Clan Meeting/War Discussion

[xx snakey]

Duskstar raced into the clearing, returning from his meeting with Cranefeather. He hadn't been to camp in a few days, he knew they would probably have questions for him, but he didn't care. He leapt up onto Highrock, his voice booming as he went. "All those who are old enough to catch their own prey, gather under Highrock for a clan meeting!" He yowled, his claws scraping impatiently against the rock's surface.

Dawnpaw padded into the clearing at the sound of her father's voice. She had been traveling between Riverclan and Thunderclan's camp recently upon her father's request. Something about showing Cranefeather they trusted him. She was happy to do anything for her father. Her mother came to join her and tried to lick a growing scab on her shoulder from training but she wouldn't let her. "Leave it alone, Mom. It won't scar if you keep touching it." she complained and her mother gave her an incredulous look. Dawnpaw shifted impatiently, waiting for her father to speak.

[W.in.DY.]

Mountainpelt let out a minor hiss as she trotted into the clearing and sat where she could be by herself, but could easily listen to Duskstar. And Noxshadow would be ignored. Definitely. Her tail twitched as she waited for her leader to speak. Could he make it any faster? She wanted to leave and run freely. He was shortening her time by doing this, and she had gotten even more irritated by every moment.

[Silver]

Rosethorn and Shrubwhisker both looked up from sharing tongues, curiosity in both their eyes. They quickly rose, skirting the fresh kill pile they had been lying next to. "I hope this is nothing more than an apprentice ceremony," Shrubwhisker whispered fretfully. Life had been good since ThunderClan and RiverClan combined; there was always prey for the warriors and herbs for the medicine cats. The days were cooler with the river to rest by. But WindClan and ShadowClan still had refused Duskstar's idea, though no moves were made to attack that Shrubwhisker and Rosethorn were aware of. "I hope so too, although Duskstar looks far too serious for a simple apprentice ceremony. As much as I hope your right, I have a sinking feeling this isn't about kits," Rosethorn whispered back solemnly. Shrubwhisker's eyes grew wide, but he stayed silent, patiently waiting Duskstar's announcement.

[Crane]

Noxshadow lazily opened one eye as he heard Duskstar's summons. He sounded slightly crazier than usual - not that Noxshadow was one to talk. He stood up and stretched, shook the moss out of his brown-and-white fur, and padded into the clearing. He spotted Mountainpelt, but he'd only just woken up and was in no mood to be rejected by the love of his life. Besides, her tail was twitching impatiently, symbolizing that she was in a filthy mood as well. He sighed and plonked himself down in an empty space, gazing up at Duskstar, waiting for his announcement.

Moonkit gasped as she heard a voice. No, she hadn't been discovered, had she? She listened again, more carefully. It was simply Duskstar calling a Clan meeting. Well, she'd better go see hat it was about.
Sneakily, she left the Medicine Cat's den, which she had been exploring. The herbs smelt nice, and she was curious to see what was inside. She slipped from the entrance, hoping her black pelt would help her blend in to the shadows. Then, she trotted in cheerily, pretending she was an apprentice. Hopefully nobody would make her leave - she wanted to see what was going on.

[it's FiSHY, scaredy-cat.]

stumble...knot?

The leader's voice boomed. Stumbleknot instinctively pricked his ears and padded quickly toward the High Rock, swiftly stepping up to a low, flat surface of the stone. Here he wasn't at the level of the leader, but distinguished still. He was the deputy, after all.

Other cats were already gathering, here before him. Dawnpaw came out complaining something to her mother. Shrubwhisker and Rosethorn stopped midway from sharing tongues and exchanged whispers. Mountainpelt let out a hiss as she trotted to a spot, away from Noxshadow, who looked in a weary mood and squat down with a sigh. Those two are sure a funny couple, thought Stumbleknot, and this was uncommon for he wasn't the type to take notice of such things easily. But he had been on a very alert mode these days from all the hecticness happening, and from the way Duskstar sounded, this clan meeting didn't mean well.

Stumbleknot looked up warily. Just after one heartbeat, he cringed at the way the leader was scraping his claws against the worn rock. Waves of impatience seemed to flow from him. The deputy looked away. He closed his eyes, imagining how taut the leader must be looking more every second, fur bristling. This of course was just a thought, but Stumbleknot didn't dare check for one quick glare from Duskstar in that condition would've sent him fleeing. But then, that was just a thought as well, wasn't it?

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[Eagleh]

halak

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He was most definately confused. After escaping from the terrifying gaze and glinting claws of Stumbolnot - or whatever his name was - Halak had immediately taken to exploring the forest. For the most part, he had avoided the scent of cats, darting into the underbrush whenever others had been around. He didn't know what they thought, but he guessed these strange Clan cats just supposed he was some loner. And, for all intents and purposes, that was what he was. Not a housecat. Not a Clan cat. A loner.

