[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]He rarely wondered what it was like to be a leader.
The few times he did think about it, he never thought about the perks of it. Instead, his pessimistic nature violated his thoughts. Steadfast always saw the bad side of everything. He wondered how Athena ran the clan. How stressful was it for her? Frowning at his own thoughts, the cream-and-white tabby wandered over and sat to listen to the meeting.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Steadfast had never liked loners unless they were children. However, this girl spiked his interest, and the cream-and-white male walked over to Copperstride. He wondered if she was high on some kind of drug. He would zone out and wait for the feline to respond.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Steadfast could remember Killua... from... somewhere.
Although he was positive that he'd never heard the name before, Killua somehow sparked a nerve in the three-year-old. At first, Steadfast had knitted his brows and plastered a frown on his face. Possibilities raced endlessly throughout his head: could he have been tortured by this guy, and then had his memories removed save for a slight instance? It made the cream-and-white tabby distrustful, but eventually, curiosity began to gnaw at his insides and he had to go see who this guy was.
"I'm Steadfast." He introduced himself cooly, his gaze momentarily sweeping over to Warblerwing before returning to the albino serval. He was slightly hesitant to continue, but he would do so nonetheless. "Nice to meet you. Where are you from?"
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]As it was for most days, Steadfast had managed to screw up yet again. He had briefly met with his first apprentice, and the pair had agreed to meet on the edges of the forest. The cream-and-white tabby overslept, and by the time he was supposed to be there, he had only been leaving the steamboat. Thanks to his large stride, some of the time was cut. It still was not too easy for him to maneuver around, though - when Shadowclan had captured and tortured him, it was very difficult for the male to move for the few days after he escaped. He was now nearly fully healed, but phantom pains came back to haunt him. He was an... invalid, if you will.
He somehow managed to make it to the meeting location. Although he was normally sure-footed, a few twigs had snapped beneath his paws as he got ready to make his appearance. 'Good,' he thought, 'if this girl is sleeping, then perhaps she will be awake by the time I am there.'
"Hello, Sagepaw," the male said quietly as his apprentice came into view. He sat down and watched the nine-month-old curiously. He remembered being that age once upon a time. It now seemed like a lifetime ago when Steadfast first received his apprentice name. Unfortunately, he had forgotten the name of his mentor as well. Time scratched away at the already broken records in his mind. However, he would not disappoint the young girl as his mentor had him.
(you're fine!)
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]"Athena."
He grunted the leader's name. His throat had been becoming progressively sore, and it was now painful for the cream-and-white tabby to do anything with it. However, he would still use his vocals to try and communicate. Sure, it wouldn't be the most useful thing in the world, but it'd work, right? Besides - Steadfast didn't have telepathy. In fact, if the newly-promoted riverguard found out that he did have it, he'd probably slit his own throat. A strong dislike for powers tugged at his brain daily. Having a recently-discovered power of fire elementals did not help the case at all. At least it was the only one he had.
"Uh..." he coughed once, twice, three times. He forced down a deep swallow that burned the walls of his throat. "Well... everybody's suggestin' something these days. I figured that I may as well too, cause why not? The worst that would happen is that you'd say no." He repeated the previous actions prior and afterwards would at his throat. He quickly made a plan to go spend the rest of the day in bed to rest up. Maybe he'd be feeling better by tomorrow.
"So... my idea. Basically, they're squads of three or four members. Nothing serious, but... they're basically for patrols, and possibly raids. Not really geared towards anybody either. But... just to get a group that you know will watch your back at all times." He forced it out in one massive breath. Ah, shit. Hopefully Minnowscales had some kind of remedy for this.
(had to make him a lil sick bc I am haha)
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Unlike the female, Steadfast had plenty of fur. In fact, during the intense summers that Riverclan experienced, he wished it all to be gone. Now, as he watched Cicadashell splash around in the water, he envied her.
"Yes. One of us Riverclanners are out here." He said towards Cicadashell before finally revealing himself. His pelt was wet - not dripping, but it was obvious that the injured feline had just been for a swim. He clenched his mouth together as a phantom pain hit his shoulder. A quick glance was shot towards Tadashi and Milkyway before turning his head back to the loner. "Uh... yeah. We have an auto-acceptance policy. My name is Steadfast - welcome to Riverclan."
