Post by Bast on Jan 9, 2012 16:25:32 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true] |
| [atrb=background,http://i43.tinypic.com/10qb0k1.jpg] [scrolly:h(910),w(460),sy] THE journey to the Starcavern, started at sunhigh, took until dusk before Adderstrike reached the mouth. Once reached however, the spotted tom had to stop and stare into the deep mouth of the cave. Even with his keen eyes, he could barely see any further than a few feet into the shadows. From here, it looked like it went on forever, sloping down further and further into the earth. Long hooked claws flexed, scraping the ground under his paws, dappled tail swishing behind him. No one could ever say Adderstrike had been a cat to hesitate. He leaped head first into things, without hesitation. Always had and probably always would but in this moment, the tom couldn’t quite make himself move yet. Caution nagged at his mind and made his heart race. What if StarClan turned him away like they had Wrenstar? Then what? He had no one to step up after him since he had yet to name a new deputy. Would StarClan turn him away? Bury him forever in this crypt below the ground where no one would ever find him? ‘IF they turn me down, they turn me down. I’ll never find out if I just stand here.’ THOUGHT firm in his mind, Adderstrike finally began his descent into the dark cavern. All around him, cold stone tried to steal the warmth from his body, as if it could suck the life from him. Within minutes his breath began to mist as it escaped his nose and mouth. There was nothing to see but inky black shadows. Occasionally the outline of a boulder or rock would come into sight but it was never significant. The ground under his feet was smooth, worn by time and the steps of millions of cats before him. It sloped downward gently at first but with each step the decline grew steeper and steeper until he had to have his claws out to keep from sliding straight down into the unknown, catching his paws on rocks to keep from slipping. Adderstrike had no idea how long he walked in the encompassing darkness, all sense of time lost the instant he stepped into the shadows. At long last, a rim of dim light caught his eyes. The ground underfoot leveled out and without meaning to, Adderstrike sped up, strangely eager to reach the light in this place that felt so dead and cold. PASSING through the opening, the young deputy found himself in a cavern. It wasn’t massive but it was roomier than anywhere else in this underground place. A pool, fed by no stream or trickle of water, rippled at the heart even though there was no wind to move it down here. The pool itself was what emitted the light Adderstrike had seen from the passage. The water seemed to glow an eerie blue-white and when he crept closer to peer into it, Adderstrike couldn’t find the bottom but could tell the pool was impossibly clear. Looking up at the cavern ceiling, the breath was stolen from the leopard’s lungs at what he saw. The reflecting light from the strangely glowing pool looked like a million dancing stars on a stony night sky. It was beautiful beyond imagination. Adderstrike knew he would never forget the sight, not even if he was two hundred moons old, blind and deaf with age. He would hold on to this, the beauty in this impossibly dark place. Drawing his gaze from the ceiling, Adderstrike swallowed hard and steeled himself for what was to come. Moving closer and dropping into a crouch at the very edge of the pool, the tom licked up a few drops of the cool clear water. Almost at once his eyelids grew heavy. Every tense muscle in the tom’s body relaxed and his body in turn slumped to the side as slumber washed over him like waves on the ocean shore. “WAKE up sleepyhead, this is no time to be napping!” The words were followed by an unearthly childish giggle, a sound Adderstrike would never forget. PRYING his eyelids apart, the golden leopard found himself laying in a forest clearing in the height of Greenleaf. It was night, a full moon hanging high in the sky, millions of stars shimmering all around it like an adoring crowd of followers. What drew Adderstrike’s golden gaze was neither the moon nor the massive trees standing guard all around the clearing. It was the cat sitting placidly not more than a few tail-lengths away. She was beautiful, cloaked in silvery moonlight with stars glittering in her lively golden eyes. Her pelt looked as soft as rabbit fur and her muscles strong and oh she was simply too beautiful. Adderstrike’s heart thudded painfully in his chest as he dragged himself upright, swallowing the rock suddenly lodged in his throat. Longing and pain and sorrow