So why, today, had he decided to actually follow the scent of a crazy cat through the bracken of the Clan territory? His first though, on scenting the crazed tom and hearing him pelt through the trees, had been to warn Stumbolnot. Then he had decided that he himself must be crazy. Stumbolnot could take care of himself. But the doubt had gnawed within him until he had eventually just began to run towards the place where all the cat scents congregated.

"Stumbolnot!" exclaimed Halak as he darted into the clearing. His neck fur was fluffed up, and the intimidating stares of the others didn't exactly help him. "Stumbolnot, zere is a crazy tom and he's on his vay heah," said the golden tabby, breathing out rapidly. Then he looked up to see the exact same tom standing proudly on a tall rock. Halak cast a glance from the tom to Stumbolnot to the assembled cats and back to Stumbolnot again. "Vait. You are listeningk to him?"[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[xx snakey]

Duskstar raised a quiet eyebrow at the loner. He seemed... odd. He had a weird way of talking. "Stumbleknot? Is... that your friend? Does he have important business here?" His voice was hushed, only for the deputy. The other cat looked strong, for a young cat, lean, a good runner. Maybe, a good messenger. "Bu never mind that now. We will talk in a moment." Duskstar flicked his tail dismissively and turned to the clan.

"We attack Shadowclan on the day before the Gathering." It was blunt, straight forward, true. He felt surprisingly calm all of a sudden, without a care in the world. His clan was strong, he would lead them to battle and they would not fail. "We will follow Cranefeather's warriors into battle and will come out victorious. If there are any objections-" He paused, leaning forward and looking the assembled cats each in turn, reached out a paw to scraped his claws against the smooth High Rock stone. "Speak now and suffer the consequences." It was a blatant threat and he would not stop in harming any of the cats below him. He paused, waiting for a moment, then nodded. "Good. I would like to speak to Noxshadow, Stumbleknot and Shrubwhisker alone." He leapt down off of High Rock, then eyed the golden tabby. "And you as well, new comer." He spoke specifically to the loner, then caught the form of Moonkit in his eye. "You." He approached the kit with authority in his gaze. His lethal form would be enough to scare most cats, but his odd smile was attempting to be gentle. "You should be in the Nursery." He said sternly, then leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You would be doing your clan a great favor if you went with Silverflower and helped prepare for the battle. Will you do that?" He drew away, a gentle smile on his face, the one he used with Dawnpaw when she was young. He then flicked his tail at Silverflower, nodded to Moonkit and then the medicine den. Silverflower padded over reluctantly and padded over to Moonkit. "Come on. You have a talent, I could definitely use the help." She turned and hoped Moonkit would follow her as she went. Duskstar turned back to return to the High Rock then looked at Dawnpaw, who was waiting expectantly for his orders.

"Dawnpaw." He licked her head affectionately. "I need you to do me a favor." She was practically wiggling with anticipation. "Yes Father?' She replied, licking his chest fur to keep it from fluffing up. Duskstar smiled, dropping his voice. "There's a tunnel under the Thunderpath that leads into Shadowclan territory. Hide there. I want to know how many patrols are going by and how many cats there are. And any other information you can get, alright?" Dawnpaw jumped up, puffing out her chest in pride. "You can trust me, Father!" She mewed, then bolted out of the camp.

Duskstar returned to the High Rock. "Now Stumbleknot. Who is your friend?" Duskstar asked, eyeing Mountainpelt and Rosethorn. He hadn't given them any orders. Reluctantly he flicked his tail for them to join him.

[Crane]

Noxshadow listened to Duskstar's speech intently, trying to pick up any other meaning behind the words, but finding none. They really were attacking ShadowClan then? His ears pricked up of their own accord as he heard Duskstar mention his name. What would the leader possibly want to talk to him about?
He snorted. Maybe he got to go on some sort of fun suicide mission. Knowing Duskstar, that sort of insane tactic wouldn't surprise him. He hoped not though, that would really suck. He couldn't wait for Mountainpelt's kits to be born.

Moonkit's sky-blue eyes widened as they locked with Duskstar's, then he came towards her, wit tat gait of his. Not open and normal as most cat's would be around camp, more of an aggressive crouch. Barely noticable except to her kit eyes. But he wasn't going to pounce on her, she knew that much.
He leant down and whispered in her ear, his odd smile not reassuring, but not scary either. She returned the grin, as he asked her to go work with Silverflower.
"I will," she agreed, As surely as the moon will be full tonight. She looked up sunnily to Silverflower, and trotted after Silverflower, excited to explore the Medicine Cat's den. This time she wouldn't have to worry about being caught.

