the stars look down [TC CLAN MEETING]

[MiNTY♥]

hear us now, clear and true, wretches and kings we come for you

The muscular black tom exited his den and took a moment to straighten himself out. Just before they left he had been sharing a den with Dreamfeather and the two had been getting rather cosy. That was no longer and he was back in a den by himself, plotting something that she would be very much against. It was surprising how quickly things could change, but it was also surprising how quickly his nieces had grown up and now it was their time to become warriors. He was very proud of them both, especially Brazenpaw since she had to overcome the difficulty with her blind eye. Although that wasn’t to say that Martenpaw wasn’t just as good, Dreamfeather would probably be very proud of Martenpaw for her success too. In a way he was glad that he had made a deal with their mother for them to stay and he was also glad they hadn’t turned out like their stupid mother. They had a bright future ahead of them being warriors for Tempestclan and he was happy to have both of them in his clan. Giving himself a quick grooming, he crossed the clearing before leaping up on a rock in the center.

”Tempestclan, please gather for a clan meeting, any eavesdroppers will have their ears removed.” He announced, inwardly chuckling to himself. He noted that a few cats that he did not recognise narrowed their eyes at him before leaving as his clan began to gather around him. He waited a moment longer for more cats to gather before he began to speak. ”As we all know our clan has suffered a loss recently. My brother, Blackshard, was killed in cold blood by a Vertigoclan warrior. I should think that his breach of the warrior code will be punished by Starclan. However, not only was he a brother but a father too and he should be very proud of his kits, Martenpaw and Brazenpaw.” He announced, aware that a lot of his clan were not saddened by the loss of Blackshard, but they should at least show respect to his daughters on the day of their warrior ceremony. He also doubted that Starclan would do anything in this case; it wasn’t as though they were doing anything about them being homeless.

”Martenpaw, would you please come forward.” He asked the young female. "I, Voidstar, leader of Tempestclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn.” The familiar words rang out across the camp, and although it wasn’t home he was comforted by the fact he was carrying out his usual warrior ceremonies. ”Martenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?” He asked, expecting the same answer they always gave.

ANCK SU NAMUN OF CAUTION!

[Dusk]

This whole travelling thing was getting to be one massive thorn in the backside. Weary paws, piss poor living spaces, it was all just a tiresome drag. In some ways it a little bit thrilling, sure, the fancy new sights that the travelling pack came across along the way were entertaining, but as far as Martenpaw was concerned they'd be better off if a suitable living place would just show up already. She had to admit, though, it was fun exploring the network of caverns in the mountains. A good way to get away from the chattering young apprentices of other clans - nosy little brats. She'd found mild entertainment the first day they arrived here, giving a scruffy, loud, tiny tortoiseshell that reeked of Celestialclan a shove that landed her in a shallow rent in the ground. Only then her damned sibling had come along a groused until she'd been told off by multiple warriors for having poor manners. Apparently rough-housing wasn't tolerable in a "potentially dangerous" environment. As though this was any worse than picking one's way through Tempestclan's old marshes. She decided it didn't matter, though, she was nearly - how old was she? twelve moons - too old to be fooling around with bouncy puffballs anyways.

The ruddy coloured feline was sniffing dubiously at the pitiful fresh-kill pile when Voidstar sauntered out of his den and yowled for Tempestclan to settle in for a meeting. She arched her neck, contemplating the thought of skipping the event until she watched a small dribble of cats from other clans parting from the masses. A faint smirk lit on her face, she couldn't help but give the "outsiders" a smug look as they padded by. At the mention of Shard's death Martenpaw found herself only half-listening. Yeah, yeah, the old black geezer was dead. So what? From what she'd gathered, he'd had it coming. Some might've called the apprentice a poor daughter for her lack of sympathy; she considered the lack of sadness justified. He'd hardly given two mouse tails over his kin. Why should his death bother her? The only thing she might have owed him was a bit of appreciation for the musculature she'd inherited. At the sound of her name, though, red-brown ears perked up, and the apprentice's mossy gaze was suddenly focused on her leader.

Suddenly brimming with new energy, the apprentice sidled forward, standing pridefully before the rest of her clan as the black-furred leader intoned Starclan. She'd hardly done anything to endear herself to any of the warriors, here, Martenpaw realized as her eyes flitted across the collection of faces, but that hardly mattered so long as her personal prowess proved enough to advance the she-cat through the ranks. Friends were something of a weakness anyways. The she-cat gave a faint nod to the tom's demand, smug look still clear upon her features. "I sure do." It took a conscious effort not to let her characteristic sarcasm influence the response, but her words still came out with a self-satisfied drawl and a cocky twist to her head.

