✤ all hearts could be warmer ⤫ all windclan

tallstar paced back and forth, his tail thrashing angrily. no no no.... the stars shone bright from above the navy-blue sky, twinkling mysteries seeking understanding. he lifted his head, his mournful stare piercing the cloudless night. why had starclan committed such atrocities?  lynxstar--no, lynxchaser--never needed to die in the way he did. sometiing inside him told tallstar these weren't the same ancestors who watched down on them. did natural forces bring lynxstar to his knees? was it truly the work of the divine? having no other way to comfort himself, tallstar crouched low and pressed his muzzle hard against the ground, eyes clenched shut. as a medicine cat, he prayed often for insight and knowledge to heal the clan he loved so dearly. never had he seen any other windclanner devote their feelings and emotions as deeply as he. wasn't windclan supposed to be the closest to starclan? perhaps his clanmates were losing their way, but who blamed them... after the atrocities of the gathering? would any cat even believe him? 

as a non-clan cat, tallstar knew he wasn't the prime choice for leader. it had been so long ago, but tallstar understood twilightstar had been very generous in allowing he and his mother to live in windclan. barely a moon old, tallkit got along well with the other kits in the nursery, but showed great potential in his healing and herb knowledge. he took little interest in the battle games the other kits would play, spending more time pondering the stars and the purpose of his life, much to his mother's discontent. she dreamed of her son serving the clan who adopted them as a fighter, a defender, a hunter... not... a herb gatherer. medicine cats were quite revered at the time, but becoming a medicine cat was more of an excuse than a blessing--those who lacked the abilities to be a warrior were selected as healers, and being a medicine cat apprentice was the worst insult a cat could give anyone.

however, tallpaw didn't struggle when paleface picked him out of a collection of kits and apprentices destined for the mystical path. he walked towards his mentor, tail held high, green eyes  shining with pride.

but now? tallstar wasn't meant to be a warrior.

"let all cats gather under tallrock for a clan meeting--kits included." tallstar jumped up on the large, fairly pointed stone, sitting regally. he wanted his children to be here--they may be young, but this information was more important than any he'd given before. "i have... some announcements to make." his voice waivered between concerned and frightened, and tallstar couldn't keep his emotions in check. he clenched his eyes and gritted his teeth, blurting out his announcement without really waiting for his clan to gather below him.

"it's been.. tragic." remorse and sadness clouded his eyes. "the gathering... lynxstar was killed by falling fire rocks. but... but after the smoke spread there... there was no rock. he just... vanished." the idea that starclan could pluck cats from the world, from existence, terrified him. "i don't know... they just... they took him right off the ground!" sure, tallstar's public speaking skills needed work, but he was too frazzled to put much work into his coherence.

"the other clans believe this was the work of starclan, but i disagree. starclan would never be this cruel." the angry fire found its way back in his eyes. "i don't know why lynxstar was taken so soon, but milkfur is the new leader of riverclan. a starclan cat descended from the heavens to tell us." the story sounded obtuse, but tallstar continued. "silverfur, a previous riverclan warrior, selected milkfur as riverclan's newest leader. littlestar is ill, so whitesmoke has taken over." perhaps the scariest news at the gathering, littlestar's 'sickness' meant whitesmoke, shadowclan's abitious deputy, would be giving the clan her full attention.

"speaking of which, i need to assign mentors to our apprentices and select a new deputy. i have thought a lot about it." tallstar closed his eyes and exhaled, finishing his speech with a quick shudder.