literature

Nobody Said it was Easy

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No one ever said it would be this hard.

She stared at the frozen expanse of water stretching out from under her paws. This was the river where she had learned to swim, the river that brought life to her Clan. When the Clans were first created, her ancestors settled here to live by the current and the good fortune it brought. For generations RiverClan cats had grown fat from the fish that resided there, and she was no exception. Shimmerstar had lived her whole life by that river...And now she would die by it.

Her claws left shallow marks in the ice as she gazed down at the dark water that lay underneath. Long ago her mother had once told her that her silver fur looked just like the sunlight playing on the water at sunhigh. That was why she had named her Shimmerkit, all those moons ago. Her warrior name had reflected that as well: Shimmerpool. But these days her silver coat did not shine or shimmer or do any of the things for which she was named. No, her pelt was marred with dirt and dried blood from the last battle that she never bothered to wash out. Gone were the days that she groomed herself repeatedly, when she would have obsessed over her appearance. After all, who did she have to impress?

Heaving a deep sigh, the RiverClan leader watched her breath billow out around her muzzle. How many lives did she have yet to lose? How many times would she have to die before this living nightmare could finally end? She had given a life to Capone of the Elite. She had given a life to save Minnowswirl, a cat whose survival certainly meant much more than her own. He had a sister, a family. Her family was long gone and forgotten. She knew her own sister hated her, of course she did. For so long she had played dumb in the hopes of feigning some sense of normalcy, but of course she saw the way Burnstripe's eyes were nothing but daggers whenever they were together. Of course she knew they would never even resemble a normal family.

Shimmerstar stretched out her front paws and dug her claws deep into the ice. They were dull from disuse but they did their job. The ice creaked and groaned like a wounded animal under pressure until finally it broke. Sharp-edged pieces splashed and drifted away with the current that still flowed under the ice. She stood a moment longer on the banks of the river, her blue eyes fixed on the dark, swirling water as if it were the only thing left in the world. This could all be just a dream, of course. She had long fantasized of ending it all this way, simply walking into the river and letting it carry her away. For weeks she had traveled here to contemplate the ice and the fragility of her life. Now that the time was finally upon her, she was sure it was a dream.

The frigid water shocked her out of her trance and tore a gasp from her dry throat. It swirled around her paws, tugging at the long, matted fur and chilling her to the bone. Suddenly the world stood out in sharp clarity, as though she was seeing everything for the first time. The brittle branches over head framing a painfully blue sky, the clouds of her own breath, her last breaths, the snow and the ice and the sounds of melting.

Spring was on its way.

Taking one last, long deep breath, savoring the pain of the cold air filling her longs, Shimmerstar closed her eyes and dove into the river. Immediately the current took her and drove her downstream, under the ice and away. Any sort of resistance was pointless; as soon as she was submerged the freezing water gripped her limbs and ripped that last breath of air from her lungs. She could not thrash or scream, but there was no one to hear her anyway. The leader was alone, painfully alone in a world of swirling dark water.

The only thing that changed when she died was the temperature. She was suddenly embraced with warmth as another life ebbed away. When she opened her eyes she was met with exactly the sight she expected. Fourtrees shone beneath the shining moonlight, deep in the throes of greenleaf. StarClan gathered around her, some looking disappointed, others angry. Two cats stepped forward out of the crowd, their starry pelts forming into those of Silentstorm, her mother, and Wingedpaw, the apprentice that Desolatestar killed.

"So that's it, then?" Wingedpaw snarled, his fur crackling with fire as it bristled along his spine. "You give up? You abandon your Clan in the middle of leafbare?"

Shimmerstar did not respond. She simply stared at the apprentice, killed before his time, with sad blue eyes. Facing his fury was better than meeting the gaze of her mother. The gaze that told her of all her failures, past and present.

"StarClan cannot help you." her mother said finally, causing Shimmerstar to wince. "Even if we put breath back in your lungs you would drown again, trapped under the ice.

Wingedpaw cut her off, "And you don't deserve a second chance anyway!"

The former leader took in her surroundings, gazing around at the throngs of StarClan warriors. "Desolatestar chose the wrong cat to succeed her." Her voice came out clear and strong, louder than she had spoken in moons. "I did nothing good for my Clan. Cougareyes will have better luck than me with controlling RiverClan."

Silentstorm shook her head slowly. "It didn't have to end this way, Shimmerstar." she mewed, her voice barely more than a whisper. "But in the end, we are only guides, nothing more. We cannot change what will happen, only watch and warn. Perhaps we are the ones who failed you. Perhaps we should have been better guides... Perhaps I shouldn't have coddled you the way you did. You weren't ready for such responsibility."

"No, I wasn't." Anger suddenly entered her voice. "Burnstripe was the natural born leader. Burnstripe as the real warrior. Burnstripe should have been leader. Burnstripe would have been right for the Clan, but all you ever did was put her down!" Shimmerstar lunged forward and tackled Silentstorm, pinning her down and snarling in her face. The gathered cats let out a cry of outrage, but she ignored them. All she could see was her mother's face, and the sad smile she wanted to tear to pieces. "Why did you always have to favor me? Why did you always push her away? It's your fault we're in this situation, not mine!"

Teeth sank into her scruff as Wingedpaw dragged her off of Silentstorm and threw her to the ground with surprising strength. "You have no one to blame but yourself, you pathetic piece of foxdung!" he yowled. "You are a disgrace, not worthy of joining the ranks of StarClan!"

Shakily, Shimmerstar stood. Fear replaced the sudden rage that had gripped her heart. "N-Not worthy...?"

Wingedpaw snorted in disgust. "Those who take their own lives to selfishly escape their duties do not deserve to join the ranks of StarClan."

The fear quickly turned to panic. Was she going to the Dark Forest, to wander aimlessly with the murderers and villains? Had she known this would happen, perhaps she would have tried harder...

"StarClan hereby strips you of your lives and your leadership. Goodbye, Shimmerstar."

Then there was nothing. Not StarClan, not the Dark Forest, just nothing.

Shimmerstar was nothing.
This was...Painful, to say the least. Shimmerstar was a character I played on WCRPG [link] the leader of RiverClan. She was an incredibly complex character, and I loved her as I love any of my creations... But I'm leaving the site, and it's not fair to leave them to figure out what to do with RiverClan's leadership situation. So I suppose... It was her time to go.

This isn't the end, Shimmerstar, I promise. I see fanfics and fanart in your future.

My awesome friend Yew drew a tribute to Shimmerstar here:
[link]
<3

Warriors (c) Erin Hunter
Shimmerstar (c) peofun1
© 2011 - 2024 peofun1
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HyperCupcakeOnROBLOX's avatar
:o I have a character named Shimmerstar and she was the RiverClan leader XD I guess RiverClan favorites the cats whose names begin with Shimmer XD
I'm writing Shimmerstar's Life, you can check it out if you'd like c: