Haven Springs

[Dust]

[ @FrostyGalaxy ]

CherrySwirl gave a defiant sniff, paddling towards the edge of the
spring and lifting herself out with a huff,

"Good! I'd be sad if you did," There was an underlying playful tone, though her expression seemed quite serious as the warrior shook out her pelt. The stark difference of temperature sent a ripple of chill through her spine, which was visible upon inspection. She hopped on her paws, trying to warm up her blood again, though when that proved useless, Cherry took another dive into the spring. Her body twirled like an otter, and as she swam up along side WillowWisp. Through chattering teeth she murmured softly,

"What did you think about BeanStar... err... BeanSprout...?" She paused to think about how she should truly address the former leader, "-not actually getting their lives? It's... kind of scary, isn't it?"

[Neptune.]

*-Willowwisp-*
she/her || 28moons || Herbal Knowledge T1
A black stripped tabby with blue/grey eyes and an oriental build. She wears a lavender sprig on her ear.

Oh... this was a weighty topic. Willowwisp takes a moment to consider this. How did she feel about all that? It was hard not to connect Beansprout's lack of lives and the countless disasters that had befallen RiverClan lately to StarClan's anger. But was that true? Was StarClan truly angry at the clan for not seeing through a lie they had no way of knowing anything about?

"Well," she began, paddling to the edge of the spring, "I don't think he was right to lie to us, and I wonder what his contingency plan would have been should his lie have been exposed before he died." Would he have willingly gave up that information? Or, more likely, what would he have said if Gingerfrost came clean? "I do wonder what made Gingerfrost go along with it, and if StarClan is angry at him for that. Will they also deny him his lives when he receives them? Will he lie about it, too if he's denied them? Will the clan even be able to trust him?" There were so many questions, so many what if?'s that made Willow's head spin.

"What do you think, Cherry?" She asked. She wanted to be able to trust their new leader, she wanted to believe he wouldn't lie to them, but she wasn't sure she could do that on her own. If other people believed he was going to be truthful... that might be just the push she needed.

__________

[ cherryswirl - @Dust ]

[Dust]

[ @FrostyGalaxy ]

Her expression lingered on two parts confusion and one part contemplation, making for a whole lot of hesitancy in her response. CherrySwirl gave a dry smack of her lips, brows furrowed as she picked her words carefully,

"I... try to think about what I would have done in that situation... On the one paw, lying to your clan seems to be an extreme, obvious breach of trust. But, I don't think GingerFrost was complicit with Beanstaaaa...rrrsss...?" Again, that uncertainty laced her tone, "...lie. I think perhaps it would have been better to come clean, and he did but honestly is a virtue after all, right? Maybe StarClan is angry with us, but it seems redundant to deny the leader their lives. That then brings the question... Did StarClan not deem Beansprout worthy enough to have them? Is a fault of our previous leaders and deputies inability to lead going to haunt our clan forever?" Her rambling hopefully made sense to the other feline. She had always kept a firm belief in the starry felines ability to judge but doubt was a tricky feeling to regulate,

"Do you think Stonepaw could have reasoned with our ancestors to get Beansprout their lives? Or.. Do you think StarClan could make mistakes as well?" It seemed she was rather getting off the topic at tail. Slipping under the warmth of the spring, she came back up with a heavy breath, "Sorry," She murmured - golden orbs flooded with apology as she looked at WillowWisp, "Its not very becoming of a warrior to question the ways of Starclan," Whatever those may be. She had resigned herself to the fact that it would never be her place to know. CherrySwirl grinned softly as she continued,

"We were talking about Beansprout and GingerFrost, huh? Well, one thing for certain is that Ginger is loyal, if nothing else. It must have been hard for him to approach the clan, knowing the looks and retorts... the gossip - Stars, I mean we're gossiping right now aren't we?! I would have been shaking in my bones coming clean about it." She paused to suck in a quick breath, "I can only hope he tells us if StarClan denies his lives. The last thing we want is another dead leader! Something like that ought to bring all us warriors and apprentices together to defend him! To defend our clan." To bring RiverClan back to it's past glory. It was becoming increasing obvious to Cherry herself how much these past few moons had really impacted her. "You remember all those stories the elders used to tell? About discovering new territory.. and the successful battles, reclamation of land. How can we get back?"

[Neptune.]

*-Willowwisp-*
she/her || 28moons || Herbal Knowledge T1
A black stripped tabby with blue/grey eyes and an oriental build. She wears a lavender sprig on her ear.

That made sense... it was always good to think about the other side of the situation. For the clan, the revelation of the lie was horrifying, but Gingerfrost had to live with the knowledge of it, and he couldn't tell anyone else anything about it for a long time. That had to be a very lonely feeling, knowing something no one else in the clan was privy to. Willowwisp kept going back to the day Bean had come back with his new title... how much had Ginger pushed back that day? What did Bean tell him to get him to go along with the lie and not outright expose him?

