xx| this is the a n s w e r to my [prayers] |xx

[m o o n]x[s t o r m]

[bg=251534][atrb=border,0,true] Life was something to cherish. I would know. I am the Riverclan medicine cat and I walk hand in hand for justice under the reign of the mighty Starclan. I worship the befallen cats of the worthy night sky, and the omens which they send down and commend my thoughts to decipher. My long, thin legs moved me forward fluidly, and a little smile broke on my normally serious facade, seeing how the snow twinkled on the branches and the air, normally brisk and unforgiving, warmed occasionally. A purr was stuck in my throat as I forced it out, my pool-azure eyes sparkled like moonstone and my milky complexion almost blended with the blanket of snow on the Riverclan terrain. I was almost near the river, where I blinked and looked down into the depths of it's both forgiving, and not, chasm of blue. "We are all one..." I murmured lightly to myself, each word was carefully put out in a musey attitude and my bod felt the presence of a calming aura of serenity surrounding it. That feeling had long come from the foreboding creeds I had been getting about the moorlands. I knew that Shadowclan had no right to deserve them, but neither did we - the ancestors of Windclan were still there sometimes; they surely wanted that moorland to stay unreserved... I knew that deep inside of me, that blood would be shed on the moorland before we would ever settle. Heck, it already had. And that's what scared me - but I couldn't be afraid, I had to stay strong and that sense of cool calming enveloped around me in coils like a snake that cut off all circulation of fear from my soul and aura. It was a good feeling. I just wished all clans could feel as fearless and calm, so we never had to do such battle for a piece of land we all did not need. The feeling of flying came to my bod as I got the far away look in my eyes and my body slid down next to the thick stream, it's fury lapping at my paws despite it's frostbiting chill I could not move an inch from it. On the other side of the river, I saw the image of starry cats fighting, our ancestors but not so much, cats we all knew and loved - cat's I knew, were battling in starclan, they would die for this. "No... NO!" I screamed blindly, watching the fury that starclan had on this fight, "STOP! No, STOP!" My voice was high pitched and full of a fear no cat had seen me bear. My eyes rolled back in my head as I unsheathed my claws in the water and felt the salty shore itching at my paws as starry blood was shed right in front of me - of not-yet-dead cats... Starry bloodshed against us all, spite and malice will reign the skies - beware the verses of skies and terrain.... word count xx|xx 481 paging xx|xx someone from riverclan sing along xx|xx candle (sick and tired) by: WhiteTieAffair thinking aloud xx|xx love the table idea. :] one of the first omens for riverclan! hooray! *edit* Elkstar reminded me that I should be writing in 3rd person. I will do that next round, sorry. x-x

[tenacious]

The river was a place of peace, where he could come and clear his mind, whenever the time seemed right. It was a place that nourished his Clan and separated it from the other two; it was a place he treasured. No other Clan would ever own the river- that was for sure. Only RiverClan could hunt the fish and swim through the fluid waters. Only RiverClan could survive the wrath of the emotional river. The other Clans would panic if a flood ever set in on them, but his Clan had dealt with many. They knew what to do. They knew how to survive.

His paw steps were gentle, though still awkward from the slight arthritis that had set in. The limp was hidden beneath the sense of sureness that the leader carried. He had much on his mind; tension was growing everyday among the Clans. It was Leaf-bare. Rookstar let out a light sigh as he continued on. The silence was broken by piercing cries and horror flooded the blue eyes of the tabby tom; he could recognize the voice.

“Moonwing!”

Rookstar picked up his pace until he was running; his mind came up with countless possibilities to explain why his medicine cat was crying out. Perhaps another Clan had invaded his territory? But surely he would smell them and what true warrior would attack a medicine cat. All the reasons he found had many faults and Rookstar lashed his tail as he picked up speed, until he was almost flying over the land that separated him from the she-cat. When Moonwing came into view, the tom’s pace slowed, and his eyes narrowed with confusion. No attacking party. No blood that he could see.

Is she standing in the water?! Rookstar thought, snarling lightly. Mouse-brain! The water could freeze her paws off! Tail lashing, the tom continued on, “Moonwing!” he repeated as he neared her, pausing only a few tail lengths way, concern setting in now. What was wrong?

