Milkshakes in the Stars
The night was quiet. Rockhead made his way quietly through the under growth, the deputy's heart heavy. His leader had just died her last time, and now it was all up to him… it was all coming onto him… he could almost feel the weight of the responsibility on his shoulders. With a sigh, he stepped out into a clearing.
It was a quiet place, one he did not recognize from SkyClan's territory. The oak trees above him made the moon light dapple the ground in swaying, dancing patterns, and the stars above glittered, warm and close, almost brushing his ears, but just out of reach.
"Hello?" Rockhead called out, wondering where StarClan was. "Anybody here…?"
"Wuzzup, dude?" a gray tabby tom bounded out of the sky and landed next to him.
"AAAAHG!!" yowled Rockhead in terror.
"What's the matter, dude?" inquired the tom. "Hey—you're Rockhead!"
"Umm… yeah—"but he was unable to finish his sentence, due to the complication of the gray tom rocketing over to him and giving Rockhead a huge hug.
"My big boy! You're all grown up! I guess I probably should have noticed that while you were growing, but it's too late for that. You're gonna be the leader of SkyClan! Oh I'm so proud of you. Aww, buddy, come on dude, say hi to your old dad!" Rainfur gave him a noogie.
"Rainfur?!" said Rockhead in astonishment. "You're Rainfur?!"
"In the flesh! Okay, maybe not flesh, but you figured it out all right, huh dude?"
"Yeah, I guess…" Rockhead glanced around as the shadowy figures of more StarClan cats emerged from the darkness.
"Dude!!" with an almighty WHOMP, another cat hit the ground beside him, and he jumped in fright. "How ya doin'?!"
"Bounceface!" cried Rockhead in delight. "How've you been?"
"As good as I'll ever be," said the ginger tom with a leering grin. He looked around at the surrounding cats. "We ready to get this party staaated?!"
A cry of excitement rose from the cats all around them, and they surged forward. Soon every body was doing the chicken dance, and Rockheart was smashing his head against a handy giant rock. Only a brown-and-cream she-cat seemed to notice that something was wrong.
"Hey everybody, how we doin' tonight?" she said. Nobody appeared to notice. "I said, HEY EVERYBODY, HOW WE DOIN' TONIGHT?!" her deafening cry caught everyone's attention, and Rockhead, who was unfortunately right next to her, keeled over in a dead faint. When he came to, they were all still dancing, and he turned to Leafstar, the she-cat who had yelled.
"So how are we tonight, my young padawan?" his old leader grinned at him.
"Notice any thing wrong with this Naming Ceremony, Leafstar?" he asked, starting to feel more worried than just wicked annoyed.
"Naming Ceremony? Where? I love those things," she looked around her, and then spotted the horrified look on her old deputy's face. "Sorry, am I missing something here?" she still looked puzzled.
"Like, for example, mine?" Rockhead stared in fear at the she-cat's face. "Leafstar, am I really mean to lead this clan?"
"This one? Oh no, definitely not this clan; no one can lead this clan of partiers." She looked straight at him. "But yes, Rockhead, I believe you can lead SkyClan. I chose well when I picked you after Patchfoot and Sharpclaw, if I do say so myself. Where are they anyway?" Leafstar looked around, as if expecting them to drop out of the sky, which they did as soon as Rockhead thought this.
"Yo!" said Sharpclaw. "How's things been since I left my ol' clan? My buddy Patchfoot looks in from time to time, but I like to hang out in the stars—they make some great milkshakes up there. Mmmm… good stuff."
He beamed around at them.
Rockhead felt like he was going to explode with annoyance, but when one of those milkshakes fell out of the sky, it was so good that he got a sugar rush, and taught everyone how to dance the Macarena. They liked the dance so much that they asked who he was, and then realized that they were supposed to be promoting him to leader. "Oops," was the general agreement.
They gathered in a circle around him, and then Tinyheart stepped out first.
"Rockhead. You have always followed the Warrior Code with your heart, rather than your knowledge. In these situations, things have always turned for the better with your help. So, Rockflight, with this life I give you loyalty to what you know is right." His sister smiled, and walked up to him. A few cats whooped from the crowd.
"Hang on," said Rockhead. "Isn't that one of Firestar's lives?" he asked, wondering how the heck he knew that.
"Just take the dang life!" called someone from the crowd.
"Okay, okay," said Rockhead. He stepped forward, and a happy felling of being asleep filled him. Then he felt like he had been struck by lightning. He twisted in pain, screwing up his face, and accidentally knocked over the rest of his milkshake. When he noticed that, he uttered a bloodcurdling scream.
When they had calmed him, they went on with the ceremony. By the time Leafstar stepped forward, he was feeling high strung and trembling with pain and exhaustion, and grief over loosing his milkshake. Sniffling, he stepped forward.
"You have always served your clan with loyalty and bravery from the day you became an apprentice, little Rockpaw, and now here you are, almost leader, and I know you'll be a great one, Rockhead, so here is your last life," she raised her head to the stars above, and said. "Rockhead, with this, last life I give you strength and the will to keep going, even in the darkest of times, for your clan, for your territory, for your kits—"
"I don't have any kits," pointed out Rockhead.
"Just stuff it and listen," snapped Leafstar. "Now here's your last life, Rockhead."
He stepped forward, and he touched noses with Leafstar. The new life that flooded into him, filling Rockflight with a surge of strength, courage, loyalty, and a strange desire to do the Can-can…
"Rockhead," she said, dipping her head. "StarClan recognizes you as SkyClan's leader. From this day forth, you shall be known as…
"ROCKSTAR!!" from what appeared to be nowhere, she pulled an electric guitar, and a microphone. "Now DANCE!!" She shoved the guitar into his arms, and started singing, while the newly named Rockstar played and simultaneously tried to plug his ears and block out the horrible sound of his old leader's singing.
His head ringing with the sound of Leafstar's singing ringing in his ears, Rockstar jerked awake in the darkness of the whispering cave, thinking of his dead family, his dead leader, and the Macarena…
Rockstar stepped outside into the moonlight, and looked up at the wall of the gorge where SkyClan lay sleeping, where his clan lay sleeping. Then he looked up at the stars, where he thought he could see Leafstar, and Rainfur and Petalnose and Bounceface and Tinyheart all looking down on him, watching, warning and protecting him…
And, Rockstar added, doing the Macarena and the Chicken Dance… and drinking milkshakes, in the stars.
He grinned rather stupidly, and walked up the hill to his clan.