Heroneye lingered for a moment before the entrance to Stormstar's den. Telling the leader, she figured, would be considerably easier than watching Sweetsap's own daughter's reaction, but "easy" was hardly a word that belonged next to any of... that. The Lionheart took a deep breath. The sooner she just went in and got this over with, the sooner it was all over, right? She just wanted to forget about all of this, how selfish...
"Stormstar?" Heroneye called, peering in hesitantly as she broke even her own thoughts. She paused for a moment, to allow the quaver in her tone to settle. "It's Heroneye. May I enter?"
Heroneye - a cat she hadn't had many interactions with. Stormstar turned and nodded, flicking her tail for the Lionheart to come in. "Yeah, come on in Heroneye. What's up?" She made a mental note to gather up all of the Lionhearts for a meeting soon. She was still working over in her mind the hawk situation, wondering if there was a nest or something similar nearby that might explain why they had gotten this close, and if there was anything they could do about it.
For now though she shoved those thoughts to the side and watched the Lionheart, wondering what she had to report - especially with her voice sounding like it did.
"its my mate Waveclaw I think its time he gets an aprentice. It doesnt help me that he is always bothering me in the nursery. I mean I understand that he is just worried but it doesn't help that I'm already in pain. It even hurt to even get up to come talk to you but please Stormstar do this for me." Rabbitfur mews
Stormstar - RiverClan Leader
A brow raised at the queen as she started off by demanding her mate get a 'paw to train, Stormstar watched with faint amusement. "Well that's what happens when you decide to have kits," the leader muttered with a breathy laugh, shaking her head. Pain came with the territory and it always amused her when queens complained about it. "I'll think about it. I give 'paws to cats I know will train 'em 'n not slack off. If I see Waveclaw meetin' those standards, I'll keep him in mind."
☘︎ Crap. Yet again, her apprentice disappeared. It hurt but it was nothing new. It almost feels normal to Pebblesplash at this point. She picks up a large minnow from the fresh kill pile, one she had caught a day prior, and carried it to her first business of her day; talking with Stormstar. Pebblesplash liked Stormstar. Not in a bestie sort of way, but in a way that she had full respect for the newest RiverClan leader. It seems the two might have some similar views and thus, Pebblesplash finds it easy to like the leader. The younger cats in RiverClan were surely growing mature nowadays. The she-cat enters the leaders den, minnow in her jaws.
☘︎ “Mornin’ Stormstar,” she chirps a bit, placing the minnow in front of her leader, “I have something quick to discuss with you, thought I’d bring you breakfast too, if nobody beat me to it…” Pebblesplash took a seat, tail curling over her paws. “As you may know, my apprentice went missing. I didn’t even get to interact with em’ at the meeting, as they just ignored me. After that, they disappeared. I don’t know to where but I’m hoping they’re okay…” Even though the cat clearly didn’t seem responsible enough to even be in a clan, Pebblesplash was still concerned. They were just a kid after all, and no kid deserved to experience pain or danger. “I’m a bit bummed about it. It’s always a little sad to lose a young one, you know…? But even so, even though I’m a bit sad, I want another apprentice as soon as possible,” she gave Stormstar a serious look.
☘︎ “There are so many young cats in this clan with mentors that don’t train them, and there are so many kits that deserve to have a mentor that treats them right the first time. I promise to dedicate myself to making sure the youth of RiverClan are properly trained…” She took a moment to pause, sighing softly. “I’m getting old. I know it. I’m not as seasoned as the other cats in RiverClan and as I get older, I’ll only be getting weaker. However, I know that I have experience that cats even 10 moons younger than me won’t have, and I want to teach it before I can’t teach anymore. That’s why I want an apprentice so badly, that’s why I want to train cats so badly,” she stood up shaking her fur. “I’ll be looking out for cats that aren’t being trained, and if you see an apprentice with a bad mentor, or a mentor that won’t train them right, I really hope that you’ll come find me so I can help out in whatever way is necessary.”
