a vision of lilac skies [closed]

Her head rose, way earlier than was normal for any cat. The pallid colors of day had just begun to touch the horizon and paint the skies. Underneath it all sat what seemed to be an insignificant, elderly she-cat. In many ways, her gray tinged fur and sunken frame were both unassuming and lacking in any impressive features. Scars told of the many battles she had faced and the experience of an entire lifetime. As the breaths were shallow in her lungs, drawing about frosted morning air that disappeared in thin tendrils, the ancient warrior witness what could only be described as the most stunning sight she had ever seen.

If those purple and violet hues had bathed the earth and slowly engulfed her, the she-cat would have let them. For a moment, she was contented to suck in the frigid winds, letting it splinter her lungs with iced air. The whole thing was a futile effort but as she soaked up the rare moment... something dawn on the she-cat. Windclan had not been abandoned in these seemingly hopeless times. Despite the turn of some of her clanmates from the ancestors, turning their back on highstones, the ancestors and kin before them still watched with wide and caring eyes. They had sent a final message for the worn she-cat in her last sunrise.

It is as beautiful as the most delicate lilacs of flower field.

"Thank you, Starclan, I know... what I must do now." A burden had fallen on her these past few days, an attempt to hold the clan together but now that burden was to be placed on another. The senior warrior rose to her pads and limped slowly towards where the warriors slept. It was an arduous effort and yet it felt like her paws were strengthened and guided in their final task. Her nose nudged the the young cat named Lilacsong and there came a low, raspy whisper, "Come look, Lilacsong. The skies speak to us today... beautiful lilac skies. Starclan has chosen a leader for us."

Lilacsong sat up groggily, confused as she had been awaken. She would have expected Amberfluff, or maybe even Rainpaw, eager as he was in his training, but she was left confused as her eyes registered the elderly she-cat. She recognized that her mother was yet to return from her journey, and Maplewhisker had stepped down, being unready for the position ahead. But had StarClan really chosen a new leader so soon?

"So you think I am meant to replace my mother as leader? Do you really think I will be able to?" It was a lot to take in. She had just woken up, and literally the responsibility of the whole Clan was placed on her shoulders. But as she padded out to see what the senior warrior spoke of, she had to admit it was a beautiful sight. And if it truly was a sign from StarClan, how could she argue?

She turned back to the frail she-cat, and nodded. "So what is it I have to do?" Normally a leader would go to the moonstone to receive their nine lives. But the Asylum forbid that. And she had not even been made deputy before being named leader. There was no preparation to be had for this.

"Nothing has ever been more clear to me." The she-cat rasped, nodding her head ever so slightly. There was a short cough as she looked back up to the skies, then back to the young warrior, "You're young, inexperienced, but our ancestors as mysterious as they may be... don't just paint the skies for any cat." Shallow breaths lined her words and her eyes glowed with a genuine enthusiasm, a sense of peace. Black tail flicking out to touch the pelt of Lilacsong. To those lurking around the camp it seemed to be nothing more than the conversation of old clanmates. Gaze darted to the medicine cat den as she continued, "Rest with the medicine cats. Starclan will find you. Trust them and trust their guidance... I'm far too old to lead a clan. You will do wonderfully."

She dipped her head, letting everything sink in. It was all moving so fast. She was just told she would be leader, and already she is going to receive her lives. And if she was being honest, she never even thought of herself as a leader. Would she even had said yes to being a deputy? She wasn't sure. But there was no choice in this. WindClan needed a leader, now more than ever. And if she was meant to be that leader, then she would lead until her last breath.

"Thank you. For believing in me. I cannot say with absolute certainty that your faith is in the right cat, but if StarClan wills it, then I will do my best to be worthy of it." And with that last note, Lilacsong stood up, padding to the medicine den, and to a new, uncertain future. But then again, when was her future ever certain?