[Deleted]

STORMSTAR

A weary Stormstar heaved himself onto the River Stone, turning to face his battered but finally victorious clan. Most cats were milling around and some were in the dens as it was just after dawn. Some part of STormstar found it amusing that they had returned from the brutal battle with the rising of the sun. He glanced at the sky grateful to Starclan, but the last of the stars had faded. Now it was up to him.


"All cats old enough swim gather before the River Stone for a clan meeting!" He yowled.

Many cats snapped their gazes back to him, away from the battered patrol who had followed him into camp. None of them had life-threatening injuries thank Starclan, but they would all have to visit Ottersplash later that day. His warriors gathered before him, some of them excited, some of them tired, some of them still mourning. 

Once they had gathered and Rushwhisker was nearby, Stormstar cleared his throat.

"We have finally cleansed our lands of the murderers and traitors who would dare defy Starclan." He saw several purists fidget or flaten their ears to their heads, "But," he paused, "I want to make something very clear. We are now asingle strong clan. Bloodlines no longer matter, and any cat from either side who actively mistreats or disrespects a clan member for their past actions or for their blood status will be punished.  After what happened I will not tolerate any cat referring to blood. We stopped being loners, rogues, or from another clan when we joined Rainclan. We are all Rainclan warriors, no matter our background, and all will be treated equally and fairly." He looked at the once-purists, but also at some of the more angered once-loyalists. "Do I make myself clear?" A hush fell over the gathering as they looked up attheir new leader, but most everyone nodded or murmured their assent.


Stormstar took a deep breath and raised his head high with confidence. "Now that we are once again united, the struggle is not over. Leafbare is coming on fast, and our preparations are behind. We will need each able paw to help prepare camp and hunt to gain some bulk before prey becomes scarce." Looking around for the Purist apprentices, he caught their eyes.

"Berrypaw, Frogpaw, Goldpaw, Wolfpaw, and Shadowpaw. You have lived all your lives with the Purists, and as such you are at a disadvantage. All you know of the territory is that which surrounded the wooded cove. Since we are not fully aware of your abilities you will be given new mentors to acclimate you to your new situation. However, understand that I or Rushwhisker, as well as your mentors would be glad to listen to any of your concerns."

Berrypaw seemed the most uncomfortable, along with Frogpaw, the other three looked belligerent at the very least. Wonderful, he did not envy their mentors.

"Shadowpaw, your mentor will be Heronstrike. Wolfpaw, your mentor will be Quietstream. Frogpaw, your mentor will be Lilypool. Goldpaw, your mentor will be Owlflight. Finally Berrypaw, your mentor will be Russethawk."

He flicked his tail, signaling the mentors to come up and touch noses with the apprentices.

"Also, due to his condition, Badgerpaw will be transferred to Blizzardclaw to be mentored by a more experienced warrior."

Stormstar hated doing that to young Badgerpaw, but he would need an experienced, and perhaps not so harsh mentor. Hopefully Blizzardclaw would manage, but Stormstar had faith in him.

"Alright, all of those who were involved in the battle, go to Ottersplash and have check you. The rest of you are released to your duties. Rushwhisker and I will address any questions that you have as well." He leapt down to stand beside Rushwhisker, waiting for any cats who might wish to address them.

I'm not standing still. I am lying in wait.

background image | word count | Fawn Hellion BlooRey DVD @savagewolf @zen @poptart @jem Amber @teeks @sparrow @sparrowkeeper @marshymutt | table by phoenix

[Deleted]

Owlflight had padded into camp shortly after her leader, wounds still fresh and bleeding from her battle with Petalfall. She looked up at the rising sun with a tiredness that settled deep into her very marrow. Everything that had happened today was piling up on her, and all she wanted was to curl up in her nest and sleep for a moon.

Of course, that was not to be. If nothing else, she needed to go and see Ottersplash for all her cuts and gashes, lest they get rot. With leaf-bare almost completely upon them, Owlflight was in no mood to get an infection now. As the grey tabby limped along, favouring her recently bitten leg, she saw Stormstar leap up to address the clan.

Great StarClan... No rest for the wicked I guess...

She mused as she paused. The medicine den was going to have to wait. She looked to her sides as the rest of the clan milled around her, a mixture of purists and loyalists , many still deeply uncomfortable with each other. She nodded in agreement to Stormstar's words all too keenly, trying to force out the anger that she had felt in herself during her battle. She was still in the beginnings of processing exactly what had just happened, but she knew that she had been out of control, felt terrified by it, and wanted to outwardly hide the deep-set prejudices she could feel bubbling up against her newest purist clan mates.

Lo and behold, StarClan was certainly testing her today. The she-cat gazed at Goldpaw from across the clearing as it was announced that she would mentor him.

My first apprentice! But what a situation... 

She thought, her face as still as a pool. Such an exciting new step in her life, but it was horribly ironic that this was how things were going. She was still actively bleeding from the claws of a purist that she had almost tried to kill in her anger, and here she was being given another purist to mentor.

The warrior was never one for displaying much emotion however, and her face and movements didn't betray much more than a general fatigue that was understandable from her battle and all-nighter. She padded over to Goldpaw to touch noses, even smiling a little as she did so.

"I'll have to ask you about what you've already been taught later, but we will start with a tour of the territory after sun-high today."

She mewed, not allowing much room in her tone for argument. 

"Until then I expect you to start helping with expanding the dens to fit everyone. Teamwork will help you fit back into the clan. I'm going to see Ottersplash and have a quick rest while you're at it, so I'm awake enough to train you."

She glanced up as Stormstar finished the ceremony, then padded away from her new apprentice calmly, moving towards Ottersplash's den. 

