camp curiosity killed the cat? |➹| musing

[sparrowsong!]

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Sparrowpaw liked to think about StarClan. In fact, they had thought about it frequently ever since Fireflypaw had taught them about the ancestors in the sky. Although they often still had moments where they felt sad, mourning their family or waking up from a blood-filled nightmare, it brought them comfort to be able to look up at the night sky and know they were there. That everyone was there.

Yet with thoughts of StarClan came the inevitable questions, ones they didn't have answers for. For a while they had sat on those questions, mulled them over, content to let them fade away. This one, however, had only led to more questions, and they found they simply had to ask.

Sparrowpaw's expression was crinkled with thought when they finally spoke up with their soft voice. "All Clan leaders were given nine lives by StarClan, right?" they began. "If a leader were to ever... um, say, leave, or step down, what happens? Do they get to keep their lives?"

They kneaded the earth at their paws as they thought. "And if they keep their lives, and the deputy gets nine lives of their own... what if they stepped down too? Could every cat be given nine lives if it keeps going?" The thought made them giggle. It was silly, but a genuine thought nonetheless.

Then another thought came to mind. "And if a leader's lives are taken away if they step down, would they be given nine more if they became leader again?" Sparrowpaw looked up to their listener. "What do you think?"​

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[SLATESNARL]

There was a large part of Slate that was still in denial about the starry ancestors and their apparent "powers". They were able to control the weather, send messages to medicine cats and walk in their dreams, and grant extra lives to leaders... Slate knows this because he's witnessed it all with his naked eyes. Blazestar had escaped death's clutches numerous times, having received and bled out from injuries that were undeniably fatal. A freak bolt of lightning had struck the Moor Queen's exact place on the Great Rock at a gathering. They had foretold the prophecy regarding the shelter. There was no reason not to believe in them, and yet... Slate can't bring himself to do so. How is it that they only watched over the clan cats? Did an afterlife exist for those living outside the clans too? What of his ancestors, who had not been warriors but kittypets?

When Sparrowpaw muses about the logistics of life-giving from StarClan, the "what ifs" and whatnot, Slate can barely comprehend anything. It all seemed to complicated; StarClan had all of these rules for the living to follow. It was very odd, if you asked him, and pretty disturbing how much influence and power they held over the clans even in spirit. "StarClan confuses me." Was all Slate offered in a grumble, hardly moving from his resting position with his head situated atop his huge paws.​

 

[Fireflyglow]

Fireflypaw listens to his friend speak as they consider the possibilities of what happens when a Leader steps down or leaves; he'd like to think that the Leader would get to live out their last life in peace, but he knew better than to guess on things. StarClan was so unpredictable at times, it was hard for him to even think about the possibility of what would happen if his father stepped down from his position. He wouldn't, would he? Fireflypaw's tail wraps over his paws in thought.

"I'd like to think they'd live out a single life," He meows softly, lashes fluttering as he scrunches his eyebrows together. "In peace, tranquility. StarClan doesn't often make sense, but they are true to their words. Always."​

SKYCLAN MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE ✦ 12 MOONS ✦ CHUNKY, BIG-FOOTED SEAL POINT ✦ TAGS​

 

[edenberry ?!]

The problem they were having with this was the how of it all. Everyone seemed pretty eager to welcome these starry ancestors as god-like (I mean, they gave away lives for fun!) and they just couldn't swallow it down without an explanation. Where did the lives come from? The dead cats? They had already used their lives and were dead.... duh? Furrowing their brow in confusion and serious contemplation, it was only at Slate's remark that they felt a little more normal, a little less isolated.

"I agree," they meow in affirmation, sitting with a small thump by the smoky tom. They cast a small look towards him again, reminded of their first meeting... He had warned them away but their stubborn insistence had won them some time amongst the SkyClan cats. And... now it just left them with a bunch of questions.

"Nine lives kind of seems like a lot of them! How do leaders even use them? What if they waste them! That'd be so sad..."​

 

[sparrowsong!]

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The response from Slate was little more than a curt grunt. It didn't seem to bother them, instead letting out a hum and letting their eyes wander to the others who were offering their own thoughts.

Fireflypaw suggested that a leader who would ever step down would live one life in peace. Sparrowpaw was inclined to agree, they thought. Even so, it was sad that the idea of all cats being granted nine lives would never come to fruition.

Eden wondered about the usage of lives. The tabby tipped their head, frowning as they thought back to Blazestar stumbling into camp with the patrol that had fought WindClan, bleeding badly. The rumors―or fact, rather―that he had died in the fight.

"I don't think any of them are wasted," they murmured after a moment of silence. "If leaders didn't have those lives, then they would be gone. I'm... glad they have nine lives. They protect the cats who only have one. And it means we don't have to say goodbye to them for a long time." What if Blazestar had died in that fight, had never come back? Their jaw tightened.

"I wish every cat could have nine lives," they said softly. ​

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