FOOL ME ONCE, I'M ON MY OWN ✦ [ SEPTEMBER MEETING ]

[SOOTSTAR]

Another gathering, another late night meeting. Tired (and likely angry) paws carry her atop of Tallrock. From there she allows her voice to ring with clarity throughout camp, "Let all cats old enough to race the moors gather beneath the Tallrock!" With that she waits with minor impatients. Her taill whipping against the cool stone that held her paws.

Only once a majority of her clan was settled beneath the rock, eyes locked on her, would she begin. "I thank you all for gathering tonight. Many of us have just returned from the gathering... and as predicted by many of us it was... interesting." She'd get more into it soon enough, she wanted to start this meeting with something light-hearted. Good news, something to be proud of.

"I have several things to discuss tonight, but first I'd like to spotlight some cats who have been splendid at being present and attentive this past moon. @ivoryflight. , @WEASELCLAW , @hyacinthbreath , @Dandelionpaw , @honeytwist , @Inkylotus and @Duskfire" (AND AN OOC ADDITION FOR @KESTRELTALON , @MALLOWLARK , @LEECHPAW ). Sootstar meows, gving all named cats a warm smile of approval. "Keep up the good work. And the rest of you? Praise awaits you too if you rise to the same standard as these cats. But do know I am proud of all of us for another successful moon as WindClan."

// AM SORRY if i did miss anyone worthy of a shout out! I did my best but obv im human and prone to fault, feel free to call me out or go ? politely if i have!
will get to the rest of the meeting once the drama of the gathering actually occurs !! also using this gif every meeting because im extra and i like being exta also i paid 150 dollas for this so imma use it whenever i can dont hate B)

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[hyacinthbreath]

It felt good, to be praised for her hard work. Despite all of the going-ons happening right now, she couldn't help but smile at the mention of her name. @Coldpaw | Coldkill was sat by her side, and she could barely contain her pride. Today must be the day. He'd passed his test, earning her approval to become a Warrior- with Sootstar's own acknowledgement she hoped. Dipping her head in thanks to the praise, Hyacinth would listen to the rest of the meeting in stoic silence.​

 

[Blacklotus]

Everything Stays​

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Having dragged himself from the comfort of his nest within the medicien den at the sound of Sootstars' voice. He was feel better the last few days, eating more and less crusty, and he was seen more around camp now. Inkylotus perked up his ears the mention of his name and gave a small smile, even though he had been sick the last few days he was glad he was still of service. ​

 

[Duskfire]

I WANT SOMETHING JUST LIKE THIS​

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At the call for a meeting, Dusk would get to his paws and shake out his coat, finished with his meal anyways. The copper-gold tom let out a sound of greeting toward Inky, brushing against the tom affectionately as he made his way to the front of the group to sit at the base of the Tallrock, beneath Sootstar. This was his place as Deputy, and he no longer felt any hesitation in claiming it for himself. He knew he had Sootstars approval after their talk, and he was proud of what he'd accomplished and acquired during his career with Windclan. He found himself in agreement with the names called, noting that everyone had been doing well in pulling their weigh lately. With Thunderclan and Shadowclan currently suffering the effects of the fire and Riverclan playing host to one of them, he had to admit that Windclan was doing okay for themselves- for now at least.​

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windclan warrior - male - 18 months - homosexual - polyamorous - single - tall, strong bengal tomcat

 

[ivoryflight.]

Finding a seat amongst the crowd, Ivoryflight was not expecting any forms of praise to say the least. Upon hearing Sootstar praise her for her work around the clan recently, she was unaware of the surprised expression that crossed her face momentarily. Looking for each of her clanmates that earned praise themselves, Ivory would mentally note to congratulate them in the future as well. Quietly, Ivoryflight would wait to see what else would be discussed in the meeting.
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[KESTRELTALON ^]

I KNOW THAT YOU MEAN SO WELL

Kestreltalon sat in silent attendance, on her best behavior for what was perhaps the first time in her life. Her posture was straight, and she sat still and silent. Though her eye was filled with dreadful anger and hate and, though she was loath to admit it, fear. Notably, she avoided Sootstar's gaze. As much as it frustrated her, her leader's lesson had taught her well. The mark across her now useless eye served as a reminder to her never to act out in Sootstar's presence.

Not yet, at least.​

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[Irispath]

That was certainly a gathering. All he wanted to do was curl up in a hole and go to sleep. But a meeting was called, so his slumber was delayed. He sat amongst his gathered clanmates and offered those mentioned a kind smile on their jobs well done, but other than that, he did not speak. He had expended his social energy for the night. It needed to recharge. He would simply watch and listen to what his leader had to say.
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[SOOTSTAR]

Sootstar is pleased to see many of them happy with their shoutouts. Even though it was small, she hopes its somewhat boosted morale... they needed it, especially after that mess of a gathering. Sootstar had been partially expecting a shitshow, but she could've never predicted all the words sad.

