The Starcave

[Mango]

@Undertaker

Lobsterbreathe stepped out from the shadows staring down Dawnstripe,” You look weak and forgiving...I give you a life of ruthlessness, may you never think twice about murdering a traitor like that queen and warrior. You play with your food to much, look where that got you, one escaped the other one, won’t be as fun to kill.“ he growled softly before standing up and reaching forward to touch her nose.

[ChillCat]

(idk if I'm allowed to reply again, but Ghostflight has so much potential and i don't want to waste it)

Ghostflight padded up to the conversation. When she got there, she noticed the new Shadowclan leader getting her lives. How lucky. She padded up behind the previous cat and took Dawnstripes attention. "I see those pitiful Starclan cats wouldn't give you lives. You weren't alive when I was around, but maybe the elders have passed down stories of the kit stealer." Ghostflight thought for a minute before saying, "I don't want anyone to go through the pain I have, so I give you a life of ferocity to make Shadowclan great." She touched noses with the new leader. She was going to watch Dawnstripes progress with enthusiasm. @Undertaker

[Starfall]

Dovewillow
@Undertaker
[Life of Determination]
The tall feline stalked forwards as a few of his other Dark Forest companions did. Face lighting up as he poked his head out, a soft smile plastered on his maw. "They don't know what they're missing out on. You're stubborn. I like that." he hummed, fully stepping out to where he could be seen now. He was a dusted grey tom with deep blue eyes. Fur was silky, incredibly well kept.

"I give you the life of Determination. Don't let some self proclaimed all knowing spirits tell you what to and what not to do." the Tom stated, a gleam in his eyes as he reached forwards to touch noses. "Keep squashing your enemies and all those who oppose you. You pave your own destiny."

[Dovey]

@Undertaker
As Scratcheye came out, he let out a hiss of approval. "Starclan doesn't need to give you lives." He streched his claws. "I give you the life of revenge. Seek it, and your wrongs will be put more than right!" Scratcheye's life was far better than the life of justice. EWWW. Dawnstripe was right to not accept any of those.

[BEAR.]

Wolverine always took pleasure in participating in these foolish little ceremonies. Watching a Dark Forest cat who clearly did not belong here attempt to give a weak, unnecessary life. The mere fact StarClan was too mouse-hearted to involve themselves in this. He was eager to exploit that tonight.

"Granddaughter." His voice rumbled through the shadowy forest as he stepped forward, thrusting his face into hers. Hot, rancid air blew at her - the smell of blood and rot. "Tonight, you will make history. StarClan has forsaken you: those cowards refuse to give you their patronage. They stood by and let your mother die in order to preserve peace, and they are trying to skirt their responsibility to give you the lives you are rightfully owed. One little mouse giving you a life means nothing when the rest scattered to the wind. They think you will destroy ShadowClan.. but all you have done, dear girl, is set the foundation for one of the greatest leaderships in the forest. You should be nothing but proud of your accomplishments and abilities.

"I gave your mother the life of power, but that is something you already possess. You hold a strength unmatched by any leader." Wolverine's muzzle twisted into a smile. "But there are several small storms brewing in your Clan. Ones you will need to crush - before they rise up to overthrow you." A warning, one she would hopefully heed and respond to accordingly. "The life I give you.. is the life of VIGILANCE. Keep watch, and your leadership will flourish for many seasons to come. Allow your guard to waver, and you will crumble."

He gave her a small wink before he moved to reclaim his spot among the dark spirits.

[ @Undertaker, @punkscape ]

[Moon Lily]

Irisflame met the dark-furred she’s gaze with stone eyes, emotionless compared to the golden orbs swimming in disgust. Disgust… What a vile emotion. She smothered the sudden urge to spit at Dawnstripe’s paws and cry a furious ‘you self-centred, senseless tyrant! You disgust me’. But unlike the molly before her, the medicine cat had the sense to respect a high rank. She shot an icy glare in the leader’s direction as she settled by the brilliant stone, eyes burning with a fire that could only be matched by the intensity she felt for Maggotfather. Thank the stars Dawnstripe was already facing the gem. She allowed the flames to wither into embers as she approached the blinding light herself. She couldn’t stay mad in the face of The Tyrant. Sunspots gathered on her fur, like the speckles of the big cats that the elders so often spoke of.

Her delicate maw met the cold crystal tentatively, a frosty sensation rippling through her veins.
And then?
Darkness.

