to know you're not alone - MEETING 8/17

[sloestride]

THIS WEIGHT ON MY NECK MAKES IT HARD TO CONNECT​

Slow was quick to approach the clearing, spotting Emberstar's leap onto the rocky plinth before the sunny leader called the rest of the clan. As the other filed in to listen, the young tom slipped to the edge out of the way. The motley of half-familiar figures was a little intimidating.

An announcement of a new deputy, Howling Wind, swung his head to the masses. There, he pinpointed the rising tabby. Her stride was strong, a vision of competence. A good candidate. The excitement of the clan swept him up and soon his voice entwined with the rest, cheers of recognition.

Warrior names followed and he took the opportunity to properly tag names to faces. There were so many. His gaze bounced from tattered ear to pink nose, a flitting citrus blur. When mentors and apprentice pairings rang out his focus remained on names, faces. Then his own slid into his pricked ears and the task fizzled from his focus. Of course, he would have one too. Sloepaw. The convenient twist of his name brought a little smile to his maw, the amusement not lost. The title that followed, however, brought his active mind to a halt.

Howling Wind? The freshly dubbed deputy? She found him before he did, a daunting shape that cut through the crowd like a monster along a thunderpath. An inscrutable expression laced across her striped face, twisting uncertainty through him. " 'Ello, so-" A quiet greeting, interrupted by the tap of the molly's nose against his. The contact made him flinch. In seeing the other mentors do the same the panic slackened. "Yeah, course. Can do." Sloepaw wasn't really sure what to think.

/a late but MASSIVE congrats to blitz!!! super well deserved and a perfect fit <3​

 

[starling]

( ♬ ) Ember calls for a meeting and Starling is drawn forwards, head tilting as she listens. Her expression darkens as Cinderfrost says an apology, one thats way overdue. She did not forget, she will not forget the gray mollies wrongdoings, especially after she had spent her time with Emberstar that night she had killed her. She opens her mouth to protest but promptly shuts it as she remembers the hope, the determination in Embers eyes. She truly believed in Cinderfrost, so she does not speak besides a frustrated incoherent grumble.

Howling Wind is deputy, not surprising... She thinks and thinks and then all of the sudden her name is called out and just like that shes reborn as Starlingpaw. And with the grace of the stars themselves, Emberstar names herself her mentor and her face flushes once more. Her idol, her role model, her everything has chosen to train her. She gulps hard, giddiness rising in her stomach and she couldn't resist a stupid grin. "I won't let you down." Not again.

But Tybalts grating protest rings in her ear and she whips around with flattened ears, anger fueling her frown. How dare he protest Ember, especially in her own meeting! "Yeah, well, get used to it." she shrugs, suppressing any hurtful words that threatened to spill.
​

( HEY KIDS ; INTO DUST TOGETHER )

 

[Flycatcher]

Apprentices are the next announcement to be made. The idea of mentors and apprentices was something Flycatcher agreed with. The training exercises Emberstar had put them through had gone down well and he was pleased she was rolling them out properly. It'd be good for some formal training system to be put in place, instead of the looser, informal training the younger members of the clan got now. The one thing Flycatcher perhaps disagreed with was the decision to make any cat older than three moons an apprentice. He found himself nodding along with Cinderfrost that that seemed far too young for cats to be fighting. When he was that age, Flycatcher was still being comfortably looked after by his mother.

Emberstar goes on to list the new pairings and Flycatcher is surprised to hear his own name called out. Smoldepawr. Instinctively, Flycatcher searches the assembled clan for his new apprentice, finding the young tom among the ranks of cats. Flycatcher gives his apprentice an appraising glance before nodding his head. "So, I guess you're my apprentice, huh?" Flycatcher said in a way of greeting. He leaned forward to touch his nose to Smolderpaw's head. "I look forward to training with you, Smolderpaw."​

 

[Hollow Tree]

Hearing names change made her heart sink a little. Hollow Tree’s name was important to her. Not only did her mother come up with it but so did her father. The same father that was now gone. The brown tabby wouldn’t want it changed unless Emberstar asked it of her. Even then, she would try to pick something close to the original.

Apprentices being paired up with mentors was a much better herb to swallow. Hollow Tree had never trained another cat before. Maybe she had shown her younger siblings a thing or two but never any formal training. Stagpaw. A fine name in her opinion. Looking across the cats gathered she spots her apprentice just as he throws a fit about his name. Something she could understand. She would have also been upset about it but accepted it because Emberstar is the leader.

