#the fire/haven/crag thing was partially true btw. not as much with havenpool but fireflash loved crageagle a lot

[ghostclangen]

When Hornetstar was given her nine lives, it was nightmarish. That’s what she’d told him (despite Marshlily’s protests about confidentiality) when she first spoke to him about Waterfur. But when Fireflash wakes up after reluctantly touching the Moongem, he awakes into a brilliant shining day.

“This must be StarClan,” he murmurs, looking around. Second only to the Cavern and its ethereal glow, it’s the most beautiful place he’s ever seen. A slight breeze ruffles the long grass around him, and a forest, leaves dappled with light, lies in the near distance. Clear blue ponds dot the landscape, reflecting the cloudless sky. For the first time that day, he feels a sense of relief; not enough to wash all the stress away, but he’d been expecting far worse.

“It is indeed.”

Fireflash turns around and is unable to keep back a gasp. Behind him stands what must be hundreds of cats, their coats shimmering as if made of stars. Their eyes are ablaze, but Fireflash senses no hostility, simply expectant curiosity—though admittedly, he’s still intimidated; with no idea what to expect from a real leader ceremony, he simply stands there, overwhelmed.

As his eyes flick from face to face, some of them familiar but most not, his eyes finally fall on a group of nine cats at the front, and his heart skips a beat at the sight of some of his most beloved cats. Before he can say hello to them, though, the crowd speaks in unison once more: “Welcome, Fireflash.”

Fireflash chuckles nervously. “Um. Hi?”

A little laugh comes from the front of the crowd, and from the group at the front, a dark tabby tom steps forward.

“Charredtail!” Fireflash breathes, more in amazement than in greeting. It’s not that he didn’t know what StarClan was, but still, to see all of his departed loved ones again … It’s not something anyone can prepare for.

After giving him a fond smile, Charredtail touches his nose to Fireflash’s forehead. “With this life, I give you sympathy and understanding. Use it well to support your Clanmates through their suffering.” Then, after a pause, he adds sheepishly, “Sorry about this next part.”

“What next pa-”

As soon as he says it, Fireflash is swept away in a sensation unlike anything he’d felt before. Every inch of him feels like it’s on fire, every nerve set ablaze as the fur rises along his spine. His mind, too, spins out of control; all at once, the only thing his eyes and nose pick up is the tang of blood, and mortal fear washes over him—but it’s slowly replaced with a feeling of acceptance. 

Fireflash takes a deep breath in, struggling to maintain composure. He’d been prepared for intensity, he supposes, but the pain of gaining a new life was still almost unbearable. He balks at the concept of eight more lives rushing through him.

The next cat to approach is Havenpool, and a wound that he thought had healed opens in Fireflash's heart at the sight of him. As much as he loved- and still loves- Rapidspeckle, he'd always regretted never properly confessing his feelings to him and Crageagle. Call it a flight of fancy, but he'd bonded with Crageagle over their outsider origins, and he'd quickly fallen in love with both him and his mate. But now they were both gone, and Rapidspeckle, too.

Before he can start to fully spiral, Havenpool's nose is on his forehead and says, "With this life, I give you truth. Use it well to stay loyal to your heart."

Fireflash takes in another sharp breath as the life courses through him. With grit teeth, he shuts his eyes tight, struggling to bear the vertigo from the spinning of his mind, shot through with lightning-like pain.

As Havenpool turns away, not one but three cats step forward, and Fireflash’s heart aches at the sight of his family: Flamenco, Cobaltshine, and Miteskitter. His eyes fill with tears of happiness and melancholy, but he blinks them away before anyone can see—hopefully.

Flamenco is the first cat to touch his nose to Fireflash’s forehead. “With this life, I give you love. Use it well to nurture what needs healing.”

This life, thank StarClan, goes down smoother. There’s still a background noise of pain, but most of what he feels is affection—platonic, familial, and romantic, all swirling together. The faces of his loved ones, living and dead, flit through his brain, and despite the ache in his bones, he can’t help but smile. “Thanks, Dad,” he says softly, but Flamenco is already walking away to sit with Cobaltshine. 

Miteskitter steps forward next. “With this life, I give you judgment,” he says. “Use it well to tell what’s righteous from what’s not.”

Pulsing pain races through Fireflash’s body once more, and he grits his teeth, tempted—though unable—to run. While the dizzying feeling should be disorienting, he finds that his brain becomes sharper instead of confused. He takes a deep breath in, then another one out, feeling more stable than before, more ready to accept the next six lives. It’s the right thing to do, he knows; GhostClan needs a strong leader.

That leaves only Cobaltshine. Fireflash is hit with a pang of guilt; even if she had been under the influence of the curse, he was still close friends with Hornetstar, and he doubts she’d be nearly as forgiving of the cat who killed her than Charredtail had been. 

If Cobaltshine harbors any resentment toward him, however, it doesn’t show. Like the first three cats, she touches Fireflash’s forehead and says, “With this life, I give you determination. Use it to fight for your Clan until the very last moment.”

