SkyClan's new... uh... deputy..?

Dawnhawk had been waiting patiently for the meeting to start. His eyes wandered over to the nursery when he saw a flash of silver pelt that he knew to be his mother. The nursery? Why was she in there? He picked his chin up from the branch that he was on and he watched her for a few moments. Another litter? He recounted the time that Bloodstrike had been gone and calculated that it was possible that she'd have time for one more littler with his dad. Oh joy... more siblings to despise me. Deerpaw shouted at a nightstriker and Dawnhawk's eyes followed to where her voice was directed. A nightstriker was shoving Sunflower forward. If it had been anyone else, Dawnhawk may have intervened. But it was Sunflower. He needed to be mistreated until he finally snapped and learned to not be such a coward. He was dog food as far as Dawnhawk was concerned. Wolfstar finally began to speak and his eyes settled on the dark tom. It seemed like it was going to be an interesting announcement at the very least.

Asylum is not leaving.

Dawnhawk's eyes widened at first, but then hardened and narrowed. What are you doing, old man? Dawnhawk stood on his branch and lowered himself into a half-way crouch position. His tail raised and he held it in the air. One swoosh downward and the asylum cats present would slaughter everyone here. He watched the shadows creep in, close in like ants to a potato chip. They were ready. Some even wanted this. But Dawnhawk held his position and allowed Wolfstar to continue speaking. The words that came next out of his mouth froze Dawnhawk in place with disbelief.

...the new deputy of SkyClan will be Dawnhawk.

Heartbeat. Heartbeat. Heartbeat. The silence was so thick that Dawnhawk could hear his heart in his ears. He didn't move... not for several moments. What are you planning, Wolfstar?! Even Dawnhawk didn't dare believe that he had truly been this successful. He didn't dare believe that his words had brought all of Skyclan to heel and without a drop of bloodshed once he had full reign of the Asylum in Skyclan. Dawnhawk's eyes swept the crowd, Asylum and Skyclan alike. The asylum was just as baffled as the clan was. This wasn't right... something wasn't right. This made no sense. Was Wolfstar so broken over Bloodstrike that he was willing to give in? Dawnhawk wasn't sure that he believed that.

The pale tom's tail slowly lowered rather than lashed so that the asylum cats knew that he was retracting the order... not giving it. After a few more seconds of hesitation... the prize was too juicy for Dawnhawk to resist. It was probably a trap... Wolfstar was no fool. But deputy meant that Dawnhawk only had to answer to Wolfstar and a small handful of Asylum cats. He had more power in his short moons of life than most cats did their entire lives. With that thought, a small, devilish smirk crept across the pale tom's face.

Dawnhawk dropped down from the branch to land next to Wolfstar. His head swam. This was surreal... he never imagined his success would go this far. He had hoped, sure... but he never thought it would actually happen. Still... in the back of his mind.... Something else is going on... but I will accept this position for now. And with that, he straightened himself up, standing as tall and proud as Bloodstrike ever had.

"Thank you, Wolfstar, I am honored." Dawnhawk's eyes went to Beechface, then Smokefeather, then Honeycomb. "Skyclan only grows stronger with the Asylum at their side. Our bloodlines are no longer in peril, the fresh-kill pile is the highest it has been despite leaf-bare, predators are seen less and less... the unity between the Asylum and Skyclan is a blessing. Now that I am the Deputy of Skyclan as well as the overseer of Skyclan for the Asylum, I have been given free reign to be the bridge between the two worlds that I intended to be. Skyclan will prosper, that I promise you." Dawnhawk paused, unsure of what else to say. He was still in shock himself over the news. His eyes stayed on Honeycomb for a heartbeat or so after he had finished speaking.

Then... Dawnhawk dropped off of the leader's den and approached Honeycomb. He stopped in front of her and opened his mouth to say something... but the words wouldn't come out. So instead... he smiled at her before landing a quick but affectionate lick on her cheek. "Wolfstar... when you have gotten some sleep I'd like to discuss plans with you in private. For now, I'm sure the clan is tired. Let them rest, if you decide to adjourn this meeting."

Leafpaw snarled when Dawnhawk’s name was announced. Just, great. Great. Fantastic, what could possibly go wrong?

“Fox-dung,” she cursed under her breath, her fluffy ears pointing to her sides and her face scrunching up with frustration and anger, mixing into itself and spiraling in her head.

She looked to the sky, trying to find solace in her ancestors.

Where are you, StarClan? Why are you always above me and yet I can’t find you?

