High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

The rain falls in gentle waves, but given the season and the temperature, it's freezing and pelting her fur like small wet thorns. The path through RiverClan's Territory is muddy water in motion, filling deep puddles that hide the ruts of dryer weather. Dawnstar does her best to avoid them leading her clan through the wet water. She genuinely didn't mind the rain, but could really do without it.

Each raindrop sat briefly on her fur like a puddle that will never leave, perfectly formed, perfectly cold, before drizzling down her pelt. Dawnstar could feel the water steal her body heat just a tiny bit at a time. Perhaps once she would have sought shelter or warmth - but no longer. She has become accustomed to the elements, to the wind and chill. There is a coziness in the suffering, as if life has and will always be this way. There is comfort in predictability.

Slipping out of the safety of the shadows, she brings her clan to an empty beach. The first to arrive, great. This seemed to be an interchanging thing, being the first to arrive at the Seastones. The leader allows her clan to move ahead of her as she glances briefly up at the sky. There were clouds, of course, there were clouds on a rainy day, and the moon was masked. She faintly wondered if this meant StarClan could not see them or more realistically really didn't care about the whole dumb truce that so many foolish cats thought would save them from her ire.

The Clan leader padded across the beach, claws out as she leap upwards on the stones, reaching the one that served as the leaders' perch. Of course, it was inherently slippery, but Dawnstar managed to take her seat without making a complete fool of herself. Granted, it did cost her some mild pain in her claws and a very soggy tail. Once the leader had settled, she stared down at her clan, occasionally rotating her head in the direction she knew the other three would be arriving in.

Despite the immense amount of problems that have been growing in ShadowClan due to a select few troublemakers, Dawnstar was pretty confident that her clan knew better than to speak about it. Not if they enjoyed having a tongue. Still, the leader's ears were raised high above her head, alert, and listening. The rainfall was light enough that it did not hinder her ability to hear across the beach. If she didn't, she was sure one of her enforcers or more loyal warriors would catch any blabbermouths or traitors.

High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

Gritting together his teeth rather irritably, the tall dark-furred oriental lead his clanmates throughout their territory to the familiar sandy beach, where ShadowClan was already awaiting them. It was raining again, and anyone who had any common sense would be able to see that the RiverClan leader was not in a good mood tonight. He didn’t want to be here. He hated these gatherings with a passion, although he’d never say it out loud. Truthfully, Pikestar had previously planned on skipping this time around, putting forth the excuse of wishing not to stress out young Stonepaw so very soon after becoming the RiverClan's next medicine cat. But of course, he wasn’t that stupid. Any cat would see that as an idiotic reason to avoid a gathering, but in truth, they just wanted one less thing to worry about in this timeframe.

Someone would surely call him out on 'avoiding his responsibilities' though, and here he was, dragging a group of cats through the dead of night in the pouring rain. StarClan truly must've had it out for him. Hmph. At the divide between the dirt and the sand, Pikestar drew to a sudden stop, long bushy tail swishing behind him as he stared off at the Seastones that mocked him silently. "Behave yourselves." He warned RiverClan with a growl evident in his tone, refusing to put up with any kind of idiocy tonight. He exhaled a brisk sigh through his nose before continuing forward. Pikestar was so very tired, and his lower stomach churned painfully for some unknown reason. The lanky tomcat made not a single sound of complaint, and simply did as he was expected. Nobody could force him to fake a smile anymore though.

Knowing Gingerfrost and Stonepaw were most likely somewhere towards the back of the pack together, Pikestar continued down the beach without sparing even a simple glance back. Once he eventually made it to the base of the stones, the Lord of the Waters swiftly leapt up onto the perch where the four clan leaders had always been positioned. Unlike last time, they did not slip on the smooth stone surface and simply turned to face the crowd before sitting down, resting his tail over his front paws. His single blue eye slid over to Dawnstar, who sat here with him alone for the time-being. He only looked at her for a few brief seconds before returning his partial gaze ahead. A single glance of acknowledgement was all the Queen of Shadows was getting this time around. His long tufted ears twitched, shaking stray cold raindrops from his head as he then allowed his eye to close. The silent RiverClan leader allowed himself to now drift into a momentary state of tranquility until the inevitable chaos began, mentally preparing himself.

High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

**Elmshadow**
Medicine Cat of Shadowclan

The rain drizzled over his short, thick pelt, welling up in beads as it slowly soaked through to his skin. He gave short shakes intermittently as he followed Dawnstar with the bulk of the clan. Walking out onto the sands of Seastones, it was immediately clear that Shadowclan was the first to arrive. He glanced to his side only once where Cougarivy had taken up her usual post, her fur nearly brushing his flank as the two walked, him with long uniform strides and her with short jolting movements. He'd begun to grow more comfortable with her constant presence, having moved away from revolted to indifferent to exasperated and now he came to expect it. She was his mate. He wasn't sure he'd ever said it allowed but this was the first he'd admitted it to himself, and it felt almost freeing. He was no longer waiting on Goldenstep, a dead queen, and he was no longer stuck in some limbo dance with Cougarivy as she pined for him. There was some relief in giving in and allowing certain parts of his life simply carry him. He'd been a soldier before his appointment as medicine cat, following Dawnstar's order without question. Now he found himself in a position unique to simply following Dawnstar's lead and most of his time was consumed by decisions and learning. It felt okay to let Couagrivy take the lead and make the decisions regarding their relationship and appearances.

Elmshadow held his gaze forward as he made an immediate move for the medicine cat area. He was the first to arrive which came as no surprise as the other clans had not yet come, though he hadn't yet seen Ivysnake. He sat down and turned to look out over the Shadowclan cats still arriving and soon saw Pikestar making his way onto the sands and straight up to the Seastone to join Dawnstar. His green eyes followed the Riverclan leader though he made no movements. Pikestar hadn't been a complete failure as his predecessors but he hadn't yet made much impact either, as far as Elmshadow was concerned. He was still waiting to see what the Riverclan leader was capable of and he wondered if he'd soon have the chance to find out.