RiverClan Leader's Den

[Dizerel]

Originally Posted by spade

[ Powerplay has been approved! ]

The wildfire that raged inside of Kestrelstar's chest only grew and expanded, charring whatever feeling or emotion that had been left over. In its wake were the ashes of anger, of a need for vengeance. Yellow eyes were ablaze as he stared at Junipersong, lips curled back into a snarl as she spoke. Before him was not the friend who had stuck by his side, but yet another doubter. Another disloyal RiverClan warrior who couldn't see past their own nose to what ThunderClan - and the entire forest - was doing to RiverClan.

With her standing tall, hovering over him, Kestrelstar felt his anger rise to a fever pitch. A challenge to his authority was what it was. It was a shock to him, her confession of love, but not enough to cause him to falter in his steps. "If you have no allegiances to me, you have no allegiance to RiverClan. That makes you a traitor like the rest of them," he growled, ears going back as his eyes narrowed. A hunter, focusing in on his prey.

It took everything for the leader to restrain himself from slashing a claw across her face. Drawing blood from a traitor that refused to shed hers in protection of her Clan. To honor the commitment she had made during her warrior ceremony.

Suddenly, the rising tides felt like too much.

It was only a second, but the leader lashed a claw out, scoring it across Junipersong's muzzle. The satisfaction of claws ripping through fur and flesh exhilarated him, and his own mouth contorted into a sadistic grin. "Get out of my den before I shred you," he spat, the fur along his back rising with each word as his unsheathed claw hung in the air, scarlet drops dripping from it.

A sharp pain rose across her muzzle. A diagonal slash, barely above the lip on the left side of her face, over the bridge of her nose, to the right side of her face, a few inches short of her eye. It took a moment for blood to come out, as if her body hadnt expected to be cut open like this. But afterwards it flowed out freely. The feeling of her own blood matting her fur was not an unfamiliar one to Junipersong. It reminded her of the time she stood in front of a coyote to take the full brunt of its attack.

Her head flinched back. There was no anger. No desire for retaliation. Just a deep sorrow in her gaze. Her blood did the weeping for her. "Score me with a thousand marks if you need to. If that's what it takes for whatever has consumed you to leave. My physical body means little to myself. Your claws cannot inflict any type of pain unto me that matters. The only thing that hurts is seeing what you have become. I leave only because I cant stand to see you like this any longer. But shred me to pieces if it makes you feel better. Stomp me down until what remains of my body mixes with the earth, and my blood flows stronger than the rivers this clan was named after. The tears of regret will fall from the sky, and I can only hope you feel remorse for the loss of a friend."

She stands there, staring Kestrelstar down for just a few seconds after she finishes speaking, then turns to leave. Out of the den. There is no point in seeing Snakeheart. Poppy seeds wont relieve this type of pain, and no strengthening herb will reduce the weight that has been placed against her heart.

(Power play permission if Kes wants to get any last hits in while she leaves.)

[Riverfly]

Ivywing half ran half walked towards the entrance. Kestrelstar scared her. A lot.

[spade]

Originally Posted by finnzel

@spade //

➸ daisybird

her walk back to camp had proven her hopes wrong. hawkkit wasn't okay. hawkkit was dead, and she wasn't sure what to do other than stumble her way towards the leaders den, sobbing and feeling bile rise in the back of her throat when she fully realized that she was carrying her kits corpse.

one kit missing, one kit dead. was she really that bad of a mother?

"ke-kestrelstar," daisybird choked out as she stepped a paw into the den, gently laying hawkkit on the ground. "hawkkit, shes..she's" she paused, feeling her legs shake. "dead." she whispered, chest tightening - what if greykit suffered the same fate? "and greykit..he's - he's missing..i just.." she didn't even know where he'd gone off to, if hawkkit had convinced him to follow her outside of camp, or if he just wandered off himself.

was she even meant to be a mother? was this her fault or just some terrible curse?

For once, Kestrelstar had managed to snag a few moments alone in his den. Despite the quite, still air that surrounded him, his mind was racing with thoughts. One right after the other. Zooming around like a dog hot on the trail of it's next victim. A small growl escaped through gritted teeth before the leader finally gave in and pushed himself to his paws.

The walls felt soo small, his nest too prickly. Something itched at his legs, but as he lifted his head to begin heading towards the exit of his den, a ball of grief hit him back like a wave.

Daisybird. The queen who often reminded him of Duskfall. The sadness that rolled off her locked his paws into place, and the scent of death reached him before the sight of Hawkkit.

