Make sure to congratulate Versailles on their promotion from c-mod in training to fully fledged chat moderator! They've worked very hard, and we can't wait to see where they go from here!
Wandering the territory? Alone? Larkstar frowns at that. Are the warriors and queens so negligent that they don't notice a kit who strayed from camp and their care? And there's something wrong with his eyes too. Crouching down to eye level with the young thing, she notices his eyes definitely seem unfocused.
"Well," she starts gently, "there's nothing physically wrong, you just got a little lost, didn't you? Have you always had trouble seeing, or is this a new thing?" She asks, wondering if maybe they needed to visit Tansypaw.
"I hope it's not a lie..." the leader says under her breath at first. She doesn't wish to deceive her nephew, but, truthfully, she just wanted to remain hopeful that Falconfeather wouldn't up and disappear. He has a responsibility to RiverClan - greater than any warrior, greater even than her own responsibility - and he has kin that remains and will miss him and worry about him and be angry at him if he turns up again. But Wingkit continues so she turns her attention to what he's saying now. Scraps of fur... calls Falcon 'big bird'? Oh- that would be Shrikekit, right? Falcon had mentioned something about that. 'Another kid?' Lark thinks to herself, 'jeez, just how many nieces and nephews do I have?'
"Well... siblings don't have to be from the same litter," Larkstar point out, "they don't have to be blood related either - and if you don't want to, you don't have to think of him as your brother either?"
"Come on in," Larkstar says, wondering why Birdsnow would've scent the warrior to see her.
The proposition felt... a bit much. On the one paw, Lark understood Nightsparks protectiveness over her and the apparent unwillingness to lose another leader so soon. Again. But, on the other paw, was her safety really so important? Is the life of one more important than the rest of the lives in the clan? But... ok, maybe if it would put everyone at ease it would be fine?
"Ok..." she says tentatively, "if that'll put you more at ease then I'll allow it. And, speaking of Lionhearts, I've got a few candidates I'd like to run by you."
"Marigoldleap?" Larkstar says as the molly requests entrance, "Come on in, what can I do for you?"
"Oh," Larkstar says, "that's very sweet of you, thank you." She was glad the youngest generation seemed to admire her, because she really didn't feel like she was doing the best job at leading the clan - she had no clue what she was doing, she was basically just floundering around like a fish with her head bit off.
A new voice calls to her, this one she doesn't think she's ever really spoken to. But she knows the voice... Rushwater. Her impression of Rush is that he's calm and collected, a sort of stoic type. "Come on in," she invites, both a little curious and a little wary at what he may have to discuss.
the trio of kits lifted the shells that they were currently propping up with their heads to Larkstar.
"You're a great leader, you can make history if you try!" Soulkit mewed.
Smolderkit nodded in agreement.
Snowflakekit quietly Swished her tail as a way of showing respect.
Adderpaw
Determined, Loyal, Lawful Good
“One day I’ll be the greatest warrior of all the clans!”
Fresh from the meeting, Adderki-PAW walked into the leader's den. She looked nervous for a moment before her look switched to a more determined one as she mentally reassured herself. "Larkstar, is it ok if I tell you something? It will be quick, sorry if this is improper" Adderpaw said as she came to look into her leader's eyes. She was certain that Larkstar wouldn't get mad at her if she broke some rule of manners in the leader's den as this was her first time visiting and well Larkstar was a nice leader.
Wandering the territory? Alone? Larkstar frowns at that. Are the warriors and queens so negligent that they don't notice a kit who strayed from camp and their care? And there's something wrong with his eyes too. Crouching down to eye level with the young thing, she notices his eyes definitely seem unfocused.
"Well," she starts gently, "there's nothing physically wrong, you just got a little lost, didn't you? Have you always had trouble seeing, or is this a new thing?" She asks, wondering if maybe they needed to visit Tansypaw.
"I hope it's not a lie..." the leader says under her breath at first. She doesn't wish to deceive her nephew, but, truthfully, she just wanted to remain hopeful that Falconfeather wouldn't up and disappear. He has a responsibility to RiverClan - greater than any warrior, greater even than her own responsibility - and he has kin that remains and will miss him and worry about him and be angry at him if he turns up again. But Wingkit continues so she turns her attention to what he's saying now. Scraps of fur... calls Falcon 'big bird'? Oh- that would be Shrikekit, right? Falcon had mentioned something about that. 'Another kid?' Lark thinks to herself, 'jeez, just how many nieces and nephews do I have?'
"Well... siblings don't have to be from the same litter," Larkstar point out, "they don't have to be blood related either - and if you don't want to, you don't have to think of him as your brother either?"
"Come on in," Larkstar says, wondering why Birdsnow would've scent the warrior to see her.
