Captain's Summit

Muscles rippled under silver fur as the tabby tom made his way through the clearing, his intent clear. Grayflame never moved without purpose. There was always something to do. Survival depended on it. While the clan provided for each other, ensuring a more profitable, easier life for every feline involved, the system would collapse the second cats began to flounder and laze away. He for one had no intention of being the reason for the decay of their strength.

And yet he was interrupted, a familiar, grating voice calling out to the warriors of the clan. Broad head swiveling towards the Captain's Summit, he caught sight of her. A cat he had once deemed a rival, so many moons ago now the feelings had simply become second nature to him. They weren't kits anymore, of course, Singestar and him. Not even warriors playing on an equal field. The moment she had been chosen deputy their fun had stopped. A pity, truly. For all he had bickered and shown resentment for her, he'd felt there had been an understanding between them then. That the rivalry had not been one of simple hatred, but respect.

There had of course been a back and forth there, even when she'd gained her status newfound status under Cliffstar. A bit of a tease from him - or as close as the stern tom allowed himself to tease - whenever she called to him for aid in anything. That was gone now, and despite how far from being a senior warrior Grayflame was, he had never felt older. A redundant emotion, as far as he was concerned. You were always older than you'd ever been before with each passing moment of the day. And yet it weighed on him as he made his way towards the summit, massive paws leading him away from his self appointed tasks for the day and towards the swirling, purple and black obsidian instead.

---

| Open |

Grouseflight
EmberClan Warrior // He*him // Open for Interaction
[Tags: None]

Cats slowly started dripping into the meeting, eyes on the tortie and white with the commanding voice. She seemed to have little eyes for any of them, her attention mostly on the clan's medicine cat. Unsurprising, as it had been some time since she had interacted with any other than he. Golden green orbs slowly found the black and gray tom, followed closely - if perhaps hesitantly, as if afraid to get too terribly near - by the tabby medicine cat apprentice. An important distinction to make, as Dogskull had not one... but two under his command.

This... oddity was one Grayflame found he knew not what to think of. Two medicine cat apprentices. It was unheard of, yet it made some modicum of sense. If one apprentice died during these most turbulent of times, a replacement would not need to be trained from scratch. It would not be time wasted pointlessly, instead merely a setback for the blink of an eye. But it reeked of cowardice. Of desperation. Of paranoia. Of fear. What would ShoalClan say to such news? The warrior knew he would be judging Fallowstar quite severely if he allowed such a display of distrust in his warriors' capabilities to be flaunted so openly for all to see. It was a clear - if wordless - way to tell your clan you did not believe they were adequate enough to keep the healers of your clan alive, and a part of the silver tabby had to wonder just what exactly was going on through the overly proud leader's mind. Yes, there were pros to this... but were they worth the cost of negatives that would drag the good name of EmberClan through the mud?  Appearances were just as important as strength in keeping one's enemies at bay.

Licking his lips, the muscular feline decided it was perhaps best to not give too much more thought to it. This was not his place to step foot in. He was a warrior, and such decisions were to be left to the heads of the clan, no matter how admittedly volatile and prone to rash decisions said heads - head, it was only one he was thinking about here - may be. Instead, he kept his attention on Singestar as she finally began addressing the clan, his stern expression devoid of much emotion as two new apprentices were welcomed within the ranks of the clan. Tradition dictated that such a momentous day be celebrated, names called out by the clan in cheerful spirits to evoke the sense of comradery so vital to their way of living. And yet the tabby remained silent, allowing his gaze to travel through the amassed cats, a clearly disappointed look on his face at the realization that neither apprentice had bothered to show their face here today. Pathetic. Most certainly not the best first impression one could give as their first act as a proper member of the clan.

The severity of his scowl raising minutely as the meeting continued, the giant allowed his gaze to travel back towards the leader, taking note of how she studied the crowd. Her powerful glare seemed to pause on each individual for a mere moment. Blink and you might miss it. And yet her eyes never seemed to meet his, the avoidance almost purposeful. This helped in removing some of that disappointment from his face, a pleasurable warmth running down his pelt. It was good to know that even in silence his mere presence was enough to bring her some level of discomfort. True, it might be petty. To allow any level of enjoyment to be gleaned from such a kittenish rivalry as they shared. But he didn't let it ruin the moment for him, his stern glower shifting to a more emotionless, deadpanned countenance. Not the closest the tom came to smiling - he was quite adept at providing a friendly, encouraging look when required - but enough to no longer look soured; as was his more usual demeanor.

