RiverClan Elders' Den

[HerbalTea]

Algaebird slept

[Spottedraven]

(MistyKit)-(2 Moons)-(Genderfluid)
MistyKit suck into the Elder's den hoping to hear some new stories and some old legends and tall tales of Starclan. They could hardly wait. Mistyki walked over to the first elder they saw and then they poked Algaebird with a stick [If that's okay with you @HerbalTea]. MistyKit looked at them with admiration.
" Hello! "
MistyKit chirped as she sat down next to their nest.
" Could you please tell me a story? "
They mewed as they titled their head.

[Quietheart]

Blizzardoak

|61 Moons|

Blizzardoak sat alone in the den huffing tiredly.

[Spooky_Dreamz]

┌─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───┐
large and fluffy bluish gray tom with dark gray stripes and ear tufts. has a scar across his face and chest.
✩ Miresong ✩
He/him | Trans | Elder | 87 moons | RC
❝ The wise storyteller ❞
└─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───┘

The elder lay tiredly in the den, feeling rather lonesome on this otherwise fine day. He hadn't many friends to speak to, and maybe today just wasn't the day any young ones wanted any tales. When Miresong looked up from licking his paw, he found a somewhat small silhouette by the entrance of the Elders' den.

"'Ello?" Miresong said, though his voice not very audible. He hadn't had to talk in a hot minute and so his vocal cords must have gotten messed up or something. With a clearing of his throat, Miresong relaxed, seeing it was but a young apprentice nearby.

@ollie

[ollie_the_skeleton]

Shorepaw
He/Him |~| Riverclan |~| 5 moons

The young cream apprentice slunk towards the entrance of the elders den, trying to stay as silent as possible.
He wasn't sure why. His ears instinctively perked up at the sound of a voice. He grinned, his teeth glinting in the dull light of the den. He ducked into the den and plopped himself in front of an elder. He crossed his paws and looked at them.

[ @Spooky_Dreamz ]

[taillow]

 

Originally Posted by Spooky_Dreamz

┌─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───┐
large and fluffy bluish gray tom with dark gray stripes and ear tufts. has a scar across his face and chest.
✩ Miresong ✩
He/him | Trans | Elder | 87 moons | RC
❝ The wise storyteller ❞
└─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───┘

"Greetings, Stormstar," Miresong greeted his leader with some happiness in his voice. "How can we help ya?"

Originally Posted by spooky_bluee.

CLOUDSONG

Cloudsong's head slowly lifted up. "Greetings, Stormstar." He muttered and dipped his head, eyes hazy after just waking up. "I'm good. Thanks." He meowed.

@taillow

Originally Posted by Rani

Waterlily
Riverclan Elder | She/Her | 134 Moons

Well well well look who it was. Did Stormstar think a pretty new name and title and some work being done to get the clan in bare minimum working order means she'd be greeted by accolades? Or perhaps this was a bid to get Waterlily on her side before the elder tore into her like she did for the older brother.

The leader had another thing coming if that was the case, and that shown as a scraggly head lifted from her bedding, rough voice cutting.
"Oh look, she who rules over all descends from her high and mighty perch to mingle with the decrepit. I'll give you that your brother and last....." the elder counted "three(?) of you forebears before him never bothered to do so but dont think a meal will be enough when the apprentices do more on the daily. Go on Stormpaw, start descaling that think and tearing it up, few of us have teeth enough to do so anymore and once youre done you can work on my ticks while we talk. Its the least that can be done."
It was also payment and humbling in a way. Lower yourself to the level of the apprentices you rule over and listen to our grumbling and you might get some of our wisdom you desperately need.


"Miresong stop being so glad to see her, you sound starved for attention. And Cloudsong dont lie, we're not good we need more moss and for this place to be better sealed or come leafbare soon we'll all freeze, stars knows our thinning pelts cant keep us warm like the rest of the clans clan."
Elders froze during leafbare, its just what they did and Waterlily would be damned if her last (probable) moons would be spent cold and unhappy. She was old now and knew her time was soon so she'd go out pampered dammit.


