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Post by .. luxx .. on Dec 21, 2014 15:50:20 GMT
It had only been four moons since Olivestar had chosen to abdicate in favor of her deputy, Russetclaw. The old she-cat wished to spend her remaining moons in the elders den, she had become much too old to lead her clan properly, and was often shaken with harsh coughs and chills. The old cat was no fool, she knew that her time as leader was fading, that the clan needed new blood at the helm. She wished to see how this young leader would fair before she finally left for StarClan. It was only two moons after did the old she-cat finally let go. Russetstar himself was still in a slight state of abnegation. At times he would return to camp and expect to see his predecessor watching the clan from the mouth of her den like she had always done, only to find Olivestar was no longer there.
The ginger leader shook his head darkly as he turned his gaze to the ground. Although his clan was doing well since he stepped up and accepted his nine lives, Russetstar knew that could handle at any moment. It would then be his job to make important decisions, decisions he may not make correctly, then what would happen? It's hard to tell what could happen, but his decision could effect his beloved clan for moons and moons to come, it could even haunt him for the rest of his leadership. Russetstar didn't want to have that type of responsibility, but he had accepted the position of deputy and Olivestar had known he could do well, after all, she had been his former mentor, no one knew him better than she did. She knew his strengths and weaknesses like the back of her paw.
Lifting his gaze once more, Russetstar shifted his eyes, scanning the camp from the base of a large pine tree along the outskirts of ShadowClan camp. The slowly setting sun cast ominous shadows across the ground. The low hanging bramble causing the camp to be dark, but not dreary. It seemed to still be full of much life, hopefully apprentices congregated around camp chattering about how their training was holding up and about their mentors. Several kits scurried about, play fighting and pretending to be the fiercest warriors of the forest under the watchful eye of their mother. Russetstar couldn't help but smile at the small creatures, he remembered when he had been just like one of them.
Pulling his eyes from the kits, Russetstar turned his attention to the rest of camp. Dens would have to be reinforced before leafbare reached its harshest. They would start with the nursery, the kits were the least accustom to the cold and had the greatest risk of sickness. The elders den would then be fixed, after all they were much weaker and would more easily become the subject of sickness. After that they would move up the hierarchy, the apprentice den then the warriors den, somewhere in between would be the medicine cats den, but that all depended on when they would be allowed in. Lastly Russetstar would allow his own den to be better insulated which he would do himself with the aid of possibly one other warrior.
Wanting to take a break from overthinking and becoming overly stressed, the dark ginger leader padded up to the entrance of his den, leaping onto the overhanging hazel branch. This was normally the place he gave announcements, but he also enjoyed sitting atop it in order to get a good vantage point to overlook his clan.
WORD COUNT: ??
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Post by praline on Dec 26, 2014 5:07:31 GMT
♔ A long shadow like that from a silhouette act followed pace with a tall, graceful she-cat as she padded across the soil that was worn from so many others making the same rounds as her. The dark figure that walked with a confidence that seemed to radiate from the tips of her feathered fur gazed fully at each busy body, as if to measure whether they were working with purpose. The sun was slowly but surely drifting from its midpoint in the sky and evening was nearly here to bless the warriors with shade and a cool atmosphere to work in. Those were smart took time to take advantage of this while those who had played their part in a day's work lounged and spoke of clan gossip and news of their endeavors.
Ebonyfeather took a glance at the fairly sized fresh-kill pile, taking mental inventory. Not bad, she thought absentmindedly to herself. We could be worse off. Her duties as the clan deputy involved keeping track of several things thus requiring an efficient memory and a good eye. A slip of a detail and everything could go awry if the she-cat wasn't careful. Ebonyfeather was able to appreciate the positives of being ranked deputy despite having to endure early mornings and late nights with little sleep. Of course, her confidence allowed her to fight right into the position. She remember when their old leader had retired and her mentor Russetclaw had taken his name and received his nine lives.
It came as a surprise to her when he called her name to step up to the overhanging branch. She could remember the shadow it cast onto her as if to try and shadow her from the sight of the other clan members as her black fur blended with the darkness. Ebonyfeather tried to remain brave with a confident stride but in that rare moment she could feel that her usual sense of confidence was wavering. So many questions had plagued her mind in that one moment. Ebonyfeather could only think of how she would do and what would her clan members think? Would they even accept her? Her self-doubt had been in vain as, once she accepted with as much dignity as she could muster, the clan congratulated her with the support of true and loyal warriors, old and young.
Ebonyfeather caught herself smiling and quickly groomed down her chest fur only to catch a swift movement in her peripheral vision. Turning her head, she spotted the auburn cat himself climbing up onto the same place he had given her the name of clan deputy. Padding over so that she could gaze up to him, she purred. "Enjoying the view?" Ebonyfeather teased him lighty. She had been his first apprentice and boy, did she give him a handful. The she-cat had always admired his ability to handle her difficult temper and was surprised he had made it through all that time. Ebonyfeather was glad he had, though, as he had shaped her into the strong, independent hard-worker she was today and, in ways, he was still a teacher to her.
