For a Time (Temp Deputy of TC)

Minkstar strode across camp, a tinge of worry underlying the confidence of his gait as his gaze flicked to the medicine cat den. Bat's sudden illness spiraling, her being confined to the medicine den.... He couldn't help the twinge that tightened his stomach with a sense of helpless guilt. If he hadn't given her the position of deputy in the first place, would this have happened? Her own firm words on it helped to ease that, but he couldn't help but wonder from time to time. It was a decision we both made, and it's in the past. Can't help it now. And for now, they'd come to a solution until she could hopefully recover and take it up again.

If she shows even a hint of sickness, though.... Determination not to let her overdo it flickered to life in his chest as he leapt to the top of the High Rock in one bound, a slight smile tugging at his mouth for a moment at the ease of the movement before it faded. She may be the best cat for the job, but I'm not letting her kill herself over it. She'd understand. And if she didn't... he'd rather have her alive and well to be mad at him than dead. Anything but that.

He turned to face out over the ravine, his gaze roaming out over the camp and his Clan. We'll stand resilient, as we always do. We'll find a way. The call that came from his maw was clearer and firmer than any other he'd ever issued from this rock, echoing from the sunlight-dappled walls. "ThunderClan! Let all cats gather here beneath the High Rock for a Clan meeting!"

Shrikesong padded out of ThunderClan's warrior den. Due to Batbite's unusual sickness, it seemed like ThunderClan would need a temporary deputy for the near future. There needed to be someone waiting in line just in case the leader died suddenly. As far as they knew, Batbite's sickness could spread to Minkstar, ripping the rest of his lives away. No matter what he chose, she mused, she would be confident in his choice.

Even if that choice is you, Shrikesong?

Well, if it was her... she would do her best to help her clan in any way that she could at the deputy position. And with Minkstar's newfound confidence, she thought that she could at least appear to be a viable candidate for the position. She was one of the more senior warriors in the clan, after all. If she would be forced to ascend to ThunderClan's leadership somehow, she would do it as gracefully as the she-cat could. She needed to prepare herself to be ThunderClan's deputy if needed. And surprisingly, she felt ready.

Good job getting yourself ready for deputyship, Shrikesong! Of course, there was no guarantee that she would be the one selected, and she'd still prefer it that way. But she could at the very least double down with her trust in Minkstar's decision and increase her self-confidence at the same time. Now let's see who the new deputy will be.

Quaildock perked up his ears at his father's call. It was still a bit strange to him now that his father had finally changed his name to that of 'Minkstar', and began acting more like a confindent leader. But he was still proud none the less, and padded up to join his clanmates, eagerly waiting for what Minkstar would announce.

Spending time in the medicine den was almost a rite of passage for a warrior. Either you had injured loved ones to visit and worry over, or you were the one wearing your weight in poultices. Given their positions and shared tendency toward reckless courage, it was inevitable that one (more likely both) of her parents would land themselves in Dovefrost’s care someday. Thrushnose was trying—trying—to come to terms with that fact… But she’d never imagined it like this. Hadn’t she just asked them to be more careful?

(That wasn’t fair of her, and she knew it. No one expected to get sick, especially in as innocuous a season as greenleaf. Besides, Batbite had taken up residence in the medicine den rather than push past her limits; Thrushnose chose to see that as proof that, on some level, they had listened. There was nobody to blame here.)

Her father’s voice sounded from the Highrock, out of view. A Clan meeting. What for, she didn’t know, but she could guess; though Minkstar and Dovefrost had kept things running, ThunderClan couldn’t afford to be without a deputy for much longer. A leader's lives weren’t nearly the cushion some cats treated them as. With one last encouraging brush of her tail against Batbite’s side, Thrushnose stepped into the sunlight and, spotting Quaildock in the crowd, plopped down next to her brother. As stressful as this last half moon had been, it wasn’t all bad. Minkstar spoke with a confidence she hadn’t heard in him since her kithood, before she’d grown up enough to know better.

At the sound of Minkstar's call, Dovefrost turned away from his herb store, green eyes flicking to Batbite for a small moment as she rested nearby, before pushing himself out of his den. While he liked having someone to talk to on a regular basis in his den again, he didn't want it this way. Not a cat confined to camp due to some illness. He settled just outside of his den, not bothering to move closer just in case Batbite needed him. He could hear just fine from here, he was sure whoever was picked would do just fine, of course he would help as needed if Minkstar and the new deputy needed him.