"Speaking of your name though oh star. I believe you were given it sure but I dont see that it suits you. What storm are you, I only see a cat who stayed silent and obedient under her brothers mistakes only speaking up now that he's gone and cant demote you for fighting for whats right. Whats with that brat hmmm? Dont think you're off the hook for your wrongs just because you seem to be aware and making up for some.

What do you want from us anyways, I dont believe this is just a social call."
Oh the leader would get her answers for whatever she was looking for sure. But she'd also have to deal with Waterlily to get them.


@taillow @Bluest+r~ @Honey_Dreamz

Originally Posted by Spooky_Dreamz

┌─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───┐
large and fluffy bluish gray tom with dark gray stripes and ear tufts. has a scar across his face and chest.
✩ Miresong ✩
He/him | Trans | Elder | 87 moons | RC
❝ The wise storyteller ❞
└─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───┘

Miresong sighed "Because StarClan forbid I express some emotion 'round here," he grumbled sarcastically.

He continued to listen as Waterlily spoke, and he couldn't help but give the fellow elder a silent disapproving shake of his head. He didn't want to speak and cause an issue, though, so he just sat there instead, allowing himself to to stew in his negative thoughts about this interaction.

@Rani

Originally Posted by Tallstar

Twigstep
98 Moons
He/Him

Twigstep had been napping in the corner of the den when he awoke to the smell of fresh kill the voices of his fellow elders and the ever so evident presence of his new leader one who he wasn’t super fond of but he would make due he passed over his frame once large had shrunk from the exile and his leg wasn’t doing him any favors after the vicious attack from the rest of the clans a shadowclan foxheart had attacked him in the leg and since then it never had been the same he sat down next to Waterlily and listened to her rant

Some things he agreed on others not so much “Isn’t this a supprise see you here mingling with your elders figured once you became a warrior you’d never visit I mean Mudsmoke was a respectable warrior came to visit but oh wait he got murdered by bloody otters” he says his heart had turned quite bitter over his favorite warriors death and with the death of Mudsmoke he no longer had anyone to visit no family.He turned his head to water lily and nodded “We definitely could use more moss and an apprentice in here with some mouse bile I know the moves been difficult but basic requirements should be met shoot I rember when I was an apprentice doing it”.he says while turning back to Stormstar he didn’t hate his leader he was just bitter
@Rani @taillow @Honey_Dreamz
(Sorry I’m late to the party)

Stormstar - RiverClan Leader

A grin had started to spread further across her face at the first few elders - but boy did it falter when Waterlily started in. The shock was written all over her face when Stormstar looked up, jaw agape just slightly as the elder laid into her. It was... not the reaction she had been expecting, especially not after how the elder had spoken of her during her brother's departure. All Stormstar could do was stand there, paws rooted to the ground as the onslaught continued.

Some of her claims were odd - and others didn't make any sense (the den was back up against a rock wall... how much more sealed could it get??) but even against those the leader shut her jaw tight and swallowed. Ever fiber of her being was screaming at her to lash out, to bark and bite and snap. But tradition and respect for elders kept her silent, staring hard at Waterlily. It was times like these where she cursed O/tterfluff, the brown warrior's lessons of respect and honor to those who had served RiverClan long before her echoing between her ears.

"...'M sorry. I'll work to do better." Her voice was constrained, and the irritation that was well known with her retorts gone. Her blue eyes lowered to the prey she had brought. Twigstep's words were just like a curved claw carving out the wounds Waterlily's had left, but yet the leader remained silent with her tail down and ears flat. Take it. Bear it and take it and soon she could leave this den and curse her former mentor to the high skies above for his engrained teachings of "respect" and "honor".

Letting the particular comment of never having come to visit when she was a warrior - knowing damn well she had been in here nearly every day to listen to tales of old - Stormstar rolled her shoulders back and set to work on descaling the fish one by one, using her claw to slice the prey into more manageable bites and dropping them at the paws of each elder. She glanced at Miresong with a dip of her head, then Cloudsong, but for Twigstep and Waterlily she simply passed them their prey with her gaze elsewhere.

