Open Camp lower one's eyes ──✩°｡⋆⸜ promotion

[juniperstar juniperstar]

juniper

there is a haunting weight behind shining eyes... ones that looked heavensward in reverence and still felt wanting to find their paws in the right place. too many times her guidance, her decisions, had misled him to circumstances that left him reeling, stumbling to decide how to advance. perhaps it's her failing.... just another way she has not managed to right herself as Thornstar's proud successor. though she offers him an understanding smile and the most genuine well-wishes, it still churns in her belly uncomfortably to know this fell on her shoulders. the blame was hers.

Juniperstar finds the steadiness to address her clan with a brow pinched with determination, a mask of certainty despite the anxiety that stirs under the surface. would it be praised that she acted quickly to fill the void... or be spurned that one needed filling so swiftly at all?

"I ask for your attention," she calls, voice shrill despite her insistence to appear strong, sturdy... prepared. the spotted she-cat swallows down the pitchiness of her tone, whiskers twitching as if she has dispelled an itch rather than stuffing down a lack of surety. "In an effort to respect Brightpetal's wishes... I am standing before you to say that he is no longer deputy. The weight I placed upon him was one he shouldered valiantly on my behalf when I was..." indisposed? vulnerable? pathetic... "Busy... trying to raise newborns." alone. no sire to tend to them.

"I relied on him too heavily.. and respect his exhaustion. He will be a dutiful warrior, as he always has been." she hopes that he understands that she means it... that he can smile easy knowing he is not scorned.

"But.. I still need a deputy." should the worst happen...

"And I say this in front of all of you... and under StarClan... hoping you approve of my choice."

her tail whisks just behind her legs in a nervous flutter. aquamarine eyes betray her before her tongue can proclaim it- the snap of focus to her target. it is long enough anyone could make the connection... but the wait isn't long.

"Owlbark... I would ask you to be my new deputy..."

they had notable differences in their approach to ThunderClan's survival... but maybe that was what she needed. maybe that stubbornness, a new point of view that demanded consideration with its whole chest was a necessary conflict. it would inspire growth... right?

──✩°｡⋆⸜ ✮

• a huge thank you to @BRIGHTPETAL / @PUNK for her time as deputy !! icly brightpetal has willingly stepped down <3 please make sure to give your love!!
  
  and congratulations to @OWLBARK / @muddly as ThunderClan's new deputy!!
  
  i'll be keeping an eye out for more stormguards so be sure to put ur name in the ring: [here] if you're interested!

• juniperstar leader of thunderclan nine lives remain

  ignore me

 

[THUNDERFLASH]

It wasn't that long ago that Murkyfang stepped back, and it takes everything in his soul to not leap to excitement as Brightpetal steps back from being deputy. A chance? No, Thunderflash doesn't want leadership, yet every muscle and pore and blood vein is yelling for opportunity. He swallows thickly to keep the excitement hidden, to not hype himself up to be crushed so. He knows he would not receive it. Not after the spat the border, not without having an apprentice, not without growth. A voice that sounded peculiarly like his father's told him to shut up and sit down, so Thunderflash does just that- but not before a long dip of his head towards Brightpetal for his service.

He misses the visual cue from Juniperstar towards their new deputy, but once Owlbark's name rings out, a grin finds his face. This is an arrangement that he could agree on. While Brightpetal had been... a softer view on negotiations, Owlbark is more firm. He thinks he speaks for both him and Ghoststrike when he believes they could all agree on a more stern stance on the borders. With new clans popping up every other direction, it seemed like Thunderclan needed more skull and spine then anything else. He holds his breath, though, to ensure that Owlbark accepts before congratulating him.

_________ I'M LIVING LIKE A LANDMINE ☆ WAITING TO EXPLODE ! ______________

• "speech"
  

• 

• THUNDERFLASH he/him, thunderclan storm guard, twenty-four moons.
  ☆ a sh/lh chocolate tabby with low white and stunning baby blue eyes. stands of average height with a 'mohawk' and spiky-shaped mane.
  ☆ mentored by who / mentoring no one
  ☆ whichever relations / want listed
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[OWLBARK]

He was almost late to this meeting. Owlbark sat at the back of the crowd and instantly put down the thought to shoulder his way to the front. It wasn't worth it for a meeting most likely discussing kits becoming apprentices or some other warrior stepping down to the elder's den. He watched Juniperstar as he usually did and noted her voice warbling as she spoke of-

She spoke of Brightpetal stepping down from his position. Suddenly, his spine is straight and his ears are perked. He eyed the surrounding members of the clan, ready to give a cool congratulations and formulate a way to adapt. Perhaps he would further solidify his understanding with Thunderflash and ask Serpentberry to listen closely to how the clan spoke of the new deputy.

