NETTLES | musing over leadership change/intro

[EAGLEPAW]

ShadowClan has seen the most leaders of all the clans. Or so Eaglepaw has been told.

It's not that he doubts - Eaglepaw was too much of a suck-up for that - it's just it is hard to imagine a time before Chilledstar and it is now hard to imagine a time after them. But ShadowClan has endured this thrice over now, the dimming of one leader's final life, and the dawn of a new leader's full nine lives soon after. Eaglepaw simply does not know how to feel about everything and does not like his uncertainty. He was a neat cat, a creature of habit who rarely broke his routine or endured much change in his life. And now he was experiencing how it truly felt to lose a leader. A cat that had led the clan all of his ten moons of life. A cat who, once upon a time, Eaglepaw and his littermates had all stared up at dreaming they might be the next leader. A cat who had gone through so many hardships, that the loss of their final lives feels like a cruel joke, that after everything this was how they went?

Eaglepaw huffs slightly, coming out of his thoughts to look at the cat nearest to him. "Does it always feel this way?" He asks, shifting one paw in front of him idly. When his companion does not immediately respond, likely cause they do not know what he was on about, Eaglepaw is quick to elaborate, "Losing a leader - does it always feel so strange?"​

 

[betonyfrost]

Her position is perhaps a unique one—old enough to have clear memories of both a time before ShadowClan and of it's inception, but young enough at the time to have not known the importance of it. Betonyfrost thinks over the apprentice's question—recalls the transitions from one leader to the next. Her face morphs from the memory, a sneer without the bite: ShadowClan's terrible times started at its birth.

"Briarstar was the first leader. She was leader even before ShadowClan and the way she had died had been..." Disgusting, Betonyfrost had thought at the time. She still finds herself repulsed, "It was either sad or heroic. I suppose it depends on your view of things. The clan mourned for her but they were happy to accept Pitchstar as leader because—I suspect because he was her son. Pitchstar was attacked by a rogue and finished off by one of our own."

An expected and well-earned end for him, "Of course ShadowClan mourned for that tom as well, but he was a mad cat in certain regards. He had WindClan sniffing around here for a time. Chilledstar wasn't kin to Briarstar but they considered themself a—a friend of Pitchstar," It is easier to hate Pitchstar now more than ever: had he not befriended Chilledstar then they would have never become deputy and then leader after—they wouldn't have thrown themself away.

"With this..." Apathy has a strange way of mixing with apprehension. Her small ears fold; she considers her words carefully and speaks them haltingly, "No change to ShadowClan has ever felt as this one does. Whichever direction it goes, I just pray to StarClan that Smogstar has a life as long as a leader deserves." Her paws had previously held her attention but her green eyes find Eaglepaw now, "But that seemingly a pattern for ShadowClan, isn't it?"​

shadowclan warrior | blue mackerel tabby | 34 moons | tags​

 

[Snowlark.]

[ ༻❄༺ ] Snowpaw would be lying if he said that it didn't feel strange to no longer see Chilledstar about, making their rounds or their curt words. They had been leader since Snowpaw was a kit, had been the one to name him an apprentice and he had thought Chilledstar would be the one to give him his warrior name only for them to soon leave them, a horrific thing truth be told. Yet hearing Betonyfrost's words and Eaglepaw's question made the older apprentice come over, a calm look in his gaze before settling down nearby.

"It will feel strange for a few meetings, since Chilledstar had been around for quite sometime but... we'll all soon but adapt to Smog...stars reign..." he trailed off before glancing at the warrior, listening to her words before letting a soft sigh slip from his maw, he can only hope for the best for Smogstar, which still felt weird to say. His stubby tail twitched a bit as he thought of the words Betonyfrost spoke, the history of Shadowclan, how they lost two leaders so quickly and Chilledstar having been their longest lasting leader.

"Chilledstar picked him for a reason, and I'm sure he'll be too stubborn to die so quickly on us now. After all, he has been by Chilledstar's side for quite a long time so I doubt he'll be going anywhere anytime soon" he expressed hopefully. Snowpaw just wondered, who would take the position of deputy? Those were big paws to fill now, and many would be good to fit in that place, yet everything would come down to their leader's choice, but whoever it would be, he knows Smogmaw took great thought into it.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── You ve wasted your life , but thanks for applying ──┐‎

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  "speak""Thoughts"
  
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  Snowpaw ❄ He/Him, apprentice of Shadowclan, 11 moons.
  ⭃ Lithe long hair blue lynx sepia with high white, and yellow eyes. Stubby tail, permanent resting bitch face
  ⭃ Hailfreckle x Mudsplash
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted (ask first) / / underline and tag when attacking
  ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by Ryn ↛ @/Rynnaro on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[LIVIDSMOKE]

" You will become used to it just like how you got used to be an apprentice." Just like any other changes in life. Soon Chilledstar would be yesterdays news and Smogstar would become the new normal. Already he had started to adapt to this change, to accept the reality of the situation perhaps faster then some did. Betonyfrost did made a valid point though. All previous leaders had have some sort of connection to one another so perhaps it would be good for shadowclan with something new and fresh. Smogstar had never seemed all too fond of Chilledstar after all. Maybe that was why he had more faith in this new reign.




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[Swallowflutter.]