Now that she was older and much more calm, they were able to enjoy each others company and had come to be very close. Ebonyfeather loved taking her chance to tease him when she could though they did still have their arguments, more often than not. coded by pinn @ thq |
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Post by .. luxx .. on Dec 26, 2014 16:27:03 GMT
Russetstar gazed upon his clan, watching as the falling sun cast long, beautiful shadows over the camp, sending different patters of light scattering over the ground. He continued to watch as the busy clan life occurred beneath his paws. He couldn't help but worry about this coming leaf bare. At the moment the weather was calm, they had seen light snow, but had yet to see it fully. It was odd, normally by now there would be a layer that at least covered his paws in certain parts of the territory. He wondered if real snow would never come, or if it was saving up its power and it would hit harder than ever. This was what really worried him.
The sound of a familiar voice shook Russetstar from his reverie. Of course all his clan mates voices were familiar to him, but this voice was more so, the mere sound of it caused a slight smile cross his face. Gazing down, he caught sight of Ebonyfeather, his deputy as she padded over. He gave her a slight smile. He knew she was young, yes, but he had seen great potential in the she-cat. Potential that was not fully developed, but he knew that eventually she would be ready. Some cats had asked him why he had picked such a young and inexperienced warrior, especially when there were so many other older, possibly more skilled warriors. Russetstar didn't let any of those cats cloud his decision, he knew what he was doing and he told them that.
Russetstar couldn't help but chuckle slightly at his former apprentices remark. "Well of course, not even StarClan has a view as good as this, he called back humorously with a side smile. He remembered the times when Ebonyfeather barely reached past his shoulder. Back then, she had been a very hard to handle young she-cat. Of course she was still a rather fiery she-cat, but she was now much calmer. Back then, she always seemed to be questioning his judgement, defying his orders, not to extremes of course, but enough to frustrate the young, inexperienced tom.
In his younger years, Russetstar had been much more short-tempered than he was now. He was irrational, and because he had been the leaders apprentice, was much more proud than he would have liked to admit. They had clashed too much in the beginning, and Ebonyfeather then caused him to question and rethink all that as a result. In order to even have rational conversation with Ebonyfeather, he had to become calmer, he had to completely rethink his approach to mentoring not long after. That had been a success, Ebonyfeather had grown into a strong young she-cat, and Russetstar liked to think that he could at least take partial credit for that.
WORD COUNT: ??
TAGS: praline
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Post by praline on Dec 29, 2014 19:43:56 GMT
♔Smiling to herself, Ebonyfeather raised her brow as she gazed up in wonder at Russetstar. "You couldn't be more true, Russetstar." The thing about Shadowclan's territory was that their prey was theirs, their land was theirs. They had adapted to the surrounding marshes and grown an appetite for the frogs that commonly infested the lands. Thunderclan, Windclan, and Riverclan alike despised the mushy mud beneath their paws and the rubbery, salty taste of the frogs. It wasn't often that the others were quick to choose Shadowclan to try and steal territory from. They had no use for the trouble of the mud and if they did try to take anything, it was to try and spite the clan. It was a joke when they did try, though. Their paws would often sink into the ground as trying to attack from the safety of pines was just as troublesome. As for stealing prey, Shadowclan usually had their back-up of frogs as who would want to eat them other than those who had grown accustomed to the taste. Their loss. Ebonyfeather thought to herself, almost belittling them. However, she understood that each clan had their own likes and dislikes.
Ebonyfeather loved the pride and solidarity of Shadowclan. They may seem like the clan that is stubborn, arrogant, and keeps to themselves in the safety of the shadows but that wasn't as close to the truth as they themselves had come to understand. Too quick to judge a book by its cover Ebonyfeather though, shaking her head. Bringing herself from the depths of her thoughts, the dark she-cat spoke again, "Its too bad the other clans fail to see the beauty of the land Shadowclan treads. Mocking the other clans, Ebonyfeather snorted. Though each and every one of them had their differences, seeing eye-to-eye was definitely not the easiest thing for her. It was too easy to want to debate that Shadowclan was, or rather, is just as good if not better than even Thunderclan, the supposed "heroes" of the forest. One could argue that Windclan cats were too skittish or that Riverclan were just as slippery as the fish they catch.
But, alas, as a representative of her own clan, Ebonyfeather took caution when letting her arrogance and pride poke through. Russetstar had helped her to think before speaking but when the fire was lit for the temperamental cat, there was no extinguishing it until it blew itself out. This still is her greatest downfall no matter how much she hated to admit it. This was one thing that older cats often questioned about her and about Russetstar's decision in promoting her to the stance of deputy within the clan. Ebonyfeather was not the most rational and clear-headed cat sometimes and that much she could admit about herself. coded by pinn @ thq |
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