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Comments —> She’s stepping up!! I miss writing her everyday lol ——————
Stormstar - RiverClan Leader
Truthfully, the leader had been meaning to seek out Pebblesplash, but hearing her voice near her den made her tick that off her list of things to do. Turning her head with an annoyed glance as the warrior just waltzed in like the den belonged to her, Stormstar simply grunted at the offering. It would've been more well received if Pebblesplash had waited at the entrance and announced her arrival - there were only a pawful of cats that could just enter the den like that, and she certainly wasn't one of them.
"Sure," she replied as she leaned down to sniff at the fish before taking a small bite. She couldn't recall the last time she had actually eaten a full meal outside of a couple of bites. Her ears were angled forward, listening as Pebblesplash spoke. A shame about the 'paw, but if there was one thing being leader was quickly teaching Stormstar, it was that crying over every cat that went missing was futile. It happened too often, and she couldn't allow herself to get too attached - though it always hurt. Always.
And then the request. Stormstar couldn't stop the way her eyes widened, surprise glistening in them as they landed on Pebblesplash. She was joking... right? She had to be. "...Please tell me you're jokin'." Swallowing the second bite that was in her mouth, the leader stared at the warrior ahead of her. "You've done nothin' but sit on your tail ever since my brother let you back into this Clan. In the mountains you did nothin', 'n so far I haven't seen you go out of your way to train any 'paw. I gave you Shorepaw in the hopes that you'd step it up, but even if they went missin' you still could've worked to train other 'paws - 'n you didn't."
With the tip of her tail tapping against the ground, the leader shook her head. "'Ve been meanin' to come talk to you. You made a whole bunch of promises upon bein' let back into this Clan, 'n not once have you upheld them. So no, I won't be lookin' for you if I have a 'paw in trainin', I'll be lookin' for the cats who actually are helpin'." By the time she finished her eyes were narrowed, disappointment flashing in them. "'N now that we've gotten that out of the way, there is one thing I've wanted to speak to you about. If you keep continuin' to lounge around, not do anythin' to support this Clan you claim to love so much, I'll drag you out of here by your ears. You did nothin' of merit before you went 'n disappeared, 'n you've done nothin' of merit since." A scoff as Stormstar stood and stretched. "Comin' to ask me for a 'paw when you haven't done so much as train a kit since you've been back. Please."
[ disclaimer for all: IC does not equal OOC. please do not take stormstar's words as a reflection of my opinions (i beg). every time i post her having to discipline a cat i feel the need to write this since people keep taking IC personally ;w; ]
A brow raised at the queen as she started off by demanding her mate get a 'paw to train, Stormstar watched with faint amusement. "Well that's what happens when you decide to have kits," the leader muttered with a breathy laugh, shaking her head. Pain came with the territory and it always amused her when queens complained about it. "I'll think about it. I give 'paws to cats I know will train 'em 'n not slack off. If I see Waveclaw meetin' those standards, I'll keep him in mind."
"thank you Stormstar. I've heard him talk about always wanting to mentor a young aprentice. but me with kits in my belly and him bothering me all the time isn't going to help. if he had an aprentice he would give all his attention to the aprentice but I support whatever disision you make Storm star." RabbitFur mews nodding
☘︎ She listens, but doesn’t take much offense to what is being said. Pebblesplash isn’t stupid, she knows she could have done much better, especially with her empty promises. “I apologize, Stormstar. No more excuses from here. Starclan let me back here to serve like I promised, and it’s my fault for neglecting that. I didn’t exactly know where to start before, and rather than trying, I sat, I pondered and I lazed around. It’s a real poor look, yes, but when you gave me that apprentice, something… flipped inside me. So from now on, my time will be dedicated strictly to RiverClan and making sure I fulfill every promise I made,” she let a silence fill the den before speaking again.
☘︎ “ah, I also wanted your permission for something. You don’t mind if I take some apprentices out on the territory for some training right? Obviously I’ll be bringing another warrior, unless you want a lionheart to accompany me instead? Thought I should ask permission before just going ahead and doing it…”
Heroneye stepped in at Stormstar's den at the leader's desk prompting, her shoulders tense. She just had to talk. Get it all out into the open. Then everything would go back to normal, right? Certainly not for Softpaw, commented a voice in the back of her mind. Heroneye ignored it.