The medicine cat was used to the nausea that would follow. The feeling that the world had gone into disarray as soon as she’d touched the precious rock. Deep blue orbs fluttering open, she huffed in amusement as she noted the empty hollow, not a sign of footsteps padding over to meet them. It seemed that Tyrant would not be awarded the position after all. No sooner had she thought so when Icestar emerged from the freakishly tall pines, looking valiant as ever. A pang of grief squeezed at her stomach as her eyes hovered over the former leader. Hailstorm must have been crazy if she thought Dawnstripe was a better choice- why would she kill Icestar if she thought otherwise? She dipped her head respectfully in the direction of the two kin, struggling to keep her features free of the overwhelming anger rumbling through her.
“I’ll be waiting for you over here.” She murmured, hobbling to stand in the shadow of a particularly tall pine.

The ceremony took ages. It was fun the for the first few rounds of rejection. She relished the look of fury that would appear on Dawnstripe’s face, her maw creased in anger. But as time progressed, and the leader appeared to only have obtained a meagre amount of lives, boredom began to take hold. It felt like hours had passed since they had first laid eyes on the star-lit clearing. It probably had been. Would these Star-cats grace us with a few more lives to get this over with? She growled silently, watching the slow crowd with an irritated stare. It seemed Tyrant felt the same way. Wait. Was that…? Interest crept onto her previously unanimated face, renewed energy burrowing into her system. She came a few steps closer. Sagefeather. Her beloved, honourable and completely innocent aunt. NOT. So this was the cat Doetuft had described to her on so many occasions, the one who had made her cousin’s life hell. She didn’t have to look twice to see the spinning madness in her eyes. Seriously, how did this cat ever think she would have made a good mother? A good mate, at that. Shuddering, she turned back to retreat into the shadows once more. A sudden raspy sentence slammed her in the back, threatening to spill her carefully contained anger. Mangled witch. OH, I’ll give you mangled witch, you old coon! Her claws unsheathed to grip at the dirt before she thought better of it. She couldn’t harm these cats. They were already dead. And it wasn’t as though she was dumb enough to interrupt a leader’s ceremony by jumping at some imp.

And so the ceremony continued. It wasn’t so bad. She was hardly surprised when a few shady Dark Forest cats came along to spice things up. Despite the desperate urge to step forwards and shout that she was supposed to get her lives from Starclan, not the Dark Forest, she plastered her mouth shut. She could only imagine what could happen if she interfered with The Tyrant’s ceremony. Recounting each life silently, she tried to remember how many Dawnstripe had left. …six…seven…eight. One last life. Her ocean gaze pierced Icestar, who she was certain would give Tyrant her final life. Wasn’t that the rule? The former leader was always the last one. But this ceremony had held so much uncertainty…

Anything could happen.

[ @Wings @punkscape @Undertaker]

[pidgeon]

Icestar gave her father a cold and hateful stare the whole time he was gifting Dawnstripe her eighth life. She appreciated that he approved of her daughter's leadership, but seeing him treat Dawnstripe with kindness where she had only received bitterness, it left a bad taste in her mouth. Finally his turn was over, and it was time for the ex-leader to step up.

"Do not let this go to your head, child," was the first thing she said. "Yes, your lives are being given to you mostly from the other side. But don't assume that dictates the way you should lead your Clan. I give you the life of common sense. Use it to see the obvious and know when it's time to play nice. And you will need to play nice, if you wish to repair my...mistakes." She uttered the word "mistakes" as if it were poison, as she hated admitting she did anything wrong at all. Icestar padded forward to touch her nose to her daughter's head and bestow the life upon her.

"And with this life, I hail you by your new name: Dawnstar. Your old life is no more. You have now received the nine lives of a leader, be it from a different source than expected, and I grant you guardianship of ShadowClan. Defend it well. Strengthen the weak. Embrace the strong. Never let go of your pride, but learn how to control yourself." Taking a step back, Icestar's orange eyes met her daughter's diligently.

"You will hear from me often. I wish to tell you that I've set up the possibility of an alliance for you, as a final gift. Do not let it go to waste--I am practically sending this right into your paws. ThunderClan will soon be in desperate need of ShadowClan's help. I want you to take advantage of that, but for Star's sakes play nice. ShadowClan will not survive while all of the Clans are our enemies. If you do not, you will crumble it to the ground. Do you understand?" Her tail flicked back and forth as she gauged her daughter's response. She would likely have questions, and this would be the time to have them answered. Icestar knew there wouldn't be much time left before Dawnstar would awaken.

@Undertaker

[Undertaker]

Dawnstripe was itching to walk away, but she was willing to hear the cat out. These star-damned traitors were a better bet then the soft-bellied cats in StarClan. The large feline didn't quite understand the sudden change in mind, but Dawnstripe was not overly interested in more dull lives. Yet it did not seem like she was going to get a choice in the matter as Dustpool forced the life upon her. She flinched when the cat touched her head yet ultimately held still, drawn in by the life.

