Rise of the Lich King

[Miss Tactical]

Eveningstar watched as the cats gathered curious about what he had to say. His eyes fell on Palesun with a slight smirk he flicked the tip of his tail a signal that the two had discussed in the dark forest. He heard whispering and with narrowed eyes he yowled. ”Shut up all of you.” A soft silence settled over the bunch as the cats were curious about what the black tom had to say, or what could be so important shortly after a battle. ”We showed RootClan what we were made of….but not without a cost of one of my lives and it made me realize how weak we TRULY are.” He mewed. He could see the looks of confusion across all of their faces.

”There is no room for cats that are weak in my clan. Cedarleap, Redwing, Ambershine, Wolfshade, Honeyfern, Bloompath, Rosefury, Slugheart, and Lizardsnap, effectively immediately I am retiring all of you. As far as I’m concerned a disabled cat, severely injured cat is a weak one. There is no room on my warrior roster for any of you. You are now last to eat, appreciate you aren’t exiled. He mewed firmly. He heard shocked gasps as two of his own kits were even retired. It was certainly out of the norm for the black tom to be acting the way he was. With narrowed eyes he cleared his throat to continue.

”Any cat who is from another clan will be watched carefully, anyone still showing ties with said clan or if they were a kittypet will be exiled. I only want the best followers and if you are loyal to two clans your loyalty is split.” He knew he had half born clan cats in here and he would exile whoever he needed to, to make MothClan the best. ”I will be traveling to the two leg place tomorrow….we need the strongest cats to execute RootClan, they are not welcome here anymore. StarClan told me when I lost a life that the Tangled roots will burn. That must mean we are to get rid of them!” He lied. However he was still relatively convincing. ”I will welcome all the rogues into MothClan’s ranks if it means helping…EXTERMINATE RootClan, in exchange I will offer them MothClan’s old territory while we take RootClan’s. A strong ally is a good ally. Remember that.” He mewed. The other cats seemed to be murmuring about the possibility about RootClan after all they did kill Mothstar.

”Finally I’ve decided that Batstrike is no longer fit to serve as MothClans deputy. I need a strong like minded deputy so I am relieving him from his deputy duties. Tansysong will be the new deputy of MothClan. Since I have now retired Cedarleap I decree Palesun the full medicine cat of MothClan” He mewed firmly. ”That is final. You are now all dismissed elders go sleep over there now please.” He nodded towards a small corner near a large rock. He didn’t want their weaknesses to spread. As elders it also meant that they were not allowed to have more kits, or kits at all and they could not spread their horrific deformities and illnesses. Eveningstar dismissed the group with a flick of his tail before walking away towards the two-leg place. He had some….rogues to talk to…

[noctemq]

Cherryhawk’s ears flattened. What was going on? Her mate’s name rung in her ears, and she protectively draped her tail around her kits. Redwing was nearby and she turned to him, gauging his reaction. She knew Eveningstar was a hard cat, but she didn’t know he’d ever go this far. Redwing was perfectly capable of fighting and hunting... an early retirement seemed like too mean of a punishment for something no cat could control. Her heart was set on sneaking Redwing food when she could, this decision wasn’t fair at all and she wouldn’t listen to it. Something had to be wrong with Eveningstar for him to cast out his own kin. What happened on the border skirmish that would cause this? Cherryhawk didn’t bother to try to think of an answer, but instead thought about how she could protect those who she loved. If Redwing wasn’t compromised, she might have even considered evacuating to a nearby clan to protect her kits. As Mothclan opened up their borders again, only welcoming those with bloodlust, their camp was going to become much more dangerous than she was comfortable raising a family in. Uniting against an enemy could barely be considered a unity, and the rogues would probably not respect anything about clan life at all. It would be chaos! Also, what if Eveningstar found out about Berrykit? Cherryhawk’s usually cheery demeanor felt clouded with paranoia. Berrykit wasn’t disabled per se, but she certainly was special. She called them her “fun eyes” so her kit wouldn’t compare herself to the others. Berrykit’s vision often distracted her, almost the point where Cherryhawk wanted to slip in a word so she’d receive a very patient mentor. What would happen if Eveningstar found out? No, Berrykit was still young and this would only be something noticeable once she was an apprentice. Cherryhawk found herself thinking about every possible thing that could go wrong. She had so much to lose and therefore so much to protect.

