[Insidious]

This wasn’t a decision he made lightly. Ever since he was thrusted into the position of Clan leader, he knew he wanted to make NightClan better than it had ever been before. Previous leaders had done well, and as it was he was pleased overall with his Clan’s state of being, but there was always room for improvement. NightClan could be better. NightClan could be unstoppable. The image of it sat on the fringes of his mind, just barely out of reach, and he knew exactly what needed to be done in order to make his goal for his Clan into a reality. The only factor that had stopped him from putting his plan into action earlier on was the fact that his Clanmates could react badly. He understood how a system like this could be beneficial in the long-run, but it was easy for a mind like his—so empty of an unintellectual thought—to draw to those conclusions. A different mind (or a hindered mind as he liked to call it) would have difficulty seeing beyond the longing for love and sincere relationships. All he could hope was for his Clanmates to give this a chance. That was his final thought as he ascended the boulder ledge, but he knew as well as the next cat who claimed to know how he worked that there wasn’t going to be a choice. This was final. This was not up for debate.

“May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the boulder ledge for a Clan meeting.” There was no turning back, but with the ceremonial words out in the open, and his Clanmates slowly assembling beneath him, he could feel in the dull space where his heart was meant to be that this was going to be a good move. His expression, as per usual, gave away no indication as to what this could be about. There were no kittens in need of an apprenticeship ceremony, NightClan had its new deputy, and all of the apprentices were looked after. As far as the eye could see, NightClan was faring as well as it possibly could, but Dimstar could see beyond the pretty picture, and he wanted all of his Clanmates to be able to see as he did. “NightClan is in a good place. We have our deputy—” He jutted out his chin to draw attention to his second-in-command, “—and all of our apprentices are on their way to becoming proficient warriors thanks to their commendable mentors.” He allotted for another pause so the mentors in question (although not spoken by name) could have a moment to be proud. “However, there is always room for our Clan to improve. I see unimaginably great things on the horizon for all of us, and it begins today.”

He took a deep breath. He was by no means nervous, for he had undying faith in what his decision meant for his Clan, but it needed to be phrased correctly lest he meet immediate disapproval. “Starlingcry and I are very proud of our kits. They’re thriving, which is exactly what I wanted to see from them, but I want to be able to say the same for each and every kit that transitions from the nursery to the apprentices’ den, and from the apprentices’ den to the warriors’ den. NightClan deserves to be defended by the best of the best. We have our chunk of territory, but this forest is ours.” He scanned the crowd and made a mental note of their facial expressions; he expected the majority would agree with him, and perhaps even break into uproarious cheering, because if there was one thing they all had in common it was that their Clan deserved to be on top. Now it was a matter of making them want to see it come into play through methods he employed. “Love is blinding. We don’t always make the right choices for our Clans.” Those among them that had ever loved outside their border likely grew nervous, but this wasn’t about them—not this time. “What we pass on to our young is vital to our strength, and to our image, so from this point onward who you breed with is going to need be approved by Redcloud and myself.”

Date: leaf-fall eleven
Words: 721
Tag(s): Fawn, @zen, Amber, BlooRey DVD, @poptart, Hellion, Phoenix, @sparrow, Justice, @marshymutt, @aureux, @bluebird, @dreamer, @jem, Silver, @teeks

[Fawn]

Blackwolf

Everything up till the end, Blackwolf had been in agreement with (mostly), but the last words out of their gray leader's mouth had him straightening up in surprise. Approved breeding? He snorted, his tail wrapping around Ghostlight's. They didn't need approval, and if Dimstar wanted a friendly conversation about why he and Ghostlight should have another litter, he wasn't going to get one. At best, he'd inform the gray tom that Ghostlight was pregnant again -- at worst, he'd expect Dimstar to find out when he stopped by the nursery sometime. The news didn't only effect him, however; Blackwolf threw a curious glance at his sons and daughter, watching Hollystorm's pelt ruffle.

