RiverClan Floodstone

[shaae_26]

Salamanderpaw, who was injured along with his brother fighting the dogs nodded sadly at the deaths. At least the kept their lives.

[JackHunt_17]

Cloudpaw was not really present in the clan during the dogs, only the aftermath, so he struggled to grasp this

[dino.]

goatsneeze === >

Goatsneeze limped out of the warriors' den, displeasure rippling over his face as he stood near the back of the crowd. His shoulder was still a mess from the dog attack—he had not bothered to go see Stonepaw. How could he, when the idiot had been caught eating rocks? Was he supposed to trust that level of intelligence? Yes, his shoulder hurt like hell, and it was likely infected by now, but he'd rather impale himself on a thorn than trust the medicine cat with his injury.

His distaste for RiverClan's so-called leader only grew as he listened to the announcements. Pikestar was yawning, yawning, as if nothing had happened. And then went on like mere words would solve the problem that was glaringly obvious.

"You're a starsdamned fool," he snarled, limping forward through the crowd. "First to ignore the issue a whisker away from your face, and then to act surprised when it comes back to bite you in the ass. Cats died because of your inaction. I almost lost my son because of you."

Oh, how he wished those dogs had taken more than just one of Pikestar's lives.

"Your 'punishment' doesn't mean dung. You say you want to prove yourself to us with future actions and then go on to introduce this piece of idiocy. Icefury's right; those bodies would wash right back up on the beach and drag predators right to us. You want more dogs to deal with? Because that's a great way to lure them back. You better count yourself lucky it isn't my son you're suggesting to do this with or you'd have more than mutts at your throat to worry about."

[Cinderspirit]

╔═════════*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═════════╗
Beechkit (he/him)
RiverClan ❍ 7 moons
brown-furred tabby tom-kit with black stripes and golden eyes
╚═════════*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═════════╝

Oh. So nothing about his ceremony then. He vaguely heard Pikestar talk about the losses they had suffered, and he knew that was bad, but they were dead now. Nothing would bring them back, so why bother?

[Kaybug.]

mistycloud frowned, she felt bad for Pikestar.

[Sklee]

Amberwing stifled a choking gasp at the sight of Pikestar's scar. And so many lives lost, too........... Her tail was barely kept under control. She managed to calm herself just barely, aided by how agreeable the idea of water burials felt to her.

[shaae_26]

Duststream dipped his head solemly at the list of those they'd lost. He was very saddened by this

[vellichor]

Beansprout
RiverClan Warrior

Well, there was a lot to unpack there.

Pikestar made his solemn speech, heaviness hanging in the air as the entire Clan sat in silence for what could have been seconds or eons. Then, the dark-furred leader admitted his mistake. Beansprout's now-notched remailing ear swiveled back as irritation flooded him. He had been genuinely angry upon figuring out that Pikestar was the sole cause of the dog attack -- and yes, he did mean sole. The siamese was glad he asked the leader himself, otherwise he would have chalked it up to nasty rumors. As for Pikestar as a whole, Beansprout had very mixed feelings. They didn't do a lot for the Clan, honestly. Sure, Pikestar was willing to put their life on the line for his Clan, but... was that not the bare minimum? Leaders held nine lives, by some mystical power. Reasonably, Pikestar should be at the forefront of everything that happens to RiverClan, especially when it comes to conflicts. Hearing about the leader's incompetence being the reason so many died and were injured that fateful day made Beansprout lose much faith in Pikestar. Hopefully, after this meeting, the siamese could take some Clan matters into his own paws without any more scathing glares from rock-eating medicine cats.

Then, Pikestar proposed something... to put it quite bluntly, idiotic. Water "burials". Before Beansprout could even string words together, Graytail spoke up. Something about the implication of Pikestar saving the entire Clan on their own rubbed Beansprout's fur the wrong way. So, with an irate flick of his tail, Beansprout made his way toward Graytail [ @~_LuzuraTheTitan_~ ] and spoke his mind. "While Pikestar did fight bravely, they weren't the only one there that day." The constant tightness in Beansprout's chest was a constant reminder of that. "Brave fighting doesn't negate losses because of negligence. I'm not saying that Pikestar should be condemned, but, with all due respect," the siamese took a moment to glance up at Pikestar. "They were the sole reason the dogs attacked in the first place. And while I, and I'm sure most of the Clan, acknowledges your apology," Beansprout fully turned his attention to Pikestar [ @Captain ] now. "You're going to have to work hard to gain the trust of this Clan back. Deaths aren't to be taken lightly, including your own. But this Clan won't heal in a matter of days. You have to prove to us that you're willing to serve us, as a Clan leader should." The siamese cat spoke matter-of-factly, with no malice. He simply needed Pikestar and the rest of the Clan to know the hard truth. They didn't have to trust their leader straight away. In fact, Beansprout wasn't sure how long it would be until he himself did. The goal was to improve and move forward.