[Silverheart]

Shrubwhisker and Rosethorn listened in stunned silence. So. The war had finally come to bloom. Shrubwhisker cowered submissivly beside Rosethorn, who stood in silence. Neither cat could honestly grip what they were hearing. Both cats pricked up their ears as Duskstar finished his announcement. "Me?" Shrubwhisker whispered. "What could he possible want with me?" he asked Rosethorn. The she-cat glanced at him, her eyes unreadable. "You'd best find out," she murmured in return. Shrubwhisker gave Rosethorn one last terrified look before he slunk over to Duskstar. What is going through his mind? I'm not a battler, he knows it. What could he possibly want with me? the brown tom thought. He waited silently as Duskstar finished speaking to Moonkit, glancing around nervously. The others were already breaking up, whispering feverently to each other. Noxshadow and Stumbleknot approached, and together the three of them made their way to Duskstar to hear what he had to say. For our ears only

[it's FiSHY, scaredy-cat.]

A familiar scent came by. Then out of the bushes, Halak came leaping into the clearing.

"Stumbolnot!"

"Halak?" Stumbleknot said in a hushed voice, his tone half warningly and half surprise.

The wandering tom continued to speak in his strange accent, breathing quickly as he spoke. Then he looked up and glanced around. "Vait. You are listeningk to him?"

Stumbleknot stared. "Y-yes..." he mewed with a slight nod and narrowed eyes. Then before he was prepared, Duskstar turned to him and mewed in low whispers.

"Stumbleknot? Is...that your friend? Does he have important business here?" he said. Then his eyes drifted to Halak, whom he observed carefully with thoughts Stumbleknot couldn't tell.

"I'm sorry, Duskst--" Stumbleknot replied as smoothly as he could, but his leader flicked his tail in dismissal.

"But never mind that now. We will speak in a moment."

Stumleknot trailed off as he watched Duskstar pad away. "Right..."

Then Duskstar shifted to his loud, booming leader-voice. He made a couple threats as he declared attacks, but Stumbleknot's mind was only half on it. He was more focused on Halak behind him. He had let him wander as he wish, but didn't he say not to interfere, or something along the lines of those? Perhaps he didn't. Mouse-dung, now what am I to do? he thought angrily, which was not himself. Maybe I should've chased him away. But I didn't. I should've.

"Now, Stumbleknot. Who is your friend?"

"My friend?" Stumbleknot had to jerk himself back to reality. "I'm sorry, Duskstar, this must be a misunderstanding..." He turned to face Halak, gave him a stern glance, and turned back to his leader. "This is...Halak, a kittypet. I caught him wandering along the borders of our territory earlier." Then the deputy padded closer to Duskstar and brushed his pelt. As he did so, he mewed silently into his ear, "Do you mind if we talk about this somewhere a bit more private?"

Instinctively, he bolted straight to a shaded spot behind the highrock, leaving Halak abandoned on the clearing edge.

OOC; sorry...this was a terrible post o.o

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[wolfkitten]

Tumblestep had been out hunting when the Clan meeting was called. She was troubled as she often had been lately. This wasn't right. Sure the peace between RiverClan and the sharing of prey made things easier, but she wouldn't step paw over there... It wasn't right, it was all wrong. This wasn't how the Clans were to live. They were to live each to their own territory living and defending their borders, not trying to take the entire forest for themselves. She hissed slightly to herself past the three rabbits clutched in her jaws as she bounded into the camp.

The first thing that caught her gaze was the breaking up of the bunch of cats. She cringed inwardly. great... I missed another meeting... she thought to herself, as this had not been the first meeting she missed... And yet it was likely good she did miss it, for she would likely have been one to speak up and suffer said consequences. Well she would bound in and drop her catch before moving toward Rosethorn, hoping to be looked over by their Leader.

She looked around for Shrubwhisker, finding him and wincing as he moved toward Duskstar. What was he doing... But she would mew a hello to Rosethorn as she got closer. "Rosethorn... Good day, what is going on..." She looked around with anxious eyes as she surveyed the gathered cats. "I missed another one didn't I..." She cringed a little, feeling very uncertain and out of the loop.

[Eagleh]

He frowned. Why was Stumbolnot acting so oddly around him? Halak’s eyes widened as he realized that he hadn’t just stumbled into a meeting of various cats, but that he had happened on their camp itself – the place where their nursing queens and the sick and frail lived. He took an instinctive step back, but it was too late. Stumbolnot and the crazy tom had both noticed him. Anxiety began to grow a pit in his stomach. They wouldn’t hurt him, would they? He hadn’t taken any prey, just like he had promised Stumbolnot when the powerful tom had let him stay on Clan territory. Having realized his mistake, Halak was ready to leave when the tom on top of the large rock began to speak to Stumbolnot.
Who is your friend?

