Nine Lives

[Cloverstar]

The air was crisp and cool, settling through her fur as Cloverstar strode through the long grass, pausing only when she saw a familiar gleam. The Shimmering Rocks were glowing more brightly than ever in the dimming dusk light, setting off the white fur around her brown tabby patches. She closed her eyes to take a deep breath, inhaling the welcoming scents and letting them wash over her like a wave.

This would be it. Her official leader ceremony. She would receive her nine lives, and then she would be fit to lead her Clan.

The prospect, she had to admit, was more than a little intimidating. No, not just intimidating. Being entrusted with so much pressure and power over so many cats who would look to her for guidance when even she doubted her judgement at times was flat-out terrifying, plain and simple. She had to ask herself, again and again, why Hawkstar had been so willing to pass his mantle on to her.

But he'd trusted her enough to do it, even if she didn't fully understand it. And she had to prove to him, to her Clan, that she was worthy of such trust. 

Cloverstar squared her shoulders back, steeling herself and opening her eyes to let out her breath of air. She would stand tall and proud. She would not fail RockClan. They needed a good leader now, and she would be exactly that, no matter what it took. That, she vowed to herself. And she never broke a vow when she could.

Barely keeping from trembling, she bent down, tufted tail brushing out over the ground as she balanced herself on crouched legs. Then she leaned forward, pressing her nose to the largest rock in the center, and welcomed the tranquility of sinking into a dream-induced sleep to pass through her.

 

[Autumn]

Peachwing had been watching over Cloverstar ever since she rose up as the new Leader of Rockclan. She had no connections with the younger she-cat, but she had known her predecessor, Hawkstar. Peachwing watched along as Moonstar stepped up to the Shimmering Rocks, but then faded to a new scene as Cloverstar prepared herself for the ceremony to come.

She was now in a large clearing in the center of a pine forest, which was shadowed and filled with fog. She knew that several lesser known spirits were more than likely watching from a distance as the new Leader was given her lives and official title, but Peachwing only cared about the eight other spirits that were to give Cloverstar a life.

When the patched she-cat appeared in the clearing she lifted her chin and gave her a second to 'wake up'. "Cloverstar, welcome to Cloudclan. I hope you are ready to receive your nine lives, and be named the official Leader of Rockclan by Cloudclan." She declared, stepping up to mortal feline and bending down to be nose-to-nose.

"Cloverstar, with this life I give you endless love. For your family, friends, but most importantly, your Clan. May you treat everyone in Rockclan as your own family, your own children, so that you may fight for them and lead them just as well as the strongest mother." She declared, voice echoing around the clearing.

Without warning, she touched her nose to Cloverstar's. She knew the process of gaining lives was generally hard, and even a little painful, for Leaders, but in a way it was a test. If Cloverstar could not handle receiving lives, then it would be clear she was not fit to lead Rockclan. Hopefully she would not disappoint.

Once the transfer was done Peachwing stepped back, dipped her head, and let the next spirit in line step forward to give Cloverstar a life.

[Cloverstar]

When she opened her eyes again, Cloverstar found herself lying in the center of a forest clearing. She blinked, looking around at the shadowed pines and the shrouding mist. One glance at the stars within said pines and mist was enough to tell her where she was.

She'd just barely gotten to her feet when she caught sight of a spirit. Peachwing. Cloverstar had heard of her from many old Clan tales, and it felt almost surreal to be face-to-face with and spoken to by the legend herself. She could only nod silently to Peachwing's announcement, fighting to keep her mouth from dropping open to gape.

The shock of energy that shot through her at Peachwing's touch was enough to make her double over with a sharp gasp. She breathed hard, trembling, but thankfully still standing. She'd expected the giving of lives to be painful, as it always was with leaders, but the actual feeling had taken her completely off guard.

She lifted her head, still trying to catch her breath, as she steeled herself for the next life.

[Cloudbreeze]

Cloudbreeze appeared behind Peachwing in the line. The gray and white tabby was proud to have a new, strong leader for her former clan, RockClan. The spirit took a deep interest in the new leaders of her former clan. It seemed that both Hawkstar and Sagefang had left their positions for retirement. It made the she-cat feel a bit sad that former leadership was stepping down, but she believed that Cloverstar was a better choice for leadership.

