If Serving Is Below You, Leadership Is Beyond You | PLOT

[Ferntrail]

death doesn't discriminate When Ferntrail turned around, she caught Bluepaw staring at her out of the corner of her eyes. Oh yes, dear sister, I’m back she thought, smugness lining every inch of her body. As a kit she’d be a little, horrid bully. If she hadn’t left the clan she probably would have been brought up a stupid, cruel cat. Living in the city as an apprentice who had never left her clan before had taken all her wit and brains to come out alive. In a way she had Bluepaw to thank for her development. She would no longer be dealing physical blows, beating Bluepaw in places where no one could see. She would instead turn everyone against her, until it is Bluepaw that is beating herself up. Ferntrail was dragged out of her plans for revenge with the screeching of Mushroomstar. It took an effort to drag her thoughts from Bluepaw and even when she did she just fell into deeper thoughts. What had the clans become? The Shadowclan she remembered was led by a leader that was respected. For a cat to disrespect a leader was serious punishment, hell, you could be put back on apprentice duties for disobeying a direct order from the leader. The cats she was about to become a public figure too all had wide opinions and weren’t afraid to share them. Almost every cat here had a backbone, the ones who didn’t easy to distinguish. It was still kind of scary, listening to everyone shout at each other. It was Mushroomstar’s leadership of Shadowclan – Granted, shouldn’t have happened in the first place – today, but what of her position? Vipernose's? Would Starclan be enough to keep this clan in check? Did any of these righteous cats even believe in Starclan anymore? The clans had changed so much, it made her feel out of place. Not to mention the fact that Bluepaw was around nineteen moons old and pregnant. If Ferntrail trusted her instincts, Bluepaw was also due in a few days and there was a good chance that she, Bluepaw’s most hated person in the world, would be delivering them. If something went wrong, it would not only ruin the reputation she was trying so hard to make… but it would turn Bluepaw insane. Whatever barrier that was keeping them from ripping each other to shreds would be gone and Bluepaw would think of only trying to kill her. Then Owlscreech was addressing her and she dipped her head at him once more. ”It may not be the most pleasant circumstance that I am meeting you, but I’m sure our future working together will be pleasant” she offered him a small smile. He seemed so nice, it was hard to believe he was the blue molly’s half-brother or whatever. ”Starclan does have a say in things, but if you really didn’t approve of me I’m sure they would take it into consideration” Many cats thought Starclan self-righteous and unfair, but after spending their life down on the ground, many warriors, don’t they deserve a say? Oh gosh, Bluepaw was butting in. So different from that weak, scared kit she had bullied before. Also unlike the killer she had seen in the streets of the city. She was sassy and swore way too much yet she had a point in most things she said. Ferntrail wished she could write it off as random mouse dung but her foster sister was kind of smart. Atleast it would feel more like a victory when Ferntrail squashed her. She hadn’t really been paying attention to the argument, seeing that Owlscreech didn’t really need any help at the present time. Bluepaw and Owlscreech made a formidable team and that left hope for the spotted molly. Ferntrail thought she was like Bluepaw but with some more redeemable qualities. If Owlscreech could really work well with Bluepaw she had it in the bag. She would still try her hardest to impress the young tom. Age meant little to her, she had seen that cats of any ages could do anything horrible or good if it’s what they knew they had to do. Owlscreech was proving that without backing down from Mushroomstar’s harsh words, and the orange toms amusement. The argument continued, getting louder and more angrier with each line spat at each other. Then just like that it stopped, seemingly over. Mushroomstar turned around and started up the hill wearily, leaving Owlscreech standing there. He had done it! The apprentice-aged tabby had managed to snatch leadership from a seasoned warrior. Another cat had caught her eye, a molly that had brushed up against Mushroomstar. That must be Fawnstep, the other medicine cat. Ferntrail would have to catch up with her, see what she knew about herbs and things. Maybe they could be friends? Before any of that could happen, first she must celebrate with her clan. She joined in the calls, looking at Bluepaw through the corner of her eye. Ferntrail was about to start a new legacy for herself and Bluepaw was not going to be the one to start it. So, when the victory cheers stopped she turned to face Owlscreech, yowling so loud the rogues at the city could probably hear her. ”All hail Owlscreech, Leader of Shadowclan!” This legacy was a new chapter of her life and nothing was going to get in her way. between the sinners and the saints

[Vipernose]

Vipernose

Wide, tired eyes traced the footsteps of the few cats in front of her, watching as the melting snow fell from each of their paws. The molly had been thinking of many things in the past week, but she kept coming back to one single question: Why had they gone on this journey to escape the winter when the winter was already disappearing? She wouldn’t lie, it was still freezing and there was still very deep snow, but it was all starting to melt.

Gray ears flicked backwards as they heard a sudden outburst of whispers. The deputy turned her head, curious to see what was going on. She had to admit, she wasn’t too surprised to see Owlpaw strutting through the crowd, coming up right behind her. She opened her mouth to ask what he thought he was doing, but was distracted but wheezing coming from in front of her. She turned her head back to the front to see Mushroomstar struggling to get uphill. She didn’t dare hide her smirk - this served him right.

She was vaguely aware of Owlpaw’s presence behind her, and she tried her best not to turn around and just stare at him with the question, ‘What are you doing?’ in her eyes. But as she heard his sudden intake of breath, she instantly knew something bad was about to happen. The words that came out of his mouth left Vipernose in complete confusion, and her mouth hung open idiotically.

Owlpaw… Was going to be leader…? Of ShadowClan?! ...what…??

Before she could think any other dumbfounded thoughts, Ferntrail stepped up next to the tabby and say something about the deputy being loyal and brave and being good at her job. Vipernose was far too confused at this point to realize that the medicine cat was talking about her and how she had made the brown female the new healer of the clan. It was at that moment that the perplexed she-cat knew that she should say something to backup Ferntrail’s words, but as the deputy’s jaw continued to drop lower to the ground, still no words escaped.

Vipernose attempted to understand the other molly’s words, but failed miserably. None of the words going through one ear were being comprehended… They were just going out the other. All the gray and black feline wanted to know was what Owlpaw was talking about. He was just an apprentice. He couldn’t be leader.

As the deputy was slightly shoved aside so Bluepaw could fit in between her and Ferntrail, no sound was heard from her lips. She barely noticed how big the apprentice was, but she did note that the female was very pregnant. She absentmindedly told herself that she should talk to Bluepaw later, ask if she wanted some… advice... on motherhood. But right now, all she could think about was the chaos unraveling before her.

While the whole of both clans behind her were dead silent, Vipernose heard the small mew of a kitten who sounded distressed. The tabby could feel her heart screaming at her to go see what was wrong with the poor bundle of fur, but her paws wouldn’t move.

Mushroomstar’s loud laughing caught Vipernose’s attention, and her eyes focused on the large, orange tom. He was looking at Owlpaw like he was a mere kit compared to himself. This slightly annoyed the deputy. Why did the WindClan think he was superior to every single cat he saw? Owlpaw was grown and mature… enough… to be a warrior. He didn’t deserve the disrespect Mushroomstar was giving him through his harsh gaze.

The older tom’s words only angered Vipernose; that fat liar couldn’t fool her. Sure, what he said was true. He had kept everyone fed and alive, but he didn’t have to add the part about how it was affecting him. He didn’t have to sound so self-centered when he could just say nothing at all. Everyone else seemed to wish the same.

The deputy uttered no words, the puzzlement clearly written across her face. Was Owlpaw being serious? He wasn’t playing at anything? The female was waiting for the young tom to burst out laughing at any moment and telling them how big of idiots they all were for believing it. But that never happened, and she was unsure of what was actually going to happen.

She paid no attention to how highly Mushroomstar spoke of himself, the only words that caught her attention were apprentice, role, experience, warrior, and leader. Those five words floated around in her head, going nowhere but in circles.

Owlpaw began to speak again, and Vipernose’s head whipped a little too fast in his direction. She wanted someone to explain what was happening moment for moment, but it seemed like most of the other cats were just as confused as she was. The apprentice spoke the thoughts that the tabby was sure they were all thinking. She tried not to think about how well he was retorting. He had very good reasoning that was hard not to catch when you talked to cats a million times a day about how good or bad you were doing with your job.

She almost laughed aloud at Owlpaw’s comment on Mushroomstar’s weight, but she held it back because it was definitely not appropriate. Especially if she hadn’t said a word this whole time. But as the brown tabby tom spun around to speak to them all, Vipernose almost fell over. Owlpaw was a warrior? Since when? Why did she not know about this?

Owlscreech?!

For a long while after that name, Vipernose’s thoughts were put on pause.

All the words that were spoken were muffled.

She heard nothing.

She saw nothing.

She understood nothing.

Owlscreech was a brown blur as he padded toward Fertrail - who was also deformed in the deputy’s vision - and said… something. All this information was just too much for Vipernose to handle, and it surprised her more than anything that she didn’t know what to say let alone what was even happening.

The tom who claimed he was now leader said her name all of the sudden, and everything clicked.

She was suddenly back in the moment, everything crystal clear and all thoughts back where they were supposed to be. Owlscreech’s plan engraved itself in her head, and decided that she liked it. She had to admit that she could not wait for the moment when the two clans parted ways; she would be happier than ever to not see Mushroomstar for more than a single night.

She agreed with every word he said, from the part about Mushroomstar not deserving all the credit to the part about Fallenfox actually caring about his clan. She nodded, a smile cracking out on her face as she listened to Owlscreech tell Mushroomstar off. She didn’t know why, but she was proud of him.

Vipernose felt rage suddenly emanate from Bluepaw, and she wasn’t too surprised. Of course the blue female would be angry with Owlscreech - he had become a warrior before she had. The tabby could easily see her feeling the same if she was in the apprentice’s paws. Outright furious… Kind of like she had been back when she was an apprentice…

Then Bluepaw began to speak, and the deputy turned her head to listen. She knew she should say something soon because, well, she was the deputy and everyone was waiting for something to come out of her mouth. But for now she would just listen to this argument take place. Maybe she wouldn’t need to jump in at all.

Bluepaw was right about Mushroombelly; if it came to life or death circumstances, he’d be running for the hills without a heartbeat’s hesitation. But then the pregnant she-cat picked up a kit in her jaws. Vipernose narrowed her eyes. What was she going to do with that child?

Even as she watched the poor kitten in Bluepaw’s mouth, she still listened. The blue hued molly did have a point - the tabby didn’t want Sootkit living in a home where she didn’t belong. Vipernose wanted to watch her daughter grow up in the same muddy, tree-plentiful forest that she had been born in.

Inkkit was being thrown in different directions, much like the deputy had in the fox’s maw. From experience, Vipernose knew that that was not a pleasant feeling. She felt like she should do something… Take the kit away from Bluepaw, tell her to set it down, anything. But her body wasn’t listening to anything her brain told it to do.

Her narrowed, amber eyes grew into wide, terrified ones as the kit tumbled down the hill and out of sight. The tabby knew she should run after it, knew she should yell at Bluepaw, knew she should tell someone to go get it. But she couldn’t. She began to turn to the cat closest to her from behind, but she jumped as Mushroomstar screamed for silence.

Vipernose agreed with nothing the WindClan tom was saying; it was just a bunch of lies. She could see the worried expression covered by his anger. He was scared that they had figured something out. But what? What had he done that he was so horrified of them finding out about?

The leader’s yelling at Bluepaw made her want to jump in front of the apprentice and yell back. But she knew the pregnant feline would not appreciate being protected. Bluepaw was not like that. The deputy knew Bluepaw could take care of herself, she had seen it with her own eyes.