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]The call of a meet and greet intrigued Steadfast. The call of a meet and greet in his best friend's voice made him jump up from his laying position to see Skippingstones.
It seemed that it had been forever since he last saw the riverguard. It made him... what, sad? Yes, Steadfast supposed that was the feeling. He was unable to open up to anybody about his feelings within the past week or so. Bottled rage remained inside of him, but here was no way for him to let it out without being violent. That was why he needed Skippingstones. She was his anchor.
"Skippingstones." The cream-and-white tabby pronounced her name with a dull tone in his voice. He was extremely happy to see her, but something restricted him from rubbing against her. He was nearly over the whole Shadowclan incident by now, but if that was the case, then why did he feel as though he could not hug or touch her at all? "It's nice to see you."
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]"Well, sure it is," he replied to Warblerwing, ears twitching slightly. Steadfast sucked in a deep breath before continuing. "But I'm talking about everybody in Riverclan. Just to make us closer n' such."
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]"I don't see a problem with it," Steadfast hummed softly as he trotted over. His mind was a bit boggled as to if Riverclan and Skyclan were allies; he was not one to pay attention to that much. However, he could at least tell that they were not enemies with the place. Even as neutrals, the cream-and-white tom was pretty sure that dual alliances were accepted.
"Welcome to Riverclan."
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Steadfast stared at his best friend's lifeless body. His emotions were a mix of shock and anger. How could this have... just... happened? All out of the blue? Just a mere five minutes prior, the riverguard had been alive. Sure, she had seemed a bit short-of-breath, but other than that Skippingstones was her normal, happy self. He'd not seen her in the past couple of days, but he was ecstatic that she had returned. Not... not anymore. Steadfast would rather have never seen her again and know that she was okay over him seeing her a few times and know that she was dead.
"I..."
He promptly turned on his heel and walked away. He could not look any long at Skippingstones' body. Steadfast could not... he was unable to describe how empty he already felt without her. She was supposed to be his anchor through thick and thin, and... all of a sudden, she was... gone. Almost like she'd never been there at all.
(Libia noooooo)
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Steadfast had, unfortunately, drifted off into his mind. So much shit had happened to him within the past few days. However, when Emma began speaking again, the cream-and-white tabby snapped back into reality. He was a bit groggy at first, but managed to catch her last two words: 'your name?'
"I'm Steadfast," he replied to the seven-month-old quietly. "'m sorry, I didn't catch your name earlier."
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Although he himself was not called upon - nor were the high position ranks - Steadfast heard the word 'idea' and immediately perked up from where he was. Ideas seemed to be floating all around Riverclan these days, and he though most of them turned out to be great ones (just sometimes they weren't always followed through with). As he trotted over, the cream-and-white tabby gave a short nod of approval before sitting down next to Quietriot.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]"Hello. I'm Steadfast. What can Riverclan do for you?" Asked the cream-and-white tabby as he walked over. He did not know of the foreign scent in which Beetlestar carried with him. Normally, his fur would have bristled from such an unfamiliar smell, but he had since gotten used to many creatures joining Riverclan.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Over the past few days, he been through hell and back - twice. Three times? Yeah, perhaps he would even push that. First off, he'd been captured and tortured by Shadowclan. That had just killed any spirit that happened to be inside him. Then, not more than two weeks late, Skippingstones - his best friend and his anchor - had died. That killed him much more than any physical pain could have.
Nonetheless, he figured the sooner he would be able to move on, the better. Giving a short sigh, the cream-and-white tabby would walk over. "... Steadfast." He had the energy to say no more before slumping to the ground, threatening himself to stay awake.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]That proved to be ironic.
Within about a weeks time, two very different animals in Riverclan with nearly the same name had gone missing. First, Comforting, the black flemish giant, had disappeared from the steamboat. It wasn't too eye-raising for Steadfast; some animals did not just fit in here. Now, Comfortablynumb, a tortie smoke whom he was unsure if he'd ever met, had also disappeared. The girl's disappearance proved to be a bit more different for him, though - there was blood covering the roots of a tree with the word 'goodbye' written above it. That made his skin rise slightly.