Cloudbreeze stood, now, in front of Cloverstar, smiling at the new leader. The gray and white tabby touched noses with her in greeting before continuing with the ceremony.

"Congratulations. Lead RockClan well."

Taking a step back, Cloudbreeze closed her eyes, forming the words to give Cloverstar her second life.

"With this life I give you the power of mentoring. Use it to train your apprentices. Use it to train all of the clan. Serve them well."

Cloudbreeze touched noses with her again, letting the life flow into the leader's body. Once the process had finished, the she-cat stepped back, smiling at the leader before letting the next spirit bring the third life.

[Cloverstar]

When the next spirit appeared, Cloverstar exhaled. She didn't exactly recognize who it was, but she sensed some traces of old RockClan scent from the other she-cat. A senior warrior...?

She'd just registered the touch of Cloudbreeze's nose to her own, which felt strange since the spirit was transparent and yet the touch felt light and cool as if it were solid, when she received the life. Cloverstar bit down on a grunt as the pain came once again, less excruciating than before but no less effective in making her double over again. She hadn't even had an apprentice of her own when she'd been made leader, so she supposed she would definitely need this life.

Panting, Cloverstar straightened up again. She let out a small cough, trying to recollect herself for the third.

[Ibiswing]

It was Ibiswing's turn now. With a mix of emotions swirling in her stomach, she began to pad towards the new RockClan leader. She'd been acquainted with Hawkstar before her death, and he'd been a good cat and a good leader. Still, she was hopeful for the Clan's future now that they were going to be under new leadership. This cat seemed like she'd do well for the job. A small smile found its way onto the patched she-cat's muzzle, and she looked straight into Cloverstar's eyes.

"Lead our Clan well," she whispered, touching her nose to the younger cat's.

Ibiswing drew in a breath, then lifted her chin slightly, still keeping her gaze locked with Cloverstar's. "With this life, I give you sacrifice. May you always understand what needs to be lost in order to gain, and may you find the strength in yourself to surrender what you need to, even if it is your own well-being, for the greater good. Use this strength to stand behind RockClan firmly and fearlessly."

With a soft smile, she stepped forward and touched her nose gently to the new leader's. As the third life left her and flowed into Cloverstar, Ibiswing stepped back, dipped her head in a silent gesture of respect, and turned away to let the next spirit give the fourth life.

[Cloverstar]

Cloverstar struggled to remain standing, making sure never to look down or away as the third CloudClan spirit arrived. She seemed to have been from RockClan as well, giving Cloverstar all the more reason than she already had to keep her head up. The brown-and-white cat maintained eye contact with Ibiswing as much as she could, trying desperately not to blink as she spoke.

Sacrifice. She barely had a moment to ready herself before the life hit, tearing through her like a bolt. Her legs buckled from beneath her and she crumpled, shaking as she let it pass through. How did Hawkstar get through this? she couldn't help but wonder. How did any past leaders do it?

But the agony was worth it. And that was what got her to stand right back up, breathing a little ragged, but otherwise fine. She swallowed, bracing her paws against the ground as Ibiswing moved away for who was next.

[Crimsonsky]

"...Dang, I wanted to do sacrifice." Crimson said, appearing out of nowhere. "Like Ibiswing knows anything about it. Didn't she jump into a fire out of grief, or was that someone else? I died for my friends by jumping into a pack of hungry dogs that otherwise would have killed them. It should have been mine..." He whined to Cloverstar. "Oh, sorry. I'm still a bit sore about being eaten, to be honest." He sighed, turning away from the new RockClan leader. "I guess I have to do this. Truly, I feel bad for you. Dying once was bad enough. I cannot imagine enduring the pain I felt eight times today and nine times that have yet to come. But here you have it."

