kill the king [RiverClan meeting]

[crimsonstar]

Sun-high.

A time to be soaked in blood, to stain RiverClan's history for many moons to come. It was her cue, marking at which point she'd come back with the morning hunting patrol that was scheduled to hunt mainly near the WindClan border. She'd enter camp with a mouse that had been caught for her beforehand, ensuring she would have been hunting. The group of cats would deposit their catch on the fresh-kill pile, at which point she'd speculate on what a nice catch one of the other cats had made; a rare piece of praise from the usually anti-social and egotistical Crimsonleaf. The calico would ask permission to carry the certain piece of prey to the RiverClan leader, making sure to leave her own mouse plainly on the fresh-kill pile. Then, as casually as she could, she'd stroll into the leader's den. The leader, as she would already know, would not be there. By that time the Clan would be unsuspecting of anything out of place: this strategy had been created and built up moons ago, so that everything would go according to plan. She had made sure to always bring Streamstar prey after a hunting patrol she'd been part of, knowing that nobody would question her on it when this day arrived. Crimsonleaf would exit the den, appearing mildly perplexed. She'd approach another Clanmate as if to ask where the leader was, but would stop and sniff the air as if realizing something. Known for being a talented tracker, this also wouldn't be unusual for her Clanmates. She would instead remark that something smelled like crowfood, following the scent to an area nearby. She part the reeds close to camp, revealing Streamstar's body; matted fur, slitted throat, and lifeless eyes.

This was a preferable day, RiverClan buzzing with activity as the day grew into full-swing. Crimsonleaf had awaited it in excitement, but her well-practiced look of indifference and boredom hid this cleverly. It was a plan that could not fail, since she and her fellow decoys had gone over it time and time again. Practically flawless, they'd rehearsed until Crimsonleaf knew every little thing happening every single second of today. Her gaze dropped like a stone onto Streamstar's body, and she scrambled backwards, horrified. The reeds had swung back into their former positions to hide to body once more from sight, and she made sure to wait a few seconds for good measure. It was quite the little act she was putting on for her Clanmates, but she did what she learned a deputy had to do in such drastic situations: take charge. Rapidly trotting to the area Clan announcements were usually made, she cried out gravely, "Streamstar is dead!" Her dark red eyes flicked from one face to the next, as she waited for the expected reactions. Shock, certainly. Disbelief, absolutely. Fear? Perhaps. Traveler had reprimanded her during their rehearsals to not look so pleased with herself when she was announcing it to the Clan. Finally she overcame this obstacle, successfully able to just keep an unreadable expression until this event passed. Crimsonleaf watched as cats emerged from dens, sleepy eyes replaced by confusion. And so it began.

[rubykin]

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-->Mossfeather trotted back into camp with the two voles she had caught. Today had been a dull day, the usual. She had woken early that morning, scheduled to go out on a hunting patrol with Crimsonleaf and a few others. It had been a successful hunting trip, this Green-leaf was proving to be bountiful and the marshes were bustling with life. She and Crimsonleaf had had a nice discussion before they returned to camp. As Mossfeather walked in, she deposited the day's catch on the fresh-kill pile and took a piece for herself. She padded over to a corner of camp, wanting some peace and quiet before her patrol that afternoon.

-->As she chewed, she glanced around camp casually. Everything seemed peaceful and pleasant, and no cat could ask for a nicer day. The sun was out, but a nice breeze from the lake ensured the perfect temperature. "Better enjoy it while it lasts..." she mumbled to herself, hoping that Green-leaf would last for a half a moon more at least. Her fellow clanmates were enjoying the weather as well, and it was days like these that reminded Mossfeather why she truly loved being a Riverclan cat. She finished off her meal, but sat enjoying the feeling of the sun's warmth on her fur, closing her eyes for a moment to let it soak in. She would need to save as much sunlight as she could for the dark winter ahead.

-->Opening her eyes again, they fell upon Crimsonleaf. Mossfeather admired the deputy, she was strong willed and powerful. She always had a commanding air to her, and Mossfeather respected that. She was very partial to cats that spoke their opinions. But today, the deputy was acting strangely. Mossfeather saw her emerge from a patch of reeds, her face a mix of anger and grief. And maybe something else...something sinister. It was hard to tell from a distance. Mossfeather stood, taking a few steps toward the she-cat. Then a few more as she realized that something serious was happening, and a cold draft seemed to sweep through camp as other cats came to the same conclusion.

