Bad Tidings {WINDCLAN MEETING}

Ladybird
» "There are no walls, no bolts, no locks that anyone can put on your mind." ~Otto Frank

It was dark and cold and damp. Sharp metal mesh prickled Ladybird's aching paws, piercing her pads and drawing precise little pinpricks of blood from her feet. Blinking into consciousness, Ladybird realized she was contained in a cramped wire cage, not unlike the confined prison the Twoleg thieves had used to contain her during her traumatizing kithood. She attempted to spin around, to get a better look at her surroundings, but stabbing sensation on her hindquarters caused her muscles to seize. Frozen in pain, the Somali tried to gasp for air, but her lungs were incapable of drawing breath.

After several long moments, the feeling subsided and the warrior was able to move once more. She twisted her neck to see what had caused her such distress and immobilizing pain, but there was not a mark on her coat. Suddenly, the pain returned, this time to her shoulder, and out of the corner of her eye she caught the shiny ebony of a crow's beak dart back between the wires of the cage and into the blackness that enveloped her prison. All at once, a dozen beaks joined the fray, taking turns jabbing and stabbing through the metal. Through it all, Ladybird was unable to move, to breathe, to scream.

The air was thick with their cawing and shrieking as the birds mocked the she-cat in her helpless misery.

The corvids' calls still echoed in her ears when Sunstar's voice, coupled with the murmurings of her distraught Clanmates, roused Ladybird from her restless sleep.d Her paws tingled with pain, but a quick inspection yielded no visible wounds. Her shoulder smarted as she rose, but this, too, she suspected, was a false hurt, as she had sustained no injuries from her battle with the supposed imaginary "crow" the night before. No injuries, at least, that could be seen -- it was what she felt inside, for her mourning Clanmates, their unspeakable terror and grief, that stung the most.

This realization surprised the Somali, as she was normally one who dismissed feelings. However, her reasoning for this dismissal was neither simple nor taken lightly. In her mind, emotions were not a sign of weakness, but of strength. To respond with feelings was to acknowledge the existence of conflict, which would lead to either the acceptance of the problem, or an eventual solution. Ladybird possessed neither the desire to accept the events of the previous evening, nor a solution to the bloodshed. Indeed, the true problem had yet to reveal itself, and this distressed her greatly. Truly and completely, Ladybird was at a loss.

Sighing abruptly, she permitted a shiver to pass through her body and selected a seat before Sunstar. Dissolving birds, rivers of blood, wailing cats -- what was the world coming to?

Nevertheless, the she-cat refused to dwell on her thoughts. WindClan must move on, and she must be strong for them. For Morningstreak. She owed the former deputy nothing less. Their first step would be recovery, but their second would be discovering the meaning of these nightmares made real, before they consumed the Clans.

OOC: Glad to finally be back in the swing of things!

Flamestrike stared at the moon and the stars, it was almost to choose a new deputy but he couldn’t really concentrate on that matter. His chat with Cloudstep had been short and soon he had to leave his friend to his duties, he just hoped the medicine cat was okay or as okay as one could be in this kind of situation. The scent of blood and pungent death clung to his pelt like a tick, he’d been trying to rid of it but he wondered if it was just a nasty trick of his mind to remind him constantly of what had taken place in the Gathering. The orange tom tried to avoid looking at the distraught faces of his clan mates fearing that his expression and emotions might shift to fit within the pattern, like clear water would. Instead he tried to make sense of everything, the crows, the blood, the death… the words.

“They’re beneath us.”

The tom had gone over and over again through those syllables trying to make sense of what it meant. What was the significance of Morningstreake’s dying words? He clicked his tongue and shifted uncomfortably, the non-existing wound hurt, as if a crow had really grazed his skin. His neck was beginning to hurt as well, staring into the sky so intently. Sunstar’s words snapped him out of his thoughts and made him finally turn his gaze from the sky. He stared at her, waiting to hear her choice of deputy, the cat who would step in for Morningstreake and work tirelessly to fill the void she left behind. Almost unconsciously he inched closer to the crowd, he wasn’t as far away as before but he wasn’t as close either, he was at the edge. His shoulder protested, but he suppressed it, it was illogical anyways.

Sunstar watched with weary eyes as her clan gathered around her at Tall Rock. her golden gaze traced its way through the crowd, recognizing all the cats that were gathering about. Many of them looked frighten. Others were grieving for the death of Morningstreak. Others looked at Sunstar for any ray of hope she could provide. The she-cat watched the white pelt of Cloudstep, her ever faithful medicine cat, take his place near Tall Rock. He had been trained well by Heatherflower, who had been taken from them to early. Now another cat was taking their place to early in StarClan. Sunstar never imagined she would name another deputy so soon.

The leader's thoughts turned to the gathering as she waited for her clan mates to gather around. She still could not make sense of what had happened. She had been taken off guard when Morningstreak had spoken out. In fact, Sunstar had felt anger flare up in her. In those short moments before all hell broke loose, Sunstar's thoughts were on why her deputy was speaking out without consulting with her first. It would seem like a weakness to the other clans, for a deputy to be speaking without consent of the leader. But when the warrior had begun to bleed...and her cryptic message that she kept repeating and repeating...

