Burn the Stars [P]

[Fish]

Starclan this, Starclan that. For all Adderpaw could care it could be called Neglectclan. In her short life she had not experience anything from this clan that was for the better good of her clan. No it seemed this clan loved to play favorites. Thunderclan seemed to get all the special treatment and it made Adderpaw sick. It was easy to list all of the play of favoritism.

When an argument broke out in the gathering where Thunderclan was getting heat for misbehaving, lightning struck to break this thought up.

When discussing plans to take back part of their land, Starclan sent lightning to crash down to say no we don't like that!

When there was a raid going on in Riverclan camp and cats of both side wanted to call to end the bloodshed, they were smited for daring to think Thunderclan should stop killing Riverclan cats

And it didn't even stop at Thunderclan being favored over Riverclan, no no no!

Thunderclan was told about the poisoning going on in Windclan instead of telling Windclan itself leading Bumblewhoever to come and given Windwhatever some herbs for the poisoning..

What in the world was going on up there? Did all the other clans ancestors just die? It seemed like the only logical conclusion that Adderpaw could come to at this point and she didn't even know how a spirit could die.


˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗


With contempt in her little heart Adderpaw laid down in her nest to go to sleep for tonight with her nightly ritual. Softly she would mutter a prayer to Starclan. "Talk to me you cowards.." With that she closed her eyes, waiting for her pray to finally be answered one of these nights.


@dino.

[dino.]

A blinding flash of lightning lit up a cloudless expanse of stars, and the resulting crack of thunder was a lion's roar, descending across the rocky shores while the tide smashed against the cliffside. Sea spray soaked the stones and Adderpaw's slumbering form as she faded into existence mere inches from the edge, though the figure that formed from starlight into something more feline remained untouched, the water passing through him and wetting the ground beneath him instead.

Goosefury stared down at Adderpaw, the pupil in his single green eye narrowed to a whisker's-width. He stepped forward, and without gentleness, raised a forepaw to whack the slumbering apprentice in the shoulder. "Up. You wanted to talk, so talk."

[ @Fish ]

[Fish]

A rough smack to her shoulder was not how Adderpaw was expecting to wake up but when she did she saw what looked like to her a massive warrior in front of her and was far too close for her comfort. Adderpaw quickly whipped her head around to get a hold of the situation she was in and was shock seeing the raging storm that was around them, the cliff they were so dangerously close to and the tides violently trying to snatch their lives it—This had to be a dream. No where in her life ever looked like this, yet never her dreams looked like this either. Still it was going to take a little bit for her heart to stop beating to rapidly despite her brain knowing where they were. In the dream she was safe, she rationalized, but there was a foe right in front of her and Adderpaw? She was never one to back down from a fight.

She flicked her sights to the cat in front of her with a fiery rage in her eyes. Her dreams were typically of that of lazing in warm sunlight or slowly swimming around in rivers. So with a dream this violent it could only mean that her prayers were finally answered by this intruder. Good, seems they could do one thing right. Let's see how long that could continue on. "Right." She took a sharp breath collecting all her strength for this. "What the hell is your deal exactly?" She spat out with venom.


@dino.

[dino.]

Good, his chosen setting had worked. Goosefury stared unblinkingly as his target of the night wrestled with the fear that made her heat beat faster and eventually gained control, even going so far as to spit poison at him. Not unlike that which had coated his claws a long time ago, claws that now scraped against the wet stone and punctuated another distant flicker of lightning and its thunderous companion.

The smoldering coals in his single eye matched those in Adderpaw's, though the smallest twitch of his whiskers betrayed a hint of amusement. "I'd advise watching your tongue before I decide it's a better use of my time to chuck you over the edge of these cliffs." He took a step back to give her space to move away from the cliffside if she desired.

"My deal is that my Clan is dying, and has been since Sparrowskip tarnished a position that never should have been his in the first place. I have attempted to knock some sense into your thick skulls after both he and Snowleap carelessly discarded the lives I gave them like leftover scraps. Very few of you seem to have any consideration for your fates, and while I have been trying to offer some incentive, it appears every leader that came after them ignored the proposals given and the rest of your Clanmates followed. You, at least, seem to still have that passion the RiverClan I knew used to."