Owlbark stopped formulating plans as soon as his name left her maw. Surprise is not an expression he wears often, but he could not make his eyes any softer or mouth any more closed. He stared at her in silence for what felt like an entire season. It could not have been more than a heartbeat, though.

"I accept."

If he was known in camp as anything, it would be that he was of few words. He doesn't break that stereotype now, but there is a new softness in his tone. Looking across the clan of cats suddenly looking to him, he can't help but feel even more indebted to Juniperstar. This she-cat was now his whole life and he can't feel his paws.

i turned 'round and there you go *ੈ✩‧₊˚

• ooc: -
  
• 

  ☾ OWLBARK
  ☾ THUNDERCLAN DEPUTY
  ☾ 51 moons, ages every 1st of the month
  ☾ open to peaceful interactions
  ☾ "SPEECH"
  ☾ penned by muddly

• toyhouse
  playlist
  pinterest

 

[GHOSTSTRIKE]

I WON'T SMILE, BUT I'LL SHOW YOU MY TEETH

​

---

The clearing was already beginning to fill, the ripple of shifting bodies and murmurs rising like heat from a stone. Begrudgingly, it'd become familiar to him by now, one more mark of finality against him that this was home now– whatever the meaning of the word might be.

He padded toward it with steady steps, expression unreadable beneath the white mask of fur that split his dark face. Most cats gathered near their close friends or families. Ghost, out of habit– or maybe just stubbornness now– sat alone. Always on the edge of the group where his back wasn't kept to a thousand cats.

He took his usual seat, but not before dark amber eyes spotted Thunderflash seated up head. Right in the middle of it like always. For a brief moment he entertained the thought of going over to join them– of ignoring the feeling of screaming instincts just to claim the open seat beside them.

He didn't.

Juniperstars voice pulled his gaze toward her as he seated himself. It was steadier than he expected, though there was something brittle under the surface.He listened as she spoke of Brightpetal stepping down, his face giving nothing away. That part hadn't surprised him. The tom had worn the strain for moons now, even if others hadn't seen it.

But then came the name.

Owlbark.

Ghost didn't flinch. Didn't blink. But his shoulders straightened slightly where he sat, and the tip of his tail gave one slow, thoughtful flick. That was... unexpected. Though not unwelcome.

He let his gaze drift toward the other tom in time to catch the visible delay in response. Not hesitation, exactly -just the weight of it hitting him all at once. Ghost's stare lingered until the words were spoken. I accept.

He gave a single nod, more to himself than anyone else.

There were worse choices.

And while he didn't grin like Thunderflash or join in with the voices rising around them, there was something solid in the way he sat. Owlbark would do.

---

---

---

thunderclan warrior- male - a towering dark tabby with a white mask and dark amber eyes.

 

[serpentberry serpentberry]

Serpentberry hadn't been there when Brightpetal spoke with Juniperstar. The news as it comes is entirely a surprise, and she detests it. She had been spending moons of free time with that tom, coaching him on how to think, how to act... He never truly shook the juvenile nature of himself, however. Juniperstar takes the blunt of the disappointment that ripples through the Clan, admitting a sort of guilt that came with promoting the red tabby. That sours the medicine cat's mood even further. She moves to settle beside Thunderflash, nose wrinkled and eyebrows pinched, but tongue held all the same.

Quickly, the spotted tabby moves along to announce a new deputy. Serpentberry knows it will not be her - it becomes ever apparent that the role of a medicine cat is not one she can readily abandon. Her daughter is smart, but smarts without knowledge leaves room for foolishness. Her lips part to hum to her friend her guess, but before she has the chance, Owlbark is announced to the Clan. Instinctively, the molly seeks out the tom. She doesn't quite catch the shock when it hits his eyes, but rather instead as it leaves, and as he accepts the role. Her tail curls into her side with delight.

"Did'ya see that one coming, Thunderflash?" she chirps quietly to the brown tabby tom. "I would've thought she'd dig up someone more her speed. Maybe even her kin - Hazelheart is always nearby..." Ever the dramatic gossip, she holds a paw to her maw to obscure her giggling. "Ah, well... Owlbark isn't so bad, is he?" In fact, she likes the stoic tom. Much more than Brightpetal, at least.