[aero ❥]

After his encounter with Dreamfeather, Longshadow's mood had been tolerable all day. He had even nodded in return to a passing apprentice. But it would take a thousand times more seeing the beautiful deputy to break his habits of solitude. Even then he might still never even come close to social. Loneliness was in his nature, a perfect example was him just that moment. Sitting against a cool stone in the far reaches of Tempestclan's clearing; debating whether to find somewhere quieter to spend his time or keep people watching. The black warrior's decision was made for him when a disturbingly familiar voice echoed through the cavern. ”Tempestclan, please gather for a clan meeting, any eavesdroppers will have their ears removed.” What a ridiculous thing to say. The tom's clover eyes watched whatever remnants of outsiders lingering around his clan slink away.

Standing, Longshadow edged around a group of nests tangled with whatever relatively soft materials cats could find. He himself had just braved the hard floor. Re-seating himself at the back of the crowding felines, the lanky tom vaguely wondered what this meeting was about. It was the first time they'd had one since Vertigoclan territory - besides the brief get together when first entering the Jagged Caves. ”As we all know our clan has suffered a loss recently. My brother, Blackshard, was killed in cold blood by a Vertigoclan warrior. I should think that his breach of the warrior code will be punished by Starclan. However, not only was he a brother but a father too and he should be very proud of his kits, Martenpaw and Brazenpaw.” The poor Voidstar mourns for his lost brother, The thought was so bitterly mocking a tiny smirk played across the male's maw. Sure Longshadow couldn't really talk, he had lost his own brother Twistedleg not long ago and had turned into a complete recluse. But that hadn't been over love or care, it had been over loss. That he was, by blood, completely alone in this world. ”Martenpaw, would you please come forward.” The older warrior watched the young she-cat approach the leader. Their veins ran sour. Spoiled. They were rogues, and so was Voidstar. I might have a little more pride for my clan if they were all damn clan cats. "I, Voidstar, leader of Tempestclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn.” Silence. ”Martenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?”

A dark hill of fur fluctuated rhythmically, subtle snores easing from its gaping mouth. The cat had two over-sized canines jutting from under his top lip, giving him a saber type of look. Crowshroud was dead tired, bluntly put. The tom hadn't had a good sleep since beginning to travel to the Jagged Caves, and had taken leaving the familiar valley hard. Especially his birthplace. Vertigoclan territory shrinking in the distance had tugged on his heartstrings. It was his original home, his element, his favorite type of land. What hurt the most about it was that it would sit there for the rest of time, always baring the last traceable mark of the clans. The last untouched relic. That technically there was nothing wrong with it except it wasn't big enough for all the cats. If it had been destroyed, he wouldn't even be thinking twice about it. What was done was done. But it was living. And even the ageless stone walls of these caves could not contain the sorrow he felt for that.

”Tempestclan, please gather for a clan meeting, any eavesdroppers will have their ears removed.” Crowshroud stirred in his sleep, the bouncing echos disturbing his dreamless slumber. He felt something brush against his side, and then a paw almost come down directly on his tail. Jerking awake, the muscular warrior looked around, groggy vision blurred. His clan mates were all moving around his new leader, Voidstar. Tongue smoothing down his chest fur in an attempt to look lively (Which failed rather miserably.) the stocky tom followed in unison, taking a seat towards the middle of the collected Tempestclan cats as he listened to the ceremony.

It was breath-taking, wonderful, elegant, and so beautiful. Such grace and certainty, confidence, and sparkle with a bit of shine. Cascadespray daintily entered Tempestclan's cave section with a grey bird she had caught pecking not far from the cave mouth. She had no idea what species it was, but it served the purpose of a good catch. As always the calico was radiant, freshly groomed and not letting the dreary humid cave get to her in the least. Her pale paws led her to the small prey pile that had been established, and she dropped the still-warm creature on the very top. Running a pink tongue through her whiskers, the she-cat dropped into a sitting position as if worn out. The travel to these hideous dusty caves had been such a chore, and the demands on the warriors of Tempestclan greater than ever. She hardly had enough free-time to make dirt, for Starclan's sake.

”As we all know our clan has suffered a loss recently. My brother, Blackshard, was killed in cold blood by a Vertigoclan warrior. I should think that his breach of the warrior code will be punished by Starclan. However, not only was he a brother but a father too and he should be very proud of his kits, Martenpaw and Brazenpaw.” Cascadespray's aqua marine eyes flitted towards her leader and the gathered cats. "A ceremony!" She said aloud, quickly on her paws and hurriedly, though elegantly, trotting over with long quick strides of her lithe frame. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed when she walked in. The pretty calico snaked her way to the front, hoping to get a good seat next to a tom if she was lucky.

So you have an audience. xD

[Wolfie]

The dark grey tabby shape apprentice padded over to the group. He lashed his tail out in annoyance. Wolfpaw never really liked Martenpaw. He let out a small hiss. He turned his head away from his clan leader. His eyes narrowed.