Goosefury turned with a jerk of his tail. "Walk and hurl your venom at me at the same time. There's no point in soaking yourself here any longer, unless you'd like for me to have you wake up sopping wet."

[ @Fish ]

[Fish]

Tch. Adderpaw wanted to laugh at this cat. This was a dream, so what if they got tossed over a stupid cliff, this wasn't real at all. Might as well do an actual threat.

"My deal is that you stars just seemed to loooooove Thunderclan but give nothing towards not just Riverclan but all the other clans in the forest. This favortism is sickening and if its not you who does the Thunderclan doting over then why aren't you or whatever star being doing the same?" Adderpaw huffed that the star creature. "Or is it that there some useless cats that accidentally got to power that you think its not worth watching over Riverclan while it sinks, when there are cats that actually want to be a stardamned clan." She wondered if there was even a point at pointing at all the times Starclan watched over a singular clan. This cat must have seen all the times that it happened or was just neglectful. Nether painted much of a good light about them to Adderpaw. "What exactly do you want me to do about the useless leaders, in your eyes, anyways? What do you want us to do? Kill them?!? Throw them out? I can't imagine a sudden shift in high ranks, again, would do this clan much good. I don't trust these cats to pick a good leaders. I don't trust the cats who would kill to get the spot. And I doubt that you would put much faith in those cats either. So what are you going to do? What else are you going to do to try and spur these cats to action, when you have failed thus far. What are you going to do to actually help us in the slightest. We don't need to be coddled like Thunderclan but we need something to gain faith in again. Do you think you could help? Or are you just going to grumble about bad leaders?" She was pushing buttons sure but she was hoping something would push them to action.

"Also isn't this just a dream? Not like that could hurt me or actually get me wet. Even so a Riverclan cat shouldn't fuss over being wet. Go to another clan if that bothers you." Perhaps she was pushing her luck here with this but Adderpaw had no clue that star cats could do anything in her dreams that would matter in the waking. Other than being able to talk to them.

dino.

[dino.]

Goosefury's eye snapped back over to Adderpaw at the mention of ThunderClan as the sound rolled over the sky once more. This time it brought clouds with it, thick and dark and swirling high above them as they blotted out the stars. "Accuse me of favoring ThunderClan one more time and I will have you thrown out to sea. Any injuries you receive from me will cross over to your real form. I can fill your lungs with water and drown you at a moment's notice if I wish, or send a flood to sweep your new camp away. Do not underestimate my abilities. Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I'm no longer capable of meddling in the living world."

The waves crashed against the cliffs again as they moved away from it, and Goosefury tore his gaze away. "I was a Lionheart under Lionstar. Lionstorm. And once more under Kestrelstar. The only two leaders I served under, and the only two worthy of my respect. I waged war for them against ShadowClan and ThunderClan with claws soaked in poison and would do it again in a heartbeat if they were alive and leading. I would do the same from up here if RiverClan was governed now by a leader worth the effort. But if everything is handed to you, you earn nothing. A RiverClan that doesn't earn its place and take back its former glory is no RiverClan of mine."

He ran his tongue over his jaws as the lightning in the clouds grew dimmer, the thunder a little duller, despite the growl that entered his voice. "A rotten little bird has intercepted my dealings with your leaders, one of my only avenues for reaching out - and I don't believe I'm able to give you much without approval from the other Wardens. But I can tell you now that if your leaders are consistently failing you, then it's not wrong to want a change or to make that change. It's your Clan, not just theirs. Put your foot down and fix it if it's broken. Nothing will change otherwise, and RiverClan will remain stagnant, and the others will take advantage of that. ThunderClan has run you over countless times already. WindClan is waging war now as a result of your Clan's actions and blood will be shed. If Fadingsun can't weather the oncoming storm, then he doesn't deserve to stand where he does. Constant shifts in the ranks isn't ideal, but sometimes it's the only way things get done.

"I'm not unwilling to give you or your denmates extra training on top of what you already know, nor am I unwilling to give you information or advice if I come into it. But if you keep hissing at me like a kit fresh out of the nursery, I'll make sure you never hear another word of what I have to say. You have potential and I like that, but I also have a good memory for who irritates me, and if you continue to do that, I'll leave you floundering as you already are."

