Overseer Announcement [Forgotten Order Meeting]

A few days after the Windclan raid, Klaus emerged from his nest with herbs and cobwebs stuck to his wounds. They hadn't been bad, having certainly suffered far worse injury with Murkystar. He leaped up onto the old tree with news that he hoped would lighten the mood from the last meeting. He didn't expect them to forgive him, but maybe they could at the very least focus on something positive for a bit.

"Those of you who are cast aside and forgotten, assemble beneath the old tree!" He called out, then sat down and waited. Was he too Skyclanny still? He was giving announcements from a tree, similar to Tallbranch in Skyclan. What better perch was there though? No... it was definitely that and not the fact that his Skyclan heritage made him far more at home off of the ground.

Torn lifted her head from wheer she lay on top of a rock in the sun. She had cleared herself a spot in the snow so she could rest and warm herself despite the cold leaf-bare around them. While her wounds weren't nearly as bad as some of the others, she still wanted to make sure she rested up enough to make trips across clan territory as needed.

Though she knew her time was cut short at the sound of her fathers call. She stood from her spot, shaking off any stray snow that might have gathered on her fur before moving closer to the spot where her father stood.

Ares leaped nimbly from stone to stone, stones he had positioned himself, out of the way of the clearing. He had decided long ago he wanted to be able to climb trees like his father, but it was harder than he liked to find good trees to leap from branch to branch to. So he had figured, rocks were probably easier, and he was less likely to break his neck if he fell off. Though he nearly did when his father called a meeting, regaining his balance just barely before hopping off. He'd need to train on not being distracted too it seemed.

He was still sore, wounds still scabbed over, yet there had been nothing overly serious thankfully. Trotting over, Ares sat stiffly in front of his father, watching him with curious eyes. He had to wonder what was in store for them now, perhaps another litter of kits? No, it didn't matter, not in the work sense of the Order, and meetings were work. He could be angry at his father when he wasn't doing work.

Aoife joined the gathering group beneath Klaus, although a little hesitant. She didn't know if she could wrap her head around another announcement as ground-breaking as the last, but took a seat either way, hoping this one was better. The raid on Windclan had left some cats injured, but seemingly not as bad as when she had participated in the Shadowclan attack. Instead, the guard had stayed in camp, nervously awaiting news on the outcome. Snow still lay thickly on the ground, and Aoife swept her fluffy tail around her paws in a desperate bid to stop them from freezing off.

With an almost angry glare in her eyes, to no cat in particular (though the source of her sour mood was no secret), Hyacinth padded to the center of the clearing. Klaus had a horrid history at this point with his announcements, so she was almost positive this one couldn’t be much worse than his last. Though begrudgingly, she found a place near one of her daughters, Aoife.

Anastasia lifted her head from where she had been resting, one of her worse wounds having reopened while she was hunting. She had needed more time to heal, but hadn't wanted to be a burden, not after having to retreat from the battle. With a faint huff, she winced as she rose to her paws and limped forward to join the rest of the group. Once she got to her chosen position, she laid back down and turned her gaze up to her father, her tail tip flicking. Had their siblings been born? Was it something with the battle? Were they attacking somewhere else? She didn't know what to think, at this point.

Aether lifted his head at the call of his father, a fleeting moment of rest ripped away. He never complained about waking up anymore, but he missed the days when he could sleep in. Now he had to stay busy, to do the job Klaus gave him. Sure, there weren't many cats in the Order as of yet, but there was even less feeding them all, especially when cats like Ares seemed to have no hunting skills at all. Aether snorted at the thought of the tom. Ares always said that he wouldn't be able to survive on his own, but at least he didn't come home smelling like urine.

When he sat down, he made sure to stay away from Hyacinth. He still loved his Ma, of course, but why was she so angry at Papa? Aether couldn't understand. He knew that it was the mention of his new siblings, even he wasn't stupid enough for that to pass over his head, but why? Papa still loved her, of course he did? What was so wrong about loving another cat? Aether never got jealous that he loved Ma, or any of his siblings, because he knew that he loved him too! So why is Papa not allowed to love another cat like he loves Ma and his siblings?

