WindClan's Deputy Ceremony

An exhausted sigh escaped her slightly parted lips, heart feeling as if it was going to tear from her chest and lodge itself firmly into the floor beneath. So much had to be done in the short time she had been back, and the molly had quickly found she lacked even a fraction of the required energy for it. Thus had sparked her desperate search for a deputy, another to assist where her own mind and body was beginning to fail, and another bind in keeping the clan unified. This was a decision she longed to have another to share it with, but her medicine cat was currently in RiverClan completing the last of the their medicine cat's training, and her son... The imagery of his half-lidded bloodshot eyes was fresh in the back of her head, and the stench of herbs rolling off his brown tabby pelt made her nose ache at merely just the memory.

Heronstar shook her head, looking at the top of the Tallrock with nothing short of apprehension, harrowing memories of being accused of murdering their former leader echoing in her ears. She was eternally grateful for the warriors who had stood loyal with her, but still found her heart aching at the mere though that she could even be capable of harming Brindlestar. Rising to her paws, the molly bounded to the top of the gathering area, clearing her throat in preparation. Hopefully this isn't as disastrous as the last meeting, she thought meekly, before calling out the familiar summons.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather underneath Tallrock for a clan meeting!"

Jaggedkit, Curious on what all the noise was about, stumbled out of the lichen-lined nursery and sat down by the door, as his mother told him he should do if he went outside of the nursery. There, he saw Heronstar mounted atop of the large rock in the middle of camp. Cats crowded and murmured around him. "Could someone tell me what's happening?" he meowed. This was a bit overwhelming for the young tabby tom.

Still grieving the mysterious death of her mother, Mistyheart barely raised her head at the sound of a clan meeting. By this time she didn't feel much sadness, she just felt... empty. The sound of a clan meeting being called seemed to make it worse. Where she used to hear her mother's voice, she now heard Heronstar's. It wasn't as if there was anything wrong with Heronstar, it was just that she wished she knew something, anything more about what had happened to Brindlestar. If anything, she was quite fond of Windclan's new leader. With a sigh, she pulled herself from her nest and drearily padded toward the center of camp. Despite her gloomy mood, she did as she would every clan meeting and simply stare at the cat who called it. The topic of the meeting was no concern of hers, but she decided she would attend anyways. It wasn't as if she had anything better to do.

As the other cats in the nursery came out and Jaggedkit was allowed to walk around camp, he padded up to Mistyheart. Her eyes looked solemn. Jaggedkit gave Mistyheart a small lick on the leg. “I know that you are feeling grief, but I hope you feel like yourself again soon.” Then he went and sat next to his siblings and denmates in the front of the crowd, Waiting for Heronstar to continue. He still didn’t know what was going on.

Awashed in the thin shade offered by the gorse barrier, Shrikecall's pale amber gaze was caught in the unnatural hue of reflective light, a pensive gleam that shone sharply from the darker shadows of the clearing. Despite his removal from the usual mingling of his Clanmates, it was quite obvious that the big tom was observing the ceremonial happenings, his lingering rage shown in the tight tension within his muscles. Everything about these past few days had been.. unsettling, an odd sorrow interlaced with feelings of violent rage and hurt. These days were tenuous times- there was too much turnover, the ground beneath their feet had turned to sand, rife with the potential to collapse at any moment.

Dropping a heavy chin against the flexing expanse of his big forepaw, Shrikecall's pallid gaze drifted to the newly-named Heronstar, eyeing his higher-ranking Clanmate with an unknowable haze of rage and grief; austere features hardened by the sheer stress of the past few hours.

Featherstep joined the gathering clan at Heronstar's summons, his wide blue gaze filled with uncertain worry. There was only one thing this meeting could be about-- the new deputy. Even though tradition dictated the decision be made quickly, it still felt too soon. Thoughts of moon sickness were still bouncing around in his head as he sat among his clanmates, and his gaze occasionally drifted from Heronstar perched atop the Tallrock to the open sky above. What if other cats started to catch it?[

Willowblossom rose from his nest, where he'd been trying and failing pretending to sleep, Heronstar's call. Undoubtedly this meeting was to announce the new deputy. He glanced among his clanmates as he padded out of the den. There were several options off the top of his head with potential and several others he prayed to Starclan wouldn't be selected, but, really, it could be anyone. Heronstar would ultimately choose whoever she thought would best serve the clan so it's not like his opinion would carry much of any weight. Willowblossom quietly settled himself amongst the growing crowd as he awaited the coming announcement.

