Rippedsky's Leader Ceremony

The gathering had left him just as he imagined, as drained as before. Were he over the crushing numbness of loss, he might have been concerned with the events that had just transpired. But, he would worry later. Rippedsky quickly instructed Poplartooth to lead the clan home before turning to Mintpaw. After everything was taken care of here, and he knew his clan would be safe for now, the black and white tom was ready to get this over with. He was prepared to take on the burden of leadership. Not of his own volition, however, but rather his devotion and dedication to the clan's wellbeing. Not to mention his willingness to lead as Crowstar would have led. Still, he could not help but constantly wish that at some point he would awaken, and it would all be over. That maybe, just maybe, Starclan would send him back from highstones and say that the old leader still lived. That he and Mintpaw would return and the fluffy black tom would greet them as if the last night had never transpired.

But, as the rain continued to hum softly, and just slight weigh down his short coat, the new leader knew it was hopeless. Even nature mourned the loss of a great cat. His features and eyes were almost as hard as they had been the entire gathering. Yet, as his gaze landed on Mintpaw, everything softened up a bit. It wasn't like before. No, Rippedsky's demeanor held something different than the cheerful, patient and kind tom of moons past. His adoptive daughter likely was able to notice that. There was no doubt that the recent changes, including the loss of his former mentor and mate, had changed something in the older warrior. Letting out a low, controlled sigh as the clearing emptied, he finally meowed to the medicine cat, "You have the herbs? We should set out immediately. I want to be back as soon as the sun rises." His paws threatened to keep him from ever moving again, but it was the determination and as sheer will that came from his values that drove him forwards.

In a few moments, he would set out from fourtrees. Soon, he would face Starclan. And then... Rippedsky would be the leader of Skyclan.

Mintpaw looked up as the rain began to fall, sighing quietly. Although she had worked tirelessly over the last few days, her den was still in ruins and offered little protection from the elements. Her whiskers trembled slightly as she turned back to the two small bundles of herbs at her paws, shoulders hunched as a gust of wind nearly blew her off of her paws. Since Crowstar's death, the weather had been nothing but rain and wind- as if Starclan themselves were lamenting the fluffy black tom's death. The taupe apprentice blinked rapidly and gathered the finished bundles, tucking one under her chin and holding the other gingerly in her mouth. There was no use putting it off any longer. Rippedsky would be replacing Crowstar as the leader of Skyclan and take on a new name. Life would never be the same. The small tabby padded slowly towards the black-and-white tom, meeting his solemn blue gaze with a halfhearted smile. Of course, Crowstar's death would've affected Rippedsky the most. The short-legged she-cat set down both bundles of herbs anxiously, nodding as her father spoke. "I know there are f-fewer herbs than you're used to. There aren't many left to use since... s-since... w-well, I suppose I'll need to speak with G-Goldeneye when we get back."

Mintpaw quickly ate the smaller herb bundle, keeping her gaze on Rippedsky. It was as if he had built walls around himself since the dogfight. The Medicine Cat apprentice could hardly connect with him anymore- seeing Rippedsky like this was almost as painful as... as... Mintpaw couldn't bear to think of it anymore, so instead, she stood up, ears flicking as the rain began to fall harder. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get b-back." She mewed, leading the way out of camp at a swift walk.

---

TIMESKIP

Mintpaw peered into the pitch-black tunnel, droplets of water falling from her whiskers. "I'll wait out here, Rippedsky." She mewed quietly, trying to appear more confident than she felt. A leader ceremony was supposed to be a solemn, private affair. Besides, Mintpaw didn't want to be there when Rippedsky awoke. She wanted to give him time to compose himself and say farewell to the Rippedsky he used to be. "Y-you know what to do once you reach t-the Moonstone."

"We'll be fine, Mintpaw." He promised, not really sure he believed it himself. Normally, his tail would have rested gently on the young cat's shoulders, but now the only move he made was for the bundle. The black and white gulped them down, barely tasting the sharp tang of the herbs. Rippedsky felt a bit of guilt for wasting precious herbs. However, if they wanted to make this quick, it was crucial they did not stop for hunting or really anything along the way. Safe passage would be necessary. As soon as he was finished, the leader stood and padded side by side with her in the direction of highstones. They practically followed after the Windclan gathering patrol and his blue eyes narrowed. The peace of the gathering had better transcend their journey.
__
Once they reached the mothermouth, as he had done so many times with apprentices, he found himself hesitating. The entire time he had been deputy, Crowstar had prepared him for this. But, Crowstar was not here now to help him through. Letting out a long breath as he stared into the darkness, Rippedsky tried to prepare himself. There was no way. He would never be ready for truly taking the fluffy, black leader's place in life. Being forced to take up everything his best friend and former mentor had left behind caused a lump in his throat. It had to be done. Finally, he nodded towards Mintpaw. Regardless of how he felt, this was happening. Using every ounce of will he still possessed, the tom pushed forwards into the darkness of the mothermouth.

