Posts by jackdaw!

[center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]Rosetail raised a valid point. Tatteredstar knew that, but he wasn't ready to make a commitment. He'd tried before, with Nightcrow, and where had that gotten them? His son was unable to continue serving as deputy. Was he supposed to raise cats right and left, just to avoid StarClan's wrath? StarClan could not truly care for SkyClan; if they did, they wouldn't have told Audenine to move to ThunderClan. Firmly, he replied, "I think it's best for SkyClan to wait a few days." It was best for him. Selfish, perhaps, but he couldn't face choosing someone else so soon. "If our ancestors kill me for that, they'll tell Wasppaw who the next leader should be. If they don't—if they punish me privately, or not at all, then I will have been right in this decision." He paused, breathing heavily, and was interrupted by a harsh coughing fit before he could continue. At last, firmly, Tatteredstar finished, "SkyClan will have a new deputy, but not today."

[center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]Tatteredstar was indeed asleep in his den, exhausted by the fever that had claimed him just hours before. That was for the best; were he awake, the tom would be hovering over the pair, demanding to know why Wasppaw had brought a ShadowClanner here, instead of leaving him to his own Clan, and if they could really spare the herbs to heal Batpaw. He would not, in short, have made the situation much better—of course, all that still might pass, should someone be concerned by the sight of the medicine cat apprentice and ShadowClan apprentice and decide to rouse him.

/ excuse u batpaw are u causing my grandson worry and heartache?
*raises fists*

Hey guys, once again, thanks for your patience. My posting should be back to normal now c:

canarypaw, welcome! sorry i can't see who the rper is anymore

no problem, rue - if you ever change your mind, let me know

hey! sorry i couldn't respond to this earlier; i was out for a few days

wisteria and stone are both accepted, if you still want them

stone's name is actually a bit ironic since tat's son changed his name to that a while back

HOUSE ARREST [x] MEETING 4/3
unsticky, please

[center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]It felt amazing to be healthy, to be able to walk without feeling tired and talk without coughing. To felt amazing to wake up in a den that smelled simply of cat, instead of vomit and sickness. It had taken the better part of a moon, but Tatteredstar had gotten over his sickness. He'd been confined to his den over the past few days, too weak to move, and there was no better feeling that being able to stretch his legs and breath in the fresh air. Wasppaw probably wanted him to take it easy for a few days, lest he relapse, and although Tatteredstar had slowed down, he couldn't stand to be confirmed to the camp any longer.

Free as he felt, the tom couldn't simply dance around, and it took him time—too much time—to arrive at the border. Rosetail was already there, along with an apprentice Tatteredstar didn't recognize but took to be the one Wasppaw had brought back—he'd heard someone about that, once he'd recovered enough to listen. There was a third cat too, an apprentice aged female who smelled of blood and herbs and a whole amalgam of other scents. The herbs looked excellantly placed, as though put there by a medicine cat. Almost instinctively, Tatteredstar sniffed the she-cat, but he couldn't pick up any Clan scent.

Wolfpaw. It was a Clan name, though. Perhaps she had been a while away from her home. A wave of weariness crashed over him. He didn't want to deal with this now, or indeed do anything but walk along the familiar borders, but as Clan leader, he didn't have the luxury of ignoring such matters.

"Stop," he murmured to Rosetail as he drew up besides her. He'd been blessed with a whole Clan or snarky, suspicious warriors: Rosetail, Beetlefang, Foxdancer, Nightcrow—none would be described as good tempered, but he nonetheless valued them. Biting down a sigh, he eyed the two apprentices and finally asked, "Wolfpaw, where are you from? What happened to you?"

[center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]Once, Tatteredstar would have been shocked at the idea of an apprentice without a mentor, but over the moons, he'd grown used to it—and, in fact, had promoted both Hailpaw and Aspenpaw to apprentice without giving them mentors. He'd only just gotten over the sickness that had spread like wildfire through the Clan nearly a moon back, and he hadn't felt up to puzzling over which warrior to assign to the new apprentices.