Hollystorm

Excuse me? Hollystorm's green eyes were full of challenge as she stared right back at Dimstar, forgetting her place, forgetting her rank, as if daring him to suggest she could not mate with whomever she wanted to. With an indignant snort, Hollystorm stole a glance at Sunpulse, her skin burning beneath her pelt. They weren't mates. They weren't even at the 'yet' stage, but that didn't mean she didn't think about her future, and whether or not it involved him.

“Love is blinding. We don’t always make the right choices for our Clans.”

Hazeheart

Hazeheart held his breath, trying to suppress the sensation of horror building up in his chest. He sat next to Brightmoon and Darkblaze, but he didn't catch his siblings' reactions; he was too busy thinking of her, of Littlestep, and the time they spent together outside of the confines of TreeClan's and NightClan's border. That Dimstar wanted mated pairs to be approved by Dimstar or Redcloud was both surprising, but at the same time, made sense when he spoke about the Clan that way... Obviously it was the duty of a loyal warrior to make NightClan as strong as it could be. But I can't let her go. Though his heart was beating hard, Hazeheart tried to keep calm, glancing around at the shocked, murmuring crowd all around him.

“What we pass on to our young is vital to our strength, and to our image, so from this point onward who you breed with is going to need be approved by Redcloud and myself.”

Bonetail

Bonetail sat up. What? For StarClan's sake, couldn't he do anything without needing Dimstar's approval for it first? It was as if his mentor was doing this deliberately to haunt him. Bonetail considered himself a popular cat; a handsome cat. Who wouldn't want kits with him? Thinking he had the luxury of choice, that dream was ripped to shreds under Dimstar's mechanical claws. Eyes narrowing, he contained his contempt to himself, plotting to get around Dimstar's new obnoxious ordinance.

Nightwhisper

Nightwhisper's voice was added to the shocked sounds of the crowd, and she stiffened, as if she could feel the intensely hateful feelings coming off of Pantherstride in waves.
"What does that mean for me and Owlshadow?" Lichenbreeze whispered, concern in her luminous green eyes.
Nightwhisper smiled, a little concerned that her best friend wasn't more concerned for her offspring's future than her neglectful mate. "I think you'll be fine, Lichenbreeze." But don't you want Newtkit and Gloomkit to decide for themselves? What kind of a NightClan were these cats going to grow up in?

She disagreed with Dimstar's new breeding ordinance, and she was privately repulsed by the idea of having to ask her half-brother for permission to have a litter with the tom of her choice, but it did not apply to her immediately. Not yet. Nightwhisper had no one special in her life or even worth considering for a litter. Keeping quiet, she let the excited chatter of her Clanmates fill her ears, her thoughts on the distant moons ahead.

Word Count: 603 Words
Tags: Insidious BlooRey DVD @jem

[Silver]

Quiet paws moved a lean Apprentice into the clearing for the clan meeting. She hadn't expected something like this so suddenly, but she wasn't overly bothered by it. Although, seeing this many cats so close together was making poor Squirrelpaw exceedingly uncomfortable and she tried to cover this up by remaining close to her Mentor and tucking her tail in front of her face to hide her expressions. She listened intently, as was her way, to the new rule their leader had put into place and couldn't help but let out a gasp of surprise. He wanted..they had to... Well it didn't affect her directly just yet, but did he mean for them to be unable to decide on a mate for themselves? Or that they couldn't have kits with their mate unless it was approved? That was foolish and the epitome of stupidity, and every cat here likely knew this.

What was the point to to this, she wondered. If more kits were wanted then it made more sense to not try to limit who could have them when. She could understand a ban of having them if it meant they'd be born during leaf-bare; that made sense to her. Or having a ban for cats whose lives would be threatened by having kits, or something equally sane as those reasons, but just so he could monitor who had kits with whom? It was just...really not right! She wanted to say something; she even moved forward a small step before her shyness got the best of her again and she stopped. What was the point of opening her mouth in this situation though? She was only and Apprentice and it wasn't like many cats actually took her seriously because she was a bit shyer than other cats. 