[Fawn]

42 Moons | RainClan | Tom | Senior Warrior

The cut on his face still stung, and the scent of Ottersplash's healing poultice was heavy in his nostrils as he limped over to stand beneath the river stone. Nothing was broken, and he had sustained minor injuries apart from a few cuts, but his body was sore from so much stress. The days afer battles were never ones he looked forward to, for a myriad of reasons, fatigue and shaking muscles least among them.

Finding Ashpaw, Rushwhisker and Bitternwing in the crowd, Russethawk smiled at them, passing the small group by so he could sit beside Bravebird, more protective now than ever of the cat he called brother - especially when Stormstar began to spoke of the now 'resolved' conflict.

"After what happened I will not tolerate any cat referring to blood. We stopped being loners, rogues, or from another clan when we joined Rainclan. We are all Rainclan warriors, no matter our background, and all will be treated equally and fairly."

There were a few glances tosssed Bravebird's way, both to read the pale warrior's reactions (he was the one closest to Swanfeather, after all) and to cast him suspicious glances, even after everything Stormstar had said. Russethawk fended off their glances with a hard smile, the flicking of his tail conveying his irritation better than any frown could. It was just like the gray tom had said - they were all RainClan warriors, and he'd had it up to here with anycat that wanted to suggest otherwise.

Prepared only to listen and defend his friends, Russethawk's ears swiveled forward as Stormstar called his name, reassigning Berrypaw to him as his newest apprentice. A little overwhelmed with no forewarning, Russethawk quickly came to the conclusion that Berrypaw was probably just as overwhelmed if not more. She's never been around so many cats, or even had a proper ceremony. With a respectful nod to Stormstar, the ruddy warrior walked stiffly to greet the she-kit with a touch of his nose to hers.
"I promise I'm not always this bad looking," he joked, knowing his face was looking a bit worse for wear after that nasty scratch Surgeclaw had given him. "We'll go over what you already know by the camp stream, I want to see your fishing techniques - or I'll teach you some, if you haven't learned any yet."

Word Count: 387 Words Tags: @dreamer , Phoenix

Notes:

[Phoenix]

if you get lost you can always be found

From beside the cat whom he had begun to consider his defender (Russethawk), Bravebird sat there and listened to Stormheart’s – Stormstar’s – announcement while trying to ignore the general atmosphere of distrust that hung in the air over their entire camp. It was odd being back. Until he had left, he had not realized how much he had adapted to living in the Wooded Cove with the other Purists, and returning to the camp in which he had spent the majority of his lifetime felt both right and not right. From appearance alone, it was as if nothing had changed, but that was not entirely true, was it (in fact, it was not in the least bit true), for everything had changed. As RainClan’s newest leader had said, they had cleansed their lands of all the murderers and traitors who had turned against their own blood. A low murmur of satisfaction seemed to travel through the vast majority of the crowd, and the pale tom couldn’t quite stop the way his ears fell. He understood the sentiment, certainly, and did his best to not let it hurt as much as it did. The leader of the Purists and the instigator of the entire civil war was the villain in the eyes of most of the assembled cats. It was hardly their fault that she also happened to be his mother and among that number who were never welcome home again.

Blue eyes stared at his paws as Stormstar’s words of reconciliation and equality washed over the gathered cats, and as the fur on the back of his neck prickled uncomfortably, he became hyperaware of the few turning heads and straying eyes that were directed at him. In response, the pale warrior stiffened slightly and raised his own gaze and fixed it neutrally on Stormstar, resolutely not looking to the side. From next to him, he could feel the defensive animosity pouring off of Russethawk in waves, and he did not need to glance at his friend to know that those fierce, green eyes were blazing as he silently dared someone to try anything. Bravebird felt a sudden rush of fondness for his friend, who, despite everything that had happened between them and entire moons of horrible silence, still stood beside him as if Swanfeather had never opened her mouth and spoken up. The warrior appreciated it more than his friend could ever hope to understand.

Stormstar spoke of reassigning the Purist apprentices, and his heart rose to his throat as he cast a glance through the crowd and found Wolfpaw sitting beside the others. Perhaps in a kind-hearted attempt to integrate him more into the group in which he felt so alienated, his mother had seen fit to give him his first apprentice. Bravebird had done his best to teach the young tom everything he knew from his many moons of experience as a warrior, and over the course of the many long days that they had spent in each other’s company, the warrior had found himself growing rather fond of the polite apprentice. But he was never quite sure whether he had been an effective mentor. The Purist camp had never been the epitome of stability, and there were times when, for one reason or another, they had had to forgo training. He knew that that lack of consistency did more harm than good.

But to completely reassign mentors and take away the one constant in the lives of a group of apprentices whose foundations had already been ripped from beneath their paws… He could understand Stormstar’s reasoning behind the decision, but he found himself wondering how much damage it would cause. For the apprentices’ sakes, Bravebird found himself hoping the transition went smoothly and that they had no trouble integrating into what clan life ought to truly be. After all, Quietstream was a good cat, he knew, and Wolfpaw had the flexibility to weather the change with his usual tenacity. Among others, Russethawk’s name was mentioned, and with a small smile on his lips, the warrior flicked his friend lightly on the shoulder with his tail. With a large heart and a warm, welcoming nature (he had, after all, seen fit to befriend the quiet loner-born kit who stayed with Swanfeather all those moons before), he was the perfect choice.

And perhaps actively undoing what Swanfeather had wrought by retraining a Purist-born apprentice would soothe some of the bitterness in his heart (in both their hearts, if he was honest with himself) and make it a little easier for them to restore their own friendship.

just know you're not alone i'm gonna make this place your home

bravebird | rainclan | warrior | Fawn

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