Rippedsky navigated the twists and turns as he had done so many times. But, today he was not guiding anyone but himself. As the bright light of the moonstone broke through the nothingness, his heart finally seemed to pound. Since Crowstar's death, there had been nothingness in his chest. Underneath it, now, there was something. He was... nervous, along with a plethora of other emotion. Pawsteps were slow as he approached the glowing stone. His nose pressed against it and a cold chill accompanied the rest of everything else he was feeling. In moments, Rippedsky was out. When he was awoken once more, the light of Starclan seemed to press against him. It shone as beautiful as he remembered it as an apprentice. Although, this time, the awe was replaced with a sense of duty and reverence. It was much different than before.

Webtail had never felt so proud before.

His heart swelled as he rushed forward to meet the black and white tom, butting his shoulder with his head. The silver tabby grinned as he spoke.

"Ah, Rippedsky, it's been far too long. I can only hope that this ceremony finally convinces you that you're more than enough for SkyClan. I often feared I had died too soon but, I can appreciate the timing now as it has allowed me to give you your first life." The tom straightened up with a determined look in his eyes. The tall tom's tail twitched in the air as he thought over the words one last time.

"Rippedsky, you've shown your strength. To leave your birth clan for SkyClan and all the memories it harbored. That is something I don't think I could have done. But, there is another strength. The strength that drove me to endure the Dark Forest to try and mend my family and clan. The same strength that allowed me to fight by my daughter's side against the very cats that had trained me. It kept me going for so long."

The tom took in a breath.

"With this life, I give you love. The love for your clan to ensure you can endure anything for them, for your family to protect them, for the forest, to ensure all the cats in it can go about their lives together, love for yourself to forgive and improve. The same love I have for you, Rippedsky."

He touched his nose to Rippedsky's. Webtail wished lives were painless to receive but, he knew wishing would be in vain. Besides, Rippedsky would eventually die nine times. Pain tolerance would be needed. He stopped thinking about Rippedsky's death. No point in doing that right now.

Let me know if you want anything changed!]

When his eyes opened and he stood, the new leader was not prepared for what he saw. For a moment, he thought Cherrymist or Whiteheart would greet him, but the tom was met with someone who made his heart beat even faster than it had with the two she-cats. Webtail. It was the warrior who had helped him adjust to the new life in Skyclan. His support had meant as much as Crowstar's. Without Webtail, it was doubtful that he would have come as far as he had. There was a dull ache in his heart as the starry warrior butted his shoulder. He hadn't realized how much he had missed the cat that stood before him now.

As Webtail pulled away, he could do little more than stare into his friend's eyes with a slightly pained expression on his face. Rippedsky simply nodded at the words. As he heard the gift, the black and white tom let out a breath he did not know he had been holding. Love. It was something he had felt throughout the many moons of his life, now only dulled by the loss of those same many moons. When the Starclan cat touched his nose to Rippedsky's, he assumed it was simply a matter of custom. He was not prepared for the pain that immediately wracked his entire body, but radiated from his chest. A maddening fire threatened to consume him for a moment, and he almost cried out in pain, afraid that instead of gaining a life he would lose the only one he had. Images of the clan, his kin, those he had loved so deeply it almost seemed unreal, all flashed before him. Webtail was one of them. And just when it seemed like it would be too much, the feeling faded to a certain contentment. The mixture of drive, agony, and intense love was all wrapped up into one. The gift of love.

The same love I have for you, Rippedsky. After it died down, Rippedsky knew what it meant, both for himself within life and for the relationship between the two toms. He blinked slowly, willing the moment not to end. And as the feeling died away, he sighed softly, "Webtail... I've missed you. I would not be here without you, and... things would have been so much easier with you." There was not an ounce of regret for the life he had lived, but rather an ache for the one he had not. Sadness flickered across his formerly emotionless maw and danced through the depths of his deep blue eyes. He longed for Webtail to stay, and return with him to Skyclan camp. Although, kit-like dreams and wants were something long-gone. The tom knew reality would not offer him such ignorance anymore. Allowing himself to let go, yet still, hold on to the precious love so generously gifted to him by Webtail, he watched the silver tabby fade away. Another familiar face soon replaced him.

Once Wedtail stepped back, a familiar face stepped forward, her small paws leaving behind dew-like stars that sparkled for a moment before fizzling away. Lilyheart looked to Rippedsky, her eyes twinkling and sparkling as stars decorated her baby-blues like the moonlit creek. Her fur seemed to sparkle and flow softly with the light wind that shook the blades of grass around them. Lilyheart carried all scents alongside the scent of Skyclan, the seasons, leaf-bare, Green-leaf, Leaf-fall, New-leaf. Lilyheart bit her tongue for a moment, her long petal soft fur flowing.

