Cannibalism?

[moddy]

Even though the elder's question wasn't directed at him, he felt the need to voice his opinion on that matter. "It depends," he said, "on if the cat proved to be corrupt to the Clan immediately or not. If not, the cat could be doing bad things in secret; one cat at a time." He nodded.

"And by the time the clan realized this, it could be too late and the corrupt cat could've already proceeded with his plans. But, if the cats did realize he was corrupt immediately, they could easily take him down if they work together. Well, actually, it depends on how many cats are on his side. If there are more on his side.. then, I don't think the odds of the clan succeeding are very high." He was being honest; why would he lie?

[duckyaisha]

"Hmm...." Dingypaw thought about what the tom had said. "But if less than half the Clan was on his side, it wouldn't be impossible for them to defeat him, right? If there are more on his side than on the Clan's side, we'd be in trouble. You're right, it depends on when his corrupt activities were discovered by the rest of the Clan. Of course, this makes the choosing of a leader and deputy all the more difficult..."

[Darky [Megan]]

"Exactly," Speckledclaw said, nodding at Smudgeheart. This young tom seemed to share her views, somewhat.

Redstream was feeling a little impatient, but she kept her signature smug expression on her face, her chest pulled up, tail flicking delicately behind her. She was keen for the experiment to start. Redstream was sorry Woodstripe would not be eligible for the role of leader, but she wondered if the she-cat could be nominated for deputy. "Could I ask - does the leader or the clan choose the deputy? And Woodstripe is not eligible for the position of leader, yes? But is it okay for her to be deputy?"

Orangestorm took everything in as they talked. He wondered how long more the talking would continue.

[moddy]

He shrugged. "Depends on who is on his side. If the strongest warriors and such are on his side, even if we do have more cats, we still might not be able to empower him. But, I guess that all depends," he said, "on which cats are chosen for leader and deputy. And really, I don't think the choice would be that difficult. Just look to the cats who seem more... trustworthy and mature. I wouldn't rely on younger cats, but that's just me."

He looked over at Speckledclaw for a moment and nodded, "Yeah." But his attention was soon brought back to the elder as he awaited her answer.

[Ten]

"A leader w-wouldn't be a-able to d-do anyth-thing that b-bad," Shortwhisker protested.

"The way I see it is this," Woodstripe began. "We are the ones choosing our leader and deputy. We should be wise enough to select decent authorities. Although no matter who we choose, the worst scenarios I can imagine involve a leader or deputy who is foolish or lazy. If an authority does something you disagree with, but the majority of the Clan backs him or her, then that is the will of the Clan, is it not?"

"As for my eligibility for deputy..." Woodstripe trailed off and looked at Patchfur. "...I leave this up to you. My thoughts were that we could nominate leaders, then vote, and the candidate with the second most votes becomes deputy. However, we could also hold two elections."

"W-well, I[/i] d-don't w-want her a-as leader or d-deputy."

The tabby showed no emotion as she replied, "I value your opinion, Shortwhisker."

[/size]

[Gosh]

Spiderpaw nodded. "What could a leader do? There is nothing a leader can gain from bad things. Like Woodstripe said, the only ways a leader could be bad is if they were dumb or lazy, and we would be able to tell if they were either."

Personally, Spiderpaw wanted to vote for Woodstripe. But if that was impossible, Redstream certainly seemed like a good candidate. She cast her eyes around. Patchfur, Shortwhisker - they were out of the question. Batkit was nice, of course, but he was too young. Dingypaw...well, Spiderpaw respected the elder, but she privately felt that a leader should be active and at least healthy, not almost blind. She didn't know Orangestorm very well, and... well, there was something about the orange tom that she just couldn't put her paw on.

She scanned the group of cats. Was Redstream the only choice? She certainly was an elegant speaker, and she made sense. Spiderpaw sighed and shook her head. 'This will only be for ten days,' she thought. 'It will not matter too much who I vote for. I am only one out of eleven.'

Right then she spotted another cat strolling up to the experiment group; a bronze tom with a bored expression on his face. Bronzefoot.

The bronze tom mentioned above surveyed the group. It contained many of the cats he knew to be part of the experiment. So he padded forward and drawled, "So, are we starting?"

