a second chance to make amends [clan meeting]

Ice-cold fury ran through Leopardstar's veins at Nightstalker's words, but she held steady and kept her voice calm. Heatherberry had been first to speak, and she had been kind. Kinder than Leopardstar deserved, and they both knew that. She was proud of her daughter, and more than disappointed in herself. "...As you wish," she spoke softly, enough that she doubted any cat had actually heard it.

For the first time in her life, Leopardstar ascended the Jaggedrock, surveying ShadowClan from on high.

"I have never stood atop this rock. I have never wanted to. At first it was a matter of staying at the same level as the rest of you, that no cat should tower above the rest... And now I may be your leader, but I have not earned your trust or your respect. I will stand atop the rock if that is what you wish, but know that in my mind it represents an honor I do not yet deserve."

Her gaze found her predecessor, then. She willed herself to calm down, to keep the anger out of her voice and remain level even as she addressed him. "You would have me appoint half of ShadowClan, Nightstalker? Were that the case, I'd say we abolish the council entirely--but while I intend to allow ShadowClan to have a say in the decisions that will impact them, I believe it's also valuable to have a smaller group to go over those decisions before that point. What happened before will not happen again."

There were precious few cats that Leopardstar knew could pull her back from the edge. Of anger, of grief, of madness. Yes, she had called on her kin and the closest friend she had, but they were responsible warriors as well as cats she trusted to make their opinions known. Especially if they disagreed with her ideas. "If Echomist refuses, I understand. But I called on him for exactly that reason. I will not allow myself to be blinded again. To be challenged is to learn, and to grow."

Her tail curled around her side. "Setting the council aside, every cat will have their chance to speak before any final decisions are made. My wish is that every cat in ShadowClan feels heard. That includes now: if anyone else has concerns, or questions, you're free to voice them. Whether now or later."

As for the rest of his words, she made sure not to say the only thing that kept repeating in her mind.

Who was it that put me here, again? I never asked for any of this!

Pineblossom

Pineblossom lifted her head to listen to Leopardstar’s explanations of changes in the clan. She was surprised that their new leader did not take to the Jaggedrock, but she held her tongue and just listened. For the most part, she agreed with the changes. Stricter safety was always a good measure, although she was a bit hypocritical in thinking so as she had taken on a fox on her own during her bout of grief. The rites themselves didn’t interest her, but she appreciated the change nonetheless.

She also didn’t have a problem with Nightstalker’s strictness on keeping outsiders out of the clan, although he did break his own rule enough times that she supposed relaxing the rules entirely was not that much of a problem. So long as they could be loyal to the clan, it was probably fine, though she hoped that it would not be such a common occurrence. There was weakness in being too open to bringing others in, too.

The small size of the council was a bit surprising. They were smaller in number than they used to be, but still not the smallest in the forest. She supposed it was a good enough number though if she would also be consulting the clan as a whole.

Then…Nightstalker spoke.

Pineblossom closed her eyes and withheld a sigh as Nightstalker proclaimed his thoughts, and essentially had a tantrum. So he was not taking this well. She opened her eyes again and focused on Leopardstar while Nightstalker walked off and a few cats walked off. Leopardstar reluctantly took to the rock and spoke back in turn. Finally, Pineblossom rose to her paws and offered her own two cents to this meeting.

“Have more confidence in yourself, Leopardstar. A leader who believes they have no place in power is just as dangerous as one who craves power above all else. I know that you have our clan’s best interests in mind. No cat is infallible, but I think ShadowClan has showed these past few moons that we will not keep silent if we think you are not worthy of leadership. You have been a great deputy for our clan, and I look forward to your leadership too.”

She looked back to where Nightstalker had left camp and sighed quietly to herself before she looked back to Leopardstar. While she spoke towards her, she addressed her clan as a whole. “These past few moons have been difficult, and a lot of opinions have been divided. I say let’s act as a single clan and see how things go before we anticipate things going wrong. I support the changes to policies, and I humbly accept the position on the council.”

ShadowClan • Tier 5 • She/Her • 70 | 160 • #6699ff

Credits: code inspiration - 1 2 |  image 1 | image 2 | image 3