[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]"What's going on...?" Asked the cream-and-white pelted tom as he walked over. He had just woken up from a long afternoon nap to find many of his clanmates constructing what seemed to look like... towers of some sort. Steadfast couldn't have been less interested in helping them out, though he had to admit he was curious as to what they were doing.
// hope it's not too late to post! 1/7
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Two days ago... or was it three, now? Steadfast had been unable to keep count of the days that went by of... his best friend's death.
She was young. Sure, she was older than he was, but only by two years. Domestic felines were supposed to live until their late teens, weren't they? Skippingstones had been five years old. Her life, cut dramatically short, made Steadfast... what would an appropriate word be? He was not on-edge, but rather... sad. He was unsure if he had ever felt the emotion before, so it felt alien to the riverguard. He was trying to flee from the emotion, that was all.
He'd been aimlessly wandering as his brain went along with the thoughts he was having. Now, unsure of what to do, he would sit at StormClan's border, an odd look on his face as he peered into the territory.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]A small frown graced the male's features as Tigerlily explained what was happening. "Oh..." He replied softly towards the girl. Suddenly, a memory was sparked within Steadfast's mind as he stared at the warriors face. "You're Skippingstones' sister, aren't you? Or... were, I should say..." A soft sigh escaped his lips as he remembered his best friend's passing. He hoped to God that she would return. What was he without her, after all?
// 2/7
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Although he would have liked to go - he really would have liked to go - Steadfast was still recovering from his injuries. All but one or two had been received in ShadowClan; now, he also blamed his best friend's death on them as well. A low growl was emitted from the cream-and-white tabby's throat as he sunk his paws into the earth. God, why did he have to be injured?
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Steadfast's ears pinned back slightly as he peered over the edge of the river. Almost instantly, the sun began reflect off of the scales of the fish. His golden gaze locked on a particular trout and he swiped his paw into the water, aiming to grab at it. He'd been a warrior for nearly two years now, and was experienced in the ways of catching fish, so this was an easy task for him. He delivered a swift bite on its neck as it flopped about on the surface; the cream-and-white tabby then picked it up in his mouth and returned to Athena, dropping it next to the leader. Now all he had to do was wait for the next riddle.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]"I..."
Steadfast was at a loss for words. His mind was running through every possible scenario when Athena mentioned 'healing and therapy'. It made him instantly think of Skippingstones and how he had handled her death. He barely acknowledged the girl's passing - he merely went on with daily life in RiverClan. This made the cream-and-white tabby sick to his stomach.
Instead of thinking any further on the subject, he would use his thoughts to come up with a reply to the leader. "Should we... speak about it in the next meeting, then? Who would handle that sort of stuff?"
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Ah... the first to arrive. Good to know that he was beginning to pick up from his previous slack.
The male listened closely to Athena, though did not hint what he thought about anything. He wouldn't offer himself up for the member exchange with ThunderClan; although he knew allies were beneficial, he only saw them as allies in battle, those to aid RiverClan come out on top. So he waited until the leader was done speaking to offer his two cents.
"I suggest Milkyway and Cherrybomb for the riverguard trainee position... but I've not seen Comforting or Astronaut around much." He said softly, hoping that he did not make a mistake in possible demotions as well. "That's... all I can think of, for the time being." The cream-and-white tabby then shut his mouth and waited for others to arrive.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Steadfast had decided that he needed to remove himself from clan life. Most recently, he had been through some serious shit... why couldn't this have happened to a ShadowClanner? They were the evil ones. Had he really done some kind of wronging? Sure, he didn't believe in StarClan at all, but neither did any of the anti-clans. He wasn't bad.
He'd been punished as though he were, however. In the week of past events, his best friend's death had been most notable. Skippingstones had been there for him when he really needed it. Not to mention, he'd worked up enough courage to get the guts to ask her out, and he even made plans to... even though it was the day after she died. Other than the tragic event that shook his life, he'd been 'blessed' with fire manipulation. Steadfast was sure he'd never fucking need it, but for some goddamn reason, he'd gotten them. As a traditionalist, the cream-and-white tabby detested them immediately, especially after the way he'd figured out he had them. A small portion of RiverClan's territory was destroyed thanks to him. And even after that... he'd gotten extremely drunk and had called Tadashi out for being better than him. Steadfast made a mental note to apologize to the other riverguard.
