have you heard? | prompt, gossip

[Sablemist]

In every situation you give me peace

The soft rumble of her stomach guides the child toward what remains of the prey pile. Periwinkle eyes pick over her options when she overhears rapid, hushed whispers. Ebony ears prick to attention, causing the girl to briefly forego her meal in order to hear the conversation better. With her stance low Sable creeps behind the small pile of prey and foliage, remaining somewhat hidden as she dials in to the whispers. "I agree! They never should have been allowed to come here. I'm telling you Bonejaw and her ilk are nothing but a liability. Shadowclanners, they're nothing but trouble I tell ya!" A warrior voices with obvious disdain, words dripping venom as the another nodded along, grumbling all the while. "So true. They wouldn't have gotten any mercy from me, pregnant during leaf bare or not. I still say they need to go back to those star forsaken swamps, all of them. Cicadastar is too nice."

Sablekit's ears flatten, astonished and bewildered by the words coming from the two warriors speaking ill of her family. She moves to take a step back, planning to leave the area when she ends up toppling the little pile of prey she hid behind, leaving her vibrantly exposed. "Ah...excuse me, I was just grabbing some fish." Sable explains in a soft, sweet voice, downplaying the turmoil bubbling within. The young molly flashes the pair a charming smile as she grasps a minnow in her jaws and walks off, visage dampening the further she went. Their words replay in her mind over and over again as she tries to make sense of it. She wants to believe they had the wrong family, that they had it all wrong. But with their statements spoken with such vigor she doubted it. Quietly Sablekit settles down upon her belly, dropping the fish between her paws, appetite vanishing. ​

Don't gotta be afraid because you're in the lead​

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[SMOKESTAR]

"It won't leap into your mouth, I'm afraid. You'll have to actually put the effort in yourself." It was a light teasing comment, he didn't often have them for most but kits were the rare exception to his usually brutish demeanor. Smokethroat didn't like idle chatter, he despised socializing unless it was necessary but in a clan like RiverClan it was hard to continue being a morose loner; too many cats and too many voices all at once, if he did not fight the tide he would be drowned in it so he combated it the way he would partake in a battle; sharing blows. Pleasantries here and there, an attempt to learn names and habits and watching like one might observe their prey for the final leap to catch it, but in his attempts to guard himself he had slowly adjusted to it all. One might even say he enjoyed his clan, knew them all by name, knew their hearts well enough or could guess at best what might plague them based simply on a glance. His attempts to acclimate were successfully, perhaps moreso than he expected but it worked to his benefit and RiverClans really so who was he to complain. Sablekit was a precaurious one. Little bit too loud, little too forward, she'd be a very bold apprentice he imagined; so it was strange to see her so despondently staring down at her paws as if lost in thought. Kittens shouldn't be so contemplative, their minds should have nothing in them but the rattlings of play and excitement for their future, they should enjoy their youth while they could claim it because once apprenticed it was over.
The journey to becoming a warrior was harsh, brutal even, something all cats must overcome. To struggle prior...well, that wouldn't do.
Smokethroat settled to sit nearby, but not so close he crowded the white-striped kit. His tail lashed behind him once before folding into a careful loop that did not touch, but coiled like an obsidian wall around her from behind.
"Something wrong?"
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[CICADASTAR]

self - doubt was a fleeting thing within him. fixated, bull - headed, eyes cold as the rivers the frozen rivers they now lie beyond. river king, he was unwavering in his image, in his decisions, as abrupt and impulsive as they could be. there was little a sharp tongue could do to sway him for his has always been sharper, honed by a mother more venomous than them all. there had been no word to him of displeasure despite the way he sees it, glinting eyes and wary, furrowed brows. cicadastar, in turn, says nothing in his defense − there was no need. his jaws split wide, revealing rows of sharp, elongated teeth and a curling tongue when warmth fades from his side. eyes slit open, expression growing playfully contemptuous towards where smokethroat wanders only steps away. words, and it's then that he cranes his head and spots her : sablekit. little bundle of void, splashed in white and staring absently at a minnow, held gentle in tiny paws. fish was a luxury in the dead of leafbare, and he watches, flicks an ear and slides paper thin lids open all the way. she was hesitating. it wont leap into your mouth, im afraid.