Yellow eyes scanned the face of the queen, dulling the sound of her crying voice. The death of any Clanmate was a hard blow to deal with, but a kit... for as much as Kestrelstar disliked the hairballs, he didn't want any harm to come to them. They were future warriors of the Clan, the heart and soul of what kept a majority of his Clanmates going.

"She will be missed," he murmured, stepping forward to touch his nose lightly to the unmoving kit. Her body was beginning to become cold, and the leader couldn't bare it another second longer as he pulled back.

Bringing his gaze back up to the queens, he felt his heart break a little for her. "Hey. We'll find Graykit. I'll go looking for him myself." Hesitantly, the gray tabby stretched his neck forward to touch his nose softly to the top of Daisybird's head before pulling back. Yellow eyes filled with a rare sympathy that was usually reserved for Snakeheart, or his mother or half-brother... but right now, all he could see before him was a grieving mother. "This does not make you a bad queen, Daisybird. Stars, you've been raising half the kits in the nursery from what I hear. RiverClan is... I am lucky to have you in RiverClan."

[Ziera]

// @Zero | @spade

Despite the accusatory question and her dumfounded stare, Stormtalon chose not to acknowledge Iris just then. Of course he didn’t tell her. What was the benefit? Processing this tide-changing news alongside a chatty kitten the entire way home from cattail pond? Stars no. If the revelation of his identity was abrupt for Iris, then good. Let it be a taste of her own medicine.

Grim pity congealed in his chest. My mom is gonna come back to get me. Obviously. When hedgehogs fly. Stormtalon’s mouth took on a sardonic curve as Kestrelstar’s ‘assurance’ reached his ears, the callousness of it complimenting his own spiteful nature. Shattering Iris' illusions of Silverfish as a caring, dutiful mother who never abandoned her children to pursue her own selfish dreams might have to wait a couple moons.

Then Kestrel straightened to ask something even more amusing. Would a kit sister obliterate Stormtalon’s work ethic in the blink of an eye and leave Mistypaw neglected? Who knew the guy was a comedian.

“If I thought so, I wouldn’t ask.” Storm never left a job half done; he was quite addicted to competence. The tom’s voice adopted a bit of a challenge, a bantering edge as green eyes struck gold. “And here I thought you enjoyed assigning me random kits to babysit.”

[BEAR.]

The sensation of falling left Fernpaw panicked, jerking awake in the woven reed nest. He scrambled to his paws, eyes wide as he took in his surroundings. The fishy scent .. His heart thudded in his chest, confusion overtaking his senses. This wasn't ... was he alive again? Where was he? He knew he'd been speaking to the StarClan ladies only moments before, how..

He craned his neck to take a look at himself, scanning his pelt and body for the wounds he received what felt like a lifetime ago. His tail was there.. his leg was fine.. a long, jagged scar caught his attention along his underside. He didn't remember that? But it sent a chill along his spine, and he swallowed as he returned to investigate where he was. (he didn't see the scar on his throat, partially hidden by his fluff.)

Fernpaw didn't recognize anything about this den, it stank like fish. Fish Bird? Fish Dad? A lump grew in his throat, it felt thick. Like emotions threatening to spill over. What if this was just a dream? what if fish dad was going to be upset with him? Every muscle in his body screamed for him to flee, but he felt rooted to the nest.

Alive or not... he was scared, he wanted to curl up and cry and make the fateful patrol not exist. He wanted things to go back to how they were; he wanted Nettle, and Dead, and bigger Fern back.

he felt broken. He wasn't ready to face Fish Dad yet and he sank toward the nest, trying to make himself smaller. Invisible.

(it didn't work.)

[ @spade ]

[spade]

Exhaustion weighed heavy on Kestrelstar, a feeling that was becoming all too normal for the leader. The Gathering and the events that had transpired rattled around in his head, chasing each other around like a twisted game of cat and mouse. ThunderClan's new leader seemed... rather cocky and arrogant. Curiosity wanted to lead him down a rabbit hole of 'what if's, but as his den came into sight all the leader could think of was sleep.

Slipping inside his den, jaws stretched in a yawn, the first thing that caught the gray tabby's attention was the scent within. A faint trace of... WindClan??

Muscles tightened, eyes narrowing to slits as his claws slid out. Why would WindClan be planning an ambush? It made no sense, yet with fur bristling Kestrelstar was ready to flay whoever had dared set paw in his den. So much for the truce -

Oh. Oh.

His throat constricted, feeling as though rocks were taking up space and blocking out air. Instantly his fur lay flat and claws slid back in, a certain longingness flooding the yellow depths of his eyes. The small tom in his nest, who looked out of place but at the same time right where he needed to be. Fernpaw.

