Moonpaw quietly and confidently padded up to the Leader's den. Thanks to Skyfall she could remember where it was.
"Hey, uh... Fadingsun, right? I thought I'd let you know I think I'm starting to adjust to Riverclan life pretty well. Skufall wants me to start my outside of camp training once I feel confident enough in the camp. Are there any places in camp that might need my help?" She meowed politely and in a tone that showed she was sincere about what she was saying. Her tail swayed softly as she spoke, black-and-white pelt standing out like a black spot on a white cat.
Adderpaw
Determined ⋆ Loyal ⋆ Lawful Good ⋆ She/Her ⋆ Beefed Up T3
“One day I’ll be the greatest warrior of all the clans!”
Adderpaw was prepared to be disappointed in her leader, she was ready to yell cruel words at him if she needed but.. He almost seemed remorseful? Maybe he was. Adderpaw felt a pang of guilt for letting her anger take over her thinking and thanked she was getting better at controlling her emotions. Though she wasn't sure what to say now or exactly feel. He took the winds out of her sail!
That was a good thing.
But now what she was supposed to say? She let him sit in dead air for far too long she should speak. "Right, please forgive me but I'm not sure I can trust those words right now, not fully. I want to see my leader—You, Fadingsun in a trustful eye. I have been to hopeful cats will change and I haven't seen it yet. Well for the better anyways." She sighed as she looked off and thought about the cats that started to take a down turn. Maybe it was a bit cold of her to say this after seeing the guilt he wore but she didn't want to be disappointed in anyone anymore. "I'll keep an eye on you and if you don't do that again when an execution is needed then well I suppose trusting you fully might be a good idea. You do something like that again I will be right back here yelling in your ear, Alright?!"
It wasn't like the apprentice had much to stand on with her power and position in the clan yet she was going to try and do something. It was no bluff and potentially she would try and talk to a star critter to help her if he did something bad again. Nothing too crazy, maybe a rain cloud right on his head? Yeah that would be good.
"Speaking more on the tongue thing..." Adderpaw said feeling uncomfortable talking about it now that she wasn't scared and angry. Honestly it was going to take moons for that to get erased from her mind. "Its not my place to say things like this, but uh.. Maybe we should keep an eye on Talonpaw? It would be worrying if this becomes a pattern of behavior and all." Adderpaw hoped that she wouldn't be yelled at for talking about another apprentice like this by Fadingsun. Much more she hoped that he didn't tell Talonpaw what she said if Fadingsun disapproved of this. More in fighting would be a headache.
If there was one thing that had stayed consistent, it was Adderpaw's dedication to her Clan. Even though she was still quite young, she often spoke with the wisdom of someone with many moons of experience as a warrior. Fadingsun gave her a small smile as she promised to yell at him again if he slipped up. "I need someone to hold me accountable like that, so that's fine by me."
His smile faded as Adderpaw brought up the tongue thing again. Stars, he hoped he'd be able to forget about that one day, but it wouldn't be any time soon. "We'll keep an eye on him. Talonpaw is a deeply troubled cat, I'm afraid, but hopefully with time he'll improve." Maybe the apprentice was having the same regrets that he was right now. "Is there anything else you need?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by squidz
| BERRYPAW |
small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector
Seeing the leader smile actually eased Berrypaw's worries, if only for a moment; she'd only ever really seen Fadingsun scowling or looking stressed, mainly because he was trying to organized an entire Clan. One that was on the brink of war, mindfully. So right now, looking pleased and friendly, some of her worries could step behind her for a moment.
"Oh... thank you!" she mewed earnestly. To having both Fadingsun's and Mistyshard's support? She already felt a whole lot better, despite her nerves still hanging on. "I will let you know... if anything happens," she assured, dipping her head respectfully. "I... well, I will do what I can for the Clan!"
She couldn't promise much, but she could certainly promise that she'd take her work seriously. And give it all she had.
Fadingsun felt a surge of warmth for Berrypaw at her assurance she'd do what she could for the Clan. There was certainly a level of innocence to the way she was bringing herself to this new position, in a good way. Unfortunately, he was certain that innocence wouldn't remain for very long. "Maybe sometime soon you and I can go out herb gathering together, and you can show me all you're learning with Mistyshard. I'm sure you're going to do a fantastic job."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seamrog
As Fadingsun spoke, Duskleaf calmed down a bit, he was relieved that the leader understood, sure why wouldn’t he understand? Duskleaf lowered his head a little bit when Fadingsun said that he wouldn’t send out a search party, but the decision did make sense to him. RiverClan had to prepare now more than ever for what was to come, most warriors would be very busy. However then Fadingsun offered to go with him to look for Reedclaw, and that part made Duskleaf look back up at his leader.