It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling as if she didn't belong in her own skin, being demanded to accept something she didn't want. Still, it could have been worse. Independence, she could work with that. It wasn't completely unbearable. "You are quite infuriating, but you seemed to have more sense than the rest of the dunderheads. You recognize that I'm the only one fit for leading ShadowClan." Arrogance dripped from every little word that left her maw. "Be grateful I even bothered accepting it." Dawnstripe swiftly left the StarClan's territory with those half-heart words, engulfed by blackness.
@wnder

Sanity had told her to be kind since the cat had changed her mind, Dawnstripe didn't do kind. StarClan might be full of kittypets and mice, but they had their uses. Dustpool could come in handy in the long run. So she'd try not to be too horrible with her until she proved useless. The absence of light in the forest made Dawnstripe feel right at home. ShadowClan thrived in the darkness, it might have been silent if Madness had started kicking up a fuss. Yowling and shouting in excitement. It seemed to like the dark forest.

She didn't have to go far. before she came upon some huge ginger tom stepped out of the shadows. Dawnstripe was uncertain how believable his words were, but still, they were pleasing to the ears. This life was strange, security? It was better than anything the StarClan cats gave her so there was that.

She proved herself more eager to touch noses with orange tom than she had been with the snappy mouse. There was pain, but it was nothing intolerable. Her muscles spasms. in her back, even so, she stood her ground proudly accepting her second life. "Naturally, I'll kill whoever and whatever stands in my way. No one can take what I was born to have."
@Mando

'He undewstands, a wittle death nevew huwt anyone. Dey are gonna die anyway.'

Sanity might have said something that but they were drowned out by Madness's cackling. Dawnstripe didn't have the time to figure out why since another cat was already taking the last one's place.

She had no clue who this cat was, she didn't know the majority of the cats that came up to her. A noticeable muscle twitched in her jaw at the mocking tone. Dawnstripe withheld her instinctive urge to retort, teeth grinding as the cat went on about stuff she was only half-listening to. Her full attention was returned when they finally got to her the life of manipulation. She wasn't thrilled with the life, preferred to use her claws, and manipulation took time that she didn't overly enjoy wasting. Even so, she'd took it without a word of thanks, a life was a life. The Dark Forest spirits had more sense than StarClan. This life may prove useful to her somewhere in the future.
@Wings

The next black cat was quicker and straight to the point. Dawnstripe didn't bother commenting about not knowing who she was. Worms were beneath her notice. A slight smirk lifted the corners of her mouth at the life of deviance. This cat seemed to just want her to cause chaos, that was fine with her. Dawnstripe was certain she'd be kicking up quite the dung storm with time. She barely gave a dip of her chin for the life and looked forward to the next cat. It was clear from her bristle tail, that she was exceeding impatience to get this done and out of here.
@Terrestrial

Oh! This cat she had some faint memory of. He was the dungface that caused a stir at a gathering. Her tail went ramrod straight, the left side of lip lifted slowly revealing a fang. She didn't like being called weak. When she returned here she'd have to make sure to seek this cat out and show him just how weak she was. The comment about food playing had her lowering her hostility to just giving him a strange look. She wasn't WindClan, her didn't eat cats. Whatever, she'd debate about just straight up killing cats instead of keeping them around to entertain Madness.
"Watch your back." Was all she hissed after receiving his life. She'd have to get him to take back the weak insult the next time they met.
@Zesty Mango

Why did these cats think she'd remember them? If they wanted to be remembered for some evil deed, make sure it was big and something worth remembering. Killing a few cats wouldn't do much, now massacring a whole clan. That was something worth remembering. As the she-cat went on, Dawnstripe stood up and took a few steps away from her while unsheathing her long claws. "Are you daft?!" That dirty sneer was plastered on her face. "I'm not taking that life. It's might actually be worse than the mice. You're a pitiful, sad excuse for a Dark Forest cat." She didn't belong here. "Disgusting, no wonder you lost your kits. Someone as pathetic as you are is nothing more than a failure. Take your worthless life and get out of my sight." What a loser.
@ChillCat

The cat was pretty tall, his smile made her want to drag her claws across his face. Creepy weirdo. Did it look like she cared whether he liked her or not, she wanted her life and nothing else from him. He was strangely groomed for an 'evil' cat. He didn't seem like he fit in with the others here. She'd happily reject him if he attempted to give her a ridiculous life. Determination, yet another life she was uncertain about. But like the others who convinced her to use the life well, his parting words assisted her in seeing the use in the life. The way everyone kept talking about enemies made her believe that she was going to have a great deal of them. Acceptable, she'd put every single one of them in their place. She gave a barely seen tip of her head, these cats should be honored to give her a life, thanking them was a waste of her breath.
@Starfall

Yet another tom, his life brought a full fledge grin to her maw. She'd have her revenge on all and any who wronged her with or without the life. Still, it pleased her to get an actual life for it. Dawnstripe might have dipped her head a fraction lower than with the other cats, revenge was going to be her favorite life.
@Star Wolf

Granddaughter?! Her attention swung warily over to the big tom that abruptly crowded her bubble of space. Beyond the mild grimace, she was unphased by the cat's presence. He had the most lovely foxbreath. She had never seen nor met this cat, yet he claimed to be her relative. Mother wasn't speaking up so Dawnstripe concluded it must be true. Icestar didn't speak to her much if at all about her father. It was an interesting surprise meeting the tom here. What did he do to get here?