Now, listening as Minnownose offered to allow the grey furred apprentice to accompany her on her patrol, he resolved to find the new apprentices mentors. Minnownose herself had the temperament to train someone. Poppyblossom did too, although she hadn't been a warrior for very long.

Shaking his head, the ragged leader headed toward the pair, brightening up at the mention of RiverClan. He was biased, but outside of SkyClan, it was one of his favorite groups. "I'll join you?" he asked, phrasing it as a question, although Tatteredstar would be rather surprised if he was refused. To patrol again, after so long cooped up in camp! The thought made him almost giddy. Twisting his head toward Hailpaw, he added, "You haven't been shown around the territory yet, have you?"

[center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;]// so this would be after audenine becomes leader - if audy doesn't plan of visiting the other clans with the news, can we say tat heard some npc thunderclanners discussing it as they patrolled the shared border?

Who would have thought Tatteredstar would willingly come here, to the border his Clan shared with ThunderClan, to do anything but patrol and suspiciously watch as ThunderClan cats did the same? He wouldn't have thought it would happen, not ever, but here he was. Exactly who hadn't gotten through to him, that he didn't have his claws unsheathed and eyes narrowed, was a mystery, and one that wouldn't be easily solved. Perhaps it had been the joint efforts of all the cats who'd rebuked him for his mulishness. Whoever had done it, here he was, standing by the border and very obviously waiting for a patrol.

[center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]He really, really ought to have a deputy to organize patrols—just another thing to be added to Tatteredstar's endless list of important tasks. He hadn't planned on going all this time without a new deputy, but he hadn't expected Nightcrow to retire, either. At least the patrols still got done.

For the past few days, Tatteredstar had been locked up in his den, recovering from a devastating illness. Although there was no doubting that he was healthy now, it had left its mark on him, in the form of a thin frame and haggard features. He was eager to be out and about, although he'd been cautioned to take it easy at first. He'd already gone out hunting, so listening to that advice didn't feel too awful.

Canarypaw's voice gave him a slight shock, and he had to look toward her to know who was speaking. He felt as thought he rarely heard from her; she was always hovering in the background, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the apprentice doing anything to make herself stand out.

He was amused by Rosetail's comment, although he did his best to hide it. She was blunt, that one, although it hadn't done her any harm thus far, he didn't see it winning her any friends. Drawing toward the group, the brown tabby replied, "They don't usually, and that's why you'll be going along to see that Canarypaw doesn't make a mistake."

Others should have taken that initiative, so he wasn't going to punish the poor apprentice for volunteering. Besides, cats often patrolled alone, unofficially. Giving her a taste of leadership wouldn't hurt; who knew, perhaps that would give Canarypaw the push to put herself out there. Rosetail had to go along, if only because he couldn't send a few apprentices off alone when they might run into danger.

He wanted to join the group, but the reminder to rest nipped that dream before he could act on it. Instead, the tom asked, "Which border did you want to head to? There's already a patrol out by RiverClan."

[center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;]Tatteredstar hadn't made a habit of trying to learn the name of every apprentice in every Clan, but the fact that Whitepaw remembered his wasn't very surprising. There were far fewer leaders than there were apprentices; an ambitious cat would take a few minutes to learn the name of every single one. The alabaster tom's greeting was polite and respectful, far more than he had expected. It wasn't a secret that he didn't have a high opinion of ThunderClanners, and he'd half expected to be greeted with fire, as he would have greeted a ThunderClanner that stopped by the border.

The male's yellow gaze slid toward Iceforest as the warrior joined the group. She was more stoic, offering up just enough not to be rude without giving away any of her inner thoughts. It was so unlike his own warriors, most of whom refrained from holding back.

"I want to speak to Audenine," he agreed, heart clenching painfully at the name he'd nearly refused to speak since the tom's departure. "Will you escort me to him?"

Can you add Tat's dad as Stonejaw v.1? ironic, right?

