04-07-2018, 04:09 AM
The winter had ravaged the ranks of Shadowclan unlike they had ever been before. No longer could they boast of their ranks and strength in the ways they had in the past, and this fact lowered Crowstar's morale even further than it had been after the murder of Pinestar. Left with the decay of disease, she hadn't a moment of solace to truly mourn her mentor's passing, let alone allow the whole of Shadowclan to grieve as well. It simply wasn't possible with the sweeping, boiled hands of illness clutching their throats. They needed to be strong and carry on with the fundementals and values taught to them by Pinestar in order to survive; but Crowstar was not the quiet, refined leader as he was. She couldn't contain her woes and keep them hidden from the clan members like he could do so effortlessly; she was sure that they had already seen her falter, seen the white hot anger flash upon her face or perhaps a nebulous sadness following her wherever she went. Stress had a way of interpreting itself in different fashions, and Crowstar felt as if she was feeling it all. A clan suddenly and tragically thudding upon her shoulders, the eyes of her clan mates looking to her for any sort of comfort when she couldn't find the patience to gather it for herself. The winter was long and horrible, and stole many clan members, but as the ice began to melt away and the scents of prey began lingering within the grove once more, there seemed to be some kind of hope. Crowstar would not just lay belly up and let her clan fester to death; she was busy daily, hunting for even the smallest of prey for those who were sick, gathering herbs for her now-Medicinecat, Dawnfrost, and assuring the kits that everything would be alright despite her own unwillingness to admit it to herself. Things would be different once the forest sung with life again and the winds swept away the last of the disease, but not without its payment in blood. Crowstar could feel it coming innocently every day, the small changes in weather patterns and inkling of sunshine during the day, that soon they would regain their strength. Soon Shadowclan would return to the name of power they had created for themselves and she would meet with the leaders of the other clans to finally get to the bottom of Pinestar's murder. Perhaps then, the clan would be able to finally exhale their stress and worry, finally moving forth toward a brighter future. Until then, Crowstar would have to be their pinnacle in the storm. She would have to set an example for them despite how much she wanted to crawl and hide in her den, away from wandering eyes, to let her emotions drain from her eyes. There would come a moment when she could release, but for now she remained tense and determined to provide for a clan that shouldn't have been hers so abruptly. Entering the Shadowclan camp after a brisk hunt, she quickly sauntered to leave her measly rat kill upon the dwindling meal pile, and made her way toward the center of the camp. Ice-cold gaze drifted around to watch her clan move like resurrected zombies, battered by the cold, greencough, and grief. Gather and listen, Shadowclan. I have an announcement. Her voice boomed over their heads like a nova, aiming to jolt them out of their sorrowful daze so that they could be awoken into their former states of being. |
ooc: dis is poop