Blizzardshine’s Leader Ceremony and Darkstar’s Retirement

The trip to Highstones had been absolute hell for Blizzardshine in her current state. She had done her absolute best to hide it and keep up with Darkstar and the rest of the cats that decided to come with them to protect them on this sacred process, but the white deputy, soon to be leader, knew perfectly that even with that she had delayed the patrol. It was a good thing they had decided to leave before the usual time, or else they probably would’ve arrived late.

She didn’t want to blame anyone, for StarClan’s sake, if anyone had to be blamed for this it was herself for refusing any kind of treatment for her wounds even after she had noticed that they weren’t healing on their own. Now it was her duty and punishment for such decision to carry on with this instead of curling up inside the medicine cat’s den and wait until her strength had returned to her body. At least she felt somewhat calm knowing that Leopardclaw was back at ThunderCla’s camp and she was sure that he would be able to handle everything until they were back, and if needed until she was healthy enough to finally start leading her clan like she was supposed to do.

She was thinking about this when they arrived, only pulled out from her train of thought when the dark opening known as Mothermouth appeared within her field of vision. For the first time since her and the other cats left their territory she felt sincerely nervous, not only this was her first time here, but she was about to talk with the same cats with starry coats that she had seen so many moons ago fight against the evils ghosts of the Dark Forest. Like a lost kitten in need of guidance from her mother instead of the proud and skilled warrior she was, she turned her head to look at Darkstar with wide open eyes and low ears.

Even with the herbs she and her party had been given, Darkstar was out of breath by the time they reached Highstones. She wasn't as young as she was when she first became leader of ThunderClan. 'How will it be when I'm old? Mama's bones hurt her something awful by the time she was forced to become an elder. Dad's too.' Would she lose the ability to walk? Yellow eyes stared into the dark hole of Mothermouth. This would be for the best of the clan. She was lenient leader at best, but her disability was becoming far too demanding. The fire was the tipping point. The smoke and ash aggravated her already weak lungs. Running was almost impossible due to her jolting gait.

She took a step ahead of Blizzardshine and turned to face her soon-to-be former deputy. "Follow me. There won't be any light until Moonhigh." For a moment, the dark-furred cat looked to the moon. This would be the last time she'd see the sky as a leader. Five lives would be returned to StarClan and she would be left with just one. Then she crossed the rocky threshold into the dark tunnels leading to the Moonstone.

Blizzardshine followed close behind Darkstar as her dark fur quickly blended with the thick shadows of the tunnels leading to the Moonstone. At first the dim light that was casted upon them by the moon outside allowed the white cat to see where she was going, but sooner than later she found herself surrounded by nothing but darkness. It was like if she had gone completely blind from one second to another. She found herself thanking StarClan for not making her come alone to this place, as even if she was aware that as long as she stuck to the right path there was nothing to be afraid of she couldn’t help but still feel somewhat intimidated. Plus, she had never been here before and wasn’t sure if she wouldn’t have been able to tell apart from the right and wrong tunnels if it wasn’t for Darkstar’s guidance.

Her whiskers softly grazed against the smooth moist walls as her paws were forced to endure the hard terrain of the cave. She just hoped she wouldn’t cut her pawpads with the rocks, as she had enough to worry about with the infections that had brought her down on the worst time possible. The scent of her soon to be former leader and the soft sound of her pawsteps giving her enough comfort to push forward. Feeling like this was fairly new for Blizzardshine after all. Usually new territories always made her curious like a tiny kitten rushing out from the nursery for the first time, filling her with the desire to explore. This was the first time she felt so nervous to be surrounded by the unknown.

When her whiskers no longer detected the walls she almost panicked, thinking that they had taken the wrong tunnel, but the lack of fear or worry coming from Darkstar kept her from rushing back by following this idea. In all honesty she had expected to see the Moonstone glowing in all its glory as soon as they stepped into the cavern where it was located, powerful and beautiful like in the tales that the elders had told to her when she was nothing but a young ball of neverending energy back at the barn. However, Darkstar had mentioned that there wasn’t going to be any light until Moonhigh, so maybe they were supposed to wait?

