Starting on The Right Paw [Open]

Acornstem sat in the middle of the camp clearing, tail curled around her paws. Truth be told, she was still in disbelief over the events of the last two moons. Mottlestar had been revealed to have had a relationship with Nightstar - as brief as it was - in front of the whole forest. Dogs on the territory had been dealt with…By the aid of strange feral cats who were now living with them. One of their warriors had been revealed to be a murderer - but before a judgment could be sentenced, he was killed by their own deputy who was demoted on the spot.

…And now, she was deputy of ThunderClan. It was…Strange, but yet she found the mantle didn’t weigh her down like she had expected. If anything, she was thrilled by the challenges she would not face - she would become one of the faces of her Clan, get to know the other deputies and maybe even leaders. She would be a shoulder for Mottlestar to lean on - for all of her Clanmates to lean on…

And Stars willing, she would perhaps even be leader one day.

…Perhaps that thought was a bit daunting still as she froze as it crossed her mind, giving her head a shake. It was…Better not to consider that until such a fate was there - she didn’t want to consider things without Mottlestar there. She had always been there since she was a kit… But either way, she was now somebody that Mottlestar needed to count on - so she thought the best thing she could do was find out how the Clan was feeling after…Everything.

How did they feel about Mottlestar? The ferals? Darkspirit? Her as the new deputy? Were there concerns, ways she could help them? She had to know - it was the best way to start her deputyship on the right paw. Now… Her gaze scanned across the clearing. She just needed to find her Clanmates who would be willing to share their thoughts.

While Firefly had been present for the execution of Starlingflare, she had not been around for the announcement of a new deputy: Acornstem. A she-cat she had had the greatest spar of her life with. To say she was better suited as deputy was something she truly believed.

The russet warrior approached Acornstem with her usual confident stride. "Congratulations, deputy. You've both earned and deserve the position." A faint smile crossed her maw. "How has it been so far?"

Acornstem perked up as she spotted Firefly, tail lashing in excitement as the she-cat started to approach, offering her congratulations on the position. She opened her mouth to reply but didn't get the chance before another set of pawsteps caught her ear - Thrushnose, a newer warrior that she hadn't gotten the chance to really meet. She purred in greeting, but yet again didn't get a chance to reply before Briarrose was approaching, offering her greeting to the trio. The deputy could only respond by purring even harder as if it was even possible, tail curling around her paws as she straighten up as much as she could.

"Thank you all so much!" she chirped, sparing a glance between all of them with a sheepish smile. "Its certainly a lot - I never expected to be deputy, never really wanted it! But Mottlestar has faith in me and I mean to prove it! This is nothing I can't handle! Of course...So much has happened recently," she noted with a soft sigh as she turned to glance towards the leader's den. "Mottlestar has had to deal with a lot so I want to start focusing on the smaller details so she won't have to worry about it - figure out how everybody is feeling, how I can help make things better before I bring it all to Mottlestar so we can work out the big picture together. So...How have all you guys been?" she asked, giving an earnest stare between them all. "Is there anything you guys want to talk about? Anything you think I can help with or...Or if you just want somebody to lend an ear - I'm willing! It can even be later if you want to talk in private! I'm just determined to help us all get back on the right paw!"