[Hellion]

Starlingpaw

---

Growing and training where the only two things Starlingpaw had done in the past two moons since her apprenticeship began. She rarely saw her siblings, Featherpaw her feminist friend had taken it upon herself to dive head first into her training so their friendship was put at a stand still. Even the relationship with her parents had taken a turn for the worse, the ebony she-cat hadn't said more than three words to either of them despite seeing them all the time. Regretting on becoming the ill favored daughter (in her mind), Starlingpawa was going to make a difference, but not one that would be noticed right away. The course of action that would make her family's legacy was that she'd become deputy. Never in a million lifetimes would she ever wish for her father's death. She'd would settle for his retirement when the time came, and hopefully by then she'd be a prime specimen to be chosen as deputy, and much later she again prayed, become leader. Starlingstar had a beautiful ring to it as the ebony she-cat said it aloud to herself during the dawn patrols she'd join with her mentor, but that plan of action was lacking a very special start, one that she was planning on putting into motion.

Ravenstar was strong and fierce, she too was the product of a deputy and thus Starlingpaw wanted to form a kind of kinship, with Ravenstar's stead paw steps in her life perhaps with time Starlingpaw would become a equally great leader. Thus the plan started, she had groomed her pelt, mother always said to look your best. She hadn't eaten yet, her recent hunt was given to the queens and possibly an elder, she hadn't delivered it herself, but she had promise the elders she would return before late day to change their bedding so that while she was doing so they could bask in what little sunlight filtered in during leaf-bare.

Wiping a paw over her eyes she sent a ripple through her body before whispering to herself a few words of encouragement. With quick pawsteps she headed toward Ravenstar's den, tasting the air in hopes that the leader would be present, but she didn't announce her presence instead she waited and tired to see if something would stir from within her leader's den.

---

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion

Word Count:: 424
Tag::Fate Admin
Notes::I was thinking that Ravenstar would come from the camp entrance to find Starling lurking around her den and perhaps start things off at a slightly rough start :)

[Fate Admin]

Ravenstar had lead the sunhigh hunting patrol herself. She hated leaf-bare. Her favorite prey was almost impossible to find in freezing weather. Upon this particular hunt, however, she managed to find one; a single frog, sluggish in the cold weather and no challenge at all. She planned to share it with a Clanmate who was equally appreciative of the unique flavor and texture of frogs, though she wasn’t sure who that would be just yet. The elders weren’t likely to want it, frogs tended to be too chewy for them. To Ravenstar the frog was the prize catch of the day, though she’d also managed to catch a water vole and Silverfox and Spiderfang had caught three mice, a sparrow, and a squirrel between them. Considering the fact that it was leaf-bare, it had been quite a successful hunting trip.

It was a shame the borders had shifted back to normal; she had been enjoying the extra territory. However, RainClan had been kind enough to lie in wait and inform one of her border patrols that StoneClan had returned and the borders were changing. Judging from the fresh scars some of them bore, StoneClan had put up a surprisingly good fight. Ravenstar had thought about challenging RainClan for the territory, but so far leaf-bare had been mild and her newest lost life was still fresh in Ravenstar’s mind. She had conceded to the border change, for now, though she had no doubt her warriors would have no trouble taking down any Clan that could be beaten by a group of cats like StoneClan. Yes, the extra territory had been nice, and NightClan had not had to lift a claw for any of it. She planned to keep it that way, at least for the duration of leaf-bare. Leaf-bare was no time to be waging wars, she at least conceded StoneClan their ability to use that to their advantage.

Heading into camp, she lead the way to the freshkill pile and deposited her water vole. She waved her tail to Silverfox and Spiderfang, telling them to be sure take something for themselves and get some rest, before carrying her frog back toward her den. She didn’t plan to eat inside, it was hard to invite a passerby to share if she was hidden away in her den, but she did like to be easy to find while in camp and was going to situate herself just outside, in case any cat wished to see her. As she approached her den she saw a young black she-cat attempting to peer inside and paused curiously. She moved closer on silent paws and set her frog down to speak, “Can I help you, Starlingpaw?”

[Hellion]

Starlingpaw

---

She heard the voice of Ravenstar and instantly tilted her ears back and turned slowly to stand before her leader with a humble politeness. "I was just trying to see if you were in your den but not I can see you were hunting." Starlingpaw was slightly nervous and it showed. The ebony she-cat moved her front paws uneasily. She wanted to make her parents proud and acting like a fool wasn't the way to do it, perhaps trying to meet and talk with Raavenstar wasn't the brightest idea she had recently. However, she was already there and might as well get over any awkward pauses that were bound to come up.

"I just wanted to talk to you about what it's like being a leader." She shoved the words out of her mouth without much grace, but they were said and Starlingpaw waited for the answer.