-->Crimsonleaf leaped to the spot where Streamstar usually stood, and yowled three words that chilled Mossfeather's whole body: "Streamstar is dead!" A sound worse than silence filled Mossfeather's ears. It was the sound of devastation, and it was awful. Her reality seemed to shatter, and she wasn't sure what to think. Streamstar had been leader for a s long as she could remember, and it was hard to imagine Riverclan being led by anyone different. Her mind went from shock, to sadness, to grief, to confusion, and back to shock all over again. She stood frozen for a few minutes before a new thought slowly crept into her head. She tried to push it away at first, but it grew larger and larger until she could no longer ignore it. Who would become deputy now? It was no secret that Mossfeather aspired to be deputy one day, and maybe even leader. She had always wanted to be a big part of the clan, and be someone that cats would remember for many moons to come. But a tiny part of her heart leaped in excitement and hope, because this could be her chance.

-->She met all the requirements, Firepaw had been assigned to her as her apprentice only a few moons before, and although she was young, she was quickly becoming very mature for her age. Could this be what she had been hoping and waiting for? She felt her mouth grinning, and quickly forced it back into a frown. This was not hte time to be happy about anything, the leader she had learned from and loved was dead. Dead. The thought finally sunk in and her heart sank. She felt a sudden weight in her chest, and knew that Streamstar's death had finally sunk in. She realized that Crimsonleaf would be leader now, and supposed that she should treat her as such. She padded closer to the deputy, and bowed her head with her clanmates. And as she thought of Streamstar's great accomplishments, she couldn't help but sense the tiny voice in the back of her mind that kept saying, This is your chance, don't screw this up....

[s h i m m e r l i l y +]

SHIMMERLILY

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"who would have thought that forever would be severed by / the sharp knife of a short life?"
--the band perry

There's nothing for me to do.

The depressing thought came from a small silver cat, a young warrior, newly christened with the name of Shimmerlily, who was lying languidly in the RiverClan camp, her ocean-blue eyes slanted to face the sky. She was aimlessly counting the fluffy, thin clouds parading happily and innocently through the air. It was a clear day; Greenleaf was waning, but the dainty cream-and-gray femcat liked the cooler weather, the soft breezes that tickled her fur, the emerald leaves starting to turn shades of gold...and of course, the abundance of fish heading downstream to warmer waters, swimming quickly and lazily, was a plus for her Clan.

Of course, Shimmerlily would have been hunting if she had been placed on patrol, but she supposed that Crimsonleaf had forgotten to put her on one. And since she was a naive, new warrior, she didn't want to dare breaking the rules and going out by herself...

...which meant she was stuck in camp. How lovely. With a surreptitious glance at her surroundings, Shimmerlily decided that today was turning into another normal day. The Clan was bustling about, it was approaching the busiest time of day. Out of the corner of her eye, the young warrior spotted a fellow Clanmate, Mossfeather, pad back into camp, looking busy with the prey she had caught. She considered going over to say hello just because she had nothing else to do, but she refrained from acting on impulse. Despite the fact that the two cats were only a moon apart, Shimmerlily had never decided to get close to the pretty chocolate Torbie. She supposed that, while she admired Mossfeather's general kindness, akin to her own, the sharp tongue that sometimes slipped from her Clanmate's mouth made timid Shimmerlily a bit afraid of her. Not in a bad way. Perhaps Shimmerlily was just a bit too introverted.

Frowning, the warrior averted her blue gaze and returned to absentmindedly looking at the vast expanse of inviting cerulean sky above her head. When Crimsonleaf returned, wherever she'd gone, Shimmerlily would definitely ask if there could be something for her to do...but since the deputy wasn't here, why should Shimmerlily worry herself?

She was a few heartbeats into her cloud watching when the sound of quick pawsteps alerted her of another cat approaching. Ears perking, the small gray warrior scrambled to her paws, especially when she noticed it was Crimsonleaf. The deputy looked...anguished? Enraged? She was too far to see for sure, but somehow she knew that now was not the time to ask to be put on patrol.

Her sapphire eyes were stretched wide with puzzlement as she watched the calico cat hurry to Streamstar, their leader's, usual perch when making announcements. She watched, instinctive dread somehow building in her heart, and before words passed Crimsonleaf's mouth, somehow Shimmerlily felt her heart drop and her blood run cold. Something in her deputy's eyes was wrong--something had happened--

'Streamstar is dead!'

Silence. The entire Clan seemed to be completely silent, or was her pounding heart just too loud? Shimmerlily felt numb for a moment, until the shock truly set in.

"No." The word dropped from her mouth. It was filled with disbelief, surprise, and just plain grief. Shimmerlily's head bowed out of respect for her former leader, but her blue gaze swam with tears.

Streamstar -- dead? No. Crimsonleaf had to be lying. There had been a glimmer or something in those dark red eyes when she had come back into camp. It was just the deputy's own grief, she thought wildly, her mind buzzing.

Her Clanmates started to react; Shimmerlily was appalled to see a smile cross Mossfeather's lips before disappearing as her denmate bowed her head as well...She was distracted by this gesture of happiness momentarily, but then circumstance wiped every thought out of her mind but one.

