CALL ME ANYTIME — MEETING

[dustyflower]

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just like that, fogstar was gone.

there was no deathbed to wait aside, no empty consoling words for the loved ones of the ailing. no, their leader had been fit as a fiddle and spry as a fox, and dustyflower had been one of the few to watch as he had been taken from the clans to huddle amongst their starry warriors. the older warrior had been instructed to hold her tongue, and so earlier that day she had visited her old apprentice for a poppy seed and a story — she might as well ease her mind along with her tired bones.

now she dozed outside the warrior’s den, having just finished sharing tongues with a couple of the other senior warriors. the old tabby kept one eye out for stonebelly’s figure on the highrock, and she spotted him as she crunched the last morsels of a squirrel. she rolled over the tail with one white-tipped paw before pushing it away, leaving it for one of the kits to wrestle with; she reached out her paws in a stretch, trying to loosen her joints. though it was unlikely stonebelly could hear her, she rumbled an encouraging purr as she watched him stumble through the ceremonial words. she tried to catch his eye and flicked her tail in what she hoped was a comforting way. she wanted to let him know that she was here for him.

dustyflower had been alive for a leader or two, and until recently had never considered herself a candidate for leadership. with her growing age and greying muzzle, though, came a stinging reminder of her own mortality: a mortality that could only be curved by the nine lives a leader was granted. it had been just as recently that she had begun to sign up for more patrols, pushing herself harder and harder until her name was circulating among those at the top — and the second she heard stonebelly utter her name as second in command, she knew that all that hard work had paid off.

others might’ve struggled through their appointment with feigned shock, but dustyflower had dreamed of a position like this since fogstar had been a young leader. it had been a distant dream, and the loss unfortunate, but she couldn’t help but throw her head up with joy and puff her chest out with pride. “stonestar,” she addressed him, her tone humble. “these past few moons i have worked hard to make thunderclan the best it can be. under your leadership, i will do my best to advise you with what i know from leaders past — i can see an amazing future in store for us. thank you.”

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“ i'm excited n ready!! — 448 ”