It was time. Klaus watched the Order gather below and once he was satisfied with the numbers, the assigning began. "Tarot and I have discussed who we believe are fit to be the Overseers of each faction. I am proud of all of you, despite some of you making mistakes. We will overcome our hardships together as an Order and as a family." He paused a moment before sweeping his eye over his kits. They had grown. No longer were they fluffy, scrawny apprentice looking children. They were battle-hardened and well muscled, some with scars already despite not even being a year old. They were exactly what he wanted them to become.

"The Overseers are as follows:
Tornshadow of the Prowlers
Anastasia of the Hunters
Aoife of the Guardians
As for the Protectors... no Overseer, as we no longer have any. If any of you in your current faction wish to switch for consideration of being an Overseer of the Protectors, discuss it with me and I may allow it.

Congratulations to the three of you. I know you will do well."

He allowed them a moment to drink in this new information before he continued.

"There is one more announcement. Since Skyclan has discovered our approximate area of where we live, we will be relocating to the Barn for the time being. We won't leave for a few days, but because the Barn is so close to Windclan territory, try to leave as little trace as possible. We will defend it if need be, but we don't want to be detected for a little while. I have no doubts that the clans will come looking for us here. Let them come. Let them arrive at an abandoned camp with no strong scent in it. Let them waste time trying to find us. Once sufficient time has passed, we will arrive back to this camp and resume life as normal."

And now that that was done, he sat and waited for questions or concerns. If there were none, then this meeting was over.

As his companion called for a meeting, Tarot lifted his head wearily. His sickness had gotten better, much less severe, but he was definitely weakened from the ravaging blight that is greencough. Hauling himself to his paws, a skulked out of the den he had been isolating himself in, stopping at the base of the tree to face their small gathering of cats. As the overseers were announced, he dipped his head mutely in congratulations to each new overseer. His slightly-roughened voice exited him.

"Congratulations to each of you, you now will assist in keeping the order alive for generations to come. You have done well." Sitting on his haunches he looked over the group that had shrunk so much over the harsh leafbare. Hopefully, his words would actually hold truth in them. He and Klaus had been working hard to keep the Order alive, but some things were simply not meant to last, nature, unbiased and all-consuming, swept up such things with an erraticy that could never be predicted.

The structure of the Order was made to last, but without the numbers needed to sustain it, even that was not fullproof. In the end, though, Tarot's goals still remained the same, building something that lasted beyond his death was but a dream, not a true ambition.

At the mention of moving to the barn, the land claimed recently by one of the members, he hummed. It'd be a better place to recover, at the least, but most definitely not as secure as the old rogue camp, due to its close proximity to windclan.

The future of the order was uncertain, but if it didn't live longer than him, at least he'd still have his own lifespan to fulfill his goals, and Klaus... well, he was unsure how the life-ravaged tom would last. Despite being near the same age as him, Klaus did seem to be glowing slower, ever so slightly. Such were the results of those arrogant clans and their disregard for the life of those born in their ranks and those outside them.

Well, he'd see what future challenges time would bring. At least, though, they were beginning to leave a mark in the history of this forest, however brief it may be.

Torn didn't know what to think. Her for Overseer? She.. Well. It was wonderful to hear her father trusted her so much. Especially with something so important. Of course, they didn't have an Overseer for protectors but she was sure that would be something they could fix easily. She just had to make sure that they recruited well in the next coming moons. Maybe she could find someone to fill the spot.

"Thank you Klaus, I will do my best." Of course, they needed to relocate for the time being. Something that was only temporary, but she was fine with it. After many moons of going place to place, this didn't bother her too much. Hopefully the trip over would go well.

Aoife shouldn't have been surprised. Her and Achlys were the only guards left, and since her sister had fallen for Thunderclan's trickery, it only made sense. But she couldn't help glowing with pride. She managed (just barely) to keep all kit-like excitement invisible as she stepped forward ever so slightly to stand nearer Torn. "I won't disappoint you Klaus." Not much would change, but having the title alone was enough to make her feel in power.

Anastasia blinked in surprise as her name was called alongside Tornshadow and Aoife. As she rose to her paws and stepped forward to stand next to her sisters, her chest and heart swelled with pride and love for her family. Eyes glimmering with excitement, she responded in kind. "Thank you, Klaus, and Tarot. I won't let you down."