Her grating voice once more booming through the clearing, Grayflame allowed himself to sit up taller, ears erect as her words seemed to carry more weight now. This was a matter of importance. Especially with the mention of war. A matter that could not be taken lightly, yet even with his penchant for survival the tom found himself looking forward to it. Where else could one display their prowess as efficiently? Dominate without repercussions and invoke fear in the hearts of those who would oppose you? He wasn't so self assured that he would fight until the very end. His instincts for preservation would not allow as much. But a proper battle in which he had the upper paw? In which he could control the outcome through intellect and might dished out in equal servings? He could hardly wait.

Swept up as he was in the thoughts of battle, the long furred tabby did not allow himself to overly linger in his own head, alert to Singestar's every word. That did not make his name being barked out any less of a surprise, however, an instinctual brow quirking at the molly's evident distaste. There was no time to ponder just how exactly his existence was unbecoming of the hot headed calico this time, though, as she made her intent clear. There was an intensity to her stare that he did not balk away from, well used to the challenge of those eyes by this point in their lives. It was the very challenge that he had hated back when they were young. The very challenge that he assumed she had loathed when realizing he did not flinch away from it that caused her own apparent hatred of the mere sight of his profile. Instead he stood up, walking forward, closing the gap between them with unblinking, scowling eyes on hers. Processing what had just been said.

Deputy. He was being offered the role of deputy. A role most cats would no doubt relish to obtain, the power tantalizing beyond compare. The target this title placed on your back, however, was not one Grayflame took lightly, and it gave him pause. This was... quite the conundrum, wasn't it? To submit to the wish for power, for respect... but to understand that life he had wanted, that long, comfortable life in which he would eventually retire to elder would no longer be at his grasp. There were few ways to leave the role of deputy, and only one offered both dignity and the preservation of ones life... for however little those extra nine granted could lead you in the end.

And yet there was no choice. Not really. He could accept the role offered to him, or balk and become little more than the clan's coward. The one who had refused the highest of honors that could be given in clan life. And she knew it. There was no way she didn't know the challenge she presented. His eyes narrowed mildly for a moment before his whiskers twitched, half amused at how things had turned out here. Surely if she'd had any other cats available for the role, she would have chosen them over him. They both knew she would most likely prefer to choke on a fish's bone than deal with him on the daily. There was no patience to test. Only a limit of how long she could stomach the idea of having to resort to him as her first choice. The thought alone was almost enough to make this all worth it. Almost. He valued his life quite a bit more than his pride.

"Be it unwise of me to stoke the flames of your patience, Singestar," the tom responded in a deep, bass voice. Dipping his head, he continued. "It would be an honor to be your deputy, and protect EmberClan by your side. I look forward to my journey, and to be bathed in the volcano's light."

---

wren [Singestar]

Nettlepaw
EmberClan Apprentice // He*him

Nettlepaw lifted his head as he heard his name. He was about to open his mouth and ask what was going on. Then his heart missed a beat when he realized that Singestar was giving him his mentor. ‘Oh no,’ he thought before he turned to his side to find that Primrosepaw was also still asleep. He shook Primrosepaw quickly before whispering into their ear, “Singestar just made your mentor, Primrosepaw! Get up, we’re late!” Inside, he groaned. He was late for his somewhat apprenticeship. How could he have forgotten? But then again, Singestar hadn’t really told them that they were going to become apprentices again, but the guilt stuck to him. He should have heard Singestar earlier… What if his mentor was mad at him already? They would probably make him do ticks for a whole moon! Nettlepaw jerked up at that thought, spraying some moss on the waking Primrosepaw. Too frantic to even say sorry, his tongue dashed in and out, licking moss off his own pelt before he swept a paw over his ears and quickly dashed somewhat nobly out of the den. He halted when he nearly crashed into Grouseflight, and he decided that Grouseflight would be an okay person to ask about his apprenticeship. Lowering his voice into a whisper, he quickly asked the warrior who his mentor was. When Grouseflight fixed him with an icy glare and gave him a quick lecture about not being there earlier, he nearly padded away. Then, Grouseflight stopped the whole ‘icy glare’ thing and flicked his tail towards the warrior den, telling Nettlepaw that Wispfang was his new mentor. Nettlepaw breathed out in a somewhat relieved sigh. If Grouseflight had been his mentor, he was sure that he would have clawed Nettlepaw to shreds for being late. Grouseflight and Nettlepaw stayed in a hushed whisper tone as Grayflame and Cherrydust both spoke. Then, Nettlepaw took off to the warriors den to shake Wispfang awake.