So sorry for another late update. A lot of the writing you will find in this chapter will be thanks to The Ultimate guide: Bramblestar's Nine Lives and Tigerstar's Nine Lives, along with The Darkest Hour. Expect another update by the end of Thanksgiving weekend! Thanks for reading everybody!

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Icefrost waited. Nothing was happening. She heard a small sigh, and slowly peeked one eye open to find only the Moonpool and Beechpaw in view.

"You have to put your whole nose in. For special ceremonies it takes more." Beechpaw mewed. Icefrost sighed too and pushed her nose into the water.

The freezing needle-like touch shocked her and she pulled away quickly. Hesitantly she put her nose back in and tried to relax. Almost immediately did she feel sleepy. Icefrost let it take over. Nothing seemed to happen this time either except the fact that she felt like she was being watched by many cats. Opening her eyes and looking, she gasped. Lots and lots of starry cats were gathered in the hollow. Some she recognized, many she didn't. One dark grey pelt that was stepping forward caught her attention.

"Minnowstar!" The old leader looked much younger and healthier than the last time the two she-cats had seen each other.

"Welcome to StarClan, Icefrost!" Minnowstar said for all cats to hear.

"Thank you." Icefrost felt as though she should say something. "Our clan misses you and Willowshine."

"Yes, she is the second cat I spoke of. But RiverClan will get out of this troubling time. Now, we must begin." Minnowstar stepped closer and touched her muzzle to Icefrost's head. "I give you a life to have the greatest pride in your clan. Honor the legacy that has been made by great leaders and have the courage to make yours." Icefrost felt a warm sensation fill her body that caused her fur to stand on end. She imagined all the RiverClan cats around her and could feel their support like a blast of wind that could fire her up to do whatever she wanted. Icefrost was exhilarated. Minnowstar dipped her head then stepped back.

A dark grey tabby stepped forward. Icefrost smiled as she recognized the healthy-looking cat. "Willowshine! We have missed you so much."

"Hello, Icefrost. Congratulations in becoming leader of RiverClan. I am to give you your next life." She pressed her muzzle to Icefrost's. "With my life I give you compassion. Use it to understand what is important to other cats and let that guide your paws." Icefrost instantly saw images in her mind of many images of cats in pain, filled with joy and love, or hissing. She felt a need to help, but didn't know where to start.

"Good luck, Icefrost," Willowshine whispered. "Make me proud." She stepped back.

"Thank you," Icefrost whispered back.

A skinny dark grey she-cat padded forward next. "Who are you?" Icefrost asked.

"My name is Graypool," the cat replied. "I lived in RiverClan before you were born. I used to be a queen, and lived a long life. I give you a life for listening to your elders, and for taking advice even when it might seem unrealistic. The oldest have seen the most. Trust their wisdom and learn from their mistakes." She stretched up to touch Icefrost's cheek.

Many voices started murmuring in Icefrost's mind, and she was pushed around by unseen cats. She strained to hear what they were saying, but the voices were too quiet and too numerous to tell one from another.

Icefrost's mind started to clear and she made out the form of a different cat in front of her. This time it was a dark grey tabby tom that she didn't recognize. "I am Rippletail. I died when fighting beavers that had blocked up the river with trees. You have never met me, but I have watched you from StarClan and know that you will make a great leader." Rippletail bended down to touch his cheek to hers. "I give you a life of exploring beyond the borders of the clans. Watch for the possibilities that lie in unexpected places. You are not trapped by clan boundaries." Icefrost felt as though she had left the hollow and was now trekking through unfamiliar woods. Her pads were hardened from walking and the scent of mountains was not far off. The next things she knew she was standing on a cliff overlooking a vast body of water as the wind made her fur dance. The sun seemed to be drowning in the water and she could not see the other side.

In the next instant, Icefrost was back in the Moonpool's hollow. Standing in front of her was a cat she recognized. "Cloudleap?!"

"Yes, it is me," Cloudleap confirmed. I was watching when Minnowstar appointed you as deputy, and I think that she made a wise choice. Sadly, you didn't get to be deputy much to get more experience of leading the clan, but I think you were born to lead RiverClan someday."

"Why, thank you! It will be an honor."

