Given that the meeting had only just concluded, most of the Clan was either back at camp or elsewhere in the territory. That meant that, for now, he had Lionsbeach all to himself.
As the minutes passed by, the adrenaline that had been kicked up within him at Fogmuzzle's threats began to die little by little. With it, the anger it had fueled died, too. A creeping horror began to replace it. Never before had he been so... nonchalant at another's death. Even when he'd been in the outskirts, with death on his mind every day, he'd never been fully detached from it.
It was almost as if something within him changed during that meeting. He had no idea what, or how exactly he should deal with it. Staring out across the ocean, he wondered if it would be a lone occurrence, or if this was the first of many changes coming down the line for him.
The darkness that had lead to him demanding Fogmuzzle's death be slow and painful, to him watching silently as Talonpaw ripped Fogmuzzle's tongue free from her body... it deeply unsettled him. Being alone, he allowed that discontent to twist his features.
Digging his claws into the sand, he concluded that this was simply a stress-induced event. Yes, cats were known to do extreme things when they were under a lot of stress. Plus, he'd been impassioned by the threats made against apprentices he'd sworn to protect. For moons, RiverClan had neglected their youth. If he had to have a moment of darkness to ensure that stopped, that was okay... right?
He shook his head. This wasn't the real him. The real him was better than that. The real him had a good moral compass, and always tried to be fair in both judgment and execution. The real him didn't enjoy seeing an enemy torn down and brutalized, even after death.
He just needed some air. Some time away from it all, and everything would be alright again. He'd be able to let go of the shadows that still pressed at his heart, wanting to be let back inside the part they'd temporarily claimed.
[ Open! ]
__________________
Fadingstar is currently RiverClan's leader. He has an open den policy; his den can be found here. If you have any questions or concerns about RiverClan, or any plots to propose, feel free to leave me a VM or DM! Please do not take my characters' IC opinions as reflective of my own.
Wrenpaw
~<>~
59/100
10 moons || she/her || RiverClan Apprentice || Silver Tongue medium furred silver smoke she-cat; blue eyes
Wrenpaw was sitting alone, peacefully minding her own business and taking a break for once, when all of a sudden she hears this irritating, grating voice and a smiling face pushes its way into her field of vision. Who..? Who is this guy? Wren has almost never seen his face before, she's sure of that.
"Uh... okay?" She says uncertainly. Whatever, training is training, she'll take what she can get even if it's from... less than ideal sources. "I could use some extra hunting training, I suppose. I've done the basics on a patrol once before but that's about it. Me 'n Slatestripe have also done a bit of in-water fishing so... maybe fishing from the shore?" It's a suggestion, and one she makes with the tone of someone who expects to be listened to. Perhaps Wrenpaw had gotten her way one too many times, but the thought of someone not listening to the orders she gives doesn't even register as a possibility in this moment.
Yeah!! Progress!! Let's go!! He is so productive and can totally shove this in the faces of the other warriors later!! Venomblight won't even know what hit her when he waltzes up real smooth and cool and tells her how amazing and charitable he was to offer to train an apprentice. Oh, yeaaahhhhhh. Anyway. Training!! Time to train!! And talk about where they are going mhm!!
"Ok!" He starts cheerfully, "this is Lionsbeach!! It's super duper close to where Seastones is because they're both on the beach by the ocean so, obviously, they'd be close together, ya know? Oh! Oh! I thiiinnnkkkk it has somethin' to do with Lionstar, and that's why it's named 'Lionsbeach' instead of just 'beach', but I dunno, so don't repeat that." He plods along the sand, stepping with exaggerated motions and shaking the sand that clings to the long fur on his paws. "Any questions? We can head to the range next!! Or the springs. Or the thicket - you decide!"
Walking along the stretch of lionsbeach, the sound of waves and the gulls of Seagulls filled his ears and he made his way onto the cold rocks along the shore. It was always nice coming past lionsbeach, he rarely hunted here seeing as he barely found anything worth his while and he preferred fishing but the scenery and the smell of the air was always comforting.
