High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

**SplashyLumi** · #**17161** June 3rd, 2022, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marni

High Rank Announcement [#hrannouncement]

As expected came the roar of her Clanmates. Dovecloud was regarded with a curious expression, but Sparrowflight and Batblood seemed equipped enough to handle it for which she was glad. She figured it would be of no use pointing out the ridiculousness of the notion of breaking his leg in return since several others had that covered.

A few voices called for him to be demoted - an idea that Cinderstar was not entirely comfortable with. After all, she did not want him anywhere near their apprentices where he could potentially harm yet another young, growing mind. Some spoke of putting him on a watch of sorts, which she could see happening - but a cat like Sleethound could easily manipulate his way out of that, she knew.

Those who spoke for exile, Cinderstar was not surprised. Lead by Buckbranch, several others followed until her gaze snapped to a cat she had been most expectant to hear from. Shallowshiver had been his mate at one point, though when that ended Cinderstar was unsure. But she listened intently, blue eyes seeming to flash with an unrecognizable emotion. The large dark furred feline had a point - placing him with those he's harmed the most would only end in disaster.

Wolfspirit's voice rose above the crowd next, and Cinderstar shot him a stern look. She had asked for opinions, not screaming, and the fact that he was a full grown warrior shouting his head off frustrated her. And it seemed he had his facts wrong if he was pointing out that Cinderpaw's leg injury was from rough training. Still, she took in his words before moving on.

It was then her daughter spoke, and Cinderstar was drawn to what she said. Her gaze visibly softened landing upon her, and she could tell that there was some sort of personal experience she was drawing off of. Her heart ached to imagine how difficult this must be for her, to have the possibility of the cat who had so willingly tossed his own kin off the Thunderwillow with blatant disregard to share a den with her. It made Cinderstar sick too. As she met her gaze, Cinderstar returned Softpaw's nod in acknowledgement.

As she was prepared to move on and deliver his punishment, a softer yet confident voice spoke up, and Cinderstar turned to see Brightpath stepping forward. Surprise registered for just a second before the newly named warrior began speaking. Her eyes widened at the revelation and flickered to the prisoners den where she assumed the tom was. He had given Brightpath those marks? She tried to remember what sort of reasoning had been given at the time when they had first come back to camp with them, but all Cinderstar could see was violent red.

'He left me. Outside of camp walls. In a pool of my own blood.'

Suddenly something akin to a switch flipped inside the leader. Gone was her neutral expression, replaced by that of anger. Her eyes narrowed with a raging infero, flickering flames serving to heat up her pelt. Still though, she gave a deep nod to Brightpath, an acknowledgement of her stepping forward. It was brave, and it was something not many could do. Her heart went out to the young cat, who had perhaps gripped all of the courage they had left with tight paws and pushed forward to make sure that justice was delivered.

Then her eyes snapped to the one voice she had expected to hear; Sleethound. Her blood turned into chips of ice, shard digging at exposed nerves and sending alarm signals all up and down her body. Ants felt like they were crawling under every inch of her pelt, and without a second though the silver bengal leapt down from the tree and strode over to Sleethound.

"You disgust me."

A sneer, followed quickly by a look of utter distaste. Blue eyes burned like fire, an inferno fueled by memories of the past, many moons old. She stood rigid, muscles tense as if preparing for this cat to strike out at her. History told her he might - cats like him always did. They always said some suave sentiments and conjoined charismatic words to get others to turn the other cheek and deem them worthy of a second chance.

Sleethound would not get that chance. Not today, not ever. Not while Cinderstar was leader and not while she still had air in her lungs to speak up for the injustice his actions caused, for the pain and trauma they had sewn.

"When Cinderpaw returns," Cinderstar continued, her voice eerily calm. A single twitch of her ear. "I will tell her what I wish someone would have told me. That you are nothing but a fraud. You puppeteer the minds of your Clanmates into holding you to a high degree when in reality you are a coward. You use violence to get your way and you disregard the consequences. I will tell her that I know how heartbreaking it is, to have the vision of your parent shattered before your eyes. To see who they are once the veil is lifted. I will make her understand that she deserves so much better than you as a father. She deserves to be held to the highest degree, not only because of what she has done for this Clan but because she has far surpassed you in every aspect of life. I will tell her that if she is to grieve, it will be of who you pretended to be, and not for who you actually are."