"Please, I'd really appreciate that." Duskleaf began. "T-thank you." He was filled with a whole range of emotions, sadness and worry about his father, gratitude to Fadingsun for offering to help look for him, and anger, except he wasn’t entirely sure who or what to be angry at. Himself for leaving it a few days which could mean the difference between life and death for his father? Reedclaw for just vanishing, no that seemed a bit cruel to be angry at his father for this, surely whatever happened was not his fault. What about whoever had caused this? Well he had no idea what happened or if it was even anyone’s fault, so that also left him with a bit of confusion too.
He also had mixed emotions about going around the territory with Fadingsun, of course he wanted to do it, for answers, but he couldn’t help but worry about what they’d find, hopefully they’d find Reedclaw alive and uninjured, but he wasn’t the type to just vanish and not even tell his own son where he went, so Duskleaf was worried about finding nothing at all or something tragic, but it had to be done, he had to know one way or another.
(Sounds like a good idea! Thank you!)
Fadingsun nodded curtly. "Of course, it really isn't a bother. Come on, let's head out now and look, unless you had something else to talk about?" He rose to his paws, but waited to leave until he got confirmation from Duskleaf that he was ready.
Tail swishing behind her and maw stifling a yawn, Dusklion ducked into her brother's den without much warning (she'd love to see him try and kick her out). "Fades, I've got an idea I wanna run by you." She had been thinking more and more on what cats had said at the end of the meeting, and fighting with herself back and forth on whether or not to bring it up. Her main reason for doing this was to make sure that none of the innocent of RiverClan got tangled up in this mess. "...It's about the war that'll be comin' to us here rather soon." A war that... she had helped create.
Swallowing the deputy took a seat promptly in front of her brother. "We need to think about gettin' the queens 'n kits outta here before all hell breaks loose if WindClan decides to raid our camp like those thunder-rats just did. Elders, too. Waitin' until those vultures swoop down into our camp will be too late. I don't want them harmed in this. Given how WindClan attacked us while we had no home 'n were already half-drowned after the flood, I wouldn't put it past some of their cats to see what they could get away while usin' the war as a cover-up." She hated to think it, but it was true. She was starting to learn that even when ruling with an iron claw, cats sometimes acted on their own accord. Just take her and Fallownose, for example.
"I know you're plannin' on runnin' a camp defense event, which is good. I plan to run my own event, 'n I wanna take a group of cats 'n start making another exit that we can use - that way if they come in through the front, we can herd those that can't defend themselves out the back 'n have 'em flee that way." Less cats in the line of fire, the better.
Fadingsun was half out of it when Dusklion entered his den. He hadn't slept well the previous night, too busy thinking over what he could do to prepare for this war. He was growing increasingly frustrated as he realized more and more that there really wasn't much he could do, beyond an event to prepare the Clan to defend. If that was even realistic; if Twilightstar brought the whole of WindClan down on them, they might not be able to stay.
That line of thinking fit quite well with what Dusklion was proposing. He nodded briskly. "An evacuation event is fine. I'm sure you'll do a great job."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rose
She/Her | Purrk(s): Just A Scratch
Safe to say that Wisteriawren's little impromptu nap had her entirely forgetting what she'd come here in the first place to say. For a moment she just stared up at Fadingsun drowsily as he woke her, trying to figure out what he wanted. While Wisteriawren was usually bouncing around the place when awake, she was definitely not someone who woke up like that. It took a full minute for her to blink out of her sleep-induced trance and make sense of the world.
And still... her brain remained blank. Yet, Fadingsun had invited her into his den, and he'd already gone inside, no doubt waiting for her, and she couldn't let him wait because that would be bad manners, but she also couldn't just go sit inside and sit and stare at him because she didn't know what to say, but if she went inside and told him she'd forgotten what she'd come here to say then she'd have wasted his time and possibly gotten him annoyed with her and--- Heavenly hyacinths, she was overthinking again, wasn't she?
Oh dear, her overthinking had rambled on internally for so long that Wisteriawren realized she was already making him wait, and in her haste to get to her paws, the ex-kittypet tripped over the pebble she'd brought and landed on the ground with a quiet grunt. "Cherry blossoms." Wisteriawren cursed softly, and then instantly brightened, her tumble and the minute scrape on her shoulder forgotten. Aha! The reason she was here! The pebble!