Now he sat with a nearly full bottle of booze, looking through RiverClan's home. He wished all of his woes would disappear.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Steadfast watched as countless amounts of RiverClanners brought over a fish. Many seemed to be in groups... thank God, otherwise they'd have an abundance of their main prey item. He quietly wished for the next clue to be harder as he glanced over at Athena.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]"Apparently, I am allowed to accept invitations..." Steadfast murmured as he wandered over, ears slightly pinning back at the alien smell. A watchful golden gaze was set on Splitsecond as he sat down. "I think that would be fine. Would you like to bring your leader to RiverClan's territory, or would you like us to follow you back to HawkClan?"
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]"Hello, Jager," Steadfast said quietly as he appeared next to the head riverguard. His eyes diverted to the ground next to the other tom, as looking at him brought back memories of Skippingstones - and the wounds were too fresh to remember anything that went on in their relationship. Now that the cream-and-white tabby thought about it, a lot of RiverClanners had been dying off lately... and, sure, maybe he was late to the party to realize it, but at least he showed up. Maybe he'd have to hold a funeral... at least for Skippy.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Steadfast had to chew on his inner lip to avoid saying anything back to Tigerlily. Her last sentence sparked amazing memories with his best friend that he would have rather not remembered.
"Well... on a happier note, I suppose it's... nice to meet you. You already don't seem half bad if I say so myself." He remembered how he thought of Skippingstones at first - she was annoying and too buoyant for his likes. However, Steadfast began to 'grow into' the deceased riverguard... and, in fact, she was the first one he was truly able to open up to. Would he ever receive that opportunity again?
// 3/7
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Athena had come to him asking him to host the weekly tasks. Although he'd much rather spend time in his room and sleep off any pain felt from Skippingstones' death, he complied with her. Ah, crud... he hoped he'd be able to give out enough tasks for everybody who asked for one.
"Weekly tasks." He said with a grunt as he placed himself near the center of camp. A paw raised to his face, and the cream-and-white tabby swiped his ear with it before waiting for the first RiverClanners to arrive.
// these count towards the RiverClan competition! completing a weekly task earns you 3 points!
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Steadfast was the next to wander over to the meeting. However, he already knew of the promotions that were to take place, so the cream-and-white tabby busied his mind with drawing in the earth. Ah, he questioned himself as to why he even attended this meeting.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Although he was intelligent, Steadfast had to sit and think a moment about this one.
His first thought was time. Although it was not a tangible item, it was still on the male's mind. After all, 'I have no voice but I can teach you all there is to know' - as one went through life, they began to grow and learn from their experiences, eventually became wise as they grew older. However, he had to stop and backtrack as the second line was mentioned. 'I have spines and hinges but I am not a door' - what? That honestly stumped him. A frown crossing his face, Steadfast searched for ever possible item he knew that had a spine.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]The sound of others talking made the cream-and-white tabby snap out of his miniature trance. Although he did not want to cheat at all, he couldn't help but overhear the large group talking with one another. However, Steadfast heard no mention of any book - but he heard Tadashi say that they should go to the library. Giving a sigh, he hauled himself to his feet and started walking towards the library.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Ah, crud. So many had showed up in such a short period of time. That was RiverClan for ya.
He would attend to those in the order they showed up. Steadfast really hoped that nobody would complain about their task at all. The male glanced at Cassius, a small frown crossing his maw. He was not surprised that the formed knight had requested to do something non-social, but he thought that they'd be at least somewhat integrated by now. "Alright, Cassius..." he began, searching for a task that would be considered 'non-social', "why don't you lead a hunting patrol to the river? You don't have to take anybody, if you wish not to."
The riverguard's golden gaze then went towards Ivylee, as she had been next to ask for a task. He'd seen the girl quite a lot the days. Although not her parent, he was proud for her - it was nice to see young RiverClan members contributing to their birthplace. "Ivylee, how about you host a game of two truths and a lie?" He knew that she was capable of it.
Then came Frightfur. He... was not sure what to think about the younger male. Nonetheless, he asked for a task, so he would receive one. Just... what would be suitable for the bionic serval? "Frightfur," he said towards the head riverguard of combat, "would you like to have a training session involving the entire clan? Even children. Teach them what to do if another attack by ShadowClan occurs." His ears pinned back at the mention of their current largest enemy. He hated those assholes and damned them all to hell.