Darkstar's gaze trained upwards once they reached the cavern. Faint starlight illuminated the hole in the roof. After a few minutes passed by, the moon peered like a giant, glowing eye down at them. The Moonstone immediately began to glow, so bright that she initially had to look away. Slowly adjusting to the light, she set her eyes on the white she-cat beside her. "They must take my lives first." She smiled at her. "I'll be back soon enough." The leader approached slowly, then set her nose on the cool rock and went unconscious.


StarClan slowly drifted before her eyes. No one appeared for a moment or so. Then a voice behind her caught her attention. Darkstar turned to see a large, ginger tom with stars in his fur. Her father. They both gave each other the same, sad grin. Foxfang laughed softly. The last time she'd seen him was during the last Dark Forest battle. He honestly looked out of place without his battle scars.

"I didn't think I'd see you so soon." He approached her.

"Neither did I."

Foxfang's face became serious. He had a job to do. "StarClan acknowledges your wish to return to the status of a warrior, for the good of ThunderClan. And so you must return the lives you received in order for your successor to gain theirs." He placed his nose on her forehead, like he always did when he was still alive. For a moment both father and daughter missed those times. Darkstar's claws dug into the starry grass. If receiving her lives had felt like a flood, then this was a drought. Energy was being drained from her body until she felt almost empty. Even after the ordeal was over, her father's nose remained.

"You may now return home, again as Darkflight, warrior of ThunderClan." He raised his head to look at his daughter. "Please, try not come back." The she-cat looked at him quizzically for a moment before batting his muzzle playfully. The ginger tom grinned at her. "Wake. Send your successor, we're waiting for her."


She raised her head from the stone again, noticing that the moon had already moved quite a bit. That would be the last time she would see him until she died. 'I won't.' Darkflight backed away and motioned for Blizzardshine.

"It's time."

Blizzardshine had to look away from the Moonstone as the mythical light that came from it manifested before her, eyes still half-closed to block some of the blinding light when Darkstar’s voice reached her ears. She couldn’t even nod at her before she stepped forward and pressed her nose against the shinning rock towering over them, falling asleep almost immediately.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to sit and wait.

She wasn’t sure how long it was before the dark she-cat finally opened her eyes and stood up. It had been long enough for her to talk to herself in her head for quite some time at least. Going from her fear and insecurities, to self-reassuring and confidence, and many, many other emotions and memories that clashed between them in an attempt to convince the fluffy white cat that her time as a leader could be either bad or good, that she was going to become ThunderClan’s greater disgrace or the leader that would bring them back to the glorious golden days that the elders had told her about. Well, if she had to pick one path from the two her own thoughts were offering to her, she already knew the obvious one. She just hoped she would be good enough to achieve such goal.

Taking a deep breath as Darkstar…no…Darkflight now…motioned her to continue and get her lives from StarClan, she got up and padded towards the Moonstone with her heart racing and fur standing on end, ignoring completely her tired body. This was it, there was no turning back now.

Knowing that giving it any more thoughts would cause her to hesitate even more and potentially lose precious time, she closed her eyes tightly and pressed her nose against the smooth cold surface of the Moonstone, using more strength than necessary like in fear of not being able to reach them if she was as gentle as Darkflight had been.

Like if the stone before her had vanished in thin air, she could no longer feel the cold surface nor the pressure against her nose, causing her to open her eyes immediately. She was no longer in the dark cave, but in a beautiful forest with green grass and tall trees. She could only describe the place as paradise as she rose to her paws, all the symptoms of the illness that had been torturing for some sunrises gone.

“It been so long, dear” The voice was instantly recognized by Blizzardshine, causing her to feel a bittersweet feeling deep inside her chest as she turned around rather abruptly, her ice blue eyes landing on one of the faces she had missed the most.

“Mother…” Gentlenose’s smile grew as she padded closer to Blizzardshine and licked her forehead like she used to do when she was nothing but a kitten, causing her to purr softly as that empty space on her heart that she had left after her death got filled again even if just temporarily.

“I wish we could talk so I could tell you all I have in mind, but we don’t have that time, honey” Blizzardshine felt a lump in her throat, she too wanted to talk with her mother, to tell her everything that had happened to her since she left her side, even just sitting there and feeling her pelt against hers would be enough…but they were running against the time and it made this impossible if they wanted this ceremony to be a success. The nose of her mother soon touched her own, and her soft voice allowed itself to be heard “With this life I give you the love of a mother. Love and protect your clan like if they were your own kin, they depend on you like a kitten depends on their mother to guide them and show them what’s wrong and what’s right. Make sure to be always there for them, regardless of the tough times you may find in the future” Blizzardshine felt a warm feeling filling her, a love so powerful that she couldn’t think of anything else and made her want to rush back to her clan to be there for them and protect them from any danger there could be.

