The Thunder Rumbles [Saltstar]

[Christalclear]

Firesoul It was an odd day in Thunderclan camp. For starters, Firesoul had slept in late. He had never slept in a day in his life. He remembered his foster mother telling him that he would wake up at the crack of dawn only to mew his throat dry wanting some food. He hadn't even felt tired when he had gone to bed, but surely his body needed rest. Second, there was something in the air that made everyone seem to move slow. A melancholy tone clung to the camp.  No one seemed excited to get out and hunt or do patrols. Firesoul himself woke up to participate in a border patrol almost on auto-pilot. The clouds looked like it might rain, but with the leaf-bare weather he couldn't imagine rain with snow still on the earth. Still, as he padded to the Saltstar's den a mist in the air kissed his fur leaving him feeling slightly damp. His destination was the oddest part of the day of so far. Saltstar had anointed him deputy moons ago, but they hadn't had time to collaborate together. Saltstar spoke to him briefly. The leader no doubt had been pondering many things, especially with the tension of Riverclan brewing. Firesoul had been summoned to the den. He hadn't hesitated, but he did wonder what this was all about. Hopefully Saltstar would elaborate on his plans to the deputy. While he was loyal to Saltstar to a fault, Firesoul wondered if the leader couldn't trust him fully yet. He had done everything Saltstar had asked. He had started the rigorous training sessions for Thunderclan cats. Firesoul had set up more border patrols. He had even started solo border patrols around Riverclan's border making sure no one stepped out of line. But still, he knew his leader wasn't telling him everything. Firesoul was early to their meeting. He hadn't wanted to be late, so he came directly after patrolling. His ginger fur swayed back and forth as he shook off water droplets off his pelt. He was at the entrance when he cleared his throat. "Forgive me, Saltstar, I am a bit early. It sounded as though this meeting was urgent, so I came when I could." WC: 371 + JAMIE We discussed earlier a meeting between Firesoul & Saltstar. Figured I'd start it. Hope this okay.

saved by [:ripples:] on behalf of + JAMIE on may 10, 2020

[+ JAMIE]

Waking early: quiet in camp. Quick breakfast. Short walk. Check-in and dismiss the night watch. Back to den, to ponder. Think. Prepare for the day. Back out again to send off the morning patrols. Back to the den. More thinking. More planning. Endless cycles. Comfortable routine. Saltstar valued his mornings and nights. Times when he could be in his den doing abstract work. The rest of the day: he tried to be out. Training. Meeting with warriors. Patrols. An active member of the community. Out and about. Where he could be seen.

But some days were different. All day spent in the den. Meeting after meeting. Planning down to the last details. Coming out only for walks. Food. To hear patrol reports. Could already tell: today was one of those days. Not because of a surplus of meetings. Because of a single one: that with his deputy. He wanted to give as much time as possible to this. Saltstar was a busy leader but this was worth stopping for.

He knew: he'd been neglecting Firesoul. Untrusting of him. Abandonment by former deputies did that. Stormfly. Dewfrost. Two promises of loyalty. Two betrayals. Firesoul: a different kind of cat. But Saltstar knew better than to put his eggs in one basket. Not this time. He'd outsourced his preparation. Involved Firesoul when necessary. Did not when not. Gave him tasks and watched how he performed. Looked for signs of weakness. Disloyalty. Resentment.

Found none. Only dedication. A desire to uphold ThunderClan ideals. No indication of dissatisfaction. Some growing restlessness: to be expected. But nothing to set off alarm bells. Nothing that waved red flags.

Hard to believe it for a while. Made him suspicious. Had he finally found the deputy he deserved? Fool me once. Fool me twice. Fool me thrice?

Then the Gathering. Falsities, threats, promises. Stances firmly taken. No longer any excuse to shut Firesoul out: to talk vague collaboration but not follow-through. Firesoul had proven himself. They were under threat from all sides. The time was now or it was never. Saltstar was waiting for nothing.

