[Rose]

[ Beforehand note; if the text in-between the speech makes no sense, just ignore those and read the speech instead lol. ]

Larkfire
She/Her

How did one react appropriately to a response like the one Dawnstar had just given her? Maybe there was no appropriate way for it. Maybe one just... acted the way they could. Then again, Dawnstar was probably the only cat Larkfire knew who could get away with snarling one moment and actually looking interested the next. The bizarre mood swings made Lark want to snort with amusement. Of course, at least she still retained some sensibility and refrained from laughing outright at her leader, even if it was in good humor.

Still, a small smile curving the corners of her lips upward against her will, Larkfire ducked her head to lower the contraption of leaves in her mouth to the ground. It was a bundle, to be precise, a bundle of something. And after shouldering a fluffy siamese ragdoll pelt off her back, the lithe grey molly set the two objects in front of her, sitting back on her hindlegs to eye Dawnstar. "Gifts." She provided the word unnecessarily - if only for the sake of saying it.

And then, because Larkfire wished to waste as little time as possible, she continued on into the explanation for her little visit. "Loyalty is supposed to mean something. You know that. I know that." It was common sense. You swore to protect a Clan -- and you starsdamned followed through with that promise. "ShadowClan doesn't seem to realize it. Not all of them - but most warriors don't seem to realize the gravity of swearing an oath."

It was odd, the way they treated a life-long promise so lightly. But she wasn't here to complain. She was here for something else entirely. Something else, that she'd promised herself as a little kit she'd work towards. "I hadn't given you a gift until now because bringing you just one more pelt isn't distinct. Copying all others and blindly following wouldn't make sense for me, either. I heard your last mate used to bring you pelts to gain your rapture. That's what I was told, at least. I've seen firsthand that my Clanmates bring gifts to you as offerings -- Maybe to fill the gap where they should be showing you loyalty and working for ShadowClan instead. But I know not their intentions. I only know for certain my own."

Tail wrapping over her paws, the amber-eyed molly went on. "I did not bring you any gifts before today because I wanted to portray through actions - not mere trinkets or treasures - the extent of my commitment. But since today is to be the first of firsts, I've brought you something."

Keen eyes drifted downward a moment, to the limp, lifeless items at her paws. Larkfire still didn't see anything of interest in the pelt she'd brought. Sure, it was among one of the prettiest pelts she'd ever seen (What a waste, that loner had forfeited their life the moment they'd stepped into ShadowClan territory). It was clean, it was fluffy, it was probably comfortable, and yet... Eh, maybe Larkfire just didn't have the eye to appreciate it.

"So here are my gifts; a more traditional one, a pelt, and one more unique; a set of claws." Leaning forward past the pelt to open the bundle of leaves, Larkfire stooped to nudge the four-piece. To an outside eye, the claws probably looked particularly useless. And Larkfire didn't mind that one bit. It was like her, in that sense. Looked useless. "Claws are small. Maybe even considered insignificant." Her gaze flickered upward. "But they are one of the most vital tools a feline possesses."

Leaning back on her haunches once more, the youngest Enforcer went on with her tirade of words. All she could hope for was to be listened to. At least in this, one thing she knew for certain she'd never back away from.

"You asked. You asked for someone to step up to the mantle of deputy. For someone to step forward and face that responsibility. I will do that, then. I will ask you to grant that role." Yet still, Larkfire was not done. She ought to feel guilty, taking up so much of her leaders' time, but she didn't. The worse that could happen? A no. And frankly, whatever the outcome, Larkfire was not going anywhere. For all she knew, a demotion awaited her, and yet she'd stay here, in ShadowClan.

"And if not, I offer myself to you as a daughter. You've experienced loss to last all your remaining lifetimes. I don't know that pain, not even remotely." There it was. The pinpoint of her reasons to be here; that last request. Despite how much Larkfire had yearned and hoped for it, she'd found in the end that Dappledleaf could not be her mother. A friend, maybe, but no longer a mother. Dappledleaf could not mother a monster. Could not give birth - give life - to a dying star. It took broken to see broken.

A monster to see a monster.

"Your trust, or even a snippet of it, is a lot to ask for, and I may be damning myself by doing so, but I'm here asking anyway." It was funny, how she'd gone from having so much to lose to... having nothing. She should have been too young to feel this much pain, too old to regret everything. Larkfire wasn't even sure if she fit with anyone her age anymore. It was ironic, really.

[ @Undertaker - Dawnstar ]