she was quiet, and that fact alone draws his attention. the man lifts upon thin elbows to look her in the eye, wind pulling light at bicolored curls. something wrong? concern paints his ivory - bathed features in the form of slitted pupils and a lashing tail, though his voice remains steady as he speaks, " eat, little one. the fish will help you grow, will make you a strong swimmer come newleaf. " it's a quiet command, gentle, simmering with ferocity as he lifts to full height, draws near. his head cranes down just slightly, a smile dancing upon rubberblack lips, "the rivers have given us a life, and you must never take it for granted. especially not in this cold. " a steady hum, though brows are still pulled, pallid eyes creased with warmth. he does not reiterate smokethroat's question, though he does pass him a pointed look, the slightest twitch of his jaw a sign of kindling suspicion above the kitten's head.

− ♱ information visual reference out of character translations ♱ −

• ˖ ⁺ ｡ ˚ ⠀ CICADASTAR⠀⠀−−−c−−−⠀⠀king of the rivers.
  m. he / him. black smoke & tortoiseshell chimera with intense salt - blue eyes. a handsome, looming tom bearing patchwork black - silver curls that fall over his slim figure in loose, shining rivulets, broken with white and glossy from his fish diet. descending from a heritage of overtyped oriental shorthairs, cicadastar stands unusually tall amongst his peers, and holds himself with a tragic grace, poised and prim and ever - aware of how he is being perceived.
  
  ᨒ gay, courting smokethroat. smells like wet stone & moss.
  ᨒ speaks with a german accent. 40 moons, ages on the eighth.
  
  penned by antlers​
  
  
• 
• none.

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[Snakeblink]

Snakeblink takes great pride in having his paw on the pulse of the clan, so to speak. He has ears everywhere — and a lifetime of lurking has made him proficient at disappearing in the background of others’ lives. They forget to notice him, but he always notices them. He keeps an eye out for anything out of the usual, anything at all that may prove a problem down the line. Personal discontent, relationship troubles and mutterings aimed against their leader all find their way to him one way or another, and he treats them with the same seriousness every single time.

He does this because he loves his clan, and because he wants to protect it. Even, as it happens, from itself.

The whispers have been more numerous since the flood: fear and danger have exacerbated what were once quiet, minor grievances. Like in any time of crisis, cats try to find a culprit — and, finding none, they make one up.

He catches the tail-end of such a discussion: —liability. Shadowclanners, they're nothing but trouble I tell ya! His ears pricked, he slowly lowers himself to the ground and tries to make one with the shadows he’s found himself eavesdropping from.

The response this warrior gets has him narrowing his eyes in annoyance. He doesn’t like the casual cruelty towards Boneripple’s family — turning a pregnant molly away in leafbare, really? — but that is to be expected in a clan such as theirs. All additions to a family take time for adaptation, and it’s not a crime to be mean-spirited.

It’s the comment about Cicadastar which disquiets him. A leader’s power relies on the respect and trust others put in their decision, and in their strength to keep a hold of their authority if these decisions were to be disputed. For the sake of the clan, Snakeblink would rather not see that latter part come to pass: it’s dreadfully messy to keep a group together during a leadership conflict. Too nice can quickly become too lenient, putting the clan in danger, not doing enough for us. He resolves to mention it to the man himself next time they talk.

He’s about to move on from this bout of spying when young Sablekit suddenly bursts into the scene, looking for a brief moment like— well, like someone caught eavesdropping, really. The two badmouthing warriors don’t notice, or he doesn’t think they do, but Snakeblink has no trouble connecting the dots.

What an unfortunate discussion to overhear.

He watches the kit walk away dejectedly, at a loss for what to do, until Smokethroat appears — closely followed, as often, by Cicadastar himself.