and love thundered through the young leopard but his paws were cemented to the ground, he couldn’t get up and run to her like he wanted to. “AMBERPAW,” Adderstrike breathed, as though afraid his words would whisk her away. THE young she-cat smiled, bright and alive and beautiful. “Hello brother. Oh you’ve made me so proud!” Her voice was bubbly and bright like a sunny day, just like it had been in her life before she left. “But I can’t sit here and gush all night; you’ve got places to be and cats to see.” GRINNING practically from ear to ear, the young leopardess bounced to her feet. With springy steps, seeming light as a feather, Amberpaw danced across the distance between them. When she was close enough, Adderstrike inhaled deeply. She still smelled like summer rain and home. Opening his eyes again, he met her deep golden gaze. He never wanted to look away. Letting Amberpaw leave had been the biggest mistake of his life, like the sun had left LeopardClan forever. “WITH this life, I give you endless love, the love a mother has for her kits, the love a brother has for his sister, the love a leader has for his clan,” Amberpaw said, her voice suddenly solemn and firm. “May you use it ever to protect and guide your clan.” When she leaned forward, Adderstrike tried to brace himself, not knowing what to expect. ONE would expect a life of love to feel warm and soft and kind. That was not what Adderstrike felt. It felt sharp and strong and painful. It tore at his heart as he saw a mother mourning her dead kits. Pain he had never known flooded through him as a clan solemnly buried a leader. Image after image flashed in his mind as the heartbreaking pain continued coursing through him. Adderstrike lost track of Amberpaw somewhere in the visions and when he opened his eyes again, he was laying on the ground panting. Amberpaw was gone and the clearing was empty and still. Shuddering from nose to tail tip, Adderstrike dragged himself into a sitting position, shoulders slumped as he tried to slow his racing heart. After a few moments, his heartbeat slowed down and he was able to sit up straight. AS fast as he blinked, the clearing went from empty to once more having a star-studded cat not but a few tail-lengths from the leader-to-be. Adderstrike stiffened so as not to jump at the appearance of the burly dark gold tom. It was his father, Hookedclaw. In life, he had been much more scarred and tattered looking after a lifetime of fights and disputes and wars. Now, beneath the light of StarClan, Hookedclaw looked sleek and powerful and dangerous. He had always looked dangerous though. Adderstrike could remember as a kit, he had sometimes feared his father for his thundering voice, commanding presence and roughened appearance. Hookedclaw had died the way he had wished, fighting a LionClan patrol a few moons before Adderstrike had been made a warrior. Now the tom was crouched in the grass, inspecting Adderstrike with his intense gaze. “ALWAYS had to prove you were something, didn’t you?” Hookedclaw rumbled finally, sitting up and then standing. “Well, you’ve done it.” TO anyone else, it would almost seem like Hookedclaw was brushing Adderstrike off and all that he had achieved. Adderstrike knew better. Hookedclaw had always been gruff and there was affection in his gaze, a rare sight indeed. Seeing it, however, made the younger tom sit up straighter as Hookedclaw approached. “WITH this life, I give you a life of determination to forever protect and serve LeopardClan until your last breath, no matter the cost.” ADDERSTRIKE didn’t even feel Hookedclaw’s nose brush his brow. A life of determination felt like someone had tethered him to a load of boulders and forced him to pull it uphill. His muscles strained under his golden pelt, his claws dug into the ground and his ears rang crazily as the feeling of a million warriors’ stubborn will pushed on him. Adderstrike fought back against the onslaught this time, pushing them as they pushed back. It was like repeatedly running headlong into a boulder, and felt just about as effective. Who knew his ancestors could be so darn stubborn? Still, Adderstrike was known for his own stubborn will. How long Adderstrike struggled against them, he had no idea only that, as quickly as it had started, it ended. The pressure and force of will vanished so quickly that the young tom nearly toppled over in surprise. Whether because his feet were immobile or because he was skilled like that, Adderstrike somehow managed to stay upright when he once more opened his eyes. He expected to find an empty clearing again and have to wait for the next life but it was not so. Sitting