Nothing in particular, but maybe at a later point they can end up accidentally meeting by the border and we can see how that goes?

[center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]If being babysat upset Canarypaw, she'd simply have to suck it up. Tatteredstar didn't expect a scowl, and therefore didn't notice the faint creases that formed along the apprentice's maw as she took in his words. "ThunderClan works," he agreed. ThunderClan. That was far from being his favorite group, especially considering recent events, but he couldn't simply pretend that they didn't exist. Refocusing on Canarypaw, he added, "When they return, patrol leaders usually give me a report of anything unusual that happened during the patrol. Are you up for that?" He cut his eyes toward Rosetail; if the apprentice felt she couldn't manage that, he expected a full report from the only warrior currently in the little group.

Putting 'em all up.

[center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;]For the first time in what felt like forever, Tatteredstar had no trouble getting onto the meeting stone. He'd finally gotten over his sickness—and just in time to make the most of the new season—and he'd been idle enough that his bad leg wasn't aching. He surveyed the camp for a long moment, pride flickering in his yellow eyes, before calling, "All cats old enough to catch prey, please gather for a meeting."

// If anyone needs a ceremony, just let me know. If you need help arranging a mentor, feel free to ask someone by the mentor/apprentice finder

sticky:
my fair lady - MEETING

thanks! c:

[center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]It still felt so strange to see cats nervous around him. Two moons ago, Tatteredstar had just been another warrior. Hardworking, sure, but no one special. His claim to fame had been that he wasn't originally from SkyClan, but from RiverClan, and that his estranged son was the Clan deputy. Now he was a -star, faced with a lot more responsibility than he had expected, and doing his best not to crumble beneath the weight.

"That's right," he assured Hailpaw. Offering Minnownose a small smile as she broke in, he added, "There's no need to see it now. I can take you out later to see everything we didn't cover." When he'd been an apprentice, he would have jumped on that opportunity. He probably had other things to do, but Hailpaw did need to see the territory, and it wouldn't take too long. He glanced toward Minnownose, motioning that he, for one, was ready to set out.

[center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]It was impossible to be anywhere near the camp and not hear the screeching of kittens. It was loud and, often, annoying, but after the harsh winter, Tatteredstar wouldn't trade the sound for anything. Raising his eyes, he glanced over the two kits, heart clenching painfully when he saw that they were his. His. Dear StarClan, but after all this time, he was getting another chance. Last time, he hadn't had the chance to be a father. This time, he'd promised himself when they were born, he would be the very best possible father.

Of course, there was the small fact that he didn't quite know how to be a father, and he was afraid to try, lest he mess up. Sedgekit and Bearkit—and all of their littermates—were precious, perfect, and he didn't want to do anything to ruin them. Rising, the ragged tom made his way toward the group, offering the two kittens a hesitant smile. "Calm down, you two." The words were halfhearted, with no real sternness behind them. "Sedgekit, you have a beautiful name." She was named for Sedgeclaw, and although his daughter was nothing like the dead warrior, his love for her rivaled that he'd had for her namesake, and that was something he'd never thought would happen.

Glancing toward the others, he offered them a small nod of greeting. "So, how are you settling in, Cloudspots?"

[center][fancypost=bgcolor= transparent; bordercolor= transparent; height:; width: 420px; font=; text-align: justify;][font=plantin][size=12]It was hard not stiffen when Bearkit pressed against him. Tatteredstar genuinely loved the little ones—he couldn't ignore that they were his flesh and blood—but acting as a parent scared him. Foxdancer had proposed the idea of having kits, and although he'd gone along with it, he hadn't been prepared for this. Awkwardly, he bent down to give his son a small lap across the top of his head—a cat kiss.

He couldn't deny that he was someone relieved when Cloudspots responded, giving him something else to focus on. "I'm fine." It was the same non-answer he'd given when he was sick; Tatteredstar would never admit to being less than fine. That required a vulnerability he didn't want to acknowledge. Eyes flickering toward the others, he continued, "Done anything yet today? I'm due for a hunting patrol later."