Crimson turned back towards the leader. His gazed locked with hers. "I, Crimsonsky of IceClan, give you the power of endurance. The times ahead will be hard. Despite this, you cannot give in- you have no choice, really. These nine lives may either be a curse or a blessing to you. You have the choice of how to view them. Your friends around you will grow old and die. You will experience death many times over. You will suffer, often without warning." With that, he suddenly jumped forward, without telling her, and touched his nose to hers, transferring the life unexpectedly.

Cloverstar would feel the pain of her flesh being ripped open and devoured by a pack of dogs. He felt sorry for her.

After half a minute, he began talking again. At this point, the pain and shock would have faded. "...But after you have endured, there is peace. There is always peace in the end, even if only brief. Endure, Cloverstar. Your clan depends on it. Good luck."

Crimson turned and walked away, without hearing what the new leader had to say to him, if anything.

[Cloverstar]

To say that Cloverstar was surprised by Crimsonsky's appearance, and his subsequent talking before giving the life, was an understatement. She'd always thought of CloudClan spirits as mystical and ethereal beings, far above Clan cats in their wisdom and knowledge. Apparently, some things from being alive didn't disappear even when you were dead.

But she didn't have time to think further on it when the pain hit. It was far worse than the previous ones this time, and Cloverstar had to bite down hard on her lip to keep from screaming as she collapsed again, the breath being knocked out of her. It was horrible, it felt as if teeth were tearing her open from the inside and raking through her core, snarling in her ears, and it was more than too much, too much, she was surely going to die from it—

And then it abruptly ended, washing away from her like a tide. She let out a long, slow breath, trying to recollect herself, and struggled shakily back up to her feet. She only barely heard what Crimsonsky said, his words coming to her as if from above underwater, and she could only nod in response, eyes trained on him as he departed like the others had.

Four lives so far, four more to go, she thought grimly. I can do this.

[Tuftfeather]

]

When the cat was done doubling over, Tuftfeather stepped out of a shadow. She seemed to have appeared from nowhere, which was slightly alarming in itself, but coupled with her terribly young appearance, round and glowing green eyes, and paws which didn't touch the ground at all, she surely looked strange.

She approached Cloverstar, obviously lost somewhere in thought. It was strange to have a new leader in the clans, indeed. This one needed to be strong. After all, they were responseable for lacing her with good qualities. What, then, was must important? What could a leader use? What did a leader need above all else?

She paused in though for a moment, and then dipped her head slightly. She knew.

"With this life, I give you the power of remembrance. Never forget what it was like when you were in your youth, when you were a kitten with bright ideas that strove for the future. Use this to help to understand the young in your clan, to guard them, and to protect them from harm to matter the cost. They are precious above all else, and they are the future of your clan."

With that, she placed her nose on the forehead of the other cat, with a very softly whispered apology. This life would not be easy to receive: terrible, terrible emotional pain like that of which only the worst memories can cause, all the while her body growing colder, and colder.

When it was over, the perpetually youthful Tuftfeather removed her nose, and backed up to stand by the other Cloudclan cats.

[Cloverstar]

Cloverstar inclined her head slightly as the next spirit arrived, the first thing registering was that this one looked too young. Not a kit, but maybe not old enough to be a warrior. Right? Or maybe the pain left from the life was just making her mind hazy and unable to tell. The dream's setting was foggy enough on its own.

The voice, at least, was clear. Along with the touch and the resulting agony. It was as if something had burst completely apart inside her, the broken halves splintering and a sensation like ice spreading out through her veins as her legs gave out from under her. However, this time, she was able to remain standing, though she was shaking so violently she almost felt ready to fall and never get up again.

The key word was almost. Cloverstar knew that if she never got back up, she would fail the test of whether or not she was strong enough to be a leader. This was her chance to prove herself, and she knew it wouldn't come again. Her teeth clenched together, jaw set as she steeled herself into simply enduring the pain, waiting it out until it passed and she no longer felt as if she were being slowly frozen from the inside.

It ebbed away gradually, eventually, after some time she couldn't discern. Minutes? Hours? She blinked spots out of her eyes as the CloudClanner moved back, job done. Three more, she thought vaguely. Three more lives and then it'll be over.