"I think it's ok to question the Stars," Willowwisp answered softly, her eyes drifting towards the sky. "If they are never challenged or questioned, they become the monolith that dictates our lives and our choices instead of past warriors who are as fallible as those of us still living." Their ancestors held incredible wisdom, yes, Willowwisp's own mother was up there somewhere and, sometimes, she wished the long dead molly would visit her in dreams, though it had never happened.

"To that effect... maybe Stonepaw could try and negotiate but I'm not sure." The conversation turned to the stories of the elders, epic tales of glory and victory when RiverClan was at its peak of glory and prosperity. It seemed, sometimes, that was all elders were good for, telling exaggerated stories of past victories and simultaneously beating down the younger generations, implying or flat out telling them that they'll never live up to any of the stories the tell. "I'm not sure how we get back to any of that..." Willowwisp admitted a little sheepishly, "I'm not even sure how much of those stories was truthful."

__________

[ cherryswirl - @Dust ]

[Dust]

[ @FrostyGalaxy ]

Cherry listened quietly, nodding along to her friends words. As strange as it felt, she was right. The ones in the stars were just as them, only of course dead. Though, to be fair, it's not like any cat was just graced with the presence of a StarClan cat. Cherry scrunched up her muzzle in thought, her head tilting to the side momentarily. Though, if StarClan could only be heard through the prophecy of a medicine cat.. or the lives ceremony of a leader... didnt that leave the rest of the clan open to deception? What if they were really... just dreams...? Hm. No, it didnt feel right completely dismissing the power of the Stars. Cherry, having grown up quite proud and intent on her belief of StarClan, gave herself a mental slap. Though, WillowWisp did have a point after all about challenging them. Blinking slowly, the warrior continued to listen, only speaking once Willow was finished.

"Well, it looks like we'll have to bring it back ourselves then! Making sure every one is trained, fed, and defended. I'm... not entirely sure where to start either, but for starters, I've decided to train Dunepaw along with Fishpaw, while his mentor isnt around. He looked lonely... It must get so boring when you dont have the opportunity to train and hunt and explore like the rest of your classmates. Oh oh, maybe - just maybe! We could start having clan celebrations?! Wouldnt that be fun? Some cats might be motivated to work hard and do better if it meant a celebration for them. Like a vigil.... but.... less dull!" Cherry rambled aloud, getting lost in her thoughts. Slowly climbing out of the spring, the ginger molly paced a few tail lengths away and shook out her pelt, stifling back a shiver down her spine as she contacted the cool air. Was she more relaxed than when she came? Absolutely! But their conversation had left her mind whirling with questions. CherrySwirl smiled softly at her friend,

"Want to head back to camp now? I should actually bring Fishpaw for some training soon."

[Neptune.]

*-Willowwisp-*
she/her || 28moons || Herbal Knowledge T1
A black stripped tabby with blue/grey eyes and an oriental build. She wears a lavender sprig on her ear.

Slinking out of the spring, Willowwisp shivers slightly at the cold, the warm water dripping from her pelt before the soggy state of it gets too overwhelming a sensation and she has to shake most of the dripping moisture loose. Luckily for her, as a cat of RiverClan, her pelt is naturally much smoother and more water resistant than the other clans, with a slightly oily sheen thanks to all the fish that make up their diet.

"Maybe you can pitch that idea for celebrations to Gingerfrost," the tall tabby suggested good-naturedly. It was a nice idea, that maybe they would be able to implement. Perhaps new warriors stand vigil in the night and then, the following day, the clan could hold a celebration. Or, perhaps, there could be a celebration to honor new apprentices or elders or even queens. Events like that to strengthen the bond within the clan and perhaps get the more anti-social cats to participate as much as they were willing to - Willowwisp wouldn't want to force anyone to participate if they were unwilling.

"C'mon, let's get back to camp then, Cherry."

__________

[ cherryswirl - @Dust ]

[LunaStar22]

Darksong walked threw the branches on the muddy and sickly feeling ground making sure that Mistypaw was still behind her and of course she was moaning away about her pelt getting gross

"Mistypaw come on the spring will be around this corner and we can get there sooner if you would actaully walk and put some pep in your step" Darksong meowed. @Galaxy__/add on please

[Galaxy_]

Originally Posted by LunaStar22

Darksong walked threw the branches on the muddy and sickly feeling ground making sure that Mistypaw was still behind her and of course she was moaning away about her pelt getting gross

"Mistypaw come on the spring will be around this corner and we can get there sooner if you would actaully walk and put some pep in your step" Darksong meowed. @Galaxy__/add on please

Mistypaw followed as there was mud in her paws. "Fine" she walked a bit faster.

[LunaStar22]

Originally Posted by Galaxy_

Mistypaw followed as there was mud in her paws. "Fine" she walked a bit faster.

They would countiune to walk threw the marshy ground not stopping to hunt until they reached where they were trying to go.
"I can smell it come on lets run it should be over here!" Darksong said

[LunaStar22]

Originally Posted by Galaxy_

Mistypaw followed as there was mud in her paws. "Fine" she walked a bit faster.

"I can see it! Stop being so grumpy and actually be excited,youve never been here before." Darksong said.