Snakeblink makes his way to them, giving the gossiping pair and the upset kit alike a wide berth, the former to stay unnoticed and the latter to avoid upsetting her further. He approaches his leader from behind and taps the ground politely to announce his presence.

”I think she may have heard something she shouldn’t have,” he murmurs to the taller tom, then amends, ”Something that had no right to be said, about her family.”

He throws Cicadastar a meaningful look, unsure of how much the leader needs — or wants — him to say on the matter.
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ooc. information.

• 
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 37 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

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[HOUNDSTRIDE.]

Hound holds no love for Cicada's decision. She may've been a pregnant molly, but she was no innocent soul. She'd had a home, a life– she didn't need to come runnin' into theirs with more mouths to feed. Maybe when he'd been younger, still tinged with sadness over the splitting of the marsh group, he would've been gladder to see her in. Now he just sees her as someone who'd abandoned her fate at the wrong time. He's just what Snakeblink's thinking of. A quiet, untrusting heart who can't quite let someone else to his family. Even these kittens, sweet and soft as they are, don't belong to RiverClan wholly. He feels 's'if he should return them, lest ShadowClan comes knocking.

Do they even know of these kits? Has Cicadastar announced them proudly at some gathering? His gaze isn't fixed on the wronged kitten as he observes this tedious situation; instead, sour apple eyes bore into the side of their leader's face. Do you know what you've done? Do you accept it? Before he finds himself demanding an answer, the chocolate tom drops his eyes. Still not to Sablekit. Her prey, instead, small as she is, and the words that the chimera had offered. He truly thinks that she will be fit for RiverClan once the season has changed? But abruptly, something about Hound's heart begins to soften. The tom himself had been much older when Hound began to teach him. And far more hopeless in the water than one who has at least known it for her entire life.

As irritable as he may be of this situation, it's unfair to think of it as anything to do with her. It is between Cicada and Bone, and the adults of this clan who gossiped and mocked. "Their words won't fill your belly," he tells the child, not as gently-spoken as the others. "Might as well fill it with something real 'fore they try again."

﹥ˏˋ〘  OOC NOTES INFORMATION 〙ˊˎ﹤

• ooc: —
• ──── houndsnarl. trans male, he/him pronouns.
  ──── approximately 30 moons old, or 2.5 years.
  ──── bisexual with firm male preference; single.
  
  ──── a chocolate tabby with ( stylized ) low white and intense lime eyes. lean and lanky,  with whiplike musculature and a long, quick stride. hound's notable features include his impressive height, the long scar across the left side of his face from nose to jaw, his very deep, dense fur, and the confident manner with which he conducts himself.
• "speech"

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[Cindershade]

Velvet ears flick in the direction of hushed chatter, picking up words here and there. ShadowClan. Boneripple. Ilk. It was no surprise to what they were gossiping over, with Boneripple and Wolverinefang now getting accustomed to RiverClan. Bonejaw was once a medicine cat of ShadowClan, that she knew. She did not know nor care to know why she decided to leave. Honestly, Cindershade didn't hold a grudge against her leaving anyways. They seemed to be pulling their own, while Boneripple was learning how to fish and doing decent at it anyhow. Her views of the other clans are much like the others, doesn't necessarily care of their presence. She considered herself neutral, often minding her own business and not fretting into their politics unless it involved her own clan.
Eyes narrow half-heartedly, listening quietly to their too loud conversation when a small lump of tumbling fur comes into play. A brow raises as she recognizes Sablekit excusing herself to the duo before grabbing a fish of her own. Had she heard what they spoke of? Did she realize it was her own family that was being chastised around?
Her gaze traces over to the shaded kit before a few warriors ambled over, sharing their own words with her. She's still able to see Sablekit over Smokethroat's tail, the lot of them asking what was wrong as she stared at the fish she had previously picked up but had not eaten. Cindershade draws herself up then, a light flare of annoyance blooming within her chest as she saunters towards the warrior with an intense glare. They offer her a greeting, which the rosette tabby dismisses with a wave of her tail. She's not sure why she's doing it, but it was too late to turn back. "I suggest you make yourselves useful instead of gossiping about like a couple of fat, blundering idiots." She comments bluntly, the edge of growl pricking at her tone. "Be gone, the lot of you. Now." They were about to protest, but the aura that Cindershade gives off makes them snap their jaws shut before moving on to go do something else. It was one thing to possibly gossip about refugees within the clan, but it was something else to bring innocent children into the fray. They had done nothing wrong here. They didn't ask for this.
With a heavy huff through her nostrils, she then moves over towards the group that surrounds young Sablekit. Her eyes linger from one tom to the next, daring any of them to speak about what she just did. Something about bringing innocent children into politics made a motherly figure come out within her, but she'd never admit to it. A flash of her own childhood plagues her mind before vanishing as quick as it came, causing her to inwardly cringe. The warrior sits by Houndsnarl just in time for him to speak. Cindershade nods in agreement, looking upon the young kit with a stoic expression. "They're right, child. No need to spoil something meant to nourish growing bones. You'll need it." She remarks, a softer tone playing upon her lips as she speaks to Sablekit. After all, she has a long road ahead of her to prove her own worth when the time came.

