RiverClan Leader's Den

[The Cannibal]

@BILL.

To say in the least, the brown tabby was slightly taken aback by the complement. Lionstar wasn't exactly the one to hand them out freely, and honestly, he had thought the younger tom didn't like him. But at least they agreed on the matter of Fallenstream, Grousestar had never liked the tom much, thought of him as too rash, too quick to anger. In fact, Fallenstream had been the first leader he had ever disliked. It was interesting to see that his successor felt the same way, at least to a degree.
He wasn't sure how to handle the complement, but instead offered a smile and slight dip of the head. No words needed to be said to show he appreciated the kind words. He had tried his best as leader, to keep his clan out of harms way and to help others.
"Right, let's get this done and finalized," the older tom murmured, following alongside Lionstar as he padded out of the den.

[pidgeon]

Eagleflight padded carefully into the den, heart still racing like a rabbit's. He would soon find out what the hell Lionstar was thinking, appointing three deputies at once. And why would he want to talk to Eagleflight, alone?
He hoped that this was more than just a business meeting between them. He honestly wanted to make sure that his leader was okay. He did not seem the most...mentally sound at that meeting. What leader appoints a cat who isn't even present as his deputy, and then acts as him? It had certainly been quite the scene, and not one that had made Lionstar look very good.


Trying to plot out the exact words he would say aloud, he took a deep breath, puffing out his chest as he sat down on the cold floor of the leader's den, awaiting the moment when the golden tabby would waltz through the entrance.

[BEAR.]

Contrary to Eagleflight's belief, Lionstar was fine. Perfectly fine. Portraying Fawnsqueak was a performance, a brilliant show-- and he thought he did a damn good job of it.

With three deputies under his paws, he felt invincible. As the might of RiverClan grew, so would his ranks. He had ideas to expand, to make RiverClan stronger than it'd been in the days of Fallowstar herself. And now, he knew he had strong, loyal, dedicated cats he could trust. If Frostfli-- no, he wouldn't think of him as so. Frostflight had died the moment he joined SkyClan and betrayed RiverClan. Frostfall was the cat beneath Lionstar, the constant disappointment he grew to ..barely tolerate. He was sick of his inaction, his slothfulness. Tonight, things would change. For the better.

"Eagleflight," Lionstar's voice was silky smooth as he spoke to his fiery companion, his name rolling off his tongue with practiced ease. "I can't imagine what you must be thinking right now, but let me make this clear: Frostfall is not fit to serve as deputy alone. As simple as it'd be to remove that tick entirely, he has some experience in the position I don't care to dispose of so quickly. I know he's making some attempt of being a capable deputy, he just sucks at it. And that's.. well, it's not fine by any means, but I'm not going to kick him out of the position of deputy for that. I am giving him the opportunity of redemption, and both you and Fawnsqueak are key to that. I cannot run this Clan with someone who can hardly send out patrols and bring them back. There are so many plans I want to set in motion, I want to improve RiverClan's way of life and he has hindered this with his poor decision making skills. That's where you, specifically, come in.

"I have a first task for you to do as deputy. I understand the patrol from SkyClan's old territory has finally returned and reported the area clear, so I want you to send another patrol to lay down scent markers. I want these markers to be heavy, to make it clear that land is ours now. In addition, I want the border to be expanded to take the beach as well. The other Clans don't use it and we can hunt along the shoreline and in the shallow water.

"Once those are underway, I need you to oversee the tunnel expansions. If you are unaware, the tunnels are the old home of the Clans. Many seasons ago we flourished belowground, only for a flood to tear that away and force us to abandon our home. Most of the tunnels have collapsed or are filled with water, but I had Frostfall send a patrol to recover some old entrances and reconstruct them. Ideally, I want to reclaim RiverClan's old camp as a backup shelter-- or part of it, and have a set of tunnels run to each of the other Clans. We can use these networks for a pawful of things: attacks, espionage, .. in the event our Clan needs to escape quickly, we could use these as a route as well. From my understanding, many of the old entrances look like badger burrows or fox dens, but they are long abandoned. Check those out, and do not take volunteers. While it is dangerous, waiting on cats to join your patrol will only waste precious time. Leaf-bare is around the corner and soon, the ground will be too frozen to dig.

"And finally, a special assignment for you. I feel as if our warriors are lacking adept fighting skills, and I would like you to oversee a specialized training course designed to make our warriors stronger. Apprentices can, of course, participate but I feel as if this should be focused on making an elite set of Clan-mates. Strong, powerful warriors who can dominate any enemy on the battlefield and ensure the victory of our Clan. For the purpose of this, I want the training to be intense-- with the final assessment being an actual battle between Clan-mates, claws unsheathed. I want these cats to be battle hardened and prepared for the worst."

Almost affectionately, he flicked his tail against Eagleflight's shoulder. "You will be more than just a deputy, Eagleflight. You will be... my commander. The commander of our warriors, and the future of RiverClan's training."