Her leader was dead. Dead.

And she would never come back.

[/size]

[sapphirewish]

♀ Sapphirewish
The gray blue warrior of RiverClan

Sapphirewish padded into camp.In her mouth a carp.Streamfeather's favorite the gray blue warrior thought sadly.Then,she heard Crisonleaf call Clan Meeting.Isn't the deputy not allowed to call a Clan Meeting Sapphirewish thought confused,but went over to hear the news.As the words 'Streamstar is dead' were spoken it was like a knife digging deep into the RiverClan warrior's heart.She was usually not the one for sympathy or grief...but her leader dead...never coming back,not now not ever. No not Streamstar too She thought,her head low.She had noticed that the deputy was acting...strange a mixture of anger and grief in her red eyes."You were a great leader,"Sapphirewish mumbled.So,now Crimsonleaf is leader of RiverClan ,I wonder who will be deputy now...the gray blue warrior thought.She had never wanted to be a deputy much less leader.They had too much on their hands,at least too much for her anyways.There was one cat she knew would want to be deputy...Mossfeather.She knew she would hatch a plan to become RiverClan's deputy.She had seen Mossfeather's little victory smile,if Mossfeather becomes deputy she won't her.Then she bowed her head in respect.We'll miss you Streamstar S,don't grief[/i] he thought her head aching with sadness.No,don't grief Sapphirewish forced herself.Her mother,Heronstream had taught her much.One of her teachings were not to think,but instead she must react,because who would give you time to think in the heat of a battle. Sapphirewish had only one question,one she had to ask."When will the vigil for Streamstar be held,"the gray blue warrior asked Crimsonleaf.
"And where is Streamstar's body anyways Crimsonleaf?" Sapphirewish asked.She thought it was a harmleass question,but she didn't know what Crimsonleaf had done.

[`leafshadow]

[/i] been practiced. Extensively.

By now, the decoy knew every detail of this day. Every possible scenario, and every possible response. She would have a cover for everything she did—every place she went. Nothing would ever be traced back to her. That was the way it had been planned—and so far, plans of the decoys had yet to backfire. At least, for RiverClan.

As the sun rose in the sky, Leafshadow would slip back into camp. A plump mouse would be stashed somewhere nearby—a predertimed and convenient location that wouldn’t be found by the casual passer-bby. She’d pretend to yawn along with the others in her clan, and go through to motions of a relaxed, lazy morning. If Mossfeather had asked, she would’ve simply replied how she changed her mind, and would rather let the kits and elders feed first. She’d give a quick remark about how selfish she’d been, and how she’d felt terrible about it now.

And as the dawn hunting patroll scraped through the barrier, the she-cat would wait for an eternity of a minute. She’d glanced at the fresh-kill pile, and pad over as if she was considering something. Then, Leafshadow would head out the tunnel as if to join the patroll, with it looking like she’d wanted to help out the hunting. Now, she would be free to roam the forest without suspicion.

Now, she could help kill Streamstar.

The deed itself would be simple enough. While Leafshadow wouldn’t be doing any of the attacking, she would be the decoy. The one to lure Streamstar away from the safety of the clan. The one to blindly lead him to StarClan.

She’d seen the look in his eyes once it finally clicked. That Leafshadow was one of THEM.That SHE had been lying to him the entire time. She’d seen the hurt, the betryal, the fear in his eyes before they saw no more.

All could do was stand there, frozen. Unable to tear away, and save him. Unable to take back her decision, and unable to express her sorrow. Her fear. She hadn’t wanted to kill Streamstar—he’d been her clan leader for as long as she could remember. He’d been there for her—he’d given her warrior name.

Would he hate her, now? Would he invade her dreams like the warriors of the dark forest? And most of all, would Streamstar ever forgive her?

The warrior helped to carry his body back to the clan. They’d stuck to the river, swimming downstream to disguise their scents while keeping the former leader on their backs and above the surface. Easily, they’d stash him in the reeds next to camp. Easily, Leafshadow would exit and groom her pelt, leaving no trace of the water.

The she-cat barely made it back to camp ahead of the patroll. She’d take her place, lingering uneasily and chatting with her clanmates until she returned. Leafshadow hadn’t even watched as the other she-cat sped back into camp, clamoring over to Streamstar’s normal perch. She didn’t even look when she yowled the knews she already knew.

Streamstar is dead!

Crimsonleaf’s eyes raked the crowd. On demand, a sob clutched the breath out of her chest—a heartbreaking sound, filled with despair the she-cat didn’t even know she could feel. Unplanned tears leaked out of her eyes, splattering the dried ground beneath her. These tears weren’t rehearsed—they were real.


Streamstar was dead.

And she’d been a part of it.
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