He knew the moment the clan called out the new warrior names Wolfpaw would not call out Martenpaw's name. He turned his narrowed eyes to Martenpaw. He snarled at her her, before dropping the snarl and narrowed eyes. He blank glaze turned back towards Voidstar. He wrapped his dark tabby tail around his paws. Then, he dropped his glaze to the ground and ignored his clan mates.

[luna]

Moonpaw was quietly resting on stubs of bright green grass. Her claws griped and torn at a couple blades that were tickling her paws. The young apprentice was bored and while everyone else all seemed to have something to do.
Suddenly a yowl sounded in the distance and she recognized it as Voidstar and her perked up her ears in interest. Finally something interesting going on!

Jumping to her soft, white paws she watched as a pawful of cats dispersed from the crowd and stood nearby where their leader called. Being as young as she was, many of the details Voidstar was sharing were fuzzy in her mind. She couldn't exactly put the names with the faces.
But that didn't prove to be an issue when Martennpaw's name was spoken.
She immediatly recognized the sharp-tongued she-cat as she called out from somewhere in the crowd of cats.

A hiss sounded nearby along with various calls and Moonpaw twisted her head to the side to see no other then Wolfpaw, her brother. Of course he has never been the cheery, happy go lucky apprentice but it seemed almost disrespectful towards the she-cat who was about to recieve her warrior name.

Moonpaw padded over towards him and nudged him a little harder then usual but not enough to push him over.
"Come on this is a special ceremony, she may not be your favorite cat but she deserves this." She smiled and called out the young cats name along with the others.

[MiNTY♥]

hear us now, clear and true, wretches and kings we come for you

Of course she had to change things up slightly, show off how proud she was. He accepted her response with a sly smile and nodded. ”Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Martenpaw, from this moment you will be known as Martenspite. StarClan honours your spirit, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Tempestclan.” He replied. Leaping down from his rock he touched noses to the new warrior and signalled for her to turn to her clan. Spirit was just a nice way of describing her generally feisty personality, but that wasn’t anything unusual for his clan. As they all called out her new warrior name he joined in before waiting for the noise to die down. ”Settle down now.” He told them with an impatient smile. When they had responded to his request he continued the meeting.

”Brazenpaw, please step forward.” He called. She was the youngest of the litter and he liked to do it by order of birth since it was most fair but that certainly didn’t mean she wasn’t as good as her sister. She had to fight twice as hard to overcome the difficulty of having one blind eye, and since he had been her mentor he had been able to witness that first hand. To put it simply, he was very proud of her. ”I, Voidstar, leader of Tempestclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn.” He began, taking a moment to smile down at her. ”Brazenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?” He asked.

ANCK SU NAMUN OF CAUTION!

[LYNX ♥]

she was sleeping soundly, but her ears twitched involuntarily in her slumber, picking up the subdued sounds of the cave, each of which was magnified by the close proximity of countless other cats and the drip, drip, dripping of water all around them. in the cavern there were puddles everywhere, and outside a steady rain continued to fall on and off, with no signs of letting up. her paws twitched rapidly, along with her whiskers, letting everyone around her know she was deeply dreaming, and in her head she was bolting through an endless meadow, with every cat she had ever seen watching her as she raced against raindrops. she was just about to pull ahead when a loud, booming cry erupted into her subconscious and threw her from her slumber. "what th-" she was about to mutter a string of swears when she recognized what was being called, and identified the voice as her leader and mentor's. springing eagerly to her paws, brazenpaw bolted out to the stones atop which voidstar perched, looking so smug and superior as his simple call cleared the cave. her clan mates filing in around her, while others, bickering, faded into the shadows looking sulky. why should they want to be here anyway? all anyone ever did was bitch about tempestclan, they could go chew their own tails.

the brown female shook out her thick, scruffy pelt and licked a few stray hairs down, but who was she trying to impress? everyone gathered already knew what an ugly lass she was, so she rarely bothered to look acceptable anymore. screw 'em, as it turned out, today was she and her sister's day. her heart was pounding out of her chest- she swore that the cats around her could hear it thumping with excitement and anticipation. she could hardly believe her ears! martenpaw was called forth, looking regal and smug as always, and her smaller, stockier sister's dusky green gaze glowed with pride for her upon earning her name. before she knew it, martenpaw was martenspite, and reaching forward to lick voidstar's shoulder. "martenspite!" brazenpaw cried, her voice carrying over the others and bursting against the cavern walls and ceiling. her heart only beat faster upon her sister stepping back, and her own name being called. this was it. this was it. briskly she pushed past her clanmates and stepped to voidstar, looking at him with her half-gaze so full of emotions they shone on her broad, open features, so often hostile but now looking happier than ever. "I do." she managed to meow, but she sounded anything but solumn. dignity wasn't her forte anyway, but she managed to keep a stupid grin off of her face while she waited for the name she would keep for the rest of her life or at least, she thought with an inward smile, until she became a -star.

