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Initially he considered not bothering, as this would put them on a similar playing field to ThunderClan - but they did help his Clan, so he'd throw them a bone. Besides, it was StarClan who started this and Jaystride wanted to spite them a little. (Suck it, Goosefury!)
Owlstar would find herself in a forest only faintly familiar, the sky starless. It might ring a bell if she'd been in any of the raids from her younger moons. Jaystride slid from the engulfing shadows, his dark pelt nearly camouflaged in the dim lighting. If she squint, she might see the faintest of stars speckling his fur. "I'm just going to cut to the chase, fish. You helped my Clan, you got rid of the otters plaguing your river, and you did it without all the fuss. Most of your predecessors would've just let the situation rot until it infected you, too."
He didn't care to count or name them, it was all a blur at this point. "I'll grant you a life, no strings attached, as long as you keep at it." It was a simple offer, and he tipped his head to a side with a curious glint to his eyes. "Or I can end this dream, and you can wait for ancestors that won't come for you. Your choice, Owlstar."
Initially he considered not bothering, as this would put them on a similar playing field to ThunderClan - but they did help his Clan, so he'd throw them a bone. Besides, it was StarClan who started this and Jaystride wanted to spite them a little. (Suck it, Goosefury!)
Owlstar would find herself in a forest only faintly familiar, the sky starless. It might ring a bell if she'd been in any of the raids from her younger moons. Jaystride slid from the engulfing shadows, his dark pelt nearly camouflaged in the dim lighting. If she squint, she might see the faintest of stars speckling his fur. "I'm just going to cut to the chase, fish. You helped my Clan, you got rid of the otters plaguing your river, and you did it without all the fuss. Most of your predecessors would've just let the situation rot until it infected you, too."
He didn't care to count or name them, it was all a blur at this point. "I'll grant you a life, no strings attached, as long as you keep at it." It was a simple offer, and he tipped his head to a side with a curious glint to his eyes. "Or I can end this dream, and you can wait for ancestors that won't come for you. Your choice, Owlstar."
She wasn't sure when she fell asleep. She remembered staring at the ceiling of the medicine den, trying hard not to talk, begging herself not to blink. She'd rather be sleep deprived and barely functional than be dead. She kept her mind busy on the blood that ran down her forehead and flattened matted fur.
Maybe it was only a matter of time.
When she opened her eyes, she wasn't where she expected to be. Her head was pressed to the forest floor, eyes fluttering open as sleep left her. Her body felt like it weighted as much as a boulder, stiff and achy. Her clouded eye scanned her surroundings, quickly realizing the secure walls of the medicine den no longer held her.
The tabby stood up, maybe a little too fast because she staggered forward from whiplash. She better not be dead, she better not be dead. Such peril and anxiety gripped her it was palpable. She desperately scanned her surroundings, trying to squint past blurred vision.
The area was only vaguely familiar, like her paws had once treaded the terrain in some memory her brain had kept tucked into corners. It didn't... Look like Starclan. From what she could see, no light altered the inky sky, and she could barely see a fox length in front of her.
The leader lashed her tail and stifled a cough, narrowing her eyes in an attempt to push back confusion. No cat else was here. She was dreaming, she had to be. She doubted the Darkforest or Starclan would be so quiet.
After moments of thinking she was alone, a voice came to her. And a pelt. And two pairs of eyes. The tabby froze, knitting her brows in cautious confusion. Who was this cat? Owlstar didn't interrupt, she merely stared, ears perking after each word before relief overflowed in her. She was waiting for a chance, whatever she could get. No progress had been made on fixing the Starcave, barely even an idea. She was grasping at straws here and no support had come from the stars.
With connections torn, she hadn't really expected anything. One wide eye blinked at the cat before her. They couldn't possibly be a Starclan cat, let alone one of her ancestors. But that didn't matter now, did it? It was a life, the possibility of one at the very least.
"Nah..." she began hoarsely. "'M listenin'. What's yer name? Figure yer a Darkforest cat, eh?"
"You'd be correct in that assumption." There was no reason to mince it, as far as Jaystride was concerned it didn't matter what sky he walked as long as dung got done, but he was well aware other cats were sticklers for morals. "Your StarClan is limper than a dead fish, and I have no interest in playing a waiting game. You'd be dust by the time they got off their tails to do anything."