Her heart dropped when she heard Batstrike’s name as well. This was uncalled for! Her wide amber eyes searched the crowd for her previous mentor. She had no idea what to do and how to react so she stood there, holding her kits close and hoping Eveningstar was just playing a dark prank on them.

[Fireflake]

Mantisclaw, too, waited for Eveningstar to laugh and announce that it was a joke, and "now just being defeated by RootClan didn't seem so bad, did it?" But he didn't. Her wide eyes and open mouth were met with nothing but a casual dismissal. At first she thought that dying must have gotten under his skin. She would have sworn that he lost a life the day of the fire, but she didn't see it and nobody ever said anything, so maybe this was the first time. She would have thought that, up until he listed the names of the suddenly demoted cats.

Cedarleap. Redwing. Slugheart and Lizardsnap. Batstrike. It was at this point that Mantisclaw changed her theory. Maybe Eveningstar had hit his head really hard on the ground when he died, or Blackmoon had rattled something in him, or had passed on some horrible RootClan disease. There was word of one going around, after all. Mantisclaw flattened her ears. She had to talk to Cedarleap. She had to talk to Ruststripe and Milkberry. There was something wrong with Eveningstar. Darkstorm or Batstrike, maybe, could knock some sense back into her father's head. If nobody else, she'd talk to Bellfeather.

But before that, she had to talk to her father himself. A horrible feeling squirmed inside and settled in her stomach. She'd have to get Cedarleap-- no, Palesun-- to check that out. But for now she had to force her paws to move. Shouldering her way to the front of the crowd, most of which had not wandered off at the invitation to do so, she called up as discreetly as possible, "Can I talk to you in your den, Dad?"
She didn't want to stir up any more trouble at the end of an announcement, no matter how chaotic it had already become.

[GnawingOnIce]

Cedarleap hadn’t expected this so suddenly. After the fire, it seemed like Eveningstar had been struck on the head by a flaming branch and wouldn’t be fixed. She knew he had lost a life. What could have happened between that short time of dying and becoming live again? Or maybe he was just evil and that’s how he was. But she really knew he wasn’t, who made sure his Clan was safe after the fire? Even so, he had turned merciless, and Cedarleap would not stand for it or for anything he said.

She lived through being attacked by Mothstar and saw the end of his reign, she survived ridicule by her den-mates and finally, promoted medicine cat, she wasn’t about to give up. The disease that festered in her heart had slown her down, unfortunately, but that didn’t mean it drenched the fire within her.

Stumbling forward from the ranks of cats who most she had seen grown up from kits, she faced Eveningstar. Wheezing, she could feel her heart telling her to slow down, but she refused.

“Eveningstar,” she growled, “how dare you!” her amber eyes flamed with her fury. “You dare call me weak, and practically put your Clanmates into exile! Demote your own deputy!” Her voice shook with the effort of shouting at him.

“I realize now who you really are. You are evil and merciless, thinking you can really defeat an entire Clan. The Stars will condemn you for this!”Finally she broke into a coughing fit, trying to regain the breath she lost. Her heart struggled with the effort as she collapsed to the ground and ridded herself of her coughing after some moments. Swallowing, she rose to her paws shakily and looked Eveningstar in his one soulless eye, waiting for what he had to say.

Tags;; Miss Tactical
Notes;; n/a

[Miss Tactical]

Eveningstar raised a brow when Cedarleap said the stars would condemn him. ”The stars will condemn you blah blah blah.” He mewed in a mocking tone, his tail lashed back and forth when the she-cat went into a coughing fit. He smirked ever so slightly. ”My point exactly unfit you can barely stand now get up go join the elders please. Be greatful,” He mewed firmly. ”If anything when I went to StarClan a few hours ago they blessed me with realization of what I needed to do. He looked at Mantisclaw dad? So she was his daughter? He looked her up and down realizing he would have to play the roll well. ”Quickly err…princess dad has some work to do.” His tone a bit softer, he had always wanted kits….and now he had some. Ones that looked strong. He looked around the camp wondering how many of these other cats were his kin he blinked slowly he would ask Palesun later but for now he had other things to do rogues to find, RootClan cats to knock out of the trees.