The proposition felt... a bit much. On the one paw, Lark understood Nightsparks protectiveness over her and the apparent unwillingness to lose another leader so soon. Again. But, on the other paw, was her safety really so important? Is the life of one more important than the rest of the lives in the clan? But... ok, maybe if it would put everyone at ease it would be fine?
"Ok..." she says tentatively, "if that'll put you more at ease then I'll allow it. And, speaking of Lionhearts, I've got a few candidates I'd like to run by you."
"Marigoldleap?" Larkstar says as the molly requests entrance, "Come on in, what can I do for you?"
"Oh," Larkstar says, "that's very sweet of you, thank you." She was glad the youngest generation seemed to admire her, because she really didn't feel like she was doing the best job at leading the clan - she had no clue what she was doing, she was basically just floundering around like a fish with her head bit off.
A new voice calls to her, this one she doesn't think she's ever really spoken to. But she knows the voice... Rushwater. Her impression of Rush is that he's calm and collected, a sort of stoic type. "Come on in," she invites, both a little curious and a little wary at what he may have to discuss.
"Seeing?" he said confused "what do you mean?".
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☾ ⚝ ☽ "Hold on tight to this time and place 'cause everything you know will be erased"
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ Kitty Q&A!|Pronouns Page
"Yes... it's hard to sympathize until you're in the positions of power. I'm not sure why everyone prefers to make it so hard, it certainly doesn't help us with our problem with going through leaders so fast. I do believe that you'll do great, though, hopefully everyone will settle down after a few moons." She purred empathetically, praying that Larkstar wouldn't suffer the same downfall as Snowleap had. Publicly humiliated, mentally exhausted... it was a miracle anyone wanted to be leader at all!
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Padding into the den, clearly frustrated, Birdsnow dipped her head in greeting to Larkstar. "Larkstar I um... I was out at Lionsbeach when Sootpelt tried to kill me multiple times. Weaseltooth, Frostpaw and Charredpaw helped out some, and I wasn't sure what to do but then she revealed that she was pregnant, so I exiled her. I hope that was okay, I've just... I've never been in that position before and I didn't want her kits to pay for her mistakes." Larkstar out of everyone would know how hard those decisions were to be made. Birdsnow wouldn't get in trouble right? surely not. Right? Slight anxiety overtook her but she kept her face as calm as possible.
[ @FrostyGalaxy - i feel like there's always a bird report going on in here :sweats: they should just have a scheduled meeting every few days so bird can give her all the tea /lh /j ]
Fishpaw was not happy. Not at all. Now, this wasn’t anything unusual for the tom as he could often be found with a scowl, however, his mood was particularly bad on this occasion.
He didn’t know what had happened to the clan in the time he’d been missing, however, it seemed like everything went to mouse droppings and fell apart. THREE leaders have come and gone, and now what? A half-baked warrior for a deputy? C’mon now! Birdsnow had JUST been made a warrior, and you’re telling him that there was NO ONE more qualified? You’ve got to be joking. See him personally? He’d never have allowed a warrior who’d spent almost their entire 24 (or was she older now? He didn’t care.) existence as an apprentice. That was a problem.
Stepping into Larkstar’s den, the blue spotted tabby fixed the young leader with a cold stare. She was hardly qualified to be a leader too. Deputized at a young age, became leader after potentially murdering the previous one, couldn’t make a proper decision worth a damn, and was hardly older than he was. Hell, if he wanted to become leader and lord over these nincompoops, it seemed he could do so relatively unchallenged.
It was disgusting.
RiverClan had become a joke and this cat right in front of him was only adding to narrative. It was… Okay. That’s enough of that, he actually came in here for a reason and sneering at the she-cat wasn’t going to get this anywhere.
Sitting across from her, he scanned her features with hardly veiled contempt. He didn’t know how much time passed since he came into the den, nor did he particularly care. What mattered was that the perceived root of many of his problems was right in front of him.
”I’m going to be quite frank with you,” He said after the long, dragging silence ”I think you’re stupid.”
The small tom took a moment to look down at a paw, and pick at his claws for a moment before bringing his pale green eyes back up and fixing them on the young leader. ”Choosing Birdsnow for your deputy while your current standing within the clan is… questionable to say the least, was quite honestly the worst and possibly dumbest decision you could’ve ever made.” he deadpanned, deciding to give the other cat a bit of explanation.
Now, he wasn’t the most experienced with leadership, but pulling the stunt that she did while many cats, himself included, believed she may have been involved with Gingerstar’s death was just plain ignorant of her surroundings. Well. It was his job to set her and seemingly the rest of RiverClan straight it seemed. They’d be hopelessly loss had he not been here. She should be thanking him, really.
SycamoreSprout comes rushing in, huffing exhausted from, sprinting all the way here. "LARKSTAR!" she yells as she settles down trying to catch her breath. "It's AsterPaw, he's been torn apart by a FOX!" The small she-cat tries to elaborate some more but can't bring herself to.