Scooping up the item and hurrying into Fadingsun's den with newfound purpose, the classic tabby plopped herself down wordlessly and then presented the orange and black tom with her makeshift present. "Tada, for you!" She exclaimed cheerfully, wide awake as she lifted her gaze from the rock, to Fadingsun, and then around at his den.
Oh. It was dark in here. And really, really empty. She frowned. Considering how lively and full of cats the warrior's den was (of which Wisteriawren still needed to ask someone how nests were acquired so she could stop sleeping in the middle of the clearing every night), Wisteriawren had been expecting... she didn't know, actually. More cats? Another nest? Did Dusklion sleep in here? Wisteriawren craned her neck to look for the deputy's nest somewhere in a corner, but didn't find it.
"You sleep in here, all alone?" She blurted suddenly, gold-flecked blue eyes wide. "That sounds..." She searched for the word a moment, brow furrowing in thought as she focused on her paws. "...lonely?" Yeah, that was it. Something Wisteriawren herself had felt after she could no longer call Greta's home her own.
Out of all of the things Wisteriawren could have possibly wanted, giving him a gift wasn't one of the things that Fadingsun would've guessed in a bajillion moons. He stared, rather dumbfounded, at the gift for a few moments.
When his brain finally got his paws to move, he leaned forward and snatched the rock up. He set it gently down in his nest; keeping mementos was never really something he'd done before. It was a common thing in RiverClan, but not something that he'd ever really gotten into. Maybe... maybe he should start. This den was awfully bare and empty, after all.
The leader deflated a bit as Wisteriawren made the observation that it was rather lonely in here, sleeping all alone. He did often find himself missing the company of other cats in his den, but he never really mentioned it to anyone. The longer he remained leader, the more it became clear to him that his personal feelings didn't really matter that much.
Still, there was something about Wisteriawren that just felt... comforting. Like he could open up to her and be honest without worrying that he was going to get yelled at or insulted for it. Maybe it was because she was so new to the Clan, so she wasn't yet committed to holding him to incredibly lofty standards.
"It... can get lonely in here," he admitted. "I've gotten used to it lately, but I do still find myself missing the company of other warriors. I didn't realize that leadership would be quite so... isolating. Maybe that's the real reason so many of RiverClan's leaders haven't lasted more than a few moons at best."
Quote:
Originally Posted by starry
Tail lashing, Mistyshard headed into Fadingsun's den. She trusted that Rainpaw was in good paws with Berrypaw for the time being. She only needed to explain what had happened and then she could help her apprentice with the healing... She took a quick breath to calm herself, fuming from the stupidity of Rainpaw's actions.
"Fadingsun, apologies for the rather unsettling intrusion, but I have a report to make about Rainpaw. I was going to mark the ThunderClan border, then hunt in the territory a bit, when I came across Rainpaw's scent. He was on ThunderClan's side of the border, unconcious in Bumblestar's paws. He's one damn lucky apprentice that she didn't kill him. He went deep into ThunderClan territory with the intent of harming and killing Bumblestar. It's so reckless, I just can't," she huffed, disappointment sparkling in her one amber eye.
Great, just great. Anger flared in Fadingsun at Mistyshard's news. "Wonderful. Now this is certainly going to sour our relations with ThunderClan even more. Honestly, I really think most of our Clan have bees in their brains."
Tail lashing, he began to head out of his den to find Rainpaw. "Thank you for letting me know. I'll handle Rainpaw."
Moonpaw quietly and confidently padded up to the Leader's den. Thanks to Skyfall she could remember where it was.
"Hey, uh... Fadingsun, right? I thought I'd let you know I think I'm starting to adjust to Riverclan life pretty well. Skufall wants me to start my outside of camp training once I feel confident enough in the camp. Are there any places in camp that might need my help?" She meowed politely and in a tone that showed she was sincere about what she was saying. Her tail swayed softly as she spoke, black-and-white pelt standing out like a black spot on a white cat.
Fadingsun's ears perked as Moonpaw entered his den. The apprentice seemed to be adjusting well to Clan life, which he was pleased to see. He tipped his head to the side in thought as she questioned whether anything could be done around camp. "The camp wall could always use some work. I think Dusklion was planning on working on that, so maybe check with her? Otherwise, I don't see any reason why you can't get started on your other training."