As more of his Clanmates expressed their opinions on the water burial idea, Beansprout stayed silent, nodding affirmatively after each statement. He didn't need his voice heard in this matter when it seemed the Clan was united on vetoing this idea. It was Goatsneeze [ @dino. ] who caught the scarred cat's attention, though, as the warrior limped forward spitting venom. Perhaps in the past, a more passive Beansprout would have moved to stop Goatsneeze. However, Beansprout was a father, too. He knew what it was to love a cat like your own kid. If Fawnlight was ever ripped away from him, the siamese had no idea what he would do. Goatsneeze's fury was righteous, and his words rang true. Beansprout moved to stand beside his Clanmate, subtly offering a shoulder to lean on if the black and white cat so wished. After he was done, Beansprout piped up once more. "You know what it's like to have a kid," He addressed the leader on the rock once more. "Hell, you know what it's like to lose a kid. So you, of all cats, should know that empty promises won't be enough." Emotion threatened to seep into his strong voice as both his chest and throat tightened, but he dismissed it. This wasn't the time to be irrational. "It's going to be your job to make this Clan trust you again. Your job to do everything you can, prove that you're willing to dedicate all of your Star-given lives to defending and serving your Clan." 'After all,' Beansprout thought, 'With all this resentment festering within the Clan, if Pikestar keeps up his current performance, he may have a rebellion on their paws.'

// please remember that beansprout's beliefs do not necessarily reflect my own. (also, i hope i did a good enough job portraying this guy's mixed emotions and confused little brain) \\

[wren]

[FONT="Times New Roman"]

Goosecurl | They/Them She/Her
Short smoked tabby with a cream underbelly and pale yellow eyes
—

Goosecurl stared upwards at Pikestar as he spoke, though not much was really getting through at that moment. They’d been lucky to not suffer awful injuries from the dog attack, merely a good chomp on the paw, a wrenched shoulder and worst of all a very bruised rib cage. Otherwise they’d made out mostly unscathed. To imagine the grandeur of losses though? To understand they had lived in spite of everyone else who hadn’t. Their eyebrows knit together in thoughtfulness before a gentle bow of the head to stare at the ground. Death. What a strange thing.

At the mention of some kind of ceremonial send off, there seemed to be a bit of clamouring amongst clanmates. Protest, some support. Mostly protest. As Goatsneeze began their rant Goosecurl turned to glance over their shoulder, overcome with the harshness of his tone. There was reason to be upset, sure, but to outright scream? It didn’t quite sit well in their stomach. ”watch your tone Goatsneeze! There’s nothing wrong with voicing concerns, and disappointments. That doesn’t require you to go yowling like that.” perhaps it wasn’t the hill to die on, maybe they shouldn’t have spoken up at all. But losing the uniformity of a meeting was demoting them to ruthless animals.

That’s when Beansprout also spoke up, assuming a similar position to Goatsneeze but more relaxed. Goosecurl turned once more to examine Pikestar. Who could handle all the criticism? Especially someone as gentle as himself. Goosecurl gave their shoulders another shake before deciding on putting their own input in. If there was nothing good coming of this meeting, perhaps a little redirection would’ve worked? “The water burial is a nice sentiment. While I don’t disagree with anyone present about the dangers. Perhaps we can honour that, but continue to bury our dead. Adorn the wood with shells and flowers and such… but perhaps continue to bury them.” they didn’t so much care if the input was formative, they just needed some kind of positivity. Anything…

@dino.

[/INDENT]

[dino.]

goatsneeze === > @vellichor @wren

He was more than grateful for Beansprout's offered support and quickly allowed himself to slump against the warrior. Already his paws were growing tired from holding himself up - and at least Beansprout shared much of the same sentiments.

One other warrior, however, did not. Blue eyes suddenly alight with anger, Goatsneeze whipped his head around to glare daggers at Goosecurl, lips peeled back in another snarl. "You watch yours," he snapped back venomously. "Try talking to me again after you witness your only kid turn into dogmeat at the jaws of mutts that should have been dealt with days earlier. Then I might be more inclined to listen."