The tom that nearly broke her ribs without breaking a sweat, was now deputy. Wolfstar made it so. Her eyes clouded with a mixture of grief and confusion. Even though she was not alive before the occupation, she knew that there was a time before it. Her mom said so. She heaved a defeated sigh, wincing at the pain from her ribs, and looked to Beechface. I’m sorry.

Smokefeather briefly leaned into Primroselight's side. Maybe her daughter's optimism would prove true. And yet... Her gut churned uneasily. Maybe it was her exhaustion and complete lack of sleep that made her uneasy. But something felt off. If it had been about her mate, or a ceremony, surely Wolfstar would have waited until a decent hour, rather than pull the clan from sleep.

---

Beechface had still been half-asleep as Wolfstar began to speak, only half-listening to the words and wishing very much that she could go and curl up in her nest. She'd thought he would name an interim deputy, someone temporary until Bloodstrike was back. That would make sense, and a temporary deputy would have been better than having Dawnhawk pretend to have power and do the apprentice ceremonies.

'The new deputy of SkyClan will be Dawnhawk.' Disbelief shot through Beechface, quickly overcoming any exhaustion she had felt. Beechface's head snapped up as she stared at the leader, trying to judge if she'd heard him correctly. By the reactions of her clanmates, and Dawnhawk beginning to speak, she had, very unfortunately, heard Wolfstar correctly. Beechface's lips curled, tufted ears pinning back as anger swept through her. This couldn't be... Wolfstar couldn't be seriously, surely?

"You call for unity, then appoint him as deputy after what he did? After what he allowed to happen? Our deputy was mauled and is missing, and now we can't trust our own leader?" Beechface rose to her paws, fur rising along her spine as she stalked towards Wolfstar, pawsteps slow, deliberate. Rage so hot it could burn the forest a second time flared in her eyes. Not leaping at either of Skyclan's current high ranks took effort. Her muscles tensed, claws sinking into the cold ground below as Beechface struggled to not do something stupid.

"Have you lost your mind, Wolfstar? What does he have over you that you would name him deputy? Are you so spineless to have caved to them? I would've thought you of all cats were better than that." Beechface spat. "Clearly I thought wrong." His rebuke during the argument with her siblings had hurt, but this cut deeper. Wolfstar had been her mentor, once. He'd been someone to look up to and respect.

Bloodstrike had been that, too. And both of those honorable cats seemed to be gone now, one imprisoned and injured, the other still present, but seemingly a stranger as Beechface stared at him. He wore the same pelt, but he'd changed.

Movement caught her eye, Smokefeather turning her back on the gathered cats to head back into the nursery. Her face wasn't visible, but Beechface recognized the set of her shoulders, the way her mother's fluffy tail dragged against the ground.

Beechface returned her gaze to the leader and deputy before her, chest burning.

Like the many other cats, Wrenspring had been roused from rest and was half-lidded when he joined the assembling masses. The last thing he anticipated at this hour was a new deputy naming ceremony. Despite Bloodstrike being missing and his location unknown, he had heard that Iniko had reassured others their clanmate was alive and well... somewhere. But it seemed like the fact their was a naming was not going to be the most shocking event of the evening. Wolfstar had plans and it seemed they involved the very tom that his clanmates had grown to despise. He had yet to develop a genuine hatred for the younger tom but he could understand their anger.

Dawnhawk.

The name hung heavy in the air and seemed to collide with the ground in a manner similar to falling stone. There was a brief silence, a moment of silent mourning in response to the decision. Underneath the pallid glow of moonlight and daunting gaze of the stars, it became obvious there would be no ceremonious cheering for their new deputy. Instead mutters broke through the dancing wind and carried across the clearing. Beechface, as bold and relentless as she was tender-hearted and kind, was the first to fracture the whisker-thin tension. Venomous displeasure dripped from the medicine cat's maw. Wrenspring blinked as the words sank in. He shook his tail out after a moment. She wasn't wrong nor were her frustrations misplaced.

Standing to his paws, the warrior padded to his side and gingerly brushed his coat to hers in the hope not to step out of place. The light brush of his tail flickered across her back for a mere moment. Looking at Wolfstar now, the tom remembered so many moons ago when he watched the deputy ignore Spottedstar's orders and stay behind. Dredging up such petty memories served no one. Wolfstar did not deserve the same treatment he had given then. Ignoring a leader was not something to be taken lightly. It felt out of place to howl the name of the tom who had betrayed them all and allowed rogues to invade their camp. Instead, he simply offered Wolfstar a solemn nod. But the words that came were low, muttered, and meant only for Beechface.

"Trust him."