__________________
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.
...That was it? That was all he had to say? Dusklion's face scrunched together in confusion. She thought there would be more... planning or communication between them so that they didn't run the same event. The deputy eyed her brother, trying to figure out what was going on and making no mistake of it. Did he even care about her idea, or what she had to say? His words of encouragement felt false and empty as she gave a soft snort.
"Sounds good. I'll get to runnin' it soon, then." Short. Sweet. To the point. If he wanted to be curt with her and not bother to participate in an actual conversation with any input on her ideas, then so be it. Just when she thought they were getting on some stable ground, her brother was right there to prove to her that whatever distance separated them would forever be there.
She hesitated though from leaving, as if she wanted to say something else, but then closed her jaws and shook her head. Casting her brother one last glance Dusklion turned and slipped out of the den.
If there was one thing that had stayed consistent, it was Adderpaw's dedication to her Clan. Even though she was still quite young, she often spoke with the wisdom of someone with many moons of experience as a warrior. Fadingsun gave her a small smile as she promised to yell at him again if he slipped up. "I need someone to hold me accountable like that, so that's fine by me."
His smile faded as Adderpaw brought up the tongue thing again. Stars, he hoped he'd be able to forget about that one day, but it wouldn't be any time soon. "We'll keep an eye on him. Talonpaw is a deeply troubled cat, I'm afraid, but hopefully with time he'll improve." Maybe the apprentice was having the same regrets that he was right now. "Is there anything else you need?"
Fadingsun felt a surge of warmth for Berrypaw at her assurance she'd do what she could for the Clan. There was certainly a level of innocence to the way she was bringing herself to this new position, in a good way. Unfortunately, he was certain that innocence wouldn't remain for very long. "Maybe sometime soon you and I can go out herb gathering together, and you can show me all you're learning with Mistyshard. I'm sure you're going to do a fantastic job."
Fadingsun nodded curtly. "Of course, it really isn't a bother. Come on, let's head out now and look, unless you had something else to talk about?" He rose to his paws, but waited to leave until he got confirmation from Duskleaf that he was ready.
( You can post a starter whenever you're ready! )
Fadingsun was half out of it when Dusklion entered his den. He hadn't slept well the previous night, too busy thinking over what he could do to prepare for this war. He was growing increasingly frustrated as he realized more and more that there really wasn't much he could do, beyond an event to prepare the Clan to defend. If that was even realistic; if Twilightstar brought the whole of WindClan down on them, they might not be able to stay.
That line of thinking fit quite well with what Dusklion was proposing. He nodded briskly. "An evacuation event is fine. I'm sure you'll do a great job."
Out of all of the things Wisteriawren could have possibly wanted, giving him a gift wasn't one of the things that Fadingsun would've guessed in a bajillion moons. He stared, rather dumbfounded, at the gift for a few moments.
When his brain finally got his paws to move, he leaned forward and snatched the rock up. He set it gently down in his nest; keeping mementos was never really something he'd done before. It was a common thing in RiverClan, but not something that he'd ever really gotten into. Maybe... maybe he should start. This den was awfully bare and empty, after all.
The leader deflated a bit as Wisteriawren made the observation that it was rather lonely in here, sleeping all alone. He did often find himself missing the company of other cats in his den, but he never really mentioned it to anyone. The longer he remained leader, the more it became clear to him that his personal feelings didn't really matter that much.
Still, there was something about Wisteriawren that just felt... comforting. Like he could open up to her and be honest without worrying that he was going to get yelled at or insulted for it. Maybe it was because she was so new to the Clan, so she wasn't yet committed to holding him to incredibly lofty standards.
"It... can get lonely in here," he admitted. "I've gotten used to it lately, but I do still find myself missing the company of other warriors. I didn't realize that leadership would be quite so... isolating. Maybe that's the real reason so many of RiverClan's leaders haven't lasted more than a few moons at best."
Great, just great. Anger flared in Fadingsun at Mistyshard's news. "Wonderful. Now this is certainly going to sour our relations with ThunderClan even more. Honestly, I really think most of our Clan have bees in their brains."
Tail lashing, he began to head out of his den to find Rainpaw. "Thank you for letting me know. I'll handle Rainpaw."
Fadingsun's ears perked as Moonpaw entered his den. The apprentice seemed to be adjusting well to Clan life, which he was pleased to see. He tipped his head to the side in thought as she questioned whether anything could be done around camp. "The camp wall could always use some work. I think Dusklion was planning on working on that, so maybe check with her? Otherwise, I don't see any reason why you can't get started on your other training."