SycamoreSprout speaks unsteadily, "I didn't know what to do, I didn't know whether to bring his body back or report it first. I can lead a patrol to go get it?" she offers completely torn at the death of a clanmate, it didn't help that it was a younger cat either, SycamoreSprout has a major soft spot for little ones. "May he hunt in StarClan." the damsel says still trying to find her words.
@FrostyGalaxy
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.・。.・゜✭ ・.・✭・゜・。.
❝ Marry me. I live in a trailer park, and I have no education, but my hair does this ❞
-Shawn Hunter
.・。.・゜✭・.・✭・゜・。.
larkstar invited rushwater in, and the blue-grey tabby wasted no time dipping his head (being tall wasn't all that great, honestly, it meant he nearly knocked his head on just about everything.) and slipping into the den with an efficient sort of grace befitting of one as calm as he.
"there's two main things that brought me here today," he began, sitting arrect just inside the entrance. he felt wholly awkward just being here, but he didn't betray himself by letting it show. he was reserved and collected- just as he had to be.
first was the thing eating at him. a mystery unsolved, clawing its way through his mind. "if you recall, i found minkpaw drowned at haven springs a few evenings ago." the memory was fresh. the taste of her wet fur lingered at the back of his throat, taunting him. "i'm certain it was murder. a skilled one at that, because they escaped the scene without leaving so much as a scent or a tuft of fur."
he paused, savoring his words as he picked them carefully, "i've been doing a bit of digging- investigating, if you will. i wanted to gather as much information as i could before presenting this to you. i'm. . . there wasn't a lot of evidence left at the scene, but from what i can gather, i don't think it was personal nor was it a kill of rage or fury or- you get my point."
"it was a kill for the sake of killing. i'm afraid we might soon have a repeating killer on our paws. i hope i'm wrong, but i doubt it."
rushwater let larkstar take in all of the information, watching her expectantly. after several heartbeats of silence, he concludes:
"i'd like to continue investigating this." he said, simply, "i feel as though it is my duty to riverclan to unveil this crime and prevent further needless death. this isn't something we can brute force, it must be careful observation and tact. it must be subtle. for this reason, i've neglected telling anyone but you, tansypaw and cherryswirl of the true nature of minkpaw's death. if theres too much of a stir, the killer will get antsy and more careful. we need every mistake we can get them to make if we're going to find them."
"with that being said, i felt that it was your right as leader to make the decision as to if this deserves further investigation or not."
so that does it, then? rushwater's shoulders relaxed a smidge once the whole spiel was over. it was a lot, he knew, but an apprentice was dead and by starclan he was not going to sit idly by when another might very well be next. the real question was if he'd honor an order to leave it be- to do exactly that. sit and watch. as much as he preferred to remain entirely within the rules, if he felt that such an order endangered riverclan-
no need to hypothesize when he'd be getting the answer in the next breath. rushwater's indigo blue eyes skimmed the floor idly, observing every little detail. his second topic of talk was much grander.
[]
Minkpaw's death a murder... that certainly felt more likely than the young apprentice drowning on her own right. While she'd been a little bereft of information regarding this situation beforehand, at least she was getting filled in now. And Rushwater had taken it upon himself to begin the ground work of investigation, stating clearly his reasons for keeping this silent for now. Lark had to admit that was a smart call - she'd likely have told the whole clan about the suspicions of murder if he hadn't presented this reason to keep it quiet, too worried about not lying to those she was meant to lead to focus on if being honest all the time was always the smart move.
"Thank you for telling me this," she says, a troubled look in her eyes. If this was going to be a recurring problem, cats getting murdered by someone so skilled not even a scrap of fur or a whiff of scent was found, that would certainly pose a large problem. "Yes, I agree, keep investigating. Let me know any big breakthroughs you come too - especially if you suspect the culprit to be among our own ranks." Stars... would someone in RiverClan do this? Larkwing didn't want to think of such a scenario - she'd already had to take care of an attempt on her own life, and that hadn't been skillful or quiet at all. "And, uhm, the other thing you wanted to talk about it?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by MintyBea
"Um... Hi! I don't know if you remember me... But I'm Roseheart, and I was a RiverClan warrior when Sootstar was leader." Roseheart was trying (and failing miserably) to not let her anxiety show. "I got lost on patrol, and a lot happened, and I was gone for, uhh..." She took a sharp breath in. "...quite some time, evidently." She forced a laugh, then licked the fur on her chest. After a while, she walked up close to Larkstar.
"Uh, sorry," Larkstar begins, feeling suddenly a little self conscious of her young age. "I was born after Sootstar's time as leader, so I'm afraid I don't remember - sorry again." Why was she apologizing for not being born yet? That's a little stupid now that she's thinking about it - she can't help when she was born.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thechaoticdigitalcircus
the trio of kits lifted the shells that they were currently propping up with their heads to Larkstar.
