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/tldr: jeri discovers a cave on the beach with a hole on the top and a tidepool at the bottom that lights up at midday when the sun passes over it. it's called the sunpool and it allows jericho to contact the star forest as he stumbles upon it and he got his nine lives
i'd actually like replies to this, if possible! just to discovering the sunpool tbh, since more of this is in jeri's head which you don't have to read lmao i just needed to write this
It has hardly been long since SunClan's arrival in the peaceful beachside town, and Jericho has almost forgotten the storm and the starry feline who came to him in his dreams to warn him of it. ...Almost. He's not sure he'll forgive himself anytime soon for not heeding the caution, despite how SunClan had so narrowly avoided their demise with the sinking island. However, things have been so busy lately that it's been one of the last things on his mind. Today he is focusing on exploring SunClan's new land, for he's hardly been brave enough to venture from the seaside town since their arrival.
Today he finds himself padding along the beach, his tail-tip gently dragging along the rocky wall that borders the shore from the forest cliffside as he pads cautiously on. Perhaps exploration is not the best task for a blind three-legged feline after all, but he carries it out dutifully nonetheless. Slowly and with hesitance, but dutifully still. He rather likes this place, anyways. It reminds him of home and TidalClan and the old island village, the smell of seaspray and sweet flowers in the air. It's these thoughts he finds himself distracted by when suddenly the wall beside him disappears. Jericho stops, backs up, and feels for it once more, only to find it dips inward. A cave. There are many along this shore, but this is the first Jericho himself has found.
At first he isn't sure what to do. Go inside? He is far from the bravest cat in SunClan; in fact, he's rather cowardly. The thought of exploring some strange, unfamiliar place, no less a cave that could very well drop off into some deep rocky underground that would kill him on impact. But he finds himself sucking in a deep breath an taking a pace forward. The cave is not deep, he can tell from the way his paws echo off of the patches of smooth stone that poke through the sand. And there's something else about the way everything sounds in here; it's not only shallow, but there has to be come kind of hole somewhere, for the noises hardly sounds like a cave at all. His paws slide very suddenly into water, causing Jericho to leap backwards, startled.
There's some kind of pool below, at the center of the cave? How... odd? This entire place is strange and foreign, but Jericho feels his way around it slowly and carefully. Now he has stopped, water lapping at his paws. And then suddenly his fur is washed in light, warming his skin as the sun passes over what he can only assume to be some kind of hole in the ceiling. What timing, he thinks, to be standing here at midday, in this cave where the sun passes over to warm the water directly below. Marveling at his discovery, Jericho leans down to lap at the water below him, and suddenly it feels like everything it melting away around him.
Jericho has never felt pain before until now, but it feels like fire. How is one supposed to describe it? It feels like he's burning, like his entire body is being torn apart, like his lungs can't get any air and his chest is in flames. His veins have never been so full of fire and while it hurts, god, it hurts, it feels like he's teetering so dangerously on the edge between life and death in a way that makes him feel like he's living more than ever before. It feels like, if he could see himself, he'd be glowing. That if he were really burning, he'd be burning brighter than any star in the sky, diving towards the sea on the wings of Icarus after finally getting a taste of the sun, so searingly painful but so alive. That's what it feels like. But then suddenly, it stops. And then everything is still, and quiet, and oddly empty, before there's a whirl of air around him where it feels like everything is rushing back into its proper place around him until he can feel solid ground below.
"Jericho."
His eyes open slowly, and once more is flooded with color. It alarms him for a moment, causing his eyes to narrow and his frail frame to recoil at first. But then the open further, widening as if doing so could let him take in more of it. He almost wishes he could not see in these dreams, for it only makes it more difficult when he wakes. Before him stands a black and white she-cat, leaning down lightly to peer at him gently. Her pelt shimmers like starlight, and as his eyes open she seems to smile a bit. Jericho pushes himself upright, finding that he no longer feels pain. He feels.... light. He doesn't know how to describe it. "Hello, young one," she says now, taking a pace back and sitting as he straightens himself. Something about her movements are fluid and smooth. Her voice is soft and kind, warm and motherly. It's strange, but Jericho trusts her.
But then he remembers everything before, the cave, his pelt warm with sunlight and suddenly a great, burning pain. From beyond the female he can see a forest, but not like one he's ever seen before. Not SunClan's forest, anyways. He clears his throat. "I... w-where...?" Jericho begins, barely able to put the words into a solid sentence.
Still, she watches him patiently, waiting for him to trail off before speaking. "My name is Poppyseeds, and this is the Star Forest," she explains, and something seems to click. This place is familiar, isn't it? This clearing. Jericho turns to look over his shoulder and sees a large rock, the same one Magni spoke to him from all those days ago to warn him of the storm. "You are able to speak with us from the cave you discovered earlier. We led you there; it is called the Sunpool." The ginger tabby turns back to Poppyseeds now. He's in the Star Forest. That bit makes sense, but-
"W...Why...?"