Sunstar relived the moments of her leaping for Morningstreak, the she-cat delivering the cryptic message, the blood seeping out of the she-cat's body, and the birds blocking the sky. Nothing could have been done, but Sunstar felt like she could have done more. Surely there had been something she could have done, some way to save Morningstreak...

The sound of silence as the Clan finished gathering brought Sunstar back to the present. Her gaze swept across the crowd before her, recognizing all the faces. They held expectant looks, waiting for Sunstar to begin. They knew she was getting ready to announce the new deputy. The she-cat shook off the feeling of unease that had come over her with her thoughts. Taking a deep breath, the she-cat began.

"We all mourn for the loss of our deputy, Morningstreak. But the time has come to name her successor." her gaze flicked across the clan, her eyes resting for a moment on her choice for deputy. "I say these words before the body of Morningstreak, so that her spirit may hear and approve my choice." Sunstar fell silent for a moment, out of respect for her fallen deputy. After that single moment, she looked up and with great conviction, announced:

"Ladybird will be the new deputy of WindClan."

Sunstar laid her gaze once more on her deputy. Ladybird was a strong and faithful warrior, wise too. The warrior was respected by her Clan mates. Sunstar knew she had made a good choice. The she-cat had no doubt that Ladybird would be a strong support to herself during this uncertain time. And if anything were to happy to Sunstar that prevented her from leading her clan, well, if Sunstar were not the leader, she could be proud to call Ladybird, Ladystar.

The brown tabby waited silently for her new deputy to step forward and accept her place in front of the Clan.

Cloudstep
As I Walk Among the Stars
I Plant My Feet on the Ground

Cloudstep stayed quiet, mulled things over in his head as he watched the clan before him. He had many things he needed to do. He and Sunstar had never really got to sit down and talk about the dream he had. That was the first thing he would do right after this meeting was over. He also wanted to Flamestrike. He had so much that he wanted to talk about.

Finally hearing silence from the clan he turned his gaze to the leader and stayed still as she went through the normal ceremony of appointing the new deputy, then there was the pause. It seemed to last so long to him. It always did.
"Ladybird will be the new deputy of WindClan."

So she had chosen Ladybird. It was a fine choice. The she-cat was a great warrior and smart. She thought before acting. He closed his eyes some in approval and smiled as the she-cat made her way forward to accept. Yes, she would make a fine leader once Sunstar passed. He had never spent much time with her, but now, he would make more time, since he hoped, Starclan willing, he would still be medicine cat when she became leader.

"Starclan, please look over this clan and new deputy," he murmured looking at the sky some, "Even in these hard times we still look to you for guidance."

He rest his gaze back on the two warriors before him as they greeted each other. He could see it, they were learning to move on. Hard times came, but no matter how hard they were, they wold all make it through....together.

Word Count:: 267
Tagged:: Ladybird, Sunstar, Flamestrike
Thoughts:: Cloudstep, you are 14 moons....quit thinking liek you're 50 moons old...it's creeping me out.

Ladybird
» "There are no walls, no bolts, no locks that anyone can put on your mind." ~Otto Frank

The question flew from her mouth before she had a chance to seal it between her teeth. "Me?" The tonality made it less of an inquiry and more of a statement, but she could not deny the wonder behind it. Me, Ladybird, deputy of WindClan? She was not surprised -- well, slightly, perhaps -- but more than that, she felt a deep, overwhelming sense of humbleness lap steadily at her consciousness. Sunstar had selected her, Ladybird, kittypet origins and all, to lead a clan of cats, proud but very much afraid and confused, in these troubled times. The Somali bowed her head and padded toward their leader to accept her position.

Her pawsteps felt unusually heavy as she made her way to Sunstar. Realistically, the two were separated by only a few short paces, but it may have well been the distance to Four Trees and back. The world around her seemed to slow -- a sparrow passed overhead, its wing beats seeming to stretch for several seconds as it flitted past. The creature wheeled around to look at her and cheeped. A congratulations? she wondered silently. A warning? She could only hope that it was a good omen -- StarClan knew the clan could use some of those.

Cloudstep's words, though quiet and said more to himself than to anyone else, also reached her ears. She turned to nod thankfully in his direction, appreciative for his blessing. Her paws seemed to have increased even more in weight as she made her final steps toward Sunstar, and she took great care to lift them, as though she were walking on thorns. Ladybird could almost feel their pointed bite, but she took a deep, calm breath to compose herself and dismissed the sensation. She halted before Sunstar with her head held high, but level. Despite her new rank, she still considered herself to be a warrior, their equal -- she would stand among them, not above them.

"Morningstreak will be dearly missed. I trust that she walks peacefully with StarClan now," she announced softly. It suddenly occurred to her how quiet her voice must be. She was not accustomed to speaking loudly, but raised her tone nevertheless, so that she might be heard by kit and elder alike. "It is an honor to have the opportunity to serve WindClan. I do so with a heavy heart... but also with a strong will and confidence that we will do more than survive. We shall live. Neither in terror or bewilderment, but also nor in luxury or excess. We shall live with dignity, patience, and understanding. I do not have answers for you today, but I promise you that we shall find them. For Morningstreak, for ourselves, for all the Clans. StarClan be with us all."