"You're a great leader, you can make history if you try!" Soulkit mewed.
Smolderkit nodded in agreement.
Snowflakekit quietly Swished her tail as a way of showing respect.
She takes the shells from the kits and places them near her nest carefully, making sure they don't crack or break, before smiling gratefully back at the three kits. "They're lovely - and I'll do my best." She adds at Soulkit's comment. She doesn't feel like she's able to make history, doesn't feel like she has what it takes, but maybe some cats think she does, and that's what matters, isn't it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheLostAmongTheStars
Adderpaw
Determined, Loyal, Lawful Good
“One day I’ll be the greatest warrior of all the clans!”
Fresh from the meeting, Adderki-PAW walked into the leader's den. She looked nervous for a moment before her look switched to a more determined one as she mentally reassured herself. "Larkstar, is it ok if I tell you something? It will be quick, sorry if this is improper" Adderpaw said as she came to look into her leader's eyes. She was certain that Larkstar wouldn't get mad at her if she broke some rule of manners in the leader's den as this was her first time visiting and well Larkstar was a nice leader.
"Adderpaw?" Larkstar asks, noticing the kit she had just apprenticed finding her way into her den, "what do you want to tell me?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by _Eclipse_
"Seeing?" he said confused "what do you mean?".
"Ah, ok, so it's not a new thing - nevermind what 'seeing' means for now, Applebees? Can you escort him back to the nursery?"
[ @Leafy ]
Quote:
Originally Posted by poppy
Birdsnow
"Yes... it's hard to sympathize until you're in the positions of power. I'm not sure why everyone prefers to make it so hard, it certainly doesn't help us with our problem with going through leaders so fast. I do believe that you'll do great, though, hopefully everyone will settle down after a few moons." She purred empathetically, praying that Larkstar wouldn't suffer the same downfall as Snowleap had. Publicly humiliated, mentally exhausted... it was a miracle anyone wanted to be leader at all!
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Padding into the den, clearly frustrated, Birdsnow dipped her head in greeting to Larkstar. "Larkstar I um... I was out at Lionsbeach when Sootpelt tried to kill me multiple times. Weaseltooth, Frostpaw and Charredpaw helped out some, and I wasn't sure what to do but then she revealed that she was pregnant, so I exiled her. I hope that was okay, I've just... I've never been in that position before and I didn't want her kits to pay for her mistakes." Larkstar out of everyone would know how hard those decisions were to be made. Birdsnow wouldn't get in trouble right? surely not. Right? Slight anxiety overtook her but she kept her face as calm as possible.
[ @FrostyGalaxy - i feel like there's always a bird report going on in here :sweats: they should just have a scheduled meeting every few days so bird can give her all the tea /lh /j ]
"Yes, I hope so," the molly says wearily, weight heavy on her shoulders. This is so much harder than she anticipated it was going to be - this whole leading thing. Not that she thought it would be easy she just... well, she hadn't really thought about it much. She thought she had time. But she was wrong.
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Birdsnow pads into the den, frustrated, fur ruffled, and Lark briefly thinks she might be in trouble - that is until the molly opens her maw to speak. Sootpelt? Had tried to murder Bird? What was up with RiverClan and attempted assassinations lately? She sort of guessed some cats might not exactly be thrilled with her choice in deputy, but she hadn't expected attempted murder - or that Sootpelt was expecting kits. Lark had thought Soot to be rather level headed, but apparently not. Regardless, this information was troubling to say the least. "No... no you did fine... I just worry - what if she comes back seeking revenge? But- no you couldn't have killed her, her kits would've been lost too..." troubled, Larkstar trails off.
[ lark and bird form a book club where they don't read anything it's just an excuse to talk gossip lmao ]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dark
Fishpaw /100
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Fishpaw was not happy. Not at all. Now, this wasn’t anything unusual for the tom as he could often be found with a scowl, however, his mood was particularly bad on this occasion.
He didn’t know what had happened to the clan in the time he’d been missing, however, it seemed like everything went to mouse droppings and fell apart. THREE leaders have come and gone, and now what? A half-baked warrior for a deputy? C’mon now! Birdsnow had JUST been made a warrior, and you’re telling him that there was NO ONE more qualified? You’ve got to be joking. See him personally? He’d never have allowed a warrior who’d spent almost their entire 24 (or was she older now? He didn’t care.) existence as an apprentice. That was a problem.
Stepping into Larkstar’s den, the blue spotted tabby fixed the young leader with a cold stare. She was hardly qualified to be a leader too. Deputized at a young age, became leader after potentially murdering the previous one, couldn’t make a proper decision worth a damn, and was hardly older than he was. Hell, if he wanted to become leader and lord over these nincompoops, it seemed he could do so relatively unchallenged.
It was disgusting.