Stoatpaw trotted out into the clearing with his tail leisurely waving back and forth. He settled down next to Thrushnose and gazed curiously up at Minkstar. The leader that stood before their clan was brimming with a respectable confidence, assured in the way he addressed the clan. Decidedly, the young tom admired that; he hoped that other cats would view him in such a way sometime, and that he could maintain that façade even when he was shriving on the inside. Tilting his head, it occurred to the brown and white apprentice that maybe the other tom felt the same way too, and he would never know it. That brought a soft smile to his maw.

"Do you think that Minkstar is going to pick a new deputy, Thrushnose?" He prodded, both with the question and a quick glance of his paw to draw her attention. Although the urge to call the warrior 'mom' was overwhelming, it felt more proper to refer to her as a warrior. She was a great queen in many ways, and he'd been lucky to have her raising him. Yet for as comfortable as he was around the pale tabby, there was always some healthy separation that he tucked reserved at the back of his mind. Perhaps it was the subconscious fear that perhaps she would one day abandon them too, in a similar sense to how their father had. Stoatpaw tried to push away such things from his mind as he looked up at her expectantly for an answer.

He looked out over his Clan - his family - as they gathered, his eyes lingering on the medicine den for a moment and checking Dovefrost's body language for any sign of agitation. It would have been good to see Bat able to poke her nose out of the medicine den, but.... He turned his attention away with a quiet sigh, straightening up and addressing the Clan again. "As you all know, Batbite has fallen sick, and so for now she's decided to step down as deputy until she recovers. In the meantime, ThunderClan needs a deputy to take care of her duties until she can hopefully come back to them."

He took a deep breath. "So it is for that reason that I say these words before StarClan, that they may approve of my choice. The deputy of ThunderClan during this time will be Thrushnose."

A paw pressed into her side, and Thrushnose looked down to see Stoatpaw, his face alight with curiosity. As glad as she was to be halfway returned to her responsibilities as a warrior, it boggled her mind just how quickly he’d gone from a clump of wet fur to just below apprentice size. She hummed, thinking of how to answer. Younger cats were difficult that way. Leaving them in the dark wasn’t fair, but there was only so much detail she could give before other queens started looking at her in horror. “Not a new one, exactly,” she began (because new implied a vacancy to be filled, a possibility she’d been avoiding thus far). “I’m guessing he’ll pick somebody to fill in for Batbite while she’s getting better.”

As Minkstar began to speak, Thrushnose went quiet, her tail wrapped as much around Stoatpaw as he would allow. Her father’s first words were about Batbite. She’d been right, then. A new, temporary deputy until Batbite recovered. The only question was—

For perhaps the first time in her life, Thrushnose’s brain ground to a halt. Her legs straightened after a few heartbeats, carrying her to the Highrock’s shadow without her input. For all she considered herself a good warrior (not good enough yet, but good nonetheless), she’d never taken interest in being anything more. The idea of getting on the Great Rock for a forest full of strangers made her blood run cold. But her father wasn’t asking that of her. Just deputy, she told herself, and believed it. Just for a while. Like the maze Nettlestar had guided her through—a matter of trust. “Dad—” Thrushnose caught herself. “Minkstar. I won’t let you down, I promise.”

Apprenticeship was stock full of new experiences, and Webpaw was eager to have them all. First clan meeting as an apprentice? Nothing was going to stop him from being there! He sat quietly through the meeting, staring up at his leader. As Webpaw listened to Minkstar's words, he realized that this did feel different than listening in as a kit. It felt like he was included, that these important clan matters could significantly impact his life. As a kit, it wouldn't have mattered to him who was made the new deputy; his sheltered nursery life would've proceeded on in the same exact manner. However, he now had a different relationship with the deputy. Whoever it ended up being, that cat would have power over Webpaw's day-to-day duties. They would even have the power to override Waterlily's training plans for him on any given day should they decide that any part of the apprentice-mentor duo were needed for other activities. This mattered to him.

Webpaw wasn't too familiar with Thrushnose, but then again he wasn't too familiar with any of the clan's warriors besides Waterlily. That would change with time though, and there was only one way to make it happen. Somehow, Webpaw had managed to make his way to the newly named deputy before a huge crowd of congratulating cats had formed around her. "Congratulations! I look forward to helping serve the clan under your orders," he meowed in a friendly tone. He kept the interaction short and sweet, making sure to not linger for long so that her closer friends and other clanmates could also have the space to come up and personally congratulate her. Besides, he was interested to see what opinions if any his fellow apprentices would express later that night.