[duckyaisha]

"Well, I think a younger cat, with new and interesting ideas, is just the cat we need as a leader. After all, what we're doing here is new as well. Although no one below warrior age would be suited for the role." Dingypaw replied, deciding to put the possibility of a corrupt leader out of her mind until it became reality. The elder scanned the crowd, though she couldn't tell some of the cats apart. She still knew who they were, but it took awhile, because some cats smelled alike, and some had mews that sounded the same. By a combination of failing sight, smell, and hearing, she was able to distinguish one cat from another. And still she thought Redstream the best choice. Well, actually she thought Woodstripe was the best choice, but she wasn't eligible.

Patchfur thought that there were quite a few things a corrupt leader would be able to do. If he gathered enough cats on his side, he could turn the opposing cats into his slaves. And that was only one possibility. Personally, the orange and white tom thought that the group should focus more on how to avoid this, but they were treating it like it would never happen. And if he knew one thing about power, it was that it corrupted cats if they stayed in power too long. It would go to their heads. That was why he had to be very careful to select the right cat to be leader. Patchfur felt relieved that Bronzefoot was here; he didn't want to not be able to vote for him. After all, he was the only cat that would make a fair leader. Redstream might, but he had only just met her and didn't want to vote for a cat he knew nothing about. "I guess you could be eligible for deputy," the tom meowed grudgingly. He knew Woodstripe was quite popular among most of these cats, and didn't want to get on their bad side.

[Darky [Megan]]

ooc;;

Wow, Redstream's getting a lot of consideration as leader. =o Maybe it'll spark something new in her personality. By the way, how's the fight? o.o Is it still going on? Unless I missed something ... (And also, someone in the rebellion might want to interact with Rainstripe - she seems keen to join some kind of anti-clan activity)

... I think Speckledclaw's bio needs some editing. o.o

bic;;

Redstream was finding it very difficult to choose a leader for the clan. She had not spent much time getting to know any of these cats. Gingerly, hoping that it wasn't obvious, she began looking every one cat up and down. When she came to Spiderpaw, she paused and began to think. Spiderpaw ... she had seen her around and heard her in debates a few times. This cat seemed to talk sense and reason. Redstream thought she seemed like the kind of cat who would have a fair bit of supporters ....
Hmm. I'll consider her, Redstream thought, resuming her scanning of cats. She stopped at Dingypaw, but she seemed too impaired to take up the role of a leader ... She stopped at Speckledclaw too, but the warrior had said she hadn't wanted power. The she-cat finished looking around and decided that she would see who else everyone voted for before making a decision.

Speckledclaw did not like the look of and manner in which Bronefoot spoke. She had seen the tom around and so far, only in a bad light. Tapping the dust underfoot lightly with her tail, the warrior asked a question that suddenly came to mind, "Woodstripe, could you care to explain why you aren't eligible for the role of leader? I don't see why you should be ruled out of the voting." She then paused, and posed a question that had been bothering her since she had heard Shortwhisker's first spoken word.

"What's the matter with you, by the way? What's there to stutter about?" she snapped, more out of habit than anything else.

Orangestorm found himself wondering what Bronzefoot asked. Feeling bored, he began to groom himself.

[Ten]

"I give you my great appreciation, Patchfur, that I may be of further service to the experiment," Woodstripe thanked him, dipping her head. "Ah, Bronzefoot. You have arrived. At the moment we are discussing our views so that we may begin to know more about one another. Any cat may nominate another for leader at this time, though I believe most are still giving the issue thought."

She then turned to Speckledclaw and explained, in a dignified and patient manner, "I have made an accord with one of the cats present. That cats participate in this experiment is of much greater importance to me than my own chance at momentary power."

Shortwhisker flinched at Speckledclaw's demand. "N-noth-thing's w-wrong w-with-th m-me! M-mind y-your o-own b-busin-ness, you lizard-h-hearted d-dirt-face!"

"Now, Shortwhisker - "

"Sh-she st-tart-ted it!"


ooc|

"Wow, Redstream's getting a lot of consideration as leader."
--
Speaking of which, you need either make it evident that she's insane or have her not be insane at all.


"Is it still going on?"
--
Nah. They achieved their purpose.


"but for some reason she doubted the warrior wanted power"
--
Didn't she say at some point, "I don't want power"...?

[duckyaisha]

Patchfur glared at Shortwhisker. "Why do you feel the need to insult someone when all they were doing was asking a question? Sure, it wasn't a very nice question, but hardly worth calling her a lizard-hearted dirtface!" Thiugh he didn't know Speckledclaw very well, he felt compelled to defend her, seeing as he had been on the receiving end of the tom's insults before. Personally, he thought the tom was deranged and should be removed from the experiment immediately.