RiverClan had become a joke and this cat right in front of him was only adding to narrative. It was… Okay. That’s enough of that, he actually came in here for a reason and sneering at the she-cat wasn’t going to get this anywhere.
Sitting across from her, he scanned her features with hardly veiled contempt. He didn’t know how much time passed since he came into the den, nor did he particularly care. What mattered was that the perceived root of many of his problems was right in front of him.
”I’m going to be quite frank with you,” He said after the long, dragging silence ”I think you’re stupid.”
The small tom took a moment to look down at a paw, and pick at his claws for a moment before bringing his pale green eyes back up and fixing them on the young leader. ”Choosing Birdsnow for your deputy while your current standing within the clan is… questionable to say the least, was quite honestly the worst and possibly dumbest decision you could’ve ever made.” he deadpanned, deciding to give the other cat a bit of explanation.
Now, he wasn’t the most experienced with leadership, but pulling the stunt that she did while many cats, himself included, believed she may have been involved with Gingerstar’s death was just plain ignorant of her surroundings. Well. It was his job to set her and seemingly the rest of RiverClan straight it seemed. They’d be hopelessly loss had he not been here. She should be thanking him, really.
She was licking her wounds when Fishpaw entered unannounced - not that that was any issue really, she didn't exactly mind anyone coming into her den unannounced (or, if she did, she wasn't about to make that known). What she did find rather uncomfortable, however, was the way the apprentice just... stared at her. He didn't say a single thing for several heartbeats. Was this his goal? To unnerve the leader who was not that much older than even he was? Because if that's what he wanted to accomplish, he was certainly doing a great job of it.
And, when he did finally open his mouth, the first thing he said was not kind, the words were prickly and wrapped around the tortoiseshell like a thorn bush. "I'm going to be quite frank with you, I think you're stupid." he'd said. And he was certainly truthful in that the words were frank and even more sincere in his belief of what he'd said, not one thing about the apprentice's body language indicated he might be lying. And then he kept speaking and... ah, so his goal here was to criticize her choice in deputy.
Blue-grey fur starts to bristle at the comments. Here he was, criticizing the one cat in the clan Larkstar was absolutely certain she could trust. If she were a better person, Lark may have been able to see reason behind his words, may have been able to approach this conversation at a better angle, but alarms were ringing in her head. Did he want her dead, too? Was he here to kill her? Had he been working with Spiderleap? Is she safe in her own den? There's only one exit, and the apprentice is blocking it. Could she get past him? Would she have to kill this one, too? Further stain her paws red? She didn't want to, but what choice would she have?
"And what do you propose I do instead?" She asks, a snarl in her voice that she did not give permission to be there, "choose between a number of cats who may or may not want me dead? At least I know Birdsnow won't deign to kill me in my sleep. At least I know that much." She shouldn't let her insecurities show, she really shouldn't, but right now she feels as if she is backed into a corner, a scared little kid who has no idea what she's doing.
SycamoreSprout comes rushing in, huffing exhausted from, sprinting all the way here. "LARKSTAR!" she yells as she settles down trying to catch her breath. "It's AsterPaw, he's been torn apart by a FOX!" The small she-cat tries to elaborate some more but can't bring herself to.
SycamoreSprout speaks unsteadily, "I didn't know what to do, I didn't know whether to bring his body back or report it first. I can lead a patrol to go get it?" she offers completely torn at the death of a clanmate, it didn't help that it was a younger cat either, SycamoreSprout has a major soft spot for little ones. "May he hunt in StarClan." the damsel says still trying to find her words.
@FrostyGalaxy
"A fox?" Larkstar says almost breathlessly. She'd never personally seen one before. "Yes- uh- thank you for telling me, take a patrol with you to retrieve the body." There's more she wants to say, she wants to organize a patrol to take care of that fox for good, but she can't bring herself to say the words, too stunned by Sycamore's report.
Minkpaw's death a murder... that certainly felt more likely than the young apprentice drowning on her own right. While she'd been a little bereft of information regarding this situation beforehand, at least she was getting filled in now. And Rushwater had taken it upon himself to begin the ground work of investigation, stating clearly his reasons for keeping this silent for now. Lark had to admit that was a smart call - she'd likely have told the whole clan about the suspicions of murder if he hadn't presented this reason to keep it quiet, too worried about not lying to those she was meant to lead to focus on if being honest all the time was always the smart move.
"Thank you for telling me this," she says, a troubled look in her eyes. If this was going to be a recurring problem, cats getting murdered by someone so skilled not even a scrap of fur or a whiff of scent was found, that would certainly pose a large problem. "Yes, I agree, keep investigating. Let me know any big breakthroughs you come too - especially if you suspect the culprit to be among our own ranks." Stars... would someone in RiverClan do this? Larkwing didn't want to think of such a scenario - she'd already had to take care of an attempt on her own life, and that hadn't been skillful or quiet at all. "And, uhm, the other thing you wanted to talk about it?"
