Nightwing's Leader Ceremony

The sun was close to setting. Giving the blue sky a rosy hue as the sun prepared to turn over the glory of the sky to the moon. Nightwing sat calmly at the entrance, her blue eyes practically glued to the sky. She'd never stayed up this early and not have been guarding camp, and it was a shame she hadn't. Never before, has she been able to see the actual beauty in the day sky. 'So this is what the other clans see before they go to sleep...'

Personally, she liked the night sky. She got to live under the gaze of StarClan as she hunted, fought, and cared for her clan. Though, just this once. She had stayed up, so she and Sagestar could make it in time to the Moonstone. The to-be leader continued to watch the sky as she waited for her former mentor.

Sagestar leaped up the last of the highstones shortly after the she-cat, pausing at the top and frowning. That was a bit more strenuous that he had always remembered it. Ew, maybe he very well was getting rather old. The tom stretched out and craned his neck before shaking it out and catching up to Nightwing, gazing at her with a calm, emerald gaze. "Are you nervous?" He asked her, glancing up at the sky she stared at with such intensity for a few moments before staring into the dark mother mouth. Even the bravest warriors had trouble stepping into the cavern.

Nightwing's ear twitched in greeting to Sagestar, forcing her icy gaze to glance away from the sky, towards the mother mouth. She stayed silent for a moment, before answering with a hint of amusement."I think the thing that makes me the most nervous, is the tunnel." She paused for a moment, to look back up at the sky. "Other then that, I have total faith that everything will be fine."

Soon, the sky turned to the familiar shade of dark navy blue. Glittering stars towered over head, as crickets below began their song. It was just about time for the cats to make their way into the tunnels.

Nightwing looked away from the sky, and back to the dark entrance. Her eyes shone brightly with sheer determination.

The tabby nodded in approval of her answer, "You never really get over it." He said, sharing in her mild fear. "Walking onto the bridge between us and StarClan. Its surreal." Sagestar flicked his tail before going to step inside, "I couldn't have chosen a better deputy." He mused before slipping inside the tunnel, so small he felt his whiskers brush up against the sides of the wall. The two of them would appear in the cavern at the perfect time, moonlight shining down on the stone and breaking through the darkness with an unearthly glow. He wasn't exactly sure how work, but trusted StarClan and went to lay by the rock, touching his nose to it gently and falling into a deep sleep. By the time Nightwing do the same, all of Sagestar's lives would be taken and her ceremony would properly begin.

Nightwing found she slightly embarrassed at the comment, but didn't argue, as she had already taken a step within the breath taking dark tunnel. It felt as if her sight had been turned off, she couldn't see anything besides the faint outline of Sagestar. The air got slightly damper the deeper they descended.

Suddenly, she could see a light shining a little bit farther ahead. ’The Moonstone?’ Nightwing thought hopefully. It felt like moons traveling down the caverns. Her paws were already aching from the long trek from camp. Much to the she-cat’s glee, it was in fact the Moonstone. A small hole in the roof let in the bright moon's light, causing the rock in the center to glow brightly.
She stood frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do, until Sagestar touched his nose to the bright rock, and promptly fell asleep.

Nightwing blinked in bewilderment then shrugged off her awe, and shock. Crouching a few tail lengths away from Sagestar, she stared at the stone for a long moment before gently touching her nose to the Moonstone. Nightwing’s eyelids closed shut, and she too fell asleep.

She felt chilled to the bone, like her life was being sucked right out of her. Panic set in, what was happening? Did she do something wrong? Was there another step that she skipped over? She shifted her paws. Or. Well… She tried too.  Nightwing was frozen to the spot. Even greater panic rolled in. Was she dying?

The worries a panic was washed away when a warm breeze seemed to thaw out her muscles, allowing her to move. Without a moment of hesitancy, she forced open her eyes. And not to be welcomed where she thought she would be. Instead of the hard ground of the caverns, she was welcomed with the soft grass of the Fourtrees.

Nightwing glanced toward the sky, and did a double take. The stars were moving. They spun around, like an elaborate dance. Heading towards the ground, the stars began to take shapes. The deputy and to-be-leader looked more closely. These…these were…she knew these cats! She wanted to run over to them, to see if her eyes were deceiving her or not. Unbelievable joy seemed to flow though her. ’Rustfang! Fallencloud, Thornfang, and Cloudshade!’ A quiet purr rumbled in her throat. Oh how she had missed them.

All nine cats were assembled, their eyes locked on her with unwavering gazes. They were silent for a moment. Then, the first life, and cat walked forward.

Nightwing’s eyes turned to the cat. This cat had a rust colored pelt, sprinkled with stars, signifying the cat’s rank as a StarClan cat. She quickly recognized her mate. A happy purr made its way out of Nightwing.

Rustfang gave the she-cat a proud look, and mewed, ” With this life, I give you love. Use it well when times turn rough.”