She watched as he screamed at Owlscreech, and vexation filled her body. Yeah, he had been medicine cat during Burningstar’s time as leader, but that didn’t mean anything! He was wasting his breath on pointing out no point at all, so what was he trying to say?

Mushroomstar’s screeching only made Vipernose more furious as it went on, and as he spoke about how he would not accept the fact that the brown and tan tabby tom had become a warrior threw her over the edge. He was not a part of ShadowClan anymore! He did not have the right to tell her clan what they should and shouldn’t do! She knew she should put her say into the fight and tell them all that Ferntrail was the medicine cat, she was the deputy, and she approved of Owlscreech’s role change because she was the closest thing they had to a leader at that moment. But she knew she couldn’t do that now. Not in the middle of the biggest argument since the journey started.

As the fat WindClan leader talked about the plague and how it wasn’t his fault, for some reason, Vipernose felt like it was. Why would he bring it up at all? It seemed like he was trying to defend himself from something, but from what still remained a mystery.

She held in a scoff as he mentioned StarClan telling him what to do. She wanted to jump in at that moment and tell him that they could not depend on their ancestors to tell them what to do anymore! He had said it himself - they were silent. The two leftover clans were on their own now. No dead cats could help them now.

She stared at Mushroomstar as he suddenly deflated. A look of defeat was on his face now, and Vipernose was confused once more. She had been following along perfectly fine when she had caught on, and now she was back to where she had started. Her eyes grew bigger than they already were, as he began to trek up the hill once more, and she realized that he had given up.

Owlscreech’s speech was just sounds in her ears as she watched the WindClan leader climb up the hill, looking miserable. She didn’t think she’d ever say this, but she felt kind of bad for Mushroomstar. He had always been so opinionated and argumentative. Now he just looked… hopeless.

Owlscreech’s cheers did not shift Vipernose’s gaze; she did not look away from the WindClan cat for even a second. She completely ignored everything he had just said, and she was incapable of responding. She watched as Fawnstep hurried after Mushroomstar, and she turned back to the other cats, knowing that the WindClan medicine cat could comfort him better than anyone else.

But as she turned, she realized how stupid she had just been for feeling bad for Mushroomstar. Even though he had delivered her kits, that didn’t change the other things that he had done. Just because he had brought three beautiful she-kits into the world didn’t change the fact that two of them had died.

Bluepaw’s words on how they were the next generation made Vipernose’s ears flatten. She was right; Vipernose was old and it was time for the younger cats - like her and Owlscreech - to take over. Maybe it wasn’t her time to be deputy. Maybe she should step down. Maybe she would be no help whatsoever. But they would need her wisdom, right? They would need her help on lots of things. No matter how many times they said it was time for a new era, they would still need a link to the past. And that was her. 

As ShadowClan began to gather around Owlscreech and cheer, Vipernose remained where she was. She knew it was her time to speak. She knew she had to share her thoughts because everyone wanted to know. She knew she had to share her wisdom. She had to make a speech. 

She cleared her throat. 

“I would like to speak,” she said loud enough for the crowd to hear her over their celebrating. “As Bluepaw said, it is time for the next generation to take over the clans, and being that I am clearly not the next generation, I would like to ask that I still remain deputy.” As she proposed this, she looked directly at Owlscreech, finally accepting that he would be a good, strong leader. “I feel that I should stay with the high ranks to share my knowledge of the past. We cannot move forward without looking back first.” 

And with those words, she moved forward, through the crowd, and to Owlscreech. She smiled, her amber eyes shining bright. She may be old, but that didn’t mean she was done with her life yet. After their argument a week ago, she never thought these words would be coming out of her mouth, but he deserved them. She would have to talk to him later about his naming ceremony and how to go along with his new leadership, but for now, all that mattered was that ShadowClan was alive once again. 

“Congratulations, Owlscreech.” 

2,527 words

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"I thought nothing good would ever happen to me-that I was in hell after it froze over, thawed, and then burnt to the ground."

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