Now it might be simply the fact that she knew he was related to her, but the praise coming from his maw did make her feel something. It didn't sound hollow or empty coming from him. Strength, unmatched by any leader?! Did he mean that she was stronger than even her mother?! That grabbed her attention like claws hooking through flesh. Dawnstripe's ego just grew three sizes that day. She pushed her pride to the side in favor of listening about storms brewing in her clan. Dawnstripe knew cats were after her head and rank, but now she had a reason to hunt them down. There was so much work to do once she returns to her clan.

"Thank you, Grandfather." Dawnstripe didn't mind showing appreciation to him. His life and warning were worth it. She'd need to start working on gathering her own forces, not that she couldn't handle it herself, but having cats to do her bidding would be nice. If her grandfather could warn her of any incoming problems, Dawnstripe really wouldn't need StarClan at all. It might have been nice if he weren't so cryptic, although, hunting her prey down would be less pleasant if she knew was going after.
@BILL.

After what felt like an eternity, her mother stepped up. The first thing out of her maw was chastising. Dawnstripe pinned an ear back and scowled in returned, Mother still managed to make her feel like a rookie apprentice straight out of the nursery. She couldn't bask in Grandfather's praise without Mother's approval, clearly. Common sense? She was joking, right? This was going to be Dawnstripe least favorite life. Only Icestar, and potentially, Hailstorm, could rain on her parade like this.

There we go with the play nice, Sanity had told her that too. She felt she had done a decent job of playing nice at the start, but that was only because she had one life and she wasn't keen on losing it before she could get her new ones. Yet now Icestar wanted her to continue playing nice and clean up her mistakes? Damn it all! She. Didn't. Want. To. Play. Nice. She couldn't eradicate WindClan by playing nice... could she?

She allowed that train of thought to keep on chugging along while she repeated her new name a few times in her head. Dawnstar, she liked it. The newly christened leader held her head high as her mother prattled on. So there was more to this than just leading it, she still had to defend the clan, and figure out how to control her darker impulses, Mother also wanted her to play nice! Even in death, the things she had to do to keep her mother happy. She'd have to visit the Dark forest often, Grandfather seemed to be the only one who recognized how great she was. Mother always wanted her to do more and more and more for her. It was easier getting praise out of Grandfather.

Settling into her new name like her own fur, Dawnstar rose and found Irisflame sitting off to the side looking bored. Dawnstar had forgotten all about her. Icestar wasn't done talking to her though, so she held off on calling out to Gimpy. It was on the tip of her tongue, Dawnstar wanted to ask if she'd be hearing from Grandfather as well, yet thought better. It was barely there, she could still catch the small tension between the two. Dawnstar would ask about their relationship another time.

The world alliance had her twisted her expression into one of contempt. ShadowClan could be strong without any additional help. Icestar had pissed off all the other clans so it wasn't like Dawnstar wanted to get into an alliance with any of those backstabbers. Plus who would be dumb enough to call upon them for help? ThunderClan, of course, those morons would be stupid enough to do the same thing twice.

Her expression remained unhappy with all of this, still, she spoke with great reluctance. "Fine, I'll play nice for you." Despite how upset she was, Dawnstar still sought her mother's approval. Mother was still Mother, her and Dawnstar supposed if Grandfather was genuine, they were the only cats she had to trust in this world. They should not steer her wrong...

"I will not let ShadowClan fall, yet, if you're so worried you're personally setting up alliances from beyond the grave, I'll heed your words. I'm not liking it though." She hissed falling back on to old habits. "Anything else? You're fading." Dawnstar could feel bits of her conscious stir from slumber. It was time for her to go.
@punkscape @Moon Lily

[Dovey]

@Undertaker
"Lead your clan well, Dawnstar," Scratcheye left.

[ChillCat]

"Why you-you-you piece of fox dung! Are you so proud you won't accept my life? I'll have you know I killed countless cats to get back at Starclan and this is how I'm repaid? When you show up here-mark my words you aren't going to Starclan, you'll be screwed." Fine. Whatever. If Dawnstar didn't want her life she could go around with only 8. She would die sooner and Ghostflight would feel her claws in Dawnstar's fur. @Undertaker (Im not mad its totally cool but man is dawnstar picky)