"Uh, sorry," Larkstar begins, feeling suddenly a little self conscious of her young age. "I was born after Sootstar's time as leader, so I'm afraid I don't remember - sorry again." Why was she apologizing for not being born yet? That's a little stupid now that she's thinking about it - she can't help when she was born.
She takes the shells from the kits and places them near her nest carefully, making sure they don't crack or break, before smiling gratefully back at the three kits. "They're lovely - and I'll do my best." She adds at Soulkit's comment. She doesn't feel like she's able to make history, doesn't feel like she has what it takes, but maybe some cats think she does, and that's what matters, isn't it?
"Adderpaw?" Larkstar asks, noticing the kit she had just apprenticed finding her way into her den, "what do you want to tell me?"
"Ah, ok, so it's not a new thing - nevermind what 'seeing' means for now, Applebees? Can you escort him back to the nursery?"
[ @Leafy ]
"Yes, I hope so," the molly says wearily, weight heavy on her shoulders. This is so much harder than she anticipated it was going to be - this whole leading thing. Not that she thought it would be easy she just... well, she hadn't really thought about it much. She thought she had time. But she was wrong.
__________
Birdsnow pads into the den, frustrated, fur ruffled, and Lark briefly thinks she might be in trouble - that is until the molly opens her maw to speak. Sootpelt? Had tried to murder Bird? What was up with RiverClan and attempted assassinations lately? She sort of guessed some cats might not exactly be thrilled with her choice in deputy, but she hadn't expected attempted murder - or that Sootpelt was expecting kits. Lark had thought Soot to be rather level headed, but apparently not. Regardless, this information was troubling to say the least. "No... no you did fine... I just worry - what if she comes back seeking revenge? But- no you couldn't have killed her, her kits would've been lost too..." troubled, Larkstar trails off.
[ lark and bird form a book club where they don't read anything it's just an excuse to talk gossip lmao ]
She was licking her wounds when Fishpaw entered unannounced - not that that was any issue really, she didn't exactly mind anyone coming into her den unannounced (or, if she did, she wasn't about to make that known). What she did find rather uncomfortable, however, was the way the apprentice just... stared at her. He didn't say a single thing for several heartbeats. Was this his goal? To unnerve the leader who was not that much older than even he was? Because if that's what he wanted to accomplish, he was certainly doing a great job of it.
And, when he did finally open his mouth, the first thing he said was not kind, the words were prickly and wrapped around the tortoiseshell like a thorn bush. "I'm going to be quite frank with you, I think you're stupid." he'd said. And he was certainly truthful in that the words were frank and even more sincere in his belief of what he'd said, not one thing about the apprentice's body language indicated he might be lying. And then he kept speaking and... ah, so his goal here was to criticize her choice in deputy.
Blue-grey fur starts to bristle at the comments. Here he was, criticizing the one cat in the clan Larkstar was absolutely certain she could trust. If she were a better person, Lark may have been able to see reason behind his words, may have been able to approach this conversation at a better angle, but alarms were ringing in her head. Did he want her dead, too? Was he here to kill her? Had he been working with Spiderleap? Is she safe in her own den? There's only one exit, and the apprentice is blocking it. Could she get past him? Would she have to kill this one, too? Further stain her paws red? She didn't want to, but what choice would she have?
"And what do you propose I do instead?" She asks, a snarl in her voice that she did not give permission to be there, "choose between a number of cats who may or may not want me dead? At least I know Birdsnow won't deign to kill me in my sleep. At least I know that much." She shouldn't let her insecurities show, she really shouldn't, but right now she feels as if she is backed into a corner, a scared little kid who has no idea what she's doing.
"A fox?" Larkstar says almost breathlessly. She'd never personally seen one before. "Yes- uh- thank you for telling me, take a patrol with you to retrieve the body." There's more she wants to say, she wants to organize a patrol to take care of that fox for good, but she can't bring herself to say the words, too stunned by Sycamore's report.
Adderpaw
Determined, Loyal, Lawful Good
“One day I’ll be the greatest warrior of all the clans!”
Adderpaw took a moment to take a deep breath, she felt so nervous about this but the fire in her heart burned for this and she wasn't just going to give up so easily. When was one not supposed to feel fear? "I'M GOING TO BE YOUR BODYGUARD SO YOU STAY SAFE!'' She shouted out before flicking her ear awkwardly shocked she did that. "Er.. When I become a warrior and... Know what, no I'll do it now I'll train to be the greatest warrior and help protect you Larkstar." She almost tried to hold back what she really wanted, what she really meant feeling nervous about how it came across. Though Adderpaw decided that no, this is what she meant and she wasn't going to hide her feelings.
