How do the clans mourn death? Do the clans all have different customs or are they all relatively the same? Would a leader/medicine cat have a different ceremony than an average warrior? What about a young apprentice/kit?
i’ll be putting my answers under the cut since this is gonna be pretty long!
the clans’ customs are quite varied due to their vastly different lifestyles.
leaders and seers (the equivalent to a medicine cat, but with more emphasis on spiritual stuff) do have their own ceremonies! but due to the ambiguity of starclan in this universe, leaders don’t receive nine lives in their dreams or anything. instead (and this is one of the few rituals shared between all four clans), the seer officiates the ceremony before the entire clan; they grant the leader a blessing on behalf of starclan and formally give them their new suffix. the following night is spent traveling to the star cave, which is a deep, dark cavern found near the border between mountainclan and heathclan territory. starclan warriors light the way to the heart of the cave (they’re actually glow worms, unbeknownst to the cats) and are said to cleanse the souls of all who sleep there, leaving a newly made leader or seer with a clean slate and an open heart.
the ceremony to deem someone a seer is an extremely private one, to the point where no one actually knows what occurs except for the seers themselves – even their apprentices don’t find out until that very moment. there are many rumors surrounding it, but all that really happens is the seer gives their apprentice a blessing, and they too must spend the night and sleep. the next morning, the newly-made seer must report any dreams they had to their mentor, and together they work to interpret them and find any potential meanings.
apprentice ceremonies are run-of-the-mill and are pretty much the same for each clan; the kit(s) are presented before the clan and assigned to a mentor.
mountainclan probably suffers the most deaths out of all the clans for a number of reasons. for example, the rockier and more elevated parts of their territory can be terribly precarious, and many predators lurk high in the mountains. because of this, their grief is rather muted and they’re the most professional/brisk about it; mourning is done quickly and privately, and clan activities usually resume as normal within a day. of course, close friends and relatives of the deceased may take longer to recuperate, but no one talks about it much after everything’s said and done.
forestclan is like one big family, far more so than their neighbors, so the death of a clanmate really hits all of them hard. when someone dies, the usually loud, bustling camp grows calm for a period that can range from a couple of days to a week. patrols are still sent out, but most of the cats’ waking hours are spent comforting one another and remembering the deceased fondly, either through quiet reflection or group reminiscing. while the apprentices’ training doesn’t come to a complete halt, those who need time to mourn in peace are granted it without question. after the deceased’s body is buried, the entire clan gathers to tell stories about them; anyone can pitch in, and they can be heroic or humorous.
meadowclan tries to remain as lighthearted as possible in the face of a death. instead of focusing on the loss, they spend the rest of the day or night celebrating the life their clanmate lead once the body has been taken care of. fun stories and kindhearted jokes are passed around, detailing the departed’s exploits. actual grieving is saved for the following days, but everyone does their best to keep their chins up.
heathclan is rather somber in the event of a death. the camp is very quiet in the following hours, with everyone gathered around to observe as the seer sends the deceased’s spirit on their way to starclan with a blessing and words of guidance. afterwards, the clan takes some time to mourn together; they remain seated at the center of the camp and reflect on their time spent with the deceased. then they may go about their business as they please, and clan life resumes.