where Hookedclaw had been was a clouded leopard kit, long-limbed and gangly with dark brown eyes. When the kit looked up, Adderstrike remembered who it was. LONGKIT. Before becoming deputy, Adderstrike had had to help rescue some kits from the river. Two of them had been his younger brothers and the third had been Longkit. While each kit had been rescued alive, little Longkit had later died of whitecough from the river water he’d inhaled. Standing in front of the star-studded kit, Adderstrike felt bad for having more or less forgotten him. The kit peered up at him with starry eyes and wisdom in his face that far exceeded his death age of five moons. The kit gave no preamble to his life, simply standing and approaching Adderstrike Since the kit, though tall for his age, was still just a kit, Adderstrike dropped into a crouch to be more on level with the young clouded leopard. “WITH this life, I give you the ability to adapt and change like the leaves change with the seasons and the moon changes with the passing of days.” Longkit’s voice was soft and light but when the young tom touched Adderstrike, the life he gave was anything but. IMAGES flashed through Adderstrike’s mind. Trees with barren trunks sprouting full green leaves and then shedding them in red and gold. The moon high above the territory waxing and waning. A valley filled with snow in bareleaf’s rage and then melting to reveal a field of colorful wildflowers. A young kit grew in seconds to a handsome young warrior and then just as quickly grew grey in the whiskers and bright eyes grew foggy with age until the old cat laid down and died. Many more images pressed in on Adderstrike’s eyes, forcing themselves on his mind even though he could never remember or understand them all. They were jumbled and hurried, eager to impress their importance upon him. Instead of push back against them this time, Adderstrike let them wash over him like a stone at the bottom of a river, letting the waters rush over and around it instead of fighting back. In time the images slowed and Adderstrike was finally able to open his eyes. He felt breathless when he did, as though he’d run a hundred miles without stopping. Giving his head a shake to clear it form the last cluttered images, Adderstrike looked around. The clearing was empty again. RECLINING on his haunches again, the tom wrapped his tail around his side and took this moment to collect himself. He felt winded, tired and battered. How many lives had that been? It felt like a million but it had only been three. Adderstrike huffed and shook his head in awe at it all. When he looked up again, he was no longer alone. Sitting across from him was another burly tomcat, a snow leopard this time. His pelt, unlike the usual crisp silver of a snow leopard’s pelt was more akin to the color of stone, a deep ashy gray with his spots thrown hither and thither. Pale green eyes regarded Adderstrike with mild interest. Adderstrike again sat up straighter. Jaggedhawk, the deputy of Brightstar before Wrenfeather had stepped up upon Jaggedhawk’s death. Adderstrike remembered him as being strong but kind enough though he did have his temper, not as hot as Adderstrike’s but he knew enraging Jaggedhawk had been like causing an avalanche, devastating in the end. Adderstrike had been with Jaggedhawk when he died, they had searched for the kits together, the group Longkit had been with. For some reason that knowledge made it hard to meet the pale green gaze. STANDING up, Jaggedhawk actually loomed over Adderstrike as he approached. The broad snow leopard was one of the few cats Adderstrike had ever felt intimidated by but this time he forced himself not to shrink back or lean away from the former deputy. Instead, he listened quietly as Jaggedhawk spoke, voice rumbling like thunder. “With this life, I grant you a life of devotion to the clan, that you may never abandon them nor deny them in their time of need.” The brief touch on Adderstrike’s brow nearly blew the smaller tom away. He was filled to the brim with a fierce determination to go back to his clan and never leave them, to guard each one of them as though they were precious gems. He wanted to save them the pain of wars and the agony of burying loved ones. He wanted to stand beside them in their times of joy and pain alike and make sure they made it through in one piece. He never wanted to leave. He never would. Never could. Again this life washed through him as though he were nothing more than a stone in a riverbed, all-consuming and demanding his attention, making struggling futile. THIS time when Adderstrike forced his eyes open again, it was just