Goldenkit's Medicine Cat Apprentice Ceremony

It was late afternoon in the forest, thick clouds covering the sky above casting a blue-grey light on RiverClan far below.

Cloudstone had been pacing inside his den for hours on end as he debated on what to do. He was without an apprentice for the third time. The lost faces of Flintpaw, Bouncepaw, and now Icepaw floated in his mind's eye, haunting him, cursing the medicine cat for failing them. At some point he was forced to sit down for the world was spinning around him at a nauseating pace. He squeezed his dark eyes shut to block out everything, to center himself. He sat there, entirely still, and absolutely silent. Then a sharp breeze shot through the entrance and caused all of his herbs to fly around the den. His eyes shot open to see a new hole in the roof. As he stared at it, the overcast sky broke open just a bit to allow a golden ray of sunlight to peek though. Whether or not this was a sign from StarClan was anyone's guess, but if it was, it confirmed Cloudstone's thoughts. He needed a new apprentice. And now he knew his decision was final.

He prepared two sets of travelling herbs, one smaller than the other, and carried both to the nursery. He set them down beside the den wall and called for the she-kit he was looking for. "Goldenkit? I need to ask you something." The tom wrapped his white tail around his black paws as he sat down. He prayed to StarClan that she would be the right choice.

Goldenkit huffed awake as her ears twitched to her name as she stumbled to her paws, who dared awake her from her kit-nap? It was... who was it? It was the medicine cat but she couldn't remember his name. Padding up to the old black tom she looked up at him, then looked at two bundles of... herbs? Yeah, that was it. Squinting amber eyes looked at the old tom, her tongue swiping over her maw. "You're a sad old man, aren't you? What is it?" The she-cat acted like she didn't even say the first part, her eyes looking down at her paws with boredom. What could the old tom want anyways? There was nothing she could give him but a beating that'd she'd totally win, there was no stopping her from winning all her fights, no training or with training!

If he had any, Cloudstone would raise an eyebrow at the kit's comment. 'Old man?' His tail flicked. Was this really the kitten that StarClan wanted to be his apprentice? Surely what he had seen wasn't a sign at all, but some coincidence. Still. There was something about her that told him that she was the one, despite how little she appeared to care about basic respect. So he tried to ignore what she said in favor of her agreement. "You have shown some promise, Goldenkit. Would you like to train to become a medicine cat, as my apprentice?" He prayed to StarClan that she was just grumpy from being woken up, as her bed-fur told him what she had been doing beforehand.

Goldenkit looked deep into Cloudstones eyes, her eyes narrowing as she searched them in a moment of maturity. "I suuure hope the fourth one is the last that's for sure!" Goldenkit huffed jovially, breaking her gaze from the tom as she leaned down and grasped the bundle of herbs and gulping it down. The bundle got stuck and Goldenkit's eyes started to tear up as she slapped her paw against the ground as she swallowed and forced it down her throat, giving a tearful little burp as she got it down.

"Sure! I'll be your apprentice, being a warrior is a little too mainstream anyways!" Goldenkit huffed, shaking out her fur and bounding past Cloudstorm, big paws slapping against the ground as she made her break for the camp entrance, adventure is out there!

Ah, so she was willing. He watched as she practically inhaled the travelling herbs he had prepared for her and then proceed to sprint out of camp. She would certainly be a pawful. "I hope you're my last too," he murmured, still sitting exactly where he had been. He ate his own herbs more slowly before following his soon-to-be apprentice out of camp.


They were here. The harsh winds of Highstones ruffled his fur. He stood upwind of Goldenkit, fearing that she might blow away in the late Leaffall winds. "Follow me closely, Goldenkit.
It is easy to get lost without guidance." His gaze traveled to the stalactites high above, looming over the entrance. Once he had rushed under the fangs of Mothermouth, Cloudstone traveled through the darkness that surely made him almost entirely invisible. Except for his tail, of course. Once they had entered the main cavern he stepped aside for a moment. He would allow Goldenkit to witness the Moonstone being lit, something he never experienced in full during the first moons he came here, as an apprentice. While the younger cats may eventually grow used to the Moonstone's glow - and it wouldn't be a crime if they did - the tom knew that StarClan was not invulnerable, and that this stone was a reflection of their power. Things he had seen during his own apprentice ceremony still brought along some hopefully meaningless nightmares.

They waited for a long time, so long that Cloudstone wondered if he'd become fused to the cave floor before the sky opened up again. Eventually, though, the clouds above parted and the Moonstone illuminated, casting the cavern in its pale blue glow. His voice was soft as he turned to the she-cat, "StarClan understands your wish to follow their path. Warriors of StarClan, I present to you this young kit, Goldenkit. He has chosen the path of a Medicine Cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance with your will. Goldenkit, until you receive your full Medicine Cat name, you will be known as Goldenpaw." He approached the glowing stone with reverence. "Touch the Moonstone with your nose,
StarClan is waiting for us." When the newly named Goldenpaw had done so, he sat with his paws tucked under his chest and did the same, immediately falling into a deep sleep.

Goldenkit stared in awe at the large glowing stone, whispers reaching her ears as her fur bristled. Goldenkit's whiskers twitched as a stale breeze brushed against them, leaving her with a feeling of being so small and vulnerable, a destiny that she didn't understand was just a few pawsteps away. She didn't really know much of what she was going to be restricted to in life, was she ready to make such a decision when she was just a little kit? Apparently so, watching Cloudstone press his nose to the stone and fall asleep, Goldenkit - now a paw - did the same, resisting to the lure and hook of a whole new spiritual world she was going to be entering until she laid onto her belly and fell asleep.

When she awoke, she saw beautiful plains, shimmering stars- galaxies as plain as the plain blue sky they rested on. Everything was clear as if she was one of them already. Was this supposed to happen? Growing concerned the she-cat looked about, her eyes resting on Cloudstone who had just a bit of a blurriness to him. But as she was just about to ask him what was going on, one singular cat bustled out of the undergrowth, brown pelt disheveled as emotionless yellow eyes rested on hers.

Striding over the brown cat looked down at Goldenpaw, burly shoulders rolled as she looked over Goldenpaw. "You're it?" She turned to Cloudstone. "This it?" Without waiting for an answer Oakpaw looked down at the apprentice, barely even trying to emote. "Don't die, be loyal to your clan, don't act out of the ordinary and maybe everything will be fine. Just don't throw away your shot, got it?" Oakpaw huffed, turning back on her paws to chase after her brother once more to areas unknown.

Goldenpaw woke with an indignant snort, that was it? No prophecy or omen? Just some bland Starclan cat telling her the basics? She demanded a new cat! A retry! Goldenpaw pushed her nose against the stone once more, but to no avail, they weren't letting her in. What a bummer! Though the clarity she saw the area and her Starclan ancestors still bothered her. Turning to Cloudstone she mewed. "That's it huh? I guess we should head back."