"Larkstar when I heard the news about someone trying to hurt you.. To.. Ugh its hard to say it fully and I wasn't even the one in that situation! Anger boils in my stomach and I want to fit it to something more productive with it than just be angry." She took a moment to catch her breath as she had been yelling and speaking a lot. "I heard one leader go before I was born then two more left before I became an apprentice. I hate to make this sound like its all about me but it helps explain. I want there to be order, all this chaos has harmed our clan too much! I want to protect the order."
Adderpaw looked at her paws, she had her claws out in the dirt and she didn't even realize; maybe that happened when she spoke about someone trying to hurt Larkstar. She sheathed her claws back, it was improper to keep your claws out like that in front of a leader. "You are order. The warrior code is order. It is how things should be, chaos has been ruining everything.." She lowered her ear and her voice went low.
Suddenly Adderpaw stopped staring at her paws and jumped up to all fours looking like she was about ready to pounce on the world. "So I'm going to protect you! And that's how it's going to be!" She was very determined in her convictions.
Unbothered by his leader’s show of aggression, Fishpaw settled down into a laying position with his paws folded underneath him. ”Hold on now, don’t get your fur in a twist,” He said with a long yawn ”I’m not here to hurt you. Honestly, I couldn’t be bothered even if I didn’t like you enough to warrant aggression.” The truth. One, he was quite small and didn’t have any substantial training under his pelt after going missing. And two, the effort needed to attack her was just not worth it. Not even out of spite.
”But to answer your question, yes. Choosing a more experienced cat would have been ideal,” He said, squinting at her with disapproval. ”Now I won’t pretend to know everything that’s been going on, as I spent a great deal of time lost due to the flood and the accident…” He shuddered at the thought of his near-death experience in the river ”But I do know one thing, and that is picking Birdsnow as your deputy was a terrible idea.”
Waving his paw to silence any potential argument, he continued. ”She’s been an apprentice my entire life, and despite my small size, I am 15 moons old. Additionally, she was just made a warrior at the meeting before this most recent one, and now she’s the deputy? There would understandably be a lot of outrage.” He didn’t want to waste any time so he got straight to the root of the present issue. Birdsnow just wasn’t a candidate that made sense. Sure, she could’ve justified it by saying the deputy was experienced, but to what degree? And even if that were the case, with the current unrest in the clan, promoting a fresh warrior straight to deputy was a bad move.
Fixing his eyes on the leader, he stared at her scrutinizingly. Ugh. ”What I’d have done was this: I’d have promoted a senior warrior to the position of deputy, one that doesn’t seem to be a total crazy. Just to appease the group. Then I’d have surrounded myself with a group of cats that I could trust, which in your case would include Birdsnow and… Well, others I’m sure. From there I’d make sure that at least one of them is with me at all times should a murder be attempted. Lastly, I’d have worked to improve my standing within the clan. As to how? I’m not sure, but that’s a later problem.” Basic stuff really, he didn’t understand how Larkstar hadn’t thought of a similar plan before.
”Let’s be honest here, your position in the clan is… mediocre at best. Half the clan thinks you and Featherbrain killed Gingerstar. More believe you’re incompetent or too young for the position-” He frowned as he said this, as he was in the second group of cats. He then took a look at the she-cat’s wounds and shook his head in disapproval. “Evidently, you’ve had an attempt on your life as well. And lastly, you gave what is essentially a 30-moon-old apprentice the second most important role within the clan. What you need right now is more allies, and in my humble opinion you’re doing a crappy job of finding some.” A shake of his head, followed by an exasperated sigh. ”Oh, I nearly forgot!” He said, bristling a little himself as he recalled a certain small she-cat that he may have been an ass to ”Minkpaw was murdered on our territory!”
Officially, she was declared “drowned”, but the tom knew that was a load of mouse-droppings. He had reason to believe that she was murdered, but that may just be the skeptic in him. He hadn’t the faintest clue who it was, or why, but whoever did it likely wouldn’t just stop at her. Whatever, that was for Larkstar to deal with and not him. Should he even refer to her as Larkstar? She had one life just like the rest of them, what made her so special? A failure. Just like Beansprout and Gingerfrost before her. If StarClan wouldn’t recognize them, then neither would he!
Rising to his paws, he lazily (and non-threateningly) approached the she-cat until he was right in her face. ”It’s not too late for you to choose someone else, however, you’ve made your decision and I believe you should stick with it. The question now is: What are you going to do? Are you going to control this mess of a clan? Will you force them to submit? Or are you going to allow everyone to walk all over you?” He challenged, unable to keep the slight growl out of his voice. ”I’m going to tell you the truth and say that I don’t have any hopes for you. None at all. However, I’ll be damned before I allow RiverClan to continue this downward spiral into ruin without saying anything. So what I want you to do is get your act together. Stop being so nice to those who act out and show them that you’re the boss. Show them that you make the rules and that they are to do what you say.” A small grin tugged at his lips when he said this, delighting in the possibility that something in this stars-forsaken clan would change. ”Show me that you’re not a failure and you’re worthy of your position. Earn your lives and turn this mess of a clan into something worth fearing. The other clans in this forest don’t respect us, and your own warriors don’t respect you – which I couldn’t care less about but I digress. Get this clan into shape and maybe…” A brief pause, as if he was undecided on what he should say. ”Maybe I’ll consider helping you out. There’s not much I can do while I wait for my training to conclude – shouldn’t be too long now, however, I can see what I can do about gathering some of your supporters and gathering intel for the time being, though I loathe to talk to these idiots for extended periods of time.” He’d given the idea a bit of thought before, however, he was still undecided on whether it was worth his effort or not.