"Alright. Thanks, Fadingsun! Hope your day goes well today!" Moonpaw then cheerfully meowed, dipping her head and padding off to go find this 'Dusklion' cat.
AspenKit had been walking around camp the whole day, he felt the same energy of dread from some cats. Was that still about the last gathering, were the really going to war with windclan? After his conversation with Berrypaw he realised he wanted to do more to help instead of just sitting on his rump and being bored. He wanted to be helpful! He had attempted to clean the clearing and neaten the fresh kill pile before realising that it did absolutely nothing to help his clan at all. Everyone seemed so down, and not ..well really happy at all. He found himself looking at the leaders den, it must be a lot of work trying to prepare for a war with windclan, and come to think of it aspenkit barely ever saw fadingsun outside of his den.
An opportunity to help! AspenKit search through the fresh kill pile picking out a blackbird almost half his size and dragging it towards the leaders den. After a bit of a struggle with the bird being heavy, aspenkit reached the entrance to the den. He'd never been in here doubted he was allowed, he hesitated for a moment before taking two small steps into the den and dropping the prey at the entrance of it. Aspenkit squinted as he glanced around the den, it was so cozy. He'd never seen a solo deb before, it kinda seemed lonely in here.
Out of all of the things Wisteriawren could have possibly wanted, giving him a gift wasn't one of the things that Fadingsun would've guessed in a bajillion moons. He stared, rather dumbfounded, at the gift for a few moments.
When his brain finally got his paws to move, he leaned forward and snatched the rock up. He set it gently down in his nest; keeping mementos was never really something he'd done before. It was a common thing in RiverClan, but not something that he'd ever really gotten into. Maybe... maybe he should start. This den was awfully bare and empty, after all.
The leader deflated a bit as Wisteriawren made the observation that it was rather lonely in here, sleeping all alone. He did often find himself missing the company of other cats in his den, but he never really mentioned it to anyone. The longer he remained leader, the more it became clear to him that his personal feelings didn't really matter that much.
Still, there was something about Wisteriawren that just felt... comforting. Like he could open up to her and be honest without worrying that he was going to get yelled at or insulted for it. Maybe it was because she was so new to the Clan, so she wasn't yet committed to holding him to incredibly lofty standards.
"It... can get lonely in here," he admitted. "I've gotten used to it lately, but I do still find myself missing the company of other warriors. I didn't realize that leadership would be quite so... isolating. Maybe that's the real reason so many of RiverClan's leaders haven't lasted more than a few moons at best."
She/Her | Purrk(s): Just A Scratch
Eyes softening a fraction at Fadingsun's stilted admission, Wisteriawren shuffled her paws. "I'm sorry." She whispered gently after a couple seconds of silence. "For what it's worth, I... I think you're doing okay as RiverClan's leader..." She trailed off with a soft, awkward laugh. "Then again, I've only seen you and... Ms. Snow that one time in... um, the territory." Her voice wavered, hesitant, as she wondered whether she was overstepping.
The classic tabby cast her gaze around the empty den once more. "Misty..shard and Berrypaw share a den, right? Maybe... maybe you can offer for Dusklion to move in here with you, her nest in the corner?" Returning her eyes to Fadingsun, Wisteriawren blinked as her mind recalled laying awake in RiverClan's clearing in the midst of the night, watching through lidded eyes on multiple occasions as Dusklion abandoned her nest in the warrior's den to leave camp. "She... I think she'd appreciate it, Fadingsun. She's your sister... I... I wish I had a sister."
Offering the RiverClan leader a tentative smile, the ex-kittypet pushed herself out of her loaf and into an upright sitting position. "And... thank you for not turning me away, thank you for giving me a home. That's all, I'll leave you to rest now. Also, I hope you don't mind flowers."