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[ SILENCE IS DEAFENING ]​

 

[Redpath]

She didn't quite have an opinion on their newest clanmates. Cast from their homes, come here for refuge. She hadn't approached any of them, content to observe from afar how they would act.

They had been loyal, shown no ill intent.

Of course, some other clanmates seemed to feel differently and she couldn't blame them. Windclan and Shadowclan were as wretched as they came.

But for one of Bonejaws kits to overhear such vile words...... She had half a mind to go over and cuff those cats.

Instead, she went over to Sablekit.

"Don't listen to them, Sablekit. You and your family are welcome here, and we're certainly very happy to have you."
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[Sablemist]

In every situation you give me peace

Ebony paws gently flip the minnow over in a lazy fashion, periwinkle eyes running over the sheen of its scales. Idly trying to do little trivial things to take her mind off of what she'd heard previously. A shadow looms overhead, causing her head to pop up and the little white tuft of fur adorning her forehead to flip skyward. Smokethroat leads his conversation with a light tease, a bit of banter that on any other day would have pulled a smile onto her features. But his jest is met with a shallow twitch of her lips, an attempt to smile or form a neutral poker face at best. But those closest to the girl would know otherwise. Blue eyes fall back to her minnow as the lead's thick tail curls protectively around her. In an instant she is grateful for the living wall that shields her from gossiping warriors. A question is asked next and she is unsure of how to answer.

Sablekit wishes to tell him, but on the other hand she doesn't want to be seen as a tattle tail. After all, everyone was entitled to their own opinions no matter how hurtful, right? "Umm," Her brows fuse together in contemplation, seemingly wresting with the idea until the river king makes his entrance. Sable looks up, meeting his gaze as he urges her to eat. They were right, it would be a waste to not eat the fish riverclan worked so hard to catch. "Okay uncle." A faint smile manifests upon her lips, ushered in by the warmth of Cicadastar's smile and kind eyes. Lowering her head she finds the will to eat again, maneuvering to take a bite.

Snakeblink arrives and for a moment she disregards the white splashed tom, expecting him to murmur important matters to both leader and lead. Until she is proven wrong. ”I think she may have heard something she shouldn’t have,” Sable's eyes grow wide as she coughs, nearly choking on her mouthful, gaze fixating on the adults again. How much of the conversation did he hear? Why didn't she notice him around? An ebony paw touches her throat, preparing to dispute cautiously but Houndsnarl comes forth with gentle chiding. He'd heard the gossiping too? Not only him, but Cindershade and Redpath as well. Struck speechless by the additional support, Sable fiddles with her prey again, nodding sheepishly. "I-I will, I just...have you ever been hungry and that hunger goes away? Only to be replaced with something sour..." like poison, is what nearly falls from her lips but she shakes her head. As Redpath makes a point to make her feel welcome her faltering smile brightens a tad. ​

Don't gotta be afraid because you're in the lead​

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