[m o o n]x[s t o r m]

[bg=251534][atrb=border,0,true] As the final image faded back into reality, the she-cat realized how chilling her entire body had gotten due to the freezing waters. A yowl of alarm filtered through her throat in response to her leader, who she just recently heard and smelt and pounced backwards; licking her legs in a rather quick pace. Finally, she turned her aqua, pool-like, eyes toward Rookstar and blinked once before attempting to explain. "I'm sorry for the scare, Rookstar," Speaking words that felt true, she continued: "I had an omen..." Breathing softly, the young medicine-cat blinked and turned her head around, to see who else may be around, but she felt sure nobody was going to spy on her speaking to the leader. "It told me, that if we fought, that our ancestors would be displeased. The cats would go to starclan biased in battle and fight it out in the stars... Death to all... That the moorland shouldn't be claimed." She continued slowly, making sure to speak every word of the truth and nothing but the truth to her good leader. Hopefully he wouldn't be willing to rebut against the frightened she-cat. She licked her chest a few times thoroughly before looking evenly up in her leaders eyes and pleading, "Please, Rookstar, don't go to battle. Good cats will die..." A slight whimper added to the affection in her voice, even the good Rookstar could die, however she did not see him in starclan in the vision - she couldn't reconize many cats due to their sparkling complexions and how large the mass was. A small feeling of hope sparked in her dreadful stomach, knotted with dread. She felt as if her legs were stricken by blows and her throat was torn by the ferocity of battle - the ground would be stained red in a matter of days, not even that. A sigh filtered out her lips as she awaited Rookstars response, seeing as her breathing had calmed and her mind was not racing as fast as it was moments ago. This could mean the end of Riverclan if they choose to fight. She couldn't stop the other clans, but she sure as hell try and stop Riverclan. word count xx|xx 367 paging xx|xx Rookstar sing along xx|xx the way down by: WhiteTieAffair thinking aloud xx|xx eep. :/ My muse spike has gone on strike!

[tenacious]

Rookstar watched as the she-cat leapt out of the water, almost as if she was breaking out of some powerful thought, too absorbed in it to notice he had come up behind her. He dipped his head at her first words, for at least she was alive and well (although he figured she would be a bit chilled) and there was no unwanted patrol on his territory.

“I had an omen.”

The tom’s eyes widened in surprise and his heartbeat quickened. An omen? Rookstar did not walk with StarClan often. That was Moonwing’s job, most of the time. The leader had no skills when it came to interpreting signs StarClan sent him as well; he was too fearful of misreading signs that could lead to the death of his Clan to try often. Moonwing seemed to be making sure no other cats were around before she continued on.

"It told me, that if we fought, that our ancestors would be displeased. The cats would go to starclan biased in battle and fight it out in the stars... Death to all... That the moorland shouldn't be claimed."

Rookstar frowned slightly. Why had StarClan not intervened at the Gathering, then? Final decisions had been made at the Gathering and it would’ve been best to intervene there, but StarClan did work in mysterious ways. They rarely were straightforward. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. RiverClan could desperately use the moorland, but if Moonwing had received this omen (and he was sure she would not lie), fighting would lead his Clan into a battle that would mean certain death. It was blood Rookstar could not have on his paws.

“RiverClan could use the moorland…but I will not lead my cats into a battle that means certain death. I will announce to the Clan tonight that the battle has been called off,” Rookstar mewed, “And, if Willowstar has not backed down by the next Gathering, I will announce it there as well,”. It would’ve been logical to send a patrol over, made up of himself, Moonwing, Mintleaf, and a warrior or two, but Rookstar would not risk trespassing when the Clans were so hostile to each other.

[Sparrow]

[atrb=border,0,true][bg=black] The stars shone brightly upon the river in leafbare, it seemed. Perhaps the cold air made it more hospitable for the cats of StarClan to see their former home, or perhaps it was something else entirely, but as the she-cat padded along the shores of the River, the starlight fell with unparalleled brilliance to reflect in the ice and frost near the river, which roared through the terrain without any awareness of the landscape which surrounded it. Its surface was white with foam from the rocks, even as it was low in its banks, and small ice floes trailed along its surface, occasionally breaking apart with dull clinks as they encountered a rock or other river debris. Her pawsteps left dull traces in the frost, having flattened and melted it, and she was aware only of the luminescent landscape around her when the voices of the RiverClan leader and Medicine Cat trailed faintly to her ears. She could not catch what was said, far from them as she stood, only pick through various traces of emotion that carried faintly in the wind. Panicked urgency was prevalent, and her pulse quickened as her nerves began to sing in sudden apprehension. Not wanting to look as though she was eavesdropping, though she was downwind far enough so as to be out of sight and scent, she moved slowly forward, her tail dragging through the frost as though her stroll hadn’t been interrupted until she could see the dark tom and petite medicine cat standing close by, conversing in hurried tones. Snatches of conversation floated by, and she listened intently, pausing in astonishment as she gathered a sense of their less-than-pleasant topic of conversation. “an omen.. ancestors displeased… death to all…” Her heart sank, her eyes growing round and still in the moonlight as she froze, her tail ceasing to twich. Whatever it was that the two cats were discussing, it seemed as though something was about to take a turn for the worse. She remained standing, seemingly petrified, for a moment more before she strode up to them, her jaw tight and strained. Pausing a few tail-lengths away and waiting to be acknowledged, she noted that Moonwing was soaked through on her legs and stomach, as though she had been partially submerged in the river. But surely the medicine cat of all cats would know the dangers… there was no way that she would have taken such a foolish risk as this, was there? word count: 412 audience: Moonwing, Rookstar comments: n/a