「♚」 THE SIN-EATER「♚」 ╰► WORMBITE he | him X heavily scarred tall & malnourished black tom with white speckles; cloudy amber eyes. his left ear is half torn off and he walks with a limp; wears a damaged black spiked collar and a few black nail caps.X
purrks : shadow fiend, ultimate predator, just a scratch
content + interaction warning : this character frequently explores themes of mental health, complex trauma, and abuse
he felt as if he was a ghost wandering through the camp he had known for so very long. he had spent so many moons within it but once more, everything he had once knew had shifted within the time he had spent away. (you can chop the limbs of a tree but the trunk would always remain. ) now wormbite was home, again, having to live with the fact he had more connections with the dead and the disappeared than the living. what ultimately tied him to this place was the idea of riverclan; powerful and unwavering, a beacon of stability. even if they had stumbled into a rough patch, he would hold on.
his expectations of what happened whilst he was gone had been flipped onto top of his head — three leaders had gone and went, a fourth stood. fadingsun. (he never would've wished leadership on anyone, never ended well no matter how much they managed to accomplish. ) his apprentice oh so many moons ago. ... goodness, he was certainly feeling his age today. even his bones agreed as they creaked and clicked whilst wormbite limped slowly towards the leader's den with dusklion by his side. a part of him was grateful for his lack of sight in this very moment. he didn't know the extent of how haggard he looked which meant he could at least pretend the body he inhabited was not a walking graveyard of scars.
he comes to a halt in front of the doorway, long sleek tail swishing back and forth with apprehension. a tired & numb feeling clung to him, trying to push away the thoughts of what he had missed - what dusklion had told him - away. it would not be helpful here, the past was in the past; he couldn't turn back time. he glances towards the deputy briefly. it was time to relay the information, fun ol' time.
though admittedly, wormbite was keen to see fadingsun. it had been an awful long time. there was even the added benefit of being able to avoid mistyshard and her den of horrors even if for a limited time. (which he was frankly sure all she could do was give him poppy seeds and he would rather deal with the pain then ever eat another.)
he didn't know how long he stood there until he eventually shook his head back and forth, once - twice; clear his thoughts. didn't need to get lost in them. "apologizes dussklion, " he murmured briefly, embarrassment flashing through his pelt.
with a deep breath, he steps into the den - only partially. closed spaces always made his paws begin to buzz, too much like the Pit. "fadingssun? pardon me, but iss your den open to visitorss at th, hiss time?" he inquires, ear twitching in response of his own voice. stars, he hoped once he adjusted to way he had to speak that bloody impediment would disappear.
Part of her wondered if this was the right idea. It didn't feel right, not having Bites go get checked out first, but she couldn't force him to. She couldn't look him in the eye and make demands after he had seemingly just crawled from death's jaws before making his way home. But Dusklion stayed right next to him, making sure to offer support for him to lean on incase he needed it. Their walk back to camp had mostly been silent. Flicking her tail to indicate she would be right back, she padded forward to drop the crow she had caught on the prey-pile and returned back to his side.
"You don't gotta apologize for nothin'," the deputy was quick to reassure, doing her best to force a smile. For once she was glad the older tom couldn't see, because Dusklion felt a tear or two slide down her face again taking in how he really looked. First came the grief, but rage quickly consumed it all in the name of figuring out just who had done this to him. Once she did, the deputy vowed to gut them like the cowards they were. It made her flex her claws in the soft clearing of camp.
Biting back a quick answer of yes and resisting the urge to usher Bites further into the den, Dusklion simply stood at his side. She wasn't entirely sure what else to say, because her heart was already thumping heavily against her chest and drowning out most sounds. "...It's Bites, Fades... Wormbite. He's found his way back."
Berrypaw's eyes widened a bit, trying to keep her nerves contained at the suggestion. Having the leader tag along in an herb patrol? What an honor — but a terrifying one! What if she just forgot everything she knew just because he was there? That'd be trademark for her, no doubt. But c'mon, there had to be a way she could pull it off... she just didn't need to panic for once, and it would be fine, right?
Trying to brush over her initial surprise, she offered another meek smile and nodded. "That... would be an honor!" She squeaked, hoping it came across as respectfully as she intended. Despite slightly trembling, her chest was warm with a sudden air of newfound confidence — the leader himself seemed confident in her! And he wasn't as scary as he looked on the Floodstone — he seemed to be a pretty nice cat. She imagined leading a Clan was beyond stressful and was grateful that kind of burden would never be in her paws.
AspenKit had been walking around camp the whole day, he felt the same energy of dread from some cats. Was that still about the last gathering, were the really going to war with windclan? After his conversation with Berrypaw he realised he wanted to do more to help instead of just sitting on his rump and being bored. He wanted to be helpful! He had attempted to clean the clearing and neaten the fresh kill pile before realising that it did absolutely nothing to help his clan at all. Everyone seemed so down, and not ..well really happy at all. He found himself looking at the leaders den, it must be a lot of work trying to prepare for a war with windclan, and come to think of it aspenkit barely ever saw fadingsun outside of his den.