in time to see Jaggedhawk melt away into nothing more than moonbeams and stardust. Just as the former deputy fully vanished, another cat appeared like a warm ray of sunshine to take his place. This cat nearly did have Adderstrike bounding across the clearing, save for the fact he still couldn’t move his feet. He did stand up though, at the sight of this newest cat, his next life embodied in a star-studded golden pelt and the warmest amber eyes he’d ever seen. She was beautiful, slender and graceful, sweet as the dawn and as gentle as a breeze. Spottedpool, his mother, dead barely a moon. Adderstrike’s heart thudded hard in his ribs as if it longed to escape and run to her. When she approached, paws skimming soundlessly over the dewy grass, Adderstrike leaned forward. “MOTHER…” the word was barely breathed, as though she would vanish. SPOTTEDPOOL smiled kindly, as warm as the springtime sun after a long winter. The affection radiating from the beautiful she-cat was enough to make Adderstrike never want to leave this place, her presence. Everyone had adored Spottedpool in life, she had been so gentle and kind and lovely. Three litters of kits had been born by her and she had loved them all, letting them bask in her love when life was just too hard to bear alone. She was their safe haven, their dawn and dusk. Not a single child of hers ever denied her their love nor sent her away when she offered hers. Her death had been hard on the clan, on all of them, even those that barely knew her. “MY son,” Spottedpool said, her voice so loving it made Adderstrike’s heart quiver anxiously, wanting to hear more. “You’ve made me so proud, so so proud.” A warm purr followed Spottedpool’s words, her eyes alight with affection and indeed, pride, an emotion she had seldom indulged in while alive. “With this life, I give you compassion for the weak, meek and different of your clan. May you never turn a blind eye to their needs nor a deaf ear to their cries.” THE life Spottedpool bestowed on Adderstrike was not what he expected. He had expected something fierce and strong like all the other lives but that was not what he felt. The life came upon Adderstrike like sunbeams do when the clouds split open after a storm, like a warm rush of light and wind and kindness. In his mind, he saw the blind and deaf and crippled, the clumsy, the slow, the weak. Their faces, young and old alike, turned toward him like sunflowers tracking the sun throughout the day. The admiration and hope in their eyes made Adderstrike shiver to think they placed all their hopes on him but he did not feel impatience nor distaste for them like some warriors. He felt only acceptance for them and an overwhelming urge to whisk away their pains and show them how strong they truly were. That life in particular took Adderstrike a while to open his eyes from, partially because of the strength of it but also because it was a life so preciously given by Spottedpool. How many cats could say their mother had given them life not once but twice? WHEN the young tom finally did make himself look around again, shaking where he sat, it was to find his next life already waiting. This one waited in the ever steady form of Dapplefur, his second sister, slain by a snakebite she had refused to tell anyone about. She had insisted she would be alright, that the medicine cat was already so busy and she didn’t even think it was poisonous. It had been, stealing her away in the dead of night with a raging fever and violent illness. By the time the medicine cat had been made aware of Dapplefur’s illness, she had already been too far gone for herbs and prayers to StarClan. Seeing her now roused sympathy and affection in Adderstrike, though not nearly as violently as Amberpaw or Spottedpool had. He loved his sister, don’t let anyone make you think otherwise, but he had never been extremely close to Dapplefur and had for a long time after her death been angry with her for not using better sense. Now though, he rose to meet her as she calmly strode toward him, as placid and at ease as a cloud floating lazily through a bright blue sky. “WITH this life, I grant you loyalty,” Dapplefur intoned, voice firm and unwavering as it had always been in life, her cooler gray gaze meeting his hot amber eyes. “Stand beside those you list as friends and never waver from your clan. If your word is given, never break it.” Adderstrike couldn’t help but appreciate the life Dapplefur gave him as it washed over him with the feeling of binding chains sealing him to every pact he would ever make. Dapplefur had always valued loyalty above all else. In her steely eyes, there was no reason