who had chosen to abstain the vote like cowards, everyone who had voted for Duskleaf to keep his position, Spiraltail, Duskleaf himself, Mistyshard, Larkwing, and finally, to top it all off, Fadingstar.

“I’ll take you out later,” she muttered to Ravenpaw. “I need to cool off.” She didn’t want to end up hurting her apprentice in her anger. She’d never forgive herself. With a sharp lash of her tail, she turned to storm away from the meeting and out of the rotting den.

Maybe she’d go hit up the WindClan border again just to piss the guy off, and at least get a chance to take some of her ire out when all of his little minions inevitably all came rushing after her.

[ @Luna16 for ravenpaw ]

[taillow]

cw: small content warning for moderate self-doubt and vague mentioning of a panic attack

Dusklion - RiverClan Deputy

Chaos.

Not in the usual way, with cats yowling and screeching. But inside, intwined with every beat her heart made against her chest.

It had started small, the way it always did. The call of the meeting, the crimes, the vote... the voices. Cats had changed their stance after Seabreeze spoke up, and because of the words of a few, now her brother was... taking the choice away entirely. And - demoting Duskleaf. Demoted. Back to a regular warrior.

That was the vote she had cast.

...So why did she feel so ashamed?

All she could think about now was Fallownose. Dead, his blood pooling at her paws. How she had fled the scene, how she had lied and hid it from her brother. How it had been revealed at the Gathering, and she had been put on trial. How the Clan had, begrudingly, voted for her to stay. And that's when it hit her.

She knew it. She had known it all along. Her Clanmates had tried to say that it was because of stability, or whatever reasoning they had given, but Dusklion had known the truth. She had always known.

The Clan wanted her gone; they just hadn't done anything because they had been too scared to. And her, like the right coward she was, had stayed. She had remained in her position instead of doing what she should have done in the first place; leave.

Suddenly noise rushed back into her ears and the meeting was moving on. There was a cat speaking to her, and numbly the deputy turned her head with her eyes a bit wide. Fishfreckle. It was almost like he was giving voice to her thoughts; she had done worse than Duskleaf, yet voted for his demotion.

Hypocrite. That was the word he used. It rang in her head like alarm bells, and Dusklion felt her throat go dry. Every string of words felt like a wave that slowly started lapping at her paws, then her legs, her chest fur, and finally she could feel it tickling her nose. Higher and higher they climbed, the words themselves sounding more like an echo as if they were far away. She wanted to run and flee from the onslaught before she drowned, but her paws remained rooted.

Because she deserved this. This was her consequence for not leaving.

"..." Opening and closing her jaw once, twice, then a third time, the deputy found that words would not come. Not to a throat too dry to utilize them, not to a tongue that would rather be bitten off than delivery some witty retort or snappy remark. Not to a cat - a Clan - who she could see so clearly now only was okay with her remaining in her rank because they were too scared of what her brother - their leader - would do if they spoke otherwise.

Looking back at the cats around, she found her gaze went to Duskleaf. She wasn't sure why he had caught her attention (she knew) but she stared at him for a long time, eyes filled with... with regret. With grief. With sorrow. Because it wasn't Duskleaf she was seeing; it was herself. Where she should be; demoted, like any warrior would've been for the crime she committed. Vote or not she shouldn't have been allowed to stay, and that was as clear as day now.

"...Excuse me." When the words finally did come they were quiet, spoken only to the cat sitting beside her in the back. Without making a sound the gray-furred deputy got to her paws and turned, making a silent exit out of camp. Part of her knew she would get her ears boxed in later for leaving, but she just... needed out. She needed to think. About the vote. About the bias. About whether or not it was the... the right thing to remain this Clan's deputy. RiverClan had her heart; her Clanmates... had her heart. Was she really selfish enough to put her own dream, her own ambition, above what was best for the Clan?

A single tear slipped from her eyes as she realized she knew the answer; no.

[ @Dark - since fish is next to her! ]
[ dusklion has left the meeting ]