High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]
Cinderstar
As her Clanmates gathered around beneath the Thunderwillow, Cinderstar observed them with a thoughtful look. There were a few things outside of the regular ceremonies and traditions that had to get done today, so the silver bengal was hoping that cats would be on their best behavior. Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case.
Eyes were quickly stolen by a commotion below between her mate and two apprentices. She watched it for a moment, knowing that Nectarflame could more than handle herself - but that sometimes her neutral tone could come off as prickly to those who were not used to it or her. She was a little disappointed in Flamepaw, she had to admit - Cinderstar had done her best to make sure the apprentices knew that they should also be the ones taking training into their own paws, but on the other paw she could understand the frustration with mentors constantly going missing, which was what appeared to happen with Rushfire.
At least Ashpaw seemed to be reacting logically; Flamepaw was.... not. That surprised her - she'd had high hopes for when she had named the new apprentice, but this was a side she had not been expecting. It reminded her of a certain other dark furred apprentice... except that they didn't seem to proactive with their training as this young she-cat had been. For all the fiery words the former apprentice had spoken, she had at least had the gall to back up what she said by rigorous training day in and day out.
And then Darkpetal had to join in, and that was when Cinderstar knew that she had to step in to say something. If she didn't have this situation to deal with, she might have sent Bumblebreak directly to Sundust's den about her leg (yes, she had noticed and yes, she would be talking to the stubborn she-cat after about it).
"Flamepaw." Her call came out firm as she eyed the troublemaking apprentice. "Come sit beneath the Thunderwillow please." Breaking the trio up seemed like the best course of action - she would have to speak to the young she-cat after. Disappointment in both her and Darkpetal was an understatement, and although she had planned to give the apprentice a mentor this meeting she had another idea come to her.
"This is for all of the apprentices of the Clan. Yes, it is a warriors duty to mentor you, however training is a two way street. If you are not proactively seeking out opportunities and yearning to become a warrior like you yearn to breathe, then you will not become one. I will always advocate for our younger generation, for them to use their voices, but I will also stand behind the senior warriors of our Clan who know of the words they speak and the advice they give." Stars, if the current generation of apprentices only knew about the last generation - how hard and diligent they had worked to become warriors.
Hopefully at this point, Flamepaw had come to sit closer to the Thunderwillow away from the rest of the group. "Darkpetal," she then addressed the warrior who saw fit to throw insults like a kit, "You should know well enough by now that I do not tolerate petty insults to be flung around to Clanmates. While Nectarflame could have formulated her words better," a small glance towards her mate before it moved back to Darkpetal, "she speaks from a place of experience and knowledge. A lack of training, of proactiveness is what led ThunderClan to the hole we just dug ourselves out from. Evenn the smallest sight of it will not be tolerated, and will be corrected. If you can please have a seat near the back of the crowd, I would appreciate it."
She had hoped this meeting would go a lot more smoothly than this, but perhaps those hopes had been too high. Already there were going to be two cats she needed to speak with after the meeting - or hopefully, if Darkpetal listened, only one. Cinderstar gave a small nod of gratitude to Ashpaw, the only apprentice who actually seemed to understand what Nectarflame was saying and not react purely out of spite.
A flick of her bobbed tail and a lift of her chin demanded silence from the crowd, figuring now would be as best of time as any to start the meeting. "There are many things that I need to announce today, so I would appreciate your full attention while we get through them all." Hopefully that would come across as no more long winded conversations.
"Although this moon has seen a few cats' disappearances - which I ask every cat to keep an eye out for - it has also seen the return of some of our Clanmates. Daisyfur, Bluepaw, Softpaw, and Flamepaw-" she made sure to indicate which one since there were momentarily going to be two, and one was much older nearing fourteen or fifteen moons "-have all returned to us. Before I start on reassignments, there is a name change that will need to be done. Flamepaw-" once again, she indicated to the other she-cat in the back of the crowd "-from this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Dandelionpaw." Hopefully she liked the name that Cinderstar had decided on as the silver bengal offered her a small smile.
She, along with the others, would need to be apprenticed once more. "They will also need to be reassigned to mentors to ensure their training is continued - however as I said, I expect you all to be proactive with seeking out your training." Her gaze swept the crowd. "Softpaw
[ @WinterMara ], I will be continuing your training. Bluepaw [ @~Fierce~ ], I trust that Featherskies [ @Wintermist ] will be able to get you the rest of the way to warriorhood. Dandelionpaw [ @Estelle ], to give you a refresher on your training will be Spiderleap
[ @cloudivity ]."
There was one other cat that needed a new mentor, and her eyes flickered down to where Flamepaw hopefully was sitting. "Flamepaw [ @SpiritedWarrior ], your mentor has also gone missing. Though in light of what has happened at this meeting I will not be assigning you a mentor. Instead, I want you to be proactive in seeking out training sessions. Prove to me that you truly do want to be a warrior, and perhaps we can see about getting you an official mentor at the next meeting." She let her gaze linger on the apprentice for a moment or two longer, hoping she would heed her words and remain there for the rest of the meeting.
After a beat, she lifted her gaze to observe the rest of her Clan, waiting for the newly assigned duos to meet before moving on with the meeting.