Blossomstep had wearily joined the gathering crowd, curious as to what her mate had to announce to the clan. What followed didn't surprise her entirely, as much as it pained her, Wolfstar was right. A deputy was needed, at least one for in the meantime. However, as quickly as her ears had perked to hear who he announced would step into the position, they flattened against her skull and she snarled, a scowl having formed on her face. Glaring up at the tom she suddenly hardly recognized, she then turned that glare to her grandson, the cat she had mentored. Shaking her head in a broad, sweeping motion as the tom spoke out about unity and how great things were, she couldn't help but see her son's tattered body, his tail hanging from an Asylum cat's mouth before Dawnhawk finally stepped in to "save the day". No. He may be deputy by name, but to her, he was no longer part of SkyClan, he had revoked that right when he left. However, she would play their mouse-brained game... For now. Turning away from the others, her paws directed her towards the warrior's den, forgoing her usual spot in Wolfstar's. He could sleep alone tonight while she shifted through her emotions and thoughts.

Honeycomb listened to Wolfstar's speech nervously and intently. Shock rippled through her as the leader announced Dawnhawk as deputy. He was a decent enough cat, but he had still betrayed SkyClan. Honeycomb thought that Wolfstar's choice was a bit strange, and she wasn't the only one. As shouts of anger and disbelief rang out, Dawnhawk's gaze caught Honeycomb's as he started to speak up. After the speech, his sky-blue eyes lingered on her own pale yellow-green ones and Honeycomb had to look away in embarrassment. As the new deputy of SkyClan approached her, the she-cat eyed him cautiously, sensing that he wanted to say something. "You must be really happy n--" Before she could finish her sentence, Dawnhawk had already licked her cheek. Jolting back in shock and confusion, Honeycomb retreated, stammering. "Y--you. Um. I'll just head back to my nest see you tomorrow I guess." Rushing through her words, Honeycomb hoped that he brother or Redfall hadn't seen what just happened.

Ashstorm agreed with many things that Wolfstar was saying about the Asylum, but she knew that talking about the Asylum was not the only reason that Wolfstar would wake them up so early.  She was half listening.  She knew much of this, and was pretty sure that Wolfstar knew her stances based on that day that her and many of her siblings fought, so he must not be talking to her.  She was beginning to turn around, when he began talking about a new deputy.  She froze.  It would make sense to have a new deputy.  Not many cats in Skyclan enjoyed Dawnhawk doing apprentice ceremony's and Wolfstar probably wanted some help.  But she still did not want to see a deputy that was not her father.  Then she heard something.  This something made her ears go strait up, her be immediately become fully awake, and made her turn around towards Wolfstar as fast as she could.

The new deputy of Skyclan is Dawnhawk? Her mind echoed, but also questioned.

Her head turned between her grandfather and older brother many times.  Unlike Beechface, other siblings, and most all of the clan, she was not angry, she was confused.

Why would Wolfstar do this?  Does he have that much of a death wish?  Does Dawnhawk have enough to except it?

Dawnhawk did accept, which made Ashstorm even more confused.  She thought her brother was smart.  Was he so power hungry he did not care how much more many Skyclan cats would want to kill him?  Still she felt... happy for him, that he was following in his fathers paw steps.

She walked over to Wolfstar, raising her voice slightly so he could hear her.  "Can I talk to you, when the sun is half way in the sky?"  She waited for an answer, then walked towards Dawnhawk, not looking at him.  She learned after the argument many of her and her siblings had, that talking to Dawnhawk openly would only make other cats madder at both Dawnhawk and her.  When she got close enough to him, so she whispered so only he could hear, "Congratulations.  If you want to come meet me some time, I can give you a proper congratulations without-" she paused for a moment trying to figure out how to end that sentence.  "Other cats watching."

With that, she gently rubbed her tail on his side, attempting to give him a nice goodbye, before walking towards the warriors den, even though she knew she would not be able to sleep.

Lichenpaw dragged his paws out of his nest in the apprentices' den with the rest of them, grumbling his brief annoyance at being woken at this hour. It seemed Wolfstar had something to say, however, so he did his duty and settled down in the crowd next to Beechface and Smokefeather. He could hardly stifle a yawn as he half-listened to what his grandfather had to say, only really picking up the last few words.

Dawnhawk. The name instantly sparked rage in the young tom's frame and he shot to his paws, fur bristling angrily. "WHAT?! Grandpa, are you out of your mind?!" Shaking with the effort, Lichenpaw somehow managed to curb his tongue, listening with fire blazing in his eyes as Dawnhawk accepted his new position. The apprentice unsheathed his claws, tail lashing with fury. It seemed Beechface had a similar reaction, and he hung back as his older sister stalked towards Wolfstar. Smokefeather turned and left entirely. Wrenspring whispered something to Beechface and went on his way. Lichenpaw stood there, trembling, glaring daggers at the cat that used to be his brother. He longed to run, to scale a tree and hide and scream, but he couldn't, not with those idiots hanging around.