When Gentlenose finally stepped back she opened her eyes, for the first time noticing the group of cats before her that looked at her with warm smiles, waiting for their turn to give her a life. The next cat to step towards her was a dark colored tom. As soon as she recognized him she lowered her head respectfully with a warm smile “It’s good to see you again, Blizzardshine” His polite greeting caused her to chuckle softly.

“I can say the same about you, Scorchfrost” She purred at him. Unlike Gentlenose he didn’t have a small chat with her before pressing his nose against hers.

“With this life I give you conscience” His voice became serious as soon as he let her know what this life meant “There will be times when the darkness inside our hearts will tempt you to take the wrong path, like it did to me, or worse, make the line between good or right fuzzy to confuse you. I expect you to make good use of this when those times come to keep you and your clan in the path of light, as I can tell by experience that doing otherwise will only bring pain and suffering on the long run” Blizzardshine’s fur stood on end as an intense cold replaced the previous warm feeling that her mother had given to her, confusion flooding her mind to the point of making her feel dizzy until a sudden shooting whisper that she couldn’t recognize made it disappear as quickly as it arrived.

Scorchfrost stepped back and a way younger-looking cat took his place. It took her a couple seconds to recognize her, it had been so long… “Wishpaw?”.

The StarClan apprentice nodded “I’m here to give you your next life” Blizzardshine chuckled softly as she lowered her head to make it easier for the smaller cat to reach her nose. It was nice to see her around, as kind and cheerful as she had been before she had to fight off a fox to keep it from devouring her after it had killed her “With this life I give you hope. Even in the darkest times, when everything around seems to be falling apart, you’ll find a silver lining to cling to and use to help your clan back on their feet. All you need to do is look hard enough for it and it will become clear to you, I promise, we won’t let you fall” As she spoke she felt the well-known hope rushing through her body, the same feeling she had fought so hard to give to her clan after the fire. Before she could thank her or tell all the apologies she had for not arriving in time to save her, another cat had taken her place.

“Hey sis! So you actually made it, uh?” The confident and even somewhat egocentric voice of her brother brought tears to her eyes. Without waiting for him to get any closer she closed the gap between them and buried her face in his starry fur “Heh, you were always the emotional one…” He purred softly before nuzzling her gently.

“I missed you so much, brother…I felt so lost without you when you…” Her voice was shaky and it was clear that she was near to break into tears.

“Hush, its ok, you know I had been always watching over you and I always will until the day you join us” He purred softly before pulling apart from her and placing his nose against hers “With this life I give you bravery. Use it whenever you clan faces a difficult situation, don’t be afraid to fight if you need to. Remember that sometimes your pacific preference when solving conflicts won’t be enough” With Sedgewhisker’s words, Blizzardshine felt like if all her fears and doubts had vanished in thin air. They could send a lion to fight against her at the time and she would take the challenge without hesitation if it meant securing a better future for her clan.

With a soft purr and an affectionate nuzzle, her brother finally stepped back to let the next cat step forward to give her next life. Cloverpool smiled at her as she approached, she looked way younger than she could remember and it was the main reason she couldn’t recognize her right away.

“I knew you would achieve great things someday, Blizzardshine. You certainly didn’t let me down” She purred softly before pressing her nose against her own “With this life I give you humility. You must always remember that you rely on your clan as much as they rely on you, a leader is nothing without the clan that walks at their side. Their needs, dreams and troubles must be your top priority and keep in mind that your title will never put you above any of them” She felt a calm feeling wash over her, feeling herself as part of her clan instead of someone above them in any way.

The next cat to step forward was someone she simply couldn’t recognize regardless of how hard she tried “Greetings Blizzardshine. My name is Flameclaw, I was deputy long before you were born” She meowed with a voice that overflowed with confidence and an expression would’ve been enough for even the most disrespectful cat to lower their head and listen. The older deputy padded towards her and touched her nose with her own “With this life I give you passion. You must always remember to do the best you can do until your dying breath and never give up regardless of the obstacles in your path. Dream big and when you achieve that goal, put another even bigger goal in front of you and work to achieve that one too. A clan with a complacent leader shall never achieve greatness” Blizzardshine felt like if her whole body had been engulfed by a hot invisible flame, one that hurt as much as it gave her energy beyond what she could ever imagine to have.