Cloudleap smiled, then lowered his head to Icefrost's muzzle. "Anyways, I also have a life to give you. My life is given with loyalty. Always remember that the clan comes first, and stay true to every cat in it." This time, Icefrost felt a glow course through her body. It made her feel warm to the tip of her tail.

When Icefrost looked up, Cloudleap had left and the sixth cat that came made tears come to her eyes, but she smiled. It was Brownpaw. Brownpaw was Icefrost's apprentice a few seasons ago. A monster had killed him when he was first learning to cross the Thunderpath. The rest of his litter was still-born, so his mother, Icewing, grieved for him much.

"I get to give you a life, Icefrost! My life comes with the gift of mentoring. Use it to train your young cats to their best," Brownpaw said as former apprentice and mentor touched noses. This caused Icefrost to have a sudden fear, then something barrel into and over her. A breath-taking pain struck like lightning through her entire body and felt as if every bone was breaking in her body. The young tabby realized she must be feeling what Brownpaw felt in the last moments of his life. "Take a message to Icewing for me please. Tell her that she should not fear having more kits. They will be fine, I will make sure." Icefrost nodded, even though she was still blinded by pain.

As the pain slowly left, Icefrost was aware of a different cat in front of her. It was Mosspelt, a queen who had died of greencough last leaf-bare. Mosspelt touched her muzzle to Icefrost's cheek. "My life is for understanding that it is not only warriors who play an important role in taking care of the clan. Queens in the nursery do just as much. We feed all tiny kits, raise all new apprentices. Honor the mothers, Icefrost, for we give you all a start in life."

Icefrost was instantly back in the nursery, surrounded by warm eyes and pleasant purrs. She swelled with thankfulness for all the deeds these cats had done for their clan. "Thank you," Icefrost murmured. The queens surrounding her nodded and kept soothing her until she felt like she wanted to sleep.

"Wake up! You don't want to fall asleep during your leader ceremony!" mewed a voice. Icefrost jolted awake to see yet another unfamiliar cat in front of her. In front of her was a tom with blue-gray fur. "My name is Stonefur. Along with many others, I died thanks to Tigerstar. He did not like half-clan cats, especially me since I was half ThunderClan and one of Bluestar's kits." He stopped speaking to bend down and touch his muzzle to Icefrost's. The young tabby shut her eyes, ready for whatever this life would be like. "With my life I give you the courage to speak against injustice, for pursuing truth. Lies provide shadows for more sinister things to dwell in. Do not fear truth, Icefrost."

Light shot through Icefrost, making her paws shake. Then her mind cleared and was filled with astoundingly bright sunlight. A stinging pain arrived, then peace. She took a deep calming breath.

"One more then it will be over," a tiny voice soothed Icefrost. She peeked open one eye to see a small kit watching her, with Minnowstar sitting quietly behind it.

Icefrost gasped. "Deerkit?"

"Yes! Icefrost, I've missed you so much! And you've grown so big!" Deerkit squeaked excitedly.

"Oh, the whole clan has missed you, too! I've never forgotten you, my little sister. Ever since the day that greencough... well, ever since the day you died, there has never been a day I don't think of you." Icefrost had trouble saying the last sentence. She shook herself. "Anyways, do you have a life for me?"

"Oh, yes! Of course!" She hesitated, looking back at Minnowstar. Minnowstar nudged the kit forwards encouragingly. Icefrost bent down, as Deerkit stretched upwards to touch noses. "I give you a life of love. If you use it for your clan, your clan will return the favor. Love finds a way. Use that way." No pain came from this life. The warmth of a green-leaf sun shone through Icefrost so luminously that she could reflect it to others. It was the type of love that one gets as a kit while nuzzling their mother. She gazed at Deerkit, who seemed to be older than she really was at the moment.

A long silenced spread through the clearing. All the StarClan cats had risen, along with Minnowstar. Deerkit stepped back as Minnowstar signaled to Icefrost to rise. She stood unsteadily from crouching so long.

"I hail you by your new name, Icestar. You do not live your old life anymore," Minnowstar announced with a loud and clear voice. "You now have the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of RiverClan. Defend it well, honor your ancestors and the traditions of the warrior code, and care for the young and old alike."

"Icestar! Icestar!" The cats of StarClan cheered like members of a clan would for a new warrior. The voices fades out as Icestar was removed from the spirit world and placed back into the normal.