Nightwing leaned forward slightly eager to receive a life from Rustfang. The tom almost winched in empathy for Nightwing, for she wasn’t expecting the pain. The StarClan cat touched his nose to the top of her head, and returned to the line.

Nightwing recoiled in shock. It was one of the most excruciating things she had ever experienced. Everything hurt with a sharp pang; she wanted nothing more than to cry out in pain. However, she couldn’t her body was stiff. After what seemed like moons, a warm feeling seeped into her being. Soothing the aches, with what seemed like pure love. The to-be leader looked up once more. ’Thank you, Rustfang.’

The next cat stepped out of line. This cat was almost an exact mirror of Nightwing, except, instead of bright blue eyes, she had rough amber, almost like a fire. Cloudshade.

Cloudshade stood in front of her daughter, for a long moment before speaking. “With this life I give you compassion. Use it well to have empathy for others in their time of need.” The cat then slipped back into line.

Nightwing had been a little hesitant taking this next life, considering the agonizing pain; she had felt just a few moments ago. But accepted it none of the less. This life didn’t hurt as much as Rustfang’s had, but it still gave her a slight ache in her muscles.
Once she had recovered once more, another figure stepped up. It didn’t take Nightwing that long to know who will give the third life.

Fallencloud.

Her bright eyes shone stars as she approached. Much wisdom reflected in her orbs then Nightwing had last seen her. ”With this life, I give you mentoring. Use it well to train the new warriors of your clan.” She touched her nose to her former mentor’s head.

Another bout of pain scorched though Nightwing’s body. The first worry since she had appeared in StarClan’s territory surfaced. ’How will I be able to bear it?’

The forth cat stepped up. The cat had a large build, jet black fur, with the same eyes as Nightwing. Her father, Thornfang.
”With this life I give you forgiveness. Use it to overlook transgressions from other cats for their apologies may be sincere. Without another moment, he touched his daughter’s head, and padded back to the line of cats.

Now, this life didn’t hurt as much. Probably one of the lives that hardly hurt at all in comparison to the other three.

The fifth cat to approach her was none other than Cedarfur.

”With this life, I give you balance. Use this life well in times of inequality.” He paused for a moment, looking over the cat he had trained with during his times of an apprentice. Somehow, he knew that one of them would go far. He then touched her head with his nose, and then joined the line once more.

Six. Almost half way. Great StarClan! It hurt so much.

The next cat to approach, who she could hardly remember, like a bad dream. You can hardly remember what it was about…Then with a flash, the memories came flooding back. So they had welcomed him with open hearts. Nightwing felt happy for the tom, he finally found a place to be.

Amalric mewed with confidence, ''With this life, I give you Reasoning. Use it well to see both sides of the story, and find meaning to things that others can’t.” He touched his nose to Nightwing’s head, and trotted back to line.

Her sixth life seemed to knock the wind out of her. Feeling somewhat light headed, she looked up at the next cat.

The next cat who stepped out of line also took a while, perhaps a little bit longer then Amalric. Considering that she hadn't seen her for a longer period then her sixth life giver. But she was able to spot the deputy before her.

Feathersong, and all her elderly glory made her way to face, the current deputy.

"With this life, I give you wisdom, use it well to lead your clan down the right path." The elder touched her nose upon the past apprentice's head. Then she joined her stary Clanmates in the line.

Nightwing remembered the time she had to clean out the she-cat's moss. Even though Feathersong was young when she went into the elder's den, she still knew how to snap like one. A small smile touched Nightwing after another bout of wooziness.

Now, the to-be leader almost missed the next cat to step up. Missingkit padded forward. Wisdom beyond what a kit should have shone in the young eyes.

"With this life, I give you Vigilance. Use this virtue to protect your clan and those weaker then you."
Nightwing ducked her head down low, so the kit could touch her head with his tiny nose. As soon as he had, She lifted her head up, and a flash of energy surged though her. Giving her the energy to withstand one more life, and then some.

Only when the kit backed away, did she remember the kitten's tragic death. She had been on a hunting patrol as it had gone down in camp. She had wished so hard that she had been there, to save the small kitten from an untimely death. Now, now she felt like she could watch over the kits with an eye of a hawk, noticing any birds of prey that would want to take the young of her clan.

The last and final cat, Silverpaw.

She looked up at the taller she-cat and mewed. "With this life, I give you dependability. So that you may be depended on by all your warriors, and cats of your clan."

Again, and for the final time, Nightwing lowered her head to revive her last life from the apprentice. As the life flashed though her once more, Nightwing sat up. The pain from before was now just a lingering echo. A reminder of her task a head of her.

Rustfang

Cloudshade

Fallencloud

Thornfang

Cedarfur

Amalric

Feathersong

Missingkit

Silverpaw

She will not fail them. She will not fail her clan.