[pants]

Grizzledwolf clenched his jaw as his leader gave the announcement, forcing his deputy and medicine cat to step down and appointing new blood into the higher positions. This was very odd, even for Eveningstar. The tom was brash, sure, but never so impulsive... So reckless... But he had a point. MothClan had nothing. RootClan seemed to get the better end of the tragedies, and since they were the newest clan, wouldn't it be right for them to sacrifice some land? MistClan was nearly barren from prey, and IvyClan was surely too far away. The battle might have failed, but from the sound of the new Eveningstar, there was going to be a war. This wasn't over.

Twitching his whiskers and taking this all in. There wasn't much he could do. The warrior code said that the leader's word was law. So even as foxhearted and out of place this all was, rules were rules, and they were to be followed regardless. Grizzledwolf watched Cedarleap's outburst. The large smoke tom gave the former medicine cat a glare. She was dying herself! So who was she to try and defy Eveningstar when he demanded a healthy medicine cat be put in place. It was only right.

As Eveningstar finished, Grizzledwolf stood up. "Eveningstar!" He felt some eyes dart to him. This only made the tom's chest puff out even further. "Let me know if you need anything. MothClan is my true home, and I wish to do everything I can to help." The large tom looked to the other cats. "Think, everybody! We have nothing! Nothing, except for each other. We can't rely on the other clans to take care of us, and so we must take care of ourselves. If that means driving away RootClan so we can feed our own kits, then what's stopping us?" The tom boomed with his gruff voice, yellow eyes blazing with a fiery pride. "The only way we can get through this is to be strong, both physically and mentally. We can't the other clans take advantage of our weak, so we must only be represented by our strongest!"

[Fireflake]

Cedarleap was, understandably, less willing than Mantisclaw to sort out the situation without an uproar. Mantisclaw watched Eveningstar's cold mockery of the medicine cat with shallow breath. She was certain when he turned to her that she'd get the same treatment, and braced herself against it, but instead he was civil. That didn't help her relax. In fact, it set her fur on end with unease. Just as she opened her mouth to reply, she was interrupted.

Mantisclaw sent a sharp look Grizzledwolf's way as he spoke up. She echoed his sentiment to a degree, but her lip curled in distaste as he started to speak to the rest of them. Even so, his words weren't nearly as harsh as what Eveningstar had just done. The she-cat kept her eyes on him for a moment, gritting her teeth until her jaw hurt, just to keep it shut, then directed her attention back to her father. It wasn't worth arguing with the senior warriors when the leader had open ears.

The sudden surge she'd felt inside of her at Grizzledwolf's announcement made it feel almost like the battle earlier that day, when she'd cast out her doubts to fight. They'd lost that one, but it didn't matter. It pulled her up out of the unsteady footing she'd been balancing on and threw her down on solid ground, where she could confidently speak to her father. Her voice wasn't quite as quiet this time. "Your work is... kind of what I wanted to talk to you about, actually. Are we having this conversation out here..?"

[Storm]

Batstrike
MothClan | Deputy Demoted Warrior | Tom | 40 Moons | Heterosexual

The discussion of the plan to not just push RootClans border, but commandeer a chunk of their territory was met with resistance by Batstrike.  Even with MothClan in ruins he believed in his clans ways- they were strong, they made due with what they had.  RootClan was surely still struggling, just recently returning to their lands themselves as well.  They had just spent moons in MistClans care alongside those cats, surely if they had lived side-by-side then they could tough out this time peacefully.  The black tom knew his leaders deeply rooted hatred for the former tribe though.  He may not have been necessarily proud of it, but Eveningstar had proven to Batstrike he only intended the best for their clan so some of the toms precautions and wariness had rubbed off on him.  Especially about Blackmoon… The deputy would definitely be a dangerous enemy.  Still he couldn't shake the feeling this was the wrong move.  Perhaps that was why Eveningstar chose to lead the attack instead of his deputy.  

