|
Post by Fawn on Aug 7, 2014 15:55:18 GMT -5
Lionstar 48 Moons. Tom. TreeClan. The deadline had passed two mornings ago, but StarClan could hardly blame the Clan for delaying it; it was not as if they had enough paws where idling and lazing about camp was suddenly a luxury they could afford. The warriors that had not been affected by the sickness and those that were still shaking the last few dregs were stretched thin enough already, Lionstar had not been willing to halt the Clan's activities so that he could make a choice.
But this late afternoon had found him with enough time to give it proper contemplation.
Who had earned the acknowledgment of deputyship? Whom amongst the cats below him would be the right one for the tasks and the trials that still lied ahead? The lion upon the Ancient Stump weighed his options for a long while; at first the members of TreeClan had loitered around the stump as if in preparation for an impromptu Clan meeting, but the call never came - and they went back to their busy lives, reminding Lionstar of a hive full of bees.
Meticulous and in no desire to delay it further, he deliberated over a select pawful of candidates, recalling what he had come to know of the content of their individual character, of their hearts, and of their dedication to the Clan. There wasn't a one amongst them that was disloyal, but none could blame Lionstar for being a little cautious, especially after the treachery of the charcoal tom with a heart of shadow.
The crickets were beginning to chirp, and golden eyes, wiser owing to the many moons and many moments he'd lived through, watched the evening patrol return with fewer members than he would have liked - but he was pleased with the efficiency nevertheless. Catching Rowanberry's eye, he smiled at his younger half-sibling, a brief wave of nostalgia flashing across his vision as he saw her as a tiny kitten for the first time.
Lionstar chuckled. Rowanberry as deputy? Maybe someday, but not for many moons still to come. Besides, it wasn't just Rowanberry who had suddenly come to the forefront of his thoughts.
As if by divine revelation, the sky dark and blotched with bruised clouds, Lionstar heard the distant rumble of thunder.
~*~
He chose to announce the new deputy of TreeClan by the dying evening light; ceremony dictated that he wait until moonhigh, but he had already deliberated long enough on a deputy replacement, long enough that the alleged half-day of waiting had already long passed them by. TreeClan needn't wait any further.
"May all cats of TreeClan gather beneath the Ancient Stump for a Clan meeting!" The golden tom, framed by the almost bloody shades of the setting sun, his fur painted orange and red over the deep golden tones, let his voice boom around the campsite.
For a few moments after that timely crack of thunder had first come to mind, Lionstar had let himself wonder if he was perhaps being too biased. The cat in question knew a secret about him that only Littletimber (and maybe someday, Willowfur) had been privy to, and he had entrusted the mentorship of his younger sister to that very same cat. But did that make him any less worthy? Biased or not, the tom's mettle had been tested and deemed commendable; this was not an attempt to keep the secret of his remaining lives between a select group of cats, this was Lionstar placing the Clan's best interests at heart, as he had always strove to do.
Golden eyes scanned the faces of those marshaled until they settled upon the cat he'd been looking for, locked onto the silvery fur and recognizable features.
Again, a voice that was strong and assured without losing any of it's warmth filled the hollowed out trunk, seeming to reach into every den and every nook of what had once been a mighty tree.
"The time has come to once more choose a deputy for TreeClan," this announcement, he realized with satisfaction, would come as no surprise. The cat he had chosen was well-liked and easy to get along with, but not so much that he could be walked all over. ""I say these words before StarClan, that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of TreeClan..." Lionstar allowed himself a smile. "...is Thunderclaw."
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2014 16:11:16 GMT -5
EMBERPAW of TreeClan 06 Moons. She-Cat. Apprentice
She was happily asleep in the apprentice den when she heard a noise outside. She woke up lightly and looked around. She saw that her siblings were still asleep and she rolled her eyes. Then she heard Lionstar call for a clan meeting. She stood from her nest and she stretched before she prodded her siblings. "Wake up sleepy heads. Clan meeting, I think Lionstar has chosen a new Deputy." She left them then and she headed out of the den. She walked over to the Ancient stump and she sat down as she watched the other clan members slowly gathering as well.
