RiverClan’s Deputy | October 2021

Though she felt rather like an idiot for having appointed such a young deputy, assuming she’d be able to handle such a monumental task when she hadn’t even had the chance to settle into deputyship, Ivystar found herself contemplating her decision on the new deputy. Despite her hesitancy, she knew this was necessary and would have to be done. So, onto the willow branch she leaped, calling out loudly, “All cats old enough to catch their own fish, gather beneath the willow branch for a clan meeting!”

Bearspirit heard the call and dropped his fish into the fresh kill pile. Curious about what Ivystar planned to announce, the marbled tom took a seat beneath the willow branch. He'd be eager to get back to the river to fish, having found it more enjoyable than he had before the twoleg problem. Until Ivystar would speak, Bearspirit would wait beneath the Willow branch quietly.

Greypaw grumbled from where he was snoozing on his old stone upon hearing a slight commotion, a familiar sound of gathering cats. Yawning the apprentice cracked open an eye, blinking blearily. His training had already been over for the day and he had maaaybe been putting off the other menial apprentice duties.

It's not that he didn't think they were 'worthy' of him or something dumb like that... he was just... tired.

Then again he was always tired because for some reason his brain just didn't want him to sleep when everyone else was conked out. He struggled to even get in naps.

Letting out a long, heavy sigh, he hauled himself off his rock and let himself flop onto the ground. After laying there for a few moments he dragged himself to his feet and trodded over, ears drooping wearily (as they always did) and head hung low (because it was too much effort to have good posture).

He meandered over to one of the few familiar faces in the slowly-gathering crowd. Bear...something-or-other. Used to be Bearpaw, but Grey wasn't there for his naming ceremony... he had been napping in a far corner of the camp, completely unconscious and not waking up for anything, even if dogs invaded.

Falling back onto his haunches beside the large warrior, he tried to clean his face to get rid of the lingering haze of sleep.

"Troublesome... and I was having a good dream for once." He muttered, tone a bit gruff with sleep. Slowly, as if it was draining him of all energy, he looked up at the leader blearily, deja vu hitting him as his mind conjured up a broken, illy-restored memory of his apprenticeship.

...Well, now he wondered what he was here for. Maybe another deputy went missing, or resigned, or perhaps now there were badgers invading their territory instead of dogs.

Who knew?

Swanmist rose from a nap in the shade. Her soft yellow eyes blinking slowly as she tried to see what was going on. Her ears directed her glance the the Willow Branch, where Ivystar stood.

A warrior ceremony was her first guess. She looked around but didn't really see any Apprentices she thought were old enough to be a warrior... Well maybe Greypaw, but he never seemed to be training.

She stood up, stretching. Swanmist licked a tuft on her chest down with her silky chest fur and padded forwards. She had a glance at the fresh kill pile, she was rather hungry... But as leafbare grew closer and closer day by day, the prey pile was shrinking bit by bit. More fish were appearing in the pile but she hadn't worked up the appetite to eat the scaley things just yet.

She sat down, cleaning her tail as her ears were swivelled to face the leader, so she could still catch every word.

Ebonypaw's ears twitched as he heard Ivystar call from the willow tree, his large green eyes turning to look. Oh, a meeting? Hopefully it was something good this time. He probably would have just buried himself in a hole, never to come out if the dogs had returned or something else was plaguing the rivers. It felt like he just had gotten back to the water, he didn't want it taken from him again. Ivystar didn't look too upset to him though, which was a good sign.

He trotted up to join the gathering cats, listening in to what the leader might have to say.

Dutifully, Turtlefur joined his Clanmates underneath the Willow Branch and awaited Ivystar’s announcement. It wasn’t that the usual ceremonies were boring, but… well, actually, they were, though the loyal warrior wasn’t going to let it be known that his excitement for ceremonies had died quickly after his apprentice was named. It wasn’t likely that he’d be assigned another until Flypaw earned their warrior name, so for now, he stared up at his leader with a rather vacant expression.

Lying down, Hollypaw intended for a short nap inside the apprentice den. Well, that was until Ivystar's call alerted her. Immediately, she shook herself just enough so that she could be awake, and rose up to her paws to pad out from the den. Wonder what this is going to be about? She thought, quietly making her way over. Her eyes scanned the group of gathering cats, then spotting Ebonypaw, she decided to take an empty spot and sit down beside him. After all, he was the only one that she have ever properly talked to in the crowd. And also the only one that she knew, although briefly.

With ears perked up high, she listened to each word that Ivystar had to tell. Hopefully, this meeting didn't come with any bad news needed to be told about.