"Rippedsky..." Lilyheart didn't know where to start, she was Crowstars daughter, she should know. "Rippedsky, remember when we were young and my brother, Breezewhisker was calling for your exile?" A pink nose wrinkled and her eyes squinted with humour, "And foolishly, I actually attacked him and stood up for you? Alongside Cherrymist who was pregnant? Thinking about it, wasn't it funny how melodramatic we all were?" Lilyheart huffed with the make-shifts of a chuckle.

Lilyheart sobered for a moment, unsure of where she was going with her speech. "I suppose what I'm trying to get at is that what I had done for you may be the reason why I am giving you this life tonight. I stood up for what I thought was right, no matter if it was my brother, no matter if you may have had something to do with my brother's death. Tonight, I give you the life of justice. Use it to decide your rulings as a leader, give each cat a fair trial as it is you and you alone to decide their fate." Lilyheart meowed softly, stepping forwards and pressing her nose against the toms forehead, her pink nose wrinkling with her big smile as she stepped back next to Webtail.

Once again, he was stunned by the vision of another cat he had long missed. The Skyclan he had first joined was no more, so many things had changed. One of his former clanmates, a she-cat he had also cherished dearly, stood before him. Lilyheart. She was as beautiful as he remembered her, now with the stars accentuating her lovely coat. Lilyheart had been like a sister to him. Unlike the sweet sorrow he had experienced at the sight of Webtail, there was only joy. As much as he had missed her and the others in life, he knew she was at peace. A soft smile danced across his features and left as quickly as it had come. He remembered the attack in camp. While he held no grudge against Crowstar's kit, there was nothing good associated with it. His soft laugh at her remark almost came out a sigh, and when she continued on in her speech, the tom made sure to listen.

Justice. What was justice supposed to be like? As intense as love? He mulled over this for the split second before her nose was pressed to his forehead. Then, he felt it. The intensity seemed to pour through him. It energized him and drained him, coming in waves. Once again, he saw the moment where he stood across from Breezewhisker. He watched as the images of countless leader's standing before Starclan and their clan, making decisions that no cat could on their own. Right and wrong, just and unjust. Both ripped him apart until he felt he could bear it no more. Slowly, he faded away into the peace of justice, the side of it not often considered. When it died down, leaving him determined and satisfied, the tom nodded to Lilyheart in thanks for her gift.

"You have shown me so much, Lilyheart. Thank you... thank you for everything in life and for everything now." He would miss her too, and once again longed for a moment more to spend with his former clanmate. However, this was not the time for catching up, he was not one of Starclan yet, nor for a while. Rippedsky dipped his head to her before watching her fade back into the rest of the throng of starry cats. The black and white tom had not imagined his leader ceremony quite like this, it was something shrouded in mystery and a secret for leaders and medicine cats alone. At that thought, he wondered who would be next to give him a life. To his shock, one of the last cats he thought would ever address him again stepped forward.

Waiting for his sister to finish giving the leader his life, Antdrop stepped forward into the misty clearing, much less enthusiastic than the other two. No one told him or ordered him to give Rippedsky a life, but something deep down inside of him told him that this was something he had to do. Not much had been said between the group of StarClan cats when they met up, as they were all focusing hard on what to say, but Antdrop wasn't complaining, for he enjoyed the silence.

Approaching Rippedsky, the star-pelted warrior gave him a respectful dip of his head. "You've come a long way from being that WindClan coward I used to know," he said stoically, his cold, green eyes meeting the tom's blue ones. "But, you quickly proved yourself to be a valuable SkyClan warrior, and for that, you're here," he added, the tip of his pitch black tail flicking back and forth as he took a moment to pause.

"Rippedsky..." he began again, thinking about how to say what he had on his mind.

"We were never the best of friends. On top of jealously for Tinylegs, you came along, and I couldn't stand seeing you by my father's side more than I. But now I know... you were destined to join SkyClan, to become deputy, and now leader," he mewed, his words meaning to be full of emotion but his tone as dull as ever. "I was too quick to judge, not just you, but everyone," the older warrior continued. "Breezewhisker and I were so full of hatred towards the world, and it pains me to know that I never got to apologize," Antdrop spoke softly, sadness and regret clouding up in his eyes.

"With this life, I give you forgiveness. That while cats may do you and your clan wrong, you are able to forgive them and not let your anger cloud your judgement, which I pray that you also use wisely," he finished, a smile never crossing his muzzle as he spoke.

Taking a step forward, he every so slightly leaned forward so that hi nose met the tip of Rippedsky's, and the just given life flowed into the new SkyClan leader. "May StarClan light your path," the black tom mewed, dipping his head to Rippedsky a final time and stepping back to join Webtail and Lilyheart.

//screaming cause it was so hard to choose which life to give