Hunter's Woods Writing Prompts

   It's a rare day when neither Beatrix nor Kat are available to the rest of the Wayfarers. Beatrix's leadership abilities are... questionable, given her lack of experience, but she was the one who started this whole thing, and Kat defers to her when it comes to a good chunk of their decisions, so she's considered one of the group's leaders in spite of everything, and Kat... well, he's probably the most competent among them all, if we're being honest. In spide of Beatrix's position, he's the true leader, with good reason.
   With neither of them around, things start to get messy. There's not really any protocol for this, and everyone has their own opinions on who should be in charge. Mitko, for his part, would be perfectly happy to take control of... not the group as a whole, but his own situation, at least, and straight up leave, assuming his companion will go with him. Sophie doesn't have much of a hot take on who should step up to the plate, aside from saying that she will, if nobody else if able and willing to do it themselves. But once you get past those first few members, things start to unravel a bit.
   Melia, if we're being honest, is probably one of the cats best equipped to act as leader in lieu of the Wayfarers' actual ones... but that comes with the issues of Virva absolutely refusing to do what her half sister says, and Berkeley feeling incredibly awkward around her, even moreso than they do when it comes to their once-daughter. And that's only exacerbated by the fact that Melia herself would be likely to defer to Berkeley, due to their (very much unwanted) status as a deity - And in fairness, even if the others might not be aware of it, they certainly have enough experience to get the job done, were they more open to the idea and not the youngest member of the group. Virva would not be happy with this, either. Berkeley would then probably try to squeeze themselves out into the background, perhaps by suggesting Amara take up the role - She's young, but she knows what she's doing! And her brother is happy to agree to that arrangement... except, oh, there goes Naomi, pointing out that Amara might be competent when it comes to the magical side of things, but she's even more of a kitten than Berkeley when it comes to mundane, mortal affairs. And so of course Naomi offers to take up the position, which the entire group, save perhaps Mitko, is understandably skeptical of, given her quiet but steadfast opposition of their very goal of getting Beatrix home in the first place.
   So then, with this all being the case, who ends up acting as leader? Well, that's just the thing. With them unable to come to a decision, they ultimately find that they... don't really have one. And so they might end up sticking together for a bit of directionless time, waiting for Kat and Beatrix's return... but if they don't come back? The group probably fractures, and everyone goes their own ways. Mitko takes Ragin and leaves. Sophie heads off on her own, Virva following her and trying to escape Melia, who hesitates between her sister and the little god, but ultimately heads off on her own to chase after her sibling. Berkeley ends up being pulled along with Amara and Vesper so the former can teach them to use their powers and act as the deity they are - If they're lucky, they might be able to convince the two of them to help them find Beatrix while they travel, too. And Naomi? Honestly, who knows with her? She might go off on her own, or join up with one of the others, or maybe she'll even find another bunch of cats to join up with. It kind of depends on her mood, if we're being honest.
   Regardless, the fact remains: Beatrix and Kat are the glue that keeps this group from completely falling apart at the seams. Without them, things devolve into chaos quickly... so we better hope at least one of them sticks around at just about all times!