Thawflank really tried to make it work; becoming clan leader one day is the ambition he’s carried with him all his life, and it’s fundamentally shaped him as a person.

But Tumblestone’s death drained him significantly, and he realised that after his duties he had very little space for his son, who was also coming to terms with the loss (and it didn’t help that the only other cat who could’ve looked after Moonpaw at the time was Martenfur, a cat Thawflank despises) so he stepped down, quite possibly the most selfless thing he’s ever done in his life. His decision didn’t come without encouragement, though - mostly from Berrystem.

He was fully expecting to get his position back once his son was apprenticed, but whenever he tried to broach the subject with Ouzelstar he was brushed off, never getting his role back but never being told he WASN’T getting his role back. As such, the gratuitous brown-nosing on Thawflank’s part began.

Thawflank and Ouzelstar have been best friends and rivals for a very long time; both of them dreamt of being leader, and competed heavily as apprentices and warriors, both promising the other that if they did become leader the other would be deputy.

When Ouzelstar became leader things were good between them - then after years of Thawflank’s stubbornness and Ouzelstar’s jealousy, their friendship soured. Nowadays, a part of Ouzelstar enjoys the fact that he pretty much has Thawflank under his thumb, and a part of Thawflank’s thrills whenever Ouzelstar’s fucks up as a leader. They have a relationship based on waiting for the other’s downfall, more or less.

And Thawflank ABSOLUTELY is a salaryman. If he were to examine any of his friendships with his clanmates beyond “work together” and “enjoy shitting on other people” he’d realise he’s incredibly, incredibly lonely, even more so since he’s been speedrunning the “get my son to hate me” achievement - putting his ambitions above any meaningful relationship he’s ever had has turned his life into a bit of a corporate hellscape. Who’da guessed!