"I... 'M tryin' to get rid of the otters in the rivers." Stars, now she didn't want to do this. At least her voice was steady, albeit not as strong as it normally was. With her ears still flat against her head as she sat down, the leader forced herself to look up - although she found herself moreso looking at Miresong and Cloudsong while stealing brief glances at the other elders. "'Ve never fought 'em before, 'n I don't wanna go in empty-pawed like I did with-" Twigstep had already brought it up, so mentioning his name a second time felt like talons in her heart, "-Mudsmoke 'n Jayfrost..." Once more the leader swallowed hard and fought to regain the rest of her composure. "Was wonderin' if any of you knew the best way to handle the beasts."

[Rani]

Waterlily
Riverclan Elder | She/Her | 134 Moons

Now this? This almost made the habitual dislike so many of the clan had for Waterlily worth it. Stormstar looked like she was sucking on a lemon after that scolding, though cats didnt know what lemons were so lets call it a proper case of cat-butt-face. The elders expression was schooled into its usual unimpressed grumpyness still but you'd have to be a fool to miss the slight smugness to them. It was always good to remind the whippersnappers of the clan the true authority of it.


Besides they were proper gripes, if petty ones. The rock was cold and hard and only going to get colder and Waterlily hadnt eaten today, lack of teeth unable to cut through the whole prey. The ancient elder was skinny enough already and just couldnt afford a skipped meal so close to leafbare anymore, she was probably to die this winter, but starvation was a hard way to go she wished to avoid.




Though..... Hearing about Stormstars issues there might not be choice, the elder suddenly having visceral flashbacks to her kittenhood and the last leader she lived under to face otters. All smugness was gone, all grumpyness was gone all that remained was a serious stare, gaze slightly vacant of a cat who knew something, but also in a way feared it. Stormstar couldnt be allowed to repeat the mistakes of her ancestors out of desperation, Waterlily couldnt allow it..... Which meant digging down into a past the elder wished hadnt in a way made her.


Waterlilys voice had shifted next time she spoke, the changing making it clear her complaining wasnt all that dire and while not a joke it was more of a test then real condemnation. Because now? Now the molly spoke with the tone she'd case down Fadingstar in, eyes cold as ice.
"Best way to handle otters? Stormstar for all you have met those monsters if you think theres any good way to to anything around them at all youve too much hope still. All I know is the worst way to handle them, and should you take that path I sincerely hope you end up like last leader to tussle with those beasts."

The elder closed her eyes, taking in a deep shaky breath as the memories came stronger now, settling back into her nest like she did so often when telling history (Waterlily was never one for kit-tales when the past was already so easily forgotten) and gestured Stormstar closer.
"I was a kitten at the time, over 11 winters ago when otters were last here and Goosestar" the elder spat at the ground, face full of disgust "lead us then. We questioned leaders less in the past, and were worse for it.

When otters first came they wreaked havoc. Eating our fish yes, but hunting us like we were prey, grabbing every single cat who touched the rivers and dragging them down to drown them in the waters we call home. See Stormstar, otters dont hunt us for food, they do for fun. We're a challenge which fights back but are dealt with easily enough so they find our screams and attempts funny, knowing we wont leave the territory.
Every adult otter is larger then an adult cat, longer if not taller then the largest warriors, and even their pups are the match of a lesser fighter. They dont seem to need to breath air despite a lack of gills so you can never outswim them as they'll just wait until you choke on water.


We lost so many cats, my own father, and couldnt do a damn thing against beasts so much stronger in our home turf.



Goosestar sought to exterminate them like you first did, just take a battle patrol like you would any other predator and wipe them out. He too found that foolish, but unlike you did not call off the patrol in time. All died, including him and when Goosestar came back he came back rattled, down a life to riverclans own waters and those things.