[Dawn]

dreamfeather - From afar, came the cry of the Tempestclan leader, Voidstar. Dreamfeather stood from where she crouched next to her brother, Hailghost, speaking quietly. "Come on, my apprentice is becoming a warrior," she mewed, keeping her voice low. It didn't matter that Martenpaw and Brazenpaw were rogues by blood; nor that their father was a cold-blooded killer. She no longer held prejudice for them, only a deeply buried distrust of outsiders and dislike for rogues. Which was maybe the same thing, but at least she had overcome it with her own apprentice. Without a second glance at her kin, the silver bengal ran off, careful to avoid any sharpness or suspicious areas of the cave floor. She arrived just in time to hear the tail end of Martenpaw's naming ceremony; Martenspite. Senses still tingling from the short sprint, the deputy gave a loud yowl of approval, "Martenspite!" It didn't matter so much that she was louder than her clan mates, only that her apprentice knew she supported and was proud of her.

hailghost - As his sister whispered to him, and he in return, he had drowsed. Now, there was the clamor of voices and yowling, and he sighed. "Alright, I'm coming, I'm coming. Dreamfeather, why don't you just wait a-" he broke off as she went charging away, stifling a growl of irritation before following her more slowly. There wasn't much to be excited about. His own apprentice had become a warrior almost as recently; Cherrytaint. They hadn't spoken much lately, and he felt a pang in his chest over this. The dilute calico had become almost like a daughter to him; she was hard working, hot tempered, and a fighter after his own teaching. But now that she wasn't his apprentice, had he any right to feel so warmly about the she-cat? Regardless, Hailghost missed her. With the other Tempestclan cats he called out the new warrior's name, Martenspite.

splashmist - She'd had to leave Duneshade's side to attend the Tempestclan meeting. It felt weird, having been with him all this time, then returning to her own clan. It was like their meetings at the borders, but they were so much closer now. Yet she still returned, always, to Tempestclan. Splashmist still hadn't told anyone that she'd planned to leave, and take a Zephyrclan cat as her mate. She hadn't worked up the courage. Even in the midst of all this chaos, there are new warriors to be made... She hadn't known Martenpaw or Brazenpaw especially well, although they'd been close to each other in age. All she recalled was that when they were kits, and she a young apprentice, they'd ambushed her. Now they were becoming warriors, and she could hold her own against them- and likely would, in future battles. Don't think about that. About facing Dreamfeather and Hailghost... The little warrior cheered quietly, merely adding her voice to the mix.

jayblue - The clearing filled, mass flooding of Tempestclan warriors. "Oh goody, a warrior ceremony!" Jayblue sneered loudly, overhearing the others. "How very exciting..." He didn't bother to move from the spot he already occupied near the front, shifting so that he sat upright and baring his teeth at any that stepped on his paws. It's like they've never seen a ceremony before. What's the big fuss, Shard's daughters? He remained silent throughout the cheering of Martenspite's name, face cold and stony and breaking into a derisive sneer as it was Brazenpaw's turn. They made him feel like he had bees in his brain, both of them. But he knew he would call out whatever Brazenpaw's name was with all of the others. For what she had done, Jayblue owed her at least that much.

[/justify]

[Dusk]

She didn't think much of pomp and ceremony, and it wasn't something she bothered to hide with her vague changing up of the traditional response. Impressive or not, it still made the newly made warrior brim with pride and energy as her clan leader gave a short smile and proceeded to dub her with a new name. 'Martenspite,' she echoed silently in her head, mouthing the new name to herself. She liked the ring of it. Too quickly the ceremony was over, a quick touch of noses and leaning forward to lick the tom's shoulder; then it was time to slip back into the crowd of her clanmates. She heard a hiss, turned her head to give Wolfpaw an unpleasant sneer. Irritating little scrap. But there'd be time to deal with him later; after all, she wasn't the only one to be a new made warrior now was she? There was Dreamfeather, her mentor, whom she gave an appreciative nod. Though she'd never say it out loud, Martenspite owed the deputy for teaching her as well as she had.

The newly named Martenspite caught her littermate's eye with a cheery half-grin. Her shorter-furred sibling had worked twice as hard as others, she knew, with that bad eye that she strove to disguise. If anyone deserved a ceremony it was Brazenpaw. The somali craned her neck to get a good look at her brown-furred sister as the apprentice stepped forward. She stifled a laugh at her the female's tone - it seemed a lack of solemnity ran in the family - but a wide grin still lit up her face, the typical harshness falling from her features as she was caught in the moment. This really was a moment best shared with others. When Brazenpaw received her new name, it would be sure that Martenspite was heard crying out above the others.