She lets out a staggered sigh before she begins to talk about the events of the gathering. "In front of the clans, Blazestar named me a murderer for the death of Haze. I defended myself, but Cicadastar brought up an issue I thought to be buried. Revealed to the clans that Weaselclaw had attacked him, an event that occured over a moon ago now... Weaselclaw was still new to clan life, we all were really back then, had no idea who Cicadastar was. Thought he was yet another tresspassing loner." Sootstar explains for those who are unaware, new joiners, young cats, etc.

"Weaselclaw had been brought to RiverClan to apologize, Cicadastar told me WindClan and RiverClan were on good terms. Guess what SkyClan said and Weaselclaw's promotion upset him, so good terms with RiverClan we are no longer." It was stupid really, she believed Cicadastar was making a mistake and Sootstar wouldn't be quick to forgive him for it.

"SkyClan and RiverClan made it pretty clear- or blatantly said, they look down on us. Didn't stick around for Emberstar to verbalize her thoughts, but ThunderClan is friends to RiverClan. We can consider them our enemies as well." Terrible news really, but... shockingly Sootstar didn't seem to bothered by it. She was confident in her clans independence, too confident. "This may be concerning, but I assure everyone WindClan will be fine. None of the clans are in any position to raise a claw against WindClan, and if they did I suspect StarClan would be quite displeased with them. No one else at the gathering reported recieving StarClan's good fortune and blessings, no... quite the opposite in fact."

She looks up into the starry sky, "We are the closest to StarClan than any of these other clans are. We sleep under their watchful eye, no trees cover their field of vision. We are the closest to the moonstone, and StarClan has shown through signs they are pleased with us. We are the most successful clan, StarClan's choosen clan, and we will never have a thing to fear."

So long as they kept the gods and goddesses of the sky happy.

"If there are any remaining concerns, speak them now and I or my high rankings will answer you." ​

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[Wormtail]

Right- there was a gathering tonight, huh? He had forgotten, too busy with his head in the clouds. Or dirt, in his case. He was reluctant to get out of his nest, but far be it from him to ignore a meeting call from Sootstar. He dragged himself out of the den and sat towards the back of the group gathered. He wondered what had happened at the gathering. Was there drama? He bet there was drama. He bet someone said something stupid. He was a little eager to hear what news was about to be shared.
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[ivoryflight.]

Still remaining quiet, Ivoryflight would nod along as Sootstar explained what had happened at the gathering. While she had been presenting, having the explained background information was something she was thankful to have. Opening her jaws to mention she had no further questions. One thought did cross her mind. “Forgive me for asking Sootstar… but what if the other clans plan to retaliate? Do we have a plan in mind for how we’d handle that situation?” She trusted that her leader had something in mind, and didn’t doubt that she would do everything in her power to protect the clan. On the other paw however, Ivoryflight knew one clan alone couldn’t beat four others if it came down to it.
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[OWLPAW]

Owlpaw was not sure what to make of the things she had heard at the Gathering. It was not the accusations about Weaselclaw that scared her but rather that her mother had murdered someone, regardless of whether they had attacked first. It left a bad taste in her mouth, made her uneasy, but this meeting was not the place to question it. She sat off to herself and curled her tail around her paws, shuffling them against the bare earth. Ivoryflight posed a valid question. If the forest turned against WindClan, not even StarClan's protection could save them from that kind of wrath. Maybe the stars were angry with them too for her mother's decisions. She could not expect to stay in StarClan's favor if she had taken a life and felt no remorse for doing so. She cast her eyes to the ground, unable to look at the blue smoke any longer.

Ask your damn questions and then shut up about it. I don't want to hear about this anymore, she thought, gritting her teeth as she waited for Ivoryflight's question to be answered, hoping that was the last of any inquiries. For once, she wanted to hear about promotions and all of that boring stuff she typically overlooked. As long as she could forget Sootstar had taken someone's life.

out of character information

•  
• OWLPAW — she/her / 4 moons / apprentice of windclan
  ㅤ⤷ sootstar x flint / longhair blue smoke bicolor with orange eyes.
  ㅤ⤷ healing & peaceful powerplay allowed / attack in underline, bold, or italics.
  ㅤ⤷ penned by regina / more detailed bio here.

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[WEASELCLAW]

Weaselclaw bows his head to Sootstar at her words of praise, surprised by them despite knowing he's worked his tail off for the Clan this last moon. His fur is still burning from the Gathering, the judgmental looks cast his way and the way the leaders had spoken to Sootstar. He's still furious, still attempting and failing to control the expression of anger on his face.

