How did palefoot make it to Starclan, I thought you needed a proper burial in order to get a fetcher? Especially since his body was hidden. Did he just happen to get lucky and they found him before he got his spirit trapped in the dark forest?
Also, him then becoming the patron of finding bodies is a bit funny, like a car crash victim becoming the patron of surviving car crashes. Then again, you can't really complain about getting prayers I guess.
Nope, BB!Cats don't need a proper burial to get to StarClan! It's just extremely disrespectful from the living, and denies the family a chance to grieve since they can't sit vigil and share tongues with their loved one. It's a deeply malicious mortal action.
Also LMAO yeah Clan cats are brutal with their ironic patrons. They love it. It's exactly like how Catholic saints become the patrons of things related to their insane deaths or just straightup insults. Like Saint Elmo who is the patron of tummy aches because they gutted him like a fish. Or how Saint Drogo who was allegedly so ugly he is now the patron saint of the unattractive (and also coffee).
Quick dribble on Fetchers;
Their basics are covered over in StarClan 101
Fetchers can be anyone. They're usually a family member, or a guardian angel, but there's no hard rules with Forest Four.
SkyClan DOES have a hard rule; Cloudstar is the "Grim Reaper" for SkyClan, in what he feels is repentance for his time as the Rat Leader. He is their only Fetcher.
They have to come down and find your spirit. Some Fetchers are better at this-- just because they have a better sense of when death is near, or they were nearby, or they were fast, or you invoked them shortly before the death, etc.
It's possible to run away from your Fetcher if you want, or hide.
BUT, Dark Forest cats can ALSO Fetch you.
In the case of cursed bloodlines like the Appledusk Lineage, very strong fetchers are sent who can fight the rival demon effectively.
Flametail was immediately dragged down to the Dark Forest because of this. That wasn't an accident; they killed him and then kidnapped his soul.
RiverClan cats believe that if your Fetcher doesn't come for you, Ripwater will find you first and bring you to the Dark Forest.
You NEED a Fetcher to get to StarClan. If you are a spirit who looks for StarClan on your own, you will find the Meadow of Young Stars first, and then the Dark Forest.
When you die, you usually get "knocked out." Your Fetcher can bring you to StarClan while you're still asleep, making it seem like you "woke up in Silverpelt"
However it IS possible to die awake. You will suddenly not feel the pain of your injury. It's extremely alarming.
So, Palefoot was able to get to StarClan. It actually did take the Fetchers a while to find him though. He was killed and buried very quickly, and it took him a while to wake up and realize he'd been shoved in a bog. He didn't realize he was dead at first, he thought he'd just been beaten up and thrown in the mud.
He wasn't really taking it in that he was kinda numb, and in spite of being in the autumn bog for a while, he wasn't cold. It wasn't until he got back to the camp that he realized no one was responding to him, and then it hit him that he didn't need to breathe anymore.
(I like to keep the rules 'loose' for situations like that, lmao)