That sealed the deal for him. That was the permission needed in his attempt to shape up the clan. His attempt to help Dawnstar shape up the clan. They'd been allowed to get soft and now their numbers were suffering, whether that was from lack of prey or cats dying in the territory. Regardless, it was chalked up to the lack of care in the clan these days.
"I'll see to it, then. Hopefully this round of patrols goes much smoother. I'll report back," Hawkbite confirmed, dipping his head to the leader. If she had nothing else to say to him, he'd turn and leave the den.
Miss Grandmama said she would play with her. Despite her blank face it sparked some joy within the kitten’s chest, a slow but happy nod following in affirmation. She just had to find a game… Sleepykit didn’t quite play either. The other kits never spoke to her, they gave her looks, and therefore she never saw much reason to address them either, nor to try partaking in their games. But, she could try. Maybe she could ask mama about some games sometime.
Too small; that’s what Miss Grandmama said about the sparring – she looked at herself then at her grandmother again, giving another, subtler, nod. She had to grow bigger, then. If she wanted to spar with Miss Grandmama. And she did. Though the kitten wouldn’t complain about her grandmother’s response, she made a note to ask about this again, too, once she was bigger.
At least for now, Miss Grandmama was teaching her a hunter’s crouch, much to her happiness – it was even better when the bigger feline told her she had the stance down, following up with instructions that Sleepykit did her best to follow. She dropped lower, belly fur brushing the ground before she lifted back up a little again, just enough so that wouldn’t be the case. Her tail, she couldn’t leave it as it was – having to keep it low, which she did, but not too low, having to raise it a bit to be more level. Her paws remained the same, minutely adjusting her stance until she felt it better fit her grandmother’s instructions. “Is this better?”
She finally asked, looking back up with blue eyes.
[ @Undertaker – no need to reply ofc, I just didn’t want to leave this hanging entirely! ]
Lynxshade sat down and closed her eyes to organize her thoughts. Mhhhh."We could organize different levels of punishment, depending on how many patrols a cat fails to complete. Of course, it would also be mindful to set a cooldown for those cats. They should not be allowed to go on other patrols, but this obviously sets another problem for us: the shortage of cats willing to actually complete a patrol decently."
"A cat who fails to complete a patrol for the first time... might get a warning. Some of the punishments already used, you know. Go on extra missions, return to the border, and mark them again, things like that."Am I wasting my breath? She stared intently at Dawnstar, but her thoughts weren't very hard to read.
"If a cat fails twice... they get to change their name for some time. Let's have their name officially changed, even in the eyes of the other clans. They will be called with "shame" at the end. How does that sound?" At least, this would avoid physical punishments. Right?
"Our clan cannot be strong if we can't rely on one another. Our borders need to be strong, too. I suggest that from now on, we keep a close look at each one of them and try to put at the head of each patrol a clanmate we know for sure is loyal and hard-working. Furthermore, we could give some sort of prize to those who show they deserve it. Although I'm pretty sure you might have already tried some sort of similar method in the past, and it probably didn't work."
There was much to discuss. She could still think of other ideas for this recurrent problem, but it was harder than it seemed. She was going to brush the ground with her tail, when she realized only a stump now lay on her back. She pushed back a frown and focused on her leader.
"Maybe we should call an Enforcers meeting and discuss this together. It's more complicated than it looks." She suggested in the end.
Lynxshade sat down and closed her eyes to organize her thoughts. Mhhhh."We could organize different levels of punishment, depending on how many patrols a cat fails to complete. Of course, it would also be mindful to set a cooldown for those cats. They should not be allowed to go on other patrols, but this obviously sets another problem for us: the shortage of cats willing to actually complete a patrol decently."
"A cat who fails to complete a patrol for the first time... might get a warning. Some of the punishments already used, you know. Go on extra missions, return to the border, and mark them again, things like that."Am I wasting my breath? She stared intently at Dawnstar, but her thoughts weren't very hard to read.
"If a cat fails twice... they get to change their name for some time. Let's have their name officially changed, even in the eyes of the other clans. They will be called with "shame" at the end. How does that sound?" At least, this would avoid physical punishments. Right?
"Our clan cannot be strong if we can't rely on one another. Our borders need to be strong, too. I suggest that from now on, we keep a close look at each one of them and try to put at the head of each patrol a clanmate we know for sure is loyal and hard-working. Furthermore, we could give some sort of prize to those who show they deserve it. Although I'm pretty sure you might have already tried some sort of similar method in the past, and it probably didn't work."
There was much to discuss. She could still think of other ideas for this recurrent problem, but it was harder than it seemed. She was going to brush the ground with her tail, when she realized only a stump now lay on her back. She pushed back a frown and focused on her leader.
"Maybe we should call an Enforcers meeting and discuss this together. It's more complicated than it looks." She suggested in the end.
Dawnstar leaned over to nip at an itch along her shoulder, listening to Lynxshade carry on about ideas for patrols. None of them sounded all that bad, a little different from the rules she had already in place, although they were a lot softer than what Dawnstar had settled on for punishments.
"Not bad ideas, although a lot softer punishments than I have set up. I've already permitted Hawkbite to carry out punishments his way, but I'm always open to new ideas to keep the patrols in order. I don't mind meeting with the Enforcer to discuss how they think the patrols are going and if we should implement your ideas into the punishments." Dawnstar wasn't sure if Lynxshade's plan would invigorate the clan or make them assume that they could squeeze their way out of trouble with them.
Flashpaw was still suppressing trembling as she trailed into Dawnstar's den. Her eyes appeared
haunted after what she'd just seen. Murder. She was certain now that Foreststrike'd been
murdered by someone in her clan. She tried her best not to think about it, or she would become
hysterical. Rotten. His corpse. She wasn't sure if Sootspirit was still behind her. She was far too
jittery to focus on that right now. Her tail dragged on the floor of the den. The warrior was slaughtered.
Who knows who did it? The body was half rotted anyway. She had been slow making her way
back to camp, enveloped in thoughts; most of them bad. What if they came for her, next? It
scared her, the thought did.
She took a deep, shuddering breath. Stuttering was not ideal. She had to speak properly to
get the job done. D-Dawnst-star? I-.... Th-there was... something h-happened. Her
voice was careful and tender, like at any moment her calm exterior may shatter. It-It's
i-im-impor-important. She took another deep, shuddering breath. Don't cry. Don't cry.
Stay calm. Relax. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. It's okay. It's okay. She wanted to 'Float',
but her calming method took time. Time she didn't have to waste.
Sootspirt entered Danwstars den with Flashpaw, sitting down next to the seemingly traumatized apprentice. She hoped it didn't look bad that the apprentice would give the report, but it was her report to give. Her eyes narrowed when Flashpaw started stuttering but she didn't interrupt, she would take over the report if she needed to but for now she sat waiting for Dawnstar to reply. Sootspirit was about to suggest Flashpaw breath for a minute but the apprentice was doing just that's and Sootspirit felt sympathetic towards her, wondering if she should try to comfort Flashpaw but didn't know how. She decided to sit in silence.
Re: ShadowClan Leader's Den