A surge of energy washes over him, and he gasps. This is the most powerful he’s ever felt in his life—was this how the tigers of legend felt? His muscles grow tense, aching as the life runs through him. It’s a good ache, though, the ache that comes after a good run or a victorious battle. He knows in his bones that nothing could stop him now.

When he opens his eyes, though, Fireflash is faced with a sight that makes his shoulders slump. His mate and child … How could he face them? He was the one who sent them on the border patrol they never came back from. If he’d just had them go train, they would still be alive. “I’m sorry,” he croaks, hanging his head. “I’m so sorry.”

As he looks back up at her, Rapidspeckle gives her mate a forgiving yet sad smile, then bumps her shoulder against Pearstripe’s to urge him onward. 

For as confident as he was in life, Pearstripe seems more daunted now. He doesn’t look afraid, exactly, but … Fireflash frowns as he recognizes the feeling of having to break bad news in his expression. “With this life, I give you stubbornness,” he says, not looking him in the eye. “Use it well to keep going even when your first plan fails.”

A violent spasm wracks Fireflash’s body, a painful jerk that leaves him gasping. Before he can collect himself, he’s hit with another, then another, then another. Though he’s half-convinced they’ll never stop, he pushes through, digging his claws into the ground and gritting his teeth hard until the pain relents.

Fireflash’s heart sinks at the meaningful look Pearstripe gives him before he leaves. His first plan? Surely he doesn’t mean …

As he stares down at the ground, renewed stress flooding down his spine, Fireflash feels the soft touch of Rapidspeckle’s muzzle against his forehead. Despite his anxiety, he begins to purr as she says, “With this life, I give you bravery. Use it well to face the fears that hold you back.”

A million feelings swirl in Fireflash’s mind: the rush of flinging himself into battle, the excitement of climbing his first tree, the exhilaration of swimming in a tumbling river. While the life of bravery hurts like any other, a thrill runs through him, a new itch in his paws to search for the next challenge.

But it was facing your fears that got you killed, he almost says after the rush seeps away, but bites his tongue. Instead, he rubs his cheek against Rapidspeckle’s, wishing desperately that he could stay. Still, as afraid as he is about becoming a leader without almost any of his family alive to support him, Fireflash manages to build the courage to let her go.

The next cat that greets him isn’t a loved one, but Fireflash is grateful to see her nonetheless. “With this life,” Nettledawn says as she touches his forehead, “I give you hope. Use it well to brave the long journey ahead.” 

Expecting it to be a gentle and painless life to receive, Fireflash jolts as he’s hit with the most painful one yet. His heart beats so quickly and so strongly that it hurts, and terror fills him at the concept that it might give out. The rest of his body feels like it’s gone up in flames, filling him with burning pain that seemingly emanates from his chest. Through the pain, though, there’s a sense of overwhelming power, and as the agony seeps away, something new blooms in his heart: an unmistakable feeling of hope. 

As Nettledawn walks back to the crowd of starry cats, she brushes against Hornetstar. A wave of grief washes over Fireflash at the sight of his closest friend. What’s he going to do without her to guide him? Nothing would ever be the same. How could it be, with her not by his side?

Hornetstar walks much more confidently than usual when she approaches him, giving him a warm look of pride. Despite the newfound swagger, though, she’s still a little sheepish when she says, “With this life I give you leadership. Use it well to make decisions with confidence.”

Hornetstar’s life whips up a whirlwind of emotion. Inexplicable fear and grief strike Fireflash like burning lightning, nearly driving him to tears. Through the disorienting sensation, he smells the distinct scent of sickness and blood. Is this Hornetstar’s kithood? He’d heard about RoseClan’s plague, but to live it now, in this moment, is something else entirely. Then, stress clutches him, and in the back of his mind, he hears the sound of violence—loud, eerie shrieks of pain. Long before he was born, as Hornetstar told him once, there was a war between GhostClan and MoonClan that ended in the death of their first deputy. This, he realizes, is the echo of that war. How much more of this can he take? How much more of Hornetstar’s long life can he take?

 Just when it feels like his heart will explode from anxiety, it—along with the pain—suddenly washes away, and he opens his eyes with a gasp. Trembling and haggard, he attempts to steady his breathing. Despite his body’s exhaustion, though, his heart is filled with strength of a thousand cats. 

He looks up at Hornetstar as she begins to speak again. “I hail you by your new name, Firestar,” she declares. “Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of GhostClan. Defend it well; care for the young and old; honor your ancestors and the warrior code, live each life with pride and dignity.”

“Firestar! Firestar! Firestar! Firestar!”

As the countless cats of StarClan cry out his new name, Firestar stands up straighter and looks around, a bit embarrassed at the sheer extravagance of it all. He’s just some cat, really … 

“I’m so proud of you,” Hornetstar says as sits down beside him, curling her tail over her paws. “You’re going to be great. I know it.”

Firestar gives her a smile, warm but tinged with melancholy. “I’ll miss you,” he says softly, and leans his head against hers. He tries to hide the desperation and grief in his voice, but it still cracks.

“I’ll be here,” Hornetstar says, and smiles. “Now, go on. Your Clan needs you.”