He chosen a spot on the beach that was less occupied, it was most likely to be crawling with Seagulls or shellfish. And who would of guessed, not a shellfish in sight nor seagull. All seemed to be in the air. Guess he wasn't the only one hunting at this time of day.
He sat down watching the sky's, patient waiting for one of the stupid birds to fly down and land on the beach while at the same time keeping an eye on the rocks in case a crab decided to come out of its hiding place.
Yeah!! Progress!! Let's go!! He is so productive and can totally shove this in the faces of the other warriors later!! Venomblight won't even know what hit her when he waltzes up real smooth and cool and tells her how amazing and charitable he was to offer to train an apprentice. Oh, yeaaahhhhhh. Anyway. Training!! Time to train!! And talk about where they are going mhm!!
"Ok!" He starts cheerfully, "this is Lionsbeach!! It's super duper close to where Seastones is because they're both on the beach by the ocean so, obviously, they'd be close together, ya know? Oh! Oh! I thiiinnnkkkk it has somethin' to do with Lionstar, and that's why it's named 'Lionsbeach' instead of just 'beach', but I dunno, so don't repeat that." He plods along the sand, stepping with exaggerated motions and shaking the sand that clings to the long fur on his paws. "Any questions? We can head to the range next!! Or the springs. Or the thicket - you decide!"
[ wrenpaw - @/Neptune. ]
Wrenpaw
~<>~
60/100
10 moons || she/her || RiverClan Apprentice || Silver Tongue medium furred silver smoke she-cat; blue eyes
Stars, she was already starting to regret agreeing to this. Whatever, just suck it up and this will all be over so much faster. Training is training even if it's coming from... him.
"No questions," Wrenpaw says, shaking her head. The faster they could do these tours, the better. "Lets go to the range next - we can save the springs for last, I've already seen Sleepy Thicket more than once, I don't need to go again."
Given that the meeting had only just concluded, most of the Clan was either back at camp or elsewhere in the territory. That meant that, for now, he had Lionsbeach all to himself.
As the minutes passed by, the adrenaline that had been kicked up within him at Fogmuzzle's threats began to die little by little. With it, the anger it had fueled died, too. A creeping horror began to replace it. Never before had he been so... nonchalant at another's death. Even when he'd been in the outskirts, with death on his mind every day, he'd never been fully detached from it.
It was almost as if something within him changed during that meeting. He had no idea what, or how exactly he should deal with it. Staring out across the ocean, he wondered if it would be a lone occurrence, or if this was the first of many changes coming down the line for him.
The darkness that had lead to him demanding Fogmuzzle's death be slow and painful, to him watching silently as Talonpaw ripped Fogmuzzle's tongue free from her body... it deeply unsettled him. Being alone, he allowed that discontent to twist his features.
Digging his claws into the sand, he concluded that this was simply a stress-induced event. Yes, cats were known to do extreme things when they were under a lot of stress. Plus, he'd been impassioned by the threats made against apprentices he'd sworn to protect. For moons, RiverClan had neglected their youth. If he had to have a moment of darkness to ensure that stopped, that was okay... right?
He shook his head. This wasn't the real him. The real him was better than that. The real him had a good moral compass, and always tried to be fair in both judgment and execution. The real him didn't enjoy seeing an enemy torn down and brutalized, even after death.
He just needed some air. Some time away from it all, and everything would be alright again. He'd be able to let go of the shadows that still pressed at his heart, wanting to be let back inside the part they'd temporarily claimed.
[ Open! ]
`~Owltalon
She\Lionheart\RC
"Are you listening, starchild?"
Owltalon was just trotting along the waves, wondering what would happen if she ever tried to kill a seagull mid-flight. I mean, it probably wouldn't end well, but that didn't stop her from thinking about it. Her mind trailed in and out of certain possibilities like a winding maze, her tail flicking at its tip as she splashed softly in the lapping waves.
Hm... Well, unless she got a mauled wing for a trophy or get any useful food for her clan then it wasn't really worth it. She could smell the scent of Riverclan getting stronger as a cat entered the beach. Owltalon lifted her head to greet them, maybe even challenge them to a huntin' competition to get her mind off killing seagulls.