The burning feeling of the life given to her by Flameclaw faded completely when the next cat stepped forward, smiling at her in the same way she had done so many time before her death “Grasswhisker…I’m happy to see you once more”.

“We share the feeling then” Grasswhisker purred softly before pressing her nose against Blizzardshine’s “With this life I give you open-mindedness. Listen to those around you and take into consideration their ideas and points of view even if at the start you may not agree with them. If you allow everyone to contribute to the clan as a whole even if just a bit you’ll achieve the unity they need so much, as everyone will feel that they are an important part of it instead of just another cat that nobody would miss if they ever left” What Blizzardshine experienced was simply impossible to describe with words. She felt like herself but at the same time she didn’t. it was like if thousands of cats had suddenly merged into one and taken over her body, with their own ideas, goals and points of view towards life. She took in a sharp breath once the starry she-cat pulled away from her, unaware that she had been holding her breath until then.

The next cat made her heart skip a beat, eyes opening wide and her head lowering with deep respect and admiration, not even daring to speak at the time “Now, now, you don’t need to be so polite, Blizzardshine” The tom in front of her chuckled softly “I’m not your deputy anymore, I even retired and you got the spot, remember?” Blizzardshine’s polite stance cracked slowly before she laughed with Frozenflame, old habits apparently were harder to forget than she thought, especially when meeting with someone she had respected and looked up to for so long. His nose soon touched hers and she got ready for whatever was coming for her now “With this life I give you wisdom. Use it so in the future you know how to make good decisions and lead your clan to greatness, so you know when a risk is worth taking or when you should retreat, and if a disaster falls upon your clan you can think on all worst-case scenarios and prepare for them so you help them survive and come back to their feet even after the darkest events” Blizzardshine felt like if the wisdom of all the elders of the forest had made their way into her being, gifting her with the knowledge they earned through countless moons of experience to help her clan.

With a smile and a respectful nod, he stepped back to allow the last cat to approach to her. Once more she failed to recognize the cat that made his way towards her, looking at him with curiosity in her eyes “My name is Duskfall, like Frozenflame I was deputy before you were born and I’m here to give you your last life” After his polite yet serious words, he pressed his nose against hers “With this final life I give you loyalty. Remember that your clan should always come first, and if as a warrior it was already obvious, as a leader it should be unquestionable. Your duty is now to lead your clan and be a role model for everyone in it, if a clan doesn’t have a loyal leader from the youngest kit to the oldest elder will find themselves lost and without any clue of how they are supposed to behave, which will only bring chaos and disgrace to your clan. Don’t let that happen to them” Blizzardshine’s mind went empty for a couple seconds before a flood of thoughts about her clan filled it to the point where it started to hurt, her claws digging in the dirt under them until it finally ended, leaving her panting heavily and exhausted.

Blizzardshine raised her head to look at the group of StarClan cats gathered before her, Duskfall still in front of all of them with his head and tail held high “I hail you by your new name, Blizzardstar. Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of ThunderClan. Defend it well; care for young and old; honor your ancestors and the traditions of the warrior code; live each life with pride and dignity”.

As soon as he was done speaking, all the cats started to chant her new name, as well as voices of cats that she couldn’t see. A huge smile soon showed in the newly named leader as she puffed out her chest with a new kind of pride and confidence she never had felt before. Her eyes landed on those she loved so much, wanting so bad to share a couple more words with them, but as soon as she tried to take her first step the beautiful forest around her started to fade alongside the voices of the StarClan cats.

Blizzardstar opened her eyes rather slowly, the weakness and pain from the illness that still tortured her returning quickly. She let out a soft groan as she got up, her muscles aching and bones cracking. Looking up at the sky through the small hole on top of the cavern she could tell that they were about to get engulfed by darkness once more as the moon moved away from it. She turned around slowly and smiled at Darkflight “Let’s go back…” She meowed softly at her, padding towards the entrance as the last rays of moonlight faded and the darkness engulfed them once more I won’t let StarClan nor ThunderClan down, I’ll do my best to bring the clan back to its former golden days, it’s a promise.