CAN'T YOU TELL I'M CRASS?
CAN'T YOU TELL I'M WIRED? ​

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swallowpaw ❀ 09 moons ❀ polygender ❀ any pronouns ❀ shadowclan apprentice​

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" Yup - Smogma-star was deputy for like, literally ever right? So Chilledstar must've wanted them to be the next leader, " It grates on them to have to agree with Snowpaw of all cats - like ew - but it's true, isn't it? For the number of leaders they claim to have gone through, Swallowpaw has only been around to see one - one leader, one deputy. Though, they suppose now it is technically two. Whatever. Still, Smogstar has always seemed like a permanent authority figure in Swallowpaws life, and so surely that won't change.

━ actions & " speech, " & 'thoughts/quotes' ━

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T E L L - M E - N O T H I N G - L A S T S ━ ( - L I K E - I - D O N ' T - K N O W ?- )

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[ONYXPAW]

Was it a form of cruelty, for Onyxpaw to have moved on so quickly following Chilledstar's death? Or rather, to have made herself move on so quickly? The apprentice couldn't really say that she had truly given herself the chance to fully grieve the loss of the leader, but she was making at least a halfhearted attempt to try to cling onto the positive. The future, and Smogstar's new position as leader. The benefits to lingering on what they had lost seemed limited to her, and she didn't have it in her to shed even more tears over yet another Shadowclan loss. Not even with the faded shades of Yellowpaw's fur to comfort her.

Regardless, she couldn't fault anyone for being stuck on all that had changed. Especially not someone like Eaglepaw, an apprentice her age that had similarly only known Chilledstar as his leader for as long as they had both been alive. His voice caught her attention, swiftly followed up by the chatter of many other clanmates that gathered around. Betonyfrost's sneering expression was no surprise, though Onyxpaw had to admit she was the slightest bit caught off guard by the tabby's words not containing more vitriol. "It must have been so strange. Living through so many different leaders." Three may not have seemed like a lot to certain cats, but one had been all that she had ever known until now.

Her attention shifted to Snowpaw next, nodding along with her friends words as her fluffy tail coiled around her paws. "Right. Smogstar made it to the Moonstone and back without any problems, so now he's got all nine lives to prove himself. I'm sure we'll all get used to it before long. With how much everyone trusted Chilledstar... I'm sure they wouldn't have picked someone that they didn't trust." They had evidently disagreed on certain things - at least if Smogstar's speech not all that long ago was anything to go by - but they had worked well together. As strange as losing Chilledstar felt for now, at least their legacy was being continued.

𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐍 ✹ . + 　 ˚ 　　　 · 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐖 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎

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  an apprentice of shadowclan, onyxpaw is inching towards warriorhood at ten moons. she is being mentored by scorchfrost, and is on track to graduate fairly soon. shy towards most other cats, she is nonetheless loyal to her home and a skilled combatant, although she struggles in the hunting department.　✦

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[EAGLEPAW]

Eaglepaw is surprised by Betonyfrost's response. He was interested in her opinion on Smogstar's acsension, not a rundown of ShadowClan's rather tragic history with leaders. Still, its interesting to hear what she had to say and agrees with Onyxpaw that must have been like tohave lived through all that change and upheaval. His amber gaze meets Betonyfrost and he nods in agreement. "Smogstar will have a long reign as leadeer I am sure of it. He has proven himself to be sturdy and dependable, and like Snowpaw says, he seems too stubborn to die quickly."

"Getting used to being an apprentice was a little different than getting used to the idea of a new leader," Eaglepaw mewed in Lividpaw's direction. For one, his feelings on becoming an apprentice were much more linked to his personal identity. Swallowpaw and Onyxpaw seem more optimistic about the situation as a whole, stating how they don't didn't think Smogstar would be a bad leader or else why would Chilledstar have appointed them deputy. "Time will tell if Smogstar proves to be as good as we hope him to be. Though I think we shall adjust to the change sooner rather than later."​

 

[FERNDANCE]

The cinnamon tabby had been there from the start, learning of the fragility of a leader's life within the clans. Wearing the title almost seemed like a death sentence, nine times you were sentenced to die for your clan and, until your last breath, there was a target upon your back. Ferndance wondered if treating each life as a game would make them seem less valuable to those who wished to take it, but, it was a hypothesis that she would be unlikely to test, lest Smogstar suddenly decided to have a death sentence. Shuffling forwards as conversation between apprentices (and Betonyfrost) take root, appearing within the growing circle like a ghost. "I think he'll be ok..." 'Better than Chilledstar' was a sentiment that struggled to leave her maw in the presence of those who liked the former leader, but all the cinnamon tabby could remember was how they'd treated her first leader. Forgiveness had come with Gigglekit's rescue, it had only tempered the worst of her thoughts, to the point where she could comfortably say she missed the chance for them to make things right with her.

Her ears twitched, feeling guilt about besmirching Needledrift's friend even as her mate remained stalwart within the Nursery. An easy smile stretched upon her muzzle, her blinks slow, her next point slower. "I've known him for a long while, he can be quite funny. I have never seen a tom get so flustered at a compliment." She let out a little 'ope' sound, as if reminded of something. "With that in mind, perhaps it's best to keep your high expectations to yourself, lest he melt into a puddle and lose all nine lives before he's even got a Deputy."

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