An opportunity to help! AspenKit search through the fresh kill pile picking out a blackbird almost half his size and dragging it towards the leaders den. After a bit of a struggle with the bird being heavy, aspenkit reached the entrance to the den. He'd never been in here doubted he was allowed, he hesitated for a moment before taking two small steps into the den and dropping the prey at the entrance of it. Aspenkit squinted as he glanced around the den, it was so cozy. He'd never seen a solo deb before, it kinda seemed lonely in here.
{saw Fadingsun had an open den policy and decided to throw aspenkit in here. No need to reply just being silly }
Fadingsun's ears perked as a kit made his way into his den. He hadn't had a kit visit him in... well, he couldn't remember when! His ears flattened back against his head as the realization hit him that it was probably because many in his Clan saw him as a scary cat. He was going to fix that... if he could keep that nasty side of him under control...
Shaking his head, he cleared his mind of those thoughts and greeted Aspenkit with a curt, but friendly, nod. "That's quite the blackbird you have there," he observed. "Do you really plan on eating it all by yourself?" He supposed a kit showing off their big piece of prey was something a kit would do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rose
She/Her | Purrk(s): Just A Scratch
Eyes softening a fraction at Fadingsun's stilted admission, Wisteriawren shuffled her paws. "I'm sorry." She whispered gently after a couple seconds of silence. "For what it's worth, I... I think you're doing okay as RiverClan's leader..." She trailed off with a soft, awkward laugh. "Then again, I've only seen you and... Ms. Snow that one time in... um, the territory." Her voice wavered, hesitant, as she wondered whether she was overstepping.
The classic tabby cast her gaze around the empty den once more. "Misty..shard and Berrypaw share a den, right? Maybe... maybe you can offer for Dusklion to move in here with you, her nest in the corner?" Returning her eyes to Fadingsun, Wisteriawren blinked as her mind recalled laying awake in RiverClan's clearing in the midst of the night, watching through lidded eyes on multiple occasions as Dusklion abandoned her nest in the warrior's den to leave camp. "She... I think she'd appreciate it, Fadingsun. She's your sister... I... I wish I had a sister."
Offering the RiverClan leader a tentative smile, the ex-kittypet pushed herself out of her loaf and into an upright sitting position. "And... thank you for not turning me away, thank you for giving me a home. That's all, I'll leave you to rest now. Also, I hope you don't mind flowers."
Fadingsun smiled warmly at Wisteriawren's praise. It meant more to him than she probably realized; so far during his leadership, very, very few cats had said anything kind about the job he'd been doing. He knew he didn't really deserve praise, and frankly, as much as Wisteriawren's kind words warmed him, he knew he didn't deserve them either.
But they were still nice to hear, and they gave him some hope that maybe, just maybe, he was starting to shift his reputation in this Clan just a little. With time, hopefully cats would come to see him as less of a... dictator or what have you, and more of a good-intentioned cat making some bad decisions.
Fadingsun was a bit surprised to hear Wisteriawren suggest that he offer Dusklion a place in his den. It... wasn't ever something he'd ever thought about. He'd always thought it was the leader's job to sleep alone. Now that he began thinking about it, that concept seemed rather stupid. Why did it matter if the deputy slept in here with him or not, especially if said deputy was his sister? It wasn't like she wasn't allowed to know certain things about the Clan.
Nodding to Wisteriawren as she made to leave, he said, "I'll definitely think about it. Thank you, Wisteriawren, for the rock and the chat. And I'm glad to have you as part of this Clan; you've been a great addition so far." He didn't mind flowers, but he left that part out; somehow, the idea of receiving more gifts from her made him feel... awkward.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wolfie
「♚」 THE SIN-EATER「♚」 ╰► WORMBITE he | him X heavily scarred tall & malnourished black tom with white speckles; cloudy amber eyes. his left ear is half torn off and he walks with a limp; wears a damaged black spiked collar and a few black nail caps.X
purrks : shadow fiend, ultimate predator, just a scratch
content + interaction warning : this character frequently explores themes of mental health, complex trauma, and abuse
he felt as if he was a ghost wandering through the camp he had known for so very long. he had spent so many moons within it but once more, everything he had once knew had shifted within the time he had spent away. (you can chop the limbs of a tree but the trunk would always remain. ) now wormbite was home, again, having to live with the fact he had more connections with the dead and the disappeared than the living. what ultimately tied him to this place was the idea of riverclan; powerful and unwavering, a beacon of stability. even if they had stumbled into a rough patch, he would hold on.