[tenacious]

The tom looked over towards Mintleaf, eyes widening for only a moment. He did not want other warriors to know, but this was his deputy; he had no issue with her being here, “Moonwing has received an omen from StarClan…” his voice trailed off. He did not know if she had been nearby earlier and had simply waited for an appropriate time to appear. Rookstar’s paws worked on the ground and he was quite unaware of it. He hoped that Willowstar would receive a sign from StarClan- their ancestors may punish them all if the arrogant she-cat attempted to take over the moorlands, since she would not be faced by a threat.

He wondered if there was more to this omen; or did StarClan just want to prevent countless cats from dying? Rookstar himself would prefer to not see blood stain the ground. He was not usually a cat quick to fight- he had only planned to battle for the moor because it could provide RiverClan with so much. The grey leader noticed his paws kneading the ground, finally, and stopped the quick, nervous movements, “RiverClan will not fight for the moorland. Moonwing’s omen predicts death for many cats. We have survived without the moor and we will continue doing so,” he added, speaking to himself and Mintleaf.

Yes, they had survived without the moor. They did not need it. Not now. Perhaps, someday, an agreement could be reached, or maybe the land would forever remain neutral, granting cats from every Clan the right to hunt on the moor. It may create tension when rival patrols met each other in the barren landscape, but it would save many cats from dying. Leaf-bare was the worst time to be losing warriors. Not only that, but Rookstar did not wish to go down in RiverClan history as the leader that almost destroyed his Clan. Crises made good leaders; Rookstar had once heard that when a senile elder was fading away. But the old cat had been right. A leader could make a wrong decision, or the right one. Rookstar would do all in his power to make the right decision.

He would not go down in history as a horrible cat. He would not. He would not have blood stain his paws. He would not. Some other cat could have that title, far into the feature, or maybe one from the past already did; Rookstar did not particularly care about who wore it at the moment or who would in the future. He just cared about RiverClan.

[m o o n]x[s t o r m]

[bg=251534][atrb=border,0,true] Feeling the presence of another, Moonwing's attention was flickered to the deputy, Mintleaf as the Riverclan leader explained the situation. Even the Medicine lass felt displeased by the omen, and slightly by the news - but not as much as some other Riverclan cats would be. Some more headstrong than others would go out to fight despite the omen; those would be the losses if any did happen. Then, a thought blanked all others like turning on a bright light in a dark crawlspace. "What if I meet with the other Medicine Cat's soon, full-moon is near, we should be meeting anyways.." Urgent, that was an understatement of the situation they would all be in if one attacked another foolishly. Should they not all have medicine cat approval because they were the ones who often spoke with starclan, appealed to starclan in the clan and embraced situations such as this with bold arms? In riverclan, yes. The thought bounced off each cat in the small river clearing, the lord and the deputy, leaving the Medicine Cat to urgently search their faces for any sign of doubt. That would get information out to not attack one another for such foolish land. Besides, was it true that they needed the Moorland to survive? It could become a place of food for each of the clans - a reminder, almost, of what terrible things did and could have happened if it weren't for the belief of starclan? Moonwing looked up towards the stratosphere and noted how close it was to the meeting - soon all clans should meet including all medicine cats and the cats would speak of the ideas concerning what will, and can, happen.