The calico she-cat licked a paw then and she ran it over her head to clean herself. She did not see her mentor, but she did see her siblings wake up finally and walk over as well. But she purred a light chuckle when they sat with their family and not near her. She did not mind really. She put her attention back on her leader as Lionstar announced the new Deputy.
BLACKMIST of TreeClan 25 Moons. She-Cat. Warrior
The tortoiseshell tabby she-cat walked back into the camp. She had been hunting alone, just the way she liked it. She placed the vole ad two mice on the fresh kill pile right as she heard Lionstar announce the moment for a clan meeting. So he has finally chosen a deputy. She purred in amusement and she walked over to the meeting. She got a few nasty glances from clan mates and she smiled lightly. There was one tom she wanted to sit next to, her former mentor, Adderstrike. He was the only real friend that she had now a days, and that was a good thing.
She heard the name for the new deputy and she shook her head. "Don't screw it up furball." She murmured this comment to herself and she looked at the new Deputy. A new cat for her to pretend to like. She sighed then and got up and walked back out of the camp. She was not in the mood to celebrate this, she was never in the mood to celebrate things. If someone spoke to her, she did not care, she just kept walking until she was out of the camp again.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2014 22:32:54 GMT -5
Leafbare had consumed TreeClan, like fire consumed a forest. Weakened by the cold and hunger, what had started as a tiny spark of whitecough had ignited in to a full on epidemic. Greencough had burned out the life in them, leaving piles of ash where warriors had once stood. Still, from the scorched earth, new life was beginning to bloom. Where one had fallen, another would rise.
There was nothing forgiving about pestilence. When she laid her claw upon the pelts of cats, she did not discriminate. It was by chance alone that Thunderclaw had not fallen to disease, though his usually muscular body had grown gaunt in the winter's darkness. As newleaf arrived to deliver them from their glacial hell, he began to fill out; his skin no longer clung to his skeleton, draped across bones like some gossamer spiderweb between thin stalks of grass.
The warrior had just returned from a hunting patrol. He'd hunted alongside Silvercloud, Mintleaf, and Sixtoes. Between the four of them, they'd yielded an impressive catch. Mice and voles, a thrush, a blackbird, a gopher, and a mountain quail proved to be too much for them to carry in one trip. The two she-cats had gone back in to the forest after dropping their prey on the previously sparse fresh-kill pile. TreeClan would eat well tonight.
The evening breeze tugged at Thunderclaw's thick gray fur. He was bathed in the golden red light of the dying sun. Though fur had regrown over most of where he'd been scorched in the wildfire, the crepuscular light lit the underlying scars eerily. The memory of the fire was still hot in his mind; the roaring of the flames, the suffocating heat, the searing pain as he lifted the fallen branch from Lionstar's lifeless body.
The rallying cry of his leader drew him from his pensive state. He stood, padding towards the Ancient Stump, before which cats were gathering, his brownish green eyes glancing around to his clanmates. He must be announcing the new deputy. Too much time had passed since Daringheart had resigned...
Mintleaf, a companion from the day's hunting patrol, came to sit beside him, her pelt brushing his. Sixtoes settled on her other side. Lionstar's next words confirmed his suspicions: he had chosen TreeClan's deputy. He glanced at his clanmates. The loyal and the venomous sat beside one another, united by blood and by borders...
He didn't notice Lionstar's eyes upon him until the leader spoke his name. Startled, he looked up at the large golden tom, locking eyes with him for a heartbeat to confirm that he'd heard right.
Rising to his paws, he made his way to his leader, searching frantically for words. As he reached Lionstar, he dipped his head, ears flicking back for a moment before he found his voice. "Thank you for entrusting me with deputyship of this clan," he mewed, his voice raised so that all could hear. "For TreeClan, I follow the path of stars; I will not falter."
