Post by Shimmerz* on Jul 18, 2013 3:52:06 GMT -5
x.baby, how i dream of being free since my birth.x
x.cursed, but the demons i confronted would disperse.x
x.cursed, but the demons i confronted would disperse.x
The solemn leader slowly made his way up to the Shaderock, keeping a wary eye on the cats around him. For some reason or another, his deputy Nightrun had vanished after going out on a border patrol. For a full moon, he'd thought just maybe the tom would come wandering back into camp, but unfortunately this hadn't been the case. Some leader might keep hoping, but he wasn't that type of cat. Hope was a vulnerability. One had to live in the facts. Nightrun had gone solo. Gravesky didn't normally support that, but with certain cats he was willing to make exceptions. Certainly, he'd thought, the deputy would be fine. He was a very capable cat, very sharp. Nothing should have gotten past him, and yet...yet he'd never come back, not dead or alive. If he was being held prisoner, his captors were slow to cut to the chase. No, he felt it was far more likely that there was a dark force at work. There was only one cat he knew of that would be power-hungry enough to silence a cat she felt was "not fit" for the job.
Of course, no one would ever suspect her. She was a strong leader, a brilliant strategist. She'd served Shadowclan well. There was scarcely a bad word said about her. Up until he'd become deputy, he rarely thought to much about it. Some circumstances were a tad suspicious at times, but nothing over-the-top. She played the game well. Her expressions were always well-controlled, her words even more so, but there was something about her, the way she talked when they were in private. It was a feeling of unease that crept up his spine like tendrils of frost during leafbare. Only the bright ones picked up on her, the acute ones. He assumed this was why he had been chosen as deputy way back when. He was careful, controlled, and very sharp; everything she was, except perhaps slightly less dubious.
The shadow ruler still toyed with the forest occasionally. She'd alluded to things she may or may not have had a hand in, and while certainly she had not said a single word about this incident, he wouldn't past her for a single heartbeat. This is what had him on edge now. She hadn't spoken to him in a while. This new cat he was about to appoint as deputy, would she suffer the same fate? He knew these things were out of his control to a point. As much as he might like to silence a potential threat, he wasn't one to jump to conclusions and, furthermore, if he stepped out of line, for even one sunrise, he'd surely face his demise. If he spoke out against her, she'd have him cast out as a flea-bitten lunatic. He wasn't sure how many cats were under her power, but they were enough to pull off several incidents that had left a permanent mark on the internal workings of the forest. No one had ever doubted her that he knew of. If there had been, they were killed off before they had a chance to utter a single word. This was why he could not afford to outright doubt her.
Finally atop the Shaderock he let out a loud yowl cutting through the damp greenleaf air. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey please gather around the Shaderock for a Shadowclan meeting!" With any luck, the dark one would approve of this decision or at least not have much against it. It wasn't his goal to play into her paws, but he couldn't exactly go head-on against her. "Shadowclan, one moon ago our dear deputy vanished without a trace. We must not wallow in his disappearance; instead, we must move forward mourning the loss of a clanmate but no longer the loss of a deputy." The tom let his words sink in among the clan. Some cats looked up at him hopefully and expectant, while others seemed rather unamused. Really, it didn't matter how they took it, the clan needed a new deputy. They'd waited long enough already; still, these things were hard without resolution. He understood that much.
"Today, I ask a successor to come forward from our masses." The leader nodded in the direction of the amber-eyed she-cat, pausing so she could stand before the Shaderock. "I say these words before Starclan, so that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of Shadowclan will be Twintail. I know she will help keep Shadowclan in proper order." She could be harsh at times, but he knew she would be a strong deputy. She was nearly as good a tactician as the one the she-cat that came before him, but Twintail lacked the tact that Gravesky possessed. She was straightforward, and that served her just fine. Never foolish, just blunt.
He let his gaze pan over the plethora of cats before him one more time. "Fellow Shadowclanners, join together and welcome our new deputy." He motioned for her to join him, if only to stand before the clan. If she wanted to speak, that would be just as well. Perhaps it was a bit unorthodox for a new deputy to give a speech, but he was always rather laconic, and the clan needed a new a deputy to rely on in the face of this loss.
x.have you ever heard of some {stuff} so real.x
x.beyond from the heart, from the soul you can feel.x
x.beyond from the heart, from the soul you can feel.x
Note: As mentioned in this post, most cats have no real suspicions about Frigidscorn. She gave them no reason to doubt. Please do not make your cat omniscient and somehow aware of her level of duplicity. Thank you. <3
Word Count: 906
Song: "The Prayer" by KiD CUDi.