[KARAZHAL]

Ever since he'd been a kit, Birdstar had known the dangers that came with the cliffs. StoneClan's camp was in the shadow of a mountain, a tall source of inspiration, but being there lent many dangers to the bottom part of their territory. He'd been told the tale of Fallingstar's ironic death, and of course, he had seen the aftermath of the mudslide that had buried Smokestar.

The solid gray tom sighed loudly through his nostrils and rolled onto his side. Although it looked like he was trying to nap and couldn't get comfortable, in truth the tomcat was trying to figure out a way to solve the problem of the mountain constantly trying to kill his clanmates. Newleaf was when the clan suffered the most. Rain poured into the valley at such a rate that StoneClan's rocky ground rarely absorbed it; instead it drained downhill, collecting anything it could. It gave the mountain its weakness. Birdstar decided to forbid anycat but the occasional patrol to tread in the mountain's shadow. It was for their safety. He didn't want another victim to a rockslide, not so soon after Smokestar's death and the deaths of several loyal StoneClanners. He had checked on Rowanleaf, and while she seemed physically healthy, the memories were obviously terrifying.

Unlike the leaders before him, Birdstar did not live in the Leader's Den but kept his quarters in the warriors' den. He rolled onto his paws and left the main part of camp in favor of the warrior dens. Slipping his head in, he looked around at the cats, meeting everyone's eyes. "I want to go out on a scouting patrol to the cliffs. If anyone here is well rested enough for a climb, follow me," he said. He lingered briefly, gauging their responses before pulling his head away and returning through the tunnel to the main campgrounds. "Scouting patrol! I need my best climbers and my best eyes with me!" the gray tom announced.

A skinny black she-cat glanced around and then padded forward. She met Birdstar's eyes and was the first to look away, although it was to turn her piercing green eyes onto the rest of the Clan. Almost daring them. "I'll go," Viperstrike rasped. The senior warrior held her head high, proud to serve on a patrol, and she strode forward to her younger half-brother's side. Birdstar nodded at her, welcoming Viperstrike's muscle to his party and wondering who else would answer.

PATROL MEMBERS
1. birdstar
2. viperstrike (NPC)
3. open (preferably good climber)
4. open (preferably good eyesight)

OOC This scouting patrol will be climbing up the mountain and investigate the weaknesses from a distance. Patrol Members are encouraged to suggest solutions or point out future problems. Now that it's no longer Newleaf, the cliffs will be dry and easy to traverse. The problem is that the snowmelt + spring rains cause the mountainside to fall away. StoneClan didn't go to Engineering College but neither did the Ancient Egyptians so maybe they can start working out channels for all the muddy water? This is a brainstorming/gathering information thread, the first in a series of patrols.

[Fae Magic]

Tigerpaw was lying in the sunshine grooming himself after his apprentice duties were over with; having spent the majority of the day gathering moss to change bedding and even going so far as to helping the elders with their ticks and fleas; one of the worst things he has ever done in his opinion. He'd taken himself a good nap afterwards and gotten something to eat. After having eaten it he went to groom himself when he heard the call coming from the stones up ahead. Dark amber eyes snapped up looking at their grey tom calling out for his clan. Ears perked up in excitement the ginger and white tabby rose to his paws and padded forwards eagerly looking up at his leader. 

"I'll come with you Birdstar!" 

Tigerpaw would gladly take any chance to get out of camp and explore and help his clan out he'd take. After having a meaningful conversation with his leader not too long ago the ginger tabby decided it was time to make an effort to be himself and do what he could for the clan instead of being someone he was not or trying to fill the paw steps of someone gone. He would take a new light to his life and how to work with his clan his way instead of him wanting to become so much like his father. This patrol would help with that chance to expand his knowledge and experience. He's put his skills to the test and help out his clan at the same time. And after that time he snuck out of camp by himself he figured Birdstar wouldn't mind him leaving now that he'd with a patrol. 

Looking up hopefully at his leader he looked over at Viperstrike before looking back at Birdstar with a firm but eager expression. "I'm coming too...I want to help out where I can. I got pretty good eyesight; I could look out for you guys while you're checking out those rock cliffs." he offered.

