What could go wrong? (Closed)

Nightstar let himself lay on the cold, rocky ground next to the moonstone for a moment, exhaustion weighing his bones and muscles down. It felt as if he had fought a thousand battles with no rest, and in a way, he had with the pain and turmoil, and rare comfort of his ceremony he had experienced might as well have been a battle of his own. But he was also grateful, he had gotten to see so many cats again, but it only cemented that his mother was well and truly gone, but he would carry her memory with him.

Nightstar struggled to his paws, a faint grunt leaving his throat as he hoisted himself into a standing position. He needed to get back to Shadowclan, and he would rest there, he just had to get there first. His paws dragged as he left the cave that the moonstone resided in, and through the paths that were slowly becoming familiar to him until he was squinting his eyes at the rising sun. Nightstar yawned, the dew drops coating his paws as he traveled, but as it was, things were never simple for the young leader.

He stopped in his tracks when he noticed a cat's silhouette in front of him and his anxiety spiked, would this be a hostile encounter? He didn't have the energy right now to put up much of a fight, would he already lose a life if not more just after he had received them? Panic and adrenaline surged in the tom's veins as he crouched, obscuring himself in the grass as he got closer to investigate, the familiar scent of Thunderclan finally wafting and catching on the grass that he was using to hide.

Mottlerose? What was she doing here? Did Minnowstar finally pass onto the stars as well, and she was receiving her lives just as he was? Sighing softly, Nightstar stood to his full height, trying desperately to hide the wear and tear he was feeling and the insurmountable anxieties that made his heart thrum. "Mottlerose? Are you Thunderclan's leader now?" He meowed, padding up to her so that he stood next to her, though he was putting a healthy amount of space between them.

More contemplations filled her head as the new Thunderclan leader fought through the grueling process of having gained her own lives. For the most part, the last few lives she had gotten were much more pleasant in nature, but the first ones? They were brutal. She still remembered a few of them, the crushing sensation that they had slammed her small frame with. It was something that Minnowfin certainly hadn't warned her about, and part of her wished that he did. She would have prepared better, in that case. Perhaps taken some other herbs with her for afterwards.

There was a pounding in her head she didn't quite want to admit to that also kept her to Highstones. It was all part of the exhaustion of her lives, but she desperately wished it would fade away sooner rather than later. Though, at the same time, no longer was the reflection of her lives going through her head. It began to transition to the reality of the situation, and it didn't take long at all for the molly to realize the reality was... rather grim.

Nine lives. Nine lifetimes, all hers. Nine times to die, eight times to come back. Only once would it be final, where she would truly get to meet everyone in the stars. It made her sick to her stomach. It meant outliving all of her children, outliving those she cared about most... potentially even outliving her deputy, Thistlemask. But at the same time, it meant she could truly sacrifice herself for her Clan. Not to be reckless, but to be able to jump in in great times of danger.

It meant that she could give herself as Morningsun did... but without the loss.

She was snapped out from her thoughts as she heard the voice behind her. Leaping to her paws, the new leader turned. There was something different about the way the tom walked, how he spoke... had he gotten his lives as well? She dipped her head, though there was a sorrowful heft to it that she couldn't prevent. "Yes, I am. I just got my lives so... I presume I'm Mottlestar now. I take it you've just gotten yours?" Her head tilted slightly, her signature quirk with listening. If they both had just gotten their lives... Starclan certainly had been busy.

"Yes, it is nothing short of a miracle that we had not run into each other on the journey here, or inside mothermouth herself." Nightstar meowed, settling himself down as he looked across the plains before them, the two-leg structure visible in the distance. A moment of silence was shared between the two cats, as Nightstar took the moment to rest and consider the events of late. He was Shadowclans leader, recognized by Starclan, he would spend his entire lifetime and plus some, dying over and over again for his clan. It scared him, perhaps a bit, that even if he had nine lives, he would lose them all at once just like Froststar, or Murkystar. But he'd be expected to take the risk in some way, wouldn't he? After all, he'd have the lives to spare to use sacrificially.

It wasn't just that he'd be expected to lay down his lives for his clan, but the success of his clan hinged on how good of a leader he was... and that was pretty subjective wasn't it? What made a good leader, or even a great one? He knew he wanted to become the hunter so he wasn't the hunted, but what could he do to secure that?

Mottlestar chuckled at the comment, nodding her head as the jolly sound rang from her chest. "No kidding. I wonder how that would have gone... perhaps the first time Starclan ever had a joint leader ceremony?" The idea sounded interesting, to say the least. It was an admittedly intimate moment, getting one's nine lives. To share it with another cat would probably require a great deal of confidence, alliance... just general sympathy. But even then, having someone who knew exactly what you were going through at your side? It would be invaluable.

The more she thought about it, the more she almost had wished she had Eggdrop or Fawnshine come along. It felt lonely... the idea of journeying back home. Even if she had a great deal to think about, she wanted to celebrate with someone. Conveniently for her, there was a rather fluffy black tom right next to her. "...Care to journey back together? It's not like either of us feel particularly inclined to already lose our lives." She suggested, adding in just a slight joke.

He wanted to say no, to tell her that she was being ludicrous, and to continue on his journey on his own. But Mottlestar's words ignited the fear and anxiety that he was trying to smother in his chest. Perhaps, at least, for the time being, Mottlestar would be his greatest ally. She and Minnowstar had kept Shadowclan safe within their borders for two moons, and had fed them and healed them. But she was right, he didn't really feel like losing a life just after getting them. "Sure, that's fine by me." Nightstar meowed, letting just a little bit of the tension in his shoulder slacken as he beckoned Mottlestar forwards.

She was rather thankful that he had agreed to the walk back together. It would be awkward, figuring out how to pace themselves so as to stay away, if he had said no. Otherwise, she figured they would just have kept running into one another. Thankfully, that wasn't something the tortoiseshell would worry about. His beckoning coincided with her own initiative to move, easily finding a rhythm in-sync with the other, newly named leader. Her gaze seemed to drift upwards towards the sky quite often, her tail flicking back and forth as her mind was ablaze. Was Froststar up there, looking down upon his new successor? Was Morningsun still watching her? Was her Clan doing alright, who had Nightstar named as his deputy? They all were questions that seemed to come and go as they walked in silence for a bit of time. There was no need to force a conversation, after all. But, the mother in her couldn't help it as she meowed, "I hope Shadowclan is doing well since returning home?" They had to have been, given Nightstar felt comfortable enough to journey to Highstones to get his lives. "If there's any way Thunderclan can help, even with just something as simple as herbs, we have no problem offering support." It was her olive branch - her sign that she wasn't against an alliance with the Clan from the marshes. Her tone had a rigidness to it though, so as to respect the status of Shadowclan itself. She knew they weren't weak by any sign. If anything, they were more resilient than the other Clans.

"Shadowclan is fairing well. I'd appreciate it if we took no more from Thunderclan at this time, but if Fawnshine and Eggdrop wish to open a discussion with Fuzzybelly, then I will allow it. But you must stick to the borders and not encroach on Shadowclan land. I will not be digging your medicine cats out of the mud." He warned though he did not go into great detail on why he would have to dig medicine cats out of the mud in the first place. "I'd like to repay Thunderclan one day, but I cannot do that if you keep offering your resources willy nilly." Nightstar was trying to warn Mottlestar that expending her resources so readily to Shadowclan, would prove detrimental to her own clan, but alas, he was exhausted, and it seemed that his vocabulary was suffering for it.