He heard the deputy at the entrance to his den. Was ready for him: had prepared a place to sit. Water for both. Smiled even, and rose to greet the deputy. A (long overdue) acknowledgement of Firesoul's importance. They were not equals. But Firesoul was the closest anyone came. "Hi, Firesoul. Come in. No need to apologize. I'm grateful for your promptness. Make yourself comfortable. There's water in the corner. I caught two partridges for us if we get hungry: they're outside the den. Help yourself anytime. How was the patrol? Anything to report?"


Christalclear

[Christalclear]

Firesoul

template by punki of adoxography

out of practice

+ JAMIE

Firesoul nodded promptly to the food and water. He did manage to gulp down some bits of a leftover finch from one of the elders before he came. He didn't know how long the meeting would be, so he thought it would be best to get food while he could. "There has been a Riverclan scent near the Thunderclan border again. The patrol identified it as the same scent as earlier, so we believe it's an individual rather than Riverclan sending out scouts. No one in the patrols have been able to identify the specific scent. I've only been assigning our most experienced warriors to work that area in case of anything." The deputy wasn't sure if he said too much to Saltstar. He didn't want to worry their leader just yet. Firesoul had a hunch that it was an apprentice toying with the border. He had noticed several rambunctious Riverclan apprentices last Gathering. No doubt Heatherstar had lost control of her whole clan. The last couple of patrols had picked up on the scent. It was strong enough and close enough of notice, but it didn't cause for too much alarm... yet.  "I will look into it personally, Saltstar, and let you know of the situation once I have more information."

The deputy walked over to sit beside his leader, Saltstar. To an outsider it might've looked peculiar. Saltstar was muscular and broad. There was an elegance to him that came with the surety of power. Firesoul was significantly smaller than Saltstar. He was lean and always looked like he was ready to pounce on any unsuspecting foe. The two tabbies were short hair, but the deputy a bright ginger that would have drowned out the brindle fur of his leader if it weren't for the bold stripes in Saltstar's coat. Firesoul was shiny weapon and Saltstar the handler. Firesoul's tail flicked back and forth lightly, energy coiled for action. "How may I be of service to you?" The ginger tabby knew it was time for business. Saltstar wouldn't have called him here if it wasn't something important. Firesoul was ready to take on any task. This was the moment when his leader would trust him enough to give him information, probably secret information. He was ready for it.

[+ JAMIE]

Narrowed eyes. Not good news that RiverClan activity was up: not unexpected, but not good. And a single warrior? Was it a new tactic to throw them off? Or an actual warrior on their own? Saltstar did not trust this. "If the individual hasn't been identified by you or our older warriors, we can eliminate the RiverClan senior warriors. Not necessarily a good thing. Is anyone familiar with the younger RiverClanners? Any interactions at the last Gathering? If so: add them to the patrol. They might be able to identify. Otherwise, keep limiting the patrols to our senior warriors. A good call." Firesoul's capability: surprising, in the best of ways. Like an extension of Saltstar's own thoughts.

"I also want you and the patrols to keep an eye out for the following RiverClanners: Heatherstar, Sootfur, Tornwing, Whiplash, Ottersnarl, Carpmask, Saffronshade, Moonshadow, Sleetwhisper. Senior warriors or warriors who reacted poorly at the Gathering. If they increase activity on our border it's a bad sign. Thank you."

Preliminaries out of the way. Now: the meat. Saltstar had thought about how to do this. Considered it from all angles. Reworked it and scrutinized it. What to say? How to say it? In the end: honesty. Crafted. Careful. But genuine.

"I owe you an apology, Firesoul. I've been keeping you at arm's length. It's been difficult for me to trust you, after the mistaken faith I placed in your predecessors. As juvenile as it sounds: I wanted you to give me a reason to trust you." Pause. "You've given me that, and more. Please accept my apologies. I felt it was necessary, but I'm sorry: I imagine it was frustrating. Tonight I hope to bring you fully into my confidence."

No lingering: apology one and done. Easy to turn into an awkward dance of apology. Forgive. Apology. Forgive. Stifling, trite, performative. Saltstar's apology was genuine. But he expected understanding. With this perspective, waiting for forgiveness was pointless. Saltstar simply assumed.