He speaks almost without thinking and blurts out his question. The feline seems to have expected it, however. "You are here to receive the gift of nine lives," she says as she rises to her paws once more. Nine lives... Jericho has heard the stories, he recalls them from being a kit. Leaders who followed StarClan who would be given extra lives after their ascent to leadership. But of course, he'd never thought much of it? Or certainly not that after becoming leader he... no. The little tabby continues to stare at Poppyseeds as she carries on. "Your first life has been stripped from you, and will now give you nine new ones." She takes a pace forwards, looking at him carefully. "...Are you ready for your first one?"
He doesn't know what's happening here; it's not real, is it? This place, this person. Then again, that's what he said last time, and sure enough, Magni's warning had come true in the end. He exhales slowly, his head spinning. At this point, he doesn't know what else to do except just go along with it and see where it takes him and say, "I- Y...Yes."
She smiles reassuringly and nods slowly. Poppyseeds first lifts her head to the sky and says aloud, "With this life, I give you the virtue of a mother's love. Use it to watch over and care for your clanmates as fiercely as a mother would her own kits." For a moment afterwards Jericho pauses, not sure what to expect next, but then she leans forwards and touches her nose to his. It feels just as before, but different. This feels like a bolt of lightning has been sent through his body, and Jericho immediately crumples to the ground. He loses all sense of awareness as to everyone around him, the pain is... overwhelming. He struggles to inhale, eyes squeezing shut. For a long time he remains like that, shaking and curled up in a ball, before the sensation fades and is replaced with something different.
When his eyes open, it feels like his veins are being pumped full of the same fire from before, though not in the same way. It's the feeling of living, but without the painful side-effects. And not as... powerful. Jericho slowly staggers to his paws now, and when he glances up, a new cat is standing there. For a second he has to do a double take, but sure enough, it is now a brown-tabby she-cat. She's taller than him, actually, and stares down at him with a firm gaze, though behind it he can see a spark off life. She only nods to him in introduction before saying her part. "My name is Londoneye, and with this life-" she says, "-I give you the virtue of adventure. Use it to walk bravely into the unknown." Londoneye takes a pace forward to touch her nose to his own.
He braces himself for it, squeezing his eyes shut in anticipation, but this time it's a slow burn. The kind that starts in his chest and spreads outwards in an oddly dull but hot kind of pain. And this, too, leaves him with the same afterglow-like feeling. Jericho does not keel over this time, but once more when he opens his eyes, the person before him changes. This time he is forced to look down to see them, for it is a kit with silver fur and staring back up at him with wide, child-like amber eyes.
Jericho is still too... too overwhelmed to say anything in greeting, and so he merely focuses on the kit, who appears oddly happy to be here, bouncing up and down on his paws. Jericho feels a pang of sadness for a moment upon realizing that this child must have died young somehow. "I'm Legend! I'm here to give you the... the virtue of courage!" the child announces, stretching their neck upwards towards Jericho. Of course, he isn't quite tall enough, forcing the little ginger tabby to lean down and touch noses. This pain is sharp once more, but heavy, almost crushing in nature. "Use it to defend SunClan!" The voice is child-like and fast-fading, and by the time he cannot hear it anymore the pain, too, is gone. And so is the kit.
The next does not appear to be a full warrior either. They seem... young, somehow, scruffy and meek and nervous. Still, he offers Jericho an awkward smile and clears his throat. "Hey- I mean, ah, my name is Bearpaw. And, with this life, I gift you the virtue of selflessness," he says. Bearpaw leans forwards to touch noses, and once more Jericho braces himself. But this... doesn't hurt. Not as much, anyways, to the point where it's comparatively nothing. This feels... somehow more calm than the other lives, and the pain itself is a dull ache. Jericho opens his eyes and Bearpaw is gone, but he can't help but begin to wonder how the pain relates to each Star Forest cat and their virtue.
Now is a tall, skinny tomcat, who stares down at him with a sharp green gaze and a head tilted towards the starry sky. "I am Ashencloud. With this life, I give you the virtue of faith," he introduces without preamble, immediately and stiffly leaning down to touch his nose to Jericho's. "Use to guide your clan in times to trouble, and to stay true to the Star Forest." Bearpaw's virtue had almost made him forget the pain that was to come, leaving Jericho unprepared and surprised when pain sears through him once more, knocking the breath from his lungs. It takes every once of his resolve to keep his paws planted on the ground and to not topple over once more and to focus on his breathing, amber eyes squeezing together once more in attempt to block out everything else and keep himself upright.
He stays like that for a moment until the pain dissipates, and he exhales before honey-hued eyes open once more. Now there is a cream tabby she-cat who stands before him. She reminds him of the first, actually- Poppyseeds. "My name is Frenchrenissance, and with this life I give you the virtue of compassion," she says, her voice calm and slow and steady. "Use it to be understanding of your clanmates and to be a kind, empathetic leader." He closes his eyes as she leans close and touches her nose to his, though this time he does not forget to brace himself. It comes in waves, but by now he finds himself growing used to it, and he manages to regain himself quicker.