There, he was done. He spent that whole time pointing out Larkwing’s flaws, but he also offered her what he felt was a fair solution. He hated the idea of going out of his way to help someone out, but this was his clan. As much as he didn’t like where things were, this was his home, and he somewhat liked Cherryswirl so he figured he would do something so that she wasn’t stuck in a stagnant clan for the rest of her life (she wasn’t getting any younger!). She better thank him for this if this brat in front of him gave him the time of day to even consider his offer of help. Hell, he’d be disappointed if the young leader didn’t tell him off for being as bold as he was. Frankly, he just wasn’t scared of her. Hopefully, she’d provide him with a bit of entertainment before he was either kicked out, dragged out, or left of his own accord.
[ @FrostyGalaxy Sorry that he’s a meanie butt! Also I didn’t intend for this to be as long as it is, whoops! Additionally, if Lark gets mad, feel free to have pp perms to beat the lad up. Nothing permanently debilitating, but a little whack and a pow won’t hurt anyone. Ofc if it's more in character for Lark, I hereby grant you staff and pp perms to murder the rat]
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Little Disclaimer: I live in EST (UTC-5) and my sleep schedule is completely messed up, so posts may be erratic My Characters
Wandering the territory? Alone? Larkstar frowns at that. Are the warriors and queens so negligent that they don't notice a kit who strayed from camp and their care? And there's something wrong with his eyes too. Crouching down to eye level with the young thing, she notices his eyes definitely seem unfocused.
"Well," she starts gently, "there's nothing physically wrong, you just got a little lost, didn't you? Have you always had trouble seeing, or is this a new thing?" She asks, wondering if maybe they needed to visit Tansypaw.
"I hope it's not a lie..." the leader says under her breath at first. She doesn't wish to deceive her nephew, but, truthfully, she just wanted to remain hopeful that Falconfeather wouldn't up and disappear. He has a responsibility to RiverClan - greater than any warrior, greater even than her own responsibility - and he has kin that remains and will miss him and worry about him and be angry at him if he turns up again. But Wingkit continues so she turns her attention to what he's saying now. Scraps of fur... calls Falcon 'big bird'? Oh- that would be Shrikekit, right? Falcon had mentioned something about that. 'Another kid?' Lark thinks to herself, 'jeez, just how many nieces and nephews do I have?'
"Well... siblings don't have to be from the same litter," Larkstar point out, "they don't have to be blood related either - and if you don't want to, you don't have to think of him as your brother either?"
"Come on in," Larkstar says, wondering why Birdsnow would've scent the warrior to see her.
The proposition felt... a bit much. On the one paw, Lark understood Nightsparks protectiveness over her and the apparent unwillingness to lose another leader so soon. Again. But, on the other paw, was her safety really so important? Is the life of one more important than the rest of the lives in the clan? But... ok, maybe if it would put everyone at ease it would be fine?
"Ok..." she says tentatively, "if that'll put you more at ease then I'll allow it. And, speaking of Lionhearts, I've got a few candidates I'd like to run by you."
"Marigoldleap?" Larkstar says as the molly requests entrance, "Come on in, what can I do for you?"
"Oh," Larkstar says, "that's very sweet of you, thank you." She was glad the youngest generation seemed to admire her, because she really didn't feel like she was doing the best job at leading the clan - she had no clue what she was doing, she was basically just floundering around like a fish with her head bit off.
A new voice calls to her, this one she doesn't think she's ever really spoken to. But she knows the voice... Rushwater. Her impression of Rush is that he's calm and collected, a sort of stoic type. "Come on in," she invites, both a little curious and a little wary at what he may have to discuss.
Nightspark
RiverClan Head Lionheart Purrks: Just a scratch (permanently active), Rapid Recovery (permanently active)
"Thank you Larkstar." Nightspark responded, with a slight tone of relief. His eyes sparkled as he heard that Larkstar had found some new candidates.
"Who are the ones you have chosen?"
Asked the Head Lionheart.
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"I am ash... I am embers... My flames once danced bright. My flames now fade... But it returns from the depths... The fire devours me whole... It's the birth of something greater..."
Re: RiverClan Leader's Den
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