A stoney expression would then turn towards Chett. The guy was friendly, right...? He'd never interacted with the pastel-colored angel. Perhaps a generic task would be better-suited for the riverguard trainee. "Chett, how about you, uh..." his mind went into a total car wreck as he continued trying to dish out tasks from the top of his head. "How about you begin, um... a gift basket making circle? And afterwards, you can get those who attended to deliver the baskets to each of our allies." Shit. Since when did Steadfast give a single fuck about their allies? It could have been because of their most recent quarrels with ShadowClan...
His eyes scanned over the last three who arrived. Good, he thought to himself, I'm getting through these. He was unsure of the order in which they arrived, so he picked in chose in hopes of getting them in the right order. After all, he didn't want to seem in favor of anybody. "Cherrybomb," Steadfast choked out slowly, hoping he got the first one right. "How about you go prank one of our allies? Nothing dangerous." Mmm... that was more like it. Pulling tricks on them, rather than kissing down to 'em.
Well, only two of the children were left now. He knew that Acekit wouldn't care which task he received, but decided not to give him anything too dangerous. A sudden memory sparked within him about the library. Perhaps he would be able to use the room to his own advantage with giving out these weekly tasks. "Acekit, why don't you hold a game of hide-and-seek in the library?" It seemed perfect for the child, not to mention everybody could participate - though none of the former knights probably would. Steadfast himself wasn't into that kind of stuff, either, but maybe he'd go and spectate.
Ah... one last kitten to give a task to. He'd seen Littlekit around here-and-there, but knew her only as a medicine cat apprentice alongside Sealion, the brother of... Skippingstones. His eyes began to knit together as memories of his best friend went through his mind. He remembered her favorite spot being on the bow of the steamboat to watch the sunset. Maybe Littlekit would be able to do the same, though with a group of RiverClanners. "Littlekit, how about you get a group to watch the sunset tonight?" Steadfast would more than likely be in attendance, especially if he could relive any moment with Skippingstones.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]Well, shit... it seemed as if he was the only one not part of the giant group. Though, it was unlike Steadfast to emerge himself with countless others. Now, especially after Skippingstones' death, he felt disconnected with everything. He continued walking to the library, eyes periodically landing on a member of the larger group. Why couldn't he be more like everybody else?
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]He would not pay attention to those who had already received their task - they knew what to do already. Steadfast turned his attention towards Namaste and Fireflykit. They were beginning to get active, too - he would probably bring up their names in the next high position meeting.
"Namaste, why don't you host a game of 'never have I ever'?" The cream-and-white tabby would not hesitate to give the five-year-old warrior a task. A generic one, like Chett's had been, because he did not know the tom. Hmm... maybe he'd have to start forcing himself to get around RiverClan more. There were so many new members nowadays.
A stony expression was then focused upon Fireflykit. He did not know of all the party ideas in her head, so unfortunately, she would not be receiving one - but it was close enough. "Fireflykit," he said, "how about you start a flower crown circle?" Girls liked flowers, right? Maybe she'd be okay with this weekly task. Steadfast sure as hell hoped she would be.
[fancypost borderwidth=0px; width:500px;][justify][size=9pt]A glance was shot towards those who had just arrived: Warblerwing, Sweater, and Tadashi. Damn... he was glad that he got around RiverClan enough to know everybody's name. Steadfast wondered how life would have been if he didn't attend meet-and-greets along with joinings. After all, he certainly didn't like them at all.
However, that was besides the point. He now fully turned his attention towards the RiverClan deputy. He'd never personally met Warblerwing, but felt as though he should send his condolences towards her about her fallen family. Maybe I could tell her how I felt about... no, that was stupid. He stopped while he was at it. "Warblerwing," he said towards the silent female, "you've been here... long enough. Why don't you tell others about the history of RiverClan?"
Then, he would fully ignore the tortoiseshell. A scrutinizing gaze would land upon Sweater, but softened immediately as Steadfast saw he was only a child. He'd have to pick more of an all-around task for this guy, too - he knew his name, but that was about the extent of it. "Sweater, maybe host a party? You can have age-appropriate drinks, such as lemonade and iced tea."
Tadashi would be next. He still felt as though he had to apologize for his drunken words towards the tiger... however, Steadfast wasn't the kind of guy to do that. "Tadashi, how about you teach children how to swim?" Tadasi was a riverguard, so therefore would know how to swim. At least, the cream-and-white tabby hoped so... they did live on an island, after all.