Now there's a tom, one who looks oddly... familiar, almost? Except no matter how he racks his brain, he can't quite place it. Surely they have not met before when this feline was still alive? Jericho can hardly gather himself enough to ask, and so he just allows them to continue the ceremony. "I'm, ah, Saltednuts, and with this life I give you the virtue of loyalty. Use it to stick with your clan through thick and thin." Saltednuts clears his throat awkwardly and thrusts his head forwards to touch noses almost a little too vigorously, nearly bumping heads with Jericho. Still, it works anyways, because he doubts the heavy shudder of pain is from the awkward head-butt alone. Jericho inhales and lets it flow through him, trying not to scrape at the ground with his claws as he waits for it to pass. ...However, Saltednuts does not immediately leave. He lingers for a moment, gazing at Jericho as if trying to pluck up the courage to say something before he finally blurts out, "And, uh, h-hey, tell my brother Suga, and, uh, any of my other siblings who are still around- tell 'em hi for me, will ya? I... I miss 'em." He smiles awkwardly and meekly, before fading away and letting the starry figure of a stocky blue-and-white tom to take his place. Jericho recognizes him swiftly from their previous encounter.
"Hello, little leader."
The voice is a deep rumble, although somehow less stoic than last time they met in this very same clearing. Jericho swallows, still stumbling over his words and his body throbbing with energy and pain that has just begun to ebb away, but manages to stutter out, "I... um, M-Magni..."
He is cut off by the former leader, who lifts his chin when he speaks. "You have taken the ceremony well. Now I must give you your final life." Magni falls silent for a moment as he steps forwards, places his nose to Jericho's, and sets loose a pain more fiery and more exquisite than any of the previous. Jericho gasps audibly, but he is prepared, digging his claws into the ground below to steady his trembling frame. "With this one, I give you two virtues; wisdom and determination," the tom rumbles, finally taking a pace back once more. The pain remains for an extra moment, leaving Jericho breathless and shaking still. But when it does begin to fade, he feels... full, in some strange way. "Use the first to know what is best for your clan and the second to be brave enough to always do it, no matter how hard or tiring."
Now all of the cats are standing there, watching him, from motherly Poppyseeds to young Legend and stoic Ashencloud, with Magni at the center gazing down at him carefully. "I... I d-don't, um... thank you," Jericho finally sputters, not sure how to respond to all of this. He's overwhelmed with all this information, all these new sensations and being able to see and feel pain.
However, Magni seems to dismiss him with a tiny nod as he carries on. "You have already proved yourself a wonderful leader of SunClan, Jericho, no matter how much I underestimated you before. You may not have listened to my original warning, but such was expected, and you still heeded my words when the time came. You kept SunClan safe, and in return we have gifted you the ability to remain with your clan longer," the Star Forest cat says. Suddenly he inhales, broadening his shoulders and peering down at Jericho once more with emerald green eyes, and Jericho swears if he looks hard enough he can see then sparkling. "Now go and return to your clan."
The world begins to swirl around him once more and Jericho finds himself clinging to the dirt below his paws, as if it would make everything remain. However, as he hears the cats all yelling out his name in congratulations, everything begins to turn black and his eyesight grows smaller and smaller, until it is gone entirely once more.
His eyes open again, and he sees nothing once more. For a moment his heart aches for the immense color that he sees in his dreams, but he still exhales and rises to his paws again, feeling the familiar stone of the cave and the water from the pool at his paws. He feels... different, but maybe it's just all in his head. It is, probably, though somehow it feels like his basking in some kind of afterglow despite how the sun is no longer in the same position to shine down on him through the hole in the ceiling like before. It's not like that though, anyways. It feels like his veins are thrumming with something new now, and while he isn't sure that what just really happened actually did happen, somehow he feels like it did. He can't be sure, of course, but some part of him has changed. He knows it. Not in the physical, and maybe not even mentally, but on some other level there is no way that dream couldn't have been real. And so Jericho hobbles back out through the cave and onto the beach and wonders to himself what he's meant to do now.
[hr]
GENERAL:
• Jericho | 'Jeri' | ♂
• Homoromantic demisexual | Crushing on Duskmire
• Archipelagoisland x Sheepherder | 2 years old
• Leader of SunClan
IMPORTANT FACTS:
• Former head medic of The Rift
• Resident gardener of SunClan | Vegetarian
• Has congenital analgesia | Cannot feel pain
APPEARANCE:
• Domestic feline | Reference
• Skinny ginger tabby with white splotches and amber eyes
• Blind | Missing right hind leg | Zombie scar on left foreleg
PERSONALITY:
• Kind, gentle, caring, thoughtful, intelligent, optimistic
• Quiet, shy, nervous, easily-flustered, a hopeless romantic
• Overly-trusting, gullible, self-loathing
INTERACTION:
• Pathetically easy physically and mentally
• No kill or maim | Ask for capture
• Attack in bold white