She was surprised to see it was Fadingsun. Oddly enough, Owltalon was positive that the leader lived in his den, only to come out when really needed. Was it a stupid thought? Yeah, kinda. It just didn't occur to her that leaders had the time to be anything but leaders. She was wrong, obviously.
Regardless of her surprise, she still offered the tom a smile, noticing the unsettling expression on his face. Owltalon wrinkled her nose in worry as she padded up to him. " 'Aye, chief," Owltalon announced her presence with a light tone, hoping to lift whatever mood Fadingsun was in. "Can I get 'cha somethin'? It won't take long, promise."
Food always calmed her down, maybe the same could be said for her leader.
__________________
❝Whatever will be, will be. Don't care what anyone else thinks.❞
-When You Grow Up, Your Heat Dies
Lionsbeach. Already the smell of salt was causing a grin to stretch across Dusklion's face and the feeling of sand in between her toe beans had her purring. She slowed to a simple walk as she kneaded her paws into the sand. It was warm and inviting and it felt good after having practically ran the entire time here.
The deputy made her way further down the shore, coming up to where the water level just touched. As a wave rolled in Dusk used her paw to flick some water out, chuckling as she did so. She lifted her gaze to watch as the morning sunlight danced and glittered on its surface. So mesmerizing... she could stay here and watch the waves all day if she wanted to...
But she had things to do. With one last longing look towards the ocean, Dusklion turned and made her way back up into the forested territory. Her trot picked up once more as she bounded through the trees.
Time flew by just like the Seagulls flying overhead. Stars did he hate them. He was getting impatient and wanted to sink his claws into one of the feathered pests already but he had the torture of waiting for his patrolmate. The sound of pawsteps caught his attention and he turned his head to face them. "good to see you finally made it-" he began as he addressed morningmimic only to see it was them but instead one of his other clanmates walking along the stretch of beach. Letting out an embarrassed huff he turn back to star at the sand in front of him. Another no show patrol mate, was this clan full of them? Well mudsmoke wasn't going to wait a second longer. If morningmimic appeared while he was hunting then great! They were welcomed to join him, otherwise he was finishing his alone.
Rising steadily to his paws he started making his way down the stretch of beach, the soft feeling of sad beneath the pads of his paws were nothing and gentle breeze tangling his fur. All nice, so relaxing. Nearing a group of Seagulls he slowed down his walk. He wasn't and extraordinary hunter, despite enjoying it so much, he assumed he could catch atleast two of these flying rats and maybe find a crab or three. That would be a suitable hawl if you ask him, expscially since this was the lionsbeach and not much prey roamed here.
Dropping into a hunting crouch he neared the group of Seagulls, group? Flock? Meh whatever you call 'em. He came to stop once concealed by some shrubs growing of the dirt and sand. Waiting, waiting.....pouncing! He dove into the group of bird snagging one of the pesky birds with his claw and managing to grab onto it. He tumbled a bit from the force he leapt with but didn't once let go of the flailing bird as it screeched, ugh that awful sound! Pinning the bird down he finished it with swift killing bite. Stupid birds, he thought as he watched them fly away. Well on searat would do- to his surprise there was still and seagull on the sand near him. Huh? Curiously approaching it he realised it must be injured seeing as it wouldn't fly away only hop. Mudsmoke would call it mercy when he quickly killed that one too. Two Seagulls. Nice.
MormingMimic padded up "Sorry, kit's were causing' problems for AzaleaBlood and SharkHail. M'bad. We're huntin'.. Seagulls and crabs, right? Cool.."
He looked around before stalking up to a distracted seagull. He pounced, killing it quickly. He then noticed a few crabs. He scooped one up in his jaw, narrowly avoiding being pinched and slammed it down on a rock, killing it. He quickly did the same with a second crab.
