clan MEETING [every cat seriously :) ]

[``Rosestep]

`Sorrowheart

Sorrowheart was amazed at how dense her leader-and her clan-could be at times. They were not willing to listen to reason. Duskstar had not taken time to think about what she'd said before launching his counter-argument. So why did you even ask me, if you were already set on your own way? She thought to herself. Oh, well. It wasn't her problem anyways. If she'd had her choice, she wouldn't have even spoken in the first place. But I don't think my way is the only way. It only sounds like that because I gave you all the details. She thought. Of course she wouldn't say that out loud. She could not talk back to her leader.

The second thing that Duskstar said, however, caught her attention. 'We may lose a few...' She had to speak up. "How would you like to be one of the few we may lose! You will go into battle prepared to lose a few. You act as if your warriors are herbs that you can just get more of! I would rather lose a few nights' worth of dinner than lose my life so that you can attack Valeclan on the suspicion that we might have a bad Newleaf!"

Sorrowheart felt as if every cat in the clan was watching her; and why shouldn't they be? Were they all mouse-brained enough to march into a battle where the odds were stacked against them when there was no real reason to in the first place? And what about Ivorynose? She'd thought that he agreed with her, why wouldn't he say anything? Surely at least he could see that Duskstar's plan would kill them all!

[lostwhisker]

Almondtail had been listening the entire time, not saying a word. But Duskstars statement outraged him. He couldn't believe that a leader of a clan would say it. He stalked out of the middle of the crowd of cats and to the side where he would be more noticed. Almondtail walked towards the rock and shouted up at Duskstar.

"How. Dare you. 'We might lose a few" he quoted. "You talk about cats as if we are pawns in your grand plan. How can you talk about losing 'a few' cats. This is your clan. Your responsibility. Losing 'a few' cats should be a thing of absolute disgust to you." Almondtail shook his head. He never liked Duskstar, but this pushed him over the top. "Your no leader. You don't deserve a position of that honor."

Almondtail let out a snarl of digust and stalked away from the meeting. He didn't care what the so called leader had to say anymore. He would not do anything that Duskstar commanded him to do. If staying loyal to his clan ment following that crazy cat. He would leave.

[Head{admin}]

Oh, what a disaster this was turning out to be. Ivorymask closed his eyes, took a breath, and kept his mouth closed. This was not of his concern. StarClan had given him no sign. He had nothing to say. It still hurt to see his Clan divided, though. "No cat will walk away from a Clan meeting. Duskstar was appointed by StarClan to be our leader. You will respect that, Almondtail," he mewed loudly, turning his eyes on the warrior. He would call every cat out for disrespect to a Clan member. He didn't care if it embarrassed them. "You will voice your complaints, you will voice your opinion, but you will not walk out on your Clan, unless the title 'rogue' spikes your fancy."

---

Coyotepaw had not really been listening at all. All he saw was that his Clan was getting upset....Why? What was going on? He sneaked up behind Murkpaw and mewed suddenly, in an attempt to scare the other apprentice, "What's going on? What're we all talking about?"

[lostwhisker]

Alomondtail whisked around to face the medicine cat. He had never particularly cared for the medicine cat, but he didn't say anything about it, he needed her to fix him when he got hurt. He didn't care anymore though, she could listen to the traitor if she wanted. But using his clanmates as pawns was not something Almondtail was to excited about.

Almondtail hissed at her. "Well if Starclan has appointed that as our clan leader, its obvious they want FlurryClan exctinct from this forest. I will no respect one who expects to use me as a pawn. I would hope you would think the same thing. What if Shadewing is the one that dies from this cats plans. Or Frozenclaw. If he simply wants to get rid of 'a few' cats to gain ground. I would rather not be at this meeting."

With that, Almondtail started again, to walk away.

[Head{admin}]

Silently Ivorymask listened to Almontail's words. His eyes were dark with warning, but he waited for the warrior to finish and start padding away. Not until then did Ivorymask move. Springing forward, he swept past the warrior and planted himself firmly in his path, tail lashing furiously. "You are a coward," he hissed, though his voice was only loud enough for the two of them to hear. "You have such a great opinion, but you are not willing to fight for it. Instead, you walk away, and are willing for your Clan to face what you are too cowardly to face. Where is your loyalty?"