"I was taking my apprentice, Softpaw, out for swimming training--" Alright. One sentence in, and she was already babbling and bringing up irrelevant information. She paused, briefly scowling, as if irritated with the bickering in her own internal word. She paused to recollect herself, trying to keep the image of the waterlogged corpse out of her mind.
"We were just beginning when Softpaw spotted something in the water: blood." She sounded calmer as she spoke now, though the story didn't match that direction. "After inspecting the area, we found its source: Sweetsap's body.
"From what I could tell, there were no signs of foul play. She seems to have fallen in and gotten her fur caught on something, causing her to drown," she continued. Of course, most any cat's first reaction would be to suspect murder, but Heroneye had no reason to think that any such thing had occurred. She had, after all, just seen the warrior that morning (How quickly things change, Heroneye reflected bitterly), and any other cats' scents in the area had been older than that.
She awkwardly and unceremoniously trailed off after that. What else was there to add, anyway? She was dead, and that was all... She turned her gaze to the leader, awaiting her reaction.
Nightshadow looked at his leader. Ohhh this was about Daffodilpaw... He thought. The tom looked at Stormstar with a serious face. "Oh that was Daffodilpaw, she's from Windclan. We were just associating." He said with a soft smile. He knew he probably looked suspicious at the last gathering. "What is this about?" He asked with a tilt of his head. "Aren't we aloud to talk to other cats at the gathering?"
Associating? Yeah, call her crazy but something about that seemed off. Stormstar narrowed her eyes and scoffed. "Don't get smart with me," the leader snapped, already feeling her mood souring. "Looked a bit more friendly to me than just regular associatin'. I've got eyes, Nightshadow, 'n common sense. 'N what I saw at the gatherin' wasn't just associatin'. Not only are they from WindClan, they're a 'paw. Now if there's somethin' else goin' on, I'd much rather find out now than later." A chance offered, just like she had with Blueberryfrost. Whatever it was with cats in this Clan thinking they could get away with lying to her, she'd never understand.
Nightshadow sighed, he knew he shouldn't lie to his leader and just be honest with her. Looking down at his paws, he finally responded. "I have a crush on her, only a crush. Yes I know that I shouldn't but I do." He said finally looking up at his leader and in her eyes. "I wouldn't betray this clan, my clan, that I was born and raised in. Being a Riverclan warrior means more to me than anything."
Nightshadow sighed, he knew he shouldn't lie to his leader and just be honest with her. Looking down at his paws, he finally responded. "I have a crush on her, only a crush. Yes I know that I shouldn't but I do." He said finally looking up at his leader and in her eyes. "I wouldn't betray this clan, my clan, that I was born and raised in. Being a Riverclan warrior means more to me than anything."
A crush. A.. crush? A crush??? Claws out and digging into the sand flooring of her den, Stormstar lashed her tail. Her eyes were narrowed. She could feel the fury rumbling under her fur, and for a brief moment she thought about killing him. She could do it - he was a young warrior and she had more experience. Perhaps if it had been a 'paw in RiverClan she would've. "A crush? You're a damn warrior! You betrayed this Clan the moment you started likin' a WindClan apprentice!!" Stormstar really could not believe the words coming from him. "I should rip your tongue from your mouth for even thinkin' of a 'paw like that! What in the hell makes you think havin' a crush on a 'paw - from another Clan - is even remotely okay???"
Oh, she wanted to drag him out. She would, probably. But first she needed information. Twilightstar wasn't her biggest fan, or a fan of RiverClan in general, and if Stormstar had caught wind of this she knew the seasoned, older leader had likely as well. As much as she wanted to chase him out, this needed to be nipped in the bud with as much information as possible.
Nightshadow looked at his leader. "It's not okay!" he meowed standing up looking at his leader. "I've realized today that I had a crush on her, and the moment I did I knew it was too late and wrong!" He sighed sitting back down. "I'm mad at myself." he said looking up at her. "Ever since I was young, I strove to be the best warrior I could be. To make my parents proud to make my clan proud, my leader and clanmates." He looked down at his paws.
Nightshadow didn't know how he came to like the she-cat, maybe it was her personality. Ever since his parents died, he strove to be the best and loyal to his clan only, and to protect it and his sister.
Re: RiverClan Leader's Den