Character; Thunderclaw Word count; 501 Notes; ~
|
|
|
Post by Insidious on Aug 9, 2014 13:25:59 GMT -5
B L U E P A W It had come again for a deputy of TreeClan to be appointed, and looking around to her fellow cats, she saw not a single face that wasn’t deserving. She saw something inside of everyone’s bright face that was unique and that, should given the opportunity, would prove to aid in the betterment of their Clan. In silently admiring the commendable qualities of her Clan mates, she perhaps overlooked the one cat that was deserving of some of her congratulations: herself. More selfless than was likely natural for an apprentice her age, she couldn’t help being absent of the desire to flaunt what talents others saw within her. Someday, it would maybe be her name that Lionstar called from the Ancient Stump. The very thought had her mind racing to latch onto something that would have her unheeded for the position, for it was among the last things she wanted to achieve in her life. She would make a great leader, of this she was certain. Already in her youth she showed promising signs of maturity, kindness, and protection over those unable to protect themselves. Every single attribute of a good hearted leader already existed within her, and yet she still couldn’t bring herself to want it with the same kind of passion that had her wanting equality.
Which is what allowed her to release the breath that she had been holding when Thunderclaw’s name was called, too young to be announced the deputy of TreeClan, yet still driven to send a quiet thanks up to StarClan for having her passed over regardless. With her mind free of its plaguing thoughts, she flashed a brilliant smile, pale blue eyes twinkling with a happiness reserved for celebratory moments such as this.
“Thunderclaw! Thunderclaw! Thunderclaw!”
She was among the first to begin chanting his name. Although she knew little of Thunderclaw outside of what could be gathered from afar observation, she was assured all the same of how perfect he was for the position since Lionstar, himself, had appointed him. She had faith in her Clan leader’s decisions, enough of it that she was certain it’d reach up to her warrior ancestors in the stars should she try and stack it in a pile.
“Congratulations!” It took all of her strength to speak over the crowd’s lively chant, having taken it upon herself to walk up beside him when he was finished speaking with Lionstar - she wanted to be the first to tell him that she was happy for him. “I’m sure you’re going to do great in the position!” At a time such as this, she didn’t care that she didn’t know Thunderclaw on a more personal level. They didn’t have to be close by normal standards for her to reassure him that he’d be a great deputy. It was out of the goodness of her heart that she gathered the courage to speak to him before any of the warriors got a chance, glancing up the length of the Ancient Stump to try and catch her mentor’s eye, her grin widening to voice aloud in the absence of words how she felt he had made a good decision.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2014 13:21:59 GMT -5
so untamed and we're so alive tonight Border patrol, hunting lessons, tree climbing...Rowanberry had had a busy day. She had retired to a spot in camp, resting and grooming her sorrel fur. She'd lost her apprentice fuzziness, her pelt growing in thick and full, though her tail retained its full bottlebrush appearance.
The sight of the lion she called a brother lying on the Ancient stump brought a smile to her face, and when his eye caught hers and he smiled, her own smile grew exponentially. She loved her brother, even though their times together were rare, and she would gladly give her life for his. Almost had, too, when she stayed behind to help Thunderclaw drag him from under the log in the midst of the fire.
She tried not to think of the reason he got stuck under the tree in the first place.
Lionstar's eyes grew distant and drifted away from her, so she resumed the steady grooming of her fur. A little while later, Lionstar's voice boomed out, calling the Clan together for a meeting. She sat up straight, pale green eyes focused on the TreeClan leader.
It was unsurprising why the meeting was called, and the Clan sat in anticipation. When Thunderclaw's name was called out, though, she leapt to her paws, estatic.
"Thunderclaw! Thunderclaw!" She started the chorus, bounding over to her former mentor. She pressed her side against his and purred loudly. "Congratulations! This is like, the best day ever!" She squealed and giggled, truly excited for Thunderclaw. Her mentor was now deputy! She smiled from ear to ear, a little bundle of happy standing next to her mentor, her friend, and her deputy.
R O W A N B E R R Y
|
|