anyone should ever break their word. A promise given was a promise to be kept, no matter how impossible. He would treasure the life she gave him, if only because it was the only way he could savor her memory and truly think of her fondly. THE intensity of Dapplefur’s life passed faster than Adderstrike had expected leaving him to await the next life-giver. In a rush of wind it came in the form of a lanky young snow leopard with icy blue eyes and a heart-winning grin. Adderstrike’s ears perked forward at the sight of his former apprentice, Mossheart. The young tom had been a charming one, grinning at everyone and happy no matter what happened. At first Adderstrike had been sharp with him, determined to make the tom stop faking happiness all the time. It had taken a long time before Adderstrike realized it wasn’t that Mossheart was faking happiness, but that he was happy. Mossheart had been the sort of cat to treasure every sunrise and think of every day as a blessing simply because he was still alive. He’d lasted only a moon as a warrior before greencough struck him down. He’d been helping the medicine cat since the other had lacked an apprentice to do the job right. Apparently exposure had become too much for Mossheart and the sickness had brought him down hard. Now though, this was not the sick shell Adderstrike had sat vigil with and then buried at dawn’s light. This cat was healthy and full of light with genuine happiness in his starry eyes. It lightened Adderstrike’s heart to know his apprentice was still happy, even in the afterlife. MOSSHEART approached with springy steps similar to Amberpaw’s, tail swishing to and fro behind him. He came to a stop barely a claw’s length from his former mentor, still smiling. “With this life, I grant you patience to train the young cats in your care and listen to the words of those more experienced than you.” Ah, a trait Mossheart had well embodied. He had been a quick learner, very patient with younger cats and had always stopped to listen when Adderstrike gave a lesson. Closing his eyes, he accepted the life Mossheart had to give. SO like Spottedpool’s life, this one was not fierce like the others. It came, gentle and calm, like the tide slowly creeping into the shore. It washed over Adderstrike the way the wind does when a breeze kicks up, not hard and demanding but gentle and almost coaxing. It was a slow life, Adderstrike noticed, trickling into him where the others had flooded and pushed. This life trickled into Adderstrike’s consciousness through the cracks in the armor he so often wore to keep others at bay, so like Mossheart had worked his way into his mentor’s good graces. The other lives had pushed themselves in, forcing their way to where it felt like they didn’t belong. This one, Adderstrike opened up to and let it in, slowly and almost warily but still did not deny it. WITH the seventh life finished Adderstrike opened his eyes to see who was next. To his surprise, it was another snow leopard, small and young with bright blue eyes. His heart gave a painful pang at the sight of this new cat. Shellpaw. Freshly deceased and still heavy in Adderstrike’s heart even as he took Crescentpaw under his wing. Seeing the young tom was as painful as seeing Mossheart. Greencough was an unfortunate killer it seemed, to Adderstrike’s apprentices at least. It had taken Shellpaw far faster than any others however, in no less than three days after him becoming ill, Addetrike had been sitting vigil beside his unmoving body. Now he was healthy and young, pelt smooth and sleek with good health. His silvery fur shimmered in the moonlight and his eyes looked brighter here than they ever had in life. Adderstrike closed his eyes to accept the newest life, his eighth. “WITH this life, I give you tireless energy.” Shellpaw’s voice floated into Adderstrike’s mind and he tried to hold on to it. When he’d found out Shellpaw was ill and then later when he’d sat beside the dead tom all night, Adderstrike had struggled to remember the last time he’d really, truly listened to his apprentice. He was listening now, for all he was worth. “Use this energy to guide and teach your clan in times of war and peace alike.” TIRELESS energy apparently equated to being struck by lightning. It zipped through Adderstrike, frying every nerve ending in his body. It zinged along his spine and snapped in his brain like a million sparks flying behind his eyes. His fur stood on end in the shock of it as it made his paws tingle almost painfully. His heart raced in his chest as though it would break his ribs with the force of it. In his ears, Adderstrike could hear his own blood