Blood roared in her ears, blocking out everything but the cat before her. Not once had she raised her voice, and not once had she lashed out with unjustifiable words. Cinderstar spoke from experience, from memories she had as a young kit. "You are no longer a ThunderClan cat, and as far as I am concerned you are no longer a cat. You are no better than the crow-food that rots along the side of the Thunderpath. Leave. If I catch you on ThunderClan territory after sundown, I will shred you." A hint of venom laced her words, a badly concealed threat but Cinderstar showed no notion of trying to hide it.

"Shallowshiver," she called for the she-cat, not breaking her gaze away from the rat before her, "escort him to the border. Make sure he leaves, and if he argues remind him of what was said here today." Cinderstar stayed, unmoving as her blue gaze was locked onto Sleethound. She would not continue this meeting until he was gone from this Clan, and no longer a threat to those within its walls.

[ sleethound has been exiled ]

Dovecloud was shocked,horrified at the fact her idea wasn't used "Break Sleets leg!" She shouted,angrily

**Captain** · #**17162** June 3rd, 2022, 02:22 PM

Brightpath | they/she/he
➢ As soon as the words left her mouth, there was a weight that seemed to be lifted off of her shoulders. The anxiety was still there though and it was a miracle within itself that the newly-named warrior didn’t vomit from the stress that all this had caused. Cats began to react though, looking at Brightpath with surprise and disgust aimed towards Sleethound even more than they already held. The first cat that the young calico heard was Foxspring, which made her turn to look at the senior ThunderClan warrior that had taught her how to climb trees and comforted her when she had lost one of her claws. He sneered and called out that the tomcat, Sleethound, be cast out for what he had done to their clanmates. Brightpath couldn’t bring herself to smile right now, but as Foxspring and her met gazes, she hoped that he could see the thankfulness within her green eyes. The scarred tomcat meant a lot to the tortie, even if the two hadn’t talked too much recently.

Then, the familiar form of Sleethound himself emerged from the prisoner’s den and the torbie feline’s blood ran cold. He offered Brightpath no words, but the look that he gave them made the fur on the back of their neck stand up. Part of the young warrior wanted to run and hide behind Foxspring in fear that he’d lash out onto them.However, the tortoiseshell warrior held their ground and pulled their lips back to snarl at Sleethound. Their gaze flickered to his ear and then back to his eyes, almost like Brightpath was threatening him. Back when they were still an apprentice, they had managed to tear out a chunk of Sleethound’s ear. She silently vowed to do so much worse if he came any closer.

Cinderstar then leapt from the Thunderwillow and stalked towards the tomcat with a vicious anger written all over the molly. There was a very delicious satisfaction in hearing the clan leader call out the foxheart for all that he had done and exile him right here, right now. Maybe it was weird, but it made Brightpath feel… safe. They felt protected by Cinderstar and the rest of the clan at that moment. The white, orange and brown-furred feline then looked to Softpaw, who was yelling at Sleethound for being the repulsive asshole that he deserved to be called. Brightpath could only hope that Shallowshiver would give Sleethound a few scars on his way out of ThunderClan’s land. A smirk came to their muzzle for a moment as one cat even called for Sleethound's leg to be broken. That would certainly be an interesting sight to see.

Brightpath stood there, facing Sleethound, along with Cinderstar and many other ThunderClan cats. Her eyes were fixed on the tomcat and her teeth were still bared. Now, they weren't as afraid anymore, knowing they had their clan on their side. Sleethound could rot elsewhere.

{ @marni @sid @Memento Mori @WinterMara @/anyone else }

**Abyssopelagic** · #**17163** June 3rd, 2022, 02:43 PM

Dimhazel stared in stunned silence as Sleethound's trial went on. They listened to each vote, outcry, and opinion they could manage from where they stood and really, exile didn't seem like the best idea, not without warning the other Clans not to accept him, and of what he's done (perhaps not ShadowClan, they might be all too eager to take in someone like him).
They ended up not speaking as the air was already so crowded with other voices, when Sleethound appeared himself. They narrowed their eyes at him and their claws gripped the ground as he spoke. He didn't deny anything (not that they were sure anyone would believe him, with what every cat had seen from what they heard and now Brightpath's words), and his only defense was how upset one cat, one he'd hurt, would react to hearing this.
Their heart ached for Brightpath and any other cat that must have suffered at his paws.
The moment Sleethound's gaze, even briefly, roved to where Softpaw sat after she spoke, Dimhazel stepped a few paces forward and stared him down, teeth slightly bared and daring him to come any closer.
They were not the happiest about the fact only Shallowshiver was being sent to escort him, but the decision was made, and they'd all be the better for it.
They'd wait until he left to ask to speak to Cinderstar about alerting the other Clans. They didn't need a cat like him with the ability to hurt any apprentices.