[ @Fish ]

[Fish]

[CENTER]

"Right just go and kill a kid, one of the only ones that does anything around in this star-forsaken clan!" Adderpaw said sneering at the other. Did an adult really just get angry enough to threaten to kill a kid that tread on their pride? Maybe she should have asked Starclan to send someone level-headed to talk to, or who wouldn't blindly threaten her life like this. Or maybe it was a bad idea to talk to the stars at all but at least it gave her an idea how some of the dead were like. Not that she believe this cat on the whole dream thing. She would have to see herself show up wet in the waking to actually believe any of that.

"Listen I am not asking for our clan to be pampered. That would just turn us into basically kittypets with an extra step and that could be worse than what we have already. But! What I'm asking is just for some kind of guidance.." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. What did Adderpaw want from them truly that could help their clan. Now that she was face to face with a cat that could potential help her clan the thoughts escaped her.

Take a step back, breath.

With a deep breath Adderpaw continued with a calmer tone. "Listen, I know I've come off very harsh but you got to see it from where I am coming from. We are drowning and it seems like only one clan gets the reap the benefit of the stars. Of their ancestors while the others do... Goodness I don't know what, then I get pulled in here with a very threatening surrounding presumably made by you. It only drives the hatred. I am sorry if I have pushed you too hard but I just wish to help my clan and someone needs to be proactive when the others won't be. I need to be the one who speaks up our clans anger." Adderpaw wasn't sure if this deescalation would work at this point as she hounded on them pretty hard, but at least for her own sake she needed to calm down, to actually think without emotion.

"Who is this rotten bird and who are the wardens. Is this something that our clan was supposed to teach me and failed doing so? Is there a way that you could... I 'dunno, make some clouds part or do some funky magic to make others see the stars still are watching us. I hope that something like that could improve moral. It would certainly do so mine... Or is it that tied up you can't..?" Adderpaw realized she was asking a lot when she knew so little. Yet even if the other cat thought she was stupid for asking these questions who was truly the stupid one. The one who dared to ask and be wrong or the one who never asked and went on not knowing the truth.

"I just worry right? With the shifting tides of leaders that if someone finally broke through and made, I 'dunno, a rebellion and killed Fadingsun or any other leader then became a leader our clan would be irreversibly broken and divided for good. This is why I can't push for anything to push leaders out of positions with force of words or action. This game of life, of clan stability, seems to be a careful one to play but recently everyone's been throwing rocks at the ice. If I join in, then it might finally break... This is my fear. The divide may never heal back to a whole Riverclan. Then some clan may come in to finally wipe us off the map." Adderpaw paused for a moment as she brewed in what she said. She shuttered to have actually said out her true fears aloud. She never spoken this nary to a soul, but in front of one she finally did. They might think her insane for thinking this but actually being in the trenches gave her this feeling. Would these so called wardens do anything, or was that rotten bird blocking them too?

"Add to that I am only nine moons right now and if I took a positions of leadership SOMEHOW, I'd probably be killed the next day. And before you ask, while I see other good cats I do not see leaders. Fadingsun so far is the best we got." It had to be said. She loved this clan but sometimes it was like loving the snake as a mouse. A fool's game.

"The only action plan I got going forth, if that is what you care to hear, is to keep proving myself to my clan and maybe become to deputy or join the lionhearts and become a close advisor to the leader. Why not try to be an advisor now? No one respects an apprentice's view as much as someone older. I do not say that in 'woe is me' I say that from seeing how these cats act. I need to wait to play my 'game' unfortunately." The star cat could no actually her all they wanted but Adderpaw wouldn't believe a word they said. Too many a time did an apprentice get shot down by a warrior because they were an apprentice. Hells, it happened to an apprentice who was old enough to be a LIONHEART, why would Addderpaw be the exception?

[FONT=Verdana]"But I digress, who is the rotten bird. Who are the wardens. Can you do any small tricks at all to inspire the clan?" Hopefully she hadn't tarnished her rapour with this star cat, but someone needed to speak up... Stars someone needed to speak up.
@dino.

[dino.]

