Ain't no rest for the wicked (Clan Meeting)

Now that Shadowclan was home, most of them at the least, Nightstar thought it would be good to get the clan together for a meeting. He wanted to impliment systems that would keep them safe for the most part, to compensate for some of the risk that Nightstar would be introducing at his clans demand. Frustration bit at his bones, as he didn't exactly want to do some of this, but if it would some day prove his point, then maybe it'd be necessary. His clan was blind to the risks that they wanted him to take.

Sighing heavily, Nightstar leapt onto the Jaggedrock, in which he now had ample experience climbing. "All cats old enough to silently stalk in the shadows, gather in the shadow of Jaggedrock for a clan meeting." He yowled, waiting for his clan to pad forth.

It had been a while since Harrierpaw had heard the call for a Clan meeting. After all that's happened, it was doubtful anything Nightstar had to say was good. But she trusted him with her life nonetheless.

With a grumbling Batpaw trailing behind her, the apprentices sat in the looming shadows of Jaggedrock.

Moonpaw silently padded toward the jaggedrock at the call for the clan to gather. Nightstar seemed like he had something to say, and unless it was her own warrior ceremony Moonpaw wasn't entirely interested in it, truth be told. Oh, she was curious to hear what the leader - her uncle - had to say, but nothing could be so important as her own ceremony. She found a spot next to Batpaw, lifting a paw to carefully smooth the fur around her face.

Locustcall blinked, his ears flicking when Nightstar's voice rang out through the clearing. He hefted himself to his paws from where he was laying, padding forwards to join the cats slowly gathering beneath Jaggedrock. It seemed a bit early for it to be a ceremony for anyone... His mind filled his intrigue as he sat down, his eyes resting on the dark tom. Maybe there would be news instead?

Tigerpaw's ears swiveled toward's Nightstar's voice, hearing the call to gather. Like any good apprentice, he headed over with haste, choosing to sit next to Locustcall. He hadn't heard many clan meetings, save for naming ceremonies... he was interested in what Nightstar would say. Maybe something more interesting than usual for a meeting, at the very least.

Snowfoot and Lighttail were both fairly quick to join the gathering clan. Snowfoot sat down near the front of the crowd, befitting her position as a council member. What could this meeting be about? She didn’t think anyone was due a ceremony. The battle-scarred warrior looked up at Nightstar, waiting.

Lighttail, on the other paw, was rather preoccupied. She’d been sick again, and was really not liking this. She loaded near the edge of the gathering group, trying to appear as small as possible.

Leopardsun was quick to heed Nightstar's call for ShadowClan to gather: outside of ceremonies, it wasn't all that common for their leader to call them together; and it was Leopardsun's responsibility as deputy to keep as well-informed as possible. That meant her Clanmates' responses to new decisions and announcements as much as it meant those decisions and announcements themselves, and so she chose a spot that allowed her to observe both Nightstar and the rest of her Clan.

Swiftheart was suprised to hear a meeting called out. She was happy to go to it wanting to see what her brother was up to.

She spotted her mate duskflight and went to sit by his side. It must be a little lonely in the elder den now that web was gone. She gave him a friendly nudge. Hey you she said softly. You know what this is about? she asked quietly as it appeared not many were sure maybe duskflight would have guessed though.

Rookfire stepped into the clearing, glancing at Nightstar before turning his gaze back at his clanmates alongside him. Stars, he hoped that this was just a normal warrior ceremony or something. It could have very easily been one, but he just got a really bad feeling that this was going to be something else.

And if it was something else, who knows what it was?

~~

Poppypaw padded from the apprentice den to stand alongside his father. He wondered if it was some sort of warrior ceremony, though Nightstar's presence could just mean some sort of announcement. Gazing at his dad, he noticed the black tuxedo-patterned tom looking... worried. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly, turning to him.

Rookfire flinched at the surprising noise, turning towards his son. "I dunno," he replied. "We'll see what Nightstar's announcement is, I guess."

Nightstar waited and watched as his clan gathered, some seeming apprehensive and some confusion as to what this meeting would be. He supposed he shouldn't let them fester in their worries for too long, he had a lot to address this meeting so he had better get a move on himself.

"It is not lost on me with how difficult and challenging this leaf-fall and leaf-bare has been with the great shake, cats captured by twolegs, and an alliance broken. Thankfully, we have seen the return of a majority of our clanmates, but still, we continue to lose some of our companions, however, we must remain hopeful that they will return to us, but clan life must not stall in their absence." Nightstar meowed.

