[CANCELED]

As the first rays of dawn broke over the camp, Foxfang lifted his head from his paws, having been awake for a bit at this point. Since the clan had no deputy at the moment, he had taken it upon himself to see to everything he could, hoping that the actions would be rewarded in the near future. Gingerstar was a good leader, but Foxfang held ambitions of his own to ascend to the top. For now, though, he simply figured it was best to do his part and earn it. Turning his head, he prodded Icestorm's shoulder, causing the other to jump slightly as he was woken from sleep. "I told you to be ready at dawn." Foxfang said pointedly.

"Dawn only just-" Icestorm paused and gave a loud yawn before continuing, "-touched the horizon. That doesn't count." He finished, lifting a paw and brushing it a few times over his face.

"It's enough. Now let's go." Foxfang said as he got to his paws, padding out of the den.

Icestorm let out a heavy sigh before forcing himself to his paws as well and staggering out of the den, hoping that he could wake up before they made it out of camp.

Foxfang lowered his head in greetings, though there was a slight glint in his eye at the action. "Greetings, Gingerstar. Icestorm and I are just going to see about exploring more of the territory while we hunt. Perhaps you'd like to come with us?" He asked. Behind him, he heard Icestorm mumble his own form of greeting to the leader, though he paid the other tom no mind, his gaze locked on Gingerstar.

Foxfang's eyes widened slightly at the question. Was it really going to be that easy?

"Yes, sir." Icestorm said, choking back another yawn as he lowered his head once more before turning and padding back towards the warrior's den.

Foxfang turned his head slightly to watch Icestorm head back before turning back to Gingerstar. "You need a cat that's not afraid to take charge, no matter the situation. StarClan forbid it, but if something happens, the deputy is the one that has to stand in for the leader, right?" He asked. It was one of the few lessons of the warrior code he had committed to memory right at the start. "I've no problem with the idea of stepping up, myself." He added, the glint returning back to his eyes as he lowered his head slightly.

"With all due respect Gingerstar, we also can't live the life we had before, where we woke up at any hour of the morning to continue traveling. We need a set schedule for these things or else the other clans will walk all over us." Foxfang said, tilting his ears back. "With as much territory as we have, shouldn't making sure it's completely safe be our first priority?" He added.

Foxfang narrowed his eyes as well but lowered his head at Gingerstar's words. So much for that, it seemed. No matter, he was still confident enough in his ideas that he felt he would get the spot eventually, even if it seemed Gingerstar didn't see it that way.

From the warrior's den, Icestorm had managed to wake up Quailstem and had started to return to where Gingerstar and Foxfang were. "Thanks again, Quailstem." He said, looking back at the she-cat.

"It's fine. We all know Foxfang is as pushy as a badger right now." Quailstem said, giving a slight shake of her head. The tom wanted the deputy position, he made no secret about that. Honestly, she didn't really care who got the spot. GingerClan was in a position of power as far as she was concerned. After all, they had followed the ginger plants here, and their clan had been named after the very thing that StarClan used to bring them here.

Icestorm blinked, now mostly awake at this point after having been moving around a bit. "Hello again, sir." He said, lowering his head in greeting once more.

Quailstem dipped her head as well. "Greetings, Gingerstar." She said lightly, pausing next to Icestorm. "Was there something you needed?" She added, since he had actually stopped them rather than simply giving a passing greeting.

Icestorm's eyes widened in shock at Gingerstar's question. "You...you think I would, that I would make a good deputy?" He stammered, completely caught off guard with the offer.

"I could see it. Even Moonshade admits that you have skill in combat. You got your strength from him after all." Quailstem hummed, giving a slow nod.

Icestorm looked over at Quailstem, shocked yet again to hear that his father actually thought he was good in a fight, especially since he could never please the tom no matter how hard he tried. Turning back to Gingerstar, realizing he still actually needed to give an answer, he nodded. "I-I'll do my best, Gingerstar. Thank you for this honor, sir." He said, lowering his head in a deep bow of gratitude.

Foxfang narrowed his eyes as Gingerstar called the clan together. Something told him that he wasn't going to like this meeting, but he padded over to join the small group that was forming.

"Guess that's your cue." Quailstem said, giving Icestorm a flick on the shoulder with her tail as she padded over.

Icestorm was still shell-shocked that this was actually happening. With how Foxfang was, even before they split into the three clans, he had expected the other tom to gain the deputy spot. Giving his fur a few quick licks to smooth it so that he looked his best, he slowly padded over to sit next to Quailstem.

From the warrior's den, Moonshade's head snapped up, having been woken by the summons. Letting out a yawn, he got to his paws, shaking himself to rid his pelt of moss, and padded out, realizing he was the last among the warriors to leave the den. With a slight grumble, he padded over and sat next to Foxfang.

Over in the nursery, Smokyspots turned her head to look outside, having been awake for a while now as she cleaned up the new nursery. Even if there weren't any queens at the moment, she still wanted to make sure the den was cobweb free. Pausing long enough to make sure her tail was dust free, she quickly padded out to join the others, sitting near the back of the group.

Over by the elder's den, Paleleaf was just guiding Cloverchirp out when Gingerstar made his announcement. "Now what's he want?" Paleleaf muttered, though her tone was more curious than cold.

"Perhaps StarClan finally offered him a vision of who our deputy should be. Leafstar and Rootstar have had theirs chosen already after all." Cloverchirp said, blinking as his ears twitched. He was still trying to get used to the fact that he was blind now.

Over in the apprentice den, Oakpaw gave his denmate a sharp poke, trying to wake her up. "Next time, I drag you out. Let's go." He scolded.

Goldpaw whined and rolled over, not wanting to leave her nest. At the same time, she had no desire to be drug out like a piece of prey so she sighed heavily and got to her paws.

Finally, Oakpaw and Goldpaw joined the group, sitting about halfway between the group of cats and the apprentice den.

Foxfang's gaze remained steady as Gingerstar stared at him, though he kept quiet, a slight expecting glint in his eyes. When the leader then turned to Icestorm, he felt his blood ice over. Icestorm, one of the few warriors that seemed to be more for peace than actually making the clan stronger? A dark shadow cast itself over his gaze at the news as jealousy boiled his blood.

Feeling the eyes of the clan suddenly turn to him, he stood, not used to being the center of attention as he tried to stand tall. "I swear on my life I will serve you and our clan." He said, his voice cracking slightly with nerves, despite his efforts to steady them.

Moonshade narrowed his eyes at Gingerstar's words. His disappointment of a son was actually managing to earn the title of deputy? Gingerstar wanting to foster peace between the three clans seems to have dulled his sense of leadership. He thought with a huff. To really have a strong clan, you needed to have both sides of the spectrum to represent them, not two peace-loving cats. Someone had to be willing to unsheathe their claws if the clan was to grow stronger, and his son was a far cry from such a cat in his mind.