SilverStar's quest

Chapter 8-meeting the stars

When she opened her eyes, SilverWing saw the stary world of starclan's hunting grounds. Cats of the four clans stood before her. Some she recognised and some she had only heard stories of.  A light brown tabby padded forward until he was stood in front of SilverWing. "CrookedStar!" SilverWing mewed quietly as she recognised the former RiverClan leader. "Greetings SilverWing. It is time for you to receive your nine lives. Are you ready?" The tom asked.

"Yes." SilverWing replied shakily. "With this life, I give you trust. Use it well and trust in your new clanmates just as they trust in you." CrookedStar touched his nose to SilverWing's and a surge of energy passed through her body. SilverWing bit back a yowl of pain as she stood before the tom. As the pain ebbed away, she watched CrookedStar take his place among her ancestors. 'I hope I can handle this.' SilverWing thought as her legs shook underneath her. Next, a small black tom padded up to her, one leg dragging behind him. SilverWing didn't recognise the tom but she could pick up the faint and faded scent of WindClan on his pelt. "With this life, I give you courage. Use it well to protect your clan like those before you have." The Black tom dipped his head and spoke as he touched SilverWing's nose with his own. "I am DeadFoot, former deputy of Windclan." He explained. As SilverWing felt another painful surge of energy pass through her. Images flashed past SilverWing's vision, as though she was witnessing DeadFoot's life through his eyes. When the pain faded, another cat had already padded over to her. A dark brown tom who shared DeadFoot's Windclan scent. "I am BarkFace, former med cat to Windclan." The tom told her. SilverWing recognised his name and braced herself for the next life. "With this life, I give you knowledge. Use it well to instruct and guide your clan in the moons to come. The life was the same as before as she stood, holding back her yowl of pain as the new life flooded into her. SilverWing's muscles screamed in protest as she stood on shaky legs. The next cat was one she had heard stories about. "FeatherTail." She mewed softly. The light grey tabby stood in front of her as she spoke. "With this life I give you sacrifice. Give all you can to your clan and your friends." As SilverWing felt the life surge into her, she saw images flash before her eyes. She felt fear as she stood behind a large grey tom. She felt worry and exhaustion as she saw mountains before her and finally she felt determination as she fell down from a high ledge. 'That must have been FeatherTail's memories.' SilverWing realised as FeatherTail padded back to her spot. The next cat was a brown tom. SilverWing recognised him as OakHeart, MistyStar's father. "With this life I give you justice. Use it well to judge the actions of your clanmates." OakHeart touched his nose to SilverWing's and she once again saw moments of the toms life flash before her eyes. As the pain faded away, a grey tom that MistyStar had told many tales about stepped forward. "StoneFur...." SilverWing breathed in awe. "With this life I give you loyalty. Use it well and follow what you believe is right." StoneFur mewed. He gave SilverWing a life and joined the other warriors. 'How will I ever manage to receive 3 more lives?' She thought tiredly. The next cat was a ginger tom. "My name is FlameHeart of ShadowClan." He told SilverWing. "With this life, I give you forgiveness. Use it to forgive those that you believe hurt you." FlameHeart's life was less painful. SilverWing could feel his sorrow and anger towards another cat and finally acceptance as he forgave them. The life ebbed away and FlameHeart took his place among the stary ancestors. A pale brown and white shecat padded up next, her body the size of an apprentice. "SoulHeart?" SilverWing mewed, recognising the shecat as her old friend's sister. SoulHeart dipped her head. "With this life I give you patience. Be patient with the cats you love and lead your clan calmly. SoulHeart gave SilverWing her life and SilverWing felt the frustration at having to wait. Then the pain and regret of a decision and finally, the realisation and acceptance of what happened. Her head cleared and SilverWing was face to face with her old friend. "NightWing. I'm so happy to see you!" She exclaimed. The dark grey shecat simply smiled at her friend. "With this life I give you compassion. Use it to show your clanmates the compassion that a medicine cat has for her patients." NightWing placed her brown paw on SilverWing's. "I'm so proud to call you my friend." She muttered before touching her nose to SilverWing's. SilverWing allowed her ninth life to surge through her. When she looked again, she saw the cats that had given her her nine lives, stood in front of her. They all called out her new name. "SilverStar! SilverStar!" SilverStar was bursting with pride at hearing her new name. The dream soon faded and the last thing she heard was NightWing calling out to her. "Lead well my friend and teach these rogues the ways of the clans."

SilverStar woke up and raised her head. She felt exhausted and her legs ached with the pain of receiving 9 lives. "SilverStar?" Came the mew behind the leader. She stood up and turned around to face Honey. "I have received my nine lives. However I cannot share the details of my dream with anyone." SilverStar mewed. Honey dipped her head in acknowledgment and lead the way back to the others. "We should head back to camp. Thank you for your help Snowy." She mewed. SilverStar stood calmly but she was visibly shaking from the ceremony. Gaia padded over to her. "We should rest first." He mewed with a glance towards the others. Catching what Gaia was trying to do, Cinder let out a yawn and Dawn murmured her agreement. SilverStar looked at them. "I suppose we can rest for a bit." She mewed. Snowy stood up. "Of course you can." She mewed cheerfully. "Now lie down. Me and Gaia can go hunting, right Gaia?" She added. Gaia nodded. Snowy padded of and Gaia gave SilverStar a light nuzzle before following. Honey guided SilverStar to the others and settled down beside them. "I'll keep watch." Patch mewed. "I'm not tired anyway." He added when he saw Cinder about to protest. The rest of the cats settled down to sleep.