The lanky medicine cat several pawsteps forward, until they were face-to-face. His one ice-blue eye and one moss-green one glared straight into Almondtail's, and in them raged disgust mingled with disapproval.

"I will do everything within my power to make sure that Shadewing and Frozenclaw do not die," he growled. "I will do everything within my power to make sure my Clan survives this. For me, as a medicine cat, that is being prepared. Being ready for a very long moon of trying to bring cats back to health. For you, it is staying here, staying at this meeting, and perhaps trying to bring the rest of your Clan to your side. I will not say my opinion. I don't want cats to die, but I don't want them to starve. I am not a warrior and cannot be a part of this decision."

He paused, hoping Almondtail would get his next words into his thick, mousebrained head, "You are a warrior. It is your job to be a voice in your Clan, and to not run away like a kit when there appear to be cats who are not on your side. Where's your fight, Almondtail? Are you just going to walk away from your own Clan? That makes you the enemy, not Duskstar. Perhaps Duskstar is wrong in speaking the way he does, but he is not the one walking out on his Clan because a single meeting isn't going his way."

All this was said too quietly for any other cat to hear. This was one thing Ivorymask did not want overheard...not for his sake, but for Almondtail's. Having spoken this, Ivorymask took several steps backwards and seated himself on the dusty ground, his long white tail curled around his forepaws. "What will you do, Almondtail?" he mewed quietly, still only loudly enough for the one warrior to hear. "Will you run from your Clan, or fight for it?"

[lostwhisker]

Almondtail was cut short by the medicine cat flashing past, and making a dramatic entrance. The first words that entered his mind were, 'wow, really?' Almondtails patience levels were growing thin with this cat. Talk talk talk was all she did. Pathetic attempt after pathetic attempt to be a defender of her so called clan. It was really cliche he thought. Ivorymask started to talk, and he quickly realized that he didn't want anyone else to hear. Yay. Almondtail listened with disgust.

"I am not. A coward. I will fight for my clan until the end. And if time comes. I will fight in the battle of Pinestrip. But I will not fight under the command of Duskstar. I will fight for FlurryClan. You probably don't understand that though. You don't understand oppinion, because you do whatever your precious leader tells you to do."

Almondtail shook his head. "You don't deserve my time" he looked Ivorymask straight in the eye, inhaled, and spit in her face. He smiled slyly, it hit her right in the eye. Almondtail was quite proud of himself. The cat deserved it afterall. He wasn't going to let her walk all over him, especially not with crap that wasn't even half true. She thought he was the coward? Ha. Not even close.

[``Rosestep]

`Sorrowheart

Sorrowheart's hackles were rising, and she found herself flexing her claws and retracting them. She watched Almondtail's reaction with interest. Here was a cat who agreed with her. Almondtail had just magnified her point. He was a better speaker than she was. She felt the urge to help him defend himself and his argument against Ivorymask and Duskstar. "Ivorymask, you are the coward." She said, leaving caution behind.

"You will not voice your opinion, yet you have one. What kind of medicine cat are you? Starclan appointed you to counsel your clan, to give us aide in important decisions like this. Yet here you are, mocking the warriors of your clan instead. You refuse to give us your advice. You will not take sides because you fear what will happen if you do." She turned to address the whole clan, doing something that she would never have done before. "Warriors are here to defend the clan, to feed the clan, to fight for the clan. The medicine cat is the one that's supposed to help make decisions. We do not have the insight that only Starclan can provide; you do." She turned back to face Ivorymask. "You would have us go to a battle that you could prevent, just to save your reputation in the clan? You disgust me." She walked over to where Almondtail was, allying herself with the tom.

[Head{admin}]

That was it. "I can only give StarClan's counsel when StarClan gives me counsel, you mousebrains!" he hissed, tail lashing furiously. He stepped toward the two warriors, eyes narrowed to mere slits. "Do you really think StarClan has spoken to me, and I'm just keeping it back from you? Do you really think they have told me what they want? I will voice my opinion when my opinion is needed. I will voice it when you mousebrains can't figure it out for yourself. You should not need a medicine cat untrained in battle, battle strategies, and fighting to tell you whether or not to fight another Clan for food. If you do, I will gladly say my opinion. But what of the rest of the Clan? They have not spoken. When StarClan speaks, I will tell you what they say. When my opinion is needed, I will give it." He stopped, took a breath before he did something even more rash. He needed to get out of this argument. Fighting was not his style. He had no idea what to say when it came to decisions on invasions.