Goosefury fought the urge to roll his eye. Why were apprentices always so literal about everything? His words had been a warning, nothing more - though maybe Adderpaw realized this when she actually made an effort to calm herself. The squall calmed with her, as did the tide that crashed against the cliffs. The sounds of the waves seemed far-off now.

"StarClan isn't one singular entity," he explained. "There are thousands of us here, most of whom opt to keep to themselves. The ones who do reach out to the living with useful information seem to be rare these days. Those who live in the Dark Forest bring yet another factor, as they can choose to fiddle with cats as they wish and there's not much we can do about it. If one of us choose to reach out, it tends to be to the Clan they feel most deserving. I find that usually ends up being the one they came from while they ignore the others. I, for one, wouldn't ever dare speak to any living soul from ShadowClan. They deserve nothing from me."

He led her to where the lush undergrowth met the rocky cliffs and slipped through the brush, following the path that opened up before him to a quiet glade. "I do understand where you're coming from. It's difficult to watch the cats you put your faith in discard it as if it's worthless, and I'm not discounting your feelings. It's admirable that you want to take up that role."

With a roll of his shoulders, he sat down amongst the grass and draped his tail over his forepaws. Like the storm, the frustration in his eye had dulled. "No, my bird problem isn't something your Clan has ever needed to concern itself with, and I doubt they would have enough information to speak anything of the Wardens. The Wardens help govern the line between life and death as a council of sorts. Those who successfully plead their case may be granted another chance at living, so long as I'm not there to tell them no." He had never liked the idea of it anyway - resurrections and reincarnations. "Too many cats have managed to slip past the barrier before. Birdsnow and Mistyshard, examples you might find relevant." His upper lip twitched before he set his expression straight again. "But that's another topic.

"Sometimes difficult choices need to be made to ensure things keep moving. It's a necessary fact of both life and death. I'm not saying that you in particular need to take up the mantle at nine moons old and raise the Clan back from the dead single-pawed if Fadingsun were to die tomorrow, but for every 'best so far' leader you settle for, you take a dozen steps back. Given the too-long line that started with Snowleap, your Clan might as well be walking itself into its own grave. You were a disaster during the raid ThunderClan launched - fighting your own, calling for retreat from your own camp, yowling nonsense about stopping the fight to the point lightning had to strike your Floodstone in the very midst of the battle in order to cease it. And I feel like you're aware of this. But you're worried about the possibility of another Clan wiping you out if you're divided down the middle as if WindClan and ThunderClan haven't already been breathing down your necks and then breaking them."

A puff of breath left his jaws. "If advisor is the game you'd like to play, then it isn't too early to start. If they don't listen, you need to make them. If you'd like my help... I'm not opposed to smiting a few more cats for you until they open their ears, so long as you're actually putting the effort in." Messing with the living might actually turn out to be fun in the long run.

[ @Fish ]

[Fish]

"That's... Unfortunate." Adderpaw said at the mention of the Dark forest's interventions. She could not believe anything good could ever come from that place and seeing Starclan couldn't stop it worried her. She tempered that fear that rose from this as she hoped whoever the wardens were would stop any big problems from happening. She would let herself believe that if it were solely for her own peace of mind. "I suppose I would have wished that spending enough time up there would make cats lose their favoritism or perhaps see some need to keep every clan still running but.. I guess ghosts are just as fallible as the living." Adderpaw said in defeat. Long ago Ripplepelt said something like this to her but she wanted nothing more than to not believe in this. Yet this spirit confirmed that. Stars, she missed Ripplepelt so much, she should have listened better.

Adderpaw had noticed how the world was starting to become calm after she had calmed down herself and soon this spirit led her somewhere else. She did not take a moment to fall behind. Following along proved to be a wise decision as she heard from the cat she originally came out to verbally fight a compliment. This beautiful grassland reminded her of some of her lazy dreams of laying in the sun, so she relaxed herself and laid on the grass. With such a serene scene it almost felt like she was awake.