He wanted to be brave and show what he was capable of. After the horrible mudslide killed off a few of his clanmates including their leader; Tigerpaw had felt guilty he had not been there to help sooner. So he'd make up for it by making sure the future did not repeat itself. They had lost too much already and too many lives at steak that night. He'd be sure to be extra careful so no one else got hurt; if he was allowed to come to the patrol of course. He trusted Birdstar to make the wisest decision. He wouldn't be happy if he was denied but he would understand. He just wanted to help.

[♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟]

Lightningflash STONECLAN WARRIOR not a yes, sir. not a follower. Lightningflash had been lying with his white belly stretched against a flat boulder in a corner of camp, the heat of it radiating up through his fur and bringing a content purr to his throat. He stretched out his paws, claws sliding out from white toes as he gave a massive yawn. His black ears twitched up with interest as a voice boomed across camp, a blue-grey shape trotting out into the clearing with tail raised high. "Scouting patrol! I need my best climbers and my best eyes with me!" Birdstar called. Lightningflash was more of a runner than a climber, but he thought he had pretty good eyesight. When he had lived with his mother and brother high in the mountains, he had quickly impressed her with his ability to spot and run down rabbits and squirrels. He hesitated a moment longer, unsure if his volunteering would be taken well or not. But the fact that other cats still viewed him with distrust despite his two seasons as a member of this Clan was exactly what made him settle his decision. He heaved himself to his paws, opening his mouth to offer himself up as a scout- when Tigerpaw bounded forward. Lightningflash smirked with amusement as the tabby-striped tom walked right up to Birdstar with all the eagerness of a kit on his first hunt. "I'll come with you Birdstar!" The young tom blurted out as Lightningflash slid down from his perch, stretching out his limbs and walking slowly towards the patrol. For a moment, a twinge of apprehension clutched his chest as he remembered how he had nearly joined Smokestar's patrol, the day she died. He shook his misgivings away. Every pawstep a cat took was riddled with risk, especially in this territory. Besides, it hadn't rained so much lately and the day had been dry as bone. He had come to a halt just behind Tigerpaw as he explained himself. "I'm coming too...I want to help out where I can. I got pretty good eyesight; I could look out for you guys while you're checking out those rock cliffs." Lightningflash smiled, touching Tigerpaw's flank with a white-tipped tail. "I don't think so, sport." He chuckled, about to make some sort of wry joke. But if he saw even the beginnings of disappointment dawning in Tigerpaw's eyes, his own would soften with sympathy. He had not been born in StoneClan or trained as an apprentice, but he remembered what it was like to be young and trying to impress his mother with how much he had learned, how brave he could be. In Tigerpaw's eager expression, he could see little Flash, daring Tumble to race him to the nearest oak. It was this memory that made him nod seriously towards the nursery. "What if there's trouble back in camp? We need strong cats like you to guard the nursery and make sure nothing happens to Bonekit and Yewkit."   Lightningflash turned to Birdstar, a glimmer of laughter in his bright yellow eyes. "I can come if you'll have me." He said, not wanting to take up a slot on the patrol that a more skilled cat could potentially take. i was lightning before the thunder

WORDs: 530 / tags: KARAZHAL , Fae Magic

[KARAZHAL]

The medium-sized gray tom cracked a smile at the eager apprentice. He knew he could expect an answer from Tigerpaw; the young tom made a good prospective warrior, and Birdstar valued his intrepid personality. However, initiative did not replace experience, and he needed warriors to go with him. The ridge had narrow corridors; every cat would have to fend for themselves, and he hadn't had proof that Tigerpaw was this qualified. He opened his mouth to turn the apprentice down when a warrior named Lightningflash stepped up and remarked, "I don't think so, sport." The tabby gave Birdstar enough pause to think up a solution so Tigerpaw wasn't left out.

"Lightningflash is right, but I can still make use of you down on the ground," Birdstar replied. "Along with your mentor, you will keep watch on the base. Patrol at a distance and tell us if you see any discolorations, any cracks, or changes in the stone. You'll be the first to warn the Clan." He looked straight at Tigerpaw, telling him with his eyes that this was the young tom's special mission to prove himself.