"This meeting was not over," he hissed finally. "Not every cat has spoken their opinion. No true decision has been made. Do you know the future? Can you read minds? Do you know for sure that I was not going to give you my opinion? Are you all-knowing? Until you are, do not judge a cat on what has not yet happened. Do not judge Duskstar on a decision that is not final. Do not judge me because I didn't give my own opinion right at the perfect time you two wanted. Do not judge the rest of your Clan because they have not yet spoken. Keep your opinions, and do not walk out on your own Clan. Defend your opinions, but do not walk out on your own Clan. Disagree with others, but do not walk out on your own Clan." He looked at Almondtail as he said these things, for it was he who had been about to leave the camp completely.

[lostwhisker]

Almondtail stepped closer to the medicine cat as she again, did her little speach. He put his face right up to hers, so that their noses were touching. He was not going to let this slip away.

"I don't care what the final decision is you mousebrained fool. Duskstar has already told us that he doesn't care about losing a few cats. He has already spoken his word. And I have spoken mine. I don't care what you think. You won't stop me from leaving this meeting. For I don't want to hear it. Goodbye."

ALmondtail smiled with extreme sarcasm, and stepped past the medicine cat, thrusting a shoulder into him on his way by. With that, he went back to sleep in the Warriors den.

[``Rosestep]

`Sorrowheart

Now Sorrowheart was torn between following Almondtail or staying. She agreed with Almondtail, so shouldn't that mean that she should follow his example? But Ivorymask was right too. How did she know that the medicine cat wouldn't give his opinion? Maybe he was waiting until they needed it. But what Duskstar had said about losing a few cats. He had acted like the lives of his clan meant nothing to him. The she-cat decided to stay. She wasn't done yet. And if she decided to leave, she could. Nobody was going to stop her. She would join Almondtail.

The hardest part about this argument is that everybody's right. She realized. But there has to be another option other than dying here from starvation or dying there in the battle. But if you thought about it, wouldn't fighting the starvation battle here be the better option? After all, they did this every New-leaf. It couldn't be that much worse. For a moment-and not for the first time-Sorrowheart considered the life of a loner. They didn't have a clan to make decisions for them. They didn't have territory to defend. They did what they wanted. But now was not the time. Right now, she needed the clan to hear what she had to say.

"Ivorymask, you have a point. But battle training or not, your wisdom would be greatly appreciated as we decide if we're more likely to starve this New-leaf than we have been in the past." She began, then continued. "Let us hear what everybody else has to say, but I still believe that there is no reason that we cannot survive this season just as well as we always have." Sorrowheart felt like that summed up her feelings pretty well. She sat down on the fringes of the clan, attempting to put a calm mask over the turmoil of emotions that was inside her.

[lostwhisker]

Swifteye shook her head at the argument. Almondtail always was a sarcastic old cat, but he was way to emotional in her eyes. If he kept what he was doing up for much longer, she was sure that he would become a loner, if not my choice, then by force by Dusktar or Ivorymask. Couldn't he just understand that Duskstar was trying to do the best he could? He might not be the best speaker, but he was trying his hardest. Not only that, but what Duskstar had said was true. No matter how you thought of it. We would lose a few cats in either battle. Starvation or battle itself. Honestly, if it were up to Swifteye, her death would rather be a quick and honorable one in battle, then a long painful one of starvation.

She was about to speak her mind, and join Ivorymask, but Almondtail had left the meeting and gone back to the warriors den. What a disgust he was. Why didn't he just leave the clan? Honestly, I don't think many of the cats really liked him. She knew she didn't. Swifteye realized that it wasn't her decision though, and decided it was best if she just turned her back to him and forgot him, he was gone now, and there were more important things at hand. FlurryClan still had to decide what they wanted to do.

[Head{admin}]

"Traitor to StarClan. Coward," Ivorymask murmured as Almondtail strode away. He couldn't believe a warrior would just walk out on a meeting and claim to still be loyal to the Clan. But...so what? Ivorymask shook himself and turned to face Sorrowheart. She spoke, and he nodded--she was quite right. Quietly, he mumbled, "I never give my opinion until the end. I don't want anyone else to choose a side because they know what I feel...I want to know what they truly believe." He rested the tip of his tail on her shoulder, hoping there would be no hard feelings, and padded slowly back to sit beside Juniperpaw. What did the medicine cat apprentice think of all this? He would ask her later. "Sorrowheart is right," he went on. "Every cat's opinion should be heard. Perhaps the prey is even more scarce this newleaf, perhaps not. It is too early to tell for sure. The question is whether we tough it out this newleaf like we have every newleaf, or not wait until it gets too bad and take Pinestrip."

