She stared at him for a few moments, grey eyes filled with unease and nervousness. His words did soothe her somewhat and she nodded gratefully. Ravenstone lay beside the pool the way she had seen both of her previous leaders do and touched her nose to the chilling surface. There was a strange, cold burning that spread throughout her entire body that seemed to last forever but finally it ebbed away and she opened her eyes with a gasp.

She was surrounded by landscape that wasn't quite real and the cats around her had stars in their pelts. It was beautiful unlike any sight she had ever seen before and they all seemed to shift and move in unison with one another. She did not speak, but waited for the ceremony to start unsure of what she should expect other than living with nine lives and her new name.

There were several, long moments of silence, allowing for Ravenstone to take in the sight of the star-covered spirits that surrounded her, until finally, a sole figure stepped forward out of the crowd towards the new leader. "Greetings, Ravenstone. Welcome to Starclan. I hope you found your way alright."

A sleek, silver tabby she-cat padded across the small distance between the crowd and the two living cats, her soft, moss-green gaze meeting the leader's as she walked. When she finally stopped, the starry feline was only a breath away from the new leader, and the Starclan warrior smiled gently. "My name is Beautifulgift," she purred introduction. "I've been granted the honor of presenting you with your first life. Long before you, or any of your generation were even born, I was the only one of my litter that survived a brutal sickness, one that also took the life of my father. From apprenticehood, I dedicated every moment of my life into caring for my elderly mother, to the point of pushing my own personal happiness aside. When my mother finally died, I didn't know what to do with myself. I felt like I had failed my mother, so I left Summerclan, never to return." A shadow of sadness crossed her face at that, and Beautifulgift glanced back towards the crowd, where a fluffy, snow-white she-cat smiled encougingly at her. Beautifulgift's own smile returned, and she leaned forward to touch her nose to Ravenstone's forehead.


"With this life I give you Loyalty. Learn from my mistake; don't obsessively devote yourself to just one cat, but dedicate yourself to the good of every member of your clan. Summerclan is a family that extends far beyond blood, and the loyalty that you give to them will be returned in full. Even in the darkest and bleakest of times, they will support you, and you will stand together as one."


With that, Beautifullgift beamed at Ravenstone one last time before walking back to the crowd, nuzzling her mother before taking a seat beside her.

The gray tabby with white feet watched Beautifulgift retake her place among the other StarClan cats. Then with grace, he rose to his paws and padded regally over to the two SummerClan cats. He gave Graythorn a smile then looked at Ravenstone. "Greetings. We've been watching you long before you stepped into the role of leadership and are pleased with what we've seen. I'm Graystar," the famous leader continued. "You will be a great leader, long remembered by future generations of SummerClan cats." He moved in closer to Ravenstone then stopped a mouse length from her. "There is coming a time when you'll need to see what is now hidden from your eyes, the intents of other cats' hearts, the truth that is veiled. With this life, I give you the gift of discernment." Graystar then leaned forward and touched his nose to Ravenstone's nose and instantly he felt a surge of power rush from him to her.

He backed away with a smile on his face, feeling good at the choice of the cat who has become Summerclan's new leader. In his heart too was pride that someone from his lineage was chosen to be a medicine cat. He cast another quick smile at Graythorn before he sat down again with the others.

The starry calico molly grinned as she watched the other past leader step back, rising onto her light paws. The heart shaped patch on her chest glowed fiercely, the center of the pricks of light that made constellations on her pelt. She neared Ravenstar, the smile present in her eyes. She dipped her head, as if she too wasnt a leader at some point. "My name is Pyrostar, a forgotten leader. I lived my life with my heart visible to all, friend or foe, and I lost the ability to tell one from another. Eventually it killed me in the end, but given the chance after death I would not harm my killer. I will entrust you with this life of mercy, which I granted my killer that day, in hopes that you may use it to decide when you may need to strike and when you may need to show some heart of your own." Touching her nose to the other she-cats she churred, a light and happy sound, before prancing back to her spot among the others.