If the Clans were lucky, StarClan might actually try to get them to fix the Starcave - the issue was, once it was fixed, StarClan would resume the normalcy of acting superior but doing little. He could count on his paws the cats who cared enough to make a difference and it was nothing compared to the endless dead. "Name's Jaystride." It wouldn't mean much to her, might not do her any good, but who knew. Ask around ThunderClan and she might catch some bites.
Listening wasn't the same as consent, and that was the only reason he didn't just hop to it. "You want this or not? I'm not going to force it on you, it's your call."
"You'd be correct in that assumption." There was no reason to mince it, as far as Jaystride was concerned it didn't matter what sky he walked as long as dung got done, but he was well aware other cats were sticklers for morals. "Your StarClan is limper than a dead fish, and I have no interest in playing a waiting game. You'd be dust by the time they got off their tails to do anything."
If the Clans were lucky, StarClan might actually try to get them to fix the Starcave - the issue was, once it was fixed, StarClan would resume the normalcy of acting superior but doing little. He could count on his paws the cats who cared enough to make a difference and it was nothing compared to the endless dead. "Name's Jaystride." It wouldn't mean much to her, might not do her any good, but who knew. Ask around ThunderClan and she might catch some bites.
Listening wasn't the same as consent, and that was the only reason he didn't just hop to it. "You want this or not? I'm not going to force it on you, it's your call."
The leader chuckled noiselessly to herself, far too focused on keeping herself upright to make any quips. So she was right. She wasn't exactly sure how to feel about that. Maybe in normal circumstances, ones were leaders weren't known to drop like flies and leave their clan reeling. Maybe if Stormstar had been long in leadership and the life (or... Was it 'lives'?) she was given didn't render useless when she actually needed it. Maybe then she would've been quick to decline.
But not today.
If what Starclan granted couldn't keep her leader alive, why not a new alternative? She didn't trust these cats, Starclan was inactive, but she trusted results. She'd taken bargains before. Some for better, others for worse, but her clan was on the line. Why not? She'd deal with everything later, right now her clan needed something stable to hold onto. If she got it, she got it, who cared where?
Dull eyes blinked slowly at Jaystride as if trying to pick apart whether or not he was messing with her. Even Starclan cats she couldn't trust to not be tricky in their ways. The leader shook imaginary dust off her paws, wincing from the reflex of clenching her jaw. She'd explain everything... Once she could muster proper words, she'd explain.
"I'll take it." she cleared out her throat before she spoke. For a brief moment, she wondered if it would hurt, if it ever did when receiving a life. "Ha, I need it. Thank ya..." she assumed it would only be right to swallow her pride and express her gratitude. She felt so strongly she was afraid she'd loose it all in a blink.
She could have all the reservations she wanted, but it didn't change reality. Lives were so sparingly given for the Clans who wasted them, and outside of some other Dark Forest cat this was probably her only shot for some time. Accepting was wise; he'd keep his promise that nothing shady was going on - for now. Future Jaystride wouldn't promise anything if it didn't benefit his own somehow.
He kept it brief, for both their sakes. No offense to Owlstar but his tolerance of FishClan had always been low, and to a spirit of his time Firefly Cove was still fresh in his memory.
He closed the distance to boop her forehead. The touch was brief but icy and would burn like fire, with the sensation ebbing into a warm burst of energy. She might feel like she could lift the mountain RiverClan once climbed. "With this life, I give you VITALITY. You are your Clan's rock, your drive is their drive. If you falter, they will fall. Use this life not only for your own health, but to energize your Clan for a more promising future." The corner of his mouth twitched. "And try not to lose this one immediately like your last leader did. Sometimes - you have to put yourself first in order to keep your Clan strong."
Dying to a coyote, especially for a cat not worth their weight in sand. Disgraceful. It'd be one thing if they had the extra lives for it, but they needed to be smart with what they got. Throwing it away willy-nilly was a fool's errand. "Now wake up, you've got a Clan to get back to."
don't think you've been forgotten [p]