[Sparrow]

[atrb=border,0,true][bg=black] “Moonwing has received an omen from StarClan…" Her assumptions had been correct, it seemed, as to whether good news or bad would be waiting for her. Rookstar looked simply flustered by all that was happening at once, and he had taken to kneading his paws into the earth, something that Mintleaf had never seen him do before. And for Moonwing to use the word 'omen' instead of 'prophesy,' well... It seemed unlike the demure she-cat to over-dramaticize her visions. “RiverClan will not fight for the moorland. Moonwing’s omen predicts death for many cats. We have survived without the moor and we will continue doing so.” This was nothing less than she expected, not to say that it was necessarily pleasing to her ears, but it at least was not surprising. She wasn't one to mince words, despite her rather longwinded speeches concerning Clan matters, yet she would not hold her position in the face of such an omen. She no more wanted RiverClan to go to war than she wanted to lose her tail in a fox trap, yet to simply let ShadowClan take the land? What foolishness was this that Moonwing spoke of? "It is not my place to argue with the likes of StarClan, Moonwing, Rookstar, and I support the decision and see the reasoning behind it... But what of ShadowClan? What is there to stop them from simply taking the land once we relinquish our claim to it? As I understand, there's only a fifty - fifty chance of Willowstar acknowledging any cat's opinion if it contradicts what she wants for her Clan simply because of her misplaced pride. Is it possible that her arrogance will cause her to ignore the pleas of StarClan and their more earthly messengers, the medicine cats?" It was unlikely for the notoriously faithful follower of StarClan to ignore them, but Mintleaf distrusted the ShadowClan leader with every fibre of her being. For RiverClan to back down made perfect sense, providing that Willowstar didn't interpret it as weakness and attempt to take advantage of their plight. If she did, the consequences would probably prove to be as bloody as Moonwing's omen. Repressing an involuntary shudder, she studied her paws with great concentration while blushing for her impertinance. word count: 375 audience: Moonwing, Rookstar comments: Mintleaf is playing the devil's advocate again, I guess.

[tenacious]

Meeting with the medicine cats…it would be a good way to pass on the message of the omen, and medicine cats would not attack one another. They would also respect the omens of another; instead of saying they were lies. Well, Rookstar could not know that for certain; he was a leader and he had been a warrior, a deputy, before that. The world of a medicine cat was as obscure as the night to the RiverClan leader; he could see some, but definitely not all. Before the tom could reply, Mintleaf had begun to speak, and he remained in silence, listening carefully. She was playing devil’s advocate, but Rookstar did not despise her for it. He liked that about his deputy- the ability to argue both sides, to see both ways. He would rather be forced to think about his decisions then be a tyrant of sorts. Tyrants only led their Clans into unneeded and incredibly deadly battles.

“As a leader, Willowstar has had interactions with StarClan and she would be even more foolish to ignore any omens they have sent, no matter what Clan it is to. The Gathering is approaching too fast for us to send any cat out…I will stick by my decision, because there is too much blood that will be spilt. If Willowstar ignores it, I believe StarClan will reach her or her medicine cat somehow. If not, the situation will be taken care of then. I cannot afford to simply speculate, espiecally when the speculations are so major. Now, Moonwing, would you be comfortable restating your omen at the Gathering? I believe the other Clans will take it better if I am not the one to say what it is you have received. Only truly ignorant warriors would dare question a medicine cat,” he added, a light growl in his tone at the thought. To accuse a medicine cat of inventing omens was an incredibly ignorant thing to do. Rookstar was not aware of such a thing happening in the history of the three Clans, after all.

[m o o n]x[s t o r m]

[bg=251534][atrb=border,0,true] Intaking both her leader and her deputy's words, Moonwing blinked solemnly and looked at each - agreeing with her leader silently, though she was pleased by the query that her deputy responded with, a cat who could play devils advocate was always good at times like these. Rookstar finished of his monologue with a question directed at Moonwing, the medicine cat. She mused it for a moment agreeing with his logic behind the suggestion and bobbed her head once in a vertical motion. "At fourtrees tonight, I would be pleased to inform the other cats." The light nebulous voice of Moonwing hung in the air in response to the question. Thoughts zoomed by in the she-cat's head, such as who would respond well at the gathering. Some more ambitious would surely think such blasphemy as if Riverclan brought up an omen that was made up. Even the thought made her sick to her stomach. She was worried about Shadowclan's taking on the omen, they were particularly ... avarice when it came to land. The medicine cat's egregious hide was slightly covered in a thin layer of the icy waters she just experianced, leaving her to warm up again. The thought of being able to journey back to her den to clean up before fullmoon tonight sounded both exhausting and pleasing. "If I may," Moonwing began, her voice full of pardon. "I would like to go get fixed up before the FullMoon tonight." Her exit was not grand or overtly drawing attention as she blinked at each of her leader and co-leader and bounded to camp. The mindbox recapitulating the events that went on that day - and she was left to mere imagination on what was going to happen next... word count xx|xx 287 (i'll post more next time). paging xx|xx Rookstar, Mintleaf sing along xx|xx none thinking aloud xx|xx ^_^ I'm just wrapping things up for the Gathering tonight!!!