The brown tabby pads across the way to stand near the newly named cat. “Stagpaw.” she says sternly, a look of sympathy flashing in her brown eyes. “I understand you are upset but that’s no way to speak to your leader. I suggest you keep your maw shut for the rest of this meeting. We can speak about your name more afterwards.” Hollow Tree said, wishing her apprentice had been more accepting over the whole ordeal. ​

[ she-cat . 32 moons . warrior ]​

 

[Tybalt [Stagstrike]]

Tybalt hissed as Starlingpaw as she told him to get used to it. He swiped at her with outstretched claws, pulling his paw back before it could strike her. Had they not been surrounded by clanmates he might’ve tackled her to the ground. He didn’t care that Emberstar was in charge. She had no right to take away his name, the last thing that tied him to his parents.

The brown tom turned to face Hollow Tree with narrowed eyes. He didn’t say anything to his new mentor, only lashed his tail before stalking off to the far side of camp.

 

[Leafshade]

SO YOUNG, YET SO BROKEN​

---

Steel blue eyes would half close with thought as Emberstar continued the meeting with the announcement that the other clans had implemented some form of new naming system and as such Thunderclan would do the same. The blue point would listen as names were called to come forward but even he couldn't hide the surprise in his steel blue optics as his own was summoned.

The surprise would last only a moment, however, as he recomposed himself and stood tall as he walked with proud strides to stand beside his clanmates.

Leafshade for his cool demeanor. He felt his chest puff out slightly in confidence as he accepted his new name. For a moment, he wondered what his parents would think of it, and he almost faltered until he meet Howling Winds' gaze and saw the pride glowing there, even for him.

He almost cracked a smile when his name was called once more, this time Emberstar was entrusting an apprentice to him and he blinked when he recognized the name. His slim skull would turn to try to find the albino tom-cat and when he spotted them he would walk up to them and meow sternly, "I'll expect a lot of hard work from you, Palepaw."

But there was something in the tom's eyes that hadn't been there before when he looked at his new charge.

Excitement. ​

 

[emberstar]

"WE ARE THE BROKEN ONES, WHO CHOSE TO SPARK A FLAME"​

Once more, a cacophony of voices arouse to meet her announcement. This time, however, their sentiment was nowhere near as unified. Some, like Starlingpaw, seemed beside themselves with joy. Others, like Stagpaw and Wolfpaw, expressed their outrage and skepticism respectively. Amidst it all, the pairs she had decided upon were intermingling, getting to know one another. Adding to the chaos. She couldn't help but wince as Stagpaw was reprimanded by both her apprentice and his own mentor. This wasn't what she had meant to happen. All of this was supposed to be a celebration, something joyful, not whatever this was.

Cinderfrost's voice cut above the din abruptly. Rejecting her leader's decision with passionate fire and making declarations of her own. Part of Emberstar wanted to argue against it, after all her mother had begun to train her at three moons. Her mother couldn't be wrong. Surely if it had been fine for her, it would be for the kits of the clan.

Still, the leader and medicine cat weren't exactly on great terms, despite what she had told her clan. They had reached an agreement, sure, but Cinderfrost still disliked her. She would be lying if she didn't say she felt the same. The idea of starting another argument between them didn't sit well with her, especially over something so small. "Four moons then." She offered weakly. It wouldn't matter two much if they delayed training by a moon, right? "Apprenticeship will begin at four moons old." This time she offered a confident nod to affirm the statement.

With that settled, at least in her mind, she swept the crowd again for Stagpaw. Only to find he had retreated to the far side of camp in her inattention. Her ear flicked in worry. Had she made a mistake of some sort?

She tried to ignore the feeling. "That's all for this meeting!" Emberstar declared, hopping down from highrock to mingle with the crowd below.​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[KINDLEHEART]

With everything else in the oak forest, ThunderClan is changing.

The brown and white tabby tom sits among the gathered clan, listening intently to Emberstar's words. She officially names Cinderfrost the medicine cat of ThunderClan - a movement that doesn't sit well with Kindle. But she names Howling Wind her deputy afterwards, and the tom hopes that, whatever a deputy is meant to do, is meant to help keep Cinderfrost from causing more harm.

Emberstar continues with her announcements, and with it follows name changes. Kindle's name, too, will be changing today.

One by one, she rattles off names, and soon, the flame-point's gaze lands on him, his new name announced: Kindleheart. The tom likes it.

But the announcements aren't over yet. Apprentices are named, and mentors are given. Though Kindleheart doesn't receive one, he doesn't mind. Those named mentors will surely teach their apprentices better than he could.

But Cinderfrost starts speaking, challenging Emberstar's words. Olive eyes look between the two, nerves on end. She wouldn't dare to attack again, if she hadn't gotten her way, would she? He prays to the stars that she doesn't, anyway. Or, at least, that Howling Wind will use her deputy powers and get Cinderfrost to stop.

The spat between the two goes over without a single strike, and the meeting comes to the end. Kindleheart is grateful for that.
​