Instead, Batstrike was charged with protecting the ashes of their former camp and the shabby temporary shelters they had fashioned.  The deputy paced impatiently as he thought about what was happening each moment: They'd have arrived at the border by now, quickly setting the trap, they're probably lying in wait now, I wonder if the RootClan patrol has gone by yet?  It's got to be going down by now... Where are they, what's taking so long?  His whiskers twitched through a nervously clenched jaw, long tail swishing with every stride.  The failure of the attack was evident as the party staggered in.  Batstrike immediately noticed the blood clung to Eveningstars neck as he pushed by, but the tom had totally blown him off and continued to his place.  He'd be in no mood to talk about it, but what had happened?  Batstrike's yellow eyes flashed around to the rest of the party to ensure they all had returned but also to read their eyes for any tells of if what he suspected was true.  Had their leader lost a life out there?  

A cutting yowl grabbed his attention before he gained any more information.  His suspicion was confirmed, but he had no time to process it before he found himself shocked alongside the rest of his clan as Eveningstar retired their warriors.  Some he could see, but others were good warriors, strong and proud warriors... One shouldn't get it wrong even he had an odd overprotective distaste for Cherryhawks mate, but the tom was a fine feline.  They hadn't talked about any of this, was their leader throwing a fit and saying something he would regret later?  The deputy moved to take a step forward from his place near the back.  He needed to get Eveningstar back to a rational state of mind, but he continued before the tom could intervene.   Where was this all coming from?  Even Batstrike wasn't MothClan born, but his loyalty was undoubtable- this was unreal.  Destroying RootClan?  Bringing in rouges, especially having such tightly closed borders?  "You question the loyalties of your own clan and then decide to bring in cats with no morals who are loyal to only themselves?"  This was entirely unacceptable.  He couldn't help but call out for his voice to be heard, black claws tense in their sheaths.  

All at once StarClan halted the world around Batstrike; It would have been better if the tom had just dropped dead then and there than face the words he just thought he heard his leader say.  All at once it seemed the murmurs silenced again as shocked faces turned to meet their stunned, demoted deputy.  The lean black and white tom suddenly felt more like a lanky apprentice, jaw hung open and wide-eyed in a torn up camp beneath his clanmates gazes.  Eveningstar continued on and then concluded as if one should have expected this announcement, while Batstrike felt a lump harden in his throat, his guts violently twist and had the sudden realization his lungs couldn't remember the last time they tasted air.  His skin prickled beneath his fur as a shiver ran up his spine and after that he wasn't sure he could feel much of anything but numb.  He couldn't hear Ceaderleaps curse, the rouse of the clan returning or distinguish the support from the backlash.  He could only hear his heart beating in his skull and a ragged breath.  Batstrikes lip quivered as the clans focus returned to Eveningstar and he silently turned and padded out of camp, tail dragging the ground behind him.  

There was no worse punishment than to be demoted for a tom so hard on himself.  His heart couldn't feel the pain of his clan or his family based on these decisions.  In this moment he could selfishly only consider himself.  He wasn't strong enough for his leader and so he wasn't strong enough for his clan or to protect his family.  He wasn't even clan born so maybe it really wasn't even his clan and he was right from the very beginning when he first joined.  Was he foolish for getting so comfortable?  Surely this meant it was time for his to curl up and die...   Batstrikes dark pelt faded in the shadows of night, kicking up the settled debris as his white paws shuffled forward.  He'd wander the remains of their lands until he came to terms with this, but he'd surely collapse from exhaustion before that occurred.  

[Broadwaykat]

Bloompath was not the smartest of his siblings; he wasn't even the strongest, or the best looking (although between the three surviving brothers that was hardly a factor at all anymore). But if there was one thing you could not fault the young warrior on, it was passion and loyalty. He had been raised by his mother to be strong and all things; to give his all if the clan depended on it, and even his very life if it was Starclan's will. He had lived with her death, and survived injuries that may have kill a cat with less feeling, less heart - and the entire time he had waited for the moment he could be back to truly show his clan what he was made of.