"I'd like to start by announcing, that Burdockroot will be committing to mental health checks of all our clanmates on top of the typical physical ones. It is time to acknowledge that how we feel inside is just as important as how we feel physically. These checks will be random, and completely confidential." Confidential until some cat admits to murdering some cat or having a romance with some rogue or clan cat of course. But dear Starclan please let him be exempt from those mental health checks he was just implementing.

"Now, in regard to recent events, I'd like to implement a new training regime. This regime would be a Search and Recovery training program, it has become clear that it would be beneficial to learn and practice the best ways to remove a cat from mud, the best ways to assess a situation for the safest and the quickest method to recover a cat, and the most proficient ways to track, search, and cover ground to look for missing clanmates, amongst other things. It is not news to all of us, that Shadowclan territory is a dangerous territory to navigate, so it only makes sense that we all learn how to build the skills necessary to recover clanmates, and mark dangerous areas and mudpools with speed and safety." The incident where Nightstar was crushed under a tree because he got stuck in mud came to mind, the blood splatter on his clanmates and the kittens they held - that he had held just moments before disaster struck. What if that cat wasn't him? What if they had the training that he was just now implementing to remove themselves quickly enough to get out moments before their life ended?

It was a policy that would save countless lives.

"In the same vein, I'd like to instate border guards for the daytime, it would be two cats for each neighbouring clan border. Windclan has been caught numerous times crossing our borders, taking advantage of our separate sleeping hours and as such, I'd like to stop this at their points of entry ideally at a time that they do not expect." Nightstar wasn't going to exactly tell them how dangerous of a task this was, but Nightstar couldn't spare more cats for this role, as he'd spread his clan too thin. One cat to confront, and one cat to run to camp and get a bigger party in the event of any cat approaching the border with less than peaceful intentions. But that did not mean that they were going to be completely without reward, as taking such a risky task meant much respect for them on Nightstars part, amongst other things. Perhaps, they'd have a louder voice so to speak.

"However, I am aware that this could spread us a little thin, and as such, I've listened to your voices and I will start to allow interested clan cats into Shadowclan. However, they must bring something of worth to Shadowclan, and must perform a loyalty test befitting of a Shadowclan cat." Nightstar meowed, his voice growing a little terse, his eyes falling on Rookfire specifically for a few heartbeats before continuing their wandering amongst the faces of his clanmates. While it wasn't rogues or outsiders, Nightstar still heard Rookfires pleas, and the older tom better be grateful or Nightstar and him were going to have problems. He was doing his best to meet him halfway, and Rookfire better realize it.

"Now, for the final policy, there are positions on the council I must fill. Rookfire, and Locustcall, should you both accept, the positions are yours. I do know, that Locustcall has not been with us for long, and many of you see Locustcall as a new face but please trust that I would trust him with my life, just as I trust my lives with you all." Nightstar called, looking at each tom respectively before he looked to the rest of his clan.

"Is there any questions?" Nightstar meowed, honestly just hoping and praying that there'd be no objections and he could jump down and start working on setting up the new roles and training regimes.

Singedfox watched the meeting intently, cocking his head at the border guards. Interesting. A perfect oppurtunity, right in front of his nose. It intrigued him greatly, learning the movements of the other clans. The rest- oh well. He'd deal with them. But he wanted to get ahead of things. Make sure he was put on the front lines. Standing up, Singedfox called out. "Nightstar, I'll take watch on the WindClan border. I will make it my daily duty." His voice rang out clear and confident, a smug look on his face.

Burdockroot watched casually from in front of her den. Already knowing what this meeting was about, she wasn't really paying attention. Just showing up for looks.

As Nightstar spoke, Rookfire listened to him speak. The mental health checks was a pretty good concept, and so was the search & recovery training. The border guards were something that he understood, especially with WindClan frequently trespassing into the Hidden Outcropping. When Nightstar mentioned allowing clan cats to join ShadowClan and gave a glance at Rookfire, the black tuxedo gave him a curt nod. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but it was at least better than what it was, so that was at least something.

The last thing that Nightstar did was name new members of the council. Usually, he would just cheer their names, but Nightstar seemed to believe his thoughts were valid on the council, so he would gladly appear. When the ShadowClan leader gazed back at Rookfire, the black tuxedo cracked a confident smirk. "I accept," he said. "I look forward to working with you."