Sootstar tells the rest of the Clan what had occurred, and Weaselclaw lashes his tail. "I've done what I could to right my mistake. If Cicadastar is that quick to turn on us for kittypets, then maybe my instincts were right the first time." He sinks his claws into the earth. "I've beaten Cicadastar once. Unless he plans to attack us underwater, I do not fear RiverClan."

But he takes a deep breath, attempts to let the anger roll off of his tabby pelt. Sootstar is right. WindClan prospers, despite everything, and he will continue to do everything in his power to ensure it continues that way. He gives her a slight nod, as if to say so, before letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
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PENNED BY MARQUETTE​

 

[Moonshadow]

ALL THE KING'S HORSES​

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At the call for a meeting Moonshadow would slip out of the nursery and sit near the entrance to listen to the newest report from the gathering. If any of her kits joined her out in the open, she would simply keep them from going too far by wrapping her tail around them.

A soft frown would touch her lips at the news, remembering the very day Blazestar had brought up as she was present herself. She listened to the rest with quiet interest and would twitch her ears are a few of her clanmates spoke up as well. Something about what Sootstar was saying made her....uneasy.

Her beloved leader sounded far too similar to her father when he used to give his speeches about how his decisions were for the good of all. She would shuffle her paws, but remain silent. Experience had already shown her what happened when she spoke against a leader, this litter would not meet the same fate as her first. ​

 

[SOOTSTAR]

The first questioner, Ivoryflight. A reasonable question... one that Sootstar stumbles on. A plan for if the other clans retaliate? Well for one, they had no damn reason to... retaliating because she defended her borders would be stupid. Retaliating because she promoted a deserving tom despite his past mistakes would be stupid. Truth be told, she does not see them raising their claws any time soon... but she doesn't blame her clan-mates for the "what if's?" floating around in their head.

"There is no plan, if all four clans decide to come and attack us I won't lie to you, we're fucked." She meows bluntly, but honestly. It seems even her ego wouldn't give her the confidence to believe WindClan could take on all the clans in the forest. "But if SkyClan or RiverClan retaliates- we'd be fine. To take caution we can add extra reinforcements to the camp walls and have at least one cat keeping guard at night for the next couple moon phases. All we can do is keep our guard up." At least that's all Sootstar could think to do... she's never been in this situation before. How do they prepare for the worst?

Sootstar appreciates Weaselclaw's words of confidence, for her clans sake she hopes it won't come to a battle with RiverClan... but if it does they would show no fear and fight valiantly. They'd come out victorious, she had no doubt in her mind. "If clans want to fight us, they will have to come to us. We know these hills better than any cats out there and how to use them to our advantage. We'd win with ease." RiverClan wouldn't be able to use their advantage in the water in the hills, just like SkyClan wouldn't be able to use their trees.

Her gaze momentarily meets Ivoryflight's, "I hope that somewhat answers your question. No concrete plan but preparing defenses for now, but ultimately, I think the odds of them making any sort of move is low." An ebony nose twitches against a cool breeze, "Duskfire, Hyacinithbreath, Weaselclaw, I want you three to take charge in beginning to build up our defenses. Claws-out battle training... as safely as possible while creating a realistic environment for cats to prepare themselves in. Reinforce the gorse walls, more marking along the border, getting cats to help the medicine cats stock up on herbs, and anything else you can think of."

"If there are any questions, concerns, or ideas, now is the time to verbalize them. If there are none we will move on with ceremonies." ​

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[Duskfire]

I WANT SOMETHING JUST LIKE THIS​

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The tensions running between the clans right now were nothing to scoff at, even Dusk could see that. The copper-gold tom could understand the anxiety of his clanmates, but he didn't believe they were yet at a place where Windclan was in danger from anyone other than Skyclan. After all, while Riverclan may be upset about Weaseclaws promotion, there hadn't been any farther incidents between their groups after the initial one with Cicadastar.

"Of course Sootstar. And if it helps to ease everyones minds, I can speak to the Tunnelers about having an emergency evacuation route prepared for the queens, kits, and elders should anything like that ever come to pass." he offered, hoping it would help to ease their nerves knowing there was a way out for them if things ever did go that south.
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windclan warrior - male - 18 months - homosexual - polyamorous - single - tall, strong bengal tomcat

 

[ivoryflight.]

As her question was answered, Ivoryflight nodded in silent thanks to her leader. While she was surprised that she didn’t attempt to lie about the situation, she was pleased with the fact that Sootstar was openly honest. “That’s all from me. Thank you Sootstar.” Duskfire would speak next, and she found herself nodding along once more. He made a fair point, she’d agree. Evacuation routes could prove to be useful should things turn ugly. Training lessons were something she was silently grateful for, as that seemed to be an area she struggled in. It would benefit her apprentice as well to learn those skills. Starclan forbid it come down to that.
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[hyacinthbreath]

They would be royally fucked if they had to battle with the other four clans of the forest- she didn't necessarily care for the other clans, but the thought of meeting Smokethroat in battle made her nervous. They were just starting their friendship, however secretive it was. Should that day ever come, Hyacinth would have yet another moral struggle with herself. She couldn't kill a friend, but would her loyalty to Sootstar be enough to convince her? Smokethroat had told her that there was a difference between her loyalty to WindClan and her loyalty to Sootstar, and one day she would have to choose. She clenches her jaw at the thought, Duskfire's mention of Tunnelers making her ears perk up.