"As you know, I have been gradually mobilizing ThunderClan. We can no longer ignore the subtle and direct threats from other Clans: or from outside. BloodClan may be silent but I find it unlikely they have disappeared. A reoccurrence of an incident like the virus or fire could also happen. In the past years we have seen the many threats that could face ThunderClan at any time. My goal is to prepare the Clan to a point where we can survive anything. Even if I am not around."

Odd to be saying this aloud. This was the first time he had shared his goals. Extracts here and there: certainly. But this? This was everything. Hearing it was powerful. Eerie. Like now it was true. Like now it could succeed. Or fail. Thoughts given life outside of his head. Rehearsed? Maybe. But could these things ever be? Firesoul: getting the closest look at Saltstar's heart since his brother.

It was uncomfortable.

Saltstar had expected this. Still: he was surprised by the resolve he needed to power through. Even had to look away from Firesoul.

"Every action I take. Every choice I make. Every word I say. They are in support of this ultimate goal. What if RiverClan attacks us? What if a flood sweeps through the territory? What if the wolves return? What if we must move far away from here? My worst fear is that we would not survive. I want the Clan to be capable of supporting themselves through any incident. Saying we are 'militarizing' is true. Saying we are taking 'aggressive action' is true. But they hide a deeper purpose."

"By increasing training we are creating a habit of discipline. Aiming to be better than the day before. Pushing limits. Increasing our strength. By unorthodox training, we are learning to take advantage of our resources. If we learn to swim, we can survive a flood. If we can climb trees, we can avoid wolves. If we have increased endurance, we can send the healthy part of our Clan away if the virus reappears. By widening our territory we can increase our chances of survival through resource-poor seasons. Even more: with discipline we will not break. New challenges will not be impossible. We can protect and defend: we will survive."

"And we will have all been through this training together. This growth together. Community is built quickest with common goals, common experiences. Already there is fierce loyalty in the new apprentices. Trust. Camaraderie. That is priceless."

"The other Clans believe I am thinking short-term. Annex. Conquer. Bloodshed for bloodshed's sake. Small-minded. A replay of Tigerstar. Boring. ThunderClan could not survive a repeat of that. Why would we want to? My plans are for the long-term. If we claim part of ShadowClan's marsh, it's only so that we can learn how to catch frogs. They can have it back afterwards." He chuckled. An absurd idea? Maybe. Maybe not.

"There are more specific things I would like to talk about. Before I do: any questions?"

The ideology of another: hard to process. Now that he had started, Saltstar wanted to rush through. But nothing good ever came from speeding.


---

Christalclear

saved by [:ripples:] at request of + JAMIE on march 29, 2021

[Christalclear]

Firesoul

template by punki of adoxography

Let's dance

+ JAMIE  DELAWARE [:ripples:]

Heatherstar, Sootfur, Tornwing, Whiplash, Ottersnarl, Carpmask, Saffronshade, Moonshadow, Sleetwhisper. He repeated the names in his head over and over again until he was sure he had them memorized. No one had had a scent of Riverclan's leader in quite some time. Sootfur's scent around the border was faint, but still around. No doubt taking care of their dying leader. If it was Saltstar dying, their leader would have no doubt done the right thing. He would ask Firesoul to put him out of his misery. The more curious question about Heatherstar's disappearance was why was it taking so long for her to die?

He couldn't be sure how many lives she had left, but surely she would die and then come back fine enough to represent Riverclan. Unless she was already her last? Firesoul briefly thought back to the clan's history. He vaguely remembered her losing a life? Maybe? There were some she probably kept, his eyes gazed over to Saltstar's mouth. That's the right thing to do as leader, right? Keep secrets. Even still... she probably had what? Six lives left maybe? Five? 

So where was she? 

The ginger tom continued to listen thoughtfully to his leader. Did he have any questions for him? Not necessarily. Nothing he said was that shocking. Although the picture of Firesoul hopping around hunting frogs in Shadowclan territory was laughable. The absurdity! Of course, when cats were starving they would settle for anything. Still, he could not imagine how the other clans put up with slime covered frogs. He could almost taste the fluid filling his mouth. Bleh.

"On your lead, Sir. I may have more questions later once you tell me the full details." His tail swung back and forth slowly in rhythm to the dance.