his expectations of what happened whilst he was gone had been flipped onto top of his head — three leaders had gone and went, a fourth stood. fadingsun. (he never would've wished leadership on anyone, never ended well no matter how much they managed to accomplish. ) his apprentice oh so many moons ago. ... goodness, he was certainly feeling his age today. even his bones agreed as they creaked and clicked whilst wormbite limped slowly towards the leader's den with dusklion by his side. a part of him was grateful for his lack of sight in this very moment. he didn't know the extent of how haggard he looked which meant he could at least pretend the body he inhabited was not a walking graveyard of scars.
he comes to a halt in front of the doorway, long sleek tail swishing back and forth with apprehension. a tired & numb feeling clung to him, trying to push away the thoughts of what he had missed - what dusklion had told him - away. it would not be helpful here, the past was in the past; he couldn't turn back time. he glances towards the deputy briefly. it was time to relay the information, fun ol' time.
though admittedly, wormbite was keen to see fadingsun. it had been an awful long time. there was even the added benefit of being able to avoid mistyshard and her den of horrors even if for a limited time. (which he was frankly sure all she could do was give him poppy seeds and he would rather deal with the pain then ever eat another.)
he didn't know how long he stood there until he eventually shook his head back and forth, once - twice; clear his thoughts. didn't need to get lost in them. "apologizes dussklion, " he murmured briefly, embarrassment flashing through his pelt.
with a deep breath, he steps into the den - only partially. closed spaces always made his paws begin to buzz, too much like the Pit. "fadingssun? pardon me, but iss your den open to visitorss at th, hiss time?" he inquires, ear twitching in response of his own voice. stars, he hoped once he adjusted to way he had to speak that bloody impediment would disappear.
If someone had told Fadingsun when he woke up that day that Wormbite of all cats would show back up in RiverClan, he wouldn't have believed them. The former Shield had been gone from the Clan for some time; Fadingsun had pretty much accepted that his former mentor was likely dead or a kittypet somewhere.
So, when Wormbite entered his den (Dusklion close behind), Fadingsun sat straight up in surprise. He was quite haggard looking, as if he'd just been through hell and back a couple of times. Fadingsun supposed that was the way any cat's life was when they spent an extended time out in the outskirts.
Neither cat offered an explanation for why Wormbite had suddenly appeared again, where he'd been, or why he was in such bad shape; hopefully such information was coming. Fadingsun felt a surge of protectiveness over his old mentor; Wormbite had done a good job of making him feel welcome and safe in RiverClan, and now he felt he had to return the favor.
"My den is always open to visitors, especially ones like you," he responded. His tone was a mixture of happiness and concern, causing his voice to sound somewhat strained. "I have to say, I'm shocked to see you back in RiverClan. Definitely happy, don't get me wrong, but... surprised. Where have you been all this time, and what in the name of the stars has happened to you?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by squidz
| BERRYPAW |
small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector
Berrypaw's eyes widened a bit, trying to keep her nerves contained at the suggestion. Having the leader tag along in an herb patrol? What an honor — but a terrifying one! What if she just forgot everything she knew just because he was there? That'd be trademark for her, no doubt. But c'mon, there had to be a way she could pull it off... she just didn't need to panic for once, and it would be fine, right?
Trying to brush over her initial surprise, she offered another meek smile and nodded. "That... would be an honor!" She squeaked, hoping it came across as respectfully as she intended. Despite slightly trembling, her chest was warm with a sudden air of newfound confidence — the leader himself seemed confident in her! And he wasn't as scary as he looked on the Floodstone — he seemed to be a pretty nice cat. She imagined leading a Clan was beyond stressful and was grateful that kind of burden would never be in her paws.
Berrypaw seemed quite surprised that he wanted to tag along with her, causing him to chuckle a bit. She'd make for a good medicine cat, he really felt. She had heart, and as long as the forest wasn't too cruel that shouldn't be taken away.
"Just let me know when you feel you're ready to show me some of what you've learned," he said. "For now, I think it's best if you go back to Mistyshard. I'm sure she has plenty to teach you. Like I said before, if there's anything you ever need, please come visit me. My den is always open."
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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.
Re: RiverClan Leader's Den
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Berryshine is RiverClan's medicine cat! 