”Duskestah,” murmured Halak, tasting the crazy tom’s name on his tongue. He whirled around, fur burning with indignation when Stumbolnot called him a kittypet. ”Stumbolnot! No, not anymore, never again,” he protested hotly before turning to the Duskehstah. He could explain himself. ”My namke is Halak. I have been on your land, but I have not been huntingk. Stumbolnot told me that vas okay.”

Then Stumbolnot bolted, following Duskestah into his den when the leader – Halak had figured it all out now – asked to see him in there. The golden tabby stood there awkwardly until Duskestah beckoned him to come as well. He hesitated a moment before following him into the confines of his den, mildly aware that Stumbolnot might get into trouble because of him. He apologized silently by brushing his tail down the other tom’s flank. Stumbolnot hadn’t wanted him to follow, but Duskestah had asked for his prescense, and so…

He turned to the crazy tom. ”Vat do you vant to know frum me?”

OOC. halak needs to join thunderclan somehow and be given the name hurricanepaw; i have the feeling he'll be referring to duskstar as 'the crazy tom' for the rest of his days c:

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[it's FiSHY, scaredy-cat.]

OOC: that's fine, Eagleh. ^^ I'm just waiting for Snakey to post, and then I will

[Silver]

(FFF. Eagleh, I just love Halak XD His accent is amazing~)

Rosethorn watched Shrubwhisker slink away, a hollow feeling in her heart. He was like a son to her; she had spent every day of several seasons teaching him everything she knew. It hurt to think that soon they would have to face a war neither had the heart to fight. Her attention was drawn to strange character being drawn into Duskstar's den, and she was about to follow him when Tumblestep came up to her. Ah. Another young one dear to her heart. Rosethorn still could see bits of Solarwind in the young she-cat that seemed to have fallen for her own apprentice. She missed him terribly. She missed training Shrubwhisker and Tumblestep with Solarwind in the sandy hollow. But most of all, she missed the feeling of security and serenity that the air held, the promise of what was to come. A promises never fulfilled, she realized bitterly.

"Good day, Tumblestep," she rumbled, inclining her head slightly towards the she-cat. I missed another one didn't I... Tumblestep sighed. Rosethorn nodded solemnly. "You would have figured it out soon enough. Duskstar announced that we are to officially attack ShadowClan. I believe he's waiting on word from Cranefeather, but that could come any day now. For all I know, we could be at war by tomorrow," Rosethorn sighed. "He's asked Shrubwhisker, Noxshadow, and Stumbleknot to see him in his den. I have no idea what they're going to discuss," she added, noticing Tumblestep's searching eyes. Rosethorn lightly rested her tail on the she-cat's back, a sign of friendship and affection. Though too choked up with emotion to say it, Rosethorn's dark gleaming eyes said it for her; I hope the best for both of you in the near future.

[xx snakey]

ooc: thats okay, Eagleh, most do call Duskstar crazy behind his back. lol.

Duskstar flicked his tail for Noxshadow and Shrubwhisker to follow then padded after Stumbleknot into his den. Halak quickly appeared as well. Paying little to no mind to Stumbleknot, as the tom was 'stumbling' for words again he looked Halak over with appraising eyes. "You are young, strong. Fit, I'd say. You've been staying in our territory then? Can you hunt? Defend yourself?" The words were curt and sharp. The massive gray tom must have seemed quite intimidating to Halak, though the golden kit showed no fear. He smiled, a wicked, devious smile. "Would you like to join Thunderclan, Halak?" He asked, his voice almost gentle. He could use more warriors, more cats to fight for him. "I'm sure Stumbleknot has told you," He sent Stumbleknot a pleased glance, then turned once again to the young tom. "Clan life is hard, but rewarding. You will be free from your kittypet life, and free to roam the entire forest. No one will challenge your right to be here. And the clan will take care of you until the end of your days, if you will care for it. What do you say?" Duskstar watched the young cat with an odd intensity. He wanted this cat to stay in his clan. He might even mentor it himself, or Stumbleknot, or maybe even Noxshadow. Shrubwhisker was already charged with the task of training Dawnpaw, but these cats were the cats he'd watched, and trusted. Noxshadow was obviously devious, not unlike himself, but too young maybe, with only a mind for she-cats. And Stumbleknot and Shrubwhisker were easily manipulated, easy to force into submission. The rest of the clan was too... open minded. He hated it. "Give yourself a moment to decide, Halak." THe words were like poison, but he knew, somewhere, that he'd been blessed with another potential warrior. This cat would be a fine addition to the clan.

ooc: Do you have a mentor picked out for him yet, Eagleh? ^-^