**Lilacquartz** · #**17164** June 3rd, 2022, 04:50 PM

Quailfur curled in her nest, her striped silver fur shined through the small patches of the nursery. Her swollen belly visible as she lumped around. She was almost close to kitting, just 1 more moon should do it. She watched the kits in the nursery with her green eyes, lovingly looking at them imagining she would get some of her own quite soon.

[ BUMP after 24HRS ]

**Quasar** · #**17165** June 3rd, 2022, 04:53 PM

Shallowshiver | they/them | @sid @zenosaurus for mentions of bright

The warrior felt a certain amount of relief as most of the clan spoke up with a similar opinion to their own, their shoulder dropping ever so slightly. Maybe he would be removed from the clan and no other cats would be harmed by him again. Still, they doubted that he would let this go so easily. After all, now that his actions had come back to bite him there wasnt much of a point in keeping up the mask he clung to so desperately.

Then, Brightpath said something that made a brand new wave of disgust, anger, and horror flood through them. They had always wondered where exactly the younger cat had gotten those scars, but the possibility of them being inflicted by a clanmate was something they refused to think was possible. And yet, that was exactly what had happened. This was only further proof that he needed to be kicked out of the clan as soon as possible, not only for the safety of the clan, but to give Brightpath at least some closure.

And then, the beast spoke. He brought up a name that he had no right speaking of, and immediately Shallowshiver surged forward with blazing eyes. "How dare you." their voice came out in a low rumble, dripping with venom, "How dare you use her as a sorry attempt of staying in this clan. I know that you dont care about how she feels, about how Brightpath feels. Your actions are enough to prove that. Cinderpaw only wished to forgive you because she believed that she was the only cat you hurt, and you took advantage of that. You are twisting her feelings into a narrative that you believe will make you look better, but I refuse to fall for your lies once again. You dont deserve to call her your daughter"

As Cinderstar started speaking, they stepped back to give her room to take a swing at him, pleasure glittering in their orange gaze. Finally, justice was getting served. "Gladly, Cinderstar" they gave a nod to the leader before padding up to Sleethound, "Try anything, and I will shred you myself. Lets go" they hissed, claws digging into the dirt below their paws.

**Poprock** · #**17166** June 3rd, 2022, 05:41 PM

@Atticus
Echosong knew very little about Sleethound. Aside from observing his sleazy behavior and being forced to listen to his stupid opinions time to time... the two had hardly ever interacted. She was happy it stayed that way. As more and more cats began to speak out against the prisoner - Shallowshiver included- the warrior began to feel rage bubble in her stomach.

Not only did he throw Cinderpaw out of the Thunderwillow, but he attacked an another apprentice? And we are only just now finding out about it? Even worse, he wasn't even sorry. He didn't regret a single thing he did to all of the amazing cats who had the misfortune of being apart of his life. He looked his former clanmates in the eyes and continued to be one of the worst cats Echosong had ever seen in her life. Her ears flattened against her head as he spoke to Cinderstar. If he made a pawstep towards her, she would cut him down no questions asked.

"Shallowshiver, I'll be here for you when you return home." There was so much more she wanted to say to the warrior as they escorted Sleethound out. Yet the molly knew this wasn't about her, so she stayed put and settled for sending Sleethound the deadliest look she could muster.

**starry** · #**17167** June 3rd, 2022, 06:23 PM

Oh, a meeting that would probably end in drama. The usual. Rainhound sighed as she approached, listening to Cinderstar's words. Ceremonies, okay... at least the new leader was getting them done. "Fleapaw! Goosepaw! Dapplepaw!" she called, careful not to raise her voice so that it stood out amongst others. She had enough of that. Then reassignments. Jeez, so many warriors had gone missing, she didn't want to think about that. Another sigh escaped from her maw but she said nothing. However, the next one caught her attention. Emberpaw...? She hoped that her friend was able to complete her training swiftly. It did surprise her to hear that Emberpaw would be training under Cinderstar. In Rainhound's eyes though, Emberpaw was ready to become a warrior already.

