period of change (all skyclan)

Was he making the right choice? Not so much in letting half-face walk from the position, but in the cat he had in mind? He supposed those who showed up would prove if he was thinking correctly, or if another consideration needed to be made there and then. Yet, almost as soon as the doubt surfaced, he batted it away. No, he’d been thinking about it for too long, and considered all options. He was making the right choice. Absently, he watched the clan move, following, yet very much not at the same time the movements of those who approached.

“Pinestar.” The leader’s gaze moved down and focused on the tom, and immediately he dipped his head in greeting. “Pepperstrike,” he returned, voice warm. “How’s prey running this morning, well?” Snowfall’s patched pelt was next to arrive, and immediately he offered his brother a small smile and a wave of his tail. Soon enough, the rest of the clan begun to gather as well. Whitewhisker made his way over, followed by Honeysplash and Poppypelt, the sisters sitting in very different spots from each other.

Orchidfeather sat herself by the entrance, and he didn’t miss Stagstrider’s tabby pelt emerging from the clan’s entrance, bird in mouth. Smoketail sat, looking exhausted, and eventually the elders started to emerge too, his parents making their way out of the den and looking expectantly, followed by Sorrelfur making her way over. “Sorry Pinestar, I would’ve tried ‘til wake him but it looks like it might just be myself this time.” The leader waved his tail dismissively. Oakshade seemed to sleep at the best of times.

“Not to worry, Sorrelfur. No doubt he’ll surface with time,” he replied giving a small nod, before focusing on the rest of the clan. Sure enough, Deertail, Crystalpaw and Tawnygaze soon surfaced, and that was plenty. He had no intention to wait for stragglers. However, the cats he needed were there, even if Half-face was once again nowhere in sight. His medicine cat (even if not her apprentice) and his new deputy however, were. Clearing his throat, Pinestar straightened, tail still behind him, and claws digging into the hard bark of the branch.

“Cats of SkyClan,” he begun, voice loud, to avoid any of those who lagged behind to miss what was being said. He wasn’t standing up there simply for fun, after all. “In this time of change, where we consider the options of our future, we have unfortunately come to a point where a change within our own rank has been deemed necessary.” He shuffled on his paws slightly, glancing down to the place below the branch where the clan’s deputy would usual sit, a clear absence on behalf of the scarred tabby and white tom.

“As many cats know, Half-face, as our clan’s deputy, has been ill, and since his recovery, has not been quite able to maintain his duties of the clan deputy, a mutual agreement we have reached through our discussions of late. So, it is here before you all, and before StarClan, that I announce that Half-face will no longer be the deputy of SkyClan.”

Pinestar paused to let the information sink in, as he took a deep breath himself. It was not an easy decision to accept, after all. Half-face had been a good deputy. However, sometimes the path of life made that change when they needed. The question was, did he wait, or did he press straight on. The leader looked across the crowd, before his gaze moved to Tawnygaze. No, he needed to get the new deputy announced. There was no point waiting for the clan to fuss and speak up.

The tabby and white tom looked up to the sky above, focusing on the bright blue horizon. “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 SkyClan is Pepperstrike.”

Pinestar looked down to the older tom, and gave a small dip of his head. The tom was the cat the clan needed. An older, more experienced warrior who could give solid opinions and didn’t aim to fight off the bat. Yet, he held his tongue from the urge to continue, instead, waiting on a response.