A small black she-cat barely out of apprenticeship pranced on the mist of stars swirling around her feet. Taking a small break from her seeming fawnlike game she padded over to her once clan mate. "Hey Ravenstone!" She exclaimed as she came nose to nose with the new leader. "Oh sorry I mean Ravenstar." she gave a silly giggle. If Snapdragon had made it more than a few moons into her warrior life she would be a senior warrior by now. But dying in her youth she maintained her young spirit. "I died far too young to understand the world you now lead in." she meowed softly an more serious but light mood settling in. "I give you the life of joy. Because a leader who cant learn to find the happiness in the most terrible times with bring her clan down with her. Seek out joy Ravenstar. Don't let them get you down." she reached up on her tip toes to gently touch her muzzle to her head.

Slender as a shadow, she separated herself quietly from the crowd to greet her mother. She looked younger than she was when she died - like a newly promoted warrior once more, her green eyes shy and her svelte frame silky. "Hi," she mewed softly to Ravenstone, hesitant, lacking so much of her certainty from later in life. Her mate had given her confidence, but he had made her blind to his faults, and now that she was aware she could not trust her own self.

"This life is for protection," she began, touching her muzzle to the deputy's. "Nurture your clan, and protect them. Treat your warriors like they are your kits, and you shall never worry their courage or support will lapse." Demonfringe smiled, then, feeling a rush of pride in her mother.

Something changed. A cat came from the group, and silence befell the others. Her pawsteps were slow, but yet... something was off about her. Green eyes flashed slightly, and the feline finally reached Ravenstone. “So you are to be the next leader.” Her eyes seemed to glaze over as she felt her own rush of emotions follow through her pale and almost clear spirit. Almost forgotten... that is what happened to cats whenever they were no longer told of in stories.

“I am Turtlestar.” Her voice was oddly smooth, yet at the same time held a hint of harshness in her tone. “I did not have an easy leadership. My lives ceremony was interrupted by the dark forest cats. Cats with dark hearts, looking to wipe SummerClan out entirely. They cursed me with a dark life, and in the end... it drove me mad. I was not myself for so long, even up until my death came. I drove SummerClan through hard times, and my clan mistrusted me. With great reason...” Her eyes shifted away for a moment, shame clearly pooling from her. Then she met the cat’s eyes once more,”I pray that you never have to go through what I did. To know that you are not yourself, and are only dooming your clan...”

“With this life, I give you hardship. You must know how to handle the hardships when you make mistakes, and suddenly your clan mistrusts you. You must never let another influence your decisions, and must know the hardship of living sometimes... without friends. Without family.” Turtlestar’s life went a little deeper than some, and it became clear by the look in her eyes that she was giving a life that was more of a curse than a blessing.

“You will learn from this.” She leaned forward and touched the cat’s forehead, a surge of light piercing the area, and her own memories flowing into Ravenstone, forcing the warrior to live them, as if she herself were Turtlestar. It would give her an unimaginable pain, and heart break, knowing how hard it was to control herself when something else compelled her to do dark things.

Like a breath of fresh air against the two previous lives, a chestnut-colored tom stepped forward. His coat was short with sprays of white here and there and full of starlight. His airy blue eyes were full of warmth and rest as he stepped towards the leader. He was tall and graceful, like an elk, and behind him was a much smaller she-cat with a shimmering smile. It was clear the two cats were siblings, but one only made it to an apprentice before she died. He motioned for the smaller cat to remain where she was and strode towards Ravenstar with a soft, friendly smile on his muzzle.

"Greetings. My name is Onelight. Not long before you were born, I was a proud warrior of Summerclan. My sister, Sweetpaw, and I were adopted into the clan as kits after escaping from rogues. I will always be grateful for the clan's acceptance of us." He started, glancing back at all of the cats assembled. "Now, as you have heard, in this life there will be hard times and trouble. You will have to stand strong when the rest of the clan cannot find the light. With this life, I give you resilience. May you always lift your head against the shadows and find that inner strength to carry on. Remember, we will be here to guide you."

He leaned forward and touched his nose to her head. The life that he gave brought the feeling of triumph. In it, she would be able to feel the hardship that he and the blind Sweetpaw went through as they grew up in the clan. Not only that, but she would feel that inner push to keep going. It was uplifting, yet left the stinging feeling of dried tears. The tears served as proof that the hardship was there, but the fact that you overcame it.

Onelight gave her a small wink after she received the life, and it was followed by a cheery giggle from Sweetpaw. He stepped back into the cluster of cats and waited for the last life to be given.