"Whose is it?" He asked softly, gulping down small amounts of bile that rose to his throat. Ever since Skippingstones had died, his reaction to anything that even in the tiniest bit related to gore and/or death made him uneasy. Although this was the case, Steadfast wanted to find whatever son-of-a-bitch did this to his clanmate. He could only hope that she did not do it to herself.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]"Yes... that sounds fine with me." Steadfast said towards the girl, his face having small spasms every now and then. He'd bite his lip... his nose would twitch... a single eye would blink... all signs of him getting finicky. There were no signs of him being this way moments ago, sure - but Steadfast was quite bipolar when it came to his emotions. "Also, I'd like to let you know that I want this apprenticeship to be centered around you. In other words, you can pick and choose whatever you'd like to do. If you think that your hunting skills are beginning to become poor... then we can work on those... I believe you get the point." A breath was sucked in deeply as moved into one of his normal 'battle stances'.
He was crouched down, one paw in front of the other, with his tail held stiffly behind him. It was more of a defensive pose than anything. He glanced up at Sagepaw and gave her a forced smile. "Copy my stance."
// sorry i am s o b a d at replying to active threads
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Curiosity began to tug at Steadfast as he overheard Beetlestar speaking with two of his clanmates. He had heard of moonly gatherings, but never of ones hosted by anybody. To him, it did not seem like a bad idea to attend. After all, it would be nice to speak with their allies in a place where they would already be.
"I'm not able to accept invites, though I don't see why we wouldn't be able to go." He said as he popped his head out of the bushes, a frown tugging at his mouth. "Especially if it's peaceful, which I assume it will be." His right eye raised slightly as he glanced towards the Cloverclan leader. Hopefully, Athena, Warblerwing, Jager, or Frightfur would be around to accept the invite soon.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]"I believe there is a mass tour in session..." Steadfast mumbled to as he wandered over, critical golden gaze sweeping over Cherrybomb. The other tom was making an effort to make Riverclan a better place, and the cream-and-white tabby had to admire that. "Though I don't think there's a mass meet-and-greet. Feel free to hold one, if you wish." He said off-handedly before bringing a paw up to inspect it.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]I'M PARTICIPATING IN RIVERCLAN'S SUMMER TOURNAMENT!
Username: Wrex
Tasks Completed:
(2) - Have a mental breakdown
(2) - Discover a power
(2) - Make a playlist/8tracks for your character
(2) - Wander on to an ally's territory
(3) - Suggest an idea
(3) - Reply to 3 joining threads (1 | 2 | 3)
(3) - Complete the weekly task
(3) - Start a short/long term plot with someone
(3) - Draw a fullbody picture of your character +2
(3) - Make an AU
(5) - Create an advanced bio for your character
(5) - Create an opinions/heart chart for your character
(5) - Reply 7 times in an open thread (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7)
(5) - Write a 1000 word one-shot
Official Events
([nobbc]14)[/nobbc] - Scavenger hunt (1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7)
(5) - Offered to host an official event
Total Points (optional): 67
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Steadfast was never one for teams, but... seeing all of his clanmates interact in such a friendly manner made him want to go and join them. He was sure that his now-demeaning personality would not be welcomed in such a group, though.
Instead, the cream-and-white tabby's eyes would scan the clue swiftly before he turned on his heel and went on his way. To him, it was quite obvious that the clue pointed in one direction: the river. 'Alive without breath' - fish were alive, however, as a marine species, they often did not breathe air - 'but cold as death.' To the touch, fish were slimy, and due to their constant habitat temperature were almost always stone cold. 'Never thirsty' - fish lived in water, why would they have a need to be thirsty? Water was available at the blink of an eye - 'but always drinking.' Same kind of deal; water was always around them. It was their own version of oxygen. Ever travelling' - fish of any kind had a strong sense that pulled them in every which way to migrate - 'yet never walking.' Well, obviously, fish didn't have arms or legs like most land animals did. 'Mouth ever moving' - Steadfast was unsure as to why Riverclan's main item of prey often open and closed their mouths, but the did so, much besides the point - 'yet never talking.' Well, this was also an obvious one. Fish didn't talk... unless they had some kind of secret brain-wave communication system.
So... the real question in the end was 'What am I?' Answer: fish.