"I don't see why not. It's a brilliant idea. As soon as the meeting is done, I'll help prepare for the training event." She meows, eyes flicking over to Ivoryflight. She moves, seating herself by the molly- never taking her eyes off of Sootstar.​

 

[Dandelionwish]

Dandelionpaw was slow to approach, his usual smile gone in favor of a more thoughtful and strained expression as if he had forced himself to come out of the den to listen to the meeting as it was called. He didn't need to hear about what happened at the gathering, he had been there, he had felt the eyes on him suddenly as WindClan became public enemy number one and their judgemental gazes had shattered any joy he might have felt at his first gathering at Honeytwist's apprentice. He wondered if he'd ever get to meet the other medicine cats of the clan now at this point or if they'd even want to meet him at all. Sootstar's attempts to lighten everyones moods with some good encouragement first might have normally spurned him into a more positive demeanor but for now he felt hopelessly dejected and worried. Would the other clans actually attack them? He hoped not. He truly did.
Realizing he should at least say something he raised a paw in a light wave and offered a gentle smile that hid how tired he felt at the moment, "If'n anyone wants to help with herb gatherin' yer always welcome to drop by an' ask! Always happy for another paw if'n ye can spare one."
Not that he minded gathering herbs, it was soothing and a good memory lesson in its own right but he would certainly not refuse extra for their stores all things considered and he knew Honeytwist would appreciate it a lot too.


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[SOOTSTAR]

Sootstar is thrilled at the response of her high-rankings and Ivoryflight, immense pride would one again boil within. Her clan-mates were strong, and despite the threat that lingers over WindClan they remain prepared and ready to do whatever they can for their clan. She wonders if other leaders were blessed with such wonderful attitudes, ShadowClan had looked quite... gloomy at the gathering.

She knows not all hold the same optimistim they do, so she makes one last call to her beloved clan-mates. "We are smart, agile, and hardy. We are those who are closest to StarClan both spirtually and physically. No matter what perils present themselves in front of us, we triumph. We are WindClan, and we will last forever!" Her words are sent out in a cheer, and despite all her flaws it was clear the blue smoke meant it. In this moment her love for her clan and her desire to protect them is as clear as day in her pretty green eyes.

The tiny she-cat hopes that she has succeeded in boosting morale, she hopes that some worries have managed to be ease...
Now for something to actually celebrate! New apprentices and new warriors.

"Featherkit, Bumblekit, Slitherkit, step forward." She beckons the children with both words and a upwards twitch of her tail. She watches as the trio make their way towards the base of the rock, a subtle smile shines on her face. A new generation of warriors begins their training this night.

Featherkit, Bumblekit, Slitherkit, you have reached the age of four moons and are ready to be apprenticed. Featherkit, from this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Featherpaw. Your mentor will be Birchstrike. Birchstrike, I expect you to pass down all you know to Featherpaw." She gives the NPC warrior a nod.

"Bumblekit, from this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Bumblepaw. Your mentor will be Sorrelbreeze. Sorrelbreeze, I expect you to pass down all you know to Bumblepaw." Once more, she gives the newly named mentor a nod.

Lastly, "Slitherkit, from this day until you recieve your warrior name, you will be known as Slitherpaw. Your mentor will be Heavy Snow. Heavy Snow, I expect you to pass down all you know to Slitherpaw." She finds the large white tom-cat and gives him an approving nod and a beckon to touch noses with his new apprentice.

Meanwhile the crowd cheers the youths new names, Featherpaw! Bumblepaw! Slitherpaw! She hopes their mentors do them justice and turn them into fine warriors... in a few moons time would tell.


//wanted to make sure apprentices don't end up overshadowed by the warrior ceremony coming up next! that will be up VERY soon just want to make sure everyone has time to shine
@BUMBLEPAW. @SLITHERKIT @Rinaroo idk feathers @ sry!!​

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[ivoryflight.]

The meeting would soon move on, Sootstar reassuring them once more before changing the tone of the meeting. She’d find herself smiling with pride for the new apprentices, pleased that Shrewpaw would have a couple extra paws around to help her out. It was good for the clan, and deep down she knew that they would all serve Windclan well. “Featherpaw! Bumblepaw! Slitherpaw!” Raising her voice to welcome the new apprentices, she’d eventually allow her voice to die down with the rest of her clanmates, in preparation of the warrior ceremonies, or any other news Sootstar needed to share.
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