Frustration built up inside the petite she-cat and a low growl of displeasure left her; the feeling strong enough that her tail lashed away from her face to flick around her body in a true show of annoyance. Maybe she didn't understand the way of things, and she knew the Code and that they had to follow their leader. But this...all of this was just so very wrong. She wasn't worried about another cat hearing her since she'd taken up a place in the far back of the crowd, and if called upon she wasn't sure if her shyness would allow her to speak, but she couldn't stop how she felt and sometimes you just had to let yourself react.

--

Words | 421

[Deleted]

Tinytail got up slowly and walked to the meeting point. Was this it? Were they going to finally attack like she and Redcloud hoped? She sat down, paying close attention. Her ears were perked and she let loose a small smile. Were the great things Dimstar saw being the expansion of Nightclan, by any chance? Oh, she so hoped it was. The forest was ours, he said? Yes, that was more than true. Her smile only widened, as Dimstar went on and when he finished she gave a soft nod of her head. Breeding approval? Totally fine with her. It would make the clan stronger, and hey, it's not like it would affect her and Redcloud. She stood up tall and shouted out loud.

"Yes! I totally agree! Breeding regulations will make the clan stronger, it will do us good and make us prepared for any foolish cat who dares enter Nightclan territory. May only the strong breed!"

She smiled once more, she knew that Redcloud would agree with her, or so she thought anyway. She continued on smiling softly. Nightclan would soon rule this forest, sooner than every clan thought and she would stand by Dimstar and Redcloud all the way. 

[Deleted]

The ginger she-cat had been caught off guard by the announcement of new breeding regulations. She agreed to an extent with Dimstar's choice, though as an avid purist that desired a clean bloodline for her clan it was difficult not to agree with such a decision. The problem however, arose when she realized that not every one of her clanmates cared as deeply about blood as she did. Certainly they would have a few qualms about the regulations in the long run.

Perhaps it would go over better than expected though, after all, Tinytail seemed to be invested in the idea. Surely it couldn't be all bad if she supported it right? And even if it didn't work out all that well, they could easily just call the decision off in the end. Looking back at Tinytail, she nodded her head slightly in agreement with her. She had already made up her mind and she would be sticking with this plan until it proved ineffective. What was the worst that could happen anyways?

[Insidious]

Some of his Clanmates stiffened, others looked distinctly uncomfortable, but overall he wasn’t met with vocalized opposition. He had been silent for a long period of time—almost uncannily long seeing as his views on wasted time weren’t particularly good ones—but it was only because he wanted his Clanmates to have sufficient time to digest the changes. It was going to take some getting used to, but it was going to be a good thing. The fact that nobody was standing apart from the crowd to defy him and his decision said as much. He straightened proudly, confidently, and tipped his head in thanks when Tinytail voiced aloud her approval. StarClan had given him his nine lives for a reason. He could introduce NightClan to a stronger, prouder era than it had ever previously known. With the breeding regulations in affect, the kittens born in their nursery would be pure-blooded and perfect warriors as far as their genes; he looked forward to seeing what became of his Clan in the future now that he’d taken the first step to solidifying its success and status.

“Your input is appreciated, Tinytail—I hope you’ll all be able to view this decision in the same light in time. I’m aware that some of you might have concerns or even objections. My den is never closed to any of you.” He’d welcome his Clanmates to come to him and discuss this in greater detail in private. His decision was final, of course, but he did take input into account. He believed that this would benefit NightClan, and until he was proven otherwise with cold fact, it wasn’t going to avert back to the old rules. Input was welcome, but there was only so much that Dimstar was willing to do. He’d already made a mental note of pairings that could potentially work out according to the new regulations; he looked forward to seeing who showed up in his den to make a request, or to even inquire about their possible partners.

Date: leaf-fall eleven
Words: 338
Tag(s): Fawn, @zen, Amber, BlooRey DVD, @poptart, Hellion, Phoenix, @sparrow, Justice, @marshymutt, @aureux, @bluebird, @dreamer, @jem, Silver, @teeks