Post by ♏aple♢ on Aug 25, 2015 19:45:12 GMT
When you get to the end of your rope, Tie a knot and hang on.
Starlingfur resisted a sigh. She wasn't an easily perturbed cat, but the way these warriors carried on was beginning to annoy her. So many of them were so young- half had never even seen the old territories. And others still had never even been a part of a clan- for more than a few moons, at least. She may not have been clanborn, but Starlingfur began to get a sinking feeling in her stomach that she might just be one of the more knowledgeable cats here. She, who routinely forgot every cat she'd met's name! Didn't these cats understand that there was more to life than just who was in charge? Perhaps it was bred into them- a complete inability to act on their own without guidance. Didn't some of them understand that Leaf-Bare would be coming, and all the while that they squabbled the war raged on?
"Enough!" she called out. Had there been a cat in the forest who had heard Starlingfur raise her voice? A living cat? "Look to the sky, see where your squabbling has gotten us. Eveningblaze is right." she meowed narrowing her copper eyes. Tension pumped through her veins as stress began to run high throughout the crowd. Clouds had begun to drift towards the moon, casting shadows throughout the clearing. Darkness encroached. Starclan, obviously enough, was not pleased. "Leadership is NOT what is important right now! Can't you see? Your fellow warriors die in the forests as you argue over nothing. Your parents, your siblings, your kits." she paced back and forth at the base of the branch, fur rising along the senior warrior's spine. She'd been a warrior long enough to know that this- this was not what it was about. If they were going to do something, they might as well do it right.
To the dark forest with 'what was her place'. Starlingfur leapt up the branch, retaking what had once been Ravenmist's perch. She looked out over the warriors- rogues- cats gathered below. This was not the Starlingfur that had joined Duskclan at seventeen moons, seeking shelter and an easy meal. This was not the Starlingfur that could care less for anybody but herself. This was the Starlingfur that had lead Dawnclan at Blackstar's side through the great journey. Who had settled their camp, built dens, set borders, and conferred with leaders for longer than half these cats had been alive. This was a Starlingfur who had experience. Who wanted to create a better life for her kits, and for her kits kits. One who had found a world beyond herself that needed saving. "We need organization. Action." How had they survived alone all these moons- talking their prey to death? Or had they followed mice simply for the sake of having someone to tell them what to do? "What is important is making sure that everyone here is safe. Making sure that every cat, young and old, is accounted for.That we have a place to live what is fortified. Setting aside our differences and getting to work. If you want to squabble like kits about loyalties and grudges, do it elsewhere. Actual warriors who care about this forest- and their heritage- can stay." Copper eyes were fire as they scanned the clearing, burning with intensity and challenge.
Other cats spoke, and Starlingfur listened. Speaking of leaders once more. A tabby tail twitched, but Starlingfur listened. After all, it was a skill. Even if remembering wasn't. Thunderstar volunteered for the place of leader. He would be an obvious choice, having been made leader just before the fall of the clans. But it was just that. Starlingfur had respected the tom while he'd held the position- no, still did. They'd conferred of course, as leaders did with their senior warriors. But he'd had no deputy experience, and just one apprentice- her own grandaughter, a kit who hadn't lived to finish her training. To lead, a cat needed experience. They had to know what to do, and how and when to do it. Thunderstar was a fine warrior, and a fine father. Honorable, and from his words it was clear that he know what needed to be put first. But... Was he the right cat to rebuild the clans?
Birchtail spoke, and something in his words resonated within her heart. It was as though something had finally clicked into place. They had to do everything in their power to make this forest a better place. For future generations, and for this one. Whatever cat would lead them, had to want to do so. Starlingfur.... When she'd first become deputy, she hadn't known what to think. She'd never aspired to lead. Never wanted a position of power. She'd been selfish as a young warrior, wanting nothing more than an easy life. And yet as her deputy training had gone on- as she learned to work with others and how to lead them- discovered how to interact with the leaders and deputies of other clans and how in reality, every single cat was one part of a greater whole- how every action preformed had ripples that would touch lives from the youngest kit to oldest elder- she'd grown to love it. For once in her life, she'd had a sense of purpose. The feeling that her actions actually meant something. And Starlingfur hadn't realized until she'd returned to the life of a warrior, and then rogue, how she'd missed it.
"But if leaders must be chosen for us to move on... Then I put my name forth as well."
943 | Starlingfur | Midnight |