---

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion

Word Count::
Tag::@name
Notes::

[Fate Admin]

Ravenstar blinked slowly at the young she-cat as she explained her reason for lurking about her den. Her ear flicked dismissively. She had figured the young cat might be looking for her. A kit might be expected to try to sneak into the leader’s den, but Starlingpaw was an apprentice now, not to mention Gracklefire didn’t seem to be the lenient type who would ever allow her kits to participate in an invasion of privacy such as that. Most of Gracklefire’s and Roughthroat’s litter seemed to be rather mature for their age. Her ears pricked forward slightly as the ebony she-cat stated her real reason for being here.

Well, it was seen as something of a brave act to seek out your leader to ask such a question. Most kits and apprentices would wonder about such a thing on their own and be too intimidated to ask. “Do you enjoy frog, Starlingpaw?” She picked up said frog and padded forward, past the apprentice and to just outside the entrance to her den, flicking her plumed tail against the younger she-cat’s shoulder as she passed, “It’s my favorite. I had been hoping to share it with someone.” She settled herself down in front of her den and turned pale amber eyes back to Starlingpaw. Being invited to share prey with a leader or deputy was often viewed as an honor, and could be intimidating as well, but Starlingpaw had come this far. Ravenstar just wasn’t sure if the younger she-cat liked frog or not. As common as it was on the freshkill pile, a good half of the Clan wouldn’t eat one unless they were desperate. Though there were some in the Clan who would force down a few bites should they be invited to eat with her.

[Hellion]

Starlingpaw

---

Baby blue eyes looked at Ravenstar with admiration as she nodded in respect. The offer to share a meal with the NightClan leader had Starlingpaw already on cloud nine. It had become something as normal to eat a meal with her father so the appeal of eating with the deputy had lost most of it's flare, but eating with Ravanstar had her buzzing with joy but she did her best to keep herself in check, she ought to behave as a young but mature she-cat of NightClan.

Taking Ravanstar's direction, Starlingpaw moved a little to sit across from Ravenstar, the frog between the two of them. While Starlingpaw had only tasted frog once as a dare from her siblings, she never really ate enough of it to ensure if she liked or disliked the prey, but she what she thought was right and answered Ravenstar with honesty. "I tried it once on a dare from Cederpaw when we were in the nursery but I didn't really eat it so I'm not sure if I like it or not, but I'll try it again." Starlingpaw flicked her tail back and forth awaiting Ravenstar to take a bite, but she also uttered a quick question for her leader to think over and answer.

"Was it a surprise to you when you became deputy or was it something you wanted?" She asked respectfully, and attempted not to sound too pushing despite her strong interest in Ravenstar's history, the more honest one than the elder's stories that dramatized everything.

---

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion

Word Count::
Tag::@name
Notes::

[Fate Admin]

Ravenstar ears twitched, amused at the response Starlingpaw gave. She leaned forward and sliced one claw down the frog’s belly, peeling the rubbery skin back to reveal the succulent meat beneath, “The trick is NOT to eat the skin… it’s terribly chewy and bitter. I have a feeling the other Clans have no clue how to eat frog properly.” She sniffed in disdain at that and took a bite, purring as the taste flowed over her tongue. She looked over at the younger she-cat through half-lidded amber eyes as she savored the flavor of her favorite prey and Starlingpaw asked her question.

She looked out over the camp as she recalled memories from before she became deputy. Her warrior ceremony for one. How she had hated her name. The best way to change it? Become leader. There had been more to it than that, of course… the desire to prove herself to her Clanmates and to the other Clans as well, prove that her small size didn’t matter, that she could be great, that she wasn’t a burden, that she could more than survive… she could thrive. Her tail flicked behind her, “Becoming deputy was something I wanted for a long time… but… I don’t think being named deputy is ever something a cat isn’t… at least somewhat surprised about.”

She tried to remember how she had felt when Stripestar called her name. Yes, she had been surprised. She hadn’t cared about becoming deputy at all at that point, not like she had previously, not after losing Sharp-paw. “My father was deputy before me… I had always thought I would be his deputy, if I was to attain the rank at all. I certainly didn’t want my father to die in order for me to become deputy. Neither happened in the end; he retired thanks to an injury and Stripestar chose me to replace him.” She spoke carefully, not entirely wanting to get into anything about Sharp-paw. She shifted, taking another bite of frog as she thought, “I worked hard to become deputy. Most cats underestimated me for a very long time… I had to work hard or I never would have gotten anywhere.” Her tongue swiped over her muzzle as she settled her amber gaze back on Starlingpaw, “If you truly want something you have put your whole self into it and never let any cat lead your paws away from the path you’ve chosen.”