Finally, he willed himself to move again, turning to march back towards the comfort of his nest. "Dawnhawk is not my deputy. Only Dad is."

That feeling of dread in Raveclaw's stomach? Yeah, that had been warranted. She was floored, frozen to the spot: an appropriate position to be in during the coldest season. Wolfstar couldn't have possibly said what she thought he had said, and yet... Her eyes trailed over towards Dawnhawk, her traitorous brother. She gagged at the thought that he could be related to her. In another life, perhaps him becoming the new deputy would be a glorious occasion. Instead, it was a complete and utter disaster. How could Wolfstar put him in the deputy position? He was responsible for the previous deputy's condition! Their own father! If Beechface hadn't jumped right up and said something, she may have had to do it herself. She still should, but her tongue felt twisted. No matter how angry she felt, all she could truly feel was complete and total dread.

Icy tendrils of unease curled tightly around the rigid length of Vulturepaw's spine, a menacing current of disbelief and discomfort curdling low and sharp somewhere deep within the fathom of her being. Even from the willowy shadows of the den she currently only hovered directly outside of, the bitter dusting of shock was palpable upon her soft features- a sorrowful mimicry of the outrage seething and simmering from her sour, enraged littermates currently bearing witness to the strange proceedings. She hadn't adopted the harsh, calloused approach many of her siblings now regarded Dawnhawk with - perhaps her heart was too soft for its own good - but this new betrayal felt like a stinging wound, the latest addition in a series of foul blows left ringing hard and hot in the soul.

Tufted ears twisting flat against the raised ridges of her skull, Vulturepaw lingered like a scorned kit as she watched Beechface's rage, finding herself once again envious of her elder sister's ferocity, the venom she wasn't afraid of wielding. Mouth faintly twisting into the remnants of a sour grimace, the speckled young she-cat remained motionless as Lichenpaw hurried back to his nest, offering nothing but an idle bump to his shoulder as he passed. Pale gaze redirecting itself to the soft, churned up earth of the camp floor, her movements were soured under the weight of her disbelief and discomfort as she began to withdraw to the safety of her den.

"Congratulations," Vulturepaw eventually called, soft voice weighted with an uncharacteristic surge of defeat, evidently frightened by the public acknowledgement of her father's disappearance and the seeming reward of her brother's misguided actions.

Graybird instantly felt her heart begin to sink the moment that Wolfstar begin to speak. The leader's tone was nowhere near joyful, and this only seemed to confirm her fears of something else unpleasant happening to SkyClan. The she-cat had to force herself to hold back a roll of her amber eyes. She hadn't even been alive when RiverClan had taken SkyClan into their camp, so absolutely none of that applied to her. She would treat the Asylum cats with silence and caution unless she was provoked to take a step further. She couldn't help but be the slightest bit confused, though. Wolfstar had gathered the Clan this late only to lecture them about the Asylum cats and how they should be treated? No. There was more. Even though it seemed impossible, her heart seemed sink even more than it had before. Putting Dawnhawk in Bloodstrike's place seemed to be a feat that was beyond disrespectful.

When the Asylum had initially made their attack on the forest, Wolfstar hadn't been in camp. It had been Bloodstrike who had acted as leader while the Clan was forced to surrender. Dawnhawk had been at the head of the Asylum's forces that had taken over SkyClan... and now he held the second most important position in the Clan in replacement of the actual deputy. She had been there to witness the deputy being mercilessly torn apart by Nightstrikers, and this was how Bloodstrike was being repaid? Graybird had always respected Wolfstar, it wasn't like she had any reason to resent him, he was the leader after all, but any ounce of acclaim she held for the tom vanished in less than an instant.

"How could you do this to Bloodstrike? He was the cat that had to play leader while our Clan was invaded and the Asylum cats nearly ripped him apart. You weren't even there. He suffered on that day, all because of Dawnhawk, and this is how you repay him? Your own deputy? Do you even love your own Clan?" Graybird spat, her voice dripping with discontentment as she narrowed her eyes.
She would never see Dawnhawk as the deputy, and she would never see the Asylum cats as her family.

She had no intention of staying here any longer, all Graybird wanted to do was return to her nest, fall asleep, and pray to StarClan that this was all a nasty nightmare. She made her exit silently, wiping any trace of anger off of her face in a flash, and headed back towards the warriors den with a heavy heart and a hopeless soul.