Once enough cats had gathered around the Willow Branch, Ivystar gave them all a brief nod and swish of her tail to signify the official beginning of the ceremony. "Scarletriver, for her own personal reasons, has made the decision to step down from her position as deputy. As such, it is my duty to appoint a new one in her place." Surveying the responses from the cats below, Ivystar allowed them a moment to soak in the news before continuing. "RiverClan's new deputy shall be Dewlight. May the ancestors look down on us and approve of my decision." She mewed before leaping off of the branch to the ground below, meeting Dewlight and resting her head on the she-cat's for a brief second, then backing away to let the rest of the Clan celebrate with her.

ooc; this is once again a temporary deputy appointment. more details on the situation will be posted by staff shortly, so keep an eye out for that and any follow-ups!

The instant Dewlight's name was called, Bearspirit loped to her side. "Congratulations Dewlight!" He could hardly contain his excitement for her. He shamelessly planted a big wet lick on her cheek and curled his tail around her's. "Dewlight! Dewlight!" He lead the chant, holding his head high and standing as tall as he could.

Turtlefur was somewhat startled by Ivystar’s announcement, but it made sense. It was clear that Scarletriver was struggling to adapt. He didn’t blame her, though. He understood that it was a tough position and he was glad she’d have some rest. Dewlight’s appointment was also a surprise. She was a good warrior and he looked up to her, but she was still in the nursery—not that that would stop her from being a great deputy, just that her responsibilities would be stressful.

“Dewlight! Dewlight! Dewlight!” Turtlefur raised his voice with his Clan to welcome the new deputy, though paused for a moment to watch Bearspirit and Dewlight interact. Well he’d heard he was the father, he just hadn’t been very aware of the developing relationship. The bobtailed warrior grinned. He and Bearspirit had grown a bit apart, but he was still happy for the pair. They seemed happy. His mind wandered briefly. There was no one in RiverClan who caught his eye like that, except for Wisteriabloom a long time ago. Egretstorm was pretty strong… he stole a glance at the silver tabby, but the image that was cloudy in his mind was of a softer gray pelt.

Dewlight had been sitting just outside of the nursery for the meeting, keeping an ear out for any stirring of her sleeping kits within the warmth of the den. So Scarletriver was stepping down... A shame, she thought, the young she-cat could have been promising for the future. She understood though, the duties of a deputy were not one to be taken lightly, and weren't for every cat. She waited patiently for Ivystar to name the next deputy, and raise her voice with her clanmate's in congratulation, when suddenly she heard her own name. She froze, eyes widening, as what that meant sunk in. Ivystar had chosen her? She blinked, tail tip twitching, as Ivystar padded over to her and rested her head on hers for a moment. After a heartbeat of hesitation, Dewlight licked the leader's shoulder. "Thank you, Ivystar. I won't let you down." She mewed softly, resolved to make the most of this new situation she found herself in. It would be difficult, and it was entirely unexpected, but... She would do the best she could. Bearspirit ran to her side, and she purred as he pressed against her, tails twining around each other. "Thank you." She purred, grinning at the rest of her clanmates as they chanted her name. "I'll do my best to make you proud."

When the soft-looking apprentice heard his mentor's name called he blinked in mild surprise, it quickly faded though. His mentor was levelheaded, kind, and very adaptable, he saw the decision as a good one overall. He did remember her seeming mild destress when she heard he was going to be her apprentice though. Something in her past definitely had a lingering hold over her, which, again, wasn't surprising, warriors had lived longer then apprentices, and Greypaw already had a past haunting him despite being part of the latter group.

But she never let whatever haunted her interfere with his training, while he himself occasionally did. Fishing, swimming, basic things Riverclanners needed to know struck a deep-rooted trauma in him, making him struggle with them. He still hadn't escaped that, and it was hindering his progression.

He still didn't know how to fix it.

But his mentor was better, hopefully, someday he'd also be able to move past his fears...

Putting a calm smile on his face he wandered over to Dewlight, purring quietly. "Congratulations, teach. I'm sure you'll do well." He then tilted his head, raising a brow. "Do try to take it easy every once in a while though. Doesn't matter if your a deputy, medicine cat, or leader, everyone needs some time to relax, if you don't it's a recipe for breaking under the pressure, I'd think."

He then settled beside her, forepaws and back legs hidden underneath him and covered by his long fur, kept warmer from the leaf-fall chill with his fluffy tail.  "And if you ever need to forgo training sessions for that, I'll be fine... more time to nap anyways." He smirked cheekily at the comment, eyes glinting with light amusement.