But he was...

"...dead." The last part came out in words as the leader stared, slack-jawed. Twilightstar had announced that ShadowClan had murdered him but... he was there. Was this a dream? Was he that delirious? Taking a couple steps forward, Kestrelstar reached down to touch his nose to the top of Fernpaw's head. A jolt sent him backwards as he realized it was real. "What are you... how... Fernpaw...?" Words scrambled to find their way out in a jumble as the leader stared at Fernpaw, his lower jaw still suspended in the air as shock gave way to relief.

How was he alive??

// @BILL.

[Kunaisoul]

Nightleap -->

She came in to ask kestrelstar something, and maybe even chat a little. But she saw kestrelstar, staring at fernpaw. "What.. I thought fernpaw was... dead?" She looked at kestrelstar, and then to fernpaw. "How.. are you alive?" She asked.

@BILL. @spade

(I need rps for nightleap, so i thought i'd pop in unless this is a private rp, you can ignore this if you want it to be just you two ^^)

[BEAR.]

Hypersensitive was a good way to describe Fernpaw's current state. He was on high alert, tensing with wide eyes at the glint of Kestrelstar's claws in the dim light of the den. His mind flashed to the beasts, the savage shadow slayers who shredded his skin and cracked his bones. His breath caught in his throat, a choked, strangled sob escaping him. "please--" don't hurt him, don't be mad, he didn't mean to trespass (he hadn't before with the patrol, but he was now. he didnt know why he was here.) He flinched even as the claws sheathed, as if anticipating something worse to come. Gnashing teeth, feral growls that'd haunt his dreams. Ripping. Tearing. Rending. Tendons pulling apart. Crack.

Instead, his head is touched. His name. The seams that kept Fernpaw composed shattered, his resolved crumbled as he moved to bury himself into the rigid form of the RiverClan leader. After the storm he faced, the slightest bit of kindness meant more to him than Kestrelstar would ever know. Words failed to escape him, only a broken sob as he tried to press further into his buddy. Fish Dad safe.

(Distantly, there's another cat. But Fernpaw was in no state to handle another, focused on the warmth and comfort Fish Bird Dad provided.)

[ @spade, @Kunaiskrill / up to spade but fern likely won't be very reactive to nightleap, he's not in a good spot right now. ]

[spade]

So much was happening, occurring, that Kestrelstar felt his mind scramble. What had been at the forefront was now shoved back under the weight of the discovery that Fernpaw was alive. The claws of ShadowClan perhaps hadn't harmed this soul, perhaps Twilightstar was mistaken. As the tiny body of the WindClan apprentice dug into his fur, it was almost nature at this point for Kestrelstar to curl around him, tail wrapped to enclose the kid.

Ears twitched as he caught wind of another cat approaching them. Nightleap. With a sigh, Kestrelstar turned his head. There was so much to take in, and while he didn't want to completely turn his former apprentice away, he had to handle... whatever this situation was. "Nightleap. Go see about fetching some moss soaked water please," he asked, turning his attention back to Fernpaw.

Fernpaw. The kid who had somehow wiggled his way deep into a crevice of Kestrelstar's shattered heart, a place where few cats resided. "Fernpaw, how did you..." he began, but closed his mouth. Bringing up what had been announced at the Gathering would only scare him, and for once the gray tabby felt like he didn't need answers right away.

So instead, he bowed his head, neck and chin encompassing the rest of Fernpaw's body as it molded into his. Reminiscent of their first meeting, moons ago by river that separated their two Clans.

At some point, Kestrelstar was aware that he would have to return Fernpaw to his home (stars knew there were cats who would be happy to see him well); but for now, this little sliver of happiness - it was his.

// @BILL. @Kunaiskrill

[BEAR.]

"I--" Talking was hard, but Fernpaw was trying between sniffles. In Kestrel's embrace, he was slowly calming down. "I don't know why--" He didn't feel deserving. "There was so much blood, and I wasn't in the Stars." Where he was, he didn't know. But StarClan was not the realm he walked. It was something .. more neutral. He didn't know how else to describe it.

Safe. Protection. The shadows couldn't get him here, yet even that knowledge did little to ease the anxiety in his heart. He felt as if he was being watched, even now. Dark hounds and birds prowled beneath the shaded bracken. The thought made his chest tighten. "Twilight-- needs to know," desperation crept into his voice. "I don't know.. I don't know if the others made it out, but.." But what those monsters did to them, they could do to others.

[ @spade ]