"I suppose that means I am holding a no away from them then?" Adderpaw slipped out an innocent joke with a soft smile, before she shook her head to go back to being serious. "That's.. Interesting and a lot. I don't think I ever talked to these cats who were brought back, I can't remember learning that Birdsnow ever lost her life to begin with." Adderpaw took a moment to think about this world changing news. Would she want to come back if she lost her own life, would- Wait a minute. "Does that mean Darkforest cats can come back? Can wardens tell if the cat was just lying about wanting to be nice now- No, no we can talk about this another time just like you said." Adderpaw squirmed for a few moments uncomfortably thinking about the awful rogues she defended the clan from coming back for round two. Hell, the cat she killed in battle could even come back and try again. She might have to think about if coming back to life was a good thing herself as well.

"To be fair there was at least on Thunderclan idiot who joined in that but point taken." Adderpaw said as she mused over this. She wasn't offended by this but just wanted to make sure the facts were in order when talking about this stuff. What were they supposed to do with the Windclan and Thunderclan situation anyways? It's not like they could make amends. Not so soon after the raid on their camp, no that would seem like they were scheming. "With Windclan and Thunderclan breathing down our necks the only thing we could look towards is to Shadowclan for backup and even saying that turns my blood cold. Though they are too friendly with Windclan and we have nothing to provide. This is just a mess" She sighed.

"How would you say I could make them start to listen to me? Without violence first. Then if I need smiting maybe we can turn it to bees stinging them a bunch instead. Lightning seems too extreme for idiots who yell on rocks to leave our camp. Er, maybe smiting would make sense if they keep it up though.." Adderpaw had a sour taste in her mouth with Starclan throwing lightning around but maybe they can save it for the densest of the dense.

Then an idea came into her head. "Now to say I'm not hard working is a laughable lie, not to toot my own horn but I basically rebuilt the warriors den on my own, but! I could try gathering a group of loyalists again. I may have fallen off track on that a bit so tell me if it's a good idea up front. There's a lot of fools around the clan but I could try to gather cats together to support our clan. Those who actually put in the most effort they can and we work under the ethic of the clan before the leader. This may sound sour at first but given we lost so many leaders in just my lifetime we need to at least see how many cats are focused purely on the betterment of the clan. If the leader just so happens to be good then we support them, if not and they aren't outright killing kits in front of us we grin and bear it until the time comes around for someone who's fit.. Then again I do fear being exiled just for going against High rank wishes... Maybe this needs to be workshopped.." Adderpaw fought with her brain to think of how a secret society could actually work here without it just sounding dangerously close to revolution. Something she was expressly against since it would only lead to far too much suffering.

Soon the apprentice was pacing around trying to make her idea work. Like polishing a pebble and hoping that it would be worth anything. "I suppose I could get this network of cats together to give a good word to one cat so they seem like they have the brightest idea so the leaders will listen... What would we do with people who don't listen... If the secret gets out I doubt any harm will come to us but then there might be suspicion... Is this just a bad idea? I'm just trying to do something 'different' Riverclan needs different in some way. The same old is sinking us." Adderpaw looked to the spirit like she was drowning out here. It was very difficult to think of something different when you had no frame of reference.

Rest in peace Goosefury, little did he know Adderpaw was a professional rambler.

@dino.

[dino.]

Goosefury blinked lazily at Adderpaw. At least she had the sense to cut herself off from the irrelevancy of it all before he had to interrupt.

"There will always be a few cats who decide to go against the grain for their own nonsensical reasons. As you said, there was on ThunderClanner who joined in RiverClan's ridiculousness. But while ThunderClan merely trembled, your Clan shook and quaked until it cracked beneath the lack of control your past several leaders have had on you." The ground shuddered faintly beneath their paws as if to make good on his point. "And I highly doubt ShadowClan would consider helping you unless Fadingsun could offer them something of significance, especially against WindClan."

His ear flicked as she went on and she tracked her pacing, keeping silent until she was done speaking. Too many words for him to wrap his head around. "You can't expect everyone to go right along with you at first. Too many cats these days are afraid of change or too wrapped up in their own heads to realize that someone younger than them is making sense. I'd recommend talking to the cats you think will listen first, give yourself a base to work with, and then branch out. Don't waste your breath on those who aren't going to give you the time of day and focus your efforts on the ones who will. Fadingsun doesn't strike me as the type to listen to a group that sounds like disjointed idiots."

[ @Fish ]