Eagleblaze sat at the base of the rock. Honestly, he held no loyalty to any of these cats, and as such, he wasn’t particularly saddened about Brindlestar’s death. It was an opportunity to rank up. And even though he was young, he was qualified. He was the perfect choice. He had to be. Because he was born to be a leader. And he couldn’t be a leader without being deputy. So Heronstar had to pick him. He had tried seeming extra kind, responsible, kissing up a bit to the newly named leader.

Because if he didn’t get this position, he didn’t know what he would do.

As the clan gathered, knowing looks in their eyes, she dug her claws into the stone below to physically and emotionally steady herself as a mix of crushing guilt and overwhelming anxiety consumed her from her ears to the tip of her long tail. The leader could barely bring herself to look at the clan, knowing the feelings currently swamping her senses would only exacerbate if she dared to make eye contact with any of Brindlestar's kin. Shrikecall's shrill accusation of her lack of care for the former leader had burned a whole right through her heart, but she knew she just had to grin and bare it; no matter how close to family the tom was, and how much she had adored his mother like her own, he was experiencing a different world of heartbreak.

Heronstar's entire body ached as the last of her found kin had begun to turn their backs on her, the tom she had seen as a younger sibling of some description insistent on her having ulterior motives in regards to the events that had occurred, and her son... Oh Yewpaw, the molly thought with another pang of guilt, grief and embarrassment, his outburst at the previous clan meeting playing on a loop in her head, something he was yet to even acknowledge, let alone apologise for. Never mind that, she tried telling herself, forcing her chin to rise a little, making sure the cat she had chosen as deputy sat in the crowd. Noticing the warrior she nodded to herself, figuring that her thoughts had kept her distracted enough for most of the clan to arrive anyways.

"As I'm sure most of you have figured, this meeting is to announce WindClan's newest deputy," She began, feeling the cool air provide a much needed source of relaxing, and Heronstar breathed in deeply as she thought about how to continue. "I know that we all mourn the loss of Brindlestar, but it is my firmest belief that by appointing a deputy, we can begin to move forward and unify as a clan. We are one of the most adaptable and resilient clans; we may have lost our leader, but we are still WindClan." For a brief moment she found confidence rising in her paws, although she knew her next words would definitely cause further unrest. "It is with this that I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. The newest deputy of WindClan will be Featherstep." A shiver of relief passed through her system, an unspoken sign from the stars above that she had not made the wrong decision.

As soon as his name was spoken, Featherstep’s wandering gaze snapped back to his leader. It took him a moment to realize what she just said-- he was the new deputy of WindClan. He looked between Heronstar and the cats gathered around him, obviously bewildered at her decision. Me? Really? His bright blue gaze once again drifted to the sky-- surely, if StarClan disapproved, they would’ve sent a sign, wouldn’t they? “I’ll do my best to serve WindClan,” he said firmly, straightening himself up to his full height as he met the gazes of his clanmates.

Acknowledging Heronstar's ceremonial proceedings with nothing more than an idle blink and the contempt-riddled curl of a dark lip, Shrikecall remained all but motionless; hardly anything more than a watery dark smudge against the starkly-fleshed shrubbery that carefully enclosed the entirety of the camp. Angular shoulder straining hard against the precarious encasing of muscle, flesh, and fur, the dark-furred tom simply shifted and puffed softly in resentment, disdain evident on his sharp features. Opting to not raise his voice as custom in happenings such as these, Shrikecall did little to congratulate the newly-named Deputy of WindClan.

This was it. He was about to be named deputy, to become the leader everyone wanted. He would be the star of Windclan, everyone would praise him. He would make it the strongest clan ever, after a few moons of proving himself to the clan. Heronstar was a smart she-cat, she would make the right decision. Did Eagleblaze really believe himself, though? Or did he just act like he did to raise his self esteem? That wasn’t an answer the warrior knew, nor was it a question he was willing to ask. Luckily his attention was turned to the leader as she named Windclan’s new deputy.

He rose to his feet, not waiting for the words to reach his ears. "The newest deputy of Windclan will be," Eagleblaze. Eagleblaze. His mind urged the words to come out of the Molly’s mouth. ".....Featherstep." His cheeks grew red as he realized he was standing in front of everyone at Featherstep’s deputy ceremony.

"Congrats, Featherstep." he mewed smoothly, concealing his feelings with a smile. After all, he wasn’t a bad liar.