At the next announcement, it seemed the meeting was really getting dramatic. Not that such a thing was unexpected. Sleethound? Oh. Wasn't he the mouse-brain that shoved Cinderpaw off the Thunderwillow? Rainhound grit her teeth, flexing her claws in the ground. He deserved to be executed, but she didn't voice that. Instead she went with the majority of the crowd. "I'm voting exile. His actions were unacceptable."

Her voice was barely audible above the ones of others, but it was good that way. Rainhound listened intently with pricked curiosity as Cinderstar spoke. Like she should, she went with the clan, exiling Sleethound. Apparently, Brightpaw had been attacked too... that made Rainhound's insides boil with anger. How dare he injure two apprentices? And, she didn't want to see Cloudyflight's reaction to this. Recently her sister seemed quite attached to Brightpath - what would she say if she knew Bright was purposefully wounded? Rainhound shook those thoughts away, although she knew angry Cloudy was never good.

Her hackles were raised as she waited for Shallowshiver to escort Sleethound. Better be quick, I don't want to see him around here any longer.

**~Fierce~** · #**17168** June 3rd, 2022, 07:03 PM

Sunshadow took a short nap.

**Starfall** · #**17169** June 3rd, 2022, 07:26 PM

Spiderthroat
@sid

The Calico poked his head out of the Medicine Den, curiosity getting the better of him. It sounded like a ruckus out there and truth be told, people sounded angry. It made his head boil, get too loud. So, he had to go see, to appease them.

Lo and behold, when he stumbled out of the Den, he was met with an awful excuse of a father and Cinderstar fuming at the seams. Taking a second to listen to what was being said the Warrior finally decided to step up and give his two cents. It hasn't gone wrong yet (Did you hear that readers, that was sarcasm)

"How pathetic, you have to hide behind your Daughter, who is an apprentice." he deadpanned, looking at the idiot in question. "It's because you're too weak to actually stand up for yourself. You get angry and yell, like how a kit would throw a fit." with that, the warrior gave a confident grin.

With that, the Warrior took a step forwards, "If she returns, if she reacts violently. I'll end her violently." he said matter of factly. "She'll find out about your exile, if she gets back. She won't have a say because she's not here, not sure if you actually noticed." he hummed, seemingly bored with the conversation.

**versailles** · #**17170** June 3rd, 2022, 07:53 PM

@Atticus @marni @WillowBlows12 @Starfall @/anyone else that said smth to him //

➵ sleethound [ he/him ]

the scarred warriors gaze was on cinderstar as soon as she made her way towards him. he jerked his head upwards, shooting the smaller cat a nasty look. there was no anger in his eyes, or, it wasn't an offended type of anger. it was more.. of an irritated look, like his time was being wasted on something stupid. "a fraud!" he echoed, lips twitching up ever so slightly, a mixture between a scoff and a laugh rising in the back of his throat. well, that was one that he'd never heard before.

the father bit seemed to pluck at his nerves. "i'm the best damn father she could have, aren't i? i taught her how the real world is, how to defend herself. i did something." a look is casted at shallowshiver, one that's both disappointed and disgusted. his eyes find cinderstars once again, giving just a slight shake of his head at the venom in her voice. "oh, yes, of course. don't you worry, I'll be out of here before sundown - wouldn't want your talons digging into me." he clicked his tongue, eyes narrowing. he wasn't intimidated by some weak threat.

the flea spoke up again, and he simply gave a lash of his tail. shallowshiver, a better parent than him? stars, he couldn't believe his ears! where were they for most of cinderpaws kithood? gone, right? he turns to speak to the equally large warrior, but a horrible noise makes him twist. dovecloud. "how about you come try to do it yourself, dovecloud? come help shallowshiver escort me so you can break my leg since you want to so badly. really, i'm positive it'd be fun." after that, his gaze travelled around, landing on a few certain cats — dimhazel, brightpath, echosong.

"do you deserve to call her your daughter, either?" sleethound questioned, green eyes finally landing back on shallowshiver. "you weren't there for half of her kithood..right? what skills have you taught her? my ears are open and i'm waiting to hear!" his lips curled back slightly to reveal his teeth which were bared, voice raised slightly. "do you really want to escort me out? i think we both know i have more important things to do than stay in here, anyway." he hummed. a familiar calico pelt results in him taking a step towards the camp entrance. "threatening to end an apprentice's life violently, why, that's almost as bad as me. cinderstar, will you do anything about that?" with that, he exited the camp, claws scraping against the ground.