@Casper

[pidgeon]

Eagleflight didn't think he could become more surprised than he already was. First he got appointed as one of three deputies, and now this? It was all so much to take in at once. He tried desperately to keep up, to absorb every possible bit of information that he could. He would have to ask Lionstar to repeat himself, likely.

"Y-Yes, sir," He stammered, his ears folded back a bit in his confusion. "SkyClan border markers, tunnel expansion, battle training." He uttered the words to himself, oversimplifying them to make them stick in his brain.

SkyClan border markers, tunnel expansion, battle training. SkyClan border markers, tunnel expansion, battle training. He repeated them in his head, over and over. He would not forget. He wouldn't let his leader down! He was so afraid that he was going to forget something, or screw something up...No, he wouldn't do that. Lionstar was counting on him! If the handsome golden leader thought he could trust Eagleflight with so many important duties at once, then clearly he saw something in the russet warrior that he didn't see in himself. He would likely have to ask Frostfall for help with all this, and he wasn't sure how the leader would feel about that. Or, for that matter, what Frostfall would think of that. The original deputy had not been particularly eager to speak to Eagleflight moments ago. But the newer deputy didn't see how he could do all of this on his own.

"If you don't mind my asking, sir, what will your part be in all of this?" He finally spoke up, after many moments in stunned silence. If he was throwing all of this responsibility on one cat, surely that meant that Lionstar himself was equally overburdened.

[Dust]

Nothing had helped... his 'relaxing' walk was a bust and he arrived back in camp just as angry as he had left. Without a second thought, Frostfall barged into the den, his voice wavering,

"Lionstar, I want to talk to you, immediately!" He simply ignored Eagleflight, keeping a challenging gaze on the golden feline.

@BILL. @Casper

[BEAR.]

Lionstar wasn't as concerned with getting these tasks completed as Eagleflight was-- he trusted he'd do a good job in light of Frostfall's failures. He had time and Lionstar knew he wouldn't waste it. The hardest part would be getting the elite battle training underway, but he held confidence in Eagleflight that he would tackle that task as soon as the others were underway.

To be honest, as long as there was progress, he didn't care how Eagleflight handled it. His issue with Frostfall stemmed from.. the inactivity, the laziness, the lack of commitment to the Clan. Just.. everything. "While you are focused on these, I will be seeing that Frostfall actually does his job for a change and maintains the patrols around our territory. I planned on having Fawnsqueak focus on the upkeep of the camp, assigning tasks to cats like Grousest-art to keep them feeling.. useful."

Lionstar gave him a small smile, patting his shoulder lightly. "Rest assured, Eagleflight. You are not alone in this. If you feel overwhelmed or have to focus your attention on one objective over another, tell me. I am here to help you."

At Frostfall's interruption, his expression fell to annoyance. "Oh. It's you. Eagleflight, could you please give us some privacy?" @Casper, @Dust

[pidgeon]

@Dust

Eagleflight let out a sigh, partially due to stress and partially due to the relief that came with knowing Lionstar was there to help him. He just didn't want to let him down, more than anything. "It will be done, Lionstar," he nodded, confidence rising to the surface.

That confidence seemed to dwindle when Frostfall stepped into the den. Uh oh... As much as he wanted to befriend Frostfall, to work together, he didn't see how that could happen. The original deputy seemed to want nothing to do with him. Eagleflight glanced at his leader, and then to the deputy, before nodding hesitantly.

"As you wish, sir." He tried not to let his apprehension show as he backed slowly out of the den to allow the two to hash out their disagreements.

[Dust]

Frostfall watched Eagleflight with bristled fur and as soon as he disappeared into the clearing, the deputy turned immediately back to Lionstar. His eyes were blazing with an icy rage, lips pulled back as he hissed at the other,

"What is the meaning of this, Lionstar? You appoint Eagleflight AND Fawnsqueak as deputies... change my name to -Fall? FALL?! Am I nothing but a joke to you now? Please tell me this is some kind of cruel joke or some type of lesson to be learned." Frostfall's tail lashed viciously behind him, pushing bits of reed and moss around the den.

@BILL.

[BEAR.]

"Are you deaf?" Lionstar questioned, narrowing his eyes at the pale tom. "Did you not listen to the ceremony, or are you so thick-skulled you didn't understand that? You are a disgrace, Frostfall. You have repeatedly failed your duties as a deputy to the point where I had little choice but to enlist those two to pick up your slack. Do you honestly think sending a couple patrols out every moon is going to secure our borders? How are we supposed to keep our territory if it's not well marked? Have you considered that, oh, I don't know, ShadowClan or ThunderClan might try to move the faint markers because we don't seem to care? Do you even give a damn? You seem a hell of a lot more focused on your name over the fact your negligence might cost us our territory." @Dust

[BEAR.]

---

Thistlestep could hear Lionstar's loud voice several tail-lengths away from the den, and he paused a couple tail-lengths outside. Yeah, he didn't want to get in on that.

"Good luck." It was all he could voice to Truthpaw before he slipped away, heading back into the clearing. @Aquilex