Damn him for what he did to be rid of them after however.
That fool thought otters like fish, dead without water and so petrified of them and desperate to be rid of them had the warriors left dam the rivers, drying up out own water. But otters arent fish for starclans sake and were just fine on land! Slow compared to us, clumsy and awkward but living still! They took out three more cats before, perhaps bored of a space without water or fish, they moved on.

We traded on killer for another as we starved for a time Stormstar, bellies empty until we could tear down out dams and bring back the rivers. I was a kit, cant say if it was a good trade but it added to the many reasons the clan hated Goosestar, that I know.

Not that I think the cat that finally got rid of him was anything but mad, that cat was insane and needed to be brought down sooner."
Magpiewisp was.... Well was a cat who deserved the dark forest and was a problem from the word go. That was a whole other history lesson however.






"Listen if you take anything from this its thusly: Otters are a nightmare. A cat in the water with them is dead, a cat in their mouth is crippled at best. Theyre stronger and smart, though not as smart as us, and the only reason they havent wiped the whole clan is that they dont like to be on land for theyre awkward on it, but no less a threat. And that they number few, not so much a clan of otters as a roving family group.
Their claws are not a threat but the strength of their hits is so theres not even solace there and again their bite is lethal, breaking the strongest bones with ease.

They left last time when the situation wasnt 'fun' for them anymore but I warn you to not create another issue in getting rid of them for the clan to deal with. As for what that solution or plan might be? I have no answers, only more horror stories of lives lost to those monsters."
That they hadnt killed more cats was a blessing honestly, probably because the clan was warned against going in the rivers and, distracted by other things, wasnt too bothered by the restriction. It could be worse, could still get worse yet, and the thought terrified.


@taillow @Tallstar @Spooky_Dreamz @spooky_bluee.
(BEHOLD! A cannon lore drop courtesy of bear! so this store is ENTIRELY cannon to wco lore and did in fact occur~ just not in rp)

[Spooky_Dreamz]

┌─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───┐
large and fluffy bluish gray tom with dark gray stripes and ear tufts. has a scar across his face and chest.
✩ Miresong ✩
He/him | Trans | Elder | 87 moons | RC
❝ The wise storyteller ❞
└─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───┘

Miresong, though intrigued in the story and half-believed it, personally thought Waterlily was hyping up the otters a tad much. Though he couldn't fully not believe it, for it was true–the otters were a danger to the Clan. Miresong honestly felt that Waterlily was more telling a story than answering Stormstar's question–these were gripes he'd keep his jaw shut about, at least for now.

He cleared his throat. "Well, it is true," the elder began. "They are; they are endangering us in more than one way. And they have got to go." Miresong took a moment to think; what could be done about those pesky little sea critters? "The first step's to make sure everyone knows about the otters. You may assume that everybody already knows, but perchance they don't. I'm hoping the entire Clan has been warned by now, but if not, they must be as soon as possible. If they don't know there's otters, they're gonna go out and assume there aren't otters, then there's a good chance they'll be their next victim."

"Then, we've ought to carry out whatever procedures are necessary to protect as many cats as possible. This is important to ensure that the next part of the plan can have enough time to be done without loosing too many cats. Limit everyone's time outside of camp, limit where they can go, whatever. Anything that will prevent cats from messing with the otters."

Miresong sighed, yet again needing to think a few heartbeats about what to say next. "The actual extermination of the critters is the critical part. This is where a group of us will have to work together. We need to come up with a plan and perfect it, if it is flawed, we must discuss about how to the flaws or forget it and start from scratch if needed. We cannot have a vague plan and go along with it, no; this can cause more issues. This is why we need to take the precautions I've said before, to keep everyone safe in the meantime. See, if we send out some random cats to go and fight the otters, more likely than not, that will not succeed. If we send out cats, we have to pick the right ones, strong warriors who've proven themselves able to face these dangers. Warriors who are willing to do such a thing for their Clan."

"I'm sure some of you may have better ideas, though–if so, I'd like to hear your thoughts."

@taillow @Rani @Tallstar @spooky_bluee.