[/size]

[lostwhisker]

Juniperpaw sit, not a single word said. The fourteen year old apprentice watched the meeting in silence. As the discussioin for Pinestrip was being discussed, she was thinking about what she thought. Personally, Juniperpaw thought they should just take whatever prey they needed from Pinestrip, and if they were confronted about it, they could explain the situation, and try to solve the situation peacefully, why did every situation have the end with a battle? I'm sure ValeClan would understand the reasoning for them needed the prey. Afterall, they would pay them back eventually, or maybe they could simply have Pinestrip in Newleaf, and give it back once the season passes?

Juniperpaw wait until she was called upon to voice her oppinion, but she had it ready whenever it was needed. The meeting went on, and Almondtail spoke out. Great. Did anyone like that cat? At all? Juniperpaw sighed as he provoked her teacher Ivorymask. Juniperpaw knew this was going to be interesting, with Almondtails complete disregard for the warrior code, and Ivorymasks great honor. The two toms should go at it quite well. Juniperpaw would stop a conflict if anything physical happened, but she liked to watch arguments, it was a sick hobby she thought, but one she kept.

After the argument, Juniperpaw was glad that nothing had happened, even though she couldn't hear half of it. When Ivorymask sat down next to her, the medicine cat looked down at her, and she told him quietly what he thought about the battle of Pinestrip. She wasn't sure what Ivorymask would think, but as much as she wanted her to like the idea, it wouldn't hurt if she didn't. Afterall, Juniperpaw was still young, and that could be completely the opposite of what they wanted to do. She wasn't sure, but she hoped a battle could be avoided.

[/size]

[dusk]

Duskstar growled harshly at the tom before watching as the clan meeting broke into a fight. He would not step in, or offer his opinion if this was what everybody thought of him. Did he deserve his position? Of course, Starclan thought so at least and wasn't that all that mattered? But what Almondtail had done was not right. "Almondtail!" He yowled his fur bristling as he jumped from his perch and shoved past Sorrowheart. Stopping he let his head move back so his eyes could look upon her. "Sorrowheart, you're not bad, when you get over yourself." Looking at the rest of the cats he quickly spoke. "This is not over. Discuss amongst yourselves, and Starclan help you all if anything like what just went on happens." He mewed quite harshly, his words spat to the ground in disgust. Turning back he made his way to the warrior den and spotted Almondtail. He spoke loudly enough for the rest to hear if they tried, for it was their business. "Almondtail, that was completely uncalled for. Perhaps you need to spend more time with Ivorymask yes? Welcome back to the life as an apprentice, Almondpaw. Help out Ivorymask with whatever he needs, perhaps Juniperpaw needs a new friend as well. Play nice, since it seems you can not even fight for your clan or support what Starclan has decided. " The tom's eyes landed on Almondpaw, before he turned hastily back towards the outside.

[Head{admin}]

Ivorymask chose not to listen to what Duskstar was sayin gto Almondtail--the white medicine cat had had enough of fighting, and he wanted out of it. Little did he know, Duskstar just made sure that he couldn't get out of it...Almondtail would resent him forever. However, Ivorymask's attention was on his apprentice. "Your idea is one that would be wonderful if it were to work," he mewed quietly, so that only the two could hear. "We believe ValeClan has enough prey to spare, so perhaps they would not be disturbed by us hunting on Pinestrip. But, despite what we think will happen, we don't know how they would react. It isn't likely that they would accept us taking Pinestrip at all, even for just the season of newleaf. One can never know how another Clan woudl react." He sighed, raising his eyes to the sky and wishing StarClan would give him some sign. If StarClan spoke and told him which way they wanted the Clan to turn...everything would be made easier.

"Perhaps we should meet with the other medicine cats...seek their advice," he mewed, shrugging his shoulder and glancing down at Juniperpaw. "If nothing has been decided by the next meeting, we can talk about it then." There were few secrets among medicine cats.