rushing wildly through his veins until it felt like it would boil or burst out of him. A fire started in his belly and it took all his stubborn will to not heave and retch. He clamped his jaws shut so tightly his fangs ground together and sent more sparks of pain through his skull. By the time the energy finally seeped away, every muscle in Adderstrike’s body was shaking. He felt woozy and sick, his stomach tossing and turning like a stormy sea. His vision wavered and blinked, the stars swirling crazily overhead. He felt like a bucket filled with water all the way to the brim. Adding anymore would surely make it all spill out… “IT’S a lot to take in, isn’t it?” THE voice made Adderstrike’s head snap up so quickly the world spun wildly. He ignored the sensation though, zeroing in on the cat that had spoken. Oh she looked as strong and beautiful and capable as in life! Brightstar stood in the moonlight, brilliant beyond explanation. Her golden pelt glittered and shimmered over lean muscles. Cunning blue eyes peered at him and her traditional amused smirk was in place. She was younger than when Adderstrike had known her in life but there was no doubt that this was indeed Brightstar. No one could copy that look, the intelligence in those eyes and the strength hidden in a fair, supple body. Adderstrike’s mouth went dry at the sight of his beloved mentor. “YOU’VE made me, all of us really, quite proud,” Brightstar went on, tail curling around her side to rest beside her paws. “You’ve come so far and struggled through so much. Now you will take the mantel of the clan upon your shoulders and hold it up with all the strength we know you have and StarClan’s guidance. I am glad to have been your mentor and friend.” ADDERSTRIKE did something then that he seldom ever did. He bowed his head, bowed low. “Thank you Brightstar. You taught me so much. I couldn’t have done this without you.” HE looked up in time to see a smile make Brightstar’s whiskers twitch. She rose fluidly and trotted cross the grass to him. Standing before him, she brushed her nose over his brow. “With this life, I give you good judgment to know who is friend and who is foe, to see with eyes unclouded by hate, to bring justice to a clan so starved for it.” BRIGHT’S life was, without a doubt, the most painful. It ripped into Adderstrike will a million curved claws and it held for all it was worth. Feelings of indecision tore through him like hurricane winds battering a shoreline. It took all of Adderstrike’s will not to stand firm instead of giving in and collapsing under the force of it pushing so insistently on him. It burned white-hot in his veins and sizzled in his stomach, snapping angrily in his mind, aggressive and strong and oh so painful. How long this last life burned through him, Adderstrike had no clue. All he knew for sure is that when he finally dragged himself from the pain of it, he was shaking like a leaf in the wind. A good breeze could have knocked him down, and yet, he still stood. Brightstar was still there too, though now she was not alone. ARCHED in a half circle before him Adderstrike saw them all. Spottedpool and Hookedclaw, Shellpaw and Mossheart. Dapplefur and Amberpaw. Jaggedhawk and Longkit. They flanked Brightstar, whom stepped back to stand at the center of the arch. The moonlight danced off their pelts and starlight was dazzling in their eyes. In the undergrowth behind them, Adderstrike saw other eyes flickering to life, all shades of blue and amber. Adderstrike felt a shiver run down his spine. The gazes of his ancestors gazed at him from behind those that had granted him life. Adderstrike’s claws dug into the ground. “THE cat before us no longer shall be known as Adderstrike.” A thousand voices spoke at once, echoing in Adderstrike’s ears like thunder. He fought the urge to shrink back and quake before them, nameless and weary. “From this moment on, all shall know this cat as Adderstar!” ADDERSTAR’S eyes snapped open and he jolted upright. Darkness accosted him from all sides, pressing on his eyes, relieved only by the glow of the pool at his paws. His breathing was fast and heavy, shivers coming down his spine in cascades. Every muscle in his body felt strained and used and tired, stretched to the limit and then slapped back onto the bone. Rising shakily to his paws, Adderstar stared at the pool another moment longer before he sucked in a deep breath and let it out. On shaking paws, the young tom turned away from the pool and slowly began his trek back to the surface. Tagged;; NA Words;; 4929 Singing;; an entire playlist Notes;; longest post of my posting career....8 pages in word |
 |