If he had had his way, he would have been out fighting with the others; but his skin still felt a little stretched in areas. He may have been getting underpaw of others in his antsiness to help - but when Eveningstar returned triumphant in his return from battle, he let out a happy yowl - ready to hear the tales of adventure and daring do as if he had been right there alongside his clanmates.

But his elation turned to confusion when he noticed the cold, calculated tone. Had it gone bad? Was there worse news to come? Invasion? More death. He was beginning to realize that Softpaw and Leafeyes was not coming back...but did that mean they had lost other familiar, important faces.

No...the eager young warrior would learn that it was much, much worse than that. As each word spoken from their leader's maw condemned him to the worst possible fate. He couldn't even say that it was the worst fate imaginable - as Bloompath, as fanciful as he could be at times had never in his wildest nightmares imagined something like this happening.

So many names. So many others. Thrown aside - forced to the fringes for a weakness that very few of them had shown. His brothers. Himself. Some cats who were made warriors just last moon; told they were lesser than. Before he could even really begin to show his chance.

"No..." He whimpered in a mute sort of horror. He tried to meet the eyes of others around him, shrinking momentarily. Among them only Ceaderleap had the courage to step up to defy the pronouncement; hardly the strongest among them, as old as the trees (or so it seemed to the relatively young Bloompath) - but she had said it. This was wrong; a mistake of the highest order. And maybe he could shrug off his Medicine Cat - but not one of his faithful followers. 

"No!" He said, more forcefully; channeling a tone he had only before heard his mother use; a voice of strength that hopefully bode no arguing against. "I can't - I won't step away from being a warrior!" He stood his ground, existing fur bristling along his neck, his non-existent ears surely flattened against his skull had they remained viable. "I have done nothing to prove I'm worse off than anyone here - all of us have! We survived fire, and death all around us - and you're telling us we have to quit now when our clan needs us the most?! That we're not worthy?! We were taught that Elder's have earned a reward for their strength, their cunning, their survival for untold moons - but now you make it into a punishment! And bringing strangers in to fill our ranks for no reason - what about our Code! The Code you taught us!"

His words reached a sort of hysterical climax - his feet were firmly planted, but small, more sensible part of his brain caused him to tremor ever so slightly. That same Code he brought up told him that he was certainly not supposed to be calling out his leader - and despite everything he was telling them, that's what Bloompath still looked at Eveningstar as. His leader - highly flawed, horribly wrong - but his leader all the same.

Was it foolish to think that the words of one warrior would make a difference? Especially one of them condemned by Eveningstar's new regime? Certainly.

But Bloompath had never been known for his smarts.

(Tags: Miss Tactical)

[Mama]

Eveningstar had returned... but something seemed foul. Wrong. He couldn't put his claw on it exactly, but the glare in his eyes and the cold, heartless smirk certainly raised some red flags for Honeyfern. The tom was busy on a patrol, working himself as much as he could since he became a warrior. He just wanted to prove himself to his clan... prove himself for his mother, Leafeyes, and his sister, Softpaw. She was the only sane one of the four siblings, but now she was gone. The only physically normal one, the only one who could feel pain, hurt, and injuries.

Honey-colored eyes flickered towards the ebony leader hesitantly, still loyal, however, concerned. It was replaced with something else as he continued more into his speech...

Suddenly, he slammed his claws into the dirt, fur bristled up and the tom's face in a silent, spitting hiss. His muzzle was bared in a snarl, eyes like daggers towards Eveningstar. He took a step towards his brothers, keeping his eyes locked of the leader.

{I didn't train, no, suffer, just to be retired hardly after I became a warrior!} He angrily thought, before sending a look towards Bloompath. His clan, what he thought was his clan, had only pushed them further and further away. He wasn't normal, Bloompath wasn't normal. Even Rosefury wasn't normal! And despite how hard they worked, they trained, the clan was never pleased. Fine.

With his claw, he drew a moth into the soil. Then, glared back up towards Eveningstar, venom in his eyes. His paw swung down, shattering the image and sending sand flying.

This wasn't his home. This wasn't his clan anymore. Without another glance towards him, besides a look to his siblings, Honeyfern started to stalk away.