He ordinarily would have deferred to the older cat in the party--Viperstrike this time--but for the first time, he did not glance at his half-sister and instead met Lightningflash's gaze and nodded. "Very well, come stand over here." He seemed to sense the tom's hesitance to take up a slot and so he jerked his chin to his unoccupied left. Viperstrike leaned out of his peripheral vision to stare at Lightningflash behind Birdstar's back. She didn't say anything, but her judging eyes washed over him before she turned her nose away.

Birdstar didn't have to grow up with Lightningflash to know that he was a solid warrior so he was happy to have the tom onboard. He looked over at another senior warrior, ready to ask them if they could come along as well, when another volunteer came forward instead.

PATROL MEMBERS
1. birdstar
2. viperstrike (NPC)
3. lightningflash (Fabrication)
4. open (preferably good eyesight or good climber)

OOC I will close sign-ups for this patrol soon! I gave an opening for anyone else to step up but otherwise, I will have another NPC join in, no biggie. Fae and Abyss, feel free to make a thread with Tiger and White!
Fae Magic ♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟

[BlooRey DVD]

HERONDIVE

When Birdstar’s voice cut through the quiet den air, blue eyes cracked open to let in the light around her. That sky colored gaze found her target in the form of StoneClan’s newest leader, twice removed from the tom she had been lucky enough to call her father. Although her heart still lanced with a pang of loss at the thought of the broad shouldered sandy brown tom, Herondive had come to accept the demons that had haunted her in the wake of her father’s loss when, rather darkly, the she-cat he had entrusted as his successor had been felled by the land they called home.

She did her best not the be resentful, and yet... The moons where Smokestar had ruled StoneClan had also been some of the darkest in Herondive’s life. And that was saying something. In the eyes of the daughter of two of StoneClan’s most prominent figures, the mottled she-cat had been set on a path that would have dismantled everything Hawkstar had fought so long to build. That had chipped at the fragile pieces of her heart just as sharply as the loss of her parents had. No cat was perfect, Smokestar was not exempt from that statement. But Herondive could not simply forget the worry, the hurt, and the pain she’s experienced living through that.

Dark thoughts aside, Herondive did not condemn Smokestar. Nor would she have wished death upon her had she still been alive. She only wished that the dilute calico had listened to a word of reason.

Herondive had seen misplaced hate tear families apart. She’d lived with that searing darkness in her soul, believing that StoneClan had been wronged by outsiders. That only StoneClan was good. And then she’d fallen in love. Tail tip over ears for a TreeClan tom who had showed her that every Clan had its cast of characters. Some good, some misguided, some cold. And that no Clan should be condemned for the mistakes of one cat, leader or otherwise. Too many lives had been lost because of mistakes.

A flick of a cream colored ear, and the senior warrioress carefully disentangled herself from the dozing form of Spiderheart at her side. Pausing only a moment to press her forehead to his and shut her eyes, inhaling quietly to hold onto the memory of his scent a moment longer, Herondive stepped away from their nest on sleep-stiff paws. Ducking into the light of day, Hawkstar’s eldest daughter blinked away the remaining vestiges of sleep to look Birdstar in the eyes.

With a respectful tip of her muzzle, she spoke quietly, yet certainly. “I will accompany you as well, if you will have me.”

warrior of stoneclan

KARAZHAL @jet (Spider mention!)   | background image | table by phoenix

Note: 63 moons

[Fae Magic]

Tigerpaw flinched slightly at Lightningflash's remark that he wasn't allowed to join. The ginger and white tabby wanted to prove himself and learn more but if he wasn't allowed to join well...his gaze turned to Birdstar pleadingly wanting to join so badly and it so seemed that his prayers were answered as though Birdstar stepped up to confront the warrior and apprentice on the situation he didn't say he'd be able to join their patrol up top,...but he was able to go with Whitehawk to the base and help there. That was better then being left behind at least and it would help greatly with his training! His eyes lit up again and he nodded eagerly at his leader with a smile he was trying to hid so as to not seem too eager. He turned to Lightningflash and stuck his tongue out at him in a joking manner before he turned back towards the others. 

"Good luck and stay safe up there! Whitehawk and I will do our best down at the base!" he told them and gave Birdstar a warm happy smile before he turned and darted away from the group to go find his mentor so that he could inform him of what was going on. He was so happy to finally be included in something important for the clan and have his very own special mission to be able to help out!

Notes: Exit Tigerpaw for the training thread.
Abyss