Making his way back over to the more stone covered stretch of the beach he heard the sound of a death trill, one that a seagull made when it was killed. A very familiar sound, Mudsmoke knew of course since he killed Seagulls a lot! Don't even get him started- dropping the two dead Seagulls he had caught into a little heap on the rocks he turned back to observe where the source of the sound was. Instead of just a seagull, he saw a tom. A clanmate making his way over to mudsmoke with what looked like two crabs and a seagull. He apologized for being late, late? Late to what- Oh! This must be morningmimic, he realised and dipped his head in greeting. Usually Mudsmoke would be annoyed that he had been stood up this long on something as simple as a hunting patrol but hearing morningmimic's excuse he decided he wouldn't. Mudsmoke wasn't a father, didn't have any kits but he knew they could put up quite the hassle if they wanted to. "no worries man, your here now aren't you!"he said calmly. "nice catch!" he added, indicating with his tail that morningmimic could drop his prey in the makeshift pile he had already made, if the tom wanted to of course.
Morningmimic looked as if he had caught a good enough haul already, surprisingly since he had just arrived. With the prey between the two of them it was more than enough, yet Mudsmoke wasn't completely satisfied. He wanted to catch atleast one more seagull or atleast a few crabs. after acknowledging morningmimic mudsmoke went back to the hunt. He had could carry a few more prey, one more seagull two crabs. All Seagulls seemed to be in the air currently, how annoying. Out of the corner of his eye though, he spotted movement. A crab, a large one two. Maybe he'd keep the pincers for himself, a little celebratory hunting gift why not. It's not like he had to sneak up on this one. Casually walking up to the crab and speeding up his pace as it tried to scurry away, he scooped it up avoiding it's pincers the best he could. Dragging it to the nearest rock his smashed it against the hard surface until the shell cracked the crab looked dead. He doubted crab was a popular pick back at camp, of course he liked it! But it wasn't that filling, more of a snack. He tossed the crab I to his pile before sitting down and turning to morningmimic to see if the tom would hunt anything else.
Owltalon was just trotting along the waves, wondering what would happen if she ever tried to kill a seagull mid-flight. I mean, it probably wouldn't end well, but that didn't stop her from thinking about it. Her mind trailed in and out of certain possibilities like a winding maze, her tail flicking at its tip as she splashed softly in the lapping waves.
Hm... Well, unless she got a mauled wing for a trophy or get any useful food for her clan then it wasn't really worth it. She could smell the scent of Riverclan getting stronger as a cat entered the beach. Owltalon lifted her head to greet them, maybe even challenge them to a huntin' competition to get her mind off killing seagulls.
She was surprised to see it was Fadingsun. Oddly enough, Owltalon was positive that the leader lived in his den, only to come out when really needed. Was it a stupid thought? Yeah, kinda. It just didn't occur to her that leaders had the time to be anything but leaders. She was wrong, obviously.
Regardless of her surprise, she still offered the tom a smile, noticing the unsettling expression on his face. Owltalon wrinkled her nose in worry as she padded up to him. " 'Aye, chief," Owltalon announced her presence with a light tone, hoping to lift whatever mood Fadingsun was in. "Can I get 'cha somethin'? It won't take long, promise."
Food always calmed her down, maybe the same could be said for her leader.
Fadingsun jumped a bit as Owltalon greeted him, jolting him out of his thoughts. He'd been so fixed on his own disappointment and disgust that he hadn't even noticed her approach. Some warrior he was, hm?
With all the negativity swirling in his stomach, eating was the last thing he wanted to do. He shook his head. "No thank you, Owltalon. I appreciate the offer, though."
He cast his eyes back out toward the sea. After a few moments of silence lapsed, he said quietly, "I'm sorry, I'm not the best company at this particular moment." Owltalon was a good cat, and a good Lionheart. Surely she had better things to do than offer pity to him, a cat who certainly didn't deserve it.
__________________
Fadingstar is currently RiverClan's leader. He has an open den policy; his den can be found here. If you have any questions or concerns about RiverClan, or any plots to propose, feel free to leave me a VM or DM! Please do not take my characters' IC opinions as reflective of my own.